Welcome to the third edition of Mason’s Observations, a weekly review of the songs generating real requests and positive response amongst the 500+ phone calls, texts and DMs we get weekly. Plus, we point out songs with no passion from listeners which got hyped to high chart positions which clutter the format with high tune-out potential.
Songs with No Passion
When times are tough, many programmers turn to Mediabase to pick adds instead of Spotify and other charts to find songs that at least have digital consumption or passion (which usually end up becoming radio hits anyway, long after Gen Z has discovered them). Best indicator of hype and weak PD passion is no streaming action plus the ratio of overnight spins to daytime airplay…more than 30% overnights is a fake add. Songs gaining airplay this week in the CHR Top 30 for which we have never received a request: Gracie Abrams/Close To You, Khalid/Heatstroke, Addison Rae/Diet Pepsi, Meghan Trainor -Criminals, Coldplay/We Pray and Jelly Roll/I Am Not Okay.
Blowing Up
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – APT.: Streaming numbers on this song are astronomical. Finally Top 40 has a good reason to embrace an element of K-POP. All it took was a major artist to jump on board with ROSÉ (from the girl group BLACKPINK) to propel this future anthem to #1 on Spotify in America and the world. It was the third most-added song at Top 40 radio this week and fills the desperate void we’ve been in for new music since summer ended. 200 million views on the video in 10 days. It’s exploding…unlike the formula BTS nonsense and other K-POP acts which the labels and media desperately tried to convince us was huge in America. It sounds like the Go-Go’s “We Got The Beat”.
When I asked PD Tabatha Grammer of “106.9 K-Hits” KHTT Tulsa (43 spins this week) why radio often takes so long to hop on songs that are clearly hit-bound, she said “…music decisions are being made by few and many not even in the market, my guess is research and call out. It’s just a tool. For me it was knowing the sound of our station and how the song fit with our listeners in Tulsa. It’s the Bruno sound with a touch of K-Pop, making it perfect for the Top 40 format.”
“99.7 Now” KMVQ San Francisco’s Jazzy Jim Archer says, “APT has taken over the Bay Area. It’s fun, catchy, and exceeding all our early expectations. Metrics are huge, but this song is so much more than metrics. It very quickly made its way into the minds of 99.7’s most passionate listeners. It may not be for everyone yet, but it’s most definitely a home run for the 99.7 NOW superfans.”
Lady Gaga – Disease: This song has absolutely nothing to do with her Joker movie or her Harlequin album, which both received overall negative reviews. It’s actually the second single from an upcoming eighth studio album which hasn’t yet been given a title or release date. Produced by Gaga, Andrew Watt and Cirkut, this song brings back the familiar dance-pop she built her career on with the fabulous “Fame” and “Born This Way” albums. Other than 2018’s “Shallow” with Bradley Cooper, she has failed to deliver a great song that any format held onto for more than a month. 2022’s “Bloody Mary” (originally from 2011) had potential, but it seemed like every station in the country was playing a different version of it. “Die With A Smile” with Bruno Mars is heading for #1 at Top 40 & Hot AC and already hit #1 in requests on Liveline. She is still creating new fans and maintaining the old ones, unlike Katy Perry with her “143” album (which is the number of copies it sold). Gaga continues to evolve and stay classy. “Disease” is most-added on CHR this week and lingering in the top 30 on Spotify, which doesn’t happen often for her. We’ll let you know next week what requests show. So far, two.
Buried Treasures
Gwen Stefani – “Hollaback Girl”: An icnonic high-energy song that has never died. Since 2005, it’s become a total female anthem, though plenty of guys calls for it too. It’s one of our most-requested throwbacks ever and received a total of 6 calls and texts in the past two weeks from widely separated markets. It’s crazy to think that 6 different people from 6 different places all wanted to hear this song, out of everything they could’ve asked for. #1 Billboard, Top 40, Rhythmic and the second biggest song of 2005. (#1 that year and for the decade was “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey, for which we’ve had a total of 3 requests for in the past 4 years). The biggest hit of Gwen’s career and still receives decent CHR airplay today, though not much in the top 10 markets.
Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj – “Beauty and A Beat”: Two weeks ago, we revealed that 2010’s “Baby” with Ludacris was our most-requested throwback of all time, but Justin has many more hits in our Gold category that still connect with people today. The obvious ones are “Sorry”, “Despacito” and “STAY”, but some songs just get overlooked and forgotten, like 2012’s “Beauty and A Beat” which peaked at #5 Billboard, #2 on Top 40 and #4 on Rhythmic (back when they played pop hits too). The two of them are as big as any star gets, the song WAS a hit and defined the dance party pop era with that Nicki line “gotta keep an eye out for Selener”. We get multiple requests for this every week and are always happy to play it. Check out the video (which has 1.1 billion views); written and directed by Justin and is arguably the best of his career:
Seeking your response
Does Top 40 radio really need a new add or two every week? When the music being hyped by the labels is weak, do you really feel inclined to play them just to “keep the cycle moving”? Isn’t it more important to always play people’s favorite songs, even if that means adding a Gold every hour or holding onto a low-burn song that’s been around longer than usual? When Pop music is lacking great new material, the majority of our requests are pre-2016 Golds. Many PDs, consultants and music experts blame Top 40’s weak ratings on bad currents, so why not just play the proven good stuff? Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” era will make people a lot happier than anything she has released in the past 10 years. Comments? Email me [email protected] or post them below.
Thanks to Sean Ross and Lance Venta for the platform to discuss observations about the state of Top 40 music every week. Hosting Liveline for the past 4 ½ years has been my honor and a dream come true. I’m lucky to work with and be inspired by so many incredible professionals who teach me things about the industry I cherish dearly. That being said, my sincerest appreciation to YOU for reading and the dozens of radio people who have expressed appreciation for our honest, unbiased and fair observations. I take pride in my work and love knowing that it contributes reality from our unique perspective and helps someone’s decisions to achieve greater success. We don’t work for or with the labels and gain nothing from this except hopefully your respect and trust.
Great info for Top 40!