Alex Warren – “Ordinary”: Undoubtedly the fastest rising broad-appeal pop song which will consume our lives into the summer. Everyone loves it, but especially women. It made a huge leap to #2 in requests last week and dethroned “Pink Pony Club” from #1 this week after nine weeks on top! It’s also #3 on Spotify, #5 Shazam and all over TikTok. A no-brainer multi-format #1 on Top 40, Hot AC and AC (in a year of course). Kind of surprised that Alternative isn’t playing it at all though. The passionate stories we hear from listeners about their love for this song is what makes doing a request show so special and intimate. The importance of phone calls should never be overlooked.
Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” and Doechii’s “Anxiety” finally enter the Top 10 at Pop radio. Requests and streams remain consistent with both. Songs rising in airplay despite a lack of top 200 stream rankings and requests on Liveline include “Sorry I’m Here For Someone Else” by Benson Boone, “Azizam” by Ed Sheeran, “Call Me When You Break Up” by Selena Gomez & Gracie Abrams, “End of the World” by Miley Cyrus, “Still Bad” by Lizzo and “Bad Dreams” by Teddy Swims. A lack of great new material is not explanation enough for these songs charting high in radio airplay, as there are plenty of potential hits bubbling-yet-ignored songs radio is overlooking. We try to point them out every week in Mason’s Observations.
BigXthaPlug, Bailey Zimmerman – “All The Way”: Another country rap collaboration, currently #9 on Shazam and Spotify in America, #4 on Billboard and blowing up fast on Liveline where it finished #18 in requests last week. It’s showing the same signs of being a hit as “I Had Some Help” and “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” almost a year ago. What will radio do with it? Stations are typically slow to react when this kind of song—not formula pop–is blowing up on streaming. Often radio jumps on a song and promotes it as “hot and new” weeks and even months after it has dropped off the streaming charts. “All The Way” is #41 on Top 40, #73 on Rhythmic and nowhere to be found on Country radio. It would be a shame to let a potential summer smash slip away!
So far, “NOKIA” by Drake hasn’t gotten the due airplay respect it deserves for being #1 on Shazam and Spotify for the past two weeks (plus another two months in the top ten). This week it’s our second most-requested title on Liveline…and we air on over a dozen winning Hot AC stations too! The same could be said about Lil Tecca’s “Dark Thoughts”, another big Liveline request (#15) the past couple weeks. Continuing to rise, currently #7 on Spotify, #14 on Rhythmic and #46 on Top 40.
Many people have been complaining about the lack of variety on Pop Radio in recent years. Rob Mack, PD at KNDE/Bryan-College Station, TX, shared a great analysis of Rhythmic music to his Instagram story last week. He stated, “Drake’s “NOKIA” has been one of the biggest songs in America for weeks–and it’s still only at #29 on “Top 40 radio” Lil Tecca “Dark Thoughts“? Also big. Nowhere to be found on most Top 40’s. “DENIAL IS A RIVER” – lost bullet at #21 from one of the hottest new artists. And “luther“? #1 at Top 40, finally and #1 for 10 WEEKS on Billboard’s Hot 100, from the Superbowl artists that played THE MOST MAINSTREAM EVENT of the year…and there are large and major market Pop stations ONLY playing this at night. It’s 2025 and Top 40 is seriously still scared of Rhythm like it’s 1992.”
Buried Treasures of the Week:
Katy Perry – “Waking Up In Vegas”: In the spirit of her outrageous publicity trip to space, we felt it would be great to recognize a completely lost and overlooked piece of her amazing early catalog which would sound fresh and great on the air again. This was the fourth single from her debut album which brought us “I Kissed A Girl” and “Hot N Cold”. All three hit #1 on Top 40 airplay, yet only the first two receive any airplay today. It’s been 12 years since her last meaningful hit, “Dark Horse”. Despite her struggles since then, her contributions to pop music can never be overstated. Her album “Teenage Dream” produced six number-ones, more than any other album in history. “California Gurls”, “Last Friday Night” and the title track are amongst our most requested throwbacks today. RIP to good Katy, 2008-2013.
Baby Bash, T-Pain – “Cyclone”: From the peak era of auto tune and T-Pain’s feature on everything, this dancefloor anthem is sure to prime any party. It’s always been a big request on Liveline, but it wasn’t until we researched how few Top 40 stations actually still play it that we determined this is now a “Buried Treasure”. Since the beginning of this year, we’ve had at least 40 requests for it. “Cyclone” was released in 2007 and peaked at #11 on Top 40, #3 on Rhythmic and #7 on Billboard. Bring it back, your Gen Z and millennial audience will thank you! Maybe swap it out with Flo Rida and T-Pain’s “Low” for a few weeks.
Appreciate the “Waking Up in Vegas” mention, one of Katy’s best singles easily, it still sounds fresh to this day, this is how non-generic carefree pop is done!
I wonder why Pop radio has become so resistant towards Rhythmic-leaning music, it wasn’t like this in the early 00’s, wonder what changed. I could understand their aversion towards Country since it is a more polarizing genre (although it is still not justifiable how long they take to embrace obvious country hits.
Regarding country… Unfourtanely I do not see a bright future for “All the Way”, I hope to be proven wrong because the song is a bop and a half and much needed in such a dry mainstream scene currently; but since it’s a blend of two genres that Pop does not seem to be a big fan of, who knows… Doubt Country is going to touch it, and I guess it lowkey makes sense. Both Pop and Rhythmic should be leading the path.
About “Ordinary”, stunning song, so glad it is taking off right now, a breath of fresh air and it screams universal appeal.
I don’t remember if it was on CHR or HAC (subtle difference nowadays) but I do hear “Suga Suga” as a gold every now and again. It’s not an “oh wow” because virtually nothing I hear on (what passes for) currents-based formats is, but I guess it’s among the closer ones to that that I’ve heard. It’s a trifle but I still like it. I found “Cyclone” just OK at the time but was not a cool kid and should not be listened to on these matters.
It’s funny, on one hand I understand why you refer to “All the Way” as not being “formula pop” as it’s released by a pair of artists who will inevitably be viewed as an Apple Music/streaming-charts “distraction” until proven otherwise. But from a sonic standpoint to me this is basically just a newer take on the Alex da Kid-variety “formula rap” for Top 40 circa 15 years ago.
Um, glad people are apparently loving “Ordinary”… sigh. I look forward to changing the station for the next year as it continues to come on while Mr. Warren struggles to have his second hit, joining three of last year’s big debut hitmakers who are in that fight right now. It seems in a previous comment that I misremembered the song as a slow waltz when in fact it is a moderately jaunty 6/8 march. I regret the error.
Not all Country / Hip Hop Collaborations get big success. Whiskey Whiskey by Moneybagg Yo x Morgan Wallen only did well on Rhythmic. Top40 nor Urban did much with it. Broadway Girls by Lil Durk x Morgan Wallen was kind of the same way and some people are STILL working Stand By Me also by Lil Durk x Morgan Wallen.
Always enjoy your posts. Maybe “Bad Dreams” is a southern thing. It’s been in heavy rotation for weeks on Q99.7 (Atlanta) , 104.1 KRBE (Houston) etc. Swims has this throwback rock-and-soul vibe that’s mass appeal down here. The Miley Cyrus record sounds like 2000s , very catchy, reminiscent of Use Somebody or Viva La Vida. The Brian meter says YES. BTW among the most overlooked records at CHR is recent #1 R&B “30 For 30” by SZA w/ Kendrick Lamar. Love the opening line “Is this really your real phone number?” it’s too long at 4:39 so a custom 3:05 edit focused on the chorus is the answer. The Benson Boone record tells a story, it’s theatrical and people relate to it. But musically? It’s boring. Bottom line. The Lizzo song is a no-go and the Ariana Grande is rubbish.