Hello, fam! First off, I want to say congrats to the Braves for winning the NL East for the second year in a row! It’s refreshing to see my team dominate the division, just like the good old days! Hopefully, they can do big things in October and bring home the World Series. I’ll be looking forward to that! This week, the Morning Mash-Up (Nicole, Ryan, and Stanley T) hosted the countdown in place of Spyder Harrison. I thought these guys did good here. Things didn’t get any better in countdown land in the first weekend of Fall. Basically, we’re not exactly off to a great start as the seasons change. Let’s jump right in. Before we get to this week’s fresh 45, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:
- The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#41) [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
- Halsey – Without Me (#44) [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
45. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#45) [=]
44. Kaskade featuring Meghan Trainor – With You (#27) [–17]
43. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#42) [–1]
42. Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES – Here With Me (#43) [+1]
41. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix) (#30) [–11]
40. Katy Perry – Never Really Over (#32) [–8]
39. Dominic Fike – 3 Nights (#37) [–2]
38. Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME! (#34) [–4]
37. SHAED – Trampoline (#40) [+3]
36. Charlie Puth – Mother (DEBUT)
35. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – The Hype (#38) [+3]
34. Halsey – Graveyard (DEBUT)
33. Khalid – Talk (#12) [–21]
32. PUBLIC – Make You Mine (#28) [–4]
31. Jax Jones featuring Bebe Rexha – Harder (#35) [+4]
30. Waterparks – Dream Boy (#36) [+6]
29. Camila Cabello – Shameless (#39) [+10]
28. Stephen Puth – Look Away (#26) [–2]
27. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy (#23) [–4]
26. Zara Larsson – All The Time (#29) [+3]
25. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing’s Not A Crime (#20) [–5]
24. Ellie Goulding featuring Juice WRLD – Hate Me (#25) [+1]
23. Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber – I Don’t Care (#24) [+1]
22. Halsey – Nightmare (#17) [–5]
21. Camila Cabello – Liar (#31) [+10]
20. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less (#16) [–4]
19. Katy Perry – Small Talk (#16) [+3]
18. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep? (#33) [+15]
17. OneRepublic – Rescue Me (#15) [–2]
16. Ariana Grande featuring Social House – Boyfriend (#19) [+3]
15. Thomas Rhett – Look What God Gave Her (#18) [+3]
14. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People (#21) [+7]
13. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#11) [–2]
12. Post Malone featuring Young Thug – Goodbyes (#10) [–2]
11. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita (#3) [–8]
10. The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine (#14) [+4]
9. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You (#6) [–3] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]
8. Lizzo – Truth Hurts (#8) [=]
7. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (#13) [+6]
6. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#7) [+1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
5. Jonas Brothers – Cool (#9) [+4]
4. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#5) [+1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
3. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#4) [+1] [Spent 13 Weeks At #1]
2. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#1) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
1. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down (#2) [+1] [1st Week At #1]
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (3rd of 8 Weeks At #1)
Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Khalid – Talk (–21)
Biggest Jump Of The Week: Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep? (+15)
New Entrants:
– This year, Charlie Puth’s younger brother Stephen Puth has made his presence on the countdown with his two singles. First, he gave us Sexual Vibe back in February, which I was impressed with because of his unique voice. Then, last month he gave us the follow-up in the form of Look Away, which I thought was a step down from its predecessor. While Stephen has had his time to shine for a while, we saw Charlie make his return with new music of his own. He had I Warned Myself, which I felt was lackluster and didn’t have much to offer. Thankfully, it didn’t last very long on Hit-Bound. This week, he gives us his new single which is a step up from that. He gives us Mother. I was juggling between blue and green for this one, and I’ve decided on the latter for now. Here, he tells a story about his mother not approving of the things he does in a relationship. I’m sure many people who are younger can relate. After all, I used to do the things my parents didn’t like, either. But I never really got in trouble, heh. I guess I’m the sneaky guy ’round here. Anyway, it took me several listens, but I came around to it. I do kinda like the beat in a way. I think it’s pretty cool. Charlie put on a slightly better vocal performance here as opposed to his predecessor, which he squandered by choking it all away in the second verse of I Warned Myself. While his newer single is better than that song, it pales in comparison to what he had in Voicenotes, which was praised by many YouTube critics. That was when we saw his evolution for the better after the mess that is of Nine Track Mind. Songs such as Attention, Done For Me, and If You Leave Me Now are ones that I’ll revisit from time to time. We’ll see if his latest album follows its path of Voicenotes.
– So, I’m sure most people here are happy about the departure of Without Me. But apparently, that’s not enough as she has to replace herself on the countdown this week. She gives us Graveyard, which is her new single off of her new album Maniac, which actually comes out in January. I feel like people here will like this more than her last two singles, which weren’t to their liking. I like the production here, mostly because of the guitar. Halsey sounds pretty good here as opposed to her performance in Nightmare, which got annoying after a while. It’s not her best work by any means. I believe she was at her peak a couple years back when she had her feature in Closer and I loved some of the singles from Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, including Bad At Love which was my #6 favorite song of 2018. I’m interested to see what her new album brings next year. This song is pretty good. I feel like this’ll probably stick with me longer.
Best Debut Of The Week: Charlie Puth – Mother
If Your Blurber Knew All The Things We Do
– We have two exits this week. First off is Without Me, which I’m sure most people will be happy about. The one that I’ll be missing the most is This Feeling. It had a great run on this countdown even though it flopped elsewhere. I thought it was an interesting collaboration and I’m happy it worked out as well as it did. I’ll definitely be revisiting the song again. Farewell, This Feeling. It’s been a fun ride.
– Before introducing Bad Liar, they talked about the Imagine Dragons donating to charity all the time. I like how they’re able to do this kind of stuff.
– It’s about time With You went right back to where it belongs: in the Bottom 5. Now, if we can get it off the countdown for good, that’ll be great.
– Old Town Road took a big drop down to the Bottom 5, also. Thankfully, it looks like its time is finally coming to an end. I’ve had enough of that song. The sooner we move on from it, the better.
– I just want to say congrats to Tyler Joseph and his wife on having a baby girl!
– Talk having the Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week doesn’t really surprise me since that one is dying down elsewhere. It’s a good thing because I’m not fond of what it has to offer production-wise. I much prefer something along the lines of Love Lies or Better. The electronic production doesn’t work for me.
– Before introducing I Don’t Care, they mentioned that Ed Sheeran has built a soccer field. Wow! Does he play soccer, too? Or did he built that for his relatives? Either way, I’m sure it looks cool.
– Not too thrilled about the big jump from How Do You Sleep?. I’m not here for the weird drop after the chorus that puts me off. Something tells me it’s going to be another hit for him. Not something I want. I much prefer Dancing With A Stranger over this.
– Before introducing Beautiful People, they mentioned that Khalid’s mother is his biggest inspiration. How cute! I’ll bet his mother influenced him and helped him become a good singer.
– Before introducing Señorita, they mentioned the recent video of Shawn & Camila kissing. I saw the video as well. Yeah, it was funny.
– On that note, Shawn Mendes is dropping like flies here, what with Señorita dropping out of the Top 10 and If I Can’t Have You barely hanging on at #9. It was this time a couple weeks ago that he had the #1 song for 9 weeks. My, how much things have changed!
– Speaking of #1, we have a new #1 in the form of You Need To Calm Down. I’ll definitely take it over Easier, but it’s still not good. I listened to what most of Lover has to offer and I was impressed with the album. But You Need To Calm Down doesn’t live up to that. I don’t know. I expected more out of her. I just can’t get on board with the chorus for some reason, but I do kinda like the concept it was going for. I’m hoping for a good #1 like Truth Hurts. But I kinda doubt it somehow.
Hit-Bound:
- NF – Time
- Maroon 5 – Memories (DEBUT)
- Lauv featuring Anne-Marie – I’m Lonely
- Why Don’t We – What Am I
- Kygo featuring Whitney Houston – Higher Love
- Alec Benjamin – Jesus In LA
- 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth
- Post Malone – Circles
- Louis Tomlinson – Kill My Mind
- Liam Payne
featuring A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie– Stack It Up (DEBUT) - Fall Out Boy featuring Wyclef Jean – Dear Future Self (Hands Up)
- Taylor Swift – Lover
- Lizzo – Good As Hell
- Jonas Brothers – Only Human
- Panic! At The Disco – Roaring 20’s
Entrant Reviews:
– Are you ready to hear more of Maroon 5? No? Well, too bad, because they make their comeback this week not long after the Super Bowl performance earlier this year. They try to bring back some Memories (see what I did there) with their new single. There’s really not much to the song other than Adam Levine himself. I think he sounds okay here. But that’s probably the only thing that stands out in the song. I’ll give Adam Levine and company the benefit of the doubt here that it’s better than what they had recently (outside of What Lovers Do). I’ll save most of my words for when it inevitably debuts.
– And then, we have the return of Liam Payne after a year. He gives us his new single in the form of Stack It Up. He did give us Strip That Down a couple years back, which was infamous among many bloggers as well as some YouTube critics. In terms of how his new song goes, I can’t say I really care for this one. Liam doesn’t sound his best here, and there’s not a whole lot to the production. I doubt this’ll grow on me, but we’ll see.
Best Hit-Bound Entrant Of The Week: Maroon 5 – Memories
Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
15. Lauv featuring Anne-Marie – I’m Lonely
1 – Bad:
None!
2 – Mediocre:
14. Liam Payne featuring A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie – Stack It Up
13. Alec Benjamin – Jesus In LA
3 – Decent:
12. Maroon 5 – Memories
11. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth
4 – Good:
10. Panic! At The Disco – Roaring 20’s
5 – Great:
9. Post Malone – Circles
8. NF – Time
7. Why Don’t We – What Am I
6. Jonas Brothers – Only Human
5. Fall Out Boy featuring Wyclef Jean – Dear Future Self (Hands Up)
4. Louis Tomlinson – Kill My Mind
3. Lizzo – Good As Hell
2. Taylor Swift – Lover
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:
1. Kygo featuring Whitney Houston – Higher Love
Overall Grade: 60/75 = 80% (B)
Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Kungs Vs. Cookin’ On 3 Burners – This Girl
My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Kygo featuring Whitney Houston – Higher Love
2. Taylor Swift – Lover
3. Lizzo – Good As Hell
4. Louis Tomlinson – Kill My Mind
5. Fall Out Boy featuring Wyclef Jean – Dear Future Self (Hands Up)
YouTube 15:
- Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
- OneRepublic – Wanted
- Charlie Puth – Mother
- Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)
- Normani – Motivation
- Ariana Grande featuring Social House – Boyfriend
- Halsey – Graveyard
- Lizzo – Truth Hurts
- Sebastian Yatra featuring Jonas Brothers, Daddy Yankee, and Natti Natasha – Runaway
- Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
- OneRepublic – Somebody To Love
- Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down
- Becky G featuring Myke Towers – Dollar
- Post Malone
featuring Young Thug– Goodbyes - Ariana Grande featuring Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey – Don’t Call Me Angel
Song Reviews:
– We have more of OneRepublic as they give us Somebody To Love, which is taken from Songland. It’s a step up from Wanted. I like the sentiment to it. The production and the beat are better here, and Ryan Tedder sounds good in the chorus. Overall, it’s a good song.
– Now for the big one. Taken from the Charlie’s Angels movie soundtrack, we have Ariana Grande collaborating with Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey in their new single, Don’t Call Me Angel. After three abysmal singles we’ve got from her this year, Ariana has given me hope that she can impress me with her music again. She sounds great here. I like the production in a way and these girls have good chemistry. Lana Del Rey is the best part about the song, even though she got one verse. Yeah, this is pretty divine.
YouTube 15 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
15. Becky G featuring Myke Towers – Dollar
14. Ariana Grande featuring Social House – Boyfriend
13. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)
1 – Bad:
12. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down
2 – Mediocre:
None!
3 – Decent:
11. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
10. OneRepublic – Wanted
9. Post Malone featuring Young Thug – Goodbyes
4 – Good:
8. Sebastian Yatra featuring Jonas Brothers, Daddy Yankee, and Natti Natasha – Runaway
7. Halsey – Graveyard
5 – Great:
6. Charlie Puth – Mother
5. Lizzo – Truth Hurts
4. OneRepublic – Somebody To Love
3. Ariana Grande featuring Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey – Don’t Call Me Angel
2. Normani – Motivation
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The YouTube 15:
1. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
Overall Grade: 48/75 = 64% (C)
Most Missed YouTube 15 Song: Alan Walker featuring AuRa and Tomine Harket – Darkside
My Top 5 YouTube 15 Picks
1. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
2. Normani – Motivation
3. Ariana Grande featuring Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey – Don’t Call Me Angel
4. OneRepublic – Somebody To Love
5. Lizzo – Truth Hurts
Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Ariana Grande featuring Social House – Boyfriend
19. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less
18. Jonas Brothers – Cool
17. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
1 – Bad:
16. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep?
15. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down
2 – Mediocre:
14. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love
3 – Decent:
13. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
12. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other
11. Katy Perry – Small Talk
10. Post Malone featuring Young Thug – Goodbyes
4 – Good:
9. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It
5 – Great:
8. Jonas Brothers – Sucker
7. Lizzo – Truth Hurts
6. Thomas Rhett – Look What God Gave Her
5. OneRepublic – Rescue Me
4. The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine
3. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You
2. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita
Overall Grade: 61/100 = 61% (C)
Throwback Pick Of The Week: Chic – Good Times (1979)
Most Missed Countdown Song: Eminem featuring Rihanna – Love The Way You Lie
#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Ally Brooke featuring Matoma – Higher
Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman (#15)
My Top 5 Picks
1. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita
2. Katy Perry – Never Really Over
3. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You
4. SHAED – Trampoline
5. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Ariana Grande featuring Social House – Boyfriend
2. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less
3. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)
4. Jonas Brothers – Cool
5. Kaskade featuring Meghan Trainor – With You
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Sabrina Carpenter – Almost Love: This is one of the few good songs she’s ever put out and I don’t think there’s any competition at this moment. The production is good here and I like her voice quite a bit.
AJR – Burn The House Down: Sigh, do I even need to explain just how bad AJR are as a whole? This song is another example of such. Bad vocal production, obnoxious horns, and bad lyrics just doesn’t make this a fun listen for me.
LSD – Thunderclouds: I loathed this since day one, and even today I still find it messy. On paper, it’s an interesting collaboration between three artists (Labrinth, Sia, and Diplo). But when hearing the song in its entirety, it’s anything but. There’s a lot wrong with this song that makes this an unpleasant listen for me. Both Sia’s and Labrinth’s vocals are god-awful and Diplo put forth a shitty effort as a producer. Yeah, this is just garbage. NEXT!
Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato – Solo: Though Clean Bandit have done better, this is still a nice tune. The chopped-up vocals we get from Demi sound good here, and I like what these guys have done production-wise. Too bad this only lasted two weeks on the countdown.
Music Reviews + More 