Hello, fam! This isn’t really what I was hoping for when I said I was going to get my posts out on time.  Lack of motivation and some other stuff played a key role in my late post, as well as why my remaining Year-End posts aren’t out yet.  Hopefully, all of that will be fixed in the coming weeks.  Also, the Grammy Awards are coming up and I plan on watching.  I may finally end up doing a review of the performances for that night.  But we’ll see how it ultimately plays out.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 45, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Fall Out Boy featuring Wyclef Jean – Dear Future Self (Hands Up) (#35)
• NF – Time (#40)
• Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#42) [Spent 13 Weeks At #1]
• Camila Cabello – Liar (#45)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
45. AJR – Dear Winter (#44) [–1]
44. Marshmello featuring Kane Brown – One Thing Right (#43) [–1]
43. Halsey – Nightmare (#41) [–2]
42. Sofi Tukker – Purple Hat (#36) [–6]
41. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (#39) [–2]
40. Lil Nas X – Panini (#38) [–2]
39. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita (#34) [–5]
38. Tones & I – Dance Monkey (#32) [–6]
37. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down (#37) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
36. 88Rising featuring Joji & Jackson Wang, Major Lazer, and Swae Lee – Walking (DEBUT)
35. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – The Hype (#33) [–2]
34. Diplo featuring Jonas Brothers – Lonely (#29) [–5]
33. Panic! At The Disco – Into The Unknown (#31) [–2]
32. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#22) [–10] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
31. Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted (DEBUT)
30. Lizzo – Truth Hurts (#30) [=]
29. Fall Out Boy – Bob Dylan (DEBUT)
28. SHAED – Trampoline (#28) [=]
27. Hot Chelle Rae – I Hate (Love) LA (#27) [=]
26. Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now (#24) [–2]
25. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You (#25) [=] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]
24. Kesha featuring Big Freedia – Raising Hell (#26) [+2]
23. The Chainsmokers – Push My Luck (DEBUT)
22. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne (#20) [–2]
21. Louis Tomlinson – We Made It (#21) [=]
20. Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B – South Of The Border (#18) [–2]
19. PUBLIC – Make You Mine (#17) [–2]
18. Charlie Puth – Mother (#19) [+1]
17. OneRepublic – Wanted (#23) [+6]
16. Harry Styles – Adore You (#15) [–1]
15. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me (#16) [+1]
14. Why Don’t We – What Am I (#14) [=]
13. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep? (#13) [=]
12. Maroon 5 – Memories (#10) [–2]
11. Halsey – Graveyard (#6) [–5]
10. Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours (#12) [+2]
9. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People (#7) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
8. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#9) [+1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
7. Lizzo – Good As Hell (#8) [+1]
6. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth (#3) [–3] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
5. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#2) [–3] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
4. Post Malone – Circles (#4) [=]
3. Taylor Swift – Lover (#11) [+8]
2. Jonas Brothers – Only Human (#5) [+3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
1. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya (#1) [=] [6^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Halsey – Without Me (1^st of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (–10)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Taylor Swift – Lover (+8)

New Entrants:
– We have four new songs entering the countdown to start the new decade.  Up first is the least interesting debut of the week.  It comes from 88Rising with a collaboration between Joji & Jackson Wang, Major Lazer, and French Montana in Walking.  Not a whole lot I can say about this one.  The production is just underwhelming overall and I’m not feeling the vocals.  There’s really no momentum in the verses and they dont’ have any sort of chemistry to show for it.  So yeah, I wasn’t impressed overall.  It’s likely that I’ll forget about this in a month or so.

– Next, we have more of Billie Eilish here with her latest single, and it’s basically Everything I Wanted.  I already talked about this in depth in my AT40 post when it debuted on the countdown.  But to recap, it’s the type of song that I like to hear from her.  The sentiment in this song is pretty sad as it basically talks about nobody caring for her anymore and her brother supporting her during the difficult time.  I think her voice is dark and unique and she uses it well.  The beat is pretty solid and it meshes well with the muted piano and drums.  Is it her best?  No, I prefer her singles from her last album.  But it’s solid and I’m fine with this potentially being another hit for her.

– Fall Out Boy replaced themselves this week with the song named after the singer himself, Bob Dylan.  Right off the bat, I quite like this.  It goes without saying that this is nowhere near their best work, but it’s still good for what it’s trying to do.  I like Patrick’s voice here and he shines in the chorus.  The rock vibes here are pretty cool even though there are parts of the production I can do without.  So yeah, I’m fine with this sticking around although I have my doubts.

– As Who Do You Love finally makes its way out (and I’ll have more on that in just a bit), we get another song from The Chainsmokers, and they’re trying to push their luck with their latest single titled Push My Luck.  I do quite like this for the most part.  I think Drew has a nice voice and he sounds pretty good here.  The chorus is decent as well.  Obviously, the drop isn’t the best and there are parts that I can do without.  But it’s better than the drop from Who Do You Love, which got annoying after a while.  Overall, it’s a good song.  But I won’t really picture myself coming back to this in the long run.

Best Debut Of The Week: Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted

I’ve Got Everything I Blurbed
– Like I do every week, I always start with the exits.  In fact, we bid adieu to four songs this week.  NF – Time wasn’t really worth caring about in the long run.  The same can be said for Liar.  Even though I didn’t love the song, it’s a lot more interesting than the majority of what Romance had to offer.  Dear Future Self (Hands Up) was an interesting collaboration between Fall Out Boy and Wyclef Jean.  I think the song is pretty cool, but ultimately it didn’t last very long.  Finally, we have the big one.  Sucker, the longest-running #1 song in Hits 1 countdown history, is officially no more.  It seemed like yesterday that everyone in the music world was excited about their reunion.  Now, it’s just a distant memory.  Sucker was something that I enjoyed for a while, and it’ll be somewhat missed by me.

– It doesn’t look like Purple Hat will be around for much longer as it has now fallen into the Bottom 5 this week.  I think the song is pretty cool and it would’ve been nice if that had been a success elsewhere.  Sofi Tukker definitely deserves some recognition.

– The same can be said for Dance Monkey.  The only difference between this and Purple Hat is that it’s actually a success elsewhere.  It’s a damn shame that Hits 1 doesn’t treat it the same way.  But oh well.  Can’t really do anything about that.

– It’s about time Who Do You Love made the big drop I was waiting for!  It’s been around for way too long for a song that wasn’t really good in the long run.  Now, let’s get this out of here soon!

– On the note of mediocrity, I would appreciate if I Hate (Love) LA would start making its way down soon at least.  I’m starting to get annoyed by the “La La La’s” in the chorus.  And the lyrics aren’t really helping either.

– In Top 3 news, Lover has finally made it to that region.  It would be really nice to see it hit #1 like soon.  I think it’s the best Taylor has had to offer in her album.  Too bad that one failed to continue its momentum elsewhere.  But at least Hits 1 is treating it well.

Hit-Bound:

• Lizzo – Cuz I Love You
• Alec Benjamin – Mind Is A Prison
• Zedd featuring Kehlani – Good Thing
• Doja Cat – Say So (DEBUT)
• Post Malone featuring Travis Scott and Ozzy Osbourne – Take What You Want
• Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go
• Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My
• Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
• Tayla Parx featuring Florida Georgia Line – Fight (DEBUT)
• Halsey – You Should Be Sad (DEBUT)
• Justin Bieber – Yummy (DEBUT)
• AJ Mitchell featuring Ava Max – Slow Dance
• Rex Orange County – 10/10 (DEBUT)
• Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer
• X Lovers – Play Your Game

New Entrants:
– There’s not a whole lot of new stuff to like here.  I’m going to start things off with newcomer Doja Cat who brings us Say So.  I think the beat here is pretty groovy, but I’m not feeling her voice overall.  And the lyrics…it’s basically her wanting her friend to confess his love to her.  It doesn’t interest me lyrically and not helping matters is the depth here is pretty shallow.  Yeah, this is just underwhelming at best.  It’s in blue, but it’s much closer to red for me than it is green.  Let’s move on.

– Next, we have another newcomer here.  It’s Tayla Parx and she collaborates with country duo Florida Georgia Line in their new single titled Fight.  Right off the bat, I’m not feeling the song.  It sorta reminds me of Meant To Be, which I detested.  Her voice is no good and there’s virtually no chemistry between the two to show for it.  And here we go again with the trap production mixed in with country elements.  No, this isn’t working for me.  Nothing about the song is appealing and frankly, not worth my time.  NEXT!

– Immediately following that we get more of Halsey as her new album Manic draws closer.  This week, she replaces herself on Hit-Bound with her new single titled You Should Be Sad.  I’m going to simply be straight up and say that this is the best debut of the week and even then, it’s decent at best.  Nightmare was her attempt at going rock, which failed miserably.  You Should Be Sad is her attempt at going country.  I think Halsey sounds fine here and I quite like the guitar.  But my concern is that it’s missing some country elements to make it stand out.  Overall, it’s okay.  But when your best debut of the week is in blue and is only decent at best, yeah it’s a not a good sign.

– Dear Jesus, please help me with this one.  We have Justin Bieber with his new single in the form of Yummy.  Unlike most people, I actually kinda liked what Justin has had to offer in recent years.  I personally think he is talented.  But my goodness, Yummy is an absolute fucking mess.  First off, his voice.  It’s basically him being drowned in auto-tune and not only that, he also tries to make a Chris Brown impression and it backfires on him horribly because he has no personality here at all.  That, coupled with the trap production that’s totally out of date makes this an unpleasant listen.  And don’t even get me started with the lyrics.  Why would he tell a girl she has that “yummy, yummy”?!  My goodness! Honestly, this song just blows on so many levels.  I’m not sure what the hell he was going for here because this is one of the worst songs he’s released since Baby.  If this is the direction he’s going for, then I’m less enthusiastic about his new album.

– Lastly, we have Rex Orange County with 10/10.  This song is definitely not a 10/10 whatsoever.  His voice doesn’t really sound good with him singing in monotone and the production isn’t really my thing.  So yeah, I’d say this is a 5/10 at best for me.

Best Debut Of The Week: Halsey – You Should Be Sad

Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
15. Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer
14. Justin Bieber – Yummy
13. Tayla Parx featuring Florida Georgia Line – Fight
12. Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My

1 – Bad:
11. Lizzo – Cuz I Love You

2 – Mediocre:
10. Doja Cat – Say So
9. Rex Orange County – 10/10

3 – Decent:
8. AJ Mitchell featuring Ava Max – Slow Dance
7. Halsey – You Should Be Sad
6. Zedd featuring Kehlani – Good Thing

4 – Good:
5. Alec Benjamin – Mind Is A Prison

5 – Great:
4. Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go
3. X Lovers – Play Your Game
2. Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:
1. Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want

Overall Grade: 39/75 = 52% (D+)

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Little Mix – Touch

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want
2. Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
3. X Lovers – Play Your Game
4. Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go
5. Alec Benjamin – Mind Is A Prison

Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Putrid:
20. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved

1 – Bad:
19. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
18. Maroon 5 – Memories

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
17. OneRepublic – Wanted
16. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth
15. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep?
14. Why Don’t We – What Am I
13. Charlie Puth – Mother

4 – Good:
12. PUBLIC – Make You Mine
11. Post Malone – Circles

5 – Great:
10. Jonas Brothers – Only Human
9. Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B – South Of The Border
8. Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours
7. Halsey – Graveyard
6. Louis Tomlinson – We Made It
5. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
4. Harry Styles – Adore You
3. Lizzo – Good As Hell
2. Taylor Swift – Lover
1. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me

Overall Grade: 75/100 = 75% (B)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: David Bowie – Rebel Rebel (1974)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B – Finesse (Remix)

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Ally Brooke – No Good (there’s not a lot of good music to recommend)

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#2)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now
2. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me
3. Taylor Swift – Lover
4. Lizzo – Good As Hell
5. Kesha featuring Big Freedia – Raising Hell

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:
Dan + Shay – Speechless: I won’t say this is as good as Tequila, but it’s still good mostly because of their vocals, the well-written lyrics, and the solid instrumentation.  I think it’s the perfect song for any wedding.

Zara Larsson – Ruin My Life: It was a nice comeback for Zara Larsson after a while.  But it’s not much compared to her singles such as Never Forget You.  I like the production and Zara sounds good, even if the chorus is a little repetitive.

Khalid – Better: I don’t have a lot to say about this one.  I love the R&B vibe and his voice meshes well together.  Yeah, it’s a pretty good song.  Probably one of his best singles from him, along with Love Lies.

Imagine Dragons – Machine: Yeah, this is my least favorite single from these guys.  Between Dan Reynolds’s obnoxious yelling and the messy guitars, everything about the song is just a mess all around.