Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet storm and rock influence. Adult contemporary is generally a continuation of the easy listening and soft rock style that became popular in the 1960s and 1970s with some adjustments that reflect the evolution of pop/rock music.

Adult contemporary tends to have lush, soothing and highly polished qualities where emphasis on melody and harmonies is accentuated. It is usually melodic enough to get a listener's attention, abstains from profanity or complex lyricism, and is most commonly used as background music in heavily-frequented family areas such as supermarkets, shopping malls, convention centers, or restaurants. Like most of pop music, its songs tend to be written in a basic format employing a verse–chorus structure. The format is heavy on romantic sentimental ballads which mostly use acoustic instruments (though bass guitar is usually used) such as acoustic guitars, pianos, saxophones, and sometimes an orchestral set. The electric guitars are normally faint and high-pitched. However, recent adult contemporary music may feature synthesizers (and other electronics, such as drum machines).

An AC radio station may play mainstream music, but it usually excludes hip hop and some forms of dance-pop and teen pop, as these are less popular among adults, the target demographic. AC radio often targets the 25–44 age group, the demographic that has received the most attention from advertisers since the 1960s. A common practice in recent years of adult contemporary stations is to play less newer music and more hits of the past, even some songs that never even charted the AC charts.  This de-emphasis on new songs slows the progression of the AC chart.

Over the years, AC has spawned subgenres including "hot AC" (also known as "modern AC"), "soft AC" (also known as "lite AC"), "urban AC" (a softer type of urban contemporary music), "rhythmic AC" (a softer type of rhythmic contemporary), and "Christian AC" (a softer type of contemporary Christian music). Some stations play only "hot AC", "soft AC", or only one of the variety of subgenres. Therefore, it is not usually considered a specific genre of music; it is merely an assemblage of selected songs from artists of many different genres.

History

1960s: Early roots; easy listening and soft rock

Adult contemporary traces its roots to the 1960s easy listening format, which adopted a 70—80% instrumental to 20–30% vocal mix. A few offered 90% instrumentals, and a handful were entirely instrumental. The easy listening format, as it was first known, was born of a desire by some radio stations in the late 1950s and early 1960s to continue playing current hit songs but distinguish themselves from being branded as "rock and roll" stations. Billboard first published the Easy Listening chart July 17, 1961, with 20 songs; the first number one was "Boll Weevil Song" by Brook Benton. The chart described itself as "not too far out in either direction".

Initially, the vocalists consisted of artists such as Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Johnny Mathis, Connie Francis, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, and others. The custom recordings were usually instrumental versions of current or recent rock and roll or pop hit songs, a move intended to give the stations more mass appeal without selling out. Some stations would also occasionally play earlier big band-era recordings from the 1940s and early 1950s.

After 1965, differences between the Hot 100 chart and the Easy Listening chart became more pronounced. Better reflecting what middle of the road stations were actually playing, the composition of the chart changed dramatically. As rock music continued to harden, there was much less crossover between the Hot 100 and Easy Listening chart than there had been in the early half of the 1960s. Roger Miller, Barbra Streisand and Bobby Vinton were among the chart's most popular performers.

One big impetus for the development of the AC radio format was that, when rock and roll music first became popular in the mid-1950s, many more conservative radio stations wanted to continue to play current hit songs while shying away from rock. These middle of the road (or "MOR") stations also frequently included older, pre-rock-era adult standards and big band titles to further appeal to adult listeners who had grown up with those songs.

Another big impetus for the evolution of the AC radio format was the popularity of easy listening or "beautiful music" stations, stations with music specifically designed to be purely ambient. Whereas most easy listening music was instrumental, created by relatively unknown artists, and rarely purchased (especially as singles, although Jackie Gleason's beautiful music albums sold well in the 1950s), AC was an attempt to create a similar "lite" format by choosing certain tracks (both hit singles and album cuts) of popular artists.

1970s: Soft rock forms as a radio format

By the late 1960s hard rock had been established as one of the rock genres leading hard rock and soft rock to became distinct popular forms in the rock scene, and as major radio formats in the US. Soft rock was often derived from folk rock, using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on melody and harmonies. Major artists included Carole King, Cat Stevens, James Taylor and Bread.

In the early 1970s, softer songs by The Carpenters, Anne Murray, John Denver, Barry Manilow, and even Barbra Streisand, began to be played more often on "Top 40" radio. Top 40 radio stations played the Top 40 hits regardless of genre.  As the texture of much of the music played on Top 40 radio began to soften, the Hot 100 and Easy Listening/AC charts became more similar. Easy Listening radio began playing songs by artists who had begun in other genres, such as rock and roll or R&B. Much of the music recorded by singer-songwriters such as Diana Ross, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Carole King and Janis Ian got as much, if not more, airplay on AC stations than on Top 40 stations. AC stations also began playing softer songs by Elvis Presley, Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, and other rock-based artists. Soon after, the adult contemporary format began evolving into the sound that later defined it, with rock-oriented acts as Chicago and the Eagles, becoming associated with the format. In addition, several early disco songs, did well on the Adult Contemporary format.

Soft rock reached its commercial peak in the mid-to-late 1970s with acts such as Toto, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Air Supply, Seals and Crofts, Dan Fogelberg, America and the reformed Fleetwood Mac, whose Rumours (1977) was the best-selling album of the decade. By 1977, some radio stations, notably New York's WTFM and NBC-owned WYNY, and Boston's WEEI, had switched to an all-soft rock format. As Softrock 103, WEEI was famous for its promotional campaigns, featuring slogans such as "Joni, without the baloni." and "The Byrds, without the nyrds."  However, different forms of popular music  targeted to different demographic groups, such as disco vs. hard rock, began to emerge in the late-1970s. This led to specialized radio stations that played specific genres of music, and generally followed the evolution of artists in those genres.

1980s: Adult contemporary succeeds as radio format

On April 7, 1979, the Easy Listening chart officially became known as Adult Contemporary, and those two words have remained consistent in the name of the chart ever since. Adult contemporary music became one of the most popular radio formats of the 1980s. The growth of AC was a natural result of the generation that first listened to the more "specialized" music of the mid-late 1970s growing older and not being interested in the heavy metal and rap/hip-hop music that a new generation helped to play a significant role in the Top 40 charts by the end of the decade.

Mainstream AC itself has evolved in a similar fashion over the years; traditional AC artists such as Barbra Streisand, the Carpenters, Dionne Warwick, Barry Manilow, John Denver, and Olivia Newton-John found it harder to have major Top 40 hits as the 1980s wore on, and due to the influence of MTV, artists who were staples of the Contemporary Hit Radio format, such as Richard Marx, Michael Jackson, Bonnie Tyler, George Michael, Phil Collins, Laura Branigan and Journey began crossing over to the AC charts with greater frequency. Collins has been described by AllMusic as "one of the most successful pop and adult contemporary singers of the '80s and beyond". However, with the combination of MTV and AC radio, adult contemporary appeared harder to define as a genre, with established soft-rock artists of the past still charting pop hits and receiving airplay alongside mainstream radio fare from newer artists at the time.

The amount of crossover between the AC chart and the Hot 100 has varied based on how much the passing pop music trends of the times appealed to adult listeners. Not many disco or new wave songs were particularly successful on the AC chart during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and much of the hip-hop and harder rock music featured on CHR formats later in the decade would have been unacceptable on AC radio.

Although dance-oriented, electronic pop and ballad-oriented rock dominated the 1980s, soft rock songs still enjoyed a mild success thanks to Sheena Easton, Amy Grant, Lionel Richie, Christopher Cross, Dan Hill, Leo Sayer, Billy Ocean, Julio Iglesias, Bertie Higgins, and Tommy Page. No song spent more than six weeks at No. 1 on this chart during the 1980s, with nine songs accomplishing that feat. Two of these were by Lionel Richie, "You Are" in 1983 and "Hello" in 1984, which also reached No. 1 on the Hot 100.

In 1989, Linda Ronstadt released Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind, described by critics as "the first true Adult Contemporary album of the decade", featuring American soul singer Aaron Neville on several of the twelve tracks. The album was certified Triple Platinum in the United States alone and became a major success throughout the globe. The Grammy Award-winning singles, "Don't Know Much" and "All My Life", were both long-running No. 1 Adult Contemporary hits. Several additional singles from the disc made the AC Top 10 as well. The album won over many critics in the need to define AC, and appeared to change the tolerance and acceptance of AC music into mainstream day to day radio play.

1990s: Subgenre formations/radio crossovers

The early 1990s marked the softening of urban R&B in the shape of new jack swing, at the same time alternative rock emerged and traditional pop saw a significant resurgence. This in part led to a widening of the market, not only allowing to cater to more niche markets, but it also became customary for artists to make AC-friendly singles. At the same time, the genre began adopting elements from hard rock as tastes were shifting towards louder music, while AC stations in general began playing more rock acts. "Softer" features such as light instrumental music (carried over from the beautiful music format—many AC stations carried the format until the early 1970s), new age songs and most pre-1964 artists were gradually phased out from AC radio throughout the early to mid-1990s.

Unlike the majority of 1980s mainstream singers, the 1990s mainstream pop/R&B singers such as All-4-One, Boyz II Men, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys and Savage Garden generally crossed over to the AC charts. Latin pop artists such as Lynda Thomas, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Selena, Enrique Iglesias and Luis Miguel also enjoyed success in the AC charts.

In addition to Celine Dion, who has had significant success on this chart, other artists with multiple number ones on the AC chart in the 1990s include Mariah Carey, Phil Collins, Michael Bolton, Bryan Adams, Whitney Houston and Shania Twain. Newer female Adult album alternative singer-songwriters such as Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant, Jewel, Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow also broke through on the AC chart during this time.

In 1996, Billboard created a new chart called Adult Top 40, which reflects programming on radio stations that exists somewhere between "adult contemporary" music and "pop" music. Although they are sometimes mistaken for each other, the Adult Contemporary chart and the Adult Top 40 chart are separate charts, and songs reaching one chart might not reach the other. In addition, hot AC is another subgenre of radio programming that is distinct from the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart as it exists today, despite the apparent similarity in name.

In response to the pressure on Hot AC, a new kind of AC format cropped up among American radio recently. The urban adult contemporary format (a term coined by Barry Mayo) usually attracts a large number of African Americans and sometimes Caucasian listeners through playing a great deal of R&B (without any form of rapping), gospel music, classic soul and dance music (including disco).

Another format, rhythmic AC, in addition to playing all the popular hot and soft AC music, past and present, places a heavy emphasis on disco as well as 1980s and 1990s dance hits, such as those by Amber, and Black Box, and includes dance remixes of pop songs, such as the Soul Solution mix of Toni Braxton's "Unbreak My Heart".

In its early years of existence, the smooth jazz format was considered to be a form of AC, although it was mainly instrumental, and related a stronger resemblance to the soft AC-styled music. For many years, George Benson, Kenny G and Dave Koz had all had crossover hits that were played on both smooth jazz and soft AC stations.

2000s–present: AC music goes mainstream and mainstream music goes AC

During the 2000s, the AC market gained an increased presence in the music industry, as its radio formats were popular nationwide—Smooth jazz and "Urban AC" stations were ubiquitous in the East Coast, while Soft rock and "adult standards" stations were common in the Midwest, and pop-oriented "Hot AC" and "world music"/Hispanic AC stations were easily found in the West Coast and the "Sun Belt". This led to the presence of numerous genres on the AC charts, often crossing to the "pop" charts, winning over many critics in the need to define AC, and increased the tolerance and acceptance of AC music into mainstream day-to-day radio play.

Josh Groban's single "You Raise Me Up" and Michael Bublé's cover of "Fever" are often cited as key examples of the high production values and ballad-heavy sound that defined 2000s-era AC, often dubbed as "jazz-pop", heavily carrying classical, jazz and traditional pop influences. Artists such as Nick Lachey, James Blunt, Jamie Cullum, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Amy Winehouse and Susan Boyle also achieved great success during this period. During most of the 2000s, country music/countrypolitan musicians such as Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes and Carrie Underwood scored hits on soft AC, particularly in Southern states. A popular trend in the late 1990s and 2000s was remixing dance music hits into adult contemporary ballads, especially in the US, (for example, the "Candlelight Mix" versions of "Heaven" by DJ Sammy, "Listen To Your Heart" by D.H.T., and "Everytime We Touch" by Cascada).

Key to the success of AC in the 2000s was the 25–34 demographic which had outgrown the pop music offerings of the time, most new rock became too alternative and harsh for AC radio and most new pop was now influenced heavily by dance-pop, hip-hop and electronic dance music. At the same time, the music industry also began to focus on older audiences and markets generally considered "niche".

During the late 2000s, certain pop songs began entering the AC charts instead, generally after having recently fallen off the Hot 100. Adrian Moreira, senior vice president for adult music for RCA Music Group, said, "We've seen a fairly tidal shift in what AC will play". Rather than emphasizing older songs, adult contemporary now began playing many of the same songs as top 40 and adult top 40, but only after the hits had become established. An article on MTV's website by Corey Moss describes this trend as: "In other words, AC stations are where pop songs go to die a very long death. Or, to optimists, to get a second life." As adult contemporary has long characterized itself as family-friendly, "clean" versions of pop songs began appearing on the AC chart, as were the cases of "Perfect" by P!nk, and "Forget You" by Cee Lo Green, both in 2011.

AC radio's shift into more mainstream pop was a result of the changes on the broadcasting landscape following the 2005–2007 economic downturn and eventual recession, as advertisers preferred more profitable chart-based formats, which meant the demise of many AC-based formulas, primarily those aimed at older audiences, with tastes changing towards more modern music among all age groups. Diminishing physical record sales throughout the 2010s also proved a major blow to the AC genre, and there are concerns that the portable people meter, a device being used to determine radio listenership, may be incompatible with AC songs and may not accurately pick up that a person is listening to an AC station because of the pitches and frequencies used in the style.

Key AC artists of the early to mid-2010s included Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Adele, Arcade Fire, Meghan Trainor, Maroon 5 and Ed Sheeran, featuring a more pop-influenced, uptempo style than the typical AC fare of previous years, also featuring production values reminiscent of the Motown sound and the so-called Wall of Sound that dominated the soul-heavy pop charts of the early 1960s, when the Easy Listening chart was first introduced. The earlier years of the decade also saw alternative and indie rock acts such as Wilco, Feist, The 1975, Imagine Dragons, Mumford & Sons, Of Monsters and Men and The Lumineers quickly becoming AC mainstays, although these were eventually replaced by rhythm-based rock bands such as Panic! at the Disco, Neon Trees, X Ambassadors, Sheppard, Bastille, American Authors, Fitz and the Tantrums, Foster the People, Twenty One Pilots, Walk the Moon and Milky Chance.

During the middle of the decade, newer artists such as CeeLo Green, OneRepublic, Rachel Platten, Christina Perri, Andy Grammer, James Bay, Sara Bareilles, Shawn Mendes, Sia, Sam Smith, Gavin Degraw, Charlie Puth and Colbie Caillat as well as acts that were popular in the 1990s and early 2000s such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were added to the rotation of most AC stations.

As trap music and similar styles of hip-hop began dominating top 40 stations during the last years of the 2010s, AC stations began picking up rhythmic artists like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Ellie Goulding, Taio Cruz and Pitbull as well as EDM artists like Avicii, Daft Punk, Calvin Harris, David Guetta and Tiesto. Meanwhile, younger artists like Camila Cabello, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Nick Jonas and the Jonas Brothers and Halsey began to be featured on AC stations more than on top 40 stations.

Adult contemporary formats
In radio broadcasting, adult contemporary is divided into several sub-formats, each with their own musical direction and demographic targeting. Hot adult contemporary formats generally feature an uptempo rotation of recent hits that appeal to a wide adult audience. A station formatted as "adult contemporary" with no qualifier, also referred to as "mainstream adult contemporary", generally has a similar playlist to hot AC stations, but with a broader rotation of classic hits from past decades.

Soft adult contemporary formats have a more conservative sound oriented primarily towards adult women, urban AC focuses on R&B and soul music that appeal to African American adults, and rhythmic AC focuses on dance music and other rhythmic genres.

Hot adult contemporary

Hot adult contemporary (hot AC) radio stations play a wide range of the present day's popular music that appeals towards the 18–54 age group; it serves as a middle ground between the youth-oriented contemporary hit radio (CHR) format, and adult contemporary formats (such as "mainstream" and soft AC) that are typically targeted towards a more mature demographic. They generally feature uptempo hit music with wide appeal, such as pop and pop rock songs, while excluding more youth-oriented music such as hip-hop. Recurrents usually reflect familiar and youthful music that adults had grown up with. Likewise, mature material from pop acts such as the Backstreet Boys, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, and Pink have also been prominent within the format.

The "hot AC" designation began to appear in the 1990s; the term described adult contemporary stations with a more energetic presentation and uptempo sound than their softer counterparts. An early example of the format, Houston's KHMX Mix 96.5, climbed from 14th place in the market to third in the six months after its launch. The station's format and branding was widely replicated by other stations. Many hot AC outlets are among the top stations in their respective market.

Initially focused more on pop rock, the format has evolved to reflect changes in the composition of this audience; by the mid-2000s, the format had evolved to include more uptempo pop music, while alternative and indie rock crossovers (such as Foster the People, Imagine Dragons, Lovelytheband, and Twenty One Pilots) became more prevalent within the format during the 2010s.

These developments helped to expand the popularity of the format among younger listeners such as millennials; Nielsen Audio ranked hot AC as the third most-popular format among millennials, behind pop and country music. Of the format's expanding demographic reach, WOMX-FM program director Dana Taylor stated that hot AC stations "may not be the radio station that everybody agrees on, but it's a radio station that everybody goes, 'I'm okay with that'." The increasingly downtempo direction of pop hits in the mid-to-late 2010's also helped to attract additional listeners.

Hot AC stations typically keep a larger body of recent hits in rotation than those with rigid, chart-driven formats like CHR and urban contemporary. As these stations' playlists have become concentrated towards airing only the current hits at a given time, hot AC airplay can build and sustain a song's popularity over a long-term period. This effect has been credited in helping build an audience for early singles from new acts such as Adele, Rachel Platten ("Fight Song", which gained prominence for its use during Hillary Clinton's 2016 US presidential election campaign), and Max Schneider (whose 2016 single "Lights Down Low", over a year after its original release, became a sleeper hit on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 and Hot 100 due in part to strong hot AC airplay).

The popularity of the hot AC format prompted many mainstream AC stations to add uptempo music to their playlists, while still maintaining a deeper rotation of older hits than hot AC stations.

Modern adult contemporary
Modern adult contemporary refers to AC formats with a stronger lean towards modern rock and pop rock.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, modern AC was typically targeted towards women, with Mike Marino of KMXB in Las Vegas describing the format as reaching "an audience that has outgrown the edgier hip-hop or alternative music but hasn't gotten old and sappy enough for the soft ACs." The format typically focused on female rock acts such as Shawn Colvin, Sheryl Crow, Indigo Girls, Jewel, and Sarah McLachlan, and folk rock-influenced bands such as Counting Crows and The Wallflowers. Today, the format is fairly uncommon, with KTCZ in the Minnesota Twin Cities being one of the few modern AC stations left.

Soft adult contemporary

The Soft adult contemporary format typically targets women 25–54 and at-work listening. Soft AC playlists are generally conservative in comparison to hot AC, focusing on pop and power ballads, soft rock, and other familiar, light hits. Upon its establishment in the 1980s, the soft AC format was positioned as being a more upbeat version of easy listening that would appeal better to a younger audience, mainly by excluding instrumental beautiful music. Easy listening stations had begun shifting to the format out of concern that their existing programming would not appeal to the current generation of listeners.

In a 1990 article, James Warren of the Chicago Tribune characterized soft AC stations as being "as middle-of-the-road and unthreatening as modern media get", with personalities that were encouraged to be as inoffensive and "low-profile" as possible, and a more conservative music library than hot AC-leaning stations. In particular, Chicago's WLIT did not have its airstaff talk over the beginning and endings of songs (in contrast to the hot AC-leaning WFYR), and played Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonite" but not "Old Time Rock and Roll" (which was part of WTMX's playlist). The director of a soft AC station in Connecticut, WEZN-FM, told Warren that he had barred the reading of top-of-hour news headlines, so that listeners wouldn't be tempted to tune away to an all-news station to learn more.

Soft AC stations tend to be more selective in their music libraries than other adult contemporary stations, preferring proven songs over current hits. Upon the onset of the format's popularity, core artists typically included singers such as Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Johnny Mathis, and Barbra Streisand. By the 1990s, to improve their appeal among changing demographics, some soft AC stations began to widen their playlist to include selections from contemporary acts with 80s, & 90s, musicians & bands such as Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, Roxette, Mariah Carey, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Elton John, Cher, Whitney Houston, Journey, and Queen. On the other hand, by 1996, New York's WLTW had begun to phase out its softer music in favor of a more uptempo direction.

In 2017, Inside Radio reported that soft AC had the third-largest decrease in US stations offering the format over the past decade (at 128), ranking behind only adult standards and oldies—a shift credited to aging demographics and a major boom in the wider-appealing classic hits format (which saw the largest overall increase over the same period). Consultant Gary Berkowitz argued that the soft AC format had become increasingly irrelevant in comparison to mainstream and hot AC, due to PPM markets preferring uptempo music.

At the same time, however, soft AC began to experience a resurgence. In April 2016, iHeartMedia flipped its San Francisco classic soul station KISQ to soft AC as The Breeze; as of November 2018, it was the top station in the Bay Area. The trend continued into 2017 and 2018, with iHeartMedia extending its Breeze brand to other soft AC flips, and the brand (among others) being adopted by competitors such as Entercom. Industry analyst Sean Ross argued that older demographics were becoming more lucrative due to changes in listening habits among younger audiences, which prefer digital platforms such as music streaming services over linear terrestrial radio, and also noted how mainstream AC was dependent on the Top 40 charts to break new songs.

Current soft AC stations have continued to feature recurrents such as Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Hall & Oates, and Whitney Houston, while contemporary musicians such as Adele and Michael Bublé have also become modern fixtures of the format. In addition, the soft AC sound has diversified to include more songs that are "safe and universal" and not necessarily "soft", with Ross presenting Examples such as Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)", as well as the retroactively-defined genre of yacht rock. Over time, some stations have gradually adjusted their playlists to include more recurrents from the 1980s and 1970s (although not to the same extent as other "soft oldies" formats, such as MeTV FM, which have also grown in popularity).

Urban adult contemporary
The Urban adult contemporary format focuses primarily on current and classic R&B and soul music,  The format typically targets African-American adults: July 2018 numbers from Nielsen Audio recorded it as the top format among African-Americans 25–54 and 35–64. It also has a sizable popularity among younger listeners, ranking behind urban contemporary as the second-most popular format among African-American adults 18–34 in the same report, with an 18.9 audience share.

The format typically excludes youthful rhythmic music, such as commercial hip-hop and rap, that are usually associated with the urban contemporary format. The urban AC format is also associated with the "quiet storm"—mellower R&B ballads and slow jams, often in a jazz-influenced style. The syndicated evening program Keith Sweat Hotel focuses specifically on such music.

As urban contemporary stations prefer hit-driven hip-hop songs, labels typically service R&B songs to the urban AC format only. Some current R&B musicians have complained that this is an artificial divide that prevents them from reaching a wider, mainstream audience (citing the relatively smaller number of urban AC outlets in comparison to urban and rhythmic), even with attempts to give some singles a hip-hop-influenced sound to improve the potential for crossover appeal. Some acts have attempted to disassociate themselves from "R&B" to reduce the effect of this stigma, although streaming services have helped to expose R&B to a wider audience beyond urban AC radio.

Rhythmic adult contemporary
The Rhythmic adult contemporary format generally focuses on a variety of current and classic dance music, such as dance-pop, hip-hop, and R&B (often resembling a blend of the Classic hits and hot AC formats in practice). The exact composition of current and recurrent content can vary between stations, depending on local cultures and the heritage of rhythmic formats in the market, ranging from late-80s/early-90s dance hits (including latin freestyle), to disco and Motown. Rhythmic hot AC has also been used as a format, popularized by stations such as New York's WKTU.

Smooth adult contemporary

The Smooth adult contemporary format is a variant of the smooth jazz format that incorporates mainstream and/or urban adult contemporary songs; they are designed to appeal to a wider range of demographics than a straight smooth jazz format. Some smooth AC stations may limit their airplay of jazz instrumentals to those by better-known performers such as Kenny G.

Christian adult contemporary
Contemporary Christian music (CCM) has several subgenres, one being "Christian AC". Radio & Records, for instance, lists Christian AC among its format charts. There has been crossover to mainstream and hot AC formats by many of the core artists of the Christian AC genre, notably Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Kathy Troccoli, Steven Curtis Chapman, Plumb, and more recently Big Daddy Weave, Casting Crowns, For King & Country, Lauren Daigle, MercyMe, and Newsboys.

Adult album alternative

The Adult album alternative (triple-A or AAA) format generally features a diverse playlist of music that appeals to an adult audience, with a focus on emerging songs and artists, and often featuring songs that were not released as singles. The exact composition of a triple-A station's playlist can vary, with alternative rock, indie rock, and indie pop commonly used as core genres, and some stations featuring more uncommon genres such as alternative country, Americana, blues, folk music, and world music. NPR observed in 2018 that roughly half of all triple-A stations in the U.S. were non-commercial stations. With the wide variety of music that is serviced to the format, adult album alternative charts have often served as a feeder for the Adult Top 40, and have been credited for breaking acts such as Dave Matthews Band and Lorde.

Christmas music

Since the 1990s it has become common for many AC stations, particularly soft AC stations, to play primarily or exclusively Christmas music during the Christmas season in November and December. While these tend mostly to be contemporary seasonal recordings by the same artists featured under the normal format, most stations will also air at least some vintage holiday tunes from older pop, MOR, and adult standards artists – such as
Boney M., The Carpenters, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Percy Faith, Mannheim Steamroller, Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and Andy Williams – many of whom would never be played on these stations during the rest of the year.

These Christmas music marathons typically start a few weeks before Thanksgiving Day and end after Christmas Day, or sometimes extending to New Year's Day. Afterwards, the stations usually resume their normal music fare. Several stations begin the holiday format much earlier, at the beginning of November especially after Halloween. The roots of this tradition can be traced back to the beautiful music and easy listening stations of the 1960s and 1970s.

Syndicated radio shows and networks carrying the adult contemporary format
 Delilah – One of the US's most popular radio shows, Delilah airs primarily in the evening. Its Christmas Edition airs from mid-November to late December.
 Intelligence for Your Life – Hosted by John Tesh, this show also airs evenings and also on weekends.
 American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest – One version of AT40 airs on US hot AC stations, which is a little different from its Top-40/CHR counterpart.
 Rick Dees Weekly Top 40/Weekly Top 30 – Began offering Hot AC versions of the popular countdown show in June 1996. These shows feature the top 20 Hot AC songs in the US along with about 10 past hits from the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s (decade). A softer "AC" version was added in July 2009 to try to fill in the void left by Casey Kasem ending his AC countdown.
Radio Disney Music Top 30 Countdown, One version is for Hot AC stations, the other version is for Mainstream AC stations. Plays the USA Top 30 songs of the week according to Mediabase and a music rating service called ratethemusic.com. This show, like Rick Dees' show, is distributed by Compass Media Networks.
 Backtrax USA with Kid Kelly – Weekend programs focusing on the '80s and '90s, targeted for hot AC stations.
 ABC and Dial Global both offer AC 24-hour networks programming soft and hot AC.
 Tom Joyner and Steve Harvey have popular morning shows that air on urban AC (and sometimes Hip-Hop) stations. Both shows are often heard on competing stations in the same city, such as St. Louis, Philadelphia and Atlanta. Joyner's show is syndicated by ABC Radio, and Harvey's show by Premiere Radio Networks.
 Retro Rewind with Dave Harris is a weekend-based radio show highlighting a massive playlist of songs from the 1980s and 1990s, interviews, spotlights and contests. The show is done live across the US on Saturday nights, taking audience requests. The show is targeted towards HOT AC and AC radio stations.
 The EZ Rock network is a brand/network of soft AC heard in Canada.
 Heart - A radio network in the UK that grew throughout 2009 as more stations were rebranded as "Heart".
 Smooth Radio – A UK-wide radio network that formed from six regional Smooth Radio stations.
 Smoothfm – A network of two Australian commercial radio stations (based in Sydney and Melbourne) that are focused on providing an eclectic easy-listening playlist, usually featuring ballads.
 Nova – A network of five Australian commercial radio station (based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth) that are very similar to Smoothfm.
 The Breeze – A group of New Zealand adult contemporary radio stations owned by MediaWorks Radio. There are 20 stations currently broadcasting throughout New Zealand.
The Bob and Sheri Show – American morning drive show based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Heard on more than 50 AC stations and the American Forces Network

Former syndicated programming includes Dick Clark's US Music Survey (1996–2005), Casey's Hot 20/Casey's Countdown/American Top 20/10 (1992–2009) and Top 30 USA.

See also
 Adult Contemporary, a chart appearing in Billboard since 1961. This chart is typically (but not exclusively) closer to soft AC.
 New-age music
 Yacht rock

References

External links
 Artists | Ambition Entertainment
 Rebirth Music Productions
 GAD Music Company

20th-century music genres
21st-century music genres
Pop music genres
Popular music
Radio formats

Adult contemporary music


Henry Roosevelt Pressley, Sr. (1945–2005) was an American blues and soul instrumentalist from Edgefield County, South Carolina.

Biography
He was born prior to the recognized inception of the American Civil Rights Movement. Pressley was partially named for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt - with respect to the many social ideals and projects Roosevelt promoted to improve the status of citizenship, quality of life, and social/civil rights and justice for blacks.

Henry Roosevelt Pressley, Sr. taught himself to play the guitar as an adolescent, watching other community and family musicians. As he developed, he also learned to play the organ and piano, bass guitar, and drums. He played around with the violin from time to time. Pressley had a great affinity for the tonal resonance of the saxophone. He played early blues rhythms (5 and 7 bar blues), including slide guitar sounds with his father Mack Pressley Sr. and brother Mack Pressley Jr. As the African American South in the 1940s and 1950s was heavily grounded by the presence of the church, Pressley naturally began to play back-up for gospel music, eventually playing back-up rhythm (bass and guitar) for some of the groups on a 1970s through 1980s Sunday morning television program called the Parade of Quartets, hosted by Henry Howard. He has been on many vinyl recordings and has even played back-up parts for James Brown, in his early days. He eventually formed his own soul band, The Mighty Soul Brothers, playing sounds similar to that of Sam Cooke, King Curtis, Otis Redding, and The O'Jays for local Supper Clubs and events. The group often played at Martin's Supper Club in Augusta, Georgia.

Henry Roosevelt Pressley, Sr. died July 6, 2005, at his home in North Augusta, South Carolina, at the age of 60. His wife, Johnnie Mae Lee Pressley, died on the same date in 2003.

References
 Parade of Quartets archives: Parade of Quartets, 2047 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Augusta, Georgia 30901
 (2007) William Lee of the Gospel Music Group, the Flying Clouds

American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
1945 births
2005 deaths
20th-century American guitarists
People from North Augusta, South Carolina
20th-century American male musicians

Henry Roosevelt Pressley


Emanuel (Mannie) Ruben Piore (19 July 1908 – 9 May 2000) was a scientist and a manager of industrial research.

Piore was born on 19 July 1908 in Vilnius, Lithuania to a Jewish family.  In 1917, his family moved to the United States, and  in 1924, Emanuel Piore became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Piore obtained an undergraduate and a PhD degree in physics, both from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He worked at the Radio Corporation of America, the US Navy (where he became the first civilian to head the Office of Naval Research) and, subsequently, the Avco Manufacturing Corporation, before being hired as the first Director of Research of IBM.

Under his direction, the architect Eero Saarinen designed and build the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center at Yorktown Heights, New York. As Director of Research at IBM he encouraged basic research and the building up of a patent portfolio.  He also established the IBM Fellow program, which allowed top researchers to pursue their own interests for a period of time. He was promoted to vice president and group executive, and Chief Scientist and served IBM as a member of the board of directors and of the advisory committee to the board. In 1967, his leadership at IBM was recognized by the Industrial Research Institute when it awarded him the illustrious IRI Medal.

In 1976, the IEEE established the IEEE Emanuel R. Piore Award, for "outstanding achievement in the field of information processing". Piore was an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the United States National Academy of Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. His daughter, Jane Piore Gilman, is a distinguished professor of mathematics at Rutgers University.  His son, Michael J. Piore is a professor of economics and political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

References

Further reading
 Herman H. Goldstine and Ralph E. Gomory. Biographical Memoirs: Emanual Ruben Piore. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 145(3):359–363, September 2001.
 Eli Ginsberg, editor. Science and Academic Life in Transition: Emanuel Piore. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, Rutgers—The State University, 1990.

1908 births
2000 deaths
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States
University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni
IBM Fellows
Fellows of the American Physical Society
Members of the American Philosophical Society

Emanuel R. Piore


Super (pronounced  Super, originally known only by the Vitarka Mudrā hand symbol) is a 2010 Indian Kannada-language political drama film written and directed by Upendra. The film was released on 3 December 2010 in its Kannada version, and on 11 March 2011 in its Telugu version, which had a few scenes reshot with Ali and Sadhu Kokila switching roles. This utopian film had a concept of a contrasting futuristic India set in the year 2030, and the contemporary image of India.

The film revolved around Subash, an NRI who is challenged by his fiancé who is completely modern in outlook to change India. Rest of the film shows how Subash tries to bring change in Indian country. The film generated humungous hype in media as it marked the comeback of Upendra as a director after 10 years of gap. The film received positive critical acclaim with critics praising the concept and screenplay.

With the title of the film depicted only by a symbol, it stars Upendra and Nayanthara and is produced by Rockline Venkatesh, while V. Harikrishna scored the music.

Plot

The film revolves around Kasinath, an ordinary man leading a monotonous life. He is frustrated with the corrupt and flawed system that prevails in society. He is determined to bring about a change and fights against the injustices he witnesses. In his quest for justice, Kasinath adopts the identity of "Super," a masked vigilante who punishes wrongdoers in his own unconventional way. He becomes a symbol of hope for the common people who are victims of corruption, crime, and social inequality. As Super, Kasinath targets influential individuals who exploit their power for personal gain. He exposes corrupt politicians, dishonest businessmen, and criminals, all while maintaining his secret identity. His actions catch the attention of the public and media, leading to a wave of support for his cause. Amidst his fight against corruption, Kasinath also finds love. He meets Indira, a journalist who becomes intrigued by Super's activities. Indira is determined to uncover Super's true identity, and in the process, she falls in love with Kasinath. However, Kasinath's actions as Super come at a cost. He faces numerous challenges and threats from those he opposes, including powerful individuals who want to silence him. Kasinath must navigate the complexities of his dual life while protecting himself and his loved ones.

Throughout the film, "Super" explores themes of social justice, corruption, and the power of an individual to make a difference. It raises questions about the effectiveness of the existing system and encourages viewers to question societal norms. The climax of the movie unveils the truth behind Super's identity and the motivations behind his actions. It serves as a turning point in the fight against corruption and paves the way for a potential revolution.

Cast
 Upendra as Subhash Chandra Gandhi (the name is a portmanteau of Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi—the former is known for his revolutionary views to attaining Indian freedom, and the latter, for his non-violence)
 Nayanthara as Indira
 Tulip Joshi as Mandira,  Indira's elder sister
 R. N. Sudarshan as Subash's father
 Shylashri as Subash's mother
 Sadhu Kokila as Chaddi brother
 Ali as  Chaddi brother (term chaddi means shorts and is a parody on the Bellary Reddy Brothers who are alleged to have involved in mining scam)
 Jeeva as Police Officer
 Kadhal Dhandapani as Chief Minister
 Yograj Bhat is featured as an off-screen narrator (uncredited)
 Rockline Venkatesh (producer) guest stars as the leader of a folk dance troop

Production

Upendra returned to direction after nearly ten years. The nameless film was originally represented only by the hand symbol (seen in posters) and Upendra wanted the audience to name the film. The hand symbol could mean zero, or three or the Om symbol or Vitarka Mudrā (an ancient Buddhist gesture), public and media stuck to calling it Super.

Shooting began on 18 February 2010 at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium with the planned schedule for 90 days which included various locations in Bengaluru, Dubai and London. It was produced by Rockline Venkatesh under the banner Rockline Productions, which is its 25th venture. The film saw the debut of Tamil-Malayalam actress Nayanthara in Kannada films. Being a multilingual film, several artists from Telugu and Tamil film industries like Ali, Kadal Dandapani, Jeeva are also featured.

Prior to release, much information about the film was kept under wraps. During the promotion of the film at an interview on a radio station, Upendra expressed his disappointment being labeled as a "different director" and explained that most of his directorial ventures deal with the things that he had undergone in his real life. When asked about the ten-year break, Upendra said he thought he would work on his acting career, but then it sucked him in like a vacuum which he could not get out of. After reaching a point where he was afraid he had lost his ability to direct films, he had to fight his fear and that is when he started working on the script of Super.

Theme
A symbol being the title of the film, it is replete with symbolism from the title sequence is displayed. Uppi has made the movie Super that is named after hand symbol completely a different film and that different trick starts right from the displaying title cards, which has never been attempted by anyone in Indian cinema. For instance, the credit for direction just shows "U" with an index finger pointing towards the audience. This story of India is narrated metaphorically through the story of Indira, the female lead.

Super depicts a Utopian India in the year 2030 where Indians are pictured to be wealthy, hard-working, and are seen wearing traditional clothing consisting of Ilkal saree and panche. In contrast, westerners are the ones taking care of menial jobs like taxi driving, janitorial, etc. It is a future where the rupee is valued 70 times the British pound and people who cannot speak Kannada are considered illiterates (and Westerners are visibly apologetic about the same). From this setting, the film regresses back to the current year 2010 where India is beset with problems of corruption, red-tapism, pollution and unemployment. Political satire is played out by using sounds of horses and donkeys when ministers appear on the screen, which represents the political horse trading witnessed in recent times in the state of Karnataka. Scenes of raping Indira and the auctioning process of an entire Indian state are interspersed to draw a parallel between the two. The film finds a climax back in 2030 where a foreigner asks an Indian as to who was responsible for all the good changes in India, and the film ends abruptly again with the index finger pointing at the audience, symbolizing that it's the people who are ultimately responsible for the course of a nation.

Release

India

In Karnataka, the film was released at over 180 theaters on 3 December 2010. The Telugu version of the film was released on 11 March 2011 in more than 95 screens across Andhra Pradesh. Fearing copyright violation, the production team postponed the international release to mid-2011 as there were chances of film getting leaked on the Internet during overseas release. Tamil film personality Rajinikanth flew to Bangalore to attend a private screening of the film arranged by the producer Rockline Venkatesh. The film saw a special screening in Infosys at its Mysore campus. It was also screened at the fourth Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFF) in December 2011 as part of the 'political satire' category.  The film was later dubbed into Hindi as Rowdy Leader 2 by Goldmines Telefilms in 2017.

Overseas release
Super was released in the US by Upendra's close friend Shivamurthy. The film was screened in USA's Chicago and Edison, New Jersey. It was scheduled for two shows in the town of Matthews, North Carolina on 23 and 24 April at Cinemark Theatres. In the city of Garland, Texas, it was screened in August 2011. The film was released in Australia in late August 2011, by a Kannada film distributor in Australia, Arunroopesh. It was screened in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth.

Reception

Box office

Kannada
In Karnataka, the film was released at over 180 theaters on 3 December 2010. The film reported sold-out shows all over the state of Karnataka. Some fans who could not get hold of tickets any other way bought them on the black market. It celebrated 100 days of run at over 90 centres, 125 days of run at its main centre and 175 days of run at PVR in Bangalore.

Telugu
After receiving good response for the audio track, Super was released in Andhra Pradesh in its Telugu version on 11 March 2011. Screened at more than 95 theaters across Andhra Pradesh, Super had an opening across the state. Upendra was quite happy about receiving extraordinary reviews from Telugu and English daily newspapers and websites. It received a widespread appreciation from Telugu newspapers like Eenadu and Vaartha which described Super as 'Upendra's best creative attempt' and was reported to be doing well in Andhra Pradesh. Reviews on the websites were also quite positive about the film. According to Upendra, the film's good reviews boosted the collections and that the film as a whole has been appreciated and the fresh concept of the story has been widely discussed in media. The distributors were quite happy about the response received throughout Andhra Pradesh. According to the box office analysts of Andhra Pradesh, the film surprisingly caught the attention of the B, C centre audience in a big way and scored good success.

Critical reception
Critically, the film was widely well received with the Times of India rating it 4/5 stars and describing that the film "succeeds in keeping the audience entertained with witty dialogs, neat script and lively narration, along with Upendra's antics, and, at times, his strange make-up." Deccan Herald termed the film as "something extraordinary" and praised Upendra's grand return to the direction "by confusing and exciting the audience right from the movie's inception, with a hotchpotch of his trademark films and roles" while downplaying the characterization of heroines.

Sify called it a "revolutionary concept" in story-telling which "will make people ponder over the contemporary events and see how the country is plundered by the greedy politicians and corporate community." DNA India also rated it 4/5 stars with a consensus that "Upendra still has all it takes to churn movies that are 'his style,' but contemporary in nature and he puts forth a message through this film as well, as he ruthlessly mocks the current political scenario." Other reviewers have largely appreciated the multifaceted film for its technicality, complex script dished out in an out-of-the-box narratorial technique while keeping the commercial aspect intact. Performances of all artists, especially Upendra's, has been another highlighted feature of the film.

Special screenings

In 2011, Rajinikanth attended a private screening of Super arranged by the producer Rockline Venkatesh. "It all started a couple of months ago when I met Rajini sir and told him about the film I was going to produce with Uppi as director. When he heard the story of the film, he was very happy," said Rockline. "When he learnt that it was a hit, he was thrilled and asked me to hold a screening for him, too." After the screening, Rajinikanth commented: "I like watching Upendra's films and this was no exception. He is an excellent director and is one of a kind in the country. The kind of subject he has chosen is excellent. We need more films of this kind which are thought-provoking and also well-made. It's amazing that a film of this scale has been made in Kannada. If I get an opportunity and an impressive script, I'd like to do a Kannada film in the future."

The film saw a special screening in Infosys at its Mysore campus where thousands of employees, which included non-Kannadigas, watched the film. It was screened at the fourth Bangalore International Film Festival (BIFF) in December 2011.

Soundtrack

The Super soundtrack album rights was acquired by Madhu Bangarappa of Akash Audio for a record price of 12.5 million. Composed by V Harikrishna, the album has five songs and Upendra has penned lyrics for three and remaining two have been written by Yograj Bhat and V Manohar. It was officially released on 19 November at Leela Palace by Puneeth Rajkumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar.

Unlicensed copies of the album were available online within hours after the release, and a team was formed by the production unit to fight audio infringement. This resulted in some Kannada music websites being brought down permanently.

Awards

 Udaya Film Award for Best Screenplay
 Suvarna Film Awards 2011 - Favorite Film Award
 Suvarna Film Awards 2011  - Favorite Director Award

Notes

References

External links

Films set in Bangalore
2010 films
Films directed by Upendra
2010s Kannada-language films
Films set in the future
Indian satirical films
Films set in the 2030s
Films about corruption in India
Films scored by V. Harikrishna
Indian nonlinear narrative films
Indian political satire films
Films shot in Dubai
Rockline Entertainments films

Super (2010 Indian film)


Seathwaite Tarn is a reservoir in the Furness Fells within the English Lake District. It is located to the south of Grey Friar and to the west of Brim Fell (on the ridge between The Old Man of Coniston and Swirl How) and north east of the village of Seathwaite on the east of the Duddon Valley.

In order to create a source of drinking water the existing tarn was considerably enlarged with a dam in 1904. During the dam construction some of the navvies rioted damaging buildings in the village, several rioters were shot, one dying the next day.

The dam is almost  long and is concrete cored with slate buttresses, the resulting depth of the tarn being around . Water is not abstracted directly from the tarn, but flows some distance downriver to an off-take weir.

On the slopes of Brim Fell, above the head of the reservoir, are the remains of Seathwaite Tarn Mine. This was worked for copper in the mid 19th century, and also appears as a location in the novel The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams. Rocks in the area were the first confirmed occurrence of wittichenite in the British Isles.

Bronze Age ring cairns were found close to Seathwaite Tarn in 2003, these were excavated in 2003 and 2007.

Seathwaite Tarn has suffered from acidification. An experiment in 1992–1993 to reduce the acidification by using a phosphorus-based fertiliser increased the pH from 5.1 to 5.6 and changed the levels of the different species of the rotifer assemblage significantly.

Repair and reconstruction

A statutory inspection was completed by the All Reservoir Panel Engineer in January 2007 during which the Panel Engineer recommended that works be carried out to the concrete face of the dam and that additional measures be implemented to prevent further deterioration of the concrete. Following this recommendation, United Utilities commissioned MWH to undertake works to improve the condition of the existing concrete dams and to help to implement recommendations to ensure that the reservoir would meet the requirements for a Category A reservoir.

Work began in 2010, when the downstream face of the main dam was cleaned and loose concrete, efflorescence and other surface deposits were removed. The concrete face was then protected from further deterioration by using a cementitious repair mortar and siloxane waterproofer. The remedial works on the upstream face included the installation of a PVC geocomposite membrane, geonet drainage layer and associated drainage system to the upstream face of the main dam and the auxiliary overflow. The geomembrane is sealed on the concrete face along the foundation line and on the parapet wall 300 mm above the crest level to cover the joint between the upstream face and the parapet wall. The geomembrane covers a total surface area of 1,100m2.

A Geomembrane drainage system was incorporated into the design to discharge water through 3 holes in the dam. Joints and cracks in the concrete were treated with an acrylic resin where the perimeter seal crosses the joint to prevent reservoir water bypassing the perimeter seal. A reinforced concrete wave wall was constructed to the same dimensions and levels as the existing but it extended into the high ground at the left and right ends of the dam. Finally, riprap erosion protection was laid at the left hand end of the dam to arrest erosion of the embankment. The material for the erosion protection was sourced from the reservoir basin.

References

Reservoirs in Cumbria
South Lakeland District

Seathwaite Tarn