Drake and Weeknd's AI-Generated Song "Heart on My Sleeve" Goes Viral: Real Collab or AI Company Marketing Stunt?

The future of music is here. An AI-generated track Heart on My Sleeve, featuring the simulated voices of Drake and The Weeknd is ruling the music scene all over TikTok and Twitter right now. According to TMZ, the viral track "was created with nothing but the use of AI programming." The start of the track features a simulated Young Metro introduction before transitioning into a beat-heavy song with bass. 

According to Daily Mail, the AI simulation of Drake begins the opening verse, then the tune transitions into a chorus from an AI simulation of The Weeknd. Netizens, including AppSumo's Mitchell Cohen, instantly began speculating who might have created the artificial music.

Calling the AI track "a genius marketing stunt," Cohen added, "Not by Drake, but by a SaaS (software as a service) startup." He traced the origins of the track to a TikTok account handle @ghostwriter977, which had previously shared an AI version of Drake covering the 2007 Colbie Caillat track Bubbly. The TikTok account mentioned that the full version of the track was available in a link in their biography, which then leads to a website requesting personal details in exchange for a full copy of the AI track. The owner of the website was linked to a startup firm called Laylo, which says it is "geared for creators to gain additional followers and subscribers with their tools," with the use of "drops."

While the App Sumo member did not point at Laylo specifically for releasing the track, the company itself retweeted his speculative tweets and added an emoji of a ghost. Cohen then started a Twitter thread that did a lot of digging into the origins of Heart on My Sleeve. He pointed to the TikTok account where the AI-generated track originated from. 

He explained that he believed the Canadian musical artists were not involved with the viral AI track since the TikTok account had shared an AI version of Drake covering Bubbly just a few days ago. Cohen further tweeted his explanation that Alec, the founder of the tech firm Laylo, also seems to be a fan of Drake.

According to @laylodotcom "Laylo powers drops for some of the world’s biggest creators and brands." It is a YC company that works with big creators. Cohen also pointed out that the founder of Laylo has previously tweeted that AI-generated podcasts are the future. He concluded that it was a clever marketing ploy by the tech firm since it is now getting millions of impressions on its official page. 

The famed rappers have yet to comment officially on whether the recent AI-generated track featuring their stimulated voice was in fact a collaboration or was simply a marketing ploy.