After spending most of the first half of 2026 trying to define itself and its sound, Audacy’s WSTR Star 94 has once again settled on hot adult contemporary and has shifted its playlist to reflect the latest changes in its music and image.
Star’s playlist now emphasizes popular, but more adult-leaning hits that parallel the biggest hits on the Hot AC charts. Artists like Olivia Dean, Ella Langley, Sabrina Carpenter, Bruno Mars, and more adult-hit-focused stars are represented in the station’s new musical direction.
According to All Access/Mediabase, the most-played song on the new Star 94 is Dean’s “So Easy (To Fall In Love)”, doubling in spins from 34 last week to 57 this week. (from Mediabase monitored airplay from August 25 to September 7.) Sombr‘s “Back To Friends” got a similar boost in airplay, as did the so far 21-week #1 national hit, “Choosin’ Texas” by Langley. Several new songs were added to Star’s rotation, including Tame Impala/JENNIE‘s “Dracula”, Dominic Fike‘s “Babydoll”, Stella Lefty’s “Boston” and Zara Larsson‘s “Midnight Sun”. Older records by Taylor Swift (“The Fate Of Ophelia”), Dean (“Man I Need”) and Mars (“I Just Might”) got downgrades in weekly spins.
Some titles that are deep in recurrent status got top-ten airplay treatment at the new Star: Shaboozey‘s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, Carpenter’s “Espresso” and “Golden” by Huntr/X. Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI. Other gold and recurrent titles, like “Flowers” by Miley [nee Cyrus], “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims, and “As It Was” by Harry Styles, saw their airplay drastically reduced compared to previous weeks. 80’s and 90’s rhytmic/dance cuts that dominated Star’s sound the past few years are much less a part of the revamped playlist.
Here’s what Star 94 sounded like from 7:23 PM to 8:17 PM Tuesday
Tame Impala-Loser
Alex Warren-Ordinary
Ella Langley-Choosin’ Texas
Eminem-Lose Yourself*
Sella Lefty-Boston
Kelly Clarkson-Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)*
Maroon 5/Megan Thee Stallion-Beautiful Mistakes*
Katy Perry/Juicy J-Dark Horse*
Djo-End of Beginning
Miguel-Sure Thing
Sombr-Back To Friends
Chris Brown-Run It!*
Jonas Brothers-Sucker*
* denotes a gold title.
In addition to the reshaping of Star’s playlist, the station is going to a more traditional adult top 40 presentation, which commenced over the Labor Day weekend. The station ended the tagline “Feel Good Throwbacks” for good. These changes follow the re-entry of former associate program and music director J. R. Ammons to the station. He worked at the station during its ratings powerhouse years from 1995 to 2006. He was also program director there from 2008 to 2011.
In addition to overseeing Star, Ammons also guides programming for Audacy’s St. Louis, Kansas City, and Houston stations.
Talent at the station is another stone yet to be turned at Star. Brian Moote still does the afternoon drive live from the Star studios in Midtown Atlanta. Others are being voice-tracked from other Audacy stations in other markets: KAMX Austin, Texas afternooner Sean Mack is on midday, and Mike Adam from NYC’s WNEW is doing mornings at Star. There is still industry speculation that Audacy’s The Bret Mega Show will soon take either the morning or midday slot once their home station, KYKY in St. Louis, is sold and the Bret Mega cast relocates to Atlanta.
Star is bidding for stability after an eventful 2026 so far. It rang in the new year as a Variety Hits station that played current hit music with 90’s to 00’s adult contemporary cuts, pairing back the rhythmic cuts that dominated its rotation in previous years. Later, over the summer, the station went into more of a mainstream adult contemporary direction, dropping most of its “upbeat” titles but still calling itself the home of “feelgood” tracks. While its playlist was changing, the staff at the station was also experiencing a turnover, with Emily Boldon, Star’s Brand Manager for a year, exiting and morning duo Kevin and Taylor, also at Star for a year, following her out the door shortly thereafter.
Along with Star, Audacy’s Atlanta cluster also has hip hop WVEE FM (V-103), sports WZGC FM (92.9 The Game), and urban news and talk WAOK 1380 AM.
