Texas A&M’s well-known football entrance song “Power” will no longer play at the beginning of home football games, A&M Athletic Director Ross Bjork said Thursday on Facebook Live during his “Yell & Review” town hall.
The entrance song’s singer Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, made various anti-semitic comments on Twitter this week, causing several companies to drop partnerships with him including Adidas, Balenciaga, the Gap and others, according to The Washington Post.
Bjork said the athletic department has considered changing the football team’s entrance song for the last couple weeks following Ye’s public behavior.
“That song has been controversial based on the artist who still sings that song,” Bjork said. “We’re pivoting away from that song … and going to use the instrumental components to the song that our team comes back out to for the second half.”
Bjork said Childish Gambino’s “Bonfire” will be played instead, starting Saturday against Ole Miss and for the remainder of this season’s home games. Bjork said the team’s entrance routine will be reevaluated after the season ends.
“This has been in place since 2012 – same song, same pyrotechnics,” Bjork said. “This gives us a chance to review everything for next year and figure out what happens when the team comes on the field at the start of the game and what happens at halftime. This is a good solution for these last four games.”
Bjork said the change of entrance song has gathered speculation on Twitter over the last few days, with fans posting polls and their guesses as to what the new song will be.
“That’s the neat thing about the 12th Man,” Bjork said. “They engage, they care. This is really important in terms of how our team enters Kyle Field.”
A&M will kick off against Ole Miss at 6:30 p.m. at Kyle Field on Saturday, Oct. 28.
Editor’s Note: After time of publication, Ross Bjork announced via Twitter that the A&M football team will not have any entrance song during Saturday, Oct. 28, home game. Sound effects and Aggie Drum Line transitioning to the War Hymn will be used instead.