Sienna Rose is having a stellar month. According to bbc.com, three of her dusky, jazz-infused soul tracks are currently scaling Spotify’s Viral Top 50, with the ballad “Into the Blue” amassing over five million streams. On paper, she is the year’s breakout star. In reality, she might not exist.
Industry experts and streaming platforms are increasingly flagging Rose as an AI-generated entity. Speaking to the BBC, Deezer revealed that their detection tools have flagged numerous Rose tracks as computer-generated. “The software introduces errors,” explains senior research scientist Gabriel Meseguer-Brocal. “They act like a fingerprint, a unique signature of the AI used.”
The clues are hiding in plain sight. Rose has no social media presence, has never performed live, and released a staggering 45 tracks between September and December-a pace that would exhaust even the most prolific human artist. Listeners have also noted “AI artefacts,” such as a persistent background hiss and “uncanny valley” vocals that feel perfectly smooth yet strangely hollow.
The financial incentive for “clone artists” is clear. While K-Pop labels spend upwards of £750,000 annually per group member, an AI artist like Rose costs almost nothing to maintain while generating an estimated £2,000 in weekly royalties.
However, the industry is fighting back. In Sweden, a chart-topping song by “artist” Jacub was recently banned after it was revealed he didn’t exist. Similarly, British dance act Haven saw an AI-cloned Jorja Smith track pulled following copyright complaints.
Despite the technology’s polish, many music fans remain unconvinced. Following a brief endorsement from Selena Gomez-who used a Rose track in a video before deleting it-listeners expressed disappointment upon discovering the singer’s likely origins. As one user noted: “Once you know, it sounds soulless.”
For Brit Award-winner Raye, the human element remains irreplaceable. “I write because I’m trying to tell my story,” she said. “There’s no reason to feel a threat from algorithmically-generated filler.”
