Australian DJ Adds AI Credits to Top Charting Song After Backlash

An Australian DJ and producer has added AI credits to one of his releases after mounting backlash.

The decision follows an ABC investigation into his chart-topping single “Like a Prayer”, Fawaz’s cover of the Madonna classic, which spent four weeks atop the Australian national airplay charts.

Fawaz received widespread condemnation from the Australian music community over his use of generative AI tools in producing the song.

As per the ABC, Spotify’s global head of artists, marketing, and policy Sam Duboff this week said the streaming behemoth was urging human artists who use AI to clearly declare so on the platform by using a new beta feature.

Duboff’s statement followed the removal of an astounding 75 million “spammy tracks” from Spotify’s database over the span of 12 months.

In response to this, Fawaz has now added credits for generative AI vocals and AI drums to the song.

The ‘musician’ also made the ARIA Top 20 Australian Albums Chart with Dance Like Nobody’s Watching, his 2026 album which features “Like a Prayer”.

The latter track, which has been streamed more than 38 millions times on Spotify alone (grim times), is the No. 1 song on the latest ARIA Top 20 Australian Dance Singles Chart. It also occupies the fourth spot on the ARIA Top 20 Australian Singles Chart after peaking at No. 2.

In an Instagram post criticising his work, Fawaz fought back. “I use AI as a tool,” Fawaz said (as per The Guardian). “What I care about [is] providing my listeners with good music.”

Some, however, have been morbidly impressed.

Sam Whiting, a senior research fellow at RMIT’s school of media and communication, who noted that Fawaz’s version of “Like a Prayer” had hallmarks of AI music generators like Suno, said, “This is a very … impressive vocal performance if it was delivered by a human but if it’s not, that brings in really worrying questions around what we value any more in terms of human expression.”

From Rolling Stone AU/NZ