AI-generated country song tops US digital sales chart

A country song featuring a male voice generated by artificial intelligence has reached the top of the US charts for the first time this week.

"Walk My Walk" by Breaking Rust — an artist with no known identity but widely reported by US media to be powered by generative AI technology — hit No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s chart ranking digital sales of country songs, according to data published Monday.

AI-generated tracks have been creeping onto various music charts in recent months, and country music — a genre rooted in Americana and made famous by legends like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks — is now part of the trend.

Breaking Rust does not claim to have used AI to create the hit, but the song’s vocals are not attributed to any human singer, and the project’s visuals — including illustrations and promotional clips — are clearly AI-generated.

The music industry and several analysts have therefore labelled Breaking Rust an AI artist.

The track credits list Aubierre Rivaldo Taylor as the songwriter — a name that appears only in connection with Def Beats AI, another project known to be driven by artificial intelligence.

Growing trend

Since the emergence of AI platforms like Suno and Udio, fully AI-generated songs have multiplied across streaming platforms.

In July, the creators of Velvet Sundown confirmed their classic rock group was an AI product after one of its songs surpassed one million streams.

In September, virtual R&B singer Xania Monet became the first AI artist to enter the US best-selling charts.

Small record label Hallwood Media later signed her to a deal reportedly worth $3 million.

Mississippi native Telisha Jones, 30, later revealed she used the Suno platform to produce Monet’s songs.

To date, music service Deezer remains the only major streaming platform to systematically label songs fully generated by artificial intelligence.