Where they dare to say ‘I love you’ over the radio

Listeners who immediately think “mawkish” or “maudlin” when they hear the nightly requests and dedications on “Lovesongs on the Coast” might want to count their blessings.

Such a reaction probably means they’re content, not buffeted by passions like those to whom the show is truly aimed.

“People who claim it’s a little over the top for them already have a long-term [relationship] in place,” said Jhani Kaye, program director at KOST-FM (103.5). “You become desensitized to all these experiences -- finding love, being in love, losing love.”

On the other hand, those in the last three categories “think it’s perfect the way it is.”

With the low, soothing voice of host Karen Sharp enveloping them, callers of all ages can express sentiments of love and loss, or describe why “Wind Beneath My Wings” is special to them.

“The show isn’t about the host, it isn’t about the music. It’s about the listeners, about the people calling in and their stories,” Sharp said. “There are a lot of shows out there that make fun of people, and there are enough of them. I just choose to do a show where people can express their feelings and not be made fun of and be challenged.”

Kaye said the program, now nearing its 20th anniversary, started soon after KOST switched from “beautiful music” to adult contemporary. The consultant overseeing the format change, Mary Catherine Sneed, told Kaye about a top-rated dedication program in Detroit called “Pillow Talk,” and said that some Southland competitor would copy it if Kaye didn’t first.

“They were reading poetry on the air, and I thought it was a bit too sappy and syrupy for Los Angeles,” he said. “We definitely took out the poem quotient. We turned the dedication around, so it was a voyeuristic experience for the listener.”

KOST started the show as an experiment, for only one hour a night, he said. Then the ratings came in. “We saw that hour had a huge jump, like four times the previous hour and the hour following,” Kaye said.

Now the show airs from 7 p.m. to midnight. Sharp is host of the program weeknights -- full-time since 1991, after filling in for three years before that -- while the aptly named Shaun Valentine handles weekends.

Program producer Kim Dang said she sifts through faxes and up to three dozen e-mails a day, looking for the most interesting or heartfelt messages. Kaye said tonight’s Valentine’s Day program will pack in four times as many dedications as a regular evening, “and at that we have to turn away a fair number of folks.”

Dang said the show has been booked up for a week-and-a-half.

While Sharp screens the calls during her show, Dang spends her time with the mail and faxes, weeding out nonsensical messages and those from people trying to get on the program every single night.

“We like to give everyone a chance,” she said.

Somewhat surprisingly, the show rarely gets crank calls or inappropriate messages, Sharp said. For one thing, the telephone lines are already jammed with legitimate dedications. And as for the greetings that could never air, they simply send reply notes. “Obviously,” Sharp said delicately, “it’s someone that’s not all there.”

Kaye said competitors have tried to emulate the show, but usually focus more on the songs than the people requesting them. “What they didn’t understand is this is a talk show, with a considerable amount of music,” he said.

One night a man called to dedicate a song to his high school sweetheart, whom he hadn’t seen in 20 years. She was still in the area, heard the dedication and called the station to get his number. Kaye said they later sent the station a wedding announcement.

Sharp said many of the dedications are simply, “Oh, tell him I like him,” or, “He doesn’t know I’m alive.” “And those are fun to do,” she said.

But not all of the calls are teen crushes. Some nights Sharp is more doctor than DJ, drawing out callers to discuss their feelings.

“It’s surprising to me how much people share,” she said. “It’s a place where people feel safe and can talk to somebody. A lot of times people call when they’re in crisis.”

One night this week, a girl called after her boyfriend broke up with her, on the first anniversary of her father’s death. She thanked Sharp, saying, “I just needed somebody to talk to.”

Another recent call came from a young woman dedicating “A Whole New World” from the Disney movie “Aladdin” to her father. She told Sharp she wasn’t allowed to talk to him after her parents’ divorce, so the two kept in touch via dedications.

“We try to make the show as universal as possible, so it doesn’t get so serious,” she said.

“I’ve had people who are so cynical and say, ‘How can you listen to these people?’ ” Sharp said. But inevitably, those same critics will hear a story that resonates with them or even get their own dedications. She said they then cry to her, “Oh, that was so beautiful.”

“Until it happens to you, you can kind of shoo it away,” she said. “There really is a soft spot. When they see how that feels, it’s quite a different story.

“It isn’t for every single person on Earth for every single phase of their life,” Sharp said. “But at some point in their life, they’ll tune in.”