Hello, fam! This is the third week in a row in which we have a guest host, only this time with Ava Max filling in for Ryan Seacrest. As for the countdown itself, it was pretty meh. We have a new #1 which isn’t all that exciting. But at least we’re finally getting some competition for the top spot, so that’s something I guess. Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• When The Party’s Over by Billie Eilish (#16)
• Con Calma by Daddy Yankee & Katy Perry featuring Snow (#22)
• Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande (#37) [Spent 1 Week At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Wow. by Post Malone
40. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#39) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
39. Find U Again by Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello (DEBUT)
38. Chlorine by TWENTY ØNE PILØTS (#40) [+2]
37. Happier by Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE (#35) [–2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
36. Call You Mine by The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha (#38) [+2]
35. So Close by NOTD, Felix Jaehn, and Captain Cuts featuring Georgia Ku (#36) [+1]
34. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee (#33) [–1]
33. Love Me Less by MAX featuring Quinn XCII (#34) [+1]
32. Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee (#31) [–1]
31. Just Us by DJ Khaled featuring SZA (#32) [+1]
30. Better by Khalid (#29) [–1]
29. Wake Up by Travis Scott featuring The Weeknd (#30) [+1]
28. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco (#27) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
27. Walk Me Home by P!NK (#28) [+1]
26. Senorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (DEBUT)
25. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid (#25) [=] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
24. Speechless by Dan + Shay (#26) [+2]
23. All My Friends by AJ Mitchell (#24) [+1]
22. You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift (DEBUT)
21. La La Land by Bryce Vine featuring YG (#21) [=]
20. Without Me by Halsey (#20) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
19. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#23) [+4]
18. Easier by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#19) [+1]
17. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored by Ariana Grande (#13) [–4]
16. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande (#15) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
15. Cross Me by Ed Sheeran featuring Chance The Rapper and PnB Rock (#18) [+3]
14. Nightmare by Halsey (#14) [=]
13. Never Really Over by Katy Perry (#17) [+4]
12. ME! by Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie (#7) [–5]
11. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max (#8) [–3]
10. Cool by Jonas Brothers (#12) [+2]
9. Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco (#11) [+2]
8. If I Can’t Have You by Shawn Mendes (#9) [+1]
7. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani (#5) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
6. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (#10) [+4]
5. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (#4) [–1]
4. I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber (#6) [+2]
3. Wow. by Post Malone (#1) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
2. Sucker by Jonas Brothers (#2) [=] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
1. Talk by Khalid (#3) [+2] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Psycho by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign (4^th And Final Week At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: ME! by Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie (–5)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Tie between Never Really Over by Katy Perry and Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (+4)

New Entrants:
– We have three new songs entering the countdown this weekend. Kicking things off is the return of Camila Cabello in the first of two songs she appears in. Here, she collaborates with Mark Ronson in Find U Again. Earlier this year, Mark Ronson gave us Nothing Breaks Like A Heart, which featured Miley Cyrus. That one was amazing. I can’t really say that about Find U Again, in part because of Camila. I’m not huge on her vocal performance in the song. But the production is decent here. This may grow on me with more listens, so it’s possible that my opinion may change. We’ll see.

– Up next, Camila Cabello collaborates with another artist in this next single. This time, it’s with Shawn Mendes in Senorita. Last time, they worked together in I Know What You Did Last Summer, and during that time they rose to popularity. It appears that they may be dating again, as I’ve heard the news about them wanting to get back to together. But anyway, I find this song to be better than that of I Know What You Did Last Summer. I definitely like the Latin vibe here and their vocals mesh well together in the chorus. I’ll have more on this in the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown post this weekend. But yeah, this is a nice song all around.

– With ME! falling off a cliff, it was only a matter of time until Taylor Swift’s next single would make an appearance. She brings us You Need To Calm Down. I explained this song in full detail in my previous posts. But to sum it all up, I’m not a fan. Taylor sounds underwhelming in the chorus and the beat is not interesting for the most part. I do like the lyrical content and I get what the song is going for. The music video is nicely done. But I feel that the song itself was executed rather poorly in terms of her vocal performance and the production itself. Overall, this is not good and probably my first song I legitimately dislike from Taylor Swift. I’m still looking forward to what Lover brings us. Hopefully, her future singles won’t sound similar to this one.

Best Debut Of The Week: Senorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello

Baby, I Know I’ll Never Blurb U Again
– In terms of our exits this week, When The Party’s Over left from a high position, which was expected since that one has died down in favor of Bad Guy. Con Calma was destined to leave and it’s pretty sad since I like the song. Daddy Yankee is likely a one-hit wonder, I’m afraid. And finally, Thank U, Next was due to leave for some time. Though I did kinda liked the song, this was actually the first sign of Ariana Grande beginning to sell out. But I just didn’t realize it at the time given that I was still excited for her new album back then, only to be very disappointed in the end.

– This is the second week in a row in which we have a new #1. But it’s not what I was hoping for, unfortunately. Talk is just weak for Khalid’s standards, mainly because the production doesn’t mesh well with his voice. It’s pretty disappointing that it’s his highest peaking single on the Billboard Hot 100, especially since he’s had better (no pun intended).

– The Top 5 entry from I Don’t Care was expected. But I’m not all that wild about it either. Sure, it’s pretty decent and I’m slightly growing back into this. But I think it lacks something to make it memorable. That’s just my opinion. I won’t be too disappointed if it ended up at #1.

– Turns out, Hey Look Ma, I Made It is doing the exact same thing High Hopes did when it entered the AT40. It’s gaining popularity outside of Hits 1 now. I can’t be certain if it’ll end up hitting #1 here as well. But it would be nice if it did. I loved the song when it first came out and I still do now. I’m glad it’s finally catching on, even if it’s nearly a year old.

– Then, there’s Cool making it’s unwelcome entry into the Top 10. Not ideal, since the song doesn’t offer much of anything. Though, it’s finally starting to lose momentum, so I won’t get too concerned.

– This is likely the beginning of the end for ME! as it is now out of the Top 10. It has pretty much died out elsewhere right now. I still love the song (though not quite as much as I used to), but I’m not too sad about it even if it leaves soon. But if anything, I prefer this over her latest single.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Summer Days by Martin Garrix featuring Macklemore and Patrick Stump
• Paradise by Bazzi
• Look Back At It by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
• Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Umbrella by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z
• Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean
• Bad Romance by Lady Gaga
• Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars
• Tik Tok by Kesha
• Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus
• Whatever You Like by T.I.
• Lose Yourself by Eminem
• Toxic by Britney Spears
• Time Of Our Lives by Pitbull featirng Ne-Yo
• SexyBack by Justin Timberlake
• Part Of Me by Katy Perry

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
19. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
18. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored by Ariana Grande
17. Cross Me by Ed Sheeran featuring Chance The Rapper and PnB Rock

1 – Bad:
16. Easier by 5 Seconds Of Summer
15. Cool by Jonas Brothers
14. Wow. by Post Malone

2 – Mediocre:
13. Talk by Khalid
12. Without Me by Halsey

3 – Decent:
11. I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber

4 – Good:
10. Sucker by Jonas Brothers

5 – Great:
9. Nightmare by Halsey
8. Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco
7. Truth Hurts by Lizzo
6. ME! by Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie
5. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max
4. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith
3. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
2. If I Can’t Have You by Shawn Mendes

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Never Really Over by Katy Perry

Total Score: 60/100 = 60% (D–)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: My Girl by The Temptations (1965)

Most Missed Song: The A Team by Ed Sheeran

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Higher Love by Kygo featuring Whitney Houston

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande (#3)

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

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
2. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
3. La La Land by Bryce Vine featuring YG
4. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored by Ariana Grande
5. Cross Me by Ed Sheeran featuring Chance The Rapper and PnB Rock

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Bed by Nicki Minaj featuring Ariana Grande: This is more of snooze-fest with a dull premise and both of these artists don’t have good chemistry here. I much prefer something along the lines of Side To Side and Bang Bang.
Dinero by Jennifer Lopez featuring DJ Khaled and Cardi B: One of Jennifer Lopez’s weakest singles. I’m not feeling the lyrics here. That, coupled with her lack of personality in the song, makes this an unpleasant listen.
Home With You by Madison Beer: This is pretty solid, especially for a newcomer in Madison Beer. I like the beat and her vocals are good. Not necessarily a stand-out, but it’s better than Hurts Like Hell.
Growing Pains by Alessia Cara: Not quite as good as Here and some earlier singles. But it’s still enjoyable, because I love the beat and Alessia sounds great in the chorus. Too bad this didn’t become the hit I wanted it to be.