{"id":992592,"date":"2026-08-10T07:44:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T07:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/992592\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T07:44:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T07:44:17","slug":"boy-george-defends-ai-use-in-pro-israel-song-threatens-to-fire-reluctant-bandmates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/992592\/","title":{"rendered":"Boy George defends AI use in pro-Israel song, threatens to fire reluctant bandmates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>British pop star Boy George on Sunday defended his use of artificial intelligence to produce his new pro-Israel song <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/if-youre-ever-confused-i-stand-with-the-jews-boy-george-releases-pro-israel-song\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cWe Will Dance Again,\u201d<\/a> saying human musicians would have \u201cgotten in my way\u201d and warning that any members of his band who question performing the song would be fired.<\/p>\n<p>George has acknowledged using AI to help produce the controversial song, which pays tribute to the victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre at the Nova music festival, describing the technology\u2019s role in its creation as \u201cAI for good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I would have tried writing \u2018We Will Dance Again\u2019 with any other musician, they would have gotten in my way,\u201d he said in a video uploaded to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/Db0iTqTtbKU\/?igsh=MTlxdGdycDd1c2tucA==\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram<\/a>. \u201cThey would of said, \u2018Oh, you can\u2019t say that.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven now that the song is written, there are people in my band who are questioning whether they\u2019ll perform it with me, and those people will be fired,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t need gatekeepers, and one of the great things about AI is that it removes all the interference \u2014 all the human interference,\u201d George said.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel&#8217;s Daily Edition<br \/>\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/terms\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">terms<\/a><\/p>\n<p>At the same time, George stressed that AI had not written the song itself, saying both the lyrics and melody were his own.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"qme\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Shalom?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">#Shalom<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0BfHIrThzO\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/0BfHIrThzO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Boy George (@BoyGeorge) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BoyGeorge\/status\/2081514648835162582?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">July 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI wrote that song. The lyrics are mine, the melody is mine,\u201d he said, likening his use of AI to the songwriting partnership between Elton John and his longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin, in which Taupin writes the lyrics and John composes the music.\n<\/p>\n<p>George, who does not play any musical instruments, said he treats AI much as he does the human musicians with whom he collaborates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make me lazy or make me uncreative,\u201d he said. \u201cIn fact, I think AI has made me more creative.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I would have tried to write \u2018We Will Dance Again\u2019 with a human being, they would have gotten in my way, so thank God for AI,\u201d George concluded.<\/p>\n<p>The singer\u2019s embrace of the technology has already complicated the song\u2019s release. Music distribution platform Bandcamp removed \u201cWe Will Dance Again\u201d shortly after it was uploaded, citing its policy on AI-generated music.<\/p>\n<p>The track is currently unavailable on mainstream music streaming platforms and can only be heard on social media.<\/p>\n<p>\t<a href=\"https:\/\/static-cdn.toi-media.com\/www\/uploads\/2026\/02\/F260209DC304.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3752821\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/F260209DC304-640x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"375\"\/><\/a><br \/>\n\t\tThe memorial site for the Nova music festival massacre in southern Israel, February 9, 2026. (David Cohen\/Flash90)<\/p>\n<p>George alleged in a recent post on X that Bandcamp\u2019s decision was politically motivated, writing that the song \u201cstayed there for over 24 hours which mean [sic] the haters alerted them or they did not like the message.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The dispute over AI comes alongside a broader backlash over the song\u2019s staunchly pro-Israel message. In a separate post on X <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/boy-george-defends-pro-israel-song-says-critics-ignore-israelis-suffering\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">last week<\/a>, George said he would release the song even if it cost him friendships, including with Tony Pontius, the longtime manager of his record label, whom George said he cut ties with over his opposition to the song.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe Will Dance Again\u201d defends Israel\u2019s military response in Gaza, criticizes musicians and activists who have publicly supported the Palestinian cause and declares, \u201cIf you\u2019re ever confused: I stand with the Jews.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The song borrows its title from the slogan of survivors of the Nova music festival, where Hamas terrorists killed 378 young people and kidnapped dozens as part of the October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel. The slogan has become a symbol of resilience in the aftermath of October 7.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tHelp us report truthfully on social media\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"200\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gabriella-200.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the <strong>quality, fact-based journalism<\/strong> produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform \u2014 from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.<\/p>\n<p>This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But <strong>misinformation is rampant<\/strong> on social media. 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