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) [=] [2nd Week At #1]
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Circles by Post Malone (7th 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.
Music Reviews + More 