“More Where That Came From”: How the Voice of Randy Travis Helps to Normalize AI

In May 2024, the country singer Randy Travis released his first new recording in over a decade, using an AI model of his voice, which he had lost after a stroke. This article analyzes the media coverage of the song’s release and shows how it was framed as a human-interest story about Travis being “given back” his voice with the help of AI techniques and a close-knit community of human professionals. This framing helps to render AI as familiar and the song as authentic to country music audiences, and in doing so contributes to the normalization of AI in music.