Timbaland/Keri Hilson - "The Way I Are"

[musicfanpete]

This song has already peaked at #30 on the Billboard and Mediabase Hot AC charts, but has hung around for about 12 weeks and is holding pretty steady just under its peak.

WTMX in Chicago has just added it this week as they continue to segue into a bit more of a mainstream (but still adult) CHR direction. They are probably doing this to fend off their new, more conservative Hot AC competitor, Fresh 105.9 (yeah they report as a mainstream AC, but for all practical purposes are a Hot AC).

Just wondering how long "The Way I Are" might hang around, and how much further the Mix might go toward mimicking other "Hot AC's" like WKRQ or WZPL.

[atlantaboy]

IMO Hot AC stations that play "The Way I Are" in significant rotation are really CHRs that prob. stay on the Hot AC panel so they can add songs like "Her Eyes" and "The Way I Am" when they go for HAC adds

Don't think WTMX/Chicago should be moved to CHR (like WKRQ and WZPL though) IMO cause they still rotate most of their currents less than 40x a week, and b/c Her Eyes and The Way I Am are in their Top 5 I think (just looked but too lazy to look again )

Pretty sure the reason WTMX is leanin more CHR is cause WKSC is essentially Rhythmic so it's tryin to fill both the "Mainstream CHR" gap and the "Modern Pop/Alternative Hot AC" gap

[Chase]

Does Timbaland add his usual "hey" to this song?

[musicfanpete]

rebelsweetheart said:

Does Timbaland add his usual "hey" to this song?

No. He actually sings quite a bit on this song. :)

[musicfanpete]

atlantaboy said:

IMO Hot AC stations that play "The Way I Are" in significant rotation are really CHRs that prob. stay on the Hot AC panel so they can add songs like "Her Eyes" and "The Way I Am" when they go for HAC adds

Don't think WTMX/Chicago should be moved to CHR (like WKRQ and WZPL though) IMO cause they still rotate most of their currents less than 40x a week, and b/c Her Eyes and The Way I Am are in their Top 5 I think (just looked but too lazy to look again )

Pretty sure the reason WTMX is leanin more CHR is cause WKSC is essentially Rhythmic so it's tryin to fill both the "Mainstream CHR" gap and the "Modern Pop/Alternative Hot AC" gap

You make a good point about which direction WTMX is going in. While the Mix has been adding more rhythmic product this past year, they still are very early on pop/alternative product in comparison with the rest of the country. They are able to take advantage of their heritage in that they were one of the first, if not the first Modern AC's in the country about 11 or 12 years ago. Even now, they were one of the first stations in the country to add Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson to their playlist, and they can do that since many of their core listeners listened to the station during the Lilith Fair days.

Adding more rhythmic product within their still pop/alternative leaning playlist just makes them sound that much more diverse, which is great since this is reflective of the trend this format is going through right now. And like you said, as long as they keep their most active currents under 40 to 50 plays a week, they will probably still be classified as a Hot AC, even though they are leaning a bit more mainstream CHR these days.