Legendary Whitney Houston, brought back in tour 13 years after his death, with the help of AI
Whitney Houston during a concert he held in 2009 in Central Park in New York, photo: Greg Allen / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia Images
The administrators of the heritage of the famous singer Whitney Houston will bring to life the legendary voice with the help of artificial intelligence, for a future orchestral tournament organized 13 years after the artist's tragic death, reports futurism.com.
The organizers of the tournament – called “Whitney's voice: a symphonic celebration” – used a technology that isolates the voice and the instruments in the records, made available by an artificial intelligence musical platform.
The technology allowed the isolation of Houston's voice to produce “audio of quality near the one recorded in the studio”, according to the organizers.
“This project demonstrates how consecrated artists and their heirs can create significant experiences for music lovers through careful use of AI technology,” said Ross Michaels, quoted in a press release. His company, Park Avenue Artists, collaborated on this project with the Moises platform and the administrators of the singer's heritage.
“It is a powerful example of how artificial intelligence can honor the inheritance of artists, while enriching the public experience in beautiful and respectful ways,” he said.
The tournament organized by Houston's heirs brings back a fiery controversy
Despite Michaels's comments, the use of AI in the music industry has aroused heated and controversial debates on the inheritance and rights of deceased artists. In the last two years Aubrey “Drake” Graham has used AI to bring the voice of rapper Tupac Shakur, and The Beatles have used a similar technology to play John Lennon's voice in what they announced was the last piece of the band.
In July, the Spotify platform was caught publishing covers generated by AI on the profile of the newsician Country Blaze Foley, who died 36 years ago. A business associate still in Life of Foley criticized the situation in harsh terms and described the songs thus produced as “garbage of the boys of”.
Some of the biggest names in the industry signed an open letter last year that denounced the use of music and asked for protection against this technology that makes their place among creative arts, including in the cinema.
However, there are more nuanced cases. For example, the star of Country Randy Travis music used to recreate its own voice after suffering an almost fatal stroke.
Organizers say they took care to honor the memory of the legendary singer
Houston's voice isolation, considered one of the largest American singers of all time, is another complex case. On the one hand, those who administer the heritage left behind by this gave to the project their full support.
“I knew it should be done properly,” said the sister -in -law of Houston and the administrator of his inheritance, Pat Houston, in the statement. “Moises and our partner Park Avenue Artists have raised the idea with heart, with care and creative excellence-values that Whitney has always embodied,” she said.
According to her, “the result is something really special”, “a gift for old fans” and “a strong introduction to a new generation that discovers her voice.”
On the other hand, Houston died in 2012, long before discussions about the use of AI to recreate the voice of an artist after his death. Since then, some artists have been restored on stage including in the form of holograms due to the progress of video projection technology.
However, the statement about the tournament organized by Houston's heritage administrators does not mention that her image is designed during the concerts, but only that her voice will accompany your orchestra.
The tournament will start on September 20 at Cincinnati Music Hall and will end with a last representation on November 22, after stops in several US states.
