Ke$ha, Foster The People Dropped From Radio Following Newtown Shooting Incident
Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 12.18.2012
"Die Young" and "Pumped Up Kicks" are considered insensitive...
Two big songs have been pulled from many radio stations following the tragic shooting incident in Newtown, Connecticut that left twenty children and six adults dead on Friday. Billboard reports that Ke$ha's "Die Young" and Foster The People's "Pumped Up Kicks" have been dumped from several stations over concerns about sensitivity.
The Foster the People song is probably not surprising to many, as it details a school shooting. That song has past the point of being a current hit and won't hugely impact radio. Ke$ha, on the other hand, is a new song that was the main promotional single for the pop act's new album Warrior. Rich Minor, the program director/morning host at adult pop station WDAQ in Danbury, Connecticut, said that the title is the main reason for the Ke$ha song being yanked.
"We've been playing it before Friday but not since and I think we're now done with it," said Minor. "Even though it's a fun pop/dance record about seizing the moment, all people are going to hear right now is those two words in the title...You're never hurt by what you don't play."
Minor also noted that some program directors may want to make sure they aren't going too far in terms of sensitivity, saying, "One of our staffers asked about Taylor Swift's new single, 'I Knew You Were Trouble.' As in, is the line, 'I knew you were trouble when you walked in,' potentially insensitive? I said I don't think so. I don't want to get too literal. It's like when you break up with someone. It can seem like every lyric you hear is about you."
