AI Turns Leon Lai Into His 1985 Self in Video
The shipped music video uses generative AI for a full de-aged likeness, a commercial use of the technique beyond film effects.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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Hong Kong singer Leon Lai released the music video for "Hold You," a collaboration with Leung Yip (known as Fatboy of the boy band Error), created entirely with artificial intelligence. The video uses AI to digitally de-age both performers, with Lai shown as his teenage self in 1985 when he was studying in Britain. The technique is shipped in this video, not a general-purpose product announcement.
Why it matters
The video is a high-profile example of generative AI being used to rebuild a living performer's face and body for a commercial release, rather than only for background effects. It shows how quickly de-aging has moved from film visual effects into independent music production.
The video was produced entirely with artificial intelligence, with no live-action footage of the performers reported in the source. The figures available are Lai's current age of 59 and an apparent age reduction of about 40 years to the 1985 depiction, but no technical benchmark or output-quality metric was reported.
The players
Leon Lai
Hong Kong singer and actor, 59, whose AI-generated de-aged likeness is the central visual in the video.
Leung Yip
Hong Kong musician known as Fatboy from the boy band Error, who co-performs on "Hold You."
The details
The video uses generative AI, software that synthesizes new images from learned patterns, to produce digital versions of both performers rather than filming them. The AI rendering shows Lai with youthful, chiselled features and places him in a 1985 setting tied to his time studying in Britain. Some viewers said the AI-recreated Lai lacked the natural charm of the original singer, and others found the face looked overly perfect.
Timeline
1985: Leon Lai studies in Britain, the period the video depicts.
- 2026-11-02
Coverage of the "Hold You" music video is published.
The Tech Race
Generative video tools that recreate real people are being adopted across entertainment, from film de-aging to music videos. This release shows the same capability moving into independent commercial pop production, where the cost of AI likeness generation is lower than traditional visual effects.
Viewers now encounter AI-generated performers in commercial music releases, and the reactions show that audiences notice when a synthetic face looks too perfect. Creators seeking similar effects currently need access to generative video tools, and the source reports no pricing or public availability for the tools used here.
The takeaway
Watch for whether other artists adopt AI de-aging for commercial releases and how audiences respond to it over the next release cycle. Track whether the technical tools behind this video are named or published in future coverage.
Further reading
For the broader technology behind this release, see our coverage of Artificial Intelligence.
Source note: This article includes information reported by NST Online.
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