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| Adult contemporary | |
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| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | 1960s, United States |
| Subgenres | |
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Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form ofradio-playedpopular music, ranging from 1960svocal and 1970ssoft rock music[1] to predominantlyballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees ofeasy listening,pop,soul,R&B,quiet storm androck influence.[2][3][4] Adult contemporary is generally a continuation of the easy listening and soft rock style that became popular in the 1960s and 1970s with some adjustments that reflect the evolution ofpop/rock music.[5]
Adult contemporary tends to have lush, soothing and highly polished qualities where emphasis onmelody andharmonies is accentuated. It is usually melodic enough to get a listener's attention, abstains fromprofanity or complex lyricism, and is most commonly used asbackground music in heavily-frequented family areas such assupermarkets,shopping malls,convention centers, orrestaurants.[6] Like most ofpop music, its songs tend to be written in a basic format employing averse–chorus structure.[7] The format is heavy on romanticsentimental ballads which useacoustic instruments such aspianos,saxophones, and sometimes anorchestral set. However,electric guitars andbass are also usually used, with the electric guitar sound relatively faint and high-pitched. Additionally, post-80s adult contemporary music may featuresynthesizers (and other electronics, such asdrum machines).[8]
An AC radio station may play mainstream music, but it usually excludeship hop, house/techno orelectronic dance music and some forms ofdance-pop andteen pop, as these are less popular among adults, the targetdemographic. AC radio often targets the 25–44 age group,[9] the demographic that has received the most attention from advertisers since the 1960s. A common practice in recent years of adult contemporary stations is to play less newer music and more hits of the past, even some songs that never even charted the AC charts. This de-emphasis on new songs slows the progression of the AC chart.[10]
Over the years, AC has spawned subgenres including "hot AC" (or "modern AC"), "soft AC" (also known as "lite AC"), "urban AC" (a softer type ofurban contemporary music), "rhythmic AC" (a softer type ofrhythmic contemporary), and "Christian AC" (a softer type ofcontemporary Christian music). Some stations play only "hot AC", "soft AC", or only one of the variety of subgenres. Therefore, it is not usually considered a specific genre of music; it is merely an assemblage of selected songs from artists of many differentgenres.
Adult contemporary traces its roots to the 1960seasy listening format, which adopted a 70–80% instrumental to 20–30% vocal mix. A few offered 90% instrumentals, and a handful were entirely instrumental. The easy listening format, as it was first known, was born of a desire by some radio stations in the late 1950s and early 1960s to continue playing current hit songs but distinguish themselves from being branded as "rock and roll" stations.Billboard first published the Easy Listening chart July 17, 1961, with 20 songs; the first number one was "Boll Weevil Song" byBrook Benton. The chart described itself as "not too far out in either direction".[12]
Initially, the vocalists consisted of artists such asFrank Sinatra,Doris Day,Johnny Mathis,Connie Francis,Nat King Cole,Perry Como, and others. The custom recordings were usually instrumental versions of current or recentrock and roll or pop hit songs, a move intended to give the stations more mass appeal withoutselling out. Some stations would also occasionally play earlierbig band-era recordings from the 1940s and early 1950s.[13]
After 1965, differences between theHot 100 chart and the Easy Listening chart became more pronounced. Better reflecting what middle of the road stations were actually playing, the composition of the chart changed dramatically. As rock music continued to harden, there was much less crossover between the Hot 100 and Easy Listening chart than there had been in the early half of the 1960s.Roger Miller,Barbra Streisand andBobby Vinton were among the chart's most popular performers.[12]
One big impetus for the development of the AC radio format was that, when rock and roll music first became popular in the mid-1950s, many more conservative radio stations wanted to continue to play current hit songs while shying away from rock. Thesemiddle of the road (or "MOR") stations also frequently included older, pre-rock-eraadult standards andbig band titles to further appeal to adult listeners who had grown up with those songs.
Another big impetus for the evolution of the AC radio format was the popularity of easy listening or "beautiful music" stations, stations with music specifically designed to be purelyambient. Whereas most easy listening music was instrumental, created by relatively unknown artists, and rarely purchased (especially as singles, althoughJackie Gleason's beautiful music albums sold well in the 1950s), AC was an attempt to create a similar "lite" format by choosing certain tracks (both hit singles and album cuts) of popular artists.
By the late 1960shard rock had been established as one of the rock genres[15] leading hard rock and soft rock to became distinct popular forms in the rock scene,[5] and as major radio formats in the US.[16]Soft rock was often derived from folk rock, using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on melody and harmonies. Major artists includedCarole King,Cat Stevens,James Taylor[8] andBread.[17][18]
In the early 1970s, softer songs byThe Carpenters,Anne Murray,John Denver,Barry Manilow, and evenBarbra Streisand, began to be played more often on "Top 40" radio.Top 40 radio stations played the Top 40 hits regardless of genre. As the texture of much of the music played onTop 40 radio began to soften, the Hot 100 and Easy Listening/AC charts became more similar. Easy Listening radio began playing songs by artists who had begun in other genres, such as rock and roll orR&B. Much of the music recorded by singer-songwriters such asDiana Ross,James Taylor,Carly Simon,Carole King andJanis Ian got as much, if not more, airplay on AC stations than on Top 40 stations. AC stations also began playing softer songs byElvis Presley,Linda Ronstadt,Elton John,Rod Stewart,Billy Joel, and other rock-based artists. Soon after, the adult contemporary format began evolving into the sound that later defined it, with rock-oriented acts asChicago andthe Eagles, becoming associated with the format.[12] In addition, several early disco songs, did well on the Adult Contemporary format.
Soft rock reached its commercial peak in the mid-to-late 1970s with acts such asToto,England Dan & John Ford Coley,Air Supply,Seals and Crofts,Dan Fogelberg,America and the reformedFleetwood Mac, whoseRumours (1977) was the best-selling album of the decade.[19] By 1977, some radio stations, notably New York'sWTFM andNBC-ownedWYNY, and Boston'sWEEI, had switched to an all-soft rock format.[20] AsSoftrock 103, WEEI was famous for its promotional campaigns, featuring slogans such as "Joni, without the baloni." and "The Byrds, without the nyrds."[21] However, different forms of popular music targeted to different demographic groups, such asdisco vs.hard rock, began to emerge in the late-1970s. This led to specialized radio stations that played specific genres of music, and generally followed the evolution of artists in those genres.
On April 7, 1979, the Easy Listening chart officially became known as Adult Contemporary,[12] and those two words have remained consistent in the name of the chart ever since. Adult contemporary music became one of the most popularradio formats of the 1980s. The growth of AC was a natural result of thegeneration that first listened to the more "specialized" music of the mid-late 1970s growing older and not being interested in theheavy metal andrap/hip-hop music that a new generation helped to play a significant role in theTop 40 charts by the end of the decade.
Mainstream AC itself has evolved in a similar fashion over the years; traditional AC artists such asBarbra Streisand, theCarpenters,Dionne Warwick,Barry Manilow,John Denver, andOlivia Newton-John found it harder to have major Top 40 hits as the 1980s wore on, and due to the influence of MTV, artists who were staples of theContemporary Hit Radio format, such asRichard Marx,Michael Jackson,Bonnie Tyler,George Michael,Phil Collins,Laura Branigan andJourney[24][25] began crossing over to the AC charts with greater frequency. Collins has been described byAllMusic as "one of the most successful pop and adult contemporary singers of the '80s and beyond".[26] However, with the combination of MTV and AC radio, adult contemporary appeared harder to define as a genre, with established soft-rock artists of the past still charting pop hits and receiving airplay alongside mainstream radio fare from newer artists at the time.
The amount of crossover between the AC chart and the Hot 100 has varied based on how much the passing pop music trends of the times appealed to adult listeners. Not manydisco ornew wave songs were particularly successful on the AC chart during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and much of the hip-hop and harder rock music featured onCHR formats later in the decade would have been unacceptable on AC radio.
Although dance-oriented, electronic pop and ballad-oriented rock dominated the 1980s, soft rock songs still enjoyed a mild success thanks toSheena Easton,Amy Grant,[27]Lionel Richie,Christopher Cross,Dan Hill,Leo Sayer,Billy Ocean,[28]Julio Iglesias,Bertie Higgins, andTommy Page.[29] No song spent more than six weeks at No. 1 on this chart during the 1980s, with nine songs accomplishing that feat. Two of these were by Lionel Richie, "You Are" in 1983 and "Hello" in 1984, which also reached No. 1 on the Hot 100.
In 1989,Linda Ronstadt releasedCry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind, described by critics as "the first true Adult Contemporary album of the decade", featuring American soul singerAaron Neville on several of the twelve tracks. The album was certified Triple Platinum in the United States alone and became a major success throughout the globe. TheGrammy Award-winning singles, "Don't Know Much" and "All My Life", were both long-running No. 1 Adult Contemporary hits. Several additional singles from the disc made the AC Top 10 as well. The album won over many critics in the need to define AC, and appeared to change the tolerance and acceptance of AC music into mainstream day to day radio play.
The early 1990s marked the softening of urban R&B in the shape of new jack swing, at the same time alternative rock emerged and traditional pop saw a significant resurgence. This in part led to a widening of the market, not only allowing to cater to more niche markets, but it also became customary for artists to make AC-friendly singles. At the same time, the genre began adopting elements from hard rock as tastes were shifting towards louder music, while AC stations in general began playing more rock acts. "Softer" features such as light instrumental music (carried over from thebeautiful music format—many AC stations carried the format until the early 1970s), new age songs and most pre-1964 artists were gradually phased out from AC radio throughout the early to mid-1990s.
Unlike the majority of 1980s mainstream singers, the 1990s mainstream pop/R&B singers such asAll-4-One,[31]Boyz II Men,Christina Aguilera,[32]Backstreet Boys andSavage Garden[32] generally crossed over to the AC charts.Latin pop artists such asLynda Thomas,[33]Ricky Martin,Marc Anthony,Selena,Enrique Iglesias andLuis Miguel also enjoyed success in the AC charts.
In addition toCeline Dion, who has had significant success on this chart, other artists with multiple number ones on the AC chart in the 1990s includeMariah Carey,Phil Collins,Michael Bolton,Bryan Adams,Whitney Houston andShania Twain. Newer femaleAdult album alternative singer-songwriters such asSarah McLachlan,Natalie Merchant,Jewel,Melissa Etheridge andSheryl Crow also broke through on the AC chart during this time.[34]
In 1996,Billboard created a new chart calledAdult Top 40, which reflects programming on radio stations that exists somewhere between "adult contemporary" music and "pop" music. Although they are sometimes mistaken for each other, the Adult Contemporary chart and the Adult Top 40 chart are separate charts, and songs reaching one chart might not reach the other. In addition,hot AC is another subgenre of radio programming that is distinct from the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart as it exists today, despite the apparent similarity in name.
In response to the pressure on Hot AC, a new kind of AC format cropped up among American radio recently. Theurban adult contemporary format (a term coined byBarry Mayo) usually attracts a large number of African Americans and sometimesCaucasian listeners through playing a great deal ofR&B (without any form of rapping),gospel music, classic soul anddance music (includingdisco).
Another format,rhythmic AC, in addition to playing all the popular hot and soft AC music, past and present, places a heavy emphasis ondisco as well as 1980s and 1990s dance hits, such as those byAmber, andBlack Box, and includes danceremixes of pop songs, such as theSoul Solution mix ofToni Braxton's "Unbreak My Heart".
In its early years of existence, thesmooth jazz format was considered to be a form of AC, although it was mainly instrumental, and related a stronger resemblance to the soft AC-styled music. For many years,George Benson,Kenny G andDave Koz had all had crossover hits that were played on both smooth jazz and soft AC stations.
During the 2000s, the AC market gained an increased presence in the music industry, as its radio formats were popular nationwide—Smooth jazz and "Urban AC" stations were ubiquitous in the East Coast, while Soft rock and "adult standards" stations were common in the Midwest, and pop-oriented "Hot AC" and "world music"/Hispanic AC stations were easily found in the West Coast and the "Sun Belt". This led to the presence of numerous genres on the AC charts, often crossing to the "pop" charts, winning over many critics in the need to define AC, and increased the tolerance and acceptance of AC music into mainstream day-to-day radio play.
Josh Groban's single "You Raise Me Up" andMichael Bublé's cover of "Fever" are often cited as key examples of the high production values and ballad-heavy sound that defined 2000s-era AC,[12] often dubbed as "jazz-pop", heavily carrying classical, jazz and traditional pop influences. Artists such asNick Lachey,James Blunt,Jamie Cullum,John Mayer,Jason Mraz,Norah Jones,Diana Krall,Amy Winehouse andSusan Boyle also achieved great success during this period. During most of the 2000s,country music/countrypolitan musicians such asKelly Clarkson,Clay Aiken,Billy Joel,Garth Brooks,Shania Twain,LeAnn Rimes andCarrie Underwood scored hits on soft AC, particularly in Southern states. A popular trend in the late 1990s and 2000s was remixingdance music hits into adult contemporary ballads, especially in the US, (for example, the "Candlelight Mix" versions of "Heaven" byDJ Sammy andYanou, "Listen To Your Heart" byD.H.T., and "Everytime We Touch" byCascada).
Key to the success of AC in the 2000s was the 25–34 demographic which had outgrown the pop music offerings of the time, most new rock became tooalternative and harsh for AC radio and most new pop was now influenced heavily bydance-pop, hip-hop andelectronic dance music.[36] At the same time, the music industry also began to focus on older audiences and markets generally considered "niche".
During the late 2000s, certain pop songs began entering the AC charts instead, generally after having recently fallen off the Hot 100. Adrian Moreira, senior vice president for adult music forRCA Music Group, said, "We've seen a fairly tidal shift in what AC will play". Rather than emphasizing older songs, adult contemporary now began playing many of the same songs as top 40 andadult top 40, but only after the hits had become established.[12] An article onMTV's website by Corey Moss describes this trend as: "In other words, AC stations are where pop songs go to die a very long death. Or, to optimists, to get a second life."[37] As adult contemporary has long characterized itself as family-friendly, "clean" versions of pop songs began appearing on the AC chart, as were the cases of "Perfect" byP!nk, and "Forget You" byCee Lo Green, both in 2011.[12]
AC radio's shift into more mainstream pop was a result of the changes on the broadcasting landscape following the2005–2007 economic downturn and eventual recession, as advertisers preferred more profitablechart-based formats, which meant the demise of many AC-based formulas, primarily those aimed at older audiences, with tastes changing towards more modern music among all age groups. Diminishing physical record sales throughout the 2010s also proved a major blow to the AC genre, and there are concerns that theportable people meter, a device being used to determine radio listenership, may be incompatible with AC songs and may not accurately pick up that a person is listening to an AC station because of the pitches and frequencies used in the style.[38]
Key AC artists of the early to mid-2010s includedBruno Mars,Coldplay,Adele,Arcade Fire,Meghan Trainor,Maroon 5 andEd Sheeran, featuring a more pop-influenced, uptempo style than the typical AC fare of previous years, also featuring production values reminiscent of theMotown sound and the so-calledWall of Sound that dominated the soul-heavy pop charts of the early 1960s, when the Easy Listening chart was first introduced. The earlier years of the decade also sawalternative andindie rock acts such asWilco,Feist,The 1975,Imagine Dragons,Mumford & Sons,Of Monsters and Men andThe Lumineers quickly becoming AC mainstays,[39][40] although these were eventually replaced by rhythm-based rock bands such asPanic! at the Disco,Neon Trees,X Ambassadors,Sheppard,Bastille,American Authors,Fitz and the Tantrums,Foster the People,Twenty One Pilots,Walk the Moon andMilky Chance.
During the middle of the decade, newer artists such asCeeLo Green,OneRepublic,Rachel Platten,Christina Perri,Andy Grammer,James Bay,Sara Bareilles,Shawn Mendes,Sia,Sam Smith,Gavin Degraw,Charlie Puth andColbie Caillat as well as acts that were popular in the 1990s and early 2000s such asBritney Spears andChristina Aguilera were added to the rotation of most AC stations.
As trap music and similar styles of hip-hop began dominating top 40 stations during the last years of the 2010s, AC stations began picking up rhythmic artists likeRihanna,Lady Gaga,Ellie Goulding,Taio Cruz andPitbull as well asEDM artists likeAvicii,Daft Punk,Calvin Harris,David Guetta andTiesto. Meanwhile, younger artists likeCamila Cabello,Justin Bieber,Selena Gomez,Ariana Grande,Nick Jonas and theJonas Brothers andHalsey began to be featured on AC stations more than on top 40 stations.[citation needed]
In radio broadcasting, adult contemporary is divided into several sub-formats, each with their own musical direction and demographic targeting. Hot adult contemporary formats generally feature an uptemporotation of recent hits that appeal to a wide adult audience.[41] A station formatted as "adult contemporary" with no qualifier, also referred to as "mainstream" AC, generally has a similar playlist to hot AC stations, but with a broader rotation of classic hits from past decades.[42][41]
Soft adult contemporary formats have a more conservative sound oriented primarily towards adult women, urban AC focuses onR&B andsoul music that appeal to African American adults, and rhythmic AC focuses ondance music and otherrhythmic genres.
Hot adult contemporary (hot AC) radio stations play a wide range ofpopular music that appeals towards the 18–54 age group;[43] it serves as a middle ground between the youth-orientedcontemporary hit radio (CHR) format, and adult contemporary formats (such as "mainstream" and soft AC) that are typically targeted towards a more mature demographic. They generally feature uptempo hit music from the last 25 years with wide appeal, such as pop andpop rock songs, while excluding more youth-oriented music such aship-hop.[42][41] Older music featured on hot AC stations usually reflects familiar and youthful music that adults had grown up with.[44][41] Likewise, material from legacy pop acts such as theBackstreet Boys,Jason Mraz,John Mayer, andPink is prominent within the format.[41][40]
The "hot AC" designation began to appear in the 1990s; the term described adult contemporary stations with a more energetic presentation and uptempo sound than their softer counterparts.[45] An early example of the format, Houston'sKHMXMix 96.5, climbed from 14th place in the market to third in the six months after its launch. The station's format and branding was widely replicated by other stations.[46] Many hot AC outlets are among the top stations in their respective market.[41]
Initially focused more on pop rock, the format has evolved to reflect changes in the composition of this audience; by the mid-2000s, the format had evolved to include more uptempo pop music,[44][41] whilealternative andindie rockcrossovers (such asFoster the People,Imagine Dragons,Lovelytheband, andTwenty One Pilots) became more prevalent within the format during the 2010s.[41][40]
These developments helped to expand the popularity of the format among younger listeners such asmillennials;Nielsen Audio ranked hot AC as the third most-popular format among millennials, behind pop andcountry music.[41][42] Of the format's expanding demographic reach,WOMX-FM program director Dana Taylor stated that hot AC stations "may not be the radio station that everybody agrees on, but it's a radio station that everybody goes, 'I'm okay with that'."[41] The increasingly downtempo direction of pop hits in the mid-to-late 2010's also helped to attract additional listeners.[42]
Hot AC stations typically keep a larger body of recent hits in rotation than those with rigid, chart-driven formats like CHR andurban contemporary. As these stations' playlists have become concentrated towards airing only the current hits at a given time, hot AC airplay can build and sustain a song's popularity over a long-term period. This effect has been credited in helping build an audience for early singles from new acts such asAdele,Rachel Platten ("Fight Song", which gained prominence for its use duringHillary Clinton's2016 US presidential election campaign), andMax Schneider (whose 2016 single "Lights Down Low", over a year after its original release, became asleeper hit on theBillboardMainstream Top 40 andHot 100 due in part to strong hot AC airplay).[41][47][48]
The popularity of the hot AC format prompted many mainstream AC stations to add uptempo music to their playlists, while still maintaining a deeper rotation of older hits than hot AC stations.[42][41]
Modern adult contemporary refers to AC formats with a stronger lean towardsmodern rock andpop rock.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, modern AC was typically targeted towards women, with Mike Marino ofKMXB inLas Vegas describing the format as reaching "an audience that has outgrown the edgier hip-hop or alternative music but hasn't gotten old and sappy enough for the soft ACs."[49] The format typically focused on female rock acts such asShawn Colvin,Sheryl Crow,Indigo Girls,Jewel, andSarah McLachlan, andfolk rock-influenced bands such asCounting Crows andThe Wallflowers.[50][51][52] Today, the format is fairly uncommon, withKTCZ in theMinnesotaTwin Cities andKMXP inPhoenix, Arizona being some of the few modern AC stations left.
TheSoft adult contemporary format typically targets women 25–54 andat-work listening. Soft AC playlists are generally conservative in comparison to hot AC, focusing onpop and power ballads,soft rock, and other familiar, light hits.[53] Upon its establishment in the 1980s, the soft AC format was positioned as being a more upbeat version ofeasy listening that would appeal better to a younger audience, mainly by excluding instrumentalbeautiful music. Easy listening stations had begun shifting to the format out of concern that their existing programming would not appeal to the current generation of listeners.[45]
In a 1990 article,James Warren of theChicago Tribune characterized soft AC stations as being "as middle-of-the-road and unthreatening as modern media get", with personalities that were encouraged to be as inoffensive and "low-profile" as possible, and a more conservative music library than hot AC-leaning stations. In particular, Chicago'sWLIT did not have its airstaff talk over the beginning and endings of songs (in contrast to the hot AC-leaningWFYR), and playedBob Seger's "We've Got Tonite" but not "Old Time Rock and Roll" (which was part ofWTMX's playlist). The director of a soft AC station in Connecticut,WEZN-FM, told Warren that he had barred the reading of top-of-hour news headlines, so that listeners wouldn't be tempted to tune away to anall-news station to learn more.[45]
Soft AC stations tend to be more selective in their music libraries than other adult contemporary stations, preferring proven songs over current hits.[45] Upon the onset of the format's popularity, core artists typically included singers such asNat King Cole,Perry Como,Neil Diamond,Barry Manilow,Johnny Mathis, andBarbra Streisand. By the 1990s, to improve their appeal among changing demographics, some soft AC stations began to widen their playlist to include selections from contemporary acts with 80s, & 90s, musicians & bands such asBon Jovi,Bryan Adams,Celine Dion,Roxette,Mariah Carey,Eric Clapton,Phil Collins,Elton John,Cher,Whitney Houston,Journey, andQueen. On the other hand, by 1996, New York'sWLTW had begun to phase out its softer music in favor of a more uptempo direction.[45][54][55][56]
In 2017,Inside Radio reported that soft AC had the third-largest decrease in US stations offering the format over the past decade (at 128), ranking behind onlyadult standards andoldies—a shift credited to aging demographics and a major boom in the wider-appealingclassic hits format (which saw the largest overall increase over the same period). Consultant Gary Berkowitz argued that the soft AC format had become increasingly irrelevant in comparison to mainstream and hot AC, due toPPM markets preferring uptempo music.[57]
At the same time, however, soft AC began to experience a resurgence. In April 2016,iHeartMedia flipped its San Francisco classic soul stationKISQ to soft AC asThe Breeze; as of November 2018, it was the top station in the Bay Area. The trend continued into 2017 and 2018, with iHeartMedia extending itsBreeze brand to other soft AC flips, and the brand (among others) being adopted by competitors such asEntercom.[21][53] Industry analyst Sean Ross argued that older demographics were becoming more lucrative due to changes in listening habits among younger audiences, which prefer digital platforms such asmusic streaming services over linear terrestrial radio, and also noted how mainstream AC was dependent on the Top 40 charts to break new songs.[53]
Current soft AC stations have continued to feature recurrents such asMichael Bolton,Celine Dion, Elton John,Fleetwood Mac,Hall & Oates, and Whitney Houston, while contemporary musicians such asAdele andMichael Bublé have also become modern fixtures of the format.[58][59][53][57] In addition, the soft AC sound has diversified to include more songs that are "safe and universal" but not necessarily "soft", with Ross presenting examples such asSimple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)", the retroactively-defined genre ofyacht rock, and noting thatKSWD in Seattle—one of the stations that had launched in the soft AC "boom" of the late-2010s—had featureddance- andsynth-pop songs such as "Poker Face", "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", and "Uptown Funk" in its final days as a soft AC station before flipping to hot AC the following month.[53][60]
Over time, some stations have gradually adjusted their playlists to include more recurrents from the 1980s and 1970s (although not to the same extent as other "soft oldies" formats, such asMeTV FM, which have also grown in popularity).[53][61] Meanwhile, some classic hits and mainstream AC stations have increasingly aired songs that had historically been considered staples of soft AC.[60]
TheUrban adult contemporary format focuses primarily on current and classicR&B andsoul music. The format typically targets African-American adults: July 2018 numbers from Nielsen Audio recorded it as the top format among African-Americans 25–54 and 35–64.[62] It also has a sizable popularity among younger listeners, ranking behindurban contemporary as the second-most popular format among African-American adults 18–34 in the same report, with an 18.9 audience share.[62]
The format typically excludes youthful rhythmic music, such as commercialhip-hop and rap, that are usually associated with the urban contemporary format.[63][64][65] The urban AC format is also associated with the "quiet storm"—mellower R&B ballads andslow jams, often in ajazz-influenced style. Thesyndicated evening programKeith Sweat Hotel focuses specifically on such music.[66][67][68][69]
As urban contemporary stations prefer hit-driven hip-hop songs, labels typically service R&B songs to the urban AC format only. Some current R&B musicians have complained that this is an artificial divide that prevents them from reaching a wider, mainstream audience (citing the relatively smaller number of urban AC outlets in comparison to urban and rhythmic), even with attempts to give some singles a hip-hop-influenced sound to improve the potential forcrossover appeal. Some acts have attempted to disassociate themselves from "R&B" to reduce the effect of this stigma, althoughmusic streaming services have helped to expose R&B to a wider audience beyond urban AC radio.[70][71]
TheRhythmic adult contemporary format generally focuses on a variety of current and classicdance music, such asdance-pop,hip-hop, and R&B (often resembling a blend of therhythmic oldies and hot AC formats in practice). The exact composition of current and recurrent content can vary between stations, depending on local cultures and the heritage of rhythmic formats in the market, ranging from late-80s/early-90s dance hits (includinglatin freestyle), todisco andMotown. Rhythmic hot AC has also been used as a format, popularized by stations such as New York'sWKTU.[72][73][74][75][76]
TheSmooth adult contemporary format is a variant of the smooth jazz format that incorporates mainstream and/or urban adult contemporary songs; they are designed to appeal to a wider range of demographics than a straight smooth jazz format. Some smooth AC stations may limit their airplay of jazz instrumentals to those by better-known performers such asKenny G.[77][78]
Contemporary Christian music (CCM) has several subgenres, one being "Christian AC".Radio & Records, for instance, lists Christian AC among its format charts. There has been crossover to mainstream and hot AC formats by many of the core artists of the Christian AC genre, notablyAmy Grant,Michael W. Smith,Kathy Troccoli,Steven Curtis Chapman,Plumb, and more recentlyBig Daddy Weave,Casting Crowns,For King & Country,Lauren Daigle,MercyMe, andNewsboys.
A number of Spanish-language stations in the U.S. run versions of the adult contemporary format oriented towardsLatin pop, such asTelevisaUnivision'sKLVE Los Angeles (one of the highest-rated Spanish-language radio stations in the country); upon its launch in 2014, Spanish AC stationKVIB identified core artists such asAlejandro Fernández,Ana Gabriel,Romeo Santos, andJoan Sebastian.[79][80][81]
In 2023,iHeartMedia began to roll out a variation of the Spanish AC format on some of its stations, featuring a gold-based mix of Latin pop and English-language, mainstream AC hits from the 1980s and 1990s (with core artists such as theBackstreet Boys,Celine Dion,Madonna,Michael Jackson, andWhitney Houston, as well ascrossovers such asGloria Estefan andShakira),[82][83] and programming presented in Spanish. The format is intended to appeal tobilingual audiences.[84][83] First introduced byWMIA-FM in Miami, the hybrid format quickly proved successful,[85][86] prompting iHeartMedia to replicate it atKXXM San Antonio,[87] and similar formats appearing at stations such asWOEX in Orlando,[88]KOIT-DT3/KUFX-DT2 in the San Francisco Bay Area,[89]KGSR-HD4 in Austin,[90] andWEPN-FM in New York City.[91]
TheAdult album alternative (triple-A orAAA) format generally features a diverse playlist of music that appeals to an adult audience, with a focus on emerging songs and artists, and often featuring songs that were not released as singles. The exact composition of a triple-A station's playlist can vary, withalternative rock,indie rock, andindie pop commonly used as core genres, and some stations featuring more uncommon genres such asalternative country,Americana,blues,folk music, andworld music.NPR observed in 2018 that roughly half of all triple-A stations in the U.S. werenon-commercial stations.[92] With the wide variety of music that is serviced to the format, adult album alternative charts have often served as a feeder for other adult contemporary formats, especially hot AC, and have been credited for breaking acts such asDave Matthews Band andLorde.[92][93][94]
Since the 1990s, it has become common for many AC stations, particularly soft AC stations, to play primarily or exclusivelyChristmas music during theChristmas season in November and December. While these tend mostly to be contemporary seasonal recordings by the same artists featured under the normal format, most stations will also air at least some vintage holiday tunes from older pop,MOR, andadult standards artists – such asBoney M.,The Carpenters,Nat King Cole,Perry Como,Bing Crosby,Percy Faith,Mannheim Steamroller,Dean Martin,Johnny Mathis,Trans-Siberian Orchestra, andAndy Williams – many of whom would never be played on these stations during the rest of the year.
These Christmas music marathons typically start a few weeks before or the day afterThanksgiving Day and end after Christmas Day, or sometimes extending to New Year's Day. Afterwards, the stations usually resume their normal music fare. Several stations begin the holiday format much earlier, at the beginning of November especially afterHalloween. The roots of this tradition can be traced back to thebeautiful music andeasy listening stations of the 1960s and 1970s.[citation needed]
Former syndicated programming includes Dick Clark's US Music Survey (1996–2005), Casey's Hot 20/Casey's Countdown/American Top 20/10 (1992–2009) and Top 30 USA.
It's destroying radio in general, and especially shows that don't play for the meter.