Popular music artist Xania Monet's voice has been heard by millions, but some fans were shocked to learn that she is a product of artificial intelligence.
Monet may be an avatar, but there's a very real person behind her: Telisha “Nikki” Jones.
“Ksenia is an extension of me”
“Ksenia is an extension of me, so I look at her as a real person,” Jones told CBS Mornings in an interview that aired Wednesday.
Jones created this identity while studying artificial intelligence just four months ago. The 31-year-old Mississippi native admits that she is not a singer, but says that “the lyrics are 100% written by me” and that they come from poems she wrote based on real life experiences.
“No matter what I had to go through, whether it was a close family member or a close friend, I wrote about it.” Jones said losing her father at just 8 years old inspired her chart-topping song “How Should I Know?”
The billboard says Monáe is “the first notable AI artist to earn enough radio airplay to debut on the Billboard radio chart”, appearing on at least five Billboard charts since the release of her first song.
“I just take what I love to do and mix it with technology,” Jones explained. She says she doesn't see the use of AI as a label, although she acknowledges that it “challenges norms” and often provokes strong reactions.
“I just feel like artificial intelligence… is the new era we're living in. And I look at it as a tool, as a tool and use it,” she added.
Jones discussed her songwriting process, saying that she looks through her list of poems to see what she wants to write a song about. She puts the lyrics into an AI music generator app, then adds various prompts, such as a slow R&B tempo, a female soulful vocal, light guitar and heavy drums, and then presses the “Create” button.
Artificial Intelligence Artist Lands Multi-Million Dollar Record Deal
Jones' success in artificial intelligence led to an exclusive multi-million dollar recording deal with Hallwood Media, as well as some backlash from artists like Grammy-nominated Kehlani. Kehlani spoke out against the use of artificial intelligence in creative fields in a recent TikTok video, saying that “no one can justify artificial intelligence to me” and “I don't respect it.”
But Jones says she doesn't let critics stop her from making art.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Technology evolves. Everyone has different ways of working to get to where they are. I don't think so. I still love Kehlani's music. I still listen to it every day,” she said.
Hallwood Media also defended the artist and said Monet represents a new era of music.
“What Nikki did with Xania Monet truly represents the future of music. This shows that taste and instinct have always mattered more than technical dexterity, and now we see this happening in real time. AI is breaking down barriers around age, image and access, giving creators who may not have had a traditional path into the industry the opportunity to bring their stories and ideas to life by connecting directly with listeners. It's innovation like this that drives us at Hallwood,” Danny Jacobson, A&R executive at Hallwood Media, said in a statement to CBS Mornings.
Responding to concerns among some that AI could allow people to create music from racial or cultural backgrounds they may not belong to, Jones responded: “I'm here to let them know: I'm Telisha. I am part of your culture; I am a black woman; I am a creator; I'm a businessman; I created Xania,” she said.
