Who the Heck is Breaking Rust? The AI-Generated Artist Topping the Spotify and Billboard Charts with ‘Walk My Walk’

Well, it was only a matter of time.

We had tongue-in-cheek, raunchy AI country songs going viral on TikTok, we had AI-generated versions of Jelly Roll and Post Malone songs, and we had AI images of Dolly Parton with Reba McEntire at her death bed. So perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that, now, the No. 1 song on Spotify's Viral 50 USA chart is an AI country song.

Released by an AI-generated artist called ‘Breaking Rust’ in October as part of the Resilient EP, ‘Walk My Walk’ and ‘Livin’ On Borrowed Time’ occupy the top two Viral 50 spots.

What's more, at the time of writing, ‘Walk My Walk’ is No. 1 on Billboard's Digital Song Sales chart. Just to put that in context, Zach Bryan, Lainey Wilson and Riley Green - three of the biggest names in modern country - have never topped this ranking.

But is there anyone behind Breaking Rust? All of the AI artist's songs are credited as being written by Aubierre Rivaldo Taylor, who is relatively anonymous online.

And why is ‘Walk My Walk’ going viral? Well, for one, a lot of people will hear it and not realise it's AI-generated. Much of the AI-generated country music on TikTok is designed to mimic the likes of Morgan Wallen, Jelly Roll, Post Malone, Zach Bryan and other country chart-toppers. But ‘Walk My Walk’ subscribes more closely to the outlaw country aesthetic, rather than the mainstream sound of Wallen and Posty, which in turn gives the Breaking Rust persona a deceptive air of grit and authenticity. The track featuring a deep, guttural drawl drifting across a dramatic, minimalist instrumental. It's cut from a similar cloth to alt-country favourites such as Colter Wall's iconic, stormy anthem, ‘Sleeping on the Blacktop’.

‘Livin’ on Borrowed Time’ echoes this same stripped-back, dramatic ambience, with the AI-generated vocals capturing the weather-worn, Yellowstone-esque vibe that is so popular at the moment. Judging by the AI visuals that pervade the Breaking Rust Instagram account - which has upwards of 35,000 followers at the time of writing - this character is meant to embody a rugged, down-on-his-luck cowboy.

Arguably the most pressing question to arise from all this is: What does this all mean for the future of country music? Tennessee recently became the first state to pass legislature prohibiting the use of deep-fake technology to imitate existing artists.

Of course, with creations like Breaking Rust, this doesn't apply, because it's not directly plagiarising any particular artist. But even though it's not illegal, there's no question that, once the novelty of earworms like ‘Walk My Walk’ wears off, it becomes worryingly apparent that its success hints at a very dystopian future for the music industry.

A number of artists maintain that AI will soon become as widely accepted as Auto-Tune, and many fans will remember the outcry when the likes of Cher and T-Pain started incorporating this robotic, pitch-perfect tool into their music. Since then, it's evolved into a vital instrument for creating the innovative, boundary-pushing sound of artists such as Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Travis Scott and Post Malone.

And AI will definitely have its role to play in music - it's already become too ubiquitous not to. But there's something that just feels wrong about Breaking Rust hitting No. 1.

Perhaps it's a symptom of our increasingly algorithmic musical landscape, where certain riffs, sounds and techniques are employed as means of going viral on TikTok. If it's become easy (ish) for humans to create a scientific, data-driven blueprint for this kind of hit-making, then it's no surprise that AI can craft similarly addictive songs with this analytic model. What AI can't do, though, is recreate those uniquely soulful and surprising moments of artistic beauty, that arise simply from experimentation, rather than trying to emulate someone else.

When you listen to ‘Walk My Walk’, it's catchy, but there is a distinct ‘flatness’ or superficiality that underpins it - especially when you know there's no human emotion involved.

Music has always been a means of expressing these feelings, with songs that explode into timeless hits generally not the ones that purely had a particularly infectious melody, but ones that also carried a sense of emotional resonance and relatability.

At the end of the day, listeners can't relate, empathise or cathart with an AI-generated artist, because there's no other person or people behind the music to connect with. It'll be fascinating to see how artists and country industry members respond to the chart-topping popularity of ’Walk My Walk’ in the coming months - because, as the Breaking Rust account has been highlighting, it will not slow down as it floods the market with new music on an almost weekly basis.