5 Popular Songs That Were Banned or Censored for Ridiculous Reasons

Songs get banned all the time, often for good reason. Some are particularly vulgar while others are outright offensive. However, sometimes, a song will get banned for very silly reasons. These five popular songs were banned or censored for ridiculous reasons, and we still can’t quite wrap our heads around it.

1. “The Real Slim Shady” by Eminem

While the lyrics to the 2000 track “The Real Slim Shady” by Eminem wouldn’t make anybody sweat nowadays, it was considered quite controversial when it was first released. A clean version of the song had to be played on the radio. But that didn’t stop the FCC from fining one radio station for playing the censored version.

The clean version of the song featured zero explicit language, but the FCC was still mad about the references and overall themes in the song. That year, they debuted guidelines that could punish songs and radio stations for lyrics that feature nothing more than innuendo. Pretty silly, if you ask me.

2. “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John

The 1981 exercise-focused tune “Physical” is a little bit explicit, but the use of innuendo is pretty strong on this one. Some took issue with the lyric “There’s nothing left to talk about unless it’s horizontally” and it was censored in the radio version of the song.

However, what really caused controversy was Olivia Newton-John’s music video for the track, which featured a gay couple simply holding hands. This led to a temporary ban among a number of radio stations in the US.

3.  “Imagine” by John Lennon

Out of all the songs that have been banned for ridiculous reasons, this peace-loving tune has to be the most confusing. The hit song “Imagine” from John Lennon’s 1971 album of the same name implores the listener to think of a world with no war, pain, or misery. So, how could it have possibly been banned?

The lyric “Imagine there’s no heaven” ruffled the feathers of a few religious groups at the time of its release, leading some radio stations to ban the tune and churches to condemn the song. Just as well, some radio stations banned it in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War and the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Luckily, it is still a massive global hit today.

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4. “Like A Prayer” by Madonna

There is a lot of religious and sexual verbiage in this 1989 smash hit by Madonna. Most of it is subtle, though, which points to some excellent songwriting. Still, a lot of people were not happy about the song. 

Both The Vatican and the American Family Association openly condemned the track because of its use of Christian religious imagery in conjunction with sexual lyrics and imagery in its music video. Pepsi even canceled an ad campaign featuring the song. Both Egypt and Russia banned Madonna from performing in their countries for a while.

5. “In The Air Tonight” by Phil Collins

How could anyone want to ban this 1980 hit? That drum solo is incredible! Still, the mostly harmless song was banned in 1991 due to a perceived relation to the Gulf War. It was also banned, along with 162 other songs, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks by Clear Channel Communications.

Photo by R. Brigden/Daily Express

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