KPWR
Encyclopedia
KPWR is a commercial radio station
located in Los Angeles, California
, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area
on an analog signal
and in HD Radio
. KPWR airs a Rhythmic Contemporary
format playing Hip-Hop, R&B, and some Dance/Pop product.
prior to its flip to a rock format on January 1, 1975. K-West emulated the then-popular sound of KMET & KLOS
. By 1981 though, the rating had slipped and KWST had changed to a Top 40 format, and let all of their disc jockeys go. KWST eventually evolved into KMGG, or "Magic 106" in 1983, and played upbeat Adult Contemporary music.
In May 1984 Century Broadcasting Decided to sell KMGG and St. Louis's KSHE
to Indianapolis Based Emmis Communications.
Magic 106 would continue to climb in the ratings, but after seeing a unique niche to counter Top 40s KIIS and KKHR
and Urban outlets KDAY, KJLH, and KACE (the latter three all signal challenged), Emmis would flip KMGG from adult contemporary to a dance music
/Top 40 direction on January 11, 1986
and became KPWR, "Power 106." Jay Thomas
was hired as the new morning host. In its first seven years, the playlist concentrated mostly on an upbeat, party-style mix of dance
, house
, freestyle
, and urban
pop
while avoiding hard rock
. This mix of music became known as crossover
, due to the way in which dance and urban music were presented to an audience that liked pop, and vice versa. Power 106 would Use the Moniker "L.A.'s Hottest Music" Broadcasting @ 72,000 Watts of Music Power.
Around 1992, KPWR began to focus on urban music with hip-hop as the musical base. In 1992 The Baka Boyz
came to Power 106 and started the long-running "Friday Night Flavas" late night hip hop mix show. The Friday Night Flavas show passed from the Baka Boyz to the Fantastik 4our crew by 1998, until finally being canceled on January 4, 2006. By January 2005, the station had woven in non-R&B/hip hop artists such as Natalie
, Baby Bash
, NB Ridaz
and Gwen Stefani
to the mix, resulting in a return to rhythmic contemporary hit radio. The move may have been a response to a change in directions at rival station KIIS
, which was programming Top 40 hits, until they started a shift towards a Rhythmic lean, since the market itself is heavily Hispanic and tends to favor this genre.
KPWR picked up additional competition in May 2005 when KXOL
dropped their Spanish adult contemporary format for a Hispanic Rhythmic
, or hurban
, format known as "Latino 96.3". The format is a crossover mix of Hispanic hip hop, reggaeton
, dancehall
, and R & B/hip hop targeting a bilingual audience. However, the abrupt switch violated a transmitter lease agreement that KXOL's parent company, Spanish Broadcasting System
(SBS), had with Emmis; the agreement required formal notification to Emmis of any change in format and expressly prohibited KXOL from programming to directly compete with KPWR. SBS switched formats anyway, and Emmis filed a lawsuit to force SBS to either drop the format switch or find a new transmitter. SBS announced that KXOL would move to another transmitter site a month later, and both parties settled the dispute sometime after.
Shortly after the debut of Latino 96.3, KPWR replaced the majority of their non Latino DJs with personalities of Latino descent who often pepper their broadcasts with Spanish words, in an effort to regain some of the audience lost to Latino 96.3. Today Big Boy
and Fuzzy Fantabulous (both African-American) remain as the only non-Latino personalities at the station.
On August 17, 2006, KPWR's Country music sister station KZLA flipped directions to Adult Rhythmic Contemporary
as "Movin' 93.9." Most of the songs played on Movin' 93.9 consisted of Rhythmic Pop and Dance hits from the 1980s and 1990s to the present day, along with classic Disco and Freestyle tracks thrown in for balance. But after almost a year in the format, KMVN shifted directions to Rhythmic Oldies
. With the unique combination of both KPWR and KZLA, the move gave Emmis and Los Angeles its first Rhythmic duopoly, as well as the second duopoly in California with this arrangement, the other being Clear Channel Communications
siblings KMEL
and KYLD in San Francisco
. But that arrangement ended on April 15, 2009, when KMVN flipped to a Spanish format under a LMA with Grupo Radio Centro of Mexico City.
, the station that would inherit "The Beat" slogan from KKBT, flipped to Urban AC in August 2008, only to return to a Mainstream Urban direction in January 2009. KDAY's signal does not cover the market in full, which might have played a factor in its brief decision to switch formats, as KDAY broadcasts from a Class A transmitter in Baldwin Hills that is limited in signal range vs KPWR's Class B; ironically KDAY had shifted to Rhythmic in July 2007, only to return to Urban a few weeks later.
Other stations in the market have other primary interests; KIIS plays Top 40 music, KAMP-FM, like Power 106, also plays Rhythmic Contemporary
, KXOL has their hurban format, and KHHT
their Rhythmic Adult Contemporary direction. After KDAY began shifting to Old-School Hip-Hop in August 2009
, KPWR briefly increased its playlist with Hip-Hop currents, but as of 2010 it began embracing Electropop tracks, and with KAMP moving in on their audience with their shift towards Rhythmic, KPWR continues to add Rhythmic Pop tracks in an effort to retain its Hispanic base, as they see KAMP as a serious competitor. As of 2011, Power 106 had decreased the amount of plays they give to Rhythmic Pop tracks so it can focus on R&B/Hip Hop product, but given the changing taste among its listeners, it continues to add the occasional Rhythmic Pop/Dance track.
Although Power 106 had moved away from the Dance music scene in favor of Hip-Hop, KPWR continues to support the genre through the program "Power Tools", produced by Gerry Meraz and hosted by Richard Vission. Power Tools, which airs late night Saturday/Early Sunday morning from 2 to 4am, is also the station's longest running program, debuting in 1992. In addition, they do revisit their Dance and Freestyle music
roots during their mixes, especially The World Famous Aquanet Set, which they air on Fridays. In 2008 KPWR began phasing in current Dance and Rhythmic Pop crossovers into their daily and weekend mix shows again, as evidenced by addition of the daily noontime "Power 106 Party Mix," which replaced the Old School mixshow.
For a time in 1996, Power 106 switched genres and began to focus more on house music
which then was very popular among Latino listeners. They began to play less hip-hop, as many listeners switched over to former rival KKBT. They eventually reverted to Hip-Hop/R&B by the fall of that year, and hired former
security guard Big Boy
to host the morning show, replacing the veteran Baka Boyz. The Baka Boyz were moved to afternoons, before being dropped by Power and moving to KKBT in 1999, where they would only last several months before KKBT switched genres. The Baka Boyz later moved to San Diego and worked for XHMORE ("Blazin 98.9 FM"), a Rhythmic Top 40 radio station with the same format as Power 106. The Baka Boyz has since left that station and now concentrate on their syndicated Hip-Hop remix show "The Baka Boyz Master Mix."
In May 2010, KPWR began streaming the station online.
In September 2011, Power 106 was named Large Market CHR Radio station of the year and awarded the Marconi
at the National Association of Broadcasters
convention in Chicago, Illinois.
On September 19, 2011, Power 106 partnered with Jelli.com and launched a Facebook integrated music streaming platform that was announced at Facebook's f8 convention. Power 106's jelli station www.jelli.com/power106 features new music that is promoted on Power 106's New@2 program. Listeners can "rocket" songs up and vote them off the playlist with a "bomb". Songs can be dedicated and sent to friends via email and on their Facebook pages.
subcarrier channel called Power Dos in August 2006. A press release from Emmis describes the new channel as a “bilingual and musically extended version” of KPWR. Power Dos left the air in 2008 due to lack of interest. http://www.billboardradiomonitor.com/radiomonitor/search/article_display.jsp?schema=&vnu_content_id=1002385867
On 2008-09-08, Emmis announced a programming partnership with WorldBand Media
, using KPWR's HD-3 signal to produce programming for the South Asia
n communities in 3 major cities including Los Angeles. The said content began in Mid-October 2008, and by the Summer of 2009 moved to HD2, replacing Power Dos.
's Neighborhood is the nationally-syndicated morning show for KPWR.
Big Boy is best known in the local area for his billboards. In early 2002, Big Boy was morbidly obese; Will Smith
agreed to donate to a charity of Big Boy's choice an amount equal to $1,000 times the number of pounds he lost, if he could lose 50 pounds. Through a strict diet and by using a personal trainer, Big Boy lost 110 pounds, and as promised, Will Smith donated $110,000 to charity. By 2003, Big Boy had gained all the weight back, plus some, and weighed 510 pounds. In November 2003, Big Boy underwent duodenal switch surgery and has since lost more than 250 pounds (114 kg). KPWR billboards showed off his new look after his surgery.
On August 6, 2007, Big Boy
signed a multi-year deal with ABC Radio Networks (now Citadel Media) to syndicate the show, and his weekend show formerly called Big Boy's Hip Hop Spot.http://abcradionetworks.com/Article.asp?id=348079 The show launched nationally on August 20. Big Boy will continue to work for Emmis, thus KPWR is now the flagship station for the originally locally based morning show. In the fall of 2008, the show began to air on KPWR's sister station, WQHT Hot 97 in New York City
, but after enduring lackluster ratings, WQHT dropped Big Boy's Neighborhood for an expanded local morning show hosted by Cipha Sounds
& Rosenberg in July 2009.
On February 17, 2010, Citadel announced that it will no longer carry Big Boy's Neighborhood and that its last national broadcast would be March 22, 2010. But on March 26, Big Boy's Neighborhood found a new syndicator when it moved over to Dial Global
.
Big Boy, along with Luscious Liz from the 'Neighborhood' starred in an episode of Entourage as well as an episode of Nick Cannon
's sketch comedy show Wild'n'out. In addition, Big Boy also appeared in an episode of For the Love of Ray J
.
On July 27, 2010, sidekick Tattoo is no longer with the show. http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/78556/tattoo-out-of-big-boy-s-neighborhood
Big Boy is the recipient of 2 National Association of Broadcasting Marconi Awards for Major Market Personality of the Year.
On August 22, 2011, Luscious Liz Hernandez leaves Big Boy's Radio and is now with E! News. http://djomry.com/blog/luscious-liz-hernandez-leaves-power-106
Some notable Flava Unit Alumni include DJ Reflex (on-air mixer), DJ Los (on-air mixer), DJ Sourmilk (on-air mixer), DJ Eric-D-Lux and DJ Big Syphe (afternoon on-air talent and mixers), DJ J-Boogie (currently the host of "CW Now", "Yo Momma" on MTV, and the show "TeeNick" on Nickolodean), Mando Fresko
(currently late-night on-air talent, TV host for LATV
, actor, and model), Junior M. (club promoter and marketing specialist), Class1c & Eddy Xpress (KDAY on-air mixers), and DJ Virman (who would later form the Electropop/Hip-Hop act Far East Movement
).
Sports Dude, Jeff Garcia
Rikki Martinez, Entertainment Reporter
Louis G, man on the streets
10a-3p
3-7p
DJ Felli Fel
7p-12a
J Cruz
Midnight-5a
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
located in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area
Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...
on an analog signal
Analog signal
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which are...
and in HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
. KPWR airs a Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...
format playing Hip-Hop, R&B, and some Dance/Pop product.
History
105.9 FM signed on as easy listening KFI-FM on July 15, 1946, later becoming KBMS in 1958 before adopting the KWST call letters and "K-West 106" moniker in 1969. During its years as KBMS and later KWST, its format had been beautiful musicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
prior to its flip to a rock format on January 1, 1975. K-West emulated the then-popular sound of KMET & KLOS
KLOS
KLOS is an FM rock music radio station based in Los Angeles, California, that debuted in 1969. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. It is home to the nationally broadcast Mark & Brian radio show, and Off The Record host Uncle Joe Benson.-History:...
. By 1981 though, the rating had slipped and KWST had changed to a Top 40 format, and let all of their disc jockeys go. KWST eventually evolved into KMGG, or "Magic 106" in 1983, and played upbeat Adult Contemporary music.
In May 1984 Century Broadcasting Decided to sell KMGG and St. Louis's KSHE
KSHE
KSHE is a rock & roll radio station licensed to Crestwood, Missouri which serves the Greater St. Louis area. KSHE is located at 94.7 MHz and currently uses the slogan "KSHE 95, Real Rock Radio". The station's studios have been located in the Powerhouse building at St. Louis Union Station since...
to Indianapolis Based Emmis Communications.
Magic 106 would continue to climb in the ratings, but after seeing a unique niche to counter Top 40s KIIS and KKHR
KCBS-FM
KCBS-FM is a radio station in Los Angeles, California broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on 93.1 FM. KCBS-FM airs an adult hits music format branded as "Jack-FM"....
and Urban outlets KDAY, KJLH, and KACE (the latter three all signal challenged), Emmis would flip KMGG from adult contemporary to a dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
/Top 40 direction on January 11, 1986
1986 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1986.-January-June:*January 23 – The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes place...
and became KPWR, "Power 106." Jay Thomas
Jay Thomas
Jay Thomas is an American actor, comedian and radio talk show host.-Personal life:Thomas was born in Kermit, Texas. He was raised in his Italian American mother's Roman Catholic faith, although his father was Protestant....
was hired as the new morning host. In its first seven years, the playlist concentrated mostly on an upbeat, party-style mix of dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
, house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, freestyle
Freestyle music
Freestyle or Latin freestyle, sometimes referred to as Latin hip hop, is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1980s. Mostly popular during the mid 80s to the early 90s...
, and urban
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
while avoiding hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
. This mix of music became known as crossover
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
, due to the way in which dance and urban music were presented to an audience that liked pop, and vice versa. Power 106 would Use the Moniker "L.A.'s Hottest Music" Broadcasting @ 72,000 Watts of Music Power.
Around 1992, KPWR began to focus on urban music with hip-hop as the musical base. In 1992 The Baka Boyz
The Baka Boyz
The Baka Boyz, brothers Nick and Eric Vidal, are American radio personalities, music producers and remixers from Bakersfield, California. The duo first achieved fame on the hip-hop/R&B radio station KPWR in Los Angeles.-Background:...
came to Power 106 and started the long-running "Friday Night Flavas" late night hip hop mix show. The Friday Night Flavas show passed from the Baka Boyz to the Fantastik 4our crew by 1998, until finally being canceled on January 4, 2006. By January 2005, the station had woven in non-R&B/hip hop artists such as Natalie
Natalie (singer)
Natalie Nicole Alvarado , better known simply as Natalie, is a Mexican-American R&B singer/songwriter.-Biography:After her high school years, she chose to study criminal justice after giving up her dreams of being a singer....
, Baby Bash
Baby Bash
Ronnie Ray Bryant , better known by his stage name Baby Bash , is a Mexican-American rapper. From 1995 to 1998, he performed under the stage name Baby Beesh, as part of the Vallejo, California group Potna Duece, after which he changed the last part of the name to Bash...
, NB Ridaz
NB Ridaz
-Overview:The group released several successful singles as Nastyboy Klick in the late 1990s, including "Down for Yours" and "Lost in Love" . I [Heart] Nb Ridaz...
and Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...
to the mix, resulting in a return to rhythmic contemporary hit radio. The move may have been a response to a change in directions at rival station KIIS
KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM is a Los Angeles, California, USA-based radio station with a partial Top 40 musical format. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications. KIIS is also simulcasted on KVVS in Rosamond, at 105.5 MHz...
, which was programming Top 40 hits, until they started a shift towards a Rhythmic lean, since the market itself is heavily Hispanic and tends to favor this genre.
KPWR picked up additional competition in May 2005 when KXOL
KXOL-FM
KXOL-FM 96.3, Latino 96.3, is a Latin leaning Rhythmic music radio station in the Los Angeles area.-History:For many years 96.3 was a Christian radio station in Los Angeles known as KFSG, owned by the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel...
dropped their Spanish adult contemporary format for a Hispanic Rhythmic
Hispanic rhythmic
Hispanic rhythmic, also known as Hispanic urban or "Hurban", is an American radio and format genre that features a Spanish-language musical mix of Latin hip-hop, Mexican hip-hop, reggaeton, dancehall, Latin pop, dance, tropical and salsa hits, all geared towards a bilingual audience, most of them...
, or hurban
Hurban
Hurban is a relatively new radio programming format from radio chain giant Clear Channel Communications and Senior VP Alfredo Alonso. Hurban radio stations target young Hispanics in the United States, primarily consisting of reggaeton, hip-hop, and dance music...
, format known as "Latino 96.3". The format is a crossover mix of Hispanic hip hop, reggaeton
Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
, dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
, and R & B/hip hop targeting a bilingual audience. However, the abrupt switch violated a transmitter lease agreement that KXOL's parent company, Spanish Broadcasting System
Spanish Broadcasting System
Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States. SBS is also invested in television and internet properties, deriving the majority of its income from advertising through its media products.SBS owns the internet portal LaMusica.com...
(SBS), had with Emmis; the agreement required formal notification to Emmis of any change in format and expressly prohibited KXOL from programming to directly compete with KPWR. SBS switched formats anyway, and Emmis filed a lawsuit to force SBS to either drop the format switch or find a new transmitter. SBS announced that KXOL would move to another transmitter site a month later, and both parties settled the dispute sometime after.
Shortly after the debut of Latino 96.3, KPWR replaced the majority of their non Latino DJs with personalities of Latino descent who often pepper their broadcasts with Spanish words, in an effort to regain some of the audience lost to Latino 96.3. Today Big Boy
Big Boy (radio host)
Big Boy is a radio host currently heard on Los Angeles Rhythmic contemporary station KPWR in the mornings from 5 to 10, as well as numerous radio stations across the United States...
and Fuzzy Fantabulous (both African-American) remain as the only non-Latino personalities at the station.
On August 17, 2006, KPWR's Country music sister station KZLA flipped directions to Adult Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic Adult Contemporary
Rhythmic adult contemporary is a format used on stations in the United States and Canada. It usually gears toward an older audience, ages 25 to 54. Stations using this format play disco from the 1970s and early 1980s, dance/pop music, adult-friendly hip hop/old school tracks, R&B, dance/freestyle...
as "Movin' 93.9." Most of the songs played on Movin' 93.9 consisted of Rhythmic Pop and Dance hits from the 1980s and 1990s to the present day, along with classic Disco and Freestyle tracks thrown in for balance. But after almost a year in the format, KMVN shifted directions to Rhythmic Oldies
Rhythmic oldies
Rhythmic Oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, disco or dance genres of music. Playlists may span from the 1970s through the early 1990s...
. With the unique combination of both KPWR and KZLA, the move gave Emmis and Los Angeles its first Rhythmic duopoly, as well as the second duopoly in California with this arrangement, the other being Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
siblings KMEL
KMEL
KMEL is an Urban Contemporary-formatted radio station located in San Francisco, California, and owned by Clear Channel Communications....
and KYLD in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. But that arrangement ended on April 15, 2009, when KMVN flipped to a Spanish format under a LMA with Grupo Radio Centro of Mexico City.
Programming
Leaning heavily on hip hop and broadening their music mix to challenge competitors, KPWR's core listening audience is geared toward youth and young adults ages 12 to 34, including large English speaking Latino listeners. KPWR was, by de-facto, the only full market hip hop station, after its rival, KKBT (now KSWD), flipped from mainstream urban to urban adult-contemporary in May 2006. Meanwhile KDAYKDAY
KDAY in Redondo Beach and KDEY in Ontario are a pair of synchrocasting radio stations based in South Los Angeles that airs an Classic hip-hop format aimed at African Americans in the 18-49 range. The station is owned by Magic Broadcasting, LLC and broadcasts at 93.5 MHz on the FM dial...
, the station that would inherit "The Beat" slogan from KKBT, flipped to Urban AC in August 2008, only to return to a Mainstream Urban direction in January 2009. KDAY's signal does not cover the market in full, which might have played a factor in its brief decision to switch formats, as KDAY broadcasts from a Class A transmitter in Baldwin Hills that is limited in signal range vs KPWR's Class B; ironically KDAY had shifted to Rhythmic in July 2007, only to return to Urban a few weeks later.
Other stations in the market have other primary interests; KIIS plays Top 40 music, KAMP-FM, like Power 106, also plays Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...
, KXOL has their hurban format, and KHHT
KHHT
KHHT is a radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA with a Rhythmic Oldies musical format. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications.-KFAC:...
their Rhythmic Adult Contemporary direction. After KDAY began shifting to Old-School Hip-Hop in August 2009
2009 in radio
The following events occurred in radio in 2009.- Events :* January 1: Kurdish TV starts broadcasting in Turkey.* January: Michael Smerconish, morning host at talk radio WPHT Philadelphia, begins syndication of his morning show to WHFS in Washington and WOR in New York City.* January 17: Two well...
, KPWR briefly increased its playlist with Hip-Hop currents, but as of 2010 it began embracing Electropop tracks, and with KAMP moving in on their audience with their shift towards Rhythmic, KPWR continues to add Rhythmic Pop tracks in an effort to retain its Hispanic base, as they see KAMP as a serious competitor. As of 2011, Power 106 had decreased the amount of plays they give to Rhythmic Pop tracks so it can focus on R&B/Hip Hop product, but given the changing taste among its listeners, it continues to add the occasional Rhythmic Pop/Dance track.
Although Power 106 had moved away from the Dance music scene in favor of Hip-Hop, KPWR continues to support the genre through the program "Power Tools", produced by Gerry Meraz and hosted by Richard Vission. Power Tools, which airs late night Saturday/Early Sunday morning from 2 to 4am, is also the station's longest running program, debuting in 1992. In addition, they do revisit their Dance and Freestyle music
Freestyle music
Freestyle or Latin freestyle, sometimes referred to as Latin hip hop, is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1980s. Mostly popular during the mid 80s to the early 90s...
roots during their mixes, especially The World Famous Aquanet Set, which they air on Fridays. In 2008 KPWR began phasing in current Dance and Rhythmic Pop crossovers into their daily and weekend mix shows again, as evidenced by addition of the daily noontime "Power 106 Party Mix," which replaced the Old School mixshow.
For a time in 1996, Power 106 switched genres and began to focus more on house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
which then was very popular among Latino listeners. They began to play less hip-hop, as many listeners switched over to former rival KKBT. They eventually reverted to Hip-Hop/R&B by the fall of that year, and hired former
security guard Big Boy
Big Boy (radio host)
Big Boy is a radio host currently heard on Los Angeles Rhythmic contemporary station KPWR in the mornings from 5 to 10, as well as numerous radio stations across the United States...
to host the morning show, replacing the veteran Baka Boyz. The Baka Boyz were moved to afternoons, before being dropped by Power and moving to KKBT in 1999, where they would only last several months before KKBT switched genres. The Baka Boyz later moved to San Diego and worked for XHMORE ("Blazin 98.9 FM"), a Rhythmic Top 40 radio station with the same format as Power 106. The Baka Boyz has since left that station and now concentrate on their syndicated Hip-Hop remix show "The Baka Boyz Master Mix."
In May 2010, KPWR began streaming the station online.
In September 2011, Power 106 was named Large Market CHR Radio station of the year and awarded the Marconi
NAB Marconi Radio Awards
The Marconi Radio Awards are presented annually by the National Association of Broadcasters to the top radio stations and on-air personalities in the United States. The awards are named in honor of Guglielmo Marconi, the man generally credited as the "Father of Wireless Telegraphy." NAB member...
at the National Association of Broadcasters
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association, workers union, and lobby group representing the interests of for-profit, over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States...
convention in Chicago, Illinois.
On September 19, 2011, Power 106 partnered with Jelli.com and launched a Facebook integrated music streaming platform that was announced at Facebook's f8 convention. Power 106's jelli station www.jelli.com/power106 features new music that is promoted on Power 106's New@2 program. Listeners can "rocket" songs up and vote them off the playlist with a "bomb". Songs can be dedicated and sent to friends via email and on their Facebook pages.
KPWR-HD subchannels
KPWR launched a Spanish-language HD2HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
subcarrier channel called Power Dos in August 2006. A press release from Emmis describes the new channel as a “bilingual and musically extended version” of KPWR. Power Dos left the air in 2008 due to lack of interest. http://www.billboardradiomonitor.com/radiomonitor/search/article_display.jsp?schema=&vnu_content_id=1002385867
On 2008-09-08, Emmis announced a programming partnership with WorldBand Media
WorldBand Media
WorldBand Media Inc. is a North American media company specializing in the production and distribution of ethnic based media content. It currently owns and operates HumDesi Radio, a national South Asian radio network broadcasting in The United States and on a number of digital platforms across...
, using KPWR's HD-3 signal to produce programming for the South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
n communities in 3 major cities including Los Angeles. The said content began in Mid-October 2008, and by the Summer of 2009 moved to HD2, replacing Power Dos.
Big Boy's Neighborhood
Big BoyBig Boy (radio host)
Big Boy is a radio host currently heard on Los Angeles Rhythmic contemporary station KPWR in the mornings from 5 to 10, as well as numerous radio stations across the United States...
's Neighborhood is the nationally-syndicated morning show for KPWR.
Big Boy is best known in the local area for his billboards. In early 2002, Big Boy was morbidly obese; Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
agreed to donate to a charity of Big Boy's choice an amount equal to $1,000 times the number of pounds he lost, if he could lose 50 pounds. Through a strict diet and by using a personal trainer, Big Boy lost 110 pounds, and as promised, Will Smith donated $110,000 to charity. By 2003, Big Boy had gained all the weight back, plus some, and weighed 510 pounds. In November 2003, Big Boy underwent duodenal switch surgery and has since lost more than 250 pounds (114 kg). KPWR billboards showed off his new look after his surgery.
On August 6, 2007, Big Boy
Big Boy (radio host)
Big Boy is a radio host currently heard on Los Angeles Rhythmic contemporary station KPWR in the mornings from 5 to 10, as well as numerous radio stations across the United States...
signed a multi-year deal with ABC Radio Networks (now Citadel Media) to syndicate the show, and his weekend show formerly called Big Boy's Hip Hop Spot.http://abcradionetworks.com/Article.asp?id=348079 The show launched nationally on August 20. Big Boy will continue to work for Emmis, thus KPWR is now the flagship station for the originally locally based morning show. In the fall of 2008, the show began to air on KPWR's sister station, WQHT Hot 97 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but after enduring lackluster ratings, WQHT dropped Big Boy's Neighborhood for an expanded local morning show hosted by Cipha Sounds
Cipha Sounds
Cipha Sounds is an American radio and television personality of Puerto Rican descent...
& Rosenberg in July 2009.
On February 17, 2010, Citadel announced that it will no longer carry Big Boy's Neighborhood and that its last national broadcast would be March 22, 2010. But on March 26, Big Boy's Neighborhood found a new syndicator when it moved over to Dial Global
Dial Global
Dial Global is a radio syndication company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Triton Media Group and is a sister company to Townsquare Media, both of which are owned by Oaktree Capital Management....
.
Big Boy, along with Luscious Liz from the 'Neighborhood' starred in an episode of Entourage as well as an episode of Nick Cannon
Nick Cannon
Nicholas Scott "Nick" Cannon is an American actor, comedian, rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, radio, and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenage sketch comedian on All That before going on to host The Nick Cannon Show, Wild 'N Out, and America's Got Talent...
's sketch comedy show Wild'n'out. In addition, Big Boy also appeared in an episode of For the Love of Ray J
For the Love of Ray J
For the Love of Ray J is a dating show on VH1 featuring hip hop singer Ray J. The program has a format similar to Flavor of Love, I Love New York, and Rock of Love. One source notes that it "will be produced by the same geniuses" as those shows, 51 Minds...
.
On July 27, 2010, sidekick Tattoo is no longer with the show. http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/78556/tattoo-out-of-big-boy-s-neighborhood
Big Boy is the recipient of 2 National Association of Broadcasting Marconi Awards for Major Market Personality of the Year.
On August 22, 2011, Luscious Liz Hernandez leaves Big Boy's Radio and is now with E! News. http://djomry.com/blog/luscious-liz-hernandez-leaves-power-106
Flava Unit
The Power 106 Flava Unit is the Promotions Team that goes out on the streets of Los Angeles and promotes the radio station and it's advertising partners to the city, specifically targeting urban Latino youth. The Flava Unit consists of at least one MC, "rocking the mic", and is sometimes partnered with a Flava Unit Mixer (the disc jocky). They are also there to help when there are live broadcasts that consist of the on-air jocks and/or mixers.Some notable Flava Unit Alumni include DJ Reflex (on-air mixer), DJ Los (on-air mixer), DJ Sourmilk (on-air mixer), DJ Eric-D-Lux and DJ Big Syphe (afternoon on-air talent and mixers), DJ J-Boogie (currently the host of "CW Now", "Yo Momma" on MTV, and the show "TeeNick" on Nickolodean), Mando Fresko
Mando Fresko
Mando Fresko born in Los Angeles , California to a Mexican family is an American Radio Host, Club DJ, Actor, Model and Television Host. Currently, he can be heard on the nation’s biggest hip-hop station, Power 106 FM Los Angeles. There he hosts his own show titled “The Mando Show" bringing over 2...
(currently late-night on-air talent, TV host for LATV
LATV
LATV is a bilingual music and entertainment network. LATV has been on the air in the Los Angeles market as KJLA since 2001 and is distributed through mostly digital television subchannels throughout the United States and Puerto Rico....
, actor, and model), Junior M. (club promoter and marketing specialist), Class1c & Eddy Xpress (KDAY on-air mixers), and DJ Virman (who would later form the Electropop/Hip-Hop act Far East Movement
Far east movement
Far East Movement is an Asian American electro hop quartet based in Los Angeles. The group formed in 2003 and consists of Kev Nish , Prohgress , J-Splif , and DJ Virman...
).
Current Jocks
Big Boy's Neighborhood- Big BoyBig Boy (radio host)Big Boy is a radio host currently heard on Los Angeles Rhythmic contemporary station KPWR in the mornings from 5 to 10, as well as numerous radio stations across the United States...
Sports Dude, Jeff Garcia
Rikki Martinez, Entertainment Reporter
Louis G, man on the streets
10a-3p
- Yesi Ortiz
3-7p
DJ Felli Fel
7p-12a
J Cruz
Midnight-5a
- Mando FreskoMando FreskoMando Fresko born in Los Angeles , California to a Mexican family is an American Radio Host, Club DJ, Actor, Model and Television Host. Currently, he can be heard on the nation’s biggest hip-hop station, Power 106 FM Los Angeles. There he hosts his own show titled “The Mando Show" bringing over 2...