Xania Monet’s voice has reached millions, yet few know she is an artificial intelligence creation.
While Monet was created by technology, the woman behind the mysterious singer is very much human, as she explained in a recent interview with CBS News.
“I wanted to reveal myself because I wanted people to know there was a real person behind Xania. That there’s real emotion and soul put into those lyrics,” creator and poet, Telisha “Nikki” Jones, 31, told journalist Gayle King.
She called the avatar “an extension” of herself.
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Who is Xania Monet?
According to CBS News, Jones, of Mississippi, developed the virtual singer earlier this year while learning AI.
Xania Monet has nearly 160,000 followers on Instagram and more than 460,000 on TikTok. One of her biggest hits, “How Was I Supposed to Know?” landed on Billboard’s radio chart Adult R&B Airplay, according to an article published this week. The video for the song, which includes real people, has 349,000 views on YouTube.
She also secured a spot on the R&B Digital Song Sales charts, among several others. Two projects titled “Unfolded” and “Pieces Left Behind” are available on music streaming platforms.
In the wake of her success, Xania Monet has signed an unprecedented multi-million-dollar record deal with Hallwood Media following a high-price bidding war to sign her, CBS and Billboard reported.
The discourse comes amid more AI personas making waves in creative spaces. Last month, an AI actress named Tilly Norwood was blasted by Hollywood, including the entertainment union SAG-AFTRA, which stated that it’s a character “generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation.”
According to Billboard, Xania Monet is not the only AI-driven talent to reach the music charts.
How does Jones create music for Xania Monet? Internet reacts.
During the CBS interview, Jones revealed that she uses a music app called Suno, inserts poems she has written herself with desired prompts into the program, and selects the song she likes.
Social media was critical of the push of Xania Monet, with one user stating, “Plenty of HUMAN artists to stream out there. Idk why they’re trying to make AI artist happen.”
Another person added, “Do not listen to Xania Monet. #NoAI.”
Multiple celebrities, including legendary producer Jermaine Dupri, singer Kehlani, and rapper Baby Tate, have raised questions and expressed concerns about AI artists in music.
“I am TRULY baffled, bewildered, and befuddled at what this world has come to! AI is not the future. AI is RUINING our future on this planet. Every prompt you type in is slowly contributing towards the degeneration of our environment,” Tate wrote in an Instagram post on Nov. 6.
“This is not creativity. This is covetousness. Those who lack real talent everywhere will look at this example and think that they, too, deserve a space next to the incredible minds that make up the music industry,” Tate continued.
However, Jones defended her process against the naysayers.
“Anytime something new comes about and it challenges the norm, and challenges what we’re used to, you’re going to get strong reactions behind it,” Jones told CBS News. “I just feel like AI, it’s the new era that we’re in, and I look at it as a tool, as an instrument.”
Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Xania Monet? What we know about the AI music artist.
