A song about immigrants, created entirely using artificial intelligence, has broken into Germany’s Top 50 chart. “Verknallt in einen Talahon” weaves modern lyrics, many based on racial stereotypes, with 1960s schlager pop music. It currently sits at No.
48 in Germany, the world’s fourth-largest music market. The song has amassed 3.5 million streams on Spotify within a month of its release. Creator Josua Waghubinger, known as Butterbro, made the song using Udio, an AI tool that generates vocals and instrumentation from text prompts.
I think there’s still enough creative freedom in the song to make it a creative project,” Waghubinger told Die Klangküche, a German music podcast.
Song highlights AI and cultural issues
He aimed to parody overtly macho behavior “with a twinkle in the eye and without discriminating.”
The song’s title references “taeal huna,” an Arabic phrase meaning “come here,” now often used derogatorily in Germany to describe young immigrant men.
The lyrics describe the singer’s love interest wearing “a Louis belt, a Gucci bag, and Air Max trainers” and smelling “like an entire perfume shop.
Some critics argue the song walks a fine line between parody and discrimination. Marie-Luise Goldmann of Die Welt said, “The mixing of migrant youth culture with German schlager conservatism alone will thrill as many listeners as it offends.”
Felicia Aghaye of Diffus magazine called the song’s popularity “doubly problematic” as “talahon” is a known insult against migrants. “Right-wing groups use the term to create a bogeyman and stoke Islamophobia and xenophobia,” she noted.
Numerous AI-generated songs mixing sweet 1960s pop with crude lyrics are circulating on German social media. AI is increasingly used in music production to generate vocals mimicking well-known singers. The song’s viral success highlights the growing intersection of AI technology, music creation, and sensitive cultural issues.
As AI advances, it raises questions about artistic intent, cultural sensitivity, and content moderation responsibilities.
