Tag Archives: soft rock

Every now and then, I come across a song that just hits me at the right time in the right situation. And for reasons that I can’t explain, it resonates with me. Whenever I find a song like this, it’s not uncommon for me to listen to that song on repeat 15 straight times. That’s the power of music. That’s what it can do for you.

I admit it’s a lot harder to come across songs like that these days. At my age, I’m very entrenched with my tastes. I’m always going to be more inclined to listen to the music that I’ve loved for years. So, when a new song does break through, it’s really something special.

The latest song to do that is by Owen James. It’s called “When I Stand.” It’s this haunting, soft rock with a touch of outlaw county vibe song that flows so beautifully. It’s a fairly new song so chances are you haven’t heard it yet. So please, do yourself a favor and listen to it. Here’s a video with the lyrics below.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I also hope it resonate with you as strongly as it did for me. If it’s not your kind of music, that’s fine. I’m glad you gave it a chance. I hope you still appreciated it.

Now, there’s another reason I’m sharing this. I promise it’s a good reason. I wouldn’t be making an entire blog post about a song I just discovered unless there was something more to it. For this song and for Owen James, there’s an important detail to note. And it’s this.

Owen James, as well as this song, was created by AI.

Knowing this, listen to the song again. Does that information change how you feel about it? Does it change your emotional reaction to it? Is that change positive, negative, or entirely neutral? These are not trivial questions. Regardless of your feelings towards AI, it’s here. It’s not going away. It’s affecting multiple industries, including creative endeavors.

AI music, in particular, has become more prolific in the past couple years. Owen James isn’t even the first AI musician to make a splash. In July 2025, an AI band called Velvet Sundown made a song that generated one million streams on Spotify. That’s a hit by any measure. And it happend before people knew this band and this music was entirely AI.

Naturally, this changed attitudes. This triggered a mix of outrage, intrigue, and confusion. Music is one of those forms of art that can genuinely move us. When you find a song that’s truly powerful, it can be a spiritual experience. It feels like one of those things that AI cannot and should not be able to achieve.

But it did. It has. I even admit I had no idea Owen James or “When I Stand” was AI generated. But learning that didn’t change how I felt about the song. If anything, it impressed me even more. The idea that an AI could make a song like this that appeals to me is incredible. It says a lot about the current state of AI. I get why many find it scary, especially those in creative fields. I imagine musicians of all kinds felt a twinge of distress when they learned Velvet Sunrise made a hit song. There are musicians who dedicate their entire lives to making a song like that. But an AI achieve that with nothing but data, electricity, and algorithms.

Concerns like this have triggered calls for Spotify and other music distribution platforms to label AI-generated music. Those same calls demand an option that allows people to filter it out so that they can only get music made by humans. I actually support that. I think if people don’t want to hear AI music, no matter how good it might be in terms of appeal, that should be their choice. But ignoring AI music doesn’t change the results.

AI is capable of making music. And that music is good enough to garner an audience. As I’m writing this, the official video for “When I Stand” has drawn approximately 5.2 million views and over 108k likes. That’s a lot for any video for a new song of any kind. Look at the comments when you get a chance. There are many from people praising the song, even if they don’t know it’s AI.

Regardless of how you feel about it, chances are it won’t be the last AI song that turns out to be a hit. It also won’t be the last time AI does something in a creative field that succeeds on a level once reserved for humans. Despite resistance, these cases will happen as the technology improves and progresses. It’s bound to cause upheaval. It’s bound to generate more debate, distress, and controversy.

But if, at the end of the day, it still produces something you enjoy and cherish, what does it matter? That’s an open question and one that won’t have any easy answers.