Behind the scenes of the making of a dance
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It all started with a dance challenge by a few popular K-pop artists set to the song “GG EZ” by M.Sasuke. The song, named after a gaming term, was light, electronic pop with a catchy hook and sounds that made it easy to choreograph a fun move with.
It was initially choreographed by TWS’s Kangmin, which then spread to other K-pop artists like ITZY’s Yeji, MEOVV’s Gawon and Sooin, Hearts2Heart’s Ian and Jiwoo, Kiss of Life’s Julie, Tomorrow X Together’s Yeonjun, Billlie’s Tsuki, ILLIT’s Iroha, ENHYPEN’s Sunoo, EVAN, SEVENTEEN’s Jeonghan, ATEEZ’s Yonho, Stray Kids’ Lee Know, NCT WISH’s Sion and Riku, RIIZE’s Shotaro and more were getting into it. The official song link was used over 64K times on Instagram and 74.6K times on TikTok (TWS and M.Sasuke’s tags have been combined).
It wasn’t until BTS’s Jung Kook did the dance challenge that it became globally known, with over 91.6 million views across his two social media accounts (more if one includes fan accounts and reshared videos). Jung Kook did tag TWS as the music choice for his post. After his post, the song exploded, with the Japanese artist M. Sasuke seeing growth on Spotify, now up to 741K+ monthly listeners, and landed on the Korean music charts.
Many were curious who this mystery artist, who never posts their face, was that got the attention of all these artists, including Jung Kook. Their profile photo on their streaming services is an animated person, and their Instagram shows a person with their face covered. It wasn’t until people noticed that M.Sasuke admitted they “write music with AI.” “GG EZ” and their other tracks are AI-generated, including the vocals and the music. They did state that they had written the words, arrangement, and prompts. It was also revealed that their music videos are also made using AI-generated technology.
M.Sasuke, whose real name has not been revealed, never discloses which AI music generator he uses. They stated in an Instagram post, translated from Japanese: “Please note that M.Sasuke’s music and visuals incorporate elements created using AI generation technology. While production is primarily based on text prompts, some works are developed using AI to expand upon simple tracks or rough sketches I have created myself.”
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They continue to tell their followers that they are welcome to use the tracks as part of their own creations and spaces, but to consult them before re-editing the audio, creating remixes, using the music for AI training, or producing derivative works intended for commercial use. They warn readers: “Depending on how the work is used, it may be necessary to verify rights-related matters or legal implications. To avoid unnecessary issues and ensure you can use the work with peace of mind, please feel free to contact me via direct message or comments if you have any questions.
Another “AI artist” who had multiple actual music artists dance was Rym’s “10count” and “LØVE NEBULA,” choreographed originally by ANSER – again, popularized by Jung Kook. (It is important to note that Jung Kook and other artists utilized K-pop group’s ANSER’s music as their music choice.) Other K-pop artists who have danced to this include TXT, ITZY, BINI, TWS, P1Harmony, TWICE, BoyNextDoor, ENHYPEN, NCT, ALPHA DRIVE ONE, TREASURE, ZEROBASEONE, KickFlip, INI, and more. Rym, who goes by rym_88117, is entirely AI-generated, including vocals and music production. Since the trends, they now have a Spotify following of 391K.
As more AI music-generator programs pop up, more “AI artists” or “digital artists” are appearing on streaming platforms and social media. One of the leading AI music generators, Suno, even created its own “artist,” Xania Monet, who had charted on several Billboard R&B and radio charts. “AI artist” IngaRose’s “Celebrate Me” hit #1 on iTunes in the US, UK, Canada, France, and New Zealand.
Though many AI companies state their programs do not steal from real artists, it was recently exposed by 404 Media that Suno’s program in 2023 and 2024, trained its AI by scraping massive amounts of tracks, music, and lyrics from YouTube Music, Deezer, Genius, and stock music libraries Pond5, Jamendo, Freesound, the International Music Score Library Project, and podcasts via RSS feeds. Suno has stated that they no longer use that code and that the information was already disclosed on their page.
Rym has stated that they wrote their lyrics and determined their style themselves, but used Suno AI for production. After they were discovered to be an “AI artist,” they stated on their TikTok, “Moving forward, I plan to release songs composed without the use of AI.”
R&B – and human – artist Jojo recently posted about AI-generated profiles and songs after her friend told her she had to listen to an artist she found online, who turned out to be AI-generated. She calls out that the AI-generated music industry is growing faster than any other creative AI category. She says, “It’s basically auto-complete for music.”
She notes that since AI isn’t a legal person, it cannot own copyrights, collect royalties, or have its own bank account. This can create their own music artists, and therefore, the talented artists that they rip from do not get those opportunities. Nor do companies need to deal with artists’ compensation, recording time, licensing issues, and added costs. Jojo states, “It’s why music companies are choosing to use AI Music. At the end of the day, it’s just easier for them.”
It’s already started in the K-pop industry with a fully AI-generated act, GLXE, built by Suno. The group is fully AI-produced in looks, music, styles, and everything. According to DAZED, GLXE’s creator, Orion, details that AI does make everything easier, but he still needs to manage, direct, and curate it. He never addresses the AI programs that pull from other artists.
While many artists may not know who they’re dancing to or how to determine who is an AI or digital “artist,” this is causing more AI-generated music to spread and become popular. After Jung Kook’s viral post, M.Sasuke began posting stories of other artists that inspire them, including Jojo’s “In It With You” collaborator, Craig David. M.Sasuke mentions they think David was an inspiration for Jung Kook’s solo songs. There has been fan and online speculation (and in M.Sasuke’s YouTube comments section) that the voice sounds like LNGSHOT’s Ohyul, who even did to the “GG EZ” dance challenge.
M.Sasuke also posted that the “music distribution may be suspended without prior notice due to future changes in legal regulations or distribution circumstances.” Adding that in case that does happen, they “plan to upload a remade version that they have personally rearranged and produced.” They did not mention how they would produce it.
South Korea has been known as one of the biggest producers of AI slop, but the government has slowly begun taking steps to impose restrictions on AI use. The Korean Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) banned AI from earning royalties and required creators to sign a pledge stating that their track is 100% human-made.
The Recording Industry Association of America sued Suno in 2024 on behalf of several music companies, accusing it of using copyrighted songs to train its AI. While Suno admitted they used copyrighted songs, it was under “fair use.” The case is still ongoing.
Several idols have begun speaking out against the “AI artists” and the use of AI-generated music. Singer-songwriter and DJ Shin Jiyoon of XD:I recently said on a livestream that she refuses to participate in the “GG EZ” Dance Challenge (or any AI-generated songs), as she prefers real human art, saying that some people cannot distinguish what is real or not. She talks about the struggles of being an artist, since even places play AI-generated songs instead of real ones because it’s free.
As AI-generated music and “artists” continue to take over streaming and social media platforms, it has become harder to discern what is real and what is not. Many AI or digital “artists” will not reveal their use of AI in the creative process. Unless things change, songs like M.Sasuke’s “GG EZ” and Rym’s “10count” may continue to get free promotion from popular artists willing to dance to them.
