The Beetles Are Back with AI-Assisted "Now and Then" #MusicMonday

Source: YouTube

The Beetles are back? Yes indeed, with as assist from AI. Evidently there was an unfinished song from back in the day, so the Beetles that are still with us went in and finished it by using AI to revive their bandmates who are no longer with us.

And guess what! The song is up for two Grammy Awards for not only Best Rock Performance but also Record of the Year … the first Grammy-nominated song ever to use AI.

With some pretty big competition from the likes of Beyonce and Taylor Swift I might add.

If you have not heard it, give it a listen …

When it was released in November of 2023, it debuted at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 making it the band’s 35th Top 10 song and expanding their record there. Amazing.

The song is a long time in the making, starting with a demo from John Lennon in 1977. The Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr used AI to isolate John’s vocals from that demo to then go into the studio and record around him. Fascinating. Creative. Now, perhaps trend setting.

If you are interested in the full back story, give a click here to read about it at British GQ.

They say music lives on forever, and I guess this proves that point. And while right now this is the first AI-assisted song to be nominated for a Grammy, I’m going to bet that it will be the first to WIN a Grammy too. And I’m going to bet that it won’t be the last in either category either.

Proving that AI is infiltrating the arts in ways that we are just starting to see the fruits of amazing creativity.

I personally love seeing the applications. Bring it on!

What’s your experience?