Posted by Andrew Unterberger on 12/18/2012 at 11:59 AM News

The Popdust Files: Die Young, kesha, newtown, Radio

Just bad timing, really. Ke$ha’s Warrior lead single and pro-party anthem “Die Young” couldn’t possibly have less to do with the tragic school shooting that recently took place in Newtown, Connecticut, and not even the most paranoid of parents or politicians would claim that it does. Still, its title and its principal hook—”Let’s make the most of the night like we’re gonna die young”—just isn’t something people want to be hearing in the light of such an incident. It’s not fair, but it’s definitely understandable.

That’s way it makes sense to discover that “Die Young” is being pulled from some radio stations in the week after the Newtown horror. TMZ reports that over the course of the weekend, the song took a sizable airplay hit, losing 19 million listeners between Friday and Monday. The site reports a radio expert who says the last time a song’s stock dropped so dramatically so quickly on radio occurred when the Dixie Chicks alienated country fans with their anti-President Bush comments nearly a decade ago.

Sorry to hear for K-Money, who doesn’t deserve to in any way be associated with this tragedy, but at least she can take solace in the fact that “Die Young” has already had a very long and fruitful run at pop radio—the song peaked at #2 on the Hot 100 a couple weeks ago—and it might be time for her to move on to the next Warrior single anyway. (“Only Wanna Dance With You,” if you wouldn’t mind?)