Can music change the world? In 1984, the English ska band Special AKA shared a song about a political prisoner unknown outside of South Africa. It was called “Free Nelson Mandela,” and it was the latest song after Peter Gabriel’s “Biko” to bring the fight against apartheid to the British pop charts. That same year, Bruce Springsteen’s guitarist Steven Van Zandt organized a charity single called “Sun City,” named for the whites-only resort in Bophutatswana where Western acts like Queen and Rod Stewart performed. Politics felt the cultural shift; two years later, the House voted to override President Ronald Reagan's veto and passed the Comprehensive Apartheid Act, which contained economic sanctions against South Africa.

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These musicians raised awareness at the cost of rejection, hostility, or indifference, expressing solidarity with hundreds of South African artists who often faced much worse in their home country. It is impossible to build a consensus without standing for something, and it is unclear what, if anything, Madonna’s performance at Eurovision 2019 in Tel Aviv was supposed to be about. The gig came in the shadow of controversy — Palestinian rights groups and BDS (Boycott Divest Sanction) activists had called for Madonna to back out of the much-loved global singing competition in solidarity with protests against the far-right Israeli government, and the ongoing occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. Madonna refused. In a statement issued before the show, she said: "I'll never stop playing music to suit someone's political agenda, nor will I stop speaking out against violations of human rights wherever in the world they may be.”