Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

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<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1775535212536priscilla-du-preez-de-HbaYzZqA-unsplash.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">AI-generated singers routinely rank among the top-streamed country music artists in the United States—a trend that for now is limited to a genre that industry observers fear is becoming too formulaic. <em>📷Priscilla Du Preez, Unsplash</em></span></span></span></div><p>NEW YORK — AI-generated singers routinely rank among the top-streamed country music artists in the United States—a trend that for now is limited to a genre that industry observers fear is becoming too formulaic.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/music/2026/4/2/jonathan-manalo-weighs-in-on-ai-use-in-music-and-warns-against-displacement-of-real-creatives-1100">OPM Hitmaker Jonathan Manalo weighs in on AI use in music and warns against displacement of real creatives</a></div><p>Breaking Rust, Cain Walker, Aventhis, and Outlaw Gospel have more in common that cowboy hats, denim and leather. They are all completely computer-generated, from their faces to their melodies.</p><p>And they are all hitmakers.</p><p>&quot;That&#x27;s a phenomenon I didn&#x27;t see coming,&quot; said Jennie Hayes Kurtz of the country music band Brother and The Hayes.</p><p>&quot;I thought AI was going to be curing cancer or something.&quot;</p><p>Many of the AI country tunes tap into the genre&#x27;s archetype of the lone cowboy: a rugged, taciturn, plain-spoken man who, above all, refuses to apologize for simply existing.</p><p>Lyrics are delivered in raspy, gravelly voices that sound as authentic as the real thing.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s scary as songwriters,&quot; said Kassie Jordan, who forms the singing duo Blue Honey with her husband Troy Brooks.</p><p>&quot;We are starting to see a lot of people just putting words into these chatbots and it is writing songs for them,&quot; she said. &quot;As a songwriter, it&#x27;s kind of like, is anyone going to even think I really wrote this?&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/music/2026/4/1/expert-weighs-in-on-ai-s-possible-impact-to-music-industry-2233">Expert weighs in on AI&#x27;s possible impact on music industry</a></div><p>Berklee College of Music professor Joe Bennett noted that a sampling of AI singers suggests that the words used to &quot;prompt&quot; AI songs were &quot;not particularly detailed.&quot;</p><p>None of the producers behind AI-generated music projects responded to AFP&#x27;s requests for comment.</p><p>So how did AI find a place in a genre that is fundamentally rooted in the human experience and storytelling, blending folk, blues, and even gospel influences?</p><p>For Bennett, the emergence of modern country music in the early 2000s -- with a highly polished, more pop sound and repeated &quot;melodic shapes&quot; -- is key.</p><p>AI models could become adept at replicating such a sound, when fueled with those elements, he explained.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;SUPERFICIAL&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Once overshadowed by rap and Latin music, and hindered by the industry&#x27;s shift to digital music formats, country music has nevertheless staged a comeback thanks to a generation of artists with stronger pop, not folk, sensibilities.</p><p>Following in the footsteps of country-turned-pop megastar Taylor Swift, today&#x27;s headliners are more likely to sport baseball caps than wide Stetsons.</p><p>Their music breaks genre boundaries, while artists such as Beyonce and Post Malone win fans and sell albums with their crossover efforts.</p><p>Last year, country stars Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan were both in the top 10 most streamed artists on Spotify.</p><p>Some in the industry believe country&#x27;s rebirth signifies a dulled-down formula designed to appeal to the widest possible audience.</p><p>&quot;The lyrics aren&#x27;t as deep as they used to be,&quot; Jordan said.</p><p>&quot;A big portion of popular country music has become kind of shallow, so that is pretty easy to duplicate.&quot;</p><p>Bennett says the industry must do a better job of identifying AI-generated music, noting that Deezer is the only major streaming platform to clearly label such material.</p><p>&quot;We need AI detection,&quot; Bennett maintained.</p><p>&quot;It will happen, and there is a consumer demand for it.&quot;</p><p>Hayes Kurtz said there is a large audience of &quot;passive&quot; listeners who don&#x27;t care whether music is made by AI, but there are also &quot;active listeners&quot; who attend concerts, buy band merchandise, and deeply respect the integrity of the artists.</p><p>&quot;That audience seems to really care it the music is made by the actual humans they are going to see,&quot; Hayes Kurtz said.</p><p>Jordan says she remains optimistic about the future.</p><p>&quot;There&#x27;s another wave of country artists that are coming that is really into doing it the old school way and showing emotion,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;That will be harder for AI to duplicate. That might save the genre.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VZsdkjOV2H4?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v-muNUCCYsI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IQHlzhJhDSk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></strong></div>

<p>AI-generated singers routinely rank among the top-streamed country music artists in the United States—a trend that for now is limited to a genre that industry observers fear is becoming too formulaic.</p>

AI-generated singers routinely rank among the top-streamed country music artists in the United States—a trend that for now is limited to a genre that industry observers fear is becoming too formulaic.

AI-generated artists break through in country music

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AI-generated artists break through in country music

Thomas Urbain,

Agence France-Presse

Published April 07, 2026 12:16 PM PHT

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Updated April 07, 2026 12:18 PM PHT

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