Uncomfortable lyrics in the wake of Sandy Hook: Ke$ha’s song “Die Young” is pulled from radio playlists Tuesday.
Pop artist Ke$ha faces some substantial backlash after Friday’s mass shooting at an elementary school in Newton, Connecticut that left 26 victims dead, 20 of whom were children between ages 6 and 7.
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The New York Daily News reports Ke$ha’s song, “Die Young,” continues to drop off radio playlists at an incredibly fast rate: On Friday “Die Young” was the third most-requested song in the country but by Monday, the average listener base plummeted from 167 million listeners to 148 million. Fans, seemingly uncomfortable with the lyrics and tone of the song, continued to skirt away from “Ke$ha’s “Die Young” and by Tuesday the pop song reached only 98 million listeners. (Data sourced by TMZ as reprinted in the New York Daily News). Quite the drop.
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Entertainment Weekly says it’s never seen anything like the backlash against the pulled Ke$ha song since “the Dixie Chicks got themselves banned from country radio for dissing President Bush.” The lyrics to “Die Young” actually speak to the 2012 trend of YOLO (you only live once), with a focus on partying and casual sex. However, it’s clear the horrific loss of elementary school children in one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history isn’t settling well with fans.
Ke$ha’s record label, RCA Records, has not yet responded to requests for a statement regarding “Die Young” and the Connecticut shooting. Ke$ha did tweet her condolences to the families involved on Friday, “My heart goes out deeply to the people of Newtown, Connecticut.”
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