Despite the fact that we’re pretty much in the dog days of summer, this was a rather decent week for the most part.  While there were some things that were not to my liking, we did get rid of a couple pieces of garbage and replaced them with some good stuff.  Before we get to this week’s countdown, I would like to send my condolences to the friends and family of Linkin Park’s very own Chester Bennington, who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 41 after committing suicide.  Let’s have a moment of silence.

Now with that being said, here are the songs we’re saying good-bye to this week:

• Niall Horan – This Town (#40)
• Maroon 5 – Cold (#35)
• Machine Gun Kelly featuring Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#45)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Zedd featuring Alessia Cara – Stay
45. Steve Aoki featuring Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#43)
44. Maroon 5 – Don’t Wanna Know (#44) [3 Weeks At #1]
43. DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper – I’m The One (#30)
42. Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd – Starving (#42) [4 Weeks At #1]
41. Harry Styles – Sign Of The Times (#38)
40. Erin Bowman – Good Time Good Life (#29)
39. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#37)
38. Aaron Carter – Sooner Or Later (#41)
37. All Time Low – Good Times (DEBUT)
36. Camila Cabello – Crying In The Club (#27)
35. Fall Out Boy – Champion (DEBUT)
34. Jon Bellion – Overwhelming (#39)
33. Miley Cyrus – Malibu (#15)
32. DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller – Wild Thoughts (DEBUT)
31. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#33)
30. Bruno Mars – Versace On The Floor (#34)
29. Train – Play That Song (#31)
28. Noah Cyrus – Stay Together (#26)
27. The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey – Closer (#32) [8 Weeks At #1]
26. MAX featuring Gnash – Lights Down Low (#28)
25. Childish Gambino – Redbone (#36)
24. Julia Michaels – Issues (#24)
23. Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee – Despacito (#12)
22. Linkin Park featuring Kiiara – Heavy (#23)
21. Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like (#25) [1 Week At #1]
20. James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go (#21)
19. Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell and Katy Perry – Feels (#18)
18. Selena Gomez – Bad Liar (#19)
17. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#16) [1 Week At #1]
16. Hailee Steinfeld – Most Girls (#17)
15. Liam Payne – Strip That Down (#20)
14. AJR – Weak (#22)
13. Halsey – Now Or Never (#14)
12. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#13) [9 Weeks At #1]
11. Charlie Puth – Attention (#10)
10. Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road (#11)
9. Niall Horan – Slow Hands (#8)
8. Kygo featuring Selena Gomez – It Ain’t Me (#5)
7. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee (#9)
6. Lady Gaga – The Cure (#7)
5. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay – Something Just Like This (#3) [3 Weeks At #1]
4. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (#6) [3 Weeks At #1]
3. Zedd featuring Alessia Cara – Stay (#1) [4 Weeks At #1]
2. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#4)
1. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back (#2) [3rd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza (2nd and Final Week At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!!! Of The Week: Miley Cyrus – Malibu (-18)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Childish Gambino – Redbone (+11)

New Entrants
– Our first debut this week comes from returning artist All Time Low with Good Times.  I’m not necessarily sure how I feel about this.  Much like Missing You from last year, this is one of those songs that takes a while to grow on me.  There are some things to like about this song, but in some parts it feels a little underwhelming.  Still, we need songs like this, especially given the recent news that we’ve had this week.  It may be in blue for now, but I can see myself putting this in green in the near future.

– Next, we have the return of Fall Out Boy with their new single titled Champion.  Now, this is definitely better than their lead single Young & Menace, which was not to everyone’s liking.  Champion sounds more radio-friendly much like their previous singles, such as Centuries, Irresistable, Uma Thurman, etc.  I’m in love with the intro, where they use the electric guitar.  We’ll see if this becomes a hit, which I hope it will.

– Finally, we have a song that is currently popular right now, in the form of Wild Thoughts by DJ Khaled with Rihanna & Bryson Tiller.  Personally, I think this song is better than I’m The One.  I’m definitely in love with the electric guitar they’ve added to the song.  Rihanna does a much better job with her vocals, and adding the rap breakdown from Bryson Tiller helps.  The production overall is very good.  Here’s to hoping it stays on the countdown and doesn’t end up flopping like I’m The One is doing right now.

When I’m With You, All I Get Is Wild Blurbs
– I can’t really say I’m gonna miss either of our exits.  Both Bad Things & Cold were overdue for some time and This Town I was ready to part with.  Next!

– Speaking of Maroon 5, how is Don’t Wanna Know still here?!  Honestly, that song should’ve left this week like its successor did.  C’mon, Hits 1.  Let’s get with it already.

– I’m The One took a pretty big drop down to the Bottom 5 here on the countdown, whereas it’s in the Top 5 everywhere else.  Another sign that Hits 1 doesn’t care for hip-hop.

– I recently watched an interview in which Aaron Carter talks about his struggles in his life and starts to break down in tears.  Watching the interview made me feel sad, especially considering what he’s going through right now.

– Malibu surprisingly had the Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!!! Of The Week this week by dropping out of the Top 30 altogether.  Yikes!  I was starting to lose interest in that song, but dang!

– So, Hits 1 plays the David Guetta remix of Versace On The Floor.  If I’m being honest here, I much prefer the original version of the song.  I can understand that Hits 1 tries to make the song sound more radio-friendly by putting in remixes to their songs, much like they did with Hymn For The Weekend last year.  But Versace On The Floor is meant to be a slow song.  No remix will help.

– Along with Don’t Wanna Know, can Play That Song please stop testing my patience and leave already?!  It’s bad enough that we’ve had to deal with this song for several months.  The people who are still voting needs to get with it and realize that it’s not popular anymore.

– I’m surprised Closer is still on the countdown, despite the fact that it lost it’s popularity a long time ago.  In fact, it’s very close to lasting a year here (it debuted way back in August last year).  If that were to happen, it would be the first song to reach that milestone since Shut Up And Dance.

– It’s no surprise that Redbone had the Biggest Jump Of The Week this week, but it doesn’t make the song any better for me.

– I would like to say congratulations to Luis Fonsi, Justin Bieber, and Daddy Yankee because their single, Despacito, is now the most streamed song of all time!  With that said, I’m not thrilled that it took a nasty drop out of the Top 20 this week.  Here’s to hoping it recovers soon.

– The guest DJ that introduced Attention called Charlie Puth a cutie-pie.  How adorable!

– Believer has now reached a new peak at #2.  I wouldn’t be surprised if this reaches #1 within the next week or so.  It helps that this song is still gaining popularity on the radio charts.

– Speaking of #1, Shawn Mendes is back at the top spot this week!  It’s still getting better for me with each listen.  Now the question is, will it stay there for another week?  That would be really nice, but we’ll wait and see what happens.

Hit-Bound

Bebe Rexha – The Way I Are (Dance With Somebody) (DEBUT)
All-American Rejects – Sweat (DEBUT)
Andy Grammer – Give Love
The Chainsmokers – Honest
Paramore – Hard Times
Kesha – Praying
Louis Tomlinson featuring Bebe Rexha and Digital Farms Animals – Back To You (DEBUT)
Julia Michaels – Uh Huh
Harry Styles – Two Ghosts (DEBUT)
Shawn Hook featuring Vanessa Hudgens – Reminding Me
Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey – Glorious
Imagine Dragons – Thunder
Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry
Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl

– We have quite a shake-up on Hit-Bound this week.  Let’s begin with more Bebe Rexha with her new single The Way I Are (Dance With Somebody).  I’m not gonna say it’s as good as I Got You from earlier this year, but it’s something I can listen to every once in a while.

– Who remembers the All-American Rejects?  They’re a band that have had many hits.  Singles such as Move Along & It Ends Tonight were really good.  Their new single, Sweat, is quite a different story, as least as of right now.  I’ll have to give it more listens. 

– We have more Louis Tomlinson, this time with Bebe Rexha & Digital Farm Animals with their single Back To You.  There are some things I like about this song, such as the production and the vocals.  But again, I’ll have to listen to it more often to get a full opinion.

– Finally, there’s Harry Styles, this time with his new single Two Ghosts.  While I can’t really say it’s as good as Sign Of The Times, at least he’s going more rock, which in my opinion is a better route than what his One Direction members are doing.

– We sadly say good-bye to Cut To The Feeling this week, which is unfortunate because I was in love with that song.  It’s too bad that people will only remember Carly Rae Jepsen for her 2012 summer hit, Call Me Maybe.

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Kesha – Praying
2. Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl
3. Paramore – Hard Times
4. Shawn Hook featuring Vanessa Hudgens – Reminding Me
5. Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey – Glorious

Top 20 Review
0 – Awful:
20. Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road
19. Selena Gomez – Bad Liar

1 – Bad:
None!

2 – Mediocre:
18. AJR – Weak
17. James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go
16. Liam Payne – Strip That Down

3 – Decent:
15. Halsey – Now Or Never

4 – Good:
14. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
13. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee
12. Hailee Steinfeld – Most Girls

5 – Great:
11. Charlie Puth – Attention
10. Zedd featuring Alessia Cara – Stay
9. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill
8. Niall Horan – Slow Hands
7. The Chainsmokers – Paris
6. Imagine Dragons – Believer
5. Kygo featuring Selena Gomez – It Ain’t Me
4. Lady Gaga – The Cure
3. Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell and Katy Perry – Feels
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: 77/100 (C+) 

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Linkin Park – Numb (2003)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Linkin Park featuring Steve Aoki – A Light That Never Comes

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Kesha – Woman

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. Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee – Despacito
4. Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell and Katy Perry – Feels
5. Lady Gaga – The Cure

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road
2. Train – Play That Song
3. Selena Gomez – Bad Liar
4. Maroon 5 – Don’t Wanna Know
5. MAX featuring Gnash – Lights Down Low

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
5 Seconds Of Summer – Girls Talk Boys: Taken from the Ghostbusters movie soundtrack, this song got mixed reactions from the blogging community when it first dropped.  I was kinda mixed on this as well, but I had grown into it to a degree.  I was surprised this one made the Year-End list on Hits 1, despite that it flopped pretty much everywhere else after the Ghostbusters hype died out.