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Driving Notes

The Official Blog of WNZR's Afternoon Drive

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New Music Friday

The NZ Top 10 for 1/30/2026

It’s the last NZ Top 10 countdown for the month of January! Here is this week’s countdown:

10. Leanna Crawford – Honest

09. Anne Wilson – God Story

08. For KING & COUNTRY ft. Taylor Hill – World On Fire

07. Chris Tomlin – How Good It Is

06. Crowder – STILL

05. TobyMac – Heaven On My Mind

04. Seph Schlueter – Won’t Start Now

03. Lauren Daigle – Let It Be A Hallelujah

02. Jeremy Camp – No Survivors (7th week at #2)

01. Jamie MacDonald – Left It In The River (9th week at #1)

New Music This Week:

Matthew West – Good

We The Kingdom – Rescue Me

Don’t forget! Starting this Monday on The Morning Thing, we are starting our Spread the Love Valentine’s Giveaway!

Each day of the contest, our DJs will select Valentine’s gifts to put in the WNZR Valentine’s box.  
During The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive, the DJs will give a cue to call 740-397-WNZR (9697).  

Caller #5 gets the chance to answer a Valentine’s question to win a prize.

You can learn more about this contest on our website HERE!

Thank you for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

The NZ Top 10 for 1/23/2026

On this week’s top 10 list, we saw songs shift up and down, with a new song entering the chart! Here is this week’s countdown:

10. Phil Wickham – What An Awesome God (former #1 for 12 weeks)

09. For KING & COUNTRY ft. Taylor Hill – World On Fire

08. Chris Tomlin – How Good It Is

07. Josiah Queen & Brandon Lake – Can’t Steal My Joy (former #1 for 4 weeks)

06. Crowder – STILL

05. TobyMac – Heaven On My Mind

04. Seph Schlueter – Won’t Start Now

03. Lauren Daigle – Let It Be A Hallelujah

02. Jeremy Camp – No Survivors (6th week at #2)

01. Jamie MacDonald – Left It In The River (8th week at #1)

New Artist On WNZR:

Peter Burton

Peter Burton is from California, and seeks to write songs to lead people to hope. When overcoming mental illness, Peter would experience the beauty of how blessing and suffering can go hand in hand, and how faith can transcend feelings. The message of hope he brings is solely through Jesus Christ the foundation of his life and music.

Peter’s solo career may have just begun, but he is well-versed in the industry, having written for and toured with Lincoln Brewster, and joining Matthew West on his Don’t Stop Praying Tour. He also helped start Thrive Worship, contributing to their first album which charted at #1 on Billboard charts.

Read more about Peter Burton HERE!

New Music This Week:

Peter Burton – Where Would I Be

BREAKING NEWS: WinterJam 2026 will be postponing the Columbus, OH show to Monday, February 16 to avoid safety concerns regarding the winter storm warning this weekend. Stay warm. Stay safe.

Stay updated with cancellations on 90.9FM WNZR, and our Facebook page!

Thank you for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

The NZ Top 10 for 1/16/2026

We’re already halfway through January! With another Friday, comes a fresh NZ Top 10 list on WNZR! Here is this week’s countdown:

10. Leanna Crawford – Honest

09. Hope Darst – Mighty Name Of Jesus

08. Phil Wickham – What An Awesome God (former #1 for 12 weeks)

07. TobyMac – Heaven On My Mind (peaked at #2 for 1 week)

06. Lauren Daigle – Let It Be A Hallelujah

05. Crowder – Still

04. Seph Schlueter – Won’t Start Now

03. Josiah Queen & Brandon Lake – Can’t Steal My Joy (former #1 for 4 weeks)

02. Jeremy Camp – No Survivors

01. Jamie MacDonald – Left It In The River (7th week at #1)

New Music This Week:

MercyMe – Make It Well

MercyMe’s new song is tied to their upcoming movie, I Can Only Imagine 2, which is coming to theatres February 20th! This sequel is a follow-up to the story of the first I Can Only Imagine movie, and we’ll see how Bart Millard takes on the father role this time!

You can learn more about I Can Only Imagine 2 HERE!

Thank you for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

The First NZ Top 10 of 2026!

With the new year settling in, we’re bringing you four brand new songs to WNZR, one of which features a brand new artist! Before we get to that, here is this week’s top 10 countdown:

10. Leanna Crawford – Honest

09. Phil Wickham – What An Awesome God (former #1 for 12 weeks)

08. Hope Darst – Mighty Name Of Jesus

07. TobyMac – Heaven On My Mind (peaked at #2 for 1 week)

06. Lauren Daigle – Let It Be A Hallelujah

05. Crowder – Still

04. Seph Schlueter – Won’t Start Now

03. Josiah Queen & Brandon Lake – Can’t Steal My Joy (former #1 for 4 weeks)

02. Jeremy Camp – No Survivors

01. Jamie MacDonald – Left It In The River (6th week at #1)

New Music This Week:

Sons of Sunday – GOD DID!

A new artist on WNZR, consisting of Pastor Steven Furtick from Elevation Church, Chris Brown from Elevation Worship, Brandon Lake, Leeland, Chandler Moore, and Pat Barrett! We are excited to see this new band on WNZR!

Forrest Frank – THANKFUL

ELEVATION RHYTHM WASHED

Caleb & John Finished

If you’re looking for a fun family event this weekend, Mohican, in Loudonville, Ohio is hosting WinterFest this weekend!

If the weather permits, you can enjoy sponsored ice sculptures all around Main Street around 5PM on Friday evening! These sculptures will stay throughout the weekend. Time schedules are subject to change if it becomes to warm on Friday.

More information can be found on Discover Mohican’s website here!

Thank you for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

All of WNZR’s Brand New Christmas Music of 2025!

This year on WNZR, we have added 18 new Christmas songs, with some new originals and some remakes of the original classic Christmas songs!

Today on The Afternoon Drive, we listened to as many of them as we could! Be listening for these new songs on the Holly Jolly 25, where we listen to Christmas music all day long from December 1st all the way through Christmas!

You can view the full list of new Christmas music added to WNZR in 2025 on our website. Click here!

Here are some highlights from the show:

Tasha Layton – Christmas All Year Long

Tasha Layton’s new original Christmas song on WNZR has an incredible stop-motion music video. It’s a nod to the old stop-motion movies like Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and Jack Frost. If you like that style of movies, you’ll love this music video!

Jason Gray & Point Of Grace – Comfort and Joy

Ethan’s favorite new Christmas song from this year is Jason Gray and Point Of Grace’s song, Comfort and Joy! Their four voices blend so well in this song that takes some inspiration from God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Ethan absolutely loves the feel and the message of this song. You can listen to their song here:

Downhere – How Many Kings

While we took a look at the new songs on WNZR, we also went back in time to 2007 to visit a song from Downhere. Their song How Many Kings highlights Jesus’ humbleness as He came down to earth from Heaven, and was born as a baby into a manger– The King of the world did that for you and me, even when we didn’t deserve it. You can listen to this song and worship along here:

Next Friday on The Afternoon Drive, Joe and Ethan will check out all the incredible Christmas duets we hear on WNZR during the Holly Jolly 25! We can’t wait for you to join us for it!

Thank you for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

NZ Top 10 for 11/21/2025

What a week! We have a few new placements on the Top 10! Here is this week’s countdown:

10. Leanna Crawford – Honest

09. Elevation Worship & Brandon Lake – I Know A Name

08. Lauren Daigle – Let It Be A Hallelujah

07. Seph Schlueter – Won’t Start Now

06. Hope Darst – Mighty Name Of Jesus

05. Phil Wickham – What An Awesome God

04. Crowder – STILL

03. Jeremy Camp – No Survivors

02. Jamie MacDonald – Left It In The River

01. Josiah Queen & Brandon Lake – Can’t Steal My Joy (4th week at #1)

New Music This Week:

Danny Gokey – The Moment The Whole World Changed

Sanctus Real & Sarah Kroger – Hope Begins

Jason Gray & Point of Grace – Comfort and Joy

Jason and Point of Grace are coming to Ohio with this song as the headline for their tour! They will be at the Sinclair Community College, on Centerville Campus, in Dayton, Ohio on Sunday, December 14th!

Ticket information for their Comfort & Joy Tour can be found here!

This is the last regular NZ Top 10 of the year! The Holly ’25 starts December 1st when WNZR goes to full Christmas music until the December 25th!

Thank you for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

New Christmas Songs so Far for 2025 on WNZR

Here’s some new Christmas music debuting this week on WNZR!

Katy Nichole & Matt Maher – Our King Has Come

Evan Craft – Christ Is Born (Happy Birthday)

Matthew West – Dysfunctional Family Christmas

We’d love to know what you think of this song! Comment on this post and let us know if you love it or dislike it! Be completely honest! We’d love to hear your feedback on this song.

Give us an email: wnzr@mvnu.edu

We’ll have your NZ Top 10 next week! Thank you for listening!
– Ethan Hershberger

NZ Top 10 for 11/7/25

Here is your top 10 countdown for the first full week of November!

10. Lauren Daigle – Let It Be A Hallelujah

09. Elevation Worship & Brandon Lake – I Know A Name

08. Seph Schlueter – Won’t Start Now

07. Emerson Day – Get Behind Me

06. Jamie MacDonald – Left It In The River

05. Hope Darst – Mighty Name Of Jesus

04. Crowder – STILL

03. Jeremy Camp – No Survivors

02. Phil Wickham – What An Awesome God

01. Josiah Queen & Brandon Lake – Can’t Steal My Joy (2nd week @ #1)

New Music This Week:

Hope Darst – Be Born In Me

Natalie Grant – God’s Gift To Us

We are adding FIVE Thanksgiving/November themed songs to our rotation which will remain until the 28th.

Matthew West – Gobble Gobble (2020)

Crowder – Thanks Giver (2022)

Brandon Heath – The Day After Thanksgiving (2013)

Ben Rector – The Thanksgiving Song (2020)

JJ Heller – Thanksgiving Song (2023)

Thank you for listening!

– Gabriella

NZ Top 10 for 10/31/2025

Here is your top 10 countdown for this final week of October!

10. Lauren Daigle – Let It Be A Hallelujah
9. Seph Schlueter – Won’t Start Now
8. Elevation Worship f/Brandon Lake – I Know A Name
7. Emerson Day – Get Behind Me
6. Jeremy Camp – No Survivors
5. Hope Darst – Mighty Name Of Jesus
4. Jamie MacDonald – Left It In The River
3. Crowder – STILL
2. Phil Wickham – What An Awesome God (previously #1 for 12 weeks)
1. Josiah Queen f/Brandon Lake – Can’t Steal My Joy

New Music This Week:

Phil Wickham Homesick For Heaven

Brook Abella & Citizen Way – Zion

Thank you for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

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