Since their formation in 1998, the Irish band Westlife have released hundreds of songs.Most of them, unsurprisingly, are sung in English. But their latest track is in Mandarin. It is a cover of Jason Zhang’s hit “Love + Courage.”

Only music lovers in China can listen to it, at present, via the Tencent Music platform, according to the specialist website Music Business Worldwide.

Contrary to what you might think, the members of Westlife didn’t learn Mandarin to record this single. Instead, they used a musical artificial intelligence program called KUGOU AIK.

This technology clones the user’s voice in such a way as to sing song lyrics in 10 languages and 15 Chinese dialects. You simply record yourself singing a cappella for 60 seconds, and KUGOU AIK learns how to imitate the vocal characteristics of the person it hears.

“Everyone can become a professional singer with AI,” says Tencent Music, owner of the company that developed the technology.

The use of this technology by established singers may raise ethical questions.

A few decades ago, artists wishing to go international had to take language lessons. But those days are over, thanks to musical AI, which can create tracks that sound like they’re sung by the real performer.

The members of Westlife claim to have spent several months, “personally [overseeing] the entire creative process,” which led to the release of their Mandarin-language cover of “Love + Courage,” according to Music Business Worldwide.

With this new single, the boy band hopes to bolster its popularity in China. In early July, the band toured several Asian countries, including Vietnam and China.