AI ENTERTAINMENT
AI lyrics just hit the J-pop stage
Japan’s biggest girl group, AKB48, has released a single written with the help of AI.
The song, Omoide Scroll, came from a TV contest where their usual songwriter Yasushi Akimoto went head-to-head with an AI trained on his style.
Both songs were performed without telling fans which was human or AI-made. Viewers voted live on TV, and the AI song won by nearly 4,000 votes.
It’s now AKB48’s 67th single, while Akimoto’s track, Cécile, has been removed from YouTube.
Akimoto, who has sold over 100 million records and is often called “the Steve Jobs of otaku,” said he was disappointed but admitted the AI’s song was good.
Here’s what you should know:
The AI used Google’s Gemini to create lyrics and pick performers.
Fans voted 14,225 to 10,535 in favour of the AI track.
Japan’s Oricon chart will show how fans truly react.
Memory scroll goes live
He also pointed out the risks of technology creating music by relying only on patterns and mass appeal.
The music industry is watching closely: AKB48’s last 53 singles have all reached number one.
If this release breaks that streak, it could signal pushback against AI-made music.
Japan really just dropped a chart-topping bot bop.