The biggest movie in the world right now is Michael, a biopic starring Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar as Michael Jackson, which covers everything from the early Jackson to the period 5 days up to the Bad Tour in 1988. It’s getting rave reviews and as you can imagine, has launched his entire catalog into a massive resurgence. Particularly “Billie Jean” which at this writing is #2 on Spotify in the US. It’s been Top 10 for more than a week now. It was also our #8 request on Liveline last week, a truly remarkable accomplishment.
Interesting enough, from all the phone calls we’ve received for “Billie Jean,” most weren’t alive when it came out. I like to ask callers their age because it really helps us get a feel for who the true fans are for a song. “Billie Jean” is universally loved by all generations and is called by many, “the greatest song of all time”. Older listeners (like 35 years old and up) probably don’t think we’d ever play a song so old, so they don’t even try to request it. Right now it’s mainly 12-25 year olds asking for it. Whatever the reason, the song has found a new audience and it’s the younger demos that Top 40 radio now seems to overlook.
There is a massive weakness in almost every market for 18–34-year-old radio listening, in part because many programmers believe this demo just doesn’t listen to the radio anymore, so they make it less appealing by doing things that push them even further away from radio and focus on 35-44. There’s a respectful balance that attracts both and it’s something we’ve observed with tons of live, instant audience feedback in the past six years of Liveline. Younger listeners love throwbacks and so do older listeners. Hot AC has been recurrent and gold heavy for years, but many successful Top 40 stations have gone in this direction. The evidence is the near merger of the Top 40 and Hot AC formats. Fortunately, we have the benefit of several hundred phone and text requests each week to identify listener preferences. And we have evidence from streaming action.
Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away” is currently #10 on Spotify in the world and #41 in the US. A #1 song in 2012 that has not been one of her most enduring, but now is showing new life. We’ve had over a dozen requests for that in the past month, which is surprising.
Justin Bieber’s “Beauty and a Beat” is still #1 stream in the world on Spotify and #9 in the US. Yet a majority of Top 40 stations still aren’t playing it at all, though it’s been in our Top 20 requests since his internet-breaking Coachella performance a month ago.
“Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls and “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac continue their record-breaking streak in the Spotify Top 50, a place they haven’t left for more than a year (except for Christmas) and continue to get requests even from the 12-34’s on Liveline. Michael Jackson has more than 15 other songs in the Spotify Top 100 right now, and of all the ones people have been requesting, it can’t be stressed enough that it’s not from old people. Pop radio is supposed to be the sound reflecting culture, current events and major moments in Hollywood. The throwbacks that endure now deserve the same love and energy that CHR devotes to Taylor Swift, for instance.
Now up to #43 on Top 40 this week is Malcom Todd’s “Earrings”, a two-year-old song that is currently #5 on Spotify in the US, Top 10 Shazam and our #18 request. A truly great record that I’d honestly consider a Song of Summer nominee. It sounds so beachy, alternative, fun and different. At the very least, Alternative radio should be all over it, like “Freakin’ Out” by Dexter and the Moonrocks, a song we’ve mentioned twice in Mason’s Observations and has been in the Spotify Top 50 for over a month where it’s currently #14. It was the #1 Shazam last week and is our #15 request, although we still haven’t played it yet. In fact, it has still received zero spins on Top 40 or Hot AC radio. Gen Z loves this record.
We all strive to have something for everyone in the target demo to love on your station. If you’re lucky, it’s the personalities. If they just want the music, something currently hot like “Billie Jean”, “Freakin’ Out”, “Iris” or even “Beauty and a Beat” is the way to scale yourself to what’s meaningful and in tune with right now.
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