MintBear Weekly: Bizarre Takes the Lead as the Plateau Holds

The week in brief

The week of 10–16 August continued the pattern established in late July. MintBear recorded 498094 plays, averaging 71156 per day. The average number of unique tracks was 36014, and the daily record covered 167 of 170 active stations. Compared with the 3–9 August edition, the weekly total fell by only 774 plays, or roughly 0.16%. Average variety changed by one track, while coverage did not move. This was not a new phase, but another week at the same high, exceptionally even observation level.

The previous edition set a strict test: would the weekly minimum stay above 71 thousand? It did. The quietest day produced 71068 plays and the busiest 71273. That spread of 205 plays was about 0.29% of daily volume. Unique-track counts ranged from 35935 to 36090. The range widened slightly week on week, but not enough to suggest catalogue expansion or contraction.

Individual-track forecasts were more revealing. Bizarre not only maintained the previous period’s Sunday level but reached 400 weekly detections, up from 312, and topped the Airplay chart for the first time. “Прости” rose from 247 to 276 and moved from eighth to fifth. Take Me There converted its earlier weekend surge into a regular 27–30 daily appearances: its total climbed from 104 to 200 and its ranking from 82nd to 17th. The overall surface barely moved, but the order beneath it changed noticeably.

What played most often

The major categories again moved within very narrow bands. Dance music accumulated 216936 plays, with daily totals of 30915–31031. Electronic reached 190709, within 27198–27284 per day. Pop remained near 19.8–19.9 thousand daily, Russian music near 14.2–14.4 thousand, and retro around 13.9 thousand. No category gained anything close to one percent of the overall archive, leaving the genre centre unchanged.

The “On the road” scenario led every day with 315361 plays and a daily range of 44982–45134. “For work” stayed between 11042 and 11138, while “For studying” remained between 8132 and 8209. Small moves in opposite directions on Thursday and Sunday did not alter the ranking. As in the previous two editions, the archive’s greater completeness is preserving both its overall size and its major proportions.

The Airplay chart was livelier. Bizarre rose from third to first, adding 88 detections, or about 28%. Meet Me In The Dark increased from 348 to 378 but surrendered the lead and finished second. LETO declined from 315 to 305 and moved from second to third. Satisfy remained fourth despite slipping from 292 to 287. “На ресницах” barely changed—271 versus 272—and fell from fifth to sixth only because neighbouring tracks grew.

Below the Top 10, Magnetic climbed from 184 to 242 and from 24th to ninth. Take Me There added 96 detections and 65 positions. Less than a Lover, identified as a new candidate two editions ago, recorded 148 versus 145 and remained 38th. This is no longer a burst or an acceleration, but stable, moderate rotation: its presence has held, though a move toward the leaders has not yet happened.

How the mood shifted

The Mood Map was almost motionless again. Energy stood at 61.8% on the 10 August map and remained there through Friday, dipped to 61.6% on Saturday, then returned to 61.8% on Sunday. Romance was 20.0% for six days and rose to 20.1% only on Saturday. Relaxation stayed at 7.8%, focus at 6.1%, and nostalgia at 4.3–4.4%.

The previous edition proposed treating a move of at least one percentage point, with unchanged coverage, as a meaningful signal. Nothing close occurred: the maximum difference was 0.2 points for energy and 0.1 for romance. Saturday’s slightly lower energy and higher romance is therefore better described as a rounded deviation than an emotional weekend turn.

The track-level layer moved a little more but remained within familiar limits. Energy occupied 64.5–64.9%, romance 21.6–21.9%, and the balance of the five states ranged from 0.699 to 0.701. The hourly energy range was 0.002–0.004; for calmness and danceability it was usually 0.003. These thousandths help compare hours within a day, but do not support a story of a sharp weekly mood change.

What repeated throughout the week

Source quality did not change: every daily digest had a quality score of 100, covered 167 stations, and represented 98% of the active catalogue. Every Mood Map used a comparable station set with confidence 0.95. The weekly Airplay chart contains 498094 valid detections across seven complete days and events from 169 stations. The difference from the 167 in daily summaries reflects the boundaries of specific public contracts, not the sudden disappearance of two major stations.

Station leaders closely matched the previous week. Russian Radio Kids Channel recorded 5151 plays versus 5144, DFM Pioneer 5143 versus 5144, and DFM Party 4964 versus 4968. Their daily lines were nearly straight. This stability among the largest sources explains why genre, scenario, and emotional shares did not react to Top 100 reshuffling.

The upper rotation also persisted for all seven days. Bizarre followed a line of 78, 53, 58, 53, 54, 49, and 55. Meet Me In The Dark opened at 76, then stayed between 46 and 54. After 59 on Monday, LETO moved into a 39–45 range. Satisfy declined from 66 to 31, but retained fourth place on its accumulated weekly lead. After Monday’s 32, “Прости” remained between 38 and 42 for six days. These trajectories show how one strong opening can shift a weekly total, while consolidation is clearer in a steady run.

Rare and new appearances kept changing the details without disturbing the foundation. On 10 August, АННА АСТИ, Jazzy, Editors, and The Strokes entered the record. On 12 August, the rare block connected SEVILLE & ARTIK & ASTI, Maroon 5, Paul Mauriat, and Purple Disco Machine. New names on 15 August included Stray Kids, Drake with Karol G, and KISS OF LIFE. This discovery layer matters, but one appearance cannot establish future rotation.

The week’s main turning points

Monday immediately suggested the final order, although Bizarre and Meet Me In The Dark were separated by only two detections. Both lines levelled out by midweek, with Bizarre’s advantage coming from a stronger Monday and a stable band around 50–58. Wednesday was the low point for both overall metrics, yet its gap from Sunday was only 205 plays and 83 unique tracks.

Friday and Saturday revealed a split between overall and internal signals. Friday’s variety rose to 36081 on 71098 plays. Saturday added 33 plays, but the Mood Map reached its energy minimum. At the same time, daily observations showed Баста and Моя Мишель’s “Если я буду танцевать” jumping from 9 to 28. The coincidence exists, but there is not enough evidence to connect one track with a change in a rounded emotional share.

Sunday closed with the week’s highest overall volume and restored the usual 61.8% energy reading. Bizarre reached 55, “Прости” 41, and Take Me There 30. The last two figures were close to the previous Sunday, but now sat within stable seven-day lines—what distinguishes consolidation from a brief weekend spike.

What this week may mean for the next

The main question is no longer whether the plateau exists: three consecutive periods have now shown the same scale. Next week’s testable signal would be daily volume below 71 thousand or clearly above 71.3 thousand with comparable coverage. For now, the weekly decline of 774 detections looks like ordinary noise within a narrow band, not the beginning of a downturn.

Bizarre enters the new week on top, although its 400 detections partly depend on an exceptional Monday. If its daily line stays near 50–55, first place looks sustainable. Meet Me In The Dark added 30 and retained broader station coverage, so the gap is not definitive. LETO and Satisfy started high before declining; the question is whether they can return to roughly 40–50 per day.

Take Me There offers the clearest consolidation signal. The previous edition asked whether it could outlast weekend readings of 26–30. It spent the whole week between 27 and 30, nearly doubled its total, and climbed 65 places. The next test is no longer presence, but retention of a Top 20 position. “Прости” also sustained its growth and entered the Top 5, while Less than a Lover remained a steady, moderate participant.

For the Mood Map, the rule is unchanged: movements in tenths and thousandths describe stability, not a turn. If coverage remains at 167 stations, a meaningful development would require at least one percentage point or a repeated, multi-day change in the order of segments. Until then, MintBear’s main story is not a change in overall mood, but competition among tracks within a remarkably stable archive.