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Lorde’s “Royals” Banned From San Francisco Radio Stations Ahead of the World Series

Lorde performs during the 2014 Lollapalooza
Lorde's Grammy-winning song "Royals" has been banned from San Francisco radio stations ahead of the World Series, which will pit the SF Giants against the Kansas City Royals

They'll never be Royals — it don't run in their blood. Radio stations in San Francisco have blacklisted Lorde's "Royals" leading up to the 2014 World Series, which will pit the city's beloved Giants against the Kansas City Royals, who are headed to the Fall Classic for the first time since 1985.

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Both KFOG and KOIT announced on Twitter that they will refrain from playing the Grammy-winning pop song until the Series is over. The teams' first matchup is set for Tuesday, Oct. 21, in Kansas City, Mo. 

In response to the "Royals" radio ban in SF, Kansas City station 99.7 The Point has decided to increase its airplay of the tune. According to local news affiliate Fox4KC, The Point released a press release stating that it would play the song on the hour, every hour, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the first day of the Series.

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"I respect the work of Mr. Brian Figula, 96.5 KOIT Program Director, and his team of broadcast professionals at our sister stations in San Francisco, but we won't let their anti-Royals spirit ruin this moment," program director Tony Lorino said in the release. "A few angry San Franciscans who don't have a song called 'Giants' won't rain on our parade."

Some fans have commented that the lyrics to Lorde's tune actually sound anti-Royals. However, the singer herself has said the song was inspired in part by a photo she saw of retired Royals player George Brett

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"I'd been kinda thinking about writing that song for a while and been pulling together a couple little lines here and there, and I had this image from the National Geographic of this dude signing baseballs," she told VH1. "He was a baseball player, and his shirt said Royals, and I was like, 'I really love that word,' because I'm a big, like, word fetishist. I'll pick a word and I'll pin an idea to that. So it was just that word."

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