I was listening to Sydney’s 2DayFM, the station that decided earlier this year to lean into new music. I was getting what I’d come for, a succession of recent titles that I wasn’t sick of, or which hadn’t already revealed themselves as stiffs. There were still throwbacks, but when you hear “Starships” by Nicki Minaj after “12 to 12” by Sombr, it doesn’t rankle as much, because you’re not being reminded how bad anything new sounds by comparison.
Because I do wacky stuff like this, I got the odd notion to rate every song in the hour as if I were a callout research respondent. I was rating for personal enjoyment, not professional judgment on a song’s programming value. To my surprise, in the space of an hour, I gave only 4s and 5s on a 1-5 scale to songs. There weren’t even any threes, although I was probably kinder to “Young, Wild & Free” by Wiz Khalifa than I might have been otherwise.
I always like the current music a little better when I listen to 2Day or the UK’s BBC Radio 1. Both of them play the songs – like “12 to 12,” or now, Raye’s “Where Is My Husband?” – that American radio somehow hasn’t gotten to yet. On Radio 1, I get to hear Sam Fender and Wet Leg and other rock acts that are hard to consider for American CHR precisely because you haven’t heard “Seventeen Going Under” next to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Tears” here.
I also always like the current music a little better when I’m listening to KMVQ (99.7 Now) San Francisco. I know I’m going on about this station again, but night jock Big Reid was putting a lot of effort into creating excitement about the new music, not just Taylor Swift’s “Opalite” and “The Fate of Ophelia,” but also Karri & Kehlani’s “Go,” a new R&B title that samples E-40’s “Tell Me When to Go,” making it a perfect Bay Area/KMVQ record. An hour later, that song kicked off the Top 8 at 8, and he got to set it up again. “Add this to your playlist,” he said.
In general, though, I feel pretty good about the available Top 40 hits now. In the first days of The Life of a Showgirl-mania, there are 4-5 songs that sound like singles, but “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Opalite” are two more hits that we could have used this summer. The excitement now isn’t just Taylor but Tyler, the Creator. Olivia Dean. Sabrina Carpenter. Tate McRae having a streaming-verifiable hit in “Tit for Tat.” There’s lots of dance energy, including Disco Lines, just as I thought neo-disco had given way to other sounds.
Some of the excitement is about what’s not on the CHR airplay chart this week. There’s only one song in the top 10 this week that I don’t yet consider a real hit. Beyond the top 10, there are only a few songs sitting in that frustrating place where a song we’ve decided is probably not a hit gets to clog up the charts that week waiting to claim its top-10 participation trophy. I don’t resent the labels for trying, but I don’t like them slowing down the records we need more as a format.
The current rush of product means that if a major-artist release doesn’t come home, or if a Chappell Roan is more pensive than pumped, it’s not as much of an issue. Doja Cat’s “The Jealous Type” might have sounded better this summer when we needed it more. I still rated it a four in my 2Day listening. And I’d still encourage radio (and RCA) to keep going with this Doja album, rather than letting it evaporate like Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter did during last summer’s product glut. I don’t want to live without Doja Cat at CHR for two years.
The current availability of product means that even though I find plenty of great left-field songs for my Big Hits Energy playlist, it’s a bonus. There have been two songs I actually like in the last four months from Olly Murs, and I don’t have to jeopardize my credibility by suggesting they might in any way be the answer to CHR’s issues. (But if you do listen to BHE this week, check out “Bonkers.”)
So, are these songs the answer to CHR’s issues? Is fall ’25 the summer we were cheated out of this year? The September PPM ratings look a lot like they have all summer — I see a success story like KRBE Houston — and then I watch it not being repeated for the next three days of results. Like you, I’m hoping Taymania means something for the format. As it happens, I’ve just heard KRBE doing a really good job of riding the wave, including being able to talk about Swift giving morning co-host Roula one of her few radio interviews.
Beyond Taylor, what happens this fall depends on what CHR is willing to do with its musical windfall. I asked that question 15 months ago as we sailed out of Memorial Day; it turned out that there wasn’t much topspin created after an initial good ratings month or two. In part, that’s because radio didn’t get much else for the rest of the summer. The pipeline could easily slow again, particularly as the holiday season looms.
It also depends what American radio does with some of the songs hiding in plain sight. Sombr’s “Undressed” has peaked and now radio is getting around to “Back to Friends” after six months. But thanks to 2day and Radio 1 (and streaming stories), I know I’m not crazy for suggesting “12 to 12.” I also hear Alex Warren & Jelly Roll’s “Bloodline” on 2day, and in that context, I hear it as a song we’re missing, not just post-Mumford banjo workout No. 623.
I write a lot of these “maybe Top 40 is trending up” articles. It was an almost weekly occurrence when we were hopped up on “Espresso.” But I don’t want to just rail at readers when frustrated. I’m happy enough in the musical moment that I don’t want to let it slip by. I also hope it will be a pep talk for radio and label friends. And if somebody in your market or your circle did a “summer music is disappointing” article or podcast this year, I hope you’ll encourage them to turn on the radio again.
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