The 106.1 frequency was formerly a translator for
WROX-FM to service signal dropouts in Downtown Norfolk. This signed on in 1995 and was turned off in 2003. In April 2001, a full-powered frequency signed on the air at 106.1 as WEXM, serving the Eastern Shore of Virginia (with a city of license of
Exmore), and simulcasting
WKOC. The simulcasting would be discontinued in March 2004, as 106.1 would relocate their tower to
Hampton and be re-licensed to Poquoson. Channels on a SPARC Radio with
PSD. On March 7, 2004, the 106.1 signal would debut as
adult hits WPYA "106.1 Bob-FM". This format was very popular with listeners, and fared much better than sister station WKCK (now
WNOB)'s country music format. The two stations swapped signals, formats and call sign, and became "Kick 106" on September 23, 2004. That would last until 5 p.m. on February 2, 2005, when, after playing "
Gone Country" by
Alan Jackson, the format, which never had high ratings, was dropped and the station began stunting with
Snoop Dogg's "
Drop It Like It's Hot" for two days straight. The
Top 40/CHR format known as WZNR, "The Zone @ 106.1," debuted at 2 p.m. on February 4 (after a brief joke "introduction" for a soft AC format called "Mix 106"), with
Kelly Clarkson's "
Since U Been Gone" being the first song played. The station was hoping to fill the market's mainstream top 40 void that was left open by
WNVZ in 1993 by giving listeners "All The Hits, Not Just Some Of Them." The station also carried the syndicated morning show, "
The Playhouse", which is based out of
Portland, Oregon (the reasoning behind this was most likely that the show's host (PK)'s hometown was
Virginia Beach). Even though the format was well received in the area, the station had low ratings. On September 21, 2006, at 12:04 p.m., WZNR exited the "Zone" by segueing from the
All-American Rejects' "
Move Along" to an introduction to the new WNRJ, "Energy 106.1, Music That Makes You Move", followed by its first song in the new format,
Bob Sinclar's
Rock This Party (Everybody Dance Now)." WNRJ's format, branding and logo are also extremely similar to that of Alan Burns'
Movin' format. Although this station was billing themselves as a "
rhythmic hot AC," WNRJ was expected to lean slightly towards a Dance direction (as evidenced by the Sinclar track they launched with). In January 2007, WNRJ's playlist began to shift towards
rhythmic contemporary by incorporating more current
R&B/
hip-hop product into the mix and lessening on Dance and Old School tracks as a way to boost ratings and because of WWHV's flip from Urban to Sports (now
WXTG). During this time, the station was still suffering from dismal numbers in the Arbitron ratings. On August 27, at Midnight (ET), WNRJ shifted formats to
adult top 40, with the current
hot AC Pop/Rock fare mixed in with some of the Rhythmic crossovers that were held over from the previous format.
December 2007 relaunch Energy's new adult top 40 format ultimately failed in the ratings, as the station peaked below a 2 share for the market's ratings. Sinclair Communications decided to take station in a different direction by flipping back to their previous
country music format, while going in stunt mode for about 4 days to promote the change. On December 14, 2007, just before 2 pm (ET), after playing "
Bye Bye Bye" by
NSync, WNRJ began stunting with all
Garth Brooks songs as "Garth 106", starting with "
The Thunder Rolls"; the stunt would shift over the next few days to songs by
Kenny Chesney as "Kenny 106",
Martina McBride as "Martina 106", and
George Strait as "George 106". The station completed its shift back to country music as WUSH, "US106, America's Country" at 5 p.m. on December 18, 2007, with the first song on "US106" being "
It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" by
Alan Jackson and
Jimmy Buffett. Two days later, though, the station took the WUFH call sign. On August 15, 2008, the FCC granted a request from Sinclair Communications to move the antenna and increase the power of WUSH. Owner Bob Sinclair also made the announcement on-air at 5 p.m. The new tower started broadcasting on May 29, 2009 with 11,000 watts in
Portsmouth, Virginia.
HD Radio In 2014, WUSH started broadcasting in
HD Radio and put sister station
WROX-FM on its HD2 sub-channel. On March 25, 2016, at noon, the HD2 channel shifted to
Mainstream Rock, branded as "96.5 Rocks", which is simulcasted on translator W243DJ (96.5 FM). On June 26, 2017, at noon, WUSH-HD2 changed their format from mainstream rock to soft oldies, branded as "Vintage 96.5", with the first song being "
Lookin' out My Back Door" by
Creedence Clearwater Revival. Just a few months later, on September 15, 2017, at 3 p.m., WUSH-HD2 flipped to a simulcast of sports-formatted
WTAR 850 AM. On September 6, 2022, WUSH-HD2 changed their format to a simulcast of hot adult contemporary-formatted WTAR, as "96.5 "Lucy FM". ==References==