Hello, fam! I was finally able to get this out on time.  Can you believe we’re almost at the end of August already?  This year is flying by really fast (and rightfully so, given how this year has gone so far).  2021 will be here before you know it.  There was quite a lot for me to talk about for this week, so let’s jump right in.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 30, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Dua Lipa – Break My Heart (#13)
• Katy Perry – Daisies (#16)

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

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You (7^th of 9 Weeks At #1) 

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Zoe Wees – Control (–7)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Topic featuring A7S – Breaking Me (+14)

New Entrants:
– We get the return of Miley Cyrus with her latest single in the form of Midnight Sky.  Last year, she gave us Mother’s Daughter which I enjoyed overall.  Not long before that, she collaborated with Mark Ronson in Nothing Breaks Like A Heart, which was divine in every sense of the word.  As far as her new single goes, I’m in love with this.  I like how she is going for a more 80’s disco pop sound.  The beat here is pretty amazing and her voice is great.  The lyrics are nicely written as well. She shows how talented she is as a songwriter overall.  Yeah, this song rocks and I hope it sticks around.

– Ugh, here we go again with AJR making their return once again.  This time, they bring us Bang!.  Everything these guys have released have ranged from mediocre to downright putrid.  Bang! is no different.  Production-wise, it is just weird, and not in a good way.  I don’t like the obnoxious piano throughout the song and the instrumentation is pretty damn grating.  The lyrics are basically nonsensical, which is nothing new since they’re terrible songwriters.  And don’t get me started on the chorus, because it is just simply annoying.  So yeah, this is just a mess overall and it’s no surprise considering AJR has never impressed me with their music.

Best Debut Of The Week: Miley Cyrus – Midnight Sky

Midnight Blurbs
– So we have two exits here which will both be missed by me, especially Break My Heart.  It was another amazing song off of the divine album that is of Future Nostalgia and I’m glad it became another hit for Dua Lipa.  Daisies was pretty good as well and I enjoyed it for a while.  I’m interested to see what else Katy Perry will bring in the near future.

– It’s the second consecutive week in which we have a new #1, this time with Moral Of The Story.  I honestly didn’t see it coming when it first debuted on the countdown.  But thanks to the remix with Niall Horan (and the fact Hits 1 loves all things One Direction), I figured it would happen at some point in time.  It’s a fine song overall, and I’m okay with it being #1 for the time being.

– Me & Ur Ghost has reached a dangerous peak of #2.  As you probably can tell, I’m not fond of the song at all.  Really the only good thing about it is the groove itself.  Everything else is underwhelming in my opinion.  My reaction will not be kind if this hits #1.  Blackbear just hasn’t impressed me with his music.

– The Top 5 has gotten a bit of a makeover this week.  First off, Kings & Queens hits a new peak of #3!  I adore this song with a burning passion.  Everything about the song from her amazing voice to the awesome production is just divine.  I think it’s just as good as Sweet But Psycho, which was also a huge favorite of mine from 2019.  I hope this song can hit #1 at some point.  But I’m happy that it’s successful on this countdown.

– Second, we have two new songs entering the Top 5: Savage Love and I Hope.  The former is okay, but it’s not that special to me.  I won’t be surprised if this ends up becoming a massive hit given that it’s currently gaining momentum.  I’ll probably have to get used to it.  The latter is pretty good and I’m quite shocked that it’s doing pretty well so far.  I hope (no pun intended) that this can hit #1 soon.

– Speaking of which, Midnight was one and done as it has slipped out of the #1 pretty quickly, and Watermelon Sugar left the Top 5  after hogging the #1 just two weeks ago.  Dang!

– Come And Go has made it’s way into the Top 10.  I enjoy this song quite a lot since it came out, so I’m very pleased about this.  This and Be Kind are two of the best things Marshmello has done this year.  I’m glad he’s redeeming himself after the disaster that was of One Thing Right, which I did not like.

Hit-Bound:

• Dixie D’Amelio – Be Happy
• Juice WRLD – Wishing Well
• Harry Styles – Falling
• Diplo and Morgan Wallen featuring Julia Michaels – Heartless
• Curtis Waters featuring Harm Franklin – Stunnin’ (DEBUT)
• Niall Horan – Black & White
• Surf Mesa featuring Emilee – ily (i love you baby)
• jxdn – Angels & Demons
• 24kGoldn featuring Iann Dior – Mood (DEBUT)
• Saweetie – Tap In
• Blu DeTiger – Figure It Out (DEBUT)
• Blackbear – Queen Of Broken Hearts
• Avenue Beat – F2020
• BTS – Dynamite (DEBUT)
• Drake featuring Lil Durk – Laugh Now Cry Later (DEBUT)

Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Putrid:
15. Diplo and Morgan Wallen featuring Julia Michaels – Heartless
14. Saweetie – Tap In
13. Blackbear – Queen Of Broken Hearts

1 – Bad:
12. Drake featuring Lil Durk – Laugh Now, Cry Later

2 – Mediocre:
11. Avenue Beat – F2020
10. BluDeTiger – Figure It Out
9. Curtis Waters featuring Harm Franklin – Stunnin’

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

4 – Good:
6. Dixie D’Amelio – Be Happy

5 – Great:
5. jxdn – Angels & Demons
4. Niall Horan – Black & White
3. Harry Styles – Falling
2. 24kGoldn featuring Iann Dior – Mood

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

Overall Grade: 43/75 = 57% (C)

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Kygo featuring Rita Ora – Carry On

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. BTS – Dynamite
2. 24kGoldn featuring Iann Dior – Mood
3. Harry Styles – Falling
4. Niall Horan – Black & White
5. jxdn – Angels & Demons

Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Putrid:
20. Doja Cat featuring Gucci Mane – Like That
19. AJR – Bang!
18. Blackbear – Me & Ur Ghost

1 – Bad:
17. Conan Gray – Heather
16. Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go

2 – Mediocre:
15. Benne featuring Gus Dapperton – Supalonely

3 – Decent:
14. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Old Me
13. Jawsh featuring Jason Derulo – Savage Love
12. Ashe featuring Niall Horan – Moral Of The Story

4 – Good:
None!

5 – Great:
11. Topic featuring A7S – Breaking Me
10. Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar
9. Alesso featuring Liam Payne – Midnight
8. Trevor Daniel featuring Selena Gomez – Past Life
7. DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch – ROCKSTAR
6. Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth – I Hope
5. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Wildflower
4. Taylor Swift – Cardigan
3. Kygo featuring OneRepublic – Lose Someobdy
2. Juice WRLD featuring Marshmello – Come And Go
1. Ava Max – Kings & Queens

Overall Grade: 68/100 = 68% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Allanah Myles – Black Velvet (1989)

Most Missed Countdown Song: The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey – Closer

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Taylor Swift – August

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between Zara Larsson – All The Time (#32) and Katy Perry – Never Really Over (#12) (Amazing songs!)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Zedd featuring Jasmine Thompson – Funny
2. Ava Max – Kings & Queens
3. Ananya – Let There Be Love
4. Billie Eilish – My Future
5. Miley Cyrus – Midnight Sky

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Thomas Rhett – Look What God Gave Her: This is pretty good, even though it’s more pop sounding than his other singles, such as Marry Me which I adore with a burning passion.

Zara Larsson – All The Time: It’s the better of the two singles Zara released last year.  Everything about it is just divine from the fun beat on down to her amazing voice.  Plus, the computerized vocals were really cool!  Yeah, she definitely impressed me with this one

Hello, fam!  For once, I actually got this post out on time!  Finally!  It’s definitely been a while.  I’m still working on playing catch up with some other stuff.  So, please bear with me on those.  Shaggy became the guest host this week in place of Ryan Seacrest, who was off this weekend.  As far as the countdown went, we got rid of three pieces of junk and replaced them with good stuff.  And there was some movement, mostly for the better.  There was one thing that did upset me, though.  But overall, this was a pretty good week for the most part.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J. Balvin (#34)
• Drinks by CYN (#39)
• Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#40) [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles
40. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#38) [–2]
39. Lose Somebody by Kygo featuring OneRepublic (DEBUT)
38. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#36) [–2]
37. The Other Girl by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Halsey (#37) [=]
36. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby (#30) [–6] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
35. ily (i love you baby) by Surf Mesa featuring Emilee (#35) [=]
34. Bang! by AJR (#33) [–1]
33. Don’t Rush by Young T & Bugsey featuring Headie One (#32) [–1]
32. Daisies by Katy Perry (#28) [–4]
31. Come And Go by Juice WRLD featuring Marshmello (DEBUT)
30. Cardigan by Taylor Swift (DEBUT)
29. Circles by Post Malone (#27) [–2] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
28. 100 Ways by Jackson Wang (#25) [–3]
27. Breaking Me by Topic featuring A7S (#29) [+2]
26. WHATS POPPIN by Jack Harlow (#26) [=]
25. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#21) [–4] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
24. Heartless by Diplo and Morgan Wallen featuring Julia Michaels (#22) [–2]
23. Mamacita by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Ozuna and J. Rey Soul (#23) [=]
22. Be Like That by Kane Brown featuring Swae Lee and Khalid (#24) [+2]
21. Nobody’s Love by Maroon 5 (#31) [+10]
20. Like That by Doja Cat featuring Gucci Mane (#20) [=]
19. Rain On Me by Lady Gaga featuring Ariana Grande (#11) [–8]
18. Past Life by Trevor Daniel featuring Selena Gomez (#19) [+1]
17. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo (#16) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
16. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#18) [+2]
15. If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels (#17) [+2]
14. Say So by Doja Cat (#12) [–2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
13. Blueberry Faygo by Lil Mosey (#14) [+1]
12. Falling by Trevor Daniel (#7) [–5] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
11. Savage Love by Jaws featuring Jason Derulo (#15) [+4]
10. Savage (Remix) by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé (#6) [–4]
9. ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch (#13) [+4]
8. Coffee For Your Head by Powfu featuring Beabadoobee (#10) [+2]
7. Supalonely by Benee featuring Gus Dapperton (#9) [+2]
6. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#8) [+2]
5. Adore You by Harry Styles (#5) [=] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
4. Roses by Saint Jhn (#4) [=]
3. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#3) [=] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
2. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa (#2) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
1. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles (#1) [=] [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (2^nd of 3 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Rain On Me by Lady Gaga featuring Ariana Grande (–8)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Nobody’s Love by Maroon 5 (+10)

New Entrants:
– Up first is the return of Kygo with his collaboration with the band OneRepublic in Lose Somebody.  Kygo has consistently impressed me with almost every single he has released.  Last year, he gave me Higher Love with the late Whitney Houston, which I adored.  Lose Somebody is just as good.  I like Ryan Tedder’s vocals here.  He has showed me time and time again that he’s a good singer overall.  In fact, I enjoyed a lot of OneRepublic’s music mostly because of him.  And as usual, Kygo does a great job with his work as a DJ.  While it may be my least favorite debut of the week, this is still enjoyable overall.

– So, it’s been almost a year since Juice WRLD has passed on, and we’ll never get to see his potential.  But he does give us his collaboration with Marshmello in Come And Go.  Coming into the song, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect.  But after repeated listens, it grew on me.  It basically talks about not ruining his relationship and wanting to see things in a optimistic light.  I like his voice here and the chorus sounds pretty good.  That combined with the guitar riffs and the awesome work from Marshmello makes this an enjoyable listen.  Yeah, this song rocks and I’m glad it’s here.

– Lastly, we get the brand new single from Taylor Swift titled Cardigan.  It was this time last month that Taylor surprised us with her new album, Folklore.  It appears that she is going for a more indie sound here.  I think she has a good voice and it fits well with the vibe.  The instrumentation is fine and I quite like the simplistic beat.  It’s one of those romance songs which talks about their love for someone and the lyrics are something we can relate to.  Taylor has consistently shown that she’s a good songwriter and it shows throughout the song, as well as her entire album.  Yeah, I definitely like the song overall.

Best Debut Of The Week: Come And Go by Juice WRLD featuring Marshmello

Blurb And Go
– Good riddance to three of our exits.  First off, I didn’t care for Drinks by CYN at all so no complaints there.  RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) was never good from the start and it was very overrated.  I got tired of hearing that weak ass beat and the terrible vocals didn’t do any favors.  Yeah, I’m glad to see that one off.  But more importantly, we must celebrate as Someone You Loved has finally left the countdown!  Hallelujah!  It’s about damn time we bid adieu to that song!  It will never be missed!

– It’s nice to see ROCKSTAR make it’s way into the Top 10.  I really dig the guitar throughout the song and the verses are pretty good here.  So yeah, it’s one of the best trap music has had to offer this year.

– So, Falling by Trevor Daniel is literally, falling on the countdown.  Heh, looks like that one may leave sooner than we think, eh?

– On that note, I’m pretty sad about the drop from Rain On Me.  Yeah, I don’t like seeing it flop on this countdown.  And sadly, it died out elsewhere.  I don’t see it being much longer with us, unfortunately.

– Like That doesn’t appear to be doing too much of anything on this countdown or anywhere else, which is a good thing.  This song is just a asinine mess.  Honestly, can we get it off the countdown, please?  Doja Cat has not wowed me with her music at all.

– On that note, both Mamacita and Heartless are fucking abysmal in every sense of the word.  The former is so much worse than RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) because of even worse vocals and even terrible production.  My goodness, I cannot stand that song.  And don’t even get me started on the latter, because it is such a joke to the country genre.  In all honesty, I find the remix to be even more grating than the original because Julia Michaels just does not help matters in any way.  Seriously, both of those songs need to leave, like now.

– And finally…Hot Girl Bummer is now at the bottom of the countdown!  Hallelujah!  It’s about time!!!

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Funny by Zedd featuring Jasmine Thompson
• Kings & Queens by Ava Max
• My Future by Billie Eilish
• POPSTAR by DJ Khaled featuring Drake

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Whatcha Say by Jason Derulo
• Angel by Shaggy featuring Sting
• Love Yourself by Justin Bieber
• Nothin’ On You by B.o.B. featuring Bruno MarsIt Wasn’t Me by Saggy featuring Rayvon
• Sexyback by Justin Timberlake
• I Need Your Love by Shaggy featuring Mohombi, Faydee and Costi
• Don’t Wanna Know by Maroon 5 featuring Kendrick Lamar
• Luv Me Luv Me by Shaggy featuring Amber Lee
  

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

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

2 – Mediocre
13. If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels

3 – Decent:
12. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo
11. Roses by Saint Jhn
10. Supalonely by Benne featuring Gus Dapperton

4 – Good:
None!

5 – Great:
9. Past Life by Trevor Daniel featuring Selena Gomez
8. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth
7. ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
6. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles
5. Savage (Remix) by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé
4. Adore You by Harry Styles
3. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa
2. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Rain On Me by Lady Gaga featuring Ariana Grande

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

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Black Velvet by Alannah Myles (1989)

Most Missed Song: Style by Taylor Swift

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

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Never Really Over by Katy Perry (#11)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa
2. Rain On Me by Lady Gaga featuring Ariana Grande
3. The Other Girl by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Halsey
4. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
5. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

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 and J. Rey Soul

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
One Thing Right by Marshmello featuring Kane Brown: Do I even need to explain this?  This is just fucking abysmal on so many levels.  From the asinine lyrics to the weak effort put forth by Marshmello, this was another new low for him.  NEXT!

All The Time by Zara Larsson: This was easily the better of the two singles Zara released last year.  The production and the beat are so awesome and her voice is just divine.  I even like the addition of the robotic vocals that appear throughout the chorus.  Yeah, this song is honestly just a bop all around.

Mother’s Daughter by Miley Cyrus: Although not as good as her collaboration she did last year with Mark Ronson, this is still enjoyable to some degree.  However, I much prefer her newer song Midnight Sky, which just came out this week.

Boyfriend by Ariana Grande featuring Social House: This song shows how much Ariana has been selling out last year.  It’s better than her two predecessors (both of which ended up appearing in My Bottom 10 Songs Of 2019), but that isn’t saying much.  Terrible production, hardly no contribution from the members of Social House, and underwhelming vocals from Ariana herself makes this an unpleasant listen.  Good thing she did much better this year with Stuck With U and Rain On Me.

Hello, fam!  The NBA Playoffs start this week.  I’m excited and I’ll be watching.  I’m interested to see who wins it all during the bubble.  Also, football season (well, the NFL) starts next month, though I won’t be attending any games this year due to the pandemic.  But I’ll still watch the Falcons play.  I’m sure it’ll be fun.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Sunday Best by Surfaces (#18)
• The Bones by Maren Morris (#27)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Break My Heart by Dua Lipa
40. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#40) [=] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
39. Drinks by CYN (#30) [–9]
38. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#37) [–1]
37. The Other Girl by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Halsey (#38) [+1]
36. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#36) [+1]
35. ily (i love you baby) by surf mesa featuring Emilee (#36) [+1]
34. RITMO (Bay Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin (#33) [–1]
33. Bang! by AJR (#34) [+1]
32. Don’t Rush by Young T & Bugsey featuring Headie One (#32) [=]
31. Nobody’s Love by Maroon 5 (DEBUT)
30. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby (#29) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
29. Breaking Me by Topic featuring A7S (#39) [+10]
28. Daisies by Katy Perry (#28) [=]
27. Circles by Post Malone (#24) [–3] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
26. WHATS POPPIN by Jack Harlow (#31) [+5]
25. 100 Ways by Jackson Wang (#26) [+1]
24. Be Like That by Kane Brown featuring Swae Lee and Khalid (DEBUT)
23. Mamacita by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Ozuna and J. Rey Soul (#23) [=]
22. Heartless by Diplo and Morgan Wallen featuring Julia Michaels (#25) [+3]
21. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#17) [–4] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
20. Like That by Doja Cat featuring Gucci Mane (#22) [+2]
19. Past Life by Trevor Daniel featuring Selena Gomez (#20) [+1]
18. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#21) [+3]
17. If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels (#16) [–1]
16. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo (#13) [–3] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
15. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (#19) [+4]
14. Blueberry Faygo by Lil Mosey (#15) [+1]
13. ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch (#14) [+1]
12. Say So by Doja Cat (#9) [–3] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
11. Rain On Me by Lady Gaga featuring Ariana Grande (#10) [–1]
10. Coffee For Your Head by Powfu featuring Beabadoobee (#12) [+2]
9. Supalonely by Benee featuring Gus Dapperton (#11) [+2]
8. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#8) [=]
7. Falling by Trevor Daniel (#4) [–3]
6. Savage (Remix) by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé (#6) [=]
5. Adore You by Harry Styles (#7) [+2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
4. Roses by Saint Jhn (#5) [+1]
3. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#3) [=] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
2. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa (#1) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
1. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles (#2) [+1] [1st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (1st of 3 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Drinks by CYN (–9)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Breaking Me by Topic featuring A7S (+10)

New Entrants:
– Another week with two debuts.  I’ll start with Maroon 5 making their return once again, and this time they give us Nobody’s Love.  Last time, they tried to bring back Memories with their predecessor.  But I found that one to be lifeless and it didn’t have very much to offer.  Nobody’s Love is slightly better, mainly because of the production.  I do like Adam’s voice somewhat.  He sounds a little more enthusiastic here as opposed to Memories where he sounded like he was falling asleep.  But the lyrics are still quite questionable.  Some of the lines here aren’t exactly to my liking, and the lyrics lack some depth.  Overall, this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  But it’s still nothing compared to what these guys had before.

– For our second (and final) debut, we have country singer Kane Brown who collaborates with Swae Lee and Khalid in Be Like That.  As you recall, he collaborated with Marshmello in One Thing Right last year, which I did not like at all.  Those who’ve followed my blog should know that it was my #5 least favorite song of 2019.  But I’ll forget about that.  Let’s dive right in to his newer single. Basically, he talks about being in a relationship where he has mixed feelings for this person.  I find it to be pretty relatable.  Kane sounds good here and the guitar is well-used.  Then, you have Khalid putting in a nice performance here vocally, though I can’t say that about Swae Lee. Obviously, this is not his best and he’s done better.  But I quite like this song overall.

Best Debut Of The Week: Be Like That by Kane Brown featuring Swae Lee and Khalid

Sometimes It Blurbs Like That
– We’ll start with two exits.  First off, it’s about damn time we bid adieu to the garbage that is of Sunday Best.  Yippee!  I’m glad I don’t have to suffer through this atrocity ever again.  The Bones, on the other hand, was another really good single for Maren Morris and I’m glad it stuck around for a while.  It’s locked in for the Year-End list on Billboard and I’m very happy about that.  🙂

– And just like that, Harry Styles gets his second #1 this year, this time with Watermelon Sugar.  Interestingly, it’s also the second time that he dethroned Dua Lipa, this time with different songs.  Watermelon Sugar isn’t quite as good as Adore You.  But I still like it overall.  He has impressed me with his latest music.  I’m glad he’s getting the recognition he deserves.  I’m very happy for him.

– Speaking of Adore You, that song apparently just doesn’t know when to quit as it jumps back in to the Top 5.  Talk about longevity, man.  It’s having a strong run on this countdown even after it has virtually died down elsewhere.  I certainly don’t mind because it’s a divine song.  I’m glad it’s still here.

– I’m not necessarily thrilled about Supalonely being in the Top 10.  The song has slowly been getting less interesting with each and every additional listen.  Really the only good thing I can say about this is the groove itself.  Everything else about it is pretty underwhelming.  I’ll give these guys here the benefit of the doubt because it did kick Say So out of the Top 10, which was long overdue.

– I’m definitely not okay with Coffee For Your Head in the Top 10.  That song is vocally annoying.  I really don’t see the appeal to this.  It has no business being up there. I’m hoping it doesn’t last very long in that region.

– Drinks by CYN appears to be flopping hard as it pretty much didn’t take off.  Fine by me since it’s not a very good song.  I’m not very fond of her voice here and the rest of the song doesn’t work for me.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Funny by Zedd featuring Jasmine Thompson
• Lose Somebody by Kygo featuring OneRepublic
• Come And Go by Juice WRLD featuring Marshmello
• Kings & Queens by Ava Max
• Cardigan by Taylor Swift

Extras/Optional Extras:

• I Like Me Better by Lauv
• One Kiss by Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa
• 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
• When The Party’s Over by Billie Eilish
• Moral Of The Story by Ashe
• Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
• All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor
• Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee
• Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max
• Only Human by Jonas Brothers

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

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

2 – Mediocre
13. If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels:

3 – Decent:
12. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo
11. Roses by Saint Jhn
10. Supalonely by Benne featuring Gus Dapperton

4 – Good:
None!

5 – Great:
9. Past Life by Trevor Daniel featuring Selena Gomez
8. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth
7. ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
6. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles
5. Savage (Remix) by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé
4. Adore You by Harry Styles
3. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa
2. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Rain On Me by Lady Gaga featuring Ariana Grande

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

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Like A Virgin by Madonna (1984) (Happy 62^nd Birthday to her!)

Most Missed Song: There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back by Shawn Mendes

#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 (#21)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Rain On Me by Lady Gaga featuring Ariana Grande
2. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa
3. The Bones by Maren Morris
4. The Other Girl by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Halsey
5. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa

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

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith: I wasn’t fond of this at first, mainly because of the weird production.  But I did eventually kinda warmed up to it with time.  Despite this, I much prefer his predecessor Dancing With A Stranger, which is my favorite song from Sam.

Hello, fam!  Sports are back in action!  Man, it feels so good to be watching live sports again, alebit with no fans sadly.  Well, the MTV VMAs do take place this month and I plan on watching.  I think it’ll be different considering there will be no crowds to watch live performances.  It’s still sad considering we’re in the middle of a pandemic.  But it is what it is.  Let’s get right into things.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Be Kind by Marshmello featuring Halsey (#18)
• Heartless by The Weeknd (#38)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Falling by Trevor Daniel
40. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#40) [=] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
39. Breaking Me by Topic featuring A7S (DEBUT)
38. The Other Girl by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Halsey (DEBUT)
37. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#36) [–1]
36. ily (i love you baby) by surf mesa featuring Emilee (#39) [+3]
35. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#34) [–1]
34. Bang! by AJR (#35) [+1]
33. RITMO (Bay Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin (#32) [–1]
32. Don’t Rush by Young T & Bugsey featuring Headie One (#37) [+5]
31. WHATS POPPIN by Jack Harlow (#33) [+2]
30. Drinks by CYN (#31) [+1]
29. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby (#28) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
28. Daisies by Katy Perry (#29) [+1]
27. The Bones by Maren Morris (#25) [–2]
26. 100 Ways by Jackson Wang (#30) [+4]
25. Heartless by Diplo and Morgan Wallen featuring Julia Michaels (#27) [+2]
24. Circles by Post Malone (#20) [–4] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
23. Mamacita by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Ozuna and J. Rey Soul (#24) [+1]
22. Like That by Doja Cat featuring Gucci Mane (#22) [=]
21. I Hope by Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth (#21) [=]
20. Past Life by Trevor Daniel featuring Selena Gomez (#23) [+3]
19. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (#26) [+7]
18. Sunday Best by Surfaces (#12) [–6]
17. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#14) [–3] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
16. If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels (#19) [+3]
15. Blueberry Faygo by Lil Mosey (#16) [+1]
14. ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch (#17) [+3]
13. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo (#9) [–4] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
12. Coffee For Your Head by Powfu featuring Beabadoobee (#15) [+3]
11. Supalonely by Benee featuring Gus Dapperton (#13) [+2]
10. Rain On Me by Lady Gaga featuring Ariana Grande (#11) [+1]
9. Say So by Doja Cat (#8) [+1]
8. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#10) [+2]
7. Adore You by Harry Styles (#7) [=] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
6. Savage (Remix) by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé (#6) [=]
5. Roses by Saint Jhn (#4) [–1]
4. Falling by Trevor Daniel (#1) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
3. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#2) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
2. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles (#5) [+3]
1. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa (#3) [+2] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber (2^nd And Final Week At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Sunday Best by Surfaces (–6)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo (+7)

New Entrants:
– We’ll kick things off with new EDM artist Topic and singer A7S making their first appearance on the countdown with Breaking Me.  I didn’t really care for the song at first.  But with repeated listens, I came around to the song.  I quite like the guy’s voice here and the beat is pretty solid.  Not much else I can say outside of that.  It’s a pretty fine song.  We’ll see how long it lasts.

– For our secont debut, we have a very interesting collaboration between Kelsea Ballerini and Halsey in a pop-country crossover single titled The Other Girl.  Each of these artists have had songs of their own that I adore with a fiery passion.  I enjoyed Kelsea’s solo music, as well as her feature with The Chainsmokers in This Feeling.  Halsey has been pretty good for the most part with her music as well, though I’ve had mixed feelings with her recent singles.  So, how did this collaboration turn out?  Well, I found it to be honestly just amazing.  I love the chemistry between the two artists.  The production is top-notch and I love the guitar here.  Kelsea shows that she has a really good voice and she uses it very well here.  The same can be said for Halsey.  In fact, they both sound divine in the chorus.  So yeah, I’m in love with this song.  I’m glad it’s here.

Best Debut Of The Week: The Other Girl by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Halsey

Ain’t It Shocking What Blurbs Can Do?
– So, we have two exits, both of which were really good songs.  Be Kind was honestly just amazing and it was such a shame that it had to flop.  It was the best song Marshmello has done since Wolves (which as you can recall was my #2 song in 2018).  Heartless was just as good and it lasted for as long as it did.  I’m glad this was a hit for The Weeknd.  So yeah, both songs will definitely be missed by me.

– Before introducing Circles, Ryan Seacrest mentioned that Post Malone has been at home since the pandemic working on his new album.  I’m interested to see what he has cookin’ up.  I wonder does he have another hit in store?

– I’m pleased to see Rain On Me enter the Top 10.  I enjoyed a lot of what Chromatica had to offer and this song is no different.  It’s honestly catchy and just a jam.  Even better is the fact that it replaced the shitty Intentions in the Top 10.  It’s about time!

– Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles reaches a new peak of #2.  I have a good feeling that Harry will end up getting another #1 at some point in time.  It’s a pretty divine song, though not quite as good as Adore You.  He’s really having a good year so far.

– On that note, Dua Lipa gets her second #1 this year with Break My Heart!  You honestly have no idea how much I adore that song.  In fact, it’s just as good as Don’t Start Now.  I’m sure it won’t last long at the top since Harry will take over soon.  But regardless, I’m very happy for Dua and this song deserves the #1 spot!  🙂

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Kings & Queens by Ava Max
• Lose Somebody by Kygo featuring OneRepublic
• Be Like That by Kane Brown featuring Swae Lee and Khalid
• Nobody’s Love by Maroon 5
• Funny by Zedd featuring Jasmine Thompson

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Stitches by Shawn Mendes
• In My Feelings by Drake
• Sugar by Maroon 5
• The Scotts by The Scotts
• Thunder by Imagine Dragons
• Pray For Me by The Weeknd featuring Kendrick Lamar
• Into You by Ariana Grande
• Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay
• One Dance by Drake featuring WizKid and Kyla
• We Found Love by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris

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

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

2 – Mediocre:
13. If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels

3 – Decent:
12. Savage Love by Jawsh 685 featuring Jason Derulo
11. Roses by Saint Jhn
10. Supalonely by Benne featuring Gus Dapperton

4 – Good:
None!

5 – Great:
9. Past Life by Trevor Daniel featuring Selena Gomez
8. ROCKSTAR by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
7. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles
6. Savage (Remix) by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé
5. Adore You by Harry Styles
4. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa
3. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
2. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Rain On Me by Lady Gaga featuring Ariana Grande

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

Throwback Pick Of The Week: So Emotional by Whitney Houston (1987)

Most Missed Song: No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Exile by Taylor Swift

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: If I Can’t Have You by Shawn Mendes (#4)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Rain On Me by Lady Gaga featuring Ariana Grande
2. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa
3. The Bones by Maren Morris
4. The Other Girl by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Halsey
5. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
2. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
3. Sunday Best by Surfaces
4. Heartless by Diplo & Morgan Wallen featuring Julia Michaels
5. Like That by Doja Cat featuring Gucci Mane

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Hate Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Juice WRLD: This song does not fit Ellie’s style whatsoever.  I’m not sure why I liked it at first.  But if anything, I’d much rather hear this than the atrocity that is of Worry Bout Me.

The Git Up by Blanco Brown: After Old Town Road’s massive success, it was a no brainer that someone would capitalize on this opportunity.  And Blanco Brown was the guy to do it.  It’s probably one of the fun country songs I can dance to.

Hello, fam! So, I was able to finally get this out on time. I know times have been rough. But I’m sure we’ll get through this. And I’ll entertain everyone here as always by bringing you the American Top 40! Let’s get on with it. In terms of how this week went, it was pretty bad. I’m not crazy about the #1. But I’ll talk more about it later in the post. Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Dance Monkey by Tones & I (#31)
• What If I Told You That I Love You by Ali Gatie (#39)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
40. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#40) [=]
39. Heartless by Diplo featuring Thomas Wesley, Morgan Wallen and Julia Michaels (DEBUT)
38. Trampoline by SHAED (#37) [–1]
37. Old Me by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#38) [+1]
36. July by Noah Cyrus featuring Leon Bridges (#36) [=]
35. Good As Hell by Lizzo (#34) [–1] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
34. Nice To Meet Ya by Meghan Trainor featuring Nicki Minaj (#35) [+1]
33. I’m Ready by Sam Smith featuring Demi Lovato (DEBUT)
32. Life Is Good by Future featuring Drake (#32) [=]
31. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (#29) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
30. Coffee For Your Head by Powfu featuring Beabadoobee (#33) [+3]
29. Memories by Maroon 5 (#20) [–9] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
28. Rose by Saint Jhn (#30) [+2]
27. Modern Lonliness by Lauv (#28) [+1]
26. Level Of Concern by TWENTY ØNE PILØTS (#27) [+1]
25. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#23) [–2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
24. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#24) [=]
23. In Your Eyes by The Weeknd (#25) [+2]
22. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas (#18) [–4]
21. Supalonely by Benee featuring Gus Dapperton (#26) [+5]
20. The Bones by Maren Morris (#22) [+2]
19. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga (#11) [–8]
18. Sunday Best by Surfaces (#21) [+3]
17. Heartless by The Weeknd (#16) [–1]
16. Ride It by Regard (#17) [+1]
15. Toosie Slide by Drake (#19) [+4]
14. I Love Me by Demi Lovato (#14) [=]
13. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa (#15) [+2]
12. The Box by Roddy Ricch (#13) [+1]
11. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#9) [–2]
10. Falling by Trevor Daniel (#12) [+2]
9. Circles by Post Malone (#8) [–1] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
8. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin (#10) [+2]
7. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo (#7) [=]
6. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#6) [=]
5. Adore You by Harry Styles (#4) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
4. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#5) [+1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
3. Say So by Doja Cat (#3) [=]
2. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#1) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
1. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby (#2) [+1] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Sucker by Jonas Brothers (3^rd of 8 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Memories by Maroon 5 (–9)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Supalonely by Benee featuring Gus Dapperton (+5)

New Entrants:
– So, there are two new songs entering the countdown this week. We’ll start with a song that’s actually been around for a while. It’s from Diplo and he collaborates with Morgan Wallen in their single titled Heartless. Believe it or not, this is actually the remix with Julia Michaels. So yeah, I wasn’t very fond of Diplo’s successor that appeared on the countdown before it, which was with the Jonas Brothers who had a successful 2019 with their reunion. Now, surely you may think, “oh, this is better than Lonely, right”? WRONG! It combines country with trap elements, something which is a big pet peeve of mine as of late. Morgan barely sings and then not only does he not shine in any part of the song. But also, Julia makes it so much worse with her own shitty vocals in the remix. And I’m not even going to comment on the lyrics either, because their cringworthy. Sigh…I loathe when artists try to combine country with trap music, and it has become a trend ever since Bebe Rexha somehow decided that was the way to go with Meant To Be, which was terrible. But of course, people bought into this and it became a hit. Then, Lil Nas X followed up with his own offering with a song I didn’t like either in the form of Old Town Road, which spent a record-breaking 19 weeks at #1 on Billboard (he had a little help with Billy Ray Cyrus). And here I was thinking that was an embarrassment to the country genre. But with time, I softened up a bit on it (and I can at least laugh at some funny lines). But this is just beats the two songs I just mentioned in terms of embarrassment and it’s in a close race between this and Body Like A Back Road by Sam Hunt for worst country song ever. Yeah, this blows. NEXT!

– Now onto the much better song. We have Sam Smith teaming up with Demi Lovato in his latest offering, and I’m Ready to talk about it! I’m sure you all remember Dancing With A Stranger, which was my #1 favorite song of 2019. It became another one of Sam’s biggest hits of his career. Now here he is hoping to repeat his success in 2020. It doesn’t quite hit the height of its predecessor. But it is still a good song nonetheless. I like the flow of their verses and their vocals are outstanding throughout the song. They both show that they are good singers. The production is pretty solid and I quite like the lyrics. I do hope that it can be as successful as its predecessor. But we’ll see what happens.

Best Debut Of The Week: I’m Ready by Sam Smith featuring Demi Lovato

Don’t Go Chase Waterblurbs
– We’ll begin with our exits. First off, I never cared for What If I Told You That I Love You. To be honest, I didn’t really cared for Ali Gatie’s music at all. Dance Monkey, on the other hand, was actually something I cared for in the long run and I’m glad it became a hit in the US. This song helped put Tones & I on the map. I’m interested to see what she has next.

– Alright, so I’m looking at this countdown right now…and to be frank, this isn’t exactly what I had hoped for. Yeah, like I said in the introduction, it’s not very good folks. I’ll start things off with our new #1 song and of course, it comes from Camila Cabello with My Oh My. I never liked that song from the start and my opinion hasn’t changed. I’m honestly disappointed that we had to replace the amazing Blinding Lights with this mess. While it’s not as bad as Never Be The Same, it’s still undesirable in every way. Yeah, not what I wanted to see topping the countdown.

– How are we letting Say So by Doja Cat sit in the Top 3?!?! That song is so incredibly generic and the fact that its continuing to gain steam only makes matters even more asinine. This has no business being up there.

– I’m not even going to comment on RIMTO (Bad Boys For Life) and Intentions being in the Top 10. Both songs are just a putrid mess (ESPECIALLY the latter) and they don’t belong up there. And while we’re at it, Circles needs to start moving down eventually. I’ve defended this song in the past. But this is insane. It also has no business being up there like that. It’s time that song starts dropping now.

– Toosie Slide and Sunday Best gaining traction really drives me off the wall. I was forced to listen to both of those songs all the way through and my goodness! They were a mess! Sunday Best is more like Sunday Worst if you ask me because it blows on so many levels. Putrid vocals and weak production makes this unlistenable for me. Toosie Slide is also putrid with a shitty trap beat and bad vocal production from Drake. I can only hope they do get any further on this countdown.

– Don’t even get me started with I Love Me by Demi Lovato. I can safely say that I wanted to like this song because I adore Demi as an artist. But so far it has proven to be one of her worst singles. The weird production, underwhelming vocals, and some questionable lyrics are not helping.

– How in the nine hells is Someone You Loved still here?!?! This is just insane, people. I honestly loathe this song with a burning passion and even today, it still sounds terrible vocally. And I’m not even going to comment on Before You Go which isn’t any better, either. Can we PLEASE get these two songs off?

– It’s about damn time Memories made that big drop I’ve been waiting for. Thankfully, I’m not hearing it as much while I’m driving. Hopefully, it won’t be long until it leaves us for good.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Young & Alive by Bazzi
• Baby Girl by Bryce Vine
• Be Kind by Marshmello featuring Halsey
• Savage (Remix) by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé
• Worry About Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Blackbear
• Stuck With U by Ariana Grande featuring Justin Bieber

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Stressed Out by TWENTY ØNE PILØTS
• How Long by Charlie Puth
• Better Now by Post Malone
• Underdog by Alicia Keys
• You Should Be Sad by Halsey
• Never Be The Same by Camila Cabello
• Make You Mine by PUBLIC
• Good For You by Selena Gomez featuring ASAP Rocky
• Truth Hurts by Lizzo
• Breathin’ by Ariana Grande

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Putrid:
20. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
19. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
18. Sunday Best by Surfaces
17. Toosie Slide by Drake
16. RIMTO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin
15. Say So by Doja Cat
14. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby

1 – Bad:
13. Ride It by Regard
12. I Love Me by Demi Lovato

2 – Mediocre:
11. Falling by Trevor Daniel
10. Circles by Post Malone

3 – Decent:
9. The Box by Roddy Ricch

4 – Good:
None!

5 – Great:
8. Heartless by The Weeknd
7. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish
6. Adore You by Harry Styles
5. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga
4. The Bones by Maren Morris
3. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa
2. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa

Total Score: 50/100 = 50% (C–)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Waterfalls by TLC (1995)

Most Missed Song: Birthday by Katy Perry

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max (#4)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
2. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
3. Break My Heart by Dua Lipa
4. The Bones by Maren Morris
5. In Your Eyes by The Weeknd

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
2. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
3. Life Is Good by Future featuring Drake
4. Sunday Best by Surfaces
5. Toosie Slide by Drake

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Con Calma (Remix) by Daddy Yankee featuring Kate Perry and Snow: Ah, yes. Another Latin song from Daddy Yankee and company. And Katy adds more life to the remix. Yeah, this is a fun, upbeat song.

ME! by Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie: Two of the biggest artists from last year collaborating with one another is a dream come true. Even though there are some cheesy lines, it’s still pretty fun to listen to, all thanks to their divine vocals and interesting production.

Hello, fam!  Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve been blogging (approximately a couple of months ago).  My life is full of work lately and my motivation is at an all time low.  I know, it’s sad.  But this week, I’ve decided to make a comeback.  Yes, folks.  I’m back, and this time for good.  Yes, I do plan on playing a lot of catch up with my posts.  It’ll take lots of time, so you’ll just have to bear with me for the time being.  Right now, I’m ready to get on with it!  Before we get to this week’s fresh 45, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Kelsea Ballerini featuring Halsey – The Other Girl (#33)
• 24KGoldn – City Of Angels (#34)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: The Weeknd – Blinding Lights
45. Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B – South Of The Border (#43) [–2]
44. Tones & I – Dance Monkey (#44) [=]
43. Jonas Brothers – Only Human (#45) [+2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
42. Halsey – Graveyard (#41) [–1]
41. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne (#42) [+1]
40. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya (#35) [–5] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
39. Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer (#40) [+1]
38. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth (#37) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
37. Saint Jhn – Roses (DEBUT)
36. Sam Smith featuring Demi Lovato – I’m Ready (#31) [–5]
35. Regard – Ride It (DEBUT)
34. Ariana Grande featuring Justin Bieber – Stuck With U (DEBUT)
33. The Black Eye Peas featuring J Balvin – RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) (#36) [+3]
32. Harry Styles – Adore You (#24) [–8] [Spent 10 Weeks At #1]
31. Marshmello featuring Halsey – Be Kind (#25) [–6]
30. Post Malone – Circles (#28) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
29. Alesso featuring Liam Payne – Midnight (#29) [=]
28. Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted (#23) [–5]
27. Blackbear – Me & Ur Ghost (#26) [–1]
26. Jonas Brothers – What A Man Gotta Do (#22) [–4]
25. Powfu featuring Beabadoobee – Coffee For Your Head (#32) [+7]
24. BENEE featuring Gus Dapperton – Supalonely (#21) [–3]
23. Justin Bieber featuring Quavo – Intentions (#15) [–8]
22. Halsey – You Should Be Sad (#18) [–4]
21. Surfaces – Sunday Best (#13) [–8]
20. Lady Gaga – Stupid Love (#9) [–11]
19. Alec Benjamin – Oh My God (#27) [+8]
18. Taylor Swift – The Man (#17) [–1]
17. Lauv – Modern Loneliness (#20) [+3]
16. Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now (#7) [–9]
15. JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels – If The World Was Ending (#12) [–3]
14. Trevor Daniel – Falling (#30) [+16]
13. Maren Morris – The Bones (#39) [+26]
12. The Weeknd – In Your Eyes (#19) [+7]
11. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – Level Of Concern (#16) [+5]
10. Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My (#5) [–5]
9. Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar (#6) [–3]
8. Demi Lovato – I Love Me (#11) [+3]
7. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Old Me (#8) [+1]
6. Dua Lipa – Break My Heart (#14) [+8]
5. Niall Horan – No Judgement (#4) [–1]
4. Doja Cat – Say So (#3) [–1]
3. Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go (#2) [–1]
2. Conan Grey – Maniac (#10) [+8]
1. The Weeknd – Blinding Lights (#1) [=] [4th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Jonas Brothers – Sucker (8th of 13 Weeks At #1) 

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Lady Gaga – Stupid Love (–11)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Maren Morris – The Bones (+26)

New Entrants:
– I’ll be reviewing the new songs in just one paragraph.  I’ll start with the first two that debuted this week.  Roses is pretty generic for my tastes.  There’s really not a lot to like about this and I don’t find their vocals interesting.  Ride It is slightly worse because I find the production to be more underwhelming and the vocals are mediocre at best.  The one good debut of the week comes from the return of Ariana Grande who collaborates with Justin Bieber in Stuck With U.  I like the chemistry between the two and while it is bland at times, everything else is mostly on point.  I think the vocals are solid and the production is pretty good.  In addition, I quite like the lyrics here.  Overall, I like this song quite a lot.

Best Debut Of The Week: Ariana Grande featuring Justin Bieber – Stuck With U

Stuck With Blurbs
– Since I’ve been away, I wanted to see how things went in Hits 1 Countdown land.  Some things have changed for the better and some not quite as much.  I’ll begin with the #1 song.  Blinding Lights holds on to the top spot for a 4th consecutive week.  I’m so happy that The Weeknd is having a successful year chart wise.  I still enjoy that song since it first came out and it’s nice to see it become another huge hit for him.

– Maniac has reached a new peak of #2.  This song has grown on me quite a bit since it was released.  I honestly did not envision it being successful.  But I’m kinda glad I was wrong.  Conan Gray made a nice first impression with his first single.  I’m interested to see what he has next.

– Say So and Before You Go both have no business being in the Top 5.  The former is so incredibly generic and the fact that it’s becoming a major hit only makes matters worse.  I can’t believe this.  The latter, while being a bit better than its predecessor, is undesirable.  Lewis Capaldi hasn’t done much to impress me as an artist in my opinion.

– Break My Heart has quickly made its way into the Top 10.  Well, I have a good feeling that Dua Lipa will end up having another hit on her hands and I’m cool with that because I’m in love with the song.  Dua has impressed me a lot with her music and I’m happy that she is becoming successful.  Also, Don’t Start Now is still very enjoyable even after it’s falling elsewhere.  I’m proud of her.  🙂

– I Love Me has entered the Top 10.  I have to say, I’m not very fond of the song.  As someone who has been a big fan of Demi Lovato, it just doesn’t appeal to me.  The production is quite weird to my liking and some of the lines are pretty questionable.  So yeah, I’m not all that thrilled about seeing it in that region.

– It appears that some former #1 songs from earlier this year (Nice To Meet Ya, Adore You, Circles) are beginning to die out.  It seems like yesterday those songs were in the Top 10 and now they’ve pretty much died out elsewhere.  It won’t be long until those songs end up leaving.

Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Putrid:
20. Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My
19. Doja Cat – Say So

1 – Bad:
18. Lauv – Modern Loneliness
17. Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go
16. Demi Lovato – I Love Me

2 – Mediocre:
15. JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels – If The World Was Ending
14. Trevor Daniel – Falling

3 – Decent:
13. Alec Benjamin – Oh My God
12. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Old Me

4 – Good:
11. Taylor Swift – The Man

5 – Great:
10. Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar
9. Niall Horan – No Judgement
8. Lady Gaga – Stupid Love
7. Maren Morris – The Bones
6. Conan Gray – Maniac
5. Dua Lipa – Break My Heart
4. Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now
3. The Weeknd – In My Eyes
2. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – Level Of Concern

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. The Weeknd – Blinding Lights

Overall Grade: 68/100 = 68% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Britney Spears – Oops…I Did It Again (2000)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Katy Perry – Teenage Dream

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: N/A

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (#16)

My Top 5 Picks
1. The Weeknd – Blinding Lights
2. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – Level Of Concern
3. The Weeknd – In My Eyes
4. Alesso featuring Liam Payne – Midnight
5. Harry Styles – Adore You

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer
2. Justin Bieber featuring Quavo – Intentions
3. Surfaces – Sunday Best
4. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne
5. Blackbear – Me & Ur Ghost

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Jordan McGraw – Flexible: Not a good pair of debuts from last year.  The more interesting thing I can say about this is he the son of Dr. Phil.  But that’s it.  Everything about this is just terrible all around.  He did not make a good first impression here.

Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber – I Don’t Care: The comeback of two big acts…and if I’m being honest, it didn’t really turn out well to my liking.  There’s not much chemistry here and the song isn’t quite a fun listen for me.

Hello, fam. It’s been almost a month since the world was basically turned upside-down because of the virus.  All I have to say is stay safe out there and be careful, everyone.  With that, let’s get into the AT40 countdown, shall we? Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers (#28)
• Time by NF (#38)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
40. Sénorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#40) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
39. Sunday Best by Surfaces (DEBUT)
38. Sad Tonight by Chelsea Cutler (#39) [+1]
37. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#36) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
36. Make You Mine by PUBLIC (#32) [–4]
35. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#34) [–1]
34. Modern Loneliness by Lauv (DEBUT)
33. No Judgement by Niall Horan (#35) [+2]
32. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#30) [–2]
31. Trampoline by SHAED (#31) [=]
30. SUGAR by BROCKHAMPTON (#33) [+3]
29. The Bones by Maren Morris (#37) [+8]
28. Ride It by Regard (#29) [+1]
27. Good As Hell by Lizzo (#25) [–2]
26. To Die For by Sam Smith (#26) [=]
25. Falling by Trevor Daniel (#27) [–2]
24. The Box by Roddy Ricch (#24) [=]
23. The Man by Taylor Swift (#22) [–1]
22. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (#20) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
21. The Other Side by SZA featuring Justin Timberlake (#21) [=]
20. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#18) [–2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
19. Know Your Worth by Khalid featuring Disclosure (#19) [=]
18. Rare by Selena Gomez (#16) [–2]
17. I Love Me by Demi Lovato (#27) [+10]
16. Dance Monkey by Tones And I (#10) [–6]
15. You Should Be Sad by Halsey (#13) [–2]
14. RITMO by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin (#17) [+3]
13. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga (#15) [+2]
12. Memories by Maroon 5 (#12) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
11. Say So by Doja Cat (#14) [+3]
10. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo (#11) [+1]
9. Heartless by The Weeknd (#5) [–4]
8. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby (#9) [+1]
7. ROXANNE by Arizona Zervas (#3) [–4]
6. Circles by Post Malone (#6) [=] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
5. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#7) [+2]
4. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#8) [+4]
3. Adore You by Harry Styles (#4) [+1]
2. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#2)
1. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#1) [=] [5^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: 7 Rings by Ariana Grande (3^rd of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Dance Monkey by Tones And I (–6)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: I Love Me by Demi Lovato (+10)

New Entrants:
– Not a good week for debuts here.  I’ll start with easily the worst debut of the week.  It’s from the band Surfaces and it’s called Sunday Best. This was trending on the YouTube 15 on Hits 1 last year. I was never fond of that song when it first came out and nothing really has changed. In fact, after hearing this again, it’s even worse than I remembered. First off, I don’t like the vocals we get from them. They don’t sound good art any point throughout the song. But my biggest problem is the production itself, in which the piano sounds horrible. It tries to be some kind of anthem. But it did not work out to my liking. Yeah, this blows on so many levels. NEXT!

– Our second and final debut of the week comes from an artist I wasn’t looking forward to hearing more of. It’s from Lauv and he brings us Modern Loneliness. I talked about this one when it debuted on the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown. Now, it goes without saying that it’s better than the majority of his singles. But that’s not saying much because it’s undesirable in pretty much every aspect. I like the piano here, but everything else leaves a lot to be desired. Lauv does not sound good vocally, which is nothing new because that’s been my issue when it comes to his music. Overall, it’s not good and it’s not surprising considering that he hasn’t impressed me with his music.

Best Debut Of The Week: Modern Loneliness by Lauv (but not my much)

Sunday Blurbs
– In terms of our exits this week, Time by NF had worn on me big time.  So, seeing it depart was a good thing.  And What A Man Gotta Do flopped hard.  Safe to say that the Jonas Brothers won’t have another hit in 2020.  Oh well.

– We did see a shake-up in the Top 5 this week.  Adore You has hit a new peak of #3, which is very nice to see.  But in even better news, The Weeknd replaces himself with the superior song in Blinding Lights.  Ideally, I like to see one of the two songs become the next #1.

– Everything I Wanted enters the Top 5 as well.  Billie Eilish continues to gain momentum throughout 2020.  This could potentially be another #1 for Billie.  But we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

– Yuck.  Of course Intentions entering the Top 10 just to piss me off.  Everything about the song is atrocious.  I’m hoping it doesn’t get any further and flops like Yummy did.  But that’s likely not going to happen at this point.

– After not doing much, The Bones makes a big move up to the Top 30.  Good to see there are people who are still interested in Maren Morris after all.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• July by Noah Cyrus featuring Leon Bridges
• Nice To Meet Ya by Meghan Trainor featuring Nicki Minaj
• Life Is Good by Future featuring Drake
• What If I Told You That I Love You by Ali Gaite

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Yellow Hearts by Ant Saunders
• Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
• Now Or Never by Halsey
• Tequila by Dan + Shay
• Believer by Imagine Dragons
• That’s What I Like by Bruno Mars
• Wow. by Post Malone
• Stay With Me by Sam Smith
• Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
• There’s Nothing Holdn’ Me Back by Shawn Mendes
• Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored by Ariana Grande

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
19. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
18. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
17. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas
16. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin

1 – Bad:
15. Say So by Doja Cat
14. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby
13. Memories by Maroon 5

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 –  Decent:
12. Rare by Selena Gomez
11. I Love Me by Demi Lovato
10. You Should Be Sad by Halsey

4 – Good:
9. Circles by Post Malone

5 – Great:
8. Know Your Worth by Khalid featuring Disclosure
7. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish
6. Dance Monkey by Tones & I
5. Heartless by The Weeknd
4. Adore You by Harry Styles
3. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga
2. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

Total Score: 57/100 = 57% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Clocks by Coldplay (2002)

Most Missed Song: Stressed Out by TWENTY ØNE PILØTS

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: The Other Girl by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Halsey

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: You Say by Lauren Daigle (#21)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
2. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
3. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga
4. Adore You by Harry Styles
5. Good As Hell by Lizzo

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
2. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
3. Sunday Best by Surfaces
4. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas
5. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
When The Party’s Over by Billie Eilish: One of the many highlights off of When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?.  While there’s not much in terms of the production, her unique, mysterious voice pulls me in.  It’s what Billie does best.

Out Of Love by Alessia Cara: A sweet piano ballad, if you will.  But Alessia has definitely done better.  It’s kinda sad that she hasn’t had a hit since her collaboration with Zedd in Stay back in 2017.

Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco: Much like with High Hopes, the AT40 picked up on this a month after this song became a bit on Hits 1. A song that talks about finding success works for me, especially with Brendon Urie knowing how to hit those high notes.

Hello, fam!  We’re now in the month of April and already it’s been tough for all of us.  It just seemed like yesterday we were enjoying life and not having a care in the world.  Now, because of the pandemic and everything being shut down, our world has literally been turned upside down.  But I try to stay positive that things will get better.  And yes, I do hope things get better soon.  This was a pretty eventful week on the AT40, and that gives lots to talk about.  I’m ready to dive right in and get on with it!  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Cuz I Love You by Lizzo (#26)
• Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (#38)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
40. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#40) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
39. Sad Tonight by Chelsea Cutler (DEBUT)
38. Time by NF (#36) [–2]
37. The Bones by Maren Morris (#39) [+2]
36. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#34) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
35. No Judgement by Niall Horan (#35) [=]
34. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#32) [–2]
33. Sugar by BROCKHAMPTON (#37) [+4]
32. Make You Mine by PUBLIC (#31) [–1]
31. Trampoline by SHAED (#29) [–2]
30. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#30) [=]
29. Ride It by Regard (#33) [+4]
28. What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers (#13) [–15]
27. I Love Me by Demi Lovato (DEBUT)
26. To Die For by Sam Smith (#27) [+1]
25. Good As Hell by Lizzo (#22) [–3] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
24. The Box by Roddy Ricch (#25) [+1]
23. Falling by Trevor Daniel (#21) [–2]
22. The Man by Taylor Swift (#23) [+1]
21. The Other Side by SZA featuring Justin Timberlake (#28) [+7]
20. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (#14) [–6] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
19. Know Your Worth by Khalid featuring Disclosure (#19) [=]
18. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#17) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
17. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin (#18) [+1]
16. Rare by Selena Gomez (#16) [=]
15. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga (#20) [+5]
14. Say So by Doja Cat (#24) [+10]
13. You Should Be Sad by Halsey (#15) [+2]
12. Memories by Maroon 5 (#10) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
11. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo (#12) [+1]
10. Dance Monkey by Tones And I (#6) [–4]
9. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby (#11) [+2]
8. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#9) [+1]
7. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#7) [=]
6. Circles by Post Malone (#4) [–2] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
5. Heartless by The Weeknd (#5) [=]
4. Adore You by Harry Styles (#8) [+4]
3. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas (#2) [–1]
2. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#3) [+1]
1. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#1) [=] [4^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: 7 Rings by Ariana Grande (2^nd of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers (–15)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Say So by Doja Cat (+10)

New Entrants:
– We have two new songs entering this week.  First is a newcomer from Connecticut.  Her name is Chelsea Cutler and she makes her first appearance with Sad Tonight.  And here’s an interesting fun fact: she and my dad both share the same birthday (February 11).  That’s some cool stuff.  I don’t really have a lot to say about this one.  I think the production is pretty good and I quite like her voice.  She can sound underwhelming at times, but she gets better in the chorus.  Overall, it’s a good song even though I can’t see it sticking with me in the long run.

– For our second debut, we get the long awaited return of Demi Lovato.  She brings us her comeback single in the form of I Love Me.  Demi has been through quite a lot since 2018, when she had a health scare.  But I’m glad she is making a comeback.  She has been a favorite of mine this past decade with songs such as Heart Attack and Cool For The Summer, which are two of her best singles.  My expectations were sky high coming into the song and I was unfortunately met with disappointment.  I’m not too fond of the production here.  I feel it’s a little out of place and the beat isn’t too interesting.  Demi has a amazing voice.  But she doesn’t really use it to her potential.  There are times where she sounds okay.  But other times, she’s underwhelming and I don’t quite like the chorus.  The lyrics are pretty questionable.  Yeah, this isn’t what I was hoping for in a comeback single from Demi.  She can do better.

Best Debut Of The Week: Sad Tonight by Chelsea Cutler

Blurbs Tonight
– As far as our exits go, Cuz I Love You was not a good choice for a single off of the album.  It’s a good thing that one didn’t take off.  I couldn’t stand her voice here and the instrumentation was too loud for my liking.  Beautiful People was one of the few songs I enjoyed off of No.6 Collaborations Project and it was nice to see it become a chart success.  Sadly, I think this’ll be the last we’ll see of Ed Sheeran for a while.

– It was bad enough that we saw Roxanne hit a peak of #2 a couple weeks back.  Now Hot Girl Bummer has reached #2 this week.  Blech.  Now I REALLY hope that Don’t Start Now stays at #1.

– Well, Harry Styles is finally getting the recognition he deserves as Adore You has reached the Top 5.  I didn’t envision this becoming a massive hit heading into 2020.  But now here we are.  This song is honestly a jam.  Harry has been getting better at making solo music.  I can possibly see this become a future #1 (and hopefully soon, given the two songs currently above it).

– My Oh My entering the Top 10 is a no-no.  The song does not appeal to me.  Of course, Camila is still popular so I’m not surprised.  But it does not belong up there.

– On the note of mediocrity, we have Say So jumping big into the Top 20.  I’m usually a sucker for most basic pop.  But Say So isn’t working for me at all.  It has been getting worse with each and every additional listen.  This song is extremely generic and her voice sucks.  Why are we making this a thing?

– With What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers taking a massive drop this week, it’s safe to say they won’t have another hit this year.  Looks like the reunion honeymoon has finally worn off on everyone.

– It’s nice to see Trampoline still hanging on.  This could potentially repeat on the 2020 Year-End countdown, given it’s longevity.  I still enjoy the song mostly because it’s very unique and I love Chelsea’s voice.  It’s one of the best alternative has to offer last year.

– Two of last week’s debuts (The Bones and No Judgement) didn’t do much of anything in their second week of their respective tenures.  Only The Bones jumped, but it was a mere two spots.  We’ll see how next week plays out for both songs.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Loco Contigo by DJ Snake featuring J Balvin and Tyga
• July by Noah Cyrus featuring Leon Bridges
• Modern Loneliness by Lauv
• Sunday Best by Surfaces
• Nice To Meet Ya by Meghan Trainor featuring Nicki Minaj

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Hotline Bling by Drake
• Same Old Love by Selena Gomez
• Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande
• Yummy by Justin Bieber
• Only Girl (In The World) by Rihanna
• Radioactive by Imagine Dragons
• Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug
• Highest In The Room by Travis Scott
• Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding
• Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani
• Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay
• You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift
  

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
19. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
18. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
17. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas
16. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin

1 – Bad:
15. Say So by Doja Cat
14. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby
13. Memories by Maroon 5

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
12. You Should Be Sad by Halsey
11. Rare by Selena Gomez

4 – Good:
10. Circles by Post Malone

5 – Great:
9. Know Your Worth by Khalid featuring Disclosure
8. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish
7. Dance Monkey by Tones & I
6. Heartless by The Weeknd
5. Adore You by Harry Styles
4. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez
3. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga
2. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa

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

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana (1991)

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

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: The Other Girl by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Halsey

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: You Say by Lauren Daigle (#22)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
2. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
3. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga
4. Adore You by Harry Styles
5. Good As Hell by Lizzo

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
2. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
3. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas
4. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
5. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Here With Me by Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES: Although this was a hit on Hits 1, it didn’t fare better anywhere else.  I like what this song is going for lyrically and Lauren Mayberry put on an exceptional performance vocally.

Low Key by Ally Brooke featuring Tyga: True, I’m very fond of Ally Brooke.  But this was not a good start for her.  Tyga doesn’t add anything to the song and her voice is underwhelming.  And the message that it sends?  Yeah, that’s a no.  It’s a good thing she got better with songs like Higher and No Good.

Don’t Call Me Up by Mabel: While not memorable, it’s quite a catchy song.  Mabel does show her potential vocally.  Too bad we haven’t heard much from her since.

Hello, fam! So, 2019 is officially in the books, and with that comes my review for the entire Year-End Billboard Hot 100. This time, I was able to get this done within a month unlike last year when it was late, in which I was finally able to get it out in June. Part of that comes from me being busy with work and some other stuff. I do have a life outside of blogging, and oftentimes it gets in the way with my schedule. In addition, I’ve sorta decided to re-brand my site a little bit in the middle of last year. And I love it. I think my new site is better for me in the long run.

My blog primarily revolves around the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown and the American Top 40, both of which I review on a weekly basis. However, I do review Billboard every once in a while, although my goal for this year is to do more Billboard-related posts. But we’ll see what ultimately happens. Every year, Billboard counts down the Top 100 songs of any given year, usually in ascending order. It is a more accurate representation of what songs make the chart. Streaming has played a major role in a song’s success in recent years. But it also helps if a song does well in radio and sales. We’ve seen plenty of songs that ended being successful based off one of those factors alone. And I do expect the trend to continue as we start the new decade. I’ve said just about enough for my introduction. I’m ready to get things started. I now present to you the color code that I’ll be using and the number of points each song gets:

• Purple – Best Song (6 Points)
• Dark Blue – Song Is In My Top 10 (5 Points)
• Green – Great (5 Points)
• Blue – Good (4 Points)
• Pink – Decent (3 Points)
• Yellow – Mediocre (2 Points)
• Cyan – Bad (1 Point)
• Red – Putrid (0 Points)
• Dark Red – Song Is In My Bottom 10 (0 Points)
• Orange – Worst Song (0 Points)

Now, there are a few more things that I want to cover before I officially dive into this list. First off, I won’t be doing full-on reviews for each song as it is time-consuming. The color code that I’ll use here basically tells you my thoughts on each song. Also, the number in parentheses is the song’s peak position during it’s tenure. I’ll include the number of weeks it spent at #1. With that in mind, it is now time. Here are the Top 100 Songs Of 2019 according to Billboard!
The Hot 100 Chart:
Last Year’s #1 Song: God’s Plan by Drake
100. Robbery by Juice WRLD (#27)
99. Walk Me Home by P!NK (#49)
98. Boyfriend by Ariana Grande featuring Social House (#8)
97. All To Myself by Dan + Shay (#31)
96. Eyes On You by Chase Rice (#38)
95. Beautiful (Remix) by Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello (#26)
94. Talk You Out Of It by Florida Georgia Line (#57)
93. Hot Girl Summer by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign (#11)
92. Shotta Flow by NLE Choppa (#36)
91. Tequila by Dan + Shay (#21)
90. Cash Shit by Megan Thee Stallion featuring DaBaby (#36)
89. One Thing Right by Marshmello featuring Kane Brown (#36)
88. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani (#9)
87. Clout by Offset featuring Cardi B (#39)
86. Good As You by Kane Brown (#36)
85. Look What God Gave Her by Thomas Rhett (#32)
84. Baby by Lil Baby featuring DaBaby (#21)
83. How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith (#24)
82. Swervin’ by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (#38)
81. Rumor by Lee Brice (#25)
80. Trip by Ella Mai (#11)
79. Knockin’ Boots by Luke Bryan (#31)
78. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#18)
77. Worth It by YK Osiris (#48)
76. My Type by Saweetie (#21)
75. Baby Shark by Pinkfong (#32)
74. Close Friends by Lil Baby (#28)
73. Bury A Friend by Billie Eilish (#14)
72. Breathin’ by Ariana Grande (#12)
71. Leave Me Alone by Flipp Dinero (#20)
70. Trampoline by SHAED (#13)
69. I Like It by Cardi B featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin (#1, 1 Week)
68. Act Up by City Girls (#26)
67. When The Party’s Over by Billie Eilish (#29)
66. Murder On My Mind by YNW Melly (#14)
65. Con Calma (Remix) by Daddy Yankee featuring Katy Perry and Snow (#22)
64. The London by Young Thug featuring J. Cole and Travis Scott (#12)
63. Beer Never Broke My Heart by Luke Combs (#21)
62. Circles by Post Malone (#1, 2 Weeks)
61. Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco (#16)
60. You Say by Lauren Daigle (#29)
59. Envy Me by Calboy (#31)
58. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee (#24)
57. Taki Taki by DJ Snake featuring Selena Gomez, Ozuna, and Cardi B (#11)
56. The Git Up by Blanco Brown (#14)
55. Pure Water by Mustard featuring Migos (#23)
54. Be Alright by Dean Lewis (#23)
53. God’s Country by Blake Shelton (#17)
52. Whiskey Glasses by Morgan Wallen (#17)
51. Wake Up In The Sky by Gucci Mane featuring Bruno Mars and Kodak Black (#11)
50. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (#13)
49. Mo Bamba by Sheck Wes (#6)
48. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD (#2)
47. Thotiana by Blueface (#8)
46. Beautiful Crazy by Luke Combs (#21)
45. Pop Out by Polo G featuring Lil Tjay (#11)
44. MIA by Bad Bunny featuring Drake (#5)
43. ME! by Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie (#2)
42. A Lot by 21 Savage (#12)
41. Look Back At It by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (#27)
40. Panini by Lil Nas X (#5)
39. You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift (#2)
38. Money by Cardi B (#13)
37. Please Me by Cardi B featuring Bruno Mars (#3)
36. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored by Ariana Grande (#2)
35. Speechless by Dan + Shay (#24)
34. Money In The Grave by Drake featuring Rick Ross (#7)
33. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#7)
32. Better Now by Post Malone (#3)
31. ZEZE by Kodak Black featuring Travis Scott and Offset (#2)
30. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug (#3)
29. If I Can’t Have You by Shawn Mendes (#2)
28. Ransom by Lil Tecca (#4)
27. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#1, 3 Weeks)
26. Drip Too Hard by Lil Baby featuring Gunna (#4)
25. Middle Child by J. Cole (#4)
24. Suge by DaBaby (#7)
23. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max (#10)
22. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B (#1, 7 Weeks in 2018)
21. No Guidance by Chris Brown featuring Drake (#5)
20. Better by Khalid (#8)
19. Shallow by Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper (#1, 1 Week)
18. Going Bad by Meek Mill featuring Drake (#6)
17. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid (#9)
16. I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber (#2)
15. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#1, 1 Week)
14. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani (#7)
13. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#1, 7 Weeks)
12. Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande (#1, 7 Weeks Total; 6 in 2018, 7 in 2019)
11. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco (#4)
10. Sucker by Jonas Brothers (#1, 1 Week)
9. Sicko Mode by Travis Scott featuring Drake (#1, 1 Week in 2018)
8. Talk by Khalid (#3)
7. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande (#1, 8 Weeks)
6. Happier by Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE (#2)
5. Wow. by Post Malone (#2)
4. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (#1, 1 Week)
3. Without Me by Halsey (#1, 2 Weeks)
2. Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee (#1, 1 Week)
1. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (#1, 19 Weeks)
I’m Gonna Blurb Til I Can’t No More
– It’s nice to see Walk Me Home by P!NK barely make it. I’m glad it landed above Robbery. Even though P!NK has done better, I think it was a nice lead single for her album. I did like Hurts 2B Human as a whole, and it has some really good songs.

– Country duo Dan + Shay has three songs that made the Year-End list. Let’s talk aqbout the first one, which is All To Myself. I’ll say it’s a bit of a step down from the other two. But it is still pretty good thanks in part to the vocals we get from them.

– I did not envision Beautiful by Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello making it onto the Year-End list. But I’m glad it did. I think it’s one of he stand-outs from Cosmic, which I liked for the most part.

– Speaking of Tequila, this song makes an appearance on the Year-End list for the second year in a row. When it first came out, I didn’t think it would become a success. But it ended up doing so and honestly, I’m very happy about that. I’m also happy that it won the Grammy award for Best Country Duo Performance. It was well deserved.

– It’s too bad that Never Really Over, despite it being my #7 favorite song of 2019, failed to make the Year-End list for that year. However, Katy Perry does make an appearance by being featured in the remix of Con Calma. I enjoyed that song overall and it was one of the best things she’s been a part of last year.

– You Say becoming a hit for Lauren Daigle was another one of the highlights for 2019. Even though we didn’t get new music from Adele last year, I’m happy that we got someone who sounds eerily similar to her in Lauren Daigle. I still love You Say for what it is. I’m glad it was a success despite it flopping on mainstream radio.

– My #11 favorite song of 2019, Close To Me, makes the Year-End! At first, I didn’t think it would be successful when it was first released. But I’m glad to be proven wrong. Ellie Goulding just doesn’t disappoint for the most part and Close To Me wasn’t any different. It may not live up to the greatness of her earlier singles, but I still love it mainly because of her voice and the other content it contains.

– After a big year in 2018, Drake hasn’t been much of a presence in 2019. But he did give us his collaboration with Rick Ross in Money In The Grave. It’s an interesting collaboration and I think it turned out well. I find this to be enjoyable overall. It would’ve been nice to see it become yet another #1 hit, but it’s peak at #7 was good enough.

– Kicking off the Top 15, we have my Top 2 favorite songs next to each other: Señorita and Dancing With A Stranger. They were both stand-outs for much of the year. I’m cool with them being in the Top 15. I pretty much talked about those in my Year-End posts. Feel free to check them out in case you haven’t already. But to put it short, both of those songs are divine and I’m happy to see them be successful.

– I find it fascinating that 7 Rings by Ariana Grande would be ranked at #7 on the Year-End Hot 100. Just wanted to point that out. That aside, it’s easily the worst song Ariana has put out this year and my least favorite song of 2019 overall. Her direction to go for more trap made for a shitty song.

– Thankfully though, Happier by Marshmello featuring B∆STILLE is ranked higher than 7 Rings. I know I used to dislike Happier when it was new. But my thoughts on that song definitely changed over time, especially after Marshmello hit a new low this year with One Thing Right. I fully appreciate what the song is going for here and it’s nice to see B∆STILLE themselves get another hit after Pompeii in 2014.

– And then we get to the #1, and Old Town Road is #1 of the year by no surprise, what with it breaking the record for most weeks at #1. I’m simply not a fan of the song. There was nothing about it that really stood out. I’m getting why people would love it, but it just didn’t work out to my liking. I don’t know. All I can say is that I’m not thrilled about this being #1 of the year.
Top 100 Breakdown:
0 – Putrid:
100. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
99. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
98. Mo Bamba by Sheck Wes
97. One Thing Right by Marshmello featuring Kane Brown
96. Robbery by Juice WRLD
95. Thotiana by Blueface
94. My Type by Saweetie
93. Middle Child by J. Cole
92. Swervin’ by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
91. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored by Ariana Grande
90. Money by Cardi B
89. The London by Young Thug featuring J. Cole and Travis Scott
88. Leave Me Alone by Flipp Dinero
87. Drip Too Hard by Lil Baby featuring Gunna
86. Shotta Flow by NLE Coppa
85. ZEZE by Kodak Black featuring Travis Scott and Offset
84. Sicko Mode by Travis Scott featuring Drake
83. Ransom by Lil Tecca
82. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD
81. A Lot by 21 Savage
80. Close Friends by Lil Baby
79. No Guidance by Chris Brown featuring Drake
78. Boyfriend by Ariana Grande featuring Social House
77. Talk You Out Of It by Florida Georgia Line
76. Taki Taki by DJ Snake featuring Selena Gomez, Ozuna, and Cardi B
75. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
74. Eyes On You by Chase Rice

1 – Bad:
73. Envy Me by Calboy
72. Suge by DaBaby
71. Going Bad by Meek Mill featuring Drake
70. Act Up by City Girls
69. Baby by Lil Baby featuring DaBaby
68. Wow. by Post Malone
67. MIA by Bad Bunny featuring Drake
66. Pure Water by Mustard featuring Migos
65. You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift
64. Talk by Khalid

2 – Mediocre:
63. Whiskey Glasses by Morgan Wallen
62. Trip by Ella Mai
61. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B
60. I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber
59. Beer Never Broke My Heart by Luke Combs
58. Knockin’ Boots by Luke Bryan
57. Wake Up In The Sky by Gucci Mane featuring Bruno Mars and Kodak Black
56. Clout by Offset featuring Cardi B
55. Cash Shit by Megan Thee Stallion featuring DaBaby

3 – Decent:
54. Pop Out by Polo G featuring Lil Tjay
53. Good As You by Kane Brown
52. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug
51. I Like It by Cardi B featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin
50. A Look Back At It by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
49. Beautiful Crazy by Luke Combs
48. Without Me by Halsey
47. How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith
46. Be Alright by Dean Lewis
45. Rumor by Lee Brice
44. Panini by Lil Nas X
43. Worth It by YK Osiris

4 – Good:
42. Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco
41. Please Me by Cardi B featuring Bruno Mars
40. Murder On My Mind by YNW Melly
39. Circles by Post Malone
38. Look What God Gave Her by Thomas Rhett
37. Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande
36. God’s Country by Blake Shelton
35. Happier by Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE
34. Sucker by Jonas Brothers
33. All To Myself by Dan + Shay
32. Baby Shark by Pinkfong

5 – Great:
31. Only Human by Jonas Brothers
30. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer
29. The Git Up by Blanco Brown
28. Money In The Grave by Drake featuring Rick Ross
27. Walk Me Home by P!NK
26. Hot Girl Summer by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign
25. Beautiful (Remix) by Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello
24. ME! by Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie
23. Truth Hurts by Lizzo
22. Better by Khalid
21. Better Now by Post Malone
20. Bury A Friend by Billie Eilish
19. When The Party’s Over by Billie Eilish
18. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
17. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani
16. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid
15. Con Calma (Remix) by Daddy Yankee featuring Katy Perry and Snow
14. Trampoline by SHAED
13. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco
12. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid
11. If I Can’t Have You by Shawn Mendes
10. You Say by Lauren Daigle
9. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee
8. Speechless by Dan + Shay
7. Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee
6. Breathin’ by Ariana Grande
5. Tequila by Dan + Shay
4. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max
3. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello
2. Shallow by Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper

BONUS: 6 – Best Song Of The Year:
1. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani
Final Score: 258/500

After all that, I can say that 2019 as a whole was pretty decent. Though, the score was slightly lower than 2018 when I gave it 265/500 (by 7 points, so not much difference there). Yeah, I thought it was fine. There have been plenty of highlights for that year. We’ll see what 2020 will end up bringing.

So, that completes my review of the 2019 Billboard Year-End. And with that, I’m finally done with my year-end posts for 2019! Let me know what you guys think. I put more time and effort into writing this, as well as my other Year-End posts. It’s been fun doing all of them. But I’m just glad to have them all finished. As always, thank you for reading! Have a good day! 🙂

Hello, fam!  So, with the pandemic causing many events such as sports and concerts to be cancelled, I’m not sure what life will be like during these difficult times.  Just remember, be safe out there.  We’ll get through this together.  I’ll still entertain you guys with this blog.  So that’s something.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Underdog by Alicia Keys (#32)
• I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber (#40) [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
40. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#39) [–] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
39. The Bones by Maren Morris (DEBUT)
38. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (#37) [–1]
37. Sugar by BROCKHAMPTON (#38) [+1]
36. Time by NF (#35) [–1]
35. No Judgement by Niall Horan (DEBUT)
34. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#33) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
33. Ride It by Regard (#36) [+3]
32. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#31) [–1]
31. Make You Mine by PUBLIC (#34) [+3]
30. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#30) [=]
29. Trampoline by SHAED (#26) [–3]
28. The Other Side by SZA featuring Justin Timberlake (#29) [+1]
27. To Die For by Sam Smith (#28) [+1]
26. Cuz I Love You by Lizzo (#22) [–4]
25. The Box by Roddy Ricch (#25) [=]
24. Say So by Doja Cat (#24) [=]
23. The Man by Taylor Swift (#23) [=]
22. Good As Hell by Lizzo (#17) [–5] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
21. Falling by Trevor Daniel (#21) [=]
20. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga (#27) [+7]
19. Know Your Worth by Khalid featuring Disclosure (#20) [+1]
18. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin (#19) [+1]
17. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#14) [–3] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
16. Rare by Selena Gomez (#18) [+2]
15. You Should Be Sad by Halsey (#15) [=]
14. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (#12) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
13. What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers (#13) [=]
12. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo (#16) [+4]
11. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby (#11) [=]
10. Memories by Maroon 5 (#7) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
9. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#10) [+1]
8. Adore You by Harry Styles (#9) [+1]
7. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#8) [+1]
6. Dance Monkey by Tones And I (#6) [=]
5. Heartless by The Weeknd (#5) [=]
4. Circles by Post Malone (#3) [–1] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
3. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#4) [+1]
2. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas (#2) [=]
1. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#1) [=] [3^rd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: 7 Rings by Ariana Grande (1^st of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Good As Hell by Lizzo (–5)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Stupid Love by Lady Gaga (+7)

New Entrants:
– I’ve been a fan of Maren Morris for quite sometime.  In case I haven’t made it clear already, I stan her collaboration with Zedd in The Middle.  I also stan the lead single GIRL, which I ranked as my #15 best song of 2019.  This week, she brings us another single from her album, titled The Bones.  Having listened to her album this past year, I was quite impressed with how it turned out.  I won’t say it’s as good as her predecessor, but I still really like this.  She has a good voice and she uses it well here.  Though there isn’t much to the production, the instrumenation is quite solid, especially with the guitar.  The lyrics are nicely written.  So yeah, I’m enjoying this song.  I hope to see it do well.

– Niall Horan hosted the AT40 countdown for this week, and he was talking about his new album Heartbreak Weather all throughout the show.  So what better way to celebrate the occasion?  By returning to the countdown himself, with the single from the album, No Judgement.  Like with Maren Morris, I’ve been fond of what Niall has had to offer in terms of his solo music.  And did I mention that they did a collaboration together in their last album with the song, Seeing Blind?  I genuinely love that song and it was one of the best Flicker had to offer, even though it never took off elsewhere (if it was ever released as an official single).  I would love to see them collaborate again someday.  Now, I would like to say that No Judgement is pretty solid, though not quite as good as Nice To Meet Ya.  It has good instrumentation with the guitar, nice lyrics, and good vocals from Niall.  He surely is talented and it shows in the song.  If I were to rank all the members of One Direction in terms of their solo music,  I would put Niall at #2, right behind Harry.  I do like the song and I’m interested to see how well it does here.

Best Debut Of The Week: The Bones by Maren Morris

My House Don’t Fall When The Blurbs Are Good
– The exit from Underdog was expected, since it didn’t gain any momentum elsewhere.  But it’s still a good song and it’s likely that I’ll revisit that one.  And I Don’t Care was overdue to leave for some time.  The collaboration didn’t quite work out to my liking and I pretty much stopped caring for it after a while.  Yeah, I’m glad we got to bid adieu to it.

– Oh boy…here we go with Hot Girl Bummer hitting a scary new peak of #3.  Blech.  This has absolutely no business being in the Top 3.  I will not be happy if it ends up getting the #1.  Don’t Start Now better hold on to the #1, or my reaction will not be pretty.

– Speaking of mediocrity, Memories is fading bit faster following the #1 last month.  I’m glad it didn’t stay at the top for too long.  This is just an emptiness of a song and I know Maroon 5 are capable of better.  I’m going to stick with their older albums because they’re full of gems.

– Stupid Love jumping into the Top 20 isn’t a shock.  Looks like people are buying into Lady Gaga’s latest offering, and I am too.  I’m sure her new album will have more good songs, and I look forward to it.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Nice To Meet Ya by Meghan Trainor featuring Nicki Minaj
  
• Loco Contigo by DJ Snake featuring J Balvin and Tyga
• I Love Me by Demi Lovato
• Sad Tonight by Chelsea Cutler
• July by Noah Cyrus featuring Leon Bridges

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Lover by Taylor Swift
• Toxic by Britney Spears
• Nice To Meet Ya by Niall Horan
• Good Old Days by Macklemore featuring Kesha
• Teenage Dream by Katy Perry
• What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction
• Too Much To Ask by Niall Horan
• Wake Me Up by Avicii featuring Aloe Blacc
• On The Loose by Niall Horan

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
19. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
18. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
17. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas
16. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin

1 – Bad:
15. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby
14. Memories by Maroon 5

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
13. You Should Be Sad by Halsey
12. Rare by Selena Gomez

4 – Good:
11. Circles by Post Malone

5 – Great:
10. What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers
9. Know Your Worth by Khalid featuring Disclosure
8. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish
7. Dance Monkey by Tones & I
6. Heartless by The Weeknd
5. Adore You by Harry Styles
4. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez
3. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga
2. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa

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

Throwback Pick Of The Week: The Way I Am by Eminem (2000)

Most Missed Song: HUMBLE. by Kendrick Lamar

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa (Still not enough good music to recommend)

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: You Say by Lauren Daigle (#24)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
2. Stupid Love by Lady Gaga
3. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
4. Good As Hell by Lizzo
5. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
2. Intentions by Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
3. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
4. ROXANNE by Arizona Zervas
5. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Damn by LIVVIA: I don’t have much to say about this one except it’s a good listen every now and then.  Oh, and did I mention this is the same Olivia Somerlyn who made Parachute several years back?

Last Hurrah by Bebe Rexha: Yeah…no.  Terrible production and asinine lyrics make this an unpleasant listen.  And here we go again with Bebe heavily drowned in auto-tune.  Sigh, what I was thinking when I said I liked it at first?