What’s up, guys? This week was another busy one for me. I haven’t really had the chance to focus on blogging as much as I want to. Hopefully, I’ll find a way to balance things out. Anyway, welcome to the first weekend of Fall. We had a lot going on this week on the American Top 40. Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying good-bye to this week:

• Growing Pains by Alessia Cara (#15)
• In My Blood by Shawn Mendes (#26)
• Wait by Maroon 5 (#32)
• Boo’d Up by Elle Mai (#40)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Better Now by Post Malone
40. New Rules by Dua Lipa (#39) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
39. 2002 by Anne-Marie (DEBUT)
38. Africa by Weezer (DEBUT)
37. Pray For Me by The Weeknd featuring Kendrick Lamar (#36) [–1]
36. Happy Now by Zedd featuring Elley Duhé (#38) [+2]
35. Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons (#34) [–1]
34. Promises by Calvin Harris featuring Sam Smith (DEBUT)
33. Never Be The Same by Camila Cabello (#29) [–4] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
32. Happier by Marshmello featuring Bastille (DEBUT)
31. One Kiss by Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa (#20) [–11]
30. Beautiful (Remix) by Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello (#37) [+7]
29. Broken by lovelytheband (#35) [+6]
28. Almost Love by Sabrina Carpenter (#33) [+5]
27. Natural by Imagine Dragons (#31) [+4]
26. I Like Me Better by Lauv (#24) [–2]
25. The Way I Am by Charlie Puth (#27) [+2]
24. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid (#30) [+6]
23. The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey (#22) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
22. Home With You by Madison Beer (#25) [+3]
21. Jackie Chan by Tiesto & Dzeko featuring Preme and Post Malone (#28) [+7]
20. Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie (#16) [–4]
19. Drew Barrymore by Bryce Vine (#19) [=]
18. Mine by Bazzi (#18) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
17. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD (#23) [+6]
16. Lie by NF (#21) [+5]
15. Psycho by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign (#14) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
14. Side Effects by The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren (#17) [+3]
13. I’m A Mess by Bebe Rexha (#13) [=]
12. Delicate by Taylor Swift (#11) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
11. Remind Me To Forget by Kygo featuring Miguel (#12) [+1]
10. No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande (#9) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
9. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande (#10) [+1]
8. No Brainer by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance The Rapper (#8) [=]
7. In My Feelings by Drake (#7) [=]
6. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#6) [=]
5. I Like It by Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin (#4) [–1]
4. Back To You by Selena Gomez (#5) [+1]
3. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. (#2) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
2. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani (#3) [+1]
1. Better Now by Post Malone (#1) [=] [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Attention by Charlie Puth (4^th of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: One Kiss by Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa (–11)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Tie between Beautiful (Remix) by Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello and Jackie Chan by Tiesto & Dzeko featuring Preme and Post Malone (+7)

New Entrants
– To kick off this week’s new arrivals, we have Anne-Marie with her solo single as she travels back in time to 2002. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, then you probably know by now that I still have a strong distaste for Friends. I can say that her solo single is a step up from that. Although there’s not too much to the production, her voice sound good throughout the song. Basically, the song has references to some of the most popular songs during that time period, such as Bye, Bye, Bye by NSYNC and …Baby One More Time by Britney Spears. I fell in love with those songs back then. And I’m sure Ed Sheeran, who actually co-wrote the song with her, has as well. I don’t see it sticking with me long term, but it’s a step in the right direction for Anne-Marie.

– Next, we have the band Weezer with Africa, which is the cover of the 1982 single from Toto. I pretty much explained why I didn’t like their version of it when it made its debut on the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown. To me, it’s just simply not anywhere near as good as the original. I find the vocals from Rivers Cuomo to be underwhelming. Probably the only redeeming quality of this is that the production itself. It definitely has something going for it. But overall, their cover of the song is just weak to me. It’s hard for me to explain in detail why I feel this way, but that’s just my opinion.

– So, Calvin Harris has another new single looking to gain some momentum as its predecessor continues to die down. This time, he is collaborating with soul singer Sam Smith in Promises. I can say that it’s not as good as One Kiss, but it definitely shows that Calvin Harris is trying new things and it’s working to my liking. Look, I was critical of This Is What You Came For mainly because the drop was extremely mediocre and the song itself was repetitive. Then he decided to go for the funky new sound in songs such as Slide and Feels, both of which I fell in love with. I don’t know what else he has in store right now until we hear his next album. Sam sounds good with his voice.

– Finally, we have more of Marshmello and he’s collaborating with the alternative band Bastille in their single Happier.  He was impressive when he did Wolves with Selena Gomez. But since then, I’ve been questioning his direction with every recent release. Every Day was pretty good, but Friends was straight up annoying. His new single, Happier, is a step up from its predecessor. But it’s still not what I was hoping for coming in. I can say that the lyrical content is better. However, Marshmello didn’t really wow me with the production. To me, it just sounds generic and not very well done.  Dan Smith does deliver with his vocals, but the rest of the band didn’t contribute to any part of the song. Overall, I’m not all that impressed. It may be in blue for now, though it’s slightly closer to red than it is green.

Best Debut Of The Week: No Promises by Calvin Harris featuring Sam Smith

I Make No Blurbs
– As always, we’ll begin with our exits. To start, Boo’d Up left after spending only a week on the countdown. I’m surprised by this because I would’ve thought that it would spend more than one week given that it was a big hit elsewhere, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Wait was overdue to leave. Growing Pains sadly did not last long as it exits from a high position. Alessia Cara definitely deserves better than this. Finally, there’s In My Blood by Shawn Mendes. Despite me starting to grow out of the song, it took a rather shocking exit from a relatively high position of #26. Dang!

– Remember last week when I talked about celebrity Noah Centineo who’s celeb crush is actually Selena Gomez? Well, Ryan Seacrest mentioned during the introduction for Never Be The Same that he also appeared in the music video for Havana. I guess he’s looking to become a ladies’ man and eventually put that on his résumé.

– One Kiss takes a big drop out of the Top 30 altogether. The end may be near for the song. It did had quite a run and spent a while in the Top 10, so I’m happy with its minor success.

– Jackie Chan makes quite a big leap close to the Top 20. I doubt this will end up being a hit. But hey, at least it’s gaining some momentum.

– Before introducting Delicate, Ryan Seacrest mentioned that Taylor Swift performed a bunch of her old songs to her fans. I smell a lot of nostalgia here. I remember when she was one of the breakout artists in the late 2000’s and look where she is now. I’ll bet her fans were very thrilled to hear her old stuff again.

– Nothing really has changed in the Top 10 other than a few songs moving only one spot. Thus, I don’t have much to talk about here.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Solo by Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato
• Rise by Jonas Blue featuring Jack & Jack
• Taste by Tyga featuring Offset

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Meant To Be by Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line
• Boo’d Up by Elle Mai
• Strip That Down by Liam Payne featuring Quavo
• Bed by Nicki Minaj featuring Ariana Grande
• Wild Thoughts by DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller
• Nice For What by Drake
• Counting Stars by OneRepublic
• See You Again by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. I’m A Mess by Bebe Rexha
19. Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie
18. Psycho by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign
17. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD

1 – Bad:
16. In My Feelings by Drake

2 – Mediocre:
15. Drew Barrymore by Bryce Vine
14. I Like It by Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin

3 – Decent:
13. No Brainer by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance The Rapper
12. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B.

4 – Good:
11. Mine by Bazzi

5 – Great:
10. Lie by NF
9. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani
8. Better Now by Post Malone
7. Back To You by Selena Gomez
6. Delicate by Taylor Swift
5. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer
4. Remind Me To Forget by Kygo featuring Miguel
3. No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande
2. Side Effects by The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande

Total Score: 66/100 = 66% (D+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne (2007)

Most Missed Song: Confident by Demi Lovato

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Head Above Water by Avril Lavigne

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Praying by Kesha (#15)

My Top 5 Picks
1. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande
2. Happy Now by Zedd featuring Elley Duhé
3. The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey
4. Side Effects by The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren
5. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. I’m A Mess by Bebe Rexha
2. I Like Me Better by Lauv
3. Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie
4. Psycho by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign
5. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Bad At Love by Halsey: I can say that I’m not tired of Hasley. Not even close. ‘ll save most of my words for this when I do my Year-End posts. But yeah, it’s a step up from its predecessor in pretty much every aspect.
What Lovers Do by Maroon 5 featuring SZA: Probably their last good song from these guys. Although not as good as their previous singles, it was definitely as close as they can get to them sounding more like a band.