La Kalle '10 and Pseudo-Hybrids

[grey_dan]

I've recently been sampling Univision's La Kalle format (the 2010 version). Mostly I've been listening to La Kalle out of Chicago (WPPN). I was familiar was WPPN as "Mi Musica," and as "La Kalle," it's definitely a bit (though not a ton) hotter--stuff like Wisin y Yandel and Don Omar that previously wouldn't have spun before PM drive now get play in all dayparts, and I don't think I've heard any La 5a Estacion or Cristian Castro (who both received fairly heavy airplay on Mi Musica).

One thing I've found particularly interesting about La Kalle, though, is the sprinkling of salsa and merengue. I've heard a fair amount of music by the likes of Jerry Rivera, Adolescent's Orquesta, and Marc Anthony's salsa tunes. Although I haven't heard La Kalle Las Vegas (due to lack of a web stream presently), I noticed "Suavemente" is in their top 100 (per yes.com). I was a bit surprised, considering most pure Tropical music has gotten little U.S. airplay outside the East Coast (bachata being the obvious exception).

Could Univision be dipping their toes in the water to see if a Tropical format would work in other parts of the country? (Or at least a Latin Hits/Tropical hybrid?--which most "Tropical" chart reporters seem to be nowadays.)

And speaking of pseudo-hybrids... I've also been listening some to KVIB/Phoenix, which incorporates a fair amount of Regional Mexican into its Latin Hits format (not enough for me to truly call it a Hits/Regional hybrid, but I'd definitely call it Latin Hits with a Regional Mexican injection). Could this sort of format (Latin Hits with a decent sprinkling of Regional) work in other markets? Or is Phoenix a unique case?

 

[davideduardo]

I've recently been sampling Univision's La Kalle format (the 2010 version). Mostly I've been listening to La Kalle out of Chicago (WPPN).

"La Kalle" is not a format, it is a brand, and each market has a different version... sometimes very different. Each has a music mix based on local preferences.

One thing I've found particularly interesting about La Kalle, though, is the sprinkling of salsa and merengue.

And Chicago, unlike markets in the Southwest, has a considerable Caribbean population.

Although I haven't heard La Kalle Las Vegas (due to lack of a web stream presently), I noticed "Suavemente" is in their top 100 (per yes.com). I was a bit surprised, considering most pure Tropical music has gotten little U.S. airplay outside the East Coast (bachata being the obvious exception).

Suavemente was a power hit on K-Love in LA when it was a current, as was La Gota Fría, too... and those are two examples. Simply, those songs are hits, and go beyond the genre into other formats.

Could Univision be dipping their toes in the water to see if a Tropical format would work in other parts of the country?

Actually, what you are talking about is a Caribbean tropical format, as there are other tropical formats based on cumbia, vallenato, etc., that have no salsa and Dominican merengue. Salsa, except for a few songs, is pretty much a 35 and older format even in Puerto Rico, where only one salsa station remanins, Z-93 (which was the first all salsa FM there, too). Merengue production is very limited compared to the 80's and even the 90's.

 

[RadioAMFM]

KVIB is all over the place musically. They really do "play anything", from Tito El Bambino and Ivy Queen, to Banda Recodo and Banda Limon, to Prince Royce and B.o.B., to Flans and Maldita Vecindad. I enjoy stations that stray away from "the rules", but this might be overdoing it.

I have always wondered how a more subtle hybrid of latin hits / mexican regional would work. Last year I spent a weekend in Santa Rosa and KXTS (Exitos 98.7) was playing a mix of one pop / one mexican regional song (50/50 mix). It sounded great to me because all they were playing were actual hits from both genres. I think a hybrid like this, that sticks to the chart-topping hits, would work well in many markets.

On a related note, that same weekend in Santa Rosa I noticed La Maquina Musical 107.5 / 1460 AM lost all their music for hours at a time. They were only playing a loop of 6 or 7 commercial spots, along with Piolin promos and station liners. No music at all, and this went on for hours on both signals. Ironically one of the liners was "la que toca mas musica".

 

[Identnut]

The sprinkling of salsa thing seems odd in Chicago, even moreso in a CHR. Even KQ105, which would be the equivalent here in PR, only plays salsa when we're talking about hits. Unless Jerry Rivera or Marc Anthony have current salsa songs on the Top 100 I wouldn't count on hearing them there.

 

[davideduardo]

The sprinkling of salsa thing seems odd in Chicago, even moreso in a CHR. Even KQ105, which would be the equivalent here in PR, only plays salsa when we're talking about hits. Unless Jerry Rivera or Marc Anthony have current salsa songs on the Top 100 I wouldn't count on hearing them there.

We are talking about a station in Chicago that plays quite a bit of non-current gold.

 

[Identnut]

If they're willing to sprinkle tropical music in that station, then could we see the return to Luis Jimenez to the Chicago airwaves?

I've seen a lot of people outside of the East Coast, Mexicans included, who hate the crap out of Piolín and miss the crap out of LJ. They're even more vocal than the Pulse-heads at the New York forum. Still, if they're going in more Caribbean direction, it's a possibility.

 

[RadioAMFM]

Who's doing morning on La Kalle Chicago now? Do they have jocks all day?

 

[davideduardo]

If they're willing to sprinkle tropical music in that station, then could we see the return to Luis Jimenez to the Chicago airwaves?

KLVE in LA has had a salsa show for 8 hours on Saturday night for nearly two decades. And a couple of very soft salsa songs have crossed over... but that does not mean that KLVE is going to become a tropical station.

Similarly, a few "salsa monga" songs like Lluvia played as gold simply indicate that those songs were popular in Chicago... not that the station is moving in any direction.

Still, if they're going in more Caribbean direction, it's a possibility.

A couple of songs are not indicitive of a change in direction. If anything, the reggaetón is the most Caribbean stuff on the station, and they have been playing it for years.

 

[e-dawg]

Speaking of La Kalle, I notice that most of the CHR-Espanol and Spanish Pop music stations are playing a lot more English music these days. Are Spanish Pop music going thru a cycle like Urban and Rock music going thru today? Take KVVF, it looks like half of their music are English and half in psuedo Spanglish music. I.E. Stand by Me by Prince Royce.

 

[davideduardo]

Speaking of La Kalle, I notice that most of the CHR-Espanol and Spanish Pop music stations are playing a lot more English music these days. Are Spanish Pop music going thru a cycle like Urban and Rock music going thru today? Take KVVF, it looks like half of their music are English and half in psuedo Spanglish music. I.E. Stand by Me by Prince Royce.

Prince Royce is a Dominican bachata; "Stand By Me" was a big hit on CHR stations in Latin America... thus the "tribute" cover.

English language pop hits are a big part of CHR radio throughout Latin America and have been for 50 years.

 

[grey_dan]

I hadn't replied until now (even though I started the thread originally), mainly because I didn't have much more to say. But locally, here in Cincinnati, we had a flip just this week that fits into the psuedo-hybrid (or even full-on hybrid) discussion.

WOXY has become Cincinnati's first Spanish-language FM, flipping from English language Adult Hits. I've been listening quite a bit, and leading up to the switch I was listening some online to its sister station, WVKO in Columbus, Ohio. RadioAMFM, if you like stations that stray from "the rules," you should check these out.

I'd say at least 60% of WOXY's playlist is Regional Mexican, but they also play a lot of Latin pop, bachata, reggaeton, and salsa. I think the variety is great, but I haven't fully decided whether this is smart programming (trying to appeal to the entire Latino community, given it's the only Spanish station in town), or "throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks." I'm leaning toward the latter--it seems that except for the handful of English-language pop tunes, basically any currents or recurrents from the Regional, Spanish Pop, or Tropical charts are fair game.

WVKO is programmed in much the same way--it seems to rely on banda and ranchera a little more than WOXY at this point, but you're still likely to hear about any of the aforementioned genres. (WVKO is the only Spanish FM in Columbus, though there is also a Regional Mexican AM in the market.)

Like I said, I'm enjoying the variety, but it seems like a strange music mix, especially for the Midwest. But maybe TSJ has researched it more than I'm giving them credit for.

(FWIW, WOXY doesn't have a web stream yet, but apparently it's coming. You can see their yes.com playlist, however.)

 

[grey_dan]

I stand corrected. WOXY actually started streaming the morning after I made my last post:
http://www.lamega977.com

 

[Morpheux]

It's amazing that both Cincinnati and Columbus both have a Spanish language FM station while Cleveland doesn't even have a Spanish language AM.

 

[e-dawg]

Speaking of La Kalle. La Kalle in San Francisco sounds like their sister station in New York. I notice that they play a lot of Bachata, Reggaton, and Muerengue music similar to their sister station X96.3 and MIX 98.3. San Francisco doesn't have a lot of Carribrean population, but why playing Tropical music if majority of the San Francisco latin population are mexican desendants.

 

[davideduardo]

Speaking of La Kalle. La Kalle in San Francisco sounds like their sister station in New York. I notice that they play a lot of Bachata, Reggaton, and Muerengue music similar to their sister station X96.3 and MIX 98.3. San Francisco doesn't have a lot of Carribrean population, but why playing Tropical music if majority of the San Francisco latin population are mexican desendants.

Reggaetón is originally from Panamá and is the topo pop genre all over Latin America; 30% of the 40 Principales chart from Chile is reggaetón, in fact.

My point: Reggaetón is not "carribean" music any more than country is "Tennessee" music.


Bachata is the country music of the "interior" of the Dominican Republic. It is also considered pop in much of Latin America and played on Top 40 stations, a. It is also played heavily on regional Mexican formats all over the US. Again, it's not "caribbean" any more.

Other than hit artist Omega, which does "merenguetón" there are no merengues I have heard on Kalle.

When AC KLVE in LA, that market's leading Spanish language station, plays both reggaetón and bachata, you can conclude that the genres are mainstream... totally mainstream.