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Macklemore's 'gay anthem' Same Love soars to No. 1 on Aussie iTunes chart
September 29, 2017 6:05 pm in Entertainment by Jaydan Duck
AMERICAN rapper Macklemore says "love is winning" after his smash hit song "Same Love" soared to the top of the Australian iTunes chart overnight ahead of his performance at the NRL grand final this weekend.
The pro-same-sex marriage track rocketed from the bottom of the top 100 to No. 1 on Thursday night amid a whirlwind of controversy over his decision to play the 'gay anthem' at the NRL grand final on Sunday.
The 2013 song's resurgence comes after a petition was circulated on Thursday, calling for the track to be canned from the half-time entertainment line-up while the country is locked in an ugly debate over same-sex marriage.
Former Australian prime minister and prominent No campaigner for same-sex marriage Tony Abbott backed the petition, arguing "footy fans shouldn't be subjected to a politicised grand final".
But the petition has done little to deter Macklemore, who took to Twitter this morning saying "love is winning".
"Yesterday someone started a petition in Australia to ban me from playing Same Love at the #NRLGF. Today it's #1 on iTunes. Love is winning," the 30-year-old hop-hop singer wrote.
Yesterday someone started a petition in Australia to ban me from playing Same Love at the #NRLGF. Today its #1 on iTunes. Love is winning ❤️
— GEMINI (@macklemore) September 28, 2017
Macklemore responded to the controversy in an interview with a Los Angeles radio station on Tuesday.
He told the radio station that he had been targeted on social media by "angry old white dudes".
"I'm actually going out to Australia to perform at kind of the Super Bowl of their rugby league," he said.
"And it's interesting actually cause I'm gonna play Same Love and they're going through trying to legalise same-sex marriage in Australia.
"So I'm getting a lot of tweets from angry old white dudes in Australia. Today I think there is a petition to ban me from playing."
Since its release, Same Love has been adopted as an anthem for supporters of same-sex marriage around the world.
https://www.mygc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Macklemore.jpg 321 845 Jaydan Duck https://www.mygc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/mygc-logo.png Jaydan Duck2017-09-29 18:05:052017-09-29 18:13:43Macklemore's 'gay anthem' Same Love soars to No. 1 on Aussie iTunes chart
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