Should Ke$ha's "Die Young" Be Pulled From Radio Stations After Newtown Tragedy?
Talk about bad timing. Ke$ha's first Warrior single, "Die Young," is being dropped from radio stations nationwide, TMZ is reporting. After weeks of steady radio rotation that reached approximately 167 million listeners, the song took a hit after Friday's mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. that took the life of six adults and 20 elementary school students. By Monday morning, the song's reach number had dropped to 148 million listeners. There's no way it's not a coincidence, but it's also understandable.
This isn't the first time we've witnessed this kind of airplay drop. Remember when the Dixie Chicks were banned from country radio after insulting President Bush in 2003? Then, of course, there was the 2001 Clear Channel memorandum which came shortly after 9/11 and contained a list of 165 tracks deemed too "lyrically questionable" for airplay. Clear Channel urged its radio stations not to play songs ranging from 311's "Down" to Van Halen's "Jump" in an effort to not upset their listeners. Again: totally understandable.
The question is: Should radio stations be playing Ke$ha's "Die Young"? Do you think the numbers for the song will begin to climb the airplay charts again in a few weeks, or will the song completely lose it's momentum?
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