American Top 40 (Hot AC) - July 25-26, 2009

[Battle601]

And so it's come down to this weekend...where AT40 history could very well be made.

Sara Bareilles - 96 weeks on the chart with "Love Song"? Or will she be denied a shot at breaking the record set by Lifehouse's "You and Me". Although all signs point to a new record being set indeed, this will only be confirmed once the chart is posted later today.

One thing's for sure...Shinedown's "Second Chance" will remain at #1 (that will be 6 weeks). Mark this one in the running for the top positions in the year-end chart.

Other projected guesses:
"You Belong With Me" debuts one week after being a breakout
Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" gets its first sample as a breakout
Big move for Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody"

[Deleted]

i love lifehouse...purge,what is the different between ac and hot ac?the audience demographic?

[ericNY2002]

Heres the chart:

40 39 (03) Airborne Toxic Event-Sometime Around Midnight
39 38 (05) Black Eyed Peas-Boom Boom Pow
38 37 (02) Green Day-21 Guns
37 40 (02) Safetysuit-Stay
36 36 (37) David Cook-Light On
35 33 (04) Coldplay-Life in Technicolor II
34 32 (61) Gavin Rossdale-Love Remains the Same
33 35 (96) Sara Bareilles-Love Song
AT40 Breakout: Collective Soul-Staring Down
32 31 (40) Nickelback-Gotta Be Somebody
31 29 (22) Plain White T's-1,2,3,4
30 --- (01) Taylor Swift-You Belong With Me
29 28 (51) O.A.R.-Shattered (turn the Car Around)
28 30 (57) Coldplay-Viva La Vida
27 27 (32) Taylor Swift-Love Story
26 25 (06) Beyonce-Halo
25 24 (26) Lady Gaga F.Colby O'Dennis-Just Dance
24 26 (40) Katy Perry-Hot N Cold
23 14 (15) Carolina Liar-Show Me What I'm Looking For
AT40 Breakout: Black Eyed Peas-I Got A Feeling
22 21 (07) Parachute-She Is Love
21 19 (11) Mat Kearney-Closer to Love
20 17 (14) The Script-The Man Who Can't Be Loved
19 23 (03) Colbie Caillat-Falling For You
18 20 (62) Jason Mraz-Im Yours
17 22 (05) Kings of Leon-Use Somebody
16 18 (07) The Fray-Never Say Never
15 15 (09) Kelly Clarkson-I Do Not Hook Up
14 13 (13) Lady Gaga-Poker Face
13 16 (25) Kelly Clarkson-My Life Would Suck Without You
12 11 (26) Pink-Sober
11 12 (06) Katy Perry-Waking Up In Vegas
10 10 (26) All-American Rejects-Gives You Hell
09 06 (27) The Fray-You Found Me
08 07 (23) Theory of A Deadman-Not Meant to Be
07 09 (12) David Cook-Come Back to Me
06 08 (08) Daughtry-No Surprise
05 04 (13) Miley Cyrus-The Climb
04 05 (09) Pink-Please Don't Leave Me
03 03 (11) Rob Thomas-Her Diamonds
02 02 (14) Nickelback-If Today Was Your Last Day
01 01 (14) Shinedown-Second Chance (6 weeks At #1)

Off the Chart:
Daughtry-What About Now (from #34, 51 weeks on)

[gin]

GO SARA![/size][/move]

[musicfanpete]

Good lord, 96 weeks is ridiculous! What next, "I'm Yours" at 120 weeks?! Who knows how long that song will be on here!

[Battle601]

Jul 25, 2009 2:00:47 GMT -5 @ryanhost said:

i love lifehouse...purge,what is the different between ac and hot ac?the audience demographic?

The audience demographic is a factor to a certain degree. Conventionally, AC has been a format that caters to older demographics, but more and more the definition has become less clear cut in recent years. Some AC stations are serving to become secondary Hot AC stations, by eventually jumping on songs that were popular on both CHR/Top 40 and Hot AC anywhere from 6 months to a year ago, combined with songs specific to the format (mainly lite rock or easy listening and retro classics).

Hot AC acts in the same way as the AC format, but with more emphasis on songs that are currently charting, and are suitable to audiences that have outgrown CHR/Top 40. In this format, you'll find songs that chart on CHR, but have a better chance of performing here. Also worth noting is that the songs played on Hot AC originate from different formats (Rock, Triple A, Country, even CHR) hence showing the variety it offers and crossover potential. Secondary to CHR, it serves as a good outlet for musical acts looking to get a substantial mainstream audience, which is much higher than what one would get with AC.

However, there are different types of Hot AC stations - some of them can also lean towards being CHR/Rhythmic and are by default CHR/Top 40 stations if there are no others offering the same format already in a certain market.

[Battle601]

Looks like all my projections were correct. Although quite the pretty weird chart this week with the recent newcomers at the bottom moving down a spot, and many recurrents gaining a few spots.

Thanks to ericNY2002 for posting the full chart this week.

[Mike Schwartz]

Jul 25, 2009 22:33:49 GMT -5 Battle601 said:

Jul 25, 2009 2:00:47 GMT -5 @ryanhost said:

i love lifehouse...purge,what is the different between ac and hot ac?the audience demographic?

The audience demographic is a factor to a certain degree. Conventionally, AC has been a format that caters to older demographics, but more and more the definition has become less clear cut in recent years. Some AC stations are serving to become secondary Hot AC stations, by eventually jumping on songs that were popular on both CHR/Top 40 and Hot AC anywhere from 6 months to a year ago, combined with songs specific to the format (mainly lite rock or easy listening and retro classics).

Hot AC acts in the same way as the AC format, but with more emphasis on songs that are currently charting, and are suitable to audiences that have outgrown CHR/Top 40. In this format, you'll find songs that chart on CHR, but have a better chance of performing here. Also worth noting is that the songs played on Hot AC originate from different formats (Rock, Triple A, Country, even CHR) hence showing the variety it offers and crossover potential. Secondary to CHR, it serves as a good outlet for musical acts looking to get a substantial mainstream audience, which is much higher than what one would get with AC.

However, there are different types of Hot AC stations - some of them can also lean towards being CHR/Rhythmic and are by default CHR/Top 40 stations if there are no others offering the same format already in a certain market.

It has always intriqued me that no two ACs sound the same. Some cover a very broad music range even rotating in songs from the 70s-if the sound fits. Lite-FM in NYC still plays some Motown songs on occasion while the ACs on Long Island feature Billy Joel songs in regular rotation from 70s. Throughout the country, I still see lots of AC interest for John Melencamp and Journey hits from the early 80s. When selling formats to agencies, Hot AC leans heavier woman 25-39, while AC is focuses slightly older, probably 35-49.

[Deleted]

Jul 25, 2009 22:33:49 GMT -5 Battle601 said:

Jul 25, 2009 2:00:47 GMT -5 @ryanhost said:

i love lifehouse...purge,what is the different between ac and hot ac?the audience demographic?

The audience demographic is a factor to a certain degree. Conventionally, AC has been a format that caters to older demographics, but more and more the definition has become less clear cut in recent years. Some AC stations are serving to become secondary Hot AC stations, by eventually jumping on songs that were popular on both CHR/Top 40 and Hot AC anywhere from 6 months to a year ago, combined with songs specific to the format (mainly lite rock or easy listening and retro classics).

Hot AC acts in the same way as the AC format, but with more emphasis on songs that are currently charting, and are suitable to audiences that have outgrown CHR/Top 40. In this format, you'll find songs that chart on CHR, but have a better chance of performing here. Also worth noting is that the songs played on Hot AC originate from different formats (Rock, Triple A, Country, even CHR) hence showing the variety it offers and crossover potential. Secondary to CHR, it serves as a good outlet for musical acts looking to get a substantial mainstream audience, which is much higher than what one would get with AC.

However, there are different types of Hot AC stations - some of them can also lean towards being CHR/Rhythmic and are by default CHR/Top 40 stations if there are no others offering the same format already in a certain market.

thanx for the explaination..i kinda get it..it is more likely on taste and age.HAC is more on people who used to love top 40 song but grow old and only love certain current hits and for AC it is more focus on really old songs because the audience are really old but also love certain new songs that fit their taste for their age in the radio...also they just wait after a certain song release for some time before play in ac radio:)

u can correct me if i am wrong lol. ;)

[Mike Schwartz]

Jul 26, 2009 23:08:30 GMT -5 @ryanhost said:

thanx for the explaination..i kinda get it..it is more likely on taste and age.HAC is more on people who used to love top 40 song but grow old and only love certain current hits and for AC it is more focus on really old songs because the audience are really old but also love certain new songs that fit their taste for their age in the radio...also they just wait after a certain song release for some time before play in ac radio:)

u can correct me if i am wrong lol. ;)

Another important distinction between AC/Hot AC stations concerns the role of current or recurrent hits. On an AC station, the most popular currents and recurrents generally are spun between 20-35 times a week while Hot AC stations give their top currents and recurrents spins averaging between 35-50 or in some rare cases 50+ per week. By comparison, today's Top 40s or CHRs spin their biggest hits 80-110 times per week.

[Battle601]

Jul 26, 2009 23:08:30 GMT -5 @ryanhost said:

thanx for the explaination..i kinda get it..it is more likely on taste and age.HAC is more on people who used to love top 40 song but grow old and only love certain current hits and for AC it is more focus on really old songs because the audience are really old but also love certain new songs that fit their taste for their age in the radio...also they just wait after a certain song release for some time before play in ac radio:)

u can correct me if i am wrong lol. ;)

That's more or less correct. With AC, while their main focus is on older demographics, they have made an effort in catching up with their competition by attracting younger audiences, who may feel that they have outgrown Hot AC, much in the same way like their main audience is outgrowing Top 40. Essentially, AC has been narrowing the gap closer to Hot AC, in order to put down the belief that it's just for old audiences.

[Deleted]

ac,hot ac and top 40 all play new music but still more likely a cycle...young to old people
top 40(i used to listen when i was),then hot ac(i cant stand current pop song that is loud and too obscene,then i grow older i switch to AC because there are still new music but probably has so many old songs i love in my entire life journey...

correct?

[Battle601]

I would say that's the general idea. But that can vary depending on any listener who tunes in to one or more stations. It also comes down to the market being served and the stations across different formats that are available there.

[Battle601]

So I've been browsing the official, published Hot AC charts (the most recent being last Sunday) with currents and recurrents both taken into account. This would likely represent the AT40 chart for the weekend of August 8-9, given that AT40 is usually two weeks behind the official Mediabase charts when they are released.

I figured on making some comparisons with the published chart from two weeks ago courtesy of America's Music Charts (representing this weekend's AT40) with the one from last Sunday (for next weekend).

For this weekend's AT40, "I Gotta Feeling" may begin charting and "LoveGame" could become a breakout. "Love Song" will continue its run reaching week #97.

If not this week, then next week, "Light On" will leave the chart and "Staring Down" should be making an entrance shortly. "Battlefield" is not too far behind, along with "New Divide" and "Say Hey (I Love You)" also picking up as of late.

On the subject of "Love Song", as ridiculous as it seems, Sara Bareilles has now obviously set the bar for longevity of a song on a Hot AC chart, with 96 weeks to her credit. While that is nice to see, I think it's about time for AT40 to set a new rule, that is badly needed.

For any song that reaches 100 weeks on the chart, it automatically gets retired regardless of the outcome (whether it continues to gain or lose spins is no longer a factor). "Love Song" will eventually reach 98 weeks, even as it has continued to flounder in the top end of the #30s chart for what seems like almost half a year now and "I'm Yours" will continue to linger around the halfway mark of the chart with more than 60+ weeks into its run. At this rate, both songs will reach 100 weeks, but I think at some point, that should be the limit. After all, it's safe to say that both songs have locked themselves for a spot in "AT40's biggest Hot AC hits of the 2000s".

[Battle601]

Additional info from last week's show:

OPTIONAL EXTRAS
Hour 1: Fergie - Clumsy
Hour 2: The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Face Down
Hour 3: Justin Timberlake - Lovestoned
Hour 4: Britney Spears - Circus