As programmers look for the right mix of “oh wow” and “no wow” songs, following a reshuffling of radio habits over the last year, WSTR (Star 94.1) Atlanta, which has existed only during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been pretty vocal on-air in promoting variety. Both Star’s air talent and its sweepers promise not to be one of those stations that plays “the same songs over and over again . . . we only play the songs you’re excited to hear.”
I’m not a neutral observer in the Atlanta market, but the Atlanta Journal-Consitution’s Rodney Ho is. He recently did an extensive profile of PD Jerry McKenna and Star 94, with history on the station’s recent changes. You can read it here.
One additional industry note, McKenna has noticed that some of the songs that have the highest MScores for audience retention on his station are not the songs traditionally thought of as reliable hits by programmers. They include “Catch Me, I’m Falling” by Pretty Poison, “Situation” by Yaz, “Rump Shaker” by Wreckx-N-Effect, “Rather Be” by Clean Bandit, and “Telephone” by Lady Gaga. (To some extent, that may be a function of how much those songs rotate compared to more typical “hits.”)
Here’s an additional monitor of Star 94 just before 3 p.m. during the “No Repeat Workday” on April 27:
- Keith Sweat, “I Want Her”
- David Guetta f/Sia, “Titanium”
- En Vogue, “Free Your Mind”
- Deniece Williams, “Let’s Hear It for the Boy”
- Jay-Z, “Can I Get A . . . “
- Sade, “The Sweetest Taboo”
- Charli XCX, “Boom Clap”
- Will Smith, “Getting’ Jiggy With It”
- 112, “Peaches and Cream”
- Madonna, “Into the Groove”
- ‘NSYNC, “Tearin’ Up My Heart”
- Usher, “Burn”
- Deee-Lite, “Groove is in the Heart”
- Pitbull f/Ne-Yo, “Time of Our Lives”
- George Clinton, “Atomic Dog”