Cup of Joe reacts to ‘AI-made’ song cover, gears up for world tour

MANILA, Philippines — Members of the chart-topping OPM band Cup of Joe shared their reaction to the “AI-generated” cover of one of their songs topping Spotify’s viral chart.

An “AI-generated” rock version of the band’s song Pahina briefly hit No. 1 on Spotify Philippines’ Viral Songs chart. The track, created by independent artist Renegade Stories, used AI tools in the production process.

“Who tf?” band member Gian Bernardino wrote in response to the news on X (formerly Twitter), while guitarist Gabriel Fernandez posted a string of question marks, seemingly expressing disbelief.

Fans, nevertheless, voiced dismay over the release, calling it unfair to the original artists. Renegade Stories later clarified on Facebook that AI was used “not 100 %” but as a tool to enhance the recording, adding that they aim to “bring out the beauty and meaning of the song through proper arrangement and melody.” The cover has since been removed from Spotify.

Meanwhile, Cup of Joe has plenty to celebrate. The band, whose other members are Raphaell Ridao, CJ Fernandez and Xen Gareza, recently capped off their three-day “Stardust” concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum with a string of achievements.

They were inducted into Araneta’s Wall of Fame for making history as the first Filipino band to sell out five shows in a single year at the Big Dome, following their earlier “Silakbo” concert run. They were also recognized by Believe Music Publishing for surpassing four billion all-time streams across digital platforms.

Cup of Joe currently boasts over 11.6 million monthly Spotify listeners and holds records for the longest-running No. 1 song on Spotify Philippines’ Daily Chart and the most-streamed track in a day for Multo, which amassed 2.3 million plays in just 24 hours.

Their “Stardust” concerts featured performances from OPM stars such as Gloc-9, APO Hiking Society and Yeng Constantino, as well as surprise covers of Iris (Goo Goo Dolls), Night Changes (One Direction) and I Want It That Way (Backstreet Boys).

Following their success at home, the Viva recording artist is now gearing up for their world tour across the United States, Canada and Dubai from late October to November.

The world tour schedule is as follows: Oct. 31 – Saban Theater, Los Angeles; Nov. 1 and 2 – Graton Resort & Casino, Santa Rosa and San Francisco; Nov. 7 – Chinese Cultural Center, Calgary; Nov. 8 – Edmonton Expo Centre, Edmonton; Nov. 14 – Transcona Country Club, Winnipeg; Nov. 15 – Chandos Pattison Auditorium, Vancouver; Nov. 16 – The Arena, Pickering Casino Resort, Toronto; and Nov. 29 – Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai.