Drake and The Weeknd may have some unexpected competition at next year's Grammy Awards: themselves. Or, A.I.-generated versions of themselves.
Released back in April, the song titled "Heart On My Sleeve" went viral when it fooled fans thinking it was a new collaboration recorded by Drake and The Weeknd. It turns out that it was generated by A.I. software by an artist by the name of Ghostwriter. W
While the song was promptly removed from digital streaming platforms, the song continued to rack up streams on TikTok and YouTube in the millions.
Now a representative for Ghostwriter has confirmed to the New York Times that “Heart on My Sleeve” has been submitted to the Recording Academy for the categories of Best Rap Song and Song of the Year.
Despite the fact that Drake and The Weeknd have no involvement with the track whatsoever, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. says it will be eligible for the Grammys. "As far as the creative side, it's absolutely eligible because it was written by a human."
Since the Best Rap Song and Song of the Year are categories that award the songwriters and not the performers, Ghostwriter is in his right to submit his work.
Mason adds that the Academy will be looking into whether the song is available commercially. The Grammys states that a track is required to have "general distribution" (i.e. be available for sale via retailers or stream on platforms) to be considered.
But Mason also identifies the anonymous artist's work as an important step in how the industry is moving forward. "Ghostwriter really has played an important role here to bring awareness and attention. We know A.I. is going to play a role in our business. We can't pretend to turn our back on it and try to ban it."
Just imagine the reaction shots of Drake and The Weeknd losing out on Song of the Year to Ghostwriter at next February's Grammy Awards.