An AI Song Is Now Tops on a Billboard Country Chart

Ella Langley is the top human on Billboard's Country Digital Songs chart with her hit "Choosin' Texas." Alas, Langley doesn't hold the No. 1 spot on the chart. She's at No. 2, behind the song "Walk My Walk" by Breaking Rust. And Breaking Rust is not human, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. This is the first time a song generated by artificial intelligence has topped this particular chart. For context, a post at Holler Country notes that big names such as Zach Bryan, Lainey Wilson, and Riley Green have never hit No. 1 on this one.

The song is credited to Aubierre Rivaldo Taylor, who doesn't have much of an online presence and is therefore a bit of a mystery. The name is linked to Breaking Rust and another AI project known as Defbeatsai, and the Chronicle takes note of skepticism that Taylor himself is an actual human. As for the song, "it's catchy, but there is a distinct 'flatness' or superficiality that underpins it—especially when you know there's no human emotion involved," writes Maxim Mower at Holler Country.