Waking Up Christopher: ‘Let ’Em’ & 2 AI Awards Nominations

Jack Righteous Creator Spotlight · In-depth independent First Look · October 23, 2026

Waking Up Christopher is not an anonymous AI-generated singer—it is a human songwriter and recording-artist project with nearly three decades of writing behind it, published composition credits, an independent label identity and a public discussion about using his own voice with AI. His “Let ’Em” became one of SIQA's five AI Song of the Year nominees and the project also reached Best AI Pop Artist.

Event timing: The 2026 AIMA program includes the November 12 summit and premiere honors, followed by the main awards ceremony at The Mayan on November 13. Official two-day program.

Who is the human creator?

The official site presents Waking Up Christopher as a songwriting and AI music project based in Kansas City, Missouri, with roots in Clifton, New Jersey. His style crosses pop, emo, country and electronic/healing-house influences. He presents himself openly as a human creator with decades of songwriting experience rather than as a mysterious fictional vocalist.

He was interviewed on the Woo-Woo Woman podcast May 17, 2026, which describes his long musical career and the development of his Lightwalker project. The podcast and his official site provide genuine artist-originating context. We are referencing those conversations, not pretending Jack Righteous conducted a new interview.

How does he use AI, and what about his own voice?

His official website's social-post archive discusses experimenting with a clone of his own recorded voice for demos of an unreleased or developing song called “Anxious Eyes.” He connects the experiment to changes in his singing capabilities and his desire to preserve his voice. That is his personal statement, not independent verification of a particular voice model or medical explanation.

Crucially, the project says “Anxious Eyes” could be its first hybrid song using his own voice with AI-assisted production. We must not take that personal experiment and retrospectively claim that “Let ’Em” used the same voice model. SIQA's Human+AI Hybrid classification is specifically linked to cloning one's own voice, but “Let ’Em” has been nominated in AI Song of the Year, not the Hybrid Song field.

That distinction offers an important creator lesson: authorship, music generation, self-voice cloning, performance and production are separate jobs. Publishing their roles openly is stronger than asserting that all AI-assisted tracks have identical vocal origins.

What do the actual writing and production credits say?

The officially released “Let ’Em” metadata names Christopher Patrick Thompson as songwriter and producer, with Waking Up Christopher credited for programming and production. Another Lightwalker recording, “I Am That I Am,” separately credits Christopher Patrick Thompson as songwriter and producer and in an instrument-related field. These are documented human writing and producer credits, not proof of a specific unedited human take.

Those facts make the creative process more substantial than describing the project as “prompted pop.” His music identity is anchored to a human writer and an identifiable catalog, even where synthetic tools help realize sounds he could not otherwise record in the same way.

“Let ’Em”: the song that received the nomination

The January 1, 2026 single “Let ’Em” presents personal boundaries and a refusal to let others' judgments control the narrator's life. It serves as a direct pop/electronic statement rather than a song merely advertising the use of AI. Its core idea can connect with listeners independently of the production technology.

The track appears on the Lightwalker album and as a separate Apple Music single. Both song and project nomination need to be assessed independently: AI Song of the Year concerns one recording; Best AI Pop Artist concerns the broader music identity.

Album and release development in 2026

Lightwalker includes songs such as “Let ’Em,” “I Am That I Am,” “Phoenix” and “Blessed,” sharing themes of self-direction, spirituality and reinvention. The artist subsequently released The Divine Fem in 2026, with further singles such as “Happier,” “My Best Life” and several remix projects. The Apple Music catalog supplies the dates and distinguishes the album editions and standalone versions.

That broader set is relevant to the Pop Artist nomination: it shows a developing catalog rather than an act associated with just one viral song. It does not, by itself, prove actual streams, sales income or an award win.

Alchemy of Light Records and Funfair Records: what can we prove?

The published “Let ’Em” single lists ℗ 2026 Alchemy of Light Records, under exclusive licence to Funfair Records. Shazam uses Funfair Records as the release label, while later material such as “Take My Heart” carries an Alchemy of Light imprint in Qobuz metadata. These are concrete and date-specific release credits.

The words “under exclusive licence” are significant: they describe how the master was licensed for the published release. They do not reveal what rights the underlying artist retains, the licence's term or territory, whether a cash advance was paid, or whether there was a broader artist recording agreement. None of those private contract terms should be invented.

It is also not correct to call an independent imprint a major-label contract simply because music is available on Spotify or Apple Music. The creator's public music story remains its own, and a credible profile should let the source metadata speak precisely.

What do listeners see and hear on the official artist site?

His website contains a music-video gallery including “Ghost,” “Unfollow,” “Phoenix,” and a “Let ’Em” teaser. It also contains his Instagram posts and interview clips. Those are more reliable ways to understand the artist than randomly matched third-party video uploads.

The interview below was publicly shared by Christopher from his site, discussing Lightwalker and his journey. It is an interview/video conversation, not a “Let ’Em” official music video.

Watch the original interview and browse his own music videos for the recorded songs.

Social media: verified artist-supplied handles

The May 17 artist interview listing explicitly provides @WakingUpChris222 for Instagram and TikTok. The creator's official website displays an Instagram content feed. These are source-linked artist destinations, not guessed aliases.

• Instagram: @WakingUpChris222.
• TikTok: @WakingUpChris222.
• Official website: music, interviews, videos and artist bio.
• Apple Music: official releases.
• Podcasts: Woo-Woo Woman interview.

How did the project reach the final nominations?

Christopher posted on his own site celebrating three SIQA shortlist categories: Best AI-Assisted Song, Best AI Pop Artist and AI Song of the Year. The final nominee roster contains two, naming “Let ’Em” for Song of the Year and the project as Best AI Pop Artist. The difference is not necessarily a reporting error: shortlist inclusion is an earlier selection phase, and only a smaller set becomes a finalist.

SIQA's 2026 process invited verified artist registrations and entries between August 31 and September 25, with a shortlist in competitive fields followed by voting from verified artist peers. It is possible to explain that route without claiming to know the private nomination vote totals or how a specific judge personally scored the work.

The lessons for other creators

A clear human writing voice can survive significant technological changes to recording. Christopher's public story also demonstrates the value of keeping performance methods and AI production distinct: a new self-voice experiment does not rewrite the documented process of an older song. His indie imprint and released-song credits offer concrete information about the business side, but no independent artist should infer income or label advances from those alone.

Perhaps most importantly, an artist can sustain an audience by giving songs a recognizable emotional purpose, not only by sharing that an AI model was involved. The creative choices must ultimately be heard in the music.

What remains for creator approval

Frequently asked questions

Is Waking Up Christopher a human musician?

Yes, his official artist site and interviews identify a human songwriter, with Christopher Patrick Thompson named in the music credits.

Did he receive three final award nominations?

No. He publicly mentioned three earlier shortlist selections, but the final SIQA awards slate names two nominations.

Does “Let ’Em” use his own cloned voice?

The artist has described an own-voice experiment for “Anxious Eyes.” There is no verified basis to transfer that technical claim to the “Let ’Em” master.

What label is “Let ’Em” under?

Its Apple Music release is credited to Alchemy of Light Records under an exclusive licence to Funfair Records. The broader contractual terms are not publicly disclosed.

Research verified October 23, 2026: official artist site, the May 2026 Woo-Woo Woman podcast, Shazam writing/production credits, Apple Music album and licensing metadata, published artist interviews and official SIQA categories. This is not a creator-approved interview.