Hello, fam!  I swear, time just keeps going by faster and faster.  We’re at the end of March (already) and April is fast approaching.  I want to do something special for your guys on this blog.  I’ll try to come up with something soon.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee (#37)
• Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (#39) [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo
40. Up by Cardi B (#40) [=]
39. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#35) [–4] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
38. Talk About Love by Zara Larsson featuring Young Thug (#38) [=]
37. Star by LOOΠΔ (#36) [–1]
36. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Turk (#32) [–4]
35. Skin by Sabrina Carpenter (#34) [–1]
34. Lil Bit by Nelly featuring Florida Georgia Line (DEBUT)
33. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#30) [–3]
32. Heat Waves by Glass Animals (#33) [+1]
31. The Business by Tiësto (#31) [=]
30. Kings & Queens by Ava Max (#26) [–4]
29. Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira (#29) [=]
28. Beautiful Mistakes by Maroon 5 featuring Megan Thee Stallion (DEBUT)
27. Lasting Lover by Sigala featuring James Arthur (#27) [=]
26. Bang! by AJR (#23) [–3]
25. Dakiti by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez (#25) [=]
24. Best Friend by Saweetie featuring Doja Cat (#28) [+4]
23. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper (#20) [–3]
22. Lifestyle by Jason Derulo featuring Adam Levine (#21) [–1]
21. Goosebumps (Remix) by Travis Scott featuring HVME (#22) [+1]
20. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI (#24) [+4]
19. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby (#14) [–5]
18. Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear (#18) [=]
17. Willow by Taylor Swift (#17) [=]
16. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (#11) [–5] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
15. We’re Good by Dua Lipa (#19) [+4]
14. Golden by Harry Styles (#13) [–1]
13. My Head & My Heart by Ava Max (#15) [+2]
12. Anyone by Justin Bieber (#16) [+4]
11. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke (#12) [+1]
10. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd (#9) [–1]
9. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear (#10) [+1]
8. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior (#8) [=] [Spent 10 Weeks At #1]
7. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae (#7) [=]
6. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug (#3) [–3]
5. Positions by Ariana Grande (#5) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
4. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney (#6) [+2]
3. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish (#4) [+1]
2. 34+35 by Ariana Grande (#2) [=] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
1. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo (#1) [=] [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (3^rd of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Tie between Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby and Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (–5)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Tie between Best Friend by Saweetie featuring Doja Cat, WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI, We’re Good by Dua Lipa, and Anyone by Justin Bieber (+4)

New Entrants:
– I have not been impressed with the debuts we’ve gotten for the past few weeks.  This week is probably the worst so far this year as we get two pretty bad songs entering the countdown.  We’ll start with the worst debut of the week as Nelly makes his return, and he collaborates with bro-country band Florida Georgia Line (again) in Lil Bit.  We haven’t heard much from Nelly since he gave us The Fix back in 2015, which wasn’t really to my liking.  As far as his new single goes, it’s straight up garbage.  The last time they did a collaboration together was back in 2013 with Cruise, which I absolutely loathe with a burning passion.  Lil Bit is just as bad, maybe even worse.  This is not country music in the slightest.  It’s basically a hip-hop song that tries to be country and it fails miserably.  The guitar lacking energy , the gutless beat, and the rest of the instrumentation leaving a lot to be desired makes for a poorly produced song.  Florida Georgia Line as a group sound like crap as their vocals are underwhelming and they show that they have no charisma or personality of any kind whatsoever.  Nelly also sounds like shit with his verses and in one of the lines, he mentions how he calls himself the GOAT.  Just no.  It’s just lousy songwriting at it’s finest.  This is basically what I would call not fun and honestly not something worth my damn time because it lacks uniqueness of any sort, there’s no vocal chemistry to speak of, and the instrumentation that is rotten to the core.  In other words, this is a skip.  NEXT!

– Our second (and final) debut of the week isn’t any better.  It comes from the return of Maroon 5 because why the hell not.  They team up with Megan Thee Stallion in Beautiful Mistakes.  With Adam Levine and company not impressing me with their music in recent years (other than What Lovers Do), I expected this song to not be to my liking and sure enough, I was proven right.  Adam sounds okay but for the most part, he is underwhelming vocally, especially in the chorus.  There’s no band here, which has been a recurring theme with their music for the past five or so years.  Megan Thee Stallion didn’t do anything to help save the song.  My point is further proven as their is no vocal chemistry between the two.  There are parts where she sounds okay, but it leaves so much to be desired.  Basically, her talent went to waste here, just like how Kendrick Lamar wasted his in the god-awful Don’t Wanna Know.  I knew right off the bat even before it’s released that she would waste her talent in this song and I was right.  Simply put, this is pretty bad and it’s no shock considering I haven’t been fond of what Maroon 5 have had to offer lately.  I want something more along the lines of their older singles and some of V and Overexposed.  Not this.

Best Debut Of The Week: Yeah, there’s nothing good here to select from.

Beautiful Misblurbs
– Our two exits consist of songs that won’t really be missed by me.  Savage Love was overdue to leave for sometime.  ily (i love you baby) I did tolerate for a while, but I could never fully get into the song.  It was missing something that makes it special.  But I do wish both of them were replaced by better songs because like I just mentioned, I haven’t been fond of the new arrivals entering the countdown lately.

– Our debuts from last week barely did anything in it’s second week here, with only Heat Waves jumping one spot.  Not that I’m complaining since neither of those songs are really any good.

– So….Anyone just keeps getting better with each listen.  I’m glad Justin redeemed himself with this song.  I decided to hear most of his new album Justice and there were some songs that I liked.  Also, the album looks like it’s headed for #1 on the Billboard 200.  I’m fine with that since it’s much better than Changes, which sucked for the most part.

– Eck.  Put Your Records On has entered the Top 5.  Just no.  Why it keeps gaining momentum is beyond me.  The fact that the cover of Corinne Bailey Rae’s song is a much bigger hit than the original is just not right.   Who the hell is supporting this?  Seriously, it’s time to stop this.

– On the other hand, we have Therefore I Am continuing to reach new peaks as it has it #3 this week.  I’m holding out hope that it can hit #1, but one can dream at this point.  Also, Billie just decided to go blonde this past week.  Wow.  She looks so different with her new hairstyle.  Cool stuff!

–  It was, of course, expected that Driver’s License would hold the #1 for the second week in a row.  No way it was going to hit #1 and immediately leave that spot.  It’s still going strong elsewhere.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Astronaut In The Ocean by Masked Wolf
• Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak)
• Bad Girl by Daya
• Way Less Sad by AJR
• Good Days by SZA

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Break My Heart by Dua Lipa
• Jealous by Nick Jonas
• I Feel It Coming by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
• Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul
• Roxanne by Arizona Zervas
• Body by Megan Thee Stallion
• Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne Marie
• What’s My Name? by Rihanna featuring Drake
• Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
• Crazy In Love by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z
• Only Girl (In The World) by Rihanna
• I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI
19. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
18. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug

1 – Bad:
17. We’re Good by Dua Lipa
16. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke

2 – Mediocre:
15. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco

3 – Decent:
14. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae
13. 34+35 by Ariana Grande

4 – Good:
12. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear
11. Willow by Taylor Swift
10. Positions by Ariana Grande

5 – Great:
9. Anyone by Justin Bieber
8. Golden by Harry Styles
7. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo
6. My Head & My Heart by Ava Max
5. Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear
4. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
3. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
2. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:s
1. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd

Total Score: 68/100 = 68% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: To Love You More by Céline Dion (1995) (Happy 53rd Birthday to her!)

Most Missed Song: Bad Romance by Lady Gaga

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Angels Like You by Miley Cyrus

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#1)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
2. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby
3. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
4. Therfore I Am by Billie Eilish
5. Kings & Queens by Ava Max

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Skin by Sabrina Carpenter
2. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI
3. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
4. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
5. Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
The Bones by Maren Morris: I was pleasantly surprised when this became a sleeper hit last year.  But it makes me happy because it is divine.  Although I prefer some other singles from GIRL including the title track, everything about this song works to pefrection.

No Judgement by Niall Horan: Not as upbeat as Nice To Meet Ya and Small Talk, but it still shows that Niall is good with his solo music.  I quite like the instrumentation here and everything else is good both vocally and lyrically.

Hello, fam!  I finally got my first Year-End post out.  In case you’ve missed it, you can check it our right here. I have more Year-End posts coming within the next few weeks.  Also, March Madness is officially upon us.  As a sports fanatic, I plan on watching all the games this weekend.  So yeah, it’s gonna be wild.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Dynamite by BTS (#38)
• SO DONE by The KID LAROI (#39)
• Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#40) [Spent 1 Week At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: 34+35 by Ariana Grande
40. Up by Cardi B (DEBUT)
39. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (#36) [–3] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
38. Talk About Love by Zara Larsson featuring Young Thug (DEBUT)
37. ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee (#34) [–3]
36. Star by LOOΠΔ (#37) [+1]
35. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#32) [–3] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
34. Skin by Sabrina Carpenter (#35) [+1]
33. Heat Waves by Glass Animals (DEBUT)
32. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Durk (#30) [–2]
31. The Business by Tiësto (#33) [+2]
30. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#28) [–2]
29. Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira (#31) [+2]
28. Best Friend by Saweetie featuring Doja Cat (#29) [+1]
27. Lasting Lover by Sigala featuring James Arthur (#27) [=]
26. Kings & Queens by Ava Max (#23) [–3]
25. Dákiti by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez (#26) [+1]
24. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI (#25) [+1]
23. Bang! by AJR (#21) [–2]
22. Goosebumps (Remix) by Travis Scott featuring HVME (#22) [=]
21. Lifestyle by Jason Derulo featuring Adam Levine (#24) [+3]
20. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper (#17) [–3]
19. We’re Good by Dua Lipa (#20) [+1]
18. Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear (#19) [+1]
17. Willow by Taylor Swift (#18) [+1]
16. Anyone by Justin Bieber (#15) [–1]
15. My Head & My Heart by Ava Max (#16) [+1]
14. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby (#10) [–4]
13. Golden by Harry Styles (#14) [+1]
12. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke (#13) [+1]
11. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (#8) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
10. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear (#12) [+2]
9. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd (#11) [+2]
8. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior (#7) [–1] [Spent 10 Weeks At #1]
7. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae (#9) [+2]
6. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney (#6) [=]
5. Positions by Ariana Grande (#4) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
4. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish (#5) [+1]
3. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug (#2) [–1]
2. 34+35 by Ariana Grande (#1) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
1. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo (#3) [+2] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (2^nd of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby (–4)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Lifestyle by Jason Derulo featuring Adam Levine (+3)

New Entrants:
– Three not so interesting debuts this week.  Up first is the return of Cardi B with her new single Up.  We haven’t seen much of Cardi B since 2019 when Please Me was a hit.  There was also WAP with Megan Thee Stallion, but I won’t get into that one right now.  I can’t say I care for this one.  I’ll say that Cardi B is talented and she has some good songs I like.  But I’m not particularly sold on Up for the most part.  Something about the song doesn’t click with me the say way WAP did.  There are moments where Cardi B shows some of her talent.  But it feels a little forceful in some parts and while the production is fine, it’s missing something that makes it special.  I don’t know.  Yeah, I’m a little indifferent on this one.

– Next, we have the return of Zara Larsson who is collaborating with Young Thug in her new single Talk About Love. I adore Zara Larsson and her music is very much underrated (at least in the US). I can’t say I’m enjoying Talk About Love at the moment. Her voice is pretty good here, but I’m not too fond of Young Thug. He doesn’t really add anything to the song. The production is okay, but there are ways in which it can be improved upon because the beat isn’t too interesting. Overall, the song is pretty decent. But I know Zara is capable of better because Never Forget You was a divine work of art. Talk About Love doesn’t really live up to that, unfortunately.

– Finally, we have alt band Glass Animals making their first appearance on the AT40 countdown with Heat Waves.  Having listened to the song in its entirety, I don’t really see the appeal.  I’m sorry.  I mean, I can get what the song is going for.  It’s about staying strong through the bad times and we’ve seen a lot of songs about those.  But it wasn’t executed in the best way possible.  I don’t like the production as it has a brittle beat and weaker instrumentation.  The vocals aren’t very good here either.  I know I feel alone in this opinion, but I really don’t see anything interesting about it nor is it special.  I’m sorry, but I find this to be underwhelming at best.  It’s in blue, but it’s much closer to red.

Best Debut Of The Week: Hmm…I guess Talk About Love by Zara Larsson featuring Young Thug

Talk About Blurbs
– In terms of our exits this week, good riddance to the mess that is of SO DONE by The KID LAROI. That one should’ve never debuted. As of right now, it’s set to appear in My Bottom 10 Songs of 2021. We’ll see. There’s also Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi which was long overdue. All I have to say about that is it’s about damn time. The only other exit happens to be Dynamite by BTS, which was a bop and I enjoyed it while it lasted. I’m glad it became BTS’s biggest hit and I’ll definitely revisit that one again. So farwell, Dynamite. It’s been a fun ride. You will be missed.

– I would appreciate if songs like Girl Like Me and Best Friend not move up any further, especially the former.  That one has only been getting worse with each and every additional listen.  Preferably, they both need to drop at the very least.

– Bang! also needs to go as well.  I really don’t know who is still supporting this song.

– My Head & My Heart has only been getting better with each listen.  Hopefully, it can continue it’s momentum.  It would be nice to see Ava Max getting another hit.

– Unfortunately, we saw Levitating out of the Top 10 for good.  It’s too bad this never ended up becoming a #1 song, but at least it was another hit for Dua.  I’m hoping this’ll end up sticking around for a little bit longer.  I still adore that song as opposed to her other song (We’re Good for the matter).

– In Top 10 news, we have My Ex’s Best Friend and Save Your Tears both enter that region.  I’m very thrilled to see Save Your Tears become another Top 10 hit for The Weeknd.  He’s been killing it this past year.  I hope to see it enter the Top 5 soon.

– And finally, we’ve come to our #1.  I saw it coming from a mile away.  It was of course expected that Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo is at #1 because it’s a massive success elsewhere.  I’ll say that it’s a pretty divine song and it’s refreshing to see a great song at the top after four weeks of middling #1’s. I’m almost certain that it’ll hog the #1 spot for a long while.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Lil Bit by Nelly featuring Florida Georgia Line
• Good Days by SZA
• Astronaut In The Ocean by Masked Wolf
• Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic (starring Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak)
• Bad Girl by Daya
• Beautiful Mistakes by Maroon 5 featuring Megan Thee Stallion

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Him & I by G-Eazy featuring Halsey
• Sugar by Maroon 5
• Stay by Zedd featuring Alessia Cara
• Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding
• Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
• Unforgettable by French Montana featuring Swae Lee
• Diamonds by Sam Smith
• Happier by Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE
• Yeah! by Usher featuring Ludacris and Lil Jon
• Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
19. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
18. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug

1 – Bad:
17. We’re Good by Dua Lipa
16. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke

2 – Mediocre:
15. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco
3 – Decent:
14. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae
13. 34+35 by Ariana Grande
12. Willow by Taylor Swift

4 – Good:
11. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear
10. Positions by Ariana Grande

5 – Great:
9. Anyone by Justin Bieber
8. Golden by Harry Styles
7. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo
6. My Head & My Heart by Ava Max
5. Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear
4. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
3. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
2. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:s
1. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd

Total Score: 67/100 = 67% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Stayin’ Alive by The Bee Gees (1977)

Most Missed Song: HUMBLE by Kendrick Lamar

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Angels Like You by Miley Cyrus

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#1)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
2. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby
3. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
4. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
5. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Skin by Sabrina Carpenter
2. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI
3. Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira
4. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
5. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Sugar by BROCKHAMPTON: I like how these guys were able to go in depth about being in a relationship.  Everything else works well to perfection.

The Other Side by SZA featuring Justin Timberlake: An interesting collaboration here.  These guys have good chemistry here and I love the beat.  It’s a shame that this ended up flopping because it’s one of SZA’s best songs, along with her feature in All The Stars.

Stupid Love by Lady Gaga: Ah yes, Lady’s Gaga big return.  Interestingly, this took place a year after Shallow gained popularity in large part thanks to Shallow winning the 2019 Oscars.

Hello, fam!  It’s been a long time coming, but my first Year-End post for 2020 is finally here!  We’ve completed the first year of the new decade.  Obviously, 2020 has been a rough year for all of us, what with the pandemic and the fact that it led to cancelled events, parties, weddings, and concerts.  It’s just that kind of year.  It seemed like yesterday we were celebrating all of those special events and now we can’t seem to get together because crowds.  When we rung in 2020, we had no idea how different things were going to be.  But now here we are.  I’m hoping things will get much better for all of us in 2021 and beyond.

Putting all that aside, it’s now time for me to dive right in to my Year-End posts!  Over the next several weeks, I’ll be doing a series of Year-End posts that will cover many different topics. All of this will be time-consuming as I will go into much detail.  But if all goes as planned, I may end up getting this done within a month or so.  But we’ll see what ultimately happens.  With that in mind, I’m ready to get the ball rolling.

The first thing that I’ll be doing (or in this case, my least favorite thing to do or whatever you want to call it) is counting down My Bottom 10 Songs of 2020.  We did get plenty of good music like we do every year.  You’ll see me countdown some of my favorite songs of 2020 later on.  But of course, there were also plenty of shitty songs mixed in as well, so not everything is all positive.  Here, I’ll be discussing several different reasons as to why I legitimately despise those songs.  The list applies to songs that have made both the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown and the American Top 40, which I review on a weekly basis.

What I’m going to do first is talk about my dishonorable mentions.  Don’t get me wrong, I disliked these songs below.  But they weren’t bad enough to be able to make my Bottom 10.  Here, I’ll be discussing why I feel that way about these songs.  Of course, this wouldn’t really be a Year-End list if I didn’t have any honorable mentions (or dishonorable in this case) to talk about, now wouldn’t it?  So without further adieu, it is now time for me to present you my dishonorable mentions:

• AJR – Bang!

We’ll start things off with a band that is hated by many YouTube critics (and myself).  AJR have proven to be just that.  They have not been impressing me with their music.  Almost every single they’ve released for the past several years has been crap and Bang! is no exception.  I don’t like the obnoxious piano that starts off and the instrumentation is very loud (and not in a good way).  The chorus is annoying, especially when the awful production kicks in.  And the lyrics are shitty as usual.  I’m not thrilled that this is becoming a hit outside of Hits 1.  I’m sure this’ll end up being on next year’s Year-End list on many charts.  But oh well.  Can’t really do anything about that.

• AJR – Dear Winter

Oh, great.  More AJR.  I’ll say this is better than the majority of their singles.  But it’s not saying a whole lot.  At least it’s not overproduced like Bang! and many others.  All it is is basically an acoustic guitar.  That’s really the only good thing about it.  I can’t get on board with his voice mainly because of his falsetto and the lyrics are still no good.  Yeah, I’m not fond of this (to the surprise of nobody).

• Bebe Rexha featuring Doja Cat – Baby I’m Jealous

Here, we have two of these artists coming together to make a shitty song.  I don’t get what the song is going for here.  It’s basically about being jealous of one another because of being on social media flirting with someone else and what not.  But they really should’ve taken a different approach because it was not executed very well at all.  The beat is terrible.  Bebe is drowned in auto-tune in the chorus and she sounds underwhelming for the rest of the song.  Doja Cat barely adds anything to the song as her verses are obnoxious.  Simply put, this is garbage.  NEXT!

• The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin – RITMO (Bad Boys For Life)

The big return of The Black Eyed Peas, and a terrible one at that.  Underwhelming reegae production, nonsensical lyrics, and awful verses we get from these artists makes this an unpleasant listen to say the least.  How we let this become a hit, I’ll never understand.

• Blackbear – Me & Ur Ghost

I’m not very fond of Blackbear and this song is one of many good reasons as to why.  I’ll admit the production  and the groove is very decent here.  But I just don’t like his voice here.  He’s basically the anchor that’s weighing this song down from being better than it is.  As for the lyrics, it leaves quite a bit to be desired.  So yeah, I’m not feeling this.  NEXT!

• BLACKPINK featuring Selena Gomez – Ice Cream

I remembered first listening to this song when it came out and thinking, “Wow, this is a flaming hot mess.” In hindsight, I probably should’ve placed this in My Bottom 10. But there was so much worse that came along during the year. It’s still a shitty song no matter how you slice it. I don’t get the appeal here. The verses we get from them are awful and Selena herself adds virtually nothing to the song. Plus, terrible production with trap elements and asinine lyrics doesn’t make it a fun listen for me. I’m not finding any redeeming qualities here, so I’d rather not with this song.

• Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My

Romance was not a very good album for the most part and it further proves that Camila is just not a very good singer.  My Oh My is another good example of such.  I’m not fond of her vocals and the production leaves a lot to be desired.  DaBaby doesn’t add anything to the song at all.  So yeah, I’m not a fan.  NEXT!

• CYN – Drinks

I don’t remember much about this song other than it being forgettable.  But hearing it again, it’s worse than what I remembered. Basically, it’s underwhelming all around.  Her voice is not good.  It’s just her whispering and there’s barely any singing going on.  Other than the beat, the production is virtually nonexistent.  So yeah, I’m not fond of this at all.  She didn’t really make a good first impression here.

• Demi Lovato – I Love Me

I honestly was expecting more out of Demi Lovato when she made her comeback.  I’ve been a fan of her for quite a while and she’s made plenty of songs that I’ve enjoyed.  But I Love Me has proven to not be one of them.  Something about the song just didn’t click with me and I don’t like what it’s going for.  The production is pretty weird, and not in a good way.   The chorus is pretty underwhelming, especially for Demi.  She’s a good singer, but I’m not fond of her vocal performance here.  Yeah, this was a disappointment overall.  I know she’s better than this.

• Diplo featuring Jonas Brothers – Lonely

Believe it or not, I actually forgot this song existed (and rightfully so).  It’s probably one of the worst songs Diplo has put out (outside of his collaboration with LSD, which was terrible).  The guitar is okay here.  But then it goes to shit when the drop comes in after the chorus.  It’s messy and the rest of the production is incredibly generic.  The Jonas Brothers hardly contribute to anything as their vocals are underwhelming, especially in the chorus.  This was not a good display of talent for both parties.  NEXT!

• DJ Khaled featuring Drake – POPSTAR

This song is not to my liking at all.  DJ Khaled is talented and he’s made quite a few songs that I enjoyed.  I have mixed feelings on Drake, but at least he has talent.  But POPSTAR was not a good display of talent for both of them.  The production is lifeless.  The lyrical content is nonsensical.  There’s nothing to it and they didn’t do well with the verses.  So yeah, I’m not fond of this.

• Doja Cat – Say So

I think I’m ready to say that Doja Cat is one of my least favorite artists of 2020.  I tried to get into her music, I really did.  But it did not work out for me at all.  This song is just the pure definition of generic pop music.  Bland production, weak vocals from Doja Cat, and unsettling verses just doesn’t make it a fun listen for me.  And the fact that we let this become a hit only makes matters worse.

• Drake – Toosie Slide

I’ll say this song isn’t as bad now, in large part because worse music came along this year and makes this song look better in comparison.  But this is still pretty bad.  Underwhelming beat, terrible lyrics and the verses doesn’t make for a fun listen.  Like I said, Drake is talented and has made some stuff I like for sure.  But this was not a good display of talent.  Let’s move on.

• Ellie Goulding featuring Blackbear – Worry About Me

On the note of other artists who have disappointed me in 2020, we have Ellie Goulding.  Yeah, this is just a mess.  The production is terrible.  I don’t like the beat here and everything else is unsettling.  Ellie sounds like shit all throughout the song and Blackbear didn’t contribute at all.  I’m in love with her music and she made a bunch of gems that I’ve enjoyed over the years, such as Lights and Love Me Like You Do.  Even Close To Me, despite not being her best, is still a really good song and it barely missed out on making my My Top 10 for 2019.  But Worry About Me is basically Ellie Goulding hitting rock bottom.

• French Montana featuring Cardi B, Post Malone, and Ryssian – Writing On The Wall

I remember when French Montana gave us Unforgettable back in 2017.  It was a huge favorite of mine and I still enjoy it to this day.  I can’t say that for Writing On The Wall, unfortunately.  The artists hardly make any contribution here because they show virtually no charisma and no personality whatsoever.  French Montana himself disappointed me with his vocals.  Nothing about the production works here as the beat is gutless and the guitar is weak.  As someone who adores Unforgettable, this is huge disappointment for French Montana and ultimately forgettable at best.  NEXT!

• Future featuring Drake – Life Is Good

Blech.  Do I even need to explain this?  I was this close to putting this in my Bottom 10 just because of how bad it sounds.  This is basically the epitome of uninteresting rap music.  Only here it takes a song from Drake and it combines into one with different beats.  They should’ve taken a different approach here because it sounds like crap.  They show no personality here, and the beat is horrendous.  So yeah, this is garbage.  NEXT!

• Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth – I Hope

It’s crazy how much my opinion has changed on this song.  I actually liked at first mainly because I thought Gabby sounded pretty good and I liked Charlie’s contribution.  But now I can’t stand it anymore.  Her voice is drowned in auto-tune and I don’t like the lyrics here.  I’ll explain more about it in a future post.  But yeah, this was not a good first impression here.

• Lauv – Modern Loneliness

I have not been very fond of what Lauv has had to offer.  Almost every single he’s released has not been very good at all and Modern Loneliness is no exception.  It’s not nearly as annoying as I Like Me Better and I’m So Tired, both of which were a mess in their own unique way.  But the song is is flavorless, bland, and just downright underwhelming.  Lauv does not sound good, the piano is generic, and the lyrics leave a lot to be desired.  So yeah, it’s another in a long line of mediocre songs from him.

• Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go

A follow-up to Someone You Loved, which was my #2 least favorite song of 2019 and for a good reason.  His voice was just god-awful throughout the song.  I can say Before You Go is better than its predecessor, but that’s not saying much.  The instrumentation is much better and I like the rest of the production.  But I still cannot get on board with Lewis’s voice.  His vocals aren’t very good here and the lyrics leave a lot to be desired.  I remember liking this at first.  But now, not so much.

• Lil Mosey – Blueberry Faygo

This is another in a long line of mediocre rap songs that dominated the charts throughout 2020.  I’ll never understand how we let this become a hit.  He’s just spouting nonsense and I don’t like his voice here.  Not much else beyond that.  Moving on…

• Lizzo – Cuz I Love You

I’ve been impressed with what Lizzo has had to offer in 2019 and 2020.  I fell in love with songs such as Juice and Good As Hell, both of which were huge favorites of mine.  But Cuz I Love You was not one of those songs unfortunately.  Her obnoxious yelling and loud instrumentation doesn’t make this a fun listen for me.  I get what the song is going for, but it was not executed very well.  Overall, this was a poor follow-up to her previous singles.  She is capable of much better.

• Maroon 5 – Memories

This is another in a long line of underwhelming singles from Adam Levine and company.  I’d say this is the most boring song they’ve released.  I’m not the type of music critic that would classify songs as “boring”.  But really, that’s what this song basically is.  What makes me think this way is the production.  It’s lifeless in every sense of the word.  Adam’s vocals are underwhelming.  He sounds very unenthusiastic here.  Overall, it’s not a good song and it’s no surprise considering that they’ve disappointed me lately.

• Powfu featuring Beabadoobee – Coffee For Your Head

This is quite possibly the strangest song I’ve heard in a while.  To keep it short, I don’t really like the background vocals used here.  The verses are underwhelming and there’s not a lot to the production.  Overall, it’s just not good alternative music.  I’m sorry, but I can’t get into this.  NEXT!

• Saweetie – My Type

Despite what the name of the song implies, this is definitely not my type of song that I want to hear.  Asinine lyrics, terrible production, and Saweetie sounding like crap easily makes this forgettable to say the least.  I don’t know what she was going for here, but it did not work out to my liking at all.  NEXT!

• Trevor Daniel – Falling

Here, we have a song that was actually released in 2018, but gained momentum in 2020 because Tik Tok.  To say the least, this was not a good first impression.  I don’t like what the song is going for and the sentiment is quite dull here.  He basically sounds like Post Malone except he doesn’t have the energy or personality to pull it off.  The lyrics are no good and some of the lines are unsettling.  So yeah, I’m not a fan.

That covers my dishonorable mentions.  Those were songs I disliked, but they weren’t bad enough to make the list.  I’m sure there was appeal to some of these.  But of course I couldn’t get into them.  Now, I’m ready do dive right in and talk about My Bottom 10 Songs of 2020.  Are you ready?  Let’s go!

10. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne
Kicking off the Top 10 is a artist who tried to make a good first impression, but failed miserably.  Arizona Zervas has proven to be such as this song was a mess.  Basically, this song talks about a girl who’s into partying and what not.  He really should’ve taken a different approach because it was poorly executed in every way.  The lyrics are asinine in every sense of the word and the beat is putrid.  But the single biggest problem is that his voice is heavily drowned in auto-tune.  Yet despite all of this, it became a massive hit peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 (#2 on the AT40 and #9 on Hits 1) because why the hell not.  I honestly don’t get why people bought into this.  This just blows on pretty much every level you can think of.

9. Doja Cat featuring Gucci Mane – Like That
Doja Cat has made herself known in 2020 and I’ve not been impressed with what she had to offer.  Say So was extremely generic and bland.  But if anything, I’d rather hear that song than it’s successor, Like That.  Dear Jesus, this song blows.  The beat is obnoxious.  I honestly can’t think of any song right now that has worse production (besides the ones on this list).  Whatever they were going for here did not work out to my or anyone else’s liking.  Her voice isn’t just underwhelming, it’s drowned in auto-tune and the chopped-up vocals don’t sound good either.  And Gucci Mane hardly adds anything to the song.  In fact, he just makes it worse.  Fortunately, it ended up flopping.  I’m sure if Doja Cat makes anymore music, it’ll be a lot better than this.

8. The Black Eyed Peas featuring Ozuna and J. Rey Soul – Mamacita
In my dishonorable mentions, I talked about The Black Eyed Peas’s comeback single RITMO (Bad Boys For Life).  That song was pretty awful.  I didn’t think they would bring anything worse in 2020.  I was mistaken.  They give us Mamacita, and my goodness this is a mess.  There’s no other way to describe it.  It’s basically similar to its predecessor, except worse.  The reggae production is scrambled in more ways than one.  They sound like shit throughout the song and the verses…eck.  Overall, this is just awful and it’s a new low for them.  Thankfully, it never took off unlike it’s predecessor.  NEXT!

7. Tayla Parx featuring Florida Georgia Line – Fight
I’m sure everyone remembers the 2018 hit Meant To Be, which I absolutely detested with a burning passion.  Trap production mi xing with country made that song an unplesant listen.  Two years later, we have another attempt at pop country in the form of Fight.  There is no appeal here.  The production is just terrible with trap mixed with country elements (the instrumentation is pretty bad as well).  The lyrics are nonsensical.  And here we go again with F.G.L. taking over the entire song with terrible vocals.  What makes this so much worse is Tayla Parx herself.  At least in Meant To Be, Bebe Rexha showed some personality and talent.  But here, Tayla doesn’t have any of that.  She sounds so flat and her voice is heavily drowned in auto-tune.  Yeah, this blows.  NEXT!

6. Meghan Trainor featuring Nicki Minaj – Nice To Meet Ya
Over the past two years, Meghan Trainor hasn’t really been impressing me with her music.  She recently released her new album, Treat Myself and I was not very fond of it at all.  There were many songs that I legitimately disliked.  One in particular is Wave which features Mike Sabath.  My goodness, that one is just a mess.  It’s quite possibly her worst song in my opinion.  Here, we have her collaboration with Nicki Minaj in Nice To Meet Ya, which is my second least favorite single from her.  She tried to go for something different when she collaborated with Nicki.  But it did not work out to my or anyone else’s liking.  There’s no chemistry at all between the two and in the chorus, they’re both DRENCHED in auto-tune.  Their verses have no momentum of any kind whatsoever. The lyrics are basically nonsense.  Not helping matters is the shitty production, which has a terrible beat and the whispering of the words “nice to meet ya” which comes after the chorus is rather unsettling.   I still hold somewhat of an unpopular opinion on her music and there are a few songs that I liked in recent years such as Let You Be Right, Treat Myself, and All The Ways.  But Nice To Meet Ya is another new low for Meghan and it shows just how far she has fallen.

5. Diplo featuring Morgan Wallen and Julia Michaels – Heartless
This song has actually been around since 2019, but it gained a bit of momentum in 2020 all thanks to the remix.  After Diplo gave us Lonely which I didn’t like as I’ve referenced in my dishonorable mentions above, I had no idea how low he was going to go.  But sure enough, he gives us Heartless.  There is no appeal.  The trap production mixed with country elements makes for a poorly produced song.  Diplo’s work here is lazy as shit and he puts forth no effort to make the song any better.  The vocals are pretty bad, especially Julia’s who makes it so much worse in the remix.  Yeah, this blows.  I’m not sure what they were going for here.  But they should’ve taken a different approach as everything about this is a mess.  This is easily Diplo at rock bottom.  NEXT!

4. Justin Bieber – Yummy
So, I could go on and on about just how fucking abysmal his comeback single was.  And to think, it was his first solo single since Purpose.  That album showed how much he improved vocally.  I was hoping for something more along the lines of that album.  And yet I’ve waited four years just for this?  My goodness, man.  I honestly can’t think of a worse comeback single than this.  Yet for some reason, he pushed it hard to the masses so that it would be #1.  It only peaked at #2.  But anyway, onto the song itself.  It’s literally mess in every fucking way.  He’s just spouting nonsenses about a girl who has that “yummy, yummy” and what not.  That line is among one of the worst lines I’ve ever heard in my entire life and the rest of the lyrics…Blech.  Just no.  I cringe every time I look at the lyrical content in this song.  But even beyond that, we have Justin doing a Chris Brown impression and he fails MISERABLY at that because he showed absolutely no personality of any kind whatsoever and he’s DRENCHED in auto-tune.  And don’t even get me fucking started on the production.  It has trap elements and there is no melody at all.  Yeah, what a mess of a song that is.  But despite that, he’s had much worse, as you will soon find out…

3. Justin Bieber featuring Quavo – Intentions
Blech.  After his predecessor tanked hard (and rightfully so), he brings another new song in its stead.  And holy shit, this is even worse.  Of course this ended up becoming a hit despite it being god awful because why the hell not.  I took one listen of this and I gave it fair shot.  But this is just terrible.  The songwriting is an absolute mess.  The production is incredibly bland with trap elements and no melody.  Quavo was not a good fit at all.  He barely adds anything to the song.  And here we go again with Justin doing a impression of Chris Brown (and failing miserably at it).  Yeah, this is a mess.  It’s nothing more than a way to get chart success because of his popularity.  If this is the direction he intends to take with his music, then I’m good.

2. Surfaces – Sunday Best
Blech.  More like “Sunday Worst” if you ask me.  I cringe at this every time I hear it.  Whether it’s at work or on the radio, it doesn’t matter.  It starts out with obnoxious vocals from these guys and it only gets worse from there.  I knew then that this would not be a fun listen for me.  Sure enough, I was right.  I get that these guys want to talk about being positive.  But it did not work out here as the writing is absolutely embarrassing in every sense of the word and everything else leaves so much to be desired.  The piano sounds like shit right from the start and the percussion is a messy.  Basically, the production is scrambled in more ways than one.  I like alternative music, but not when it’s as shitty as this song.  And this became a sleeper hit worldwide because why the hell not.  I hope to have to never hear this song again because this is lousy from top to bottom.

1. Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer
It comes as no shock that this is my #1 pick for worst song of 2020.  And to be frank, it really wasn’t even close.  I remember from the day Blackbear gave us the monstrosity that is of Do Re Mi back in 2017.  My ears screamed in torture when I first heard it.  Fast-forward to 2020, and he gives us Hot Girl Bummer.  All I can ask is, “why?”  Why would he try to copy what Megan Thee Stallion did with Hot Girl Summer?  I just…I literally have no words.  Here he’s just spouting nonsense about him partying and what not.  I mean, some of those lines just make it harder for me to take an artist seriously.  And even beyond the lyrics, it’s not like everything else is better because it certainly isn’t.  He sounds like complete crap all throughout the song and that chorus makes it unbearable to listen to.  The verses…BLECH.  I honestly can’t think of anyone who put out worse verses than him.  But the production is what also bought this song down for me a lot.  Watered-down synths, terrible melodies, and some other stuff makes things even more unpleasant.  This is just pathetic in every sense of the fucking word.  Easily one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard in my entire life.  Just…blech.

And with that, I’m finally done.  It took a little longer than expected, but it was worth it.  I hope you all enjoyed reading this list.  I have more Year-End posts coming, so stay tuned!  Thank you for taking the time to read this post.  I hope everyone here has a good day!  🙂

Hello, fam.  Today marks the one year anniversary of nearly everything shutting down (whether it be concerts, sports, etc.) due to the pandemic.  I had no idea the type of lifestyle that was in store for us.  Social distancing has become the norm and large gatherings are being frowned upon.   I miss the days of going to concerts and sporting events and all the parties (the last time I’ve been to one was a couple years ago).  We’re still not out of the woods yet.  So, everyone please keep washing your hands and stay safe out there.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Body by Megan Thee Stallion (#21)
• Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles (#40) [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: 34+35 by Ariana Grande
40. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#39) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
39. SO DONE by The Kid LAROI (#35) [–4]
38. Dynamite by BTS (#37) [–1]
37. Star by LOOΠΔ (#38) [+1]
36. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (#34) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
35. Skin by Sabrina Carpenter (DEBUT)
34. ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee (#32) [–2]
33. The Business by Tiësto (DEBUT)
32. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#30) [–2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
31. Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira (#36) [+5]
30. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Durk (#25) [–5]
29. Best Friend by Saweetie featuring Doja Cat (#33) [+4]
28. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#27) [–1]
27. Lasting Lover by Sigala featuring James Arthur (#29) [+2]
26. Dákati by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez (#26) [=]
25. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI (#24) [–1]
24. Lifestyle by Jason Derulo featuring Adam Levine (#28) [+4]
23. Kings & Queens by Ava Max (#22) [–1]
22. Goosebumps (Remix) by Travis Scott featuring HVME (#23) [+1]
21. Bang! by AJR (#18) [–3]
20. We’re Good by Dua Lipa (#31) [+11]
19. Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear (#20) [+1]
18. Willow by Taylor Swift (#19) [+1]
17. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper (#15) [–2]
16. My Head & My Heart by Ava Max (#17) [+1]
15. Anyone by Justin Bieber (#16) [+1]
14. Golden by Harry Styles (#14) [=]
13. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke (#13) [=]
12. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear (#12) [=]
11. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd (#11) [=]
10. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby (#9) [–1]
9. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae (#10) [+1]
8. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (#5) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
7. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior (#7) [=] [Spent 10 Weeks At #1]
6. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney (#8) [+2] 
5. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish (#6) [+1]
4. Positions by Ariana Grande (#2) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
3. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo (#4) [+1]
2. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug (#3) [+1]
1. 34+35 by Ariana Grande (#1) [=] [3^rd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (1^st of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Turk (–5)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: We’re Good by Dua Lipa (+11)

New Entrants:
– Oh boy…I was not looking forward to hearing anymore of Sabrina Carpenter.  But alas, here she is with her worst single to date, in the form of Skin.  What this is is basically a response to Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo, the biggest hit of the year so far.  And this came just a couple weeks after it’s release.  And I recently found out that Joshua Bassett’s single (Lie, Lie, Lie) was also a response to that song.  I won’t go into much detail about it, as it is too time consuming and I want to speed things through.  Now, onto this shitty song.  Sabrina has proven single after single that she is not a good singer and Skin is another good example of such.  She sounds like absolute shit from the very first line and I knew then that this would not be a fun listen.  Her voice in both the pre-chorus and the chorus is DRENCHED in auto-tune.  And don’t even get me fucking started on the lyrics.  “Maybe blonde was the only rhyme”.  No, just no.  That line is very unsettling and the rest…Eck.  Simply put, this song absolutely blows.  You know things are really bad when I prefer to listen to both songs from The KID LAROI.  I don’t think we’ll ever get something more along the lines of Almost Love, which is easily her best song.  Hopefully, it doesn’t stay very long because it is TRASH.

– Now onto the much better debut, and it’s from EDM artist Tiësto with his new single.  It’s been a while since we’ve heard from him.  I believe the last time we saw him was back in 2018 when he gave us Jackie Chan.  Also, his last big hit was I believe back in 2014 with Wasted.  Now, let’s get down to The Business of reviewing that song, shall we?  I do like what the song has to offer.  It’s got a good beat and I adore the production.  Tiësto did a nice job with his work overall.  We also get vocals as well, which sounds good.  I don’t know who the singer exactly is, but I’m sure his voice is fine.  So yeah, it’s a solid song and I hope it sticks around.

Best Debut Of The Week: The Business by Tiësto

Let’s Get Down To Blurbiness
– So we have two exits.  First, there was Body by Megan Thee Stallion which ended up flopping.  No surprise there given that it never really took off elsewhere.  I liked the song, but it’s not something worth crying over.  The most important exit is Watermelon Sugar.  I enjoyed it overall and it became another massive hit for Harry Styles this past year.  It’ll be somewhat missed by me.

– I’m not thrilled by the big jump we get from We’re Good.  I still can’t believe she chose this as a single out of all the songs from Future Nostalgia.  It’s not catchy and it’s not groovy in any way.  It’s just flavorless with an uninteresting beat.  Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised given thatDua Lipais a big name right now.

– Before introducing My Head & My Heart, Ryan Seacrest mentioned that Ava Max’s tour is going to be driven by color and fashion.  Heh, I guess you can say that when she can tour again, everything is going to be colorful.

– Before introducing Anyone, Ryan Seacrest mentioned that Justin Bieber wants to make music that can help comfort anyone.  I’ll have to agree with him on that one because everytime I hear Anyone, I get a little emotional.  It’s a nice and sweet song.  It’s better than his two current representations on the countdown.

–  Therefore I Am reaches a new peak of #5.  It’s not a shock considering that people are still buying into Billie Eilish and her music.  I have no complaints at all about this as I love the song.  I wouldn’t be opposed to it hitting #1 (though I have my doubts given that a certain song has it’s sights set on the #1).

– I don’t really have much else to say other than the fact that the Grammys are going to be this Sunday.  I unfortunately won’t be able to watch given that I have a long day at work tomorrow.  Hopefully, the performances will be exciting.  I’m still disappointed that The Weeknd got snubbed from nominations.

– Also, I just want to say congrats to The Weeknd for making history by having Blinding Lights spend the entire year in the Top 10 on Billboard.  It’s the first song ever to do it.  Congrats, The Weeknd!  🙂

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Lil Bit by Nelly featuring Florida Georgia Line
• Talk About Love by Zara Larsson featuring Young Thug
• Heat Waves by Glass Animals
• Up by Cardi B

Extras/Optional Extras:

• All Of Me by John Legend
• Slow Hands by Niall Horan
• Prisoner by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa
• Roses by SAINt JHN
• Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish
• Don’t Wanna Know by Maroon 5 featuring Kendrick Lamar
• Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande
• Thunder by Imagine Dragons
• Be Kind by Marshmello featuring Halsey
• Locked Out Of Heaven by Bruno Mars
• Take You Dancing by Jason Derulo
• Stitches by Shawn Mendes

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
19. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
18. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug

1 – Bad:
17. We’re Good by Dua Lipa
16. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke

2 – Mediocre:
15. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco

3 – Decent:
14. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae
13. 34+35 by Ariana Grande
12. Willow by Taylor Swift

4 – Good:
11. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear
10. Positions by Ariana Grande

5 – Great:
9. Anyone by Justin Bieber
8. Golden by Harry Styles
7. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo
6. My Head & My Heart by Ava Max
5. Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear
4. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
3. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
2. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:s
1. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd

Total Score: 67/100 = 67% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Disturbia by Rihanna (2008)

Most Missed Song: Pray For Me by The Weeknd featuring Kendrick Lamar

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#1)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
2. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby
3. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
4. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
5. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Skin by Sabrina Carpenter
2. SO DONE by The KID LAROI
3. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI
4. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
5. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Ride It by Regard: Really the only interesting thing I can say about this is that it’s a remix of the song from Jay Sean.  Other than that, there’s really not a whole lot about the song that’s seriously worth caring for.  On that note, he did release follow-up with RAYE in Secrets, which although not that amazing either, is a lot better thant his.  (P.S. I’ve been hearing that a lot at work).

To Die For by Sam Smith: This was actually released on Valentine’s Day last year.  I don’t have much to say about this one.  Sam’s voice is still pretty good and I kinda like the lyrics.  So yeah, good song.  But still pales in comparison to Dancing With A Stranger.

Hello, fam!  March is upon us, and you know what that means.  It’s almost time for March Madness to begin.  It’s going to be a fun ride in college basketball.  I can’t wait to see who wins it all after it was cancelled last year.  Also, we have the Grammys coming up as well after being delayed a couple months ago.  I’ll be watching, and I hope the performances are exciting. So yeah, I’ll be looking forward to that. Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Afterglow by Ed Sheeran (#18)
  
• Diamonds by Sam Smith (#22)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: 34+35 by Ariana Grande
40. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles (#40) [=] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
39. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#38) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
38. Star by LOOΠΔ (DEBUT)
37. Dynamite by BTS (#36) [–1]
36. Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira (#39) [+3]
35. SO DONE by The Kid LAROI (#27) [–8]
34. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (#34) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
33. Best Friend by Saweetie featuring Doja Cat (#35) [+2]
32. ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee (#32) [=]
31. We’re Good by Dua Lipa (DEBUT)
30. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#29) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
29. Lasting Lover by Sigala featuring James Arthur (#33) [+4]
28. Lifestyle by Jason Derulo featuring Adam Levine (#30) [+2]
27. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#26) [–1]
26. Dákati by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez (#28) [+2]
25. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Durk (#24) [–1]
24. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI (#37) [+13] (How is this even okay?!?!)
23. Goosebumps (Remix) by Travis Scott featuring HVME (#31) [+8]
22. Kings & Queens by Ava Max (#19) [–3]
21. Body by Megan Thee Stallion (#21) [=]
20. Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear (#23) [+3]
19. Willow by Taylor Swift (#20) [+1]
18. Bang! by AJR (#12) [–6]
17. My Head & My Heart by Ava Max (#25) [+8]
16. Anyone by Justin Bieber (#17) [+1]
15. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper (#9) [–6]
14. Golden by Harry Styles (#15) [+1]
13. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke (#16) [+3]
12. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear (#13) [+1]
11. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd (#14) [+3] (Get in the Top 10, please!)
10. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae (#10) [=]
9. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby (#6) [–3]
8. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney (#11) [+3] 
7. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior (#5) [–2] [Spent 10 Weeks At #1]
6. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish (#8) [+2]
5. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (#2) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
4. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo (#7) [+3]
3. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug (#4) [+3]
2. Positions by Ariana Grande (#3) [+1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
1. 34+35 by Ariana Grande (#1) [=] [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Circles by Post Malone (7^th And Final Week At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: SO DONE by The KID LAROI (–8)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI (+13) (#NoWords #NotOkay)

New Entrants:
– So, we have two new arrivals on this week’s countdown.  First, we have new K-Pop girl band LOOΠΔ with their single titled Star.  With Dynamite finally dying out elsewhere, it was really only a matter of time until a new K-Pop band would start to gain momentum.  Sure enough, I was right.  I’ve been hearing this song at work and I had to shazam it to see what the title was because I quite liked it upon the first listen.  Turns out it was actually brand new at the time and now we see it gaining some steam.  It’s about dreaming about one’s love and the adventures spent together as well as their feelings.  It’s definitely relatable if you’re in a relationship.  But I myself consider to be single and it doesn’t appear that I’ll find that special someone anytime soon.  It’ll probably be another couple years or so before I start falling in love.  Anyway, onto the rest of the song.  I love the 80’s-style retro beat and the melody that comes with it.  I love the vocals here and these girls shine in the chorus.  In a way, it sort of reminds me of Take On Me by A-Ha.  Yeah, this is such a bop.  I’m looking forward to see it become a hit, which I hope it will.

– So, who’s ready to hear more of Dua Lipa?  You are?  Well, guess what?  I am too.  But unfortunately, she brings us quite possibly her worst single so far.  It’s titled We’re Good.  Out of all the songs from Future Nostalgia, this is the one she chose.  It’s got a tropical beat that I’m not very fond of and the rest of the production isn’t interesting.  Her vocals are underwhelming, especially for Dua.  The only interesting thing I cay say about it is the music video itself, which is based off a scene of Titanic, and I’ll give her that. Other than that, there’s really nothing I like about the song overall.  I get that she was going for something different here.  But this didn’t work out to my liking.  I enjoyed a lot of what her album has had to offer. I love songs like Don’t Start Now, Break My Heart, and Levitating because they’re fast, catchy, and groovy.   We’re Good doesn’t have any of that.  It’s flavorless and bland compared to what she has done before. Yeah, I’m not fond of this and it’s the first song that I legitimately dislike from Dua, which is sad for me to say because she is talented.

Best Debut Of The Week: Star by LOOΠΔ

Shine A Blurb All Through The Night
– So, we have two exits.  First off, Afterglow I wasn’t particularly fond of, so I’m kinda okay with it departing.  As for Diamonds, I loved it from the start and it’s another one of my favorite from Sam Smith, even if it doesn’t quite hit the heights of Dancing With A Stranger.  It wasn’t an outright flop as it did okay here peaking at #10.  But I’m afraid it might get caught in between years seeing as it’s momentum has stalled out and it’ll probably miss the Year-End list.  Oh well.

– I’m kinda hoping that Lasting Lover can die out soon.  I still have the song in blue for now, but that could possibly change.  It’s slowly becoming less interesting with each listen.  Sigala has done much better and I much prefer his older singles than this.

– I’m also hoping that I Hope can seriously leave us soon.  Who is still supporting this song? It has been getting worse with every listen and again, I’m not so sure why I even liked it from the start.  I regret having it in green for a while.  Her voice being drowned in auto-tune and the asinine lyrics aren’t helping matters.

– Blech.  Just when SO DONE has the Biggest Fall Of The Week, we have WITHOUT YOU getting the Biggest Rise Of The Week.  I mean, how is this even okay?!  Not cool.  And yes, you’re reading it right.  Both songs from The KID LAROI are now in orange.  I may have said AJR is annoying in general.  But my goodness, I just cannot stand his voice at all.  It just makes me cringe everytime I hear them both.  Seriously, if we let WITHOUT YOU become a hit, I’ll be pissed.

– On the note of jumps that I’m not very thrilled about, we have Goosebumps taking a quick rise to the Top 30.  Seriously, I don’t know why we’re making it a thing.  This song blows on almost every level you can think of.  Hopefully, it’s momentum doesn’t last very long because this is also not okay.

– Entering the Top 20 this week is both Monsters and My Head & My Heart.  Monsters has been #1 on Hits 1 and I’m glad that All Time Low is finally getting some love.  It’s similar to Panic! At The Disco a couple years ago when High Hopes became a hit.  Also, Ava Max replaces herself as her successor swapped places with Kings & Queens, which has now fallen out of the Top 20 entirely.

– Before introducing Willow, Ryan Seacrest mentioned that Taylor Swift decided to make a blanket for Katy Perry’s daughter, as well as some other stuff she’s been doing.  How cute!  I haven’t seen the picture of the blanket, but I’m willing to bet she likes it.  That’s some fun stuff.

– Speaking of My Head & My Heart, Ryan Seacrest mentioned upon introducing the song that Ava Max took her time to make her deluxe album and was finally able to release it after over a year.  Heh, I guess she wanted to make her music pitch perfect (no reference to the movie).  Also, is it me, or does the chorus sound eerily similar to Around The World (La La La La La) by ATC?

– Before introducing Golden, Ryan Seacrest mentioned that Harry Styles has a personal connection with his music and his song is basically just that.  It’s really nothing new as almost everyone has a connection with his or her music.  I have that kind of connection as well.

– Put Your Records On in the Top 10 is a big fat no.  Stop the madness, now.

– In Top 5 news, the crappy Go Crazy reaches a new peak of #3 just to piss me off because why the hell not.  But we did see Driver’s License enter the Top 5 at #4.  That one is all but certain to hit #1 in the near future and I’ll be cool with it spending some weeks at #1.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• The Business by Tiësto
• Talk About Love by Zara Larsson featuring Young Thug
• Skin by Sabrina Carpenter
• Lil Bit by Nelly featuring Florida Georgia Line

Extras/Optional Extras:

• No Promises by Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato
• Good As Hell by Lizzo
• Starships by Nicki Minaj
• Raising Hell by Kesha featuring Big Freedia
• Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran
• Better by Khalid
• Time by NF
• See You Again by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth
• Come & Go by Juice WRLD featuring Marshmello
• Havana by Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug
• Baby I’m Jealous by Bebe Rexha featuring Doja Cat
• Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
19. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
18. Bang! by AJR
17. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug

1 – Bad:
16. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke

2 – Mediocre:
15. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco

3 – Decent:
14. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae
13. 34+35 by Ariana Grande
12. Willow by Taylor Swift

4 – Good:
11. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear
10. Positions by Ariana Grande

5 – Great:
9. Anyone by Justin Bieber
8. Golden by Harry Styles
7. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo
6. My Head & My Heart by Ava Max
5. Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear
4. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
3. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
2. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd

Total Score: 66/100 = 66% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Take On Me by A-Ha (1984)

Most Missed Song: Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#2)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
2. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby
3. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
4. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
5. Kings & Queens by Ava Max

My Bottom 5 Picks
TIE: 1. SO DONE by The KID LAROI
TIE: 1. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI
3. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
4. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
5. Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Say So by Doja Cat: Not a good first impression for Doja Cat.  This song is basically the pure definition of generic pop music, and not in a good way.  Weak production and underwhelming vocals makes this not a very fun listen, and the rap breakdown isn’t helping.

The Box by Roddy Ricch: I was a little indifferent on this one at first.  But I eventually came around to it after a while.  I’ll talk more about this in my Year-End post.  But let me just say there’s a lot to like about this one.