I hope everyone had a great holiday and is well rested heading down the final stretch. There are just three more reporting days left in 2013. And with only a few more records impacting this year, radio stations are really watching their research, M Scores, sales, etc., more than ever to ensure they are playing the hits over the break. A number of stations lose their traditional research for most of December and even early January as a cost-cutting move, so getting the right records in now is of utmost importance. These will be the records they ride with for the next month. It’s not surprising to see stations holding on to proven hits rather than risking a newer, less familiar record during this time. Without further ado, here are some of the records which will be hanging around this holiday season… Republic’s Gary Spangler and Davey Dee have Sage the Gemini’s “Gas Pedal” at #7 and up 313 spins. The record has been on the chart for 14 weeks and is showing no signs of slowing down. They also have two Drake tracks: “All Me” is at #17 and “The Language” is at #24, up 206 spins. Not far behind, they have Tyga f/Justin Bieber “Wait for a Minute,” currently at #3, up 175 spins, and they’ll debut SoMo’s “Ride” next week. It just missed the chart and was up 326 spins… IDJ has a few proven hits as well. Rick Sackhiem, Noah Sheer and Scott Maness have Jay Z’s “Tom Ford” at #8, up 322 spins, as well as YG f/Jeezy & Rich Homie Quan’s “My Hitta,” which leaps to #32 with an increase of 243 spins. And keep an eye on Iggy Azalea’s “Change Your Life” and Maejor Ali f/Juicy J & Justin Bieber’s “Lolly,” as both continue to develop… Strazza, Inca, and Lori G at RCA have Kid Ink f/Chris Brown’s “Show Me” climbing into the Top 15, increasing 350 spins, as well as Pitbull f/Ke$ha’s “Timber” jumping #23-18, up 400 spins. There’s also T Pain’s “Up Down,” closing in on the Top 25… Ayelet and James White at Columbia have the largest debut of the week with J Cole’s “She Knows.” It charts at #33, with an increase of 368 spins! He has certainly become a superstar at our format. They’re also grinding away with Juicy J f/Wale & Trey Songz’s “Bounce It.” It’s at #23 this week. Meanwhile, John Legend’s “All of Me” is sitting just outside of the chart. The sales and Shazam numbers continue to grow with each and every spin. This is shaping up to be a secret weapon record. They’re impacting Calvin Harris’ new “Thinking About You” this coming week… Rachael Spangler and Dixie Tipton have Future f/Miley Cyrus’ “Real and True” at #42, which is sure to chart this coming week. They also have Yo Gotti’s “Cold Blood,” which was up over 100 spins and continues to move closer to charting… Lee L’Heureux has yet another Top 5 record with Macklemore’s “White Walls.” It’s #4 this week and up 150 spins. It has been on the chart for 15 weeks, solidifying his staying power at the format. In addition, he has Jason Derulo’s “Marry Me” still growing. It’s #25 this week. Finally, as I mentioned last week, Mack Wilds’ “Own It” is starting to go to another level. Not only did it debut at #37, but it was up 240 spins. Check out the quality of stations playing this. It looks like it’s going to be a hit through the holiday season!

Most Increased:
1) Pitbull f/Ke$ha “Timber” Mr. 305/RCA
2) J Cole “She Knows” Roc Nation/Columbia
3) Kid Ink f/Chris Brown “Show Me” Alumni/88classic/RCA
4) SoMo “Ride” Republic
5) Jay Z “Tom Ford” Roc-a-Fella/Roc Nation

The Pulse:
1) J Cole “She Knows” Roc Nation/Columbia
2) SoMo “Ride” Republic
3) John Legend “All Of Me” Columbia
4) YG f/Jeezy & Rich Homie Quan “My Hitta” CTE/Def Jam/IDJ
5) Mack Wilds “Own It” Louder Than Life/RAL