A Dallas-based musician has sparked widespread attention with an AI-generated cover of Taylor Swift's 'Blank Space,' performed in the unmistakable baritone of the late Johnny Cash. The 53-second clip, posted on the TikTok account 'There I Ruined It,' has been viewed millions of times since its release, just days after Swift dropped her re-recorded version of the 2014 album '1989.'
The track, which blends bluegrass instrumentation with Cash's signature vocal style, opens with a spoken disclaimer: 'Hello, I'm not Johnny Cash.' Despite that caveat, the rendition has been praised for its uncanny resemblance to the Man in Black, who died in 2003. The chorus, originally a pop declaration about a 'long list of ex-lovers,' is transformed into a weary, outlaw-country confession, complete with violin and mandolin.
This is not the first time the account, run by musician Dustin Ballard, has used AI to reimagine popular songs in Cash's voice. Earlier this year, Ballard created a mashup of Aqua's 'Barbie Girl,' the Spice Girls' 'Wannabe,' and Miley Cyrus' 'Party in the USA,' set to the tune of Cash's 'Folsom Prison Blues.' That track, timed to the release of Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie' film, was widely covered by outlets including Insider, Open Culture, and even Fox News and the Daily Mail.
Ballard later deleted the 'Barbie' mashup from his TikTok and YouTube accounts, though fan re-uploads have kept it in circulation. The deleted track included a clever lyric twist: 'Far from Barbie World, that's where I want to stay,' sung in Cash's AI voice, a nod to the original song's melody.
AI Voice Cloning: A Growing Trend
The 'Blank Space' cover is part of a broader trend of AI voice cloning, which has raised both creative and ethical questions. While some see it as a novel form of artistic expression, others worry about the implications for deceased artists' legacies and the potential for misuse. Cash's 2002 cover of Nine Inch Nails' 'Hurt,' released shortly before his death, is often cited as a precedent for reinterpreting songs in a new voice, though that was a human performance, not a digital recreation.
Ballard, who has built a following for his 'ruined' song parodies, is scheduled to perform live in the Dallas area in late 2023 and early 2024. The shows are expected to showcase his skills beyond the digital realm, though it remains to be seen how his AI-assisted creations will translate to a live setting.
The viral success of the 'Blank Space' cover highlights the growing intersection of technology and music, as AI tools become more accessible to independent creators. Whether this trend will lead to new forms of artistic collaboration or prompt calls for regulation is still an open question.
