Categories: Music News

Pop Radio Listeners Are Loving Justin Bieber’s “Sorry”

When it arrived at the end of this past summer, Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean?” received a decently warm reception from pop radio listeners.

Thus far, Bieber’s follow-up single “Sorry” is receiving an even warmer one.

The latest Mediabase/CMM callout report identifies “Sorry” as one of the highest-scoring songs at pop radio.

Per the report, “Sorry” holds a positive reaction from 74.1% of surveyed listeners, a negative one from 10.5%, and thus a net positive score of 63.6%.

Of the thirty active pop songs measured in this week’s report, “Sorry” boasts the second-highest positive score (behind Adele’s “Hello,” 79.0%), ties for the lowest negative score (with “Hello”) and thus holds the second-highest net positive (behind “Hello,” 68.4%).

“Sorry” additionally possesses a “favorite” rating from 32.3% of listeners. That ranks as the pop format’s fourth-greatest; only “Hello” (48.6%), Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams” (35.4%), and The Weeknd’s “The Hills” (34.5%) have higher “favorite” scores.

“Sorry” currently holds a modest familiarity level of 69.6%. As that familiarity grows, the aforementioned scores may change — and perhaps decline.

At this point, however, the scores are resoundingly positive and unequivocal in what they represent: the early reaction to “Sorry” is a strong one.

— In its first week on the callout report (9/18, albeit with a greater level of familiarity), the aforementioned “What Do You Mean?” posted a 68.1% positive score, an 19.1% negative score, and a 49.0% net positive score. Its favorite rating was 29.6%.

Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.

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Brian Cantor