Hello, fam! I’m running out of things to say at the moment. I’ll just simply skip the introductions and get ont to the countdown. Things are looking better around here. We got some good moves, some nice debuts, and a good new #1. Let’s just hope things will continue to get better as we head further into Fall. Before we get to this week’s fresh 45, here are the songs leaving the countdown this week:
- Camila Cabello – Shameless (#35)
- Stephen Puth – Look Away (#38)
The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
45. Khalid – Talk (#44) [–1]
44. Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME! (#45) [+1]
43. Dominic Fike – 3 Nights (#42) [–1]
42. Halsey – Nightmare (#43) [+1]
41. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less (#41) [=]
40. SHAED – Trampoline (#40) [=]
39. Katy Perry – Small Talk (#30) [–9]
38. Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber – I Don’t Care (#29) [–9]
37. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy (#31) [–6]
36. Lauv featuring Anne-Marie – I’m Lonely (#32) [–4]
35. Waterparks – Dream Boy (#34) [–1]
34. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep? (#28) [–6]
33. PUBLIC – Make You Mine (#27) [–6]
32. Kygo featuring Whitney Houston – Higher Love (#37) [+5]
31. Panic! At The Disco – Roaring 20s (#36) [+5]
30. Alec Benjamin – Jesus In LA (#22) [–8]
29. Fall Out Boy featuring Wyclef Jean – Dear Future Self (Hands Up) (#25) [–4]
28. Why Don’t We – What Am I (#24) [–4]
27. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – The Hype (#21) [–6]
26. Maroon 5 – Memories (#20) [–6]
25. Post Malone – Circles (#33) [+8]
24. Charlie Puth – Mother (#18) [–6]
23. Camila Cabello – Liar (#23) [=]
22. Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours (DEBUT)
21. Taylor Swift – Lover (#26) [+5]
20. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya (DEBUT)
19. The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine (#16) [–3]
18. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You (#8) [–10] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]
17. Post Malone featuring Young Thug – Goodbyes (#19) [+2]
16. Thomas Rhett – Look What God Gave Her (#17) [+1]
15. Lizzo – Good As Hell (#39) [+24]
14. OneRepublic – Rescue Me (#15) [+1]
13. Jonas Brothers – Cool (#12) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
12. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#9) [–3] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
11. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (#10) [–1]
10. Halsey – Graveyard (#11) [+1]
9. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita (#14) [+5]
8. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#6) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
7. Lizzo – Truth Hurts (#3) [–4]
6. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#4) [–2] [Spent 13 Weeks At #1]
5. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#7) [+2]
4. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down (#5) [+1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
3. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People (#13) [+10]
2. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#1) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
1. Jonas Brothers – Only Human (#2) [+1] [1st Week At #1]
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood (3rd of 5 Weeks At #1)
Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You (–10)
Biggest Jump Of The Week: Lizzo – Good As Hell (+24)
New Entrants:
– The two returning acts make their way back to the countdown. It’s been 10,000 Hours since the country duo Dan + Shay left us with Speechless. Well, not exactly. By my calculations, it’s actually been 864 hours since that song left the countdown (1 month and 5 days to be exact). Has it really been that long? Anyway, I’ll talk about that new song of theirs, and they collaborate with Justin Bieber. We’ve seen Justin cross over into the Latin genre two years ago when he contributed to the remix of Despacito, a huge hit back in 2017. It was really cool and something different. Now, here he is entering the realm of country music. Much like with Despacito, 10,000 Hours is cool and something different. Sure, it has the same country elements used in Tequila and Speechless. Obviously, their new song doesn’t quite live up to those two. But this is still a pretty good song. The harmonies sound pretty good here and I quite like the guitar. These guys had a nice vocal performance here and they have good chemistry.
– While it’s been a month since Dan + Shay left the countdown, it’s been a year since we’ve last heard from Niall Horan. He brings us a great comeback here, as Nice To Meet Ya makes its debut. I enjoyed a lot of what Flicker had to offer. It showed how Niall has evolved artistically. Songs such as Slow Hands, On The Loose, and Seeing Blind were solid. Allow me to dissect this new song of his. The intro starts with the piano, and then Niall starts smooth talking to a girl. That’s where the rest of the production kicks in. It has good use of guitars and a nice groove. And Niall continues to have that swagger for the whole song. Whatever creativity and effort he put into this, he did a fine job at it because everything is just divine. With the exception for Liam and ZAYN, all the other members of One Direction have done wonders in terms of making good solo music. But Niall does it much better and this song serves as a good example. If this is an indication of how Niall’s new album will turn out, then I’m here for it.
Best Debut Of The Week: Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
I’d Spend 10,000 Blurbs
Unfortunately, I don’t really have 10,000 blurbs. But I do have some things I want to talk about. Let’s get into the action.
– First up, we have two exits, neither of which will really be missed by me. Shamless I’ve decided was not very good after more listens. I’m glad it didn’t catch on. It reminded me too much of Never Be The Same. Then, there’s Look Away, which I thought was okay. But nothing will ever top Sexual Vibe from earlier this year. Guess that’s the last we’ll hear from Charlie Puth’s brother for a while.
– Nothing really has changed in the Bottom 5 this week other than four songs swapping places.
– Quite a lot of songs dropped 6 spots this week, which showed how much movement we had in this week’s countdown.
– No, not If I Can’t Have You! It takes the Biggest DRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week. I know, sad. But it had a very good run and spent a lot of time at #1. I’m happy about it’s success.
– Wowzers! Good As Hell has one of the biggest jumps of the year as it moves quickly into the Top 15. It’s no Juice, but this is still divine. I’m glad it’s starting to catch on.
– Before introducing If We Have Each Other, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Alec Benjamin is growing a beard. When I looked up photos of him, he was clean shaven. Now, he’s trying something different. I wonder how much will he let it grow?
– It’s insane that Who Do You Love is still way too high in the Top 10. I know I liked it before when it was new, but this is just pushing it. It’s time to move on from this song, seriously.
– Before introducing Truth Hurts, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Justin Timberlake is planning on collaborating with Lizzo sometime in the near future. That’ll definitely be interesting. It’s been a year since we’ve last heard from Justin Timberlake. I’m excited for whatever he brings in store. What else does he have cooking up?
– The big jump from Beautiful People up to #3 was nice to see. Good to see that one still going strong. I would love it if it were to hit #1 pretty soon, but we’ll have to see.
– On that note, we’ve got a good #1 song for the first time in…let me see here…wow, 864 hours! That’s about the same time Speechless has left the countdown. Only Human has been on the countdown for 3 weeks, 21 days, 504 hours, 30,240 minutes, etc. Already it rose to #1, tying the record for the fastest rise to #1. This is looking like Sucker all over again. Along with Beautiful People, this is one of two good songs in the Top 5 right now. I’m hoping it holds at #1 for a little while. But that won’t be too much of a problem given that it’s still gaining momentum.
Hit-Bound:
- Marshmello featuring Kane Brown – One Thing Right
- AJR – Dear Winter
- The Chainsmokers & ILLENIUM featuring Lennon Stella – Takeaway
- Harry Styles – Lights Up (DEBUT)
- Tones And I – Dance Monkey
- 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth
- Liam Payne
featuring A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie– Stack It Up - Normani – Motivation
- Louis Tomlinson – Kill My Mind
- Ariana Grande featuring Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey – Don’t Call Me Angel
- Billie Eilish – All The Good Girls Go Hell
- Diplo featuring Jonas Brothers – Lonely
- Monsta X featuring French Montana – Who Do U Love?
- Lewis Capaldi – Hold Me While You Wait (DEBUT)
- NF – Time
Entrant Reviews:
– It’s been even longer since we’ve heard from Harry Styles (about a year and a half, I should say). He gives us his brand new single in the form of Light Up. This is something different compared to what he had before when he went more of a glam rock. But it’s not exactly what I was hoping for in his comeback single. Harry sounds okay here, but the production isn’t too exciting. I was expecting more, but it’s underwhelming at times. His self-titled album has plenty of stuff I like, including Sign Of The Times. I’m not sure what new direction he’ll take for his new album.
– Next, we have more of Lewis Capaldi with his latest single, titled Hold Me While You Wait. I think it’s only a little bit of a step up from Someone You Loved. Production-wise, it’s good but I still don’t really like his voice that much. This is okay, but I can see it growing on me.
Best Hit-Bound Entrant Of The Week: Harry Styles – Light Up (Only by a little bit)
Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
15. Marshmello featuring Kane Brown – One Thing Right
1 – Bad:
14. AJR – Dear Winter
13. Tones And I – Dance Monkey
2 – Mediocre:
12. Diplo featuring Jonas Brothers – Lonely
11. Liam Payne featuring A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie – Stack It Up
3 – Decent:
10. Lewis Capaldi – Hold Me While You Wait
9. Billie Eilish – All The Good Girls Go To Hell
8. Harry Styles – Light Up
7. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth
4 – Good:
6. NF – Time
5 – Great:
5. Monsta X featuring French Montana – Who Do U Love?
4. Normani – Motivation
3. Louis Tomlinson – Kill My Mind
2. Ariana Grande featuring Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey – Don’t Call Me Angel
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:
1. The Chainsmokers & ILLENIUM featuring Lennon Stella – Takeaway
Overall Grade: 48/75 = 64% (C)
Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Disturbed – The Sound Of Silence
My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. The Chainsmokers & ILLENIUM featuring Lennon Stella – Takeaway
2. Ariana Grande featuring Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey – Don’t Call Me Angel
3. Louis Tomlinson – Kill My Mind
4. Normani – Motivation
5. Monsta X featuring French Montana – Who Do U Love?
YouTube 15:
- Maroon 5 – Memories
- Super M – Jopping
- Camila Cabello – Easy
- Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
- J-Hope featuring Becky G – Chicken Noodle Soup
- Lil Nas X – Panini
- Harry Styles – Lights Up
- Post Malone – Circles
- OneRepublic – Wanted
- Lizzo – Truth Hurts
- Ali Gatie – Used To You
- Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Senorita
- Becky G featuring Myke Towers – Dollar
- Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
- Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin – RITMO (Bad Boys For Life)
Song Reviews:
– This week’s YouTube 15 list is not looking good here. First is Camila Cabello yet again with another single titled Easy. I think this is one of the better songs off of her new album. I quite like her voice here. She sounds better here than in Shameless. The production is pretty solid. Not much else beyond that.
– Then, there’s the return of the Black Eyed Peas, and they team up with J Balvin in RITMO (Bad Boys For Life). Yeah, I’m not feeling this. The beat is too minimalistic and neither of them sound good in their verses. It’s not as bad as some of their earlier work (Imma Be, etc.), but it’s undesirable.
YouTube 15 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
15. J-Hope featuring Becky G – Chicken Noodle Soup
14. Becky G featuring Myke Towers – Dollar
13. Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin – RITMO (Bad Boys For Life)
1 – Bad:
12. Ali Gatie – Used To You
11. Maroon 5 – Memories
2 – Mediocre:
10. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
9. Super M – Jopping
3 – Decent:
8. Harry Styles – Light Up
7. OneRepublic – Wanted
6. Lil Nas X – Panini
4 – Good:
5. Camila Cabello – Easy
5 – Great:
4. Post Malone – Circles
3. Lizzo – Truth Hurts
2. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The YouTube 15:
1. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita
Overall Grade: 40/75 = 53% (D+)
Most Missed YouTube 15 Song: JoJo – Save My Soul
My Top 5 YouTube 15 Picks
1. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita
2. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
3. Lizzo – Truth Hurts
4. Post Malone – Circles
5. Camila Cabello – Easy
Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Jonas Brothers – Cool
19. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
1 – Bad:
18. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down
2 – Mediocre:
17. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
16. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love
3 – Decent:
15. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other
14. Post Malone featuring Young Thug – Goodbyes
13. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It
4 – Good:
12. Jonas Brothers – Sucker
11. Thomas Rhett – Look What God Gave Her
5 – Great:
10. Jonas Brothers – Only Human
9. Halsey – Graveyard
8. OneRepublic – Rescue Me
7. Lizzo – Truth Hurts
6. The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine
5. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You
4. Lizzo – Good As Hell
3. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People
2. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
1. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita
Overall Grade: 72/100 = 72% (B)
Throwback Pick Of The Week: Janet Jackson – Any Time, Any Place (1993)
Most Missed Countdown Song: One Direction – Perfect
#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Céline Dion – Imperfections
Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#9) and Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now (#7)
My Top 5 Picks
1. Taylor Swift – Lover
2. Kygo featuring Whitney Houston – Higher Love
3. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita
4. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
5. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People
My Bottom 5 Picks
1. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less
2. Jonas Brothers – Cool
3. Halsey – Nightmare
4. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
5. Lauv featuring Anne-Marie – I’m Lonely
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Loud Luxury featuring Brando – Body: I quite like this for some reason. Maybe it’s because of the bassline that comes after the buildup leading to the drop.
Walk The Moon – Kamikaze: It doesn’t hit the height of One Foot and some of the other singles from What If Nothing. But it is still something I enjoy quite a bit. Also, is it me, or does the intro to the song sound eerily similar to Zedd’s single Happy Now?
Calvin Harris featuring Sam Smith – Promises: I prefer One Kiss, but I still like this. Yeah sure, the backing vocals can get annoying at times. But everything else I can live with. Sam sounds pretty good here, and I like the piano here.
Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper – Shallow: Taken from A Star Is Born movie soundtrack, this single became a massive #1 hit this year after winning in the Oscars. Everything about it is just beautiful from the vocal production on down to the instrumentation.
Music Reviews + More 