The Top 20 most-requested songs on Liveline are tabulated from 600-1,000 calls, texts and messages received Monday-Saturday nights each week. This data has always reliably delivered vital information in determining what songs are “hot or not,” especially compared to radio airplay and streaming charts. When we began sharing that information with the industry 18 months ago, we wanted to show the differences between streaming, airplay, and actual audience reaction.
Researchers have known for decades that average listeners take much longer to even become aware of new music than the diehard core fans of a particular artist who quickly propel songs to #1 on Spotify or use them in TikTok videos. Within a few weeks of release, response starts to balance out between fans and regular listeners who genuinely just like the song. For instance, “Stateside” by PinkPantheress & Zara Larsson was #1 on TikTok US, Spotify and all over TikTok globally more than a month before it reached the airplay Top 20 here.
This week, three new songs entered the Liveline Top 20, all with completely different stories and timelines. “SWIM” by BTS came out March 20 and debuted #1 on Spotify. BTS has one of the largest and most aggressive fanbases, but we received no requests for the song for the first weeks, as you might expect, despite almost every Top 40 station adding the song right away. It’s #8 in airplay on the format this week. The requests haven’t caught up with airplay and streaming, but we are starting to see a reaction.
We saw a reaction right away for Olivia Rodridgo’s “Drop Dead,” a heavily anticipated return by a core artist that added to her already impressive catalog and list of number-ones. It was released April 16, which is the same day we started getting requests for it on Liveline. You didn’t see it on our Top 20 last week because it only had one day of tabulations, plus the average listener didn’t even know it was out. Now it’s had a full week of exposure and was #16 in requests. If her track record proves consistent it will take a big leap next week. It’s already #14 on Top 40 and #18 on Hot AC.
A seemingly unfamiliar addition to our Top 20 this week is actually the oldest of the three mentioned, but currently #1 on Shazam in America and #13 on Alternative radio: “Freakin’ Out” by Dexter and the Moonrocks. Not since Maneskin’s “Beggin’” became a hit in 2021 has there been a true rock hit. More than a decade earlier, Daughtry, Kings of Leon, Shinedown, Nickelback and All-American Rejects all topped the charts in a time now regarded as the golden age of modern pop music (2008-2012). “Freakin’ Out” was released March 11 and we received our first request for it on April 2. Last week, it peaked on Spotify at #22—it would be #15 without first-week Noah Kahan album cuts. It has received zero spins on Top 40 or Hot AC as of Wednesday morning, and Liveline has not played it yet.
A song that had initial reaction but then tapered off for us was Noah Kahan’s “The Great Divide.” Now, the album of the same name, released April 24, has exploded. All 17 tracks currently occupy the Spotify Top 35, with “Doors” being the biggest streamer so far at #2. When “The Great Divide” first came out, it wasn’t hard to predict that Pop radio would under-appreciate it just like they did with “Dial Drunk” and “Stick Season” his two biggest songs which we still get requests for. Kahan literally sells out 40-50,000 seat stadiums nationwide, some for multiple nights! While it’s typical for streams to rebound in an album release week, it’s significant here that the excitement spread to our phones as well.
