Hello, fam!  So, it’s ice cold where I am right now.  And there was a snowstorm in Texas in all places.  My goodness!  I thought we might get an early spring with the warm weather that we had recently.  But boy, I was wrong big time.  Yeah, it doesn’t look like it’ll get warmer anytime soon.  So brace yourselves, everyone.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Prisoner by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa (#28)
• Break My Heart by Dua Lipa (#39) [Spent 1 Week At #1]
• ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch (#40)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Positions by Ariana Grande
40. Lifestyle by Jason Derulo featuring Adam Levine (DEBUT)
39. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles (#37) [–2] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
38. WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI (DEBUT)
37. Best Friend by Saweetie featuring Doja Cat (#38) [+1]
36. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#35) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
35. Goosebumps (Remix) by Travis Scott featuring HVME (#36) [+1]
34. Dynamite by BTS (#33) [–1]
33. Lasting Lover by Sigala featuring James Arthur (#34) [+1]
32. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (#31) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
31. My Head & My Heart by Ava Max (DEBUT)
30. ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee (#27) [–3]
29. Dakiti by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez (#32) [+3]
28. SO DONE by The KID LAROI (#29) [+1]
27. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#25) [–2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
26. Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear (#30) [+4]
25. Body by Megan Thee Stallion (#26) [+1]
24. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#23) [–1]
23. Willow by Taylor Swift (#22) [–1]
22. Take You Dancing by Jason Derulo (#15) [–7]
21. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Turk (#20) [–1]
20. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd (#21) [+1]
19. Anyone by Justin Bieber (#19) [=]
18. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke (#24) [+6]
17. Afterglow by Ed Sheeran (#16) [–1]
16. Golden by Harry Styles (#18) [+2]
15. Kings & Queens by Ava Max (#12) [–3]
14. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear (#17) [+3]
13. Diamonds by Sam Smith (#10) [–3]
12. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney (#13) [+1]
11. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae (#11) [=]
10. Bang! by AJR (#8) [–2]
9. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo (#14) [+5]
8. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish (#9) [+1]
7. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby (#7) [=]
6. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug (#6) [=]
5. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper (#2) [–3]
4. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior (#3) [–1] [Spent 10 Weeks At #1]
3. Positions by Ariana Grande (#1) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
2. 34+35 by Ariana Grande (#5) [+3]
1. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (#4) [+3] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Memories by Maroon 5 (1^st And Only Week At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Take You Dancing by Jason Derulo (–7)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke (+6)

New Entrants:
– We have more Jason Derulo, and he teams up with Adam Levine of Maroon 5 in their latest single titled Lifestyle.  I didn’t exactly cared for Savage Love and Take You Dancing, while better, isn’t that special either.  But this new song is probably worse than the other two.  Something about it just bugs me for some reason.  I don’t like the “la la la’s” in the chorus.  There’s really no vocal chemistry between the two and some of the lyrics put me off.  I don’t know.  Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not feeling this overall.  If anything though, it’s better than…

– Dear Jesus, help me with this one.  We have more of The KID LAROI with his new single WITHOUT YOU.  I honestly don’t get the appeal here.  His current representation on the countdown, SO DONE is just a mess and WITHOUT YOU is no different.  I will say that I kinda like the guitar here.  But Dear Odin, his voice is just god awful.  He sounds whiny all throughout the song and it just makes the song unlistenable.  He is basically just talking about a toxic relationship.  I don’t get what he’s going for here.  He should’ve takena different approach because the lyrics are shit.  Nobody wants to hear him whine about going through a bad relationship.  It doesn’t work.  And I don’t buy into this crap because he comes off as a whiny guy.  Simply put, this song blows.  NEXT!

– With Kings & Queens dying down, it was only a matter of time until we get more of Ava Max.  This time around, she brings us My Head & My Heart.  She has impressed me with her music for the most part.  Sweet But Psycho was my #4 best song of 2019 and I adored Kings & Queeens as well.  Do I think My Head & My Heart is her best?  No, but I still love it.  She has a good voice and it shows in the song.  The production is very good, I quite like the lyrics, and the chorus is awesome.  I don’t have much more to say beyond that.  I’m looking forward to seeing this become a hit.  I’ll be waiting.

Best Debut Of The Week: My Head & My Heart by Ava Max

My Head & My Blurbs
– As far as the exits go, all of them were great songs and will certainly be missed.  Prisoner was a flop and it’s disappointing to see Miley Cyrus not get a hit.  Seems like it’s been a long time since she’s had one.  Oh well.  The other two songs, however, were successful.  Break My Heart was something I loved and it wasanother hit for Dua.  I’m glad it got the #1 even if it was only for one week.  Finally, we sadly bid adieu to ROCKSTAR.  This was actually my song of the summer and I enjoyed it a lot.  I would’ve loved for that one to hit #1, but a peak of #4 was good enough.

– It’s no shock that Justin Bieber got the #1 this week, this time with Lonely.  It’s not exactly what I wanted to see at the top spot given that I’ve been losing interest in the song right now.  But even though I don’t love the song, I’ll take it over Holy, which has thankfully peaked and now appears to be falling down.

– Ariana replaces herself in the Top 2 with the 34+35.  I can definitely see this as a #1 in the near future.  However, I much prefer Positions over this, but it’s not a bad song overall.  But I feel like it lacks something that makes it stand out.  Ariana definitely has had better.

– Before introducing Therefore I Am, Ryan Seacrest mentioned that Billie will release her new album if fans don’t stop talking about her green hair.  Heh, I guess she might want to change her hair color.  Maybe then, people will stop talking about it lol.

– Not a shock at all that Driver’s License rises into the Top 10.  This song has slowly been getting better with each and every additional listen.  I find that Olivia has a good voice and she’s pretty talented.  This will be #1 in weeks time.  I’m calling it now.

– I knew Diamonds was not going to last very long in the Top 10, given that it’s been dying out elsewhere.  I wonder will it stick around long enough to be eligible for the AT40 Year-End Countdown for 2021.

– Take You Dancing tanked this week.  Safe to say this won’t become a hit after Savage Love.  It’s better than that song, but it’s decent at best.  It won’t be much longer with us.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira
  
• Star by LOOΠΔ
• Talk About Love by Zara Larsson featuring Young Thug
• Skin by Sabrina Carpenter

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Truth Hurts by Lizzo
• Cake By The Ocean by DNCE
• Shut Up And Dance by Walk The Moon
• New Rules by Dua Lipa
• Can’t Stop The Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
• Rain On Me by Lady Gaga featuring Ariana Grande
• Me, Myself & I by G-Eazy featuring Bebe Rexha
• Without Me by Halsey
• We Found Love by Rihanna
• Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max
• Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
19. Bang! by AJR
18. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
17. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug
16. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke

1 – Bad:
None!

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
15. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco
14. Afterglow by Ed Sheeran
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. Positions by Ariana Grande

5 – Great:
9. Anyone by Justin Bieber
8. Golden by Harry Styles
7. Diamonds by Sam Smith
6. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo
5. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
4. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
3. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
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: Unwell by Matchbox Twenty (2003)

Most Missed Song: All The Stars by Kendrick Lamar featuring SZA

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Love Story (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa

My Top 5 Picks
1. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
2. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby
3. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
4. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
5. Kings & Queens by Ava Max

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
2. Bang! by AJR
3. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
4. Goosebumps (Remix) by Travis Scott featuring HVME
5. SO DONE by The KID LAROI

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
The Man by Taylor Swift: While I much prefer her other singles from Lover, I can appreciate the song for what it is.  Too bad that one failed to take off as she would surprise us with Folklore later on.

Hello, fam!  So Tom Brady has won yet another Super Bowl.  What else is new?  I mean, they dominated Kansas City from start to finish.  My goodness!  But knowing Kansas City, I’m sure they’ll be back.  March Madness is coming up soon, and so is baseball.  I’m hoping to see the Braves make the playoffs again and eventually win the World Series.  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:

• Holiday by Lil Nas X (#27)
• Lemonade by Internet Money featuring Gunna, Don Toliver, and Nav (#34)
  
• Hawái by Maluma featuring The Weeknd (#37)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Positions by Ariana Grande
40. ROCKSTAR by Dababy featuring Roddy Ricch (#40) [=]
39. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa (#38) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
38. Best Friend by Saweetie featuring Doja Cat (DEBUT)
37. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles (#35) [–2] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
36. Goosebumps (Remix) by Travis Scott featuring HVME (DEBUT)
35. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#33) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
34. Lasting Lover by Sigala featuring James Arthur (DEBUT)
33. Dynamite by BTS (#30) [–3]
32. Dakiti by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez (#39) [+7]
31. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (#28) [–3] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
30. Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear (#32) [+2]
29. SO DONE by The KID LAROI (#31) [+2]
28. Prisoner by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa (#26) [–2]
27. ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee (#25) [–2]
26. Body by Megan Thee Stallion (#36) [+10]
25. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#23) [–2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
24. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke (#24) [=]
23. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#18) [–5]
22. Willow by Taylor Swift (#21) [–1]
21. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd (#22) [+1]
20. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Durk (#14) [–6]
19. Anyone by Justin Bieber (#19) [=]
18. Golden by Harry Styles (#17) [–1]
17. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear (#20) [+3]
16. Afterglow by Ed Sheeran (#15) [–1]
15. Take You Dancing by Dancing by Jason Derulo (#13) [–2]
14. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo (#29) [+15]
13. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney (#16) [+3]
12. Kings & Queens by Ava Max (#10) [–2]
11. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae (#12) [+1]
10. Diamonds by Sam Smith (#11) [+1]
9. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish (#9) [=]
8. Bang! by AJR (#7) [–1]
7. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby (#5) [–2]
6. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug (#6) [=]
5. 34+35 by Ariana Grande (#8) [+3]
4. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (#4) [=]
3. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior (#2) [–1] [Spent 10 Weeks At #1]
2. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper (#3) [+1]
1. Positions by Ariana Grande (#1) [=] [4^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (2^nd And Final Week At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Turk (–6)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo (+15)

New Entrants:
– Yeah…I’m not very thrilled by this week’s debuts.  Up first is more of Saweetie (Ugh…) who collaborates with Doja Cat (also ugh…) in their new single Best Friend.  I’m not very fond of Doja Cat’s singles, and the same can certainly be said for Saweetie.  I wasn’t expecting to like this song at all and sure enough, I was right.  Upon hearing it at the first listen, I find that it is very poorly produced with trap elements and a horrendous beat that are not to my liking.  The verses we get from them are shit because they show no charisma or any sort of personality.  I’m not even going to comment on the rest of the song because this song just isn’t worth my time.  It blows on so many levels and given that they haven’t been impressing me with their music, it’s no shock that these two coming together would end up with this shitty song.  NEXT!

– Oh, great.  We have more of Travis Scott, and he collaborates with producer HVME in the remix of Goosebumps.  Yes, this is the remix of the song from 2017, which had Kendrick Lamar.  I was very mixed on the original overall, but at least it was tolerable thanks to Kendrick.  The remix on the other hand…blech.  The production is extremely basic, the beat is watered down and the rest is not very interesting.  Travis just sounds terrible with his vocals and Kendrick’s verse is omitted in the song.  Was it really necessary to leave him out?  I’d think not.  I hope it dies out really fast because this blows in more ways than one.  NEXT!

– Finally, we have EDM producer Sigala and singer James Arthur with their single titled Lasting Lover.  I’ve been pretty familiar with Sigala’s music for a while and he’s pretty good for the most part.  James Arthur is mostly remembered for his 2016 hit Say You Won’t Let Go, which many YouTube critics hated.  Believe it or not, this was actually written by Lewis Capaldi, whose song has lasted a full year on the countdown.  We’ll get to that in just a bit.  As far as Lasting Lover goes, I’m a little indifferent on this song.  James has a good voice and I like the chorus.  He’s a pretty decent singer.  My only problem is that the production is a little too generic and the beat is okay.  Sigala has done better in the past with songs like Lullaby in my opinion.  But this isn’t his best work here.  So yeah, it’s a decent song.  But not something I’ll remember in about a year or so.

Best Debut Of The Week: Lasting Lover by Sigala featuring James Arthur

Lasting Blurber
– We’ll begin with our exits.  To start, it’s about time we bid adieu to the monstrosity that is of Lemonade.  What a fucking mess that song was.  I’m glad I don’t have to deal with it anymore.  As for Holiday, I didn’t necessarily cared for it.  But it wasn’t something I hated.  Finally, there’s Hawái which I’m sad to see it drop off.  But I knew it wasn’t going to last very long given that it died down elsewhere.

– We did see the big jump from Body this week.  I don’t mind Body for the most part, even though I much prefer Savage over that song any day.  We’ll see how long it can keep up its momentum.

– Before introducing Monsters, Ryan Seacrest mentioned that Demi has been friends with the band All Time Low and that they’ve been working on the song for about ten years.  Wait, 10 Years?!?!  Wow, that’s a pretty long time to work on a song.  I guess they were working on trying to make this as perfect as possible.

– On the mote of jumps, Driver’s License got a massive boost this week by no surprise given the song’s imennse success elsewhere.  It won’t be much longer until the song reaches the Top 5.  I already know it’s going to be here for a long while, so brace yourselves everyone.

– So yeah, Put Your Records On is now my new least favorite song on the countdown.  I legitimately cannot stand this song.  His voice is just awful and the production is no good at all.  This is just a terrible cover of the 2006 single from Corinne Bailey Rae.  We don’t need this to become a hit in 2021.  It needs to drop soon.

– On the flip side, Therefore I Am is my new favorite song.  Billie Eilish has been impressing me with her music lately.  I’m sure she has better songs objectively.  But I like Therefore I Am enough to put it in purple.  I’ve been enjoying this song a lot lately.  I’m glad the song’s momentum is still going strong.  We’ll see if it ends up in the Top 5 in the near future.

– Diamonds entering the Top 10 on the countdown is nice to see, despite it losing momentum elsewhere.  Obviously, it’s not quite as good as Dancing With A Stranger, which is easily Sam Smith’s best song.  But Diamonds is still a bop in and of itself.  Sam has a good voice and it’s well-produced.  So I’m happy that it’s still hanging around.

– Sigh….this is just great.  Holy has hit a scary new peak at #2.  I will be livid if this becomes a #1 hit.  I have to hold out hope that Positions can hold at #1.  I’ll glady take Mood at #1 again (not very likely, though).  Hell, I’ll even have Lonely at #1 even though I don’t love it so long as it blocks Holy from getting there.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira
• My Head & My Heart by Ava Max
• Star by LOOΠΔ
• Skin by Sabrina Carpenter
• Lifestyle by Jason Derulo featuring Adam Levine
• WITHOUT YOU by The KID LAROI

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Lose Somebody by Kygo featuring OneRepublic
• Love On The Brain by Rihanna
• 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
• Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid
• One Kiss by Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa
• Dance Monkey by Tones And I
• Nothin’ On You by B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars
• Memories by Maroon 5
• Heather by Conan Gray
• Say So by Doja Cat

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
19. Bang! by AJR
18. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
17. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug

1 – Bad:
16. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Turk

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

3 – Decent:
14. Afterglow by Ed Sheeran
13. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae
12. 34+35 by Ariana Grande
11. Take You Dancing by Jason Derulo

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

5 – Great:
8. Anyone by Justin Bieber
7. Golden by Harry Styles
6. Diamonds by Sam Smith
5. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo
4. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
3. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
2. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish

Total Score: 64/100 = 64% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: What’s Love Got To Do With It by Tina Turner (1984)

Most Missed Song: Renegades by X Ambassadors

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Inside Out by Zedd featuring Griff

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#4)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
2. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby
3. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
4. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
5. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
2. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
3. Bang! by AJR
4. Goosebumps (Remix) by Travis Scott featuring HVME
5. SO DONE by The KID LAROI

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Yellow Hearts by Ant Saunders: This is easily forgettable, in large part because there’s no lyrical depth and the guy’s voice isn’t very interesting.  Let’s move on.

Cuz I Love You by Lizzo: Yeah…this was not a good follow-up to her previous two hits (Truth Hurts and Good As Hell).  The loud, noisy instrumentation and Lizzo screaming doesn’t sit well with me at all.  I’m sorry, but I wasn’t impressed by this.

Make You Mine by PUBLIC: This song actually came out in 2014.  But it gained a little bit of momentum last year because of a certain app I won’t mention.  I hear this at work a lot, too.  So at some point, I kinda started to get sick of it for a while.  But despite this, pretty much everything about the song works well.  I think the instrumentation is fine here and the vocals are solid.  Not memorable on its own, but still a easy listen every now and then.

Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi: A little bit of a step up from its predecessor, but not by much.  Lewis’s voice still irritates me, especially when he tries to hit those high notes, and the lyrics…eh.  The only good thing I can say about this is it has good instrumentation.

Hello, fam! This week, I’ve officially turned 29 on Thursday. I’m only one year away from being 30!  I’ll be enjoying my last full year of being in my 20’s.  I want to say thank you for all the birthday wishes, everyone.  Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday.  I’m sure it will be an epic matchup.  I’ll definitely be watching to see who wins it all.  That’s something to look forward to.  Now with that in mind, let’s get right into the AT40 countdown!  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Monster by Shawn Mendes featuring Justin Bieber (#30)
• Heather by Conan Gray (#40)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Positions by Ariana Grande
40. ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch (#38) [–2]
39. Dakati by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez (DEBUT)
38. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa (#36) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
37. Hawái by Maulma featuring The Weeknd (#37) [=]
36. Body by Megan Thee Stallion (#39) [+3]
35. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles (#34) [–1] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
34. Lemonade by Internet Money featuring Gunna, Don Toliver, and Nav (#31) [–3]
33. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#32) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
32. Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear (#35) [+3]
31. So Done by The KID LAROI (#33) [+2]
30. Dynamite by BTS (#29) [–1]
29. Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo (DEBUT)
28. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (#27) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
27. Holiday by Lil Nas X (#24) [–3]
26. Prisoner by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa (#25) [–1]
25. ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee (#23) [–2]
24. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke (#28) [+4]
23. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#19) [–4] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
22. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd (#22) [=]
21. Willow by Taylor Swift (#21) [=]
20. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear (#20) [=]
19. Anyone by Justin Bieber (#26) [+7]
18. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#16) [–2]
17. Golden by Harry Styles (#17) [=]
16. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney (#18) [+2]
15. Afterglow by Ed Sheeran (#15) [=]
14. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Turk (#11) [–3]
13. Take You Dancing by Jason Derulo (#13) [=]
12. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae (#14) [+2]
11. Diamonds by Sam Smith (#12) [+1]
10. Kings & Queens by Ava Max (#8) [–2]
9. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish (#10) [+1]
8. 34+35 by Ariana Grande (#9) [+1]
7. Bang! by AJR (#7) [=]
6. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug (#6) [=]
5. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby (#4) [–1]
4. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (#5) [+1]
3. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper (#3) [=]
2. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior (#1) [=] [Spent 10 Weeks At #1]
1. Positions by Ariana Grande (#1) [=] [3^rd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (1^st of 2 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (–4)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Anyone by Justin Bieber (+7)

New Entrants:
– So, two debuts on my birthday weekend. We’ll start with Bad Bunny who is collaborating with Jhay Cortez in their latest single titled Dakati. My initial reaction to the song wasn’t the best. I put it in red for about a couple weeks. But now I’ve sorta came around to it. I think Bad Bunny is a pretty good Latin rapper and he shows why by singing the entire song in Spanish. I have concerns about the production which can be underwhelming at times mostly because of the beat. I feel like more could’ve been done. Then, we have Jhay Cortez here who makes a decent contribution to the song. I think the chemistry is there. Overall, not bad. But it could’ve been better.

– Now onto the big one. We have newcomer Olivia Rodrigo who makes her very first appearance with the debut single titled Driver’s License. She actually stars in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. I’m not familiar with the show itself since I don’t really watch TV shows, even on streaming. I mostly watch sports nowadays, and guess what? The Super Bowl is this Sunday. I’m sure everyone will be watching Mahomes vs. Brady play against each other. Anyway, on to the song itself. It took me a few listens, but I quickly grew into it. It’s basically a breakup song about moving on from a relationship. I like her voice overall and the chorus is pretty divine, especially when she is able to hit those high notes. The production is pretty solid mostly because of the piano work and the percussion. She made a good first impression with this song overall. I’m almost certain this will become a #1 hit on this countdown in record time given that it’s a massive hit elsewhere, and I’m definitely okay with that because it’s a good song.

Best Debut Of The Week: Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo

Blurber’s License
– Good riddance to both of our exits. Monster was a wretched mess and probably my least favorite single Shawn Mendes has released. He’s so much better than this. And Heather by Conan Gray was just straight up bland and mediocre. Like I said last week, Maniac should’ve debuted instead of this. Yeah, none of those songs will be missed. NEXT!

– So, we have Watermelon Sugar and Lemonade back-to-back at #35 and #34, respectively. That reminds me: I’m in the mood for some lemonade right now, along with some watermelon. Ah, they taste so good!

– Can So Done like not move up any further?! I really don’t want to see it become a hit. It’s only been getting worse everytime I hear it. How did we let such a monstrosity appear on the countdown?! This is seriously not okay.

– Blinding Lights finally drops out of the Top 20, this time for good. Man, what a run it has had! It just seemed like it was going to be on this countdown forever, what with the INSANE run it has had in the Top 10. Now, it’s time is almost up. It was fun while it lasted.

– Replacing it in the Top 20 is Anyone by Justin Bieber. I’m almost certain that this will enter the Top 10 in a matter of weeks because of course. But at least it’s better than his recent singles. So, I’ll be happy if it ends up being successful.

– Not much has changed as far as the Top 10 goes other than a few songs moving spots.

– For my birthday weekend, our #1 remains the same. I’m happy with Positions staying at the top. With the kind of run that it’s having and there appears to be no song that will replace it, I have a good feeling it’s going to be #1 for a while at least.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Daisy by Ashnikko
• Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira
• Lasting Lover by Sigala featuring James Arthur
• Goosebumps (Remix) by Travis Scott featuring HVME
• Best Friend by Saweetie featuring Doja Cat

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Mirrors by Justin Timberlake
• Back To You by Selena Gomez
• Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani
• Circles by Post Malone
• Never Be The Same by Camila Cabello
• If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels
• Strip That Down by Liam Payne featuring Quavo
• Radioactive by Imagine Dragons
• Don’t by Ed Sheeran
• That’s What I Like by Bruno Mars

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Bang! by AJR
19. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
18. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
17. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug
16. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth

1 – Bad:
15. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Turk

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

3 – Decent:
13. Afterglow by Ed Sheeran
12. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae
11. 34+35 by Ariana Grande
10. Take You Dancing by Jason Derulo

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

5 – Great:
7. Anyone by Justin Bieber
6. Golden by Harry Styles
5. Diamonds by Sam Smith
4. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
3. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
2. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby

Total Score: 59/100 = 59% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: The Middle by Jimmy Eat World (2001)

Most Missed Song: The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Inside Out by Zedd featuring Griff

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#6)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Levitating by Dua Lipa
2. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
3. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
4. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
5. Prisoner by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Bang! by AJR
2. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
3. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
4. Lemonade by Internet Money featuring Gunna, Don Toliver, and Nav
5. So Done by THE KID LAROI

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Falling by Trevor Daniel: Not a good first impression here. I find his voice to be annoying and the lyrics leave a lot to be desired. Yeah, I’m not fond of this. NEXT!

Underdog by Alicia Keys: Despite her not making a lot of music in part because she has been hosting the Grammy Music Awards for a few years, she hasn’t really lost a step when it comes to making music and this song shows why she is talented. It’s upbeat and her voice is amazing.

What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers: This one didn’t stick with me like Sucker and Only Human did. I may have liked it at first, but now I find it kinda bland and not very interesting. They can definitely do better.

Hello, fam!  So, this is my last full week of me being 28.  Next week, I’ll be 29. Man, how time flies by so fast!  I’m almost 30.  It’s too bad that I won’t be throwing a birthday party given that we can’t really do large gatherings and what not.  But I’ll still celebrate anyway.  I have a lot to talk about everyone, so buckle up!  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs leaving us this week:

• Adore You by Harry Styles (#39) [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Positions by Ariana Grande
40. Heather by Conan Gray (#36) [–4]
39. Body by Megan Thee Stallion (DEBUT)
38. ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch (#35) [–3]
37. Hawái by Maulma featuring The Weeknd (#38) [+1]
36. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa (#32) [–4] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
35. Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear (#37) [+2]
34. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles (#30) [–4] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
33. So Done by The KID LAROI (#34) [+1]
32. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#28) [–4] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
31. Lemonade by Internet Money featuring Gunna, Don Toliver, and Nav (#33) [+2]
30. Monster by Shawn Mendes featuring Justin Bieber (#18) [–12]
29. Dynamite by BTS (#19) [–10]
28. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke (#31) [+3]
27. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (#26) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
26. Anyone by Justin Bieber (#40) [+14]
25. Prisoner by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa (#27) [+2]
24. Holiday by Lil Nas X (#24) [=]
23. ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee (#21) [–2]
22. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd (#25) [+3]
21. Willow by Taylor Swift (#29) [+8]
20. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear (#22) [+2]
19. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#17) [–2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
18. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney (#20) [+2]
17. Golden by Harry Styles (#15) [–2]
16. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#13) [–3]
15. Afterglow by Ed Sheeran (#23) [+8]
14. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae (#16) [+2]
13. Take You Dancing by Jason Derulo (#14) [+1]
12. Diamonds by Sam Smith (#12) [=]
11. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Turk (#10) [–1]
10. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish (#9) [–1]
9. 34+35 by Ariana Grande (#11) [+2]
8. Kings & Queens by Ava Max (#4) [–4]
7. Bang! by AJR (#6) [–1]
6. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug (#8) [+2]
5. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (#7) [+2]
4. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby (#5) [+1]
3. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper (#3) [=]
2. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior (#1) [=] [Spent 10 Weeks At #1]
1. Positions by Ariana Grande (#1) [=] [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Circles by Post Malone (5^th of 7 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Monster by Shawn Mendes featuring Justin Bieber (–12)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Anyone by Justin Bieber (+14)

New Entrants:
– We have only one new entrant this week.  Megan Thee Stallion makes her return this week with her new single titled Body.  Last time she appeared on the countdown, she had Savage.  I enjoyed that one a lot, as well as WAP.  Body isn’t quite as good as the other two.  But it’s still enjoyable to a degree.  Basically, she talks about women being jealous of her and some other stuff.  Megan shows that she is talented as a rapper and knows how to deliver her verses with relative ease.  It’s a repetitive, but fun song overall.  We’ll see how long it lasts.

Blurb Yourself
– Let’s first talk about our exit.  Adore You is officially no more.  We sadly say goodbye to that song after a year of being on the countdown.  It was Harry’s biggest hit and I’m glad that it was a success because he is talented.  He finally got the recognition he deserved.  Farewell, Adore You.  It’s been a fun ride.

– Heather dropping down to #40 is good news since I’m not very fond of that song.  I’m glad that one flopped because it was a step down compared to Maniac.  It’s a shame that this song is Conan Gray’s first appearance on the countdown and not Maniac.  That one was fun and upbeat.  Heather, on the other hand, is just underwhelming for me.

– Good to see Monster tanking hard after spending some time in the Top 20.  That song is just a mess and probably my least favorite song Shawn Mendes has released so far.  The underwhelming production and no chemistry between him and Justin Bieber doesn’t help matters.

– On the note of Justin Bieber, we have Anyone jumping big in its second week.  That one I’m fond of as opposed to his recent singles.  It reminds me a little bit of the songs from Purpose, which I geniunely loved.

– Afterglow continues its momentum by making its way into the Top 20.  Again, I’m not necessarily fond of the song and Ed Sheeran has done better.  But with his popularity, I’m sure this’ll stick around for a while.

– 34+35 by Ariana Grande has now entered the Top 10.  I’m almost certain that one will stick around as its gaining traction elsewhere because why not. I can’t say I’m thrilled about this given that the song isn’t too interesting for my tastes.  But if anything, I’d rather listen to this than 7 Rings, which was a mess.

– Kings & Queens falls out of the Top 5, which is saddening given that I still adore the song.  It was fun while it lasted.  I didn’t expect that song to become a hit heading into 2021.  But I’m happy that Ava is getting recognition and she deserves it because she is talented.  She does have another new single in the form of My Head & My Heart, which is divine.  I’m hoping to see that one debut soon.

– It was only a matter of time until Lonely entered the Top 5.  I really don’t know how I feel about this because I’m honestly tired of Justin Bieber and I think we’ve heard enough from him this year (other than Anyone).  But at least Lonely is tolerable to a degree, so I wouldn’t be too disappointed if it ended up at #1 (which will likely happen).

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Dakiti by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez
• Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo
• Lasting Lover by Sigala featuring James Arthur
• Daisy by Ashnikko
• Girl Like Me by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Shakira

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Into You by Ariana Grande
• Speechless by Dan + Shay
• Finesse (Remix) by Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B
• When The Party’s Over by Billie Eilish
• Shut Up And Dance by Walk The Moon
• Wow. by Post Malone
• Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
• Believer by Imagine Dragons
• If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels
• Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani
• Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Bang! by AJR
19. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
18. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
17. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug
16. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth

1 – Bad:
15. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Turk

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

3 – Decent:
13. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae
12. Afterglow by Ed Sheeran
11. 34+35 by Ariana Grande
10. Take You Dancing by Jason Derulo

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

5 – Great:
7. Diamonds by Sam Smith
6. Golden by Harry Styles
5. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
4. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
3. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
2. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby

Total Score: 60/100 = 60% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Lose Yourself by Eminem (2002)

Most Missed Song: One Foot by Walk The Moon

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Easy by Troye Sivan featuring Kacey Musgraves and Mark Ronson

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#7)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Levitating by Dua Lipa
2. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
3. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
4. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
5. Prisoner by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Bang! by AJR
2. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
3. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
4. Lemonade by Internet Money featuring Gunna, Don Toliver, and Nav
5. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
You Should Be Sad by Halsey: This is Halsey’s attempt to go country.  I thought it turned out to be okay for the most part.  While Halsey sounds pretty good, the production left quite a bit to be desired as it was missing some country elements.

We Made It by Louis Tomlinson: It’s too bad Louis Tomlinson doesn’t get any recognition and it’s a shame because he’s a really good singer.  We Made It is really no different compared to what he has done before.  While I prefer Kill My Mind over this, it’s still a good song because it has good lyrics, good vocals, and good production.

Blinding Lights by The Weeknd: Ah yes, The Weeknd’s biggest hit of his career.  And with it’s insane longevity on the charts, I’m almost certain this will repeat on the Year-End for 2021.

My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby: This song is another reason why I’m not very fond of Camila as a singer.  Although it’s not nearly as bad as Never Be The Same, her voice doesn’t sound good here and everything else is underwhelming.  Too bad she’ll probably never top Havana, which is easily her best song.

Hello, fam! So yeah, I’ve been very slow when it comes to my Year-End posts.  In fact, I’m not even close to getting those done.  I guess that’s what happens when I haven’t been doing much blogging lately.  Basically, my Year-End posts won’t be ready until next month.  Also, I’m very sad about the passing of Atlanta Braves legend Hank Aaron. He was a big inspiration to all of us. He’ll be sadly missed. Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Be Like That by Kane Brown featuring Swae Lee and Khalid (#22)
• Roses by SAINt JHN (#40)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Mood by 24kGoldn featuring Iann Dior
40. Anyone by Justin Bieber (DEBUT)
39. Adore You by Harry Styles (#37) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
38. Hawái by Maulma featuring The Weeknd (#39) [+1]
37. Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear (DEBUT)
36. Heather by Conan Gray (#38) [+2]
35. ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch (#33) [–2]
34. So Done by The KID LAROI (#36) [+2]
33. Lemonade by Internet Money featuring Gunna, Don Toliver, and Nav (#35) [+2]
32. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa (#30) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
31. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke (#34) [+3]
30. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles (#28) [–2] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
29. Willow by Taylor Swift (#31) [+2]
28. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#26) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
27. Prisoner by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa (#27) [=]
26. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (#24) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
25. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd (#29) [+4]
24. Holiday by Lil Nas X (#23) [–1]
23. Afterglow by Ed Sheeran (#32) [+9]
22. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear (#25) [+3]
21. ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee (#19) [–2]
20. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney (#21) [+1]
19. Dynamite by BTS (#15) [–4]
18. Monster by Shawn Mendes featuring Justin Bieber (#17) [–1]
17. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#16) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
16. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae (#20) [+4]
15. Golden by Harry Styles (#14) [–1]
14. Take You Dancing by Jason Derulo (#18) [+4]
13. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#12) [–1]
12. Diamonds by Sam Smith (#11) [–1]
11. 34+35 by Ariana Grande (#13) [+2]
10. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Turk (#9) [–1]
9. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish (#10) [+1]
8. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug (#7) [–1]
7. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (#8) [+1]
6. Bang! by AJR (#6) [=]
5. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby (#5) [=]
4. Kings & Queens by Ava Max (#4) [=]
3. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper (#3) [=]
2. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior (#1) [–1] [Spent 10 Weeks At #1]
1. Positions by Ariana Grande (#2) [+1] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Circles by Post Malone (4^th of 7 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Dynamite by BTS (–4)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Afterglow by Ed Sheeran (+9)

New Entrants:
– I haven’t been impressed with what Justin Bieber has had to offer recently. His recent singles have not been to my liking at all. But this week, he gives us his latest single in the form of Anyone. I’ll simply say that this is probably the best song he has released in a while. I think the last time I enjoyed something from Justin Bieber was when he had his biggest hit in Despacito, which was all the way back in 2017. This song definitely gives me Purpose vibes. I like the production here and Justin sounds good with his voice. That’s all I can say about this one. I’m sure this will become another hit for him because, it’s Justin Bieber. He’s arguably the most popular artist right now.

– So, Hits 1 has been playing music from All Time Low for quite a while, about five years or so I believe. But until today, their songs never went mainstream until they’ve released Monsters. If I’m correct, this is their very first appearance on the AT40 countdown. And they’re collaborating with Blackbear, which is a big reason why their song is gaining momentum right now. Anyway, about this song, I think it’s pretty damn awesome. I love the instrumentation here and the vocals are pretty good as well.  These guys are definitely talented singers and this song is no different compared to what they’ve done before.  Another thing I like about the song is Blackbear’s contribution.  I think his verse is pretty solid.  So yeah, it’s nice to see All Time Low finally getting some love outside of Hits 1 and I’m happy that this is the song that did it for them.  It recently hit #1 on the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown.  Will it find the same success on the AT40?  Only time will tell on that.

Best Debut Of The Week: Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear

Anyblurb
– In terms of our exits this week, Roses was due to leave for sometime. I never really cared for it, but it wasn’t something I hated in the end. Be Like That was a good song and probably one of my favorites from Kane Brown. That song will be missed by me.

– Positions by Ariana Grande gets the #1 this week. This song has considerably grown on me since the start of the year. But it isn’t really Ariana’s best. I much prefer her singles from the first three albums and some of Sweetener. I’m fine with Positions at the top so long as it blocks Holy from getting to #1.

– Take You Dancing and You Broke Me First are both gaining momentum.  I can’t say I’m thrilled about it though, given that both songs aren’t very memorable.  The former has somewhat good production and is better than Savage Love, but the latter is underwhelming at times and I’m not fond of the Tate’s voice.  I would prefer if neither of them become hits.

– That big jump from Afterglow was expected in its second week. I’m not really too fond of that song as Ed Sheeran has done better. But it’s not the worst he’s done, so I’ll give him that.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Daisy by Ashnikko
• Body by Megan Thee Stallion
• Dákiti by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez
• Lasting Lover by Sigala featuring James Arthur

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato
• Talk by Khalid
• Rude Boy by Rihanna
• Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B
• Trampoline hy SHAED
• Wonder by Shawn Mendes
• Clarity by Zedd featuring Foxes
• Head & Heart by Joel Corry featuring MNEK
• Stressed Out by TWENTY ØNE PILØTS
• Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee
• Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Bang! by AJR
19. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
18. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
17. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug
16. Monster by Shawn Mendes featuring Justin Bieber
15. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth

1 – Bad:
14. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Turk

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

3 – Decent:
12. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae
11. 34+35 by Ariana Grande
10. Take You Dancing by Jason Derulo

4 – Good:
9. Positions by Ariana Grande

5 – Great:
8. Dynamite by BTS
7. Diamonds by Sam Smith
6. Golden by Harry Styles
5. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
4. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
3. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
2. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby

Total Score: 58/100 = 58% (C+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: At Last by Etta James (1960)

Most Missed Song: On The Loose by Niall Horan (I’ve been hearing this at work at lot lately. It’s still really good.)

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Easy by Troye Sivan featuring Kacey Musgraves and Mark Ronson

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#9)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Levitating by Dua Lipa
2. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
3. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
4. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
5. Prisoner by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Bang! by AJR
2. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
3. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
4. Lemonade by Internet Money featuring Gunna, Don Toliver, and Nav
5. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Yummy by Justin Bieber: Ugh, do I even need to explain this? This song is just shitty in every sense of the word. Nonsensical lyrics about a girl who has that “yummy, yummy” and what not, terrible trap production, and Justin being drenched in auto-tune makes this song an uneasy listen.

Hello, fam!  So now that I’m back, I have a lot of things that I need to get to.  First off, I’ve got Year-End posts that I’m working on.  It won’t be until later this month at the earliest when they’re ready.  Also, the Grammys have been delayed until March because of COVID-19 concerns.  I was looking forward to watching the performances.  But we’ll have to wait another two months.  I’m sure it’ll be over soon, what with the vaccines coming out.  But in the meantime, stay safe everyone.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Baby I’m Jealous by Bebe Rexha featuring Doja Cat (#25)
• If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels (#40)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
40. Roses by SAINt JHN (#39) [–1]
39. Hawái by Maluma featuring The Weeknd (#39) [=]
38. Heather by Conan Gray (#32) [–6]
37. Adore You by Harry Styles (#35) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
36. So Done by The Kid LAROI (#37) [+1]
35. Lemonade by Internet Money featuring Gunna, Don Toliver, and Nav (#33) [–2]
34. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke (#36) [+2]
33. ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch (#30) [–3]
32. Afterglow by Ed Sheeran (DEBUT)
31. Willow by Taylor Swift (DEBUT)
30. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa (#27) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
29. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd (#34) [+5]
28. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles (#24) [–4] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
27. Prisoner by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa (#31) [+4]
26. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#22) [–4] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
25. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear (#28) [+3]
24. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (#20) [–4]
23. Holiday by Lil Nas X (#29) [+6]
22. Be Like That by Kane Brown featuring Swae Lee and Khalid (#18) [–4]
21. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney (#26) [+5]
20. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae (#23) [+3]
19. ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee (#16) [–3]
18. Take You Dancing by Jason Derulo (#21) [+3]
17. Monster by Shawn Mendes featuring Justin Bieber (#17) [=]
16. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#14) [–2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
15. Dynamite by BTS (#6) [–9]
14. Golden by Harry Styles (#15) [+1]
13. 34+35 by Ariana Grande (#19) [+6]
12. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#10) [–2]
11. Diamonds by Sam Smith (#12) [+1]
10. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish (#13) [+3]
9. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Durk (#9) [=]
8. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (#11) [+3]
7. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug (#8) [+1]
6. Bang! by AJR (#7) [+1]
5. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby (#5) [=]
4. Kings & Queens by Ava Max (#3) [–1]
3. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper (#4) [+1]
2. Positions by Ariana Grande (#2) [=]
1. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior (#1) [=] [10^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Circles by Post Malone (3^rd of 7 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Dynamite by BTS (–9)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Holiday by Lil Nas X (+6)

New Entrants:
– Two big acts are returning to the countdown this week.  Up first is Ed Sheeran, who released a single out of nowhere during the holidays.  It’s titled Afterglow.  It’s been a year since he released his album No. 6 Collaborations Project, which I was indifferent on for the most part (emphasis on “for the most part”).  Songs like Beautiful People and BLOW were great, and South Of The Border was pretty good as well.  But everything else on the album ranged from meh to pretty bad.  As far as his new single goes, I find it to be okay.  I do quite like the acoustic guitar here.  It sort of reminds me of his singles from previous albums.  My concern, however, is that it lacks substance and the rest of the production leaves quite a bit to be desired.  Ed’s voice is underwhelming here, and there’s not much in terms of lyrical depth.  It’s fine, I guess.  But I definitely can’t see myself coming back to this song in about a year or so.

– For our second and final debut of the week, we have the return of Taylor Swift with Willow.  Once again, Taylor surprised people last month with another album in the form of Evermore.  This came just five months after the release Folklore, which was not too long ago.  Taylor has a good voice and she uses it well here.  The lyrics are pretty good.  I like the instrumention, though it does leave quite a bit to be desired. Obviously, Willow isn’t as good as her other singles off her last album.  But I still quite like it.

Best Debut Of The Week: Willow by Taylor Swift

Afterblurbs
– I’ll start with the exits, and good riddance to two songs leaving this week.  Baby, I’m Jealous was just atrocious all around.  Bebe’s auto-tuned vocals, nonsensical lyrics, and Doja Cat who hardly contributed to anything in this single was a recipe for disaster.  Thank the heavens above this didn’t become a hit.  If The World Was Ending was just bland and I never cared for it.  Yeah, neither of those songs will be missed.  NEXT!

– The monstronsity known as Holy rises to #3 this week.  Just great.  I don’t get the appeal.  This is just god-awful in more ways than one, probably just as bad as Intentions.  I’m really hoping this doesn’t become a #1 song, because I will not take it very kindly at all if it does.

– Why the hell is Bang! becoming such a massive hit?!  Seriously, this is just a nightmare.  It’s a terrible song from a band who is hated many YouTube critics (myself included).  I’ve never been fond of AJR and this song is no different.  I will lose it if it ends up in the Top 5 (which it probably will).

– Speaking of Justin Bieber, his other single Lonely makes its way into the Top 10.  I’m not wild about this one either.  But it’s a hell of a lot better than it’s predecessor.  I may like the piano. But the rest of the production is bland at times and everything else is….eh.  I mean, it’s not bad per se.  But he’s done much better in my opinion.

– Therefore I Am also enters the Top 10 this week.  It’s too bad her other single, My Future flopped.  But this is still another good song from Billie Eilish.  She has evolved artistically and it’s nice to see her continue to get creative with her music.  It’s a little more upbeat compared to what she’s done before (save for Bad Guy).  I don’t know if she has a new album coming up.  But if she does, I’m intrigued.

– On the note of other putrid and downright terrible songs, it’s about damn time I Hope is out of the Top 10.  It may be a shock to some seeing that I actually liked it at first.  But hearing this song for the first time in a while, I’ve started to see why many critics have come to loathe that song.  It has terrible production and Gabby’s voice is drowned in auto-tune.  Why I even liked it to start, I’ll never understand.

– Dynamite takes a big fall out of the Top 10. It’s pretty sad to see it’s run coming to an end.  This is one of the best songs I’ve heard from BTS, if not the best.  I’ve really come around to their music recently and I’m glad Dynamite became as big as it was.

– I’m really hoping Monster doesn’t gain any momentum.  This was not very good to begin with and it continues to get worse with each and every additional listen.  My liking for Wonder fizzled out on me relatively quickly and this new single is just downright terrible.  Bieber doesn’t impress me at all with his voice and Shawn is, to put it simply, underwhelming.   And this is coming from someone who adores Señorita (my #2 favorite song of 2019) and his other singles like Youth and There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back.  Yeah, it’s safe to say I’m not looking forward to his album if we keep getting songs like this.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Dakiti by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez
• Anyone by Justin Bieber
• Daisy by Ashnikko
• Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear
• Lasting Lover by Sigala featuring James Arthur
• Body by Megan Thee Stallion

Extras/Optional Extras:

• I’m The One by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Chance The Rapper, Quavo, and Lil Wayne
• Sorry by Justin Bieber
• Havana by Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug
• Control by Zoe Wees
• Let You Down by NF
• Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo featuring 2 Chainz
• Attention by Charlie Puth
• Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Bang! by AJR
19. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
18. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug
17. Monster by Shawn Mendes featuring Justin Bieber
16. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth

1 – Bad:
15. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Turk

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
11. Take You Dancing by Jason Derulo
10. ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee

4 – Good:
9. Positions by Ariana Grande

5 – Great:
8. Dynamite by BTS
7. Diamonds by Sam Smith
6. Golden by Harry Styles
5. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
4. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
3. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
2. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby

Total Score: 60/100 = 60% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Try Again by Aaliyah 2000)

Most Missed Song: Hymn For The Weeknd by Coldplay featuring Beyoncé

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Easy by Troye Sivan featuring Kacey Musgraves and Mark Ronson

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#10)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Levitating by Dua Lipa
2. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
3. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
4. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
5. Prisoner by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Bang! by AJR
2. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
3. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
4. Lemonade by Internet Money featuring Gunna, Don Toliver, and Nav
5. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Good Thing by Zedd featuring Kehlani: Not much I can say about this one.  I was expecting more out of this one when it came out.  But it didn’t quite do it for me.  Kehlani sounds pretty good here and while Zedd’s work was okay, he could’ve done much better.

Hello, fam!  Is this thing on?  Testing….

Ok, I’m ready.  Now, I’m back (for real this time)!  I just want to say happy new year to you all!  Here’s to hoping 2021 is a better year for all of us.  That’s all I wanted to say for my introduction.  Right now, I’m ready to review the first AT40 countdown of 2021!  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Control by Zoe Wees (#21)
• Fallin’ by Why Don’t We (#26)
• Wonder by Shawn Mendes (#31)
• WOW by Zara Larsson (#35)
• Say So by Doja Cat (#40) [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
40. If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels (#39) [–1]
39. Hawái by Maluma featuring The Weeknd (DEBUT)
38. Roses by SAINt JHN (#37) [–1]
37. So Done by The Kid LAROI (DEBUT)
36. What You Know About Love by Pop Smoke (#38) [+2]
35. Adore You by Harry Styles (#34) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
34. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd (DEBUT)
33. Lemonade by Internet Money featuring Gunna, Don Toliver, and Nav (#33) [=]
32. Heather by Conan Gray (#32) [=]
31. Prisoner by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa (DEBUT)
30. ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch (#29) [–1]
29. Holiday by Lil Nas X (#36) [+7]
28. My Ex’s Best Friend by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear (#28) [=]
27. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa (#24) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
26. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney (DEBUT)
25. Baby, I’m Jealous by Bebe Rexha featuring Doja Cat (#22) [–3]
24. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles (#20) [–4] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
23. You Broke Me First by Tate McRae (#30) [+7]
22. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#17) [–5] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
21. Take You Dancing by Jason Derulo (#27) [+6]
20. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (#14) [–6] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
19. 34+35 by Ariana Grande (#25) [+6]
18. Be Like That by Kane Brown featuring Swae Lee and Khalid (#8) [–10]
17. Monster by Shawn Mendes featuring Justin Bieber (#23) [+6]
16. ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee (#7) [–9]
15. Golden by Harry Styles (#18) [+3]
14. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#11) [–3] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
13. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish (#16) [+3]
12. Diamonds by Sam Smith (#15) [+3]
11. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (#19) [+8]
10. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#3) [–7]
9. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Durk (#10) [+1]
8. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug (#13) [+5]
7. Bang! by AJR (#12) [+5]
6. Dynamite by BTS (#6) [=]
5. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby (#9) [+4]
4. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper (#4) [=]
3. Kings & Queens by Ava Max (#2) [–1]
2. Positions by Ariana Grande (#5) [+3]
1. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior (#1) [=] [9^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Good As Hell by Lizzo (6^th And Final Week At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Be Like That by Kane Brown featuring Swae Lee and Khalid (–10)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco (+8)

New Entrants:
– To kick off our first set of debuts for the new year, we have a collaboration between Maluma and The Weeknd in the single titled Hawai.  The Weeknd himself has seen a resurgence last year thanks to Blinding Lights being a massive hit.  It wasn’t a surprise to see him try to continue his momentum by collaborating with different artists such as Maluma.  I must say, I’m quite wowed by what this song has to offer.  There’s not much to the production other than the solid beat.  But everything about the song is interesting.  I like the verses we get from both of these guys.  I think The Weeknd did very well with his singing in Spanish.  It shows how much he has evolved as an artist overall.  He has definitely come a long way since he had his breakout year in 2015.  This is a good song overall and if you haven’t heard it, I recommend that you check it out.

– Up next, we have The Kid LAROI with his song called So Done.  I don’t really get the appeal to this song.  Right off the bat, it’s incredibly annoying.  First off, his voice is just obnoxious in every sense of the word.  Like, every time I hear his voice, it just makes me cringe because of the way he hits those high notes.  The production here isn’t very good either.  The guitar here is weak and the beat isn’t all that interesting.  I’m not sold on the lyrics.  So yeah, it’s terribly written, produced, and sung.  Why it is gaining momentum is beyond me.  But I hope it dies out fast.  NEXT!

– Now on to our next debut!  We have more of The Weeknd with his latest single from After Hours, this time with Save Your Tears.  I enjoyed a lot of what his album has had to offer and Save Your Tears is really no different.  His voice is just amazing all throughout the song.  I know I mention this alot, but he reminds me of the late Michael Jackson every time I hear his voice.  I can definitely hear the comparisons between the two.  The production here is great and I like the lyrics as well.  What more can I say?  Yeah, this is another impressive single that I love from his album and I’m hoping it can become another hit for him.

– Up next is a collaboration between Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa in their latest single titled Prisoner.  It appears that Miley is channeling her inner Stevie Nicks, as evidenced in her predecessor Midnight Sky.  I haven’t really heard much of what Plastic Hearts has to offer.  But I’m sure it’s pretty damn good in terms of what she is going for.  I enjoy the 80’s style production with the groove and the awesome beat.  Their vocals are good throughout the song.  They show really good chemistry.  I’m definitely impressed with this song and I do hope it has some success.

– Blech.  Finally, we get probably my least favorite debut of the week.  It’s from Ritt Momney and he has a song titled Put Your Records On, a cover from Corrine Bailey Rae.  Having listened to his version of the song…ugh.  There are a number of things wrong with the cover overall.  First off, his voice is not good.  He sounds underwhelming in his verses and he is drowned in auto-tune in the chorus.  The beat is rather lifeless and it doesn’t get any better throughout the song.  I don’t have much else I can say beyond that.  This is just a terrible cover of the original.  But of course, it’s becoming a hit elsewhere because why the hell not.  It’s a damn shame that a song of this caliber would—.  Actually, you know what, I’m going to stop right here.  I can’t do this anymore.  Let’s just move on.

Best Debut Of The Week: Save Your Tears by The Weeknd

Save Your Blurbs
– As I do every week when reviewing the countdown, I start with the exits first.  None of those will really be missed by me.  Control wasn’t really my thing and Zoe Wees didn’t exactly made a good first impression with that song.  Fallin’ is pretty decent, but it wasn’t anything special.  WOW was probably one of the weakest singles I’ve heard from Zara Larsson.  She’s done much better.  Wonder is the best of the bunch and even that one was decent at best.  While I liked that song to start, my love for it fizzled out relatively quickly.  As someone who adored songs such as There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back and Señorita (my #2 favorite song of 2019), this was not his finest work.  But I’d rather listen to that than his current representation on the countdown.  Finally, it’s about time we bid adieu to Say So by Doja Cat.  Good riddance.  That one will never be missed.

– It’s nice to see Mood still at #1.  I’m very pleased with how well the song is doing right now.  It’s divine in every sense of the word.  I’ve been listening to this song and it’s grown on me with each and every additional listen.  I’m happy for 24KGoldn and overall, I’m happy that it’s still going strong!

– While I was away, we see Kings & Queens in the Top 5 on the countdown!  It became a success on Hits 1 a few months back.  But little did we know that it would soon gain momentum elsewhere and thus it would end up becoming another hit for Ava Max.  This song is honestly just amazing and I’ve been enjoying it ever since it was released.  Ava has impressed me with her music so far and I’m glad she’s getting the recognition she deserves.  I’m very happy to see Ava getting another hit with this song.

– Speaking of artists whom I’m very happy to see getting success, we have Dua Lipa with another Top 5 hit in the form of Levitating.  As much as I liked Don’t Start Now and Break My Heart, Levitating may very well be my favorite hit from Dua.  This song has grown on me with each listen, moreso than her other singles.  She has become a mainstay in music and I’m glad to see her become successful.  I do hope to see Levitating at #1 someday.

– On that note, we have Positions rising close to the top at #2 this week and is in prime position to hit #1 in the coming weeks.  I initially didn’t care for the song at first, but I’ve come around to it with time.  Still, this song pales in comparison to what Ariana has done before.  I enjoyed her first three albums overall and some of Sweetener.  Those are the albums where gems such as Break Free, Into You, No Tears Left To Cry and more I won’t mention right now are located.  Positions doesn’t live up to those.  But I like the song for what it is.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Willow by Taylor Swift
• Daisy by Ashnikko
• Afterglow by Ed Sheeran
• Body by Megan Thee Stallion
• Monsters by All Time Low featuring Blackbear
• Dakiti by Bad Bunny featuring Jhay Cortez

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max
• Cake By The Ocean by DNCE
• Perfect by Ed Sheeran
• Can’t Stop The Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
• Hate The Way by G-Eazy featuring Blackbear
• Mine by Bazzi
• WOW by Zara Larsson
• We Found Love by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris
• Tap In by Saweetie
• Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
• Fallin’ by Why Don’t We
• Delicate by Taylor Swift

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Bang! by AJR
19. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
18. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug
17. Monster by Shawn Mendes featuring Justin Bieber
16. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth

1 – Bad:
15. Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake featuring Lil Turk

2 – Mediocre:
14. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo
13. Lonely by Justin Bieber featuring Benny Blanco

3 – Decent:
12. 34+35 by Ariana Grande
11. ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee

4 – Good:
10. Positions by Ariana Grande

5 – Great:
9. Be Like That by Kane Brown featuring Swae Lee and Khalid
8. Dynamite by BTS
7. Diamonds by Sam Smith
6. Golden by Harry Styles
5. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
4. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
3. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
2. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Levitating by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby

Total Score: 60/100 = 60% (C)

Throwback Picks Of The Week: Space Oddity by David Bowie (1969) and Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley (1956)

Most Missed Song: Finesse (Remix) by Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Easy by Troye Sivan featuring Kacey Musgraves and Mark Ronson

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#10)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Levitating by Dua Lipa
2. Mood by 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior
3. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
4. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
5. Prisoner by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Bang! by AJR
2. Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney
3. Holy by Justin Bieber featuring Chance The Rapper
4. Lemonade by Internet Money featuring Gunna, Don Toliver, and Nav
5. Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin: The comeback single from The Black Eyed Peas, and not a good one at that.  The reggae production here is obnoxious and I can’t stand the vocals.  But of course, this had to become a hit last year.  Overall, it’s annoying.  NEXT!

South Of The Border by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B: One of the better songs off of No. 6 Collaborations Project.  I quite like the chemistry between the three and everything else about the song works well.  Not as good as Beautiful People, but it’s still an easy listen every now and then.

Hello, fam! I hope everyone has had a good Labor Day weekend. Believe it or not, football season is actually here. I didn’t think it would happen given the unusual circumstances (i.e. the pandemic), but here we are, and I’m glad football is back. It’s too bad we won’t be going to any games due to restrictions and what not. But at least it’s here. So yeah, hopefully my Falcons win the Super Bowl this year. I thought the off-season moves they made were pretty good in my opinion. We’ll see if it actually pays off. Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Savage (Remix) by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé (#28)
• Don’t Rush by Young T & bugsey featuring Headie One (#32)
• Daisies by Katy Perry (#38)
• Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#40)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles
40. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#39) [–1]
39. Funny by Zedd featuring Jasmine Thompson (DEBUT)
38. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby (#37) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
37. POPSTAR by DJ Khaled featuring Drake (DEBUT)
36. Moral Of The Story by Ashe featuring Niall Horan (DEBUT)
35. F2020 by Avenue Beat (DEBUT)
34. The Other Girl by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Halsey (#36) [+2]
33. Kings & Queens by Ava Max (#35) [+2]
32. Circles by Post Malone (#31) [–1] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
31. Lose Somebody by Kygo featuring OneRepublic (#34) [+3]
30. Blueberry Faygo by Lil Mosey (#11) [–19]
29. ily (i love you) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee (#33) [+4]
28. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#27) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
27. Heartless by Diplo and Morgan Wallen featuring Julia Michaels (#24) [–3]
26. Bang! by AJR (#30) [+4]
25. My Future by Billie Eilish (#29) [+4]
24. Breaking Me by Topic featuring A7S (#26) [+2]
23. Falling by Trevor Daniel (#15) [–8] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
22. Mamacita by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Ozuna and J. Rey Soul (#22) [=]
21. WHATS POPPIN by Jack Harlow (#23) [+2]
20. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo (#18) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
19. Be Like That by Kane Brown featuring Swae Lee and Khalid (#21) [+2]
18. Cardigan by Taylor Swift (#20) [+2]
17. Come And Go by Juice WRLD featuring Marshmello (#25) [+8]
16. Like That by Doja Cat featuring Gucci Mane (#19) [+3]
15. Past Life by Trevor Daniel featuring Selena Gomez (#16) [+1]
14. Say So by Doja Cat (#14) [=] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
13. Nobody’s Love by Maroon 5 (#17) [+4]
12. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#12) [=]
11. If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels (#13) [+2]
10. Coffee For Your Head by Powfu featuring Beabadoobee (#9) [–1]
9. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (#10) [+1]
8. Supalonely by Benee featuring Gus Dapperton (#8) [=]
7. Adore You by Harry Styles (#6) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
6. ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch (#7) [+1]
5. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#4) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
4. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#5) [+1]
3. Roses (Imanbek Remix) by SAINt JHN (#3) [=]
2. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa (#2) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
1. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles (#1) [=] [4^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (1^st of 4 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Blueberry Faygo by Lil Mosey (–19)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Come And Go by Juice WRLD featuring Marshmello (+8)

New Entrants:
– We’ve got a new round of debuts for this Labor Day weekend. To start, we have the return of Zedd, and he’s collaborating with newcomer Jasmine Thompson in Funny. The last time we saw him was early in the year when he gave us Good Thing with Kehlani, which I was somewhat indifferent on, and this is coming from someone who ranked The Middle as my #1 favorite song of 2018. You all know how much I adore that song. I also fell in love with his latest music such as Stay, Happy Now, and 365.  Now we have his latest single.  Right off the bat, Funny is just divine!  I absolutely love Jasmine’s voice in this song.  She sounds amazing from start to finish and I really like the chorus.  Zedd’s work here is solid with the ticking clock and the interesting beat.  I also love the last part with Jasmine singing, “Who’s laughing now?”.  Yeah, this is an amazing song all around and I’m glad that it’s here.

– Next, we have the collaboration between DJ Khaled and Drake in the form of POPSTAR.  I really haven’t been impressed with what Drake has had to offer this year.  Toosie Slide is god awful and his feature in Life Is Good is even worse.  POPSTAR is really no different.  I don’t like his verses overall and the lyrics are nonsensical.  The production is uninteresting.  It’s virtually lifeless.  DJ Khaled didn’t do anything to help the song at all.  Yeah, there’s nothing about the song that is appealing to me whatsoever.  NEXT!

– Immediately after that is a song that has been around for a while.  Ashe makes her very first appearance on the countdown with Moral Of The Story.  This debuted back in March on Hits 1 and has recently hit #1 on the countdown, with a little help from Niall Horan who recently released the remix of this song.  I remember liking this one initially from the start.  But it has sort of faded on me with time.  The lyrics and the production are both nice and all.  But I’m not necessarily fond of her voice, mostly because it’s a little underwhelming in some parts.  Niall does add quite a bit to the remix, making this a little more enjoyable for me.  Overall, it’s a fine enough song.

– 2020 has been such a god-awful year for all of us. Thus, a new trio named Avenue Beat decided to make a song about it. It’s titled F2020. I get what the song is going for lyrically. They basically describe just how shitty this year has been, what with the pandemic that’s still raging around the world and some other stuff I won’t mention. And I do have to agree with these guys. I just can’t wait for next year. Anyway, as for the rest of the song, I don’t find it too interesting. Their vocals are pretty underwhelming and I don’t like the beat here. Overall, while lyrically interesting, I’m not exactly wowed by their performance.

Best Debut Of The Week: Funny by Zedd featuring Jasmine Thompson

I’m a Blurbstar, Not A Doctor
– HOORAY!!! LET US CELEBRATE AS HOT GIRL BUMMER HAS FINALLY LEFT THE COUNTDOWN!!! GOOD RIDDANCE!!!

– As for the other exits, the rest of them were good songs. Savage I thought left pretty early, even though it virtually died out elsewhere. Don’t Rush I pretty much liked, though I won’t remember it in year or so. And then, there’s Daisies, which wasn’t exactly Katy’s finest work. But it was enjoyable. Also, I just want to say congratulations to Katy Perry and her husband on the baby! 🙂

– It’s about time the mess that is Blueberry Faygo took a massive drop. Seeing it fall out of the Top 20 is very pleasing.  Now let’s get it off the countdown.

– Also, it’s nice to see Come And Go enter the Top 20 in place of Blueberry Faygo.  That song is just enjoyable all around and it’s nice to see Marshmello try to get another hit after Be Kind flopped.  Hopefully, it continues it’s momemtum going forward.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Together by Sia
• Dynamie by BTS
• Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug
• Midnight Sky by Miley Cyrus

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Love The Way You Lie by Eminem featuring Rihanna
• HandClap by Fitz And The Tantrums
• I Just Wanna Shine by Fitz And The Tantrums
• Starships by Nicki Minaj
• The Walker by Fitz And The Tantrums
• I Write Sins Not Tragedies by Panic! At The Disco
• Out Of My League by Fitz And The Tantrums
• Into You by Ariana Grande
• 123456 by Fitz And The Tantrums

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
19. Like That by Doja Cat featuring Gucci Mane
18. Say So by Doja Cat
17. Coffee For Your Head by Powfu featuring Beabadoobee

1 – Bad:
16. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi

2 – Mediocre:
15. If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels
14. Supalonely by Benee featuring Gus Dapperton

3 – Decent:
13. Nobody’s Love by Maroon 5
12. Roses (Imanbek Remix) by SAINt JHN
11. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo

4 – Good:
10. Be Like That by Kane Brown featuring Swae Lee and Khalid

5 – Great:
9. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles
8. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth
7. Past Life by Trevor Daniel featuring Selena Gomez
6. ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
5. Cardigan by Taylor Swift
4. Adore You by Harry Styles
3. Come And Go by Juice WRLD featuring Marshmello
2. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
1. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa

Total Score: 63/100 = 63% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: The Middle by Jimmy Eat World (2001)

Most Missed Song: The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Let There Be Love by Ananya

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Trampoline by SHAED (#20)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Funny by Zedd featuring Jasmine Thompson
2. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa
3. My Future by Billie Eilish
4. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
5. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
2. Like That by Doja Cat featuring Gucci Mane
3. Heartless by Diplo and Morgan Wallen featuring Julia Michaels
4. Mamacita by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Ozuna featuring J. Rey Soul
5. Bang! by AJR

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
No Guidance by Chris Brown featuring Drake: I don’t have much to say about this one other than the fact that it’s pretty bad. The only saving grace to the song is Drake himself. But other than that, I don’t see anything else good about it.

With You by Kaskade featuring Meghan Trainor: Yeah…this is just painfully generic if I do say so myself. Kaskade has some good stuff, like Cold As Stone. But this was a shitty effort he put forth here, and Meghan hardly makes a contribution with her vocals. But if it’s anything, I’d consider Meghan’s latest singles after this to be even worse.

Hello, fam! This week, I’ve decided to make a slight change. Instead of me doing a Top 20 review, I’ve expanded it into the Top 30 Breakdown. This only applies to Hits 1 due to them making this a Top 30 countdown a few months ago. So yeah, that’s all I wanted to say. Before we get to this week’s fresh 30, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Saint Jhn – Roses (#22)
• Miley Cyrus – Midnight Sky (#26)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Ashe featuring Niall Horan – Moral Of The Story
30. Drake featuring Lil Turk – Laugh Now Cry Later (DEBUT)
29. Ananya – Let There Be Love (#30) [+1]
28. Billie Eilish – My Future (#27) [–1]
27. Jack Harlow – WHATS POPPIN (#24) [–3]
26. Dan + Shay – I Should Probably Go To Bed (#29) [+3]
25. 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior – Mood (DEBUT)
24. Maroon 5 – Nobody’s Love (#21) [–3]
23. Topic featuring A7S – Breaking Me (#16) [–7]
22. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Old Me (#11) [–11]
21. Kane Brown featuring Swae Lee and Khalid – Be Like That (#23) [+2]
20. Zedd featuring Jasmine Thompson – Funny (#28) [+8]
19. Zoe Wees – Control (#25) [+6]
18. Trevor Daniel featuring Selena Gomez – Past Life (#18) [=]
17. Kygo featuring OneRepublic – Lose Somebody (#19) [+2]
16. Doja Cat featuring Gucci Mane – Like That (#14) [–2]
15. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Wildflower (#20) [+5]
14. Juice WRLD featuring Marshmello – Come & Go (#10) [–4]
13. Taylor Swift – Cardigan (#15) [+2]
12. DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch – ROCKSTAR (#12) [=]
11. Conan Gray – Heather (#13) [+2]
10. Benee featuring Gus Dapperton – Supalonely (#8) [–2]
9. Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar (#7) [–2] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
8. Alesso featuring Liam Payne – Midnight (#6) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
7. Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go (#9) [+2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
6. AJR – Bang! (#17) [+11] (You’ve got to be fucking kidding me…)
5. Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo – Savage Love (#4) [–1]
4. Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth – I Hope (#5) [+1]
3. Ava Max – Kings & Queens (#3) [=]
2. Blackbear – Me & Ur Ghost (#2) [=]
1. Ashe featuring Niall Horan – Moral Of The Story (#1) [=] [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You (8^th of 9 Weeks At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: 5 Seconds Of Summer – Old Me (–11)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: AJR – Bang! (+11)

New Entrants:
– Up first is the return of Drake and he’s collaborating with Lil Turk in Laugh Now Cry Later. Right off the bat, I’m not fond of this. It’s not nearly as bad as the other two singles (Life Is Good and Toosie Slide). But it is flavorless and underwhelming. There’s not much to the production here and I don’t like his vocals for the most part. That’s really all I have to say about this one. So yeah, I find this to be bland overall.

– We have more of 24KGoldn, and he’s collaborating with Iann Dior in Mood.  I wasn’t exactly fond of his last single, City Of Angels, which lasted a mere two weeks on the countdown.  But I do find his newest single to be much more interesting.  I think the production is better here.  It has an awesome hook and I like his voice.  The lyrics are pretty solid.  I don’t have much else to say here except it’s pretty damn catchy.  Yeah, 24KGoldn managed to impress me with this song.  I highly recommend hearing it.

Best Debut Of The Week: 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior – Mood

Laugh Now, Blurb Later
– As far as our exits go, Roses wasn’t exactly too my liking, but it was still something I could tolerate. Midnight Sky left after only one week, but I’m not worried about it at all since it was just released. I’m sure it’ll re-enter the countdown next week.

– Wow, are you fucking shitting me? AJR – Bang! has decided to jump all the way to #6 in its second week. My fucking goodness. And here I was thinking it wouldn’t last very long on this countdown. This better not jump any higher, because if it does I will be very pissed.

– Old Me took a sizable drop this week. I’m fine with this, since I’m losing interest in the song. And the presence of Wildflower (which is the much better song) only accelerates the process.

– It’s nice to see Funny gain some momentum this week. I know Zedd has definitely had better, but it’s still a really good song and I enjoy it alot.

Hit-Bound:

• Claire Rosinkranz – Backyard Boy (DEBUT)
• Saweetie – Tap In
• Blu DeTiger – Figure It Out
• Harry Styles – Falling
• Juice WRLD – Wishing Well
• Niall Horan – Black & White
• Miley Cyrus – Midnight Sky (RE-ENTRY)
• BTS – Dynamite
• Zara Larsson – WOW (DEBUT)
• Avenue Beat – F2020
• Curtis Waters featuring Harm Franklin – Stunnin’
• Dixie D’Amelio – Be Happy
• Blackbear – Queen Of Broken Hearts
• jxdn – Angels & Demons
• Surf Mesa featuring Emilee – ily (i love you baby)

Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Putrid:
15. Saweetie – Tap In
14. Blackbear – Queen Of Broken Hearts

1 – Bad:
None!

2 – Mediocre:
13. Avenue Beat – F2020
12. Blu DeTiger – Figure It Out
11. Curtis Waters featuring Harm Franklin – Stunnin’

3 – Decent:
10. Surf Mesa featuring Emilee – ily (i love you baby)
8. Claire Rosinkranz – Backyard Boy
7. Juice WRLD – Wishing Well

4 – Good:
None!

5 – Great:
6. Dixie D’Amelio – Be Happy
5. Harry Styles – Falling
4. jxdn – Angels & Demons
3. Niall Horan – Black & White
2. Miley Cyrus – Midnight Sky

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:
1. BTS – Dynamite

Overall Grade:

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout:

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. BTS –Dynamite
2. Miley Cyrus – Midnight Sky
3. Niall Horan – Black & White
4. jxdn – Angels & Demons
5. Harry Styles – Falling

Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Breakdown:
0 – Putrid:
30. Doja Cat featuring Gucci Mane – Like That
29. AJR – Bang!
28. Blackbear – Me & Ur Ghost

1 – Bad:
27. Drake featuring Lil Turk – Laugh Now Cry Later
26. Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go

2 – Mediocre:
25. Conan Gray – Heather
24. Benee featuring Gus Dapperton – Supalonely

3 – Decent:
23. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Old Me
22. Zoe Wees – Control
21. Maroon 5 – Nobody’s Love
20. Jack Harlow – WHATS POPPIN
19. Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo – Savage Love
18. Ashe featuring Niall Horan – Moral Of The Story

4 – Good:
17. Kane Brown featuring Swae Lee and Khalid – Be Like That

5 – Great:
16. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Wilderflower
15. Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar
14. Trevor Daniel featuring Selena Gomez – Past Life
13. Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth – I Hope
12. Dan + Shay – I Should Probably Go To Bed
11. Topic featuring A7S – Breaking Me
10. Alesso featuring Liam Payne – Midnight
9. DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch – ROCKSTAR
8. 24KGoldn featuring Iann Dior – Mood
7. Kygo featuring OneRepublic – Lose Somebody
6. Taylor Swift – Cardigan
5. Juice WRLD featuring Marshmello – Come And Go
4. Ava Max – Kings & Queens
3. Billie Eilish – My Future
2. Zedd featuring Jasmine Thompson – Funny

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Ananya – Let There Be Love

Overall Grade: 109/150 = 72.67% (B)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (1983)

Most Missed Countdown Song: The Weeknd featuring Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Taylor Swift – August

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine (#19)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Ananya – Let There Be Love
2. Zedd featuring Jasmine Thompson – Funny
3. Billie Eilish – My Future
4. Ava Max – Kings & Queens
5. Juice WRLD featuring Marshmello – Come And Go

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
None!

Hello, fam.  It was few couple months ago when George Floyd was killed at the hands of police, thus sparking protests all across the nation.  This week, another black man (whose name is Jacob Blake) was shot by police.  Luckily, he’s alive today (though he’s paralyzed).  But still, it hurts my heart so bad.  As a black man writing this blog, I can’t fathom what his family has to go through.  Hopefully, there will be justice.  Also, just yesterday we sadly lost another celebrity named Chadwick Boseman, who starred in movies such as Black Panther.  It was only a couple years since it came out and I looked up to him.  It really hurts to see another legend gone so soon.  He will be dearly missed.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Rain On Me by Lady Gaga featuring Ariana Grande (#18)
• 100 Ways by Jackson Wang (#28)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles
40. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#40) [=]
39. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#38) [–1]
38. Daisies by Katy Perry (#32) [–6]
37. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby (#36) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
36. The Other Girl by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Halsey (#37) [+1]
35. Kings & Queens by Ava Max (DEBUT)
34. Lose Somebody by Kygo featuring OneRepublic (#39) [+5]
33. ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee (#35) [+2]
32. Don’t Rush by Young T & Bugsey featuring Headie One (#33) [+1]
31. Circles by Post Malone (#29) [–2] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
30. Bang! by AJR (#34) [+4]
29. My Future by Billie Eilish (DEBUT)
28. Savage (Remix) by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé (#10) [–18] (Whoa there!)
27. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#25) [–2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
26. Breaking Me by Topic featuring A7S (#27) [+1]
25. Come And Go by Juice WRLD featuring Marshmello (#31) [+6]
24. Heartless by Diplo and Morgan Wallen featuring Julia Michaels (#24) [=]
23. WHATS POPPIN by Jack Harlow (#26) [+3]
22. Mamacita by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Ozuna and J. Rey Soul (#23) [+1]
21. Be Like That by Kane Brown featuring Swae Lee and Khalid (#22) [+1]
20. Cardigan by Taylor Swift (#30) [+10]
19. Like That by Doja Cat featuring Gucci Mane (#20) [+1]
18. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo (#17) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
17. Nobody’s Love by Maroon 5 (#21) [+4]
16. Past Life by Trevor Daniel featuring Selena Gomez (#18) [+2]
15. Falling by Trevor Daniel (#12) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
14. Say So by Doja Cat (#14) [=] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
13. If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels (#15) [+2]
12. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#16) [+4]
11. Blueberry Faygo by Lil Mosey (#13) [+2]
10. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (#11) [+1]
9. Coffee For Your Head by Powfu featuring Bebadoobee (#8) [–1]
8. Supalonely by Benee featuring Gus Dapperton (#7) [–1]
7. ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch (#9) [+2]
6. Adore You by Harry Styles (#5) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
5. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#6) [+1]
4. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#3) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
3. Roses by Saint Jhn (#4) [+1]
2. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa (#2) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
1. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles (#1) [=] [3^rd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (3^rd And Final Week At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Savage (Remix) by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé (–18)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Cardigan by Taylor Swift (+10)

New Entrants:
– Two great songs are debuting this week.  Up first is the song that’s finally here!  It comes from the return of Ava Max with her single titled Kings & Queens!  You all know that I adore her last hit Sweet But Psycho (my #4 favorite song of 2019).  So it comes as no shock that I adore this song as well.  Ava has an amazing voice and this song is just further proof of how great of a singer she is.  The chorus is absolutely divine.  But then comes the electric guitar that comes in after the second chorus.  It pulls me in.  In addition, it has a awesome beat that I can’t help but dance to.  This song is honestly just amazing and yet, it’s not even the best debut of the week.  That honor actually goes to…

– Billie Eilish!  With Everything I Wanted on its way out, it was only a matter of time until she would give us another new single.  It’s titled My Future, and boy this song rocks.  It starts out sow, but then the song really picksI really like her dark, whispery voice.  She is extrodinarily talented and always uses it to the best of her abilities.  But the thing that makes this much better than Kings & Queens is the lyrics.  Here, she reflects on her past and talks about her future.  I love how she is able to go in depth about what she was before and what she has become now.  This single shows just how much she has evolved from last year.  I’m so happy this song is here and I’m rooting for its success.

Best Debut Of The Week: My Future by Billie Eilish

I, I’m In Love With My Blurbs
– In terms of our exits this week, I didn’t exactly cared for 100 Ways, so I don’t have any complaints about it leaving. Rain On Me was honestly just divine in every sense of the word and I’m glad it was a #1 hit on Billboard. Too bad it didn’t last very long on the countdown. It’s a shame, really.

– Bang! has decided it reaches to move up a little bit. Can we not with this song? It’s bad enough I have to deal with AJR on Hits 1. But now it’s gaining momentum elsewhere? I can’t.

– Whoa there! Savage took a huge drop all the way down to #28 this week.  Wow.  And I was thinking earlier this week that it would stick around since it was such a massive hit.  But I was proven to be wrong.  I have a bad feeling it’ll leave us soon.

– And Cardigan takes the biggest jump of the week.  Shocker.  Though, I don’t envision this being #1 here, I do expect that it’ll stick around.  I enjoy this song quite a lot, but I do hope Exile can debut soon.

– Savage Love enters the Top 10 by no surprise.  It was already gaining momentum on Hits 1, but now it looks like it’ll become a hit elsewhere, too.  This will be Jason Derulo’s first big hit since Want To Want Me back in 2015.  We’ll see how far it goes.

– I’m not thrilled about Before You Go entering into the Top 5.   I’ll give Lewis Capaldi the benefit of the doubt here because the instrumention is much more interesting than its predecessor.  But aside from that, the rest of the song does nothing for me and I’m not a fan of the lyrics.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• POPSTAR by DJ Khaled featuring Drake
• Funny by Zedd featuring Jasmine Thompson
• F2020 by Avenue Beat

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Be Kind by Marshmello featuring Halsey
• One Call Away by Charlie Puth
• Moral Of The Story by Ashe featuring Niall Horan
• Heartless by The Weeknd
• The Bones by Maren Morris
• Sign Of The Times by Harry Styles
• Roxanne by Arizona Zervas
• Drinks by CYN
• Dance Monkey by Tones And I
• Sunday Best by Surfaces
• Almost Love by Sabrina Carpenter
• Stressed Out by TWENTY ØNE PILØTS

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
19. Like That by Doja Cat featuring Gucci Mane
18. Say So by Doja Cat
17. Blueberry Faygo by Lil Mosey
16. Coffee For Your Head by Powfu featuring Beabadoobee

1 – Bad:
15. Falling by Trevor Daniel
14. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi

2 – Mediocre:
13. If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels
12. Supalonely by Benee featuring Gus Dapperton

3 – Decent:
11. Nobody’s Love by Maroon 5
10. Roses by Saint Jhn
9. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo

4 – Good:
None!

5 – Great:
8. Past Life by Trevor Daniel featuring Selena Gomez
7. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth
6. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles
5. ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
4. Cardigan by Taylor Swift
3. Adore You by Harry Styles
2. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa

Total Score: 56/100 = 56% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Billie Jean by Michael Jackson (1983) (Today was his 62^nd Birthday)

Most Missed Song: Pray For Me by The Weeknd featuring Kendrick Lamar

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Let There Be Love by Ananya

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Call You Mine by The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha (#20)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa
2. My Future by Billie Eilish
3. Kings & Queens by Ava Max
4. The Other Girl by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Halsey
5. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
2. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
3. Like That by Doja Cat featuring Gucci Mane
4. Heartless by Diplo and Morgan Wallen featuring Julia Michaels
5. Mamacita by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Ozuna featuring J. Rey Soul

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Rescue Me by OneRepublic: I quite liked this, mainly because of the slick groove. Not their best by any means, but it’s pretty enjoyable.

Panini by Lil Nas X: Though I could never get on board with it’s predecessor, I kinda liked this one right from the start. It can be underwhelming at times, but it’s pretty interesting for the most part.

Time by NF: Yeah, I don’t find this too interesting. Sure, the lyrics are okay. But nothing really stands out here, and NF sounds unenthusiastic throughout the song. Yeah, this didn’t age well for me.