‘Pornographic’ Music By Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande, And Zayn Has Been Banned In Indonesia

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Several popular Western pop songs have been banned in Indonesia’s West Java province after being deemed “pornographic” by government officials.

The banned songs include some of the most popular songs of the last decade. Ed Sheeran‘s chart-topping single “Shape Of You” is on the list, along with Ariana Grande‘s 2014 hit “Love Me Harder” and Zayn‘s “Let Me.” In a notice issued on Tuesday, the province’s broadcast commission sent out a notice that the obscene songs may only be broadcast between 10 pm and 3 am.

“In this case, what is banned is not the songs, but the lyrics of the songs that contain pornography, pornographic association, and obscenity,” deputy commission head Rahmat Arifin told Indonesian news outlet Tempo.

The list of banned songs is more of a guideline than a regulation, but the broadcasting company has warned radio and TV stations that they could be sanctioned for playing the song during peak listening hours.

The province is notorious for its majority conservative politics, but that’s not stopping Sheeran from playing his music there anyway. Sheeran has a show scheduled in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, on May 3.

You can view the entire list of banned songs below.

Zayn, Feat. Sia, “Dusk Till Dawn”
Pharrell and Camila Cabello, “Sangria Wine”
The Killers, “Mr. Brightside”
Zayn, “Let Me”
Ariana Grande, “Love Me Harder”
Sigrid, “Plot Twist”
Ed Sheeran, “Shape Of You”
Alessia Cara, “Overdose”
Maroon 5, “Makes Me Wonder”
Bruno Mars, “That’s What I Like”
Eamon, “F*ck it (Don’t Want You Back)”
Machine Gun Kelly, Feat. Camila Cabello, “Bad Things”
Bruno Mars, “Versace On The Floor”
88rising, “Midsummer Madness”
DJ Khaled, Feat. Rihanna and Bryson Tiller, “Wild Thoughts”
Yellow Claw, Feat. Ayden, “Till It Hurts”
Rita Ora, “Your Song”

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