A new Afro Soul version of Stromae's song "Papaoutai" became the main musical sensation of January 2026. The track, presumably created with artificial intelligence, debuted at 168th place in the global Spotify chart, garnering over 1.29 million streams in its first week alone. This was reported by Newsweek, writes UNN.
Details
The composition "Papaoutai – Afro Soul", released under the Unjaps label, has accumulated over 14 million streams worldwide. Although there is no official confirmation of AI use, experts point to the perfect reproduction of Stromae's voice.
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This caused outrage among the artist's fans, as the original 2013 song is deeply personal - it is dedicated to the singer's father, who died during the Rwandan genocide.
Statistics and Legislation
A study by Deezer and Ipsos showed that 97% of listeners cannot distinguish AI music from human music. Currently, the situation in the industry is as follows:
- Approximately 20,000 AI-generated tracks are uploaded to the Deezer platform daily.
- In the US, music generated exclusively by neural networks is not subject to copyright protection.
- 45% of streaming users express a desire to have a filter to block AI content.
Critics note that such technologies exploit the creative identity of performers without their consent. At the same time, some labels are already using AI as a tool for rapid promotion and experimentation with styles.