Hello, fam! Spring is finally upon us. I hope you all enjoy some warm weather in the coming days. Anyway, I don’t have much to really talk about for my introduction. Let’s just review this week’s countdown on the American Top 40. So without further adieu, here are the songs dropping out this week:
- Let Me Go by Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line and Watt (#24)
- I Fall Apart by Post Malone (#34)
- Hold Me Tight Or Don’t by Fall Out Boy (#39)
The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Let You Down by NF
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran (4th of 10 Weeks At #1)
Biggest Fall Of The Week: LOVE. by Kendrick Lamar featuring Zacari (–9)
Biggest Rise Of The Week: Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons (+9)
New Entrants
– We have three debuts to cover this week. First, we’ll begin with the return of 5 Seconds Of Summer with their latest single titled Want You Back. As I said before, this song is a different sound for the band in terms of the production. The vocals are spot on for the most part, though I’m not necessarily huge on the chorus. The song is basically about wanting someone back, hence the title. Do I see this being successful? Not really. While I much prefer something along the lines of Jet Black Heart, this one is still pretty solid all around, even though it may not stick with me in the long run.
– Next up, we have another single taken from the Black Panther movie soundtrack. Kendrick has another collaboration in its stead, this time featuring SZA in the song called All The Stars. There’s no doubt that Pray For Me is the much superior track off of the album, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like this song at all. It’s actually really good. Probably the best thing about it is SZA herself. She pretty much shines throughout the chorus. Once again, Kendrick doesn’t disappoint me with his verses. He shows that he’s a good rapper in this song. Overall, I like this collaboration. It works well and I hope to see some success out of it.
– With the highest debut of the week, we have Bazzi making his very first appearance on the countdown with his debut single titled Mine. Now, he’s another one of those artists that went viral thanks to Vine, like some of the other artists who I won’t mention. Putting that aside, the song itself is one of the shortest songs I’ve ever heard, only running at barely over 2 minutes. Now, it’s actually not a bad song for the most part. I do like the guy’s vocals, and the production is okay. However, it lacks something that makes it stand out. One of my concerns about the song is that there’s no bridge. While it’s not special, it’s a decent song for a debut artist.
All The Blurbs Are Closer
– For our exits, I Fall Apart left for the second time after it’s re-entry three weeks ago, but I’m definitely pleased to see it depart. Hold Me Tight Or Don’t only lasted a mere two weeks here. I guess people have moved on from Fall Out Boy. Lastly, there’s Let Me Go, which unfortunately ended up being a flop on this countdown and will miss the Year-End list. But at least it’s doing well on Hits 1 (It hit #1 last week on the countdown, so it’s a lock for Hits 1’s Top 45 Of 2018). It was definitely an enjoyable song all around and Hailee Steinfeld truly shows what she’s capable of. Good-bye, Let Me Go. You will be missed by me.
– Both Him & I and Finesse have reached new peaks of #2 and #3, respectively. I would like to see one of them take the top spot, ideally next week. I’m sure the latter will get there at some point in time. However, I do think the former has a shot at making it first.
– In other Top 5 news, we have Wolves reaching a new peak at #5. That I also like to see. Unlike the other two songs however, I doubt it’ll hit #1 given that it’s just now dying out elsewhere. But I’m thankful for the success that it had so far. It’s definitely one of the best things both artists have been a part of.
– Whatever It Takes takes a big jump closer to the Top 20 this week. I’m looking forward to seeing that one become another big hit for Imagine Dragons. With it now starting to catch on in terms of sales, it won’t be much of a problem.
Breakouts/On The Verge:
- On The Loose by Niall Horan
- IDGAF by Dua Lipa
- No Excuses by Meghan Trainor
Extras/Optional Extras:
- One Foot by Walk The Moon
- End Game by Taylor Swift featuring Ed Sheeran and Future
- The Hills by The Weeknd
- Feels by Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell, Katy Perry, and Big Sean
- I Miss You by Clean Bandit featuring Julia Michaels
- Same Old Love by Selena Gomez
- Too Good At Goodbyes by Sam Smith
- Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ
Top 20 Review:
0 – Garbage:
20. Rockstar by Post Malone featuring 21 Savage
19. Meant To Be by Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line
18. Lights Down Low by MAX featuring Gnash
17. Never Be The Same by Camila Cabello
1 – Bad:
16. Wait by Maroon 5
15. God’s Plan by Drake
14. Let You Down by NF
2 – Mediocre:
None!
3 – Decent:
13. Young, Dumb, And Broke by Khalid
4 – Good:
12. How Long by Charlie Puth
5 – Great:
11. Bad At Love by Halsey
10. Perfect by Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé
9. Havana by Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug
8. Good Old Days by Macklemore featuring Kesha
7. Say Something by Justin Timberlake featuring Chris Stapleton
6. Him & I by G-Eazy featuring Halsey
5. New Rules by Dua Lipa
4. Pray For Me by The Weeknd featuring Kendrick Lamar
3. Wolves by Selena Gomez featuring Marshmello
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: 1. The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey
TIE: 1. Finesse (Remix) by Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B.
Total Score: 67/100 = 67% (D+)
Throwback Pick Of The Week: Candle In The Wind by Elton John (1997)
Most Missed Song: Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Lost In Japan by Shawn Mendes
My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. Finesse (Remix) by Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B.
TIE: 1. The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris
3. Pray For Me by The Weeknd featuring Kendrick Lamar
4. Wolves by Selena Gomez featuring Marshmello
5. New Rules by Dua Lipa
My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Rockstar by Post Malone featuring 21 Savage
2. Meant To Be by Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line
3. I Like Me Better by Lauv
4. Lights Down Low by MAX featuring Gnash
5. Never Be The Same by Camila Cabello
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Green Light by Lorde: It was Lorde’s big return in the spotlight with this fantastic masterpiece of a song. Unfortunately, it never got anywhere after the initial hype. It definitely deserved much better.
Not Nice by PARTYNEXTDOOR: Not much I can say about this one. Bland production, meh vocals, and weak lyrics doesn’t make me want to get on board with this. Thankfully, it only lasted one week here.
Music Reviews + More 
First! Nice post! Pretty active week actually.
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Morning, fam! Shawn Mendes is hosting the countdown. Here's the first set:45. Galway Girl44. Sorry Not Sorry43. Slow Hands42. New Rules41. Feel It Still40. Lonely Girl39. Sober Up38. End Game37. Love So Soft36. Believer35. Done For Me (DEBUT)34. Hurt Somebody (DEBUT)33. Woman32. In My Blood (DEBUT) (No joke)31. This Is Me
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I figured In My Blood would debut when it wasn't on Hitbound last night
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Very fascinating. I have a feeling that it's only debuting now because he's hosting, haha.
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On the topic of favorite emojis as Mendes was just discussing, I think mine is the \”thinking\” emoji. Guy looks funny while perplexed.
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Of course Finesse had to drop. I'm happy that the song is a real hit of course, but after the title track held on and made the Year-End countdown despite not reaching the best apex on the countdown, I was kind of thinking this would do better here than this.
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Yeah, but this is Hits 1. They have their own logic, and sometimes not in a good way.
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*cough One Dance and Despacito cough*
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Is there a fourth entrant/exit?- Dylan
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Never mind I know it.
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Delicate is the fourth entrant.Oh, and with that, here are the songs that left:My My My!Ahead Of MyselfThere's Nothing Holdin' Me BackWhat Lovers Do
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That 13 spot jump for Thunder. Oh boy, Adrian will be pissed big time.
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Adrian will be sad about My My My! leaving. Me? I never saw it has a big hit but it would've been nice for it to be.
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Yep. Very shocking if you ask me. I am happy it is still around but it shouldn't be this high still.Maybe it will be like Believer.
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Second set of 15:30. Friends (This is getting worse with each listen)29. Delicate (DEBUT)28. Say Something27. Havana26. How Long25. All Falls Down24. Beautiful Trauma23. Finesse22. On The Loose21. Wolves20. Lights Down Low19. Bad At Love18. No Excuses17. Young, Dumb, and Broke16. Thunder (Adrian will be mad)
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What about you, Scott? I'm curious to see what you think since you haven't been blogging for about a year or so?
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Just realized you had Friends in red on this post. It is getting worse for me too.
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Yeah, I've been meaning to make another post for a little while, I might make a post clarifying what I've been up to recently, and maybe do at least one 2017 Year-End post while I'm at it. And not ruling it out entirely, but don't expect a full-fledged return from me anytime soon, though.
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I know you are tired of AJR, but they have a new single out called Burn The House Down. I really like it but I want to know what you think about it.
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Yeah, between the song's premise and weak verses from Anne-Marie, this song is not a fun listen. A friend-zone anthem does not work well for me at all.
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And what is with them shortening all these songs today? Because I haven't noticed this until this round. Weird.
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It's worse than Sober Up. I would much rather see Come Hang Out make it on here than Burn The House Down
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Yeah, I don't get it either. Because I've heard them all week and they were not edited, Pray For Me in particular.
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Top 10 Entrants:Him & IMeant To Be (Ugh, here we go again)
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What songs have they shortened? Did they edit out Kendrick Lamar in Pray For Me?
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Don't forget Whatever It Takes, because we haven't heard that yet.
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It was #6 last week so not a top 10 entrant
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Derp. Zoned out there, haha. With how new it is to the countdown I kinda forgot hot quickly it shot up.
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They didn't edit him out entirely, but they cut out like half his verse, and the last four bars before the end. And they cut out all of Alan Walker's parts in All Falls Down, too.
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Oh, and I forgot one other Top 10 entrant:Wait (Yeah, I'm not thrilled about this either)
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Top 5 Entrant:Him & I (That I'll certainly take)
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I'm going to comment like this now since there seems to be another Anonymous here. My computer isn't working and it won't let me sign in which is why I'm doing this.That means I'm not going to do an AT40 post this week.
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Zombie didn't debut the countdown or Hit-Bound. That is weird considering I heard it as most-Wutchuwanted this week.
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3. Let Me GoThat means we'll have a new #1 for this week.
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Well, our #1 song is…Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle.
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Before we get to that…#1 Song One Year Ago: Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran (7th of 9 Weeks At #1)
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Shawn Mendes: \”I could not agree more. That song is amazing\”You're not alone on that one. I feel the same way. Actually, it's not that amazing. I just love it so much. (talking about The Middle)
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Here's the rest of the countdown:15. Pray For Me14. Want You Back13. I Like Me Better12. Hold Me Tight Or Don't11. Never Be The Same10. Meant To Be9. Good Old Days8. Whatever It Takes7. Let You Down6. Wait5. Him & I4. Perfect3. Let Me Go2. One Foot1. The Middle
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