Hello, fam!  With the end of October comes one of the spookiest times of the year: Halloween!  There’s something spooky going on around this time, so prepare yourselves.  Anyway, I plan on doing reveals for myn 2012 Billboard Year-End Rankdown starting next month.  I’m still working on sending my own submission.  I should have it ready by this weekend.  As for the rest of you, you have until then to submit your rankings.  If you haven’t, now is the time to do it.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Hate Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Juice WRLD (#39)
• Without Me by Halsey (#40) [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Truth Hurts by Lizzo
40. Slow Dance by AJ Mitchell featuring Ava Max (DEBUT)
39. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande (#37) [–2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
38. Rooting For You by Alessia Cara (DEBUT)
37. Good Things Fall Apart by ILLENIUM featuring Jon Bellion (#38) [+1]
36. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max (#35) [–1]
35. Higher Love by Kygo featuring Whitney Houston (#36) [+1]
34. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (#33) [–1]
33. What Am I by Why Don’t We (#34) [+1]
32. Ran$om by Lil Tecca (#32) [=]
31. Wow. by Post Malone (#30) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
30. Who Do U Love? by Monsta X featuring French Montana (#29) [–1]
29. Shameless by Camila Cabello (#28) [–1]
28. Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco (#26) [–2]
27. No Guidance by Chris Brown featuring Drake (#27) [=]
26. Don’t Call Me Angel by Ariana Grande featuring Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey (#31) [+5]
25. Sucker by Jonas Brothers (#23) [–2] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
24. One Thing Right by Marshmello featuring Kane Brown (#21) [–3]
23. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani (#20) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
22. Panini by Lil Nas X (#22) [=]
21. If I Can’t Have You by Shawn Mendes (#16) [–5]
20. Graveyard by Halsey (#19) [–1]
19. Lover by Taylor Swift (#18) [–1]
18. Memories by Maroon 5 (#25) [+7]
17. Liar by Camila Cabello (#17) [=]
16. Boyfriend by Ariana Grande featuring Social House (#10) [–6]
15. Good As Hell by Lizzo (#24) [+9]
14. Talk by Khalid (#12) [–2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
13. Time by NF (#15) [+2]
12. Motivation by Normani (#14) [+2]
11. How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith (#13) [+2]
10. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (#7) [–3] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
9. Trampoline by SHAED (#9) [=]
8. Circles by Post Malone (#11) [+3]
7. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (#6) [–1]
6. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#8) [+2]
5. I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber (#5) [=] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
4. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug (#4) [=]
3. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#3) [=]
2. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#2) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
1. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#1) [=] [4^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer (2^nd of 3 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Boyfriend by Ariana Grande featuring Social House (–6)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Good As Hell by Lizzo (+9)

New Entrants:
– Two rising acts in the world of music band together in this debut.  Ava Max became a name throughout 2019 when Sweet But Psycho was a sleeper hit.  Then, there’s AJ Mitchell who made a name for himself by bringing us All My Friends from earlier this year.  So, does their new song Slow Dance live up to the billing?  Well, it’s not bad by any means.  But I feel like it could’ve been better.  There’s really not much in terms of the production and the beat.  It feels kinda empty to me.  These guys sound pretty good here, but they don’t quite hit hard in the chorus.  When it comes to the lyrical depth, it’s pretty thin in some areas of the song.  To put it short, it’s a decent collaboration.  But I’m not exactly wowed by it.

– Alessia Cara makes her return with Rooting For You.  I’ve not been wild on Alessia’s latest deep cuts aside from Growing Pains and some other stuff.  I was rooting for her a few years back when she broke out with Know It All.  That album had plenty of cuts that I liked such as Here and Scars To Your Beautiful.  Even her work with Zedd in Stay was pretty damn solid.  Rooting For You doesn’t live up to those and it’s not even close.  She’s much better than this.  I like some aspects of the production, such as the beat and the decent guitar even though it’s a little watered down.  But my concern is Alessia herself.  She doesn’t really stand out in any part of the song.  I think she sounds unenthusiatic here.  That’s not the kind of vocal performance I’m looking for.  Then, you have the lyrics.  She didn’t put forth the effort in that aspect, either.  So yeah, it’s pretty underwhelming overall.  Like I said, I want something from Know It All and some of The Pains Of Growing, not whatever she’s currently trying to do.

Best Debut Of The Week: Slow Dance by AJ Mitchell featuring Ava Max

Rooting For Blurbs
– So, we have two exits.  First off, I’m sure everyone here is happy about the departure of Without Me by Halsey.  It was getting close to lasting a year on the countdown.  I’m sure that one will be ranked high come December.  Then, there’s Hate Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Juice WRLD.  I kinda soured on that one after a while.  Ellie can do much better.  I much preferred Flux and Close To Me.

– It was really only a matter of time until Good As Hell made its way into the Top 20 with a big jump.  It’s already certain to do much more now that the remix with Ariana has been released.  I’m here for Lizzo getting another huge hit because it’s a good song through and through.

– So, the other good news is that Boyfriend thankfully didn’t last very long in the Top 10.  Taking its place this week is Circles, which isn’t a shock.  I prefer that song over Goodbyes at this point.  I think that song should start moving down while Circles needs to keep rising.

– Before introducing Beautiful People, Ryan Seacrest mentioned that when Ed Sheeran talks about his contract, he adds in some bizarre clauses.  Looks like his manager will have to follow some of his rules to meet the conditions.  Heh.

– Before introducing Only Human, Ryan Seacrest mentioned that Joe resisted on reuniting with Nick and Kevin to make music again, in part because he was afraid of his emotions.  I’m glad he was able to overcome such emotions.

Breakouts/On The Verge
10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber
Teeth by 5 Seconds Of Summer
Lonely by Diplo featuring Jonas Brothers
Nice To Meet Ya by Niall Horan
My Type by Saweetie

Extras/Optional Extras:
Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ
The Hills by The Weeknd
The Monster by Eminem featuring Rihanna
Only Girl (In The World) by Rihanna
Rockstar by Post Malone featuring 21 Savage
Demons by Imagine Dragons
Him & I by G-Eazy featuring Halsey
Be Alright by Dean Lewis
Chandelier by Sia
One More Night by Maroon 5
Finesse (Remix) by Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Boyfriend by Ariana Grande featuring Social House

1 – Bad:
19. Memories by Maroon 5
18. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi

2 – Mediocre:
17. Talk by Khalid
16. How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith
15. I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber

3 – Decent:
14. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug
13. Liar by Camila Cabello

4 – Good:
12. Time by NF

5 – Great:
11. Graveyard by Halsey
10. Circles by Post Malone
9. Truth Hurts by Lizzo
8. Only Human by Jonas Brothers
7. Motivation by Normani
6. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
5. Good As Hell by Lizzo
4. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid
3. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello
2. Trampoline by SHAED

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Lover by Taylor Swift

Total Score: 74/100 = 74% (B)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Thriller by Michael Jackson (1983)

Most Missed Song: Teenage Dream by Katy Perry (since yesterday was her birthday)

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey (#32) and Breathin’ by Ariana Grande (#21)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Lover by Taylor Swift
2. Trampoline by SHAED
3. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello
4. Higher Love by Kygo featuring Whitney Houston
5. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. One Thing Right by Marshmello featuring Kane Brown
2. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
3. Boyfriend by Ariana Grande featuring Social House
4. No Guidance by Chris Brown featuring Drake
5. Ran$om by Lil Tecca

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Lost In Japan by Shawn Mendes: This was released simultaneously with In My Blood back in spring of last year.  As much as I like In My Blood, I think this is even better, mainly because of the groove and Shawn’s smooth vocals.  It did take for the remix with Zedd to help it gain some momentum.  Too bad it ended up flopping in the end.