A couple weeks ago, we posted the video for Beyoncé‘s new song, “XO,” which I loved and still love. But one thing I didn’t notice was that, apparently, Beyoncé sampled the audio from the 1986 Challenger crash in the song. Yeah, that’s an oddly specific thing to sample. In response, NASA employees and family members of the victims have called her out on using audio from a tragedy. Pitchfork reports …
“My heart goes out to the families of those lost in the Challenger disaster. The song “XO” was recorded with the sincerest intention to help heal those who have lost loved ones and to remind us that unexpected things happen, so love and appreciate every minute that you have with those who mean the most to you. The songwriters included the audio in tribute to the unselfish work of the Challenger crew with hope that they will never be forgotten.”
Look, I have no doubt that the people behind the song had good intentions behind the sample — no one is so needlessly dickish they’d use a pop song to make light of a tragedy — but still, maybe not the best idea. It’s still a great song, and I love it, but it would have just been a little bit better without that reminder of those people dying.