I would like to wish everyone a Happy early 4th Of July! This week was the 4th Of July Edition of the Weekend Countdown as America celebrates its 241st Birthday and Canada its 150th Birthday. We’re now halfway through the year, as we begin the month of July. Pretty soon, I’ll have to consider getting started on my own Year-End posts, which is six months from today. Now, with all that being said, here are the songs leaving the countdown this week.
The Countdown
Last Week’s #1 Song: The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This
45. Machine Gun Kelly featuring Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#43)
44. Maroon 5 – Don’t Wanna Know (#44) [3 Weeks At #1]
43. Niall Horan – This Town (#45)
42. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#40)
41. Steve Aoki featuring Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#41)
40. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey featuring Zedd – Starving (#42) [4 Weeks At #1]
39. Zayn featuring Taylor Swift – I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (#38)
38. Aaron Carter – Sooner Or Later (#34)
37. Erin Bowman – Good Time Good Life (#37)
36. Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee – Despacito> (#36)
35. Noah Cyrus – Stay Together (#33)
34. Jon Bellion – Overwhelming (#39)
33. Maroon 5 – Cold (#35)
32. Camila Cabello – Crying In The Club (DEBUT)
31. Harry Styles – Sign Of The Times (#23)
30. Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj – Swalla (#19)
29. MAX featuring Gnash – Lights Down Low (#30)
28. Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell and Katy Perry – Feels (DEBUT)
27. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#26)
26. DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper – I’m The One (#28)
25. Train – Play That Song (#21)
24. The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey – Closer (#25)
23. AJR – Weak (#22)
22. Miley Cyrus – Malibu (#17)
21. Hailee Steinfeld – Most Girls (#24)
20. Liam Payne – Strip That Down (#32)
19. Linkin Park featuring Kiiara – Heavy (#9)
18. Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like (#16) [1 Week At #1]
17. Selena Gomez – Bad Liar (#20)
16. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee (#13)
15. Niall Horan – Slow Hands (#18)
14. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#12) [1 Week At #1]
13. Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road (#27)
12. Halsey – Now Or Never (#14)
11. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#15)
10. Charlie Puth – Attention (#6)
9. James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go (#7)
8. Lady Gaga – The Cure (#10)
7. Julia Michaels – Issues (#11)
6. Kygo featuring Selena Gomez – It Ain’t Me (#8)
5. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back (#2) [1 Week At #1]
4. Zedd featuring Alessia Cara – Stay (#4) [3 Weeks At #1]
3. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#3)
2. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This (#1) [3 Weeks At #1]
1. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (#5) [3rd Week At #1]
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop The Feeling
Biggest DRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj – Swalla (-11) (…….)
Biggest Jump Of The Week: Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road (+14) (…….)
New Entrants
– Our first of two debuts this week comes from Camila Cabello, who finally goes solo after years of being with Fifth Harmony. She starts off her solo career with Crying In The Club. Now, I’m split on her new single at the moment. It’s basically a lesser version of Cheap Thrills, which was one of last summer’s biggest hits. We’ll see if this grows on me.
– Calvin Harris returns not long after Slide exited the countdown last week. He has a new single titled Feels, and this time he’s bringing Pharrell and Katy Perry along for the fun. This new single sounds very similar to Slide. Now, the question is this: is it better than it’s predecessor? I can’t say that yet since I’ll need to listen to it more, but I still like this. Calvin Harris has improved from last year when he released This Is What You Came For, which was not to many people’s liking. Here’s to hoping his new single has a nice stay here.
Ain’t No Blurbing In The Club
– As always, we’ll begin with the exits. First, there’s Kissing Strangers, which I didn’t really like that much. But then, there’s Break My Heart, a song that I personally thought was better than it’s predecessor that debuted earlier this year. These exits were not really surprising since they weren’t popular everywhere else.
– The guest DJ that introduced Don’t Wanna Know gave a shout out to all of her Canadian friends. How very nice of her!
– Before introducing Good Time Good Life, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Erin Bowman actually performed the theme song for the Pokemon anime. Pretty cool considering it was actually my favorite cartoon since I was a child.
– Before introducing Stay Together, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Noah Cyrus’s sister, Miley, told her not to google herself, mainly because there are haters out there. I’m sure she’s gonna take her sister’s advice and not listen to the critics while she focuses on her career.
– That huge jump Swalla had last week was just a hope spot, because right now it’s back to square one. It’s too bad Jason Derulo can’t seem to have a hit nowadays.
– Before introducing Bad Liar, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Selena Gomez sounds really good in this song. However, a lot of critics will have to disagree (as well as many people in the blogging community), because they have panned this song from the get-go. As I’ve said last week, there’s nothing good about this song at all, and I’m hoping it doesn’t become a big hit.
– I’m not even gonna comment on Body Like A Back Road being honored the Biggest Jump Of The Week.
– There are no new Top 5 entrants for the second week in a row.
– Yes, you’re reading that right. There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back is now tied for best song on the countdown. While I still think Something Just Like This is clearly the best, I’ve been enjoying this more with each listen. Thank you, Shawn Mendes for pleasing my ears again.
– However, it is Castle On The Hill that takes over the #1 spot this week. Now, I would’ve preferred one of the two purple songs to have another week at #1, but hey, I’ll take Castle On The Hill any day.
Bonus Summer Throwback Songs
Since this was the Fourth Of July edition of the weekend countdown, Hits 1 compiled a list of many throwback songs they played this week. Here’s the color code:
Purple – Best Song
Green – Great
Blue – Good
Pink – Decent
Yellow – Mediocre
Turquoise – Bad
Red – Awful
Orange – Worst Song
Here are the throwback songs they played this weekend:
Katy Perry – Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton – Can’t Hold Us
Charli XCX – Boom Clap
Twenty One Pilots – Ride
Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell and T.I. – Blurred Lines
Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe
Maroon 5 – Payphone
Florida Georgia Line – Cruise
One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful
Ariana Grande – Problem
Omi – Cheerleader
Imagine Dragons – Radioactive
Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do
Taylor Swift – New Romantics
Sia featuring Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills
Sam Smith – Stay With Me
Katy Perry – E.T.
B.O.B. featuring Hayley Williams – Airplanes
Demi Lovato – Cool For The Summer
Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman
The Chainsmokers featuring Daya – Don’t Let Me Down
5 Seconds Of Summer – She Looks So Perfect
Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth – See You Again
Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza
Maroon 5 – Love Somebody
Katy Perry – California Gurls
Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo and Afrojack – Give Me Everything
Walk The Moon – Shut Up And Dance
Andy Grammer – Honey I’m Good
Fall Out Boy – My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (So Light ‘Em Up)
LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem
fun. featuring Janelle Monae – We Are Young
Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX – Fancy
Taylor Swift – Bad Blood
Magic! – Rude
Miley Cyrus – Party In The U.S.A.
Cee Lo Green – Forget You
– As far as the list goes, I like pretty much most of them. However, I was never a fan of either Blurred Lines or She Looks So Perfect from the start.
– Unlike most of you, I’m still in love with Shut Up And Dance to this day. Same with Honey I’m Good, even though it doesn’t quite come close to one of Andy Grammer’s best singles.
– Am I the only one here that actually likes Rude, even if some people find it straight up annoying?
– If I’m being honest, I might be one of the few that actually still likes See You Again, especially since it’s a great tribute to the late Paul Walker.
– I’m quite surprised to see Love Me Like You Do on the list, in part because it hit #1 during the spring of 2015. But hey, I’ll take it, since I still love this song so much. I spent a while deciding between Cool For The Summer and Love Me Like You Do for my favorite summer throwback, and I actually found the latter to be absolutely fantastic. Ellie Goulding is one of those rare artists that never disappoint me with her singles. Here’s to hoping she can make a comeback with her new album soon because she is an absolutely amazing singer (and she’s gorgeous too).
– We have several songs here that were on last year’s countdown (Send My Love (To Your New Lover), Ride, New Romantics, Cheap Thrills, Dangerous Woman, and Don’t Let Me Down). Of those songs mentioned, four of them (New Romantics, Send My Love (To Your New Lover), Don’t Let Me Down, and I Took A Pill In Ibiza) managed to spend at least 1 week at #1.
My Top 5 Summer Throwback Picks
1. Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do
2. Demi Lovato – Cool For The Summer
3. Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe
4. Taylor Swift – New Romantics
5. Katy Perry – E.T.
Hit-Bound
Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey – Glorious
Andy Grammer – Give Love
Katy Perry featuring Nicki Minaj – Swish Swish
Julia Michaels – Uh Huh
Imagine Dragons – Thunder
The Chainsmokers – Honest (DEBUT)
Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl
Bruno Mars – Versace On The Floor
Fall Out Boy – Champion
Paramore – Hard Times
Shawn Hook featuring Vanessa Hudgens – Reminding Me
Childish Gambino – Redbone (DEBUT)
Carly Rae Jepsen – Cut To The Feeling
All Time Low – Good Times
– To start off our Hit-Bound debuts for this week, we have more Chainsmokers, this time with their new single Honest. This is something I can get into, even though it’s not nearly as good as their predecessors.
– Childish Gambino has a song that is currently popular right now, in the form of Redbone. Unfortunately, I can’t say I’m a fan. It’s just not my type of song I want to hear. Sorry.
– Before introducing Uh Huh, Mikey Piff mentioned that Julia Michaels is basically a therapist when writing songs for other people. She figures out what’s going with their lives and then starts writing about it. It’s no wonder she’s been credited with giving artists (Selena Gomez, for example) hits these days. I heard it’s not doing very well right now, which is a good news. So I’m hoping it flops here too.
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. Bruno Mars – Versace On The Floor
5. Paramore – Hard Times
YouTube 15
This is my second time reviewing the YouTube 15 on my blog. Quite a bit has changed since my last review a few weeks ago. Here are the songs trending this week:
Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like
Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson – Symphony
Owl City – Not All Heroes Wear Capes
DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper – I’m The One
Martin Garrix featuring Troye Sivan – There For You
Selena Gomez – Bad Liar
HAIM – Want You Back
Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee – Despacito
Olly Murs featuring Louisa Johnson – Unpredictable
The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This
Fifth Harmony – Down
Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
Alan Walker featuring Gavin James – Tired
Bruno Mars – 24K Magic
Nick Jonas featuring Anne-Marie and Mike Posner – Remember I Told You
– Remember Owl City? He has a new single titled Not All Heroes Wear Capes. This song is a departure from his previous work (Fireflies, Good Time, etc.) as he goes in a much more acoustic direction. I kinda like his new sound for now, though I can’t really see it being a hit everywhere.
– Want You Back I think it’s a pretty decent song that I can listen to every now and then. I don’t think it’ll stick with me in the long run, but I can see it growing on me in the near future though.
– Unpredictable has plenty of things I like. Both Olly Murs’ and Louisa Johnson’s vocals are well done. Hopefully, it can chart soon because I’m enjoying this.
– I can’t really say I’m a fan of Fifth Harmony’s new single at the moment. It’s basically a carbon copy of Work From Home, which was panned by critics and the blogging community alike. And no, adding Gucci Mane doesn’t make the song any better. At least it’s better than its predecessor and I’ll give them that. But yeah, it’s not really that interesting.
– Finally, we have more Nick Jonas, in form of Remember I Told You which features Anne-Marie and Mike Posner. It definitely sounds cool in comparison to his previous singles. The question is, will he finally have a hit like he did with Jealous? I doubt it somehow, but we’ll see.
– On that note, it doesn’t look like Symphony is going to become a hit I wanted it to be, unfortunately. I was expecting it happen in the wake of Rockabye being popular in the U.S., but I guess not. Maybe another day, perhaps?
My Top 5 YouTube 15 Picks
TIE: 1. Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson – Symphony
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This
3. Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee – Despacito
4. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic
5. Olly Murs featuring Louisa Johnson – Unpredictable
Top 20 Review
0 – Awful:
20. Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road
1 – Bad:
19. Selena Gomez – Bad Liar
2 – Mediocre:
18. Julia Michaels – Issues
17. James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go
16. Liam Payne – Strip That Down
3 – Decent:
15. Linkin Park featuring Kiiara – Heavy
4 – Good:
14. Halsey – Now Or Never
13. Panic! At the Disco – L.A. Devotee
5 – Great:
12. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
11. The Chainsmokers – Paris
10. Charlie Puth – Attention
9. Niall Horan – Slow Hands
8. Imagine Dragons – Believer
7. Kygo featuring Selena Gomez – It Ain’t Me
6. Zedd featuring Alessia Cara – Stay
5. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill
4. Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like
3. Lady Gaga – The Cure
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: 1. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This
Overall Grade: 80/100 (B-)
Throwback Pick Of The Week: Madonna – Into The Groove
Most Missed Countdown Song: Ellie Goulding – Something In The Way You Move
#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Kygo featuring Ellie Goulding – First Time
Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza
My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This
TIE: 1. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back
3. Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee – Despacito
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. Selena Gomez – Bad Liar
5. MAX featuring Gnash – Lights Down Low
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Kent Jones – Don’t Mind: One of Adrian’s most hated songs of last year. I don’t hate it as much as Adrian, in part because I think adding the spanish lyrics made it somewhat cool.
Music Reviews + More 