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| Macklemore & Ryan Lewis |
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are one of the hottest acts on
pop radio these days, having scored No. 1 hits with the lighthearted novelty
song “Thrift Shop” and its bouncy follow-up “Can’t Hold Us.”
According to the NYTimes, that is no small feat for a rap
duo from Seattle
without a major-label contract, but their single “Same Love” has the potential
to be groundbreaking in a different way: it is the first song to explicitly
embrace and promote gay marriage that has made it into the Top 40, gay-rights
advocates and radio executives said.
Radio programmers say “Same Love” seems to have captured the
nation’s mood, reflecting growing support among young adults for gay marriage
in polling.
On Wednesday, the same day the Supreme Court handed historic
victories to same-sex couples in both cases, “Same Love” rose to No. 28 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart, up from No. 65 three weeks ago. On the strength of
online streaming more than airplay, the song was No. 5 on the Rap Songs chart,
where lyrics in support of gay rights are almost unheard-of. Sales of the
single surged 23 percent last week from the previous week to a total of more
than 788,000 copies, and views of the single’s video on YouTube had approached
53 million by Sunday.
Several radio programmers say surveys of listeners predict
the song will continue to rise. “It’s been phenomenal,” said Tom Poleman, the
president for national programming at Clear Channel Media and Entertainment,
which operates 850 stations. “Everything we are seeing shows it’s going to be
another monster hit for them.”
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