Music brings people together, but it can also tear them apart. At least that’s what authorities in New Zealand were hoping as they attempted to break up an anti-COVID-19 vaccine protest outside the Parliament building.
According to BBC, police put the timeless tunes of Barry Manilow and the indelible “Macarena” on a 15-minute loop in hopes of dispersing the crowd. Entertainment Tonight Canada reports that they also turned to the likes of “Baby Shark,” “My Heart Will Go On” and the Frozen classic “Let It Go.”
None of the overplayed anthems were successful. Instead, the self-titled Convoy for Freedom responded in sort by blasting Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”
The protesters also overcame other peaceful attempts to send them home. BBC reports that when authorities turned on the sprinklers, they dug trenches to redirect the water.
That’s when authorities knew it was time to bring out the big guns: the musical stylings of one James Blunt.
Thankfully, Blunt took to Twitter to offer his discography for crowd control after catching wind of the failed attempts to get people moving with Manilow.
“Give me a shout if this doesn’t work,” he said. The singer directed his message to the New Zealand police account.
This caught the attention of Parliament Speaker Trevor Mallard, who responded with gratitude.
“We will take up your very kind offer,” Mallard replied on Twitter. “My only doubt is whether it is fair to our @nzpolice officers but I think they will be able to cope.”
According to CNN, Mallard is in charge of the playlists and has been getting recommendations on Twitter. He is also apparently interspersing ads about the COVID-19 vaccines in between the annoying hits.
It appears that police did use Blunt’s music. Another Twitter user responded to the hit-maker’s tweet with a video from the protest. You can just barely make out his distinctive voice belting out “You’re Beautiful” in the mix.
So far, it does not appear that even James Blunt was able to send everyone home.
To be fair, in the heyday of “You’re Beautiful,” it already felt like you could heard Blunt once every 15 minutes on various radio stations. Maybe at this point people are just immune…
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