Adele on 11/21/2015 SNL [Dana Edelson/NBC]
Neither Adele nor Columbia has formally identified the third radio single from “25,” but hot adult contemporary programmers are continuing to show support for “Send My Love (To Your New Lover).”
Norfolk’s 94.9 The Point, DC’s mix107.3, and Los Angeles’ 104.3MYfm all began playing the song this week. The Norfolk station provided “Send My Love” with a healthy 29 spins during the April 10-16 tracking week, while the latter two stations respectively offered 11 and 3 spins.
Other stations increased their support this week. San Francisco’s Star 101.3, which first started playing the song last week, provided the song with a substantial 31 plays (+12) between April 10 and 16. After playing the song 21 times last week, Albuquerque’s 100.3 The Peak played it 23 times this week.
Music Choice, on the other hand, decreased weekly airplay from 35 spins to a still notable 33 during the April 10-16 frame.
The song’s official airplay ranking was not available at press time, but it will almost certainly be inside the Top 60. “Send My Love” was #63 last week, and it has received considerably more spins during the current tracking period.
It is important to note that the sudden wave of support is not tantamount to confirmation that “Send My Love” is the new single. The song had actually cracked the Hot AC format’s Top 60 months ago — when Columbia was still promoting the previous singles — based purely on interest from programmers.
The recent surge of airplay reiterates that interest. The question, therefore, is whether that interest will drive Columbia’s decision.