How are Top 40 stations filling their power rotation these days?
Three years ago, at a time when it felt like Mainstream Top 40 music was slowly rebounding, we looked at power rotation on WHTZ (Z100) New York as a bellwether of available product. In the late ‘10s, Top 40 wasn’t just reaching back to recurrent to fill up power, there was also a stash of “never-quite-powers” that could drift back into top rotation during a particularly soft week. At that time, two out of the five powers on Z100 were songs that were effectively recurrents, but even that seemed hopeful.
When the pandemic hit, radio listening patterns changed, and current-driven formats were among the stations most impacted. Release schedules slowed, recurrents dominated callout research (once it resumed), and the songs-that-would-not-leave from “Blinding Lights” to “Without You” stayed in the 120x spin range on CHR for weeks on end.
As we prepare for Handicapping the Song of Summer 2022 next week, CHR is still in a familiar place:
- There is more mainstream uptempo product;
- So far, it has not translated into consistently improved ratings across the board for the format, and in light of younger listener erosion, we are still waiting for proof that better music will translate to better ratings;
- It is still hard for songs to make the leap to power. Streaming stories have put more songs in the format’s consideration set. But if callout is still an indication of when songs have reached critical mass, even the most phenomenal records do not look like traditional powers.
Some stations have rethought power rotation, particularly in light of evidence that playing nine-month-old songs at 130x a week was not bolstering the format. Z100, in particular, has taken its top spin to 85x a week and in doing so blurred the line between power and “power new.” Here are the eight most-played songs on Z100 according to BDSradio:
- Harry Styles, “As It Was” (85)
- Dove Cameron, “Boyfriend” (84)
- Latto, “Big Energy” (82)
- Lil Nas X, “That’s What I Want” (78)
- Doja Cat, “Woman” (78)
- Justin Bieber, “Ghost” (76)
- Ed Sheeran, “Shivers” (75)
- Lizzo, “About Damn Time” (75)
And here are the powers on five other significant CHR outlets:
KIIS Los Angeles
KIIS is the station with the fewest lingering titles. It is also the station with the most easily-discernable powers in the range that has been traditional for CHR over the last decade (although even its 109-115 spins would have been less aggressive than other large-market Top 40s a few years ago).
- Dove Cameron, “Boyfriend” (115)
- Jack Harlow, “First Class” (114)
- Harry Styles, “As It Was” (113)
- Becky G x Karol G, “Mamii” (112)
- Doja Cat, “Woman” (109)
WWWQ (Q99.7) Atlanta
Cumulus’ Q99.7 has been one of the format’s success stories in recent months, even with a direct competitor. One song here is in typical CHR super-power rotation; the others, notably, are just under 100 spins. (Like Z100, that may also be a function of having more foreground personality shows throughout the day.)
- Harry Styles, “As It Was” (117)
- Jack Harlow, “First Class” (99)
- The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber, “Stay” (99)
- Post Malone & the Weeknd, “One Right Now” (98)
- Latto, “Big Energy” (93)
- Doja Cat, “Woman” (91)
KQMV (Movin’ 92.5) Seattle
Movin’ 92.5 was up 4.4-5.0 in the April PPMs this week. It has traditionally been the station where current and recurrent are most fungible, and that remains the case. Just below power, among the station’s top 10 most played, you’ll still find “Beggin’,” “Positions,” and “Good 4 U.”
- Dove Cameron, “Boyfriend” (114)
- Glass Animals, “Heatwaves” (113)
- Harry Styles, “As It Was” (110)
- Doja Cat, “Need to Know” (106)
- Doja Cat, “You Right” (106)
WIXX Green Bay, Wis.
In the fall, they were the top-rated CHR in America. WIXX has also been willing to bring back older songs into power over the last few years, although those songs have often been very different from the major-market warhorses. It’s worth noting that the Flo Rida title, which hasn’t been actively worked, is also in power at rival WKSZ and came to WIXX’s attention through our Big Hits Energy playlist.
- Flo Rida, “Wait” (68)
- Latto, “Big Energy” (66)
- Justin Bieber, “Ghost” (64)
- Ed Sheeran, “Shivers” (64)
- Lil Nas X, “That’s What I Want” (63)
CKIS (Kiss 92.5) Toronto
In Canada, where CHR has done relatively well in the country’s handful of PPM markets recently, power rotation never reached U.S. levels. It’s currently in the 80-87 range at Bell Media’s Virgin Radio CHRs in Toronto (CKFM) and Vancouver (CFBT). At Rogers’ Kiss 92.5, it’s considerably less.
- Harry Styles, “As It Was” (61)
- Justin Bieber, “Ghost” (60)
- Elton John & Dua Lipa, “Cold Heart” (56)
- Camila Cabello f/Ed Sheeran, “Bam Bam” (54)
- Lil Nas X, “That’s What I Want” (54)
