Fresh Listen: KPLX & KYGO

Okay, there are actually four Country stations in America (or at least in Mediabase-monitored markets) where you conceivably could have heard both Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange” and Chappell Roan’s “The Giver” this week. But it was KYGO Denver where I heard them together yesterday in middays.

Roan’s foray into Country — the most-watched song at the format since “Texas Hold ’Em” – is now losing steam at both Country and CHR. But it was still on KYGO 41x in the last seven days. “Something in the Orange” still spins about twice a day on the station that first played it nearly three years ago and remains unfazed by an artist that other Country stations struggled to acknowledge.

In general, KYGO has been one of Country’s most streaming-responsive stations. Some major-market Country ratings have been uneven, despite the format’s recent success. KYGO has been one of Country’s most consistent performers. Being able to follow streaming to the acoustic/singer-songwriter end of the format has allowed the station to cast a wider net in a market where Triple-A KBCO also remains a ratings force.

In the just released March PPMs, KYGO was third, up 5.4-5.8. First-days’ ratings have also seen KPLX (The Wolf) Dallas up 3.6-6.0, for its best numbers since 2017, according to Country Aircheck. There were also good showings for WPOC Baltimore (5.3-7.5) and continued growth for WBWL (The Bull) Boston (1.8-2.2), recently profiled here for filtering in pop titles and also playing both Bryan and Roan. We took a Fresh Listen to KPLX and KYGO.

Three years ago, KPLX filtered out its current titles, becoming a gold-based compliment to sister KSCS. Now, a handful of newer songs, mostly recurrents but as recent as Blake Shelton’s “Texas” and Zach Top’s “I Never Lie,” are playing somewhere in the 20-40 spin range. That’s an indicator of Country’s current strength, but it’s also perhaps an indicator of the retro feel of a lot of the new material.

I’ve noted before that major Country stations do a better job of conveying that “something is happening here” than their CHR counterparts, in part because of Country’s concert scene. The Wolf was both participating in a group flyaway contest for Post Malone and Morgan Wallen in Boston as well as heavily promoting the upcoming Lone Star Smokeout barbecue festival with Jon Pardi, Cody Jinks, and Midland. One sweeper declares, “If you want to know what Texas is all about, listen … ”

Here’s The Wolf just before 11 a.m., April 23 with APD Smokey Rivers:

• The Chicks, “Cowboy Take Me Away”
• George Birge, “Mind on You”
• Kenny Chesney, “She’s Got It All”
• Post Malone w/Blake Shelton, “Pour Me a Drink”
• Toby Keith, “Wish I Didn’t Know Now”
• Morgan Wallen, “Sand in My Boots”
• George Strait, “I’ve Come to Expect It From You”
• Tucker Wetmore, “Wind Up Missin’ You”
• Luke Bryan, “Someone Else Calling You Baby”
• Bailey Zimmerman, “Rock and a Hard Place”
• Tracy Lawrence, “Stars Over Texas”
• Jelly Roll, “Liar”
• Cole Swindell, “She Had Me at Heads Carolina”
• LeAnn Rimes, “How Do I Live”
• Morgan Wallen, “Thinkin’ Bout Me” 

KYGO was giving away Dylan Scott tickets as part of a “Staycation” promotion tied into his recent “This Town’s Been Good to Us.” (The payoff was over a contest winner jingle bed, which I haven’t come across in a while.) The station is also giving away Jason Isbell tickets, as well as starting to promote its Birthday Bash 45 with Koe Wetzel, Kip Moore, and Corey Kent. Here’s KYGO just before 11 a.m., April 23, with middayer Sheena:

• Sam Barker f/Avery Anna, “Indigo” — like most currents on the station, including Roan, preceded by a new-music sweeper with artist audio
• Keith Urban, “Somewhere in My Car”
• Morgan Wallen, “Love Somebody”
• Brad Paisley, “The World”
• Zach Bryan, “Something in the Orange”
• Chappell Roan, “The Giver”
• Thomas Rhett, “Unforgettable”
• Cole Swindell, “How Is She” — another KYGO enterprise song that became a local hit
• Zach Top, “I Never Lie”
• Scotty McCreery, “See You Tonight”
• Post Malone f/Morgan Wallen, “I Had Some Help”
• Jackson Dean, “Heavens to Betsy”
• Billy Currington, “Do I Make You Wanna”
• Jelly Roll, “Liar”
• Jordan Davis, “I Ain’t Sayin’”
• Old Dominion, “Motel Key”
• Bailey Zimmerman, “Rock and a Hard Place”