AT40: Benny Blanco, Halsey, & Khalid (2) – Week Of March 16, 2019

/ dhill92

Hello, guys! So once again, this is another late post. My apologies, but my motivation has been seriously lacking the past several weeks. Hopefully, I’ll try to catch up on my posts. Let’s just get to the late post. Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

  • Body by Loud Luxury featuring brando (#22)
  • Love Someone by Lukas Graham (#35)
  • I Like It by Cardi B featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin (#40)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid
40. 365 by Zedd featuring Katy Perry (DEBUT)
39. Lie by NF (#38) [–1]
38. I’ve Been Waiting by Lil’ Peep featuring iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy (DEBUT)
37. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD (#36) [–1]
36. Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons (DEBUT)
35. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande (#34) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
34. Hurts Like Hell by Madison Beer featuring Offset (#37) [+3]
33. You Say by Lauren Daigle (#33) [=]
32. Broken by lovelytheband (#31) [–1]
31. 8 Letters by Why Don’t We (#30) [–1]
30. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B (#27) [–3] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
29. Who Do You Love by The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer (#39) [+10]
28. Better Now by Post Malone (#25) [–3] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
27. Nothing Breaks Like A Heart by Mark Ronson featuring Miley Cyrus (#15) [–12]
26. MIA by Bad Bunny featuring Drake (#29) [+3]
25. Swan Song by Dua Lipa (#26) [+1]
24. Beautiful (Remix) by Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello (#23) [–1]
23. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored by Ariana Grande (#32) [+9]
22. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani (#21) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
21. Lost In The Fire by Gesafflestein featuring The Weeknd (#12) [–9]
20. Breathin’ by Ariana Grande (#19) [–1]
19. Undrunk by FLETCHER (#24) [+5]
18. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#17) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
17. Be Alright by Dean Lewis (#20) [+3]
16. Tequila by Dan + Shay (#18) [+2]
15. Please Me by Cardi B featuring Bruno Mars (#28) [+13]
14. This Feeling by The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini (#9) [–5]
13. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani (#14) [+1]
12. Wow. by Post Malone (#13) [+1]
11. Sicko Mode by Travis Scott featuring Drake (#11) [=]
10. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max (#16) [+6]
9. Better by Khalid (#10) [+1]
8. Happier by Marshmello featuring Bastille [=] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
7. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee (#7) [=]
6. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco (#4) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
5. Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande (#3) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
4. Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee (#5) [+1]
3. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande (#5) [+2]
2. Without Me by Halsey (#2) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
1. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid (#1) [=] [2nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Let You Down by NF (1st of 2 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Nothing Breaks Like A Heart by Mark Ronson featuring Miley Cyrus (–12)
Biggest Rise Of The Week: Please Me by Cardi B featuring Bruno Mars (+13)
New Entrants:
– First, we have the return of Zedd. Last year, he gave us The Middle, which was my #1 favorite song of 2018. This time around, he collaborates with a big favorite of mine, Katy Perry, in 365. I talked about this one in my Hits 1 Weekend Countdown post when it debuted. I like the ticking clock that was used in songs like Stay and The Middle, both of which I enjoyed. Outside of that, everything else production-wise is good. Katy shines with her voice like she always does. Overall, it’s a solid song Zedd was able to release.
– Up next, we have a posthumous release from Lil’ Peep, who collaborates with iLoveMakonnen and the band Fall Out Boy in I’ve Been Waiting. My expectations were pretty low coming into the song. But after a while, I started to like it. The instrumentation is pretty good for the most part. I like the chorus overall and I think Patrick has a good voice. This is a nice collaboration between these guys and I hope it sticks around.
– Finally, we have more of Imagine Dragons with their next single off of Origins, titled Bad Liar. Hits 1 did pick up on Machine a while ago, which was just a mess and thankfully was not released as a single. Bad Liar is a much different story, however. Everything about the song is just spot on. I like Dan’s voice overall. He doesn’t yell obnoxiously like he did in Machine. The instrumentation is really good and not as messy. Hearing the song, it does remind me of one of their earlier singles, Demons, which I loved. Overall, this is easily the best song off of Origins and I’m glad they released it as a single.
Best Debut Of The Week: Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons
I Think About Blurbs All The Time
– So, I Like It finally makes its departure after a long tenure. Initially, I wasn’t a big fan of the song. But with time, it started to grow on me just a bit. Thus, I never hated it in the end. Love Someone flopping was not a surprise, which proves that Lukas Graham are basically just one-hit wonders. And I did enjoy Body for a while, but I’m not too sad about it leaving.
– In terms of the Top 10, we have Sweet But Psycho making its entrance. It’s good to see Ava Max getting recognition. She does have another song which just recently came out, though I haven’t heard it yet as of this typing.
– Please Me ends up getting the biggest jump of the week, which comes as no surprise really. I guess people were happy about Bruno being back after a while.
– It’s really disappointing to see big drops from Lost In The Fire and Nothing Breaks Like A Heart, the latter especially. Both songs are underrated and they deserved better. Oh well.
Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:

20. Sicko Mode by Travis Scott featuring Drake
19. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande

1 – Bad:
18. Wow. by Post Malone
17. Happier by Marshmello featuring Bastille

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
16. Without Me by Halsey
15. Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande

4 – Good:
None!

5 – Great: 
14. Be Alright by Dean Lewis
13. Better by Khalid
12. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer
11. Please Me by Cardi B featuring Bruno Mars
10. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco
9. Undrunk by FLETCHER
8. Breathin’ by Ariana Grande 
7. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max
6. Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee
5. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid
4. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee
3. This Feeling by The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini
2. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani
1. Tequila by Dan + Shay

Total Score: 77/100 = 77% (C+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Wanna Be Starting Somethin’ by Michael Jackson (1983)

Most Missed Song: Teenage Dream by Katy Perry

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Flux by Ellie Goulding

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey (#9) and Finesse (Remix) by Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B (#5)

My Top 5 Picks
1. You Say by Lauren Daigle
2. Tequila by Dan + Shay
3. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani
4. This Feeling by The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini
5. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Sicko Mode by Travis Scott featuring Drake
2. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD
3. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
4. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored by Ariana Grande
5. Wow. by Post Malone

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Beg by Jack & Jack: Not much I can say about this one except it’s pretty forgettable. I like their vocals, but there’s not much to the production. So yeah, this isn’t really memorable.
Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie: I may have been a little too hard on this one. But it doesn’t excuse the fact that this is a friend-zone anthem, which is just not good. I much prefer something along the lines of Wolves, or his newer song for the matter.

4 thoughts on “AT40: Benny Blanco, Halsey, & Khalid (2) – Week Of March 16, 2019”

  1. Ever since the AMA performance of Eastside, that song gained momentum to hit #1 on AT40, Hit the top 10 on HOT100 and made a small dent in Hits1..so great choice of pic of Blanco/Halsey/Khalid

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