Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now (–31)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Halsey – Without Me (+15)

New Entrants
– To kick off this week’s new arrivals, we have a band called The Struts, who are collaborating with Kesha in their single Body Talks. It’s quite an interesting collaboration between these guys, but it worked out well. As always, I love to hear Kesha’s voice. She sounds really good in the chorus. The Struts themselves did a nice job at handling the production of the song. I like the use of the guitars. Overall, this is divine on all levels.

– TWENTY ØNE PILØTS made their comeback a few months ago with Jumpsuit, which unfortunately failed to really do anything. It was definitely a phenomenal song that deserved a lot better. So, I was waiting for something else they had to offer. And this week, they give us My Blood. This one doesn’t quite have a lot in terms of the production. However, I do like to hear Tyler’s voice. His vocals are unique in pretty much every way and he shows it in the song. Looking at the lyrics, it supposedly talks about a member of the family. It’s something people can relate to. It’ll be interesting to see how well this does on Hits 1. Whether it’ll have a similar run like The Last Of The Real Ones or just simply hang around for a short time, I don’t know yet.

– We have an interesting collaboration between four artists (Tiesto, Dzeko, Preme, and Post Malone) in their single titled Jackie Chan. I fell in love with this one when it just came out, but it did fade on me just a little bit. I do like what Tiesto has done here and the verses are pretty good, which is why I found it enjoyable to begin. The thing that brings it down for me is the lyrical content, which I’m not all that big on. Tiesto has done better in the past. It’s not his best work, but it’s something that I can dance to every once in a while.

– Next, Pitbull makes his return. And he’s collaborating with Theron Theron in their single Free Free Free. This was on the YouTube 15 about a couple months ago and I did a brief review of the song. I can say that I do like the vocals quite a bit and the production is pretty decent. But it’s really not all that special in comparison to his previous singles. I think Pitbull has probably lost what made him stand out, though I can say it’s not much of a bad song. I don’t really expect it to stick around for long.

– And finally, we have a song that’s been on Hit-Bound for a while. Benny Blanco makes his first appearance on the countdown, collaborating with Halsey and Khalid in Eastside. Although the song itself may be short, I love just everything about it. I love the verses we get from both Halsey and Khalid. Here, Halsey sounds great and she doesn’t try too hard to hit those high notes. I love the lyrics. In fact, it basically reminds me of the days back when I was in high school.

Best Debut Of The Week: The Struts featuring Kesha – Body Talks

We Will, We Will Blurb You
– We’ll start with our exits this week. To begin, we say good-bye to I’ll Never Love Again after only one week. This is the first time that’s happened since May 2017, when Good Life also lasted one week. As for the other exits, good riddance to Africa. That was a terrible cover of the 1982 song from Toto. I’m glad it didn’t stay for too long. Just My Type leaving wasn’t surprising at all, though I find the song to be pretty good in comparsion to the other singles we get from The Vamps. Both Better Now and One Kiss had a nice run on the countdown and I enjoyed these songs. They will be missed by me.

– Are you kidding me?! Happy Now took a massive drop out of the Top 10 all the way down to the Bottom 5. How is this even okay? So not cool, Hits 1.

– Before introducing Drew Barrymore, Spyder Harrison mentioned that the actress herself is actually working on a new talent show which debuts next year. I wonder will she try to copy The Voice or will it be something different entirely? We’ll just have to find out what she has in store.

– I’m not thrilled about the big jump from Without Me. Of course, because it’s gaining momentum in sales (coupled with the fact that Hits 1 love some Halsey), I have a bad feeling that it’ll be here to stay.

– Spyder Harrison just mentioned during the introduction for Back To You that Selena Gomez has just recently lost her title as most followed person on Instagram to a soccer star named Cristiano Ronaldo. Talk about a run. That soccer star must have took some notes as to how to accomplish that feat. I guess he wants to be more famous himself.

– I just recently watched the music video for Lost In Japan this week and I thought it was pretty cool. I like the idea of Shawn Mendes actually hanging out in Japan for the music video (hence the title). They played the original and then transition to the remix with Zedd. That’s some awesome stuff. It’s no surprise to see this one enter the Top 10 so soon. I’m looking forward to seeing it in the Top 5 soon and potentially hit #1.

– The Last Of The Real Ones has somehow regained its momentum as it’s back in the Top 5. We could potentially see it at #1 again after a short while, though I doubt it somehow. Also, I learned that their music video is similar to that of Kayne West’s Flashing Lights. I wonder is that where they got this idea from.

– It was only natural (no pun intended) that Imagine Dragons would enter the Top 5 and hit #1 with their latest single off of their new album coming out next week. It’s refreshing (in a way) to see a song not from Panic! At The Disco at the top spot. Natural is different, but it’s an enjoyable song and I think it’s a great way to start the new era for these guys. I wouldn’t object to seeing it stay there for a while.

Hit-Bound:

• Little Mix featuring Nicki Minaj – Woman Like Me
• Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly
• Post Malone featuring Swae Lee – Sunflower
• TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – Chlorine (DEBUT)
• Ariana Grande – Breathin’
• Lauv featuring Julia Michaels – There’s No Way
• 5 Seconds Of Summer – Killer Queen (DEBUT)
• Camila Cabello – Consequences
• Alex Aiono – Big Mistake
• Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee – Close To Me (DEBUT)
• Shawn Mendes – Nervous
• David Guetta featuring Anne–Marie – Don’t Leave Me Alone
• Steve Aoki featuring BTS – Waste It On Me

Entrant Reviews:
– Yet again, we get another song from TWENTY ØNE PILØTS from Trench, by the name of Chlorine, replacing Legend. It sounds like Hits 1 is going back to loving TWENTY ØNE PILØTS. As for the song itself, I’m not really feeling this at the moment. I personally think there are better songs from the album. Maybe it’ll grow on me, but I kinda doubt it.

– We get more 5 Seconds Of Summer with the single from the Bohemian Rhapsody movie soundtrack, titled Killer Queen, which is the cover of the song from Queen. I can’t say I’m liking this one. I don’t think they did good with the cover overall. This is based on my initial reaction, but it could change.

– Last but not least, we have the return of Ellie Goulding! She makes her comeback with her new single titled Close To Me, which features Diplo and Swae Lee. It’s been a while since we heard from her. I love Ellie’s voice in the song. She sounds awesome when she hits those high notes. I’ll save my words for this should it debut. I hope to see it graduate to the countdown soon.

Best Debut On Hit-Bound: Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee – Close To Me

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Ariana Grande – Breathin’
2. Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee – Close To Me
3. David Guetta featuring Anne-Marie – Don’t Leave Me Alone
4. Little Mix featuring Nicki Minaj – Woman Like Me
5. Camila Cabello – Consequences

YouTube 15:

• Post Malone – Better Now
• Nick Jonas featuring Robin Schulz – Right Now
• Cher Lloyd – None Of My Business
• Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies
• Jonas Blue featuring Liam Payne and Lennon Stella – Polaroid
• Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You
• Lauren Jauregui – Expectations 
• Juice WRLD – Lucid Dreams
• Zara Larsson – Ruin My Life
• Marshmello featuring Bastille – Happier
• Normani featuring Calvin Harris – Slow Down
• Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside
• Alan Walker featuring AuRa and Tomine Hacket – Darkside
• Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin – I Like It
• A Great Big World – You

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

1 – Bad:
19. Halsey – Without Me

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
14. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am

5 – Great:
13. Selena Gomez – Back To You
12. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies
11. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
10. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood
9. Walk The Moon – Kamikaze
8. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones
7. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman
6. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It
5. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects
4. Imagine Dragons – Natural
3. Silk City featuring Dua Lipa – Electricity
2. Shawn Mendes – Lost In Japan

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

Overall Grade: 84/100 = 84% (B)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Queen – We Will Rock You (1977)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Ellie Goulding – Lights

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

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

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Kesha – Praying

My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling
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. Bryce Vine – Drew Barrymore
5. Halsey – Without Me

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Niall Horan – Too Much To Ask: It may not be the best off of Flicker, but it was a sweet song overall and I like how Niall can showcase his voice with emotion.
Dua Lipa – New Rules: Although Hits 1 didn’t treat this one as well as everybody else, it was nice to see they picked probably her best single off of her self-titled album.

QOTW: With the movie Bohemian Rhapsody being released this week, what are your favorite songs from Queen?