San Franciso Radio Stations Remove Lorde's 'Royals' Song From Playlist Days Ahead of World Series
Fans of Lorde's famous Billboard hit "Royals" in San Francisco will have to wait two weeks before listening to the song again. San Francisco radio stations have acted upon an insistent public demand to ban the song ahead of baseball's World Series, which will start in less than 72 hours between the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals.
At least two radio stations initiated the move followed by the whole city, which said that their move was prompted by numerous phone calls, text messages and social media tags that begged the airwaves to prohibit the playing of the song. The 17-year-old Lorde has not yet aired her side on the issue about her song, which made her famous from New Zealand to the rest of the globe. KFOG Radio took to social media to censor the song from the current playlist and offered their apologies to the singer.
"No offense, Lorde, but for the duration of the World Series, KFOG Radio will be a 'Royals'-free zone," the radio station posted on its Facebook page. "We're sure you understand."
The station also defended its move after an influx of complaints from Lorde fans poured in. The staff clarified it was all in the spirit of fun and competition. They also cleared up that the banning will not guarantee victory over their opponents nor is it a reflection of censorship or closed-mindedness, and they hope that the New Zealand sensation will understand the temporary restriction.
The comments from users ranged from questioning the move of the station and its motives up to actually interpreting the song. One user commented that the song was actually anti-Royals as the lyrics in one of the verses say, "We'll never be royals, it ddn't run in our blood." Some even shrugged off the suggestion saying that the song was "so last year."
Nevertheless, Kansas City for its part has already fired back with its own version of the banning. As expected, instead of putting a limit, one radio station in the city has already scheduled a minimum of one song per hour from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, the day when the World Series kicks off.