Fresh Listen: L.A.’s CHR Battle, KIIS vs. KNOU

People make a big deal about feeling old when they hear the ‘90s on the Classic Hits format. That doesn’t faze me. It was hearing Josh ‘Bru’ Brubaker on the new KNOU (97.1 Now) Los Angeles get “major middle school vibes” from playing “Lollipop” by Lil Wayne. Brubaker “had no idea what I was singing about” when that song was a hit in 2008, he said. 

If you do the math, Brubaker would have been 12 when Top 40’s last great period began in 2008 and just graduating high school when the format ran into turbulence around 2014. Bru’s entire adult career has been with Top 40 in flux, and he’s been in radio long enough to make it to p.m. drive in Los Angeles. 

KNOU, which relaunched from KAMP (Amp 97.1) in mid-April, is relying heavily on that last fertile period, playing roughly 50% gold in the hours I’ve monitored, which is further than some Top 40s go on their throwback weekends. Titles go as far back as 1997’s “Return of the Mack” by Mark Morrison, but the “turbopop era” of the early-to-mid-2010s is most prominent. Amp was one of the stations that pulled CHR back toward EDM and Hip-Hop around the time. In many ways, these are “Amp’s Greatest Hits,” including signature songs like Afrojack’s “Take Over Control.”

KNOU being so heavily gold-based ups the ante on format leader KIIS (102.7 Kiss FM). A year ago, KIIS was one of several CHR stations prominently experimenting with throwbacks, a response to both COVID and Top 40’s product shortage. KIIS still does its “This Year in Kiss-tory” weekends, in which you can still hear “Party in the U.S.A.” or “Tik Toc” (the customized version with Ke$ha mentioning the station), but when I took a Fresh Listen to L.A.’s CHRs on July 5, KIIS was the station billboarding “new music now” three times an hour. 

KNOU plays 240 songs more than 2x a week, according to BDSRadio. KIIS plays 155, still significant by CHR standards, especially when Hot AC sister KBIG (My 104.3) plays 170. Pitbull’s “I Know You Want Me” played twice last week on KIIS. On 97.1 Now, it played six times, and you might hear Pitbull two songs away from Flo Rida. The throwbacks aren’t staged on Now and they’re not part of the “L.A.’s Party Station” positioning. (There are also a lot of references to the “greatest summer ever.”)

KIIS and KNOU both were clearly working at giving listeners a radio experience. KIIS-FM’s Gabby Diaz, based out of sister KYLD (Wild 94.9) San Francisco, was airing listener calls, not just texts; wishing Saweetie a happy birthday; saluting anybody working on the holiday Monday. Brubaker had a caller who knew him from TikTok and wanted to plug her own videos. He also plugged the new Tate McRae/Khalid duet as his “favorite song in the world right now.”

The other thing that stuck out about KIIS is that there’s more of a “classic CHR” feel again these days. The imaging, especially the :00 ID, feels more clean and uptempo, with less of the sonic bombardment that has come to characterize CHR (and many formats) in recent years. The “here’s what you missed” morning show promo was a two-sentence exchange between Ryan Seacrest and Sisanie, not an entire bit. Here’s KIIS just before 4 p.m., July 5:

• Dua Lipa f/DaBaby, “Levitating”
• Tate McCrae x Khalid, “Working”
• Calvin Harris, “Summer”
• Olivia Rodrigo, “Good 4 U”
• Saweetie f/Doja Cat, “Best Friend”
• The Weeknd, “Save Your Tears”
• Kali Uchis, “Telepatia”
• Tai Verdes, “A-O-K”
• Sam Smith, “I’m Not the Only One”
• Doja Cat f/SZA, “Kiss Me More”
• Billie Eilish, “Therefore I Am”
• Doja Cat f/the Weeknd, “You Right”
• Ariana Grande, “Break Up With Your Girlfriend”
• Lil Nas X, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
• Jason Derulo, “Whatcha Say”
• Cardi B, “Up”
• Harry Styles, “Watermelon Sugar”

And here’s KNOU (97.1 Now) just before 4 p.m., July 5::

• Calvin Harris f/John Newman, “Blame”
• Lil Nas X, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
• Lil Wayne, “Lollipop”
• Olivia Rodrigo, “Déjà Vu”
• Icona Pop f/Charli XCX, “I Love It”
• Dua Lipa f/Da Baby, “Levitating”
• Nicki Minaj, “Super Bass”
• Olivia Rodrigo, “Good 4 U”
• Kid Cudi, “Day N Nite”
• Marshmello f/Jonas Brothers, “Leave Before You Love Me”
• Lady Gaga, “Just Dance”
• Doja Cat f/SZA, “Kiss Me More”
• Lil Jon & East Side Boyz, “Get Low”
• Tate McCrae x Khalid, “Working”
• LMFAO, “Sexy and I Know It”
• Weeknd, “Save Your Tears”
• Harry Styles, “Watermelon Sugar”
• Kendrick Lamar, “Humble”