During an interview with Chris Difford on the March 19 episode of the podcast I Never Thought It Would Happen, James Blunt discussed the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and how younger musicians are using software to generate lyrics. Blunt admitted to experimenting with AI himself to see if the software could create lyrics in his style, but he was ultimately “humiliated” by the results. He stated that when he asked AI to impersonate him, it either came up with something very generic or his lyrics were “absolutely mundane.”
Blunt believes that songwriting and music are about flaws, failings, and mistakes, which give character that cannot be formulaic or generic. He said, “Even if I have written something before and I say ‘Let me write it in the style of me again,’ it will be boring to myself. I need to go out and test myself and push myself to do something different… I don’t think AI can bring in true character flaws and mistakes at this stage.” Therefore, he concluded that he would never turn to AI for music and lyrics again.
In other news, Blunt, who was awarded the “Worst Album” award by NME in 2006 for his debut album Back to Bedlam, finally received the accolade last year after years of asking for it. He recently acknowledged the award and received it after admitting again that he had never received it despite asking for years. Blunt was elated and stated that the “Worst Album” award would be the award he was most proud of and would go beside every other award he won.
Blunt’s experience experimenting with AI has taught him one valuable lesson: human flaws, failings, and mistakes are what make music unique and irreplaceable. While AI may be able to generate lyrics that may have grammatical and syntactical coherence, it is unlikely that it will be able to replicate truly unique and ‘human’ characteristics present in songs. Blunt’s music is an example of that
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