Lady Gaga f/Colby O'Donis - "Just Dance"

[musicfanpete]

Well now that Rihanna has "opened" the door for pop crossover music on AC radio, how about the "big time" smash for Lady Gaga? Up to #28 and climbing!

Any guesses on how far this song will go?

[tico]

This doesn't fit AC, to me, at all. But be it as it may, this probably should've been released to AC much sooner. I guess it'll be a matter of time until "LoveGame" makes it.

[JCMF3]

This song has no business on AC IMO. What happened to this format???

[musicfanpete]

Jun 7, 2009 7:46:03 GMT -5 JCMF3 said:

This song has no business on AC IMO. What happened to this format???

My guess is that this song's airplay is coming from a very small handful of stations (most likely less than five) that are probably miscategorized. Those stations (ie: Fresh 102.7 in NYC) should be classified as Hot AC. And with so few new songs at this format, it only takes a few stations to have songs like this make an impact on the chart.

This song already slipped back a few spots this week, and I don't believe this will be a huge hit here. Though you never know since as already has been stated, many AC's are very receptive to pop crossover songs from the 90's. Therefore a song like "Just Dance" may actually fit the format better than some believe. But I still don't see this being a huge hit here, but I've been wrong before.

[Battle601]

Certain stations may classify themselves as one format but every now and then, there is that tendency to step across others if it helps their key demographic who is also being targeted by other stations in a given market. The formats tied to each station nowadays are not clear cut, and they eventually become hybrids of various formats.

If we're looking at a market that has only a CHR/Rhythmic station and an AC station for instance, the latter would want to provide some healthy competition by throwing in some recent pop music across selected dayparts while balancing it out with the traditional, middle-of-the-road fare that would be more likely spun Monday to Friday.

But especially when I look at the format that is AC presently, it's definitely come a long way from just simply easy listening and soft rock, as well as something that only your parents or even grandparents would listen to. I think it took a while for the format to finally get past that stigma of being only for the older demographics, and finally open up as an outlet for listeners (even in the young demos) who may not be as interested in the product currently being offered by Top 40, Rhythmic and even Hot AC.

While there's no denying that Top 40 is on the rebound, not everyone is into that. Hot AC is secondary to Top 40, especially when it comes to opening the door for crossover music, but continues to straddle that line between Top 40 and traditional AC, by reaching out towards either format under certain limits.

As a by-product of what's happened since the late 1990s, much of the pop music that was released then and even in the early 2000s has crossed over and found its way into AC stations now, even though you'll still hear them from time to time on both Top 40 and Hot AC. With today's current music, it usually takes anywhere from a year or more before AC stations finally catch on to a selected number of songs that were first big on Top 40 and Hot AC. Then again, we see few rare cases like the past year, when AC was quick to pick up on songs that had immediate crossover potential (i.e. "Viva La Vida"), months after it was huge on other formats.

In the end, it's just a matter of AC stations making an effort to balance both suiting the needs of the market they serve and trying to keep up with what's current in music, even if it means coming across a song that people would feel have no place on the format. Of course, that's left up to the programmers to decide how they want to push those songs - chances are they would have to daypart it in order not to alienate their audience. But it also shows that stations can't afford to always play it safe and must be willing to bend the rules a little bit if they want to attract listeners.

[atlantaboy]

^Yeah agreed...I'm not sure how the soft rock slogan started on AC, but I think it was during the 70s/early 80s in response to adults that wanted to hear Elton John, Billy Joel, John Denver, Kenny Rogers, and Fleetwood Mac instead of Zeppelin, Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Bad Company, etc. - in the 90s "soft rock" became Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Phil Collins, Michael Bolton, etc. - but by the 2000s I think "soft" music really started becoming hard to come by...I remember stations in the early 00s playing a lot of Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync ballads cause that was the "softest" music they could find - so think by the late 2000s most ACs switched from "soft rock" to "familiar songs", esp. in reponse to the success of the Jack-format stations

[Battle601]

Just thinking about it, a song like "Makes Me Wonder" received quite a number of spins on AC stations in spite of the lyrical content and charted pretty decently, so it doesn't seem so far-fetched now that "Just Dance" would come along and suddenly be charting in that format. At the very least, AC will touch songs that were big on both Hot AC and Top 40 or at the very least, just Hot AC. I would seriously doubt the format would touch a song like "Don't Trust Me" (which I don't expect to do much on Hot AC) otherwise that would just be asking for trouble. LOL

[musicfanpete]

Jun 7, 2009 12:01:55 GMT -5 Battle601 said:

Certain stations may classify themselves as one format but every now and then, there is that tendency to step across others if it helps their key demographic who is also being targeted by other stations in a given market. The formats tied to each station nowadays are not clear cut, and they eventually become hybrids of various formats.

If we're looking at a market that has only a CHR/Rhythmic station and an AC station for instance, the latter would want to provide some healthy competition by throwing in some recent pop music across selected dayparts while balancing it out with the traditional, middle-of-the-road fare that would be more likely spun Monday to Friday.

But especially when I look at the format that is AC presently, it's definitely come a long way from just simply easy listening and soft rock, as well as something that only your parents or even grandparents would listen to. I think it took a while for the format to finally get past that stigma of being only for the older demographics, and finally open up as an outlet for listeners (even in the young demos) who may not be as interested in the product currently being offered by Top 40, Rhythmic and even Hot AC.

While there's no denying that Top 40 is on the rebound, not everyone is into that. Hot AC is secondary to Top 40, especially when it comes to opening the door for crossover music, but continues to straddle that line between Top 40 and traditional AC, by reaching out towards either format under certain limits.

As a by-product of what's happened since the late 1990s, much of the pop music that was released then and even in the early 2000s has crossed over and found its way into AC stations now, even though you'll still hear them from time to time on both Top 40 and Hot AC. With today's current music, it usually takes anywhere from a year or more before AC stations finally catch on to a selected number of songs that were first big on Top 40 and Hot AC. Then again, we see few rare cases like the past year, when AC was quick to pick up on songs that had immediate crossover potential (i.e. "Viva La Vida"), months after it was huge on other formats.

In the end, it's just a matter of AC stations making an effort to balance both suiting the needs of the market they serve and trying to keep up with what's current in music, even if it means coming across a song that people would feel have no place on the format. Of course, that's left up to the programmers to decide how they want to push those songs - chances are they would have to daypart it in order not to alienate their audience. But it also shows that stations can't afford to always play it safe and must be willing to bend the rules a little bit if they want to attract listeners.

Great points Purged! I think a great example of dayparting on an AC station is occurring right now on Fresh 105.9 in Chicago. About two months ago they began playing Hot AC songs during evening hours. They have been playing the likes of Rihanna, Lady Gaga, All-American Rejects and Kevin Rudolf at night, with "Disturbia" by Rihanna even now receiving an occasional play during the weekday hours. I think that is a good programming move to try to steal some of WTMX's high share and grab some listeners of WLIT who have to suffer through Delilah at night.

Another example involves Fresh's sister station in New York City, Fresh 102.7. They have for all intents and purposes evolved into a full blown Hot AC station, and I find it strange they are still reporting as an AC station. I think that one station alone is responsible for about half of the plays for "Just Dance". I know WLIT in Chicago has added it sparingly too.

Back to Delilah a second. It makes you wonder why quite a few AC's are still airing her show considering the trend is for AC stations to go brighter at night. I know the ratings are still strong for her, but it seems she attracts a completely different audience, the older demo and younger listeners who don't fall into most of the current formats. And this especially is strange for WMYX in Milwaukee, a Hot AC station that actually airs Delilah at night! I never understood that decision!

[musicfanpete]

Jun 7, 2009 13:20:02 GMT -5 atlantaboy said:

^Yeah agreed...I'm not sure how the soft rock slogan started on AC, but I think it was during the 70s/early 80s in response to adults that wanted to hear Elton John, Billy Joel, John Denver, Kenny Rogers, and Fleetwood Mac instead of Zeppelin, Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Bad Company, etc. - in the 90s "soft rock" became Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Phil Collins, Michael Bolton, etc. - but by the 2000s I think "soft" music really started becoming hard to come by...I remember stations in the early 00s playing a lot of Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync ballads cause that was the "softest" music they could find - so think by the late 2000s most ACs switched from "soft rock" to "familiar songs", esp. in reponse to the success of the Jack-format stations

Yes, agreed the soft rock slogan is dead considering there are many AC stations that don't even play current Celine Dion music! I know Lionel Richie recently had a top 10 hit on the AC chart, but at its peak it still had only a quarter number of plays as the number one song on that chart!

[atlantaboy]

Jun 7, 2009 15:51:50 GMT -5 musicfanpete said:

I think that is a good programming move to try to steal some of WTMX's high share and grab some listeners of WLIT who have to suffer through Delilah at night.

Lol I actually like that show (for some ridiculous reason, not sure - think cause she's just so positive and optimistic )...it's actually the only time I listen to AC - I try not to tell people though ;)

[musicfanpete]

Jun 7, 2009 17:09:47 GMT -5 atlantaboy said:

Jun 7, 2009 15:51:50 GMT -5 musicfanpete said:

I think that is a good programming move to try to steal some of WTMX's high share and grab some listeners of WLIT who have to suffer through Delilah at night.

Lol I actually like that show (for some ridiculous reason, not sure - think cause she's just so positive and optimistic )...it's actually the only time I listen to AC - I try not to tell people though ;)

Well, you just did! Okay, not your personal friends anyway. ;)

[Battle601]

It's either Delilah and/or John Tesh. Being from a market in Canada that is primarily French - in total, there are 3 AC stations, two of which are French, and the lone English station airs John Tesh during evenings six nights a week (Sunday through Friday).

[tico]

Jun 7, 2009 15:51:50 GMT -5 musicfanpete said:

Great points Purged! I think a great example of dayparting on an AC station is occurring right now on Fresh 105.9 in Chicago.

When I was in Chicago in March, Fresh sounded entirely hot AC to me.

WMYX in Milwaukee, a Hot AC station that actually airs Delilah at night! I never understood that decision!

B98.5 in Little Rock is a hot AC that also plays Delilah. I never understood that either. Reminds me of a country station in north Mississippi that used to play American Top 40 in the 80s and 90s.

[Arson]

I guess if AC is playing Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold", then they can play this too... I hardly listen to this format now.