All Access Special: Year End Hot Picks & 10 Questions - The Best Of 2021

Year End Best Of 2021

It's time to look back on all the fantastic music and quotes from 2021. In our annual ALL ACCESS SPECIAL: YEAR END HOT PICKS & 10 QUESTIONS – THE BEST OF 2021, our format editors have collected Top 5 Year End Hot Picks from programmers and music execs to bring you the Best Of 2021 on our Hot Picks pages in each format and all the best quotes from our weekly 10 Questions interviews.

Year End Hot Picks - The Best Of 2021

Find all the Top 5 lists of 2021 submitted on our Year End Hot Picks pages in each format. Below are the #1 Most Picked in each format.

Alternative #1 Album Of 2021: THE WAR ON DRUGS - I Don't Live Here Anymore (ATLANTIC). See the Alternative Best Of Year End Hot Picks here.

Contemporary Christian #1 Song Of 2021: ANNE WILSON - My Jesus (CAPITOL CMG). See the Contemporary Christian Best Of Year End Hot Picks here.

Country #1 Song Of 2021: LUKE COMBS - Forever After All (RIVER HOUSE/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE). See the Country Best Of Year End Hot Picks here.

Hot AC #1 Song Of 2021: DUA LIPA- Levitating (INTERSCOPE/WARNER). See the Hot AC Best Of Year End Hot Picks here. 

Rock #1 Album Of 2021: MAMMOTH WVH – Mammoth WVH (EX1 RECORDS). See the Rock Best Of Year End Hot Picks here.

Top 40/Mainstream #1 Song Of 2021:  OLIVIA RODRIGO – good 4 u (GEFFEN/INTERSCOPE). See the Top 40 Mainstream Best Of Year End Hot Picks here.

Top 40-Rhythmic #1 Song Of 2021:  RODDY RICCH - Late At Night (ATLANTIC). See the Top 40 Rhythmic Best Of Year End Hot Picks here.

Triple A #1 Album Of 2021: ARLO PARKS - Collapsed In Sunbeams (TRANSGRESSIVE/[PIAS]). See the Triple A Best Of Year End Hot Picks here.   

 Urban/R&B #1 Song Of 2021: (tie) BRUNO MARS/A .PAAK/SILK SONIC – Leave The Door Open (ATLANTIC) / WIZKID – Essence f/Tems (STARBOY/RCA). See the Urban/R&B Best Of Year End Hot Picks here. 

10 Questions - The Best Of 2021 

In addition to 2021 Year End Hot Picks, we have culled the top quotes each week in 2021 to bring you The Best Of 10 Questions in each format. Click the links below to read the top quotes from each format. 

Alternative Best Of 10 Questions: COX Alternative WSUN (97X)/TAMPA & WXXJ (X106.5)/JACKSONVILLE Dir./Branding & Programming JENNA KESNECK said, "One of the most important challenges we face as a format is how we own new music. We have the ability to tell the story behind the artist or the song and as an industry we can’t take that for granted. The next generation of radio listeners have the world at their fingertips with DSPs, Tik Tok & Reels, but I believe we have a seat at that table in new music ownership—it just takes a different kind of work."  See the Best Of Alternative 10 Questions here.

Contemporary Christian Best Of 10 Questions:  EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION Contemporary Worship AIR 1 NETWORK "CJ & LAUREN Show" CJ LUSK shared, "Always stay humble. Being on the radio can trick you into thinking that what you have to say is interesting. I like to assume most people are too busy to care. The world is loud! It makes me earn their attention. Also, I'm never above throwing everything I think I know out the window and trying something new." See the Best Of Contemporary Christian 10 Questions here.

Country Best Of 10 Questions: iHEARTMEDIA Country KASE/AUSTIN afternoon host ALEK HALVERSON (now also PD of KAJA (KJ97)/SAN ANTONIO) said: “I started my show in AUSTIN, while I was still living in SEATTLE. It was a wild time to move. Right when I got to AUSTIN, I couldn’t go in the building for 10 days because of my recent travel. So it wasn’t until the third month of my time with iHEART until I made it to the AUSTIN studios. When I finally made it, we were limited to the hours we could go in the building to try and limit how many people were there. I’m old enough to remember when this was supposed to be a two-week thing, to flatten the curve. But, here we are. I think we have all become ZOOM/TEAMS professionals.” See the Best Of Country 10 Questions here.

Hot AC/AC Best Of 10 Questions: AUDACY Hot AC KLLC (ALICE@ 97.3)/SAN FRANCISCO APD/MD/Afternoon Host JAYN said, "You know that feeling of going to get a drink with that one best friend of yours who you love everything about? Who you want to call every five minutes to discuss every new story or to just talk about how much you love a certain song or meme? That’s how I feel every day from 3-7pm…hanging out and talking with my best friend. Sidenote; I only ever talk on the air to ‘you’ - not 'you guys.' It’s always just you and me." See the Best Of Hot AC/AC 10 Questions here.

News/Talk/Sports Best Of 10 Questions: GOOD KARMA BRANDS Sports WKNR-A (850 ESPN CLEVELAND)/CLEVELAND Dir./Content MATT FISHMAN said, "The more a host can be relatable in everyday life -- the better he or she can connect with a fan. That’s why it is important for good sports talent to not just know sports, but to be able to talk about life." See the Best Of News/Talk/Sports here.

Rock Best Of 10 Questions:  BAHAKEL Active Rock KILO/COLORADO SPRINGS, CO APD/MD/Afternoons’ SID BLACK said, “The only adjustment to MD is sitting down and scheduling. Music conversations are had with everyone on the staff, programming or not. All of us are music geeks so that conversation is had naturally. From my experience over the years, I know what does/doesn't work with our station. It’s smooth sailing from there.” See the Best Of Rock 10 Questions here.

Top 40/Mainstream Best Of 10 Questions: iHEARTMEDIA Top 40 KIIS (102.7 KISS FM)/LOS ANGELES PM Driver JOJO WRIGHT said, "I must admit, I’ve had some wild artist moments. Probably the most talked about is my MICHAEL JACKSON cake fight story. Long story short, I hosted a fundraiser at Neverland in 2003, which ended with MICHAEL JACKSON smashing cake in my face! After thrashing Nick and AARON CARTER with cake, MJ spun around and there I was, face to face with the KING OF POP! He paused, I blurted ‘Hit Me MICHAEL,’ he responded ‘Are you sure’.. “YES”!!! I ended up showering in a guest house at Neverland, the entire story is just so surreal.”   

“One time ARIANA GRANDE approached me the day before HALLOWEEN, “let’s take over the radio station and do a Halloween show!” So, the following day (Saturday), snuck into the building, jumped on air (only a few select people knew), surprised everyone!”  

“And perhaps the most embarrassing, I once accidentally hit NICK JONAS in the ‘junk.’ I went to give him a hug before WANGO TANGO, unfortunately my laptop bag swung and hit him with such precision that he hit the ground! Absolutely terrible. And hilarious. And terrible. Oh, DEMI LOVATO was there too. Not my finest moment, but we’ve laughed about it for years now.” See the Best Of Top 40 Mainstream 10 Questions here.

Top 40-Rhythmic Best Of 10 Questions:  MEDIACO Top 40/Rhythm WQHT (HOT 97)/NEW YORK SVP/Content & Operations PIO FERRO said, "The value of a great team and how important it is to make sure I am always available to create, problem solve, and sometimes just listen. Surrounding yourself with the right people takes a whole new meaning when you don’t see each other day to day." Find the Best Of Top 40/Rhythmic 10 Questions here.

Triple A Best Of 10 Questions: UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Triple A WXPN/PHILADELPHIA OM/MD DAN REED said, “You know, we had to do something. We all miss RITA very, very much, and I think we have a great salute to her and her contribution to the NON-COMMvention this year when we announce our first recipient of the ‘RITA HOUSTON Spirit Of NON-COMM Award.’” Find the Best Of Triple A 10 Questions here.

Urban/R&B Best Of 10 Questions: Former COX R&B WOKV-HD2 & Urban WJGL-HD2/JACKSONVILLE, FL Dir./Branding & Programming CLARENCE NATTO said, "One of the founders of Intuit, Scott D. Clark famously said, “A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is, it’s what they tell each other it is.” Keep your fingers on the pulse of your audience so that you can continue to deliver content they can’t get anywhere else and remain agile so that you can pivot to meet their needs." Find the Best Of Urban/R&B 10 Questions here.

A big thank you to everyone who contributed to the 2021 ALL ACCESS SPECIAL.

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