It wasn’t the ‘Yes’ campaign’s fault that Macklemore’s NRL Grand Final performance became a nation-stopping event. The league wasn’t responsible, nor were fans and viewers at home. Hell, it wasn’t even Macklemore’s fault. Responsibility rests entirely on the few high-profile conservatives who, in their boundless wisdom, chose to demonise a five-year-old piece of pop-rap in the name of political point-scoring.
In the same way, we can thank Tony Abbott, Peter Dutton, and the other hand-wringing social conservatives for raising Same Love‘s profile high enough to nail its spot atop Australia’s iTunes singles chart. A day after the rapper appeared before wild cheers at ANZ Stadium, Same Love remains locked in as #1.
It’s also worth noting his track Good Old Days is still sitting at a respectable fifth position. Meanwhile, The Killers’ totally apolitical Mr. Brightside (legitimately, what is that song about?) has snuck its way to #2, on account of its own appearance at a footy final.
While Macklemore (and Brandon Flowers, presumably) enjoys the resurgence of their tracks on the Aussie charts, he also took a moment to comment on the unexpected significance of his performance. Taking to Twitter, he said the whole deal was a career highlight.
Performing Same Love at the #NRLGF was one of the greatest honors of my career. Thank you @NRL for the opportunity & supporting equality
— Macklemore (@macklemore) October 1, 2017
So, cheers again to the gronks who made a unintentionally transformed a totally inoffensive track into a national talking point. Thanks for demonstrating the illogical bile spewed at anyone and anything who dares advocate for equality, in even the most benign manner. Well done, all of you.
Same Love – @macklemore feat. @marylambertsing#NRLGF#NRL pic.twitter.com/TAhaZFjKZk
— NRL (@NRL) October 1, 2017
