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Adult contemporary music

Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music[1] to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet storm and rock 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 of pop/rock music.[5]

"Adult contemporary" redirects here. For other uses, see Adult contemporary (disambiguation).

Adult contemporary

1960s, United States

Adult contemporary tends to have lush, soothing and highly polished qualities where emphasis on melody and harmonies is accentuated. It is usually melodic enough to get a listener's attention, abstains from profanity or complex lyricism, and is most commonly used as background music in heavily-frequented family areas such as supermarkets, shopping malls, convention centers, or restaurants.[6] Like most of pop music, its songs tend to be written in a basic format employing a verse–chorus structure.[7] The format is heavy on romantic sentimental ballads which use acoustic instruments such as pianos, saxophones, and sometimes an orchestral set. However, electric guitars and bass is also usually used, with the electric guitar sound relatively faint and high-pitched. Additionally post-80s adult contemporary music may feature synthesizers (and other electronics, such as drum machines).[8]


An AC radio station may play mainstream music, but it usually excludes hip hop, house/techno or electronic dance music and some forms of dance-pop and teen pop, as these are less popular among adults, the target demographic. 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" (also known as "modern AC"), "soft AC" (also known as "lite AC"), "urban AC" (a softer type of urban contemporary music), "rhythmic AC" (a softer type of rhythmic contemporary), and "Christian AC" (a softer type of contemporary 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 different genres.

– One of the US's most popular radio shows, Delilah airs primarily in the evening. Its Christmas Edition airs from mid-November to late December.

Delilah

Intelligence for Your Life – Hosted by , this show also airs evenings and also on weekends.

John Tesh

with Ryan Seacrest – One version of AT40 airs on US hot AC stations, which is a little different from its Top-40/CHR counterpart.

American Top 40

/Weekly Top 30 – Began offering Hot AC versions of the popular countdown show in June 1996. These shows feature the top 20 Hot AC songs in the US along with about 10 past hits from the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s (decade). A softer "AC" version was added in July 2009 to try to fill in the void left by Casey Kasem ending his AC countdown.

Rick Dees Weekly Top 40

Music Top 30 Countdown, One version is for Hot AC stations, the other version is for Mainstream AC stations. Plays the USA Top 30 songs of the week according to Mediabase and a music rating service called ratethemusic.com. This show, like Rick Dees' show, is distributed by Compass Media Networks.

Radio Disney

with Kid Kelly – Weekend programs focusing on the '80s and '90s, targeted for hot AC stations.

Backtrax USA

and Dial Global both offer AC 24-hour networks programming soft and hot AC.

ABC

and Steve Harvey have popular morning shows that air on urban AC (and sometimes Hip-Hop) stations. Both shows are often heard on competing stations in the same city, such as St. Louis, Philadelphia and Atlanta. Joyner's show is syndicated by ABC Radio, and Harvey's show by Premiere Radio Networks.

Tom Joyner

Retro Rewind with Dave Harris is a weekend-based radio show highlighting a massive playlist of songs from the and 1990s, interviews, spotlights and contests. The show is done live across the US on Saturday nights, taking audience requests. The show is targeted towards HOT AC and AC radio stations.

1980s

The network is a brand/network of soft AC heard in Canada.

EZ Rock

- A radio network in the UK that grew throughout 2009 as more stations were rebranded as "Heart".

Heart

– A UK-wide radio network that formed from six regional Smooth Radio stations.

Smooth Radio

– A network of two Australian commercial radio stations (based in Sydney and Melbourne) that are focused on providing an eclectic easy-listening playlist, usually featuring ballads.

Smoothfm

– A network of five Australian commercial radio station (based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth) that are very similar to Smoothfm.

Nova

– A group of New Zealand adult contemporary radio stations owned by MediaWorks Radio. There are 20 stations currently broadcasting throughout New Zealand.

The Breeze

– American morning drive show based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Heard on more than 50 AC stations and the American Forces Network

The Bob and Sheri Show

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.

a chart appearing in Billboard since 1961. This chart is typically (but not exclusively) closer to soft AC.

Adult Contemporary

New-age music

Yacht rock

Artists | Ambition Entertainment

Rebirth Music Productions

GAD Music Company