The Beatles’ latest song, supplemented with AI, deserves a Grammy nomination
The Beatles’ song Now and Then just made history as it was the first AI-powered song to be nominated for a Grammy. The song was released in November 2023 – almost 50 years after the famous band broke up – and features a previously unreleased recording of the late John Lennon singing and playing piano. Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono shared the recording with the rest of the Beatles after his death.
Using advanced machine learning software, engineers were able to isolate Lennon’s voice from the piano track. Over the course of many years, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the late George Harrison worked on the song and eventually added their parts, creating a new Beatles song featuring all four band members.
Although AI was used in the production of Now and Then, it fits within the guidelines for the Grammys stating that “only human creators are eligible” and that work containing “elements of AI material” is allowed in certain categories.
Read more: The New Beatles Video: How AI Helps and Hinders the Music Industry
The nomination comes as the music industry struggles to define the appropriate use of AI and how it can impact the creativity and authenticity of music production. The Grammy recognition also highlights how an AI-enabled song can open up new avenues of innovation and creative expression while honoring artists’ legacies. AI is increasingly used in the music industry, although not everyone is a fan of it.
Using The Beatles may be more acceptable to many fans because it does not adulterate Lennon’s voice, but simply cleans up a recording of it. A more controversial topic involved musician Ghostwriter’s 2023 song Heart On My Sleeve, which used AI to recreate Drake and The Weeknd’s vocals without their knowledge or consent. The song was submitted for two Grammy Awards, but was ultimately determined to be ineligible.
A Short film of 12 minutes was produced for Now and Then and follows the reunion of McCartney, Starr and Harrison in 1994 to work on the song. But after Harrison’s death in 2001, the song remained largely untouched until 2022.
Read more: Paul McCartney uses AI to create the final Beatles song
By this time, filmmaker Peter Jackson and his team – while working on the Beatles documentary series Get Back – developed a way to isolate Lennon’s vocals from the rest of the recording. McCartney eventually recorded some bass; Starr added drums; Harrison’s previously recorded guitar parts were mixed in; and eventually strings were added.
“We all played on it, so it’s a real Beatle recording,” McCartney said in the short documentary.
Lennon’s son Sean said in the film that he was deeply moved by the process of making his father’s voice part of a new Beatles song.
“My dad would have loved that, because he was never shy about experimenting with recording technology,” said Sean Lennon. “I think it’s really beautiful.”
Read more: The Beatles land on TikTok
He added: “It’s the last song my dad, Paul, George and Ringo will ever make together.”
Now and Then is nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammys and faces competition from Billie Eilish, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Charli XCX. It also earned a nomination for Best Rock Performance, where it will compete against the likes of Green Day and Pearl Jam.
