By Karen Glauber

A big “I feel your pain” shout-out to my fellow single moms out there! I’m not saying that my 11-year-old son and I are beginning to morph into the same person, but in the past two weeks, I’ve learned that I’m quite proficient at Legos and fifth-grade math, while Julian’s two favorite TV shows are now Love Is Blind and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Meanwhile, I’ve spoken to many radio programmers from the “comfort” of their at-home broadcasting closets, and we’re all doing our best to navigate the “new normal.” iHeart and Entercom are being proactive about bringing artists into the homes of their listeners, with interviews and performances being offered through the iHeart and Radio.com apps.

Alternative radio, as I’ve expressed before, is in a unique position to provide comfort, entertainment and a sense of community to an expanding audience. If I’m a fan of an artist (AJR, for example), and their social media tells me that they’re going to be doing a session for a radio group, then this presents an opportunity for me (their fan) to sample my local station online. “This AJR session is brought to you by your friends at [insert call letters here]!” Jon Manley at WKQX has initiated Instagram live interviews with artists—I love his interviews, so this should be a lot of fun to watch.

What originally started as an in-house joke during my A&M days—“There are a lot of records in the Top 10”—has evolved into Lenny’s “There are still 10 records in the Top 10.” It’s my mantra. And although the #1 Most Added song may now only get a dozen adds, I’m here to help you identify which songs are destined to be your future Top 10. Of the new records, there are two clear overachievers: Powfu’s “Coffee for Your Head” f/Beabadoobee and Ashe’s “Moral of the Story.”

The Powfu radio story at Alternative is incredible: #2 Most Added and chartbound this week (already in Power at ALT 98.7) under the guidance of Columbia’s Lisa Sonkin and Darice Lee, garnering 7.4m streams this week! The song has over 150m combined audio/video streams to date worldwide. “Coffee for Your Head” features Dirty Hit artist Beabadoobee’s “Coffee,” which is currently streaming 160k per day(!), and she currently has 18.75m monthly listeners on Spotify. Powfu is an artist that the format can OWN, even as the Top 40 campaign evolves.

Ashe’s “Moral of the Story,” David Jacobs and Mom+Pop’s newest triumph, surpassed 1m Shazams today! This smash is already trending Top 25, including a new add today at KNDD, plus moves to Subpower at WLUM and WLKK. KITS, WNYL, KYSR, Alt Nation, KUCD and KROQ are leading the charge at radio. You want hits? There you go.

Without question, “Caution” by The Killers and “Bang!” by AJR will be a #1 song for each of those bands. The Lumineers’ “Life in the City” continues to build because their music is truly the “warm blanket” that the format needs right now.

The “next ups,” as I call them, are the songs you should be paying particular attention to right now: Bakar’s “Hell N Back,” which KKDO’s Andy Hawk says is one of the most reactive songs he’s EVER played. 070 Shake’s “Guilty Conscience” was first identified by Michael Martin, Aaron and Jayn as an Alt smash, and the rest of the format, plus key Triple A stations, is beginning to pay attention. I adore this song.

Another record that should have grabbed your attention is Guardin’s “alive” on Photo Finish/Caroline, with KROQ, WNYL and WRMR leading the way. Bleeker’s “Give a Little Bit More” has a Bowie vibe that immediately caught my attention, as did the double-digit add week! Joji’s “Run” is a clear winner, as well—streaming and Shazams follow every spin on the radio. KennyHoopla had a breakthrough week at radio, as “How Will I Rest in Peace…” remains a programmers’ favorite.

The songs I want to hear on repeat right now are Shallou’s “Fading,” BENEE’s “Supalonely” and Major Lazer f/Marus Mumford’s “Lay Your Head on Me.” Nada Surf’s Never Not Together is the album that reminds me that we’re all in this together. Be well, friends.