Research finds the US rapper contributed to a reduction in suicides and an increase in calls to the prevention hotline, 1-800-273-8255.
Logic’s popular 2017 single 1-800-273-8255 has proven to be more than just a commercial success, with a new study finding evidence that the song is directly linked to more people reaching out for crisis support as well as a decrease in suicide-related deaths.
Research by the medical journal BMJ found that within 34 days after the song’s release, the 2017 MTV Music Video Awards and the 2018 Grammy Awards, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline received an increase of 9,915 calls – nearly seven per cent more than the expected number.
These three events were behind the biggest periods of exposure for the song, and within those periods of publicity, there was a decrease of 245 suicides in the United States.
The song featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains Logic’s most streamed track, clocking over a billion listens on Spotify alone.
1-800-273-8255 has been praised for its efforts to break the stigma surrounding suicidal thoughts and mental health struggles, but despite the real-world impact the song has contributed to, Logic revealed to GQ that he was on the receiving end of a “tsunami of hate” after he performed the single at the VMAs.
Regardless of the hate, the Los Angeles based rapper is touched by the awareness the song has brought to suicide prevention. He told CNN, “We did it from a really warm place in our hearts to try to help people. And the fact that it actually did, that blows my mind.”
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