Atlanta Radio: WSTR-FM Relaunches

WSTR Morning Host Jen Hobby

Entercom has announced the relaunch of WSTR The New Star 94, the rhythm of Atlanta, effective immediately. 

The upbeat station will be home to Atlanta’s largest music library, delivering a unique blend of expertly curated music from artists like Prince, Bruno Mars, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and more.

Listeners will enjoy more variety and unpredictability as part of their listening experience, including surprise moments and tunes that have been missing from ATL’s airwaves.

“The New Star 94 will bring the rhythm of Atlanta to life and capture the vibe of the metro area,” said Rick Caffey, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom Atlanta. “In these difficult times, radio serves as a platform to both entertain and inform. We look forward to growing the well-established Star brand into a place for our audience to feel good through top hits from their favorite artists.”

According to Atlanta Media Watcher Rodney Ho...At 3 p.m.Thursday, the station reintroduced itself with Michael Jackson’s 1984 hit “Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," then added hits from the 1990s (Notorious B.I.G.'s “'Mo Money, Mo Problems”), 2000s (Eve’s “Let Me Blow Ya Mind") and the 2010s (Rihanna’s “We Found Love”) as well as some current songs such as Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Stop Now" and the Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights.”

So far, the 1980s hits are all familiar songs that Star played when it was 94Q including Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want To Have Fun," Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U.” During the 1990s, Star avoided many of the more hip-hop- and R&B-leaning hits that this new version is now playing, such as Aaliyah’s “Back & Forth” and Naughty by Nature’s “O.P.P.”

According to Ho, the reality is Star’s younger suburban female target audience is now more receptive to those songs than the comparable folks they courted 20 to 30 years ago. There is no stigma attached to hip-hop in the pop world anymore and all of those 1990s songs are heard on other stations in town, especially O.G. 97.9.

Star 94 (WSTR-FM) has garnered passable ratings in recent years but regularly lagged behind its pop rivals. In August, the station drew a 2.1 share, good for 17th place overall, behind Power (2.9), Q99.7 (3.2) and B98.5 (4.5.)