If you followed my Summer Song of 2011 coverage, you know that I used it as a vehicle to talk not just about the contenders but as a vehicle to discuss the week’s major new releases, as well as any other observations about the state of current product that didn’t perhaps rate an entire article. Summer has moved on, so welcome to the first regular installment of “Ross On Records,” a new place for our ongoing dialogue about music as it impacts radio programming.

The Ballad Challenge: At this writing, Lady Gaga’s “You And I” is No. 15 and +1051 spins this week. Adele’s “Someone Like You,” coming off her VMA showcase, is No. 19 and +1125, and the No. 1 single on Billboard’s Hot 100. So will these finally be the records that break CHR’s ballad blockade? The one that only a Bruno Mars/Eminem collaboration can circumvent? The one that stops even Lil Wayne in the lower reaches of the top 10? Or Beyoncé and Rihanna ballads in the top 20?

The tendency of the CHR format to default to ballads when other product becomes uneven is never one of its best qualities. But the current issues for ballads are as much about who’s reporting to the CHR charts as they are about PPM and what the audience wants. And if "Someone Likes You" with its rapid post-VMA rise to No. 1 faces PD resistance once it rounds the top 5, we'll have our confirmation.

The ballad blockade has also had an interesting impact on Mainstream AC. Rihanna’s “Only Girl (In The World)” was too big for many ACs to deny. But “California King Bed,” seemingly an AC home run, never got to AC because it midcharted at Top 40.

The New Math: Because ballads have faced resistance over the last year or two, we’ve started to think of No. 8 or 9 on the Mainstream CHR chart as “pretty good for a ballad.” At least those records are cracking the Top 15—which, given the current tight CHR playlists—is about where format consensus ends these days. Below the Top 15, it’s possible to find CHR chart hits that one hasn’t actually heard on the radio yet; the exception in New York is the handful of “true dance” hits, which often face their own issues getting past the low 20s nationally.

The CHR charts are now the tightest they’ve been in 40 years. In the early ’70s, playlists were short enough that the then-brand-new R&R didn’t start with a 40 song chart but rather a chart whose lower reaches (usually the low 20s) changed every week, to reflect the differing number of hits out there every week. Eventually that number was locked in at No. 30. It didn’t become a 40-song chart, if memory serves, until the post-“Hot Hits” CHR resurgence of the early ’80s.

The difference between 1973 and 2011 (at least as it pertains to chart length) is that even in that era, there was still an emphasis at radio on finding the hits. Even if a Top 40 PD was playing 22 records, one of those might be a “bringback,” often from the stockpile of songs that were becoming staples of a nascent AOR format. Think of it as Sublime’s “Santeria” making its way from Alternative to Top 40 over the course of a few years, not a decade, and another record like it doing the same every few weeks.

A few other songs on my mind this week:

Onerepublic, “Good Life” – It didn’t find its way into my ongoing Summer Song of 2011 coverage because it was midtempo and never really in contention. But the surprise traction of this song was endearing for one reason. Lots of acts have written travelogue songs about the places their stardom took them—few have ever actually sounded grateful for it.

Leona Lewis, “Collide” – I wrote earlier this year that Coldplay’s “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall” sounded like it had been written after listening to Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite,” or some equally fist-pumping uptempo keyboard workout. Lewis’ single, out in Canada but not yet the U.S. at this writing, sounds like it was written after listening to Coldplay. So we’ve come full circle. (Not so surprising, as it happens, for an artist who had a British hit with Snow Patrol’s “Run.”) Still her best record since her hits, and maybe my favorite by her.

In weeks to come, this column will also talk about secret weapons—songs with some sort of story that aren’t yet being worked to radio. Your thoughts on any or all of the above are appreciated.

This article is part of the Thursday, Sept. 8 issue of Ross On Radio. Check out these other ROR articles:

First Listen: Clear Channel's New iHeart Radio

First Listen, CKBE (The Beat) Montreal

Radio's Best & Worst