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Throwback Top 40

About This Format

A gold-based CHR format built around the biggest and most recognizable pop hits of the recent past, Throwback Top 40 celebrates the era of songs that once dominated contemporary radio. The format focuses on former Top 40 staples that are now too old for current-based CHR but still too young to comfortably fit within Classic Hits, spotlighting mass-appeal pop, rhythmic, and crossover titles that helped define modern hit radio. Centered primarily on music from the 1990s through the 2010s, Throwback Top 40 is presented with the pacing, energy, and attitude of today’s Top 40 stations rather than a slow, nostalgia-driven gold approach. Designed to feel current in execution while familiar in content, the format targets adults 25–54 while maintaining strong secondary appeal to listeners 18–49.

Sample Artists

Backstreet Boys -Britney Spears - Spice Girls - Usher - Kelly Clarkson - Black Eyed Peas - Taylor Swift - Katy Perry - Rihanna - Justin Timberlake - Beyoncé - Maroon 5

Sample Songs

Britney Spears –…Baby One More Time

Backstreet Boys –I Want It That Way

Usher –Yeah!

Kelly Clarkson –Since U Been Gone

Black Eyed Peas –I Gotta Feeling

Beyoncé –Crazy in Love

Taylor Swift –Shake It Off

Katy Perry –Firework

Rihanna –Only Girl (In the World)

Justin Timberlake –Can’t Stop the Feeling!

Maroon 5 –Sugar

Lady Gaga –Just Dance

Era Balance

1990s: 30%

2000s: 40%

2010s: 30%

Target Demo

Primary:Adults 25–54

Secondary:Adults 18–49

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