Chattanooga, Tenn., is one of those markets that has, over the last 20 years, managed to have two Top 40 stations or, just as often, none. Bahakel’s WDOD (96.5 The Mountain) made an unusual Triple-A to Top 40 segue when Clear Channel’s WKXJ (Kiss-FM) was out of commission. The Mountain became a surprise 7-8 share player. And now WKXJ is back as 103.7 Kiss FM.
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Until recently, WDOD wasn’t streaming. But now they are, and welcome to the second edition of “Punch Wars,” our record-by-record evaluation of the head-to-head battle in which we listen like a programmer and a listener.
One key difference here is that Kiss is brand new and, in the hour we heard, got an extra three songs in during the 10 a.m. hour on Oct. 22, 2009, with only one apparent stopset. (WDOD, to be fair, was filling its stopsets with music and there’s one punch that I actually would have given to the Web-only song.) With both stations leaning to the Rhythmic Pop side, Kiss is attacking on music quantity; one stager says “they're still talking.” (In this case, I'm pretty sure it hit while The Mountain was in music, but it’s perception that’s at stake here.)
Winning songs in each round are asterisked. If one station is in a stopset, the win goes to the station that’s playing music. The author’s opinion is effective as of today. No call-to-action by readers on individual titles at any other station is implied. You are invited to examine the song-by-song evidence and fervently agree or disagree below.
Let the punch wars begin:
10:00
WDOD: Pussycat Dolls, “Buttons”
WKXJ: Jason DeRulo, “What'cha Say”*
DeRulo would beat most comers, particularly a gold title.
10:03
WDOD: Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling”*
WKXJ: Michael Franti, “Say Hey (I Love You)”*
Still strong BEPs takes Franti, now that its shock-of-the-new has worn off a little.
10:07
WDOD: Britney Spears, “If You See Amy”
WKXJ: All-American Rejects, “Gives You Hell”*
Britney’s “3” would have won almost any battle for me, including with most stations' powers. Not sure “Amy” was ever intended to be a recurrent.
10:11
WDOD: Jay-Z, “Run This Town”
WKXJ: Jay-Z, “Run This Town”
Letting this one be a tie, although Kicks started theirs first and was up against “If You See Amy” for a minute or so.
10:15
WDOD: Boys Like Girls & Taylor Swift, “Two Are Better Than One”*
WKXJ: Cascada, “Evacuate the Dancefloor”
*I'm a big believer in Cascada and was glad to hear it on both CHRs here—always a good sign of a song’s legitimacy. But Boys/Taylor will be a phenomenal grower very soon.
10:18
WDOD: STOPSET
WKXJ: Keri Hilson, “Knocks You Down”*
10:21
WDOD: STOPSET
WKXJ: Jesse McCartney, “Leavin'”*
On the other hand, if WDOD’s Web-only song, Baby Bash’s “Outta Control” hadn’t been Web-only, it would have won.
10:25
WDOD: Lady Gaga, “Paparazzi”*
WKXJ: STOPSET
“Paparazzi” doesn’t need to win by default this week.
10:28
WDOD: Kanye West, “Heartless”*
WKXJ: STOPSET
10:32
WDOD: David Guetta, “Sexy Chick”*
WKXJ: Miley Cyrus, “Party In The U.S.A.”
Can’t usually argue with Miley, but the Guetta is in its explosive moment right now, and there’s some extra excitement to hearing it at 10 a.m. in Chattanooga.
10:35
WDOD: Pink, “Funhouse”*
WKXJ: Jamie Foxx, “Blame It”
“Blame It” isn’t being helped any by the number of similar, but fresher, songs on the radio right now. And “Funhouse” sounds better on the radio to me all the time—can only believe that PDs will eventually turn around like they did with “U + Ur Hand.”
10:39
WDOD: Jason DeRulo, “What'cha Say”*
WKXJ: Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling”
This time, DeRulo is top of the Heap.
10:42
WDOD: STOPSET”*
WKXJ: Britney Spears, “Womanizer”*
“Womanizer” hanging in there better than “If You See Amy.”
10:45
WDOD: STOPSET
WKXJ: Justin Bieber, “One Time”*
I wish Justin wasn’t the fourth stuttering rhythmic pop ballad of the hour, but still an undeniable hit.
10:48
WDOD: Rihanna, “Disturbia”*
WKXJ: Lady Gaga, “Poker Face”
The “disturbia” surrounding Rihanna’s new single gives this one some new juice.
10:52
WDOD: Shinedown, “If Only You Knew”*
WKXJ: Kings Of Leon, “Use Somebody"
The second time this morning that a new record just sounded great on the radio against an established choice.
10:57
WDOD: STOPSET
WKXJ: Usher, “You Got It Bad”*
Actually up against a good bit on the Mountain about an EMT who caused her own death by faking a 911 call so she could raid the drug stash at her ambulance company, then got trapped under a door while the EMT unit was gone.
So song-for-song, WDOD edges WKXJ nine songs to seven. And WKXJ picks up some of its seven by being the more-music station this hour.
Now the Punch War is over, let the discussion begin.
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