Hello, fam! So, we’re two weeks into the NFL season and already it looks like the Bills are favorites to win the Super Bowl this year. I’ve watched that game on Monday night and my goodness, they dominated. I must say, they’re proving themselves to be the team to beat this season so far. Meanwhile, in baseball land, the Braves are back in the playoffs after winning the World Series last year. As a Braves fan, you know I’ll be watching, and I hope they win another championship this year. I’ll be looking forward to that. Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs leaving the countdown this week:
- Massive by Drake (#34)
- Love Me More by Sam Smith (#38)
- Ghost by Justin Bieber (#40) [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Late Night Talking by Harry Styles
40. Heat Waves by Glass Animals (#38) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
39. Woman by Doja Cat (#37) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
38. Enemy by Imagine Dragons featuring JID (#35) [–3] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
37. Unstoppable by Sia (DEBUT)
36. Sweetest Pie by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Dua Lipa (#33) [–3]
35. Until I Found You by Stephen Sanchez (#36) [+1]
34. Hold Me Closer by Elton John featuring Britney Spears (DEBUT)
33. THAT’S WHAT I WANT by Lil Nas X (#29) [–4] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
32. Super Freaky Girl by Nicki Minaj (DEBUT)
31. Bad Decisions by Benny Blanco featuring BTS and Snoop Dogg (#31) [=]
30. Easy Lover by Ellie Goulding featuring Big Sean (#30) [=]
29. Can’t Stop Us Now by Pitbull featuring Zac Brown (#28) [–1]
28. Wasted On You by Morgan Wallen (#27) [–1]
27. Boyfriend by Dove Cameron (#25) [–2]
26. Victoria’s Secret by Jax (#32) [+6]
25. Big Energy by Latto (#22) [–3] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
24. Music For A Sushi Restaurant by Harry Styles (#26) [+2]
23. Grand by Kane Brown (#24) [+1]
22. Bones by Imagine Dragons (#23) [+1]
21. Wait For U by Future featuring Drake and Tems (#21) [=]
20. Numb Little Bug by Em Beihold (#18) [–2]
19. Don’t You Worry by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira and David Guetta (#17) [–2]
18. Get Into It (Yuh) by Doja Cat (#16) [–2]
17. Betty (Get Money) by Yung Gravy (#19) [+2]
16. 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) by Lizzo (#20) [+4]
15. Left And Right by Charlie Puth featuring Jung Kook (#15) [=]
14. Glimpse Of Us by Joji (#13) [–1]
13. Numb by Marshmello featuring Khalid (#12) [–1]
12. So Good by Halsey (#14) [+2]
11. Bad Habit by Steve Lacy (#11) [=]
10. Vegas by Doja Cat (#10) [=]
9. First Class by Jack Harlow (#8) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
8. Break My Soul by Beyoncé (#7) [–1]
7. I Ain’t Worried by OneRepublic (#9) [+2]
6. Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) by Kate Bush (#5) [–1]
5. I Like You (A Happier Song) by Post Malone featuring Doja Cat (#6) [+1]
4. About Damn Time by Lizzo (#3) [–1] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
3. As It Was by Harry Styles (#4) [+1] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
2. Sunroof by Nicky Youre featuring dazy (#2) [=] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
1. Late Night Talking by Harry Styles (#1) [=] [2nd Week At #1]
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Stay by The Kid LAROI featuring Justin Bieber (1st of 11 Weeks At #1)
Biggest Fall Of The Week: THAT’S WHAT I WANT by Lil Nas X (–4)
Biggest Rise Of The Week: Victoria’s Secret by Jax (+6)
New Entrants:
– We have a new round of arrivals this week. To begin, we have the return of Sia with a song that’s currently gaining momentum right now. Enter Unstoppable. It has actually been around since 2016 when it was featured on This Is Acting. Older songs getting new traction everywhere has become a theme for the past few years, in part because of Tik Tok and what not. A good example of that is Good As Hell by Lizzo, which despite being released in 2016, became a #1 hit. I won’t go in depth on that one for the sake of trying to speed things through. Let’s get on with the reviewing, shall we? I liked quite a bit of what This Is Acting had to offer, with songs such as Alive or Move Your Body being the best. Even Cheap Thrills was a fine, catchy tune despite it being a little too overrated. I do not like Unstoppable, however. I find it very generic and bland for the most part. The production is cheap as hell with the brittle snares at the beginning and an uninteresting beat. I don’t like the build-up leading the chorus and Sia does not sound good here. Lyrically, it’s nonsensical with her saying that she’s unstoppable (hence the title). Whatever she was going for here did not work out to my liking. Yeah, this is terrible and I hope it doesn’t last long.
– Next is the return of Elton John not long after the departure of Cold Heart, which was a few months back. She collaborates with Britney Spears in their new single titled Hold Me Closer. We have seen a resurgence in his career this year with him working with Dua Lipa in Cold Heart. I thought that one was pretty cool all things considered. So, where does Hold Me Closer stack up? Well, first off there’s this good beat and the melody, which I find pretty divine. The chemistry between the two is just great, what with Britney putting on a good vocal performance and Elton John making use of his classic hits, like Tiny Dancer and The One, both of which were mashed together. Yeah, I find this one to be a good song. We’ll see if it ends up being a replica of Cold Heart as far as its chart success goes.
– Finally, we get the big return of Nicki Minaj. She brings us Super Freaky Girl. We haven’t really heard much from her aside from her collaborations in recent years, most of which were god-awful in the own unique way. As for her latest single, I can say I’m a little indifferent on this one. It samples Rick James’s single Super Freak. I find the production to be interesting at times, but the beat doesn’t quite pull me in. Nicki Minaj has always been somewhat of a good rapper and I quite like her verses here. I’m pretty split on this overall. This could be a grower, but we’ll see what ultimately happens.
Best Debut Of The Week: Hold Me Closer by Elton John featuring Britney Spears
Ba-Dee-Ya, Blurbin’ In September
– As always, we’ll begin with our exits. First off, I didn’t care much for Love Me More at all, so no complaints about it leaving. Massive I was starting to grow into and it was closer to being green, but it’s not that a big loss. Finally, we saw the departure of Ghost, and with that it concludes the countdown run for Justin Bieber after two years. What a long tenure it has been. That’s the last we’ll hear from him, at least for a while.
– Yeah, folks. Victoria’s Secret is now my new least favorite song on the countdown right now. This just makes me rage every time it comes on. And of course, this is the week it has the Biggest Rise Of The Week. Not very thrilled about this at all.
– Before introducing Left And Right, Ryan Seacrest mentioned that the two had difficulty putting together this song. Was there some kind of disagreement on how it should turn out or something like that? 😛
– Yes, you’re reading it right. I have indeed grown into Bad Habit by Steve Lacy. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but something about it just pulls me in. We’ll see how long it ends up sticking with me.
– Before introducing Vegas, Ryan Seacrest mentioned that Doja Cat posed herself dressing up in Halloween costumes at the start of September. I mean, really? Halloween isn’t for another month, but I guess she’s ready to get the party started.
– Yeah…so Easy Lover is now tied for my new favorite song, along with Break My Soul. In terms of the former, it reminds me so much of the Ellie Goulding I know and love. Thanks for impressing me yet again, Ellie. And Break My Soul just continues to be an absolute jam, maybe my song of the summer. It’s nice to have Beyoncé back. 🙂
Breakouts/On The Verge:
- SNAP by Rosa Linn
- Escape by Kx5 (Kaskade/deadmau5) featuring Hayla
- Die For You by The Weeknd
Extras/Optional Extras:
- Stay by The Kid LAROI featuring Justin Bieber
- Happier Than Ever by Billie Eilish
- She’s All I Wanna Be by Tate McRae
- Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
- Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
- Live Your Life by T.I. featuring Rihanna
- Easy On Me by Adele
- Break My Heart by Dua Lipa
- Laugh Now, Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Durk
- Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo
- Trampoline by SHAED
- Latch by Disclosure featuring Sam Smith
- Fingers Crossed by Lauren Spencer-Smith
Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Putrid:
20. I Like You (A Happier Song) by Post Malone featuring Doja Cat
1 – Bad:
19. Don’t You Worry by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira and David Guetta
18. I Ain’t Worried by OneRepublic
2 – Mediocre:
None!
3 – Decent:
17. Betty (Get Money) by Yung Gravy
16. Numb by Marshmello featuring Khalid
4 – Good:
14. Bad Habit by Steve Lacy
13. As It Was by Harry Styles
12. Get Into It (Yuh) by Doja Cat
5 – Great:
12. Late Night Talking by Harry Styles
11. 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) by Lizzo
10. So Good by Halsey
9. Glimpse Of Us by Joji
8. Sunroof by Nicky Youre featuring dazy
7. Numb Little Bug by Em Beihold
6. Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) by Kate Bush
5. First Class by Jack Harlow
4. About Damn Time by Lizzo
3. Left And Right by Charlie Puth featuring Jung Kook
2. Vegas by Doja Cat
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: 1. Break My Soul by Beyoncé
Overall Grade: 81/100 = 81% (B)
Throwback Pick Of The Week: September by Earth, Wind & Fire (1979)
Most Missed Countdown Song: Adventure Of A Lifetime by Coldplay
#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Talking To Yourself by Carly Rae Jepsen
Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Take My Breath by The Weeknd (#10)
My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. Easy Lover by Ellie Goulding featuring Big Sean
TIE: 1. Break My Soul by Beyoncé
3. Vegas by Doja Cat
4. Left And Right by Charlie Puth featuring Jung Kook
5. About Damn Time by Lizzo
My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Victoria’s Secret by Jax
2. Boyfriend by Dove Cameron
3. Wasted On You by Morgan Wallen
4. Enemy by Imagine Dragons featuring JID
5. Heat Waves by Glass Animals
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
HIT IT by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Saweetie and Lele Pons:
Need To Know by Doja Cat:
Music Reviews + More 