Hello, fam! Christmas is right around the corner! Hopefully, everyone here has found some gifts for your family or friends. As far as the countdown went, I thought it was pretty good despite not having much activity. We do have the same #1, and we replace some mediocrity with some really good stuff. Also, Hits 1 will be airing their Year-End Countdown on Monday. I plan on doing a review, though it’ll likely take a while as I have some other stuff I’m working on. Before we get to this week’s fresh 45, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:
- Selena Gomez – Look At Her Now (#22)
- Harry Styles – Lights Up (#34)
- Lauv featuring Anne-Marie – I’m Lonely (#38)
- Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar (#42)
The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
45. Camila Cabello – Liar (#43) [–2]
44. AJR – Dear Winter (#44) [=]
43. Halsey – Nightmare (#45) [+2]
42. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#40) [–2] [Spent 13 Weeks At #1]
41. Fall Out Boy featuring Wyclef Jean – Dear Future Self (Hands Up) (#41) [=]
40. Sofi Tukker – Purple Hat (#39) [–1]
39. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (#36) [–3]
38. Lil Nas X – Panini (DEBUT)
37. Kesha featuring Big Freedia – Raising Hell (#37) [=]
36. OneRepublic – Wanted (DEBUT)
35. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down (#30) [–5]
34. Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B – South Of The Border (DEBUT)
33. Hot Chelle Rae – I Hate (Love) LA (#33) [=]
32. Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now (DEBUT)
31. Louis Tomlinson – We Made It (#31) [=]
30. Tones & I – Dance Monkey (#28) [–2]
29. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – The Hype (#26) [–3]
28. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne (#32) [+4]
27. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita (#27) [=]
26. NF – Time (#24) [–2]
25. Why Don’t We – What Am I (#29) [+4]
24. Panic! At The Disco – Into The Unknown (#35) [+11]
23. Harry Styles – Adore You (#25) [+2]
22. PUBLIC – Make You Mine (#23) [+1]
21. Diplo featuring Jonas Brothers – Lonely (#21) [=]
20. Lizzo – Truth Hurts (#18) [–2]
19. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You (#19) [=] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]
18. SHAED – Trampoline (#20) [+2]
17. Marshmello featuring Kane Brown – One Thing Right (#15) [–2]
16. Charlie Puth – Mother (#17) [+1]
15. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep? (#13) [–2]
14. Maroon 5 – Memories (#16) [+2]
13. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#11) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
12. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me (#12) [=]
11. Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours (#14) [+3]
10. Taylor Swift – Lover (#6) [–4]
9. Lizzo – Good As Hell (#8) [–1]
8. Halsey – Graveyard (#10) [+2]
7. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#7) [=] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
6. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People (#9) [+3]
5. Post Malone – Circles (#5) [=]
4. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth (#4) [=] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
3. Jonas Brothers – Only Human (#3) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
2. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#2) [=] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
1. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya (#1) [=] [3rd Week At #1]
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (2nd of 7 Weeks At #1)
Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down (–5)
Biggest Jump Of The Week: Panic! At The Disco – Into The Unknown (+11)
New Entrants:
– To start things off on what is likely going to be the final round of debuts for the year, we have more of Lil Nas X who has become a big name throughout 2019. He gives us his latest single in the form of Panini. We all know that he had his first huge hit in the form of Old Town Road, which spent a record breaking 19 weeks at #1. I wasn’t a fan of that song personally. I think Panini is only a bit of a step up from its predecessor. It’s been growing on me quite a bit. I kinda like the production here, but I’m not too wild on Lil Nas X’s performance here. I don’t think he’s that good of a singer. That’s just me, though. I can see myself growing into this in the near future unlike Old Town Road.
– Following that, we have the return of OneRepublic not long after Rescue Me left the countdown. This time, they bring us Wanted. I liked Rescue Me for the most part because I thought it was catchy and I liked the groove. Wanted doesn’t really have any of those to make it enjoyable for me. Ryan Tedder’s voice is okay, but he doesn’t really shine in any part of the song. The production is pretty underwhelming, especially for a band that has made some good music in the past. I don’t think it’s bad overall. But it wasn’t something I was hoping for ultimately.
– Next is more of Ed Sheeran, and he collaborates with Camila Cabello and Cardi B in their latest single titled South Of The Border. I was a little indifferent on what No 6. Collaborations Project had to offer as a whole. Sure, there are some good songs. But it’s nowhere near as memorable as his singles from his last album. As far as South Of The Border goes, I like this one quite a bit. There may not be much to the production and the beat as it is minimalistic. But I like the verses we get from these guys. Ed has a good voice and he uses it well here. It’s nice to hear Camila not trying too hard to hit those high notes. Cardi’s contribution to the song is pretty solid. Yeah, I’m fine with this sticking around for a while.
– I’ve been waiting for the return of Dua Lipa for some time now. My wish is granted as this week, she brings us her new single called Don’t Start Now. She had a big year in 2018, what with New Rules becoming her breakout hit and her other singles following suit. She looks to do it again as we draw closer to the new year. After hearing the song in its entirety, I was genuinely impressed overall. This is how you make a comeback. I really like the production here. It has a nice groove to it and I love the build-up leading to the chorus. Dua sounds great here. She hasn’t lost a step vocally and it shows how much she continues to evolve for the better. I also like the lyrical content about leaving a relationship that’s not going so well. I’m in love with this. I’m hoping it can be successful.
Best Debut Of The Week: Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now
Blurbs Of The Border
– We say goodbye to four songs this week, including two from Harry Styles. With Adore You gaining steam, it was really only a matter of time until those two songs would leave. Good riddance to both Look At Her Now and I’m Lonely. The former was annoying vocally and the latter was simply underwhelming. Good thing those two didn’t last very long.
– The Top 10 remains the same other than a few songs moving spots, so nothing really to talk about here.
– It looks like Who Do You Love’s tenure is slowly coming to a close as this is the lowest it’s has been since its debut. I’m ready for this song to start leaving soon. It has no business being in the Top 20 at this moment. I’m sure this will be ranked very high on the Hits 1 Year-End Countdown.
– With how much I heard Adore You all this week, I thought for sure it would be taking a massive jump. But that wasn’t the case. Seems like the winter freeze really is in full effect. I don’t think we’re going to be getting any significant moves until next month.
– We did, however, see Into The Unknown getting its Biggest Jump Of The Week, which actually comes as no surprise because of course, Hits 1 still loves Panic! At The Disco. I’m cool with this song sticking around for a while.
– NF – Time also appears to be on the decline as well. I have been losing interest in that song, though I can’t really see myself putting this in red the same way I did with Who Do You Love.
Hit-Bound:
- Fall Out Boy – Bob Dylan
- Halsey – Finally // Beautiful Stranger
- Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer
- Lizzo – Cuz I Love You (DEBUT)
- Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go
- Camila Cabello – Living Proof
- Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want
- AJ Mitchell featuring Ava Max – Slow Dance
- Zedd featuring Kehlani – Good Thing (DEBUT)
- Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted
- 88Rising featuring Joji & Jackson Wang, Swae Lee, and Major Lazer – Walking
- Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
- X Lovers – Play Your Game (DEBUT)
- The Chainsmokers – Push My Luck
- Alec Benjamin – Mind Is A Prison (DEBUT)
- Meghan Trainor featuring Mike Sabath – Wave
Entrant Reviews:
– We have four new songs debuting on Hit-Bound this week as well as four from last week that I didn’t get a chance to review. So, I’ll start with last week’s debuts first. We’ll kick things off with more of Halsey as she gears up for the release of her new album, Manic, next month. Her new single is titled Finally // Beautiful Stranger. I do quite like the instrumentation in this song and Halsey sounds nice. But it’s not that interesting overall. We’ll see what else her new album will bring.
– Lewis Capaldi replaced himself last week with his latest single in the form of Before You Go. I think this one is a lot more interesting than two of his other singles. It’s got a good instrumentation and Lewis sounds slightly better here. We’ll see if it ends up debuting on the countdown soon.
– Next, we have the collaboration between AJ Mitchell and Ava Max with Slow Dance. This one has been around for a while, so Hits 1 was a little late to the party on picking it up. There’s not a whole lot going on in terms of the production. I feel like it’s missing something. They sound good vocally, but they don’t really shine in the chorus and I don’t quite feel the chemistry between the two. It’s okay, but not something I’ll revisit in a year or two.
– Niall Horan has another new single in its stead. It’s titled Put A Little Love On Me. I think this is a nice piano ballad. His voice fits very well and the piano sounds good. The lyrics are well-written. While it’s not as good as Nice To Meet Ya, I can find myself enjoying this at times.
– Now onto this week’s debuts. We have more of Lizzo with her latest single titled Cuz I Love You. Out of all the singles off her new album, I can’t believe this is the one she chose. Lizzo has been a favorite of mine and I loved the majority of her music. But I’m not feeling this song. It is just overwhelming and not in a good way. This is probably the first song I’ve legitimately disliked from her.
– Up next is the return of Zedd, and he teams up with Kehlani in their new single called Good Thing. For some reason, I couldn’t quite get into this like I was able to fall in love with his previous singles. Kehlani sounds okay, but the production is a little weak and it doesn’t quite hit hard. It’s lacking something to make it stand out. Overall, I’m not quite feeling this. Zedd has had better.
– After that, we get a new band in the form of X Lovers with their new single Play Your Game. I really dig this song overall. The production is very solid and I like their vocals quite a bit. I’ll talk more about this should it debut.
– I wasn’t quite ready to hear more from Alec Benjamin soon. But alas, here he is with another single titled Mind Is A Prison. Once more, I’m not too fond of Alec’s voice. But I think the production is the most interesting thing I can say about the song overall.
Best Hit-Bound Entrant Of The Week: X Lovers – Play Your Game
Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
16. Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer
15. Meghan Trainor featuring Mike Sabath – Wave
1 – Bad:
14. Lizzo – Cuz I Love You
2 – Mediocre:
13. Camila Cabello – Living Proof
3 – Decent:
12. 88Rising featuring Joji & Jackson Wang, Swae Lee, and Major Lazer – Walking
11. Alec Benjamin – Mind Is A Prison
10. Halsey – Finally // Beautiful Stranger
9. Zedd featuring Kehlani – Good Thing
8. AJ Mitchell featuring Ava Max – Slow Dance
4 – Good:
None!
5 – Great:
7. Lewis Capaldi– Before You Go
6. The Chainsmokers – Push My Luck
5. X Lovers – Play Your Game
4. Fall Out Boy – Bob Dylan
3. Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
2. Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:
1. Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted
Overall Grade: 54/80 = 67.5% (C)
Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Welshly Arms – Legendary
My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted
2. Post Malone feturing Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want
3. Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
4. Fall Out Boy – Bob Dylan
5. X Lovers – Play Your Game
Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Marshmello featuring Kane Brown – One Thing Right
19. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
1 – Bad:
18. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
17. Maroon 5 – Memories
16. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love
2 – Mediocre:
None!
3 – Decent:
15. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth
14. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep?
4 – Good:
13. Post Malone – Circles
5 – Great:
12. Jonas Brothers – Only Human
11. Lizzo – Truth Hurts
10. Halsey – Graveyard
9. Charlie Puth – Mother
8. Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours
7. SHAED – Trampoline
6. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You
5. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
4. Lizzo – Good As Hell
3. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People
2. Taylor Swift – Lover
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me
Overall Grade: 74/100 = 74% (B)
Throwback Pick Of The Week: Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You (1994)
Most Missed Countdown Song: Lady Gaga – Bad Romance
#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: The Weeknd – Heartless
Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between Ellie Gouldin featuring Diplo and Swae Lee – Close To Me (#27) and The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#1)
My Top 5 Picks
1. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me
2. Taylor Swift – Lover
3. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People
4. Lizzo – Good As Hell
5. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Marshmello featuring Kane Brown – One Thing Right
2. Halsey – Nightmare
3. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne
4. AJR – Dear Winter
5. Diplo featuring Jonas Brothers – Lonely
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Steve Aoki featuring BTS – Waste It On Me: I like Steve Aoki, but he’s done better. Although the vocals are fine, I’m not feeling the production work he’s done and that kinda brings the song down for me.
Mark Ronson featuring Miley Cyrus – Nothing Breaks Like A Heart: The guy behind one of my favorite songs of all time did a fine job of creating this pop masterpiece. Everything in this song works well to perfection here.
James Arthur – Empty Space: I kinda liked Say You Won’t Let Go even though most will disagree. But I can’t say that about Empty Space. The instrumentation is weird and out of place, and James doesn’t put on good performance here.
Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee – Close To Me: Ah, yes. The big return of Ellie Goulding. Sure, it may not top the greatness she had in her previous singles. But this is still a really good song in my book. Ellie impressed me yet again with this one.
Music Reviews + More 