Lady Gaga and Katy Perry have once again found themselves at the top of a music chart. Unfortunately, this chart is for songs that the Chinese government has given the thumbs-down to, CNN reports.
Gaga and Perry both made the list of 100 songs that China's Culture of Ministry has ordered websites in that country to remove by Sept. 15, lest they face punishment.
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Gaga racked up a staggering six songs on the list, all from her most recent album "Born This Way." “The Edge of Glory,” “Hair,” “Marry the Night,” “Americano,” “Judas” and “Bloody Mary" were all included in the ministry's announcement. (The album's title track was included in an earlier list issued by the government; the ministry has issued three lists of banned foreign songs since it began regulating internet content two years ago.)
Perry placed twice in China's latest banned-songs collection, with “E.T.” and “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)."
Other notable entries on the ministry's litany of musical no-no's: Beyonce's "Run the World (Girls)," Britney Spears' "Burning Up," and the 1999 Backstreet Boys chestnut "I Want it That Way," which should probably be banished for being overly saccharine, anyway.
The crackdown applies to all websites, including personal sites.
According to the ministry, allowing the songs on its list to be shared and downloaded over the web has "endangered national cultural safety.”
The tunes in question were chosen because they had not been registered with and reviewed by the ministry. According to ministry guidelines, all imported digital music needs to be translated into Chinese and submitted to the government before online distribution is permitted.