Music News
Billboard
Well, we're all still here.
While the stroke of midnight and Saturday's sunrise disproved the Mayans' doomsday prediction for Dec. 21, 2012, radio nevertheless had fun with the prophecy, as the dire forecast's signature song, R.E.M. 's "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," registered a hefty surge in airplay Friday and in recent days. The track first appeared on their 1987 album "Document."
Bing: Watch video for 'It's the End of the World'
"End of the World" was college radio hit that reached No. 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988, logged 135 plays in the U.S. Friday among the more than 1,200 stations monitored by Nielsen BDS for the Hot 100. That's up from 50 on Thursday and just 18 on Wednesday. Billboard will be able to gauge any potential boost in the song's sales (as well as a likely subsequent tapering off of its airplay) when the latest Nielsen SoundScan figures are released next week.
Alternative KENZ Salt Lake City led the way with eight spins for "End of the World" yesterday after not having aired the song at all earlier in the week. The plays shouldn't come as a surprise: KENZ uses the moniker "101.9 The End." The station's "Funny Tweets" page on its website likewise plays up the Dec. 21 hype. Among thoughts shared is this observation from comedian Zach Broussard: "I predict December 21st will be the end of talking about the Mayans
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