Fresh Listen: WXKS (Kiss 108) Boston

WXKS-FM (Kiss 108) Boston was one of the most consistently successful CHRs of the late ’10s under PD Dylan Sprague, and one of the few that remained stable in the early days of COVID.  In 2022, longtime morning host Matty Siegel left abruptly, leaving his morning partners to regroup as Billy [Costa] & Lisa [Donovan]. Eventually, Kiss seemed less untouched by the format’s issues.

In Nielsen’s April PPM ratings, however, iHeart’s Kiss was up 4.9-5.2-5.9 6-plus, tying it for second in the market and making it Boston’s leading music station. Kiss edged AC WMJX (Magic 106.7) at 5.8. WMJX’s Audacy sister, WBMX (Mix 104.1), has often been the contemporary leader in recent years. Mix also had its best book of the year, up 4.7-5.0.

Through the fluctuations, I had always appreciated that Sprague still practiced music enterprise, especially on core artists such as Taylor Swift or Sabrina Carpenter. Now, Boston is home to early good news, as CHR looks again for a lasting spring/summer rebound.

I had taken a listen to Kiss a few weeks ago during middays with Mike McCabe. At that time, the station was giving away Olivia Rodrigo tickets. It was also running a sweeper identifying itself as “Boston’s first and only hit music station.” Here’s Kiss at 10 a.m. on May 12:

• Sabrina Carpenter, “Busy Woman”
• Bruno Mars, “I Just Might”
• Olivia Dean, “So Easy (To Fall in Love)
• Maroon 5, “This Love”
• Raye, “Where Is My Husband!”
• Taylor Swift, “Opalite”
• Sombr, “Homewrecker”
• Ariana Grande, “One Last Time”
• Tame Impala & Jennie, “Dracula”
• Justin Bieber, “Daisies”
• Tate McRae, “Revolving Door”
• SZA, “Kill Bill”
• Sombr, “Back to Friends”
• Zara Larsson, “Midnight Sun”

I took a Fresh Listen this week to mornings and afternoons on Kiss. With Billy & Lisa, the topic was “who is your weirdest co-worker.” There was discussion of whether Costa was that, not just for Kiss, but, as team member Justin Aguirre suggested, for iHeart Radio. (“All 850 stations?” Costa asked.)  There was also a discussion of whether McCabe was weird for going to so many concerts and artist showcases by himself. For the listeners, it was between the woman with the fake British accent and the otherwise skilled doctor who delivered bad news while wearing a Grateful Dead T-shirt. 

Kiss mornings also had news at 8 a.m., and it was fun to hear Costa, who came to the morning show as the newsman, switch cadences and deliver an actual newscast (as opposed to an entertainment report or “trending topics”). The lead stories were the NBA playoffs, NASA returning to the Moon, and Uber/Lyft drivers unionizing. In the week after the demise of CBS Radio News, it was a nice touch.

In afternoons with the station’s VBros & Gianna, the “group chat” topic was whether a listener should have tipped at the frozen-yogurt store where everything was self-service and payment was by app. There was also a two-truths-and-a-lie feature. (No drunk neighbor actually showed up at the door in the middle of the night.)

Ariana Grande is another artist who was always core on Kiss, regardless of current product, but with her new single coming out momentarily, the station is giving away Boston concert tickets, and a chance at a Chicago flyaway. The afternoon winner heard the first part of the winning phrase (“thank you”) in the morning, then called in when the VBros completed it with “next.”

Here’s Kiss just before 4 p.m. on May 26:

• Bruno Mars, “I Just Might”
• Benny Blanco f/Halsey & Khalid, “Eastside”
• Tame Impala & Jennie, “Dracula”
• Pink Pantheress f/Zara Larsson, “Stateside”
• Olivia Dean, “So Easy (To Fall in Love)
• Taio Cruz, “Dynamite”
• Onerepublic, “Need Your Love”
• Ariana Grande, “34 + 35”
• Sombr, “Homewrecker”