Posted April 12, 20232 yr A subjective question of course, but wanted to make a thread to see what songs would be suggested for a question like this. By "controversial" I mean a song that either contained a very offensive message or a song that attained a #1 peak by very questionable means/sales tactics etc.
April 12, 20232 yr 'Killing In The Name' probably not the most controversial ever but would be in the mix at least I'd say.
April 12, 20232 yr Ellie Goulding's "River" - not controversial in terms of the song itself but more so the how it got to #1 being an Amazon exclusive and the power of Alexa! Edited April 12, 20232 yr by Envoirment
April 12, 20232 yr Eamon’s F**k It just for the number of expletives. Five and Queen’s We Will Rock You as it only made it thanks to Life is A Rollercoaster’s rule infringement. River and Killing In The Name for the reasons already mentioned. Oh and House Every Weekend because it was only a 5 day week - and would very likely have been beaten by Shine if all the streams had been counted properly. Edited April 12, 20232 yr by JulianT
April 12, 20232 yr Author How about this 90’s record for the subliminal messaging throughout the song; 7b2T8K2D-ps
April 12, 20232 yr Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' as well and 'Relax' by Frankie Goes To Hollywood just for being banned.
April 12, 20232 yr Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' as well and 'Relax' by Frankie Goes To Hollywood just for being banned. I Feel Love wasn't banned. It was her early '76 hit Love To Love You Baby.
April 12, 20232 yr I Feel Love wasn't banned. It was her early '76 hit Love To Love You Baby. On the subject of sexually controversial songs... late 60s chart-topper 'Je t'aime moi non plus' by Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg springs to mind
April 12, 20232 yr Mild controversies 2020's Pointless (Lewis Capaldi) - Because his sudden surge up the charts due to cheap signed cds with free delivery, and holding RAYE off of a second week at no. 1 Eyes Closed (Ed Sheeran) - Also due to cds and holding "Miracle" off of no. 1 Food Aid (Ladbaby) - Constant begging videos and spreading misinformation, 'This is the best way to donate to the charity'. Godzilla (Eminem (feat. Juice Wrld)) - Not one for me but some people felt that Em used this song as an opportunity to regain success using Juice's death
April 12, 20232 yr Did Sex Pistols make #1 with their God save the queen? I'd say that was possibly the most controversial if so? Otherwise that Ding Dong the Wicked Witch is dead when Thatcher died :lol: Edited April 12, 20232 yr by spiceboy
April 12, 20232 yr 2020s has had a handful already: WAP for being the most explicit song to ever be a #1 hit Toosie Slide and Lemonade for being low-selling, "fake" #1s, only claiming the position through more popular songs going to ACR Merry Christmas was also a "fake" #1 in this respect but was less controversially so as it was only being outsold by ancient Christmas songs ABCDEFU for the dubious methods the label used to make it appear to have gone viral on TikTok "organically", plus for being a very obnoxious song in general Sausage Rolls / Food Aid cos most of us were well and truly sick of LadBaby claiming Xmas #1 year after year after he'd done it three times already Pointless for claiming #1 through heavy marketing of cheap signed CDs rather than genuine song popularity Eyes Closed, for similar reasons but to a lesser extent as that would've still made top 3 without CDs
April 12, 20232 yr WAP and Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood for similar reasons. Killing in the Name obviously.
April 12, 20232 yr Did Sex Pistols make #1 with their God save the queen? I'd say that was possibly the most controversial if so? Otherwise that Ding Dong the Wicked Witch is dead when Thatcher died :lol: both of those only went to #2 (although some conspiracy theorists would have you believe they were 'really' #1s and the chart was fixed to prevent them making it)
April 12, 20232 yr Did Sex Pistols make #1 with their God save the queen? I'd say that was possibly the most controversial if so? Otherwise that Ding Dong the Wicked Witch is dead when Thatcher died :lol: I was going to post this myself, though it wasn't them that got to number 1, but the actual #1 (Rod Stewart - I Don't Want to Talk About It) is just as controversial, as many sources claim it wasn't actually a genuine number 1 and was manufactured in order that they didn't have to air it on Jubilee Weekend (I'm skeptical of that myself as there's little evidence to suggest it, but still x) Steve Miller Band's The Joker as well, given it was pretty much a tie with the #2 song (Groove is in the Heart).
April 12, 20232 yr Author Other than the earlier example I mentioned by The Shamen, can anyone think of any other #1 singles with a hidden, subliminal message contained within the lyrics?
April 12, 20232 yr ^ The Joker had a second week when it was comfortably #1 though, so it wasn’t a controversial #1 overall though its first week was controversial. I suppose worth mentioning the novelty song Shaddup You Face holding off one of the best regarded #2s ever Vienna.
April 12, 20232 yr I was going to post this myself, though it wasn't them that got to number 1, but the actual #1 (Rod Stewart - I Don't Want to Talk About It) is just as controversial, as many sources claim it wasn't actually a genuine number 1 and was manufactured in order that they didn't have to air it on Jubilee Weekend (I'm skeptical of that myself as there's little evidence to suggest it, but still x) Steve Miller Band's The Joker as well, given it was pretty much a tie with the #2 song (Groove is in the Heart). I think it is now accepted that The Joker was genuinely number one (just) that week. Conspiracy theories about God Save The Queen have also been debunked.
April 12, 20232 yr I'll focus on controversial in terms of song content rather than how it got to no.1 as that has been covered in several threads as I recall. Here's my suggestions from this century. Eminem - Stan. Lyrics about a man committing suicide and taking his girlfriend with him Cardi B/Megan - WAP. Very sexualised lyrics about how women want to pleased. Pissed off many right wingers. Robin Thicke/Pharell - Blurred Lines. Deemed very creepy as promoted sexual encounters without explicit consent. Banned in some universities Mike Posner - I Took A Pill in Ibiza. Just such a blatant reference to MDMA they had to change the title to 'Ibiza' or ludicrously 'I Took A Plane to Ibiza'! Afroman - Because I Got High. Very druggy lyrics throughout R Kelly - Ignition. Not so much the song itself although very raunchy But getting to no.1 AFTER many of those allegations was a bit queezy. Eamon/Frankee. The profanities throughout Katy Perry - I Kissed a Girl. I didn't see the fuss myself but some thought with it was gay baiting/homophobic (especially after her more problematic 'Ur So Gay') Jay Z/Rihanna/Kanye - Run this Town. The lyric 'To everyone on your dick. No homo' is questionable. Rage Against the Machine - Killing the name of. Profanities again
April 12, 20232 yr Other than the earlier example I mentioned by The Shamen, can anyone think of any other #1 singles with a hidden, subliminal message contained within the lyrics?Poker Face?
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