I’ve always been a big fan of Entercom’s WXSS (Kiss 103.7) Milwaukee. PD Brian Kelly isn’t afraid to find his own records; (Kiss broke 3Oh!3’S “Don’t Touch Me” as a Top 40 single and is actually playing their “Alice In Wonderland” single, “Follow Me Down.”) He’s had a similar template as Clear Channel’s large-market fast-on-rhythm/slow-on-rock CHRs, but Kiss is still a unique sounding radio station.

Kiss 103.7 was one of the first CHRs to start showing big 12-plus numbers during the latest CHR comeback cycle. Being a big target doesn’t necessarily make you vulnerable—as you may have guessed by now, I don’t think they do a lot wrong. But in our second CHR building boom, competition was inevitable so within the last 24 hours, Saga was rumored to be going Top 40 on the now-stunting WJZX and Clear Channel actually did with Classic Rock WQBW (The Brew), which became 97.3 Radio Now. 97.3 deployed a little faster this time than during the early ’80s CHR boom when, for a while, it was one of four Top 40s in the market.

Kiss 103.7 has sucked up a certain amount of oxygen from Clear Channel’s Urban WKKV (V100), so it wasn’t entirely surprising that Clear Channel would want to go after them—or that they would do so from the pop side. And while Clear Channel has long tempered the fast rhythm/slow rock template of stations like WKFS (Kiss 107.1) Cincinnati with more pop-leaning stations like WXXL (XL106.7) Orlando, Fla., there’s still something a little surprising about hearing the insurgent Clear Channel CHR debut playing Michael Bublé or John Mayer.

And, by the way, when you hear Michael Bublé or John Mayer sped up and with aggressive processing, it’s a very different experience. If every PD had heard “Heartbreak Warfare” the way I heard it on 97.3 Radio Now this afternoon, it might have been a bigger Top 40 hit than it was.

In the time I listened to 97.3 Radio Now, there were at least a few technical glitches. But it was a pretty good listen for a station rumored to have come down on short notice. (And a late note, I turned on Kiss on Friday night and caught them in a Top 103.7 Summer Songs countdown—mostly currents and recurrents, but also “Surfin' U.S.A.” and “Jessie’s Girl.”)

Here’s Radio Now at 3 p.m. today (Friday):

The Script, “Breakeven”

Ke$ha, “Your Love Is My Drug”

Michael Bublé, “Haven’t Met You Yet”

Timbaland f/Justin Timberlake, “Carry Out”

John Mayer, “Heartbreak Warfare”

Shontelle, “Impossible”

Rihanna, “Rude Boy”

Katy Perry, “Hot N Cold”

Usher f/will.i.am, “O.M.G.”

Jason Derulo, “In My Head”

Britney Spears, “3”

B.O.B. f/Bruno Mars, “Nothing On You”

Lady Gaga f/Beyoncé, “Telephone”

Nickelback, “This Afternoon”

Train, “Hey Soul Sister”

Ke$ha, “Tik Tok”