Criticized by some, celebrated by others: The song “Layla” by DJ Robin, which was controversial because of accusations of sexism
“There is no way around “Layla” this summer,” said the chart investigators from Baden-Baden. The song has reached more than 60 million streams and has been at number one in the official German single charts for five weeks non-stop.
The catchy tune, which is ideal for singing along, revolves around a “poof mama” who is “prettier, younger, hornier”. In Würzburg and later in other cities, “Layla” was banned from festivals. The song therefore sparked a debate about artistic freedom and alleged censorship.
But regardless of all the discussions, according to GfK Entertainment, the number of views and purchases is constantly increasing. The party song sat down against international candidates like “Ferrari” (James Hype
Apron: I put my heart and soul into music
The interpreters can hardly believe it: “It means a lot to me because you put a lot of heart and soul into the music. If you can inspire people with it and it takes on such proportions, it’s crazy. Phenomenal,” said Schürze (31 ) of the German Press Agency. And DJ Robin (26) explained: “The fact that so many Ballermann songs are up in the charts like never before shows that people want to party again and have Mallorca songs. Mallorca is anything but dead.”
The week-long sexism debate about “Layla” made a significant contribution to the success from the point of view of the interpreters. “That was excellent for us,” said songwriter Schürze, whose real name is Michael Müller. “Of course that fired us up, we don’t need to discuss it. You can’t have more advertising.”
On Sunday, the Ballermann hit should be heard in the high-performing “ZDF TV Garden”. The program is under the party motto “Mallorca vs. Oktoberfest”.
The question of whether the widely acclaimed song is just for fun or testifies to deep-seated sexism and misogyny has polarized the general public in recent weeks. There was a lot of silly polemics about the supposedly fun-free Germany.
Producer Hipgold: “Dictatorship often begins with censorship”
“Layla” producer Ikke Hipgold even pulled out the big cutlery: “The “Layla” debate also undermines our Basic Law,” he wrote in a post on “Zeit Online”. When “allegedly enlightened politicians” start damaging freedom of expression and freedom of art, “then all warning bells should ring,” explained the 45-year-old. “A dictatorship often begins with censorship.”
Hip Gold (“Big Tits, Potato Salad”) also asked: “Can it be that an example is suddenly being made of a song here, even though Schlager, pop and especially rap musicians have been delivering rough lyrics for an eternity?” His métier is mood music: “Songs that don’t always have politically correct lyrics, but which should bring joy.”
In any case, pop singer Lucas Cordalis considers the song to be “an incredible phenomenon”, as he recently told the German Press Agency. Rarely did he “see party people go so crazy over a song”. “Obviously it seems to give a lot of people a lot of pleasure. Whether you have to use a language, as is the case in the song, is an open question. However, there are certainly examples in musical literature that are much worse and more below the belt than in the title “Layla”,” said the son of hit icon Costa Cordalis.
In fact, German-language songs used to have a rough choice of words in relation to women. For example, 40 years ago the Spider Murphy Gang’s “Scandal in the Restricted Area” was a number one hit: “And outside the big city, the whores are flat on their feet.”
Ballermann celebrity Mickie Krause has been singing in his song “Go get a beer” for years: “Saturday evening “Sportschau”, as always he’s looking forward to it, then his Olle comes in and he says: “Hey, watch out “Go get a beer, you’re getting ugly again.”
A real scandal with the depiction of a sex crime was Falco’s “Jeanny” in 1985. In it, the narrating perpetrator enjoys the humiliation of his victim.
Signs of patriarchal structures?
As a sign of patriarchal structures, experts such as the musicologist Marina Schwarz from the University of Leipzig also interpret the seemingly harmless song “Im Wagen vor mir” by Henry Valentino with Uschi, which, strictly speaking, plays down abusive behavior, even stalking. Because in it a man follows a woman in a car because he enjoys the sight of her. The woman, on the other hand, becomes increasingly frightened and finally turns off to hide at the side of the road.
On the other hand, some interpret “Layla” almost as an emancipation song with an admiration for self-confident women: “I have a whorehouse and my whorehouse mom’s name is Layla. She’s prettier, younger, hornier”. And: “The beautiful Layla, the horny Layla, the bitch Layla, our Layla.”
In the decades-long history of official summer hits, German-language songs have so far been rare. Only in 2007 was “Hamma!” by Culcha Candela and 2003’s “Off to the South” by Buddy vs. DJ The Wave. Classic summer hits, on the other hand, were songs like “Macarena” by Los del Rio in the mid-90s or “The Ketchup Song” by Las Ketchup 20 years ago, and “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee or three years ago “Señorita” by Shawn Mendes
