Jamaican artist Shaggy's album HotShot, which recently hit Billboard's top 10, got a huge electronic jump start from MP3-lovin' Pablo Sato, who spins at KIKI-FM in Honolulu. Here's how it went from Net to great bet.
— Erin Podolsky
JULY 16 Sato downloads ''It Wasn't Me.'' JULY 18 He begins playing the song on KIKI, weeks before the album hits stores: ''It became the No. 1-requested song within a matter of a couple of days.'' EARLY AUGUST Tommy Austin of KKRZ in Portland, Ore., listens to an advance copy of Hotshot. He puts ''Dance & Shout,'' the album's first single, into rotation. LATE AUGUST Austin visits Hawaii, hears ''It Wasn't Me'' on the radio. ''It was blowing up over there,'' he says. SEPT. 10 Austin begins playing the cut on KKRZ. NOV. 4 ''It Wasn't Me'' enters Billboard's Hot 100 chart at No. 57. DEC. 23 The song peaks at No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100. DEC. 30 Hotshot finally breaks into Billboard's top 10 after 19 weeks on the album chart, coming in at No. 7.
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