Pop-rock band Maroon 5 will be taking over XM Satellite Radio’s hits countdown channel Top 20 on 20 this Friday. And to make the screaming masses happy, they'll even perform a song or two.

The group is dropping by XM's studios to play some songs of their liking, talk about their music, and will treat the XM Nation to a live performance.

Maroon 5 is getting ready to head out for concert dates in Asia and Australia in support of their current album It Won’t Be Soon Before Too Long. But you'll be able to catch them on Top 20 on 20 (ch 20) this Friday, February 1st, at 9am, 3pm, and 9pm ET.

OneRepublic, the Colorado-born pop band that rose from MySpace stardom to breaking international radio records, will be taking over XM's hits channel Top 20 on 20 tomorrow.

The band, which was formed in 2002, grew in popularity on MySpace until OneRepublic soon became the most popular band on the social networking site. Producer Timbaland took notice and remixed one of their tracks, "Apologize," including it in his 2007 album Shock Value.

According to Billboard, the song quickly became a platinum-selling single in many countries. "Apologize," went on to be crowned the most popular song in radio history in the U.K., and in the U.S. it received more airplay than any other song in Top 40 history.

Tomorrow, January 25th, OneRepublic will count down their top songs on XM's Top 20 on 20 (ch 20), starting at 9am to 12pm ET. What's more, OneRepublic will perform the songs "Apologize" and "Stop and Stare" live in the XM Satellite Radio studios.

XM has launched a new Spanish-language channel called Caricia, which features music from popular artists, such as Julio Iglesias, Jose Feliciano, Roberto Carlos, Leo Dan, Jose Jose, Leonardo Favio, Armando Manzanero, Nino Bravo, Camilo Sesto and more.

Caricia (ch 93) is currently airing on XM Radio Online and on the Satellite Radio service.

The channel - which focuses on Spanish-language oldies hits from the 60s, 70s and 80s (aka "musica del recuerdo") - brings XM's total Spanish-language music offering up to four channels. (Correction: XM's Spanish-language music offering was already at 4 channels, see details below.) That's in addition to XM Deportivo, CNN En Espanol and MLB Play by Play en Espanol.

As a result, XM is touting that they offer "the most Spanish language programming on satellite radio."

UPDATE: Caricia is replacing Fuego on the satellite radio service, though Fuego will continue to be heard on XM Radio Online and on DirecTV. Fuego's programming - reggaeton - has been incorporated into Caliente (ch 94), which XM considers to be a better fit.

"Our listeners wanted a channel dedicated to Spanish-language hits, and Caricia was added as a result," a XM spokesperson told Orbitcast. "It appeals to a broader audience."

[Press Release]
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