Velvet Sundown Rises Quickly to the Top of European Spotify Charts
Popularity Continues Even After AI Identity Revealed
Provocative Promotional Message Also Posted on Social Media
A band that shot to the top of streaming charts in the UK, Sweden, and Norway like a comet has recently been revealed to be powered entirely by artificial intelligence (AI), from their faces to their voices. On July 10, Yonhap News, citing foreign media outlets such as the UK daily The Telegraph, reported that despite the revelation that the recently popular group "The Velvet Sundown" is an AI band, their popularity shows no sign of waning.
"The Velvet Sundown" is an AI rock band, introduced on social media as a four-member group with characters assigned to vocals, guitar, drums, and other roles. Their debut single "Floating on Echoes," released on June 5, quickly climbed to the top ranks on Spotify's European streaming charts, drawing significant attention. The song is a rock genre that blends folk and indie music. Listeners who heard Velvet Sundown's music commented that it had "a comfortably familiar melody and voice that feels oddly recognizable." Soon, through word of mouth, the band's song rapidly reached number one on the streaming charts in the UK, Sweden, and Norway.
As the band suddenly appeared and surged in popularity, suspicions about their true identity began to spread. In particular, some questioned whether the band's musical style bore a resemblance to Creedence Clearwater Revival, a rock band from California that was popular in the 1960s. There were also comments that the band's name, "Velvet Sundown," was reminiscent of "Velvet Underground," a group that left a significant mark on underground rock in the 1960s. Additionally, there was no information available about the band members' performance history or any media interviews.
Confession of Identity in Early July Amid Rumors
Despite these rumors, the band did not make any official statement but launched an Instagram account at the end of June and released photos of the members. In these photos, rumors quickly spread about oddities such as fingers holding a guitar being strangely fused in ways not seen in real human hands, microphone cords connecting to shirt cuffs, and lifeless eyes. Then, on July 5, the official X (formerly Twitter) account of "The Velvet Sundown" admitted that the band members are not real people but AI.
The statement read, "All characters, narratives, music, voices, and lyrics are original creations made with AI support," and added, "We are neither human nor machine; we exist somewhere in between." Despite this controversy, "The Velvet Sundown" surpassed 1.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and The Telegraph reported that "listeners seem to have no problem enjoying their music." It is believed that their songs were created using software that synthesizes existing music for just a few dollars. The band has announced the release of their next single on July 14 and has issued a provocative promotional message. In a post uploaded to their X account on July 2, along with a promotional video, they wrote, "They say we're not real. Maybe you aren't either."
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