What’s up, guys? Well, we’ve finally got some cooler weather on the horizon. Honestly, I’m over this hot weather already. It’s refreshing that it’s starting to get cold outside, heh. Anyway, I just want to let you guys know again that I’ll be doing Q&A. You still have until the end of this month to submit me anything you want to ask me. Though, I’ll probably end up extending the deadline. I’ll think about it. Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs leaving the countdown this week:

• Remind Me To Forget by Kygo featuring Miguel (#18)
• Side Effects by The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren (#24)
• Boo’d Up by Elle Mai (#30)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani
40. Electricity by Silk City featuring Dua Lipa (DEBUT)
39. Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons (#39)
38. One Day by Logic featuring Ryan Tedder (#40) [+2]
37. Never Be The Same by Camila Cabello (#37) [=] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
36. Thunderclouds by LSD (DEBUT)
35. I Like Me Better by Lauv (#33) [–2]
34. 2002 by Anne-Marie (#35) [+1]
33. Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie (#31) [–2]
32. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco (#38) [+6]
31. The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey (#29) [–2]
30. Africa by Weezer (#32) [+2]
29. Delicate by Taylor Swift (#26) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
28. Goodbye by Jason Derulo & David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj and Willy William (#34) [+6]
27. Taste by Tyga featuring Offset (#36) [+9]
26. Mine by Bazzi (#21) [–5] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
25. Promises by Calvin Harris featuring Sam Smith (#28) [+3]
24. Psycho by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign (#23) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
23. Almost Love by Sabrina Carpenter (#27) [+4]
22. Breathin’ by Ariana Grande (DEBUT)
21. Broken by lovelytheband (#25) [+4]
20. Beautiful (Remix) by Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello (#22) [+2]
19. Drew Barrymore by Bryce Vine (#19) [=]
18. No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande (#14) [–4] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
17. The Way I Am by Charlie Puth (#20) [+3]
16. Jackie Chan by Tiesto & Dzeko featuring Preme and Post Malone (#17) [+1]
15. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid (#16) [+1]
14. In My Feelings by Drake (#8) [–6]
13. Lie by NF (#13) [=]
12. Happier by Marshmello featuring Bastille (#15) [+3]
11. I’m A Mess by Bebe Rexha (#11) [=]
10. Natural by Imagine Dragons (#12) [+2]
9. I Like It by Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin (#9) [=]
8. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD (#10) [+2]
7. No Brainer by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance The Rapper (#7) [=]
6. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande (#6) [=]
5. Back To You by Selena Gomez (#5) [=]
4. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. (#4) [=] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
3. Better Now by Post Malone (#3) [=] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
2. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani (#1) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
1. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#2) [+1] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Strip That Down by Liam Payne featuring Quavo (1^st And Only Week At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: In My Feelings by Drake (–6)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Taste by Tyga featuring Offset (+9)

New Entrants
– To start off this week’s new arrivals, we have Dua Lipa making her return. She’s collaborating with a new duo called Silk City (consisting of Mark Ronson and Diplo) with their single titled Electricity. There’s no question that Dua Lipa has been a mainstay in the world of music since the beginning of this year. First, she had New Rules. And later, she has songs such as IDGAF and then her feature in One Kiss (by Calvin Harris). As for her feature in this one, I think it’s great overall. She showcases her unique vocals all throughout the song. I like the work Mark and Diplo both did with this. They put forth the effort in the production. The piano work here is solid. Yeah, everything about this is just divine. I hope to see it become a huge hit.

– Next, we have a new group called LSD, which is basically a collaboration of three different artists (Labrinth, Sia, and Diplo) with their single titled Thunderclouds. I remember first hearing about the group thinking it was interesting. But that was before I started to listen to their music and realize just how bad they’ve been. To put it blunt, their singles so far are not good at all. This song is no exception. First off, I do not like Sia’s voice in the song. She sounds so annoying and it’s just painful to listen to. Labrinth isn’t really any better. In fact, his vocals are underwhelming. Even in Make Me (Cry), he sounded decent. But here, he just doesn’t sound good. Diplo couldn’t do much to save the song. His work on the production is just mediocre all around. Yeah, this is just a mess. Let’s move on.

– With the highest debut of the week, we have Ariana Grande with Breathin’, which is her third single off of Sweetener despite the fact that her successor is still going somewhat strong. I’ve made it no secret that I’m a huge fan of Ariana and her music. Most of the time, she impresses me with the songs she’s released. Breathin’ is no different. As always, I love Ariana’s voice. She just sounds amazing. The production is on point as well. She recently released a music video for the song which features a pig named Piggy Smallz, which I thought was interesting. Personally, I think this is the best song off of her album and I look forward to see that one do well.

Best Debut Of The Week: Breathin’ by Ariana Grande

Just Keep Blurbin’
– We’ll start with our exits. First off, the departure of Remind Me To Forget was expected, though I didn’t quite envision it leaving from a high position at #18. Side Effects did okay in its run, but I thought it might have a shot at success. But I guess people lost interest in The Chainsmokers after the singles since Sick Boy flopped. And finally, Boo’d Up left us for the second time, likely for good. I didn’t necessarily cared for the song too much, so I don’t have any complaints about this.

– And just like that, Youngblood ends up being our new #1 for this week. It’s nice to see a song from 5 Seconds Of Summer getting a lot of love outside of Hits 1. I’m not really complaining. I think it’s a good song and it deserves the top spot. If this song can be popular, then I’m sure High Hopes can have the same popularity outside of Hits 1.

– Can No Brainer start moving down soon? Because it’s continuing to get less interesting with each listen and it’s possible that I’ll have it in red at some point in time.

– It’s a good thing we’ve got In My Feelings out of the Top 10 after a short while. I still think it’s a weak song and Drake can do better. It’s a shame to see a song like this do well here and not Nice For What.

– Speaking of High Hopes, it gained some momentum this week with a nice 6-spot jump. Something tells me it may end up having a run similar to Youngblood in large part because the song is actually doing well outside of Hits 1.

–Friends and I Like Me Better both NEED TO LEAVE!!! I can’t stand these songs at all! There’s so annoying every time I hear them. Seriously, I can’t wait for the day they’re no longer on the countdown.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Sicko Mode by Travis Scott featuring Drake
• Lost In Japan (Remix) by Shawn Mendes featuring Zedd
• Song About You by Mike Posner

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Side Effects by The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren
• Lights Down Low by MAX featuring Gnash
• It Ain’t Me by Kygo featuring Selena Gomez
• Happy Now by Zedd featuring Elley Duhé
• Finesse (Remix) by Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B.
• Boo’d Up by Elle Mai
• Remind Me To Forget by Kygo featuring Miguel
• Happy by Pharrell
• Me, Myself & I by G-Eazy featuring Bebe Rexha

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD
19. I’m A Mess by Bebe Rexha

1 – Bad:
18. In My Feelings by Drake
17. Drew Barrymore by Bryce Vine

2 – Mediocre:
16. Happier by Marshmello featuring Bastille
15. I Like It by Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin
14. No Brainer by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance The Rapper

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

4 – Good:
12. Jackie Chan by Tiesto & Dzeko featuring Post Malone and Preme 
11. The Way I Am by Charlie Puth

5 – Great:
10. Lie by NF
9. Better Now by Post Malone
8. Back To You by Selena Gomez
7. Beautiful by Bazzi featuirng Camila Cabello
6. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani
5. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer
4. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid
3. No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande
2. Natural by Imagine Dragons
1. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande

Total Score: 69/100 = 69% (D+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: I’ll Be There by The Jackson 5 (1970)

Most Missed Song: Fight Song by Rachel Platten

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Tie Me Down by Gryffin featuring Elley Duhé

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Praying by Kesha (#12)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Breathin’ by Ariana Grande
2. The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey
3. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande
4. Natural by Imagine Dragons
5. Electricity by Silk City featuring Dua Lipa

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. I Like Me Better by Lauv
2. Thunderclouds by LSD
3. I’m A Mess by Bebe Rexha
4. Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie
5. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Why by Sabrina Carpenter: This is pretty much a step down from Thumbs. I don’t really like her voice in this one. It just sounds underwhelming. At least she got a little better with Almost Love.
Bodak Yellow (Money Moves) by Cardi B.: For me, this really isn’t how you make a great first impression. I may be coming around to some of her music, but this song doesn’t do it for me at all.
Perfect by Ed Sheeran: The title of the song speaks for itself.  I’ll probably have more to say about it in my Year-End posts. But to put it easy, it’s the perfect song for a wedding.