For months, rumors have been circulating online that pop star Justin Bieber was working on a song about arrested rapper/producer Sean “Diddy” Combs’ infamous “Freak Off” parties. This weekend, a track called “Lost Myself at a Diddy Party” apparently leaked on TikTok. It features lyrics like “Lost myself at a Diddy party, didn’t know that’s how it go, I was in it for a new Ferrari, but it cost me way more than my soul, didn’t worth all the fortune and fame,” sung by someone who sounds a bit like Justin Bieber. That was enough for the song to go viral, garnering millions of views from scandal-loving people looking for insight into what exactly went on behind the scenes at the parties that played a role in the Diddy charges. But the song is fake.
At least I am 99.999% sure it is fake. I can’t prove otherwise, but none of Bieber’s official sites mention the song. There is no article on Billboard, Rolling Stoneor any other source that does a modicum of fact-checking. It’s not available on any streaming services—it only appears on non-Bieber-affiliated TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube accounts. So everything surrounding the song screams “fake” as loudly as it can possibly be.
Fake sounding music
And it Sounds fake. While the AI-generated vocals have a hint of a Bieber-esque vibe, it’s clearly not Justin Bieber singing. The lyrics have that hard-to-define AI-middleness – they’re fine, but not interesting or surprising in any way. The instruments have the depthless, muddy sound of AI-generated music. The vocals lack emotion. Overall, it’s so completely devoid of creativity that it could only have come from AI.
How to Fake a Pop Song
I was curious how much effort it takes to make a fake pop song, so I created my own track about Diddy’s house parties. From “I’ve never made a pop song with AI” to the finished recording of the future chart hit “Diddy Parties are Pretty Cool, Actually” by F. Amos Singer, feat. Rhymin’ and Crimefunkel, it took about 30 minutes.”
“It’s all good vibes and lemonade.”
Photo credit: Stephen Johnson
Here’s how you can do it like me:
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Think of a title for your song and write a few lines to give the AI something to follow.
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Go to ChatGPT, type your lines and ask it to generate the rest of the lyrics.
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Create an account with Suno. (Your free credits will be enough for a few songs.)
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Enter your lyrics, song title and describe the genre of the song you want. I chose “Dance Pop with Female Vocalist”.
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Wait about 12 seconds and you will have a completely finished song.
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Benefit?
How to tell if a song or something else is fake
While the AI-generated Bieber track is easy to spot as fake upon listening—it exhibits most of the characteristics of AI music that Lifehacker has previously warned about—AI technology is getting more sophisticated every day. It won’t be long before the “tells” of computer-generated music are much harder to spot. That leaves open further investigative avenues like the following:
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Go directly to the source: Neither Bieber nor a representative has issued a statement regarding the authenticity of this song, but the fact that it is not posted on Bieber’s official website is a clear sign that it is not genuine. In the case of this song, Bieber is not even mentioned when it first appears online, although later reposts often specifically state that it is by Bieber.
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Check trusted sources: Something as culture-shattering as Justin Bieber releasing a song about Diddy would be reported by reputable sources. If not, it’s probably fake.
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Be aware of your prejudices: Everyone thinks they have a fully functioning bullshit detector, and when a piece of information contradicts what we already believe, it is easy to label it as fake. But when we learn something that instead confirms our biases, it can be very difficult to realize that “something I think is true” or “something I want to be true” is not the same as “something that Is true.” It can be helpful to be aware of the most common cognitive distortions and to occasionally “check” yourself and try to determine if you are falling victim to them.
For a more detailed explanation of how to detect AI fakes, see our Lifehacker’s Exposing AI series.
