San Francisco stations banish 'Royals' song ahead of World Series

[October 21, 2014]  (Reuters) - At least two Northern California radio stations have pledged not to play New Zealand artist Lorde's song "Royals," in solidarity with the San Francisco Giants during their World Series matchup with the Kansas City Royals.

The decision by San Francisco stations KOIT and KFOG to drop the song, which has nothing to do with the baseball team, comes as the Giants and Royals prepare to play Game One of the championship series on Tuesday.

In response, Kansas City station KZPT said it would play the song every hour on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. KZPT said it was a sister station of KOIT.

"They're our sister station, and as the old saying goes: 'You can pick your friends but you can't necessarily pick your family,' and if they don't play it, then we will," KZPT programming director Tony Lorino said in a phone interview.

Last week, KOIT posted a small image on its Facebook page with the 17-year-old Lorde's name on it, next to a crossed-out word "Royals."

"You are in a #Royals free-zone until after the #WorldSeries #GoGiants," the post said.

The song, which Lorde released last year, peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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