For Jamaican reggae singer Audrey Hall, a song recorded more than four decades ago is now finding new life in one of the world’s most talked-about creative spaces — artificial intelligence (AI) filmmaking.
Hall’s classic hit “One Dance Won’t Do,” the iconic answer song to Beres Hammond’s “What One Dance Can Do,” has been transformed into an AI-generated music video that has officially been accepted into the AI Film Awards 2026 in Cannes, France, a prestigious international platform celebrating films, music videos, and advertisements created or enhanced through artificial intelligence.
The project is the brainchild of New York-based, Jamaican-born executive producer and MVD Entertainment CEO Marcia Deans, who directed the AI video and spearheaded the ambitious entry into the Cannes-based competition.
For Deans, the acceptance represents another major milestone in her growing exploration of AI storytelling. She revealed that she previously presented an AI project in Cannes focused on the history of reggae music.
“Last year I did an AI video as well, and it was well received at Cannes,” she said. “I got a round of applause and sat on the stage and talked about the journey.”
That successful experience inspired her to tackle an AI music video, and Hall’s timeless anthem immediately became the perfect choice.
“I asked Miss Hall, ‘Could I use your music?’ and she approved it,” Deans recalled.
Contact was made with song producer Donovan Germain at Penthouse, who said, “Yes, go ahead.”
What followed was an intensive creative process that stretched over several months, with Hall deeply involved in shaping the final production.
“Miss Hall was 100 percent involved,” Deans said. “She critiqued it. She’s amazing.”
Hall, whose smooth vocals helped make “One Dance Won’t Do” a reggae classic in 1985, admitted she was stunned when she first heard the project would be heading to Cannes.
“Cannes Film Festival? Wow, sounds awesome,” Hall said with a laugh. “Let’s do what we need to do.”
Despite embracing the futuristic technology, Hall maintained a sharp artistic eye throughout the production.
“She sent it to me, and I said, ‘Well, you need to do this, that, change this up, try to get the crowd to move to the music,’” Hall explained.
Hall’s journey to this groundbreaking moment has been decades in the making.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, she first emerged in the late 1960s as part of the duo Dandy & Audrey alongside British-Jamaican musician Dandy Livingstone. She later became one of reggae’s most respected backing vocalists, working with legendary artists including Jimmy Cliff and Peter Tosh, alongside her sister Pam Hall.
But it was “One Dance Won’t Do” that elevated her to international prominence.
Hall recalled that producer Donovan Germain approached her with a challenge after the success of Hammond’s original hit.
“He came over with a rhythm and gave me a cassette tape with ‘What One Dance Can Do’ by Beres Hammond,” Hall remembered. “He said, ‘Can you make an answer to that?’”
The songwriting process was anything but easy.
“I put pencil to paper, but there was a lot of rubbing out and crumpling up until I got what you hear today — those lyrics,” she said.
Released in late 1985, the song exploded in the United Kingdom, eventually breaking into the UK Top 20 and earning Hall appearances on major television and radio programs.
“It just took off,” Hall said. “They sent for me. I did Top of the Pops and other shows and radio stations.”
Now, 40 years later, the song could reach new audiences — this time through AI-powered visuals on an international stage.
Still, Hall believes the AI Film Awards selection could open an entirely new chapter for the beloved track.
“Everybody loves ‘One Dance Won’t Do’ so much,” she said. “I’m hoping for big things in the future with it, and this could be the beginning.”
For Deans, the Cannes acceptance is about more than technology. It is about preserving reggae history while introducing legendary Jamaican music to a new generation through innovation.
As Cannes prepares to spotlight the rapidly expanding world of AI cinema this month, Hall’s enduring voice and story are once again stepping onto the global stage, proof that true classics can evolve with the times without losing its soul.
