Posted May 3, 2013

By ELIZABETH DE ARMAS

Although satellite radio is the latest trend when it comes to listening to talk shows or music in your car, some AM radio and FM radio stations are still prevailing. The ones that have managed to succeed find a way to engage their listeners through various forms such as the latest celebrity gossip, updates on current events, exclusive on-air interviews with stars, giveaways and good music. Elvis Duran and the Morning Show on Y100 is one of them.

The 100.7 radio station logo (Photo courtesy of google.com).

The Y100 Morning Show was once the Kenny and Footy Morning Show, but that all changed in May 2003 when Elvis Duran and the Morning Show took over.

Although no one is a fan of commercials cutting into music or show time, Elvis Duran and the Morning Show keeps you engaged enough that the 10-minute commercial breaks don’t really matter. From 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Mondays through Fridays, you can be sure to catch Elvis Duran and his crew.

They’re humorous and great at giving their listeners the latest celebrity scoop. They’re also always including their listeners in their daily show by asking questions that allow people to call in, text or comment on their Facebook page.

The morning show is definitely targeting a certain audience – young adults who like staying in touch with celebrity gossip, current events traffic updates, trending topics and music.

The show does a great job airing music of all types – some pop, some rock, some alternative, some country, some electronic and some Spanglish Pitbull, always. It isn’t National Public Radio (NPR) and it isn’t meant for senior citizens. That doesn’t take away from its popularity or success.

Elvis Duran and the Morning Show has a segment called the Daily Sleaze where Daniel Monaro, one of the show’s longtime members, gives listeners the daily gossip of what’s going on in the celebrity world and on television for the day. Monaro does the Daily Sleaze every hour, every day: 6:30, 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. Every hour there is fresh news on the Sleaze, in addition to anything that was mentioned during the previous segments.

The 100.7 morning show’s host, Elvis Duran (Photo courtesy of google.com).

Elvis Duran asking questions to listeners, the infamous phone tap, Carla Marie’s What’s Trending segment and Greg T’s Topic Train follows the Sleaze. Members of the morning show take turns with the phone taps, which are pre-recorded. Listeners email who they want to prank call, and what their ideas are.Carla Marie’s segment lets listeners know what is trending in the world of fashion. It allows listeners to keep track of what is in style and offers prices and places of where individuals can buy the latest trend.

My personal favorite part about the morning show is Greg T’s Topic Train. Greg T announces several topics that are on his mind and listeners are allowed to call in and talk about what they have experienced or what they think about one of the topics presented.

The topics range from sex to food to relationships to shows to vacations and hotel stays. Basically, anything goes. Listeners always call in with the greatest stories or advice. The morning show also introduces listeners to music’s top charts around the world. It allows listeners to be exposed to music to which they wouldn’t normally listen to. It may even introduce listeners to a favorite new genre or song.

Elvis Duran and the Morning Show’s studio (Photo courtesy of google.com).

Elvis Duran, whose real name is Barry Cope, is the heart of the morning show.Not only does he have an amazing radio voice (yes, a good radio voice exists), but he also comes off as a very laid back person who allows his listeners to guide the morning show’s daily interests.He lets listeners take part in the show and interact with the hosts and morning show employees. And that’s something radio listeners enjoy – being a part of it.

You have to know what to expect before you decide to listen to Elvis Duran and his crew.

There are times when they will insult celebrities, talk about sex and other uncomfortable situations such as passing gas or cheating on a significant other, but it makes for interesting and intriguing mornings.

I don’t think anyone can tune in to Elvis Duran and the Morning Show and think to themselves, “This was boring.” It is far from that. Call it risqué, quirky, funny, loud, chaotic or wild – anything, but boring.

• Name: Elvis Duran and the Morning Show on Y100 (100.7 FM radio)
• Time: Mondays through Fridays, 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., ET
• Host: Elvis Duran
• Morning show employees: Daniel Monaro, Bethany Watson, Froggy, Greg T, Skeery Jones, David Brody, Garrett, Scotty B, Cara Marie, Web Girl Kathleen, Ronnie and Uncle Johnny
• Category: Comedy
• Reviewer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars