The Best CHR/Pop Radio Station In The US?

[LeonaLewis]

I'm looking for a station that plays new, contemporary pop and top 40 songs.
Songs from artists such as Leona Lewis, Mariah Carey, Katy Perry, David Archuleta, Rihanna, Chris Brown etc.

Please help, all suggestions appreciated.

[atlantaboy]

^Yeah almost all CHRs play Leona Lewis, Katy Perry, Rihanna, and Chris Brown - some play Mariah more than others, but David Archuleta's gonna be harder to find (at least right now lol)

WNCI/Columbus was the highest rated CHR in the U. S. a couple months ago, and positive it plays all those artists except for David A.

Don't think Z100/NYC plays much Mariah

Also might try KHKS/Dallas (it's really current-focused)

My fav. CHR in the U. S. is WIXX/Green Bay WI cause it adds new songs constantly (and leans Alternative which I kinda like)

[LeonaLewis]

Thank you Atlantaboy! I'll try them out!

[atlantaboy]

^No prob. - if you're really pop-focused, you also might wanna try out WAPE/Jacksonville

[EvanJ]

WNCI is popular as atlantaboy said. Some other CHR-Pop stations that do well in the ratings in Top 100 markets are KRQQ Tucson, AZ; WFLY Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY; WKRZ/WKRF Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA; WAEB Allentown-Bethlehem, PA; WLAN Lancaster, PA; WXSS Milwaukee-Racine, WI; WRVW Nashville, TN; and both WNTQ and WWHT in Syracuse, NY.

[tico]

I haven't listened to them in a long time, but WFBC Greenville-Spartanburg was my favorite, due to the wide variety of music they played. I also like Q100 Atlanta.

[John77]

Aug 7, 2008 12:26:37 GMT -5 atlantaboy said:

Don't think Z100/NYC plays much Mariah

Z-100 plays plenty of old Mariah... just nothing from the new album, which I can totally understand... there is nothing there even close to as strong as "We Belong Together," "Don't Forget ABout Us," "Shake it Off" or anything her catalog.

Z-100 is definitely a nice mixture of all forms of pop music IMHO, as is WIHT in DC.

[LeonaLewis]

Thanks guys. Really appreciate your help.

[620 Soul Train]

Between KDWeeB (MPLS) and Z-100, I would definitely select the latter because they play mmuch more a variety and they seem to understand how to mix recurrents, golds, and currents in a single shift. KDWB seems to repeat the same golds over and over throughout the entire quarter.

[selenatisdale411]

I like 102.7 KIIS from Los Angeles.

[EvanJ]

KKDM Des Moines, IA (now Number 1); WZEE Madison, WI; WNOK Columbia, SC; and WWST Knoxville, TN are also popular. Outside of the Top 100 markets there are WSPK Newburgh-Middletown and Poughkeepsie, NY which is Number 1 in the former market and Number 2 in the latter; WKFR Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, MI (Number 2 in the former market and Number 1 in the latter market); WIOG Saginaw-Bay City-Midland, MI (Number 1); WRTS Erie, PA (Number 1); WZYP Huntsville, AL; WLAN Lancaster, PA (I included it in my previous post but Lancaster is not a Top 100 market); WSKS/WSKU Utica-Rome, NY; and WVAQ Morgantown-Clarksburg, WV (Number 1 with one of the highest ratings for a CHR-Pop station in any market).

[atlantaboy]

Aug 8, 2008 23:38:34 GMT -5 @tico said:

I haven't listened to them in a long time, but WFBC Greenville-Spartanburg was my favorite, due to the wide variety of music they played. I also like Q100 Atlanta.

Q100's a great station but it leans REALLY Hot AC (except durin the evenings)...really like it though - other really good HAC leanin stations IMO are WSTW/Wilmington DE, WFLY/Albany, WSTR/Atlanta, and WKZL/Greensboro NC)

For best variety of music, def. WFBC/Greenville SC, WXLK/Roanoke VA, and I'd go hands-down with WRVQ/Richmond VA cause they put so many different varieties of songs into power rotation (even songs that peak in the 20s and 30s on the CHR chart), and they don't leave 'em in there for too long - IMO their playlist is somethin else

[atlantaboy]

Aug 9, 2008 4:44:46 GMT -5 John77 said:

Aug 7, 2008 12:26:37 GMT -5 atlantaboy said:

Don't think Z100/NYC plays much Mariah

Z-100 plays plenty of old Mariah... just nothing from the new album, which I can totally understand... there is nothing there even close to as strong as "We Belong Together," "Don't Forget ABout Us," "Shake it Off" or anything her catalog.

Z-100 is definitely a nice mixture of all forms of pop music IMHO, as is WIHT in DC.

Yeah only thing about Z100 (and esp. WIHT) is they tend to leave out rock, esp. pop/rock recurrents

Z100 plays teen-rock (Boys Like Girls, We The Kings, etc.), but is really weak on 3 Doors Down, Lifehouse, Daughtry, songs like Paralyzer and Sorry, etc.

Tryin to remember but pretty sure when I was in NYC listenin to Z100 nearly all their recurrents were rhythmic, or dance-oriented

[Au$tin]

Aug 7, 2008 7:05:13 GMT -5 LeonaLewis said:

I'm looking for a station that plays new, contemporary pop and top 40 songs.
Songs from artists such as Leona Lewis, Mariah Carey, Katy Perry, David Archuleta, Rihanna, Chris Brown etc.

Please help, all suggestions appreciated.

I like XM's 20 on 20 station. They are already playing "Hot N Cold", "Better In Time", "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time", "Forever", and "Disturbia". I don't know if they are playing "Crush" yet or not, though. Actually, this weekend they just had Mariah come in for the entire weekend and DJ. ;)

Edit: They have started playing "Crush" :)

[atlantaboy]

^Hey I actually heard Crush for the first time today in Charleston SC on WSSX, so I guess I'd nominate 95 SX/Charleston although their ratings are takin a huge hit from a crosstown CHR

[T3TRIS/BRIT3Y/J3TS3T]

The answer is completely obvious.

102.7 KIIS FM Los Angeles!!!!!!

But, Z100/NYC, Q100/Atlanta, and WAPE/Jacksonville are all great to me as well.

[Minor Scratch]

I find the most liberal cities in America have the best CHR stations. Ones which support and have built mass-appeal audiences over the years. Though there are a few conservative cities who have done an exceptional job as well.

Most of the best aren't even monitored. I have driven thru small markets all over the country and they are sometimes light years ahead of the larger markets with music and programming. They usually have a great mix of new and recurrent tracks from all formats, which is what I truly think CHR is all about.

[areyoureadytojump]

NOT Z100. They play the same damn songs over and over and over and over.

[atlantaboy]

^Yeah both ATL CHR's are almost Hot AC's (I kinda like it cause they play a lot of John Mayer, Lifehouse, etc., but sometimes miss out on hearin really popular rhythmic songs cause neither station adds them, or one adds a song really late)

BTW really not a big fan of HD98.3 in Augusta...not sure why, I guess it's cause they're too rhythmic, or maybe play too many rhythmic songs clustered together, followed by really overplayed pop/rock songs like Love Song or Hey There Delilah

[atlantaboy]

Sept 27, 2008 9:48:24 GMT -5 radioguru979 said:

^^I feel ya on HD98.3. But honestly, not even tha rhythmic station in Atlanta (95.5 The Beat/WBTS-FM) is up to date on A LOT of rhythmic songs out and we need some more of that.

Yeah def. - but thinkin the only way that'd happen is if we got a Hot AC...think there's just too much new suburban $$$ around ATL for either Star 94 or Q100 to give up their Hot-AC style workdays

Other thing about ATL is that the two Urban stations are HUGE, so ya don't get a lot of Afr-Am listeners flippin to CHR like you do in Greenville SC, Charlotte, etc.

[Minor Scratch]

I think the Atlanta market finally has the audience for a very current-focused CHR station. A mass appeal station in the city could probably do much better than it could just 10 years ago.

[atlantaboy]

Sept 28, 2008 0:30:06 GMT -5 Minor Scratch said:

I think the Atlanta market finally has the audience for a very current-focused CHR station. A mass appeal station in the city could probably do much better than it could just 10 years ago.

Yeah I've actually noticed Star 94 is becomin really current focused (i.e. heard the new Nickelback and Hinder songs last night, they were really early on new Christina Aguilera song, Gavin Rossdale, Jason Mraz, etc.)

It's just not adding rhythmic/urban songs - still not sure why...(since Q100 barely plays them either, and only at night)

IMO Q100 is def. not current-focused...you can hear both Hot AC-type songs and rhythmic/urban songs, but usually ones that were popular a month ago or before

[Minor Scratch]

Sept 30, 2008 15:10:09 GMT -5 atlantaboy said:

Sept 28, 2008 0:30:06 GMT -5 Minor Scratch said:

I think the Atlanta market finally has the audience for a very current-focused CHR station. A mass appeal station in the city could probably do much better than it could just 10 years ago.

Yeah I've actually noticed Star 94 is becomin really current focused (i.e. heard the new Nickelback and Hinder songs last night, they were really early on new Christina Aguilera song, Gavin Rossdale, Jason Mraz, etc.)

It's just not adding rhythmic/urban songs - still not sure why...(since Q100 barely plays them either, and only at night)

IMO Q100 is def. not current-focused...you can hear both Hot AC-type songs and rhythmic/urban songs, but usually ones that were popular a month ago or before

The CHRs are too afraid to compete with the huge juggernauts that are WBTS, WVEE, and WHTA. And the audiences they connect with have been with them for years (mostly African-American base for the Urbans, and mostly Caucasian base for the CHRs). If the CHRs throw more Rhythmic tracks into their playlists, I'm sure it will alienate their truly committed audience.

Atlanta has grown over the years with definitely a more cosmopolitan atmosphere than just a decade before. I'm sure a current-focused mass appeal CHR could work great at this time and it would grow to find an audience in the area.

[atlantaboy]

Sept 30, 2008 18:25:35 GMT -5 Minor Scratch said:

Sept 30, 2008 15:10:09 GMT -5 atlantaboy said:

Yeah I've actually noticed Star 94 is becomin really current focused (i.e. heard the new Nickelback and Hinder songs last night, they were really early on new Christina Aguilera song, Gavin Rossdale, Jason Mraz, etc.)

It's just not adding rhythmic/urban songs - still not sure why...(since Q100 barely plays them either, and only at night)

IMO Q100 is def. not current-focused...you can hear both Hot AC-type songs and rhythmic/urban songs, but usually ones that were popular a month ago or before

The CHRs are too afraid to compete with the huge juggernauts that are WBTS, WVEE, and WHTA. And the audiences they connect with have been with them for years (mostly African-American base for the Urbans, and mostly Caucasian base for the CHRs). If the CHRs throw more Rhythmic tracks into their playlists, I'm sure it will alienate their truly committed audience.

Yeah completely agree...just def. wouldn't lump WBTS in with the two huge Urbans cause its ratings are pretty modest (for the only rhythmic in town) i. e. CHRs added up beat out WBTS by far, which IMO is pretty bad considerin ATL CHRs barely touch rhythmic tracks

[John77]

It's cool when KIIS FM actually sounds like a pop station... Last 3 songs:

10:58 AM Chris Brown - Forever
11:01 AM Carrie Underwood - Before He Cheats
11:05 AM Kevin Rudolf - Let It Rock

[threedollafoaholla]

Sept 18, 2008 22:53:30 GMT -5 T3TRIS/BRIT3Y/J3TS3T said:

The answer is completely obvious.

102.7 KIIS FM Los Angeles!!!!!!

But, Z100/NYC, Q100/Atlanta, and WAPE/Jacksonville are all great to me as well.

WAPE, to me, is the most boring radio station in America.

[John77]

Sept 18, 2008 22:53:30 GMT -5 T3TRIS/BRIT3Y/J3TS3T said:

The answer is completely obvious.

102.7 KIIS FM Los Angeles!!!!!!

NOT!!! Any station that can just completely ignore an album which produced 5 top 10 hits while playing the groups first hit as a recurrent/gold the entire time is a BAD pop station, period! For a station to be good, they need balance. KIIS has become way too "AOR-oriented" in my opinion... in other words, they are more interested in playing artists and not songs. They just blindly throw the latest song by Mariah, Gwen/No Doubt, Britney into B or C rotation out of the box no matter how bad it is! A pop station by definition is supposed to play the hits, not the misses... KIIS misses the mark here by a lot.

Sept 18, 2008 22:53:30 GMT -5 T3TRIS/BRIT3Y/J3TS3T said:

But, Z100/NYC, Q100/Atlanta, and WAPE/Jacksonville are all great to me as well.

Z-100 is the epitome of what a true pop station should sound like. It's well balanced, and the music flows well, though I agree that there need to be more rock based currents and recurrents. Q-100 is pretty good as well with excellent sequencing, but they have the opposite problem of Z-100 - they need to be a little quicker on the rhythmic product and play more of it as recurrents. Is there a happy medium? :o

I have to agree with threedolla on WAPE though. They have a nice deep playlist (they even are playing Carrie Underwood's "Last Name"!!!), but they just do a HORRIBLE job of sequencing the songs IMHO.

[banks]

lol someone's got a beef with KIIS. Their formula is obviously working, and the listeners apparently like it.

(a) It was a pretty mainstream CHR when Ivey really *was* calling the shots...
(b) Its current strong numbers came as a result of recognizing and embracing Hispanics more - which happened when Steve Perun became involved.

You might consider that it's more of a CHR for THE MARKET, than a CHR for industry critics. (And isn't that what's important in the first place?)

Good rule for programming: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

As for Q100, it has nothing to do with the PD. A Cumulus PD has very little say in the music that gets played on his or her station.

It's all Jan The Man Jeffries! He decides what Cumulus CHRs play. And they all sound just as white-bread and safe as Q100. That station's music was miles better IMO when it was under Susq. However Q is still one of my favorite CHRs as it still embodies everything that CHR should be - except with regard to the music.

Take a look at:
WWWQ/Atlanta
KRBE/Houston
WHOT/Youngstown
WZYP/Huntsville
WHHY/Montgomery
WTWR/Toledo
WWCK/Flint
WAOA/Melbourne

They'll all look the same, except for maybe one or two songs!
There's 2 examples where there IS a difference. KBEA/Quad Cities, IA is much more Mainstream Hit sounding than the rest. Cumulus owns a Hot AC in that cluster.
The other is WWKL/Harrisburg, PA. Cumulus owns the dominant Hot AC in that market and therefore the CHR leans Rhythmic.

Wanna blame someone...don't blame the PD, blame Jan Jeffries.

STAR 94 is honestly more current based than Q100 is. They're more conservative on rhythmic-leaning songs than Q100 (though Q only plays them at night), as was mentioned earlier in this thread, but they ARE focused more current, where Q100 tends to play more gold and recurrents than currents. STAR sticks more to currents and recurrents.

Star could really re-stake their spot in the market as a true, straight-up-the-middle Mainstream CHR. I'd love to see it happen, but I suppose if things are working for them the way they are......
If it ain't broke, don't fix it?

[John77]

Oct 10, 2008 1:05:18 GMT -5 banks said:

lol someone's got a beef with KIIS. Their formula is obviously working, and the listeners apparently like it.

(a) It was a pretty mainstream CHR when Ivey really *was* calling the shots...
(b) Its current strong numbers came as a result of recognizing and embracing Hispanics more - which happened when Steve Perun became involved.

You might consider that it's more of a CHR for THE MARKET, than a CHR for industry critics. (And isn't that what's important in the first place?)

Good rule for programming: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.


If it ain't broke, don't fix it?

Despite the ratings numbers, it actually is a little broke. KIIS could have a 7.0 12+ if they wanted to... Also, their song spacing is pretty bad. It's commonplace to hear two songs by the same artist within 20 minutes of each other. This is fine if you're doing them back to back as part of a promo or something, but in any other case it's just plain bad/lazy programming by the MD/PD.

[banks]

Oct 11, 2008 15:15:56 GMT -5 John77 said:

Despite the ratings numbers, it actually is a little broke. KIIS could have a 7.0 12+ if they wanted to... Also, their song spacing is pretty bad. It's commonplace to hear two songs by the same artist within 20 minutes of each other. This is fine if you're doing them back to back as part of a promo or something, but in any other case it's just plain bad/lazy programming by the MD/PD.

Personally, I'd love to see KIIS to be a balanced "white" CHR, just like I'd love to see Star in ATL (or Q if Jan croaks) going mainstream. But, sometimes radio people like us forget to think like their listeners. That being said, a balanced mainstream CHR in LA would probably perform better than Movin' and The Sound combined, but KIIS would still beat it IMO.

I doubt ANY station can get more than 7 share in LA or NYC... too many stations... too much fragmentation. Maybe in a markets like Atlanta and the Twin Cities where there's alot less stations, 7 and up is the norm.

In big markets with lots of competition and presets like LA, TSL is way down. The average CHR listener is always on the move, so artist sep doesn't matter as much as you want to bang the hell out of the biggest hits. Plus, with artists guesting all over other artists' records (AHEM! Akon and T-Pain, just to name two), it probably gives Selector a headache. I doubt the avg. listener really cares if they hear "Dangerous" by Kardinal Offishall f/Akon and 20 minutes later the new Akon track.

I program in a smaller market, with less competition/presets, thus more TSL. My cume's maxed out so I have artist sep rules and I bang the powers in the 75/wk range.
I look for at least 30 minutes on a primary artist on a record and at least 15 on a secondary.