Hello, fam! The first day of fall is officially here! And with it, I get to pull out my sweaters. Well, not yet because it’s still reasonably warm in some places. Anyway, we did get some activity on this countdown, for better or worse. And while it wasn’t a big splash like it was a month ago, it does make up for last week. Thus, I can say that it was an interesting week in some ways to start off Fall. Before we get to this week’s fresh 45, here are the songs leaving the countdown this week:
- PNAU – Go Bang (#30)
- 5 Seconds Of Summer – Want You Back (#41) [Spent 1 Week At #1]
- Halsey – Alone (#42)
- Alessia Cara – Growing Pains (#45)
The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood
45. Drake – In My Feelings (#43) [–2]
44. Niall Horan – On The Loose (#45) [+1]
43. Dennis Lloyd – Nevermind (#25) [–18]
42. PRETTYMUCH – Summer On You (#31) [–11]
41. Madison Beer – Home With You (#38) [–3]
40. Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin – I Like It (#40) [=]
39. Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry (#34) [–5]
38. DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, And Chance The Rapper – No Brainer (#29) [–9]
37. Sabrina Carpenter – Almost Love (DEBUT)
36. Foster The People – Sit Next To Me (#39) [+3]
35. Dua Lipa – IDGAF (#32) [–3]
34. Train featuring Cam and Travie McCoy – Call Me Sir (#28) [–6]
33. Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie – Friends (#36) [+3]
32. AJR – Burn The House Down (DEBUT)
31. LSD – Thunderclouds (DEBUT)
30. Shawn Mendes – In My Blood (#22) [–8] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
29. NOTD featuring Bea Miller – I Wanna Know (#14) [–15]
28. Brown & Gray – Top Down (#37) [+9]
27. Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato – Solo (DEBUT)
26. NF – Lie (#33) [+7]
25. Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa – One Kiss (#18) [–7]
24. George Ezra – Shotgun (#35) [+11]
23. Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello – Beautiful (Remix) (#27) [+4]
22. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes (#9) [–13] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
21. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now (#23) [+2] (Get in the Top 20, please?)
20. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#26) [+6]
19. Taylor Swift – Delicate (#19) [=] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
18. Marshmello featuring Bastille – Happier (#24) [+6]
17. Bebe Rexha – I’m A Mess (#21) [+4]
16. lovelytheband – Broken (#20) [+4]
15. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman (#12) [–3]
14. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am (#7) [–7] (Whoa, there!)
13. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#17) [+4]
12. Selena Gomez – Back To You (#16) [+4]
11. Weezer – Africa (#13) [+2]
10. Post Malone – Better Now (#6) [–4]
9. Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night) (#4) [–5] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
8. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle (#8) [=] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]
7. Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You (#15) [+8]
6. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects (#10) [+4]
5. Backstreet Boys – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (#11) [+6]
4. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones (#4) [=] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
3. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies (#3) [=]
2. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood (#1) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
1. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#2) [+1] [3rd Week At #1]
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago:
Niall Horan – Slow Hands (3rd And Final Week At #1)
Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Dennis Lloyd – Nevermind (–18)
Biggest Jump Of The Week: George Ezra – Shotgun (+11)
New Entrants
– It was almost one year ago that Sabrina Carpenter made her first ever appearance on the countdown with Why. Now this week, she makes her return with her new single, Almost Love. I don’t really have much I can say about this one. It’s a step up from her predecessor in a way. The production here is pretty decent for the most part. Although I’m not too big on Sabrina’s voice, it’s still quite an improvement from her previous singles. I do like the lyrics. I can see it growing on me a little bit, but it won’t stick with me long term.
– Oh boy…AJR is back again, and this time they bring in their latest single Burn The House Down. Once again, I’m going to rant about this just like I did with its predecessor. I’m pretty sure you all know how it’s going to go. Hits 1 is known for picking up on music from many unknown artists, including AJR. But every single they’ve released is straight up garbage, and Burn The House Down is no different. The vocals sound obnoxious and in some parts of the song, childish. The lyrical content is just dumb. I do not like the use of horns at all. I could go on and on about just how bad the song is. It’s just simply torture to my ears. Honestly, I don’t know why Hits 1 loves to pick up on their music. I really don’t. And they just recently released a deluxe version of The Click that includes this and two more new songs. Hopefully, we don’t see it last long here. But Hits 1 needs to stop with this madness.
– Immediately after that, we have another debut that I’m not very fond of either. A new group called LSD makes their debut in their single titled Thunderclouds. LSD is a collaboration between three artists: Labrinth, Sia, and Diplo. On paper, this seems like an interesting collaboration. But when I listened to the song in full, it’s anything but. Yeah, this is a mess. This was used in the commercial for the Samsung Galaxy Note, which I’ve seen so many times over the past two weeks. So, what’s wrong with the song overall? Well, I’ll begin by saying that Sia’s voice sucks. She sounds scratchy and just flat out annoying. And this is coming from someone who loves songs such as Chandelier. Labrinth did not impress me either. His part in the song sucks too. At least in Make Me (Cry) (which I absolutely despise), he sounded decent. But here he sounds bad, and I mean REALLY bad. Lastly, Diplo had a hand in working on the production of the song and it’s not good. It sounds to me that he was lazy and simply didn’t put forth the effort. I recently listened to two other singles from them and they all suck ass. It’s really difficult for me to figure out which is worse because all of them are straight up garbage. So yeah, whatever they’re doing it’s not working for me. I don’t think there are any redeeming qualities to the song whatsoever. Unfortunately, it’ll probably end up becoming a hit because of the commercial. Maybe I’m wrong, but hopefully it dies out fast because this is simply just a giant mess.
– Finally, there’s the return of Clean Bandit and they’re collaborating with Demi Lovato, who I’m still praying for her recovery as she is still going through a tough time. Their latest single is titled Solo. Clean Bandit hasn’t been a disappointment when it comes to their music. I love songs such as Rather Be, Rockabye, Symphony, and I Miss You. It’s too bad that the very latter failed to graduate from Hit-Bound earlier in the year. I had to wait patiently to see what they had in store. And to say the least, it was worth it. Demi shines with her vocals like she does most of the time. Clean Bandit had a hand with the production and they did very well in that aspect. I feel like these guys deserve some recognition for their work. Sure, they may have two big hits in Rather Be and Rockabye. But everything else didn’t really take off. I can’t really see this one doing well either, but it’s a fun song all around. The collaboration worked out very well for them.
Best Debut Of The Week: Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato – Solo
Oh, So Blurbs
– As always, we’ll begin with our exits. First off, Go Bang was repetitive and simply too childish, so I’m not sad by its departure. Alone has ended its run. And with it, this is the first time that we do not have a song from Halsey on the countdown in two years. That’s quite a run if you ask me. Want You Back has been here for a while, even though the same can’t be said for everywhere else because Hits 1 loves all things 5 Seconds Of Summer. The only exit that really saddens me is Growing Pains. It’s sad to see a comeback single from Alessia Cara become a flop. It deserves much better than what people give credit for.
– Before introducing On The Loose, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Niall Horan got angry at a fan saying that he was dating Hailee Steinfeld as a stunt. Oh, I’m sure whoever said it will learn their lesson about saying stuff like that. Better be careful to what you say to people.
– Both Nevermind and Summer On You took big drops all the way down to the Bottom 5. Neither of those songs are really all that appealing to me, so I would be okay with them leaving within the next week or so.
– Before introducing No Tears Left To Cry, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Ariana Grande owns a small pig. I never thought that Ariana would have a pet like that, but I’ll bet it’s really cute. I’m sure she’ll raise him to be the best. Maybe it’ll become a celebrity.
– Before introducing No Brainer, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Justin Bieber did not actually marry Hailey Baldwin. Well not yet, but many were wondering if they did. Looks like Justin and Hailey both have more time on their hands to put together an epic wedding. I have a feeling it’ll be the perfect wedding.
– Spyder Harrison mentioned upon introducing IDGAF that fans were kicked out of a concert Dua Lipa is performing in because they were dancing? Now, that’s absurd. I feel like the fans were just enjoying a good time. But I guess there were strict rules put in place.
– I’ve been losing interest in I Wanna Know lately, so I’m kinda happy that it took a big drop out of the Top 20 this week. It did have a nice countdown run for an unknown EDM duo, so I’ll give them that.
– I’m actually not surprised by Shotgun getting the Biggest Jump Of The Week because I heard Spyder Harrison spoiled it while I was out one day. It’s nice to see it gain a little momentum. Now the question is, how long will it last?
– For the first time, Whatever It Takes is finally out of the Top 20 this week. Talk about an incredible run. I’m sure this one will probably hang around for a long time like most Imagine Dragons songs.
– Before introducing Happier, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Marshmello is into everything, and guess what? He even owns a monster truck. I’m sure he’s going to get more attention with this kind of stuff. I’ll bet fans will be seeing him drive that truck all day and night.
– So, Ariana Grande is going to be selling perfume now? That’s what Spyder Harrison mentioned during the introduction for God Is A Woman. Sounds like Ariana must’ve heard about the success of Cardi B.’s perfume. So, I guess she wanted to make one of her own. I have a feeling there’s going to be some competition about “best perfume”.
– Ouch! The Way I Am took a rather quick drop out of the Top 10. I’m sure it’ll probably recover quickly given that it’s only been here for a few weeks. But I guess the voters didn’t want to see another Charlie Puth song have its success.
– This week, Maroon 5 have just confirmed that they will be performing at the Super Bowl next year. Something tells me that their fans are going to feel some nostalgia because they might perform a bunch of their older singles. We’ll see what happens.
– It was just announced that Closer has been certified Diamond. Congratulations to The Chainsmokers! I’ll bet they were very thrilled to hear this news. Definitely well-deserved.
– Don’t Go Breaking My Heart has now entered the Top 5. It would definitely be nice to see it #1, but I highly doubt it. Still, it’s definitely nice to see the Backstreet Boys have a song in that region since I don’t know how long.
– High Hopes is back at #1 this week. A part of me wishes that Youngblood would stay at the top given that it’s still a hit elsewhere. But I certainly don’t mind seeing Panic! At The Disco take back the crown because Hits 1 loves Brendon Urie. I still find the song to be enjoyable, even though it’s starting to die down on some people here.
Hit-Bound:
- Kim Petras – Heart To Break
- Shawn Mendes – Nervous (DEBUT)
- Pitbull featuring Theron Theron – Free Free Free
- Calvin Harris featuring Sam Smith – Promises
- Anne-Marie – 2002
- Tiesto & Dzeko featuring Preme and Post Malone – Jackie Chan
- Silk City featuring Dua Lipa – Electricity (DEBUT)
- The Struts featuring Kesha – Body Talks
- Jason Derulo & David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj and Willy William – Goodbye
- Bryce Vine – Drew Barrymore
- Walk The Moon – Kamikaze
- The Vamps – Just My Type
- Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It
- Loud Luxury featuring brando – Body
- Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside
Entrant Reviews:
– So, Shawn Mendes has apparently decided to choose Nervous as his next single off of his self-titled album. The song is pretty underwhelming in a way. There’s really not too much to the production, and Shawn doesn’t exactly shine here. I much prefer either Lost In Japan or Youth as one of his next singles. Oh well.
– As One Kiss is dying down elsewhere, Dua Lipa is collaborating with a new EDM duo named Silk City, which is a collaboration with Mark Ronson and Diplo. They released their first single titled Electricity. This is definitely an enjoyable song all around. I love Dua’s vocals here. I’ll save more of my words come its debut.
Best Debut On Hit-Bound: Silk City featuring Dua Lipa – Electricity
My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Silk City featuring Dua Lipa – Electricity
2. The Struts featuring Kesha – Body Talks
3. Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside
4. Walk The Moon – Kamikaze
5. Kim Petras – Heart To Break
YouTube 15:
- Drake – In My Feelings
- Alan Walker featuring AuRa and Tomine Harket – Darkside
- Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other
- Cardi B.
featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin – I Like It
- Nick Jonas featuring Robin Schultz – Right Now
- Post Malone – Better Now
- One Bit featuring Louisa – Between You and Me
- DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance The Rapper – No Brainer
- R3HAB featuring Sophia Carson – Rumors
- Juice WRLD – Lucid Dreams
- Alex Aiono – Big Mistake
- Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You
- Jonas Blue featuring Jack & Jack – Rise
- Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies
- MKTO – How Can I Forget
Song Reviews:
– Let’s start with Alec Benjamin who has his latest single, If We Have Each Other. A part of me wants to like this, but it’s hard for me to do so. His vocals are a little too childish for my tastes. The guitars are okay, but nothing else about the song is special. While it’s in blue, it’s slightly closer to red than it is green.
– Next, we have a EDM duo named One Bit who is collaborating with Louisa in Between You And Me. Right off the bat, it’s definitely a fun and upbeat song. Louisa absolutely shines all throughout the song. Her voice is just amazing. One Bit did a good job themselves at handling the production. Easily the best song they’ve put out. It worked out very well for them.
– Alex Aiono has a new single out and it’s called Big Mistake. This one is pretty fun. I love the production in the song, and Alex does well with his vocals. It has quite a groove that pulls me in. Overall, it’s a enjoyable song.
– Finally, MKTO make their return with their new single, How Can I Forget. I don’t have too much to say about this one. While it’s not necessarily upbeat, it’s still rather enjoyable. I love the vocals we get from them, and the lyrical content is nice.
My Top 5 YouTube 15 Picks
1. One Bit featuring Louisa – Between You And Me
2. Alan Walker featuring AuRa and Tomine Hacket – Darkside
3. Alex Aiono – Big Mistake
4. Nick Jonas featuring Robin Schultz – Right Now
5. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies
Top 20 Review:
0 – Putrid:
TIE: 20. Bebe Rexha – I’m A Mess
19. Weezer – Africa
1 – Bad:
None!
2 – Mediocre:
None!
3 – Decent:
18. Marshmello featuring Bastille – Happier
17. Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You
4 – Good:
None!
5 – Great:
16. lovelytheband – Broken
15. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am
14. Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night)
13. Imagine Dragons – Natural
12. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies
11. Post Malone – Better Now
10. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
9. Selena Gomez – Back To You
8. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood
7. Taylor Swift – Delicate
6. Dan + Shay – Tequila
5. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones
4. Backstreet Boys – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
3. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects
2. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman
Overall Grade: 87/100 = 87% (B+)
Throwback Pick Of The Week: Earth, Wind, & Fire – September (1979)
Most Missed Countdown Song: Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza (Hello, Adrian)
Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Captain Cuts – Love Like We Used To
#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Avril Lavigne – Head Above Water
Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Kesha – Praying (#5)
My Top 5 Picks
1. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman
2. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now
3. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle
4. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects
5. Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato – Solo
My Bottom 5 Picks
TIE: 1. AJR – Burn The House Down
TIE: 1. Bebe Rexha – I’m A Mess
3. Train featuring Cam and Travie McCoy – Call Me Sir
4. LSD – Thunderclouds
5. Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie – Friends
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Kelly Clarkson – Love So Soft: This was her comeback single after about two years. She has done better, though it’s definitely not a bad song in my eyes mainly because I’m a huge fan of Kelly Clarkson and her music. I like how she went for a more soulful sound here. But after listening to her latest album Meaning Of Life, it just makes the song feel inferior, at least to me.
Zedd featuring Liam Payne – Get Low: Personally, I’d say that this is one of Zedd’s weakest singles, along with Starving. I didn’t think Liam was a good choice because he didn’t add anything to the song. Plus, the production is underwhelming, especially for Zedd. He can do better.
The Revivalists – Wish I Knew You: How did I not include this in My Top 50 Songs of 2017? I should have, because I like everything about the song. And believe it or not, this was actually released in 2016, a year before it made its debut on this countdown.
Sam Smith – Too Good At Goodbyes: Not many people care for Sam Smith when this song came around. Although I don’t find this song to be that amazing, I kinda wish people wouldn’t hate on it just because it’s a boring love song.
QOTW: Since Maroon 5 is going to be performing at the Super Bowl, what songs do you guys think they should perform?
Music Reviews + More 