On the 11th, Supertone announced, "We applied AI voice conversion technology to maintain the artist's unique vocal tone while ensuring natural pronunciation of English lyrics." Big Ocean JJ's new track 'BUCKET HAT' was released on various music platforms on the 9th and was first showcased at the 'AI for Good Global Summit' organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland, on the same day.
Big Ocean, the world's first idol group for the hearing impaired, debuted in April last year. They utilize AI technology for music production and special vibration devices for stage practice. Last September, they were named Billboard's 'K-pop Rookie of the Month' in the U.S., and this year, they were listed in Forbes' '30 Under 30 Asia 2025' in the Entertainment category.
The AI technology used in this collaboration is based on Controllable Voice Conversion (CVC) and employs Supertone's proprietary foundation model 'NANSY'. This technology separates and recombines vocal tone, pronunciation, pitch, and stress, allowing the artist's vocal tone to be preserved while overlaying the fluent pronunciation of a guide vocal, resulting in a natural and high-quality track.
Haeri Cha, CEO of Parasta Entertainment, introduced Supertone as a key technology partner during the 'AI for Good' presentation session, stating, "We applied the technology to separate and apply vocal tone and pronunciation to ensure the members' voices and the guide vocal do not mix." Supertone extracted the vocal tones of members PJ and Jiseok for the final track.
Supertone CEO Gyogu Lee commented, "This collaboration is an example of how AI technology enables new challenges in K-pop," adding, "We will continue to support overcoming physical and material limitations through technology."
Meanwhile, Supertone continues to support creative projects with AI technology, including broadcasting projects to restore the voices of late artists such as Kim Kwang-seok, Kim Hyun-sik, Turtleman, Lim Yoon-taek, and Yoo Jae-ha, as well as assisting The Cross's Kim Hyuk-gun in returning to live performances.
Min-Kyung Lee, TenAsia Reporter 2min_ror@tenasia.co.kr