AI HELPS BIRTH FIRST NEW RANDY TRAVIS SONG IN A DECADE

Warner Music is touting the use of "AI for good" in conjunction with "Where That Came From," the first new Randy Travis song since the country legend largely lost the use of his voice due to a debilitating 2013 stroke.

The project was spearheaded by Warner Music Nashville co-Chair/co-President Cris Lacy, who approached Travis, 65, and longtime producer Kyle Lehning with the idea of making music together again. With assistance from London-based artificial-intelligence developers, they ultimately chose to work on the Scotty Emerick/John Scott Sherill-written ballad "Where That Came From," a demo version of which had been sung by James Dupre.

To approximate Travis' voice, the team inputted 42 vocal stems from 1985 to 2013 into the modeling software, then spent months tweaking the output until it met with their satisfaction.

Said Lacy, “The genesis of this track came from a visceral desire to restore what was taken from someone we know and love—Randy Travis. It was inspired by his courage in continuing as a vital contributor to the music community. In working with him to make new recordings, the by-product is a gift that goes straight to our hearts. AI may have been a tool that helped us along, but it was a group of dedicated and passionate humans, including Randy himself, who brought this beautiful song to life."

Travis added in a statement, "Eleven years ago I never thought I would be able to have a hand in music production of any kind. But by God’s grace and the support of family, friends, fellow artists and fans, I’m able to create the music I so dearly love. Working with Kyle Lehning and Warner Music Nashville again has been so special and nostalgic. I’m so excited to share my new song, ‘Where That Came From,’ with you today. Many thanks to my wonderful team and the best fans in the world for putting me back in the saddle again! I’ve enjoyed every moment of it."

Travis' emotions are on display in the accompanying video for the song, which can be seen below. Although he struggles with the language processing disorder aphasia, Travis has been able to deliver a handful of performances since his stroke, often to utter the closing word, "amen," during the double-platinum Grammy-winning 1987 Country #1 "Forever and Ever, Amen."

WMG was already in the news surrounding AI after CEO Robert Kyncl and artist FKA twigs spoke 4/30 to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property during a hearing on issues covered in the NO FAKES ACT. The bipartisan legislation (full name: the Nurture Originals, Foster Art and Keep Entertainment Safe Act) concerns federal efforts to protect an individual’s voice and image from being used in nonconsensual AI-generated content.