[UPDATE: August 31, 2012: Cumulus is shifting its 98.9 signal to a Project-like sound starting at noon on Saturday, Sept. 1. It has been 99X at 98.9, an alternative rock station. The signal is relatively weak but at least it can fulfill the desires of active rock fans inside the Perimeter.]

With pop music having a powerful year, Clear Channel Atlanta has dropped active rock station Project 9-6-1 for a top 40 format it’s dubbing Power 96.1.

The change happened just after 7 p.m. The final song that Mediabase 24/7 reported as a Project song was at 7:02 p.m.: Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.” That’s when the station began playing a bunch of top 40 hits before making an official announcement at 8:05 p.m. and launching with LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem.” It promised 9,600 songs in a row, which equals about four weeks of commercial-free music.

Dunwoody High School graduate and media mogul Ryan Seacrest made a surprise appearance at the Jennifer Lopez concert Wednesday night at Philips Arena to make the announcement, noting that his mom will be able to hear him regularly again in Atlanta. (He started his career at Star 94 and has been on that station in syndication in recent years.)

Clear Channel nationwide has some seriously powerful top 40 stations, including Kiss in Los Angeles, where Seacrest airs his morning show and syndicated show, and Z100 in New York, where Wild 105.7 syndicated morning host Elvis Duran is based.

Starting Sept. 4, Power is bringing Duran from its existing rhythmic top 40 station at 105.7/96.7 called Wild, followed by Seacrest in syndication mid-days.

Now we know why Clear Channel got rid of its Wild program director a couple weeks ago. Wild is likely going to go away or shift its format so not to directly compete with Power. I hear Mami Chula, the key local personality on Wild, is staying put for now.

Could they bring a modified version of Project 9-6-1 on another signal? (Clear Channel owns 105.3 and 105.7, too.)

Program director Chris Williams, in a text this morning, said no. It’s over. On Facebook, someone posted this:

96.1 has been Atlanta’s rock destination since 1974. The Project Family is so proud to have carved out our own chapter in the rich legacy of WKLS. The radio dial will sound much different after today. We can never thank you enough for all your support and passion for Project 9-6-1 over the past 6 years and for 96rock the years before us. We consider ourselves among the luckiest each and every day we were allowed to enter this studio and create a radio station that made us proud. Thank you for inviting The Project into your cars, jobs and homes. Thank you for Living Loud and Playing Hard, please don’t stop. Most of all, thank you for being Part of the Project!

Project had a good run. It came to be courtesy of Williams, who first launched Buzz 105.3,a younger-leaning rock station. In late 2006, long-standing classic rock station 96rock became Project, an odd name that suggested an ephemeral existence. But Williams brought the spirit of the Buzz over to Project, which lasted more than five years, becoming a formidable player among younger listeners who liked the mix of older and current harder-edged rock by acts such as Guns ‘N Roses, Metallica, Slipknot and Five Finger Death Punch. It regularly finished in the top 5 among 18 to 34 year olds.

Some local radio folks who know Williams think he is pulling a deliberate “New Coke” move here. There will be such an uprising by Project fans via social media that Clear Channel will be “forced” to bring Project back on a different signal. If that’s the case, Project fans, get the petitions out! Here’s one page already out there. As of Labor Day, there are 3,600 names. Another one has more than 5,000 names. And a petition also has more than 5,000 names.

In the evening, it had a cool Jelli “Remote Control Radio” concept, where viewers could vote for what song to play next. And Aly was a stalwart presence in mid days. Project had trouble finding a solid morning show in its early years, Kidd Chris was starting to make inroads among younger men listeners after debuting last year.

Lately, top 40 and similar formats have been on a roll locally and nationwide. Q100 and Star 94 are both experiencing strong ratings. So was Wild. And B98.5 has freshened its sound to be closer to the other stations. All four are doing well.

Rock on the other hand has been in a death spiral nationwide. Atlanta has managed to air five rock stations, which combined, were barely pulling in an audience bigger than R&B/hip hop V-103. But Dave FM last month announced it was going sports talk this fall.

The gallery image on Project's Facebook page

And now Project is gone, leaving Rock 100.5, 97.1/The River and 99X at 98.9.

Project’s departure could really benefit all three of those remaining stations, especially Rock 100.5, which has underperformed when the Regular Guys were not on. And even the Regular Guys’ numbers have dropped off the past two years. There is limited up side for 99X given its weak signal but Dave’s departure could help it. And the River will likely pick up listeners from both Project and Dave.

The last time the name Power was used in Atlanta was Power 99 in the late 1980s and early 1990s, also a top 40 station. It became alternative rock station 99X October 26, 1992.

So far, Power 96.1 sounds very much like Wild 105.7/96.7, which was edging more towards straight top 40 in recent months after focusing more on hip hop in its earlier days. (Earlier days being late 2010 and 2011.)

TV and billboard ads are scheduled to start next month promoting Power.

UPDATE Thursday, August 30, 8:26 a.m.: This morning, Wild is now playing more hip hop though it’s not quite Hot 107.9. No more Carly Rae Jepsen and Gotye. Will Clear Channel keep Wild? Hard to say.

A sampling of 10 songs new Power 96.1 from 9:30 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, August 29, 2012
David Guetta “Titanium”
Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe”
Chris Brown “Don’t Wake Me Up”
Kesha “We R Who We R”
Katy Perry “Wide Awake”
LMFAO “Sexy and I Know It”
Pink “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)”
Bruno Mars “Grenade”
Rihanna “Where Have You Been”
Maroon 5 “Payphone”

The last ten songs on Wild 105.7 from that same time period.
Gotye “Somebody That I Used to Know”:
David Guetta “Titanium”
Ellie Goulding “Lights”
Havana Brown “We Run the Night”
Justin Bieber “As Long As You Love Me”
Calvin Harris “Let’s Go”
Katy Perry “Wide Awake”
Rihanna “Where Have You Been”
Usher “Scream”
Flo Rida “Whistle”

Q100 had a more pop feel with the songs it played during that time:
Train “Drive By”
Carly Rae Jepsen “Call me Maybe”
B.o.B. “Nothing On You”
Neon Trees “Everybody Talks”
Britney Spears “Til the World Ends”
Fun. “We are Young”
All-American Rejects “Gives You Hell”
Rihanna “Where Have You Been”
Mike Posner “Cooler Than Me”
Flo Rida “Wild Ones”

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By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk