SAME LOVE - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' Song A Surprise Hit After SCOTUS Rulings

The Huffington Post - July 1, 2013:

Last week, the same day the Defense of Marriage Act and Prop 8 were overturned by the Supreme Court, not only was there a victory for gay couples all across America, there was also another victory for gay marriage... on the music charts.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, the hip-hop duo that scored a surprise number one hit this past Spring with "Thrift Shop," saw their song about gay marriage, "Same Love," (featuring singer Mary Lambert), jump into the Top 40 at number 28, up from spot 65 the week before.

"Same Love," first hit the singles chart back in February, and while it found itself at number 89 in the Top 100, it didn't seem like a hit in the making like their other single, "Thrift Shop." Macklemore, Lewis and Lambert all performed the song live on Ellen DeGeneres' daytime talk show back in March, but now with same-sex marriage in the news again, the song looks to be finding new life.

According to "The New York Times," not only is "Same Love" number 28 in the Top 40, but on the Billboard Rap chart it's at number five, a surprising feat for a song explicity about gay marriage. The music video, which features same-sex couples in love and getting married, has helped with the success of the song, and as of this writing it has been viewed 53 million times.

When Mary Lambert spoke with "The Seattle Times" back in May she talked about being gay and growing up in a very religious household, even apologizing to God for her same-sex attractions:

“I fought it for a long time, then I fell in love with another girl and then I decided I would repent every day, because I knew I wasn’t going to change. But that was absurd.”

Lambert is now part of an unexpected hit song and is touring the country while re-releasing her EP in Europe and talking with record labels about a full-length album.

Tom Poleman, the president for national programming at Clear Channel Media told the The New York Times, “It’s been phenomenal. Everything we are seeing shows it’s going to be another monster hit for them.”

Whether "Same Love" hits number one as a result of the Supreme Court rulings and the general feelings towards gay marriage in the United States remains to be seen, but if its leaps up the charts is any indication, "Same Love" may be a gay marriage wedding present from the unlikeliest of places: the hip hop world.