Hits on the Horizon this week is adding a baseball feel. With the MLB pennant race and playoff spots coming down to the wire, let’s see if we can knock a few hits in and score some runs with music you should have your ears on!
In the lead off spot, let’s start with Top40/Hot-AC. Olivia Dean/“Man I Need” just might have hit a triple. It has a great throwback feel with R&B elements and a catchy hook. The song has more than 10 million streams this week nationally. It’s and something you should be listening to!
Next up to the plate is the brothers AJR/“The Big Goodbye”. How can you not like a song that includes an “auctioneer” in the chorus? Another solid streaming record with 1.8 million and growing. So far the only radio love given is from Sirius XM Hits 1! This sounds like a solid hit.
That brings us to an artist who has the making of a superstar, Sombr/“12 to 12”. This is a really cool song with 8 million streams this week and some early radio believers with Live 95.5 in Portland and Sirius XM Hits 1 leading the way.
Country this week has some cool songs to explore too. Put your ears on Jillian Jacquelin/“Cult Classic”. It has a really good hook and I just love her voice. Next is Jason Aldean/“How Far Does A Goodbye Go”. This is another solid song from the superstar with solid radio love so far from Summit Media stations in Louisville, Richmond and Springfield MO. One record I’m obsessed with this week is NeedToBreathe ft. Red Clay/“Mama Loves Me”. It’s a well written song and worthy of your time.
Shifting to Alternative, be sure to check out Milky Chance/“Camouflage”. You’ll hear a great groove plus I love the lyric “Don’t be sorry, I’m living in this beautiful collage, nothing here for you to sabotage, I’m here in my camouflage”.
Rhythm is next with a few solid plays. First is Ella Mai/“Tell Her” with 2.4 million streams this week. Second is Metro Boomin/“Take Me Thru Dere”. It has just over 4 million streams and radio love from 97.9 The Beat in Dallas and Power 107.5 in Columbus, OH. Karol G/“Latina Foreva” has a great groove and beat, and should also be on your radar.
Last up is AAA, which delivers a double with Gorillaz ft. Sparks/“The Happy Dictator”. This is a catchy fun song even though the title says “dictator”. Radio love for it has come from KTBG in Kansas City, WFUV in New York and WXPN in Philadelphia among others. The final song comes from David Byrne (YES, Talking Heads lead singer and creative genius). It’s titled “What Is The Reason For It” and sounds like it could’ve been a Talking Heads hit. Radio love has been provided so far by KCSN in Los Angeles and KTBG in Kansas City to name a few.
There you go. Plenty of ear candy to fill your ballpark this week. Enjoy!
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.
