Until recently, AI music was mostly seen as a novelty and was not taken seriously. With the launch of AI music generators such as Suno and Udio, however, AI music has shifted from something to laugh at to something to be genuinely concerned about.
AI music generators like Suno, Udio and Mureka have lowered the barrier to entry in the music industry and made it far easier for anyone to create music and find success with it, even without traditional skills or talent. But at what cost? Over 60,000 AI-generated songs are uploaded every day, yet 85% of streams on AI-generated tracks are fraudulent, suggesting that there is currently little real demand for AI music.
So far, Deezer is the only streaming platform that discloses which songs are AI-generated and which are not, although it plans to license its detection model to other streaming platforms. At the same time, platforms such as Bandcamp have banned AI music altogether.
AI music has also undergone exponential development in the last few months. According to a Deezer/Ipsos survey, 97% of respondents were unable to distinguish between AI-generated music and human-made music. AI music is often criticised for its lack of soul, its generic and overly polished sound, and its sloppy or nonsensical lyrics. But as it improves, it becomes so convincing that even outspoken critics of AI music are accidentally liking and listening to it, assuming it was made by a human artist when, in reality, it was created by a fictional “artist.”
Here, we will present some examples from across Europe.
“Verknallt in einen Talahon”: The first AI-Generated song to ever chart.
Believe it or not, the first fully AI-generated song ever to chart wasn’t “We Are Charlie Kirk,” nor was it released by The Velved Sundown, Xania Monet, Sienna Rose, or Breaking Rust. It was “Verknallt in einen Talahon” (“In Love with a Talahon”) by Butterbro, produced by Austrian producer Josua Waghubinger, who is based in Germany. “Verknallt in einen Talahon” debuted on 15 August 2024 at No. 48 on Germany’s singles chart and climbed to No. 3 on Spotify’s “Daily Viral Songs Global” chart, holding that position for seven days from 12 August 2024.
Although the song’s 60s/70s-style sound may seem harmless to listeners who don’t understand German, the same cannot be said for its theme. “Talahon” broadly refers to young men with migrant backgrounds who are stereotyped as aggressive and sexist, and the term is also used by some far-right groups as a slur. The song was originally written as an inside joke among friends. Little did Waghubinger know that it would not only go viral, but also ignite controversy—both for being AI-generated and for its lyrics.
"I Run": The first AI hit to get a second chance.
The British production duo HAVEN. (HVN) saw their debut single, “I Run,” go viral on TikTok and chart in several countries, only for it to be removed from streaming shortly afterwards due to its AI-generated vocals sounding too similar to Jorja Smith’s.
Written by Harrison Walker and produced by Jacob Donaghue, “I Run” blends EDM and UK garage with lo-fi and downtempo elements. The track’s AI-assisted vocal processing—using Suno to transform Walker’s voice into a female-sounding one—sparked controversy when listeners claimed it mimicked Jorja Smith, who publicly denied any involvement. Her label, along with the RIAA, issued takedown requests alleging misrepresentation and copyright violation, leading to the song’s removal from major platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, as well as its exclusion from the Billboard Hot 100. Smith’s label later pursued royalties.
In response, HAVEN released a new version featuring Kaitlin Aragon on 21 November 2025. This version achieved significant chart success, including top 10 placements in the UK, Australia, Austria, and New Zealand, as well as a Gold certification in New Zealand.
“Wij zeggen nee, nee, nee, tegen een AZC”: The First AI-generated Protest Song to Reach the National Top 40
JW “Broken Veteran”, a self-described Afghanistan veteran with PTSD from Rotterdam, has released many AI-produced political songs on topics such as immigration, pronouns, and right-wing extremism. Several of these tracks, along with his breakthrough hit, have entered the Dutch Spotify charts. Due to threats and ongoing controversy, JW announced that he would stop making protest music and released a final track, “My Final Chord.” Its lyrics claim that the Netherlands is “drowning,” that its heritage is “dying,” and that the country is being flooded by people “who don’t belong here.” JW maintains that he is not opposed to foreigners in general, but to people he believes are disrupting the country.
“Wij zeggen nee, nee, nee, tegen een AZC” (We say no, no, no to an asylum seekers’ centre) quickly climbed the Dutch charts, peaking at No. 5 on the Single Top 100 and No. 2 on Dutch Spotify. Dutch media and commentators labelled it far-right and xenophobic, viewing it as a worrying sign amid protests against asylum centres. Critics urged Spotify to remove the track for allegedly containing hate or extremist content, but Spotify stated that it did not violate its policies. A lawyer argued that the lyrics likely fall under freedom of expression because they are vague and not clearly directed at a specific protected group.
In response, the feminist group Dolle Mina launched a campaign to stream Sophie Straat’s pro-immigration song “Vrijheid, gelijkheid, zusterschap” (Freedom, equality, sisterhood) in an attempt to prevent the anti-AZC track from reaching No. 1. Straat’s song subsequently reached No. 1 on Dutch Spotify, keeping “AZC” at No. 2; at one point, the artist credit for “AZC” was jokingly changed to “Intermissible.” On 11 November 2025, the song was removed from all streaming services by its distributor, DistroKid, rather than by Spotify itself.
Since then, JW “Broken Veteran” has changed his mind and remains active on social media, releasing new music—created with artificial intelligence, of course. “Wij zeggen nee, nee, nee, tegen een AZC” is back on streaming platforms, along with the rest of his discography. On 28 January, JW even released another anti-AZC protest song, titled “AZC – NEE, NEE, NEE!” though it did not match the success of his biggest hit.
"Jag vet, du är inte min": #1 on Spotify, #404 on Sverigetopplistan
A folk-pop track titled “Jag vet, du är inte min” (“I Know, You’re Not Mine”), sung by virtual “artist” Jacub, became Sweden’s biggest song of 2026 so far, racking up over five million streams on Spotify. Journalists soon discovered that “Jacub” had no real-world presence and traced the track back to a group of music executives at Danish company Stellar Music, including staff from its AI department. The producers, who call themselves “Team Jacub,” insist that AI is merely a tool in a human-led creative process and argue that the song’s popularity proves its artistic merit.
IFPI Sweden, which manages Sverigetopplistan, the country’s official music chart, later banned the track, stating that songs that are primarily AI-generated cannot appear on the national top list.
“Jag vet, du är inte min” was subsequently covered by Jakob Karlberg, giving the song what Karlberg itself described as a “human version”. This became one of the rare instances of a human artist covering a song created with artificial intelligence, and Karlberg’s version quickly went viral on Swedish TikTok.
"Papaoutai": One of the first hits of 2026 is an AI cover of a 2010s hit.
If you’re active on social media, chances are you’ve already come across it: an Afro-soul cover of Stromae’s Papaoutai by Unjaps, mikeeysmind and chill 77, which has recently gone viral on Spotify. The track debuted at No. 168 on the Global Spotify chart with 1.29 million streams and has since surpassed 44 million total streams.
The cover, which uses artificial intelligence to recreate and reinterpret Stromae’s vocals and musical style, quickly attracted widespread attention. It has charted in several countries, reaching No. 3 in Greece and Lithuania and No. 66 on Billboard’s Global 200. Yet beneath its warm, upbeat sound lies a deeply sad story.
“Papaoutai” was originally released in 2013 by Belgian singer and rapper Stromae. Both the lyrics and the music video were inspired by the absence of his father, who abandoned him and was later killed in the Rwandan genocide when Stromae was a child, leaving him with little to no memory of his father. “Papaoutai” means “Dad, where are you?. The song was acclaimed by music critics and became an international hit, reaching No. 1 in France, Ukraine, and Stromae’s home country of Belgium. It even charted on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, where it peaked at No. 25.
Vorona: The first AI-generated song to peak at number one on a National Chart.
While Russia is far from the only country where AI music is on the charts, it appears to be the European country most affected so far: in recent months, Russian charts have been flooded with AI-generated tracks. The most popular of them, “Vorona” (Crow) by Kenny feat. MC Dymka, reached number one for two weeks on the TopHit charts, Russia’s official singles chart, raising concerns within the Russian music industry, which fears that human artists are gradually being replaced by “artists” who do not actually exist.
“Vorona” is a rework of the 1990s song “V temnuyu noch” (In the Dark Night) by the band Krasnaya Plesen and samples DJ Groove’s track “Schtastye yest” (Happiness Exists). Konstantin Vlasenko, Chief A&R at the Koala Music explained its success in an interview: “’Vorona’ took off because of its viral nature, which spread across social networks. It has funny, catchy lyrics, a commercial sound, a rap style, and a good delivery. Taken together, the content—especially the visualisation of this content—caught the attention of the masses.”
Sasha Komovich: The first European AI “artist” to get signed with a label
“Rasskazhi, Snegurochka” (Tell Me, Snow Maiden) by Sasha Komovich is often cited as the first Russian AI-generated track to become a hit. Released on December 5, 2025, the track’s AI-generated video gained over 20 million views within two weeks, and the song quickly entered the Russian music charts, reaching number 7 on the Zvuk chart and the top 20 on other platforms. The woman behind the Sasha Komovich persona, 38-year-old Alexandra Komovich, is a photographer, blogger, and designer from Ulan-Ude who now lives in Gelendzhik. Before her breakthrough hit, she was known only in creative circles and had no background in music.
The lyrics of “Rasskazhi, Snegurochka” echo a song from the Soviet cartoon “Nu, pogodi!” originally performed by the Hare and the Wolf. Komovich generated the arrangement, vocals, and video using AI music tools such as Suno and ElevenLabs. The song transforms a cheerful children’s tune into a dark pop track with folk elements, while the video features AI-generated women in white lace, pearls, winter clothing, sunglasses, and headphones. Komovich wanted to blend “the aesthetics of a Russian winter” with “the cold intelligence of a machine.” For the vocals, she aimed for a Soviet-style children’s singing manner. She did not expect the track’s viral success and was surprised to receive multimillion-ruble offers for the rights to her image.
After its release, the track was removed from streaming platforms “at the request of the copyright holder.” Although Komovich credited composer and poet Yuri Entin from the beginning, there were still rights claims. She contacted Entin’s representatives, and the conflict was eventually resolved, allowing her to use the lyrics legally. Komovich has since signed with Zion Music and recently released a duet with Dima Bilan, “Granitsy” (Borders), which combines Komovich’s virtual persona with Bilan’s live vocals.
17 out of the 20 most Viral songs on Polish Spotify are made with AI
Poland is another country that appears to have been swept up in the recent tsunami of AI-generated music. Many Poles were both shocked and amused to discover that on 28 November, 17 of the top 20 tracks on Spotify’s Viral Poland chart were AI-generated. Most of these songs were produced by an “artist” called Kutas Records, best known for their novelty AI tracks such as “Nordycki Gaej” (Nordic Gay), “Antyczny Napaleniec” (Ancient Horndog), and “Dziki Wzwód” (Wild Erection). Three of their songs have even debuted on the main Polish Spotify chart, with their biggest hit, “Antyczny Napaleniec,” peaking at number 17.
Since then, more “artists” such as GAY RECORDS, AI STUDIO SOUND Karol, and Polo Vibes have begun flooding Polish streaming charts with AI music, giving Kutas Records serious competition. At the time of writing, the latter has a track titled “Puls Miasta” (The Pulse of the City) sitting at number 2 on the Polish Shazam chart, while its music video has amassed over 6 million views on YouTube.
We saw from these examples that artificial intelligence can produce statements, hits, catchy songs, controversies, slop and stars, but is Europe really ready to abandon their human artists for AI “artists” or AI music will be another digital fad like 3D, Betamax, or MiniDisc?
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