KDNT-FM was established in June 1948 at 106.3 on the FM dial and moved to the current 106.1 frequency in 1962. The station was a simulcast of KDNT-AM during its early years. KDNT-FM went through a number of different formats during the late 1970s and early 1980s, including a Top 40/oldies hybrid, disco, rock, and country. The station's calls changed to KDDC in 1980, and then to KIXK at the start of 1981. KIXK's format remained country until changing to oldies/classic hits in December 1982.
At Midnight on September 30, 1987, KTKS began stunting with birds chirping and nature sounds. At Noon the same day, the station flipped to New age/Smooth jazz as KOAI "106.1 The Oasis". Gannett Broadcasting acquired KOAI in 1989. In October 1992, Gannett reached a deal with Granum Communications to move the Smooth Jazz format to 107.5, where they remained until the fall of 2006.
The revived "Kiss FM"
On November 1, 1992, at 1:11 a.m., the CHR/Top 40 format and "Kiss FM" branding were revived as 106.1 Kiss FM with the current KHKS calls. The first song on the revived "Kiss FM" was Wilson Phillips' version of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Gannett would sell the station to Chancellor Broadcasting in April 1997; after a subsequent series of mergers and buyouts, KHKS came under the ownership of San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications in 2000. Since its launch, KHKS has been the flagship station of The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show, which began nationwide syndication in 2001. From September 7 to 10, 2010, the station was slightly rebranded to "06.1 Kiss FM" as part of its $5,000 contest. That same year, KHKS ran a new initiative where they broadcast commercial free every Monday. However, during that time, they've been known to stretch a song out a little by repeating the chorus of a song twice. From 2005 to 2009, KHKS was the only top 40 station in Dallas/Fort Worth, although it had always been leaning rhythmic since then. Former rivals KRBV Wild 100.3, 106.7 KDL/Casa 106.7, and Movin 107.5. KHKS could serve as the de facto rhythmic station for Dallas, although KBFB is the actual rhythmic station for Dallas, KBFB is more urban-leaning. KESS-FM Hot 107.9 was also a rhythmic competitor for 3 months from May to late July 2013, but it has switched to a Regional Mexican format. From 2009 to 2014, it was competing head-on with Cumulus-owned KLIF-FM, which leaned more adult CHR. But sometime in November, KLIF-FM flipped to an old school hip-hop format for the holiday season. And after over 2 weeks, KLIF-FM Hot 93.3 flipped to urban contemporary full-time, leaving KHKS as the sole Top 40/CHR station in the metroplex once again. KHKS, however, regained KLIF-FM as its competitor as Hot 93.3 has returned to their previous Top 40/CHR format. It also competed with CBS Radio-owned 103.7 KVIL from October 2016 to November 2017.
KHKS-HD2
106.1 HD-2 first launched in 2004 as "Kiss FM En Espanol", targeting a Hispanic audience with Hispanic Rhythmic format. Then it was jettisoned in favor of Pride Radio in late 2006 with a format intended for the LGBT community. "Pride Radio" was then moved to its sister stationKDMX on 102.9 HD-2 in favor of "Wild Radio" in early 2008, running "Party Mix" music similar to the "Kiss FM" playlist. However, since March 28, 2011, it has been replaced by Pride Radio, marking the format's return to that particular frequency.
