Songs that got unfair treatment on Pop.

[leonagwen]

Recently over 1 month ago, Dua Lipa - Levitating got purged off the Mediabase airplay chart and went recurrent. The last few weeks it has had a resurge in sales and streams, reflective on both Itunes and Spotify and has been gaining spins on Pop radio even though it went recurrent. Can you give an example of any other songs that got unfair treatment on Pop radio?

[Lost In Musical Reverie]

"Midnight Sky" comes to mind, I guess. I still don't understand how the song free-fell despite getting a record number of positive impressions.

[otaviohmg]

Good Days?

[leonagwen]

Apr 19, 2021 5:53:40 GMT -5 Lost In Musical Reverie said:

"Midnight Sky" comes to mind, I guess. I still don't understand how the song free-fell despite getting a record number of positive impressions.

It only peaked at #14 on the Hot 100 and yes it deserved to get a little higher on Pop but it still peaked in the high teens which ain't too bad.

[JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME]

Cardi B - WAP
Dua Lipa - Physical
Katy Perry - Never Really Over
Kesha - Praying
Madonna - Hung Up
Miley Cyrus - Midnight Sky
P!nk - Dear Mr. President
Taylor Swift - I Did Something Bad

[Au$tin]

Apr 19, 2021 22:43:38 GMT -5 leonagwen said:

Apr 19, 2021 5:53:40 GMT -5 Lost In Musical Reverie said:

"Midnight Sky" comes to mind, I guess. I still don't understand how the song free-fell despite getting a record number of positive impressions.

It only peaked at #14 on the Hot 100 and yes it deserved to get a little higher on Pop but it still peaked in the high teens which ain't too bad.

Your example peaked at #5 on pop and you got the gall to criticize someone else's suggestion based on a pop peak? 💀

[Au$tin]

I have to (yet again) defend pop's treatment of Levitating. It made it to #5 and went recurrent right on time despite pretty mediocre callouts and meh streaming/sales. It didn't turn into what it is now until after the Grammy performance. I don't think it's fair to have a song that's just performing decently remain in the top 5 in airplay until people suddenly like it because, well, what if they never do? It's not like anyone could have predicted it to do as well as it has after the performance. That's why its performance post-Grammys is considered unprecedented. It just so rarely happens. And since then, Levitating has been performing well in recurrent play. Is it unfair that Break My Heart outdid Levitating? Sure, but that doesn't mean Levitating was treated unfairly, it means Break My Heart was. Unfair treatment can be positive too. In fact, that's probably why Levitating didn't get any higher, her radio team blew their load getting BMH way higher than it should have been.

Apr 19, 2021 5:53:40 GMT -5 Lost In Musical Reverie said:

"Midnight Sky" comes to mind, I guess. I still don't understand how the song free-fell despite getting a record number of positive impressions.

It was actually on Hot AC where it had the insane callouts. It never debuted on pop's callouts. But I'd imagine they wouldn't be too extremely different. Still a shame how the song was a hit in several countries, had insane Hot AC callouts, and yet pop treated it exactly like they treated every other Miley single since Wrecking Ball: stupidly.

Apr 19, 2021 8:10:08 GMT -5 otaviohmg said:

Good Days?

Its treatment on urban and r&b is even more horrendous. The fact that the track debuted on pop before any other format is asinine.

Apr 19, 2021 22:43:38 GMT -5 leonagwen said:

Apr 19, 2021 5:53:40 GMT -5 Lost In Musical Reverie said:

"Midnight Sky" comes to mind, I guess. I still don't understand how the song free-fell despite getting a record number of positive impressions.

It only peaked at #14 on the Hot 100 and yes it deserved to get a little higher on Pop but it still peaked in the high teens which ain't too bad.

Your example peaked at #5 on pop and you got the gall to criticize someone else's suggestion based on a pop peak? 💀

Apr 21, 2021 0:54:21 GMT -5 JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME said:

Dua Lipa - Physical
P!nk - Dear Mr. President
Taylor Swift - I Did Something Bad

Considering these were never released for pop airplay, I'd say they were treated completely fairly by radio.

[Lost In Musical Reverie]

Wait a minute - did "Good Days" seriously debut on pop before R&B? I understand it's the not the most radio-friendly song, but I was expecting at least R&B to be much more onboard.

[Trilogy]

don't you worry child should've broken the spin count

[leonagwen]

Apr 21, 2021 6:14:02 GMT -5 Trilogy said:

don't you worry child should've broken the spin count

Didn't it peak at #1 on Pop?

[Deleted]

Apr 21, 2021 6:02:20 GMT -5 Lost In Musical Reverie said:

Wait a minute - did "Good Days" seriously debut on pop before R&B? I understand it's the not the most radio-friendly song, but I was expecting at least R&B to be much more onboard.

Sort of. It debuted on pop a few days before urban/r&b (the format formerly known as UAC), but it debuted on urban and rhythmic first.

Urban top 50 - Jan 17 (top 40 - Jan 23); peak: #17
Rhythmic top 50 - Jan 19 (top 40 - Jan 28); peak: #14
Pop top 50 - Feb 1 (top 40 - Feb 17); peak: #32
Urban/R&B top 50 - Feb 4 (top 40 - April 19); peak: #40


Good Days should have been an easy top 10 on all of the urban-component formats, but was struggling to even crack top 20 there; that was what had so many people frustrated with its radio performance. I still think most of its radio struggle should be blamed on her label(s) because they clearly weren't putting much effort behind it (contrast this with how Kiss Me More is being handled, for example).

[Enigma.]

Yep, Good Days is the most bizarre snub of recent times in every aspect. Midnight Sky too - it has been a big airplay hit practically everywhere except in the US (same as Rain on Me but at least that was strong in other metrics to fix the relative lack of airplay)

[leonagwen]

Apr 21, 2021 7:47:10 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

Yep, Good Days is the most bizarre snub of recent times in every aspect. Midnight Sky too - it has been a big airplay hit practically everywhere except in the US (same as Rain on Me but at least that was strong in other metrics to fix the relative lack of airplay)

SZA hasn't really had any decent pop hits before Good Days which is probably why radio didn't spin Good Days as much as it should have.

[jred]

Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” was the 13th biggest hit of 2008, spent a week at #1 on the Hot 100, and topped Alternative, HAC, and AC, and sold 7 million copies in the US.

It peaked at #11 on Pop Radio and tumbled down into the mid-30s before going recurrent.

[tekkenguy]

Die Young after Sandy Hook?

[dbhmr]

May 16, 2021 12:56:14 GMT -5 tekkenguy said:

Die Young after Sandy Hook?

What is unfair about not playing a song about dying young in the wake of 20 six-year-olds getting slaughtered.

[tekkenguy]

May 17, 2021 11:59:30 GMT -5 dbhmr said:

May 16, 2021 12:56:14 GMT -5 tekkenguy said:

Die Young after Sandy Hook?

What is unfair about not playing a song about dying young in the wake of 20 six-year-olds getting slaughtered.

It wasn’t really about dying young. It’s not like they were playing Pumped up Kicks or anything.

[Dielawn]

Apr 21, 2021 6:32:41 GMT -5 leonagwen said:

Apr 21, 2021 6:14:02 GMT -5 Trilogy said:

don't you worry child should've broken the spin count

Didn't it peak at #1 on Pop?

#3

[Az Paynter]

I thought it got to #2, but it was an unofficial (ie. midweek) #1.

[HamedM1 💔]

First thing that comes to mind is In Your Eyes by The Weeknd, seriously is frustrating when you realize it was doing very well on call outs and everything

[Choco]

"In Your Eyes" and "Midnight Sky" are top 5 career songs for both acts.

[Caviar]

"Good Days" and it was god awful to watch how radio treated it.

"Not Myself Tonight". Christina was blackballed by the time the video was released. This should've been an easy top 10 peak.

[dremolus - solarpunk]

May 17, 2021 11:59:30 GMT -5 dbhmr said:

May 16, 2021 12:56:14 GMT -5 tekkenguy said:

Die Young after Sandy Hook?

What is unfair about not playing a song about dying young in the wake of 20 six-year-olds getting slaughtered.

If that's the case, no song that mentions death or dying young should ever be given radio treatment given how many school shootings we've had.

[dbhmr]

Jun 2, 2021 22:00:01 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

May 17, 2021 11:59:30 GMT -5 dbhmr said:

What is unfair about not playing a song about dying young in the wake of 20 six-year-olds getting slaughtered.

If that's the case, no song that mentions death or dying young should ever be given radio treatment given how many school shootings we've had.

I don't have the same energy to combat this willful ignorance like I did back when this happened in real time, but again, if you don't recognize the unique position and no-brainer decision radio DJs had when 20 young kids were murdered--pretty widely recognized as the most horrific watershed moment of America's gun problem in modern times--and a song with the title "Die Young" (which had, IIRC, already peaked?), then I'm not sure what I could say to help you get there.

[dremolus - solarpunk]

Jun 3, 2021 9:14:40 GMT -5 dbhmr said:

Jun 2, 2021 22:00:01 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

If that's the case, no song that mentions death or dying young should ever be given radio treatment given how many school shootings we've had.

I don't have the same energy to combat this willful ignorance like I did back when this happened in real time, but again, if you don't recognize the unique position and no-brainer decision radio DJs had when 20 young kids were murdered--pretty widely recognized as the most horrific watershed moment of America's gun problem in modern times--and a song with the title "Die Young" (which had, IIRC, already peaked?), then I'm not sure what I could say to help you get there.

I completely understand the optics that a song called 'Die Young' being a hit after a tragedy doesn't look good and in the moment I understand pulling the song. That said, I still stand by it being an immature decision. As someone who was 12 when Sandy Hook happened, this stunt just comes across as a band-aid solution years later: they didn't want to be reminded of the event (which is natural) but they also didn't end up fixing or addressing the problem at all.

In the end, this helped no one.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Jun 3, 2021 9:55:02 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

Jun 3, 2021 9:14:40 GMT -5 dbhmr said:

I don't have the same energy to combat this willful ignorance like I did back when this happened in real time, but again, if you don't recognize the unique position and no-brainer decision radio DJs had when 20 young kids were murdered--pretty widely recognized as the most horrific watershed moment of America's gun problem in modern times--and a song with the title "Die Young" (which had, IIRC, already peaked?), then I'm not sure what I could say to help you get there.

I completely understand the optics that a song called 'Die Young' being a hit after a tragedy doesn't look good and in the moment I understand pulling the song. That said, I still stand by it being an immature decision. As someone who was 12 when Sandy Hook happened, this stunt just comes across as a band-aid solution years later: they didn't want to be reminded of the event (which is natural) but they also didn't end up fixing or addressing the problem at all.

In the end, this helped no one.

I’m not sure it was meant to help anyone or change anything, rather it was a decision made in reflection during a moment of pain for many.
Obviously the song doesnt exist with bad intention, but at that moment in time, it was a decision made out of respect. It’s not unlike pulling a car ad talking about “crashing prices!!” following a 9/11 event or something similar. It doesn’t have to be in direct relation to make a decision appropriate for what might be happening at that point in time that’s completely unrelated to what you’re doing - whether a car ad or a song about partying. There’s no fault or blame on the artist or radio (other than the shooters obviously) so I’d say they did the right thing.
It’s not about changing the world. It’s simply about respect.

[dremolus - solarpunk]

Jun 3, 2021 10:04:27 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

Jun 3, 2021 9:55:02 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

I completely understand the optics that a song called 'Die Young' being a hit after a tragedy doesn't look good and in the moment I understand pulling the song. That said, I still stand by it being an immature decision. As someone who was 12 when Sandy Hook happened, this stunt just comes across as a band-aid solution years later: they didn't want to be reminded of the event (which is natural) but they also didn't end up fixing or addressing the problem at all.

In the end, this helped no one.

I’m not sure it was meant to help anyone or change anything, rather it was a decision made in reflection during a moment of pain for many.
Obviously the song doesnt exist with bad intention, but at that moment in time, it was a decision made out of respect. It’s not unlike pulling a car ad talking about “crashing prices!!” following a 9/11 event or something similar. It doesn’t have to be in direct relation to make a decision appropriate for what might be happening at that point in time that’s completely unrelated to what you’re doing - whether a car ad or a song about partying. There’s no fault or blame on the artist or radio (other than the shooters obviously) so I’d say they did the right thing.
It’s not about changing the world. It’s simply about respect.

I understand this take and radio actions a little bit more so thank you.

I still think this type of blackballing should be reserved for people who actually deserve, not just happenstance. Respect is fine but I still think that unless it leads to actual changes, these sort of takedowns out of respect will never not come across as a band-aid.

[NeRD]

Never Really Over
Run Away With Me

[Eqbk]

The Britney era singles b/c of the Clear Channel ban, especially IS4U, which was a top 5/10 hit in most other major music markets.

Britney's personal life probably also hurt her Blackout era singles as well since those singles perfectly fit what was playing on radio at the time yet didn't chart very high. The next era, Circus, her image/reputation is better, and she gets two #1 hits (Womanizer and Circus) on pop radio, a #2 peak for "3", and becomes a radio darling during the Femme Fatale era.

[SabrinaFan]

Possibly an unpopular opinion but "Golden" by Harry Styles. It climbed to #14 and sat there for months, only to start falling, then have a rebound just so it could climb exactly to #14 for another couple months without doing anything. #TEASE lol