June 11, 2024
Seoul – In line with technological advancements, the K-pop industry has begun using artificial intelligence in the production of music videos and songs for K-pop artists.
For example, world-famous K-pop boy band SEVENTEEN last month released the music video for their latest song, “Maestro,” using AI-created scenes.
The music video leaves viewers questioning who the true masters are, as it's unclear who is responsible for creation in a world where virtually everything is made with AI.
Seventeen's Woozi, who has produced many of the group's hit singles, said at a press conference in Seoul last month announcing the group's album “17 Is Right Here” that he has experimented with AI while making music.
“We don't want to complain about technology, but want to evolve with it, so we practiced using AI to compose songs. Through these experiments, we discovered the pros and cons of composing with AI,” Uzi said. “We're also thinking about how to protect our musical identity in this world where AI can make music,” he said.
K-pop girl group Aespa also used AI in the music video for their latest song “Supernova,” the lead track from their first album, released on May 27.
The music video includes a close-up scene of the aespa members singing with their mouths moving unnaturally.
“I didn't expect a scene like this. I started thinking about AI recently because cover songs made by AI have become popular on social media. But I don't think AI can perfectly imitate human facial expressions and emotions,” said aespa's Ningning at the press conference announcing their first LP in Seoul on May 27.
Lee Soo-man, founder and former chief producer of SM, also spoke about the application of AI in K-pop during a keynote speech at the International Union of Authors General Assembly in Seoul on May 30.
“AI will help K-pop connect with fans around the world. This is the marriage of culture and technology that I've been talking about for a while and will enable deeper engagement between celebrities and 'prosumers' – their fans,” Lee said.
Singer Lee Hyun re-debuted with HYBE in May 2023 as “Midnut,” a different personality created through AI technology.
Midnat released the single “Masquerade,” which features an AI-generated female voice using the male singer's own voice.
The song was also released in six languages – Korean, English, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish — using multi-language conversion technology from Supertone, a sound AI startup acquired by Hybe in 2021.
One expert says AI could revolutionize the K-pop market.
“Until now, there was a problem with songs arranged by AI that they couldn't express emotion, but now they can express emotion and it's become possible to produce AI-arranged albums almost perfectly. As the limits of what can be achieved with AI are decreasing, AI will have a major impact on the music industry, if not immediately, then in the future,” said cultural critic Kim Seong-soo.
