Pop alternatives grow
Top 40 stations, radio's whipping boy for the past few years, experienced a significant resurgence in 1993 attributable in part to numbers. After scores of stations changed to country and adult contemporary formats, the survivors - typically one Top 40 per market - didn't have to share the hit music audience anymore. But adult comtemporary country stations saw their competition grow.
As important was the wealth of quality popular music available for Top 40 stations to play. Top 40 broke numerous hits from major superstars like Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey to an encouraging bumper crop of new talent. What's more, programmers became more adventurous. Their willingness to tap into alternative, dance, reggae and even eclectic rock/pop records added a refreshing spice to their playlists, which paid off in larger and more loyal listeners.
There was a time when the music industry bemoaned the tendency of superstars to go years between releases, leaving weeks or even months where radio would have little established hit product to serve its core audience. By comparison, 1993 was a veritable feast, led by a trio of female superstars who all came through in flying colors. Whitney Houston continued to mine hit singles from "The Bodyguard" soundtrack well beyond the massive success of '92's "I Will Always Love You". Even now, "Queen of the Night" from that album is about to break onto the Top 40 chart.
Then there was "janet." Few things are tougher to accomplish in the music business than live up to sky-high expectations, yet Janet Jackson simply blew them all away with her debut album on Virgin Records. The first single, "That's the Way Love Goes", was added out-of-the-box by a record 209 Top 40 stations (ones that report to the Network Forty radio trade magazine) and spent over a month atop of the charts. "If" and her most recent chart-topper, "Again", helped fuel sales beyond 4 million. Virgin Records president Phil Quartararo predicts at least four more singles will follow.
Not to be outdone was Columbia Records pop diva Mariah Carey. Her debut single, "Dreamlover", spent nine weeks atop Network Forty's charts and the follow-up, "Hero", is firmly entrenched there now. Several more singles will follow, as Carey's Thanksgiving TV special helped propel her album to the top spot on the sales charts.
A slew of other big names also made their presence felt in '93, some coming after a considerable absence from the charts. Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams, Aerosmith and Def Leppard enjoyed several hit singles, as did Madonna, Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Sting, Bon Jovi and Prince. (excerpt from Variety)
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