Radio stations across the country have pulled Ke$ha’s pop hit “Die Young” and Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” in the wake of the Dec. 14 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
The tragedy ended in the deaths of 20 children, six adults and the shooter.
Ke$ha’s hit song recently reached number three on the Billboard 100 chart. Radio stations from Los Angeles to Connecticut have pulled the song because of its title and chorus, ”We’re gonna die young/ We’re gonna die young/ Let’s make the most of the night like we’re gonna die young,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In response to station’s yanking “Die Young,” Ke$ha tweeted Tuesday, “I’m so so so sorry for anyone who has been effected by this tragedy.and I understand why my song is now inappropriate. words cannot express.”
Radio stations have also stopped playing Foster the People’s 2011 song, “Pumped Up Kicks,” which despite its upbeat tempo, is actually about a homicidal teen — and was reportedly inspired by the Columbine school shooting.
The song’s chorus goes, “All the other kids with the pumped-up kicks/ You better run, better run, outrun my gun…better run faster than my bullet.”
Since Saturday, most of the Foster the People’s tweets have been related to the Sandy Hook shooting and gun control laws. On Tuesday, the band tweeted, “Between 2001-present over 270,000 people have been killed in the US from a gun. It’s time to reform the laws.”