Billboard Hot 100: 04/03/2021

[iHype.]

Mar 23, 2021 14:32:25 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

Mar 23, 2021 13:13:12 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Top 40's demo is primarily 18-35 year old women. Not sure where that demo meets the definition of soccer mom. 

Regardless, Top 40 has been on the decline for years now. I'm sure they'll chalk it up to streaming rather than the fact they play the same 7 songs on power-rotation for 8 months straight. 

What are soccer moms if not mothers of school-aged kids? People keep referencing soccer moms in here as an insult to musical tastes in relation to radio but does anyone really give much thought to who is listening to radio and how?

Huh, what's that have to do with what I said?...

Top 40's main demo previously has been girls aged 18-35 (or maybe 13-35 actually). Those usually aren't moms with families, whereas HAC/AC tend to target the 35+ demo who are mostly middle aged parents with school-aged kids. 

However Pop/HAC/AC have just increasingly become one singular format in terms of the current music played. And no, I don't think 18-35 year olds are listening to the same music as 35+ to warrant the overlapping playlists. 

In the past decades they played much different music because the age groups obviously listen to much different music. 2000s Top 40 played Usher/Britney/Beyonce/Timberlake/T.I./etc as staples while 2000s HAC played Sheryl Crow/Enya/Train/Lifehouse as their staples. 

Now they playlists are just more identical. Dua Lipa, The Weeknd, Post Malone, Maroon 5, Harry Styles, Shawn Mendes, Ed Sheeran, Jonas Brothers, etc on Pop/HAC/AC every single day. 

It's clear that they're all moreso now chasing the same exact 35+ audience. However if a Pop station is going to resort to HAC playlists and chasing HAC demographics..... then really, they are no longer a Pop station. If an Urban station starts playing Ariana, Bieber, and Blinding Lights in order to catch a new demographic than they are no longer an Urban station. Thus is the issue... Top 40 stations starting to largely resort to HAC/AC playlists and demographics are really no longer serving the purpose of Top 40 radio.

[suzcruz7]

Mar 23, 2021 14:43:28 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

OF COURSE the responses I'm getting are "but there are 3 black artists in the top 10 of pop radio! How does that mean black artists are being blocked on pop radio?!" Typical. I even mentioned that in a post so many of you conveniently skipped over, lol.

I forget that some of you simply aren't open-minded enough to have some conversations. Forget I said anything. Pop radio is 100% fair with the artists they push on their format and those they don't ^__^

People are having a conversation. They just disagree with you lol. You don't seem to be openminded to their disagreement.

[thegreatdivine]

Mar 23, 2021 15:47:56 GMT -5 suzcruz7 said:

Mar 23, 2021 14:43:28 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

OF COURSE the responses I'm getting are "but there are 3 black artists in the top 10 of pop radio! How does that mean black artists are being blocked on pop radio?!" Typical. I even mentioned that in a post so many of you conveniently skipped over, lol.

I forget that some of you simply aren't open-minded enough to have some conversations. Forget I said anything. Pop radio is 100% fair with the artists they push on their format and those they don't ^__^

People are having a conversation. They just disagree with you lol. You don't seem to be openminded to their disagreement.

I have no problem with people disagreeing with me. It's just that most of the people responding to my posts don't even get the general point I'm trying to make and it's not my job to change their minds so I'm moving on. Some people get what I'm trying to say and that's okay, lol.

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

I think it would be ignorant to say that pop radio doesn’t have underlying racist tendencies in the music it collectively chooses to play, just like it has sexist tendencies. Artists like Bieber and Ariana succeeding with simultaneous singles consecutively multiple times with songs that are R&B leaning while Black artists doing similar styles are dismissed is evidence of that. But Black artists are still doing relatively well on the format, as evidenced by music that isn’t really R&B-leaning. So, I’d say there’s a discussion to be had around why pop chooses to push R&B-leaning pop by white artists while ignoring black artists.

Going back to other points I made about demographic, there does seem to be this thought that pop radio has to play the entire range of music that’s popular (except country, for some reason) as if that would work today. For the most part, pop radio has a lane they stay in - and the lane wavers depending on trends and what’s “in” but it’s still fairly restrictive and still tends to differentiate itself from other already-existing formats. There are times when pop replicates Hot AC and other times it replicates Rhythmic but there are always noticeable differences. So other than the above example about white R&B-leaning pop music, I’m not sure why there is such a push for pop to double up on some types of music when others are completely left out of playlists altogether. I get that pop radio is expected to play what’s currently “in” right now, but I don’t think that necessarily means playing everything. With how fickle listeners can be, a lane probably needs to be selected and followed.

And don’t get me wrong, I think radio should expand its sound more than limit it, but realistically, people don’t listen to radio the way they used to and my theory is that radio as a currents-based music outlet is on the way out. People want familiarity. That’s why the top hits stay for such longer periods. It’s not going back to the way it was.

[iHype.]

Also correction, the issue isn't necessarily even Top 40 playing similar artists as HAC because Weeknd/Dua/etc also def appeal to the younger demos. But it's the overplay of the same hits for the same long periods as HAC/AC that's the issue.

Blinding Lights should not still be in power rotation at Top 40 in 2021. They should've dropped it by Summer 2020, and then put In Your Eyes/Over Now with Calvin Harris/Save Your Tears in rotation over it.

Circles should not *still* be in power rotation at Top 40 in 2021. They should've put Take What You Want and Enemies in rotation and let them have their runs.

They also should be perhaps breaking some artists that appeal to the younger demo but don't get big streams yet (Alina Baraz, Victoria Monet, Chloe & Halle, etc). And ofcourse playing some of the streaming successes they're so hesitant to (Bad Bunny, "Streets", "Good Days", Cardi, etc).

I'm scrolling through Top 40 station playlists and still seeing Someone You Loved, Good As Hell, Memories, Hot Girl Bummer, etc comfortably in the top 20 which is just a joke. It's just a replica of HAC playlists at this point.

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Mar 23, 2021 16:18:40 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Also correction, the issue isn't necessarily even Top 40 playing similar artists as HAC because Weeknd/Dua/etc also def appeal to the younger demos. But it's the overplay of the same hits for the same long periods as HAC/AC that's the issue.

Blinding Lights should not still be in power rotation at Top 40 in 2021. They should've dropped it by Summer 2020, and then put In Your Eyes/Over Now with Calvin Harris/Save Your Tears in rotation over it.

Circles should not *still* be in power rotation at Top 40 in 2021. They should've put Take What You Want and Enemies in rotation and let them have their runs.

They also should be perhaps breaking some artists that appeal to the younger demo but don't get big streams yet (Alina Baraz, Victoria Monet, Chloe & Halle, etc). And ofcourse playing some of the streaming successes they're so hesitant to (Bad Bunny, "Streets", "Good Days", Cardi, etc).

I'm scrolling through Top 40 station playlists and still seeing Someone You Loved, Good As Hell, Memories, Hot Girl Bummer, etc comfortably in the top 20 which is just a joke. It's just a replica of HAC playlists at this point.

Do you listen to radio tho?

[jenglisbe]

Mar 23, 2021 14:43:28 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

OF COURSE the responses I'm getting are "but there are 3 black artists in the top 10 of pop radio! How does that mean black artists are being blocked on pop radio?!" Typical. I even mentioned that in a post so many of you conveniently skipped over, lol.

I forget that some of you simply aren't open-minded enough to have some conversations. Forget I said anything. Pop radio is 100% fair with the artists they push on their format and those they don't ^__^

Just because some of us have pointed out there are Black artists doing well at Top 40 doesn't mean we also think pop radio is 100% fair. Those two aren't exactly the same thing.

I think Rose "Payola" Nylund made some great points in a reply a few above this one.

[Lost In Musical Reverie]

Mar 23, 2021 16:18:40 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Also correction, the issue isn't necessarily even Top 40 playing similar artists as HAC because Weeknd/Dua/etc also def appeal to the younger demos. But it's the overplay of the same hits for the same long periods as HAC/AC that's the issue.

Blinding Lights should not still be in power rotation at Top 40 in 2021. They should've dropped it by Summer 2020, and then put In Your Eyes/Over Now with Calvin Harris/Save Your Tears in rotation over it.

Circles should not *still* be in power rotation at Top 40 in 2021. They should've put Take What You Want and Enemies in rotation and let them have their runs.

They also should be perhaps breaking some artists that appeal to the younger demo but don't get big streams yet (Alina Baraz, Victoria Monet, Chloe & Halle, etc). And ofcourse playing some of the streaming successes they're so hesitant to (Bad Bunny, "Streets", "Good Days", Cardi, etc).

I'm scrolling through Top 40 station playlists and still seeing Someone You Loved, Good As Hell, Memories, Hot Girl Bummer, etc comfortably in the top 20 which is just a joke. It's just a replica of HAC playlists at this point.

^^^ This

Couldn't have put it better myself. Even if "Blinding Lights" and "Circles" were still resonating with radio audiences, there's no reason stations should be allowing them to overshadow the following singles, especially when they have the control to drop them when they want (see what happened with "Midnight Sky" despite extremely positive impressions).

And indeed, I don't get what is stopping them from playing "Good Days" and "Streets" - both streaming behemoths which are clearly resonating with many demographics. Unfortunately, we know very well why "DAKITI" isn't getting much radio love, and I'm afraid it might take time before stations are willing to break the language barrier.

[iHype.]

Mar 23, 2021 16:22:57 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

Do you listen to radio tho?

Yes.

However I primarily listen to Urban radio now, and our city's new Rhythmic AC station which is neat (Janet/Mariah/Madonna/etc get played all the time).

Pop radio lost me, because nobody with a functioning brain can tolerate still hearing Circles/Don't Start Now/Adore You played every time they turn on the radio in 2021. The fact it's now 3 formats playing them all year-round makes it far worse and makes me skip the AC and HAC stations too even though that's historically usual pace for them.

Specifically with Urban/Top 40/etc I tune in to discover current music I may not have heard yet. The mistake you (and many radio programmers) in my opinion make is thinking radio and streaming have to be 'one or the other'. I get tired of streaming my same playlists, and like to discover new music with radio. I switch between both in my car. They can work together. However if I've already played out Don't Start Now on my Spotify, and I turn on the radio and they're also playing it on power rotation for 10 months, then yeah.. I'm tuning out the radio. Atleast if you put on Today's Top Hits with shuffle, then you won't hear the same 4 songs again within a 1 hour span.

[Enigma.]

I'm still mad at Rain on Me going just briefly top ten on US pop radio when it was a huge airplay smash elsewhere (#2 in Canada for example).

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Mar 23, 2021 16:31:29 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Mar 23, 2021 16:22:57 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

Do you listen to radio tho?

Yes.

However I primarily listen to Urban radio now, and our city's new Rhythmic AC station which is neat (Janet/Mariah/Madonna/etc get played all the time).

Pop radio lost me, because nobody with a functioning brain can tolerate still hearing Circles/Don't Start Now/Adore You played every time they turn on the radio in 2021. The fact it's now 3 formats playing them all year-round makes it far worse and makes me skip the AC and HAC stations too even though that's historically usual pace for them.

Specifically with Urban/Top 40/etc I tune in to discover current music I may not have heard yet. The mistake you (and many radio programmers) in my opinion make is thinking radio has to compete with streaming. I get tired of streaming my same playlists, and like to discover new music with radio. I switch between both in my car. They can work together. However if I've already played out Don't Start Now on my Spotify, and I turn on the radio and they're also playing it on power rotation for 10 months, then yeah.. I'm tuning out the radio.

Whenever these discussions pop up here, I always wish we had someone who had access to data or research about audience listening habits. I’m sure there’s some out there but admittedly I’m always skeptical in hearing about how ratings are higher than ever or otherwise not dropping.

It seems we’re similar in why we listen to radio. I also occasionally tune in to get a sense of what songs are out now that I otherwise wouldn’t seek out or that aren’t on the pop chart (I usually add songs that make the top 40 to my “Currents” playlist by default. I’m in Canada so I have the added bonus of potentially coming across new CanCon music (that isn’t filled by the next round of Bieber, Weeknd or Drake songs). I don’t tune in often or for very long at any given time - which I believe to be the norm of a large majority of listeners (which I’d love to have confirmation of somehow)

While it might seem like I’m defending radio, my defence is more about explaining what I believe to be misconceptions about why radio plays what they play. For example, for as long as I’ve posted here, I’ve seen people complain about AC being a slow format, as if a format that caters to older listeners would be quick to pick up on multiple new songs at once. As people age, they’re less likely to want to hear new music.

I like your comment about radio competing with streaming. I think many people on here, for example, work on that assumption every time there’s a belief that radio playlists should echo the most streamed songs. It’s a source of music but I don’t think it serves the same purpose as streaming, nor do I think it necessarily should be replicated.

I do wonder how much radio has done to dig its own grave and I think a lot of it has to do with how unified and centralized radio has become in the last couple decades (or since 1996). More stations are owned by fewer people who have more control over what music gets played and there’s very little variation between stations across countries. For example, I live in Canada and recently the main Hot AC station in my city rebranded, along with others across the country, laid off some of their on-air staff and I think have added more syndicated on-air personalities (more Seacrest, for example). The branding itself looks like a dollar-store ripoff of its old brand, and the music they play has shifted from Hot AC to a HAC/90s-00s hybrid. I find it frustrating that the golds they play from past decades aren’t varied either. I’ve heard Oops! I Did It Again more in the last 3 months than the last 15 years from the station. This station has consistently been in the top 3 of the market so I suspect the reason behind the change was to save money, not for ratings. But the identity the station had (and it didn’t have a lot before) has been wiped away even more. This has become standard and I think has been the biggest downfall to radio and the biggest reason why overall plays for hits remains so high. If one station still plays “Blinding Lights” 80x a week, there’s a good chance many many more still are just because.

[renfield75]

It probably doesn't help that pop music is kinda dead right now. Top 40 radio was better at trying new things from 2008-2012ish when pop music was dominating. The only A-list pop stars in the last 5 years or so are Bieber, Ariana, and Ed Sheeran (Taylor's more or less moved away from Top 40 now, and even Ed's not as big as he was). Acts like Post Malone, The Weeknd, and Cardi B can have huge hits at pop radio but that's not necessarily their primary genre. As a format Top 40's been struggling and clearly are sticking to the proven acts. When they come across someone they think can become big (Dua, Olivia Rodrigo) they overplay them, willing them to become big. Otherwise they're left with lesser hits like Put Your Records On, Bang, Deathbed, and Supalonely. Pop is in desperate need of superstars and they just don't have many right now, as opposed to Urban/Rhythmic who have most of the biggest current stars in music (Drake, Cardi, DaBaby, Megan).

[kcdawg13]

I think Blinding Lights is the biggest song of all time now, hasn't it passed The Twist by now? If not it's desperately close.

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Mar 23, 2021 17:18:32 GMT -5 renfield75 said:

It probably doesn't help that pop music is kinda dead right now. Top 40 radio was better at trying new things from 2008-2012ish when pop music was dominating. The only A-list pop stars in the last 5 years or so are Bieber, Ariana, and Ed Sheeran (Taylor's more or less moved away from Top 40 now, and even Ed's not as big as he was). Acts like Post Malone, The Weeknd, and Cardi B can have huge hits at pop radio but that's not necessarily their primary genre. As a format Top 40's been struggling and clearly are sticking to the proven acts. When they come across someone they think can become big (Dua, Olivia Rodrigo) they overplay them, willing them to become big. Otherwise they're left with lesser hits like Put Your Records On, Bang, Deathbed, and Supalonely. Pop is in desperate need of superstars and they just don't have many right now, as opposed to Urban/Rhythmic who have most of the biggest current stars in music (Drake, Cardi, DaBaby, Megan).

Yeah, there is a lack of superstars and once an artist reaches that level, they become scarce until they return and pop radio just skips over them. I’m not sure if it has been on radio to make superstars in the past (but they’ve definitely helped) but nowadays, they’re at a minimum so there’s less to latch onto and be excited over.

[jayhawk1117]

Mar 23, 2021 17:19:50 GMT -5 kcdawg13 said:

I think Blinding Lights is the biggest song of all time now, hasn't it passed The Twist by now? If not it's desperately close.

is it? It doesn't even feel like the biggest song of the past 10 years lol.

[thegreatdivine]

Mar 23, 2021 16:23:35 GMT -5 jenglisbe said:

Mar 23, 2021 14:43:28 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

OF COURSE the responses I'm getting are "but there are 3 black artists in the top 10 of pop radio! How does that mean black artists are being blocked on pop radio?!" Typical. I even mentioned that in a post so many of you conveniently skipped over, lol.

I forget that some of you simply aren't open-minded enough to have some conversations. Forget I said anything. Pop radio is 100% fair with the artists they push on their format and those they don't ^__^

Just because some of us have pointed out there are Black artists doing well at Top 40 doesn't mean we also think pop radio is 100% fair. Those two aren't exactly the same thing.

I think Rose "Payola" Nylund made some great points in a reply a few above this one.

Pop radio is the company that markets itself as being inclusive and forward-thinking. That company has a staff of 5,000 people. 4,900 of those people are white people (male and female), but so they don't get accused of being a "white" company, they hire 30 black, 35 asian & 35 latino people to fill out the remaining 100 slots. That way, when people point out the number of white people in the company and they try to insinuate that there's a problem with that, the company says "well, look, we have X number of black, asian & latino people working in our company. We are clearly inclusive."

That's what every comment saying "but there are 5 black artists in the top 10 on pop radio!" read like to me.

The problem isn't that pop radio doesn't play black artists AT ALL. The problem is the LARGE disparity between the white artists who get played and the few, select black artists who do, even when they make music that just as successful and sounds just as similar to the music being made by the white artists.

I saw someone say that maybe I was just upset that Drake doesn't get played on pop radio and I'll admit, while I've had my frustrations with that, it's only because it's never made sense to me how the most successful artist in the US over the past decade can have multiple smash hits that take off everywhere BUT pop radio and that's really the root of my issue with the format. If the biggest artist in the US, who just so happens to be black, can't make headway on pop radio with his biggest hits, then what hope do smaller acts have? How will newer acts ever discovered or get broken through? If a song is the biggest song in the US for multiple weeks, I don't give a damn what soccer moms love or what your "preferred kind of music" is, you play that song, ESPECIALLY when it has taken off on multiple other radio formats proving to you that there's a huge audience demand for the song and you can see how it's resonating with the general public.

The only reason why I even care about any of this is because of how huge pop radio still is today. Even though it's lost some of it's powers over the years, it's still the biggest radio format by a long mile. In the early 2010's, a #1 song on urban and rhythmic radio combined would be lucky to have one-third of the audience impressions the #1 song on pop radio would have and it's still that way today.

I posted links to those Rolling Stone articles because many pop radio programmers even admit how backward they still are with the way the format is being run so it isn't just something I'm making up out of thin air. They know there's a problem, they just aren't willing to do anything about it.

Lastly, anyone trying to say "well, black artists dominate streaming so let's leave the white artists to own pop radio so it evens the playing field" needs to be left in the pit of their own ignorance. It's 2021 for goodness sake. If you're gonna call yourself top 40/mainstream radio, do your part to ensure that the music you play is a reflection of that.

Sorry for the long post. I think I've said all I wanted to say now.

[iHype.]

Mar 23, 2021 17:16:23 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

It seems we’re similar in why we listen to radio. I also occasionally tune in to get a sense of what songs are out now that I otherwise wouldn’t seek out or that aren’t on the pop chart (I usually add songs that make the top 40 to my “Currents” playlist by default. I’m in Canada so I have the added bonus of potentially coming across new CanCon music (that isn’t filled by the next round of Bieber, Weeknd or Drake songs). I don’t tune in often or for very long at any given time - which I believe to be the norm of a large majority of listeners (which I’d love to have confirmation of somehow)

To me, Top 40 in general has always had the purpose of making people feel like they're in with what is 'current' and 'it'.

It just is ridiculous that in 2021, playlists are still filled in rotation with songs from 2019. That was last decade. That's like Baby One More Time, Mambo No 5, No Scrubs, and Smooth still being in power rotation at Top 40 in 2001.

I like your comment about radio competing with streaming. I think many people on here, for example, work on that assumption every time there’s a belief that radio playlists should echo the most streamed songs. It’s a source of music but I don’t think it serves the same purpose as streaming, nor do I think it necessarily should be replicated.

Right. In the 2010s people bought digital music, but also continued to listen to radio. In the 2000s people bought CDs but also continued to listen to radio. Etc.

I don't think someone should just assume if people stream, they will no longer listen to radio. It's not one or the other. Most people are naturally acquainted to radio and have a relationship with it despite however consuming music evolves. I think if someone is tuning out of radio, lots of times it is because new radio trends have made them completely dislike listening to radio. Not that they simply want to go on Spotify or Apple Music now. Which is why I do think the current trends of Top 40 is atleast playing a notable hand what is turning away listeners. Not simply just people moving onto streaming.

[jenglisbe]

Mar 23, 2021 17:45:55 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Mar 23, 2021 17:16:23 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

It seems we’re similar in why we listen to radio. I also occasionally tune in to get a sense of what songs are out now that I otherwise wouldn’t seek out or that aren’t on the pop chart (I usually add songs that make the top 40 to my “Currents” playlist by default. I’m in Canada so I have the added bonus of potentially coming across new CanCon music (that isn’t filled by the next round of Bieber, Weeknd or Drake songs). I don’t tune in often or for very long at any given time - which I believe to be the norm of a large majority of listeners (which I’d love to have confirmation of somehow)

To me, Top 40 in general has always had the purpose of making people feel like they're in with what is 'current' and 'it'.

It just is ridiculous that in 2021, playlists are still filled in rotation with songs from 2019. That was last decade. That's like Baby One More Time, Mambo No 5, No Scrubs, and Smooth still being in power rotation at Top 40 in 2001.

I like your comment about radio competing with streaming. I think many people on here, for example, work on that assumption every time there’s a belief that radio playlists should echo the most streamed songs. It’s a source of music but I don’t think it serves the same purpose as streaming, nor do I think it necessarily should be replicated.

Right. In the 2010s people bought digital music, but also continued to listen to radio. In the 2000s people bought CDs but also continued to listen to radio. Etc.

I don't think someone should just assume if people stream, they will no longer listen to radio. It's not one or the other. Most people are naturally acquainted to radio and have a relationship with it despite however consuming music evolves. I think if someone is tuning out of radio, lots of times it is because new radio trends have made them completely dislike listening to radio. Not that they simply want to go on Spotify or Apple Music now. Which is why I do think the current trends of Top 40 is atleast playing a notable hand what is turning away listeners. Not simply just people moving onto streaming.

We also shouldn't assume that because something does well in streaming that it should automatically be a hit at radio. Do we know for a fact those two things have the same audience/consumers? It is possible that those two platforms involve different audiences that want to hear different things. I'd need to see actual data.

[phieaglesfan712]

Mar 23, 2021 17:41:20 GMT -5 jayhawk1117 said:

Mar 23, 2021 17:19:50 GMT -5 kcdawg13 said:

I think Blinding Lights is the biggest song of all time now, hasn't it passed The Twist by now? If not it's desperately close.

is it? It doesn't even feel like the biggest song of the past 10 years lol.

To me, the 2 biggest songs of the last 10 years are Uptown Funk and Blinding Lights. If any song has an argument to being bigger than Blinding Lights, it's Uptown Funk. The multipliers don't do justice to UF, and just how much stronger the competition was in 2015 compared to 2019-2021. The fact that Circles is ahead of UF on the all-time list shows that either the multiplier for 2015 is too low (needs to be increased) or the multiplier for 2019-2021 is too high (needs to be decreased). In no world was Circles a bigger hit than UF. Like Blinding Lights, UF was clearly the biggest hit of its time. (In fact, UF blew away the competition in all metrics in a way that even BL didn't!) Circles felt like it was overshadowed by Old Town Road before it and Blinding Lights after it.

I'm going to be 33 in July, and I'm pretty sure that UF and BL feel like the 2 biggest hits in my lifetime. (I was 11 when Smooth topped the charts, but that didn't even feel as close to how big UF and BL are.)

[iHype.]

Mar 23, 2021 17:54:39 GMT -5 jenglisbe said:

We also shouldn't assume that because something does well in streaming that it should automatically be a hit at radio. Do we know for a fact those two things have the same audience/consumers? It is possible that those two platforms involve different audiences that want to hear different things. I'd need to see actual data.

Definitely, which is why I said Top 40 should be a mix. It should be brand new music, it should help develop artists/songs that aren't big on streaming yet, and it should give chances to things that are big at streaming all in power rotation.

To me, that is better than just 10 songs from a year ago that everyone is familiar with on power rotation like an HAC station.

[jayhawk1117]

Mar 23, 2021 18:02:48 GMT -5 phieaglesfan712 said:

Mar 23, 2021 17:41:20 GMT -5 jayhawk1117 said:

is it? It doesn't even feel like the biggest song of the past 10 years lol.

To me, the 2 biggest songs of the last 10 years are Uptown Funk and Blinding Lights. If any song has an argument to being bigger than Blinding Lights, it's Uptown Funk. The multipliers don't do justice to UF, and just how much stronger the competition was in 2015 compared to 2019-2021. The fact that Circles is ahead of UF on the all-time list shows that either the multiplier for 2015 is too low (needs to be increased) or the multiplier for 2019-2021 is too high (needs to be decreased). In no world was Circles a bigger hit than UF. Like Blinding Lights, UF was clearly the biggest hit of its time. (In fact, UF blew away the competition in all metrics in a way that even BL didn't!) Circles felt like it was overshadowed by Old Town Road before it and Blinding Lights after it.

I'm going to be 33 in July, and I'm pretty sure that UF and BL feel like the 2 biggest hits in my lifetime. (I was 11 when Smooth topped the charts, but that didn't even feel as close to how big UF and BL are.)

idk maybe it's because I grew up with this generation of hits (I'm 24), and maybe because the clubs have been closed and social situations were a no go for awhile but I think I could fully list off 5 more songs that just "felt" bigger. It may not be statistically correct though 🤷🏾‍♂️. Also the post streaming boom multipliers gotta be toned down for sure

[iggyamo]

Mar 23, 2021 18:02:48 GMT -5 phieaglesfan712 said:

Mar 23, 2021 17:41:20 GMT -5 jayhawk1117 said:

is it? It doesn't even feel like the biggest song of the past 10 years lol.

To me, the 2 biggest songs of the last 10 years are Uptown Funk and Blinding Lights. If any song has an argument to being bigger than Blinding Lights, it's Uptown Funk. The multipliers don't do justice to UF, and just how much stronger the competition was in 2015 compared to 2019-2021. The fact that Circles is ahead of UF on the all-time list shows that either the multiplier for 2015 is too low (needs to be increased) or the multiplier for 2019-2021 is too high (needs to be decreased). In no world was Circles a bigger hit than UF. Like Blinding Lights, UF was clearly the biggest hit of its time. (In fact, UF blew away the competition in all metrics in a way that even BL didn't!) Circles felt like it was overshadowed by Old Town Road before it and Blinding Lights after it.

I'm going to be 33 in July, and I'm pretty sure that UF and BL feel like the 2 biggest hits in my lifetime. (I was 11 when Smooth topped the charts, but that didn't even feel as close to how big UF and BL are.)

At least to me Smooth felt bigger than Uptown Funk. It may be my demographic but I can still hear it semi regularly in public compared to Uptown Funk. Although I’m not sure I should be the one talking about that as I was almost alive when Smooth left the charts.

[kingvavis]

2017 also had so many massive hits comparable to Uptown Funk and Blinding Lights like Shape of You, Despacito, and Rockstar.

[Limited Edition]

Circles feels such a non-event considering how high it's on the all time list. Idk, maybe it's just because I'm not from America and it wasn't anywhere near as huge worldwide as the other songs near it on the list

[jayhawk1117]

Mar 23, 2021 18:26:16 GMT -5 Limited Edition said:

Circles feels such a non-event considering how high it's on the all time list. Idk, maybe it's just because I'm not from America and it wasn't anywhere near as huge worldwide as the other songs near it on the list

it's very much it's longevity.

[chartfreak]

Does Lana Del Rey have any chance of charting on the Hot 100, assuming no.

[phieaglesfan712]

Part of the problem is that the multipliers for the 2014-2018 period are way too low:

March 24, 2012 - December 28, 2013: x0.9
January 4, 2014 - November 26, 2016: x0.85
December 3, 2016 - August 4, 2018: x0.8 (really?)
August 11, 2018 - September 28, 2019: x0.85
October 5, 2019 - February 29, 2020: x0.8

No way songs from this weak era should be getting the same multiplier as Uptown Funk, Shape of You, Despacito, and Perfect. I think it should be more like this:

March 24, 2012 - December 28, 2013: x0.9
January 4, 2014 - August 4, 2018: x0.95
August 11, 2018 - September 28, 2019: x0.85
October 5, 2019 - present: x0.8

[mzumii]

Mar 23, 2021 18:26:16 GMT -5 Limited Edition said:

Circles feels such a non-event considering how high it's on the all time list. Idk, maybe it's just because I'm not from America and it wasn't anywhere near as huge worldwide as the other songs near it on the list

Circles played on the radio constantly here in the US, pretty sure it was the most played radio song of 2020. Might just be my bias but Circles means a lot more to me than Blinding Lights ever did so it felt like more of an event to me personally when it was popular. I can see how Blinding Lights is a bigger event though as it was absolutely massive everywhere, not just in the United States. 

[ddlz]

Mar 23, 2021 10:14:19 GMT -5 ddlz said:

No way Scooter lets this one slip away. Peaches is going #1 this week.

[lazer]

I guess Bieber has a chance of hitting #1 with Peaches if he keeps the momentum going.