DJ Josh Fawaz adds AI credit to hit Like A Prayer coverAustralia’s most-played song has been quietly updated to reveal AI credits – weeks after its creator dismissed critics as having “a sook”.Heath Parkes-Hupton@heath_parkes3 min readJuly 17, 2026 - 2:06PMAustralian DJ Josh Fawaz has added generative AI credits to his hit cover of Madonna’s Like A Prayer after speculation over whether it was used to make the song.Fawaz’s track has been the most-played song on Australian radio for several weeks and remained at the top this week, with 934 plays across the major cities.News.com.au reported this week his house version of 1989’s Like A Prayer credited original songwriters Patrick Leonard, Pierre Bordacarre and Madonna, with Fawaz listed under legal name Fadi as the producer and performer.No vocalist was credited on his version of the song, despite it featuring a distinctly robotic voice for Madonna’s iconic lyrics.Brisbane-based producer Fawaz did not respond to a request for comment, but by Friday, a new credit for the song appeared on Spotify.It now lists Generative AI for the drum and vocal parts of the song.Others you may likenewsnewsMitch Thomas, another Australian music producer who performs under Needs No Sleep, had been criticising Fawaz’s suspected use of generative AI on the song since May.AI credits have been added to Josh Fawaz's cover of Like A Prayer. Picture: SuppliedMr Thomas said he was “almost certain” AI had been used in the production and said it pointed to a “deeper issue” around the state of the music industry.“When you can just type a prompt and it generates a whole song, it defeats the whole purpose,” he said.Fawaz responded in a comment to Mr Thomas’s second video about Like A Prayer last month, acknowledging he did use AI “as a tool”.“Stop having a little sook buddy, just be better – this is the second time you’ve posted about me, I use AI as a tool it’s not that deep, iv (sic) been releasing music way before AI was invented,” he wrote on June 23.“What I care about is providing my listeners with good music. Maybe you should do the same. Have fun with your issue.”Brisbane DJ and producer Josh Fawaz. Picture: SuppliedFawaz has been making music for several years and said in another recent post he was close to giving up before the breakout success of the two-minute cover.The track hit number one on the ARIA dance singles as of Monday and has gained more than 38 million streams on Spotify and 16 million on YouTube since being uploaded in April.“Posting my songs online for years and nothing really happened,” he wrote. “Told myself I’ll give it one last try, and then I’ll quit.“On the verge of giving up I posted Like A Prayer and went to sleep that night. But I woke up and my life was changed forever.”Brisbane DJ and producer Josh Fawaz's popularity has skyrocketed. Picture: SuppliedNews.com.au contacted the publicity teams at radio networks Southern Cross Austereo and Nova to ask if they were aware of the debate surrounding Fawaz’s song.Neither network responded to those questions.Data from all 54 commercial radio stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Perth, Central Coast, Newcastle and Geelong showed it was played more than 8000 times over the past 13 weeks.Spotify revealed this week it had removed 75 million AI-generated songs from its platform as a wider conversation is raged around the technology’s impact on the music industry.Peak music body the Australian Recording Industry Association, better known as ARIA, last week welcomed a global labelling system that would make it clear if and how generative AI was used to make a song.More CoverageConspiracy surrounds most-played Aus songHeath Parkes-Hupton75m songs suddenly wiped from SpotifyBen GrahamThe system would use simple icons to note AI use, with “AI-Generated” songs to be classified when primary or all creative elements of a track were made artificially.“AI-Assisted” labels would apply when a recording was largely human made, but generative AI was used for some elements.“Australian music fans, like fans everywhere, deserve to know how the music they love has been made,” chief executive Annabelle Herd said.More related storiesMusicMass fainting, vomiting in concert mayhemA free summer concert turned into a harrowing experience for numerous attendees over the weekend as panic immediately took over.Read moreToursReunited 90s group to tour AustraliaForty years after breaking into a male-dominated industry, these hip-hop pioneers are heading to Australia to prove they still own the stage.Read moreMusicIconic rocker receives devastating diagnosisL7 bassist Jennifer Finch’s rock peers and thousands of fans are rallying behind a fundraiser for her ongoing care.Read more