As CHR becomes increasingly adult-friendly, you might have expected WSTR (Star 94) Atlanta to try and break from its war-of-attrition with rival WWWQ (Q100), a station that shared its cusp of adult/mainstream CHR territory, by finally transitioning to Mainstream Top 40. Instead, it became something not often seen these days, a true Hot AC. And in the last two months under new PD Scott Lindy, the station has gone 4.7–5.3–5.7 6-plus in the June PPM ratings.

Q100 has done pretty well for itself as well; it is No. 4 in the market with a 5.9 to Star’s fifth. The collective success of the two stations seems to have spurred changes at once-dominant Mainstream AC WSB-FM (B98.5), which is tied for eighth in the market, and has recently gone somewhat hotter.

Because he became such a prominent part of the Country radio community, Lindy often had to remind people at the outset that his background had actually been on the pop side—including a stint as PD of heritage AC WTVR Richmond, Va. Lindy has said that he’s looking to reconnect listeners emotionally with the station—something Country stations usually have but Hot AC has lost in recent years.

As a result, what we heard on our Fresh Listen to Star 94 was a mix of old-school AC style usage liners (one promises to “take you out of work for a while”) and subsequent anti-radio attitude imaging (another asks “if you loan someone $20 and you never see that person again, it was probably worth it”). One definitely gets the feeling listening to the station now that every break is there for a reason.

Other interesting touches: a promo for morning team Cindy & Ray promises “the right amount of interesting talk about things you really care about.” Weather now ends with the outcue, “In Atlanta, it’s always Star 94.” And the station's showcase has been it's Big ’90s weekends, drawing heavily on the time in the mid-to-late ’90s when Top 40 in the South was Modern AC.

Here's WSTR just before 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 14:

Katy Perry, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”
Nickelback, “Someday”
Bruno Mars, “Grenade”
Alanis Morissette, “Ironic”
Parachute, “Something To Believe In”
Jason Mraz, “I’m Yours”
Lady Gaga, “The Edge Of Glory”
Kris Allen, “Heartless”
Rihanna, “Don't Stop The Music”
Coldplay, “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall”
Mike Posner, “Cooler Than Me”
Daughtry, “Feels Like Tonight”
The Band Perry, “If I Die Young”

And here's the station in its Big ’90s Weekend at 11 p.m. on Sunday, July 17, with the help of Nielsen BDS Radio:

R.E.M., “Losing My Religion”
Pearl Jam, “Better Man”
Alanis Morissette, “Ironic”
Blues Traveler, “Hook”
Spice Girls, “Wannabe”
Dave Matthews Band, “Crash Into Me”
Natalie Merchant, “Carnival”
Deep Blue Something, “Breakfast At Tiffany’s”
Prince, “7”
Chumbawamba, “Tubthumping”
Haddway, “What Is Love”
Offspring, “Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)”
MC Hammer, “You Can't Touch This”
Semisonic, “Closing Time”