The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You
45. Billie Eilish – When The Party’s Over (#43) [–2]
44. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#45) [+1]
43. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – Chlorine (#38) [–5]
42. Lauv featuring Troye Sivan – I’m So Tired… (#35) [–7]
41. Post Malone – Wow. (#39) [–2]
40. Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE – Happier (#41) [+1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
39. Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo – Close To Me (#40) [+1]
38. Push Baby – Mama’s House (DEBUT)
37. NOTD, Felix Jaehn, & Captain Cuts featuring Georgia Ku – So Close (#37) [=]
36. Bazzi – Paradise (#42) [+6]
35. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#36) [+1] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
34. Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend (#34) [=]
33. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#33) [=] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
32. Andy Grammer – Don’t Give Up On Me (#32) [=]
31. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored (#31) [=]
30. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less (#21) [–9]
29. P!NK – Walk Me Home (#28) [–1]
28. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#30) [+2]
27. Ciara – Thinkin Bout You (#23) [–4]
26. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#26) [=]
25. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (#25) [=]
24. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing’s Not A Crime (#20) [–4]
23. Martin Garrix featuring Macklemore and Patrick Stump – Summer Days (#29) [+6]
22. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy (#22) [=]
21. Kaskade featuring Meghan Trainor – With You (#27) [+6]
20. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#16) [–4]
19. Ava Max – So Am I (#19) [=]
18. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#24) [+6]
17. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down (#17) [=]
16. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (#18) [+2]
15. Katy Perry – Never Really Over (#15) [=]
14. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#13) [–1]
13. Jonas Brothers – Cool (#11) [–2]
12. Halsey – Without Me (#12) [=] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
11. Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES – Here With Me (#9) [–2]
10. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix) (#14) [+4]
9. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#10) [+1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
8. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#8) [=]
7. Khalid – Talk (#7) [=]
6. Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME! (#5) [–1]
5. Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber – I Don’t Care (#6) [+1]
4. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#4) [=] [Spent 13 Weeks At #1]
3. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#3) [=]
2. Halsey – Nightmare (#2) [=]
1. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You (#1) [=] [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Taylor Swift – Delicate (1^st of 3 Weeks At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less (–9)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Tie between Bazzi – Paradise, Martin Garrix featuring Macklemore and Patrick Stump – Summer Days, Kaskade featuring Meghan Trainor – With You, and Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (+6)

New Entrants:
– Here’s a question: does anybody here remember Rixton? You know, the group that had a huge hit Me And My Broken Heart back in 2014? These guys have made their return under their new name, Push Baby, as they bring us Mama’s House.  Let’s not mince words: Me And My Broken Heart is one of the most hated songs of 2014. I did like it at first…until I realized how whiny it sounds. So yeah, this didn’t hold up well for me in the long run. As for their new song…well, I’ll just go ahead and talk about it. I did have this in blue when it first debuted on Hit-Bound. But that was based on my initial reaction. Now, I find the song to be flat out mediocre.  The grating falsetto in the chorus and the poor lyrical content aren’t doing the song any favors. In addition, the verses don’t have much to offer because they lack personality and as I mentioned, the lyrics leave something to be desired. The production is decent. But that’s the only saving grace in a song that’s flat out not good. Yeah, to put it simply, I’m not digging this.

Don’t Stop Blurbin’
– Good riddance to Jordan McGraw – Flexible. The song thankfully flopped and did not last long on the countdown. It is cringe-worthy in pretty much every sense of the word and his voice is not interesting at all. It will never be missed in the slightest. NEXT!

– Good to see I’m So Tired… making it’s way down to the Bottom 5. The sooner this mess of a song leaves, the better. I don’t need this polluting the countdown any longer.

– Seeing Love Me Less have the Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week is also pleasing. Unfortunately, I do expect the song rebounding at some point. But yeah, it’s good to see it lose some momentum this week.

– So, it was mentioned during the 4-1-1- recap that Dan + Shay were involved in Joe Jonas’s wedding. I wonder were they able to sing a few songs at his wedding? Hmm…

– Before introducing You Need To Calm Down, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Taylor Swift trademarked her brand new kitty. Remember when the Jonas Brothers mentioned at the time they hosted the countdown that she LOVES cats? Well, apparently she loves her new kitty so much, hence why she made that decision.

Summer Throwbacks:

Hits 1 did things a little differently this year as far as Summer Throwbacks go. Instead of doing them during the countdown, they decided to have 5 Seconds Of Summer host the show based on that. Here are the songs they’ve played:

• One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful
• Katy Perry – Roar
• TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – Ride
• Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop The Feeling
• 5 Seconds Of Summer – She Looks So Perfect
• The Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling
• Meghan Trainor – All About That Bass
• Walk The Moon – Shut Up and Dance
• Eminem featuring Rihanna – Love The Way You Lie
• Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle
• Magic! – Rude
• Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton – Can’t Hold Us
• Tove Lo – Talking Body
• Flo Rida featuring Sia – Wild Ones
• Charlie Puth – Attention
• Maroon 5 – Maps
• Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe
• LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett – Party Rock Anthem
• Karmin – Brokenhearted
• Taylor Swift – You Belong With Me
• Florida Georgia Line – Cruise
• Demi Lovato – Cool For The Summer
• Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX – Fancy
• Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road

Hit-Bound:

• SHAED – Trampoline
• Lizzo – Truth Hurts
• Asher Angel featuring Wiz Khalifa – One Thought Away
• The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine
• Public – Make You Mine
• Blanco Brown – The Git Up
• Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita
• Miley Cyrus – Mother’s Daughter
• OneRepublic – Rescue Me
• In Real Life – Crazy AF
• P!NK – Hustle
• Kygo featuring Rita Ora – Carry On
• Ed Sheeran featuring Chance The Rapper and PnB Rock – Cross Me
• AJR – 100 Bad Days
• Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello – Find U Again

Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
15. Ed Sheeran featuring Chance The Rapper and PnB Rock – Cross Me 

1 – Bad:
14. AJR – 100 Bad Days 

2 – Mediocre:
None! 

3 – Decent:
13. In Real Life – Crazy AF
12. Asher Angel featuring Wiz Khalifa – One Thought Away
11. Blanco Brown – The Git Up
10. Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello – Find U Again
9. The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine

4 – Good:
None! 

5 – Great:
8. P!NK – Hustle
7. SHAED – Trampoline
6. Public – Make You Mine
5. OneRepublic – Rescue Me
4. Lizzo – Truth Hurts
3. Miley Cyrus – Mother’s Daughter
2. Kygo featuring Rita Ora – Carry On

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:
1. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita

Overall Grade: 57/75 = 76% (C)

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Bruno Mars – Chunky

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita
2. Kygo featuring Rita Ora – Carry On
3. Miley Cyrus – Mother’s Daughter
4. Lizzo – Truth Hurts
5. OneRepublic – Rescue Me

YouTube 15:

• Post Malone – Wow.
• Meghan Trainor – Hurt Me
• Ellie Goulding featuring Juice WRLD – Hate Me
• Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger
• Sebastian Yatra featuring Jonas Brothers, Daddy Yankee, and Natti Natasha – Runaway
• Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
• Julia Michaels – Falling For Boys
• Khalid – Talk
• Alan Walker featuring Sabrina Carpenter and Farruko – On My Way
• Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)
• Ali Gatie – It’s You
• Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber – I Don’t Care
• Nicki Minaj – MEGATRON
• Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME!
• Why Don’t We – Come To Brazil

Song Reviews:
– Taken from the NBC television show, Songland, we have more of Meghan Trainor with her new single, Hurt Me. I think she sounds better in this one than in With You from a vocal standpoint. Production is pretty solid as well. So yeah, I kinda like this.

– More of Ellie Goulding is nice, and she collaborates with Juice WRLD in Hate Me. Now unlike some people here in the blogging community, I do like Ellie’s latest music. This song is actually no exception. I think one of the song’s strengths is the production, which I find to be better than that of Close To Me. She sounds good overall and I like Juice’s verses for once. It’s a good song, but not much compared to what Ellie Goulding has done in the past.

– Up next is more of Julia Michaels with her new song, Falling For Boys. It’s really not that different compared to her previous singles. Her voice is rather weak in the chorus and I’m not feeling the production overall. Yeah, not something I’ll come back to in the long run. I much prefer What A Time, which is her best song.

– Why Don’t We are back once more, and they bring us Come To Brazil. Not too much I can say about this one. I like the Latin vibe here. The instrumentation is good and their vocals are nice. Overall, it’s a good song.

YouTube 15 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
15. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)

1 – Bad:
14. Post Malone – Wow.

2 – Mediocre:
13. Khalid – Talk

3 – Decent:
12. Alan Walker featuring Sabrina Carpenter and Farruko – On My Way
11. Julia Michaels – Falling For Boys
10. Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber – I Don’t Care

4 – Good:
9. Ali Gatie – It’s You
8. Nicki Minaj – MEGATRON

5 – Great:
7. Sebastian Yatra featuring Jonas Brothers, Daddy Yankee, and Natti Natasha – Runaway 
6. Meghan Trainor – Hurt Me
5. Ellie Goulding featuring Juice WRLD – Hate Me
4. Why Don’t We – Come To Brazil
3. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
2. Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME!

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The YouTube 15:
1. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

Overall Grade: 56/75 = 75% (C)

Most Missed YouTube 15 Song: JoJo – Save My Soul

My Top 5 YouTube 15 Picks
1. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger
2. Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME!
3. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
4. Why Don’t We – Come To Brazil
5. Ellie Goulding featuring Juice WRLD – Hate Me

Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)

1 – Bad:
19. Jonas Brothers – Cool
18. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down
17. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier

2 – Mediocre:
16. Khalid – Talk
15. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
14. Halsey – Without Me

3 – Decent:
13. Alec Benjamin – If We Had Each Other
12. Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber – I Don’t Care
11. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love

4 – Good:
10. Jonas Brothers – Sucker

5 – Great:
9. Halsey – Nightmare
8. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It
7. Ava Max – So Am I
6. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar
5. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho
4. Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES – Here With Me
3. Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME!
2. Katy Perry – Never Really Over

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You

Overall Grade: 68/100 = 68% (D+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’ (1981)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Coldplay – A Sky Full Of Stars

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Kygo featuring Whitney Houston – Higher Love

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between Meghan Trainor – Let You Be Right (#20) and Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry (#7)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You
2. Katy Perry – Never Really Over
3. Dan + Shay – Speechless
4. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
5. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)
2. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings
3. Lauv featuring Troye Sivan – I’m So Tired…
4. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored
5. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
None!