AI tools can now generate entire songs, including lyrics, melodies, and even vocal performances, in seconds. Impressive? Absolutely. But soulful? Not quite.
by AiSongFix Staff | July, 29, 2025.
If you have an interest in AI music, you've probably heard about the now-gone-viral story of the band The Velvet Sundown. This "group" amassed 1.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify in a few short months.
Many people (especially musicians) suspected that this was an AI group. The obvious AI band photos and limited social media history also made it pretty apparent. Finally, its creator admitted this was AI.
Credit: The Velvet Sundown/Andrew Frelon.
The Velvet Sundown has a decidedly 70s vibe, which is further demonstrated by generic song titles, some of which are twists on those of classic 70s hits. For example, their most popular song is "Dust on the Wind." I can practically see the members of Kansas rolling their eyes right now. This is a prime example of AI's limitations in terms of originality at times. (To be fair, AI can also be quite original on occasion).
I wholeheartedly agree with how Mashable's Tara Bellucci put it: "Listening to the band myself, it does sound AI-generated—the lyrics lack specificity, and the music itself lacks depth."
Recently, a group called Sons of Legion recorded a cover of The Velvet Sundown's "Dust on the Wind." It's a showdown between real vocals vs AI vocals and between live musicians vs AI.
After making the recording, they went down to Broadway, the heart of Nashville's live music scene, and asked people on the street if they could distinguish between a human and an AI song performance.
Who won? Listen and decide for yourself:
Dust on the Wind by The Velvet Sundown 🌐↗
Dust on the Wind cover by Sons of Legion 🌐↗
These musicians did what AI can't do. AI simply imitates music. It doesn't understand feel, groove, or soul. AI generates patterns—not passion. But emotion, passion, soul, and groove all come naturally to human singers and musicians.
Even when the chords make sense and the lyrics rhyme, AI-generated songs often feel empty. That's because music isn't just notes and words—it's interpretation, expression, and human experience. And no matter how advanced the tech becomes, it can't feel.
So, how do you breathe life into an AI-composed song? Simple: replace the machine's performance with real people—and let them bring themselves to the music.
Follow these six steps to add emotion to AI music.
Even if the AI-generated vocals are shockingly realistic, they're still missing:
A real singer can take the same melody and make it intimate, powerful, fragile, raw—whatever the song needs.
But here's the key:
Don't ask them to imitate the AI version note-for-note. That defeats the purpose. Instead, give them room to interpret. Let them phrase differently, lean into emotion, or slightly alter the timing. That's where the magic happens.
➡️ Why Human Vocals Still Matter in an AI World
AI backing tracks often sound rigid, over-quantized, or emotionally flat. They follow the rules—but they don't groove.
Bring in a live guitarist, pianist, or drummer and let them:
Again, the goal isn't to recreate the AI-generated parts—it's to reinterpret them.
AI tends to arrange songs formulaically. Verse → chorus → verse → chorus → bridge → chorus. No surprises. No drama.
Let a human producer or arranger rethink the structure:
Emotion lives in the ebb and flow—and humans feel that instinctively.
You might be surprised how a human performance can elevate even weak lyrics. But if the words still feel awkward, don't be afraid to:
Emotion isn't just in how something is sung—it's in what is being said.
The fastest way to add soul to an AI song?
Give your vocalist and instrumentalists room to interpret. Give your producer permission to deviate from the machine's plan. Let creativity take the wheel.
Feeling in music sometimes comes from playing slightly ahead of or just behind the beat. Pushing the beat drives music. Playing behind the beat, drags it ever-so-slightly.
In particular, playing behind the beat can add soul and create a groove, as it allows notes to linger slightly longer. Pushing the beat adds energy and momentum. Both of these techniques can also contribute to the swing of music and make a song breathe.
AI, on the other hand, tends to think like a computer or MIDI and quantizes itself to play perfectly in time with the beat or time signature grid. AI is too perfect, and that's what makes it robotic.
Humans, however, vary on where they land on the beat, whether it's intentional or not. It's characteristic of what human musicians do. However, it's those so-called human imperfections, subtle nuances, that listeners connect with and refer to with words like emotion and soul.
If it feels like something is missing in your AI-generated music, it's because AI simply can't do what humans do, and that's—be imperfect.
How to Make Your AI Song Sound Human
If your AI song sounds robotic and you want to make it more lively, consider consulting some "AI song doctors" who specialize in fixing AI compositions with lyric and melody issues, or transforming AI tracks into recordings performed and sung by humans.
👉 Scroll to the link below for Country Demo Studio's AI-to-Human Song Service. They can help with rewriting country songs, as well as those in the pop, rock, contemporary Christian, and Americana genres.
Need to humanize your AI song? We can help rewrite your lyrics, melody, or track to make it ready for copyright and pitching.
Country Demo Studio 🌐↗