Hello, fam! The bad news is that the Hits 1 countdown posts are still late. But the good news is that I’ve been able to get the AT40 posts out at a reasonable time. I’m improving a little bit, but not by much We’re gonna just jump right in this very late post. Before we get to this week’s fresh 45, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Louis Tomlinson – We Made It (#25)
• Charlie Puth – Mother (#33)
• SHAED – Trampoline (#34)
• Lil Nas X – Panini (#43)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Post Malone – Circles
45. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita (#44) [–1]
44. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down (#45) [+1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
43. Lizzo – Truth Hurts (#41) [–2]
42. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#42) [=] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
41. 88Rising featuring Joji & Jackson Wang, Swae Lee, and Major Lazer – Walking (#37) [–4]
40. Hot Chelle Rae – I Hate (Love) LA (#36) [–4]
39. The Weeknd – Heartless (DEBUT)
38. Why Don’t We – What Am I (#27) [–11]
37. Kesha featuring Big Freedia – Raising Hell (#24) [–13]
36. Alec Benjamin – Demons (DEBUT)
35. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep? (#14) [–21]
34. Tayla Parx featuring Florida Georgia Line – Fight (#38) [+4]
33. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You (#31) [–2] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]
32. Halsey – You Should Be Sad (DEBUT)
31. Justin Bieber – Yummy (#39) [+8]
30. Rex Orange County – 10/10 (#40) [+10]
29. Lizzo – Cuz I Love You (#32) [+3]
28. Taylor Swift – Lover (#23) [–5]
27. Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer (#35) [+8]
26. Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go (DEBUT)
25. Doja Cat – Say So (#30) [+5]
23. PUBLIC – Make You Mine (#28) [+5]
22. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People (#7) [–15] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
21. Tones & I – Dance Monkey (#26) [+5]
20. The Chainsmokers – Push My Luck (#19) [–1]
19. Camilla Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My (#21) [+2]
18. Fall Out Boy – Bob Dylan (#20) [+2]
17. Jonas Brothers – What A Man Gotta Do (#18) [+1]
16. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne (#22) [+6]
15. Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B – South Of The Border (#16) [+1]
14. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#11) [–3] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
13. Maroon 5 – Memories (#13) [=]
12. Lizzo – Good As Hell (#8) [–4]
11. OneRepublic – Wanted (#17) [+6]
10. Jonas Brothers – Only Human (#4) [–6] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
9. Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours (#15) [+6]
8. Halsey – Graveyard (#10) [+2]
7. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#9) [+2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
6. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth (#3) [–3] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
5. Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now (#12) [+7]
4. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya (#2) [–2] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
3. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me (#5) [+2]
2. Harry Styles – Adore You (#6) [+4]
1. Post Malone – Circles (#1) [=] [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Halsey – Without Me (5^th And Final Week At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep? (–21)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Rex Orange County – 10/10 (+10)

New Entrants:
– To kick off this week’s new round of arrivals, we have the return of The Weeknd! He brings us his new single titled Heartless. The Weeknd has always been a favorite of mine ever since 2015 when he had his breakout year. It was a couple years back when he collaborated with Kendrick Lamar in Pray For Me. I fell in love with that song and it was a huge favorite of mine back in 2018.  This year, he makes his comeback.  I listened to the song for the first time upon its release and I was genuinely impressed with the way it turned out.  I actually love the production.  It is very top notch and it meshes well with The Weeknd’s voice.  I think I may have said this before.  But he reminds me of the late Michael Jackson.  I can easily hear the similarities between the two.  He does have a follow-up with Blinding Lights which is better than this.  But Heartless is something that I love and it’s always nice to hear music from The Weeknd.

– Next, we get more of Alec Benjamin with Demons.  I’ve had a mixed relationship in terms of his music.  I wasn’t really the biggest fan of Let Me Down Slowly before, but I’ve slightly come around to it.  He actually has a few stuff that I like, but they’re few and far between.  Demons is another one of those songs I’m indifferent on.  Lyrically, I like what it’s going for and the production is okay.  But my concern is that his voice just doesn’t quite work for me.  That’s what brings the song down a little bit.  I don’t have much else I can say beyond that.  It’s pretty decent for me, but I don’t see myself coming back to this in the long run.

– Following that, we have more of Halsey with her single titled You Should Be Sad.  I pretty much explained my thoughts on the song in my previous posts.  You can check them out in case you haven’t already.  But let’s recap what I’ve said.  I didn’t like her attempt at going rock when she created Nightmare.  Actually, I did initially, but that got old real fast.  That one was just a mess with her obnoxious yelling and some lyrics I just couldn’t get on board with.  You Should Be Sad is her attempt at going country.  After hearing the song in its entirety, I’ve got some decent results out of it.  I do like her voice in this one and she sounds better here.  The production and instrumentation are both fine.  But it lacks some country elements that make it stand out.  Yeah, it’s okay.  But like with Demons, it’s not something I’ll revisit in the future if it leaves.

– Finally, with the highest debut of the week, we have more of Lewis Capaldi with Before You Go.  I did like this one from the beginning because I thought it was a lot more interesting that that of its predecessor.  But my opinion has changed overtime.  The instrumentation is pretty decent and I quite like the guitar, but the rest of the production leaves plenty to be desired.  I’m still not a fan of Lewis’s voice although he sounds better here than in its predecessor.  The lyrics still lack depth of any kind and I don’t like what the rest has to offer.  Yeah, I think it’s pretty underwhelming.

Best Debut Of The Week: The Weeknd – Heartless

Before You Blurb
– As far as our exits go, We Made It dropped out pretty early.  The Same can be said for Mother, and that just comes after it had the Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week.  Dang!  Trampoline had an okay run and became somewhat of a sleeper hit this past year.  And Panini didn’t really do much on this countdown.  So it’s no surprise that it left too soon.

– Adore You has now hit a new peak of #2.  This has the potential to become a #1 hit pretty soon.  Knowing how much Hits 1 loves most things One Direction, this won’t be much of a problem.

– Don’t Start Now has made a big jump into the Top 5!  It has become a huge favorite of mine and I’m so glad that this is becoming another hit for Dua Lipa.  I hope it’s momentum continues from there.

– We saw some songs take big drops over the weekend.  Beautiful People is no longer in the Top 10 for the first time in what appears to be forever.  Then, How Do You Sleep? takes a large fall out of the Top 20 and ultimately out of the Top 30 entirely.  That one has actually been around for a while and it became a minor success elsewhere.  Of course, I much prefer Dancing With A Stranger over this.  But I’ve since warmed up to the song a little bit.  We’ll see how long it can stick around.

Hit-Bound:

• BTS featuring Lauv – Make It Right
• Demi Lovato – Anyone (DEBUT)
• Khalid – Up All Night
• Selena Gomez – Rare
• X Lovers – Play Your Game
• Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar
• Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
• Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want
• Taylor Swift – The Man
• Meghan Trainor featuring Nicki Minaj – Nice To Meet Ya (DEBUT)
• Louis Tomlinson – Don’t Let It Break Your Heart
• All Time Low – Some Kind Of Disaster
• Blackbear – Me & Ur Ghost (DEBUT)
• JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels – If The World Was Ending (DEBUT)
• Dua Lipa – Physical (DEBUT)

Entrant Reviews:
– I’ll begin with Demi Lovato’s comeback single in the form of a ballad titled Anyone. She performed this song at the Grammy’s last month just before its release and I thought it was phenomenal. I love the well-written lyrics here and Demi sounds great. It’s a nice piano ballad.

– Next, we get more of Meghan Trainor who is collaborating with Nicki Minaj in her version of Nice To Meet Ya. It goes without saying that this is better than the monstrosity of Wave. But that in and of itself isn’t saying a lot because her newest single is just not good. I don’t like what it’s going for and the verses are pretty bad. I want something more along the lines of All About That Bass and some of her earlier singles. Not this mess.

– Oh boy…we have more of Blackbear here, and he gives us his latest single in the form of Me & Ur Ghost. It’s a bit of a step up from is predecessor, but not by much. There are parts where the production is okay, but at the same time it’s still underwhelming. And I still don’t like his voice at all, even though it sounds better here. So yeah, I’m not a fan of this. Moving on.

– Then, there’s newcomer JP Saxe, and he teams up with Julia Michaels in their new single titled If The World Was Ending. This is basically a piano ballad here. I quite like what the song has to offer lyrically. But my concern is the vocals we get from them. They sound underwhelming in some parts. I fell like I would like this more if there was a better singer. Right now, I’m a little mixed on this.

– Lastly, we have more of a Dua Lipa, who has established herself as a big name in music. She wants us to be a little more…Physical.  It’s pretty much everything I’ve expected from a follow-up to Don’t Start Now, which has become a favorite of mine so far from her music.  Her vocals are great as usual and the production is top notch.  I do hope we see it debut soon.

Best Hit-Bound Entrant Of The Week: Dua Lipa – Physical

Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Putrid:
15. Blackbear – Me & Ur Ghost
14. Meghan Trainor featuring Nicki Minaj – Nice To Meet Ya

1 – Bad:
13. BTS featuring Lauv – Make It Right

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
12. Selena Gomez – Rare
11. JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels – If The World Was Ending

4 – Good:
10. All Time Low – Some Kind Of Disaster

5 – Great:
9. Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar
8. X Lovers – Play Your Game
7. Khalid – Up All Night
6. Louis Tomlinson – Don’t Let It Break Your Heart
5. Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
4. Demi Lovato – Anyone
3. Taylor Swift – The Man
2. Dua Lipa – Physical

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:
1. Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want

Overall Grade: 57/75 = 76% (B)

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Years & Years – If You’re Over Me

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want
2. Dua Lipa – Physical
3. Taylor Swift – The Man
4. Demi Lovato – Anyone
5. Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me

Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Putrid:
20. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
19. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne

1 – Bad:
18. Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My
17. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
16. Maroon 5 – Memories

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
15. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth
14. OneRepublic – Wanted

4 – Good:
13. Jonas Brothers – Only Human
12. Post Malone – Circles

5 – Great:
11. Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B – South Of The Border
10. Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours
9. Halsey – Graveyard
8. Fall Out Boy – Bob Dylan
7. Jonas Brothers – What A Man Gotta Do
6. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People
5. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
4. Harry Styles – Adore You
3. Lizzo – Good As Hell
2. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me

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

Overall Grade: 73/100 = 73% (B)

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

Most Missed Countdown Song: Bruno Mars –Treasure

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Alicia Keys – Underdog

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Dan + Shay – Speechless (#14)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now
2. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me
3. Lizzo – Good As Hell
4. Harry Styles – Adore You
5. The Weeknd – Heartless

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer
2. Justin Bieber – Yummy
3. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
4. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne
5. Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Stephen Puth – Sexual Vibe: Ah yes, Charlie Puth’s brother.  Everything about this song works quite well, and what sets him apart from his brother is that he uses a baritone voice, which I think is very unique and it meshes well with the song overall.

Avril Lavigne – Tell Me It’s Over: The comeback single from Avril after so long.  It’s too bad that they didn’t pick up on Head Above Water, which was actually released before this.  But this is still divine in every sense of the word.  Avril has not lost a step vocally and I adore the lyrics here.  I’m glad she’s still making music.

Hello, fam!  I’ve been getting my AT40 countdown reviews out at a reasonable time.  But I’m still behind on my posts as far as Hits 1 goes.  Hopefully, I’ll find time to catch up on those.  Things are slightly improving for me, but not by much.  I can’t say this week was a good week in terms of the AT40 countdown.  I’ll have more to say about it in the blurbs down below.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Good Thing by Zedd featuring Kehlani (#33)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez
40. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (#39) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
39. Yellow Hearts by Ant Sanders (#40) [+1]
38. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug (#37) [–1]
37. The Man by Taylor Swift (DEBUT)
36. Make You Mine by PUBLIC (#36) [=]
35. I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber (#34) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
34. Cuz I Love You by Lizzo (#38) [+4]
33. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#31) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
32. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (#35) [+3]
31. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (#29) [–2]
30. Underdog by Alicia Keys (#32) [+2]
29. Time by NF (#27) [–2]
28. Falling by Trevor Daniel (#33) [+5]
27. Make It Right by BTS featuring Lauv (#28) [+1]
26. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#24) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
25. Highest In The Room by Travis Scott (#26) [+1]
24. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin (#25) [+1]
23. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#22) [–1]
22. Teeth by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#23) [+1]
21. Trampoline by SHAED (#17) [–4]
20. You Should Be Sad by Halsey (#21) [+1]
19. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#20) [+1]
18. Panini by Lil Nas X (#15) [–3]
17. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby (#18) [+1]
16. South Of The Border by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B (#16) [=]
15. What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers (#19) [+4]
14. Yummy by Justin Bieber (#12) [–2]
13. Adore You by Harry Styles (#13) [=]
12. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#14) [+2]
11. 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber (#9) [–2]
10. Heartless by The Weeknd (#10) [=]
9. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#8) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
8. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#11) [+3] (Ugh…)
7. Good As Hell by Lizzo (#7) [=] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
6. Dance Monkey by Tones & I (#5) [–1]
5. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas (#6) [+1] (Double ugh…)
4. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#4) [=]
3. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (#1) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
2. Circles by Post Malone (#3) [+1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
1. Memories by Maroon 5 (#2) [+1] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Without Me by Halsey (3^rd of 4 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Trampoline by SHAED (–4)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Falling by Trevor Daniel (+5)

New Entrants:
– We get only one new entrant this week.  It comes from Taylor Swift with her latest single from Lover, titled The Man.  I’ll be straight up and say that this doesn’t quite live up to her other singles off her album.  I prefer Soon, You’ll Get Better, Cruel Summer (which I think is a better choice for the next single), and the title track.  But The Man is still somewhat enjoyable to a degree.  I like what the song is going for here.  Taylor sounds pretty good, which really isn’t anything new since she usually has a good voice most of the time. I think the production is nicely crafted and the lyrics are nice, even if some parts of the songwriting leave quite a bit to be desired.  I like this for the most part, and I’m interested to see how long it’ll stick around.

I’d Be The Blurb
– So, we bid adieu to Good Thing by Zedd featuring Kehlani.  I couldn’t quite get into that song the same way I did with Zedd’s other singles like Stay, The Middle, and Happy Now.  Kehlani sounded pretty good here, but I felt like it lacked something to make it interesting.  So yeah, I’m kinda glad this didn’t become a hit.

– It comes as no shock that Memories by Maroon 5 is the new #1 song for the week.  But it doesn’t make me happy.  I’m sure this will encourage them to continue to make more mediocre music like this.  It’s sad that we’ll probably never get to hear something more along the lines of what they had before.  At least Lose You To Love Me got to spend some time at #1.  But I’m not thrilled that Memories is the song to replace it.  Of course with Maroon 5 still being relevant and all, who knows how long it’ll last at the top?

– Roxanne entering the Top 5 is a definite NO-NO.  I honestly don’t know who supports this mess of a song.  I can’t stand Arizona being drowned in auto-tune and the asinine lyrics aren’t helping matters.  So yeah, this has no business being in the Top 5.  I do hope Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa can get to #1, like soon.

– And don’t even get me started with Hot Girl Bummer entering the Top 10.  I don’t know why the hell are we making this a bigger hit.  This song is just crap all around and it has no business being in that region.  And the sad thing is, I don’t see this one leaving anytime soon.

– In better news, Yummy appears to be finally slipping and it may end up leaving in a matter of weeks.  Thankfully, we didn’t see this one fully take off.  He did release a follow-up with Intentions, which really isn’t any better.  But yeah, it’s nice to see that Yummy is nearing the end of its tenure.

– Yeah….so I’ve finally grown to like Teeth now.  I still much prefer Jet Black Heart and some of their other singles.  But I think Teeth is pretty good.  The rock production definitely pulls me in and these guys put more effort here.  They show that they’re a band.  So I wouldn’t object to seeing that one stick around for a while.

– Underdog by Alicia Keys is gaining a little momentum on this countdown.  I’m in love with the song and it’s nice to see Alicia still making music after a while.  I’m glad she still has it in her.

Breakouts/On The Verge

• Rare by Selena Gomez
  
• Sad Tonight by Chelsea Cutler
• Sugar by BROCKHAMPTON
• The Box by Roddy Ricch
• Say So by Doja Cat
• Ride It by Regard

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Want To Want Me by Jason Derulo
  
• Locked Out Of Heaven by Bruno Mars
• Can’t Stop The Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
• Lean On by Major Lazer featuring DJ Snake and MØ
• One Thing Right by Marshmello featuring Kane Brown
• Heathens by TWENTY ØNE PILØTS
• Nice To Meet Ya by Niall Horan
• Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato
• Raising Hell by Kesha featuring Big Freedia
• Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
19. Yummy by Justin Biebe
18. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
17. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas

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

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
14. You Should Be Sad by Halsey
13. Panini by Lil Nas X

4 – Good:
12. Circles by Post Malone

5 – Great:
11. What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers
10. 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber
9.South Of The Border by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B
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. Good As Hell by Lizzo
2. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

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

Total Score: 68/100 = 68% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Who Knew by P!NK (2006)

Most Missed Song: Just Like Fire by P!NK

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

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: This Feeling by The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini (#8)

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

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
2. Yummy by Justin Bieber
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:
You Say by Lauren Daigle: This Adele soundalike actually made a good first impression with this song.  I really like Lauren’s voice and the piano is very nice.  I’m glad this ended up become as big as it was.

Swan Song by Dua Lipa: Taken from the Alita: Battle Angel movie soundtrack, this became another favorite of mine from Dua.  Everything about the song works well from the production to her vocals.  Too bad this ended up flopping elsewhere.  Luckily, she’s made up for it this year with her current representation on the countdown.

Hello, fam! Happy Valentine’s Day weekend to you all. Hopefully, you guys bought your special someone a nice gift. As for me, I’m still single and just living my best life. So yeah, I’m enjoying it right now. I do hope that I find someone soon. Also, the new Sonic The Hedgehog movie is out. I do plan on seeing that one soon. Anyway, let’s get on with this Valentine’s Day Weekend edition of the American Top 40! Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Graveyard by Halsey (#31)
• How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith (#34)
• We Made It by Louis Tomlinson (#37)
• Talk by Khalid (#40) [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez
40. Yellow Hearts by Ant Saunders (DEBUT)
39. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (#38) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
38. Cuz I Love You by Lizzo (DEBUT)
37. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug (#36) [–1]
36. Make You Mine by PUBLIC (DEBUT)
35. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (DEBUT)
34. I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber (#32) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
33. Falling by Trevor Daniel (#39) [+6]
32. Underdog by Alicia Keys (#35) [+3]
31. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#29) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
30. Good Thing by Zedd featuring Kehlani (#30) [=]
29. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (#27) [–2]
28. Make It Right by BTS featuring Lauv (#33) [+5]
27. Time by NF (#23) [–4]
26. Highest In The Room by Travis Scott (#25) [–1]
25. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin (#26) [+1]
24. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#19) [–5] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
23. Teeth by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#22) [–1]
22. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#17) [–5]
21. You Should Be Sad by Halsey (#24) [+3]
20. Blinding Lights by The Weekend (#21) [+1]
19. What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers (#28) [+9]
18. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring Baby (#20) [+2]
17. Trampoline by SHAED (#13) [–4]
16. South Of The Border by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B (#18) [+2]
15. Panini by Lil Nas X (#9) [–6]
14. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#15) [+1]
13. Adore You by Harry Styles (#16) [+3]
12. Yummy by Justin Bieber (#12) [=]
11. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#14) [+3]
10. Heartless by The Weekend (#11) [+1]
9. 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber (#10) [+1]
8. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#7) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
7. Good As Hell by Lizzo (#4) [–3] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
6. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas (#8) [+2]
5. Dance Monkey by Tones & I (#5) [=]
4. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#6) [+2]
3. Circles by Post Malone (#2) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
2. Memories by Maroon 5 (#3) [+1]
1. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (#1) [=] [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Without Me by Halsey (2^nd of 4 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Panini by Lil Nas X (–6)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers (+9)

New Entrants:
– We’ll start things off with newcomer Ant Saunders making his first ever appearance on the AT40 countdown. His song is called Yellow Hearts. There really isn’t a whole lot this don’t has to offer. I think it’s okay in some parts in terms of the production. But at times it can be a little underwhelming. I’m not too find of the guy’s voice and the lyrics leave something to be desired. Of course, this is based off the first listen and my opinion can change with time. But as it is right now, I’m not that impressed. Let’s move on.

– Next, we have more of Lizzo here with my least favorite single from her so far. It’s titled Cuz I Love You. I have much respect for Lizzo since this past year when Truth Hurts became her biggest hit, and Good As Hell following suit. I liked them both. Cuz I Love You, on the other hand, is a much different story. I don’t really like what this song has to offer. Here, Lizzo doesn’t sound good. She’s basically yelling out of the top of her lungs and I don’t think it worked out very well, at least for me. The instrumentation is very loud and too noisy. I think it was executed poorly. Lizzo is capable of much better. But this doesn’t work for me at all and it’s the first song that I’ve legitimately disliked from her.

– Our next debut is from newcomer PUBLIC with Make You Mine. This song has actually been out since 2014 and was starting to gain a little momentum late last year. My thoughts on the song are basically the same since it debuted several months back on the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown. I pretty much like the simplicity of the song. The production is well-crafted and I quite like their vocals. I think these guys sound good and they have the potential to get better. So yeah, despite this being around for several years, I still like it overall.

– Finally, with the highest debut of the week, we have more of Lewis Capaldi with his latest single called Before You Go. I kinda liked it at first, but it’s slowly been fading on me with every additional listen. It goes without saying that this is better than Someone You Loved. But even then, it’s really not saying a lot. I think the instrumentation is okay, but everything else in terms of the production leaves a lot to be desired. I still don’t like his voice here for the most part, especially in the chorus. He hasn’t improved on that aspect. The lyrics are still kinda hollow and lack any depth of some kind. I just really don’t see anything interesting about the song other than the fact that it’s better than its predecessor. Overall, I find this to be pretty underwhelming.

Best Debut Of The Week: Make You Mine by PUBLIC

Yellow Blurbs
– We say goodbye to four songs this week. Graveyard by Halsey fell off rather quickly after that big drop last week. We Made It by Louis Tomlinson lasted only a mere two weeks. None of Louis Tomlinson’s singles have done much of anything chart-wise, so this comes as no shock. How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith had a better run than I thought it would when it first debuted. I still prefer Dancing With A Stranger over this (which actually debuted this week one year ago, believe it or not). But I’ve kinda warmed up to the song over time. Finally, we thankfully bid adieu to Talk by Khalid, which was long overdue. I’m glad I won’t have to put up with it anymore.

– Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa is certainly welcome in the Top 5. I’m glad this ended up becoming another hit for Dua Lipa. We could potentially be in for a repeat of 2018 when New Rules hit #1 this week two years ago and it would eventually go on to be the #1 song for that year on the AT40. Hopefully, it’ll happen. But honestly, I’m happy about its success so far.

– Heartless by The Weeknd made its way into the Top 10. And Blinding Lights looks to follow suit as it has just reached the Top 20 for the first time. It’s refreshing to see The Weeknd doing well so far in 2020. Ideally, I would like to see one of those two become a #1 hit here.

– It looks like Yummy has pretty much stalled elsewhere. The big comeback for Justin Bieber as a solo artist turns out to be a flop. That’s a good thing, because this song has no redeeming qualities. It’s messy in every way, and Justin doing a failed Chris Brown impression with no personality isn’t helping matters. Thankfully, we’ll see the end of its tenure soon.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Sad Tonight by Chelsea Cutler
• Rare by Selena Gomez
• The Box by Roddy Ricch
• Ride It by Regard
• Sugar by BROCKHAMPTON
• The Man by Taylor Swift

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
19. Yummy by Justin Biebe
18. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
17. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas

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

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
14. Panini by Lil Nas X

4 – Good:
13. Circles by Post Malone

5 – Great:
12. What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers
11. South Of The Border by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B
10. 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber
9. Trampoline by SHAED
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. Good As Hell by Lizzo
2. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

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

Total Score: 70/100 = 70% (B)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: I Can’t Stop Loving You by Ray Charles (1962)

Most Missed Song: We Found Love by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris

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

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee (#8)

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

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
2. Yummy by Justin Bieber
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:
Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani: Sam Smith really impressed me here. This song is pure perfection in every sense of the word. And interestingly, he was a big fan of Fifth Harmony when they were together. I’m glad he chose Normani because she is the best singer out of all of them.

Hello, fam! Believe it or not, I celebrated my 28^th birthday last week. I am inching a bit close to 30. I would like to say thank you all for the birthday wishes. I can’t wait to see what the next chapter will bring. In terms of how the countdown went on my birthday week, it was pretty divine. Let’s jump in! Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Lover by Taylor Swift (#23)
• Raising Hell by Kesha featuring Big Freedia (#24)
• If I Can’t Have You by Shawn Mendes (#40)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Circles by Post Malone
40. Talk by Khalid (#38) [–2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
39. Falling by Trevor Daniel (DEBUT)
38. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (#36) [–2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
37. We Made It by Louis Tomlinson (#37) [=]
36. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug (#34) [–2]
35. Underdog by Alicia Keys (DEBUT)
34. How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith (#32) [–2]
33. Make It Right by BTS featuring Lauv (#33) [=]
32. I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber (#30) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
31. Graveyard by Halsey (#13) [–18]
30. Good Thing by Zedd featuring Kehlani (#31) [+1]
29. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#27) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
28. What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers (DEBUT)
27. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (#26) [–1]
26. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin (#35) [+9]
25. Highest In The Room by Travis Scott (#28) [+3]
24. You Should Be Sad by Halsey (#39) [+15]
23. Time by NF (#21) [–2]
22. Teeth by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#22) [=]
21. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (#29) [+8]
20. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby (#25) [+5]
19. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#19) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
18. South Of The Border by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B (#20) [+2]
17. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#14) [–3]
16. Adore You by Harry Styles (#18) [+2]
15. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#15) [=]
14. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#16) [+2]
13. Trampoline by SHAED (#10) [–3]
12. Yummy by Justin Bieber (#17) [+5]
11. Heartless by The Weeknd (#12) [+1]
10. 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber (#11) [+1]
9. Panini by Lil Nas X (#8) [–1]
8. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas (#9) [+1]
7. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#6) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
6. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#7) [+1]
5. Dance Monkey by Tones & I (#5) [=]
4. Good As Hell by Lizzo (#3) [–1] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
3. Memories by Maroon 5 (#4) [+1]
2. Circles by Post Malone (#1) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
1. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (#2) [+1] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Without Me by Halsey (1^st of 4 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Graveyard by Halsey (–18)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: You Should Be Sad by Halsey (+15)

New Entrants:
– I’m going to be reviewing the entrants for last week that I didn’t get to, as well as this week’s new arrivals. I’ll start with more of Halsey here, as she brings us another single from Maniac, titled You Should Be Sad. This is basically Halsey’s attempt at going country. She did go for rock in Nightmare and while I liked that song at first, it started to get annoying after a while. As far as You Should Be Sad goes, I think it’s a fine song overall. I quite like her vocals here. But the production is a little underwhelming in some parts outside of the guitar and I feel like more could’ve been done here. It’s missing some country elements to make it interesting. Some of the lyrics leave quite a bit to be desired. So yeah, this is okay. But I don’t really see it sticking with me in the long run. I haven’t listened to her new album in its entirety yet. But hopefully, I can find some better songs from that album when I get time.

– Next, we have the return of Louis Tomlinson with his solo single in the form of We Made It. I believe this is his second solo single to make it to the AT40 countdown. The last time he made an appearance on the countdown was a couple years back when he collaborated with Bebe Rexha and Digitial Farm Animals in Back To You, which I liked. He did have some other singles from his last album which I enjoyed as well, such as Miss You. As far as We Made It goes, it’s pretty good. I definitely like the instrumentation and the guitar is well used. Louis’s voice sounds good from start to finish. I love the lyrics here, and it shows how talented he is as a songwriter. There are some other singles off of Walls which are better than this. But We Made It is something that I can enjoy. Louis impressed me with this single.

– Then, we get more of The Weeknd here, and he bought us some Blinding Lights last week. This was actually released two days following Heartless. While I enjoy that song in general, I found Blinding Lights to be even better. First off, I love the 80’s vibe it has to it. The production is just phenomenal in every sense of the word. His voice fits very well here with this style of music. It really shows how much he has evolved as an artist. He really crafted up this fine work of art here. I’m interested to see what his new album brings. I’ll be waiting.

– The highest debut for last week came from Camila Cabello with her single My Oh My. I was not very fond of what Romance has had to offer. I thought it was a step down from her previous album. I enjoyed some of her self-titled album, mostly because the songs from there were interesting and had some kind of substance. Havana was ranked as my #5 favorite song of 2018 and I liked some of her other stuff (save for Never Be The Same). But her singles from Romance aren’t doing much for me. My Oh My is probably one of my least favorite songs from her latest album, maybe even worse than Living Proof. There is no appeal. The production is weak as hell. Camila does not sound good here. DaBaby’s verse isn’t helping matters. I didn’t think he contributed to any part of the song. I know Camila is capable of making better songs. But this is not what I want to hear. I’m sticking with something more along the lines of Havana because that song is a work of art. My Oh My is another good example of why Camila isn’t that good of a singer. I do hope it doesn’t last long.

– Now we’re going to be moving right along with this week’s debuts. We’ll start with newcomer Trevor Daniel with his single titled Falling. Right off the bat, I don’t find it very interesting. I think the production is okay for the most part. But I’m not too fond of his vocals. As far as the rest of the song goes in terms of the lyrics and some other stuff, there’s quite a bit to be desired. I don’t have much else to say. So yeah, it’s kinda forgettable. But I can’t really picture myself loathing this.

– The return of Alicia Keys definitely excites me. She brings us her newest single, and she’s the Underdog here (see what I did there?). It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten solo music from her. I believe the last time she had a big hit was back in 2013 with Girl On Fire. Other than her hosting the Grammy Music Awards for the past few years, she hasn’t really been that relevant in terms of music. Now, here she is making her comeback this year. When I heard her new single for the first time, I was genuinely impressed. She sounds good vocally and it shows that she hasn’t lost a step. I enjoy the production on this track and everything else about it is divine. Overall, I love this new single of hers and it’s nice that she continues to make music.

– Finally, with the highest debut of this week, we get more of the Jonas Brothers, this time with their single in the form of What A Man Gotta Do. After having a big year in 2019 with their reunion, they are looking to repeat their success throughout 2020 with this song. I think it’s pretty fun. I love the upbeat give here and these guys sound pretty good. It definitely makes me want to dance. Sure, the lyrics aren’t the best. But at this point, I don’t really care if everything else about the song is fun. I’ll take it! We’ll see if it ends up becoming another hit for these guys.

Best Debut Of The Past Few Weeks: Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

Blinding Blurbs
– We bid adieu to three great songs this week. Raising Hell was a nice comeback for Kesha, and I was hoping it would become another hit similar to Praying a couple years back. But it didn’t happen. Lover had a nice run, but I wish it would’ve been a much bigger hit that it ultimately ended up being. Finally, there’s If I Can’t Have You. I enjoyed a lot of what the song had to offer and it showed how much Shawn has evolved as an artist. That song will be missed by me and I’ll look back on it as one of his best songs.

– Lose You To Love Me finally managed to achieve the #1 spot! It’s Selena Gomez’s first #1 since her feature in It Ain’t Me (with Kygo) a couple years back. I’m very happy about this because it’s a divine song overall. It’s a nice way to celebrate my birthday this week.

– Last week, we saw the rise of Dance Monkey the Top 5, replacing Someone You Loved. Please disregard my original opinion on the song when I said I didn’t like it at first. It’s very unique in every way and it’s nice to see this become a sleeper hit. I wonder how far up it’ll go? We’ll have to wait and see in the next couple of weeks.

– It looks like the life of Panini by Lil Nas X is beginning to die out.  I don’t particularly care for the song in the long run.  But I actually do find it somewhat catchy in a way.  We’ll see how long it hangs around.

– You Should Be Sad made a big jump this week.  It looks like we’re going to be seeing this song on the countdown for a while.  Again, I’m not all that fond of the song since I think there were better choices off of the album.  But it’s certainly a lot better than the mess that is of Nightmare.

– Speaking of Halsey, the massive drop we saw from Graveyard was expected. It’s pretty much done elsewhere, too. It’s one of the more interesting songs I’ve heard from Halsey since Bad At Love (which I loved) and it’s sad that it’s not quite getting the same treatment.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi
• Make You Mine by PUBLIC
• SUGAR by BROCKHAMPTON
• Yellow Hearts by Ant Saunders

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Attention by Charlie Puth
• Shallow by Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper
• Mirrors by Justin Timberlake
• Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani
• This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna
• One Last Time by Ariana Grande
• Unforgettable by French Montana featuring Swae Lee
• Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer
• In My Blood by Shawn Mendes
• My Type by Saweetie
• Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
19. Yummy by Justin Bieber
18. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
17. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas

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

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
14. Panini by Lil Nas X

4 – Good:
13. Only Human by Jonas Brothers
12. Circles by Post Malone

5 – Great:
11. South Of The Border by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B
10. 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber
9. Truth Hurts by Lizzo
8. Trampoline by SHAED
7. Adore You by Harry Styles
6. Dance Monkey by Tones & I
5. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish
4. Heartless by The Weeknd
3. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez
2. Good As Hell by Lizzo

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

Total Score: 70/100 = 70% (B)

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

Most Missed Song: Treasure by Bruno Mars

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

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee (#9)

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

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
2. Yummy by Justin Bieber
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:
7 Rings by Ariana Grande: Easily my least favorite single from Ariana. I don’t know why in the hell she would brag about being rich and what not. Her rapping sucks and the way she interpolates The Sound Of Music only makes matters more asinine. Honestly, this song is a mess all around.

Lost In The Fire by Gesafflestein featuring The Weeknd: I’m not sure what I was thinking when I liked that song before. I ranked this as my #8 least favorite song of 2019. Gesafflestein did not impress me there and the lyrics are stupid. It’s a good thing this didn’t take off.

Hello, fam!  I don’t really have much to say here.  I’ll say that things got a little interesting as we enter the month of February.  We have a new #1 song and some interesting moves.  So yeah, let’s jump into it.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 45, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Panic! At The Disco – Into The Unknown (#37)
• TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – The Hype (#39)
• Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (#42)
• Halsey – Nightmare (#44)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
45. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down (#41) [–4] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
44. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita (#45) [+1]
43. Lil Nas X – Panini (#) [=]
42. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#35) [–7] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
41. Lizzo – Truth Hurts (#32) [–9]
40. Rex Orange County – 10/10 (DEBUT)
39. Justin Bieber – Yummy (#) [–3]
38. Tayla Parx featuring Florida Georgia Line – Fight (DEBUT)
37. 88Rising featuring Joji & Jackson Wang, Swae Lee, and Major Lazer – Walking (#) [+3]
36. Hot Chelle Rae – I Hate (Love) LA (#34) [–2]
35. Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer (#38) [+3]
34. SHAED – Trampoline (#33) [–1]
33. Charlie Puth – Mother (#15) [–18]
32. Lizzo – Cuz I Love You (DEBUT)
31. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You (#29) [–2] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]
30. Doja Cat – Say So (#30) [=]
29. Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted (#27) [–2]
28. PUBLIC – Make You Mine (#26) [–2]
27. Why Don’t We – What Am I (#22) [–5]
26. Tones & I – Dance Monkey (#23) [–3]
25. Louis Tomlinson – We Made It (#20) [–5]
24. Kesha featuring Big Freedia – Raising Hell (#21) [–3]
23. Taylor Swift – Lover (#18) [–5]
22. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne (#20) [–2]
21. Camilla Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My (#28) [+7]
20. Fall Out Boy – Bob Dylan (#24) [+4]
19. The Chainsmokers – Push My Luck (#25) [+6]
18. Jonas Brothers – What A Man Gotta Do (DEBUT)
17. OneRepublic – Wanted (#31) [+14]
16. Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B – South Of The Border (#17) [+1]
15. Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours (#13) [–2]
14. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep? (#12) [–2]
13. Maroon 5 – Memories (#16) [+3]
12. Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now (#10) [–2]
11. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#11) [=] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
10. Halsey – Graveyard (#8) [–2]
9. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#4) [–5] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
8. Lizzo – Good As Hell (#7) [–1]
7. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People (#6) [–1]
6. Harry Styles – Adore You (#5) [–1]
5. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me (#14) [+9]
4. Jonas Brothers – Only Human (#3) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
3. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth (#9) [+6] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
2. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya (#1) [–1] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
1. Post Malone – Circles (#2) [+1] [1st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Halsey – Without Me (4th of 5 Weeks At #1) 

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Charlie Puth – Mother (–18)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: OneRepublic – Wanted (+14)

New Entrants:
– To start this week’s new round of arrivals, we have newcomer Rex Orange County with his single titled 10/10.  Despite what the name of the song implies, this song is not a “10/10” whatsoever.  For me, it’s more like a 5/10.  I don’t really like his voice here with him sounding in monotone.  The production is not interesting either and it lacks some sort of substance to make it better.  So yeah, I’m not really feeling the song.  I don’t see it growing on me and I can see myself putting this in red sometime soon.

– Up next is newcomer Tayla Parx who collaborates with Florida Georgia Line in their single titled Fight.  I’m not sure who gave those two the green light to create this song because there’s nothing about it that works for me at all.  It reminds me a lot of Meant To Be and not in a good way.  And I never liked that song at all.  But at least it had a little bit of substance.  Fight has virtually no substance of any kind whatsoever.  There is no chemistry between the two and Tayla has very little presence in the song whatsoever.  Even when she sings, she shows absolutely no personality.  And I’m not even going to comment on Florida Georgia Line basically taking over the song, because their vocals are obnoxious.  Yeah, in short, this blows.  NEXT!

– Next, we have more of Lizzo here, and she gives us Cuz I Love You.  I have much respect for Lizzo since last year when Truth Hurts became a massive hit.  I loved her other singles such as Juice and Good As Hell.  But Cuz I Love You is not very good and it’s probably the first song that I legitimately disliked from her.  The lyrics aren’t bad necessarily.  It’s basically about loving someone and all.  But it was poorly done as we get Lizzo yelling and she doesn’t sound too good at that.  The production is very loud and too noisy as well.  Yeah, this was not a good choice for a single.  I’m sticking with her first three singles and I’m skipping this one.

– Finally, we have more of the Jonas Brothers as they give us their latest single in the form of What A Man Gotta Do.  These guys had a big year in 2019 with their reunion.  Sucker was their biggest hit and their other singles have followed suit.  I quite liked what their album has had to offer, with a few exceptions.  I think their new single is pretty fun.  I like the upbeat vibe here and it’s quite catchy.  They sound good with their vocals and the production is pretty solid.  I don’t have much more to say at this moment.  It’s a good song and I wouldn’t object to seeing this become another hit for these guys.

Best Debut Of The Week: Jonas Brothers – What A Man Gotta Do

I’m Cryin’, Cuz I Love Blurbs
– We’ll begin with the exits as always.  First off, we must celebrate as Nightmare has finally left the countdown!  It’s about time we bid adieu to that song.  My love for it died out pretty fast, mostly because of how bad the chorus sounds.  If We Have Each Other was due to leave for some time as well.  I was never too fond of it, but it was nothing I loathed in the long run.  Into The Unknown left us and with that, we say goodbye to Brendon Urie and company, this time for good.  It’s pretty sad that we won’t hear from these guys for a while.  The only other exit I’m sad about is The Hype.

– We finally got a new #1 for the first time in two months!  Circles has made its way to the top spot.  This is Post Malone’s first ever #1 song on Hits 1, and I’m fine with that since it’s still a pretty good song.  It’s nice to have a different #1 for a change.

– Lose You To Love Me finally enters the Top 5 after hanging around in the teens for a while.  I still think it’s a great comeback for Selena.  Although I didn’t love her latest album as a whole, this is one of the standouts for her.  We’ll see if it ends up getting any higher.

– I’m not necessarily thrilled about Wanted making a comeback this week.  There’s really not a whole lot to like about the song.  OneRepublic have certainly done better in the past.  I guess it could be worse.  But ideally, I would prefer if it started moving back down soon.

– On that note, Mother took an insanely big drop this week.  I’m afraid that this won’t become another hit for Charlie Puth.  We’ll see how long it sticks around.

Hit-Bound:

• Alec Benjamin – Demons
• Selena Gomez – Rare
• X Lovers – Play Your Game
• The Weeknd – Heartless
• Taylor Swift – The Man (DEBUT)
• Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go
• Khalid – Up All Night
• Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
• Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want
• All Time Low – Some Kind Of Disaster
• Zedd featuring Kehlani – Good Thing
• Halsey – You Should Be Sad
• Louis Tomlinson – Don’t Let It Break Your Heart (DEBUT)
• BTS featuring Lauv – Make It Right
• Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar

Entrant Reviews:
– I’ll be going over some of the entrants of the past two weeks that I haven’t talked about, as well as this week’s new round of arrivals.  First, we’ll start with more of Selena Gomez with the single titled Rare.  I was in love with Lose You To Love Me.  I didn’t really like Look At Her Now.  Her new single kinda lands somewhere in the middle.  I quite like her voice here, but the production is a little underwhelming at times.  So yeah, it’s fine but not memorable.

– Then, we have the return of Khalid with his new single in the form of Up All Night.  I don’t have much to say about this one at the moment.  I like Khalid’s voice here and the beat is pretty good.  It’s a good song, but it pales in comparison to Love Lies and Better, which are two of his best songs.

– All Time Low has made their return with their brand new single, and it’s Some Kind Of Disaster.  The title of the song doesn’t really speak for itself since I like this one as well.  It has a solid rock vibe and I’m a sucker for those.  Their vocals are nice and I quite like the lyrics.  Overall, it’s a good song and I wouldn’t mind seeing it debut soon.

– Now, onto this week’s debuts.  First up is more of Taylor Swift with The Man, which is another single off of Lover.  Right off the bat, I like this overall.  It doesn’t quite live up to some of her singles off her album (Lover, Paper Rings, etc.), but everything about this works well here.  I’ll save most of my words for when it inevitably debuts.

– And then, there’s more of Louis Tomlinson, and he gives us Don’t Let It Break Your Heart.  Lyrically, I think it’s a nice song.  I like his voice and the instrumentation is pretty solid.  It’s not quite as good as some of his other solo singles.  But I still like it.

Best Hit-Bound Entrant Of The Week: Taylor Swift – The Man

Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
None!

1 – Bad:
15. BTS featuring Lauv – Make It Right

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
14. Alec Benjamin – Demons
13. Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go
12. Halsey – You Should Be Sad
11. Selena Gomez – Rare
10. Zedd featuring Kehlani – Good Thing

4 – Good:
9. All Time Low – Some Kind Of Disaster

5 – Great:
8. Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar
7. X Lovers – Play Your Game
6. Khalid – Up All Night
5. Louis Tomlinson – Don’t Let It Break Your Heart
4. Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
3. Taylor Swift – The Man
2. Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:
1. The Weeknd – Heartless

Overall Grade: 61/75 = 81% (B)

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Welshly Arms – Legendary

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. The Weeknd – Heartless
2. Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want
3. Taylor Swift – The Man
4. Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
5. Louis Tomlinson – Don’t Let It Break Your Heart

Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Putrid:
20. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved

1 – Bad:
19. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
18. Maroon 5 – Memories

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
17. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth
16. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep?
15. OneRepublic – Wanted

4 – Good:
14. Jonas Brothers – Only Human
13. The Chainsmokers – Push My Luck
12. Post Malone – Circles

5 – Great:
11. Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B – South Of The Border
10. Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours
9. Halsey – Graveyard
8. Fall Out Boy – Bob Dylan
7. Jonas Brothers – What A Man Gotta Do
6. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People
5. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
4. Harry Styles – Adore You
3. Lizzo – Good As Hell
2. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me

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

Overall Grade: 79/100 = 79% (B)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Madonna – Frozen (1998)

Most Missed Countdown Song: The Weeknd – The Hills

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Demi Lovato – Anyone

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo – Close To Me (#13)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now
2. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me
3. Harry Styles – Adore You
4. Lizzo – Good As Hell
5. Taylor Swift – Lover

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer
2. Justin Bieber – Yummy
3. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
4. Tayla Parx featuring Florida Georgia Line – Fight
5. Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Pitbull featuring Rhea – Ocean To Ocean: I actually liked this back then when it was new.  But now I’m not so sure what I was thinking.  It’s another mediocre cover of Toto’s 1982 song Africa. Pitbull verses aren’t too good and while I like Rhea’s voice, everything else is done poorly.  So yeah, it’s not well executed.

Charli XCX featuring Troye Sivan – 1999: This is basically a better version of Anne-Marie – 2002.  Everything here works well to perfection from the production on down to their beautiful verses.

Dean Lewis  – Be Alright: I think it’s a nice acoustic track and there’s really nothing to loathe about it.  His voice is fine and I like the lyrics.  But ultimately, it just did not stick with me in the long run.  I felt like something was missing to make it a little more interesting.

Seeb featuring BΔSTILLE – Grip: I actually preferred this over Happier at one point in time.  But my opinions have drastically changed since then.  I still like what some of the song has to offer.  But it’s really not much compared to what Seeb has done in the past.  Just look at his collaboration with Mike Posner in I Took A Pill In Ibiza, which is infinitely better.

Lauren Daigle – You Say: Despite not getting any new music from Adele last year, Lauren made a very good first impression as an Adele soundalike.  I love the piano and her voice is amazing.

Hello, fam!  I’ve been slow to get my latest posts out recently.  So, what I’ll be doing here is just a combination of posts so that I won’t fall too far behind.  I’m going to review last week’s AT40 countdown first.  It’ll just be me providing the countdown as well as some other stuff.  So, let’s get into it.

Week Of January 25, 2020:

Now to begin, here are the exits for that week:

• Sucker by Jonas Brothers (#40) [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Circles by Post Malone
40. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani (#39) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
39. If I Can’t Have You by Shawn Mendes (#37) [–2]
38. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin (#36) [–2]
37. Talk by Khalid (#35) [–2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
36. Good Thing by Zedd featuring Kehlani (#38) [+2]
35. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (#33) [–2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
34. Make It Right by BTS featuring Lauv (#34) [=]
33. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug (#31) [–2]
32. What Am I by Why Don’t We (#30) [–2]
31. My Type by Saweetie (#29) [–2]
30. Highest In The Room by Travis Scott (#32) [+2]
29. I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber (#28) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
28. How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith (#19) [–9]
27. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#26) [–1]
26. Raising Hell by Kesha featuring Big Freedia (#27) [+1]
25. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (#22) [–3]
24. Nice To Meet Ya by Niall Horan (#25) [+1]
23. Teeth by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#24) [+1]
22. South Of The Border by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B (#23) [+1]
21. Yummy by Justin Bieber (DEBUT)
20. Time by NF (#17) [–3]
19. Adore You by Harry Styles (#20) [+1]
18. Lover by Taylor Swift (#18) [=]
17. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#21) [+4]
16. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#15) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
15. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#16) [+1]
14. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#13) [–1]
13. Heartless by The Weeknd (#14) [+1]
12. Graveyard by Halsey (#11) [–1]
11. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas (#12) [+1]
10. 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber (#9) [–1]
9. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#10) [+1]
8. Trampoline by SHAED (#7) [–1]
7. Dance Monkey by Tones & I (#8) [+1]
6. Panini by Lil Nas X (#6) [=]
5. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#5) [=] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
4. Memories by Maroon 5 (#4) [=]
3. Good As Hell by Lizzo (#3) [=] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
2. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (#2) [=]
1. Circles by Post Malone (#1) [=] [4^th Week At #1]

#1 Song On That Week One Year Ago: High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco (4^th And Final Week At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith (–9)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (+4)

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
19. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
18. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas

1 – Bad:
17. Memories by Maroon 5

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
16. Time by NF
15. How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith
14. Panini by Lil Nas X

4 – Good:
13. Circles by Post Malone
12. Only Human by Jonas Brothers

5 – Great:
11. Graveyard by Halsey
10. 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber
9. Truth Hurts by Lizzo
8. Trampoline by SHAED
7. Adore You by Harry Styles
6. Dance Monkey by Tones & I
5. Heartless by The Weeknd
4. Lover by Taylor Swift
3. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez
2. Good As Hell by Lizzo

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

Total Score: 74/100 = 74% (B)

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee (#11)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
2. Good As Hell by Lizzo
3. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez
4. Lover by Taylor Swift
5. Raising Hell by Kesha featuring Big Freedia

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

Songs That Debuted On That Week One Year Ago:
Love Someone by Lukas Graham:

Week Of February 1, 2020:

Alright, now it’s time to get into this week’s countdown.  Here, I’ll just be doing the blurbs for the countdown.  So before we begin, here are the exits for this week:

• Nice To Meet Ya by Niall Horan (#24)
• My Type by Saweetie (#31)
• What Am I by Why Don’t We (#32)
• Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani (#40) [Spent 1 Week At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Circles by Post Malone
40. If I Can’t Have You by Shawn Mendes (#39) [–1]
39. You Should Be Sad by Halsey (DEBUT)
38. Talk by Khalid (#37) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
37. We Made It by Louis Tomlinson (DEBUT)
36. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (#35) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
35. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin (#38) [+3]
34. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug (#33) [–1]
33. Make It Right by BTS featuring Lauv (#34) [+1]
32. How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith (#28) [–4]
31. Good Thing by Zedd featuring Kehlani (#36) [+5]
30. I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber (#29) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
29. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (DEBUT)
28. Highest In The Room by Travis Scott (#30) [+2]
27. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#27) [=]
26. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (#25) [–1]
25. My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby (DEBUT)
24. Raising Hell by Kesha featuring Big Freedia (#26) [+2]
23. Lover by Taylor Swift (#18) [–5]
22. Teeth by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#23) [+1]
21. Time by NF (#20) [–1]
20. South Of The Border by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B (#22) [+2]
19. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#16) [–3] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
18. Adore You by Harry Styles (#19) [+1]
17. Yummy by Justin Bieber (#21) [+4]
16. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#15) [–1]
15. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#17) [+2]
14. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#14) [=]
13. Graveyard by Halsey (#12) [–1]
12. Heartless by The Weeknd (#13) [+1]
11. 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber (#10) [–1]
10. Trampoline by SHAED (#8) [–2]
9. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas (#11) [+2]
8. Panini by Lil Nas X (#6) [–2]
7. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#9) [+2]
6. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#5) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
5. Dance Monkey by Tones & I (#7) [+2]
4. Memories by Maroon 5 (#4) [=]
3. Good As Hell by Lizzo (#3) [=] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
2. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (#2) [=]
1. Circles by Post Malone (#1) [=] [4^th Week At #1]

#1 Song On That Week One Year Ago: Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande (1^st And Only Week At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Lover by Taylor Swift (–5)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Good Thing by Zedd featuring Kehlani (+5)

Blurbs
– The only thing that I’ll be doing this week is just talking about the exits.  Last week, we saw the departure of Sucker by Jonas Brothers.  It was the comeback single from them that became a massive hit.  I liked that song overall and it hasn’t really faded on me.  I’m glad it was a success.  As far as this week’s exits go, we bid adieu to four songs.  First off, good riddance to My Type by Saweetie.  That one was just a mess with her obnoxious voice and terrible production.  I was starting to grow out of What Am I by Why Don’t We, so I don’t have any complaints about it leaving.  Nice To Meet Ya was a flop elsewhere except for Hits 1, and it’s pretty sad since I enjoyed that one.  I think it’s one of Niall’s better songs.  But the one exit that I’ll mostly miss is my #1 favorite song of 2019, Dancing With A Stranger.  The collaboration turned out very well for both Sam and Normani and I’m very happy that this became a success.  Thank you for your time & service on this countdown.  You will be missed.

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
19. Yummy by Justin Bieber
18. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
17. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas

1 – Bad:
16. Memories by Maroon 5

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
15. Panini by Lil Nas X

4 – Good:
14. Only Human by Jonas Brothers
13. Circles by Post Malone

5 – Great:
12. South Of The Border by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B
11. Graveyard by Halsey
10. 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber
9. Truth Hurts by Lizzo
8. Trampoline by SHAED
7. Adore You by Harry Styles
6. Dance Monkey by Tones & I
5. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish
4. Heartless by The Weeknd
3. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez
2. Good As Hell by Lizzo

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

Total Score: 73/100 = 73% (B)

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee (#10)

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

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
2. Yummy by Justin Bieber
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 On That Week One Year Ago:
There’s No Way by Julia Michaels:
Wow. by Post Malone:

Hello, fam!  So yeah, here’s another late countdown post.  This time around, I won’t have much to say because nothing really happened that week.  So, I’ll skip the blurbs for this post and just give you guys the countdown and Hit-Bound.  There are no songs leaving the countdown this week, so let’s get right to it.

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
45. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita (#42) [–3]
44. Halsey – Nightmare (#45) [+1]
43. Lil Nas X – Panini (#43) [=]
42. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (#44) [+2]
41. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down (#40) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
40. 88Rising featuring Joji & Jackson Wang, Swae Lee, and Major Lazer – Walking (#41) [+1]
39. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – The Hype (#38) [–1]
38. Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer (#39) [+1]
37. Panic! At The Disco – Into The Unknown (#36) [–1]
36. Justin Bieber – Yummy (#37) [+1]
35. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#34) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
34. Hot Chelle Rae – I Hate (Love) LA (#32) [–2]
33. SHAED – Trampoline (#31) [–2]
32. Lizzo – Truth Hurts (#30) [–2]
31. OneRepublic – Wanted (#29) [–2]
30. Doja Cat – Say So (#) [+5]
29. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You (#28) [–1] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]
28. Camilla Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My (#33) [+5]
27. Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted (#23) [–4]
26. PUBLIC – Make You Mine (#24) [–2]
25. The Chainsmokers – Push My Luck (#27) [+2]
24. Fall Out Boy – Bob Dylan (#26) [+2]
23. Tones & I – Dance Monkey (#25) [+2]
22. Why Don’t We – What Am I (#21) [–1]
21. Kesha featuring Big Freedia – Raising Hell (#20) [–1]
20. Louis Tomlinson – We Made It (#17) [–3]
19. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne (#22) [+3]
18. Taylor Swift – Lover (#16) [–2]
17. Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B – South Of The Border (#18) [+1]
16. Maroon 5 – Memories (#19) [+3]
15. Charlie Puth – Mother (#13) [–2]
14. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me (#11) [–3]
13. Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours (#15) [+2]
12. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep? (#12) [=]
11. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#10) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
10. Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now (#14) [+4]
9. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth (#7) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
8. Halsey – Graveyard (#9) [+1]
7. Lizzo – Good As Hell (#8) [+1]
6. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People (#6) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
5. Harry Styles – Adore You (#5) [=]
4. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#3) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
3. Jonas Brothers – Only Human (#2) [–1]
2. Post Malone – Circles (#4) [+2]
1. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya (#1) [=] [8^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Halsey – Without Me (3^rd of 5 Weeks At #1) 

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted (–4)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Tie between Doja Cat – Say So and Camilla Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My (+5)

Hit-Bound:

• Rex Orange County – 10/10
• Khalid – Up All Night
• All Time Low – Some Kind Of Disaster (DEBUT)
• BTS featuring Lauv – Make It Right
• Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go
• Halsey – You Should Be Sad
• Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want
• Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
• The Weeknd – Heartless (DEBUT)
• Alec Benjamin – Demons
• Selena Gomez – Rare
• Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar (RE–ENTRY)
• X Lovers – Play Your Game
• Zedd featuring Kehlani – Good Thing
• Taylor Swift – Paper Rings (DEBUT)

Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
None!

1 – Bad:
15. BTS featuring Lauv – Make It Right

2 – Mediocre:
14. Rex Orange County – 10/10

3 – Decent:
13. Alec Benjamin – Demons
12. Selena Gomez – Rare
11. Halsey – You Should Be Sad
10. Zedd featuring Kehlani – Good Thing

4 – Good:
9. Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go
8. All TIme Low – Some Kind Of Disaster

5 – Great:
7. Khalid – Up All Night
6. X Lovers – Play Your Game
5. Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar
4. Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
3. Taylor Swift – Paper Rings
2. The Weeknd – Heartless

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:
1. Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want

Overall Grade: 59/75 = 79% (B)

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Carly Rae Jepsen – Cut To The Feeling

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want
2. The Weeknd – Heartless
3. Taylor Swift – Paper Rings
4. Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
5. Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar

Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Putrid:
20. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
19. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne

1 – Bad:
18. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
17. Maroon 5 – Memories

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
16. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth
15. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep?
14. Charlie Puth – Mother

4 – Good:
13. Jonas Brothers – Only Human
12. Post Malone – Circles

5 – Great:
11. Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B – South Of The Border
10. Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours
9. Halsey – Graveyard
8. Louis Tomlinson – We Made It
7. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People
6. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
5. Harry Styles – Adore You
4. Lizzo – Good As Hell
3. Taylor Swift – Lover
2. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me

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

Overall Grade: 75/100 = 75% (B)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Alicia Keys – Fallin’ (2001)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Ally Brooke – No Good

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo – Close To Me (#12)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now
2. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me
3. Taylor Swift – Lover
4. Lizzo – Good As Hell
5. Kesha featuring Big Freedia – Raising Hell

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer
2. Justin Bieber – Yummy
3. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
4. Halsey – Nightmare
5. Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Benny Blanco featuring Calvin Harris – I Found You:

Hello, fam!  Once again, here we go with another late post as far as Hits 1 goes.  This isn’t exactly how I envisioned starting off the new decade in terms of getting posts out on time.  So yeah, you’ll just have to bear with me on this one.  I can only hope to improve myself on this.  But as it stands right now, it’s not looking too good, at least for me.  I’m just going to roll with it and be done with this post.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 45, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Diplo featuring Jonas Brothers – Lonely (#34)
• Sofi Tukker – Purple Hat (#42)
• Marshmello featuring Kane Brown – One Thing Right (#44)
• AJR – Dear Winter (#45)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
45. Halsey – Nightmare (#43) [–2]
44. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (#41) [–3]
43. Lil Nas X – Panini (#40) [–3]
42. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita (#39) [–3]
41. 88Rising featuring Joji & Jackson Wang, Swae Lee, and Major Lazer – Walking (#36) [–5]
40. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down (#37) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
39. Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer (DEBUT)
38. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – The Hype (#35) [–3]
37. Justin Bieber – Yummy (DEBUT)
36. Panic! At The Disco – Into The Unknown (#33) [–3]
35. Doja Cat – Say So (DEBUT)
34. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#32) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
33. Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My (DEBUT)
32. Hot Chelle Rae – I Hate (Love) LA (#27) [–5]
31. SHAED – Trampoline (#28) [–3]
30. Lizzo – Truth Hurts (#30) [=]
29. OneRepublic – Wanted (#17) [–12]
28. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You (#25) [–3] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]
27. The Chainsmokers – Push My Luck (#23) [–4]
26. Fall Out Boy – Bob Dylan (#29) [+3]
25. Tones & I – Dance Monkey (#38) [+13]
24. PUBLIC – Make You Mine (#19) [–5]
23. Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted (#31) [+8]
22. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne (#22) [=]
21. Why Don’t We – What Am I (#14) [–7]
20. Kesha featuring Big Freedia – Raising Hell (#24) [+4]
19. Maroon 5 – Memories (#12) [–7]
18. Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B – South Of The Border (#20) [+2]
17. Louis Tomlinson – We Made It (#21) [+4]
16. Taylor Swift – Lover (#3) [–13]
15. Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours (#10) [–5]
14. Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now (#26) [+12]
13. Charlie Puth – Mother (#18) [+5]
12. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep? (#13) [+1]
11. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me (#15) [+4]
10. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#8) [–2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
9. Halsey – Graveyard (#11) [+2]
8. Lizzo – Good As Hell (#7) [–1]
7. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth (#6) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
6. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People (#9) [+3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
5. Harry Styles – Adore You (#16) [+11]
4. Post Malone – Circles (#4) [=]
3. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#5) [+2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
2. Jonas Brothers – Only Human (#2) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
1. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya (#1) [=] [7^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Halsey – Without Me (2^nd of 5 Weeks At #1) 

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Taylor Swift – Lover (–13)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Tones & I – Dance Monkey (+13)

New Entrants:
– Normally, I’d go in order.  But for this week, I’m going to save the first two debuts for last.  So, I’ll begin with newcomer Doja Cat with her single titled Say So.  I find this to be underwhelming as a whole.  I quite like the groove here and I think the beat is okay.  But the rest of the production leaves a lot to be desired.  Doja sounds unenthusiastic in the chorus and I don’t like the second verse where it transitions to hip-hop.  I think it was unnecessary and it doesn’t fit the song very well.  She does have another single in the form of Juicy, which really isn’t any better.  Personally, I’d rather hear Say So than its predecessor.  That said, I’m not feeling this song overall.  When this is the best debut of the week and it’s closer to red than it is green, yeah it’s not a good sign in a weak class of debuts.

– On the note of other weak debuts, we have more of Camila Cabello with her latest single from Romance, titled My Oh My.  I have not been impressed with what she has had to offer in her latest album outside of a few songs.  My Oh My is probably one of my least favorite songs off of Romance.  In my honest opinion, it’s just as bad as Never Be The Same.  There’s nothing I like about this.  Camila just does not sound good with her voice, which really has been a theme for most of her music save for a few songs like Havana and others.  The production is just underwhelming overall and I don’t like DaBaby’s verse.  What more can I say?  Yeah, I’m just not impressed with the song at all.

– Alright.  Now for the other two debuts.  And I’m going to get those over with.  We have newcomer Blackbear who makes his first appearance on the countdown with Hot Girl Bummer.  It was a few years back that he gave us a single in the form of Do Re Mi, which was rotten across the board.  It was just not a good first impression is what I want to say.   But here he is with this song and my goodness, it’s even worse.  Blackbear sounds like crap throughout the song and I don’t like the production.  He is just spouting nonsense with stupid lyrics and what not.  Why in the hell did he think it was a good idea to try and mimic what Megan Thee Stallion did?!?!   Yeah, everything about the song just blows.  He attempted to do something different with this song and it turns out to be complete shit.  I’ll never get the appeal to this song whatsoever because it is just asinine in every sense of the word.  PASS!

– Finally, we have Justin Bieber with his solo single titled Yummy.  I did a epic rant on this song when it made its appearance on Hit-Bound.  I’ve been fond of what he had to offer in recent years.  But Yummy is such a mess in every sense of the word.  I honestly don’t know what the hell he was going for here.  He is talking about a girl that has that “yummy, yummy” and all the nonsense I hear from him.  I looked at the lyrics and I just shook my head in disbelief.  Lyrically, it’s messy all over.  Justin sounds terrible with him being drenched in auto-tune and him trying to do a Chris Brown impression, which completely misses the mark because he shows virtually no personality of any kind whatsoever.  And I’m not even going to comment on the production, which is filled with brittle trap beats and no melody.  Simply put, everything about this song is just crap and it’s his worst single he has released since Baby, which I also detested.  I know Justin is capable of much better.  But this did not work out to my or anyone else’s liking at all.  It’s my second least favorite song on the countdown and it’s not too far behind Hot Girl Bummer, which I just talked about.

Best Debut Of The Week: Doja Cat – Say So (But really not by much)

If You Didn’t Blurb So
– In terms of our exits this week, good riddance to three of them.  First off, it’s about time we bid adieu to One Thing Right.  I’m glad it didn’t last very long.  That one was just a mess and it’s another new low for Marshmello.  Dear Winter was just not good and it’s no shock considering AJR has not impressed me at all with their music.  I was never fond of Lonely either.  Diplo’s work there was underwhelming and the drop is messy.  The Jonas Brothers’s didn’t do well vocally either.  Yeah, the collaboration didn’t turn out well for both parties.  The only song that I’ll be missing is Purple Hat by Sofi Tukker.  I thought that one was really cool overall.  But I knew it wouldn’t stay too long.  At least it made it to the countdown.

– Someone You Loved needs to seriously start moving down.  Who the hell is still supporting this?!?!  This isn’t what I want to hear whenever I’m driving in the car.  Whoever is still voting for this song needs to stop!

– Adore You is welcome in the Top 5.  This is Harry Styles’s highest peaking single as a solo artist.  I wouldn’t object to seeing this become a #1 song at some point in time.  That shouldn’t be much of a problem given that Hits 1 has started back loving all things One Direction.

– Don’t Start Now made a big jump this week into the Top 20.  I’m glad this song is doing much better elsewhere because it’s an amazing comeback for Dua Lipa.  I’m here for this becoming another hit for her.

– With Lover taking a massive fall this week after spending only one week in the Top 3, I have a feeling the end is near for the song.  A little saddening.  But the song has basically faltered elsewhere, so I’m not shocked by the big drop.

– Dance Monkey finally makes a big move I’ve been waiting for by jumping this week into #25, after spending weeks in the Bottom 10.  Looks like Hits 1 came to their senses and they’ve finally realized that it’s actually a hit.  Hopefully, it continues its momentum.

Hit-Bound:

• Tayla Parx featuring Florida Georgia Line – Fight
• Halsey – You Should Be Sad
• X Lovers – Play Your Game
• Khalid – Up All Night (DEBUT)
• Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go
• Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want
• Zedd featuring Kehlani – Good Thing
• Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
• Alec Benjamin – Demons (DEBUT)
• Lizzo – Cuz I Love You
• BTS featuring Lauv – Make It Right (DEBUT)
• Rex Orange County – 10/10
• Selena Gomez – Rare (DEBUT)
• Jonas Brothers – What A Man Gotta Do (DEBUT)

Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
14. Tayla Parx featuring Florida Georgia Line – Fight

1 – Bad:
13. BTS featuring Lauv – Make It Right
12. Lizzo – Cuz I Love You

2 – Mediocre:
11. Rex Orange County – 10/10

3 – Decent:
10. Alec Benjamin – Demons
9. Halsey – You Should Be Sad
8. Selena Gomez – Rare
7. Zedd featuring Kehlani – Good Thing

4 – Good:
6. Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go

5 – Great:
5. Jonas Brothers – What A Man Gotta Do
4. Khalid – Up All Night
3. X Lovers – Play Your Game
2. Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:
1. Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osborune and Travis Scott – Take What You Want

Overall Grade: 46/70 = 66% (C)

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Alesso featuring Nico & Vinz – I Wanna Know

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osborune and Travis Scott – Take What You Want
2. Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
3. X Lovers – Play Your Game
4. Khalid – Up All Night
5. Jonas Brothers – What A Man Gotta Do

Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Putrid:
20. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved

1 – Bad:
19. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
18. Maroon 5 – Memories

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
17. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth
16. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep?
15. Charlie Puth – Mother

4 – Good:
14. Jonas Brothers – Only Human
13. Post Malone – Circles

5 – Great:
12. Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B – South Of The Border
11. Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours
10. Halsey – Graveyard
9. Louis Tomlinson – We Made It
8. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People
7. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
6. Harry Styles – Adore You
5. Kesha featuring Big Freedia – Raising Hell
4. Lizzo – Good As Hell
3. Taylor Swift – Lover
2. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me

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

Overall Grade: 82/100 = 82% (B)

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

Most Missed Countdown Song: Rihanna – We Found Love

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Ally Brooke – No Good (Once again, not a lot of good music to recommend)

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Post Malone featuring Swae Lee – Sunflower (#)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now
2. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me
3. Taylor Swift – Lover
4. Lizzo – Good As Hell
5. Kesha featuring Big Freedia – Raising Hell

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer
2. Justin Bieber – Yummy
3. Halsey – Nightmare
4. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne
5. Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Jennifer Lopez – Limitless:
Alessia Cara – Trust My Lonely:

Hello, fam!  My remaining Year-End posts should be coming out within the next few days.  I’m just about done with those.  Other than that, I don’t have much else to say here.  Let’s just get to the AT40 countdown.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 40, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Slow Dance by AJ Mitchell featuring Ava Max (#35)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Good As Hell by Lizzo
40. Sucker by Jonas Brothers (#40) [=] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
39. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani (#38) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
38. Good Thing by Zedd featuring Kehlani (DEBUT)
37. If I Can’t Have You by Shawn Mendes (#36) [–1]
36. RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin (#39) [+3]
35. Talk by Khalid (#34) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
34. Make It Right by BTS featuring Lauv (#37) [+3]
33. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (#32) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
32. Highest In The Room by Travis Scott (#33) [+1]
31. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug (#29) [–2]
30. What Am I by Why Don’t We (#30) [=]
29. My Type by Saweetie (#28) [–1]
28. I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber (#26) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
27. Raising Hell by Kesha featuring Big Freedia (#25) [–2]
26. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#24) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
25. Nice To Meet Ya by Niall Horan (#21) [–4]
24. Teeth by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#27) [+3]
23. South Of The Border by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B (#31) [+8]
22. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (#19) [–3]
21. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish (#22) [+1]
20. Adore You by Harry Styles (#23) [+3]
19. How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith (#16) [–3]
18. Lover by Taylor Swift (#17) [–1]
17. Time by NF (#9) [–8]
16. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear (#20) [+4]
15. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#14) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
14. Heartless by The Weeknd (#18) [+4]
13. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#13) [=]
12. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas (#15) [+3]
11. Graveyard by Halsey (#8) [–3]
10. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa (#10) [=]
9. 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber (#11) [+2]
8. Dance Monkey by Tones & I (#12) [+4]
7. Trampoline by SHAED (#7) [=]
6. Panini by Lil Nas X (#6) [=]
5. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#5) [=] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
4. Memories by Maroon 5 (#4) [=]
3. Good As Hell by Lizzo (#1) [–2] [Spent 6 Weeks At #1]
2. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (#3) [+1]
1. Circles by Post Malone (#2) [+1] [3^rd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco (3^rd of 4 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Time by NF (–8)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: South Of The Border by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B (+8)

New Entrants:
– We get only one debut this week and it comes from the return of Zedd.  He collaborates with Kehlani in Good Thing.  I liked quite a bit of what Zedd has had to offer in recent years.  The Middle was my #1 favorite song of 2018 and he did collaborate with Katy Perry in 365, which I enjoyed as well.  Good Thing isn’t quite my thing compared to what he’s done in the past.  Zedd’s work here isn’t too bad.  I like the production here, but he uses the ticking clock which has been overused.  I may have been okay with it the first few times around.  But it gets annoying having to hear that after a while, and it shows his lack of creativity.  I think Kehlani sounds pretty good here.  I don’t have much more to say.  Overall, it’s a fine song and it may grow on me.  But I probably won’t remember it after it leaves.

Good Blurbs
– So, we said goodbye to Slow Dance this week.  For a collaboration between two artists, I didn’t really find it special in the long run.  Though I’ll say that these guys did have a nice year in 2019 with their respective hits.  I’m looking forward to seeing what else they have in store.

– The return of Circles to #1 kinda surprises me for some reason.  But at the same time, it shouldn’t be a shock considering it’s still going strong elsewhere.  I still like the song, so I’m okay with it being up there so long as it blocks any mediocrity from #1.  I do hope Lose You To Love Me will get the nod soon.  But really anything helps to keep Memories out of #1.

– Dance Monkey makes a move into the Top 10.  It’s good to see this becoming a sleeper hit in the US.  Tones & I is getting the recognition she deserves.  I’m looking forward to potentially see this one make the Top 5 eventually.

– The drop from Time by NF out of the Top 10 was a good thing (no reference to Zedd and Kehlani).  I’ve really been losing interest in the song lately and it’s likely that I’ll forget about it when it leaves.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
My Oh My by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby
We Made It by Louis Tomlinson
Yummy by Justin Bieber

Extras/Optional Extras:

Rockabye by Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie
Meant To Be by Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line
MIA Bad Bunny featuring Drake
Lonely by Diplo featuring Jonas Brothers
Lights Down Low by MAX featuring Gnash
Writing On The Wall by French Montana featuring Post Malone, CARDI B, and Rvssian
All The Good Girls Go To Hell by Billie Eilish
Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
Work From Home by Fifth Harmony featuring Ty Dolla $ign
Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding
Finesse (Remix) by Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B
1-800-273-8255 by Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
19. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
18. Roxanne by Arizona Zervas

1 – Bad:
17. Memories by Maroon 5

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
16. Time by NF
15. How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith
14. Panini by Lil Nas X

4 – Good:
13. Circles by Post Malone

5 – Great:
12. Graveyard by Halsey
11. Only Human by Jonas Brothers
10. 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber
9. Truth Hurts by Lizzo
8. Trampoline by SHAED
7. Adore You by Harry Styles
6. Dance Monkey by Tones & I
5. Heartless by The Weeknd
4. Lover by Taylor Swift
3. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez
2. Good As Hell by Lizzo

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

Total Score: 75/100 = 75% (B)

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

Most Missed Song: Castle On The Hill by Ed Sheeran

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: No Good by Ally Brooke (there’s not a lot of good music to recommend)

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee (#10)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
2. Good As Hell by Lizzo
3. Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez
4. Lover by Taylor Swift
5. Raising Hell by Kesha featuring Big Freedia

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Hot Girl Bummer by Blackbear
2. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
3. My Type by Saweetie
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:
Let You Love Me by Rita Ora:
Wake Up In The Sky by Gucci Mane featuring Bruno Mars and Kodak Black:

Hello, fam! This isn’t really what I was hoping for when I said I was going to get my posts out on time.  Lack of motivation and some other stuff played a key role in my late post, as well as why my remaining Year-End posts aren’t out yet.  Hopefully, all of that will be fixed in the coming weeks.  Also, the Grammy Awards are coming up and I plan on watching.  I may finally end up doing a review of the performances for that night.  But we’ll see how it ultimately plays out.  Before we get to this week’s fresh 45, here are the songs we’re saying goodbye to this week:

• Fall Out Boy featuring Wyclef Jean – Dear Future Self (Hands Up) (#35)
• NF – Time (#40)
• Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#42) [Spent 13 Weeks At #1]
• Camila Cabello – Liar (#45)

The Countdown:
Last Week’s #1 Song: Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
45. AJR – Dear Winter (#44) [–1]
44. Marshmello featuring Kane Brown – One Thing Right (#43) [–1]
43. Halsey – Nightmare (#41) [–2]
42. Sofi Tukker – Purple Hat (#36) [–6]
41. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (#39) [–2]
40. Lil Nas X – Panini (#38) [–2]
39. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita (#34) [–5]
38. Tones & I – Dance Monkey (#32) [–6]
37. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down (#37) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
36. 88Rising featuring Joji & Jackson Wang, Major Lazer, and Swae Lee – Walking (DEBUT)
35. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – The Hype (#33) [–2]
34. Diplo featuring Jonas Brothers – Lonely (#29) [–5]
33. Panic! At The Disco – Into The Unknown (#31) [–2]
32. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#22) [–10] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
31. Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted (DEBUT)
30. Lizzo – Truth Hurts (#30) [=]
29. Fall Out Boy – Bob Dylan (DEBUT)
28. SHAED – Trampoline (#28) [=]
27. Hot Chelle Rae – I Hate (Love) LA (#27) [=]
26. Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now (#24) [–2]
25. Shawn Mendes – If I Can’t Have You (#25) [=] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]
24. Kesha featuring Big Freedia – Raising Hell (#26) [+2]
23. The Chainsmokers – Push My Luck (DEBUT)
22. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne (#20) [–2]
21. Louis Tomlinson – We Made It (#21) [=]
20. Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B – South Of The Border (#18) [–2]
19. PUBLIC – Make You Mine (#17) [–2]
18. Charlie Puth – Mother (#19) [+1]
17. OneRepublic – Wanted (#23) [+6]
16. Harry Styles – Adore You (#15) [–1]
15. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me (#16) [+1]
14. Why Don’t We – What Am I (#14) [=]
13. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep? (#13) [=]
12. Maroon 5 – Memories (#10) [–2]
11. Halsey – Graveyard (#6) [–5]
10. Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours (#12) [+2]
9. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People (#7) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
8. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#9) [+1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
7. Lizzo – Good As Hell (#8) [+1]
6. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth (#3) [–3] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
5. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#2) [–3] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
4. Post Malone – Circles (#4) [=]
3. Taylor Swift – Lover (#11) [+8]
2. Jonas Brothers – Only Human (#5) [+3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
1. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya (#1) [=] [6^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Halsey – Without Me (1^st of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (–10)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Taylor Swift – Lover (+8)

New Entrants:
– We have four new songs entering the countdown to start the new decade.  Up first is the least interesting debut of the week.  It comes from 88Rising with a collaboration between Joji & Jackson Wang, Major Lazer, and French Montana in Walking.  Not a whole lot I can say about this one.  The production is just underwhelming overall and I’m not feeling the vocals.  There’s really no momentum in the verses and they dont’ have any sort of chemistry to show for it.  So yeah, I wasn’t impressed overall.  It’s likely that I’ll forget about this in a month or so.

– Next, we have more of Billie Eilish here with her latest single, and it’s basically Everything I Wanted.  I already talked about this in depth in my AT40 post when it debuted on the countdown.  But to recap, it’s the type of song that I like to hear from her.  The sentiment in this song is pretty sad as it basically talks about nobody caring for her anymore and her brother supporting her during the difficult time.  I think her voice is dark and unique and she uses it well.  The beat is pretty solid and it meshes well with the muted piano and drums.  Is it her best?  No, I prefer her singles from her last album.  But it’s solid and I’m fine with this potentially being another hit for her.

– Fall Out Boy replaced themselves this week with the song named after the singer himself, Bob Dylan.  Right off the bat, I quite like this.  It goes without saying that this is nowhere near their best work, but it’s still good for what it’s trying to do.  I like Patrick’s voice here and he shines in the chorus.  The rock vibes here are pretty cool even though there are parts of the production I can do without.  So yeah, I’m fine with this sticking around although I have my doubts.

– As Who Do You Love finally makes its way out (and I’ll have more on that in just a bit), we get another song from The Chainsmokers, and they’re trying to push their luck with their latest single titled Push My Luck.  I do quite like this for the most part.  I think Drew has a nice voice and he sounds pretty good here.  The chorus is decent as well.  Obviously, the drop isn’t the best and there are parts that I can do without.  But it’s better than the drop from Who Do You Love, which got annoying after a while.  Overall, it’s a good song.  But I won’t really picture myself coming back to this in the long run.

Best Debut Of The Week: Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted

I’ve Got Everything I Blurbed
– Like I do every week, I always start with the exits.  In fact, we bid adieu to four songs this week.  NF – Time wasn’t really worth caring about in the long run.  The same can be said for Liar.  Even though I didn’t love the song, it’s a lot more interesting than the majority of what Romance had to offer.  Dear Future Self (Hands Up) was an interesting collaboration between Fall Out Boy and Wyclef Jean.  I think the song is pretty cool, but ultimately it didn’t last very long.  Finally, we have the big one.  Sucker, the longest-running #1 song in Hits 1 countdown history, is officially no more.  It seemed like yesterday that everyone in the music world was excited about their reunion.  Now, it’s just a distant memory.  Sucker was something that I enjoyed for a while, and it’ll be somewhat missed by me.

– It doesn’t look like Purple Hat will be around for much longer as it has now fallen into the Bottom 5 this week.  I think the song is pretty cool and it would’ve been nice if that had been a success elsewhere.  Sofi Tukker definitely deserves some recognition.

– The same can be said for Dance Monkey.  The only difference between this and Purple Hat is that it’s actually a success elsewhere.  It’s a damn shame that Hits 1 doesn’t treat it the same way.  But oh well.  Can’t really do anything about that.

– It’s about time Who Do You Love made the big drop I was waiting for!  It’s been around for way too long for a song that wasn’t really good in the long run.  Now, let’s get this out of here soon!

– On the note of mediocrity, I would appreciate if I Hate (Love) LA would start making its way down soon at least.  I’m starting to get annoyed by the “La La La’s” in the chorus.  And the lyrics aren’t really helping either.

– In Top 3 news, Lover has finally made it to that region.  It would be really nice to see it hit #1 like soon.  I think it’s the best Taylor has had to offer in her album.  Too bad that one failed to continue its momentum elsewhere.  But at least Hits 1 is treating it well.

Hit-Bound:

• Lizzo – Cuz I Love You
• Alec Benjamin – Mind Is A Prison
• Zedd featuring Kehlani – Good Thing
• Doja Cat – Say So (DEBUT)
• Post Malone featuring Travis Scott and Ozzy Osbourne – Take What You Want
• Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go
• Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My
• Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
• Tayla Parx featuring Florida Georgia Line – Fight (DEBUT)
• Halsey – You Should Be Sad (DEBUT)
• Justin Bieber – Yummy (DEBUT)
• AJ Mitchell featuring Ava Max – Slow Dance
• Rex Orange County – 10/10 (DEBUT)
• Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer
• X Lovers – Play Your Game

New Entrants:
– There’s not a whole lot of new stuff to like here.  I’m going to start things off with newcomer Doja Cat who brings us Say So.  I think the beat here is pretty groovy, but I’m not feeling her voice overall.  And the lyrics…it’s basically her wanting her friend to confess his love to her.  It doesn’t interest me lyrically and not helping matters is the depth here is pretty shallow.  Yeah, this is just underwhelming at best.  It’s in blue, but it’s much closer to red for me than it is green.  Let’s move on.

– Next, we have another newcomer here.  It’s Tayla Parx and she collaborates with country duo Florida Georgia Line in their new single titled Fight.  Right off the bat, I’m not feeling the song.  It sorta reminds me of Meant To Be, which I detested.  Her voice is no good and there’s virtually no chemistry between the two to show for it.  And here we go again with the trap production mixed in with country elements.  No, this isn’t working for me.  Nothing about the song is appealing and frankly, not worth my time.  NEXT!

– Immediately following that we get more of Halsey as her new album Manic draws closer.  This week, she replaces herself on Hit-Bound with her new single titled You Should Be Sad.  I’m going to simply be straight up and say that this is the best debut of the week and even then, it’s decent at best.  Nightmare was her attempt at going rock, which failed miserably.  You Should Be Sad is her attempt at going country.  I think Halsey sounds fine here and I quite like the guitar.  But my concern is that it’s missing some country elements to make it stand out.  Overall, it’s okay.  But when your best debut of the week is in blue and is only decent at best, yeah it’s a not a good sign.

– Dear Jesus, please help me with this one.  We have Justin Bieber with his new single in the form of Yummy.  Unlike most people, I actually kinda liked what Justin has had to offer in recent years.  I personally think he is talented.  But my goodness, Yummy is an absolute fucking mess.  First off, his voice.  It’s basically him being drowned in auto-tune and not only that, he also tries to make a Chris Brown impression and it backfires on him horribly because he has no personality here at all.  That, coupled with the trap production that’s totally out of date makes this an unpleasant listen.  And don’t even get me started with the lyrics.  Why would he tell a girl she has that “yummy, yummy”?!  My goodness! Honestly, this song just blows on so many levels.  I’m not sure what the hell he was going for here because this is one of the worst songs he’s released since Baby.  If this is the direction he’s going for, then I’m less enthusiastic about his new album.

– Lastly, we have Rex Orange County with 10/10.  This song is definitely not a 10/10 whatsoever.  His voice doesn’t really sound good with him singing in monotone and the production isn’t really my thing.  So yeah, I’d say this is a 5/10 at best for me.

Best Debut Of The Week: Halsey – You Should Be Sad

Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
15. Blackbear – Hot Girl Bummer
14. Justin Bieber – Yummy
13. Tayla Parx featuring Florida Georgia Line – Fight
12. Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby – My Oh My

1 – Bad:
11. Lizzo – Cuz I Love You

2 – Mediocre:
10. Doja Cat – Say So
9. Rex Orange County – 10/10

3 – Decent:
8. AJ Mitchell featuring Ava Max – Slow Dance
7. Halsey – You Should Be Sad
6. Zedd featuring Kehlani – Good Thing

4 – Good:
5. Alec Benjamin – Mind Is A Prison

5 – Great:
4. Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go
3. X Lovers – Play Your Game
2. Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:
1. Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want

Overall Grade: 39/75 = 52% (D+)

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Little Mix – Touch

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott – Take What You Want
2. Niall Horan – Put A Little Love On Me
3. X Lovers – Play Your Game
4. Lewis Capaldi – Before You Go
5. Alec Benjamin – Mind Is A Prison

Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Putrid:
20. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved

1 – Bad:
19. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
18. Maroon 5 – Memories

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
17. OneRepublic – Wanted
16. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth
15. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep?
14. Why Don’t We – What Am I
13. Charlie Puth – Mother

4 – Good:
12. PUBLIC – Make You Mine
11. Post Malone – Circles

5 – Great:
10. Jonas Brothers – Only Human
9. Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B – South Of The Border
8. Dan + Shay featuring Justin Bieber – 10,000 Hours
7. Halsey – Graveyard
6. Louis Tomlinson – We Made It
5. Niall Horan – Nice To Meet Ya
4. Harry Styles – Adore You
3. Lizzo – Good As Hell
2. Taylor Swift – Lover
1. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me

Overall Grade: 75/100 = 75% (B)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: David Bowie – Rebel Rebel (1974)

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

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Ally Brooke – No Good (there’s not a lot of good music to recommend)

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#2)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now
2. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me
3. Taylor Swift – Lover
4. Lizzo – Good As Hell
5. Kesha featuring Big Freedia – Raising Hell

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Marshmello featuring Kane Brown – One Thing Right
2. Halsey – Nightmare
3. Arizona Zervas – Roxanne
4. AJR – Dear Winter
5. Diplo featuring Jonas Brothers – Lonely

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Dan + Shay – Speechless: I won’t say this is as good as Tequila, but it’s still good mostly because of their vocals, the well-written lyrics, and the solid instrumentation.  I think it’s the perfect song for any wedding.

Zara Larsson – Ruin My Life: It was a nice comeback for Zara Larsson after a while.  But it’s not much compared to her singles such as Never Forget You.  I like the production and Zara sounds good, even if the chorus is a little repetitive.

Khalid – Better: I don’t have a lot to say about this one.  I love the R&B vibe and his voice meshes well together.  Yeah, it’s a pretty good song.  Probably one of his best singles from him, along with Love Lies.

Imagine Dragons – Machine: Yeah, this is my least favorite single from these guys.  Between Dan Reynolds’s obnoxious yelling and the messy guitars, everything about the song is just a mess all around.