MUMBAI: FM commercial stations took on the differentiation element seriously in 2009 by introducing variety in its music inventory. Breaking away from contemporary Bollywood clutter and embracing differential music seemed to be the mantra for many stations.

India Today group's radio venture Meow was the first stations to distance itself from contemporary music by introducing music from the 1990's till date. Around mid 2009, Radio Mirchi adopted retro melodies in its 23 Hindi speaking markets this year and some other stations followed suit by introducing retro music in different day parts. Radio One flagged off its 'challenge' of playing 13 songs in an hour, but later altered it towards the year end to make it '13 songs in an hour with no repetition during the day'. Their inventory now includes non-film music and Bollywood music right from 1980s to date.

The multiplex strike extended over two months during the middle of the year, leaving the contemporary music dependent FM radio stations hunting for music from 2008. No doubt, the RCS data of most played songs on radio across 17 cities from Jan-Dec 2009 features tracks from the year gone by.

Here's a glimpse at the most played Bollywood songs from 1 January to 30 December, 2009 across 17 markets measured by AirCheck India. These cities include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Surat, Vadodara and Visakhapatnam 

Rahman's composition, Masakalli from Delhi 6 tops the list with the highest radio play at 42,117 plays. Two tracks from Raaz- The mystery continues, Maahi and Soniyo figure in the second and third position with 35,559 and 34,216 radio plays respectively. Guzarish from Ghajini occupies the fourth position with 32,170 plays, followed by Delhi 6's Genda phool with 31,997 radio plays 

The Salim-Suleiman composed Rab ne bana di jodi tracks from 2008- Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai and Haule Haule -  fastened their position at tenth and eleventh position respectively 

Songs released in the second half of 2009 find their place towards the latter part of the list. Chiggy Wiggy is on the 43rd position with 15,716 radio plays. Title track of Wake up Sid was played 14,126 times in the 17 markets and is on the 53rd place. Similarly, Jao na from What's your Rashee is on the 60th place with 12,825 air plays  'All is well' from 3 Idiots falls in the 68th position with 11,662 plays 

Surprisingly, the much hyped �Jai ho', which became an anthem after Rahman bagged the Oscars finds its place only as the seventh most played song with 29,972 plays. Although the music of Himesh Reshammiya's Radio was released three months prior to the film launch, its title track, Mann ka radio is 74th on the list with a mere 10,997 plays. Similarly, Prem ki Naiyaa from Ajab premki ghazab kahani figures on the 97th position with 8781 plays.

Click here to view the Top 100 songs from 1st Jan-30 Dec, 2009.

Powered by AirCheck India (service provided by RCS India) as monitored in 17 cities, 88 stations across India.