AI Antics: The Hit Drake x Weeknd Collab That Never Happened

*Beep boop*: A fake song manufactured by AI technology to sound like a real collaboration from Drake and The Weeknd was just ctrl-alt-deleted from existence. 

Why it matters: Ironically titled “Heart on My Sleeve,” the inorganic track was uploaded by a mystery creator named Ghostwriter and featured dangerously convincing imitations of the two A-lister’s voices. It was so convincing, in fact, that it started gaining serious traction online – as in, nearly 250,000 Spotify streams and 10 million TikTok views – before it was promptly scrubbed from the internet amid a wave of concern for what the phenomenon could mean for the future of the music industry.

Should we be scared? Maybe, maybe not. The song definitely had a lot of people fooled when it was still up, and Luminate confirmed that it would be eligible for chart placement if it earned enough streams. On the other hand, someone – most likely the Universal Music camp – was able to have the song removed pretty quickly, and a precedent of copyright strikes against AI imposters has already been set by artists like Jay-Z and Eminem.

But…was it even good? Honestly, kind of. It’s unclear how much of the song AI actually touched – the beat, powered by a repeating, twinkly piano riff, may have been organically produced by Ghostwriter – but the cadence, timbre and lyrics could give Drake a run for his money. Perhaps most alarming was the reminder that AI can make any public figure “say” absolutely anything, including this “Heart on My Sleeve” call-out: “I came in with my ex like Selena to flex, aye / Bumpin’ Justin Bieber the fever ain’t left, aye.”