This week’s edition of Mason’s Observations spotlights an extra busy hour in the busy life of the show. Also, the blatantly obvious smash-hits on streaming that radio is ignoring, and two “Buried Treasure” throwbacks!
In Just One Hour of Liveline:
Last Friday was one of the syndicated Liveline’s busiest nights on the phones, with over 300 unique callers getting through. Those who did were either calling in for a request or playing along with hourly contests. We feature half a dozen fresh, live phoners every hour with people calling from Maine to Maui (literally). Their stories, music taste and lifestyles all vary, but one thing is certain: People do still call radio when they actually connect with the programming and want to be a part of something big and fun!
The third hour of Liveline is typically our most hectic, with a contest at quarter-past and the payoff 7 minutes later. We play our nightly Secret Sound again at :45 if nobody guessed it the previous hour, with a payoff or playback of more guesses coming one song after the commercial break.
Because the show is live, every song is segued and frequently beat mixed through our custom software we specifically designed and built for a live radio show. This is substantially different than commercial automation systems which are rigidly designed for pre-programmed music logs where jocks have no control over the music and formatics). Because Liveline is live, it has a not-so-subtle energy that can be felt because it’s real, spontaneous and different than everything else.
In two weeks, Liveline turns 5 years old. We’re about to hit 40 affiliates who consistently tell us they love the show passionately. Some say “it’s the best programming decision I’ve ever made”, “it’s the best thing on my station” and “there is no other show like this in the world”. We’ll be sharing some of our success stories, favorite moments, biggest requests and behind-the-scenes on how the show works in our May 21 edition of Mason’s Observations.
Still Trending, But Ignored By Radio:
Lil Tecca’s “Dark Thoughts” couldn’t be a more obvious smash, even if it’s just a nighttime record for you. It has been nearly two months since its release, it’s still consistently Top 10 on Spotify with heavy TikTok exposure. Week after week, the adds come out for superstar records that don’t turn out to generate passion or become hits. Great recent examples were Selena Gomez/Gracie Abrams’ “Call Me When You Break Up” which has disappeared after only 11 weeks, though it was most-added upon release. Lizzo’s “Still Bad” was most-added eight weeks ago and already fell out of the Top 40. As listeners (not programmers) look back on the Spring of 2025, what songs do you think they will remember 10 years from now? “Dark Thoughts” has tons of strong numbers to back it up, including the jump to #13 most-requested on Liveline this week. Now #7 on Rhythmic and #46 on Top 40.
sombr “back to friends” & “undressed”: A relatively unfamiliar artist but blowing up fast. Both songs are in the Spotify Top 10, while “back to friends” has been climbing the chart slowly since December. More and more people hear it, fall in love, add it to their playlists and stream it to death.
When you look at the Top 50 songs on Spotify, you notice the majority of them are songs that radio does play. So why are some Rhythmic and Alternative titles which are equally streamed (and in many cases, streamed more) often ignored by Pop radio? They all have a pop hook and broad appeal, they’re already familiar to large numbers of people and they add diversity to the currently stagnant playlists on Top 40 and Hot AC. Music right now doesn’t suck… but sometimes the decisions on what radio is playing does, and younger demo audience ratings have been proving it as so many CHR numbers show. Is heavy promotion of what end up being mid-chart stiffs pushing these top streaming songs away from being added? Many huge HITS are right in front of us.
Buried Treasures of the Week:
Cassie – “Me & U”: Released at age 19 in 2006, this song was a club anthem that tested the subwoofers of so many. The song has seen a resurgence since the video of Diddy assaulting her at a hotel surfaced a year ago. In the past month we’ve had 8 requests for it. That’s a lot for a song that very few stations play anymore. When asked why they wanted to hear it, two listeners shared “It was my favorite song back in the day” and “I just remembered it.” “It just reminds me of the times I used to drive around late at night with my friends listening to your show” (even though Liveline didn’t exist yet) and “I heard you play it a couple times and honestly the music back then was so much better for real, like I don’t care about the songs from 2019 it was just so depressing and we need more throwbacks”. “Me & U” peaked at #1 on Rhythmic, and #3 on Top 40 and Billboard.
Adele – “Someone Like You”: Ballads never seem to stick around on Top 40, though they are the most memorable, nostalgic and emotional songs of people’s lives. After its initial 12-week run (which nowadays would be 50 weeks), “Someone Like You” became a staple of AC radio. While Pop radio thrives on energy and tempo, it also succeeds with diversity and equal representation of each genre’s biggest music. Women love romance, storytelling and endearment. In a time where with a shortage of great ballads, it may explain why so many requests continue to come in for this song from girls and guys. After all, it was one of the biggest songs of the 2010s, topping the charts in over a dozen countries, while hitting top 5 in a dozen more. Her album “21” was the world’s best-selling album of 2011 AND 2012, and holds the record for most weeks (24) atop the Billboard 200.
View this post on Instagram
All the respect in the world to Cassie. “Me & U” is one of the iconic hits of a great era!