List of songs censored or banned in Malaysia
The following is a list of songs censored or banned in Malaysia at one stage or another, considered unsuitable for broadcasting on its radio and television stations since 2010 (though by no means this is a complete list). The censors are mostly done by Malaysian format radio network Astro Radio (which controls popular radio stations such as Hitz.FM, Mix FM and Era FM). MTV Asia, like almost other foreign channels on Astro & HyppTV are also delayed by 1 hour in Malaysia for censorship purpose. In addition, any singles released to Malaysian radio stations may be different from the version released in the album due to censorship purpose.
Censorship of music also applies to other radio and television stations like Fly FM and TraXX FM, but the censoring method is different from Astro Radio and television networks because Astro Radio has a stricter form of censorship than other radio station in Malaysia.
Songs being censored[edit]
The following list of songs and music videos censored or banned by Malaysia since 2010. Most songs have the same censoring like in the US.
Year | Song title | Artist | Reason for censoring |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | Some Kind Of Bliss | Kylie Minogue | The music video is banned due to physical violence used by her on-screen boyfriend. |
1999 | Absolutely Everybody | Vanessa Amorosi | The single and music video are both banned in Malaysia due to strong violence, horror and indigenous/aboriginal content in the music video with Amorosi performing in front of the green screen. |
2000 | Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) | Spiller featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor | The single and music video is banned due to strong violence and horror content before the end of the song and clip. |
2003 | American Life | Madonna | The original music video is banned due to strong violence and horror and very coarse language content. The lyrics consisted of "Fuck it." The replaced music video was used with Madonna performing in front of the green screen with flags from different countries. |
2007 | Girlfriend | Avril Lavigne | The word "motherfucking" is censored on airplay. |
2008 | Paparazzi | Lady Gaga | The word "cigarette" is censored on airplay. |
2009 | Hot n Cold | Katy Perry | The word "bitch" is censored on airplay. |
2009 | I Gotta Feeling | The Black Eyed Peas | The word "Mazel Tov" is censored on airplay. |
2009 | Bad Romance | Lady Gaga | The word "bitch" is censored. The music video is released with the word censored on Astro Hitz. |
2009 | Imma Be Rocking That Body | The Black Eyed Peas | The song uses the US censored version for music video and airplay. |
2010 | Telephone | Lady Gaga | The music video is banned in Malaysia due to explicit content in the music video. |
2010 | Not Afraid | Eminem | Profanity in both the song and the music video on Astro.Hitz is censored. |
2010 | California Gurls | Katy Perry | The words "sex" and "ass" are censored during the airplay and the music video is banned in Malaysia due to some nudity content. The word "gin" is only censored on Hitz.fm. |
2010 | Love the Way You Lie | Eminem featuring Rihanna | The word "f**king" is censored and some scenes in the music video are censored. |
2010 | Alejandro | Lady Gaga | The word "Jameson" is censored and the music video is banned in Malaysia due to religious content. |
2010 | Teenage Dream | Katy Perry | The song is passed without cuts made but the music video is heavily censored due to the moderate sex scenes in the music video. |
2010 | We'll Be Alright | Travie McCoy | The word "fuck" is censored in both the song and the music video. Additionally, a scene showing the performer giving the finger is censored in the music video. The word "drunk" is only censored on Hitz.fm and Astro Hitz. |
2010 | Misery | Maroon 5 | The song is passed without cuts but some of the scenes in the music video are censored. |
2010 | We R Who We R | Kesha | The word "Jesus" is censored during airplay on some radio stations but the music video has its audio intact. |
2010 | Fuck You | Cee Lo Green | An alternative clean version (Forget You) is used for both airplay and music video.[1] |
2011 | Like a G6 | Far East Movement | A scene showing alcoholic drinks on the table is censored in the music video. |
2011 | Tonight (I'm Lovin' You) | Enrique Iglesias | An alternative clean version (Tonight I'm Lovin' You) is used for both airplay and music video. However, the official clean version of the music video is still heavily censored by Astro.Hitz.[2] |
2011 | All I Do Is Win | DJ Khaled feat. T-Pain, Ludacris, Rick Ross and Snoop Dogg | The word "virgin" is censored on Hitz fm. |
2011 | I Just Had Sex | The Lonely Island featuring Akon | Both the song and the music video are banned in Malaysia. |
2011 | Firework | Katy Perry | The song is passed without cuts but a gay kissing scene is censored in the music video. |
2011 | What the Hell | Avril Lavigne | The song is passed without cuts but a scene which shows the performer showing her middle finger is censored in the music video. |
2011 | Fuckin' Perfect | Pink | An alternative clean version (Perfect) is used for both airplay and music video. However, a scene showing a girl cutting herself is censored.[3] The word "beer" is censored on Hitz.fm. |
2011 | Born This Way | Lady Gaga | The line "gay, straight or bi, lesbian, transgendered life" is removed from the song and replaced with the repetition of the words "no matter" for three times. The music video is banned in Malaysia. The censor is applied to "Born This Way (Country Road Version)" as well.[4][5] Some radio stations only censor the words "gay", "bi" and "lesbian" instead of the whole line. |
2011 | E.T. | Katy Perry | The song is passed without cuts but the scene showing the buttocks of the E.T. showed in the music video is censored. |
2011 | S&M | Rihanna | Both the song and the music video are banned in Malaysia. However, this only applies to Hitz.FM and Astro Hitz. The song is still played with some parts censored.[6] |
2011 | Feat (壮举) | Hins Cheung | The quick gasping sound in the song was censored in both song and music video (presumably the sound related to sex) . |
2011 | Judas | Lady Gaga | At first, the song can be played as usual with the words "dead", "hooker", "prostitute", "condom", "Jesus" censored in local radio stations. However, the song was later banned indefinitely followed by the banning of official music video due to religious content.[7] |
2011 | The Lazy Song | Bruno Mars | The word "sex" was censored during the airplay but the music video has its audio intact. |
2011 | Party Rock Anthem | LMFAO | The song is passed without cuts but a scene showing a man who portrays Jesus dancing on the street is censored. |
2011 | This Is War | Thirty Seconds to Mars | A scene in the music video with pariah was censored (presumably to avoid racial tensions). |
2011 | Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) | Katy Perry | The phrase "Ménage à trois", which means "household of three" in French, is censored by reversing the audio. However, the censoring so far only applies to Hitz.FM and Astro.Hitz. For the music video, two scenes are censored. One scene shows a photo on Katy Perry's laptop where Perry is in bed with a man and another scene shows a man touching Perry's buttock. |
2011 | Smile | Avril Lavigne | The words "b**ch", "s**t" and "f**king" are censored both during airplay and in the music video on Astro.Hitz. In fact, an official clean version of the song is available but surprisingly it has not been adopted. |
2011 | Bow Chicka Wow Wow | Mike Posner | A scene showing alcoholic drinks on the table is censored in the music video. |
2011 | I Need a Doctor | Dr. Dre | Vulgar words were censored in both the song and the music video. |
2011 | Till The World Ends | Britney Spears | The music video has not been aired on Astro Hitz so far for reasons unknown. However, the song is passed by censor during the airplay. |
2011 | I Wanna Go | Britney Spears | The song is passed without cuts for airing. For the music video, two scenes are censored. One scene shows Britney answering nicely for the few first questions from the paparazzi, but then proceeds to continuously say "F**k you" to them and another scene showing Britney touching a fan's buttocks. |
2011 | Don't Wanna Go Home | Jason Derulo | The word "b**ch" was censored in both the song and the music video. |
2011 | The Edge of Glory | Lady Gaga | Banned due to strong violence and very course language. |
2011 | You and I | Lady Gaga | The music video is partially censored due to some explicit content while the song during airplay has the words "whiskey" and "Jesus" censored. |
2011 | Hush | Magic Power(魔幻力量) featuring Della Ding(丁當) | The song is banned in Malaysia due to some sexual references. |
2011 | Rain Over Me | Pitbull featuring Marc Anthony | The word "bulls**t" was censored in both the song and the music video. |
2011 | In the Dark | Dev | The word "sex" was censored in both the song and the music video, which is also censored on the official radio edit version. |
2011 | I'm on One | DJ Khaled featuring Drake, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne | The word "f**k" was censored in both the song and the music video. |
2011 | Cheers (Drink to That) | Rihanna | The word "bastards" was censored in both the song and the music video with Avril Lavigne singing I'm With You. |
2011 | It Girl | Jason Derulo | The whole line of "Baby you're my shhh girl" is replaced by another line of "Baby you got me whipped girl" for both music video and airplay. |
2011 | Wish You Were Here | Avril Lavigne | The word "s**t" was censored in both the song and the music video. |
2011 | Criminal | Britney Spears | Some sex scenes were censored in the music video but the song has its audio intact during the airplay. |
2011 | It Will Rain | Bruno Mars | The word "morphine" was censored in both the song and the music video. |
2011 | We Run the Night | Havana Brown featuring Pitbull | The word "fuck" was censored on Hitz.fm but the music video has its audio intact. |
2011 | Young, Wild & Free | Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa featuring Bruno Mars | The official clean version of this song is used on airplay. |
2012 | Marry the Night | Lady Gaga | Some scenes from the music video were banned, then later removed from YouTube's VEVO page. |
2012 | Ass Back Home | Gym Class Heroes featuring Neon Hitch | An alternative clean version of the song, "Get Yourself Back Home" are used for both airplay and music video. |
2012 | Turn Me On | David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj | The music video is apparently banned in Malaysia. In the one-hour delay broadcast of MTV Asia in Malaysia, the music video was censored and left 5 to 10 seconds left to be aired. |
2012 | You Da One | Rihanna | Some scenes showing the singer rubbing her groin were apparently censored along with the word "ni**as". |
2012 | Give Me All Your Luvin' | Madonna featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. | The word "s**t" was censored in both the song and the music video and two cheerleaders kissing is censored. |
2012 | Payphone | Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa | An alternative clean version of this song is used. |
2012 | Starships | Nicki Minaj | The word "bitches" , "fuck" and "Onika" was censored while the word "motherfucker" was only muted on Hitz.fm. In addition, music video was heavily censored in the delayed version of MTV Asia in Malaysia. |
2012 | Locked Out of Heaven | Bruno Mars | The word "sex" is censored on airplay but the music video has its audio intact. The word "sinner" is only censored on Hitz fm. |
2012 | As Long As You Love Me | Justin Bieber | The line "you're my hallelujah" is censored on Hitz fm because of its religious material. |
2013 | Thrift Shop | Macklemore and Ryan Lewis | An official clean version was used for both music video and airplay. |
2013 | C'mon | Kesha | The words "wine" and "Budweiser" are censored on Hitz.fm and Astro Hitz. |
2013 | Here's to Never Growing Up | Avril Lavigne | The words "a**" and "f**k" are censored in the clean version for airplay and music video. In addition, the word "drunk" is censored on Hitz.fm and Astro Hitz. |
2013 | I Love It | Icona Pop featuring Charli XCX | The official clean version is used on airplay, resulting in the replacement of "s**t" to "stuff" and "b**ch" to "c**ck". |
2013 | Timber | Pitbull featuring Kesha | The line "bras and thongs" is censored on Hitz.fm. |
2013 | Can't Hold Us | Macklemore featuring Ryan Lewis | The word "s**t" is censored and replaced by sound effects on airplay and music video. |
2013 | Talk Dirty | Jason Derulo featuring 2 Chainz | The official clean version was used on airplay and music video, but it is heavily censored on Hitz.fm. |
2013 | Swine | Lady Gaga | The song unknowingly played on Hitz FM but is banned in Malaysia due to the name being in reference of a pig. |
2014 | Drunk in Love | Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z | An official clean version was used with the words "liquor", "sex", "breastases" censored on radio stations. This song did not air on Hitz fm. |
2014 | Partition | Beyoncé | An official clean version was used with the words "horny", "wine" and "sexe" (sex in French) censored on radio stations. This song did not air on Hitz fm. |
2014 | Sing | Ed Sheeran | The words "smoke", "tequila" and "drunk" are censored on Hitz fm. |
2014 | G.U.Y. | Lady Gaga | The word "sexes" was censored on airplay. However, this song did not air on Hitz fm. |
2014 | Black Widow | Iggy Azalea featuring Rita Ora | The line "Praise Jesus Hallelujah" was censored on Hitz fm, the censorship is also applied to Hollywood Hamilton's Weekend Top 30. Other radio stations like Fly FM censors the word "Jesus". Initially, the word "Jesus" was not censored on Fly FM until the music video released despite the music video doesn't contain religious material. |
2014 | Wiggle | Jason Derulo featuring Snoop Dogg | The word "butt" is censored on airplay but the music video has its audio intact. |
2014 | Bang Bang | Jessie J featuring Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj | The word "cocking" is censored on airplay but the music video has its audio intact. |
2014 | Stay with Me | Sam Smith | Hitz fm censors the phrase "one-night stand" on Hollywood Hamilton's Weekend Top 30. |
2014 | Anaconda | Nicki Minaj | The word "butt" was heavily censored on airplay. The word "sex" (from "sex appeal") was censored on Hitz fm and was banned by delayed 1 hour in MTV Asia. |
2014 | Habits | Tove Lo | The word "sex" (from "sex clubs") is censored on airplay. The word "high" however, is censored only on Hitz.fm |
2014 | Don't | Ed Sheeran | The words "gin" and "sex" are both censored, but this censoring only applies to Astro-owned radios like Hitz fm. |
2014 | Uptown Funk | Mark Ronson | The words "liquor" and "b**ch" were censored on airplay but the music video has its audio intact. |
2014 | Break the Rules | Charli XCX | The word "bitch" is censored on Hitz fm. |
2014 | Burnin' Up | Jessie J | The word "sex" is censored on airplay. |
2014 | She Looks So Perfect | 5 Seconds of Summer | The word "underwear" is censored on Hitz fm. |
2014 | Take Me to Church | Hozier | The song is banned on Astro-owned radio like Hitz fm due to religious content. The ban applies to Hollywood Hamilton's Weekend Top 30 as well. |
2015 | Love Me Like You Do | Ellie Goulding | Despite the song passed without edits, some of scenes taken from the movie "Fifty Shades of Grey" were censored on MTV Asia due to its highly sexual content. The movie was banned in Malaysia for the same reason. |
2015 | Earned It | The Weeknd | The song passed without cuts on most radio stations, but the music video was banned due to its sexual content (incl. BDSM). Hilariously, Hitz.fm censored the word 'yeah' because it was mistaken for the word 'shit'. |
2015 | Heartbeat Song | Kelly Clarkson | The kiss between the gay couple was censored on MTV Asia due to its homosexual content. The song were passed without cuts. |
2015 | Roses | The Chainsmokers featuring Rozes | The word "weed" was censored on Hitz.fm with its audio intact. |
2015 | What Do You Mean | Justin Bieber | Due to the sexual content on music video, some scenes were censored in MTV Asia. |
2015 | Talking Body | Tove Lo | Although the clean version is used, the word "drunk" from "daydrunk" is censored in Hitz fm. |
2015 | Good for You | Selena Gomez | Despite the clean version is used, some of the scenes in the music video is censored on MTV Asia and Hitz.tv. |
2016 | 7 Years | Lukas Graham | The line "By eleven smoking herb and drinking burning liquor" were censored on Hitz.fm possibly because of drug and alcohol references. The part was also cut on Mix.fm and Era.fm as well but the censorship does not apply to Lite FM. |
2016 | Cake by the Ocean | DNCE | The official clean version is used on Mix.fm and other radio stations, but the phrase "fucking crazy" was edited to "crazy crazy" on both MTV Asia & Hitz FM. The music video is also censored on MTV Asia as well. |
2016 | Bitch I'm Madonna | Madonna featuring Nicki Minaj | The official clean version is used on Hitz.fm and MTV Asia, as well as the words, bitch and shit was censored. The music video has audio intact. As well, some scenes are censored in MTV Asia. |
2016 | Pillowtalk | Zayn Malik | The official clean version replaces the word "f**king" with "loving" on Hitz FM and MTV Asia. |
2016 | One Dance | Drake | The word "Hennessy" was muted on Hitz FM. Other radio stations didn't. |
2016 | No Broken Hearts | Bebe Rexha featuring Nicki Minaj | Although the official clean version is used, some of the scenes on the music video are censored on MTV Asia. |
2016 | Formation | Beyoncé | The word "negro" was censored on Hitz.fm because they might confuse with the word "ni**er". |
2016 | Work | Rihanna featuring Drake | Although the official clean version is used, some of the scenes were censored on MTV Asia. |
2016 | Kill Em with Kindness | Selena Gomez | Although the song passed with no cuts, some of the scenes were censored on MTV Asia. |
2016 | Sorry | Beyoncé | Although the official clean version is used on both Hitz fm & MTV Asia, some of the scenes including the "middle fingers up" scenes on the music video were censored on MTV Asia. |
2016 | All in My Head (Flex) | Fifth Harmony featuring Fetty Wap | On MTV Asia, some of the parts in the music video were censored. The song passed without cuts. |
2016 | Fade | Kanye West featuring Teyana Taylor | When the music video premiered on 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, practically all the scenes were censored during the live and encore telecast on MTV Asia, rendering it almost unwatchable.[8] |
2016 | Side to Side | Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj | The official clean version is used on both MTV Asia and Hitz FM. |
2016 | Make Me... | Britney Spears featuring G-Eazy | On MTV Asia, some of the parts in the music video were censored. The song passed without cuts. |
2016 | Closer | The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey | Although the song passed with no cuts but due to the sexual and nudity content on music video, some scenes were censored in MTV Asia. |
2016 | Good Grief | Bastille | Due to the some nudity content on music video, some scenes were censored in MTV Asia but the song is passed without cuts. |
2016 | Go Robot | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Although the song passed with no cuts, some of the scenes were censored on MTV Asia. |
2016 | Starboy | The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk | The official clean version is used on both MTV Asia and Hitz FM & the words "motherfucking" and "nigga" was censored as well. |
2016 | Don't Wanna Know | Maroon 5 | Some of the parts in the music video were censored on MTV Asia. The song passed without cuts. |
2016 | 24K Magic | Bruno Mars | Although the official clean version is used on Hitz.fm, the word "Jesus" was censored as well while on MTV Asia, some of the scenes on MTV Asia were censored although the official clean version is used. |
2016 | Shout Out to My Ex | Little Mix | The word "sex" was censored as well on both MTV Asia & Hitz.fm. |
2017 | I Got You | Bebe Rexha | Some of the parts in the music video were censored on MTV Asia. The song passed without cuts. |
2017 | Everyday | Ariana Grande featuring Future | The official clean version is used but only the whole line of "He giving me that good shit that make me not quit, that good shit" is replaced by another line of "He giving me that good trip that make me not quit, that good trip" for both music video on MTV Asia and Hitz FM but some of the parts in the music video were censored on MTV Asia as well.[9] |
2017 | All Time Low | Jon Bellion | The official clean version is used on both MTV Asia and Hitz.fm. |
2017 | Scared to Be Lonely | Martin Garrix featuring Dua Lipa | On MTV Asia, some of the parts in the music video were censored. The song passed without cuts. |
2017 | Symphony | Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson | The song passed without cuts. However, its music video was aired on MTV Asia with parts depicting male same-sex intimacy censored. |
2017 | Attention | Charlie Puth | Some of the parts in the music video were censored on MTV Asia. The song passed without cuts. |
2017 | I'm the One | DJ Khaled | The official clean version is both used on MTV Asia and Hitz.fm. |
2017 | That's What I Like | Bruno Mars | The word "ass", "sex" & "champagne" was censored as well but the "champagne" word heavily censored and was edited by line "Strawberry shining on ice" edited version song during the airplay while has its audio intact over 50% entire chorus part on Hitz.fm & Mix FM. Furthermore, on MTV Asia is edited only the chorus part line of "Sex by the fire at night" in original version to "Strawberry fire at night" edited version song. Plus, surprisingly MTV Asia also censored word "fleeko" for unknown reason. |
2017 | Despacito | Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber | The song has become viral in the country as well as globally but it wasn't until when the Spanish lyrics were re-evaluated through English translation and allegedly contains "obscenity", hence the song was exhorted by the Malaysian government for a ban on all their RTM radio and television stations.[10] |
2017 | Swalla | Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dolla Sign & Nicki Minaj | An official clean version was used on Hitz.fm, and the music video was banned in Malaysia due to some nudity content. |
2017 | Back to You | Louis Tomlinson featuring Bebe Rexha | The word "fuck" & "bullshit" was censored on Hitz.fm, while on MTV Asia only muted the phrase of "you fuck me up" & "bullshit" as well. |
2017 | Cold | Maroon 5 featuring Future | The word "fuck" was censored on Hitz.fm. |
2017 | Good Life | G-Eazy featuring Kehlani | The sentence "two middle fingers" from the chorus was censored as well on Hitz.fm and MTV Asia. However, the following sentence may not censor on Hitz.fm with the strange reason. |
2017 | Sorry Not Sorry | Demi Lovato | The word "fucking" was censored on Hitz.fm. |
2017 | Castle on the Hill | Ed Sheeran | The sentence "hand-rolled cigarettes" was muted as well on Hitz.fm due for referring smoking among teenagers. |
2017 | Unforgettable | French Montana featuring Swae Lee | An official clean version was used on Hitz.fm & MTV Asia. |
2017 | Swish Swish | Katy Perry featuring Nicki Minaj | The word "fuck", "bitch", "ass" & "shit" was censored on Hitz.fm & MTV Asia. |
2017 | Beautiful Trauma | Pink | Although the clean version is used, the line "Now I'm gonna fuck up" from the word "fuck" is only censored on Hitz.fm while on MTV Asia, the clean version is also used too. Futhermore, MTV Asia also only muted the phrase of "we were high" as well possibly because of drug references. Additionally, some part of scene in the music video was cuts & censored. |
2017 | How Long | Charlie Puth | The word "drunk" was censored on Hitz.fm but the censorship does not apply to Mix FM. |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Cee Lo Green – Forget You (Clean Version)".
- ↑ "Enrique Iglesias – Tonight (I'm Lovin' You) (Clean Version)".
- ↑ "P!nk – Perfect (Clean Version)".
- ↑ "Lady GaGa's 'Born This Way' Censored In Malaysia".
- ↑ "Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' censored in Malaysia over 'pro-gay' lyrics". NME. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
Radio operators say homosexuality is still 'taboo' in the country
- ↑ "Rihanna's 'S&M' Video Restricted By YouTube, Banned In 11 Countries".
- ↑ "Banned in Lebanon! Lady Gaga's Born This Way album barred from stores amid religious firestorm". Daily Mail. London. 6 June 2011.
- ↑ "Source video from Twitter User: @queertastically , MTV Asia censored Fade' Music Video during Live Telecast on #VMAs".
- ↑ "Ariana Grande - Everyday (feat. Future) [Clean]".
- ↑ "Malaysia bans 'Despacito' on state broadcaster for offensive lyrics".
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