Delilah Rene
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Delilah Rene Luke, almost always simply known as Delilah, is the host of a nationally syndicated nightly U.S. radio song request and dedication program Delilah After Dark, with an estimated 7 million listeners. She is a native of Reedsport, Oregon.
[edit] Format
Usually finishing within the top three radio programs nationwide, Delilah After Dark begins at 7 p.m. and ends at midnight, although a few stations air the show from midnight to 5 a.m. She doles out relationship advice between musical requests and describes herself as "the queen of sappy love songs." Most of the time the caller tells Delilah their situation and then Delilah chooses the song that she feels best matches the caller's situation. She also plays songs by request, one of the few DJs that still does it on the air without a tightly restricted safe list of songs. While the caller speaks to Delilah, flowery music plays in the background. Often callers are grateful that they were able to get through the phone lines. Most of the listeners of the show are regulars.
Originally heard only on weeknights, stations that carry Delilah now have the option of carrying the show six or even seven nights a week. Nearly all of the stations carrying Delilah broadcast her show at least six nights a week, most broadcast it seven nights a week. There are two separate versions of the show for different demographics; one targeted towards younger females, and another directed at a broader audience, usually for Lite FM-formatted stations [1].
The show started early in Delilah's career and moved from a few different companies. Most recently, it was acquired by Premiere Radio Networks in 2004. Many of the stations carrying Delilah's show were owned by Premiere parent Clear Channel Communications, which led to speculation that Clear Channel would drop similar locally-produced "lovesongs" programs in New York and Los Angeles in order to place Delilah on the air in the nation's top two radio markets. In November of 2006, WLTW in New York began carrying Delilah, after longtime evening hostess J.J. Kennedy was laid-off as part of a major company-wide layoff at Clear Channel. There is much speculation that KOST Los Angeles, which also has a local evening lovesongs show hosted by Karen Sharp, may quickly follow suit. If it happened, this would leave Houston, San Diego and Detroit as the three largest markets not served by Delilah. KODA in Houston, KYXY in San Diego, and WNIC and WMGC in Detroit currently have local evening lovesongs shows on their schedule. (It should be noted, however, that WMGC aired Delilah from about 2001 to 2004, when she was replaced by the station's current locally-based show, and that Delilah's show has previously been available on other stations in Detroit and nearby Ann Arbor which have since changed format and no longer air Delilah.)
The show's current flagship station is KRWM in Seattle.
Since many stations that carry Delilah's show go to an "All-Christmas" format in November and December, Delilah's show also goes all-Christmas during that time, playing holiday music. Those affiliates that do not want the all-Christmas version of Delilah receive a show playing mostly secular music during November and December. A version of Delilah's show fulfilling CanCon music quotas is also available for Canadian stations, and is heard on CJEZ in Toronto and CFMG in Edmonton, among other stations.
The program is especially popular among women between the ages of 25 and 54, the prime demographic in American advertising[citation needed]. While her show has plenty of detractors (some of whom accuse her of aggressively trying to push her conservative Christian values on her listeners), it also has millions of devoted fans. Delilah shares pieces of her personal life on the air each night, discussing what she and/or her kids did earlier in the day.
Chevrolet has a sponsorship deal with the show.
[edit] Personal life
She is known for giving advice to the lovelorn, often with a notable spiritual slant. She is a public advocate of adoption, as four of her kids are adopted. Delilah has written a book called Love Someone Today. Delilah lives in Seattle with the three youngest of her seven children.
