Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Backstreet Boys – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (–22)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: LSD – Thunderclouds (+14)

New Entrants
– Let’s start with the least displeasing debut of the week. Juice WRLD makes his first appearance on the countdown with Lucid Dreams. I’m going to be straight up and just say this song is not good at all. First off, the lyrical content is poorly written. Second, the production is underwhelming and in some parts of the song, just annoying. His vocals are okay, so I can say that’s a redeeming quality. But overall, it’s not good. I hope it doesn’t last too long.

– We get another single from A Star Is Born soundtrack. Lady Gaga has her second song on the countdown with I’ll Never Love Again. Between this and Shallow, I’d say that this is the superior of the two songs. It’s a slow ballad where Lady Gaga really shows how well she can sing. Her vocals are just phenomenal across the board. I also like the production to the song. I think it’s very well done. Finally, I love the lyrics. Overall, it’s the best song on the soundtrack. Lady Gaga did a nice job with this one.

– Lastly, we have the return of Halsey with her latest single titled Without Me. After the departure of Alone a month ago, I was anticipating any new release from Halsey. Coming into the song, I was expecting her to deliver. But after listening to the song in its entirety, it just didn’t work out that way. It’s basically tells about her relationship with G-Eazy as evidenced in the lyrics for the song, which is pretty good. But the rest of the song is just not good. The problem is Halsey herself from a vocal standpoint. She sounds like she’s trying too hard to hit those high notes and it doesn’t sound good. I find the production to be pretty underwhelming at times. There’s just not much to it. So yeah, it’s just simply not a good song overall and I was hoping for better. This is probably one of the few songs I legitimately dislike from Halsey (other than New Americana), and it’s just makes me very sad because I really, really like her. Oh well.

Best Debut Of The Week: Lady Gaga – I’ll Never Love Again

I’ll Never Blurb Again
– Neither of those three exits will be missed by me. Both Friends and Burn The House The Down deserve to go. Those songs were atrocious from the beginning. But at the least they’re both gone. Almost Love I did just start to grow into and probably the best we’ll ever hear from Sabrina Carpenter, but it’s not something I’ll miss in the long run.

– High Hopes is back at #1, which I’m fine with. Hopefully, it can stay at #1 for as long as it possibly can be so that it can block songs like Happier and I’m A Mess, which have hit new peaks.

– We get a Top 10 entrant in the form of God Is A Woman. I still love the song, though not quite as much lately since I found Breathin’ to be the best song off of Sweetener, though it’s still on Hit-Bound. I would like for that to debut soon.

– Blech, Thunderclouds decides to make a big jump back in the Top 20 just to infuriate me. How great. I’m hoping it can get back to where it was and maybe leave us soon, but it’s likely not going to happen.

– I Wanna Know has been here longer than it should have. Who still supports this? It’s not something that should be sticking around for too long. I may have liked it when it was new, but now I’m just extremely tired of the song. It needs to leave soon.

Hit-Bound:

• Steve Aoki featuring BTS – Waste It On Me (DEBUT)
• Lauv featuring Julia Michaels – There’s No Way
• Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside
• TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – Legend (DEBUT)
• David Guetta featuring Anne-Marie – Don’t Leave Me Alone
• Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly
• Post Malone featuring Swae Lee – Sunflower (DEBUT)
• Shawn Mendes – Nervous
• Little Mix featuring Nicki Minaj – Woman Like Me (DEBUT)
• Camila Cabello – Consequences
• Pitbull featuring Theron Theron – Free Free Free
• Ariana Grande – Breathin’
• Alex Aiono – Big Mistake
• Tiesto & Dzeko featuring Preme and Post Malone – Jackie Chan

Entrant Reviews:
– Our first of four new songs on Hit-Bound starts with the return of Steve Aoki who is collaborating with BTS in Waste It On Me. Now it’s actually not a bad song at all. I do like the vocals we get from BTS and the production is pretty decent. I can see myself growing into this one.

– We have TWENTY ØNE PILØTS with yet another new single from Trench, in the form of Legend. To say the least, I think this one is pretty weak, mainly because the vocals are a little underwhelming, even for Tyler Joseph. That’s my initial reaction, but it may change with more listens.

– We have more Post Malone yet again, this time with Swae Lee in Sunflower. Much like his previous singles, I do not like this one at the first listen. The vocals are pretty annoying. Maybe I’ll grow into it, but I kinda doubt it.

– Finally, we have the return of Little Mix and they’re collaborating with Nicki Minaj in their new single Woman Like Me from their upcoming album. Little Mix usually doesn’t disappoint me with their music, and this song is pretty much not an exception. I like their vocals and Nicki sounds pretty good as well. I’ll have more on this when it debuts.

Best Debut On Hit-Bound: Little Mix featuring Nicki Minaj – Woman Like Me

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Ariana Grande – Breathin’
2. Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside
3. David Guetta featuring Anne-Marie – Don’t Leave Me Alone
4. Alex Aiono – Big Mistake
5. Little Mix featuring Nicki Minaj – Woman Like Me 

Top 20 Review:
0 – Putrid:
20. LSD – Thunderclouds
19. Bebe Rexha – I’m A Mess

1 – Bad:
None!

2 – Mediocre:
18. Marshmello featuring Bastille – Happier

3 – Decent:
17. Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You

4 – Good:
16. lovelytheband – Broken
15. Anne-Marie – 2002

5 – Great:
14. Selena Gomez – Back To You
13. George Ezra – Shotgun
12. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies
11. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
10. Dan + Shay – Tequila
9. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood
8. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones
7. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman
6. Imagine Dragons – Natural
5. Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper – Shallow
4. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects
3. Shawn Mendes – Lost In Japan

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now

Overall Grade: 85/100 = 85% (B)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Michael Jackson – Thriller (1983)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Katy Perry – Teenage Dream (since her birthday was this week. So Happy Birthday to her!)

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Alesso featuring Nico and Vinz – I Wanna Know

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Gryffin featuring Elley Duhé – Tie Me Down

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

My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling
3. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle
4. Shawn Mendes – Lost In Japan
5. Silk City featuring Dua Lipa – Electricity

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. LSD – Thunderclouds
2. Bebe Rexha – I’m A Mess
3. Juice WRLD – Lucid Dreams
4. Weezer – Africa
5. Bryce Vine – Drew Barrymore

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
None!

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: NF – Lie (–31)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Tie between Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It and Dan + Shay – Tequila (+15)

New Entrants
– We have a new round of arrivals this week. To start things off, we have Loud Luxury and brando with the song titled Body, which I heard on Venus quite a few times. There are quite a few things that I do like, such as the production. However I do find brando’s voice to be a little underwhelming. But for some reason when we get to the chorus, I can’t help but pull myself in. While I have a mixed opinion about the song, there’s just something about it that makes me kinda-sorta like it. Yeah, this is probably one of the few guilty pleasures of mine at this moment.

– After One Foot, we get the next single from Walk The Moon titled Kamikaze, from their album What If Nothing. The intro to the songs basically resembles Happy Now. When I first heard it, I knew it would turn out to be a good song. Sure, it’s not as good as its predecessor, but it’s still enjoyable to some degree. The vocals and the chorus here is on point for most of the song. I love the production. These guys have proven that they don’t disappoint when it comes to their music. I first heard Shut Up And Dance back when it was huge and it was phenomenal. I’m glad Walk The Moon are still around to make good music. Overall, it’s enjoyable.

– With One Kiss likely on its last legs, we have Calvin Harris with his new single titled Promises, which features Sam Smith. Personally, I think One Kiss is the better song of the two he’s released this year. Though if I’m being honest, Promises is still a good song in and of itself. Sam Smith is mostly the type of artists who often does ballads such as Stay With Me and Too Good At Goodbyes. But he has been featured in some songs done by EDM artists, such as Disclosure who collaborated with him in Latch. That one I thought was pretty good. I can say the same for Promises. I do like Sam’s voice in the song. He doesn’t particularly shine, but he does a nice job with the chorus. Calvin does well with the production. I like that he’s trying something new and I’m glad it’s working for him so far. Overall, it’s an enjoyable song.

– Finally, we get a single from A Star Is Born movie soundtrack. Lady Gaga collaborates with the star of the movie Bradley Cooper in Shallow. Although I haven’t really listened to the soundtrack in its entirety, it does have some good songs, including this one and the one made a re-entry to Hit-Bound. But we’ll get to that later. Now, I’ll say that Lady Gaga is the one who mostly impresses me with her music. I like how her voice sounds in this one, which is a slow ballad. Bradley doesn’t sound bad for an actor. He’s proven to have a good voice in the song. I like the lyrics, and the production is nicely done. So yeah, I definitely love this collaboration and I would like to see it do well.

Best Debut Of The Week: Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper – Shallow

Un-Break My Blurbs
– We’ll start with our exits. To begin, No Brainer was getting less interesting. Thus I don’t have any complains about it leaving. I kinda grew out of Sit Next To Me a while ago. Top Down I thought was good, but it was underrated. Finally, we lost On The Loose. And because of that, this is the first countdown in two years that we don’t have a solo song from any One Direction member. Talk about a good run for these guys.

– So earlier this week, Ariana Grande and Pete Davison decided to break up. I guess that means that we won’t be able to see Ariana in her wedding dress anytime soon.

– NF – Lie had probably the biggest drop of the year so far tanking from the Top 10 all the way down to near the bottom 5. Wow. I definitely did not see it coming. I guess the voters decided that two weeks in the Top 10 was too much.

– After a few weeks of dropping, Hey Look Ma, I Made It finally makes a big move up in the Top 30. It’s nice to see the song finally gain momentum on this countdown. I knew Hits 1 wasn’t going to let this song leave us so soon.

– And then, we get a big jump from Tequila as well. It almost seemed like the song’s decline was short-lived. Now the real question is, I wonder how long will that resurgence last?

– This Feeling entered the Top 10 much faster than Side Effects did. Definitely thrilled about this. Though I’m not exactly sure how long it’ll stay in that region, but I’m grateful for its early run so far.

– Blech. I’m A Mess has entered the Top 5 just to annoy me. Just great. I have a bad feeling that the song is going to be here to stay for a long while much like its predecessor. I never thought it would come to this, but songs like High Hopes need to stay higher for as long as possible.

-On that note, Youngblood is back at #1 this week. A part of me is relieved to see a song from Panic! At The Disco not hold the #1 spot this week. But at the same time, I hoping High Hopes and Youngblood can stay at the top 3 for as long as possible to keeps songs like Happier and I’m A Mess from hitting #1 until we get some better songs in the Top 5.

Hit-Bound:

• Halsey – Without Me
• Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (DEBUT)
• Pitbull featuring Theron Theron – Free Free Free
• David Guetta featuring Anne-Marie – Don’t Leave Me Alone (DEBUT)
• Shawn Mendes – Nervous
• Camila Cabello – Consequences (DEBUT)
• Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside
• Lauv featuring Julia Michaels – There’s No Way (DEBUT)
• Ariana Grande – Breathin’
• TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – My Blood
• Tiesto & Dzeko featuring Preme and Post Malone – Jackie Chan
• Alex Aiono – Big Mistake
• The Struts featuring Kesha – Body Talks
• Jason Derulo & David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj and Willy William – Goodbye
• Lady Gaga – I’ll Never Love Again (RE–ENTRY)

– It’s nice to see that I’ll Never Love Again has re-entered Hit-Bound. Hopefully, we’ll see it debut on the countdown soon.

– We have four new songs entering Hit-Bound this week. First, there’s Alec Benjamin with Let Me Down Slowly. I don’t really have too much to say about this one. I’ll say that the song is nothing special. Although the production is pretty decent, I find his voice to be underwhelming and a little childish. So yeah, I’m not much of a fan of the song.

– Next, we have David Guetta who is collaborating with Anne-Marie in Don’t Leave Me Alone. Much like with Body, it was on Venus when I first heard it and I’ve listened to it quite a few times. It’s a lot better than Friends. But I’ll also say that this is better than 2002, though I still find the song to be interesting. Anne-Marie really shines with her voice, and I like how David Guetaa handles his work as a DJ. Hopefully, we’ll see it make its debut.

– We get the next single from Camila Cabello, titled Consequences. Vocally, it’s a step up from Never Be The Same. It’s a slow ballad and Camila has a nice voice, as opposed to her predecessor where she tries too hard and sounded bad. I’m sure it’ll end up graduating to the Weekend Countdown.

– Last and definitely least, we have the return of Lauv who is collaborating with Julia Michaels in There’s No Way. It’s really not a good song for the most part. The production isn’t as awful as in I Like Me Better, but I find their vocals to be underwhelming. I’ll have more on this when it debuts.

Best Debut On Hit-Bound: David Guetta featuring Anne-Marie – Don’t Leave Me Alone

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
TIE: 1. Ariana Grande – Breathin’
TIE: 1. Lady Gaga – I’ll Never Love Again
3. David Guetta featuring Anne-Marie – Don’t Leave Me Alone
4. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – My Blood
5. The Struts featuring Kesha – Body Talks

Top 20 Review:
0 – Putrid:
20. Bebe Rexha – I’m A Mess

1 – Bad:
None!

2 – Mediocre:
19. Marshmello featuring Bastille – Happier

3 – Decent:
18. Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You

4 – Good:
17. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am
16. lovelytheband – Broken
15. Anne-Marie – 2002

5 – Great:
14. Selena Gomez – Back To You
13. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies
12. George Ezra – Shotgun
11. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
10. Dan + Shay – Tequila
9. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood
8. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones
7. Imagine Dragons – Natural
6. Backstreet Boys – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
5. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects
4. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman
3. Shawn Mendes – Lost In Japan

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now

Overall Grade: 89/100 = 89% (B+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Toni Braxton – Un-Break My Heart (1996) (Believe it or not, it’s been 22 years since it came out)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Rachel Platten – Stand By You

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Little Mix – Touch

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Gryffin featuring Elley Duhé – Tie Me Down

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between Kesha – Praying (#17) and Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl (#1)

My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling
3. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle
4. Shawn Mendes – Lost In Japan
5. Silk City featuring Dua Lipa – Electricity

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. AJR – Burn The House Down
2. LSD – Thunderclouds
3. Bebe Rexha – I’m A Mess
4. Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie – Friends
5. Weezer – Africa

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Ed Sheeran – Perfect: The title of the song speaks for itself. It’s easily the perfect song to dance to in a wedding. I’ll have more on this when I do my Year-End posts.
Fergie featuring Nicki Minaj – You Already Know: Don’t get me wrong. I like Fergie, but this song is just not very good. I find her voice to be annoying, and I don’t like Nicki’s verses. Both artists have done much better in the past.
Evaride – Heartless: I like how Hits 1 picked this song up from a new band I haven’t even heard of. The rock vibes in the song are just divine. I’ll just leave it at that.

QOTW: Who do you guys think will win the World Series this year and why?

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello – Beautiful (Remix) (–14)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Silk City featuring Dua Lipa – Electricity (+19)

We Blurb Together
– All of the songs from #45-#40 held their positions this week.

– What’s up with the drops from Hey Look Ma, I Made It? I thought for sure that one would rocket to the Top 10 seeing as Hits 1 loves Panic! At The Disco. But boy I was wrong. WAY wrong. Perhaps the voters do not like the song, or they’re simply tired of them? I don’t know.

– So, I would like to congratulate Taylor Swift on getting four AMA Awards! What an accomplishment!

– The Middle has now officially fallen out of the Top 30. It’s hard to believe that the song was in the Top 10 just two weeks ago. It definitely had a great run. I’m sure many here are happy now.

– While we have songs like Hey Look Ma, I Made It struggling on this countdown, there are songs such as Heart To Break, Just My Type, 2002, and Drew Barrymore making reasonable gains this week. Can’t say I’m happy about the latter, but the other three I’m cool with.

– As for last week’s debuts, all three of them (Lost In Japan, This Feeling, and Electricity) made big moves upward this week, with the very latter having the biggest jump. I hope to see them continue their upward trend.

– Before introducing Side Effects, Spyder Harrison mentioned that fans of The Chainsmokers asked them what they should dress up for Halloween. I can’t wait to see what these guys come up with this year. They may have something spooky right around the corner. We’ll see.

– Nothing has changed in the Top 5 outside of Love Lies making it back to that territory. A part of me wishes that the song would be #1 here, but I don’t think it’ll happen so long as Hits 1 still loves Panic! At The Disco.

Hit-Bound:

• Loud Luxury featuring brando – Body
• Twenty One Pilots – My Blood
• Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside
• Ariana Grande – Breathin’
• The Struts featuring Kesha – Body Talks
• Alex Aiono – Big Mistake
• Tiesto & Dzeko featuring Preme and Post Malone – Jackie Chan
• Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper – Shallow (DEBUT)
• Calvin Harris featuring Sam Smith – Promises
• Halsey – Without Me
• Jason Derulo & David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj and Willy William – Goodbye
• Shawn Mendes – Nervous
• Walk The Moon – Kamikaze
• Pitbull featuring Theron Theron – Free Free Free

Entrant Reviews:
– Lady Gaga replaces herself on Hit-Bound this week with another single from A Star Is Born soundtrack, this time with Shallow. I won’t quite say it’s as good as I’ll Never Love Again, but it’s still something I like mainly because of Lady Gaga’s voice. I like Bradley’s verses as well. We’ll see if it ends up making its debut soon.

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Ariana Grande – Breathin’
2. Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper – Shallow
3. Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside
4. The Struts featuring Kesha – Body Talks
5. Walk The Moon – Kamikaze

YouTube 15:

• Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin – I Like It
• Alan Walker featuring AuRa and Tomine Hacket – Darkside
• Against The Current – Voices
• Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside
• Tiffany Young – Teach You
• Post Malone – Better Now
• Charli XCX featuring Troye Sivan – 1999
• Juice WRLD – Lucid Dreams
• Nick Jonas featuring Robin Schulz – Right Now
• Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You
• August Alsina – Wouldn’t Leave
• Marshmello featuring Bastille – Happier
• HRVY – I Wish You Were Here
• Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies
• Jonas Blue featuring Liam Payne and Lennon Stella – Polaroid

Top 20 Review:
0 – Putrid:
20. Bebe Rexha – I’m A Mess
19. Weezer – Africa

1 – Bad:
None!

2 – Mediocre:
18. Marshmello featuring Bastille – Happier

3 – Decent:
17. Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You

4 – Good:
16. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am
15. lovelytheband – Broken
14. Anne-Marie – 2002

5 – Great:
13. NF – Lie
12. Selena Gomez – Back To You
11. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies
10. George Ezra – Shotgun
9. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
8. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood
7. Silk City featuring Dua Lipa – Electricity
6. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones
5. Imagine Dragons – Natural
4. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects
3. Backstreet Boys – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
2. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now

Overall Grade: 83/100 = 83% (B–)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Pat Benatar – We Belong (1984)

Most Missed Countdown Song: The 1975 – The Sound

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Paramore – Hard Times

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Cole Redding – Do It

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Kesha – Praying (#20) and Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl (#1)

My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling
3. Shawn Mendes – Lost In Japan
4. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle 
5. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. AJR – Burn The House Down
2. LSD – Thunderclouds
3. Bebe Rexha – I’m A Mess
4. Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie – Friends
5. Weezer – Africa

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Charlie Puth – How Long: Ah yes, the successor to Attention. While it’s not quite as great as its predecessor, it still shows that Attention was no fluke and Charlie really has improved from the days of Nine Track Mind.

QOTW: What was your favorite performance from the American Music Awards on Tuesday night?

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Taylor Swift – Delicate (–22) (…..)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now (+10) (!!!!!!)

New Entrants
– To kick off our new entrants for the week, we have a new duo by the name of Silk City. The duo actually consists of Diplo and Mark Ronson, the latter who was behind one of the biggest hits of this decade (And I’m sure you guys can guess what it is). They are collaborating with Dua Lipa in their debut single titled Electricity. First off, I like how Silk City put forth the effort in producing the song. The piano mixed with the EDM sound makes the production really good. It works well together. We also get some good vocals from Dua Lipa. As I said many times, she has a unique voice and she’s taking advantage of that in the song. To put it short, I’m in love with the song. Silk City made a nice first impression here.

– Shawn Mendes has finally released his next official single off of his self-titled album, and it’s the song that I’ve been awaiting for some time. The song is Lost In Japan. Of course, he would wound up doing the remix with Zedd in order to make it happen. However, I’ll be reviewing the original version of the song itself. I love the groove in the song. Shawn shows that he has a smooth voice and when combined with the groove, it pulls me in. Looking at the lyrics, the song is basically about love and romance. It talks about planning to go out with a special someone for a date. This is the best song off of his self-titled album. While I do like the remix with Zedd, it’s nothing compared to the original version. I’m glad he chose it as a single. I’m sure it’ll do well.

– If you’re like me and you’re looking forward to anything from The Chainsmokers, then I’ve got some good news for you. They’ve collaborated with country singer Kelsea Ballerini in their latest single titled This Feeling. After a string of mediocre songs from earlier this year, they’ve gotten back on track with Side Effects. But they managed to continue their improvement with the release of This Feeling. Yeah, this song is just amazing. First off, I absolutely love the contribution we get from Kelsea. She has a great voice and she uses it well throughout the song. We also get an improvement in Drew’s voice. Both of them sound amazing together, especially in the chorus. I love the production we get from these guys. They definitely put forth the effort in making the song. I’d say this is probably their best release since Closer. As much as I love Side Effects, I like this even more. Here’s to hoping it ends up doing well.

Best Debut Of The Week: The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

I Can’t Seem To Get Blurbs Off My Mind
– As always, we’ll begin with our exits. To start, Solo would make its exit after only two weeks. I’m not surprised about this since that one didn’t gain any ground. I thought it was another good song for Clean Bandit. They deserve better. Also, there’s IDGAF which last quite a while here even though it wasn’t successful elsewhere either. While not quite as good as her predecessor, I still enjoy the song and I never got sick of it. That one will be missed by me. Finally, good riddance to Call Me Sir. This was Train’s worst release since Hey, Soul Sister, but at least it’s finally gone. I’m glad it didn’t become the next Play That Song in terms of success on the countdown.

– So, Taylor Swift is supposedly going to perform her new single at the American Music Awards. The single in question is I Did Something Bad from Reputation. Personally, I think there are better single choices from that album. Anyway, it’s disappointing to see Delicate take a huge drop this week. It has been around for a while and it was destined to happen eventually. But I still do love the song, so I’m not all that thrilled about the drop.

– On that note, that huge spark from Tequila didn’t last long, because right now it’s back to square one. Too bad this is getting pretty underrated here on Hits 1. Also, Spyder Harrison mentioned during the introduction of the song that Dan + Shay both have some serious dance moves. I wonder did they try to emulate Michael Jackson’s moonwalker or something. Whatever they did, I’d like to try those moves out.

– Looks like the end may finally be near for The Middle now that it’s dropped out of the Top 10, for good this time. I’m sure some here will be attending a be-gone party for that one sooner or later, but not me. I still love it no matter what.

– Blech. We have Africa jumping back into the Top 20 and with it, we get a new entrant in Thunderclouds. Ugh. I don’t know anybody who supports these two songs, especially the latter.

– Shotgun, on the other hand, is definitely welcomed in the Top 20. I didn’t think it would get so far, but I was wrong. We’ll see how long this lasts.

– It’s really, really nice to see Happy Now not only getting the biggest jump of the week, but also enter the Top 10! I know this is an unpopular opinion to many people here, but I enjoy this song a lot, mainly because I love Elley Duhé’s voice. Though I don’t think it’ll last long in that territory, mainly due to Zedd’s remix of Lost In Japan looking to take its place pretty soon.

– Although I’m very happy that we’re getting songs like Happy Now in the Top 10, I’m not thrilled to see Happier in that region and ultimately enter the Top 5. I was never that fond of it from the jump, but now I’ve had it. The song is just not all that good overall and it shows Marshmello has gotten lazier as a EDM artist. Not even Bastille could save the song. I’ll say that it’s better than Friends, but that’s not saying much. Unfortunately, I expect it to stick around for a while since it’s gaining momentum elsewhere.

– The Way I Am has also entered the Top 5. I’ll certainly take that over our #5 any day. Sure, it’s not the best off of Voicenotes per se, but it shows how much Charlie has improved from Nine Track Mind. I wouldn’t really mind seeing it at #1 sometime soon.

– Back To You is now back in the Top 5. That song has remained consistent on this countdown despite it starting to drop off elsewhere. Not that I’m complaining though since I still enjoy it, though I doubt it’ll be #1 given that our current Top 2 is popular elsewhere. Yes, even our current #1 High Hopes is actually gaining momentum right now.

Hit-Bound:

• Calvin Harris featuring Sam Smith – Promises
• Shawn Mendes – Nervous (RE-ENTRY)
• Tiësto & Dzeko featuring Preme and Post Malone – Jackie Chan
• Halsey – Without Me (DEBUT)
• Walk The Moon – Kamikaze
• Pitbull featuring Theron Theron – Free Free Free
• Ariana Grande – Breathin’
• The Struts featuring Kesha – Body Talks
• Jason Derulo & David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj and Willy William – Goodbye
• Lady Gaga – I’ll Never Love Again (DEBUT)
• Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside
• Alex Aiono – Big Mistake
• Twenty One Pilots – My Blood
• Loud Luxury featuring brando – Body

Entrant Reviews:
– As one song from Shawn Mendes enters the countdown, we get a re-entry from Nervous. So, that leaves us with two new songs entering Hit-Bound this week.

– First, we get the return of Halsey, who just recently celebrated her 24th Birthday this past week, so Happy Birthday to her! Anyway, she has her latest release titled Without Me. To put it short, I’m not in love with the song. I find Halsey’s vocals to be somewhat grating in the chorus. More on this when it inevitably debuts, but the song is closer to red for me than it is green.

– Second, we have Lady Gaga with her latest new single titled I’ll Never Love Again, which is taken from A Star Is Born movie soundtrack. It’s a slow, piano ballad that works well for Lady Gaga. The song is moving and mesmerizing. This is probably her best song from a lyrical standpoint. I’ll talk more about this when it debuts.

– You know what? I actually kinda like Body. Sure, I’m not going to go ahead and say it’s all that good. But There’s just something about it that makes it catchy. I guess you can consider it a guilty pleasure of mine.

Best Debut On Hit-Bound: Lady Gaga – I’ll Never Love Again

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Lady Gaga – I’ll Never Love Again
2. Ariana Grande – Breathin’
3. Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside
4. The Struts featuring Kesha – Body Talks
5. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – My Blood

YouTube 15:

• Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You
• Dinah Jane featuring Marc E. Bassy and Ty Dolla $ign – Bottled Up
• HRVY – I Wish You Were Here
• Juice WRLD – Lucid Dreams
• Alan Walker featuring AuRa and Tomine Harkett – Darkside
• Drake – In My Feelings
• Jess Glynne – 123
• Post Malone – Better Now
• Nick Jonas featuring Robin Schultz – Right Now
• Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin – I Like It
• Mike Posner – Song About You
• Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies
• R3HAB featuring Sophia Carson – Rumors
• Marshmello featuring Bastille – Happier
• Tiffany Young – Teach You

Top 20 Review:
0 – Putrid:
20. Bebe Rexha – I’m A Mess
19. LSD – Thunderclouds
18. Weezer – Africa

1 – Bad:
None!

2 – Mediocre:
17. Marshmello featuring Bastille – Happier

3 – Decent:
None!

4 – Good:
16. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am
15. lovelytheband – Broken

5 – Great:
14. NF – Lie
13. Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night)
12. Imagine Dragons – Natural
11. Selena Gomez – Back To You
10. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies
9. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
8. George Ezra – Shotgun
7. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood
6. Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello – Beautiful (Remix)
5. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones
4. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects
3. Backstreet Boys – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
2. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now

Overall Grade: 81/100 = 81% (B–)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody (1975)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Bruno Mars – 24K Magic (Two years since it was released)

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Ellie Goulding – Still Falling For You

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Avril Lavigne – Head Above Water

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Kesha – Praying (#14)

My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling
3. Shawn Mendes – Lost In Japan
4. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle
5. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Bebe Rexha – I’m A Mess
2. AJR – Burn The House Down
3. LSD – Thunderclouds
4. Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie – Friends
5. Weezer – Africa

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line and watt – Let Me Go: This is basically Starving 2.0, except better. Hailee sounds amazing, the drop is not as annoying and the lyrical content is well written. It’s one of my favorite songs from Hailee thus far.
The Script – Rain: This was the first time I’ve heard from them since they had Hall Of Fame back in 2012. While it wasn’t as good as Breakeven, it was definitely a different sound for these guys.
Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug – Havana: Her best song thus far, and it tells a story about her hometown and it tells well. Her improved vocals are also another good thing about it.
Taylor Swift – …Ready For It?: This is less controversial than its predecessor, and Taylor does more singing here. Personally, I like this more than Look What You Made Me Do, despite me being somewhat of a major apologist for that song.

QOTW: Which performances are you looking forward to in the American Music Awards?

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato – Solo (–16)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: NF – Lie (+11)

New Entrants
– We have the return of The Vamps, and this time around they bring their latest single Just My Type. I’ve never really been the one to care for their music like that, but at least their music is better than a certain band who I won’t mention. Anyway, the last time we saw The Vamps was early last year when they had All Night, which was slow-paced. But Just My Type is more of a fast-paced song. I like the use of guitars throughout the song. The guys show that they have nice vocals overall. I’d say it’s one of my favorites they’ve released so far, though I’m not sold on it lasting long here.

– Next, we have newcomer Bryce Vine making his debut with the song that’s named after the actress, Drew Barrymore. Right off the bat, the song isn’t very interesting for my tastes. I’m not big on Bryce’s voice, and the production is pretty mediocre all around. I don’t really have too much else to say about it. While the song itself is not horrific by any means, it’s not necessarily a fun listen for me.

– At #33, we have a new artist making her first appearance on this countdown. And believe it or not, she’s actually transgender. Her name is Kim Petras, and she has a song called Heart To Break. Now, I will say that this is a fun, upbeat song right from the jump. Kim shows that she has a good voice and she sounds energetic throughout the song. I love the production in this one as well as the lyrics. Yeah, this is definitely a fun listen. It’s actually quite rare that one of those types of fun, upbeat songs come around. Kim did a very nice job impressing me.

– So, Friends has now officially fallen to the bottom 5 of this countdown, and the end just can’t come soon enough. But then, we get another song from Anne-Marie as she turns back the clock and takes us to 2002. It’s quite an interesting song in a way, mainly because it has references to past hits, such as Baby One More Time from Britney Spears, Bye Bye Bye from NSYNC, and some other past hits I won’t mention. I think Anne-Marie has a nice voice and she uses it pretty well, unlike in Friends where she didn’t do much for that song at all. The production here is pretty decent. So yeah, it’s a step up from Friends. I don’t see it sticking with me in the long run, but I do like this.

– I’m sure there are some people here who are getting sick of Panic! At The Disco right about now. But if you’re like me and are looking forward to hearing more from them, then I’ve got good news for you (and myself). Brendon Urie and company make their highest debut of the week with Hey Look Ma, I Made It. And with that, they now have three representations currently on the countdown. Unlike it’s two predecessors, this one is a little bit more slow-paced. As always, I love Brendon’s vocals. The production here is great, especially with the horns. What the song talks about is one’s journey to success, and then showing your parents that you did it. It’s definitely a good song overall and I’m certain it’ll do well just like its two predecessors.

Best Debut Of The Week: Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It

Oops!… I Blurbed It Again
– Neither of those five exits will really be missed by me. I Like It and In My Feelings were not to my liking, so I have no complaints about their departures. Nevermind and Summer On You were okay, but they were not something that I’ll remember in a year or so. Home With You I did kinda like and I thought was pretty decent, but it just didn’t stick with me long term.

– In its second week, Solo actually had the biggest drop. Very rarely does a song have a big drop in its second week of its tenure. Something tells me that this won’t last very long here.

– We have some other songs taking big drops this week. Broken was bound to drop eventually, though I’m not too heartbroken about it. Africa, on the other hand, I’m pleased about. Hopefully, the song can leave us soon.

– Say Amen (Saturday Night) has dropped out of the Top 10 this week. It’s the first time the song hasn’t been in that region since back in July, I think. I’m sure there are some here who will be happy about this.

– And just like that, The Way I Am jumps right back into the Top 10 this week. It almost seems like that drop from last week didn’t happen.

– Other than a few songs changing positions, not much happened in the Top 5. High Hopes gets another week at #1, while Don’t Go Breaking My Heart reaches a new peak at #3. I didn’t think it would last long in the Top 5, but I’m glad I was wrong. It may not be a big hit elsewhere, but at least it’s doing well on this countdown.

Hit-Bound:

• Loud Luxury featuring Brando – Body
• TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – My Blood (DEBUT)
• Jason Derulo & David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj and Willy William – Goodbye
• The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (DEBUT)
• The Struts featuring Kesha – Body Talks
• Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside
• Calvin Harris featuring Sam Smith – Promises
• Walk The Moon – Kamikaze
• Tiesto & Dzeko featuring Post Malone and Preme – Jackie Chan
• Silk City featuring Dua Lipa – Electricity
• Pitbull featuring Theron Theron – Free Free Free
• Shawn Mendes – Lost In Japan (DEBUT)
• Alex Aiono – Big Mistake (DEBUT)
• Ariana Grande – Breathin’ (DEBUT)

Entrant Reviews:
– After both Jumpsuit and Nico And The Niners, we get the next single from TWENTY ØNE PILØTS titled My Blood, from their latest album Trench which comes out next week. I can say that it’s not nearly as good as Jumpsuit, but it does show that these guys can write good lyrics and Tyler’s vocals are good. I’m sure it’ll end up debuting on the countdown at some point in time. Whether the song will be a success or not, only time will tell on that.

– The Chainsmokers have another new single, and they’re collaborating with a rising country star Kelsea Ballerini in This Feeling. Simply put, I absolutely LOVE this. Kelsea and Drew both song great together. This is probably their best release since Closer. As much as I love Side Effects, I may like this even more.

– I’ve been waiting for Shawn Mendes to release Lost In Japan as his next single off of his self-titled album. Sure enough, my wish was granted. Though, it only took for a remix with Zedd to make it happen. But I’ll only be reviewing the original version of the song itself. It has that groove which pulls me in, and Shawn does show off his good voice. Looking at the lyrics, it’s basically about romance. I’ll save most of my words for when it inevitably debuts.

– Next, we have Alex Aiono with the song titled Big Mistake. I talked about this last week when it was on the YouTube 15. It’s an upbeat song with good vocals and nice production. Alex did a good job of managing to impress me with his debut single.

– Finally, there’s Ariana Grande with her next single off of Sweetner titled Breathin’. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to some of you that I love this song given that I’m a huge fan of Ariana and her music. I’m sure that one will end up making its debut soon, and by then I’ll talk more about it.

Best Debut Of The Week: Tie between The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling and Shawn Mendes – Lost In Japan

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling
TIE: 1. Shawn Mendes – Lost In Japan
3. Ariana Grande – Breathin’
4. Silk City featuring Dua Lipa – Electricity
5. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – My Blood

Top 20 Review:
0 – Putrid:
20. Bebe Rexha – I’m A Mess

1 – Bad:
None!

2 – Mediocre:
19. Marshmello featuring Bastille – Happier

3 – Decent:
18. Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You

4 – Good:
17. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am

5 – Great:
16. Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night)
15. NF – Lie
14. Imagine Dragons – Natural
13. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies
12. Selena Gomez – Back To You
11. Post Malone – Better Now
10. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
9. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood
8. Dan + Shay – Tequila
7. Taylor Swift – Delicate
6. Backstreet Boys – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
5. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones
4. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects
3. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: 1. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now

Overall Grade: 91/100 = 91% (A–)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Britney Spears – Oops!… I Did It Again (2000)

Most Missed Countdown Song: X Ambassadors – Renegades

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Sia – Elastic Heart

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Avril Lavigne – Head Above Water

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Kesha – Praying (#10)

My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now
TIE: 1. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman
3. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle
4. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects
5. Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Bebe Rexha – I’m A Mess
2. Train featuring Cam and Travie McCoy – Call Me Sir
3. AJR – Burn The House Down
4. LSD – Thunderclouds
5. Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie – Friends

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Sabrina Carpenter – Why: Not her best effort whatsoever. This is pretty weak compared to her other singles. At least Almost Love doesn’t sound anything like this.
Selena Gomez featuring Gucci Mane – Fetish: I’m sorry, Selena. But I don’t but this whole “you got a fetish for my love”. It doesn’t sound right to me. And even editing out Gucci Mane’s verses on Hits 1 doesn’t make the song any better.
Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid – 1-800-273-8255: This got big around the time Chester Bennington from Linkin Park passed away due to suicide. It’s such a moving song and this is something all of us can relate to.

QOTW: Last week, Avril Lavigne made her comeback with Head Above Water. How do you guys feel about this?