Allow me to preface this by stating that I have never felt, at any point throughout the past year and a half, that Star 94 sounded poor overall. That having been said, I've been in the Atlanta area over the past few days and feel Star is the most adequately primed for competition that it's been in quite some time.
First off, airstaff. I haven't actually heard Cindy & Ray in AM Drive, but am hearing that they're sounding good there. They apparently trended upwards in the most recent ratings, but of course, Bert also had a #1 showing in the 18-34 demographic. Q100 has such a behemoth in the mornings that C&R's best efforts may not be enough to dethrone Bert, but Star will at the very least become relevant from 5:30-10AM again.
Heather Branch was certainly a good addition for middays. Good voice and delivery. The "'Oh No You Didn't Just Play That' Song of the Day" sure resembles Brittany's "Where Did That Song Go?," although it's a solid CHR specialty, and Q's feature comes 20 minutes before Star's. So I'm not sure if that's the best mood...otherwise, the daypart sounds great. Darik has improved tremendously since his start last April, I enjoy his night show. He talks up many more song intros than some other CHR jocks, which I think sounds refreshing, and he does so without slowing the music's forward momentum.
On to Seacrest. Forget the fact that it's not local, I've never been blown away by the show; I'm simply not convinced that enough people care about Heidi Montag's day-to-day exploits. No idea how the ratings have been, though. On the bright side, whoever's producing the show in Atlanta is doing as good of a job as I've heard of making the show sound customized for Atlanta - station-specific liners and stingers from Ryan certainly help. JR and/or Michael are also properly maintaing the music flow during the program. The content isn't necessarily all bad, either. Maybe the heavy dose of personality amidst the music will be enough to draw some interested listeners in PM Drive.
I'll admit that I was hesitant about the change from Dave Kampel to Joe Szymanski's voiceover work. I was off by miles. He sounds fantastic, and fits the vibe Star is going for perfectly. I can't believe I wasn't aware of his work before WSTR brought him on board. The imaging copy is simple but effective. Constantly touting C&R, 1k/Day, Seacrest and plenty of "hit music"-related positioning, without the pointless rambling that bogged Star's imaging down in past years. Of course, I miss the ReelWorld One jingles. The one issue is that Q100 has very aptly established themselves as the home for "All The Hits" by this point. We all know that they don't generally follow up on that promise before 7PM, so I think it might be in Star's best interest to exploit that fact. Run liners mocking Q100's absurdly stale library and positioning themselves as a hip, current station.
Musically, Star is sounding spot-on. They shouldn't be leaning on rhythmic as they re-establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with, and they aren't. Very current and progressive library, focused on the hits. JR certainly shook the clock up, but I think that's for the better - although I fear 1:10 is too close for power turnover, even at night. Compare this to Q100, where, during the 1P hour today, I heard the masterful scheduling of Rob Thomas' "Her Diamonds" into Nelly Furtado's "I'm Like A Bird" into Gavin Rossdale's "Love Remains The Same." That's wonderful - if you're a Hot AC. Just because you lean adult doesn't mean you have to sound mired in the same tired records and artists, and Star is proving that.
There's no denying that Star has given Q100 plenty of opportunities to gain headway in Atlanta, and Cumulus has (sometimes by default) taken advantage of that. But there's no real reason Star doesn't deserve to make a run for the CHR crown once again. Thoughts?
First off, airstaff. I haven't actually heard Cindy & Ray in AM Drive, but am hearing that they're sounding good there. They apparently trended upwards in the most recent ratings, but of course, Bert also had a #1 showing in the 18-34 demographic. Q100 has such a behemoth in the mornings that C&R's best efforts may not be enough to dethrone Bert, but Star will at the very least become relevant from 5:30-10AM again.
Heather Branch was certainly a good addition for middays. Good voice and delivery. The "'Oh No You Didn't Just Play That' Song of the Day" sure resembles Brittany's "Where Did That Song Go?," although it's a solid CHR specialty, and Q's feature comes 20 minutes before Star's. So I'm not sure if that's the best mood...otherwise, the daypart sounds great. Darik has improved tremendously since his start last April, I enjoy his night show. He talks up many more song intros than some other CHR jocks, which I think sounds refreshing, and he does so without slowing the music's forward momentum.
On to Seacrest. Forget the fact that it's not local, I've never been blown away by the show; I'm simply not convinced that enough people care about Heidi Montag's day-to-day exploits. No idea how the ratings have been, though. On the bright side, whoever's producing the show in Atlanta is doing as good of a job as I've heard of making the show sound customized for Atlanta - station-specific liners and stingers from Ryan certainly help. JR and/or Michael are also properly maintaing the music flow during the program. The content isn't necessarily all bad, either. Maybe the heavy dose of personality amidst the music will be enough to draw some interested listeners in PM Drive.
I'll admit that I was hesitant about the change from Dave Kampel to Joe Szymanski's voiceover work. I was off by miles. He sounds fantastic, and fits the vibe Star is going for perfectly. I can't believe I wasn't aware of his work before WSTR brought him on board. The imaging copy is simple but effective. Constantly touting C&R, 1k/Day, Seacrest and plenty of "hit music"-related positioning, without the pointless rambling that bogged Star's imaging down in past years. Of course, I miss the ReelWorld One jingles. The one issue is that Q100 has very aptly established themselves as the home for "All The Hits" by this point. We all know that they don't generally follow up on that promise before 7PM, so I think it might be in Star's best interest to exploit that fact. Run liners mocking Q100's absurdly stale library and positioning themselves as a hip, current station.
Musically, Star is sounding spot-on. They shouldn't be leaning on rhythmic as they re-establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with, and they aren't. Very current and progressive library, focused on the hits. JR certainly shook the clock up, but I think that's for the better - although I fear 1:10 is too close for power turnover, even at night. Compare this to Q100, where, during the 1P hour today, I heard the masterful scheduling of Rob Thomas' "Her Diamonds" into Nelly Furtado's "I'm Like A Bird" into Gavin Rossdale's "Love Remains The Same." That's wonderful - if you're a Hot AC. Just because you lean adult doesn't mean you have to sound mired in the same tired records and artists, and Star is proving that.
There's no denying that Star has given Q100 plenty of opportunities to gain headway in Atlanta, and Cumulus has (sometimes by default) taken advantage of that. But there's no real reason Star doesn't deserve to make a run for the CHR crown once again. Thoughts?
