Like it or not, AI will be the future of music, says pop music pioneer Paul Anka

SINGAPORE – With a career dating back to the 1950s, Paul Anka has seen the music industry upended several times in the past decades.

And whether singers, musicians, songwriters and fans like it or not, artificial intelligence (AI) will be the future of music, the Canadian-American crooner believes.

“I’m anticipating artificial intelligence could change things drastically very soon, especially in the music business,” the 81-year-old tells The Straits Times in an interview ahead of his Singapore concert at The Star Theatre on May 13.

AI-generated music has made headlines recently, producing songs that mimic the works of popular musicians ranging from contemporary pop singers such as The Weeknd to classic rock bands like The Beatles.

“I think as long as artistes are paid for the work that they’ve done, we’re just going to have to get used to that,” he says, speaking over the telephone from Los Angeles.

“I think the inevitability of change is here. I think that in the music scene, it remains to be seen what that will be and how damaging it will be in a sense, but I know that it’s coming.”

Anka, the only artiste to have his music in the Billboard charts in the last seven decades, has had an illustrious career that includes 500 songs to his name and 100 million albums sold.

In 1957, at the age of 15, he scored his first hit Diana, which topped Billboard’s R&B Best Sellers In Stores chart.

Besides his own hits, he is also a songwriter for other stars, and has written hit music for Tom Jones and Michael Jackson.

The name of his current tour, His Way, is a take on the classic tune My Way, which he penned for Frank Sinatra in the late 1960s. It became one of the late American singing icon’s signature songs.

Today, Anka is still going strong, regularly releasing new music and performing around the world. His most recent album, Sessions, was released in 2022.

He attributes his longevity to clean living and not taking on more work than he can handle.

“I very selectively, for many years, have just picked where and when I wanted to go, and I never overdrove myself,” says the singer, who was close with Sinatra and other performers who were part of a group dubbed the Rat Pack.

“You know, when I was a kid, I was doing 250 days a year singing. And then, ultimately, after being with the Rat Pack and working for the Mafia at (Las) Vegas and working two shows a night, I started to learn that you have to pace yourself.”

As long as he is still passionate about music, retirement is out of the question, he says.

“I’ve seen it with so many artistes. They grow flowers, they play with trains, they get old too quickly and then die. I think it’s absolutely necessary for your well-being to continue doing what you do. I will never ever retire until the day I find my health won’t allow me to do it.“

He has written many new songs for future albums, he says, but is busy working on a film as well as a Broadway play, both of which are based on his life.

Anka, who last performed in Singapore in 2014, is looking forward to returning. He plans to do a short holiday here with his family before the concert.

Fans can expect to hear some of his biggest hits, such as Put Your Head On My Shoulder (1959). But he also says he does research to find out what else he should be entertaining them with.

“I think that I’m very sensitive to the consumer and to the fans as to what they want to hear, and not just what I want to do, so it becomes somewhat of a challenge. But I do put the time in because I want people to be brought in immediately. I don’t want to do anything that they’re not familiar with.”

Book it/Paul Anka Greatest Hits, His Way Asia Tour 2023 Singapore

Where: The Star Theatre, 04-01 The Star Performing Arts Centre, 1 Vista Exchange Green
When: Saturday, 8pm
Admission: From $98 via Ticketmaster (go to ticketmaster.sg or call 3158-8588) and at SingPost outlets