The pop remix of “The Hanging Tree” might be receiving heat from online message board users, but it is proving immensely appealing to radio programmers.
For the second consecutive week, the song, which is credited to James Newton Howard and featured artist Jennifer Lawrence and comes from “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1,” registers as the pop radio format’s most-added track.
According to Mediabase, it scored adds from a whopping 56 monitored stations this week. And while the profile of its latest round of supporters had no chance of matching that of last week’s block, which included stations like New York’s Z100 and Los Angeles’ 102.7 KIIS, it actually is greater in number. Last week’s add count was 51.
This week’s lead was not, however, nearly as dominant. Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud,” which is already a top 40 hit at pop radio, follows fairly closely with a healthy 45 monitored adds. Prince Royce’s new iHeartRadio “On the Verge” song “Stuck on a Feeling (featuring Snoop Dogg)” slots into the third-most-added position. It landed at 33 stations this week.
Lillywood & Robin Schulz’ top 30 hit “Prayer in C” ranks fourth with 21 adds this week, while Mark Ronson’s developing smash “Uptown Funk (featuring Bruno Mars)” received adds from 18.
Timed to follow her appearance on “Saturday Night Live” and lineup with the release of her new album “Sucker,” Charli XCX’s seemingly stalled “Break the Rules” makes waves with 17 adds this week. Fifth Harmony’s rising “Sledgehammer” follows with 16 adds, Ella Henderson’s “Ghost” registers as eighth-most-added with 15 pickups.
One Direction’s “Night Changes” and Pitbull’s “Time of our Lives” tie for ninth-most-added with 12 each.