Posted on 11/25/2025 12:50:47 PM PST by DFG
Solomon Ray topped the iTunes Top 100 Christian and gospel albums chart last week, and he’s not even real … or Christian … or black.
Ray is solely a creation of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“His most recent release, a Christmas EP called A Soulful Christmas, features tracks with titles like ‘Soul to the World’ and ‘Jingle Bell Soul,’ reports Christianity Today. “Ray is a verified artist on the streaming platform, draws over 324,000 monthly listeners, and became the top artist on the iTunes top 100 Christian and gospel albums chart this week.”
“But Solomon Ray … is not a real person,” adds the report. “Artificial intelligence crafted his persona, voice, performance style, and lyrics.”
Here’s video of Solomon Ray singing “Silent Night.”
So, what’s the problem if people dig it?
A competing Christian artist named Forrest Frank said, “At minimum, AI does not have the Holy Spirit inside of it. So I think that it’s really weird to be opening up your spirit to something that has no spirit.”
All kinds of people void of the Holy Spirit (i.e., secular artists) have sung and even written beautiful Christian songs. It’s not the source that matters. It’s how the source affects the listener. “Silent Night” is “Silent Night” regardless of the source.
And let’s not forget that behind this AI creation, there are human beings with souls who create, tweak, and refine the sound, style, and look to their liking. Think of Solomon Ray as another version of a synthesizer or Autotune. Honestly, I don’t see a moral difference, but so-called “purists” have been losing their minds over musical progress since Elvis lifted his lip and Dylan went electric.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Not a fan of AI Christian ANYTHING.
Something not in the article, but perhaps related, was something that happened to the AI “singer”’s creator: Jermaine Townsend. He was blacklisted from music platforms like Spotify for his song The Patriot that he sang at the Jan 6 Veterans for Trump rally. It’s possible that he created his tech alter ego to get around that blacklisting.
Do they at least market the music as AI? Or are they making the AI pass as a real person?
The public simply does not need this form of crap & it gives righteous use of AI (if there is such a thing) a bad name.
Not something we need & this gives righteous use of AI (if such a thing exists) a bad name.
You mean you don’t like to see Elvis playing Captain Kirk?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5bqWTWHCgc
Some of the AI music that I see is pretty good. I don’t know how it’s done but it must surely be a sort of collaboration between the human and the software, so that the software is more or less an instrument. Anyone know much about it?
I like the ones that aren’t safe for work, because it’s obviously AI. But they can be real catchy.
In general, if “Christian” “music” is not Johnny Cash singing or an old hymn, or better yet, Johnny Cash singing an old hymn, it’s not worth listening to.
“Can’t you see you’re not making rock and roll better, you’re only making Christianity worse.” - Hank Hill
How is this different than “contemporary “ Christian boy bands?
How about Johnny Cash and One Bad Pig (Christian Punk Band) doing Man in Black?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5I1Q5URg6g
If you go to his Instagram page, tt’s marked AI.
Eh, derivative.
Many will worship the beast.
Interesting. I put his name into the search line in Brave browser and got this [AI-generated answer, please verify critical facts]...
Jermaine Townsend is the name associated with multiple individuals, including a U.S. Air Force veteran and Mississippi native named Christopher Jermaine Townsend, who is also known by the moniker Topher.
This individual is the creator behind Solomon Ray, an AI-generated gospel artist whose music reached No. 1 on iTunes, sparking significant discussion within the Christian music community.
Solomon Ray is not a real person but a digital creation developed by Christopher Jermaine Townsend to explore the use of artificial intelligence in worship music.
Townsend has stated that the project was not intended to replace human artists but to expand the reach of the Gospel through innovative tools.
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By the way, I hadn’t heard about a “Jan 6 Veterans for Trump rally”. That’s not the one on January 6, 2021, is it?
I wonder if the Billboard charts will have separate sections for AI generated music.
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