A historic win for the legendary Beatles as their final song, revived using AI-powered audio restoration, takes home Best Rock Performance. Paul McCartney clarifies: No AI-generated vocals, just cutting-edge technology.
Kendrick Lamar’s legendary win was not the only highlight at the Grammys this year. The Beatles clenched yet another Grammy, and the reason was AI. Their AI-enhanced track Now and Then won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance on Sunday night. This is the first time a song utilizing AI in its production has won the award.
But before anyone imagines an AI-generated John Lennon belting out new lyrics, let’s set the record straight - this was not the work of some "LennonGPT" bot. Instead, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr used cutting-edge machine learning technology to clean up and restore a decades-old demo Lennon recorded in the late 1970s.
How AI Brought the Last Beatles Song to Life
Back in 1990s, McCartney, Starr, and the late George Harrison fought to save the song ‘Now and Then’ from Lennon’s early, rough-around-the-edges piano demonstration. But technology during that period could not peel out muddled vocals over background sound.
Fast forward to 2022; while working on The Beatles: Get Back documentary, filmmaker Peter Jackson’s team introduced McCartney and Starr to advanced noise reduction AI that could separate instruments and vocals with remarkable clarity. Using this technology, the surviving Beatles were able to complete the track, finally releasing it in 2023 as what McCartney called “the last Beatles song.”
The song triumphed over Green Day, Pearl Jam, The Black Keys, Idles, and St. Vincent in the Best Rock Performance category. This historic moment highlights the intersection of AI and music technology, much like innovations in best music making software, where AI tools are revolutionizing the way artists produce and refine sound.
Accepting the award on behalf of The Beatles was Sean Lennon, John Lennon’s son, who expressed gratitude for the honor.
However, the track sparked debate over AI’s role in music. Some critics feared the song was an example of AI-generated music impersonating an artist—something McCartney vehemently denied.
“To be clear, nothing has been artificially or synthetically created. It’s all real, and we all play on it,” McCartney stated in 2023, addressing concerns about AI’s involvement. “We cleaned up some existing recordings - a process which has gone on for years.”
The win also shines a light on how artificial intelligence is transforming creative industries, as seen in the rise of AI film festivals, where AI is pushing boundaries in filmmaking just as it has in music.
