Britney Spears making her way to AC?

[carolinaradio]

For the first time in AC radio history, to my knowledge, I've heard Britney Spears.

WSPA-FM, Magic 98.9 of Greenville, SC, played "Toxic" shortly after 11pm tonight (as you can see: http://http://wspa.tunegenie.com/). Needless to say, I was floored! Never thought I'd hear that on AC radio, at least any time soon (especially when there are so many other AC hits from that decade that are more appropriate seeming for the format from the 2000s).

I guess part of my shock is that this is generally a pretty safe and conservative AC station.

 

[RDO]

Britney's "Sometimes" was an AC hit back around 2000.

 

[vchimpanzee]

"Baby One More Time" was played in a restaurant where my aunt and I were about to eat, where I have heard "The Blend" in a station ID. I haven't been back since. My aunt is moving next month so we wouldn't be going there anymore anyway.

 

[carolinaradio]

Britney's "Sometimes" was an AC hit back around 2000.

It peaked at #29 on Hot AC, but I don't see an AC chart position - I had no idea she ever received AC attention. "Toxic" is certainly an odd choice.

 

[ChrisInMI]

Britney's "Sometimes" was an AC hit back around 2000.

It peaked at #29 on Hot AC, but I don't see an AC chart position - I had no idea she ever received AC attention. "Toxic" is certainly an odd choice.

"Sometimes" actually reached #11 on Billboard's Mainstream AC chart. It's her biggest AC success chartwise.

To my knowledge, her only other mainstream AC charting was with "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman" from her movie "Crossroads," which reached #29 on the chart in the spring of '02.

Today's 105.1 in Detroit is also a pretty safe/conservative station except that it happens to throw in burnt CHR recurrents like "Tik Tok" and "Party Rock Anthem" on occasion, which makes for some real trainwrecks. They had Britney's "Till The World Ends" in rotation some time ago but I haven't heard it in a while.

 

[carolinaradio]

Oh, OK (I couldn't find that ranking). Still, it's one of those from that period that was a hit, but you wouldn't expect to hear it today. It's still more fitting than "Toxic."

I guess my surprise comes from the fact that WSPA-FM has not jumped on the rhythmic bandwagon much at all (they were one of the last AC stations to start playing "Dynamite" or "Just Dance" finally last year, and they won't touch anything like "I Gotta Feeling", etc). It's just an odd and confusing selection.

 

[crainbebo]

I sometimes hear "Oops! I Did It Again" on KRWM 106.9, but not in the past several months. Used to air once a day.

-crainbebo

 

[ChrisInMI]

Oh, OK (I couldn't find that ranking). Still, it's one of those from that period that was a hit, but you wouldn't expect to hear it today. It's still more fitting than "Toxic."

I guess my surprise comes from the fact that WSPA-FM has not jumped on the rhythmic bandwagon much at all (they were one of the last AC stations to start playing "Dynamite" or "Just Dance" finally last year, and they won't touch anything like "I Gotta Feeling", etc). It's just an odd and confusing selection.

I have one of Joel Whitburn's AC chart books which includes data from both mainstream AC and Adult Top 40 stations up to 2006.

The small-town, locally-owned/programmed AC station in Adrian, MI I listen to played "Everytime" (from the same album as "Toxic") a couple of weeks ago. I'm sort of surprised that one never crossed to mainstream AC; it seems like it, too, would fit better than "Toxic."

I would imagine Britney gets more spins on the format in Canada as Canadian AC tends to be quite a bit hotter than its U.S. counterpart.

 

[Seltzer]

BabyOne More Time and Sometimes are the only 2 Britney songs tht have any business at AC.

 

[carolinaradio]

Agree. Stuff like "Toxic" is a great way to toss your at-work listeners out the window. Almost all offices that play the radio in the background around here have WSPA-FM on. I'm pretty liberal with background music, and I wouldn't even want to have it on. Britney (sans her slower stuff which has been mentioned) is a step too far. Katy Perry and GaGa's more tame tracks are as far as I would go with the pop spectrum. I'd be interested in knowing if "Toxic" tested or if they threw it in there on a whim.

I wouldn't play anything by Britney, personally, even if it seems like it'd fit on AC or charted. There has been plenty of stuff from the past 15 years that's held up way better, but that's JMO. I liked some of her stuff when it came out, but wouldn't really care to hear it now.

 

[Jasonthegreat]

I should also mention that WNIC played Britney in the early 2000s during the teen pop and boy band movement of that era (along with the Backstreet Boys and 'Nsync). So Britney is not really new to mainstream AC.

 

[new_friends_gr]

My guess is that the adults (aged 25-54) of 2013 have more tolerance for Britney Spears than the adults of 2000 did. I generally like most of Britney's music as ear candy even though it doesn't have a whole lot of substance. I can imagine AC stations of 2013 playing these songs by her:

• "...Baby One More Time"
• "Sometimes"
• "(You Drive Me) Crazy"
• "Stronger" (not to be confused with the Kelly Clarkson song)
• "Everytime"

I can agree that a lot of other songs by her ("I'm a Slave 4 U", "Toxic", "Womanizer", "Circus", "If You Seek Amy", "3", etc.) do not belong on AC at all.

 

[vchimpanzee]

My guess is that the adults (aged 25-54) of 2013 have more tolerance for Britney Spears than the adults of 2000 did.

I only tolerate seeing her pretty face. And my neighbors' black cat who has fallen down on the job because I heard that mouse again.

I can agree that a lot of other songs by her ("I'm a Slave 4 U", "Toxic", "Womanizer", "Circus", "If You Seek Amy", "3", etc.) do not belong on AC at all

At last. Something we can agree on.