AI “Actress” Drops Self-Aggrandizing Music Video

Last fall, when the production company Particle6 introduced Tilly Norwood, an “actress” entirely created by artificial intelligence, Hollywood met the news without enthusiasm.

“My God, we’re done,” stated Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt in an interview with Variety. “Agencies, I beg you, don’t do this. Stop.”

But Particle6 apparently decided not to listen. The company has now released a music video for its AI star featuring the song “Take the Lead.”

Eighteen people worked on the video, including designers, prompters, and editors. The song itself, however, is dedicated to how hard it is for Tilly—a character criticized simply because she isn’t human.

“They keep saying I’m not real, that I’m a fake,” Norwood says on screen. “But I’m still human, make no mistake.”

The track, stylistically reminiscent of Sara Bareilles, opens with the lines: “When they talk about me, they don’t see / The human spark, the creativity.” Tilly then asserts, “I’m not a puppet, I’m a star.”

And in the chorus, she addresses all actors using AI:

Actors, it’s time to take the lead
Create the future, plant the seed
Don’t be left out, don’t fall behind
Build your own, and you’ll be free
We can scale, we can grow
Be the creators we’ve always known
It’s the next evolution, can’t you see?
AI’s not the enemy, it’s the key

In the video, Norwood strides importantly through a data center corridor—perhaps the only genuinely honest shot. By the second chorus, as the key predictably shifts up, she’s walking onto a stage in front of a stadium filled with a jubilant, but completely fake, crowd giving her an undeserved moment of triumph.

One might think Tilly is addressing all actors. But the ending leaves no doubt: this is an anthem for her own kind.

Take your power, take the stage
The next evolution is all the rage
Unlock it all, don’t hesitate
AI Actors, we create our fate