Hello, fam! Believe it or not, I celebrated my 28th birthday last week. I am inching a bit close to 30. I would like to say thank you all for the birthday wishes. I can’t wait to see what the next chapter will bring. In terms of how the countdown went on my birthday week, it was pretty divine. Let’s jump in! Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:
- Lover by Taylor Swift (#23)
- Raising Hell by Kesha featuring Big Freedia (#24)
- If I Can’t Have You by Shawn Mendes (#40)
The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Circles by Post Malone
40. Talk by Khalid (#38) [–2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
39. Falling by Trevor Daniel (DEBUT)
38. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (#36) [–2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
37. We Made It by Louis Tomlinson (#37) [=]
36. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug (#34) [–2]
35. Underdog by Alicia Keys (DEBUT)
34. How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith (#32) [–2]
33. Make It Right by BTS featuring Lauv (#33) [=]
32. I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber (#30) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
31. Graveyard by Halsey (#13) [–18]
30. Good Thing by Zedd featuring Kehlani (#31) [+1]
29. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#27) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
28. What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers (DEBUT)
27. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (#26) [–1]
26. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin (#35) [+9]
25. Highest In The Room by Travis Scott (#28) [+3]
24. You Should Be Sad by Halsey (#39) [+15]
23. Time by NF (#21) [–2]
22. Teeth by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#22) [=]
21. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#29) [+8]
20. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby (#25) [+5]
19. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#19) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
18. South Of The Border by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B (#20) [+2]
17. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#14) [–3]
16. Adore You by Harry Styles (#18) [+2]
15. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#15) [=]
14. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#16) [+2]
13. Trampoline by SHAED (#10) [–3]
12. Yummy by Justin Bieber (#17) [+5]
11. Heartless by The Weeknd (#12) [+1]
10. 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber (#11) [+1]
9. Panini by Lil Nas X (#8) [–1]
8. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas (#9) [+1]
7. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#6) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
6. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#7) [+1]
5. Dance Monkey by Tones & I (#5) [=]
4. Good As Hell by Lizzo (#3) [–1] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
3. Memories by Maroon 5 (#4) [+1]
2. Circles by Post Malone (#1) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
1. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (#2) [+1] [1st Week At #1]
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Without Me by Halsey (1st of 4 Weeks At #1)
Biggest Fall Of The Week: Graveyard by Halsey (–18)
Biggest Rise Of The Week: You Should Be Sad by Halsey (+15)
New Entrants:
– I’m going to be reviewing the entrants for last week that I didn’t get to, as well as this week’s new arrivals. I’ll start with more of Halsey here, as she brings us another single from Maniac, titled You Should Be Sad. This is basically Halsey’s attempt at going country. She did go for rock in Nightmare and while I liked that song at first, it started to get annoying after a while. As far as You Should Be Sad goes, I think it’s a fine song overall. I quite like her vocals here. But the production is a little underwhelming in some parts outside of the guitar and I feel like more could’ve been done here. It’s missing some country elements to make it interesting. Some of the lyrics leave quite a bit to be desired. So yeah, this is okay. But I don’t really see it sticking with me in the long run. I haven’t listened to her new album in its entirety yet. But hopefully, I can find some better songs from that album when I get time.
– Next, we have the return of Louis Tomlinson with his solo single in the form of We Made It. I believe this is his second solo single to make it to the AT40 countdown. The last time he made an appearance on the countdown was a couple years back when he collaborated with Bebe Rexha and Digitial Farm Animals in Back To You, which I liked. He did have some other singles from his last album which I enjoyed as well, such as Miss You. As far as We Made It goes, it’s pretty good. I definitely like the instrumentation and the guitar is well used. Louis’s voice sounds good from start to finish. I love the lyrics here, and it shows how talented he is as a songwriter. There are some other singles off of Walls which are better than this. But We Made It is something that I can enjoy. Louis impressed me with this single.
– Then, we get more of The Weeknd here, and he bought us some Blinding Lights last week. This was actually released two days following Heartless. While I enjoy that song in general, I found Blinding Lights to be even better. First off, I love the 80’s vibe it has to it. The production is just phenomenal in every sense of the word. His voice fits very well here with this style of music. It really shows how much he has evolved as an artist. He really crafted up this fine work of art here. I’m interested to see what his new album brings. I’ll be waiting.
– The highest debut for last week came from Camila Cabello with her single My Oh My. I was not very fond of what Romance has had to offer. I thought it was a step down from her previous album. I enjoyed some of her self-titled album, mostly because the songs from there were interesting and had some kind of substance. Havana was ranked as my #5 favorite song of 2018 and I liked some of her other stuff (save for Never Be The Same). But her singles from Romance aren’t doing much for me. My Oh My is probably one of my least favorite songs from her latest album, maybe even worse than Living Proof. There is no appeal. The production is weak as hell. Camila does not sound good here. DaBaby’s verse isn’t helping matters. I didn’t think he contributed to any part of the song. I know Camila is capable of making better songs. But this is not what I want to hear. I’m sticking with something more along the lines of Havana because that song is a work of art. My Oh My is another good example of why Camila isn’t that good of a singer. I do hope it doesn’t last long.
– Now we’re going to be moving right along with this week’s debuts. We’ll start with newcomer Trevor Daniel with his single titled Falling. Right off the bat, I don’t find it very interesting. I think the production is okay for the most part. But I’m not too fond of his vocals. As far as the rest of the song goes in terms of the lyrics and some other stuff, there’s quite a bit to be desired. I don’t have much else to say. So yeah, it’s kinda forgettable. But I can’t really picture myself loathing this.
– The return of Alicia Keys definitely excites me. She brings us her newest single, and she’s the Underdog here (see what I did there?). It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten solo music from her. I believe the last time she had a big hit was back in 2013 with Girl On Fire. Other than her hosting the Grammy Music Awards for the past few years, she hasn’t really been that relevant in terms of music. Now, here she is making her comeback this year. When I heard her new single for the first time, I was genuinely impressed. She sounds good vocally and it shows that she hasn’t lost a step. I enjoy the production on this track and everything else about it is divine. Overall, I love this new single of hers and it’s nice that she continues to make music.
– Finally, with the highest debut of this week, we get more of the Jonas Brothers, this time with their single in the form of What A Man Gotta Do. After having a big year in 2019 with their reunion, they are looking to repeat their success throughout 2020 with this song. I think it’s pretty fun. I love the upbeat give here and these guys sound pretty good. It definitely makes me want to dance. Sure, the lyrics aren’t the best. But at this point, I don’t really care if everything else about the song is fun. I’ll take it! We’ll see if it ends up becoming another hit for these guys.
Best Debut Of The Past Few Weeks: Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
Blinding Blurbs
– We bid adieu to three great songs this week. Raising Hell was a nice comeback for Kesha, and I was hoping it would become another hit similar to Praying a couple years back. But it didn’t happen. Lover had a nice run, but I wish it would’ve been a much bigger hit that it ultimately ended up being. Finally, there’s If I Can’t Have You. I enjoyed a lot of what the song had to offer and it showed how much Shawn has evolved as an artist. That song will be missed by me and I’ll look back on it as one of his best songs.
– Lose You To Love Me finally managed to achieve the #1 spot! It’s Selena Gomez’s first #1 since her feature in It Ain’t Me (with Kygo) a couple years back. I’m very happy about this because it’s a divine song overall. It’s a nice way to celebrate my birthday this week.
– Last week, we saw the rise of Dance Monkey the Top 5, replacing Someone You Loved. Please disregard my original opinion on the song when I said I didn’t like it at first. It’s very unique in every way and it’s nice to see this become a sleeper hit. I wonder how far up it’ll go? We’ll have to wait and see in the next couple of weeks.
– It looks like the life of Panini by Lil Nas X is beginning to die out. I don’t particularly care for the song in the long run. But I actually do find it somewhat catchy in a way. We’ll see how long it hangs around.
– You Should Be Sad made a big jump this week. It looks like we’re going to be seeing this song on the countdown for a while. Again, I’m not all that fond of the song since I think there were better choices off of the album. But it’s certainly a lot better than the mess that is of Nightmare.
– Speaking of Halsey, the massive drop we saw from Graveyard was expected. It’s pretty much done elsewhere, too. It’s one of the more interesting songs I’ve heard from Halsey since Bad At Love (which I loved) and it’s sad that it’s not quite getting the same treatment.
Breakouts/On The Verge:
- Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi
- Make You Mine by PUBLIC
- SUGAR by BROCKHAMPTON
- Yellow Hearts by Ant Saunders
Extras/Optional Extras:
- Attention by Charlie Puth
- Shallow by Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper
- Mirrors by Justin Timberlake
- Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani
- This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna
- One Last Time by Ariana Grande
- Unforgettable by French Montana featuring Swae Lee
- Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer
- In My Blood by Shawn Mendes
- My Type by Saweetie
- Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max
Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
19. Yummy by Justin Bieber
18. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
17. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas
1 – Bad:
16. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby
15. Memories by Maroon 5
2 – Mediocre:
None!
3 – Decent:
14. Panini by Lil Nas X
4 – Good:
13. Only Human by Jonas Brothers
12. Circles by Post Malone
5 – Great:
11. South Of The Border by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B
10. 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber
9. Truth Hurts by Lizzo
8. Trampoline by SHAED
7. Adore You by Harry Styles
6. Dance Monkey by Tones & I
5. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish
4. Heartless by The Weeknd
3. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez
2. Good As Hell by Lizzo
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
Total Score: 70/100 = 70% (B)
Throwback Pick Of The Week: End Of The Road by Boyz II Men (1992)
Most Missed Song: Treasure by Bruno Mars
#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Physical by Dua Lipa
Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee (#9)
My Top 5 Picks
1. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
2. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez
3. Good As Hell by Lizzo
4. Adore You by Harry Styles
5. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
2. Yummy by Justin Bieber
3. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
4. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas
5. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
7 Rings by Ariana Grande: Easily my least favorite single from Ariana. I don’t know why in the hell she would brag about being rich and what not. Her rapping sucks and the way she interpolates The Sound Of Music only makes matters more asinine. Honestly, this song is a mess all around.
Lost In The Fire by Gesafflestein featuring The Weeknd: I’m not sure what I was thinking when I liked that song before. I ranked this as my #8 least favorite song of 2019. Gesafflestein did not impress me there and the lyrics are stupid. It’s a good thing this didn’t take off.
Music Reviews + More 