On TikTok, users are playing ‘Bad Times’ for their mothers, and the verdict is unanimous: they love it. Yet this hit was generated by artificial intelligence, a detail that highlights a real generational divide.
- Sur TikTok, les internautes font écouter « Bad Times », un morceau généré par IA, à leur mère, qui l’adore.
- La génération Z se méfie de la musique IA et moque ses parents fans pour défendre ses valeurs.
- L’artiste IA Imael Angel a aussi séduit avec « Movin’ to the Sun », cumulant 455 millions d’écoutes sur Spotify.
- Les AI Music Awards, dédiés aux chansons artificielles, se tiendront à Los Angeles le 13 novembre.
The trend, circulating on the platform since September, is simple. Users film themselves playing this two-minute forty-eight second electro track for their mother. In the comments, the elders’ reactions are amusing: ‘My dad set it as his ringtone,’ ‘my mom plays it full blast in the car.’ The article’s title refers to ‘daronnes,’ a slang term for a mother.
Behind this track is Imael Angel, presented by the source as a Hungarian therapist. On Instagram, she goes by the name Bernadett Gángó, with wavy blonde bangs, and practices Reiki, an energy healing technique, from Hungary. For Bad Times, she writes the lyrics, while the artificial intelligence handles the rest, including the vocals. The Deezer platform describes Imael Angel as ‘an artist, created with artificial intelligence by a Hungarian deep house producer,’ a style of electronic music.
The artist is no stranger to success. Another of her tracks caught the attention of Marseille DJ Hugel, who re-recorded it with Ultra Naté, a 1990s house singer. The result, ‘Movin’ to the Sun’, has amassed 455 million streams on Spotify and is considered ‘one of the summer hits.’
A Question of Generation
The divide seems first to stem from distrust. According to the article, Generation Z has the reflex to doubt the music played for them. Denouncing the growing role of AI in the music industry has become a conviction for them, in the name of the planet and real artists. Mocking their parents who are fans thus becomes a way to reaffirm their values.
The question remains of the appeal to older listeners. According to the source, AI produces average music, a very smooth blend of tracks that have performed well. Yet this average appeals to the masses, a mechanism the industry has clearly identified.
Awards for Artificial Songs
The phenomenon also finds an institutional echo. On November 13, Los Angeles will host the AI Music Awards, music awards reserved for artificial songs.
