When WKTU New York emerged as No. 1 25-54 in the July PPM on Monday, it was the capper to a two-year comeback for a station that first galvanized the market (on its current frequency) 15 years ago. Because of its timing, WKTU was often hailed as a PPM success story, but PPM was more confirmation than cause.

When we wrote about WKTU in one of the earliest Ross On Radio newsletters, the Rhythmic AC station had pushed further toward CHR, leaving new Top 40 WXRK (92.3 Now FM) a lot less room to maneuver than expected. But WKTU also seized the moment after the death of Michael Jackson, and neither move seemed like a violation of brand. Since then, WKTU has repeatedly managed to be simultaneously broad (in terms of era and artists represented) and hyper-defined sonically. And to some extent, WKTU didn’t go Top 40 as much as Top 40 became WKTU.

What WKTU eventually settled in as can best be described as “recurrent CHR with a gold library.” That latter category effectively did not exist two years ago. Sister WHTZ (Z100), one of the Top 40s that most effectively used library titles, was downplaying them for a while following the debut of 92.3 Now. It wasn’t possible, as it is now, to hear a recurrent and a gold next to each other occasionally on a major-market CHR, or to imagine a station like WNWW (Radio Now) Jacksonville, Fla., with a significant library.

The greater conservatism of CHR took place for any number of reasons—including a perceived reaction to PPM. You can add the decline of the musically pro-active PD or MD. And when only a few musical genres are providing hits, there are naturally going to be fewer hits. But WKTU, at the very least, anticipated the change in the format a few years ahead of everybody else.

You’ll hear a few more gold titles in middays, and a few more developing songs later in the day, but hearing WKTU now is a lot like hearing WHTZ (Z100) New York at its tightest in the late-’80s. With the exception of some ’00s dance gold, there’s not a song that couldn’t occasion a conversation between PDs and their air staff about the difference between what jocks are tired of and what listeners still like. And that is clearly part of the station’s success.

WKTU was also well-perched for the rebirth of dance music as rhythmic pop. As Mainstream Top 40 shows resistance to any music without fist-pump potential, there’s not much that WKTU can’t play, even before the remix comes along. WKTU is playing currents from Onerepublic and Cobra Starship. It surprised the market with its early support for “Rolling In The Deep.” And the only two songs in the Mainstream CHR top 10 that it isn’t playing at the moment are by Hot Chelle Rae and Lil Wayne. Only “If I Die Young,” No. 13 at this writing, seems like a challenge.

WKTU has had a lot to do with redefining what Adult Top 40 is in New York. Their presence has restricted the airspace for traditional Hot AC WPLJ. They’ve also made it possible for WWFS (Fresh 102.7) and WLTW (Lite FM) to play Rihanna and Usher in recent years (and thus the rest of the format), although it’s interesting to note that there’s less rhythmic music on those stations at this writing.

Here’s WKTU at 11 a.m. on Monday, August 8, with the help of Nielsen BDSRadio:

Alexandra Stan, “Mr. Saxobeat”
Kardinal Offishall, “Dangerous”
Afrojack f/Eva Simons, “Take Over Control”
Bruno Mars, “Just The Way You Are”
Michael Jackson, “Smooth Criminal”
LMFAO, “Party Rock Anthem”
Pitbull f/T-Pain, “Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor)”
Beyonce, “Naughty Girl”
Katy Perry, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”
Kevin Rudolph, “Let It Rock”
Santana, “Maria Maria”
Black Eyed Peas, “Just Can’t Get Enough”

Here’s WKTU at 8:30 p.m. on Monday:

Katy Perry, “Teenage Dream”
Sean Paul, “Get Busy”
Kelly Rowland, “Motivation”
Enrique Iglesias, “Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You)”
LMFAO, “Party Rock Anthem”
Pitbull f/Marc Anthony, “RainOver Me”
Black Eyed Peas, “Just Can’t Get Enough”
Ke$ha, “Blow”
Chris Brown, “She Ain’t You”
Jay Sean, “Down”
Britney Spears, “Till The World Ends”
Tinie Tempah, “Written On The Stars”

This article is part of the August 11 Ross on Radio newsletter. To see this week's other ROR articles, follow the links below:

Radio's Best & Worst: Country Wins In Boston, Hot AC Wins In Portland, British Radio Tries To Stay Safe And More

First Listen: Merlin's FM News 101.1 Chicago