Contemporary hit radio

"Pop radio" redirects here. For the radio station, seeTaipei Pop Radio.

Contemporary hit radio(also known asCHR,contemporary hits,hit list,current hits,hit music,top 40,orpop radio) is aradio formatthat is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by theTop 40music charts.There are several subcategories, dominantly focusing onrock,pop,orurban music.Used alone,CHRmost often refers to the CHR-pop format. The termcontemporary hit radiowas coined in the early 1980s byRadio & Recordsmagazine to designateTop 40stations which continued to play hits from all musical genres as pop music splintered intoAdult contemporary,Urban contemporary,Contemporary Christianand other formats.

The term "top 40" is also used to refer to the actual list of hit songs, and, by extension, to refer topop musicin general. The term has also been modified to describetop 50;top 30;top 20;top 10;hot 100(each with its number of songs) andhot hitsradio formats, but carrying more or less the same meaning and having the same creative point of origin withTodd Storzas further refined byGordon McLendonas well asBill Drake.The format became especially popular in the mid-sixties as radio stations constraineddisc jockeysto numbered play lists in the wake of thepayolascandal.

Variations

Mainstream CHR

See also:Billboard Hot 100andMainstream Top 40

Also known as CHR/pop or teen CHR. Playspop,anddance,and sometimesurban,alternative,rock,andcountrycrossover as well. Often referred as "Top 40";in terms of incorporating a variety of genres of music, CHR/pop is the successor to the original concept of top 40 radio which originated in the 1950s. Examples of CHR/pop stations in the United States, Canada, and Brazil includeWHTZinNew York(NY),KIIS-FMinLos Angeles(CA),KYLDandKMVQ-FMinSan Francisco(CA),KHKSinDallas(TX),KRBEinHouston(TX),CFBT-FMinVancouver(BC),CKFM-FMandCKIS-FMinToronto(ON),KXXMinSan Antonio(TX),WIOQinPhiladelphia(PA),WPRO-FMinProvidence(RI),WXKS-FMinBoston(MA),WIFCinWausau(WI),WWPWandWWWQinAtlanta(GA),WKSC-FMinChicago(IL),WFLZinTampa/St. Petersburg(FL),WHYI-FMinMiami(FL),KLUCinLas Vegas(NV),WNCIinColumbus, Ohio(OH),WZPL(IN) inIndianapolis,KDWBinMinneapolis/St. Paul(MN), andJovem Pan FM(with language) inBrazil.The stations generally gain large popularity with this format.

Adult CHR

See also:Adult Top 40

These stations typically are hybrids of the contemporary hit radio (CHR/pop) andHot ACformats. This format contains a strong focus on current charts, contemporary and recurrent hits as well as placing a minority of older, classic hits from the 2000s and early to mid 2010s onto the playlist. Adult CHR stations play pop-friendly rhythmic, dance and hip hop titles from artists such asRihanna,Post Malone,Khalid,Lizzo,Black Eyed Peas,The Weeknd,Doja CatandBlackbearalongside standard mainstream pop and pop rock fare, and often shying away from the most rhythmic CHR titles until they are established hits on the format.

Examples in the U.S. includeWNEW-FMin New York City andKZZOin Sacramento. United Kingdom (UK) media regulatorOfcomstates: "where a format requires a contemporary andchart musicservice, the main diet must be of modern music, reflecting the charts of today and recent months. Older, classic tracks would not be out of place, but only as spice to the main offering. "

The adult CHR format is sometimes utilized by stations which are heritage Top 40/CHR outlets in their respective markets which have been in the format since the 1970s or 1980s or FM successors to former AM top 40s, with examples in the UK including theHits Radio Networkcompiled of heritage radio stations includingClyde 1inGlasgowandRadio CityinLiverpool.

Rhythmic CHR

Main article:Rhythmic contemporary

Also known as CHR/rhythmic, or CHR/urban. These stations focus onhip-hopanddance-pop.There are differences between CHR/rhythmic and theurban contemporaryformat; urban stations will often playR&Bandsoulsongs that CHR/rhythmic stations will not, and CHR/rhythmic stations, despite playlists heavy with urban product, sometimes have white disc jockeys and will includeEDMand rhythmic pop music that urban outlets will not play.WQHTinNew York,andKPWRinLos Angelesare among the most successful CHR/rhythmic stations in the U.S. and among the pioneers of the format.

Bilingual CHR

Bilingual Spanish CHRs (such asWPOWin Miami,KHHMin Shingle Springs, California,KKPSandKBFMin Brownsville, Texas,WKAQandWXYXin San Juan, Puerto Rico,KBHHin Fresno, California,WRUM-HD2 in Orlando, Florida andKLLI (FM)in Los Angeles) combine current and recent mainstream and rhythmic CHR hits with recent Latin pop hits, targeting young Latina listeners. Similarly, bilingual French CHRs (such asCKOI-FMin Montreal) are common in some Canadian markets, and combine anglophone and French pop hits. Filipino-based CHR stations (such asDWFO,DWTM,DWRX,DWRT-FM,DWCZ,andDYIO) are also common in major Philippine market areas, which feature current mainstream and rhythmic CHR hits with recentOPMhits.

Gold-based CHR

Gold-based CHRs combine a more limited base of currents and recurrents from the mainstream, rhythmic and/or adult CHR formats with a broader playlist of gold from the 2000s and 2010s. Stations from this format may also be calledrhythmic hot ACif their library is particularly rhythmic-leaning. Examples includeWPOWandWFLCin Miami,WKFSin Cincinnati, Ohio,WBBM-FMin Chicago,WMOVin Hampton Roads andWKTUin New York City.

CHR/dance

See also:Dance/Mix Show Airplay

Playingdanceremixes of popular songs with perhaps some current hits from the dance charts. Pure dance-music radio stations (as opposed to CHR/rhythmic andrhythmic ACformats such as MOViN) are not very common but tend to have loyal audiences in the markets where they do exist. Examples includeWPTYonLong Island, NYandKNHCinSeattle.This format is very popular on internet radio stations such asKVPN Digital Broadcasting (VPN Digital 1) Los Angeles.

CHR/rock

See also:Album-oriented rock § Spin-off formats

Stations with this format, a modernizedRock 40format, are similar in some ways to the Adult CHR and Mainstream CHR/Pop formats, but also incorporatemodern rock/alternative/active rockandmodern ACtitles in an upbeat presentation. Examples includeKSXYin Santa Rosa, California,WDJQin Canton, Ohio,WIXXin Green Bay, Wisconsin,KKCKin Marshall, Minnesota, andWMOMin Ludington, Michigan.

An early version of rock-leaning CHR isRock 40,which was popular in the late 1980s. This format, developed by Joint Communications whoservice markedthe name in 1987, is a young-male-targeted hybrid of CHR andalbum-oriented rock(AOR) that combines the formatics of the former with the music mix of the latter. After a short period of successful ratings, the Rock 40 format began to decline because it was too similar to conventional AOR yet lacked appeal among CHR fans who desired less emphasis on rock. According toLee Abrams,a pioneer of the AOR format, Rock 40 was "too wimpy for the real rockers and too hard for the mainstream people".Stations that previously broadcast the format includeKEGLin Dallas,KQLZ(Pirate Radio) in Los Angeles,KRZRin Fresno, California,KXXRin Kansas City, andWMMSin Cleveland.Rock 40 stations eventually segued to CHR or an AOR spinoff format such asactive rockormodern rock.

Other variations

There are also variations targeting minority ethnic groups, such asCHR/español(Latin pop), andCHR/Tejano(Tex-Mex and Tejano) which are commonly found inArizona,Texas,California,andMexico.In Greater China (People's Republic ofChina,Taiwan,andHong Kong), there is alsoMandopopandCantopopwhich are the top 40 variants in that language.

Key contributors

Todd Storz

Credit for the format is widely given toTodd Storz,who was the director of radio stationKOWH-AM inOmaha, Nebraskain 1951. At that time typical AM radio programming consisted largely of full-service "block programming":pre-scheduled, sponsored programs of a wide variety, includingradio dramasand variety shows. Local popular music hits, if they made it on the air at all, had to be worked in between these segments. Storz noted the great response certain songs got from the record-buying public and compared it to the way certain selections onjukeboxeswere played over and over. He expanded his domain of radio stations, purchasingWTIX-AMinNew Orleans,Louisiana, gradually converted his stations to an all-hits format, and pioneered the practice of surveying record stores to determine which singles were popular each week. Storz found that the more people heard a given song on the radio or from the jukebox, the more likely they were to buy a copy; a conclusion not obvious in the industry at the time. In 1952 he purchased what was then WLAF-AM in Lafayette, Indiana and constructed WAZY-AM/FM which is still the longest running top 40 FM station in existence to this day. In 1954, Storz purchasedWHB-AM, a high-powered station inKansas City, Missouri,which could be heard throughout the Midwest and Great Plains, converted it to an all-hits format, and dubbed the result "top 40". Shortly thereafter WHB debuted the first "top 40 countdown", a reverse-order playing of the station's ranking of hit singles for that week. Within a few years, top 40 stations appeared all over the country to great success, spurred by the burgeoning popularity ofrock and rollmusic, especially that ofElvis Presley.A 1950s employee at WHB, Ruth Meyer, went on to have tremendous success in the early to mid-60's as program director of New York's premiere top 40 station at that time, WMCA.

Storz Broadcasting Company consisted of six AM radio stations, all featuring top 40 in the sixties.

Gordon McLendon

Although Todd Storz is regarded as the father of the top 100 format,Gordon McLendonofDallas,Texas, is regarded as the person who took an idea and turned it into a mass media marketing success in combination with the development in that same city ofPAMSjingles. McLendon's successful Mighty 1190KLIFin Dallas, along with his two otherTexas Trianglestations, 610KILT (AM)Houston and 550KTSASan Antonio, which went top 40 during the mid to late 1950s, soon became perhaps the most imitated radio stations in America. With careful attention to programming, McLendon presented his stations as packages to advertisers and listeners alike. It was the combination of top 40 and PAMS jingles which became the key to the success of the radio format itself. Not only were the same records played on different stations across America, but so were the same jingle music beds whose lyrics were resung repetitively for each station to create individual station identity. To this basic mix were added contests, games anddisc jockeypatter. Various groups (includingBartell Broadcasters) emphasized local variations on their top 40 stations.

Gordon McLendon would operate approximately a dozen and a half AM, FM and TV stations at various times, experimenting with formats other than top 40 (includingbeautiful musicand all-news).

Rick Sklar

In the early 1960sRick Sklaralso developed the Top 40 format for radio stationWABCinNew York Citywhich was then copied by stations in the eastern and mid-western United States such asWKBWandWLS.

Bill Drake

Bill Drakebuilt upon the foundation established by Storz and McLendon to create a variation called "Boss Radio".This format began in California in early 1961 atKSTNin Stockton, then expanded in 1962–63 toKYNOin Fresno, in 1964 toKGBinSan Diego,and finally toKHJin Los Angeles in May 1965; it was further adapted to stations across the western US. Boss Radio was later broadcast by American disc jockeys as a hybrid format onpirate radiostationSwinging Radio England,broadcasting from on board a ship anchored off the coast of southern England in international waters. At that time there were no commercial radio stations in theUK,andBBC radiooffered only sporadic top 40 programming. Other noteworthy North American top 40 stations that used the Drake approach includedKFRCinSan Francisco;CKLWinWindsor, Ontario;WRKOinBoston;WHBQin Memphis;WOLFinSyracuse, New York;andWOR-FMinNew York City.Most listeners identified Boss Radio with less talk, shorter jingles and more music.

Mike Joseph and hot hits

Mike Joseph's "hot hits" stations of the late 1970s and early 1980s attempted to revitalize the format by refocusing listeners' attention on current, active "box-office" music. Thus, hot hits stations played only current hit songs—no oldies unless they were on current chart albums—in a fast, furious and repetitive fashion, with fast-talking personalities and loud, pounding jingles. In 1977,WTIC-FMin Hartford, CT, dropped its long-running classical format for Joseph's format as "96 Tics" and immediately became one of the top radio stations in the market. The first Joseph station to use the term "hot hits" on the air wasWFBL( "Fire 14", which played its top 14 hits in very tight rotation) in Syracuse, NY, in 1979. ThenWCAU-FMinPhiladelphiaswitched to hot hits as "98 Now" in the fall of 1981 and was instantly successful. Other major-market stations which adopted the hot hits format in the early 1980s includedWBBM-FMChicago,WHYT (nowWDVD)Detroit,WMAR-FM (nowWWMX)Baltimore,which we might add was not successful against market leader WBSB B104,KITSSan Francisco, andWNVZNorfolk.

Don Pierson

Don Piersontook the formats of Gordon McLendon, boss radio and PAMS jingles to the UK in the form ofWonderful Radio London,(apirate radioship) and subsequently revolutionized the popular music format. On 14 August 1967 The Marine Offences Act was introduced in the UK and the pirate stations were shut down.

The British Broadcasting Corporation were chosen by the UK government to come up with a station to replace the pirates, and so in 1967BBC Radio 1started broadcasting, employing many of the DJ's from the pirate stations (Tony Blackburn,Kenny EverettandJohn Peeletc.) and obtaining re-sings of the PAMS jingles.

In factit was Tony Blackburn who played the first pop record on Radio 1, the Move's "Flowers In The Rain".

Countdowns, shows and personalities

• List of number-one hits (United States)
• Rick Dees Weekly Top 40
• American Top 40
• Sean “Hollywood” Hamilton
• The Official Big Top 40,Global Radio's nationally syndicated chart show in theUnited Kingdom,airing on both theHeartandCapitalnetworks. It was previously known asHit40UK.
• Asia Pop 40,a Top 40 chart program in the Asian region
• The World Chart Show
• Pânico, Hit Parade And The 7 Best inJovem Pan FM

Formats and radio stations

National public/state-ownedradio networksinbold.

America

• SeeCategory:Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States,Category:Contemporary hit radio stations in Canada,andCategory:Contemporary hit radio stations in Mexico.

Brazil

• Jovem Pan- CHR/News/Pop/Top40 radio network
• Jovem Pan FM- CHR/Pop/Top40 radio network
• Mix FM- CHR/Popradio network

Trinidad and Tobago

• 95 The Ultimate One,Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
• Hott 93,Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
• Star 947,Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
• Music Radio 97,Port of Spain,Trinidad and Tobago
• Platinum Hits 103.5,Port of Spain,Trinidad and Tobago
• Heartbeat 104.1,Valsayn,Trinidad and Tobago

United States

California

• KIIS-FM 102.7-Los Angeles

New York

• WHTZ-FM 100.3-New York City

Guyana

• Mix 90.1FM,Georgetown, Guyana

United Kingdom

• BBC Radio 1
  • BBC Radio 1Xtra
  • BBC Radio 1 Dance
  • BBC Radio 1 Relax
• Capital
  • Capital UK
  • Capital Dance
  • Capital Xtra
  • Capital Xtra Reloaded
  • Capital Cymru
  • Capital Liverpool
  • Capital London
  • Capital Manchester and Lancashire
  • Capital Mid-Counties
  • Capital Midlands
  • Capital North East
  • Capital North West and Wales
  • Capital Scotland
  • Capital South
  • Capital South Wales
  • Capital Yorkshire
• Hits Radio
  • Hits Radio UK
  • Hits Radio Pride
  • Hits Radio London
  • Hits Radio Manchester

Ukraine

• Hit FM
• Europa Plus

France

• Mouv'

Italy

• RTL 102.5
• Radio Kiss Kiss

Netherlands

• NPO 3FM
• NPO FunX

Germany

• Bayern 3-Munich
• hr3-Frankfurt

Switzerland

• Couleur 3–French
• Radio SRF 3–German
• RSI Rete Tre–Italian

Sweden

• Sveriges Radio P3

Indonesia

• Prambors FM
  • Prambors Radio Jakarta 102.2 FM(officially open took place on 18 March 1971(1971-03-18))
  • Prambors Radio Bandung 98.4 FM(officially open took place on 1 December 2002(2002-12-01))
  • Prambors Radio Semarang 102.0 FM(officially open took place on 1 July 2003(2003-07-01))
  • Prambors Radio Yogyakarta 95.8 FM(officially open took place on 1 July 2003(2003-07-01))
  • Prambors Radio Solo 99.2 FM(officially open took place on 1 December 2005(2005-12-01))
  • Prambors Radio Surabaya 89.3 FM(officially open took place on 1 December 2002(2002-12-01))
  • Prambors Radio Medan 97.5 FM(officially open took place on 1 December 2005(2005-12-01))
  • Prambors Radio Makassar 105.1 FM(officially open took place on 1 July 2003(2003-07-01))
• 101.4 Trax FM Jakarta
• Gen 98.7 FM Jakarta
• Gen 103.1 FM Surabaya
• 90.4 Cosmopolitan FM Jakarta
• RRI Pro 2
• OZ Radio
  • OZ Radio Bandung 103.1 FM
  • OZ Radio Jakarta 90.8 FM
  • OZ Radio Aceh 102.8 FM
• PTPN Radio Solo
• EBS 105.9 FM Surabaya
• DJ 94.8 FM Surabaya

Lebanon

• Mix FM
• Virgin Radio

Malaysia

• Eight FM
• goXuan
• Hitz
• My
• Era

New Zealand

• The Edge
• ZM
  • ZM Whangarei
  • ZM Auckland
  • ZM Waikato
  • ZM Wellington
  • ZM Christchurch

Singapore

• Ria 897
• YES 933
• 987 (Singapore's Number 1 Hit Music Station)

Sri Lanka

• Yes FM

Philippines

Metro Manila:

• Republika FM1(state-owned station)
• Magic 89.9(major commercial station)
• Monster RX 93.1(major commercial station)
• 99.5 Play FM(major commercial station)

Mainland China

• CNR Music Radio- National CHR (Mandopop)/Top40 radio
• CRI Hit FM- National CHR (Western Pop)/Top40 radio
• POP 101- Shanghai CHR (Mandopop)/Top40 radio
• KFM 981- Shanghai CHR (Western Pop)/Top40 radio
• AsiaFM 96.5 - Chengdu - Sichuan Commercial CHR (Mandopop)/Top40 radio

Hong Kong

• RTHK Radio 2- Hong KongPublicCHR (Cantopop)/Top 40 radio
• Ultimate 903 ( sất trá 903) (90.3 - 92.1 FM)- Hong Kong Commercial CHR (Cantopop)/Top 40 radio

Taiwan

Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area:

• Taipei Pop Radio(Mandopop)
• Hit FM(Mandopop)

Japan

• Tokyo J-Wave( đông kinh J-WAVE) (AV)

Thailand

• Bangkok Hitz 955 (95.5 MHz)
• Bangkok Eazy FM 105.5 (105.5 MHz)
• Bangkok Star FM (Online)
• Bangkok Tofu Pop Radio (Online)
• EFM 94

Vietnam

• Xone Radio (Online)

International

• Virgin Radio

External links

• Format in the UK specified by OFCOM - CHR/Pop - Contemporary / Current / Recurrent hits, may contain older music.[1]
• Mass Media Moments in the United Kingdom, the USSR and the US, by Gilder, Eric. - "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu Press, Romania. 2003ISBN973-651-596-6
• Music in the Air: America's Changing Tastes in Popular Music (1920–1980), by Eberley, P.K. New York, 1982.
• Studying Popular Music, by Middleton, Richard. - Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1990/2002.ISBN0-335-15275-9.
• Durkee, Rob. "American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century." Schriner Books, New York City, 1999.
• Battistini, Pete, "American Top 40 withCasey KasemThe 1970s. "Authorhouse.com, January 31, 2005.ISBN1-4184-1070-5.
• Douglas, Susan, "Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination," New York: Times Books, 1999.
• Fong-Torres, Ben, "The Hits Just Keep On Coming: The History of Top 40 Radio", San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 1998.
• MacFarland, David, "The Development of the Top 40 Radio Format", New York: Arno Press, 1979.
• Fisher, Mark, "Something in the Air: Radio, Rock, and the Revolution That Shaped a Generation", New York: Random House, 2007.
• Goulart, Elwood F. 'Woody', "The Mystique and Mass Persuasion: Bill Drake & Gene Chenault's Rock and Roll Radio Programming[2]Archived2008-05-10 at theWayback Machine",2006.
• Choice Hits- a weekly music chart charting the week's top songs.
• The Reel Top 40 Radio Repository- a non profit Internet Museum of this "art form".
• Rock Radio Scrapbook- Canada's aircheck archive celebrating the Golden Years of North American Top 40 radio ".
• Hot Hits information site
• Contemporary hit radioat RadioStationWorld
• Tunecaster Online Pop And Rock Music Encyclopedia- United States music charts and popular artists pages.
• Puttin' On The Hits - an ebook by former Top 40 Program Director John Long.
• Boss Radio ForeverThe History of KHJ Radio, Los Angeles.