Radio ignores George Michael single

George Michael has been lambasted in the US

George Michael could be headed for a flop single despite the attention he has received because of his controversial video.

Shoot the Dog is struggling to pick up radio airplay just days before it is released in the UK.

The radio airplay chart, compiled by Music Control UK, shows the single has just managed to scrape into the top 50 most played tunes.

The cartoon video has come under a hail of criticism, especially in America, for portraying Tony Blair as a poodle to US president George Bush and satirising the country's foreign policy.

George Michael: Courting controversy?

Michael has been forced to undertake a number of damage limitation interviews to persuade the US public that the video is not intended to be anti-American.

But despite the acres of news coverage, the song is failing to make an impact on the people that matter, radio station bosses and the record buying public.

The song, which is released on Monday, is sitting at number 47 in the airplay chart, way behind his rivals vying for a good chart spot.

C-list

Popstars and Pop Idol contestant Darius Danesh's debut single Colourblind is at number 22 while the Doves' Pounding is at number 32.

BBC Radio 1 has only given Shoot the Dog a C-list playlist rating, meaning it is only played occasionally throughout the course of a week.

Stars such as Ashanti, Jennifer Lopez and Oasis are some of some of the artists categorised on the A-list.

Airplay, which is calculated by the number of times a song is played, is seen as crucial to securing a good chart position in the weeks leading up to the release of any single.

Michael's comeback single Freeek!, which was out in March, got to number 19 in the airplay chart in the week prior to its release.

Despite its popularity on the airwaves, it entered the pop charts at a disappointing number seven.