#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl (4^th And Final Week At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Calvin Harris featuring Sam Smith – Promises (–19)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Tie between Post Malone featuring Swae Lee – Sunflower and Dan + Shay – Tequila (+14)

New Entrants:
– We’ll get the most displeasing debut out of the way first. I was not looking forward to more Lauv, especially after we got slammed by I Like Me Better for most of the year. But alas, here he is and he’s collaborating with Julia Michaels in his latest single titled There’s No Way. Yeah, I’m not in love with this, as you can tell. I do find both of their vocals to be underwhelming, and they don’t shine at all in the chorus. However, I’ll go ahead and say that production-wise, it’s a huge step up from its predecessor. That’s the only redeeming quality of the song. But other than that, it’s not very good in most aspects. So yeah, I’m not a huge fan.

– Immediately after that, we get the return of Little Mix! Now they’ve had quite a few songs on the countdown before, such as Wings in 2012 and especially Black Magic back in 2015. The latter was a huge favorite of mine, and it still is to this day. Here, they’re collaborating with Nicki Minaj in their latest single titled Woman Like Me. The song does remind me of Side To Side, in which it does have a reggae vibe to it. I do like what Little Mix is going for in this one. Adding Nicki Minaj was a great idea as she contributes nicely to the song. The way she raps in some of the verses is just awesome. I love how they blend together in the chorus. I think they have a great vocal chemistry. To put it short, Little Mix’s new single just rocks.

– The last time we’ve heard from David Guetta was three years ago, I believe, when he had Hey Mama as one of his biggest hits of 2015. Today, he makes his return to the countdown by collaborating with Anne-Marie in his new single titled Don’t Leave Me Alone. Right off the bat, I can say that this is better than anything Anne-Marie has been a part of thus far (outside of Rockabye). I think she has a nice voice and she uses it well in the song. I also like the production David put together. He put forth the effort while doing his work on the song. The verdict: it’s an enjoyable song and both of these artists don’t disappoint me there.

– Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month or so, then you probably know by now that Ariana Grande has her new single titled Thank U, Next, which has been reigning at #1 for a few weeks now. Not only that, but her music video is breaking records left and right. Anyway, the song basically talks about Ariana simply thanking her ex-boyfriends, including the late Mac Miller, who passed away a few months ago. I do like the song in large part because of Ariana alone. As I’ve said before, she has a great voice and she uses it very well most of the time. My only concern for the song is that there’s not too much going on in terms of the production. I do think a little more could be done in my opinion. Although this is probably one of her weakest lead singles out of all of them, it’s still a good song on its own. I’m looking forward to seeing this one become a success here on this countdown, which it probably will.

Best Debut Of The Week: Little Mix featuring Nicki Minaj – Woman Like Me

Don’t Leave Blurbs Alone
– We’ll start with our exits this week. First off, good riddance to both Thunderclouds and Lucid Dreams, especially the former. I could not stand that song at all. But I’m glad it’s gone. As for the other two, Lie sputtered after having the biggest drop of the year a couple months ago and never recovered. And Kamikaze was not destined to last long. Too bad Walk The Moon will forever remain as one-hit wonders.

– High Hopes is back at #1 once again. That song has been dominating on Hits 1 for the second half of this year and it looks like with it still gaining momentum, it may very well carry on into 2019.

– 2002 has entered the Top 5 this week, which I’m okay with. Though I would much prefer if this didn’t hit #1 as I’m slightly starting to lose interest. But if anything, I’ll definitely take this over a certain song I won’t mention any day.

– So in case anyone’s wondering, yes, I do indeed have Tequila as my new favorite song on the countdown. This song has been getting better with each listen. I can safely say that this is one of the premier country songs of 2018 in my opinion. It’s nice to see it make a massive jump back into the Top 20 this week!

– On the minus side, we have Lost In Japan making a big drop this week unfortunately. I had thought that it was a shoe-in to become another hit for Shawn Mendes. Boy, I was wrong. Not helping is that it’s losing momentum elsewhere. Oh well.

Hit-Bound:

• Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo – Close To Me
• Dean Lewis – Be Alright (DEBUT)
• Zara Larsson – Ruin My Life
• Imagine Dragons – Machine
• Lauren Jauregui – Expectations
• Dan + Shay – Speechless (DEBUT)
• 5 Seconds Of Summer – Killer Queen
• Olly Murs – Moves
• Alessia Cara – Trust My Lonely (DEBUT)
• Khalid – Better (DEBUT)
• James Arthur – Empty Space
• Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho
• Steve Aoki featuring BTS – Waste It On Me
• TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – Chlorine

Entrant Reviews:
– We have a new round of arrivals that I’ll be covering. First, we have Dean Lewis with Be Alright. When listening to the song, I find that Dean has a good voice. But what stands out to me is the lyrics. I think they are well written for the most part. Overall, I can say it’s a good song.

– Next, we have more Dan + Shay, this time with Speechless. I personally think this is just as good as their current representation on the countdown. I love their vocals, the production is great, and the lyrics are solid. What more can I say? Here’s to hoping it makes its debut soon. I think they’re the best duo in the country genre right now.

– We have more Alessia Cara with one of her weakest singles from her latest album, The Pains Of Growing which came out this week, titled Trust My Lonely. I talked about the song when it debuted on the American Top 40 last week. To recap, the production is just pretty weird and out of place. Alessia’s vocals are okay, but she doesn’t really stand out for much of the song. Not really a bad song, but she’s had better.

– Finally, we have more of Khalid with his latest single, Better. Much like with Trust My Lonely, I find Khalid’s voice to be okay, but doesn’t really shine in the chorus. However, the production in the song is better, and I do like the lyrics though.

Best Debut on Hit-Bound: Dan + Shay – Speechless

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Dan + Shay – Speechless
2. Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo – Close To Me
3. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho
4. Zara Larsson – Ruin My Life
5. Lauren Jauregui – Expectations

YouTube 15:

• Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B – Girls Like You
• Benny Blanco featuring Calvin Harris – I Found You
• Billie Eilish – Come Out and Play
• Juice WRLD – Lucid Dreams
• Cher Lloyd – None of My Buisness
• Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside
• ZAYN featuring Nicki Minaj – No Candle No Light
• Ariana Grande – Breathin’
• Clean Bandit featuring Marina And The Diamond and Luis Fonsi – Baby
• Marshmello featuring Bastille – Happier
• Loren Gray – Kick You Out
• Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
• Alan Walker featuring AuRa and Tomine Hacket – Darkside
• Halsey – Without Me
• Jake Miller – Wait For You

Top 20 Review:
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. Shawn Mendes – Nervous
16. Post Malone featuring Swae Lee – Sunflower
15. Anne-Marie – 2002
14. Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B – Girls Like You

4 – Good:
13. lovelytheband – Broken

5 – Great:
12. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies
11. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
10. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood
9. Backstreet Boys – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
8. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones
7. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects
6. Benny Blaco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside
5. Imagine Dragons – Natural
4. The Struts featuring Kesha – Body Talks
3. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling
2. Ariana Grande – Breathin’

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Dan + Shay – Tequila

Overall Grade: 80/100 = 80% (B–)

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

Most Missed Countdown Song: George Ezra – Budapest

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Little Mix – Touch

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar

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

My Top 5 Picks
1. Dan + Shay – Tequila
2. Ariana Grande – Breathin’
3. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling
4. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle
5. Shawn Mendes – Lost In Japan

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Bebe Rexha – I’m A Mess
2. Lauv featuring Julia Michaels – There’s No Way
3. NOTD featuring Bea Miller – I Wanna Know
4. Halsey – Without Me
5. Marshmello featuring Bastille – Happier

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Harry Styles – Kiwi: I love how Harry went for the 70’s-80’s rock vibe in this one. And hearing this again, it does somewhat remind me of I Love Rock And Roll by Joan Jett.
X Ambassadors – Ahead Of Myself: These guys haven’t really had much to offer since both Renegades and Unsteady became big hits. This one is interesting in almost every way. While it’s not as good as Renegades, at least it’s something I can enjoy.
Nick Jonas – Find You: Since Nick started going solo after the break-up of the Jonas Brothers, he’s had a few singles I loved. This turns out to be one of them. The song does sound similar to Lady Gaga – Perfect Illusion, especially when listening to the intro.

– Only two debuts to cover this week. First, we have Ariana Grande with her lead single from her upcoming fifth album, titled Thank U, Next. As you already know, the song had been reigning at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three last few weeks now. Right off the bat, I can say that I do like the song overall. However, I can also say that it’s over of her weaker singles, though it’s definitely not a bad song. Ariana shows that she has a good voice, and I do like the lyrical content about her ex, including Mac Miller who sadly passed away a few months ago. I’m not necessarily big on the production. It lacks something that makes it interesting. I’m sure it’ll end up doing well on this countdown and seeing as I do like the song right now, I’m looking forward to it.

– Our other debut for this week comes from the return of DJ Snake. Here, he has an interesting collaboration with Selena Gomez, Ozuna, and Cardi B in his new single, Taki Taki. I like the Latin-based vibe that DJ Snake is going for. The verses in the song flow pretty nicely. I think all of the artists here are better suited for a song like this, especially Cardi B. She has proven that she’s able to rap in a different language. Overall, it’s quite a fun song. I would like to see it stick around.

Best Debut Of The Week: Taki Taki by DJ Snake featuring Selena Gomez, Ozuna, and Cardi B

Trust My Blurbs
– Good riddance to two of our exits. Drew Barrymore was simply uninteresting and ultimately unappealing to me. At least it didn’t become a sleeper hit elsewhere. But more importantly, we must celebrate as I Like Me Better by Lauv has finally left the countdown! That song will never be missed.

– As you probably can tell, I’m not all that thrilled about our new #1 song. It’s just mediocre EDM for me. Although I can say that it’s better than Friends lyrically, I find the production to be underwhelming and Dan’s voice only okay. It’s a shame that this had to be the bigger hit over Wolves, which his easily the best thing Marshmello has been a part of.

– There’s really not a lot of action as both Lie and our former #1 God Is A Woman dropped big by only 2 spots. The only other big move we get this week was Sunflower, which has risen 5 spots into the Top 20.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Tequila by Dan + Shay
• Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee
• 8 Letters by Why Don’t We

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Jackie Chan by Tiesto & Dzeko featuring Preme & Post Malone
• Rather Be by Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne
• Animals by Maroon 5
• Time Of Our Lives by Pitbull & Ne-Yo
• Done For Me by Charlie Puth featuring Kehlani 
• Locked Out Of Heaven by Bruno Mars
• Needed Me by Rihanna
• Bodak Yellow (Money Moves) by Cardi B
• Demons by Imagine Dragons
• Song About You by Mike Posner

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

1 – Bad:
18. Without Me by Halsey

2 – Mediocre:
17. Happier by Marshmello featuring Bastille

3 – Decent:
16. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B.
15. Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee

4 – Good:
14. Broken by lovelytheband

5 – Great:
13. Lie by NF
12. Back To You by Selena Gomez 
11. Beautiful by Bazzi featuirng Camila Cabello
10. Better Now by Post Malone
9. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco
8. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer
7. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani
6. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid
5. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande
4. Natural by Imagine Dragons
3. Electricity by Silk City featuring Dua Lipa
2. Lost In Japan by Shawn Mendes

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Breathin’ by Ariana Grande  

Total Score: 79/100 = 79% (C+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: …Baby One More Time by Britney Spears (1998)

Most Missed Song: In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix featuring Bebe Rexha

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons

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

My Top 5 Picks
1. Breathin’ by Ariana Grande
2. This Feeling by The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini
3. The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey
4. Lost In Japan by Shawn Mendes
5. Electricity by Silk City featuring Dua Lipa

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. I’m A Mess by Bebe Rexha
2. Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie
3. Thunderclouds by LSD
4. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD
5. Sicko Mode by Travis Scott featuring Drake

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:

Silence by Marshmello featuring Khalid: Interestingly, Marshmello had two songs debut on this countdown one year ago. As far as Silence goes, I thought he did a pretty nice job with the production, and I like the addition of Khalid. But this pales in comparison to…

Wolves by Selena Gomez featuring Marshmello: This song. Easily the best thing Marshmello has done thus far. Again, I’ll have more to say about this in a few weeks or so.