So, the new Mortal Kombat movie recently came out last week.  I watched it all weekend on HBO Max (which is where is streaming).  Having been a fan of the video game franchise for a long time, it was a thrill to watch.  Sure, it’s gruesome, but I enjoyed it overall.  If you haven’t already, be sure to check it out.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Willow by Taylow Swift (#39)
  
• Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#40) [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo
40. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#37) [–3]
39. Sacrifice by Bebe Rexha (DEBUT) 
38. Kings & Queens by Ava Max (#35) [+3]
37. Hold On by Justin Bieber (#38) [+1]
36. Bang! by AJR (#33) [–3]
35. Good Days by SZA (#34) [–1]
34. Way Less Sad by AJR (#36) [+2]
33. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper (#28) [–5]
32. Deja Vu by Olivia Rodrigo (DEBUT)
31. The Business by Tiësto (#31) [=]
30. Bad Girl by Daya (#30) [=]
29. Lil Bit by Nelly featuring Florida Georgia Line (#32) [+3]
28. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby (#25) [–3]
27. POV by Ariana Grande (#29) [+2]
26. Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira (#27) [+1]
25. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (#22) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
24. Up by Cardi B (#24) [=]
23. Best Friend by Saweetie featuring Doja Cat (#21) [–2]
22. Heat Waves by Glass Animals (#20) [–2]
21. Dákati by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez (#19) [–2]
20. Astronaut In The Ocean by Masked Wolf (#23) [+3]
19. Peaches by Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caeser and Giveon (#26) [+7]
18. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug (#10) [–8]
17. My Head & My Heart by Ava Max (#14) [–3]
16. Goosebumps (Remix) by Travis Scott featuring HVME (#18) [+2]
15. Beautiful Mistakes by Maroon 5 featuirng Megan Thee Stallion (#17) [+2]
14. We’re Good by Dua Lipa (#15) [+1]
13. Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic (starring Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak) (#16) [+3]
12. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior (#12) [=]
11. Anyone by Justin Bieber (#11) [=]
10. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI (#13) [+3]
9. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke (#9) [=]
8. 34+35 by Ariana Grande (#7) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
7. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear (#8) [+1]
6. Positions by Ariana Grande (#5) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
5. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney (#3) [–2]
4. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae (#4) [=]
3. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd (#6) [+3]
2. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo (#1) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
1. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish (#2) [+1] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Adore You by Harry Styles (2^nd And Final Week At #1) 

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug (–8)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Peaches by Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caeser and Giveon (+7)

New Entrants:
– More of Bebe Rexha isn’t exactly what I’m looking forward to.  But alas, here she is with her latest new single titled Sacrifice.  I haven’t been very fond of what she has had to offer in terms of her solo singles other than You Can’t Stop The Girl.  Earlier this year, she had a collaboration with Doja Cat in Baby I’m Jealous, which was terrible.  As for her new single, I can’t say I care for this one either.  Sure, I like the EDM production.  But Bebe herself sounds pretty underwhelming in parts of the song.  The pre-chorus is pretty decent, but that’s about it.  There really isn’t much to the lyrics.  Basically, it’s wanting to leave certain things out of one’s life to keep a relationship going.  I feel like more could’ve been done with the songwriting.  That’s just me.  So yeah, I’m pretty split on this overall.

– Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the first three months of 2021 or so, then you probably know by now that Olivia Rodrigo has become a big name this year thanks in large part to Driver’s License, which has reached monolithic levels of popularity.  Of course, it has just been dethroned from the #1 spot, and I’ll talk about that in a little bit.  Here we have the follow-up to its predecessor making its debut this week, by the name of Deja Vu.  Right off the bat, I think this song is cute.  It starts out with the twinkly sound and then it picks up from there.  Olivia’s voice fits well.  I love the chorus and the bridge that comes after it.  And then there’s the lyrics, which is basically reminiscing of her past relationship with one another.  While I won’t quite say it lives up to its predecessor, it’s still pretty solid in its own way.  I wouldn’t be opposed to it seeing it become another huge hit for Olivia, which it very likely will.

Best Debut Of The Week: Deja Vu by Olivia Rodrigo

Do You Get Deja Blurbs?
– I’ll be talking about our two exits, first.  Willow leaving was no surprise.  It didn’t exactly do well on this countdown.  But it was successful elsewhere including Billboard (where it reached #1), and I’m sure that one will end up on the Billboard Year-End come December.  It’s too bad we won’t be getting any new Taylor Swift anytime soon.  But she does have re-recorded albums coming soon.  And then there’s the big one, in which Blinding Lights is officially no more.  As a certain someone once said, it was “the song that would never go away”.  Although it spent 5 weeks at #1, it did break numerous records elsewhere, and it spent a year in the Top 10 on Billboard.  Easily his biggest hit of his career.  Farewell, Blinding Lights.  It’s been a wild ride.  You’ll be missed.

– I Hope has now finally fallen to the bottom of the countdown.  That’s some good news.  It’s only a matter of time before it ends up leaving soon, ideally next week.

– On the note of other good news, Holy dropped out of the Top 30.  Words cannot describe how excruciating it is to have to put up with the shitty song being in the Top 10 every week.  It won’t be much longer with us, fortunately.

– In Top 20 news, Astronaut In The Ocean makes it’s entry there.  I really don’t know how I feel because I don’t exactly find the song exciting.  But if anything, it’s not the worst thing in the world.

– And of course, Peaches takes the biggest jump of the week.  Not surprising at all.  The song is gaining momentum elsewhere and I wouldn’t mind seeing this one become a hit here.  It’s one of Justin Bieber’s better songs compared to his two current representations on the countdown.

– Good thing Go Crazy tumbled down big time after being in the Top 10 for a while.  It was scary seeing it peak at #2 a month ago.  But thankfully, it didn’t hit #1.  Now let’s hope it keeps on dropping.

– When there’s good, there’s also not-so-good.  WITHOUT YOU entered the Top 10, which annoys the crap out of me.  I’ll never see what’s so appealing about this song.  His voice is just terrible and the radio overplay isn’t helping matters at all.

– But in better news, it’s good to see Save Your Tears in the Top 5!  I’m glad this is becoming another hit for The Weeknd.  He just recently released the remix to the song with Ariana Grande this past week.  I’ll say that it’s not as good as the original.  But she does add some life to it, especially at the end.

– And that brings us to our new #1 this week, in which Therefore I Am claims the top spot.  I didn’t think it would get the #1 given the huge success of Driver’s License.  I’m glad I was wrong.  Therefore I Am is another highlight of Billie Eilish’s discography and I’m very happy to see it become successful.  It can stay there for as long as it likes.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• I’m Not Pretty by JESSIA
• Provide by G-Eazy featuring Chris Brown and Mark Morrison
• Kiss Me More by Doja Cat featuring SZA
• Calling My Phone by Lil TJay featuring 6LACK
• Arcade by Duncan Lawrence
• Montero (Call Me By Your Name) by Lil Nas X

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Turk
• Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato
• Delicate by Taylor Swift
• Dancing With The Devil by Demi Lovato
• Bad At Love by Halsey
• If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels
• Supalonely by BENEE featuring Gus Dapperton
• No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande
• Ride It by Regard
• Dynamite by BTS

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI
19. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
18. Goosebumps (Remix) by Travis Scott featuring HVME
17. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug

1 – Bad:
16. We’re Good by Dua Lipa
15. Beautiful Mistakes by Maroon 5 featuring Megan Thee Stallion
14. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke

2 – Mediocre:
13. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae

3 – Decent:
12. Astronaut In The Ocean by Masked Wolf
11. 34+35 by Ariana Grande

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

5 – Great:
8. Peaches by Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caeser and Giveon
7. Anyone by Justin Bieber
6. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo
5. My Head & My Heart by Ava Max
4. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
3. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
2. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic (starring Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak)

Overall Grade: 60/100 = 60% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Purple Rain by Prince (1984) (Five years since he passed…)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Castle On The Hill by Ed Sheeran

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Shy Away by TWENTY ØNE PILØTS

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#2)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic (starring Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak)
2. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
3. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
4. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby
5. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI
2. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
3. Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira
4. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
5. Lil Bit by Nelly featuring Florida Georgia Line

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Supalonely by BENEE featuring Gus Dapperton:
Toosie Slide by Drake:
Life Is Good by Future featuring Drake:

So, I know this post was a little late. It’s because I had got very busy during the week. But I’m glad I got it posted. So, here it is for you guys. Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week.

• Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear (#25)
• Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Turk (#39)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo
40. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#40) [=] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
39. Willow by Taylor Swift (#19) [–20]
38. Hold On by Justin Bieber (#39) [+1]
37. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#36) [–1]
36. Way Less Sad by AJR (#37) [+1]
35. Kings & Queens by Ava Max (#32) [–3]
34. Good Days by SZA (#35) [+1]
33. Bang! by AJR (#30) [–3]
32. Lil Bit by Nelly featuring Florida Georgia Line (#33) [+1]
31. The Business by Tiësto (#31) [=]
30. Bad Girl by Daya (#34) [+4]
29. POV by Ariana Grande (DEBUT)
28. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper (#27) [–1]
27. Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira (#26) [–1]
26. Peaches by Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caeser and GIVEON (DEBUT)
25. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby (#24) [–1]
24. Up by Cardi B (#28) [+4]
23. Astronaut In The Ocean by Masked Wolf (#29) [+6]
22. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (#21) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
21. Best Friend by Saweetie featuring Doja Cat (#22) [+1]
20. Heat Waves by Glass Animals (#23) [+3]
19. Dakati by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez (#20) [+1]
18. Goosembumps (Remix) by Travis Scott featuring HVME (#18) [=]
17. Beautiful Mistakes by Maroon 5 featuring Megan Thee Stallion (#17) [=]
16. Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic (starring Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak) (#16) [=]
15. We’re Good by Dua Lipa (#14) [–1]
14. My Head & My Heart by Ava Max (#13) [–1]
13. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI (#15) [+2]
12. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior (#11) [–1] [Spent 10 Weeks At #1]
11. Anyone by Justin Bieber (#12) [+1]
10. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug (#8) [–2]
9. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke (#9) [=]
8. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear (#10) [+2]
7. 34+35 by Ariana Grande (#4) [–3] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
6. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd (#7) [+1]
5. Positions by Ariana Grande (#5) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
4. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae (#6) [+2]
3. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney (#3) [=]
2. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish (#2) [=]
1. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo (#1) [=] [5^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Adore You by Harry Styles (1^st of 2 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Willow by Taylor Swift (–20)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Astronaut In The Ocean by Masked Wolf (+6)

New Entrants:
– So, two entrants. We’ll start with Ariana Grande with her next single off of Positions, by the name of POV (or point of view). Basically, she’s tell her story about a relationship from her point of view (hence the title of the song). I like the vocals here and the minimalist beat sounds pretty good here. Overall, I enjoy this. But I still prefer her older albums as well as some of Sweetener. Those albums are where gems are located and I often revisit them from time to time. We’ll see if POV can stick with me long term.

– Then, we have more of Justin Bieber with another single from his album, Justice. This time, he collaborates with Daniel Caesar and Giveon, by the name of Peaches. First off, I like how he references Georgia and the fact that it’s known for it’s peaches. As for the rest of the song, I like the verses we get from them and I think the beat is good. I won’t quite say it lives up to songs like Anyone, Hold On, and As I Am. But it’s still good in its own way. This just recently hit #1 on Billboard and is gaining momentum right now. I won’t be surprised if it ends up doing well here.

Best Debut Of The Week: POV by Ariana Grande

I Got My Blurbs Out In Georgia
– We’ll begin with our two exits. First off, there’s Laugh Now Cry Later, which I didn’t care for to begin with, so I’m glad we got to say goodbye to it. But then there’s Monsters, which ended up having somewhat of a good run here. It was #1 for four weeks on Hits 1 and had great success on that countdown. I predicted it would be a replica of High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco from a couple years back, when it was a huge hit on Hits 1 and would eventually become successful elsewhere. But it didn’t exactly happen that way.

– You Broke Me First strangely decides to enter the Top 5 after spending almost half the year on the countdown. I would’ve been okay with this maybe a few months ago if I actually liked the song (which I never really did to start). I don’t know anybody who still supports this at the moment. But I’ll take it over Put Your Records On any day.

– So, Willow decides to take a massive 20-spot drop this week. If I’m correct, this is the biggest drop we’ve had so far in 2021. Dang! At least this was #1 on Hits 1 for the past few weeks. But now, it doesn’t look like the same will ring true here unfortunately. It looks destined to make the Year-End list for Billboard, though.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Sacrifice by Bebe Rexha
• I’m Not Pretty by JESSIA
• Dancing With The Devil by Demi Lovato
• Deja Vu by Olivia Rodrigo
• Provide by G-Eazy featuring Chris Brown and Mark Morrison
• Calling My Phone by Lil TJAy featuring 6LACK

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Lasting Lover by Sigala featuring James Arthur
• I Like Me Better by Lauv
• Only Human by Jonas Brothers
• Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi
• Talk About Love by Zara Larsson featuring Young Thug
• Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez
• ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
• Star by LOOΠΔ
• Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
• Skin by Sabrina Carpenter
• I’m The One by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper, and Lil Wayne
• Heathens by TWENTY ØNE PILØTS

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI
19. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
18. Goosebumps (Remix) by Travis Scott featuring HVME
17. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug

1 – Bad:
16. We’re Good by Dua Lipa
15. Heat Waves by Glass Animals
14. Beautiful Mistakes by Maroon 5 featuring Megan Thee Stallion
13. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
12. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae
11. Dákati by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez
10. 34+35 by Ariana Grande

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

5 – Great:
7. Anyone by Justin Bieber
6. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo
5. My Head & My Heart by Ava Max
4. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
3. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
2. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic (starring Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak)

Overall Grade: 57/100 = 57% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Give Me One Reason by Tracy Chapman (1995)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Breathin’ by Ariana Grande

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Street Runner by Rod Wave

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#3)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic (starring Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak)
2. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby
3. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
4. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
5. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI
2. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
3. Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira
4. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
5. Lil Bit by Nelly featuring Florida Georgia Line

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
July by Noah Cyrus: This is probably her most tolerable song she has released (outside of her collaborations with Alan Walker and One Bit). I’ve been hearing this a lot at work and I find that she has an okay voice. But it still pales in comparison with her sister, Miley, who has seen a career resurgence last year.

Nice To Meet Ya by Meghan Trainor featuring Nicki Minaj: My second least favorite single from Meghan Trainor (only behind Wave with Mike Sabath), and for good reason. It’s just sad to see how far she has fallen. Between the nonsensical lyrics and these two having no chemistry, this is just not a fun listen. And the whispering of the words “nice to meet ya” is rather unsettling.

In Your Eyes by The Weeknd: The follow-up to Blinding Lights. It’s too bad In Your Eyes never became as big as its predecessor, because almost everything about this is on point. And once again, The Weeknd does it again by channeling his inner Michael Jackson.

Break My Heart by Dua Lipa: It doesn’t quite live up to Don’t Start Now. But it’s still divine in every sense of the word. Between the disco vibe and her breathtaking voice, it’s one of the best Future Nostalgia has to offer.

If you’ve been keeping up with baseball this weekend, then you probably already know that Joe Musgrove became the first Padres pitcher ever to throw for a no-hitter last Friday. So congrats to him! That was a thrill. On the not-so good side, Atlanta got robbed of a series sweep against Philly on Sunday all because of some bullshit call in the last inning. Just shameful. In basketball land, the Hawks have been on the winning track and look poised to make the playoffs, so that good news. Yeah, that’s what I wanted to talk about. Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Golden by Harry Styles (#17)
• Star by LOOΠΔ (#37)
• Talk About Love by Zara Larsson featuring Young Thug (#39)

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

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (5^th And Final Week At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear (–5)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic (starring Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak) (+9)

New Entrants:
– I’m sure many here are tired of hearing more from Justin Bieber (save for Anyone). Don’t worry, I am too. But it looks like he’s here to stay. This week, he gives us another new single in the form of Hold On. His newest album, titled Justice, recently came out and it comes just after Changes, which was last year. I would question such a move given that it’s just going into his overexposure. But I’ll admit, it’s a solid album overall and I’m happy that it dethroned the terrible album from Morgan Wallen after several weeks of being #1 on the Billboard 200. As far as the song goes, I like it a little more than I should. It’s not quite his best and I prefer the singles off of Purpose because that album was a masterful work of art. Hold On has a nice sentiment to it. I enjoy the beat and the production here. Plus, Justin sounds pretty good in the chorus. He does have another song, Peaches which is gaining huge traction right now, so I’m sure we’ll see that one on the countdown pretty soon. But Hold On is a solid track overall and I hope it sticks around for a long while.

– Oh, this is just great. More of AJR is exactly what the world needs because why the hell not. They give us their latest song titled Way Less Sad. It comes as no shock that I don’t like these guys. They have not been impressing me with their music. Every single they’ve released has ranged from pretty bad to outright terrible. So you won’t be shocked to know that I’m not fond of Way Less Sad. It’s a little bit of a step up from Bang!, which is just a mess. But that in and of itself isn’t saying much because their new song is still awful. It is overproduced and I don’t like the loud solo trumpets that come after the chorus. But even beyond that, they don’t sound good in any part of the song and lyrically, it’s annoying as crap. They tried to take a different approach here and the result (as you would expect) is not good. And the sad thing is is that these guys have suddenly became popular in mainstream, which makes me even further annoyed. Hopefully, it dies out fast because it’s terrible.

– Last but not least, we have a song that is finally here!  It’s from the return of SZA and she gives us Good Days!  I’ve been a fan of her for quite sometime.  It’s was this time last year when she collaborated with Justin Timberlake in The Other Side, which unfortunately failed to take off chart-wise.  In terms of how the new song goes, it’s pretty amazing.  Basically, she’s talking about moving past negativity and thinking about the good days (hence the title).  I like the sentiment to it and it’s executed very well. The production is well put together and SZA has an amazing voice throughout the song.  Like I said, I’ve been a fan of her and she’s talented as evidenced in songs such as The Other Side and her feature in All The Stars from Kendrick Lamar.  I’m in love with this song overall.  SZA has wowed me yet again.

Best Debut Of The Week: Good Days by SZA

Good Blurbs
– We’ll start with our exits. To begin, Talk About Love didn’t last long at all and it’s no shock considering Zara Larsson is underrated in the US. But it wasn’t anything amazing to start. She’s done better. So, I guess you could say I’m kinda happy with it departing. Star was something I loved, and it’s sad that it didn’t catch on unlike Dynamite by BTS.  Lastly, there’s Golden, which leaves from a relatively high poisition this week.  This is probably the last we’ll hear from Harry Styles, at least for a while.  But he had a good run.

– As you probably can tell, I’m not thrilled about Put Your Records On being in the Top 3.  Hopefully, it won’t last very long up there.  Again, why we made this shitty cover of a song from Corinne Bailey Rae a massive hit is beyond me.

– In better news, Leave The Door Open makes it’s way into the Top 20 by having the Biggest Rise Of The Week.  It’s definitely an enjoyable song and I’m impressed with how Bruno and Anderson put it all together.  With this becoming a massive hit, I’m almost certain it’ll stick around for a while and I’ll be happy with that.

– I’m not surprised to see Beautiful Mistakes enter the Top 20 as it continues to gain a little traction at the moment.  But I’m not thrilled about this.  I know I say this all the time, but I much prefer their older albums and some of V because they were full of gems that I revisit from time to time.  Beautiful Mistakes is not memorable in any way and Megan didn’t contribute to anything in the song at all.  Hopefully, it ends up flopping like Nobody’s Love.  But I have my doubts.

– With Monsters having the Biggest Fall Of The Week, it’s safe to say that this won’t become a sleeper hit.  I still like the song, and when it started gaining momentum at the beginning of the year, I kinda thought it would be similar to Panic! At The Disco from 2018-19 when High Hopes became a surprise hit.  Unfortunately, that won’t be the case with All Time Low.  At least it was #1 on Hits 1, so I’m kinda happy with the tenure it had.

Breakouts/On The Verge

• POV by Ariana Grande
• Sacrifice by Bebe Rexha
• I’m Not Pretty by JESSIA
• Peaches by Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caeser and Giveon

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Umbrella by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z
• Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles
• Wolves by Selena Gomez featuring Marshmello
• Wake Me Up by Avicci featuring Aloe Blacc
• How Long by Charlie Puth
• Whatcha Say by Jason Derulo
• Heartless by The Weeknd
• Truth Hurts by Lizzo
• RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin
• Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
• Better Now by Post Malone
• SO DONE by The KID LAROI
• It Ain’t Me by Kygo featuring Selena Gomez
• Uptown Funk! by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI
19. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
18. Goosebumps (Remix) by Travis Scott featuring HVME
17. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug

1 – Bad:
16. We’re Good by Dua Lipa
15. Beautiful Mistakes by Maroon 5 featuring Megan Thee Stallion
14. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
13. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae
12. Dákati by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez
11. 34+35 by Ariana Grande

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

5 – Great:
8. Willow by Taylor Swift
7. Anyone by Justin Bieber
6. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo
5. My Head & My Heart by Ava Max
4. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
3. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
2. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic (starring Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak)

Overall Grade: 61/100 = 61% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Party Up (Up In Here) by DMX (2000)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Street Runner by Rod Wave

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic (starring Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak)
2. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby
3. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
4. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
5. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI
2. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
3. Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira
4. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
5. Lil Bit by Nelly featuring Florida Georgia Line

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Sunday Best by Surfaces: My #2 least favorite song of 2020, and for good reason.  This is definitely not Sunday Best whatsoever.  Terrible production, obnoxious vocals, and embarassing songwriting doesn’t make this a fun listen for me.

Modern Loneliness by Lauv: This is another in a long line of underwhelming songs from this guy.  The piano leaves a lot to be desired and I don’t like his voice in general.  Yeah, this is not good, and it’s not surprising since Lauv has mostly been a miss with his music.

Hello, fam!  I hope everyone here had a good Easter weekend!  First off, I want to say congrats to Baylor for winning the NCAA Championship.  They dominated that game.  It was a thrill watching them from start to finish.  Baseball season is now underway.  I’m hoping my Braves can win it all this year after choking the 3-1 series lead in the NLCS.  That one hurt.  I’m hoping they can bounce back.  But we’ll see how their season plays out.  This week’s countdown was definitely a lot more interesting as far as the debuts go.  We got rid of one huge piece of trash and replaced it with quite possibly my new favorite song of the year so far.  We did get some activity here and there, but not much.  Let’s get right into things.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Lifestyle by Jason Derulo featuring Adam Levine (#22)
• Lasting Lover by Sigala featuring James Arthur (#27)
• Skin by Sabrina Carpenter (#35)

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

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (4^th of 5 Weeks At #1)

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

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Up by Cardi B (+8)

New Entrants:
– Kicking things off is the return of Daya with her latest single Bad Girl.  It’s been about five years since she rose to fame with Hide Away and Sit Still, Look Pretty, both of which were absolutely putrid in their own way.  There was also a collaboration with The Chainsmokers in Don’t Let Me Down, which I didn’t mind for the most part.  The last time she made an appearance on the countdown was back in 2018 with New, which only lasted one week and never took off elsewhere.  Now, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to hearing more from her.  But after listening to Bad Girl in its entirety, I find it to be pretty good.  The lyrics are pretty questionable, but everything else works well for me here.  I like the production.  It’s got an interesting beat and Daya sounds good with her voice.  So yeah, it’s one of her better songs.  I doubt it’ll last very long, though.

– Next up is another song that is blowing up out of nowhere.  It’s from newcomer Masked Wolf and he brings us Astronaut In The Ocean.  Now, this was actually released in 2019, but here it is catching on in 2021.  Seems like there’s a lot of songs that’s getting popular nowadays despite it being out for a while.  Anyway, I like his energy and what he brings to the table.  His vocal performance shows that and the verses are pretty good.  But production-wise, it’s not as interesting and it’s missing something that makes it catchy.  I don’t know.  I think this is fine, but it could’ve been a lot better.

– So, it’s been five years since the release of 24K Magic, and I was wondering whether we get something new from Bruno Mars anytime soon.  Well, five years later, here he is with his newest project.  He teams up with Anderson.Paak to form his own band called Silk Sonic.  They give us Leave The Door Open.  Bruno has come a long way since his debut album, which is almost a decade ago.  My goodness, time flies!  He has the type of energy and charisma that pulls me in and that’s one of the reasons why I adore his music.  It wasn’t exactly like this early on, as proven in songs like Grenade, It Will Rain, and the god-awful The Lazy Song where he didn’t harness much of his talent.  But when Treasure and Uptown Funk were released, everything changed.  People started to love him because he was able to embrace his old school style by channeling his inner Michael Jackson (although I can say this about The Weeknd as well as his latest music is a reflection of that).  He was able to do it again with 24KMagic.  That album was filled with gems such as Finesse, Chunky, That’s What I Like, and of course the title track itself.  It comes as no surprise that I absolutely adore his newest song.  I love the chemistry between him and Anderson.Paak.  These guys have such amazing voices and they know how to deliver in the chorus.  They also had a hand in the production and it works well to perfection.  I enjoy the final chorus with the key change as Bruno delivers with his very high notes.  Yeah, this is my new favorite song of the year so far.  I’m looking forward to this becoming a hit!  🙂

Best Debut Of The Week: Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic (starring Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak)

I’ma Leave The Blurbs Open
– I have no complaints at all about either of our exits.  Skin was just a mess and thankfully didn’t take off.  I don’t even know what Sabrina Carpenter was going for here, but it did not send a good message at all.  Yeah, that song will never be missed, and it’s definitely a candidate for My Bottom 10 Songs of 2021 when December rolls around.  Lifestyle wasn’t really my thing either, though it wasn’t nearly as annoying and I can somewhat see the appeal unlike Skin.  And Lasting Lover was getting less interesting with each and every additional listen.  Sigala has done much better in the past, but the song didn’t live up to that.  So I’m kinda glad it’s gone.

– Before introducing Star, Ryan Seacrest mentioned that when the group created the song, they wanted to interconnect with the fans and they were able to make a visual music video out of it.  I like the fact that they care for the fans.  I think they feel special to them.

– Ryan Seacrest mentioned during his introduction for Up that Cardi B doesn’t want Selena Gomez to retire from music.  She said that fans wanted something they’ve never heard before.  I mean, I don’t blame her not one bit, because I think Selena Gomez is still talented vocally and she hasn’t lost a step.  I’m hoping we hear more from her soon.

– I honestly don’t know how songs like I Hope and Bang! are still here.  They both need to leave.  Like, right now.

– On the note of shitty songs, we have WITHOUT YOU entering the Top 15.  Why the hell are we making this a thing?!?!  There is no appeal.  It’s just as bad as SO DONE, which left about a couple weeks ago.  He’s not a good singer at all and everything about the song is a mess.  Seriously, it needs to die out, fast.

– Ryan Seacrest mentioned upon introducing My Ex’s Best Friend that Machine Gun Kelly decided to make the switch from hip-hop to alternative rock for his latest album.  I find it interesting considering that the majority of his discography consisted of hip-hop songs.  I do quite like what he’s going for in his album.

– Not much has changed in the Top 10 othe than some songs moving spots, so really nothing else to talk about here.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Good Days by SZA
• Way Less Sad by AJR
• Hold On by Justin Bieber

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Afterglow by Ed Sheeran
• Breathin’ by Ariana Grande
• Work From Home by Fifth Harmony featuring Ty Dolla $ign
• I Like It by Cardi B featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin
• Lemonade by Internet Money featuring Gunna, Don Toliver, and Nav
• Be Like That by Kane Brown featuring Swae Lee and Khalid
• Demons by Imagine Dragons
• Same Old Love by Selena Gomez
• The Bones by Maren Morris
• Holiday by Lil Nas X
• Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay
• Over Now by Calvin Harris featuring The Weeknd
• If I Can’t Have You by Shawn Mendes

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI
19. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
18. Goosebumps (Remix) by Travis Scott featuring HVME
17. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug

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

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

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

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

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

Total Score: 62/100 = 62% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Fast Car by Tracy Chapman (1988)

Most Missed Song: Treasure by Bruno Mars

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Street Runner by Rod Wave

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#8)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic
2. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
3. Therfore I Am by Billie Eilish
4. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby
5. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI
2. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
3. Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira
4. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
5. Lil Bit by Nelly featuring Florida Georgia Line

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Sad Tonight by Chelsea Cutler: Yeah, I think it’s a nice song and the girl’s voice is cute.  That’s really all I can say about this one.  Fun fact: her and my father both share the same birthday (February 11).

I Love Me by Demi Lovato: Yeah…I’m not a fan of this.  It’s underwhelming and Demi doesn’t showcase her talent here.  This was not a good comeback for her overall.  She did get better with Dancing With The Devil, which just recently came out.