“Kiss It Better” is Rihanna’s official single at pop radio, and it is receiving a substantial level of airplay. It is currently #21 on Mediabase’s building chart for the May 1-7 tracking week.
That pop stations are spinning “Kiss It Better” does not, however, mean the format is ignoring “Needed Me.”
“Needed Me,” which is Rihanna’s official single at urban radio and thus far outpacing “Kiss It Better” at rhythmic, has been receiving a non-trivial degree of pop airplay. Some stations are actually beginning to favor “Needed Me” over “Kiss It Better.”
Leading the way on “Needed Me” is Boston’s 103.3 AMP; the station played the song 33 times over the past seven days.
It received 16 during the prior seven-day period.
That gain coincides with a reduction in “Kiss It Better” airplay. The Boston pop station played the official pop single 25 times over the past week, compared with the 57 spins it offered the week prior.
Raleigh’s The Pulse FM played “Needed Me” 20 times over the past seven days; “Kiss It Better” was not even one of the station’s Top 50 songs, which means it received fewer than 12 spins.
San Diego’s Energy 103.7 played “Kiss It Better” (21 spins) more frequently than it did “Needed Me” (16 spins) over the past seven days, but the trend favors the latter. “Needed Me” did not receive a single spin in the prior seven-day period, whereas “Kiss It Better” received 32.
The situation is similar at 92.3 AMP in New York. “Needed Me” received 10 spins over the past seven days (versus 0 the previous week), while “Kiss It Better” was down from 48 to 22.
That is not, however, the trend at all stations. Though it still counts as a leader on the urban-leaning single, Louisville’s 98.9 Radio Now actually reduced its “Needed Me” airplay over the past seven days (14, -3) and increased its “Kiss It Better” spins (17, +14).
Tulsa’s 92.1 The Beat held its “Needed Me” airplay steady at 7 spins but increased its “Kiss It Better” play from 11 to 25.
Presumably more reflective of what Rihanna’s audience is currently demanding, “Needed Me” has been more successful on the streaming and sales fronts. Its combined streaming, sales, and radio activity has it at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100; “Kiss It Better” is #67.
