Olivia Dean – “So Easy (To Fall In Love)”: Her second hit is already coming and it’s doing big things on Spotify. “Man I Need” is already one of 2025’s most beloved and successful songs. We are so lucky to have a mass-appeal, future classic-pop anthem in this stale era of music and radio. Now in its fourth week in a row at #1 in requests on Liveline, we observed this song’s streaming success many weeks before radio recognized it and finally got on board. It was already Top 10 on Spotify and heavy requests were coming in to Liveline before we began playing it.
“So Easy (To Fall in Love)” is already #16 on Spotify in the US and #13 Globally. There’s nothing else like it on any major chart right now and Dean could become one of the biggest stars of the coming year. So far, only WXKS (Kiss 108) Boston and XHTZ (Z90) San Diego have each played it twice, and that’s it. And as a syndicated show aiming to align with the playlists of our affiliates and key major stations, we haven’t yet played it either. But this song could ve a powerful gift to your listeners in a barren field with no particularly outstanding new breakthroughs.
A Month of No Motion
Since the release of Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” on October 3, except for Olivia Dean there have been no major artists or new songs worthy of showcasing. Liveline requests and streaming charts show that people would still rather hear “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”, “Pink Pony Club”, “Timeless”, “Ordinary” and “Sweater Weather”. There is no shortage of new music, just no new music that generates any interest. Thousands of songs are uploaded to Spotify every day, with their “New Music Friday” playlist presenting over 5 hours of the best candidates, most of which you’ll never even hear again.
Our objective is to report observations, to point out the songs that are blowing up and getting notable reaction, good or bad. The Spotify charts and our request lists speak for themselves in terms of what radio is playing and what’s lacking. But every once in a while it’s important to see a snapshot of songs in the Top 25 radio airplay for which we’ve received absolutely no requests for, and which don’t have top 200 streaming stories! This week, those songs are “Nice To Meet You” by Myles Smith (#7 airplay), “Jealous Type” by Doja Cat (#9) which got a few requests early on, but none in weeks, “Camera” by Ed Sheeran (#13), Zara Larsson’s “Crush” (#18), and “Vodka Cranberry” by Conan Gray. New songs like “Opalite” by Taylor Swift, “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!” by RAYE and “Dracula” by Tame Impala have already demonstrated potential and fandom among today’s pop listeners. BTW, they’re all Top 20 on Spotify!
Christmas Music is Back!
The moment Halloween parties ended, kids stopped trick or treating, costumes came off and decorations went back in the bin, people started streaming the yearly Christmas classics, four of which occupied the Spotify Top 50 on November 1st. Mariah Carey has fully thawed and currently holds the #29 spot, with “Last Christmas”, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and “Jingle Bell Rock” already doing a total of over 8 million streams in just the past 4 days. In a time where there is so much division and depression, one thing that brings many together is the joy of Christmas. We’re not saying anything new here but rather restating that with already more than 40 stations already flipped to full-time holiday music, the desire and passion for this music is stronger than ever. On the flip side, we’ve gotten no requests for it on Liveline…yet.
Buried Treasures of the Week
Warren G, Nate Dogg – “Regulate”: Among the oldest songs we’ve ever featured here, this 1994 classic has recently become just as popular in as “Baby Got Back”, “Ice Ice Baby” and “Waterfalls” which are three of our top throwback requests. Yeah, it’s old AF. But people love it, and we can’t help that. During the infamous mid 90s Top 40 doldrums, this song peaked at #32 on airplay but #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. 1992’s “Creep” by Radiohead has also been another big request lately and it’s #19 on Spotify spent almost all of 2025 in the Top 50.
Goo Goo Dolls – “Iris” – Consistently Top 30 on Spotify for 8 months, people of all ages request it nightly and women love it. It’s nostalgic for older audiences and “fits the vibe” of Gen Z. It is one of the biggest Top 40 songs of all time and it makes no sense not to play it. “Yeah” by Usher, “We Found Love” by Rihanna and “Down” by Jay Sean are still high-testing and get lots of requests too, but “Iris” generates major listener and streaming response as if it’s a new song.
