Daijiworld Media Network - Tokyo

Tokyo, Sep 17: Popular Japanese girl group AKB48 have released their 67th single, Omoide Scroll, a track partly written by artificial intelligence, following a unique fan voting contest.

The competition, held on national television, pitted veteran lyricist Yasushi Akimoto, the group’s long-time composer, against an AI program trained on his writing style. Both created new songs for AKB48’s 20th anniversary celebrations, with fans asked to select their favourite.

The AI-written track Omoide Scroll won by more than 3,000 votes, beating Akimoto’s song Cécile. Shocked by the result, Akimoto exclaimed, “What? You’re kidding me!” when the outcome was revealed live on TV.

The winning song, performed by AKB48 member Ito Momoka, has already been released on major streaming platforms. Meanwhile, Akimoto’s entry has been withdrawn from YouTube.

Japan’s music industry is now closely watching how fans respond to the AI-assisted single. With AKB48’s last 53 singles all reaching No. 1 on the Oricon chart, the success or failure of Omoide Scroll will be seen as a key test of audience acceptance of AI in mainstream music.