Five soft ACs at different points in their evolution. Two now relatively long-running in the format. One approaching its first year in the format. Two recent launches. Here’s what they each sounded like at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, November 14.
- Richard Marx, Right Here Waiting
- Ace of Base, All That She Wants
- Whitney Houston, I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
- Adele, Set Fire to the Rain
- Whitesnake, Is This Love
- Elton John & Kiki Dee, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
- Kool & the Gang, Joanna
- Kelly Clarkson, Because of You
- Eric Carmen, Hungry Eyes
- Mariah Carey, Without You
- Madonna, La Isla Bonita
- Atlantic Starr, Always
KISQ (98.1 The Breeze) San Francisco
- Calling, Wherever You Will Go
- LeAnn Rimes, How Do I Live
- Phil Collins, Another Day In Paradise
- Elton John & Kiki Dee, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
- Chicago, You’re The Inspiration
- Savage Garden, Truly Madly Deeply
- Deniece Williams, Let’s Hear It For The Boy
- James Arthur, Say You Won’t Let Go
- UB40, Red Red Wine
- Counting Crows f/Vanessa Carlton, Big Yellow Taxi
- Journey, Faithfully
- Madonna, La Isla Bonita
- Elton John, Rocket Man
- Men At Work, Who Can It Be Now?
- Alicia Keys, Girl On Fire
- Berlin, Take My Breath Away
- Four Seasons, December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)
- Journey, Faithfully
- All-4-One, I Can Love You Like That
- Blondie, The Tide Is High
- Wings, Maybe I’m Amazed
- Madonna, Into The Groove
- Edwin McCain, I’ll Be
- Lionel Richie, Hello
WISX (106.1 The Breeze) Philadelphia
- Bangles, Manic Monday
- Joe Cocker, You Are So Beautiful
- Berlin, Take My Breath Away
- Madonna, La Isla Bonita
- Carrie Underwood, Before He Cheats
- Stevie Wonder, Part-Time Lover
- Chicago, Hard Habit to Break
- Rod Stewart, Forever Young
- Eagles, I Can’t Tell You Why
- Whitney Houston, I Will Always Love You
- Elton John, I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues
- Adele, Someone Like You
- Wings, Maybe I’m Amazed
- Celine Dion, Because You Loved Me
- Wilson Phillips, Hold On
WDZH (98.7 The Breeze) Detroit
- Phil Collins, Another Day In Paradise
- Simon & Garfunkel, The Sounds of Silence
- Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes, (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life
- Temptations, My Girl
- Bon Jovi, Never Say Goodbye
- Van Morrison, Brown Eyed Girl
- Meghan Trainor f/John Legend, Like I’m Gonna Lose You
- REO Speedwagon, Keep On Loving You
- Stevie Nicks & Don Henley, Leather And Lace
- Dan Hill, Sometimes When We Touch
- Cher, If I Could Turn Back Time
- Chicago, You’re The Inspiration
- Roberta Flack, Killing Me Softly With His Song
- Paul Young, Everytime You Go Away
- Sara Bareilles, Brave
- Whitney Houston, Where Do Broken Hearts Go
slimmons 
Mark
Unless you at least dip your toe into the Diamond/Streisand/Manilow waters, it’s not soft AC. These stations are just Adult Hits with an extra ballad or two an hour. My idea of soft AC doesn’t include Manic Monday, Into the Groove, Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone), Kyrie or Good Times. Bon Jovi and Whitesnake? Seriously?
Formats evolve. The reason Soft AC is now viable is because they are NOT playing the artists you name.
And that’s MeTVFM’s main claim to fame in the soft AC revival–how much it dips its tootsies into Diamond/Streisand/Manilow/Carpenters and the long-forgotten soft AC/soft rock acts (anyone remember Liz Damon’s Orient Express? Rick Odell & Co. do and you would do if you were basically a marketing tool for a TV subchannel). Also, while most of these new soft ACs are competing with the other ACs in the market, because it doesn’t play anything newer than Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind” remake (and perhaps the flip side “Something in the Way…”, but I’m not sure I’ve heard that song on the station), MeTVFM’s main competitor is classic hits WLS-FM, not ACs WLIT, WSHE or WTMX–and most of Me’s ratings growth came when Entercom celebrated its takeover of the CBS stations by flipping 104.3 from classic hits K-Hits to classic urban 104 Jamz.