Same Old Lang Syne?

[woolebull]

As we come to the end of the year 2023, I was curious if you ever got to an end of the year and thought, "Wow, music has drastically changed since the beginning of the year"? For me, a calendar doesn't equate to a shift of the music that made it to AT 40. However, there have been a couple of times where it seemed that way. For me, 1979 fits into that category. Not that some of the songs at the beginning of the year couldn't have charted at the end, and vice versa, but I don't think songs like "Le Freak" would have been nearly as popular if it was released in the fall of 1979. Likewise, I don't think Rupert Holmes, John Mellencamp, Prince, The Buggles and many others would have their hits seen as much success if the singles had been released, say, a year earlier. 1991 seems to feel that way as well, at least for me.

Are there years for you where the music seems to have shifted between January 1 and December 31 of a certain year?

[dukelightning]

Yeah 1991 is a good one with the alternative sound derailing the big hair bands. 2001 is the year I will name. Hip hop like alternative did in 1991 really made an impression as the year went on after several years of only making a dent on the Hot 100 and not AT40 and CT40.

[dukelightning]

Related to this is the 70s shows thread topic of artists who were in the top 40 at the start and end of that decade. For the record, just as there were 4 such artists in the 70s, there were also 4 in the 80s...Lou Gramm, Don Henley, Tom Petty and Prince. But in the 90s there were no artists who were in the top 40 at the start and end of the decade. In fact, the only artists who were in the top 40 at the end of 1999 who a hit in any part of 1990 were Mariah and Whitney.

[OnWithTheCountdown]

As always, woolebull, great topic!

Madonna came close in the 1990s, as she had a couple of top 40 hits in 1999, but not near the end of that year.

For me, outside of the years that were mentioned (which I wholeheartedly agree with), one a little more recent is 2012, with EDM becoming a bit more pronounced later in the year. It's not as drastic as, say, 1979 (which will always be one of the best years to fit this category), but it seemed music was shifting yet again.

[dth1971]

Does this count? The end of 1992 AT40 with Shadoe Stevens was using the Billboard Top 40 Radio Monitor chart source but after a 2 week 2 part Top 100 of 1992 for the launch of 1993 AT40 switched to the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream chart source shutting out many rap/dance/R&B songs and puting in more rock/pop leaning acts.

[michaelcasselman]

1982 started with medleys and country crossovers, ended the year with new wave and a heavier rock presence.

[johnnywest]

There was a big change between 1998 and 1999. As the Lilith Fair phase was coming to an end, it was partly replaced with Latino pop artists, such as Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias and Santana.

And if you were following CHR playlists in R&R, nearly every CHR station that had gone Pop/Alternative earlier in the decade had switched back to mainstream pop by 1999.

[freakyflybry]

1999 also gave us the rise of pop princesses such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, so that's another reason to think there was a big change between those years.

[woolebull]

Dec 21, 2023 7:29:45 GMT -5 dth1971 said:

Does this count? The end of 1992 AT40 with Shadoe Stevens was using the Billboard Top 40 Radio Monitor chart source but after a 2 week 2 part Top 100 of 1992 for the launch of 1993 AT40 switched to the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream chart source shutting out many rap/dance/R&B songs and puting in more rock/pop leaning acts.

Sure it counts! This is objective and if you think the beginning of a countdown year sounds much different than the end of same year, then it should be up for discussion!