Yulia Samoylova from entering the country due to a previous tour of Crimea . Ukraine ’ s controversial winning song in 2016 was about the deportation of the region ’ s Tatar people by Stalin in the 1940 ’ s and did little to improve relations between the counties ..
All art forms can be subject to use by those in politics . Campaign posters are often used inventively to create an image or aura about political leaders or parties such as Obama ’ s iconic ‘ Hope ’ posters in 2008 or the Conservative ’ s famous ‘ Labour Isn ’ t Working ’ poster from 1978 . Likewise music has become very important in political campaigning . Nowadays you can ’ t go to a political rally or party conference without hearing some kind of entrance music , and that itself isn ’ t as simple as it may seem . In the US Presidential races over the years we have seen the likes of Fleetwood Mac ’ s ‘ Don ’ t Stop ’ for Bill Clinton , U2 ’ s ‘ City of Blinding Lights ’ for Barack Obama and more recently by John Kasich , and , in a bizarre twist , ABBA ’ s ‘ Take a Chance On Me ’ was used by John McCain .
These songs are not chosen by chance or just because they sound a certain way ; they are used to convey a message . It is also now not uncommon for musicians to send a message by prohibiting certain politicians from using their music . Bobby McFerrin objected to George HW Bush ’ s use of ‘ Don ’ t Worry , Be Happy ’ and Keane drummer Richard Hughes tweeted that the Conservatives had not asked permission to use the band ’ s song ‘ Everybody ’ s Changing ’ in 2010 and that he would not be voting for the party . Multiple artists , including Adele , Queen , Neil Young , R . E . M , Aerosmith and the Rolling Stones , demanded that the Trump campaign stopped using their music at rallies and events ( John Oliver did a great segment on it which you can watch here ).
Musicians are as influential as ever , they , just like Trump , are able to express their views to millions through social media . So while some may see the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Jay Z on stage with Barack Obama at political rallies and roll their eyes , the ability to emanate into pop culture ( like Obama has managed to do ) can help create a positive image while bypassing the press . In 1997 Tony Blair ’ s New Labour rode the wave of ‘ Cool Britannia ’ to a landslide electoral victory . Their endorsements from the likes of Oasis ’ Gallagher brothers and their campaign song ‘ Things Can Only Get Better ’ by D : Ream ( probably the most typically 90 ’ s campaign song they could
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