I’ve made my quarterly pilgrimage to the West Coast, and have been working in the lush, marble-pillared surroundings of the HITS office. Since my arrival on Saturday morning, I’ve had my ass thrashed by my boss in golf and enjoyed a great meal with Rick Sackheim; I’m now about to embark on a road trip with Noah Sheer. I never realized just how much I missed the traffic, road construction, and three-hour time change… Perusing this week’s Rhythm chart leads me to conclude that we’re in an Urban-heavy music cycle. ONLY Jay Sean’s “Mars,” Major Lazer’s “Bubble Butt” and Dorrough Music’s “After Party” are Rhythm-exclusive (not on either the Urban or Pop charts as well). Only three dance/EDM records are on the chart now (Rihanna f/David Guetta, Zedd and Calvin Harris f/Ellie Goulding). Of the 40 records on the Rhythm chart, we share 23 with Urban. To break it down a little further, ALL Top 15 Urban records are on the current Rhythm chart (as opposed to 12 of the Top 15 at Pop). With all the shared music and artists in our format, is there one particular formula that winning Rhythm programmers are adhering to? Is it lack of competition in their markets? Is it forming and utilizing label relationships? Is it a combination of all the above? Over the next few months, I’ll be conducting a series of interviews with programmers who’ve found a way to create winning products in their markets, be they large or small… The Top 5 once again stayed basically the same, and the only new record to enter the Top 10 was Jay Z’s “Holy Grail”(Roc-a-Fella/Roc Nation). Sackhiem, Noah Sheer and Scott Maness have this one on cruise control right now, as it’s the greatest gainer. They also had Rihanna’s “Right Now” jump 17-14*, 2 Chainz’s “Feds Watching” move from 24-21*, and Big Sean’s “Beware” go 29-26* and up 215 spins. They impacted Ludacris’ “Helluva Night” this week; it’s off to a solid start at Urban. Make sure to take another listen to Avicii’s “Wake Me Up”. It’s currently #4 at iTunes, and there’s a serious buzz. Programmers like Dan Hunt at WRDW, Melony Torres at WJHM, Cat Thomas at KLUC and KZON already have it in rotation… Following up the massive success of “The Way,” Gary Spangler, Alisa Applegate and Davey Dee at Republic are impacting the new Ariana Grande, “Baby I,” this week. Early stations include WRDW, WJMH, WRCL, KVEG, KKUU, KDDB and KZON. They also have Rich Gang’s “Tap Out” now inside the top 20*, Nelly’s “Get Like Me” at #31 and up over 150 spins, and Jay Sean’s “Mars” sitting at #32 up 122 spins. Enrique’s “Turn Up The Night” will chart this week—it’s #40 on real time as I type this… RCA has Justin Timberlake firing on all cylinders, as the track jumps 18-15*, and goes up 375 spins. Miley Cyrus is also a steady climber, moving 30-28* with an increase of 213 spins this week, and has tremendous iTunes sales to boot. They also have Mario’s “Somebody Else” at #34… Team Columbia is inching closer to the #1 position with Daft Punk. They’re impacting the band’s new record, “Lose Yourself To Dance,” next week. Ayelet and James White are still making moves with J. Cole’s “Crooked Smile,” which leaps 9-7*, with an increase of 488 spins. Calvin Harris’ “I Need Your Love” also had a nice week, going 21-19* with a triple-digit gain… Epic’s Rachael Spangler and Dixie Tipton have Ciara’s “Body Party” inside the top 10 again this week. Yo Gotti’s “Act Right” is also on the chart at #35*. Be on the lookout for Kat Dahlia’s “Clocks” as well… Lee L’Heureux at WB has the Macklemore “Same Love” at #3 and still on the way up. And if that one’s starting to run its course for you, check out new single “White Walls.” Jason Derulo’s “The Other Side” is inching closer to the Top 10; it goes to #12 up 223 spins.

Most Increased:
1) Jay Z f/Justin Timberlake “Holy Grail” Roc-A-Fella/Roc Nation
2) J. Cole f/TLC “Crooked Smile” Roc Nation/Columbia
3) Bruno Mars “Treasure” Atlantic
4) Chris Brown f/Nicki Minaj “Love More” RCA
5) Justin Timberlake “Take Back The Night” RCA

The Pulse:
1) Drake “Hold On We’re Going Home” YMCMB/Republic
2) Drake f/2 Chainz and Big Sean “All Me” YMCMB/Republic
3) Daft Punk “Lose Yourself To Dance” Columbia
4) Macklemore “White Walls” Macklemore/ADA/WBR
5) Big Sean “Beware” G.O.OD./Def Jam/IDJMG