The Beatles’ Now and Then Scripts Grammy History As First Ever AI-Assisted Song To Earn Nominations; Fans React

As a die-hard Beatles fan who’s seen “A Hard Day’s Night” more times than I can count and have every album meticulously organized by release date, I must say that the Grammy nomination for “Now and Then” is nothing short of a dream come true. The fact that this song is not only a tribute to the timeless genius of The Beatles but also a testament to the power of AI technology makes it even more intriguing.


In a groundbreaking move, The Beatles’ song “Now and Then” has become the first to be nominated for a Grammy award with AI assistance. This historic nomination includes Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance categories at the 2025 Grammy Awards. Released as a single in November 2023, this track generated considerable buzz due to its innovative production method using AI technology, sparking many discussions among music enthusiasts.

Initially, it seemed as though advanced AI technology might have been employed to resurrect John Lennon’s voice after his passing. However, this assumption proved false. Instead, AI was utilized primarily for ‘stem separation’, a process that ultimately led to the recovery of Lennon’s vocal recordings from a 1970s demo. This technique allowed for the elimination of background noise and the preservation of Lennon’s voice in the final output.

By separating the stems, they were able to boost Lennon’s vocal amplitude without introducing distortion. Not only did this approach preserve the essence of the initial recording, but it also demonstrated the potential value of AI in reviving aged recordings and making them sound more vibrant.

For the first time in many years, a Beatles song titled “Now and Then” has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Record of the Year category – marking their fourth nomination in this category. Remarkably, despite this repeated recognition, The Beatles have yet to claim victory in this particular category.

As a die-hard Beatles enthusiast, I must admit, the AI-assisted cleaning of Lennon’s demo has stirred up quite a debate among us fans. On social media, someone expressed their viewpoint by saying, “The Fab Four are doing great… But this Grammy nomination feels a bit contrived.

Yet, another enthusiast promptly countered, “The Beatles didn’t rely on AI to compose a track; instead, they separated John Lennon’s voice from an existing recording and added new elements in the conventional manner. Given that the last song by what many consider the best band ever is at stake, winning a Grammy would be the bare minimum acknowledgment of their incredible work.

The song, often referred to as “the last Beatles track,” features additional guitar layers added by George Harrison in 1995, complementing Lennon’s vocals. Yet, neither Lennon nor Harrison were eligible for a Grammy Award since their contributions to the song weren’t new; they both had passed away prior to 1980 (Lennon) and 2001 (Harrison).

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2024-11-09 13:23