Adele (1) – Week Of August 27, 2016

There really isn't that much going on in the land of music at the moment. Tomorrow night is the MTV Video Music Awards. So I'm probably going to watch that even though the performance lineup doesn't excite me very much. Because of that, I'm not going to do a review. Plus, I'm also really busy and I have other posts that I'm behind on that I need to work on. I may give some short opinions in the comment section. But this year, it doesn't seem like something worthy of an entire post. No songs leaving the countdown this week. So let's get right into the countdown.


Last Week's #1 Song: Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling
The Countdown
45. Nick Jonas/Tove Lo – Close (#43)
44. Kent Jones – Don't Mind (#45)
43. Selena Gomez – Kill Em With Kindness (#44)
42. DNCE – Cake By The Ocean (#32) [4 Weeks At #1]
41. OneRepublic – Wherever I Go (#41)
40. Fifth Harmony – Work From Home (#40)
39. Lukas Graham – 7 Years (#37)
38. Meghan Trainor – No (#31)
37. The Summer Set – Figure Me Out (#30)
36. Taylor Swift – New Romantics (#38) [2 Weeks At #1]
35. Symon – Say (#42)
34. Panic! At The Disco – Victorious (#39) [1 Week At #1]
33. Selena Gomez – Hands To Myself (#34)
32. Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman (#29)
31. Mike Posner/SeeB – I Took A Pill In Ibiza (#36) [2 Weeks At #1]
30. Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out (#27) [5 Weeks At #1]
29. P!nk – Just Like Fire (#25)
28. Jordan Fisher – All About Us (#26)
27. DNCE – Toothbrush (#13)
26. Fifth Harmony – All In My Head (Flex) (#18)
25. AJR – I'm Not Famous (#19)
24. All Time Low – Missing You (#22)
23. Lukas Graham – Mama Said (#21)
22. Kenny Chesney/P!nk – Setting The World On Fire (#35)
21. Drake/WizKid/Kyla – One Dance (#28)
20. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (#20)
19. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#24)
18. Jacob Whitesides – Lovesick (#23)
17. Demi Lovato – Body Say (#16)
16. Timeflies – Once In A While (#33)
15. Daya – Sit Still, Look Pretty (#14)
14. Charlie Puth/Selena Gomez – We Don't Talk Anymore (#8)
13. Coldplay/Beyoncé – Hymn For The Weekend (#17)
12. Meghan Trainor – Me Too (#10)
11. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Girls Talk Boys (#11)
10. Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For (#7)
  9. The 1975 – The Sound (#15)
  8. Ariana Grande – Into You (#12)
  7. X Ambassadors – Unsteady (#9)
  6. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better (#6)
  5. Sia/Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills (#3)
  4. Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling! (#1) [9 Weeks At #1]
  3. Twenty One Pilots – Ride (#4)
  2. The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down (#5)
  1. Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover) (#2) [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Walk The Moon – Shut Up and Dance

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: DNCE – Toothbrush (–14)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Timeflies – Once In A While (+17)

Setting The Blurbs On Fire
~ Huh. Adele at #1. I guess it could be worse. I'm very thankful that Ride has hit such a peak and I hope to god that it never will. I'd like to see it start dropping the next couple of weeks.

~ Speaking of Adele, I've been listening to Rumor Has It quite a few times this week and I did hear Set Fire To The Rain one morning earlier this week on Hits 1. It's really these two songs that I like to hear from Adele. Send My Love is just simply not as good in my opinion.

~ The 1975 – The Sound isn't necessarily Top 10-worthy. I still find this one not very interesting and rather boring. But that's just me. Clearly there are people who really love this song enough to vote it into the Top 10.

~ In another Top 10 news, Ariana Grande – Into You managed to rise into the Top 10 pretty quickly. Now this one I can live with as opposed to the inferior Dangerous Woman, which thankfully has taken a drop out of the Top 30.

~ It's hard for me to process the fact that Nick Jonas/Tove Lo – Close is still here. Do people actually still listen to this song? I don't hate it (yet). But that's mainly because I haven't listened to this song in......I don't know......a couple of months?

~ I get rather annoyed when people say that Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For is one of the songs of the summer. Speaking on the behalf of the EDM genre overall, I do have to say that This Is What You Came For is an embarrassment to EDM. It's kind of sad that a lazier drop like the one used in this song is what will grab peoples' attention instead of a really cool, energetic drop like the ones used in Summer and Blame.

~ I'm not exactly okay with X Ambassadors – Unsteady hitting the same peak as Renegades. Not just because I'm sick of this song, but the song itself is just not as good. I actually disliked Unsteady at first and it took me a while to actually grow into the song, whereas with Renegades, I pretty much loved it ever since the first listen. I mean, the least this station could do is play the Erich Lee Gravity remix from the Me Before You soundtrack as I do think that one is more interesting and brings a little more life to the song.

~ Jacob Whitesides – Lovesick took a nice jump into the Top 20. I do indeed find myself singing the chorus of this song to myself at the most random times. I'm serious when I say that this chorus is pretty infectious.

~ Thankfully, Selena Gomez – Kill Em With Kindness did not make it as big as her previous singles. Now it's just a matter of getting it out of the countdown as it is taking up a spot that could occupied by a better song.

~ Timeflies – Once In A While made a nice comeback after being last week's Biggest DROP!!!.... of the Week. I do still enjoy this song and I think it deserves the love its been getting on this countdown.

~ So The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer has apparently hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. While I'm kind of shocked about it, I'm definitely happy about it. It really does deserve this kind of success. While it may not be as good as Roses, I still find it to be really catchy and I'll be jamming out to it for a while.

~ The Hit 45 Chart is once again being worked on. I'm hoping this doesn't become a new thing for this chart to be late every week. But every Friday, I am just exhausted from a busy week and I end up falling asleep earlier than I usually do. I'm hoping I can get the chart out tomorrow or Monday. So patience is key.

Top 20 Review:
0 – Crap:
NONE

1 – Bad:
20. Twenty One Pilots – Ride

2 – Mediocre:
19. X Ambassadors – Unsteady
18. Sia/Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills
17. Daya – Sit Still, Look Pretty
16. The 1975 – The Sound
15. Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For
14. Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover)

3 – Decent:
NONE

4 – Good:
13. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Girls Talk Boys
12. Meghan Trainor – Me Too

5 – Great:
11. Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling
10. Ariana Grande – Into You
9. The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down
8. Charlie Puth/Selena Gomez – We Don't Talk Anymore
7. Jacob Whitesides – Lovesick
6. Timeflies – Once In A While
5. Demi Lovato – Body Say
4. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better
3. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens
2. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
1. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend

Overall Score: 76/100


Throwback Pick Of The Week: Lady Gaga – Alejandro

Most Missed Countdown Song: Adele – Set Fire To The Rain

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You (not much new music lately)

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: One Direction – Drag Me Down


My Top 5 Picks
1. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend
2. Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza
3. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
4. OneRepublic – Wherever I Go
5. Fifth Harmony – All In My Head (Flex)

America's Got Talent: Quarterfinals Week 3

After two weeks of Olympics broadcasting on NBC, America's Got Talent has finally returned. For those who may have forgotten where the show left off two weeks ago, we had completed the first two out of three weeks of quarterfinals. This week is the third and final week of the quarterfinals. Over the next two weeks, all the acts that made it through this round will be performing once again the semifinals. So we still have a quite a bit ahead of us.


Like I said, this week was the third and final week of the quarterfinals. 12 acts battled it out on stage, each fighting for one of the 7 semifinal spots available. As usual, I will give my performance reviews and the actual results.



Week 3 Performances
This week was hands-down the toughest week of quarterfinals in terms of picking only 7 acts that I think should go through. We definitely saw the most amount of talent this week than we have the previous two weeks of the quarterfinals. So how about we dig deeper into these performances?

~ Vello Vaher: What a way to kick off the first week of AGT in three weeks: with the worst act of the night. Basically, he did his usual crazy-looking contortion with a pirate ship set. The problem with this is that it's pretty much the same exact thing as his last performances. The thing he does with his belly is original, but it really only wowed me the first time. Now it's just stuff I've already seen. Simon Cowell buzzed the act. Overall, I felt that this performance went nowhere and this is easily a throwaway act that we know is not going to go through.

~ Ronee Martin: I do think Ronee is one of the best singers in this competition. She sang Lean On Me by Bill Withers and it was just amazing. She really does have a beautiful voice. It's very soulful and I think it's amazing that she can sing like this at 62 years old. If I were to close my eyes and listen to her without actually knowing who she is, I would've never guessed that she's 62 years old. She's been waiting for this moment all her life and it's finally happening. I hope America votes for her because she is truly fantastic.

~ Kadan Bart Rockett: I find it very interesting when kids get into magic and stuff like that. For this performance, Kadan had the judges lock four handcuffs on his wrists where he then went into this little closed-off tent or something where he attempted to break free of them. While he was in there, his sister decided to get her revenge for when Kadan cut her in half in the auditions. She activated a conveyor with several chainsaws that stabbed into the closed-off area Kadan was in. It was revealed that he had disappeared and then came out of the tool box sitting right next to the judges the whole time handcuff free. I do think it's pretty cool what he can do, but I don't think it's something worthy of the semifinals. That being said, I don't know if he'll get the votes needed to move forward.

~ Linkin' Bridge: What I love about this group is how much they surprised us in the auditions. They look like some hip-hop group, but then surprise us with a capella. Their story is really touching as they come from a dangerous neighborhood where there's gunshots pretty much on a daily basis. As far as the performance goes, while I do think they are really talented, I did not think this was as good as their performance in the Judge Cuts and I worry about that. I mean, without a doubt they are still good. But the level of talent this week is so high that the 7 acts that do go through have to pretty much be flawless, which this wasn't. I have a feeling that they'll be one of the three acts up for the Dunkin' Save. I don't think this was enough to put them through immediately. But who knows? Maybe their story will convince people to give them votes. I'm still voting for them because I know they're really talented. But they really need to make sure they step it up.

~ Alla and Daniel Novikov: Now we see dance duos all the time. What we don't always see is a mother and son dance duo. Alla is 32 years old and I think Daniel is like 8 or 9. But man are they talented. Like they dance better than most couples. For this performance, they did their routine to Cake By The Ocean by DNCE. These two are undeniably amazing dancers. Like I want to be able to dance like them. A lot of people find it creepy. But I see absolutely nothing creepy about a boy that loves to dance with his mother. It's actually pretty sweet. Howie Mandel buzzed the act saying that it's the same moves each time, which I can kind of agree with. But with these two, it really doesn't get old in my opinion. Simon Cowell even buzzed towards Howie for buzzing these two. And as sick I am of this song, I think they revived it and gave it some life again. So don't be surprised if it is no longer in red on my next countdown post. Overall, I'm pretty sure they won't get voted through. But they are still insanely talented and I enjoyed this performance.

~ Blake Vogt: Competing against Kadan Bart Rockett, Blake is the second of two magicians this week. He's well-known for his Judge Cuts performance where he, using his mouth, attached the corner of the $1 bill to the $100 bill and the corner of the $100 bill to the $1 bill. I feel like this performance where there is a bunch of things going on, so I'm not going to try explaining it. Instead, you can just watch the video above. But as usual with magicians, I have no idea how he did it. But I can't really see this going through to the semifinals. With him and Kadan being the only two magicians this week, it's possible they'll both cancel each other out and neither of them will go through. But who knows? It's up to America and we can only wait to see what happens.

~ Edgar: The family band is back! I've loved these three ever since their audition. They each have such a unique and different voice, which is why it's hard for me to pick my favorite voice. But when all these different voices come together, it sounds so magical. Performance after performance they have just gotten better and better. After having seen the amount of talent that was taking place this week, I was extremely nervous about Edgar and how they'd do. But they did amazing, as usual. We're a little halfway into the show and they are the first act of the night to have gotten all four standing ovations from the judges. I just found this performance really heart-warming. I could watch it over and over again. I absolutely loved it. This was one of my favorite performances of the night and they are one of my favorite acts this season. I really hope America votes for them. I definitely want them in the semifinals and it'd be nice if they could make it into the finals too. They definitely have my votes.

~ Julia Scotti: This year is really not the year for comedy. Julia is one of the only two comedians remaining in this competition. One of the things I love about her is the way she's always yelling her jokes. I don't know why, but I just find that alone to be pretty funny. Like Simon Cowell said, she is very naughty. But that is why she is so funny! I love how she rambles on with jokes continuously coming. Overall, I really like her. But there are quite a few people that disagree, which is why it's likely that she won't go through OR she will be up for the Dunkin' Save, which I think is a more reasonable and accurate prediction. Like I said, she is one of the only two comedians left and I personally believe that Julia is better than Lori Mae Hernandez. If Lori got through, I think it'd be a reasonable choice for Julia to go through as well.

~ Brian Justin Crum: I was really annoyed when I realized that I had to wait two weeks due to the Olympics just to see this man perform again. I pretty much count down the days leading up to the night when he performs. His Judge Cuts performance of Creep by Radiohead is definitely one of the best performances I've ever seen. Basically that performance was about what it's like to be different and to feel like a creep and a weirdo. With him having been bullied for being overweight and gay, it was definitely an emotional performance that managed to make the audience feel what he's feeling. This performance he explained is a moving on from that. Once again with this performance of In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins, he managed to convey all the emotion he was feeling and made us feel the same way, which is one of the things I absolutely adore about him. And his voice is just incredible. I had nonstop chills from start to end. I loved everything about it. I thought this performance was the perfect follow-up to his previous performance. I am still all for the idea of Brian winning this entire show. I really think he has what it takes. This was hands-down my favorite performance of the night. America better vote for him or I will be pissed.

~ Malevo: Ah, it's George Lopez's golden buzzer act. These guys are another favorite of mine. I find their dance routine to be very cool and original. I've never seen anything like it and that's probably how they made it this far in the competition. Once again, I can't really describe what they do. But it was similar to what they did previously. If I'm being honest, I do think their Judge Cuts performance was slightly better. I thought this was a slight step down, but still really good and original. I do believe that their originality is enough to get them far in the competition. So I'm sure they'll easily get enough votes to move forward.

~ The Passing Zone: These guys are well-known for always including Howie Mandel in their act ever since the audition. Then in the Judge Cuts, they included Howie and Mel B in the act. Now in the quarterfinals, they included Howie, Mel B, and Heidi Klum. Basically they had the three judges in these big space outfits and had them hanging from the ceiling. From there, they pretty much just pushed or "juggled" them around. It was absolutely hilarious. Mel B was just screaming out of terror the whole time. I could not stop laughing. What I love about these guys is that they always come with something new. I never know what to expect from them. And they're really funny! A lot of people are noting that they were in Season 1 of AGT and made it to the finals. While I do think it's a little odd that they decided to return 10 years later, I don't really care too much because I really like them. They were one of my favorites this week and I hope America votes them through because I would love to see them include Simon Cowell in their next act.

~ Grace VanderWaal: People have been very impatiently awaiting this girl's next performance. Her audition consisted of singing an original while playing the ukulele. Because she was so unique and so different, Howie Mandel pressed his golden buzzer for Grace, which sent her straight to this round skipping the Judge Cuts. So her huge fanbase has been waiting quite a while for this performance. I have to say, I'm not as impressed as most people are. She definitely deserves credit for her writing skills as she does perform her own original music. I give her that. But I'm not a huge fan of her voice. It is different and it is unique, which is pretty much why she's gotten so much love. But I'm not really feeling it. It is a tough week in the singing category this week and I personally didn't think she brought enough to really wow me. That's just my opinion though. The only thing I really like about her is her originality. That's it. She's probably going to go through with how large her fanbase is. But me personally, I'm not a huge fan.



Week 3 Results
12 acts have performed, but only 7 acts will advance into the semifinals. America has voted and the results are in. Even Micheal Phelps joined us for this episode and pretty co-hosted with Nick Cannon the entire episode.

The acts that came in 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th place were announced first as the three acts in danger of elimination. However, one of them can be saved with the live Dunkin' Save. All throughout the episode, we had time to search "Dunkin' Save" on Google and select the one act out of the three that we want to save. The one that receives the most votes is to be announced later in the episode and will be put through to the semifinals. The three acts in no particular order are:

• Linkin' Bridge
• Malevo
• Ronee Martin

I was genuinely shocked about Malevo and Ronee landing themselves in this position. They both really well the previous night and I'm just surprised that they did not get enough votes to be put through right away. The results will be announced later. But first, five acts were put through immediately and four acts were eliminated. There were a couple of special performances/skits. So I'll review those first.

~ Recycled Percussion: I believe these guys were on Season 4 of AGT and they finished in 3^rd place. I'm not exactly sure how they got that far if all their performances were like this one. I did not really find it interesting at all. I found it quite boring. But then again, it was probably much easier to advance round after round back then. Overall, I found this to be a snooze fest.

~ Ranked Out: In this little skit, Simon Cowell ranked the other three judges 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place in a number of different categories. I won't go through each one. But I did find the overall skit to be pretty funny. Overall, I liked it and I thought it was funny.


So now that those reviews are done, it's time to get to the actual results.

For the first result, Kadan Bart Rockett advanced to the semifinals and Alla and Daniel Novikov were eliminated. I was pretty shocked to see that Kadan advanced. I guess people really do like kid magicians. But I doubt he'll be good enough to make it into the finals. Next up, Grace VanderWaal and Brian Justin Crum were called up, pretty much giving everyone a heart attack with the idea that one could potentially be going home. Thankfully, they both went through. Everyone can now sigh in relief.

Next, Edgar were put through to the semifinals while Julia Scotti and Vello Vaher were eliminated. This is pretty good. My two favorites of the night have been put through. For the final result before the Dunkin' Save acts return to the stage, Blake Vogt made it through with The Passing Zone being eliminated (sucks that we won't see Simon involved in their next act). Looks like America did not want to give up on the magicians as they decided to put both of them through. But like Kadan, I doubt he'll have enough next round to get himself into the finals. With that, five acts have been put through. Now it's time to bring out the acts up for the Dunkin' Save.

Out of the three acts up on stage, America chose to save Malevo. Once again, how they landed in this position in the first place I will never understand. I can totally see them having their own show in Vegas. Now six acts have advanced to the semifinals. There's two acts still standing and one spot left. It is now up to the judges. The act that receives more votes from the judges earns the final spot in the semifinals. Just as a reminder, the two acts remaining are:

• Linkin' Bridge
• Ronee Martin

Judges' Choices:

• Mel B voted first and put her vote on Linkin' Bridge.
• Howie Mandel voted second and put his vote on Linkin' Bridge.
• Heidi Klum voted third and put her vote on Ronee Martin.
• Simon Cowell voted fourth and put his vote on Linkin' Bridge.

Because Linkin' Bridge received 3 votes from the judges, they have earned the final spot in the semifinals. As sad as I am that Ronee could not go through, I am happy for these guys as they have worked hard to get to where they are now.

My Top 5 Performances

1. Brian Justin Crum

2. Edgar

3. Ronee Martin

4. The Passing Zone

5. Malevo


So now that the quarterfinals are over, next week is the start of the semifinals. We have a total of 21 acts right now. I would assume that they'll have one wild card to bring an act back so that the two weeks of semifinals are divided evenly with 11 acts performing each week. Ronee Martin would be ideal as I do think she was robbed for not going through. But we'll have to wait and see who they decide to give another chance to. That is all I have for you guys and I will see you sometime this weekend with my countdown post.

Justin Timberlake (9) – Week Of August 20, 2016

So I've officially completed my first week of school this year. It was the first week and I already had to stay up past midnight on Thursday night with homework. If I already had to do that on the first week of school, this year is not going to be easy. But I did have a ton of work, which is why nothing was posted at all this week. So I'm sorry about that. But hey, at least the countdown post is out on time. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• James Bay – Let It Go (#33)
• Ruth B. – Lost Boy (#43)
• Grace – You Don't Own Me (#45)

Last Week's #1 Song: Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling

The Countdown

45. Kent Jones – Don't Mind (#38)

44. Selena Gomez – Kill Em With Kindness (#42)

43. Nick Jonas/Tove Lo – Close (#44)

42. Symon – Say (#24)

41. OneRepublic – Wherever I Go (#41)

40. Fifth Harmony – Work From Home (#40)

39. Panic! At The Disco – Victorious (#39) [1 Week At #1]

38. Taylor Swift – New Romantics (#31)

37. Lukas Graham – 7 Years (#37)

36. Mike Posner/SeeB – I Took A Pill In Ibiza (#34) [2 Weeks At #1]

35. Kenny Chesney/P!nk – Setting The World On Fire (DEBUT)

34. Selena Gomez – Hands To Myself (#32)

33. Timeflies – Once In A While (#11)

32. DNCE – Cake By The Ocean (#35) [4 Weeks At #1]

31. Meghan Trainor – No (#36)

30. The Summer Set – Figure Me Out (#14)

29. Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman (#15)

28. Drake/WizKid/Kyla – One Dance (#17)

27. Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out (#16) [5 Weeks At #1]

26. Jordan Fisher – All About Us (#28)

25. P!nk – Just Like Fire (#9)

24. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (DEBUT)

23. Jacob Whitesides – Lovesick (#21)

22. All Time Low – Missing You (#25)

21. Lukas Graham – Mama Said (#23)

20. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (#27)

19. AJR – I'm Not Famous (#29)

18. Fifth Harmony – All In My Head (Flex) (#30)

17. Coldplay/Beyoncé – Hymn For The Weekend (DEBUT)

16. Demi Lovato – Body Say (#19)

15. The 1975 – The Sound (#18)

14. Daya – Sit Still, Look Pretty (#4)

13. DNCE – Toothbrush (#22)

12. Ariana Grande – Into You (#26)

11. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Girls Talk Boys (#20)

10. Meghan Trainor – Me Too (#13)

  9. X Ambassadors – Unsteady (#12)

  8. Charlie Puth/Selena Gomez – We Don't Talk Anymore (#10)

  7. Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For (#8)

  6. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better (#5)

  5. The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down (#2)

  4. Twenty One Pilots – Ride (#3)

  3. Sia/Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills (#6)

  2. Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover) (#7)

  1. Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling! (#1) [9^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Walk The Moon – Shut Up and Dance

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Timeflies – Once In A While (–22)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Ariana Grande – Into You (+14)

New Entrants
~ Hits 1 only picks up country songs on rare occasions and some of them do make it big. Florida Georgia Line – Cruise is a great example as it peaked at #4 on here in 2013. Breaking out of the sea of country songs this around, we have Kenny Chesney debuting featuring P!nk this week with Setting The World On Fire. Now I do like this song, but I feel like it doesn't have enough to make it really stand out. It does sound almost like a good chunk of the country songs out there right now. Maybe it's just me since country isn't necessarily my favorite genre. But I do think adding P!nk made the song stand out slightly more than other country songs. Overall, I do like this song now. I don't know if it's necessarily something worthy of being on my Apple Music playlist. But if it comes on Hits 1, I won't change the station.

~ The Chainsmokers should just straight up already receive the award for electronic/dance artist/group of the year. They've really been dominating this year in the EDM category. This week, they're here with Closer featuring Halsey, who actually had her song, New Americana, on this countdown earlier this year. One of the reasons I liked New Americana and Halsey in general is that I think she has a good voice and I do think that shows on Closer. We even get vocals on this new track from one of The Chainsmokers themselves, who actually sounds pretty good. I think their voices sound really good together. It took me a couple of listens to grow into the drop and even now I'm still not a huge fan of it. Not that I necessarily dislike it, but it's just different. However, I love everything else about this song.

~ I think Hits 1 still plays the SeeB remix of Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend. I don't know why, but I honestly don't care because I'm going to review the original album version. I'll try not to make this super long since I'm sure you all know how much I'm in love with this song. It opens up with these beautiful sounds of nature followed by very well-done piano work. Chris Martin and Beyoncé harmonize very nicely all throughout this song. I absolutely love that chorus. Beyoncé's mini-solo after the second chorus is really good followed by possibly my favorite part in the song. Finally, it ends so magically as Beyoncé sings the last couple of lines. This song is just beautiful, magical, incredible, and really any positive adjective you can find. Coldplay, being my all-time favorite band and all, have never disappointed me. I've been jamming out to this song since like February of this year and it's still absolutely amazing. It is a definite for my Top 45 Songs of 2016 and noticing its debut position at #17, I can tell it's going to get some love. :)


Hit-Bound
~ Here is the Hit-Bound list for this week:

• Flume/Kai – Never Be Like You
• OneRepublic – Kids
• Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving
• MKTO – Superstitious
• Ben Rector – Brand New
• Steve Aoki & Boehm/Walk The Moon – Back 2 U
• Troye Sivan/Alessia Cara – Wild
• Big Gigantic/Angela McCluskey – The Little Things
• Magic! – Red Dress
• Katy Perry – Rise
• Snakehips/Zayn – Cruel
• The Strumbellas – Spirits
• Andy Grammer – Fresh Eyes
• Kungs & Cookin' On 3 Burners/Kylie Auldist – This Girl

~ We have 3 Hit-Bound entrants this time around. This Girl really isn't anything special. It's certainly good and it's actually pretty catchy. But it's not something that I'll really be dying to hear.

~ OneRepublic are here again with the new single, Kids. Whether or not this is better than Wherever I Go, I don't know. But what I do know is that either way, this song is really catchy. I love the chorus and I love Ryan Tedder's voice as usual.

~ Finally we have Snakehips featuring Zayn Malik with Cruel. Snakehips is that duo that released that really catchy song All My Friends, which featured Tinashe and Chance The Rapper. I loved that one for a little while. I can't say I'm loving this new single. The production sounds really messy on this song and Zayn's voice only sounds good in certain parts of the song. It's possible that it'll change to red soon. Putting in blue was me being very nice. But overall, I'm not feeling this song. It's a decent step-down from All My Friends.

~ Katy Perry – Rise is spending quite a long time here on Hit-Bound for a Katy Perry comeback song. Oh well. I won't be heartbroken if it does poorly.

~ Speaking of comeback singles, while Hit-Bound may be holding on to Rise a little bit, Hits 1 still has yet to pick up the new Britney Spears single. Kinda hard to say this countdown has the 45 Biggest Songs in North America when you're missing songs like these.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Songs
1. Steve Aoki & Boehm/Walk The Moon – Back 2 U

2. OneRepublic – Kids

3. MKTO – Superstitious

4. Troye Sivan/Alessia Cara – Wild

5. Big Gigantic/Angela McCluskey – The Little Things

YouTube15

~ Here is the list for this week's edition of the YouTube15:

• Meghan Trainor – Me Too
• Jonas Blue/JP Cooper – Perfect Strangers
• Jacob Sartorius – Hit Or Miss
• Desiigner – Panda
• Tove Lo – Cool Girl
• Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better
• Tinashe – Superlove
• Twenty One Pilots – Ride
• Martin Garrix/Bebe Rexha – In The Name Of Love
• Fifth Harmony – Work From Home
• Florida Georgia Line – H.O.L.Y.
• Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For
• Sabrina Carpenter – On Purpose
• Major Lazer/Justin Bieber/MØ – Cold Water
• Clean Bandit/Louisa Johnson – Tears

~ Not very much has changed since I last did a review two weeks ago. Sure, some songs left and got replaced by some better ones. But the shitty Panda and Hit Or Miss are both still here for whatever unknown reason and Cold Water is still the best song on here.

Top 5 YouTube15 Picks

1. Major Lazer/Justin Bieber/MØ – Cold Water

2. Florida Georgia Line – H.O.L.Y.

3. Sabrina Carpenter – On Purpose

4. Martin Garrix/Bebe Rexha – In The Name Of Love

5. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better

Blurb For The Weekend

~ Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover) is most certainly not Top 3 material. It's actually pretty annoying how overrated this song is when it's not even that amazing. If I'm being honest here, I'm tired of hearing her voice and these boring songs. It's almost as irritating as Someone Like You, which I very much disliked.

~ It is indeed very pleasing to see Kent Jones – Don't Mind fall to very bottom of the countdown. Maybe soon, we can see this song take a long-awaited exit.

~ Sia/Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills is starting to get on my nerves a little bit. It's on every freakin' time I'm in the car and it's getting a little aggravating. At this rate, this song is not going to last very much longer with me. And its jump to #3 this week did not help at all.

~ X Ambassadors – Unsteady has now strangely entered the Top 10. This would have been nice about a month ago when I actually still liked this song. I don't know who could possibly still be voting for it at this point. I heard Renegades on Hits 1 earlier this week and it made me flash back to all the good times I had with that song. Unfortunately this song is not up to those standards.

~ Timeflies – Once In A While unfortunately took quite a bit of a drop this week. Meanwhile, Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For, which debuted on the same week as Once In A While, is still in the Top 10. Just once, I'd like to see it happen the other way around where the less popular song (and frankly, the better song) lasts longer.

~ Soooo.......I kind of grew into 5 Seconds Of Summer – Girls Talk Boys slightly. I still think the song is somewhat underwhelming, but I've grown into it enough to put it in green. I don't see it lasting very long in that color though.

~ So I have a solid opinion now on AJR – I'm Not Famous. It sucks. The chorus is so freakin' annoying. In the song, they're asking where their haters are and how they don't have any, which is completely false. You got a hater right here.

~ P!nk – Just Like Fire took quite a drop out of the Top 10 this week. Oh well. There go my dreams of it hitting #1. It was good while it lasted. But I still really like that song.

~ The Summer Set – Figure Me Out and Symon – Say both took a big drop as well. While the former is just straight up mediocre, the latter is still extremely annoying and must definitely leave like next week.

~ It's kind of aggravating to see Drake/WizKid/Kyla – One Dance do this poorly when this is practically the biggest song of the summer. I don't get it, Hits 1. I just don't.

~ I'd like to wish a very Happy Birthday to our #16 artist, Demi Lovato. She is now 24 years old! Happy Birthday, Demi! :)

~ The only exit this week that really deserves recognition is James Bay – Let It Go. I thought this song was kind of mediocre when it first debuted. But with time and more listens, I've come to realize that it's actually a really good song. James Bay does have a unique and distinguishable voice. I somehow just started to really like the song. I don't even know how. It sucks that it left so soon. But it was destined to eventually. Let It Go, you will very much be missed. We'll see if this song is worthy of being a part of the Top 45 Songs of 2016. There is a really good chance that this song will be seen one last time in that list.

~ The Hit 45 Chart for this week is still being worked on. I would've worked more on it last night. But after a long first week of school, I was just extremely tired and needed sleep. I will inform you in the comment section when the chart is completed and published.

Top 20 Review:

0 – Crap:

20. AJR – I'm Not Famous

1 – Bad:

19. Twenty One Pilots – Ride

2 – Mediocre:

18. X Ambassadors – Unsteady

17. Sia/Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills

16. The 1975 – The Sound

3 – Decent:

15. Daya – Sit Still, Look Pretty

14. Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover)

13. Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For

4 – Good:

12. DNCE – Toothbrush

11. 5 Seconds of Summer – Girls Talk Boys

10. Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling

9. Meghan Trainor – Me Too

8. Fifth Harmony – All In My Head (Flex)

5 – Great:

7. Ariana Grande – Into You

6. The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down

5. Charlie Puth/Selena Gomez – We Don't Talk Anymore

4. Demi Lovato – Body Say

3. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better

2. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens

1. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend

Overall Score: 71/100

Throwback Pick Of The Week: P!nk – F**kin' Perfect

Most Missed Countdown Song: Alicia Keys – Girl On Fire

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: One Direction – Drag Me Down

My Top 5 Picks

1. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend

2. Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza

3. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens

4. OneRepublic – Wherever I Go

5. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better

My Bottom 5 Picks

1. Kent Jones – Don't Mind

2. Lukas Graham – Mama Said

3. AJR – I'm Not Famous

4. Selena Gomez – Kill Em With Kindness

5. Symon – Say

Justin Timberlake (8) – Week Of August 13, 2016

So I have news for you guys. This blog has officially been active for 3 whole years. That's right. I started back in August of 2013, so this has gone for a strong 3 years. I just want to thank everyone for reading and commenting. You are all amazing. We've gone for 3 whole years and I hope to go many more. So thank you for everything you do. This is also my last countdown post before the start of school for me. Obviously, school is going to effect my blogging schedule, so you guys are just going to have to bear with me. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• One Direction – History (#28)
• G-Eazy/Bebe Rexha – Me, Myself, & I (#45)

Last Week's #1 Song: Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling

The Countdown

45. Grace – You Don't Own Me (#43)
44. Nick Jonas/Tove Lo – Close (#42)
43. Ruth B. – Lost Boy (#40)
42. Selena Gomez – Kill Em With Kindness (#33)
41. OneRepublic – Wherever I Go (#32)
40. Fifth Harmony – Work From Home (#35)
39. Panic! At The Disco – Victorious (#27) [1 Week At #1]
38. Kent Jones – Don't Mind (#24)
37. Lukas Graham – 7 Years (#34)
36. Meghan Trainor – No (#44)
35. DNCE – Cake By The Ocean (#38) [4 Weeks At #1]
34. Mike Posner/SeeB – I Took A Pill In Ibiza (#16) [2 Weeks At #1]
33. James Bay – Let It Go (#36)
32. Selena Gomez – Hands To Myself (#41)
31. Taylor Swift – New Romantics (#39) [2 Weeks At #1]
30. Fifth Harmony – All In My Head (Flex) (DEBUT)
29. AJR – I'm Not Famous (#37)
28. Jordan Fisher – All About Us (#28)
27. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (DEBUT)
26. Ariana Grande – Into You (#31)
25. All Time Low – Missing You (#23)
24. Symon – Say (#26)
23. Lukas Graham – Mama Said (#22)
22. DNCE – Toothbrush (#17)
21. Jacob Whitesides – Lovesick (#25)
20. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Girls Talk Boys (#21)
19. Demi Lovato – Body Say (#20)
18. The 1975 – The Sound (#19)
17. Drake/WizKid/Kyla – One Dance (#18)
16. Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out (#17) [5 Weeks At #1]
15. Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman (#5)
14. The Summer Set – Figure Me Out (#13)
13. Meghan Trainor – Me Too (#14)
12. X Ambassadors – Unsteady (#30)
11. Timeflies – Once In A While (#12)
10. Charlie Puth/Selena Gomez – We Don't Talk Anymore (#11)
  9. P!nk – Just Like Fire (#10)
  8. Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For (#9)
  7. Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover) (#8)
  6. Sia/Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills (#6)
  5. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better (#7)
  4. Daya – Sit Still, Look Pretty (#2)
  3. Twenty One Pilots – Ride (#3)
  2. The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down (#4)
  1. Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling! (#1) [8^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Walk The Moon – Shut Up and Dance

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza (–18)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: X Ambassadors – Unsteady (+18)

New Entrants
~ At first listen, I wasn't really that into All In My Head by Fifth Harmony. But after repeated listens, I've come to realize that it's actually a pretty catchy song. Hits 1 edited out Fetty Wap (no surprise). But shockingly, I did not hate his part in the song. Now his verses weren't exactly good, but they weren't awful like most of his songs. I feel like the vocal work is much better on this track than it is Work From Home. It doesn't exactly top Worth It in my opinion. But it is a catchy song that I may consider listening to on my own time.

~ The next debut has received very mixed opinions. That is Heathens by Twenty One Pilots. I've heard rumors that this song is possibly about Twenty One Pilots' fanbase. If I'm being really honest, I do genuinely believe that Twenty One Pilots has one of the most obnoxious fanbases I've ever seen. Mainly because of how unaccepting they are towards those who started liking the band after having heard Stressed Out, saying they are not "true fans". They are also extremely unaccepting towards those who just don't like their music. They treat these guys like they're the gods who created music and if anyone says otherwise, they will not hesitate to attack. They also easily get offended if someone calls them "21 Pilots" or something like that. Finally, the devoted fans hate how they're getting popular, which I will never understand. Of course, not everyone in their fanbase is like that. But I did one time see a post on Facebook where someone shared a photo referring to Twenty One Pilots' music as trash pretty much and someone commented something along the lines of, "The creator of this deserves to die." So it is a good chunk of the fanbase that has this much immaturity. But not everyone, so please don't get offended if you're a fan of them. So after interpreting the song myself, I think that this song is overall just Twenty One Pilots accepting new people into their fanbase. As far as the sound goes, I do like this darker vibe and feel that comes with this song and I do think it would sound great on future tracks from this band. I like the chorus. I also really like the way the second verse builds up leading into that awesome-sounding drop or whatever that is. The vocal work isn't the best, but I didn't like the vocals on Ride at all. So this song is still a reasonable step up. Overall, lyrical content is really good, instrumentation is really good, and the vocals are good/okay. There really isn't anything about this song that I dislike. It may just be another Twenty One Pilots song that I get sick of at some point. But I feel like this song is kind of special and really stands out in these guys' discography. But we'll just have to wait and see what happens.


Hit-Bound
~ Here is the Hit-Bound list:

• The Strumbellas – Spirits
• Magic! – Red Dress
• Troye Sivan/Alessia Cara – Wild
• Andy Grammer – Fresh Eyes
• Kenny Chesney/P!nk – Setting The World On Fire
• The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
• Katy Perry – Rise
• MKTO – Superstitious
• Flume/Kai – Never Be Like You
• Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (DEBUT)
• Steve Aoki & Boehm/Walk The Moon – Back 2 U
• Coldplay/Beyoncé – Hymn For The Weekend
• Ben Rector – Brand New
• Big Gigantic/Angela McCluskey – The Little Things (DEBUT)

~ Starving and The Little Things are both pretty catchy. Not much else to say about them.

~ I would really like to see Steve Aoki & Boehm/Walk The Moon – Back 2 U debut soon. I'm going to vote for this quite a few times hoping it can have a chance on the countdown. It's just a really good song.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend

2. Steve Aoki & Boehm/Walk The Moon – Back 2 U

3. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer

4. MKTO – Superstitious
5. Troye Sivan/Alessia Cara – Wild


All My Blurbs Are Heathens
~ Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better is now in the Top 5. I wouldn't mind if this song hit #1. In fact, I would like if it hit #1 just so we can get something other than Justin Timberlake.

~ Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza unfortunately took its drop this week. I'm hoping it can stay here with us longer because I still love the song.

~ Although I'm kind of upset about the drop from I Took A Pill In Ibiza, the drop from Kent Jones – Don't Mind was very well-needed and it's nice to see that the voters have finally come to their senses and stopped voting for it.

~ Drake/WizKid/Kyla – One Dance is pretty much Billboard's Song of the Summer. Yet on this countdown, it's not as successful. I mean, at least it's here. But still, Hits 1 is kind of underrating the biggest song of the summer. This is at least Top 10-worthy.

~ Timeflies – Once In A While has definitely been more successful on this countdown than I thought it would be. But I'm not complaining. I do still really like that song.

~ X Ambassadors – Unsteady took quite a big jump this week up to #12. I am getting sick of hearing the original version. Now I prefer the Erich Lee Gravity remix that's featured on the soundtrack for the movie, Me Before You. But I would kind of appreciate if this song dropped soon.

~ Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman finally took a well-deserved drop out of the Top 10. Now if only it can switch spots with Into You.

~ Well, after its really long stay in the Bottom 10 of the countdown, we say goodbye to G-Eazy/Bebe Rexha – Me, Myself, & I. I loved this song when it first debuted and with its lack of success, I did not think I would ever get sick of it because I thought it would leave right away. I was very wrong. It is definitely one of those survivors that fights its way through to avoid leaving the countdown. You will somewhat be missed.

~ We also say goodbye to One Direction – History and probably One Direction in general (for a while at least). It's kind of sad that we won't be getting any new music from them for a little while. Oh well. I still anticipate the day we get a comeback single from them. But they do deserve the break their having right now. They've put in a lot of hard work.

~ I know you guys are probably very impatiently awaiting the 800K pageview special. It's just about done, so I'm really hoping to get it out this week.

~ The Hit 45 Chart for this week is out! Find out if Mike Posner can hold at #1 for a second week in a row and a fourth time overall with I Took A Pill In Ibiza!
Link: http://hit45chart.blogspot.com/2016/08/hit-45-chart-week-of-august-13-2016.html

Top 20 Review:

0 – Crap:

NONE

1 – Bad:

20. Twenty One Pilots – Ride

19. Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out

18. Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman

2 – Mediocre:

17. The Summer Set – Figure Me Out
16. The 1975 – The Sound

3 – Decent:
15. X Ambassadors – Unsteady

14. Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For
13. Daya – Sit Still, Look Pretty
12. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Girls Talk Boys
11. Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
10. Meghan Trainor – Me Too

4 – Good:

9. Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling
8. Sia/Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills

5 – Great:
7. Charlie Puth/Selena Gomez – We Don't Talk Anymore
6. Timeflies – Once In A While
5. The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down
4. P!nk – Just Like Fire
3. Drake/WizKid/Kyla – One Dance
2. Demi Lovato – Body Say
1. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better

Overall Score: 68/100


Throwback Pick Of The Week: Tom Petty – Free Fallin' (definitely one of my oldest throwbacks ever)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Labrinth/Emeli Sandé – Beneath Your Beautiful

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: OneRepublic – Kids

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: David Guetta/Nicki Minaj/Afrojack – Hey Mama


My Top 5 Picks
1. Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza
2. OneRepublic – Wherever I Go
3. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens
4. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better
5. Demi Lovato – Body Say