What Classic Hits Stations Added In 2024

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From Radio Insight:

How do you choose the most provocative song added by prominent Classic Hits radio stations over the last year?*
If it?s a relatively new song that still feels like yesterday, that would probably be ?Get Lucky? by Daft Punk on KRTH (K-Earth 101) Los Angeles. I first heard that song on KRTH?s then-sister CHR, KAMP (Amp 97.1), receiving saturation airplay on its first day. I thought that was a relatively recent memory, although it was 11 years ago.*
If it?s the one that feels more like an AC song than a good-time oldie, it?s ?Love Song? by Sara Bareilles on KOLA San Bernardino, Calif. If it?s the one that seems like the greatest challenge to upper-demo audiences, it might be Shaggy?s ?It Wasn?t Me? bringing ?banging on the bathroom floor? to WCBS-FM New York.
KOLA, K-Earth, and WCBS-FM are all successful radio stations, whose evolution has been followed in this column for years. Part of our annual look at ?What Classic Hits Stations Added? is the realization that by the original paradigm of the Oldies format (playing the ?50s and ?60s in the mid-?70s and ?80s), many of these songs would have been on years ago. Stations like KOLA have always served as their markets? gold-based AC, and with AC playing less recent music than ever, that distinction is becoming further blurred.
How Classic Hits stations have evolved will be a central topic at ?Keeping Throwback Radio Moving Forward,? part of the upcoming Radiodays North America convention to be held in Toronto June 2-4. I?ll be joined by Skip Dillard, Audacy?s VP of Rhythmic AC & Throwback formats, and CJOT (Boom 99.7) Ottawa PD Stephanie Hunter. Full conference information is available here.
The songs spotlighted here received their first Mediabase-monitored spins at various major Classic Hits stations since the last time we looked at this topic last June. In general, I tried to look for songs with three or more spins last week, to make sure I wasn?t getting special-programming or countdown songs.
A few major Classic Hits stations (WMJI [Majic 105] Cleveland and WOCL [Cool 105.9] Orlando) don?t have any obvious adds for the last year. But some have a lot, a reflection of more enthusiastically embracing the ?90s and early ?00s. Only a few stations are finding still untapped titles from the ?70s or early ?80s, although KJEB (95.7 the Jet) Seattle has added a few ?70s Classic Rock mainstays that might have been left to sister KZOK before.
The best example of a new format staple that emerged this year is Natalie Imbruglia?s ?Torn,? a 25-year-old title that isn?t just new to some of our stations, but already receiving significant airplay. ?Torn? is an easy ?90s choice for the Classic Hits format. It?s by an artist with only one library title (in America, anyway). It?s also more bouncy/uptempo than some of the first Modern AC songs to test in, such as ?Under the Bridge? or ?Iris.?
Here’s a handful of what?s new on a variety of Classic Hits outlets since last year:
WCBS-FM New York (Audacy)

• 702, ?Where My Girls At??
• Boyz II Men, ?End of the Road?
• Shaggy, ?It Wasn?t Me?

KRTH (K-Earth 101) Los Angeles (Audacy)

• Foo Fighters, ?Times Like These?
• Offspring, ?Self Esteem?
• Alanis Morissette, ?Head Over Feet?
• Red Hot Chili Peppers, ?Californication?
• Daft Punk, ?Get Lucky?
• Evanescence, ?Bring Me to Life?
• Kings of Leon, ?Use Somebody?
• Lady Gaga, ?Poker Face?
• Radiohead, ?Creep? ? was already playing before our last cutoff, but moving into higher-spin territory now as K-Earth embraces more grunge-era Alternative

KJEB (Jet 95.7) Seattle (iHeart):

• Alanis Morissette, ?You Oughta Know?
• Creedence Clearwater Revival, ?Proud Mary?
• Haddaway, ?What Is Love?
• Eagles, ?Take It Easy?
• Kansas, ?Carry On Wayward Son?
• Sugar Ray, ?Fly?

WLS-FM Chicago (Cumulus):

• Natalie Imbruglia, ?Torn? ? not just an add but receiving K-Earth-style rotations (23x last week)
• Red Hot Chili Peppers, ?Under the Bridge?
• Cardigans, ?Lovefool?

WROR Boston (Beasley):

• Starship, ?Sara?
• Bangles, ?Eternal Flame?
• Coldplay, ?Viva la Vida?
• Taylor Dayne, ?Tell It to My Heart?
• Fleetwood Mac, ?Everywhere?
• Natalie Imbruglia, ?Torn? ? not quite WLS levels, but 11x a week
• Cyndi Lauper, ?She Bop?
• Linkin Park, ?In the End?
• Madonna, ?Open Your Heart?
• Oasis, ?Wonderwall?
• Shaggy f/Rayvon, ?Angel?
• Staind, ?It?s Been Awhile?
• Third Eye Blind, ?Jumper?
• TLC, ?Waterfalls?
• Wilson Phillips, ?Hold On?
• Cranberries, ?Linger?
• Cher, ?If I Could Turn Back Time?
• Lit, ?My Own Worst Enemy?

KOLA San Bernardino, Calif. (Anaheim Broadcasting):

• Boyz II Men, ?Motownphilly?
• Sara Bareilles, ?Love Song?
• Blackstreet, ?No Diggity?
• Warren G & Nate Dogg, ?Regulate?
• Mark Morrison, ?Return of the Mack?
• Christina Perri, ?A Thousand Years?
• Timbaland f/OneRepublic, ?Apologize?

WRBQ (Q105) Tampa, Fla. (Beasley)

• Backstreet Boys, ?I Want It That Way?
• Jennifer Lopez, ?If You Had My Love?
• Uncle Kracker f/Dobie Gray, ?Drift Away?
• Shaggy f/Rayvon, ?Angel?

KONO San Antonio (Cox)

• Montell Jordan, ?This Is How We Do It?
• No Doubt, ?Don?t Speak?
• Rod Stewart, ?Have I Told You Lately (Unplugged)?
• Janet Jackson, ?Miss You Much?
• Mariah Carey, ?Fantasy?
• Goo Goo Dolls, ?Iris?
• Natalie Imbruglia, ?Torn?
• Wilson Phillips, ?Hold On?

WGRR Cincinnati (Cumulus):

• No Doubt, ?Just a Girl?
• Sixpence None the Richer, ?Kiss Me?
• Third Eye Blind, ?Semi-Charmed Life?
• Tracy Chapman, ?Give Me One Reason?

KXKL (Kool 105) Denver (KSE)

• Usher, ?Yeah?
• Maroon 5, ?She Will Be Loved?
• Timbaland f/One Republic, ?Apologize?
• Alicia Keys, ?Fallin??
• Lifehouse, ?Hanging by a Moment?
• Maroon 5, ?This Love?
• Wallflowers, ?One Headlight?
• Eagle-Eye Cherry, ?Save Tonight?

Finally, there?s the very different list of songs added to KDRI (The Drive) Tucson, Ariz., not a traditional Classic Hits station, but one of a handful of stations specializing in the ?60s and ?70s ever since other large-market FMs moved out of that territory. Last year, KDRI got new owners (Bustos Media) and a new PD.*
An ?add? on The Drive is harder to determine since a lot of songs on its wide playlist are 1-2x a week under any circumstances. But here are a few songs that got three spins last week and have made their first appearance on the station in the last 6-7 months. Some come from Classic Rock. But a few are true oldies or Soft AC songs that The Drive just hadn?t gotten to yet.*

• Spanky & Our Gang, ?Lazy Day?
• Cream, ?Sunshine of Your Love?
• Cream, ?Badge?
• Rolling Stones, ?She?s So Cold?
• Bad Company, ?Shooting Star?
• Genesis, ?Taking It All Too Hard?
• Strangeloves, ?I Want Candy?
• Don Henley, ?Sunset Grill?
• Creedence Clearwater Revival, ?Midnight Special?
• Dan Fogelberg, ?Hard to Say?
• Chris De Burgh, ?Don?t Pay the Ferryman?
• John Denver, ?Calypso?
• J.J. Jackson, ?But It?s Alright?
• B.W. Stevenson, ?My Maria?
• Glen Campbell, ?Try a Little Kindness?
• Joe Cocker, ?The Letter?

Sean Ross will discuss whether the Classic Hits evolution is a revolution at Radiodays North America. Full conference information is available here.



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