Happy Birthday to Hot AC!!!!

[Kid Pulse]

On April 22, this radio format became 13 years old. 8 days later, I turn 16 .

What do you think has been the best year ever on HAC? Do you think the format is headed in the right direction?

[shocker]

13 years old? What source are you using?

Billboard officially recognized the Hot AC (Adult Top 40) format as a break-off from the Adult Contemporary chart the week ending 3/16/96. Unoffically, Hot AC has been its own format for at least 2 or 3 decades as a mid-point between top 40 & traditional AC - just not recognized as a separate format until the mid-90s.

Best year ever? Hard to say. I've liked Hot AC ever since the CHR/top 40 format started playing heavy R&B and hip-hop. To me, it was an escape from the (c)rap without having to go too light. So I'd say every year has been good for the format

[mrclimbfall20]

I'd like Hot AC to have more alternative songs, so yeah I think it's going in the right direction.

[Hot AC Archiver]

Radio and Records' HAC chart is the one that debuted 4/22/94. Here's the top 10 that week:

1. Now and Forever - Richard Marx
2. Everyday - Phil Collins
3. Love Sneakin' Up on You - Bonnie Raitt
4. Streets of Philadelphia - Bruce Springsteen
5. The Power of Love - Celine Dion
6. The Sign - Ace of Base
7. Without You - Mariah Carey
8. Breathe Again - Toni Braxton
9. I'll Remember - Madonna
10. Because the Night - 10000 Maniacs

I'm not sure which year has been best. Early on it really was closer to AC then evolved into its own format. Now its evolving toward Pop. I think that it's future is closer to today's Pop than alternative. All it will take is some consultant to come up with the idea that the Hot AC audience is craving more rap/hip-hop, and the stations will soon follow.

[Kid Pulse]

day1. Oh, so does that mean the format was around before 4/22/91? I just thought since that was when the R&R chart began, that was its debut.

2. ^^ I'm really annoyed by how poppy its getting. Who are the consultants lol?

[shocker]

at40fantoo said:

Radio and Records' HAC chart is the one that debuted 4/22/94.

Oh, ok. I never really paid much attention to R&R until about 1997. Up until then, I relied mostly on Billboard. Their Adult Top 40 chart debut was 3/16/96.

I recall that in July, 1993, Billboard started using the electronic Soundscan airplay data to rank songs spun on AC stations. From that time until March, '96, Billboard included Hot AC/Adult Top 40 songs on the regular AC chart. That's why during that period of time, many songs appeared on the Billboard AC chart that you wouldn't normally expect to see - "Another Night" by Real McCoy, "Wonderwall" by Oasis, "Found Out About You" by Gin Blossoms, "Two Princes" by Spin Doctors, and others.

[shocker]

video545 said:

day1. Oh, so does that mean the format was around before 4/22/91? I just thought since that was when the R&R chart began, that was its debut.

There were a handful of stations in the '80s that were Hot AC in nature, but they were classified as just AC.

An example would be K101 in San Francisco - they were always more pop-rock oriented than a regular soft rock station of its time. Here in Phoenix, we briefly had a station in the mid-80s that caled itself Adult Top 40. They played almost everything CHR spun, BUT - they refused to play "I Want Your Sex" by George Michael when it came out. They didn't play any of the edgier songs of that time either - no Poison, no Beastie Boys, not even Bon Jovi.

[shocker]

mrclimbfall20 said:

I'd like Hot AC to have more alternative songs, so yeah I think it's going in the right direction.

Seems like Hot AC has had a light alternative, or pop-alternative sound since the late '90s. Remember that early on, Matchbox 20 was classified as alternative. But bands & artists change, times change, and the sound has to evolve as well.

I'd like Hot AC to continue the same type of sound, but I wouldn't mind too much if it goes more pop - just as long as they don't start playing too much of the (c)rap that turned me away from CHR!

Not too much teen-pop either, please!!!!! Hot AC should stick to the mature artists.

[mrclimbfall20]

shocker said:

mrclimbfall20 said:

I'd like Hot AC to have more alternative songs, so yeah I think it's going in the right direction.

Seems like Hot AC has had a light alternative, or pop-alternative sound since the late '90s. Remember that early on, Matchbox 20 was classified as alternative. But bands & artists change, times change, and the sound has to evolve as well.

I'd like Hot AC to continue the same type of sound, but I wouldn't mind too much if it goes more pop - just as long as they don't start playing too much of the (c)rap that turned me away from CHR!

Not too much teen-pop either, please!!!!! Hot AC should stick to the mature artists.

It sucks that they're still not considered alternative. I'd love to hear them on a rock station these days (and other Hot AC bands like that)

[musicfanpete]

shocker said:

video545 said:

day1. Oh, so does that mean the format was around before 4/22/91? I just thought since that was when the R&R chart began, that was its debut.

There were a handful of stations in the '80s that were Hot AC in nature, but they were classified as just AC.

An example would be K101 in San Francisco - they were always more pop-rock oriented than a regular soft rock station of its time. Here in Phoenix, we briefly had a station in the mid-80s that caled itself Adult Top 40. They played almost everything CHR spun, BUT - they refused to play "I Want Your Sex" by George Michael when it came out. They didn't play any of the edgier songs of that time either - no Poison, no Beastie Boys, not even Bon Jovi.

Q101 in Chicago (long before they flipped to Alternative) was a very highly rated Hot AC station in the 80's, though they fluctuated between a soft rock leaning AC and a Hot AC several times until their format flip to Alternative in 1992. One of their most interesting periods was in early 1991 when they tweaked back to an Adult Top 40 format, playing the likes of "Temptation" by Corina and "Shiny Happy People" by REM. Now I highly enjoyed their playlist at that time, though most of those songs were relegated to nighttime airplay until the callout numbers made them worthy of daytime airplay (my first introduction with the concept of dayparting, which I think is ridiculous on a Hot AC station)! If you can't play it during the daytime, it has no business on a Hot AC station to begin with.

Anyway, to make a long story short, their ratings dropped, and they went back to a rock-leaning "Hot AC" playing the likes of the Damn Yankees, Cher and Michael Bolton for about a year before their flip to Alternative. Even after their format flip, they sounded more like a forerunner to the Modern AC format than a pure Alternative format for about six months, until they gradually segued into a straight ahead Alternative format, which is where they have been ever since. Ironically, since they dumped Mancow off of his flagship station about six months ago, Q-101's ratings are now at all time lows! But in their heyday as a Hot AC, they were maybe a decade ahead of their time. But that was at a time when PD's still had at least some freedom to program a station using their gut instincts. And it was a great station to listen to, with a great morning show.

Aaah, those where the good old days!

[shocker]

musicfanpete said:

Now I highly enjoyed their playlist at that time, though most of those songs were relegated to nighttime airplay until the callout numbers made them worthy of daytime airplay (my first introduction with the concept of dayparting, which I think is ridiculous on a Hot AC station)! If you can't play it during the daytime, it has no business on a Hot AC station to begin with.

I thought dayparting was more common in small markets.

That reminds me of a radio station in Flagstaff, Arizona that called itself "the Heat" in the early to mid '90s. It was more or less a Hot AC; but since Flagstaff is a small market, the station spun Celine Dion & Jimmy Buffett in the daytime, and more top 40 material such as Janet Jackson & Real McCoy during the evenings.

[Kid Pulse]

mrclimbfall20 said:

shocker said:

Seems like Hot AC has had a light alternative, or pop-alternative sound since the late '90s. Remember that early on, Matchbox 20 was classified as alternative. But bands & artists change, times change, and the sound has to evolve as well.

I'd like Hot AC to continue the same type of sound, but I wouldn't mind too much if it goes more pop - just as long as they don't start playing too much of the (c)rap that turned me away from CHR!

Not too much teen-pop either, please!!!!! Hot AC should stick to the mature artists.

It sucks that they're still not considered alternative. I'd love to hear them on a rock station these days (and other Hot AC bands like that)

I agree. DC101 made fun of Rob Thomas last year, which I thought was pretty low.

[mrclimbfall20]

video545 said:

mrclimbfall20 said:

It sucks that they're still not considered alternative. I'd love to hear them on a rock station these days (and other Hot AC bands like that)

I agree. DC101 made fun of Rob Thomas last year, which I thought was pretty low.

What did they say about him?

[johnnywest]

The music this year has been better than it has been so far this decade.

[tico]

My first exposure to hot AC was in the late 80s on a trip to Detroit listening to CIMX Windsor (of course, before they went alternative). I remember not hearing rap music on the station, which I thought was weird for what I thought was a CHR station.

As far as when hot AC became more rockish-sounding, I would say it started around 1993 or '94, when artists like Gin Blossoms, Counting Crows and the Dave Matthews Band became staples of the format. Some stations, like Los Angeles' Star 98.7 and Chicago's 101.9 the Mix, took on more of a sound we know as modern AC.

Where I live, we have no hot AC, so there's a lot I've missed out on the format trends for some time now.

[Kid Pulse]

mrclimbfall20 said:

video545 said:

I agree. DC101 made fun of Rob Thomas last year, which I thought was pretty low.

What did they say about him?

He was announcing concerts in the D.C. area, and he said "Rob Thomas and Natasha Beddingfeild" he was like "you probably already know about that one too". then he paused and said "Shame on you for knowing about that one". Then he starts laughing hysterically.

This was last summer.

[mrclimbfall20]

video545 said:

mrclimbfall20 said:

What did they say about him?

He was announcing concerts in the D.C. area, and he said "Rob Thomas and Natasha Beddingfeild" he was like "you probably already know about that one too". then he paused and said "Shame on you for knowing about that one". Then he starts laughing hysterically.

This was last summer.

Ohh, yeah thats kinda messed up I guess. Was it a "rock" station or whatever?

[Kid Pulse]

mrclimbfall20 said:

video545 said:

He was announcing concerts in the D.C. area, and he said "Rob Thomas and Natasha Beddingfeild" he was like "you probably already know about that one too". then he paused and said "Shame on you for knowing about that one". Then he starts laughing hysterically.

This was last summer.

Ohh, yeah thats kinda messed up I guess. Was it a "rock" station or whatever?

Yeah, they're a "modern rock" station. They say some pretty disgusting things on that station. My pop station has been copycatting them lately, with thier new "naughty" morning show.

My Hot AC station's morning show seems like something from the 50s, lol.

[mrclimbfall20]

The Hot AC station here is boring too. Although lately they've been trying to act less family orientated and is trying to spice it up a bit. It doesn;t sound right cause they've been around since the 80's and were on the original "Star"

[Kid Pulse]

I like flipping back and forth for morning shows, I like switching from my Hot AC station talking about pie eating contests to my pop and rock stations talking about orgies. It's funny; in a way.

[mrclimbfall20]

Haha yeah it's a nice balance. Morning shows usually bug me cause I'm grumpy in the morning.

[Kid Pulse]

I would prefer a little more music, and my Hot AC station does that. They don't go on talking for 20 minutes and then go to commercials. They talk, but they balance it out. They tend to play a lot of 90s songs in the morning for some reason, which I like.

[Chase]

I wish that Hot AC would adopt a format similar to the definition of "alternative" back in the mid-1990s (that eclectic mix of Hootie, Oasis, Sheryl, Alanis, Better Than Ezra, Gin Blossoms, etc.)

The ideal Hot AC format to me would draw a little more from Triple A. Core artists would include Pete Yorn, The Fray, KT Tunstall, Guster, Maroon 5 (the poppiest extreme), Damien Rice, Jack Johnson, Snow Patrol, Death Cab for Cutie, Beck, Regina Spektor. The Chili Peppers would represent the format at its most (modern day) alternative. It might also mix in older songs from "Classic Alternative" artists such as Alanis, BTE, The Wallflowers, Goo Goo Dolls, Gin Blossoms, Sister Hazel, etc.

Just a thought.

[mst3k]

Happy birthday to the R&R Hot AC chart.

Q105 was the main Top 40 station here in Tampa throughout the '80s, yet by today's standards they'd have been considered Hot AC. They played a lot of older stuff (their gold library went back about 20 years) and were very slow to play new urban or harder rock songs. In fact, their current format (classic hits/oldies) isn't that far removed from the music they played two decades ago as a CHR.

[mrclimbfall20]

video545 said:

I would prefer a little more music, and my Hot AC station does that. They don't go on talking for 20 minutes and then go to commercials. They talk, but they balance it out. They tend to play a lot of 90s songs in the morning for some reason, which I like.

Yeah dude I know what you mean. Usually I'll listen to our Active Rock station for the morning show or I'll go to our AAA station to listen to music since Star 94.1 (the Hot AC station) is only talk and they get on my nerves haha

[Marv]

There really wasn't any reason for a Hot AC format to even exist until the very early nineties.

Stations such as Chicago's Q101, Star 98.7 here in LA, and Star 100.7 in San Diego were among the Hot AC format's pioneers in the early nineties; all enjoyed grabbing tons of new listeners from their local Top 40 stations, and were VERY good at it.

CHR/Pop had been a mass-appeal format for most of its existence, at least going back to 93/KHJ here in LA, which Bill Drake launched in 1965, and essentially reinvented the format.

Many air personalities there went on to become legends in various markets, including Mason Dixon in Tampa, as well as Bobby Rich in San Diego & Tucson.

CHR/Pop started to lose its mass-appeal status in the late eighties, and specifically in 1987, the year in which a year-old CHR/Rhythmic station (Emmis's KPWR, aka Power 106), blew a huge hole in taking down longtime NATIONALLY-prominent CHR/Pop powerhouse KIIS here in LA.

Almost every CHR/Pop station out there which copied KIIS's overreaction to KPWR by loading up on the rhyhtmic material which burst onto the scene in the late eighties (and which KIIS started playing FAR too much of to keep its teen audience, sacrificng its adult listenership in the process) and early nineties saw its ratings either go down slowly or just dive (KIIS went from a 10.0 to a 7.1 in less than three years--fall of 1987), and lots of onetime CHR/Pop powerhouses such as WZPL in Indianapolis eventually became Hot AC stations to hold on to the MILLIONS of baby-boomers and 'soccer moms' who couldn't listen to the vulgar hard core rap which CHR/Pop had become infested with.

I'm not sure what year the debut CD by the Spin Doctors came out, but KYSR, aka Star 98.7 here in LA, was a Hot AC station by 1992 or thereabouts, and its success drew lots of national attention from the folks at BB & R&R, as well as the nation's retailers.

CHR/Pop became a CHR/Rhythmic clone by 1992, and became less listenable to adults as the nineties wore on, which led to the creation of the Hot AC format, and the introduction of their separate charts in 1994.

In LOTS of cities today, the AC & Hot AC station share LOTS of music, while the percentage of music which AC and CHR/Pop stations share today is the lowest in the CHR/Pop format's history, having plunged substantially over the past decade.

AC and Country stations also share LOTS of music, primarily because country music is not compatible with CHR/Pop's core audience of teens and young adults (18-34).

Hot AC SHOULD be THE best sounding format out there, merely by combining the best of ALL-type music from all genres that are out there, but an overreliance on consultants and research, combined with the TONS of DEFENSIVE programming which has swamped radio since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 allowed these big conglomerates to buy as many as eight radio stations ina single market, and to cut costs by becoming addicted to money-making processes such as having one PD program several radio stations, AND serve as a regional VP, and the hideous practice of voicetracking, has been a disaster for radio in general, and especially for creative, COMPELLING and risk-taking programming.

Hot AC (or Adult Top 40) has essentially become the mass-appeal format that CHR/Pop used to be until the early-to-mid nineties.

Sadly, excessive micromanagement and use of consultants has sucked the creativity out of the room of radio these days, and the corporate beancounters at Clear Channel, CBS, Emmis and all the other congolomerates are the reason why radio sounds so dull these days, and that ESPECIALLY goes for the Hot AC format, which should sound as awesome as CHR/Pop did in the 60s/70s/80s, when ALL types of music by ALL types of artists could be found side-by-side at any powerhouse CHR/Pop station out there.

[musicfanpete]

Great points Marv. Your point about Hot AC's potentially becoming THE mass appeal format for this generation may be coming to fruition, as more and more Hot AC's are adding different genres of music. Looking at the current Hot AC Top 20, you have a country crossover smash and several rhythmic pop crossovers that have done extremely well on Hot AC. So I think that your wish may be coming true.

It is interesting to note that several posters in this thread would rather not see pop crossover songs invading the chart. They liked the "light alternative" sound that has encompassed this format for years now. I don't really agree with their assessments though as the format now sounds stale with mostly one type of music. I think adding several genres gives the spice and boost that this format needs to truly become a mass appeal pop format. Not that this hasn't been the mass appeal format for adults over the past decade, but up until a year or two ago, it did not sound like the true Adult Top 40 format that the Canadian Hot AC format sounds like.

Until recently, our version of the format had sounded more like the Triple AAA format minus the album cuts. With artists like Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado and Gym Class Heroes now climbing higher up the chart with more regularity, I think Hot AC in the U.S. is now starting to truely sound more like the mass appeal CHR for adults. As long as it steers clear from adding too much rap and hip-hop, Hot AC radio should be a viable format in this country for years to come.

[Matt4319]

rebelsweetheart said:

I wish that Hot AC would adopt a format similar to the definition of "alternative" back in the mid-1990s (that eclectic mix of Hootie, Oasis, Sheryl, Alanis, Better Than Ezra, Gin Blossoms, etc.)

The ideal Hot AC format to me would draw a little more from Triple A. Core artists would include Pete Yorn, The Fray, KT Tunstall, Guster, Maroon 5 (the poppiest extreme), Damien Rice, Jack Johnson, Snow Patrol, Death Cab for Cutie, Beck, Regina Spektor. The Chili Peppers would represent the format at its most (modern day) alternative. It might also mix in older songs from "Classic Alternative" artists such as Alanis, BTE, The Wallflowers, Goo Goo Dolls, Gin Blossoms, Sister Hazel, etc.

Just a thought.

I'd like this too. Hot AC is the new Pop (my God, Fergie is in the top 30!), but I'd rather Pop stay the old Pop and Hot AC go the other way.

[mrclimbfall20]

marv said:

There really wasn't any reason for a Hot AC format to even exist until the very early nineties.

Stations such as Chicago's Q101, Star 98.7 here in LA, and Star 100.7 in San Diego were among the Hot AC format's pioneers in the early nineties; all enjoyed grabbing tons of new listeners from their local Top 40 stations, and were VERY good at it.

It's kinda ironic since Star 100.7 switched to the "Jack" format and a couple months later essentially the whole Star staff went to their rival Hot AC station My 94.1 and then the day that the morning show that got the station popular changed the name from My 94.1 to Star. Musically it was very good for a while until they got a new PD and the station went to hell. Although, their marketing is much better and the station sounds like it's targeting a younger audience (not that anyone cares...I'm just bored)

[Kid Pulse]

mrclimbfall20 said:

marv said:

There really wasn't any reason for a Hot AC format to even exist until the very early nineties.

Stations such as Chicago's Q101, Star 98.7 here in LA, and Star 100.7 in San Diego were among the Hot AC format's pioneers in the early nineties; all enjoyed grabbing tons of new listeners from their local Top 40 stations, and were VERY good at it.

It's kinda ironic since Star 100.7 switched to the "Jack" format and a couple months later essentially the whole Star staff went to their rival Hot AC station My 94.1 and then the day that the morning show that got the station popular changed the name from My 94.1 to Star. Musically it was very good for a while until they got a new PD and the station went to hell. Although, their marketing is much better and the station sounds like it's targeting a younger audience (not that anyone cares...I'm just bored)

Lol, I like to see songs by Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake having success here, but like we may have seen the last of Sara McLachlan and Dave Matthews Band hitting the top 10.

Heck, The Gin Blossoms flopped with thier comeback hit here. I thought it would go top 20.