There is a lot going on: Mother’s Day this weekend, the Roman Catholic Church elected its first American Pope, and the “hit” records are out there. I hope this article will turn you on to some you may not have on your radar yet!
Let’s start in the Top 40/Hot AC world as I usually do. My top pick this week is Role Model / “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out” it’s making some headway at Alternative and a few Top 40s with KIIS in LA, 99.7 Now in San Francisco, and Sirius XM Hits 1 leading the way. The total number of streams is 30 million plus. This really does sound like a record that can be more embraced at Top 40 and is perfect for Hot AC, where only a few have jumped in so far! Next up is Jessie Murph, with “Blue Strips” reaching 16 million streams this week. It’s already seeing some love at Top 40, so if it’s not yet on your radar, it should be! Another pick with a retro early 2 Ks Pop Rock sound is Knox / “Going Going Gone”, it’s pretty catchy and worth a listen. One last one this week, Joe Jonas / “Heart by Heart” sounds like a hit, and streams grew to just shy of a million for the first week out.
Let’s look at the Country world for this week. Riley Green w/ Ella Langley / “Don’t Mind If I Do” sounds like it should be getting more love than just KBAY in San Francisco. Thomas Rhett / “Somethin’ Bout A Woman” needs more attention paid to it for sure, with another six million streams this week. I have one more suggestion for the week, and it’s another cool Country combo, Kane Brown & Jelly Roll / “Haunted.” If you have not yet listened, you should, and if you have, revisit!
Let’s move to the Rock category, and in the Alternative space, Haim / “Down To Be Wrong” caught my ears and is worth a listen. This can also work at AAA! I have another pick for the AAA world, and that is Obongjayer / “Not In Surrender,” which gave me the Geggy Tah / “Whoever You Are” vibe from the 90s! From the Active Rock space, my picks this week are Rain City Drive / “Concrete Closure”, and because I love tuning into WMMR Philadelphia from my Florida home, I worked in that market for seven years. I was fortunate enough to hear the new song from Octane / “Ashes” this week. You need to get your ears on this one, it’s killer!
From the Rhythm world, I have a couple of picks for you this week. Rob Wave / “Sinners” really caught my ears, and Mariah The Scientist / “Burning Blue” is worth spending some time with. That’s it for this week. Happy listening! Take some chances and entertain your audience!
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Jim Ryan is a Music Radio columnist for Barrett Media. In addition, he runs Jim Ryan Media LLC, a consulting company which assists major market radio brands and top talent including national radio personality Delilah. Prior to relaunching his consultancy in 2025, Jim spent 15 years with Audacy/CBS Radio, serving as SVP of Programming. Among his responsibilities included programming WNEW-FM and WCBS-FM. His career includes additional programming stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston. Jim was voted the #2 PD of 2024 in Barrett Media’s Top 20 series in the AC category. He can be reached by email at Jim@JimRyanMedia.com.
