With some help from artificial intelligence, country music star , celebrated for his timeless hits like 91裸聊视频淔orever and Ever, Amen91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淚 Told You So,91裸聊视频� has his voice back.

In July 2013, Travis was hospitalized with viral cardiomyopathy, a virus that attacks the heart, and . The Country Music Hall of Famer had to relearn how to walk, spell and read in . A limits his ability to speak 91裸聊视频� it91裸聊视频檚 why his wife Mary Travis assists him in interviews. It91裸聊视频檚 also why he hasn91裸聊视频檛 released new music in over a decade, until now.

which released Friday, is a rich acoustic ballad amplified by Travis91裸聊视频� immediately recognizable, soulful vocal tone.

Cris Lacy, Warner Music Nashville co-president, approached Randy and Mary Travis and asked: 91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频橶hat if we could take Randy91裸聊视频檚 voice and recreate it using AI?,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� Mary Travis told The Associated Press over Zoom last week, Randy smiling in agreement right next to her. 91裸聊视频淲ell, we were all over that, so we were so excited.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淎ll I ever wanted since the day of a stroke was to hear that voice again.91裸聊视频�

Lacy tapped developers in London to create a proprietary AI model to begin the process. The result was two models: One with 12 vocal stems (or song samples), and another with 42 stems collected across Travis91裸聊视频� career 91裸聊视频� from 1985 to 2013, says Kyle Lehning, Travis91裸聊视频� longtime producer. Lacy and Lehning chose to use 91裸聊视频淲here That Came From,91裸聊视频� a song written by Scotty Emerick and John Scott Sherrill that Lehning co-produced and held on to for years. He believed it could best articulate the humanity of Travis91裸聊视频� idiosyncratic vocal style.

91裸聊视频淚 never even thought about another song,91裸聊视频� Lehning said.

Once he input the demo vocal (sung by James Dupree) into the AI models, 91裸聊视频渋t took about five minutes to analyze,91裸聊视频� says Lehning. 91裸聊视频淚 really wish somebody had been here with a camera because I was the first person to hear it. And it was stunning, to me, how good it was sort of right off the bat. It91裸聊视频檚 hard to put an equation around it, but it was probably 70, 75% what you hear now.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淭here were certain aspects of it that were not authentic to Randy91裸聊视频檚 performance,91裸聊视频� he said, so he began to edit and build on the recording with engineer Casey Wood, who also worked closely with Travis over a few decades.

The pair cherrypicked from the two models, and made alterations to things like vibrato speed, or slowing and relaxing phrases. 91裸聊视频淩andy is a laid-back singer,91裸聊视频� Lehning says. 91裸聊视频淩andy, in my opinion, had an old soul quality to his voice. That91裸聊视频檚 one of the things that made him unique, but also, somehow familiar.91裸聊视频�

His vocal performance on 91裸聊视频淲hat That Came From91裸聊视频� had to reflect that fact.

91裸聊视频淲e were able to just improve on it,91裸聊视频� Lehning says of the AI recording. 91裸聊视频淚t was emotional, and it91裸聊视频檚 still emotional.91裸聊视频�

Mary Travis says the 91裸聊视频渉uman element,91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频渢he people that are involved91裸聊视频� in this project, separate it from more nefarious uses of AI in music.

91裸聊视频淩andy, I remember watching him when he first heard the song after it was completed. It was beautiful because at first, he was surprised, and then he was very pensive, and he was listening and studying,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淎nd then he put his head down and his eyes were a little watery. I think he went through every emotion there was, in those three minutes of just hearing his voice again.91裸聊视频�

Lacy agrees. 91裸聊视频淭he beauty of this is, you know, we91裸聊视频檙e doing it with a voice that the world knows and has heard and has been comforted by,91裸聊视频� she says.

91裸聊视频淏ut I think, just on human terms, it91裸聊视频檚 a very real need. And it91裸聊视频檚 a big loss when you lose the voice of someone that you were connected to, and the ability to have it back is a beautiful gift.91裸聊视频�

They also hope that this song will work to educate people on the good that AI can do 91裸聊视频� not the fraudulent activities that so frequently make headlines. 91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e hoping that maybe we can set a standard,91裸聊视频� Mary Travis says, where credit is given where credit is due 91裸聊视频� and artists have control over their voice and work.

Last month, over 200 artists submitted by the Artist Rights Alliance non-profit, calling on tech companies, developers, platforms, digital music services and platforms to stop using AI 91裸聊视频渢o infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.91裸聊视频� Artists who co-signed included , Miranda Lambert, , , Peter Frampton, , Smokey Robinson and J Balvin.

So, now that 91裸聊视频淲here That Came From91裸聊视频� is here, will there be more original Randy Travis songs in the future?

91裸聊视频淭here may be others,91裸聊视频� says Mary Travis. 91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檒l see where this goes. This is such a foreign territory. There91裸聊视频檚 likely more on the horizon.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淲e do have other tracks,91裸聊视频� says Lacy, but Warner Music is being as selective. 91裸聊视频淭his isn91裸聊视频檛 a stunt, and it91裸聊视频檚 not a parlor trick,91裸聊视频� she added. 91裸聊视频淚t was important to have a song worthy of him.91裸聊视频�

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