Viral Track ‘I Run’ by HAVEN. Yanked From Spotify

Photo Credit: HAVEN. (Instagram)

A viral dance hit has been pulled from Spotify over allegations that it uses AI-generated vocals that closely resemble those of another artist.

Breakout dance hit “I Run,” which reached #11 on Spotify’s U.S. charts, has been removed from major streaming platforms following allegations that the track used AI-generated vocals that mimicked existing artists.

Released on October 28 by a previously unknown artist called HAVEN., the song amassed over 13 million streams on Spotify. But suddenly, “I Run” inexplicably vanished from Spotify and Apple Music. Now, a Spotify spokesperson has released a statement confirming the removal and the reasons behind it.

“Spotify strictly prohibits artist impersonation,” the Spotify spokesperson said. “This track was detected and removed, and no royalties were paid out for any streams generated.”

The track and its sudden ascent on the charts had already raised suspicion online. People on social media were quick to point out that the vocals sounded remarkably like those of British singer-songwriter Jorja Smith. But the artist denied involvement, commenting on TikTok, “It’s not meeeee.”

Since then, London-based producer Harrison Walker has identified himself as the artist behind HAVEN. He claims the vocals are his own voice heavily processed through filters and effects. “I Run” also lists fellow London beatmaker Jacob Donaghue as a co-producer, and Walker also confirmed that Matt Cahill was the track’s audio engineer.

Cahill, in his own post, shared a video in which he discussed the process of recording vocals with his phone and then feeding them through—you guessed it—Suno, the controversial generative AI platform.

Since the debate over whether the track was AI in nature has been seemingly laid to rest, credits for the song have been updated to list Kaitlin Aragon as an additional performer alongside HAVEN. Aragon previously uploaded a video to TikTok in which she performed a self-described cover performance of the track—and it’s unclear if Aragon recorded vocals for an updated version of the song.

Though “I Run” is the first song released under the name HAVEN., Walker has released a string of singles since 2018. In the past, he has commented on his unique approach to vocal production.

“I’ll do all the main vocals and the harmonies, but then I’ll take them, cut them up and I’ll glitch them using loads of effects and then there will be little melismas of them in the song,” he explained to Headliner in 2021. “They’re not overused, but if you listen to my songs, you’ll hear tiny vocal samples, but they’re not—they’re my vocals, but I’ve just messed around with them.”

Whether HAVEN.’s “I Run” is AI-assisted or not, the fact remains that the increasing impact of AI on the music industry cannot be overstated. Spotify previously announced having removed over 75 million “spammy tracks” from its service, equal to approximately two years’ worth of annual uploads to the platform.