Hello, fam! I want to say congrats to the Braves for winning yet another division title in the NL East. They’ve just been dominating that division. Though it wasn’t nearly as easy as in years past, I’m glad they were able to tough it out! Now it’s time for our next quest to win our 2nd World Series championship. I’m looking forward to seeing them win it all again. Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• BREAK MY SOUL by Beyoncé (#27)
• Can’t Stop Us Now by Pitbull featuring Zac Brown (#31)
• Enemy by Imagine Dragons featuring JID (#40) [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Sunroof by Nicky Your featuring dazy
40. Sweetest Pie by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Dua Lipa (#38) [–2]
39. Maniac by Macklemore featuring Windser (DEBUT)
38. THAT’S WHAT I WANT by Lil Nas X (#37) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
37. Staying Alive by DJ Khaled featuring Drake and Lil Baby (DEBUT)
36. Boyfriend by Dove Cameron (#35) [–1]
35. Escape by Kx5 (Kaskade/deadmau5) featuring Hayla (DEBUT)
34. SNAP by Rosa Linn (#39) [+5]
33. Bad Decisions by Benny Blanco featuring BTS and Snoop Dogg (#29) [–4]
32. Big Energy by Latto (#30) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
31. Die For You by The Weeknd (#33) [+2]
30. Numb Little Bug by Em Beihold (#28) [–2]
29. I’m Good (Blue) by David Guetta featuring Bebe Rexha (#36) [+7]
28. Unstoppable by Sia (#34) [+6]
27. Until I Found You by Stephen Sanchez (#32) [+5]
26. Grand by Kane Brown (#24) [–2]
25. Bones by Imagine Dragons (#26) [+2]
24. Wasted On You by Morgan Wallen (#25) [+1]
23. Get Into It (Yuh) by Doja Cat (#21) [–2]
22. WAIT FOR U by Future featuring Drake and Tems (#20) [–2]
21. Victoria’s Secret by Jax (#22) [+1]
20. Super Freaky Girl by Nicki Minaj (#23) [+3]
19. Don’t You Worry by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira and David Guetta (#18) [–1]
18. 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) by Lizzo (#17) [–1]
17. Betty (Get Money) by Yung Gravy (#16) [–1]
16. First Class by Jack Harlow (#11) [–5] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
15. Music For A Sushi Restaurant by Harry Styles (#19) [+4]
14. Hold Me Closer by Elton John featuring Britney Spears (#15) [+1]
13. Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) by Kate Bush (#9) [–4]
12. Left And Right by Charlie Puth featuring Jung Kook (#14) [+2]
11. Numb by Marshmello featuring Khalid (#13) [+2]
10. So Good by Halsey (#10) [=]
9. Glimpse Of Us by Joji (#12) [+3]
8. Bad Habit by Steve Lacy (#8) [=]
7. I Ain’t Worried by OneRepublic (#7) [=]
6. Vegas by Doja Cat (#6) [=]
5. As It Was by Harry Styles (#4) [–1] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
4. About Damn Time by Lizzo (#5) [+1] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
3. Late Night Talking by Harry Styles (#2) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
2. Sunroof by Nicky Youre featuring dazy (#1) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
1. I Like You (A Happier Song) by Post Malone featuring Doja Cat (#3) [+2] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Stay by The Kid LAROI featuring Justin Bieber (4^th of 11 Weeks At #1) 

Biggest Fall Of The Week: First Class by Jack Harlow (–5)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: I’m Good (Blue) by David Guetta featuring Bebe Rexha (+7)

New Entrants:
– So, three debuts this week. We’ll kick things off with the return of Macklemore who teams up with Windser in Maniac. First off, I want to say that the music video for the song is pretty cool, mostly because of the fact that it is a parody of the classic game show, Match Game. I’ve been watching that show every now and then. It brings back memories to when I was a kid watching classic game shows all the time whenever I’m at home. I’ve been quite fond of the show for a while and even today, it’s still a lot of fun to watch. So yeah, I thought it was interesting. Anyway, it has definitely been a while since we’ve heard new music from Macklemore. I believe the last we saw from him was back in 2017-2018 when he had songs such as Glorious and Good Old Days (the latter being my #11 best song of 2018). In terms of how Maniac goes, it’s far from Macklemore’s best work. But it’s still pretty solid. I like Windser’s voice here. I think he’s somewhat talented and he put on a nice vocal performance here. Macklemore does well with his verses, showing that he still has it in him. The instrumentals sound good here and I quite like the rest of the production. Overall, it’s a good song, though I doubt it’ll last very long.

– Next is more of DJ Khaled and he collabs with Drake and Lil Baby in Staying Alive. Right off the bat, I’m not fond of the song. There’s very little about the song that’s seriously worth caring about. I get what it’s going for here, but I don’t think it was executed very well. Drake doesn’t sound his best with his voice. Plus, Lil Baby didn’t impress me, either. His auto-tuned vocals just annoys me. And I don’t like the vocal effects here. The beat is not interesting and everything else in the background is either not good or mediocre at best. So yeah, not really a fan of this.

– Lastly, we have Kx5 (which is a collaboration of deadmau5 and Kaskade) with Hayla in their new single called Escape. I don’t know much about deadmau5 mostly because he is irrelevant. But I’m familiar with some of Kaskade’s music. He had a couple of songs that were trending on the YouTube15 on Hits 1 at the time. Plus, he did have a countdown song in 2019 by the name of With You, which sucked for the most part. Now, I think Escape is somewhat enjoyable. I love the vocals we get from Hayla and I think she’s a good singer. The production doesn’t exactly stand out, but I think these guys did a nice job of not trying too hard. I don’t have much else to say beyond that. Overall, this is solid. But it won’t stick with me in the long run.

Best Debut Of The Week: Maniac by Macklemore featuring Windser

Blurbing Alive
– In terms of this week’s exits, Can’t Stop Us Now is another in a long line of underwhelming singles from Pitbull. So, I’m glad it didn’t end up getting huge. I’ll stick with his older material for the most part. Also, good riddance to Enemy by Imagine Dragons and JID. It’s about time that one left! I just could not stand the chorus with the “everybody wants to be my enemyyyyyyyy!”. BREAK MY SOUL, on the other hand, will surely be missed by me. It was such a bop and a awesome comeback from Beyoncé. I’m glad this was a #1 hit on Billboard although it didn’t fare quite as well on the American Top 40.

– Sigh…so, our new #1 this week is something I’m not thrilled about in the slightest. I Like You (A Happier Song) notches the top sport because of course even though the song itself is straight up trash. Seriously, I’d rather see something else at #1 because this does not make me happier whatsoever.

– As far as the Top 10 goes, we get a new entrant from Glimpse Of Us by Joji much to the dismay of some people here. I know my take on this is going to be unpopular, but I actually do like this song. I think it’s a nice piano ballad I didn’t know I needed this year. So yeah, it’s nice to see it getting a little momentum.

– Last week’s debuts (SNAP and I’m Good (Blue)) both made some reasonable jumps this week. I’m down for both of those becoming hits because I like those songs overall. Hopefully, I’m right. But we’ll see what happens from here on out.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Make You Say by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and BEAUZ
• Forget Me by Lewis Capaldi
• Bigger Than Me by Louis Tomlinson
• STAR WALKIN’ by Lil Nas X
• Pink Venom by BLACKPINK

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Heat Waves by Glass Animals
• Truth Hurts by Lizzo
• Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee
• POV by Ariana Grande
• Easy Lover by Ellie Goulding featuring Big Sean
• Can’t Stop The Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
• That’s What I Like by Bruno Mars
• Dynamite by BTS
• 10 Things I Hate About You by Leah Kate
• Flowers by Lauren Spencer-Smith
• Heartless by The Weeknd
• Dakati by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez
• Into You by Ariana Grande
• ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee

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. Music For A Sushi Restaurant by Harry Styles

2 – Mediocre:
17. I Ain’t Worried by OneRepublic

3 – Decent:
16. Super Freaky Girl by Nicki Minaj

4 – Good:
15. Late Night Talking by Harry Styles
14. Numb by Marshmello featuring Khalid
13. Betty (Get Money) by Yung Gravy

5 – Great:
12. Hold Me Closer by Elton John featuring Britney Spears
11. So Good by Halsey
10. Left And Right by Charlie Puth featuring Jung Kook
9. Sunroof by Nicky Youre featuring dazy
8. As It Was by Harry Styles
7. Glimpse Of Us by Joji
6. Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) by Kate Bush
5. First Class by Jack Harlow
4. Bad Habit by Steve Lacy
3. 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) by Lizzo
2. About Damn Time by Lizzo

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Vegas by Doja Cat

Overall Grade: 80/100 = 80% (B)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Tubthumping by Chumbawamba (1997)

Most Missed Countdown Song: 24K Magic by Bruno Mars (Happy 6 years!)

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Looking For Somebody (To Love) by The 1975

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Love Again by Dua Lipa (#12)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Vegas by Doja Cat
2. About Damn Time by Lizzo
3. 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) by Lizzo
4. Sweetest Pie by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Dua Lipa
5. Bad Habit by Steve Lacy

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Victoria’s Secret by Jax
2. Wasted On You by Morgan Wallen
3. I Like You (A Happier Song) by Post Malone featuring Doja Cat
4. Bones by Imagine Dragons
5. Boyfriend by Dove Cameron

Hello, fam! I know it’s hard to believe. But the Seattle Mariners have finally clinched a playoff spot for the first time in over two decades. Crazy, I know. I’m happy for their fanbase though, because it’s been a long time coming. I wonder will they do big things in the MLB postseason? We’ll find out during the coming weeks. I’m sure they’re going to be fun to watch. Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs leaving the countdown this week:

• Easy Lover by Ellie Goulding featuring Big Sean (#34)
• Heat Waves by Glass Animals (#40) [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Late Night Talking by Harry Styles
40. Enemy by Imagine Dragons featuring JID (#39) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
39. SNAP by Rosa Linn (DEBUT)
38. Sweetest Pie by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Dua Lipa (#37) [–1]
37. THAT’S WHAT I WANT by Lil Nas X (#35) [–2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
36. I’m Good (Blue) by David Guetta featuring Bebe Rexha (DEBUT)
35. Boyfriend by Dove Cameron (#32) [–3]
34. Unstoppable by Sia (#36) [+2]
33. Die For You by The Weeknd (#38) [+5]
32. Until I Found You by Stephen Sanchez (#33) [+1]
31. Can’t Stop Us Now by Pitbull featuring Zac Brown (#31) [=]
30. Big Energy by Latto (#29) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
29. Bad Decisions by Benny Blanco featuring BTS and Snoop Dogg (#30) [+1]
28. Numb Little But by Em Beihold (#27) [–1]
27. BREAK MY SOUL by Beyoncé (#16) [–11]
26. Bones by Imagine Dragons (#23) [–3]
25. Wasted On You by Morgan Wallen (#26) [+1]
24. Grand by Kane Brown (#26) [+2]
23. Super Freaky Girl by Nicki Minaj (#28) [+5]
22. Victoria’s Secret by Jax (#25) [+3]
21. Get Into It (Yuh) by Doja Cat (#19) [–2]
20. WAIT FOR U by Future featuring Drake and Tems (#21) [+1]
19. Music For A Sushi Restaurant by Harry Styles (#20) [+1]
18. Don’t You Worry by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira and David Guetta (#18) [=]
17. 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) by Lizzo (#15) [–2]
16. Betty (Get Money) by Yung Gravy (#17) [+1]
15. Hold Me Closer by Elton John featuring Britney Spears (#24) [+9]
14. Left And Right by Charlie Puth featuring Jung Kook (#14) [=]
13. Numb by Marshmello featuring Khalid (#12) [–1]
12. Glimpse Of Us by Joji (#13) [+1]
11. First Class by Jack Harlow (#9) [–2]
10. So Good by Halsey (#11) [+1]
9. Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) by Kate Bush (#6) [–3]
8. Bad Habit by Steve Lacy (#10) [+2]
7. I Ain’t Worried by OneRepublic (#7) [=]
6. Vegas by Doja Cat (#8) [+2]
5. About Damn Time by Lizzo (#5) [=] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
4. As It Was by Harry Styles (#3) [–1] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
3. I Like You (A Happier Song) by Post Malone featuring Doja Cat (#4) [+1]
2. Late Night Talking by Harry Styles (#1) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
1. Sunroof by Nicky Youre featuring dazy (#2) [+1] [3^rd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Stay by The Kid LAROI featuring Justin Bieber (3^rd of 11 Weeks At #1) 

Biggest Fall Of The Week: BREAK MY SOUL by Beyoncé (–11)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Hold Me Closer by Elton John featuring Britney Spears (+9)

New Entrants:
– We have two new songs debuting to start off the month of October. I’ll start our new round of debuts with Rosa Linn, a singer from Armelia. She brings us SNAP. I found out about her existence a couple months ago and I decided to look into a couple of her songs. SNAP was the first one I listened on and I found it to be pretty divine. Here, she mentions how she is depressed and angry, wanting to move on from that. I can appreciate what she is doing here and it works for me. As for the production, it sorta reminds me of the indie-pop from the early 2010’s when it exploded in popularity. That’s mostly based on the instrumentals themselves, which is fine because I like the guitar. Rosa sounds good with her vocals here. I think she’s talented and I like the chorus here, especially towards the end. The way she can hit those high notes is mesmerizing. So yeah, consider me impressed.

– Our second (and final) debut for this week comes from the return of a longtime EDM act. It’s been a while since we’ve heard from David Guetta. I believe it was back in 2018 when he gave us Don’t Leave Me Alone with Anne-Marie. He’s mostly been irrelevant since then, even though he’s released some music which never took off elsewhere. This week, he makes his comeback, and he teams up with Bebe Rexha in I’m Good (Blue). It uses a sample from Eiffel 65’s song titled Blue (Da Be Dee), which I’ve never really heard until recently. In terms of how the rest of the song goes, I quite like what it’s going for here. Sure, David himself has done much better and he’s had gems from the past that I often revisit. But he does a fine job here as the drop sounds good and the production is solid. Bebe is somewhat talented and I love her vocals here. There is momentum in the verses and I like the buildup leading to the chorus. To put it easy, it’s a good song. That’s not to say it’ll stick with me in the long run, but it’s enjoyable enough. We’ll see how long it lasts.

Best Debut Of The Week: SNAP by Rosa Linn

Blurbin’ One Two, Where Are You?
– So, we have two exits. First, Heat Waves had no business becoming as big as it was. As someone who never liked the song, I found nothing interesting about it and it overstayed it’s welcome big time. Of course, this’ll end up becoming #1 of the year on Billboard despite how underwhelming the song is as a whole. On a sad note, we say farewell to Easy Lover by Ellie Goulding and Big Sean. It was such a jam from the beginning and it reminded me of the Ellie Goulding that I know and love. It’s disappointing to see that one not become a hit. Who knows what else Ellie will have in store? So yeah, that song will definitely be missed by me.

– Sunroof back at #1? That’s fine with me. I still kinda like the song. I’m cool with this and I prefer this over our #2 and #3 songs.

– So Good by Halsey has hit a new peak of #10. It’s her first Top 10 since 2019 when she had Without Me. I’ve been fond of that song for a while and I’m glad it’s hitting new peaks. I doubt it’ll get any higher, but it’s nice to see Halsey somewhat getting a hit out of that song.

– This is the second week in a row where Hold Me Closer has had the Biggest Rise Of The Week. Something tells me that this’ll end up sticking around for a while. It’s catching on fast.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Escape by Kx5 (Kaskade/deadmau5) featuring Hayla
• Staying Alive by DJ Khaled featuring Drake and Lil Baby
• Make You Say by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and BEAUZ

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Jealous by Nick Jonas
• Love Me More by Sam Smith
• Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco
• Can’t Feel My Face by The Weeknd
• I Like It by Cardi B featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin
• Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max
• Ghost by Justin Bieber
• Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Heroes featuring Adam Levine
• Break Free by Ariana Grande featuring Zedd
• Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
• Savage by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé
• Attention by Charlie Puth

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. Music For A Sushi Restaurant by Harry Styles

2 – Mediocre:
17. I Ain’t Worried by OneRepublic

3 – Decent:
16. WAIT FOR U by Future featuring Drake and Tems

4 – Good:
15. Late Night Talking by Harry Styles
14. Betty (Get Money) by Yung Gravy

5 – Great:
13. Bad Habit by Steve Lacy
12. As It Was by Harry Styles
11. Hold Me Closer by Elton John featuring Britney Spears
10. Sunroof by Nicky Youre featuring dazy
9. Left And Right by Charlie Puth featuring Jung Kook
8. So Good by Halsey
7. Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) by Kate Bush
6. 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) by Lizzo
5. Glimpse Of Us by Joji
4. First Class by Jack Harlow
3. About Damn Time by Lizzo
2. Break My Soul by Beyoncé

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Vegas by Doja Cat

Overall Grade: 81/100 = 81% (B)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: End Of The Road by Boyz II Men (1992)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Tequila by Dan + Shay

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Million Dollar Baby by Ava Max

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Take My Breath by The Weeknd (#8)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Vegas by Doja Cat
2. BREAK MY SOUL by Beyoncé
3. About Damn Time by Lizzo
4. Sweetest Pie by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Dua Lipa
5. First Class by Jack Harlow

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Victoria’s Secret by Jax
2. Enemy by Imagine Dragons featuring JID
3. Wasted On You by Morgan Wallen
4. Bones by Imagine Dragons
5. Boyfriend by Dove Cameron

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Fancy Like by Walker Hayes: A terrible country song all around. Everything about this song just blows. Awful instrumentals, horrible vocals from Walker. Overall, just not a fun listen.

Shivers by Ed Sheeran: The follow-up to Bad Habits, and a fine one at that. There’s some good elements and his vocals are better here. And this became the longest running #1 hit on Hits 1 (at 14 weeks) because they stan this guy.