Hello, fam. It’s been almost a month since the world was basically turned upside-down because of the virus.  All I have to say is stay safe out there and be careful, everyone.  With that, let’s get into the AT40 countdown, shall we? Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers (#28)
• Time by NF (#38)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
40. Sénorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#40) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
39. Sunday Best by Surfaces (DEBUT)
38. Sad Tonight by Chelsea Cutler (#39) [+1]
37. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#36) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
36. Make You Mine by PUBLIC (#32) [–4]
35. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#34) [–1]
34. Modern Loneliness by Lauv (DEBUT)
33. No Judgement by Niall Horan (#35) [+2]
32. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#30) [–2]
31. Trampoline by SHAED (#31) [=]
30. SUGAR by BROCKHAMPTON (#33) [+3]
29. The Bones by Maren Morris (#37) [+8]
28. Ride It by Regard (#29) [+1]
27. Good As Hell by Lizzo (#25) [–2]
26. To Die For by Sam Smith (#26) [=]
25. Falling by Trevor Daniel (#27) [–2]
24. The Box by Roddy Ricch (#24) [=]
23. The Man by Taylor Swift (#22) [–1]
22. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (#20) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
21. The Other Side by SZA featuring Justin Timberlake (#21) [=]
20. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#18) [–2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
19. Know Your Worth by Khalid featuring Disclosure (#19) [=]
18. Rare by Selena Gomez (#16) [–2]
17. I Love Me by Demi Lovato (#27) [+10]
16. Dance Monkey by Tones And I (#10) [–6]
15. You Should Be Sad by Halsey (#13) [–2]
14. RITMO by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin (#17) [+3]
13. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga (#15) [+2]
12. Memories by Maroon 5 (#12) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
11. Say So by Doja Cat (#14) [+3]
10. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo (#11) [+1]
9. Heartless by The Weeknd (#5) [–4]
8. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby (#9) [+1]
7. ROXANNE by Arizona Zervas (#3) [–4]
6. Circles by Post Malone (#6) [=] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
5. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#7) [+2]
4. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#8) [+4]
3. Adore You by Harry Styles (#4) [+1]
2. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#2)
1. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#1) [=] [5^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: 7 Rings by Ariana Grande (3^rd of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Dance Monkey by Tones And I (–6)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: I Love Me by Demi Lovato (+10)

New Entrants:
– Not a good week for debuts here.  I’ll start with easily the worst debut of the week.  It’s from the band Surfaces and it’s called Sunday Best. This was trending on the YouTube 15 on Hits 1 last year. I was never fond of that song when it first came out and nothing really has changed. In fact, after hearing this again, it’s even worse than I remembered. First off, I don’t like the vocals we get from them. They don’t sound good art any point throughout the song. But my biggest problem is the production itself, in which the piano sounds horrible. It tries to be some kind of anthem. But it did not work out to my liking. Yeah, this blows on so many levels. NEXT!

– Our second and final debut of the week comes from an artist I wasn’t looking forward to hearing more of. It’s from Lauv and he brings us Modern Loneliness. I talked about this one when it debuted on the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown. Now, it goes without saying that it’s better than the majority of his singles. But that’s not saying much because it’s undesirable in pretty much every aspect. I like the piano here, but everything else leaves a lot to be desired. Lauv does not sound good vocally, which is nothing new because that’s been my issue when it comes to his music. Overall, it’s not good and it’s not surprising considering that he hasn’t impressed me with his music.

Best Debut Of The Week: Modern Loneliness by Lauv (but not my much)

Sunday Blurbs
– In terms of our exits this week, Time by NF had worn on me big time.  So, seeing it depart was a good thing.  And What A Man Gotta Do flopped hard.  Safe to say that the Jonas Brothers won’t have another hit in 2020.  Oh well.

– We did see a shake-up in the Top 5 this week.  Adore You has hit a new peak of #3, which is very nice to see.  But in even better news, The Weeknd replaces himself with the superior song in Blinding Lights.  Ideally, I like to see one of the two songs become the next #1.

– Everything I Wanted enters the Top 5 as well.  Billie Eilish continues to gain momentum throughout 2020.  This could potentially be another #1 for Billie.  But we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

– Yuck.  Of course Intentions entering the Top 10 just to piss me off.  Everything about the song is atrocious.  I’m hoping it doesn’t get any further and flops like Yummy did.  But that’s likely not going to happen at this point.

– After not doing much, The Bones makes a big move up to the Top 30.  Good to see there are people who are still interested in Maren Morris after all.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• July by Noah Cyrus featuring Leon Bridges
• Nice To Meet Ya by Meghan Trainor featuring Nicki Minaj
• Life Is Good by Future featuring Drake
• What If I Told You That I Love You by Ali Gaite

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Yellow Hearts by Ant Saunders
• Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
• Now Or Never by Halsey
• Tequila by Dan + Shay
• Believer by Imagine Dragons
• That’s What I Like by Bruno Mars
• Wow. by Post Malone
• Stay With Me by Sam Smith
• Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
• There’s Nothing Holdn’ Me Back by Shawn Mendes
• Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored by Ariana Grande

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
19. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
18. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
17. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas
16. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin

1 – Bad:
15. Say So by Doja Cat
14. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby
13. Memories by Maroon 5

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 –  Decent:
12. Rare by Selena Gomez
11. I Love Me by Demi Lovato
10. You Should Be Sad by Halsey

4 – Good:
9. Circles by Post Malone

5 – Great:
8. Know Your Worth by Khalid featuring Disclosure
7. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish
6. Dance Monkey by Tones & I
5. Heartless by The Weeknd
4. Adore You by Harry Styles
3. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga
2. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

Total Score: 57/100 = 57% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Clocks by Coldplay (2002)

Most Missed Song: Stressed Out by TWENTY ØNE PILØTS

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: The Other Girl by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Halsey

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: You Say by Lauren Daigle (#21)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
2. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
3. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga
4. Adore You by Harry Styles
5. Good As Hell by Lizzo

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
2. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
3. Sunday Best by Surfaces
4. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas
5. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
When The Party’s Over by Billie Eilish: One of the many highlights off of When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?.  While there’s not much in terms of the production, her unique, mysterious voice pulls me in.  It’s what Billie does best.

Out Of Love by Alessia Cara: A sweet piano ballad, if you will.  But Alessia has definitely done better.  It’s kinda sad that she hasn’t had a hit since her collaboration with Zedd in Stay back in 2017.

Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco: Much like with High Hopes, the AT40 picked up on this a month after this song became a bit on Hits 1. A song that talks about finding success works for me, especially with Brendon Urie knowing how to hit those high notes.

Hello, fam!  We’re now in the month of April and already it’s been tough for all of us.  It just seemed like yesterday we were enjoying life and not having a care in the world.  Now, because of the pandemic and everything being shut down, our world has literally been turned upside down.  But I try to stay positive that things will get better.  And yes, I do hope things get better soon.  This was a pretty eventful week on the AT40, and that gives lots to talk about.  I’m ready to dive right in and get on with it!  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Cuz I Love You by Lizzo (#26)
• Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (#38)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
40. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#40) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
39. Sad Tonight by Chelsea Cutler (DEBUT)
38. Time by NF (#36) [–2]
37. The Bones by Maren Morris (#39) [+2]
36. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#34) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
35. No Judgement by Niall Horan (#35) [=]
34. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#32) [–2]
33. Sugar by BROCKHAMPTON (#37) [+4]
32. Make You Mine by PUBLIC (#31) [–1]
31. Trampoline by SHAED (#29) [–2]
30. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#30) [=]
29. Ride It by Regard (#33) [+4]
28. What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers (#13) [–15]
27. I Love Me by Demi Lovato (DEBUT)
26. To Die For by Sam Smith (#27) [+1]
25. Good As Hell by Lizzo (#22) [–3] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
24. The Box by Roddy Ricch (#25) [+1]
23. Falling by Trevor Daniel (#21) [–2]
22. The Man by Taylor Swift (#23) [+1]
21. The Other Side by SZA featuring Justin Timberlake (#28) [+7]
20. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (#14) [–6] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
19. Know Your Worth by Khalid featuring Disclosure (#19) [=]
18. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#17) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
17. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin (#18) [+1]
16. Rare by Selena Gomez (#16) [=]
15. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga (#20) [+5]
14. Say So by Doja Cat (#24) [+10]
13. You Should Be Sad by Halsey (#15) [+2]
12. Memories by Maroon 5 (#10) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
11. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo (#12) [+1]
10. Dance Monkey by Tones And I (#6) [–4]
9. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby (#11) [+2]
8. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#9) [+1]
7. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#7) [=]
6. Circles by Post Malone (#4) [–2] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
5. Heartless by The Weeknd (#5) [=]
4. Adore You by Harry Styles (#8) [+4]
3. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas (#2) [–1]
2. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#3) [+1]
1. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#1) [=] [4^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: 7 Rings by Ariana Grande (2^nd of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers (–15)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Say So by Doja Cat (+10)

New Entrants:
– We have two new songs entering this week.  First is a newcomer from Connecticut.  Her name is Chelsea Cutler and she makes her first appearance with Sad Tonight.  And here’s an interesting fun fact: she and my dad both share the same birthday (February 11).  That’s some cool stuff.  I don’t really have a lot to say about this one.  I think the production is pretty good and I quite like her voice.  She can sound underwhelming at times, but she gets better in the chorus.  Overall, it’s a good song even though I can’t see it sticking with me in the long run.

– For our second debut, we get the long awaited return of Demi Lovato.  She brings us her comeback single in the form of I Love Me.  Demi has been through quite a lot since 2018, when she had a health scare.  But I’m glad she is making a comeback.  She has been a favorite of mine this past decade with songs such as Heart Attack and Cool For The Summer, which are two of her best singles.  My expectations were sky high coming into the song and I was unfortunately met with disappointment.  I’m not too fond of the production here.  I feel it’s a little out of place and the beat isn’t too interesting.  Demi has a amazing voice.  But she doesn’t really use it to her potential.  There are times where she sounds okay.  But other times, she’s underwhelming and I don’t quite like the chorus.  The lyrics are pretty questionable.  Yeah, this isn’t what I was hoping for in a comeback single from Demi.  She can do better.

Best Debut Of The Week: Sad Tonight by Chelsea Cutler

Blurbs Tonight
– As far as our exits go, Cuz I Love You was not a good choice for a single off of the album.  It’s a good thing that one didn’t take off.  I couldn’t stand her voice here and the instrumentation was too loud for my liking.  Beautiful People was one of the few songs I enjoyed off of No.6 Collaborations Project and it was nice to see it become a chart success.  Sadly, I think this’ll be the last we’ll see of Ed Sheeran for a while.

– It was bad enough that we saw Roxanne hit a peak of #2 a couple weeks back.  Now Hot Girl Bummer has reached #2 this week.  Blech.  Now I REALLY hope that Don’t Start Now stays at #1.

– Well, Harry Styles is finally getting the recognition he deserves as Adore You has reached the Top 5.  I didn’t envision this becoming a massive hit heading into 2020.  But now here we are.  This song is honestly a jam.  Harry has been getting better at making solo music.  I can possibly see this become a future #1 (and hopefully soon, given the two songs currently above it).

– My Oh My entering the Top 10 is a no-no.  The song does not appeal to me.  Of course, Camila is still popular so I’m not surprised.  But it does not belong up there.

– On the note of mediocrity, we have Say So jumping big into the Top 20.  I’m usually a sucker for most basic pop.  But Say So isn’t working for me at all.  It has been getting worse with each and every additional listen.  This song is extremely generic and her voice sucks.  Why are we making this a thing?

– With What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers taking a massive drop this week, it’s safe to say they won’t have another hit this year.  Looks like the reunion honeymoon has finally worn off on everyone.

– It’s nice to see Trampoline still hanging on.  This could potentially repeat on the 2020 Year-End countdown, given it’s longevity.  I still enjoy the song mostly because it’s very unique and I love Chelsea’s voice.  It’s one of the best alternative has to offer last year.

– Two of last week’s debuts (The Bones and No Judgement) didn’t do much of anything in their second week of their respective tenures.  Only The Bones jumped, but it was a mere two spots.  We’ll see how next week plays out for both songs.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Loco Contigo by DJ Snake featuring J Balvin and Tyga
• July by Noah Cyrus featuring Leon Bridges
• Modern Loneliness by Lauv
• Sunday Best by Surfaces
• Nice To Meet Ya by Meghan Trainor featuring Nicki Minaj

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Hotline Bling by Drake
• Same Old Love by Selena Gomez
• Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande
• Yummy by Justin Bieber
• Only Girl (In The World) by Rihanna
• Radioactive by Imagine Dragons
• Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug
• Highest In The Room by Travis Scott
• Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding
• Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani
• Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay
• You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift
  

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
19. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
18. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
17. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas
16. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin

1 – Bad:
15. Say So by Doja Cat
14. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby
13. Memories by Maroon 5

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
12. You Should Be Sad by Halsey
11. Rare by Selena Gomez

4 – Good:
10. Circles by Post Malone

5 – Great:
9. Know Your Worth by Khalid featuring Disclosure
8. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish
7. Dance Monkey by Tones & I
6. Heartless by The Weeknd
5. Adore You by Harry Styles
4. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez
3. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga
2. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa

Total Score: 59/100 = 59% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana (1991)

Most Missed Song: Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay featuring Beyoncé

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: The Other Girl by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Halsey

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: You Say by Lauren Daigle (#22)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
2. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
3. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga
4. Adore You by Harry Styles
5. Good As Hell by Lizzo

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
2. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
3. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas
4. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
5. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Here With Me by Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES: Although this was a hit on Hits 1, it didn’t fare better anywhere else.  I like what this song is going for lyrically and Lauren Mayberry put on an exceptional performance vocally.

Low Key by Ally Brooke featuring Tyga: True, I’m very fond of Ally Brooke.  But this was not a good start for her.  Tyga doesn’t add anything to the song and her voice is underwhelming.  And the message that it sends?  Yeah, that’s a no.  It’s a good thing she got better with songs like Higher and No Good.

Don’t Call Me Up by Mabel: While not memorable, it’s quite a catchy song.  Mabel does show her potential vocally.  Too bad we haven’t heard much from her since.