What happened to these songs?

I was going through the #1 songs on the AC chart and was surprised at how many are hard to find on AC these days....here are some notable ones from the past 15 years:

Madonna - Take a Bow (1995?)
Mariah f/ Boyz II Men - One Sweet Day (spent 3 months at #1 in 1996)
Eric Clapton - Change The World (3 months at #1 in 1996)
Toni Braxton - Unbreak My Heart (3 months at #1 in 1997)
Bob Carlisle - Butterfly Kisses (#1 for a month or so in 1997)
Backstreet Boys - I'll Never Break Your Heart (2 months at #1 in 1997)
Marc Anthony - You Sang To Me (2000)
BBMak - Back Here (2000)
'NSync - This I Promise You (3 months in 2001)
Faith Hill - There You'll Be (2001)
Celine Dion - A New Day Has Come (2002 - spent 5 months at #1!)

There are more, and probably tons more that hit #2 or so. What is it with these songs that most AC's ignore them? They play some that didn't even hit the top 5 from the same eras. I'm sure there are AC's that play these, but I've never heard any play them in the past, say, year. Some of these, though, are probably just bad (*cough* like The Climb *cough*)...

Feel free to add some more #1/top 3 AC songs that are hard to find these days (from the last 10-15 years)

carolinaradio said:

I was going through the #1 songs on the AC chart and was surprised at how many are hard to find on AC these days....here are some notable ones from the past 15 years:

Mariah f/ Boyz II Men - One Sweet Day (spent 3 months at #1 in 1996)
Eric Clapton - Change The World (3 months at #1 in 1996)

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Sound kinda dated today.

Bob Carlisle - Butterfly Kisses (#1 for a month or so in 1997)

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Novelty song.

Backstreet Boys - I'll Never Break Your Heart (2 months at #1 in 1997)
Marc Anthony - You Sang To Me (2000)
BBMak - Back Here (2000)
'NSync - This I Promise You (3 months in 2001)

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Boy band acts.

Faith Hill - There You'll Be (2001)
Celine Dion - A New Day Has Come (2002 - spent 5 months at #1!)

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Can't even place these. Not every #1 song becomes a classic.

There are more, and probably tons more that hit #2 or so. What is it with these songs that most AC's ignore them? They play some that didn't even hit the top 5 from the same eras.

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AC has evolved over the past 5 years or so, and a lot of this stuff just doesn't fit any better than a Barry Manilow tune would. You've got to play songs that are hits with your audience today, not songs that were hits with the audience you had 15 years ago. Old charts are meaningless.

Great analysis, and I have to agree.

It will be interesting to see what becomes of the songs on the chart currently in 10 years or so, and the songs from the past few years. I honestly question how long the Taylor Swift, Flatts, Carrie Underwood, etc type stuff will last because the "sound" of country seems to change a lot and they'll sound dated (save for maybe the Shania Twain-type stuff maybe). The Climb will be popular for a couple of years but will probably (hopefully) fade. I bet Time Of My Life, I'm Yours, Love Song, Breakaway, Bubbly, Home, Bad Day will be staples for years.

carolinaradio said:

Great analysis, and I have to agree.

It will be interesting to see what becomes of the songs on the chart currently in 10 years or so, and the songs from the past few years. I honestly question how long the Taylor Swift, Flatts, Carrie Underwood, etc type stuff will last because the "sound" of country seems to change a lot and they'll sound dated (save for maybe the Shania Twain-type stuff maybe). The Climb will be popular for a couple of years but will probably (hopefully) fade. I bet Time Of My Life, I'm Yours, Love Song, Breakaway, Bubbly, Home, Bad Day will be staples for years.

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Even "the Shania Twain stuff" won't make it. Every time I hear "You're Still the One," I'm reminded of the fact that Shania and Mutt aren't "still the one" for each other, so that one rings hollow for many of us now.

The other thing is that there is really no such thing as an "AC oldie." That is why you don't hear Barry Manilow and Air Supply on AC radio anymore. When AC plays oldies, they reach over to CHR and play CHR oldies, including a lot of stuff that they would never have played when it was new. AC is now playing old Boston, Steve Miller Band, Prince, KC & the Sunshine Band, etc.

firepoint525 said:

carolinaradio said:

Great analysis, and I have to agree.

It will be interesting to see what becomes of the songs on the chart currently in 10 years or so, and the songs from the past few years. I honestly question how long the Taylor Swift, Flatts, Carrie Underwood, etc type stuff will last because the "sound" of country seems to change a lot and they'll sound dated (save for maybe the Shania Twain-type stuff maybe). The Climb will be popular for a couple of years but will probably (hopefully) fade. I bet Time Of My Life, I'm Yours, Love Song, Breakaway, Bubbly, Home, Bad Day will be staples for years.

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Even "the Shania Twain stuff" won't make it. Every time I hear "You're Still the One," I'm reminded of the fact that Shania and Mutt aren't "still the one" for each other, so that one rings hollow for many of us now.

The other thing is that there is really no such thing as an "AC oldie." That is why you don't hear Barry Manilow and Air Supply on AC radio anymore. When AC plays oldies, they reach over to CHR and play CHR oldies, including a lot of stuff that they would never have played when it was new. AC is now playing old Boston, Steve Miller Band, Prince, KC & the Sunshine Band, etc.

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I'm going to have to agree. Since making this thread, I heard "Man! I Feel Like a Woman" by Shania, and thought it's starting to sound pretty dated. And good point about "Still the One." There aren't a ton of 90s songs that I think will stand the test of time. There are, however, some decent 90s songs, such as Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris."

That's a great point about AC oldies. As I stated in another thread I made, the 70s and 80s are still pretty big on AC, but it's the Eagles, Elton/Billy/Rod, Bee Gees, KC, Doobie Bros., etc type. The 80s songs AC plays now are a lot of times more "one hit wonder" types. To me the 70s songs don't sound as dated as some of this 90s stuff. Makes me wonder if they will reach in to 90s CHR in the next 10 years -- if so, they are going to be hard pressed because of how hip-hop and grunge swept the industry in the 90s. Outside of a few songs, the 90s songs my AC's play are pretty much all slow.

Regarding the boy bands, I could sense at the time that no matter how big these songs and acts were they would be considered part of a fad and would not be played in the future. Although I still do hear an occasional boy band song on AC, certainly more than CHR. I have to admit I thought "Back Here" was a pretty good song, if the artist wasn't a second or third tier boy band you might stll hear the song today.

Madonna - Take a Bow (1995?)
Mariah f/ Boyz II Men - One Sweet Day (spent 3 months at #1 in 1996)
Eric Clapton - Change The World (3 months at #1 in 1996)
Toni Braxton - Unbreak My Heart (3 months at #1 in 1997)
Bob Carlisle - Butterfly Kisses (#1 for a month or so in 1997)
Backstreet Boys - I'll Never Break Your Heart (2 months at #1 in 1997)
Marc Anthony - You Sang To Me (2000)
BBMak - Back Here (2000)
'NSync - This I Promise You (3 months in 2001)
Faith Hill - There You'll Be (2001)
Celine Dion - A New Day Has Come (2002 - spent 5 months at #1!)

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Another issue that hasn't been brought up is that many of these were such big hits that no one wanted to hear them again by the time they had run their course. I know that the Santana/Michelle Branch duet "The Game of Love" showed up on WRVR's (Memphis AC station) year-end survey for three straight years!

"The Game Of Love" is just one of those songs that doesn't burn for me, it sounds good everytime I hear it. If ACs are still playing it they must be getting low burn on their auditorium tests, if anyone still has the budget to do those these days.

firepoint525 said:

Madonna - Take a Bow (1995?)
Mariah f/ Boyz II Men - One Sweet Day (spent 3 months at #1 in 1996)
Eric Clapton - Change The World (3 months at #1 in 1996)
Toni Braxton - Unbreak My Heart (3 months at #1 in 1997)
Bob Carlisle - Butterfly Kisses (#1 for a month or so in 1997)
Backstreet Boys - I'll Never Break Your Heart (2 months at #1 in 1997)
Marc Anthony - You Sang To Me (2000)
BBMak - Back Here (2000)
'NSync - This I Promise You (3 months in 2001)
Faith Hill - There You'll Be (2001)
Celine Dion - A New Day Has Come (2002 - spent 5 months at #1!)

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Another issue that hasn't been brought up is that many of these were such big hits that no one wanted to hear them again by the time they had run their course. I know that the Santana/Michelle Branch duet "The Game of Love" showed up on WRVR's (Memphis AC station) year-end survey for three straight years!

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I hope to God The Climb, I'm Yours and those Taylor Swift songs go the way of those. I could go throughout my life and NEVER hear those again. They were burned to DEATH.

Jay F said:

"The Game Of Love" is just one of those songs that doesn't burn for me, it sounds good everytime I hear it. If ACs are still playing it they must be getting low burn on their auditorium tests, if anyone still has the budget to do those these days.

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Same here, but I limit my exposure to it. Have to admit, I haven't heard it lately, though.

I must admit that I'm a little surprised that a Celine Dion song made your list. I would still consider her a "core" AC artist. I believe "A New Day Has Come" was her comeback hit after taking a couple of years off to give birth to her son. I'm trying to remember if she sang that one when she was here in Nashville last winter. If any Celine song were to be blacklisted, I would think it would be "My Heart Will Go On." Isn't everyone sick of that one by now?

As for the Bob Carlisle song, it hasn't been mentioned by anyone here yet, but that one was a crossover hit from the contemporary Christian chart. And I believe it took about a year for it to cross over to AC. And it's been my experience that crossover hits are not really remembered in the format that they crossed over TO, only the format that they crossed over FROM. (All those late '70s "country crossover" hits still play on country radio (their "home" format) but not on pop oldies or classic hits stations.) And hang on to your Stetson, but there was a country mix of "Butterfly Kisses." I still remember the steel guitar wailing on it!

firepoint525 said:

I must admit that I'm a little surprised that a Celine Dion song made your list. I would still consider her a "core" AC artist. I believe "A New Day Has Come" was her comeback hit after taking a couple of years off to give birth to her son. I'm trying to remember if she sang that one when she was here in Nashville last winter. If any Celine song were to be blacklisted, I would think it would be "My Heart Will Go On." Isn't everyone sick of that one by now?

As for the Bob Carlisle song, it hasn't been mentioned by anyone here yet, but that one was a crossover hit from the contemporary Christian chart. And I believe it took about a year for it to cross over to AC. And it's been my experience that crossover hits are not really remembered in the format that they crossed over TO, only the format that they crossed over FROM. (All those late '70s "country crossover" hits still play on country radio (their "home" format) but not on pop oldies or classic hits stations.) And hang on to your Stetson, but there was a country mix of "Butterfly Kisses." I still remember the steel guitar wailing on it!

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I have listened to a good many AC's and have probably heard "A New Day Has Come" once or twice. It was a smash hit, but nobody seems to be playing it. IMO, it's one of her best. I can stand MHWGO, but "It's All Coming Back to Me Now"...please. I also like I'm Your Angel w/ R. Kelly and The Power Of Love. The AC I listen to, surprisingly, plays all of the songs mentioned but no 'New Day.'

firepoint525 said:

I must admit that I'm a little surprised that a Celine Dion song made your list. I would still consider her a "core" AC artist. I believe "A New Day Has Come" was her comeback hit after taking a couple of years off to give birth to her son. I'm trying to remember if she sang that one when she was here in Nashville last winter. If any Celine song were to be blacklisted, I would think it would be "My Heart Will Go On." Isn't everyone sick of that one by now?

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I was sick of it the first time I heard it. That one's even on standards radio. She also does "Alone" (the Heart song), "Because You Loved Me", and the duets "Beauty and the Beast" and "When I Fall in Love", and maybe others.

carolinaradio said:

I have listened to a good many AC's and have probably heard "A New Day Has Come" once or twice. It was a smash hit, but nobody seems to be playing it. IMO, it's one of her best. I can stand MHWGO, but "It's All Coming Back to Me Now"...please. I also like I'm Your Angel w/ R. Kelly and The Power Of Love. The AC I listen to, surprisingly, plays all of the songs mentioned but no 'New Day.'

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I actually like that one, but I will admit that it was a bit overproduced. But then again, that is typical of all Jim Steinman songs. I knew that "All Coming Back to Me Now" was a Jim Steinman song from the very first time I heard it. Everything he produces is very over-the-top. He is, of course, best known for producing Meat Loaf (who is, evidently, his favorite client), but he has indeed worked with other artists.

vchimpanzee said:

I was sick of it the first time I heard it. That one's even on standards radio. She also does "Alone" (the Heart song), "Because You Loved Me", and the duets "Beauty and the Beast" and "When I Fall in Love", and maybe others.

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I was not aware that Celine had covered "Alone" until I heard her sing it in concert last winter. I remember someone on here referring to "the Heart song," but then again, she has had so many "heart" songs ("My Heart Will Go On," "Where Does My Heart Beat Now?" etc.) that I did not immediately realize that that was a reference to the group Heart.

Jay F said:

Regarding the boy bands, I could sense at the time that no matter how big these songs and acts were they would be considered part of a fad and would not be played in the future.

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I hate to say it, but the kids who grew up on those boy bands are almost at that age where those songs would bring back great memories. Look at the excitement from the return of New Kids on the Block. Lots of TV hosts in their early 30s were swooning again, as though they were teens. There will be revived demand for N'Sync and Backstreet Boys very soon...if they want to capitalize on it.

As for the rest of that list, as others have said, they were all burned beyond recognition. Unbreak My Heart was a staple in multiple formats. I love pizza. I could eat it every day. But if I did, I'd get tired of it. Nice to have a burrito every now and then. That's how music should be programmed.

TheBigA said:

Unbreak My Heart was a staple in multiple formats.

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I even heard that one on the standards station that hired the chimp (okay, it was rpobably a human who went to work later for a Jack station) for which I am named. After they threw him out but then added local DJs who sneaked him back in over a two-year period starting two years after that terrible month.

TheBigA said:

Look at the excitement from the return of New Kids on the Block. Lots of TV hosts in their early 30s were swooning again, as though they were teens.

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There's a controversy in the newspaper mwhere I live. A new high school will be named Hough High, after someone important named Hough. For some reason that made me think of "Hangin' Tough". Talk about a perfect song for their football team.

Unfortunately, the correct pronunciation of the name also can be spelled a way that has to do with drug use, and the wrong pronunciation ... it's not a garden tool.

NKOTB has reunited, and they played a show here in Nashville last winter, but as far as getting them back on the airwaves, can't say that I've heard that. It would take some new material to get them back on the radio, and even then, it would likely be a "niche" format. I could see AC playing them IF there is enough demand to hear them again.

Apparently, the whole has always been greater than the sum of its parts, because various solo efforts by former NKOTB members haven't really done anything or gone anywhere. Certainly not to the extent that the group itself had.

Stuff like Backstreet Boys, NKOTB, all of the "boy bands" sound dated, IMO. I was around when they were popular on CHR and don't care to hear them anymore. As discussed in another thread, the 70s (and some of the 80s, minus the new wave-ish) stuff that AC plays has stood the test of time...I don't think those artists have or will unless, as firepoint said, they come out with something new, which even then I think would have trouble gaining airplay. So many 90s songs sound dated as opposed to songs even older.

Stick with Fields of Gold, Give Me One Reason, Because You Loved Me...