Artificial intelligence is making a significant impact on the Billboard charts. An AI artist named Xania Monet has become the first of its kind to accumulate enough plays to debut on a Billboard radio chart, according to Billboard.
Monet’s song, “How Was I Supposed to Know?,” entered the Adult R&B Airplay chart at No. 30 this week. In addition, she claimed the top spot on the R&B Digital Song Sales chart. Since the summer, Monet has also appeared on the Hot Gospel Songs, Hot R&B Songs, and Emerging Artists charts.
With her growing catalog, Monet has reportedly amassed 44.4 million official U.S. streams, generating over $52,000 in just a couple of months.
The artist’s lyrics are crafted by Telisha “Nikki” Jones, a Mississippi-born poet who created the AI artist with assistance from Suno, a generative music creation platform. Monet’s Apple Music profile describes her as “a contemporary R&B vocalist,” but her rapid rise has been largely driven by viral attention and high-profile industry interest.
Following a bidding war among record labels eager to invest in AI-driven music, Hallwood Media signed Xania Monet to a multimillion-dollar record deal, as reported by Billboard.
However, not everyone is celebrating this development. Many actual musicians have expressed frustration over the growing role of AI in the music industry. Singer Kehlani, for example, posted a now-deleted TikTok video saying, “There is an AI R&B artist who just signed a multimillion-dollar deal and the person is doing none of the work. Nothing and no one on Earth will ever be able to justify AI to me.”
Despite the backlash, Monet’s team emphasizes that the goal is not to replace human talent. Romel Murphy, Monet’s manager, told CNN’s Victor Blackwell, “AI doesn’t replace the artist. It’s a new frontier. Like any change, some people are receptive and some are apprehensive, but it doesn’t take away from the human experience.”
https://www.complex.com/music/a/markelibert/ai-artist-xania-monet-becomes-first-to-chart-on-billboard-radio-rankings
