Just a day shy of its one month birthday, Merlin Media’s “I101” WIQI Chicago has tweaked its music format from being mostly 90s oriented to a current/recurrent Hot AC mix.

The station posted a statement on the station’s Facebook page in response to the numerous complaints the station had received about the changes:

Thanks for the great response to the new i101!

Yes, we’ve begun expanding the playlist. We realize that some of you will miss the mostly all-90s format, and while we are not turning our backs on the 90’S, it is time to add more music to the station to continue growing.

We hope you’ll give the new sound a chance and keep us on your presets. As always, your comments are welcomed and we do read all of them…the positive one and the critical ones.

If social media is any indication, WIQI had built a very small but loyal core audience around the 90’s based format. It had gained 3567 Facebook likes and 171 Twitter followers. As a comparison, “New Rock 101.9” in New York that debuted simultaneously is at 9375 people on Facebook and 1963 on Twitter. The formats aren’t identical which means different demographics and how they use social media, but it does show that there has been a greater demand for the New York product than Chicago.

Here’s a sample hour of the new version of I101 from 10am today, which shows the bullseye is now targeted directly on Hubbard’s “101.9 The Mix” WTMX:
Karmin – Brokenhearted
Train – Hey Soul Sister
Katy Perry – Part Of Me
Prince – Little Red Corvette
Adele – Rumour Has It
Madonna – Into The Groove
OneRepublic – Good Life
La Roux – Bulletproof
Christina Aguilera – Beautiful
Bon Jovi – Who Says You Can’t Go Home
Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe
LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem