Trying AI Song Generation After Hearing Hard Road
I recently heard an AI song called Hard Road by White Lee. It takes Li Bai’s Xing Lu Nan (行路难, “Hard Is the Road”) and turns it into an English track. The mood stuck with me — R&B-leaning, a little dramatic, and surprisingly listenable.
I already like R&B and pop, so I wanted to try generating something myself. I found AISongGenerator in the WayToAGI community and ran two short experiments.
First try: Liu Rushi
I asked for a song based on the life of Liu Rushi (柳如是) — the late-Ming poet, painter, and courtesan. The generator labeled it R&B / Soul / Melancholic / Female Vocal, and titled it 柳如是·寒柳 (Liu Rushi · Cold Willow).
It does not have that Hard Road feel. I was still new to this, and I probably under-specified the sound I actually wanted. Still listenable — just not the song in my head.
Second try: an “abstract” R&B skit
For the next one I wanted something more absurdist — closer to Papi Jiang (papi酱) and that “omg 你吓到我啦” energy. The result is 抽象R&B小剧场 (Abstract R&B Skit), tagged R&B / abstract / funny / easygoing.
It is not the kind of abstract I wanted. Still, it sounds good.
Takeaways
- Hearing a song you like is not the same as being able to recreate that feel on the first try.
- A life-story brief did not get me close to Hard Road.
- Asking for “abstract” did not get me the kind of abstract I wanted.
- Both tracks are listenable.
Two short experiments, two songs I can share, and a clearer sense that these generators still need a lot of steering.