Since then, there have been a number of AI-generated knockoffs of the country music legend’s performances.
Now, with the support of the Country Music Hall of Famer himself, Travis’ music label – Warner Music Nashville – is doing something about it.
Travis’ latest track – Where The Came From – left country music stars Carrie Underwood, Cole Swindell and Clay Walker in awe.
“How do you describe the thing that just hits you in the center of your chest and unconsciously makes you feel full, and familiar, and known?” Cris Lacy, the label’s co-chair and co-president, asked CBS News. “How do you describe something like that?”
The AI-generated fake of Travis’ voice, Lacy said, “doesn’t sound good, and it doesn’t sound real, because it’s not,” Lacy said.
So, the label discussed what would AI “for good” be like?
The answer, according to Lacy, was ‘We would give Randy Travis his voice back.”
According to CBS News, producer Kyle Lehning and Warner Music pulled 42 tracks, stripped away the music, leaving just the vocal. They then got a “surrogate,” voice in the form of country music singer James DuPre.
The AI program, per the report, takes Travis’ voice and overlays DuPre’s singing.
“It’s not about how it sounds; it’s about how it feels,” Lehning said.
“Him being here and him being able to be a vital part of the decision-making process makes all the difference to me,” said Lehning.