Hannah Diamond’s Most Vulnerable Album Was Written by ChatGPT

This piece originally appeared on October 19, 2023 in Sound Signal, our biweekly newsletter that identifies emerging artists, scenes, and trending tracks, crafted by the world's best writers and curators. Sign up here to never miss our take on what's next in music.

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When hyperpop star Hannah Diamond released her viral track “Pink and Blue” via London label PC Music in 2013, it was rumored she was a robot created by collaborator A. G. Cook—as if a woman couldn’t be the brains behind her own work. Like fellow PC Music associates SOPHIE and Charli XCX, Diamond eschews acoustic instrumentation for synthetic production, distorted vocals, and sugary hooks that clash beautifully with grinding club beats. In her music, she’s a futuristic fembot whose glossy, hyper-feminine persona calls attention to unrealistic standards for women.  

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Ten years after her first release, Diamond relies heavily on the technology that inspires her work. On October 6, she released her sophomore album, Perfect Picture, which shows a more vulnerable, human side of her personality—although ChatGPT crafted the lyrics. AI has been used in every part of her process. She even used Midjourney, an AI program that generates images, to visualize the album’s pink, sleek artwork. To Diamond and artists like her, these new technologies are an extension of how she approaches her brand as a songwriter.

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As early as 1995, David Bowie created the Verbalizer, a text randomizer software, and used it to write songs like “Hallo Spaceboy.” Grimes, an advocate of AI, created Elf.Tech, a software that mimics her voice, even offering to split royalties 50/50 with anyone who uses it. Aespa, a popular Korean girl group, takes an immersive approach to AI: The band is composed of four members who each have a corresponding virtual member who lives in an alternate reality world called FLAT.

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Of course, questions of authenticity and authorship arise when using AI. Deepfakes can replicate the style and voice of any musician to say anything. This can be funny or imaginative, like the YouTube channel There I Ruined It dedicated to "lovingly destroy[ing] your favorite songs." Labels like Universal Music Group have scrambled to issue takedown notices when their artists—notably Drake, The Weeknd, and Eminem—have had their voices duplicated.

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Diamond and her peers use AI to write in new ways, building fantasy worlds and generating sounds that human ears have never heard before. It’s an exciting time, but one that leaves industry experts concerned about automation, misinformation, and copyright infringement.

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