August has arrived! The dog days of summer where much of the company has been baking in real hot temps. Thankfully, some relief has started, and just as nice, here is a list of ear candy you should hear for sure and consider playing on your station, depending on your format!
Top 40 / Hot AC
Let’s start where I usually do in the Top40/HOT AC world. One Republic / “Beautiful Colors” sounds to me like a song Adult Pop programmers should be paying attention to! Ryan Tedder always writes hooky songs, and this is no exception.
Alex Warren /”Eternity” will be a crowd pleaser at Lollapalooza in Chicago this weekend and is my favorite behind “Ordinary” on his album. Plus, 15 million streams this weekend is more than solid!
One more pick this week. Coffee Anderson is a Country artist with a very cool Pop song on his hands. Get your ears on “Blue Jean Queen,” which samples lyrics from Blink-182’s / “All The Small Things.” It’s catchy, fun, and worth listening to!
Rock
Next up, the Rock world this week. A very interesting song getting some love at Alt and AAA, The Last Dinner Party / “This Is The Killer Speaking.” It’s quirky but a really cool listen!
Another one that is catching my ears and I heard on Sirius XM’s Octane channel is Autumn Kings / “Hellbound.” You should certainly give this a listen or two!
Country
Let’s go to the Country world for this week, first up Old Dominion / “ Making Good Time.” This band is a hit machine, and with just shy of a million streams this week, which is not huge in the Country world, but this is a song your ears should hear.
Koe Wetzel / “Surrounded” is another strong song from him with 103.7 KSON in San Diego leading the way.
One other choice for your ears this week should be Ernest / “Did It Anyway.” A catchy song getting early love at 93Q Country in Houston and 103.3 WKDF in Nashville!
Rhythm/Pop
For the Rhythm side of the coin this week, a lot of early believers for Tyler, The Creator / “Ring, Ring, Ring.” It’s a really cool song that gets stuck in your head.
Mariah Carey ft. Shenseea / “Sugar Sweet” is a cool vibe, and Mariah’s vocals hardly ever disappoint!
One final choice for the week goes to The Hotel Lobby /”Don’t Quit On Me.” It builds slowly, but has a great groove once it kicks in.
So, there you go, some good ear candy for your weekend listening pleasure. Enjoy!
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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.
