Bruno Mars has shared his cheeky take on the recent news that West Java has banned daytime play of 17 foreign songs deemed too obscene for radio airwaves, reacting to the now globally-scrutinized (or mocked, to be exact) music censorship policy in several tweets today.
The American singer, whose two songs That’s What I Like and Versace on The Floor were included in the list of banned songs, took to Twitter to jokingly blame Ed Sheeran, whose hit song Shape of You was also among the 17, for getting them both banned due to the latter’s “perverted” lyrics.
WTF! I was poppin in Indonesia! Then here comes @edsheeran with his sick, perverted lyrics, gettin us all pinched! Thanks Ed. Thanks a lot 🙄 https://t.co/boxHS890AE
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) February 27, 2019
Then, Mars pointed out the “obscene” nature of Sheeran’s lyrics (of course, the joke being Mars himself is the creative mind behind lyrics such as of Sex by the fire at night and Let’s just kiss ’til we’re naked, baby).
“I’m in love with the shape of you?” Really @edsheeran ? You monster! & don’t even get me started on “Thinking Out Loud.” Have u no shame?
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) February 27, 2019
Finally, Mars wrote that he didn’t understand why his “wholesome” hits also got limited to late night radio play.
Dear Indonesia, I gave u the wholesome hits “Nothin On You,” “Just The Way You Are,” & “Treasure.” Don’t lump me in with that sexual deviant
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) February 27, 2019
Mars is actually quite familiar with Indonesia, having performed concerts in Jakarta in 2014 and 2011.
The West Java chapter of the Regional Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPID) recently issued a circular ordering the province’s radio stations to limit the broadcasting of 17 foreign songs, ranging from the contemporary chart toppers to hits from the early noughties — you can see the full list here.
Other than Mars and Sheeran, certain songs from the likes of Maroon 5 and Indonesia’s own Agnez Mo are also being restricted to late night airplay on the radio in the name of censorship.
The 17 songs aren’t being totally banned though — fans of the so-called indecent musicians in West Java can still potentially hear their filth between the hours of 10pm and 3am.
“Broadcast programs are prohibited to include songs and/or video clips that contain titles and/or lyrics about sex, obscenity and/or visualizing sexual activities; Broadcast programs that feature music are prohibited to air scenes and/or lyrics that can be interpreted as objectifying women to be sexual objects,” a passage in the circular reads, as picked up by Liputan 6 on Monday.
Reader Interactions