OPM pop/alternative rock band Cup of Joe was not impressed over an “AI-generated” cover of one of their latest songs, “Pahina,” which briefly topped a song chart on Spotify.
Band members Gian Bernardino and Gabriel Fernandez reacted to a post on X announcing a rock version of Pahina, a song from Cup of Joe’s latest album “Silakbo”, made by independent artist Renegade Stories has debuted at No. 1 on Spotify Philippines’ Viral Songs chart.
“Who tf?” wrote Gian in his repost, while Gabriel seemingly expressed his frustration with: “??????”
Fans of the band also expressed disappointment over the track.
“Should report it and file a case because they’re claiming a song that isn’t theirs. I feel sad for Gian — he poured his heart, blood, sweat, and tears into writing this song,” an X user commented.
“That was so unfair to the original artist and also it was made by an AI 🙄,” added another.
It was later revealed that Renegade Stories admitted to using AI tools in the creation process of their songs, though not entirely to produce the final output.
“For the record, Yes we used Ai tools to cover songs but not 100%, which I myself, Recording voice to blend and enhance it to the way the listener feels the song emotion which is wala sa ibang gumagaya at nag rerelease ng ibang rock covers,” Renegade Stories admitted on its Facebook page.
“Hindi tayo basta basta nag cocover lang, ang gusto talaga namin mangyari is mailabas yung ganda ng meaning ng song through proper song arrangement and melody. Kudos to the original artist and Label records na inaallowed tayong icover ang mga songs na nirerelease,” it explained.
As of writing, however, Renegade Stories’ Pahina cover has since been taken down from Spotify.
Meanwhile, Cup of Joe recently celebrated major milestones—surpassing four billion streams, earning the longest-running No. 1 on the Philippines’ Daily Chart with “Multo” (also Spotify PH’s most-streamed track in a day), and being inducted into Araneta’s Wall of Fame for five sold-out shows—right after concluding their three-day “Stardust” concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The band is set to begin their world tour across the United States, Canada, and Dubai this October and November.
