NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) -Most people have a favorite holiday song—or maybe one they can’t stand. But chances are, you haven’t written your own Christmas tune.
One New Orleans man did. And to take it a step further, he got help from artificial intelligence.
We visited him in New Orleans East.
Stepping into Victor Nguyen’s home in the Eastover subdivision feels like entering a sound bath. From a jumbo-sized tuning fork to an extra-long ram’s horn, Nguyen’s space is filled with instruments. A content creator with musical talent, he began composing songs two years ago.
“I started writing a Valentine’s Day song, and then like an Easter song, and then a Thanksgiving song. I even wrote a Halloween song,” said Victor Nguyen.
The only thing missing was a Christmas song—though his favorite is You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.
Nguyen brought a different kind of energy to Listen to Our Bells, a Christmas song he wrote and composed. During our visit, he played an acoustic version. Nguyen says he doesn’t worry about critics. He wrote the song, he says, for his family and his faith.
He posted the acoustic version on Instagram and YouTube, but hopes to release a fuller production to a broader audience. Since studio-quality production can be expensive, Nguyen turned to an artificial intelligence-powered music app.
“It gives me like thousands of dollars’ worth of production, to have multiple instruments, and layering, a lot of harmonies,” said Nguyen.
To the untrained ear, the AI version delivers the richness and complexity he was looking for.
“My first song through AI, I was mind-blown. I couldn’t believe how fast in the turnaround time and how it produced what I had envisioned my song could be. The prompt that I gave it, it was like, ‘Create a festive holiday spirit song with bells, with a nice intro, with trumpets,’” said Nguyen.
Nguyen’s acoustic performance shows he doesn’t lack musicality. But when he wants a bigger sound, he says AI brings a surprising touch. Still, he considers the result entirely his own.
“I pretty much created the foundation of the song through the melody, the lyrics and chord progression, and what AI did was put its own touch to it,” said Nguyen.
For now, the song remains acoustic. Nguyen is still working on the final version. Whether it features AI or live musicians is something we’ll learn—likely by next Christmas.
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