If hearing “Jingle Bells” and “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” makes you want to puke, well, you better get those barf bags out, because Chrsitmas music isn’t going anywhere.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, when U.S. radio stations began playing christmas music 24/7, they raked in $20.1 billion, up 8 per cent from last year. So, if you’re a total Scrooge about the holiday music, you better buy some metal CDs to have handy in your car.

“There’s no other programming tactic in radio history that consistently delivers ratings increases better than Christmas music,” says senior VP of Clear Channel, Darren Davis.

When radio stations go the festive route, there are more chances you may hear the same annoying holiday song more than once in the office. For example, KYXY-FM in San Diego, played Bing Crosby’s version of “White Christmas” six times in one day. Given that the young guy has four holiday singels already, I wonder how many times Justin Bieber will come up on the radio today.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, here are the six most popular Christmas songs on the radio:

1. John Lennon – “Happy Christmas (War is Over)”

2. Andy Williams – “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”

3. Burl Ives – “Have a Holly Holly Christmas”

4. Mariah Carey – “All I Want For Christmas is You”

5. Nat King Cole – “The Christmas Song”

6.  Jose Feliciano- ”Feliz Navidad”

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Justin’s a busy guy. From recording a Christmas album to allegedly impregnating a 20-year-old girl, he still manages to find the time to rap.

At the risk of inflating his ego even bigger bigger, I have to say this ‘lil dude has mad skill. On Power 106 FM he performed an original rap to the tune of Ottis by Jay-Z and Kanye West.

As radio DJs and fans hooted and hollered, Justin claimed “I’m not done! I’m not done!” and continued to kock our socks off. There have been rumours swirling of him collaborating with Lil Wayne and now more than ever I wish it were true.

Check out his sick flow in the video posted below.

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There are two women who are the most important in Howard Stern’s life, his wife Beth and his co-host Robin Quivers. Unfortunately Robin has indicated her relationship with Howard may be coming to an end.

In an exclusive interview with RadarOnline.com, Quivers revealed she might be saying goodbye to the man who helped make her a household name.

“I love to do radio and television and I’ve always wanted my own television show, so I’ve been putting out feelers for those kinds of things,” said Quivers, 58, told the website. “(I could) express myself in ways that I don’t necessarily get to express myself on our show.”

“It will be like a talk show, but with subjects that I’d be interested in. I think I have some interesting things to say and I don’t think anybody out there is saying them,” she added.

The two radio personalities have worked together since 1981 when they met in Washington. If Robin leaves, Howard’s show will certainly be different. Will his show last without Robin?

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In Britney’s words herself, “The bitch is back.”

Britney Spears made an appearance on KIIS FM’s On Air with Ryan Seacrest radio show last week, officially dropping her new single Till The World Ends and announcing her plans for a summer tour.

Spears’ album Femme Fatale drops on March 29th and is currently being labelled as the ‘comeback’ album. Although Spears has released two CDs since her mental breakdown and head-shaving fiasco, Blackout and Circus, this album is known as her comeback album since she is actually doing promotion, performances, and taking risks in her music.

Spears is also set to perform in San Francisco on the 29th for Good Morning America, in correlation with the release of her album. This performance is also highly anticipated by fans, as it will be her first televised performance in a while.

Spears sat down with Ryan to chat about her album, her personal life, and plans for the tour. Spears said she is currently happy, healthy, and ready to tour, and that this album is some of her best work to date. The album includes collaborations with artists such as will.i.am and Sabi.

I’m personally rooting hardcore for Britney. As a dedicated fans for years, I endured her mental breakdowns, hair choices, and gas-station fiascos. But that’s all behind me now, and I’m hoping she returns with full force and passion. She seemed to sound happier and more vested on the radio show, so that is a good sign. Her music video for Hold It Against Me, which was released a couple of weeks ago, also showed a more daring and edgy Britney, so I’m hoping this will transcend onto her album.

What’s really funny though is while Britney is on her way up, Christina is on her way down. Aguilera, who was recently arrested for public intoxication, is in between a messy divorce and public downfall. To all the Aguilera fans who have bashed Britney throughout the years, ha, who’s laughing now?

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Remember Ted Williams? He was the guy found on the exit ramp of an Ohio freeway and became a YouTube sensation. Well Ted just landed his own reality TV show called “Second Chances at Life.”

TMZ reports the show will document Williams life from a promising radio career, to living on the streets, to rebuilding his life. The show will take place in Brooklyn (his hometown), Ohio (where he was living on the streets), to his current hangout, Los Angeles.

Is Ted’s novelty worn off or are you still interested in watching him redevelop his life? And in case you forgot the video, see below:

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The guys at andPOP Radio are certainly casanovas, but occasionally they even need help. This is true especially when it comes to picking up older women – Jordan, Chris and Dan just don’t have that magic touch. This was demonstrated on a recent outing where all three tried to pick up mature ladies. Have a look at the results, and thank goodness for CougarLife.com!

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XM Radio Canada will host the Independent Music Awards and open their recording studio for live-to-air sets by some up-and-coming bands in Canada, all in support of Canadian Music Week (CMW) taking place on March 11 through March 14.

“This is the fourth year XM Canada and CMW have teamed up for the Independent Music Awards,” said Neill Dixon, President of Canadian Music Week, in a statement. “XM Canada’s continued support during CMW has helped foster and showcase great Canadian musicians looking to break-through in the saturated music industry.”

Music lovers can listen to Canadian bands like Arkells, USS, Hey Rosetta!, Crystal Castles among others live when XM brings The Independent Music Awards live-to-air on March 14. The event will be broadcast from the Royal York Hotel on The Verge (XM Canada’s rock channel 87).

XM Canada will also be opening up its recording studio on Avenue Road in Toronto, to invite Canadian artists to perform acoustic sets live-to-air. The satellite radio company expects to broadcast around 30 Canadian bands over the span of 2 days.

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iLuv, an audio products company for personal entertainment consoles such as iPods, just announced the release of two new HD (high definition) radio units called the i168 and the i169. The i169 unit comes with an iPod dock and alarm clock, while the i168 model simply comes with an alarm clock.

“HD Radio technology greatly expands AM and FM broadcasting capabilities with crystal-clear digital sound, text on the screen and hundreds of new digital FM channels,” said Howard Kim, iLuv Marketing Manager.

The release of the radio units coincides with the expansion of HD radio in North America. According to the press release from iLuv, HD radio currently reaches more than 80 per cent of the population. Over 1,600 AM and FM stations currently offer HD radio, with features including on-screen text information and access to all stations without subscriptions.

The units will be selling for $169.99 and $89.99 respectively, and will be available online at www.i-luv.com and at some major retailers, such as JC Penny, Electronics Expo and J&R Music

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In a move that will create a combined enterprise of approximately $13-billion, Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio have announced today an all-stock merger, combining the two satellite companies.

“We are excited for the many opportunities that an XM and Sirius combination will provide consumers,” said Gary Parsons, Chairman of XM Satellite Radio, and Hugh Panero, CEO of XM Satellite Radio, in a joint statement.

The deal is not yet finalized as it is still pending approval by Sirius and XM shareholders, regulatory reviews and the FCC.

Sirius delivers more than 130 channels with 69 commercial-free music channels. SIRIUS also offers sporting channels with partnerships with the NFL, Nascar, NBA and NHL.

Sirius also boasts the king of shock rock radio, Howard Stern.

XM is currently the number one satellite radio provider with more than 7.6 million subscribers and studios all over the United States and Canada. XM delivers 170 digital channels and has strong partnerships in the automobile industry.

There are currently no details on the structure of the partnership, or even the name the new company will operate under.

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Well I may not have been the first person he emailed when he got the news like I had asked in our interview, but the news is here nonetheless.

Breaking the steadfast uncertainty on his blog this afternoon, Leo Laporte, known to his die-hard listeners as “The Tech Guy,” has officially announced that his KFI radio show is going national.

“I’m pleased to announce that Premiere Radio Networks – the biggest radio syndicator in the U.S. – has picked up my KFI radio show for syndication. We’re signing up affiliates now, so ask your local talk radio station to give Premiere a call. KFI listeners: the show will continue exactly as always. There just will be a few more people listening in,” he wrote in his blog posting.

A “few more people” listening in? He’s clearly a modest man. This syndication deal puts Leo’s show national and helps him continue to grow his tech-media dominance. In our interview last week, Leo expressed his hope to go national, saying he “felt confident it would happen.”

For those of you not yet listening, you can check out the show Saturdays and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. EST on the Premiere Radio Network.

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Los Angeles based Mediabase has announced which songs and artists were played on the radio constantly, on each channel and what felt like every five minutes in 2006.

The radio industry’s leading airplay monitoring service has compiled lists of these “most-spun” songs in anticipation of a new year of the overplayed in a couple weeks.

Most Played Songs on Radio

Overall: Mary J. Blige/Be Without You (Geffen)
Top 40: Natasha Bedingfield/Unwritten (Epic)
Rhythmic: Cassie/Me & U (Next Selection/Bad Boy/Atlantic)
Urban: Mary J. Blige/Be Without You (Geffen)
Urban AC: Anthony Hamilton/Can’t Let Go (So So Def/Arista/Zomba)
Country: Rascal Flatts/What Hurts the Most (Lyric Street)
Smooth Jazz: Paul Brown/Winelight (GRP/VMG)
AC: James Blunt/You’re Beautiful (Custard/Atlantic)
Hot AC: Fray/Over My Head (Cable Car) (Epic)
Rock: Shinedown/Save Me (Atlantic)
Active Rock: Three Days Grace/Animal I Have Become (Jive/Zomba)
Alternative: Red Hot Chili Peppers/Dani California (Warner Bros.)
Triple A: Jack Johnson/Upside Down (Brushfire/Universal Republic)

Most Played Artists on Radio (with number of spins in 2006)

1. Kelly Clarkson 901206
2. Nickelback 890971
3. Chris Brown 787836
4. Sean Paul 657014
5. Rihanna 655341
6. Ne-Yo 641350
7. Pussycat Dolls 635741
8. Mariah Carey 601178
9. Mary J. Blige 577652
10. Rascal Flatts 540244
11. Keith Urban 508882
12. Beyonce 486228
13. Fall Out Boy 427847
14. Natasha Bedingfield 426402
15. Fray 418892
16. Kenny Chesney 417321
17. Green Day 406787
18. Justin Timberlake 397654
19. All- American Rejects 393447
20. Rob Thomas 390938

More figures, including Canadian stats, can be found at mediabasemusic.com.

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After a failed radio attempt, David Lee Roth is hoping to be a part of Van Halen again, E! Online reports today.

Roth took over the helms for shock jock Howard Stern on CBS radio, but only last there four months before he was cancelled.

Roth was the lead singer of Van Halen during its heyday in the early 80s. Eddie Van Halen and Roth had a spat, and the two went their separate ways. Roth went on to a mildly successful solo career. The band got back together briefly in 1996 when Roth recorded two new songs with the band for their first greatest hits album, but haven?t been together since.

“I see it absolutely as an inevitability. There’s contact between the two camps, and they have legitimate management; Irv Azoff is part of their loop now,” Roth told Billboard magazine.

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