No one would’ve guessed that the Beatles would be coming out with a new song in 2023, let alone that they would use technology powered by AI to develop it. The song is titled “Now and Then” and the vocalist singing is none other than John Lennon. But how is that possible if he’s dead? That’s where the AI factor comes into play. 

The track first made its appearance as a recorded demo sung and written by John Lennon around the late 70s at New York’s Dakota building. It was initially meant for The Beatles’ three-edition anthology series to be released in the mid 90s but after the death of Lennon, it was shelved for almost three decades only to be found and commissioned by Peter Jackson, the film director of the documentary about the Liverpool band. 

Peter Jackson, together with WingNut films was able to develop an AI based audio restoration technology to separate the vocals of the demo from its instrumental components. The composed piece contains not only added lyrics by McCartney and parts by Starr, but also guitar tracks by Harrison (who died in 2001).

Despite the release being just a few days ago (November 2nd), the single was named BBC’s Hottest Record and is expected to jump to the top of the Official Singles Chart in the UK. Fans are in awe of the harmony of each carefully crafted element of the song and their appreciation shows through multiple charts. 

‘Now and then’ is “just a loving feeling”, says McCartney, “because that’s often what we were trying to do with our records, we were trying to spread love”. What an amazing way to revive such a legendary band. 

Source: 

https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/the-beatles-now-and-then-uk-chart-race-1235463994/