Intentionally or not, there are times when artists have a great impact on their audience. American rapper Logic, also, may have helped people to a great extent with his song “1-800-273-8255” which was released in 2017. The title of the song “1-800-273-8255” is the phone number for the American National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL), and it led to an upsurge in the number of people who reached out for help when they were struggling.
The song generated strong public attention, and research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) suggests that 9,915 calls were recorded after the release of the song. Evidently, there was also a reduction in the number of US suicides.
The song’s release in April 2017, Logic’s performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in August 2017, and a performance at the Grammy Awards in January 2018 are said to be the main events that have encouraged people to use the lifeline.
“All these events gave widespread public attention to the message of the song — that help from Lifeline is available and effective. Suicide prevention and education efforts must harness positive media to educate the general public and high-risk groups about suicide prevention without doing harm to individuals at risk. But a major dilemma for research in this area has been that stories of hope and recovery receive much less media coverage than stories of suicide death,” the researchers stated.
The song featured Alessia Cara and Khalid, and was a hit with listeners. It remained in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 US music charts for multiple weeks. It ranked number three in September 2017.
Statistically, there was nearly a 10 percent rise in Google searches for Lifeline. A call volume increase of 6.9 percent to Lifeline was recorded, while the reduction in suicide rates was down by 245, that is 5.5 percent.
