In 2008, I had a moment that forever changed how I view success. Four Christmases, a holiday comedy I co-wrote, had just hit theaters, and it quickly became the number one movie in the country. That alone was surreal. But it wasn’t until a casual conversation with my brother-in-law, Brad, that the magnitude of this achievement truly sank in. He asked me, “Would you rather have the number one movie in the country or the number one song in the country?”
At that moment, it hit me: I had the number one movie in the country. It was a staggering realization, but what really got me thinking was how Brad’s question highlighted the different types of success. The number one movie, the number one song—each is a massive accomplishment in its own right, yet they live in such different worlds. Some people might see one as more important than the other, but both are huge deals. That conversation was the first time I truly understood just how significant it was to have the top movie, but it also planted a seed. What if I could have the number one song too?
Fast forward to today, and the landscape has shifted dramatically. The traditional film industry is going through a period of upheaval, with strikes and uncertainty shaking the foundations of Hollywood. Ironically, as the industry that gave me my first taste of number one begins to crumble, new opportunities have emerged from the most unexpected places: AI and music.
It wasn’t until the birth of AI-driven song-creating tools like Suno and Udio that I realized that this long-held dream of having a number one song might actually be within reach. These tools allowed me to start making my own pop songs, and to my surprise, some of them turned out to be very, very good. Just seven months ago, the idea of me writing a hit song felt like a distant fantasy, something reserved for a future that might never come. But now, with very little musical talent but a keen sense of what people want to hear and an ear for beats, I see that it’s possible. Maybe, just maybe, I could produce and create a hit song that reaches that coveted number one spot.
There’s a certain irony in this shift. As the traditional movie industry faces unprecedented challenges, I find myself chasing a new dream in a completely different medium, enabled by the very AI technologies that are shaking up so many industries. The world is changing, and so am I. From the number one movie to possibly the number one song, it’s a journey I never anticipated, but it’s one that I’m excited to see through