Next month, Tears for Fears will release their first live album, Songs for a Nervous Planet — but rather than excited fans, the pop duo's comments sections have been flooded with criticism about the use of AI on the album cover. Now, Tears for Fears have attempted to defend themselves by saying that "AI is just one of the many tools used in the creative process."
On Instagram, they posted a photo of the artist, Vitalie Burcovschi a.k.a. Surrealistly, with an expanded version of the artwork in Photoshop. They wrote that the album cover "is a mixed media digital collage, with AI being just one of the many tools used in the creative process. We wanted vibrant artwork that evoked a sense of sci-fi, futuristic themes, and an escape from what is known. The sunflowers are a joyful nod to classic Tears for Fears imagery, while the juxtaposition of the astronaut is a link to our upcoming song, 'Astronaut,' and a sense of alienation and not belonging."
While many people in the comments had previously accused them of using AI rather than paying an artist, they emphasized, "We have been fans of Surrealistly's work for a long time and knew he would be the perfect artist to bring our vision to life."
Judging by the comments section, the fans still aren't buying it. All of the top comments on the post call the process into question and continue to criticize Tears for Fears' use of AI. While it's difficult to know exactly what the process was, it does look very much like AI.