Month: June 2017

The Chainsmokers and Coldplay (3) Week Of June 24, 2017

/ dhill92 / 54 Comments

It was eight years ago today when we learned that Michael Jackson had passed away at age 50.  He was arguably the biggest celebrity the world has ever known.  He made a profound impact in the music industry, with his career spanning about 45 years. We continue to celebrate his legacy and we still listen to his music, even to this day.  Before we get to this week’s countdown, let’s take a moment of silence to honor Michael Jackson.

Now, with that being said, here are the songs leaving us this week.

  • Calvin Harris featuring Frank Ocean and Migos – Slide (#36)
  • The Vamps featuring Matoma – All Night (#35)
  • ONE OK ROCK – American Girls (#41)
  • Ocean Park Standoff – Good News (#27)

The Countdown
Last Week’s #1 Song: The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This
45. Niall Horan – This Town (#42)
44. Maroon 5 – Don’t Wanna Know (#45) [3 Weeks At #1]
43. Machine Gun Kelly featuring Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#44)
42. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey featuring Zedd – Starving (#43) [4 Weeks At #1]
41. Steve Aoki featuring Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#40)
40. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#39)
39. Jon Bellion – Overwhelming (DEBUT)
38. Zayn featuring Taylor Swift – I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (#37)
37. Erin Bowman – Good Time Good Life (DEBUT)
36. Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee – Despacito (DEBUT)
35. Maroon 5 – Cold (#34)
34. Aaron Carter – Sooner Or Later (#38)
33. Noah Cyrus – Stay Together (DEBUT)
32. Liam Payne – Strip That Down (#26)
31. DNCE – Kissing Strangers (#29)
30. MAX featuring Gnash – Lights Down Low (#30)
29. Hey Violet – Break My Heart (#22)
28. DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper – I’m The One (#33)
27. Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road (#32)
26. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#21)
25. The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey – Closer (#24)
24. Hailee Steinfeld – Most Girls (#28)
23. Harry Styles – Sign Of The Times (#23)
22. AJR – Weak (#15)
21. Train – Play That Song (#25)
20. Selena Gomez – Bad Liar (#20)
19. Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj – Swalla (#31)
18. Niall Horan – Slow Hands (#18)
17. Miley Cyrus – Malibu (#20)
16. Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like (#17) [1 Week At #1]
15. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#14)
14. Halsey – Now Or Never (#16)
13. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee (#12)
12. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#11) [1 Week At #1]
11. Julia Michaels – Issues (#13)
10. Lady Gaga – The Cure (#8)
9. Linkin Park featuring Kiiara – Heavy (#7)
8. Kygo featuring Selena Gomez – It Ain’t Me (#6)
7. James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go (#9)
6. Charlie Puth – Attention (#10)
5. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (#2) [2 Weeks At #1]
4. Zedd featuring Alessia Cara – Stay (#3) [3 Weeks At #1]
3. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#5)
2. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back (#4) [1 Week At #1]
1. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This (#1) [3rd Week At #1]
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza
Biggest DRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Tie between Hey Violet – Break My Heart and AJR – Weak (-7)
Biggest Jump Of The Week: Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj – Swalla (+12)
New Entrants
– To start off our debuts, we have Jon Bellion who returned not long after All Time Low left the countdown five weeks ago. He has a new single titled Overwhelmeing. I can’t really say it’s better than the former, but it’s still a good listen nonetheless. What this song bascially talks about is that he wants a girl to come and overwhelm him. Now, I don’t really think it’s the best expression if he wants to try and impress a girl. There have been plenty of songs with worse expressions. Overall, I think it’s solid, but I don’t see it sticking with me in the long run.

– Our next debut comes from Erin Bowman with Good Time Good Life. I heard this song quite a bit recently on Venus. At first, I wasn’t really head over heels on this song, in part because it has some of the rapping. But with time, I’ve grown to actually like it. Also, part of the song kinda reminds of Right Here, Right Now from Fatboy Slim, especially before she gets to the chorus. Overall, I enjoy this debut more than I should.

– Last year, Hits 1 was late to the party when they debuted One Dance, which was one of the biggest hits of 2016. This year, we have a single that has potential to be the biggest hit of the summer, in the form of Despacito. I definitely like the Latin-based production on this track. The verses from both Bieber & Daddy Yankee are really good. Here’s to hoping Hits 1 can be nice to it and have a good tenure.

– Noah Cyrus makes a return on the countdown with her new single Stay Together.  Earlier this year, she debuted with Make Me (Cry), which was slammed by many critics and pretty much everyone in the blogging community.  Now to say the least, Stay Together is a huge step up from her predecessor.  It’s basically about her wanting to be together with her friends for the night.  However, I’m not really a fan of her vocals, which keeps me from putting this song in green.  Still, I’ll take it over it’s predecessor any day.
Wouldn’t It Be Nice To Blurb Together For The Night
– First up, let’s begin with the exits. I didn’t really care that much for All Night. Then, there’s American Girls which I did like to some degree, but didn’t really stick with me in the big picture. As for the other two exits, I’m shocked that Good News left from a relatively high spot.  Slide was starting to lose it steam elsewhere, but it was a huge favorite in the blogging community and I’m sure everyone (including myself) is sad about it’s departure.

– Yes, you’re reading that right. Hits 1 now plays Strip That Down without Quavo. Apparently since Hits 1 doesn’t really like hip-hop in general, they decided to edit out Quavo’s verse entirely. Also, before introducing that song, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Liam Payne’s new album will be Jedi-inspired. I wonder will it be based on the Star Wars franchise? That would be interesting.

– If I’m correct, this is the smallest Biggest DRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week that we’ve ever had on the countdown.
– So, I read an article on Billboard saying that Bad Liar was Selena Gomez‘s most acclaimed song yet. But when I read everyone else’s reviews on the song, it’s actually the exact opposite. Let’s be honest here, folks (well, except for a select few who are reading this). There’s nothing I like about Bad Liar that is worth listening to.


– Swalla made the well-deserved jump into the Top 20 after doing virtually nothing for the past few weeks. I was almost afraid that it would eventually leave soon, but somehow it managed to gain more airplay this past week. I’m thrilled to see it make a comeback.

– The guest DJ that introduced Paris mentioned that she and her husband have been married for 25 years and not once did they ever got into a fight. How nice!

– While not much has changed in terms of the Top 10, I’m thrilled to see that Something Just Like This is spending its second week in a row at #1, and for the third time overall. This song is a definite contender for My Top 45 songs of 2017 and it’s very pleasing to see a song from Coldplay continue to do well, when compared to his previous singles. Here’s to hoping it stays that way.

Hit-Bound

Shawn Hook featuring Vanessa Hudgens – Reminding Me
Fall Out Boy – Champion (DEBUT)
Camila Cabello – Crying In The Club
Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell and Katy Perry – Feels (DEBUT)
Julia Michaels – Uh Huh
Imagine Dragons – Thunder
Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl
Bruno Mars – Versace On The Floor
Paramore – Hard Times
Andy Grammer – Give Love
All Time Low – Good Times
Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey – Glorious
Katy Perry featuring Nicki Minaj – Swish Swish
Carly Rae Jepsen – Cut To The Feeling

– We have two debuts on Hit-Bound this week. The first is Fall Out Boy with their second single titled Champion. This song is a huge step up from the mess that was Young & Menace, which thankfully flopped everywhere. I’ll have more words for this when it debuts.

– Second, we have more Calvin Harris, this time he’s collaborating with Pharrell and Katy Perry in his new single Feels. We haven’t seen much of Pharrell since he released Happy, which was one of the biggest hits of 2014. As for the new single, whether I think this is better than Slide, I don’t know yet. But both songs are similar in terms of how they sound. We’ll see if this one becomes a hit.

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
TIE: 1. Carly Rae Jepsen – Cut To The Feeling
TIE: 1. Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl
3. Katy Perry featuring Nicki Minaj – Swish Swish
4. Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell and Katy Perry – Feels
5. Paramore – Hard Times
Top 20 Review
0 – Awful:
None!
1 – Bad:
20. Selena Gomez – Bad Liar
2 – Mediocre:
19. Julia Michaels – Issues
3 – Decent:
18. James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go
4 – Good:
17. Halsey – Now Or Never
16. Miley Cyrus – Malibu
15. Linkin Park featuring Kiiara – Heavy
5 – Great:
14. Charlie Puth – Attention
13. Niall Horan – Slow Hands
12. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
11. The Chainsmokers – Paris
10. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee
9. Imagine Dragons – Believer
8. Zedd featuring Alessia Cara – Stay
7. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill
6. Kygo featuring Selena Gomez – It Ain’t Me
5. Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like
4. Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj – Swalla
3. Lady Gaga – The Cure
2. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This

Overall Grade: 89/100 (B+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Michael Jackson – Billie Jean
Most Missed Countdown Song: Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Lorde – Perfect Places
Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza
My Top 5 Picks
1. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This
2. Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee – Despacito
3. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back
4. Lady Gaga – The Cure
5. Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj – Swalla

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road
2. Train – Play That Song
3. Maroon 5 – Don’t Wanna Know
4. MAX featuring Gnash – Lights Down Low
5. Maroon 5 – Cold
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:

Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better: Even though he uses his instruments well, it was still basically a failed attempt at trying too hard to get a girl.  It’s not that hard for me to see why critics were not very fond of this song. It’s a good thing he released two better singles after this.

The Chainsmokers and Coldplay (2) – Week Of June 17, 2017

/ dhill92 / 28 Comments
I would like to say Happy Father’s Day Weekend to all the fathers out there. As for the countdown, after having virtually no activity this past weekend, we have another week in which it was pretty inert.  Maybe things will pick up as we head into the first week of summer, but apparently the summer lull is starting to take effect earlier than many expected.  Despite this, there were some good things that happened this week, which includes our #1.  Also, Hit-Bound is looking pretty good, but we’ll get to that later.  This is the second week in a row where we have no exits, so let’s get right to it.
The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Zedd featuring Alessia Cara – Stay
45. Maroon 5 – Don’t Wanna Know (#44) [3 Weeks At #1]
44. Machine Gun Kelly featuring Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#45)
43. Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd – Starving (#44) [4 Weeks At #1]
42. Niall Horan – This Town (#41)
41. ONE OK ROCK – American Girls (#42)
40. Steve Aoki featuring Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#33)
39. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#25)
38. Aaron Carter – Sooner Or Later (#40)
37. Zayn featuring Taylor Swift – I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (#30)
36. Calvin Harris featuring Frank Ocean and Migos – Slide (#31)
35. The Vamps featuring Matoma – All Night (#38)
34. Maroon 5 – Cold (#28)
33. DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper – I’m The One (#36)
32. Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road (#37)
31. Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj – Swalla (#34)
30. MAX featuring Gnash – Lights Down Low (#35)
29. DNCE – Kissing Strangers (#39)
28. Hailee Steinfeld – Most Girls (#26)
27. Ocean Park Standoff – Good News (#29)
26. Liam Payne featuring Quavo – Strip That Down (#27)
25. Train – Play That Song (#20)
24. The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey – Closer (#24) [8 Weeks At #1]
23. Harry Styles – Sign Of The Times (#18)
22. Hey Violet – Break My Heart (#32)
21. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#23)
20. Miley Cyrus – Malibu (#22)
19. Selena Gomez – Bad Liar (#19)
18. Niall Horan – Slow Hands (#21)
17. Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like (#17) [1 Week At #1]
16. Halsey – Now Or Never (#16)
15. AJR – Weak (#10)
14. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#7)
13. Julia Michaels – Issues (#6)
12. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee (#9)
11. The Chainsmokers – Paris [1 Week At #1]
10. Charlie Puth – Attention (#12)
9. James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go (#11)
8. Lady Gaga – The Cure (#15)
7. Linkin Park featuring Kiiara – Heavy (#14)
6. Kygo featuring Selena Gomez – It Ain’t Me (#8)
5. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#7)
4. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back (#4) [1 Week At #1]
3. Zedd featuring Alessia Cara – Stay (#1) [3 Weeks At #1]
2. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (#2) [2 Weeks At #1]
1. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This (#3) [2nd Week At #1]
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Taylor Swift – New Romantics
Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Fitz & the Tantrums – HandClap (-14)
Biggest Jump Of The Week: Tie between DNCE – Kissing Strangers and Hey Violet – Break My Heart (+10)
I Want Blurbs Just Like This
– Before introducing Just Hold On, Spyder Harrison mentioned that the members of One Direction are basically brothers.  With how much time they spent together as a band, they seem like a family.  Also, I just recently found out that Louis Tomlinson himself has signed a solo contract with Simon Cowell’s record label Syco, meaning that all the members of One Direction now have a solo deal.  You can expect a new album from Louis Tomlinson soon.
– With HandClap having the Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week this week, it won’t be much longer until it leaves us.
– Before introducing Sooner Or Later, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Aaron Carter surprised his girlfriend with a trip to Aspen.  As someone who has recently visited Las Vegas last month, it’s always nice to see that someone you love decides to take you on vacation.
– Maroon 5 teamed up with the band Earth, Wind, and Fire last week to hold a charity concert at Dodgers Stadium, raising $1.5 million in the process to help those in need.  It’s always nice for singers to participate in such events, especially in times like this.  Earlier this month, Ariana Grande hosted a benefit concert called One Love Manchester following the attack that took place at the Manchester Arena two weeks before.
– In terms of the Biggest Jump Of The Week, I’m not too thrilled about Kissing Strangers, though it was expected after weeks of virtually doing nothing here.  On the other hand, there’s Break My Heart, which I’m fine with although there are some who disagree.
– On that note, Spyder Harrison mentioned before introducing Kissing Strangers that Joe Jonas took his girlfriend hiking and drove in their Little Red Corvette afterwards, which reminds me of a song from Prince.
– I came very close to putting Play That Song in orange because it has less of a right to be here at this point.  But thanks to Body Like A Back Road debuting two weeks ago, it’s likely not going to happen anytime soon.
– After spending most of its tenure in the Top 10, Shape Of You has finally managed to drop out.  This may be a sign that this song is starting to recede.  
– Issues, on the other hand, took a rather quick drop out of the Top 10 just when it was starting to gain traction elsewhere.  While there are some people who I won’t name are pleased with this, I’m not necessarily one of them, though it has been fading on me.
– In terms of Top 10 entrants, we have The Cure, which I didn’t really expect to enter, but hey, I’ll take it.
– On that note, we have a Top 10 re-entry in the form of Heavy.  It seems that this song just cannot stay in one place.  It leaves the Top 10 for one week only for it to jump right back into that territory.  There have been a few songs that do this on the countdown before, and this is no exception.
– And that brings us to our #1, in the form of Something Just Like This which spends its second week at that spot.  I’m definitely thrilled by this.  I would like to thank the voters for putting this song back up there.  It is still a fantastic song and it definitely deserves to spend as many weeks at #1 for as long as it wants.
Hit-Bound

Noah Cyrus – Stay Together
Paramore – Hard Times
Bruno Mars – Versace On The Floor
Julia Michaels – Uh Huh
Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl (DEBUT)
Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey – Glorious (DEBUT)
Imagine Dragons – Thunder
Katy Perry featuring Nicki Minaj – Swish Swish
Carly Rae Jepsen – Cut To The Feeling
All Time Low – Good Times
Andy Grammer – Give Love (DEBUT)
Camila Cabello – Crying In The Club
Shawn Hook featuring Vanessa Hudgens – Reminding Me
– After two weeks in which we had guest hosts, Mikey Piff is back to hosting Hit-Bound this week.  We sadly lost Erin Bowman – Good Time Good Life, which would’ve been really nice to have on the countdown.  We also have the departure of both Jon Bellion – Overwhelming and Mansionz featuring G-Eazy – Wicked, which I kinda like, but didn’t really care for them that much.
– To start our debuts on Hit-Bound this week, we have the resurgence of Macklemore with his new single, Glorious, which features Skylar Grey.  It’s been quite a while since we’ve heard from Macklemore.  He’s going solo as him and Ryan Lewis decided to part ways.  As for the song itself, there’s not much I can say except I kinda like it for now.
– Then, there’s the return of Andy Grammer with Give Love.  While it’s not as good as his previous singles, it’s something I can get into.
– Saving the best for last…we have more Ed Sheeran in the form of Galway Girl.  This is easily the best single of his new album, Divide.  The production on this track is very well done.  I’ll have more words for this should it inevitably debut.
– I found out that Despacito has finally played on Hits 1, yet it didn’t debut on Hit-Bound for whatever reason.  I wonder will it make its debut next week on the countdown.  We’ll have to see.
My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl
2. Carly Rae Jepsen – Cut To The Feeling
3. Katy Perry featuring Nicki Minaj – Swish Swish
4. Bruno Mars – Versace On The Floor
5. Paramore – Hard Times
Top 20 Review
0 – Awful:
None!

1 – Bad:
20. Selena Gomez – Bad Liar

2 – Mediocre:
19. Julia Michaels – Issues
18. AJR – Weak

3 – Decent:
17. James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go

4 – Good:
16. Halsey – Now Or Never
15. Linkin Park featuring Kiiara – Heavy
14. Miley Cyrus – Malibu

5 – Great:
13. Imagine Dragons – Believer
12. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
11. Charlie Puth – Attention
10. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee
9. The Chainsmokers – Paris
8. Niall Horan – Slow Hands
7. Kygo featuring Selena Gomez – It Ain’t Me
6. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill
5. Zedd featuring Alessia Cara – Stay
4. Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like
3. Lady Gaga – The Cure
2. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This

Overall Grade: 86/100 (B)
Throwback Pick Of The Week: Cher – Believe
Most Missed Countdown Song: Sara Bareilles – Brave
#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larrson – Symphony (not much new music I like lately)
Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza
My Top 5 Picks
1. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This
2. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back
3. Lady Gaga – The Cure
4. Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj – Swalla
5. Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road
2. Train – Play That Song
3. Maroon 5 – Don’t Wanna Know
4. MAX featuring Gnash – Lights Down Low
5. Maroon 5 – Cold
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Charlie Puth featuring Selena Gomez – We Don’t Talk Anymore: Some like this, while others hate it. As for myself, I’ll take it over One Call Away any day.
Ruth B – Lost Boy: A part of me wants to like that song, but it’s a little too sad for my tastes. I like the fact that it has references to many Disney characters, such as Peter-Pan and Tinkerbell.
All Time Low – Missing You: One of Adrian’s favorite songs of last year. There are some things to like about this song. I do wish it had at least become respectable elsewhere.
Alessia Cara – Wild Things: Even though it’s not nearly as good as some of her singles (Here, Scars To Your Beautiful, etc.), I still like it for what it is.
DNCE – Toothbrush: Not really that great on its own, but the groove and some of the lyrics definitely make up for it.

Zedd and Alessia Cara (3) – Week of June 10, 2017

/ dhill92 / 13 Comments
So after about four weeks in which there was plenty of activity, this round was pretty much a downgrade. Now, it wasn’t too much of a downgrade. There was some good to talk about, however. As we get closer to the summer, things will probably start to heat up here. But right now, they’ll have to start off slow before they really start to pick up. There are no songs leaving the countdown this week, so let’s go.

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back
45. Machine Gun Kelly featuring Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#42)
44. Maroon 5 – Don’t Wanna Know (#45) [3 Weeks At #1]
43. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey featuring Zedd – Starving (#44) [4 Weeks At #1]
42. ONE OK ROCK – American Girls (#43)
41. Niall Horan – This Town (#40)
40. Aaron Carter – Sooner Or Later (#39)
39. DNCE – Kissing Strangers (#41)
38. The Vamps featuring Matoma – All Night (#37)
37. Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road (#36)
36. DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper – I’m The One (#35)
35. MAX featuring Gnash – Lights Down Low (#25)
34. Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dollar $ign and Nicki Minaj – Swalla (#31)
33. Steve Aoki featuring Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#33)
32. Hey Violet – Break My Heart (#34)
31. Calvin Harris featuring Frank Ocean and Migos – Slide (#21)
30. Zayn featuring Taylor Swift – I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (#30)
29. Ocean Park Standoff – Good News (#38)
28. Maroon 5 – Cold (#22)
27. Liam Payne featuring Quavo – Strip That Down (#35)
26. Hailee Steinfeld – Most Girls (#32)
25. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#24)
24. The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey – Closer (#29) [8 Weeks At #1]
23. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#17)
22. Miley Cyrus – Malibu (#26)
21. Niall Horan – Slow Hands (#20)
20. Train – Play That Song (#19)
19. Selena Gomez – Bad Liar (#28)
18. Harry Styles – Sign Of The Times (#15)
17. Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like (#16) [1 Week At #1]
16. Halsey – Now Or Never (#17)
15. Lady Gaga – The Cure (#14)
14. Linkin Park featuring Kiiara – Heavy (#11)
13. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#10) [1 Week At #1]
12. Charlie Puth – Attention (#12)
11. James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go (#9)
10. AJR – Weak (#23)
9. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee (#13)
8. Kygo featuring Selena Gomez – It Ain’t Me (#8)
7. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#4)
6. Julia Michaels – Issues (#6)
5. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#7) [9 Weeks At #1]
4. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back (#1) [1 Week At #1]
3. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This (#3) [1 Week At #1]
2. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (#2) [2 Weeks At #1]
1. Zedd featuring Alessia Cara – Stay (#5) [3rd Week At #1]
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop The Feeling
Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Tie between MAX featuring Gnash – Lights Down Low and Calvin Harris featuring Frank Ocean and Migos – Slide (-10)
Biggest Jump Of The Week: AJR – Weak (+13)
With My Blurbs On Fire, Guess I’m a Bad Blurber
– Unfortunately, lightning won’t strike twice for Shawn Mendes this week, as Zedd & Alessia Cara manage to reclaim the top spot with their single Stay. I was sure that There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back would hold on to the top spot, but I guess I was wrong.
– Heh, I didn’t think Weak would end up being in the Top 10 with the biggest jump of the week especially since I haven’t really heard it at all this week. I believe this is the first time that AJR has had a song in the Top 10, if I’m correct.
– In terms of last week debuts, Bad Liar, Most Girls, and Good News all made some reasonable jumps this week, while Break My Heart only jumped two spots. Body Like A Back Road, on the other hand, actually dropped on its second week, which I’m happy about although I unfortunately expect it to jump within the next week or so.
– This is the second week in a row where we have both songs tied for the Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week. I’m disappointed about Slide, but I definitely approve of Lights Down Low taking the drop. Speaking of the latter, Spyder Harrison made a mistake that it only dropped four spots. I guess he was too sad about it dropping.

– So, Taylor Swift has decided to return to streaming services such as Spotify, Amazon, etc., which is shocking especially since she was against streaming. But of course, she eventually realized that the music industry has changed since her last album, with streaming now becoming popular. This may be a sign that her new album is dropping soon.
Hit-Bound
All Time Low – Good Times
Jon Bellion – Overwhelming
Carly Rae Jepsen – Cut To The Feeling
Camila Cabello – Crying In The Club
Erin Bowman – Good Time, Good Life
Bruno Mars – Versace On The Floor
Paramore – Hard Times
Katy Perry featuring Nicki Minaj – Swish Swish
Shawn Hook featuring Vanessa Hudgens – Reminding Me
Julia Michaels – Uh Huh (DEBUT)
Imagine Dragons – Thunder
Mansionz featuring G-Eazy – Wicked
Noah Cyrus – Stay Together
This is the second week in a row in which we have a guest host on Hit-Bound, this time with Camila Cabello hosting. Not much has changed except that we’ve got only one new song entering this week.
– Our only new entrant comes from Julia Michaels with her new single Uh Huh. And no, I don’t like it. While I may have liked Issues from the start, I just can’t with Uh Huh. Sorry.

– As far as the other debuts from last week go, I can’t say I like Thunder at the moment, but I’ll have to give it more listens. I like Reminding Me for what it is, however.

– With the departure of Young And Menace, this marks the first time that a Fall Out Boy song has failed to make it to the countdown, which is perfectly fine with me since it wasn’t a good song to begin with.
My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
TIE: 1. Carly Rae Jepsen – Cut To The Feeling
TIE: 1. Katy Perry featuring Nicki Minaj – Swish Swish
3. Bruno Mars – Versace On The Floor
4. Paramore – Hard Times
5. Shawn Hook featuring Vanessa Hudgens – Reminding Me
Top 20 Review
0 – Awful:
20. Train – Play That Song
1 – Bad:
None
2 – Mediocre:
19. Julia Michaels – Issues
18. Selena Gomez – Bad Liar
3 – Decent:
17. AJR – Weak
16. James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go
4 – Good:
15. Halsey – Now Or Never
14. Linkin Park featuring Kiiara – Heavy
5 – Great:
13. Imagine Dragons – Believer
12. Charlie Puth – Attention
11. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee
10. Harry Styles – Sign Of The Times
9. The Chainsmokers – Paris
8. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
7. Kygo featuring Selena Gomez – It Ain’t Me
6. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill
5. Zedd featuring Alessia Cara – Stay
4. Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like
3. Lady Gaga – The Cure
2. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This
Overall Grade: 84/100 (B)
Throwback Pick Of The Week: Mariah Carey featuring Boyz II Men – One Sweet Day
Most Missed Countdown Song: Kelly Clarkson – Heartbeat Song (I don’t know why some people hate this, but I still think it’s really good even by her low standards)
#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson – Symphony
Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza
My Top 5 Picks
1. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This
2. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back
3. Lady Gaga – The Cure
4. Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dollar $ign and Nicki Minaj – Swalla
5. Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like
My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road
2. Maroon 5 – Don’t Wanna Know
3. Train – Play That Song
4. MAX featuring Gnash – Lights Down Low
5. Maroon 5 – Cold
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Sia featuring Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills: I definitely think this is still a decent party anthem, even if some people disagree.
Selena Gomez – Kill ‘Em With Kindness: This song is boring in some parts which is why some people hate it, and the whistling doesn’t really help either. I do, however, like the dark vibe.

Meghan Trainor – Me Too: This was pretty much every music critic’s most hated song from last year. Now, I’ll admit that it was a big guilty pleasure of mine when it first dropped. But today, not so much anymore.

Shawn Mendes (1) Week of June 3, 2017

/ dhill92 / 15 Comments
It’s almost summer, which means I’ll be posting more often. However, I do have a life outside of blogging which also means that sometimes my posts will be delayed a bit because there are some stuff going on. Spyder Harrison is back from vacation after Kid Kelly took over for him last week. As far as the countdown goes, there was plenty of activity on the countdown this week, some for better and some for worse. So without further ado, here are the songs leaving the countdown this week:

  • The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#43)
  • Zayn featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR – Still Got Time (#41)
  • Machine Gun Kelly featuring Hailee Steinfeld – At My Best (#33)
  • TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – Heavydirtysoul (#34)
  • Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie – Rockabye (#28)
The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This
45. Maroon 5 – Don’t Wanna Know (#44) [3 Weeks At #1]
44. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey featuring Zedd – Starving (#42) [4 Weeks At #1]
43. ONE OK ROCK – American Girls (#38)
42. Machine Gun Kelly featuring Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#45)
41. DNCE – Kissing Strangers (#36)
40. Niall Horan – This Town (#40)
39. Aaron Carter – Sooner Or Later (#39)
38. Ocean Park Standoff – Good News (DEBUT)
37. The Vamps featuring Matoma – All Night (#37)
36. Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road (DEBUT)
35. DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper – I’m The One (#26)
34. Hey Violet – Break My Heart (DEBUT)
33. Steve Aoki featuring Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#32)
32. Hailee Steinfeld – Most Girls (DEBUT)
31. Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dollar $ign and Nicki Minaj – Swalla (#22)
30. Zayn featuring Taylor Swift – I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (#29)
29. The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey – Closer (#31) [8 Weeks At #1]
28. Selena Gomez – Bad Liar (DEBUT)
27. Liam Payne featuring Quavo – Strip That Down (#35)
26. Miley Cyrus – Malibu (#30)
25. MAX featuring Gnash – Lights Down Low (#26)
24. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#23)
23. AJR – Weak (#24)
22. Maroon 5 – Cold (#20)
21. Calvin Harris featuring Frank Ocean and Migos – Slide (#15)
20. Niall Horan – Slow Hands (#21)
19. Train – Play That Song (#25)
18. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#17)
17. Halsey – Now Or Never (#16)
16. Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like (#11) [1 Week At #1]
15. Harry Styles – Sign Of The Times (#14)
14. Lady Gaga – The Cure (#13)
13. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee (#18)
12. Charlie Puth – Attention (#10)
11. Linkin Park featuring Kiiara – Heavy (#9)
10. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#19) [1 Week At #1]
9. James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go (#12)
8. Kygo featuring Selena Gomez – It Ain’t Me (#6)
7. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#7) [9 Weeks At #1]
6. Julia Michaels – Issues (#8)
5. Zedd featuring Alessia Cara – Stay (#3) [2 Weeks At #1]
4. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#5)
3. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This (#1) [1 Week At #1]
2. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (#2) [2 Weeks At #1]
1. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back (#4) [1st Week At #1]
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop The Feeling
Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Tie between DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper – I’m The One and Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dollar $ign and Nicki Minaj – Swalla (-9)
Biggest Jump Of The Week: The Chainsmokers – Paris (+9)
New Entrants
– This was another week in which we have five debuts, starting with newcomer Ocean Park Standoff with their first song on the countdown called Good News.  The band consists of Ethan Thompson (vocalist), Samantha Ronson (DJ and the sister of Mark Ronson), and Pete Nappi. To say the least, it’s a pretty enjoyable track. I thought Ethan’s vocals were good throughout. I don’t really expect it to become a hit, but I like it for what it is.

– Sam Hunt debuted this week with probably the worst song of the year titled Body Like A Back Road. There are many people here in the blogging community bashing this song and I’ll say, I definitely agree with them. The lyrical content is bad all throughout, and his vocals aren’t that good either. To sum it all up, it’s a embarrassment to the country genre, period. And what makes it even worse is that the song is successful everywhere else, which in my opinion represents the decline of the quality of country music in general. I believe that country music was great back in the 2000’s and even the early 2010’s when you had artists such as Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift, the latter which has long since moved on to pop music although there are rumors that she is planning on going back to country for her next album from what I heard. But anyway, let’s get back to the song itself. Overall, this is easily the new worst song on the countdown and I hope it does not stay long.

– Here is another single from Hey Violet, in the form of Break My Heart. I personally think this is better than Guys My Age, which came earlier this year. Even though I’m not big on the vocals, the beat drop here sounds good. We’ll see how long it lasts.

– We have more Hailee Steinfeld, this time with her new single titled Most Girls. Now, even though I’m really tired of Starving at this point, at least she has great vocals and she’s definitely an artist on the rise. She showcases it in her latest single. This song is about how they’re smart, strong, and beautiful. She’s basically sending a message to girls all over the world, and I like songs like that. It’ll probably be green in the near future.

– Lastly, Selena Gomez has a new single debuting on the countdown called Bad Liar. I can’t really say I’m enjoying this song at the moment. This is basically Hands To Myself, except it’s slightly worse and there’s more whispering going on. Whether or not this is the lead single from her new album remains to be seen at this point. It’s in blue for now, but I can see myself putting it in red soon.
I Need Some Good Blurbs, Baby, Give It To Me
–  First up, let’s talk about the exits this week. I’m thrilled about the departure of Still Got Time, as I mentioned a couple weeks ago that it really wasn’t an interesting song. But the other four exits are undeserving. At My Best sadly flopped everywhere to no one’s surprise. I’m also sad about the departure of Rockabye and Heavydirtysoul. This marks the first time we don’t have a TWENTY ØNE PILØTS song since December 20, 2015. Finally, there’s I Feel It Coming, which was pretty much a fan favorite to everybody (including myself) in the blogging community. Farewell, I Feel It Coming. You will be missed.

– I’m quite surprised to see There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back at #1 this week. But apparently, Hits 1 has fallen in love with Shawn Mendes given that his recent singles have either hit #1 or at least have been in the Top 5. Either way, I’m definitely happy about this, despite that it unfortunately dethroned Something Just Like This from the top spot.

– Looks like Believer is gaining traction everywhere following their performance at the Billboard Music Awards, so it’s no surprise that it jumped a spot this week. They have a new follow-up on Hit-Bound, which we’ll get to later. Even though this song isn’t necessarily my first pick to be #1, I have a feeling it’s going to happen at some point.

– Paris was surprisingly honored the Biggest Jump Of The Week especially considering it has been declining everywhere else as of right now. But I can’t say that I’m complaining though. It can stay in the Top 10 as long as it wants.

– So, I kinda grew into Now Or Never. It has gotten better with every listen, in part because I like the beat drop. However, it’s still not all that amazing.  I don’t really see it lasting in green.

– I’m not even going to comment on Play That Song jumping back into the Top 20.

– This week, we have two songs tied for the Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week. I’m not happy about Swalla dropping out of the Top 30, and this come right after it had the Biggest Jump Of The Week last week. Also, I’m The One took a surprise drop considering how popular it is everywhere else. But of course, Hits 1 does not like hip-hop. Fun fact: both the biggest drop and jump of the week moved the exact same number of spots.

– The guest DJ that introduced Sooner or Later mentioned that Aaron Carter was her childhood crush. That’s pretty cool especially considering that his brother, Nick, was part of the Backstreet Boys which was one of the most popular boy bands back in the day.

– Spyder Harrison mentioned that Joe Jonas and DNCE went undercover as LYFT drivers. That’s pretty cool stuff if you ask me. That said, I’m thrilled to see Kissing Strangers dropped into the Bottom 5 on its third week although it’s gotten slightly better with each listen. Still, I’m hoping that drop is a sign that it’s flopping.

– On that note, Don’t Wanna Know dropping down to #45 would’ve been appropriate had Body Like A Back Road not debut this week. But yeah, I’m still waiting for this song to leave the countdown already.
Hit-Bound
Camila Cabello – Crying In The Club
Paramore – Hard Times (DEBUT)
Mansionz featuring G-Eazy – Wicked
Noah Cyrus – Stay Together
Katy Perry featuring Nicki Minaj – Swish Swish
Imagine Dragons – Thunder (DEBUT)
Fall Out Boy – Young & Menace
Jon Bellion – Overwhelming
Carly Rae Jepsen – Cut To The Feeling (DEBUT)
All Time Low – Good Times (DEBUT)
Bruno Mars – Versace On The Floor
Erin Bowman – Good Time, Good Life
Shawn Hook featuring Vanessa Hudgens – Reminding Me (DEBUT)
– All Time Low hosted Hit-Bound this week, and the list looks really good, other than Young & Menace.

– Remember Paramore? Well, they’re back with Hard Times, which has some cool stuff going on. Their music video looks pretty much like a throwback, but it’s still pretty good.

– Carly Rae Jepsen has her new single titled Cut To The Feeling, which is from the soundtrack of the movie called Leap! which will debut in theaters in August. To say the least, I absolutely love this (as well as Adrian). I’ll have more words if it debuts.

– We have All Time Low themselves debuting with their new single Good Times. It’s definitely one of their better songs to date.

– As for the other two debuts, I haven’t really gotten around to listening Thunder or Reminding Me at all, which is why I don’t have an opinion on either of them at the moment.
My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
TIE: 1. Carly Rae Jepsen – Cut To The Feeling
TIE: 1. Katy Perry featuring Nicki Minaj – Swish Swish
3. Bruno Mars – Versace On The Floor
4. Paramore – Hard Times
5. All Time Low – Good Times


YouTube 15

For this week, I decided to review the YouTube 15, which is hosted by Jenna Marbles. Here’s the list of songs trending this week:


Bruno Mars – 24K Magic

Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson – Symphony

Logan Paul featuring Why Don’t We – Help Me Help You

The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk – Starboy

Stargate featuring Sia and P!NK – Waterfall

Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
Lauv – I Like Me Better
DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper – I’m The One
Alan Walker featuring Gavin James – Tired
Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like
Martin Garrix featuring Troye Sivan – There For You
The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This
Rita Ora – Your Song
Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie – Rockabye
Mackenzie Ziegler – Monsters
– Symphony is easily the best song on the YouTube15 (along with Something Just Like This). I’m absolutely in love with Zara’s vocals, and the production here is very well done. It kinda reminds me of a song from the 90’s. It’s recently been pushed to radio, so here’s to hoping it can debut on the countdown soon.
– While I only find Help Me Help You to be decent on it’s own, there’s some good stuff going on, including a reference to Scooby-Doo and Despicable Me, in which he dresses up in a Minions costume.
– It’s nice to see Sia & P!NK join forces in the single produced by Stargate titled Waterfall. The production sounds pretty lively. And while it’s not my first pick to be on the weekend countdown, I like it for what it is.
– I can’t really say I’m enjoying I Like Me Better. I’m not really a fan of Lauv’s vocals. If I’m being honest, it’s not really bad, but he could’ve done better.
– Tired is another one of those EDM songs currently trending on YouTube. Norwegian DJ Alan Walker does a great job on the production in this track.
– We have more Martin Garrix, this time with Troye Sivan in their new single There For You. While it’s not his best work, at least Martin has some potential to become one of the better EDM acts, as he has proven with In The Name Of Love recently.
– Rita Ora has a new single titled Your Song. Although I do like some things about this song, I’m not really big on Rita’s  vocals, which kinda downgrades the song for me. But I can see it growing on me in the future.
– Finally, we have 12-year-old Mackenzie Ziegler with her debut single called Monsters. I think it tells a story and it tells pretty well, and I like the production on this track.
– Some of the other songs here (24K Magic, Starboy, Shape Of You, I’m The One, That’s What I Like, Something Just Like This, and Rockabye) all appeared on the weekend countdown, and the color codes I’ve given them pretty much explains my opinions on these songs.
My Top 5 Picks For The YouTube 15
TIE: 1. Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson – Symphony
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This
3. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic
4. The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk – Starboy
5. Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie – Rockabye

    

Top 20 Review
0 – Awful:
20. Train – Play That Song

1 – Bad:
None!

2 – Mediocre:
19. Julia Michaels – Issues

3 – Decent:
18. James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go

4 – Good:
17. Halsey – Now Or Never
16. Linkin Park featuring Kiiara – Heavy
15. Imagine Dragons – Believer

5 – Great:
14. Charlie Puth – Attention
13. Panic! At the Disco – L.A. Devotee
12. Niall Horan – Slow Hands
11. The Chainsmokers – Paris
10. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
9. Harry Styles – Sign Of The Times
8. Zedd featuring Alessia Cara – Stay
7. Shawn Mendes – Mercy
6. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill
5. Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like
4. Kygo featuring Selena Gomez – It Ain’t Me
3. Lady Gaga – The Cure
2. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This
Overall Grade: 88/100 (B+)
Throwback Pick Of The Week: Celine Dion – My Heart Will Go On (Pretty much anything by Celine Dion in general)
Most Missed Countdown Song: Demi Lovato featuring Cher Lloyd – Really Don’t Care
#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson – Symphony
Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop The Feeling and Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza
My Top 5 Picks
1. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This
2. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back
3. Lady Gaga – The Cure
4. Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dollar $ign and Nicki Minaj – Swalla
5. Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like
My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road
2. Maroon 5 – Don’t Wanna Know
3. Train – Play That Song
4. MAX featuring Gnash – Lights Down Low
5. Maroon 5 – Cold
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Pitbull featuring Enrique Iglesias – Messin’ Around: I don’t like it as much as some people do, but I don’t really hate it as much as others do. I recently found out that this song uses the sample from Take It On The Run.
OneRepublic – Wherever I Go: This comeback single came unexpectedly and I still love it today. Unfortunately, it failed to become a big hit unlike their previous singles.