Back in October 2013 it was rumoured that John and Edward would be attending the European Music Awards the following month, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  A few Jedward fans decided it would be a good idea to find some Dutch radio stations willing to play Jedward music, to give them a presence in the country ahead of the event, and so enlisted the help of some Dutch fans, who suggested radio stations to contact, and wrote tweets in Dutch.

Gold was struck in the form of Radio Diego.  An internet station with a following on Twitter alone of close to 225 thousand, and which claims to be Europe’s largest radio station, Diego plays a mix of top 40 and classic hits.  More importantly, they have a Twitter Top 5 countdown every weeknight, with those songs staying in the countdown for 2 consecutive weeks, added to Radio Diego’s playlist.

Fans started requesting Diego play “Luminous“, and so DJ Benny Brown suggested it should be added to the Twitter Top 5, then hosted by DJ Ruben Jay.  It proved very popular, and so fans requested they add “Can’t Forget You“.  Both songs regularly placed in first and/or second position, causing members of other fandoms to ask how come Jedward were so popular all of a sudden.

The Twitter Top 5 is a very simple concept.  Every morning, about 6am, the station tweets songs nominated by fans, and therefore eligible for the vote.  Each time that song is retweeted, it’s counted as a vote, and the 5 songs with the most retweets by 6pm that evening become that night’s Twitter Top 5.

Jedward fans are very good at pulling together to promote the Twins, and the Twitter Top 5 is no exception.  A retweet once a day (or two, if there are two songs in the list that day) takes no time at all, yet it has an immediate impact.  Radio Diego might not be a massive station like Radio 1 in the UK, but it’s a station that’s willing to play Jedward music, and it has listeners right across Europe. Diego followed Planet Jedward on Twitter, and the Twins followed them back.  Since then John and Edward have made several sound bite introductions to their songs for the station, and in return, Diego has added “Waterline” to their playlist, as well as those which have won their place, “Luminous” and “Can’t Forget You”.  Currently in the Twitter Top 5 fans can vote for “Lipstick” and “Happens in the Dark“.

You can listen to Radio Diego on mobile devices via the Tunein Radio app, or on laptop and PC through their website.  The Twitter Top 5 is every weeknight at 6.30pm UK/Irish time.

Listen to their intro for “Can’t Forget You” here: