Before the station was built, its construction permit was assigned the call sign WMLY on June 28, 1989. It took several years to sign-on but finally began broadcasting on October 23, 1995.[3] It took the callsign WBNC-FM. As WBNC-FM, it aired a country music format simulcast with co-owned WBNC (1050 AM). On December 17, 2001, it changed callsigns to WVMJ.[4] WVMJ changed formats to contemporary hit radio and its moniker to Magic 104 on December 26, 2001.
