The Chainsmokers (3) – Week Of September 24, 2016

So this upcoming week is a pretty exciting week for me as it is homecoming week! Because I'm a high school senior, I want to make this year's homecoming as memorable as I can. That of course means going all out on the dress-up days, attending the football game Friday night, and attending the dance Saturday night. So that's basically what's going on with me. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Katy Perry – Rise (#27)
• Selena Gomez – Hands To Myself (#35)
• Selena Gomez – Kill Em With Kindness (#45)

Last Week's #1 Song: The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down

The Countdown

45. Lukas Graham – 7 Years (#44)

44. Meghan Trainor – No (#43)

43. Panic! At The Disco – Victorious (#38) [1 Week At #1]

42. Fifth Harmony – Work From Home (#41)

41. DNCE – Toothbrush (#42)

40. P!nk – Just Like Fire (#36)

39. Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman (#33)

38. Mike Posner/SeeB – I Took A Pill In Ibiza (#31) [2 Weeks At #1]

37. Taylor Swift – New Romantics (#40) [2 Weeks At #1]

36. Calvin Harris – My Way (DEBUT)

35. All Time Low – Missing You (#24)

34. Meghan Trainor – Me Too (#29)

33. Lukas Graham – Mama Said (#26)

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

31. Symon – Say (#25)

30. Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor (DEBUT)

29. Jacob Whitesides – Lovesick (#21)

28. Kenny Chesney/P!nk – Setting The World On Fire (#20)

27. Demi Lovato – Body Say (#16)

26. The Strumbellas – Spirits (#17)

25. DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You (DEBUT)

24. The 1975 – The Sound (#15)

23. Kiiara – Gold (#39)

22. Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out (#22) [5 Weeks At #1]

21. AJR – I'm Not Famous (#19)

20. Lady Gaga – Perfect Illusion (#34)

19. OneRepublic – Kids (#30)

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

17. Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover) (#4) [1 Week At #1]

16. Flume/Kai – Never Be Like You (#23)

15. Charlie Puth/Selena Gomez – We Don't Talk Anymore (#11)

14. Major Lazer/Justin Bieber/MØ – Cold Water (#18)

13. Coldplay/Beyoncé – Hymn For The Weekend (#10)

12. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (#37)

11. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Girls Talk Boys (#13)

10. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#12)

  9. X Ambassadors – Unsteady (#28)

  8. Ariana Grande – Into You (#7)

  7. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (#6)

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

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

  4. Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling (#9) [10 Weeks At #1]

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

  2. Twenty One Pilots – Ride (#2)

  1. The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down (#1) [3^rd Week At #1]

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

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover) (–13)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (+25)

New Entrants
~ The artist behind one of the most obnoxiously overrated songs of 2016 now has his second song on the countdown by the name of My Way. The production on this track is without a doubt better than This Is What You Came For. Definitely not as lazy and thankfully there is no repetition of the word "you" throughout. In fact, Calvin Harris handles all the vocals himself following the path of Feel So Close and Summer, which just goes to show that he can still make a hit without having a guest feature. Overall, I like the tropical production and I feel like this is a song that grows with more listens. We'll see if that's the case later on.

~ Panic! At The Disco also brings their second song on the countdown currently with Death Of A Bachelor. It does sound a lot like a throwback kind of song and it's definitely enjoyable. But I think the biggest score with this song is Brendon Urie. His vocals are just spot on, especially in the chorus. I like the instrumentals, the production, and I absolutely love the vocals. I'd say this song is a big score for the band.

~ DJ Snake has returned after some songs I have mixed opinions on. Turn Down For What was fun for a little while, You Know You Like It was just straight up mediocre, and Lean On was really catchy and a highlight of 2015. This time he brings Let Me Love You featuring Justin Bieber. I'll admit, the production isn't amazing. But it is different and quite catchy. But like Death Of A Bachelor, it's really the vocals that grab my attention the most. This is definitely one of Justin Bieber's best vocal performances this year. This song is a perfect example of why Justin Bieber is indeed an amazing singer. Me personally, I believe this song surpasses Cold Water as the better song. I really only hope for success out of this song.


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

• Ellie Goulding – Still Falling For You
• The Weeknd/Daft Punk – Starboy
• Bastille – Good Grief
• Big Gigantic/Angela McCluskey – The Little Things
• Sia/Kendrick Lamar – The Greatest
• Magic! – Red Dress
• Gnash/Olivia O'Brien – I Hate U, I Love U
• Pitbull/Flo Rida/LunchMoney Lewis – Green Light
• Jason Derulo – Kiss The Sky
• Nick Jonas – Bacon
• Kungs & Cookin' On 3 Burners – This Girl
• Andy Grammer – Fresh Eyes
• Mike Posner – Be As You Are
• Runaground – Chase You Down

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Gnash/Olivia O'Brien – I Hate U, I Love U

2. Big Gigantic/Angela McCluskey – The Little Things

3. Runaground – Chase You Down

4. Sia/Kendrick Lamar – The Greatest

5. Kungs & Cookin' On 3 Burners – This Girl

Death Of A Blurb

~ So our Top 3 obnoxiously remains the same. How exciting.

~ And all of a sudden, Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For makes an annoying jump into the Top 5 this week. I don't get what people love about this song. There are so many amazing EDM songs this year, and the one that makes it pretty damn high is the one with one of the generic, mediocre drops I've ever heard. I honestly just can't stand this song at all.

~ Oh how pleasant. X Ambassadors – Unsteady has made yet another big jump into the Top 10. Let me just say that I don't hate this song. But it's just a little boring after hearing the Erich Lee Gravity remix, which is more dramatic and engaging. This original version though? On top of it being pretty boring, I've heard it way too many times.

~ Let's not talk about the big jumps from Kiiara – Gold and Lady Gaga – Perfect Illusion. Way to make me dislike both of these songs a little more. I expect Gold to outright flop, while the latter may unfortunately be with us for a while.

~ Speaking of flop, Katy Perry – Rise apparently proved itself to be no more than a flop. I actually enjoyed this song quite a bit, but I think this is like, the first Katy Perry song to last only three weeks on the countdown. Oh well. As of recently, this song is definitely seen as more than just a flop through my eyes.

~ While Rise may have flopped. Britney Spears/G-Eazy – Make Me never even made it on the countdown. This was supposed to be that legendary Britney Spears comeback. But it appears as though Hits 1 does not see Britney Spears as that amazing of an artist.

~ Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover) made a nice jump out of the Top 10. I already saw this song as not that amazing and quite underwhelming. But my mom apparently loved this song (she still does actually) and she's always singing the chorus at the most random times. So way to make a song that I already didn't like very much even worse. Now I definitely don't think it's bad. But with its overplay not only by the radio, but by my mom too, I've definitely heard it way more than I should.

~ Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving made quite a massive jump this week, way higher than I expected it would jump. We'll see if this song sticks around with us or takes a big drop soon. I'm hoping it can stay for a while because I am really liking this song.

~ Of course All Time Low – Missing You takes a drop after I start really enjoying it. I guess I can only hope that it'll stay with us for a little while longer. Unfortunately it never did make the Top 20 like I hoped. Oh well. It had a good stay here. Now, fate will determine the remainder of its journey.

~ I'm hoping the drops from Symon – Say and Lukas Graham – Mama Said are signs that these songs are going to be leaving us very soon. They for sure will not be missed and depending on how the rest of year goes, the latter of the two songs does have a chance at appearing in my Bottom 5 Songs of 2016. That will likely happen only if we don't get many more awful songs for the remainder of the year.

~ OneRepublic – Kids jumped into the Top 20 a lot quicker than Wherever I Go did. Maybe that signifies that this song will be at least somewhat of a hit. That being said, I hope it manages to reach the Top 10. It's just such a cool song.

~ As unfortunate as it is for Selena Gomez to see her two songs exit the countdown on the same week, I am over hear thanking Hits 1 for this week that I've been anticipating for a while now. Hands To Myself and Kill Em With Kindness both fall under the uninteresting Selena Gomez songs category and it's really nice and pleasing to see them both get the boot on the same week.

~ The Hit 45 Chart is being worked on at the moment and I will try to get that out as soon as possible.

Top 20 Review:

0 – Crap:

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

19. Twenty One Pilots – Ride

1 – Bad:

18. Lady Gaga – Perfect Illusion

2 – Mediocre:

17. Daya – Sit Still, Look Pretty

16. X Ambassadors – Unsteady

15. Sia/Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills

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

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

3 – Decent:

12. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Girls Talk Boys

4 – Good:

NONE

5 – Great:

11. Flume/Kai – Never Be Like You

10. Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling

9. Ariana Grande – Into You

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

7. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better

6. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving

5. OneRepublic – Kids

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

3. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens

2. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer

1. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend

Total Score: 69/100

Throwback Pick Of The Week: My Chemical Romance – I'm Not Okay (I Promise)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Marlon Roudette – When The Beat Drops Out

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Jon Bellion – All Time Low

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: X Ambassadors – Renegades

My Top 5 Picks

1. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend

2. DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You

3. All Time Low – Missing You

4. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer

5. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens

The Chainsmokers (2) – Week Of September 17, 2016

Oh I'm really hoping this doesn't become a new thing. 

Hey guys. Sorry for the delay. I'm sure you've all been anxiously awaiting the publishing of this post. I've come to the conclusion that if I don't get my post out during the weekend, it will be a while until it gets published because I've just been really busy lately. So I'm going to try my best to get these posts out over the weekend. Otherwise, they won't come out until late. But I appreciate your guys' patience. And hey, better late than never! Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• The Summer Set – Figure Me Out (#38)
• Timeflies – Once In A While (#41)
• Drake/WizKid/Kyla – One Dance (#42)
• Fifth Harmony – All In My Head (Flex) (#45)

Last Week's #1 Song: The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down
The Countdown
45. Selena Gomez – Kill Em With Kindness (#43)
44. Lukas Graham – 7 Years (#44)
43. Meghan Trainor – No (#39)
42. DNCE – Toothbrush (#40)
41. Fifth Harmony – Work From Home (#37)
40. Taylor Swift – New Romantics (#36)
39. Kiiara – Gold (DEBUT)
38. Panic! At The Disco – Victorious (#34) [1 Week At #1]
37. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (DEBUT)
36. P!nk – Just Like Fire (#33)
35. Selena Gomez – Hands To Myself (#35)
34. Lady Gaga – Perfect Illusion (DEBUT)
33. Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman (#29)
32. DNCE – Cake By The Ocean (#32) [4 Weeks At #1]
31. Mike Posner/SeeB – I Took A Pill In Ibiza (#31) [2 Weeks At #1]
30. OneRepublic – Kids (DEBUT)
29. Meghan Trainor – Me Too (#27)
28. X Ambassadors – Unsteady (#30)
27. Katy Perry – Rise (#25)
26. Lukas Graham – Mama Said (#18)
25. Symon – Say (#21)
24. All Time Low – Missing You (#24)
23. Flume/Kai – Never Be Like You (#23)
22. Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out (#28) [5 Weeks At #1]
21. Jacob Whitesides – Lovesick (#20)
20. Kenny Chesney/P!nk – Setting The World On Fire (#26)
19. AJR – I'm Not Famous (#16)
18. Major Lazer/Justin Bieber/MØ – Cold Water (#19)
17. The Strumbellas – Spirits (#22)
16. Demi Lovato – Body Say (#17)
15. The 1975 – The Sound (#10)
14. Daya – Sit Still, Look Pretty (#13)
13. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Girls Talk Boys (#14)
12. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#15)
11. Charlie Puth/Selena Gomez – We Don't Talk Anymore (#11)
10. Coldplay/Beyoncé – Hymn For The Weekend (#7)
  9. Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling (#4) [10 Weeks At #1]
  8. Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For (#6)
  7. Ariana Grande – Into You (#8)
  6. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (#12)
  5. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better (#9)
  4. Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover) (#3) [1 Week At #1]
  3. Sia/Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills (#4)
  2. Twenty One Pilots – Ride (#2)
  1. The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down (#1) [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: The Weeknd – Can't Feel My Face

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Lukas Graham – Mama Said (–8)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Tie Between Twenty One Pilots – Heathens, Kenny Chesney/P!nk – Setting The World On Fire, and Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out (+6)

New Entrants
~ I'm pretty split right now on the entrants overall as two of them are good, and the other two are both pretty bad. We'll get through the bad ones first, starting with Gold by Kiiara. Right from the beginning, this song is already completely unappealing. And that part comes back for each chorus and by the end of the song, it just becomes one of the most annoying things I've ever heard. The rest of the song is really boring and the beat just gets irritating after the first 10 seconds at most. Overall, I'm not a fan of this song. With this excuse of a debut single, Kiiara has not made herself an artist that I will ever potentially come back to because, let's be real here, I doubt she will be remembered in a couple years. I hope this song will flop like it should because it really is not something worthy of the Top 45 songs in North America.

~ If you read my last countdown post, you would've seen my full-on rant about why I find Perfect Illusion is to be a disappointment, unappealing, and just straight up annoying. All in all, I really had my expectations way too high for the Lady Gaga comeback single. She has great vocal capabilities, but does not show it in this song. I don't like the production. When the last chorus comes, the song just turns into something absolutely unbearable. But because it's Lady Gaga, I can guarantee that this song will end up being extremely overrated. I miss songs like Alejandro, Telephone, Bad Romance, Just Dance, etc. Oh well.

~ OneRepublic have returned after the unfortunately flop by the name of Wherever I Go. They are back with Kids. It is definitely an interesting song that I actually find to be really catchy. Obviously it's not OneRepublic's best work. But I feel as though this band never fails to deliver a pretty catchy single every now and then. Overall, I am hooked on this song and I'm curious to see how it'll do on this countdown.

~ I think my favorite entrant this week is the return from the Pitch Perfect 2 star, Hailee Steinfeld. She had that fun and catchy song last year called Love Myself. She's back with a new single Starving and I actually really like it. While the drop did seem slightly irritating at first, a few more listens was all it took to just grab my attention completely and make me realize that it actually sounds pretty cool. Hailee Steinfeld also has a really good voice. While I'm not exactly sure if this hits the peak of Love Myself, it does certainly get the job done by making want to just hit the replay button after the song ends.


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

• Gnash/Olivia O'Brien – I Hate U, I Love U
• Jason Derulo – Kiss The Sky
• Nick Jonas – Bacon
• Kungs & Cookin' On 3 Burners – This Girl
• Pitbull/Flo Rida/LunchMoney Lewis – Greenlight
• Andy Grammer – Fresh Eyes
• Calvin Harris – My Way
• Mike Posner – Be As You Are
• Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor
• Big Gigantic/Angela McCluskey – The Little Things
• Ellie Goulding – Still Falling For You
• Magic! – Red Dress
• DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You
• Sia/Kendrick Lamar – The Greatest

~ Kiss The Sky really isn't that different from the other Jason Derulo songs we've gotten recently. While it is better than songs like Get Ugly, I can do without the obnoxious screaming.

~ I'm surprised My Way debuted Hit-Bound so quickly. It is the third single we've gotten from Calvin Harris where he does the vocals. Overall, I'd consider this song to be good. At the very least, it is definitely better than This Is What You Came For.

~ Greenlight does sound like a typical Pitbull pop-dance kind of song. I'm not a huge fan of LunchMoney Lewis' contributions, but the overall song is actually pretty catchy and I can definitely get down to this at a party or something.

~ Is Still Falling For You Ellie Goulding's best song? No, it's not. Songs like Lights and Love Me Like You Do are really hard to top. But let's be real here. Ellie Goulding pretty much never disappoints. I don't think there's a single song by her that I legitimately dislike. Still Falling For You is a nice song and while it's nowhere near her best, it's still a pretty good song.

~ Sia is back once again. The Greatest is a nice brand new song for me to play around with since I'm sick of Cheap Thrills. I still don't think it's as good as Chandelier. But I am enjoying it at the moment. We've been needing this Cheap Thrills follow-up for a little while now.

~ I absolutely love Gnash/Olivia O'Brien – I Hate U, I Love U. I think it's a really sweet song, actually pretty sad too. It's really the message of the song that makes me really appreciate it. I'm sure some of us have been in love with someone that likes someone else. I know I have. They pretty much just took this relateable situation and turned it into a song and I applaud them for that. We need more songs like these that actually have a message we can relate to. I sure hope this can make it on to the countdown.

~ DJ Snake is back featuring Justin Bieber with the song, Let Me Love You, which is my new favorite song on Hit-Bound. Bieber sounds amazing from start to end. It's songs like these that really reveal how much of a great singer he is. While the drop isn't that exciting, it is definitely different and pretty interesting. I really hope this song makes it on to the countdown, which it probably will.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. TIE: Gnash/Olivia O'Brien – I Hate U, I Love U
1. TIE: DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You
3. Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor
4. Sia/Kendrick Lamar – The Greatest
5. Kungs & Cookin' On 3 Burners – This Girl


Back When We Were Blurbs
~ Can we please get Ride and Cheap Thrills out of the Top 3 at the very least??? I would appreciate if neither of these songs hit #1. Ride has spent way too much time at #2 and I'm tired of constantly being on the edge of my seat hoping it doesn't hit #1.

~ Although I'm not enjoying seeing Ride at #2, I am liking the jump into the Top 10 from Twenty One Pilots – Heathens. I still think this song is special and won't be like the other songs from this band that I enjoy for a while, then get sick of it (or just flat out hate it). It's a completely different sound that I'm really digging. And hopefully this means that Ride will start to drop.

~ Seeing Lukas Graham – Mama Said have the Biggest DROP!!!... of the Week was pretty pleasing. Even though it only dropped 8 spots, that title is enough to please me. Hopefully, this song will start to fade away. I anticipate that day.

~ The Strumbellas – Spirits jumped into the Top 20 pretty damn quickly. I though this would be one of those songs that hangs around in the #20-#30 range for a while without actually doing anything. Then maybe it'll be like Timeflies – Once In A While and make a surprising leap into the Top 20. But this song is catching on quick and I'm glad. I really do like this song.

~ Please disregard my original mixed opinion on Katy Perry – Rise when it debuted. Over the past two weeks, I've really grown a connection with this song and I actually really like it. However, it is flopping on a lot of charts, so hopefully it can stick around a little longer here.

~ Of course All In My Head (Flex) left before Work From Home. You'd think all the Fifth Harmony fans voting for Work From Home would be voting for All In My Head too. It's times like these when I feel like this countdown is rigged and not actually based on votes.

~ I remember when All Time Low – Missing You debuted and I thought it was kind of mediocre. Well repeated listens have proved otherwise. This song is actually quite amazing. I love the instrumentation. The vocals are really good. This song has only gotten better since it first debuted. It may seem like one of those songs that's just there. But I really do think this song is something amazing. Amazing enough to consider it for my Top 45 Songs of 2016.

~ I am unfortunately behind on the Hit 45 Chart as well. I'm going to try to get that out as soon as possible, which will hopefully be tomorrow.

Top 20 Review:
0 – Crap:
20. AJR – I'm Not Famous

1 – Bad:
19. Twenty One Pilots – Ride
18. Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For

2 – Mediocre:
17. Daya – Sit Still, Look Pretty
16. Sia/Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills
15. The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down

3 – Decent:
14. Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
13. The 1975 – The Sound
12. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Girls Talk Boys

4 – Good:
11. Kenny Chesney/P!nk – Setting The World On Fire

5 – Great:
10. Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling
9. Ariana Grande – Into You
8. Demi Lovato – Body Say
7. The Strumbellas – Spirits
6. Charlie Puth/Selena Gomez – We Don't Talk Anymore
5. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better
4. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens
3. Major Lazer/Justin Bieber/MØ – Cold Water
2. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
1. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend

Total Score: 71/100


Throwback Pick Of The Week: Jay-Z/Alicia Keys – Empire State Of Mind

Most Missed Countdown Song: Ryn Weaver – OctaHate

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Jon Bellion – All Time Low

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: X Ambassadors – Renegades


My Top 5 Picks
1. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend
2. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
3. All Time Low – Missing You
4. Major Lazer/Justin Bieber/MØ – Cold Water
5. Katy Perry – Rise

America's Got Talent: The Finals

10 acts are officially one performance away from one million dollars. The pressure is the highest it's ever been. Unfortunately, this is the last week of America's Got Talent for this year. But aside from that, it's also an exciting week as the 10 best acts this season are fighting for the one million dollar prize and the headlining show in Las Vegas.


It is completely up to America to decide which act they want to see win this entire competition. Everyone has officially made it into the Top 10. Now it's just a matter of which act lands where in the Top 10. This post contains their performances as well as the official results of the season, which will contain our winner.



Finale Performances
Because we are dealing with the Top 10 acts this season, it would make sense that all the performances are great and America then has a tough time voting. Was that the case here? Let's dig deeper into our Top 10 performances to find out!

~ Pitbull/LunchMoney Lewis: Obviously, they are not contestants. This was just a special guest performance to help open up the show. But in reality, we all know that it's because AGT had to find something to fill up the two hours of airtime completely, and 10 performances clearly isn't enough. As far as this went, it was good, I guess. It wasn't really anything incredible. I don't think the song is necessarily amazing. LunchMoney Lewis' voice doesn't stand out very much. But was this good at the bringing the energy? Yes, it was. We are in the finals, we need energy, and Mr. Worldwide managed to give us that. That being said, it was good. Just not amazing.

~ Sal Valentinetti: The second time in a row this guy has opened up the show. Last time, I'll admit that I was a little bit of a tough judge on him. His voice still isn't exactly amazing, but it is definitely good. He does have talent. While his style isn't my cup of tea, that doesn't take away from the fact that he is talented. I did think his performance this time was better than before. I think he showcased his voice a little more, which made me appreciate his talent more. Do I think he'll win? Probably not. Do I think he'll make the Top 5? I don't know. I'd say he has a 50/50 chance. A lot of people love him, a lot of people don't. As of now, I'm kind of in the middle with him. But whether or not he makes the Top 5, I see a good career in singing ahead of him.

~ Sofie Dossi: I don't know if contortionists typically make it this far. She is definitely extremely talented and entertaining. This time she did a hell lot of spinning and I myself was getting dizzy. But some of the things that really helps her performance are the set and the music. She has used excellent music for all her helps as all the songs have been pretty dramatic. The set is always really cool. And she is really good at what she does. She always does it so gracefully, and the fact that she can bring her feet over her head while I can barely touch my toes is crazy. However, the competition is really tough and I don't think she will make it into the Top 5, thinking on the behalf of America's opinions for her. But I really enjoyed it.

~ Linkin' Bridge: From the audition, I kind of knew that these guys would go far. I absolutely love the amount of passion they have for what they do. Out of all their performances, I think my favorite was their cover of 7 Years by Lukas Graham. This time, they covered See You Again, and while it was not as good 7 Years, it was very soulful and I felt the emotion. I honestly just love these guys. They have worked really hard to get to where they are now. I'd say they have a reasonable chance to make it into the Top 5. But because America always votes very stupidly in the finale, they probably won't make it into the Top 5. One can only hope that real talent like these guys makes it far.

~ Laura Bretan: While acts like Sal did get better, this girl has not changed. Like I've said before, opera is not my style of music. I would never pay to watch opera, because then I'd probably fall asleep and waste my money. Her performances do sound extremely similar to one another that I probably wouldn't be surprised if it was the same exact song. However, I do give her credit for being able to do this kind of thing at such a young age. She does have talent, it just doesn't match with my personal taste. Do I think she'll make it into the Top 5? Probably not given all the other (and frankly better) talent there is this week. Overall, I'm not too impressed. She's not bad, but her performance was nothing we haven't heard before.

~ The Clairvoyants: What I love about this duo is that they're so mysterious, creepy, yet amazing all at the same time. They have consistently given us incredible, mystifying, mind-blowing performances. For this performance, they even went back to what they did in some of their previous performances and incorporated it all into yet another fantastic performance. They are easily the best magic act this year. They have consistently been the first act put through in the live shows, so America clearly seems to agree. Will they make it into the Top 5? I think they have a really good chance. Will they win? Probably not. But I wouldn't mind if they did. I think they would make an amazing Vegas show, which is why I wouldn't mind them winning. But there is a slight chance they won't make the Top 5, because of how skeptical a good chunk of America seems about this kind of stuff. Hopefully they will because they are just incredible.

~ Brian Justin Crum: I'm a little disappointed they didn't make him the last performance of the night. He is for sure my favorite singer this year and pretty much my favorite act in the whole competition. I recently watched all his performances in order from the audition all the way up to the semifinals and every one of those performances have been incredible. This time, he made a little bit of a risky decision to sing Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson. But what I love is that he made it his own and he did fantastic yet again. It started off a little slow leading up to the amazing chorus where he showed off his vocals even more. About halfway through was when his voice was at the highest point, literally. He hits those high notes like no other male does this season and it gives me chills every time. But it's more than just his voice, he sings with emotion and you can feel what he's singing about. He has consistently been amazing at that and one of the reasons I loved this performance was because of the message being told from the song. It is so moving. If America votes based off talent, this guy has a really good shot at winning the entire show. I think that would be amazing. But win or not, this guy has a really good career ahead of him and I will always be a supporter of him no matter what. Overall, I'm very sure he'll get voted into the Top 5 and I'm reasonably sure he'll win the show. His only real competition at this point is Grace VanderWaal, who I'll talk more about when I get to her performance. But if he doesn't win, I'm feeling runner-up. There's no way he can be outside of the Top 3. But personally, he is my pick to win.

~ Tape Face: I did previously say that Tape Face has progressively gotten worse with each performance, with his performance in the semifinals being a full on snooze fest. But I gotta say, this performance was a big step up, his first step up this season. It started off a little slow to the point where I thought he might get buzzed. He pulled out two horses on sticks and just waved them around, which I thought was pretty funny. Then he did some more randomness including Mel B in the act and I thought it was actually pretty funny. I think he has a reasonable shot at making the Top 5. But a lot of people did not seem very happy about him actually making it into the finals and getting the Dunkin' Save over Edgar. So it's possible that he won't make it into the Top 5. But me personally, I thought that was a performance worthy of making the Top 5. As ridiculously stupid as it is, it is hella funny.

~ Viktor Kee: Who ever guessed a juggler would make it to the finals of America's Got Talent? I sure didn't. But I believe he made it this far for a very good reason and that is because he's excellent at what he does. I've never been this amazed by a juggler before. With every performance, he has just wowed us even more than before. It seems as though he tells a story with his juggling. This performance was pretty amazing as well. I didn't even realize right at the beginning that he was blindfolded because it was almost like he wasn't. He was still able to juggle very well. As usual, his juggling was amazing. I loved the set that went with the performance. Overall, I liked it quite a bit. Unfortunately, I don't think it was good enough to make the Top 5 with the amount of competition there is. But he is amazingly talented and had a good run on this show.

~ Jon Dorenbos: This football player AND magician has had amazing performances all throughout this season. He is right behind the Clairvoyants for best magicians this year. This performance wasn't too heavy on the magic. It was a lot more talking. The first time I watched it, I was only paying attention to the magic and what he was doing with the cards, paying absolutely little to no attention to what he was saying. Then the second time I watched it, I only payed attention to what he saying and I didn't realize how much inspirational stuff he had to say. He does have a really touching and emotional story and I believe what he had to say was an inspiration to those who have trouble finding themselves. Magic helped him find himself and with what he had to say, he helped get us to find ourselves. That's what I got out of this performance. He is more than just a magician. He is an inspiration. An inspiration who I believe has a decent shot at making the Top 5. Will Jon's inspiring words help him get votes from America? Or will America not care about what he said and only focus on the small lack of magic compared to his other performances? We'll have to wait and see.

~ Grace VanderWaal: Of course she is last. How am I not surprised? Anyway, she performed another original. I definitely give her credit and think she's talented with song-writing. But I just don't love her voice. I barely understood what she was saying. Her voice cracks A LOT. I just don't think it's that impressive. However, I do think it's impressive that she writes her own songs and that she's performing them for an audience this big at such a young age. I appreciate her in that way. But I just feel like she needs to give her voice a couple more years to mature a little more. But honestly when this girl grows up, I can picture her as the next Sia. I think her voice is a lot more similar to Sia's voice than anyone else. Overall, I had pretty much the same comments as last time. Unfortunately though, due to her massive fanbase, she has the biggest shot out of all the contestants to win the whole show. I would honestly prefer if we had Brian Justin Crum or The Clairvoyants at the top. I just don't think Grace is old enough to have her own show in Vegas. I personally wouldn't pay to see her, but that's just me. As far as her chances of making the Top 5 goes, I'm 99% sure she will make it into the Top 5, and like I said earlier, she has a chance at winning the competition, as much as I don't exactly want her to. But we'll just have to wait and see what happens.


My Top 5 Performances
1. Brian Justin Crum
2. The Clairvoyants
3. Jon Dorenbos
4. Tape Face
5. Linkin' Bridge



Finale Results

We have reached the final episode of America's Got Talent this season. How saddening for us, yet nerve-wrecking for the contestants as each of them are hoping that they are announced as the winner of the season. 10 acts performed and only 1 will win the million dollars and the headlining show in Vegas. Because it's the finale, it is a two-hour episode filled with special performances from each of the acts. I will give short and quick reviews for each to make things move efficiently and then I will announce the final results.

~ Sal Valentinetti/Jersey Boys: I enjoyed this performance. I thought Sal's voice actually blended in very nicely with those from Jersey Boys. They really did help. It was a fun performance is really all I have to say.

~ Tape Face: Back again with a strange, but funny act, he included Jon Dorenbos, Brian Justin Crum, Viktor Kee, and one of the guys from Linkin' Bridge. You'd have to watch the video to get an idea of what exactly he did. But I enjoyed it and I thought it was funny.

~ Brian Justin Crum: He was asked to revisit probably his best performance this season, his performance of Radiohead's Creep. I'll admit, it wasn't as spectacular as it was when he first performed it, but it was still amazing. Too bad he didn't do a duet with Adam Lambert though. That would've been amazing.

~ Grace VanderWaal: The way Brian revisited Creep, Grace was asked to revisit her very first performance of the song that's going everywhere, her first single, I Don't Know My Name. I like the song and it's lyrical content. But as usual, not a huge fan of her voice. Nothing new. But I did think her first performance of this song was better, like how Brian's first performance of Creep was better as well.

~ Stevie Nicks: Immediately after Grace's performance came Stevie Nicks performing one of the songs I remember from when I was child, Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. I do love that song and I really liked Stevie Nicks' performance of it, especially with all the shots in the background of the finalists' previous moments on this show. Overall, I really liked it.

~ Il Volo/Laura Bretan/Viktor Kee/Sofie Dossi: I didn't care too much for the opera portion, as some of you probably guessed. It was mainly the graceful drop-ins from Viktor Kee and Sofie Dossi that helped make this performance interesting. It still wasn't that amazing, just because the opera took up a big chunk of it. But it definitely wasn't bad. Viktor and Sofie helped.

~ Linkin' Bridge/Silhouettes: For this performance, Linkin' Bridge revisited their performance of 7 Years, which was possibly my favorite from them. But while they sang that song, Silhouettes, who competed in Season 6 of America's Got Talent, told a story that went very well with 7 Years. Once again, I loved Linkin' Bridge's performance of the song. And I absolutely loved the story Silhouettes told with the performance.

~ The Clairvoyants/Jon Dorenbos: So I was already amazed that Paula Abdul was actually there as Heidi Klum randomly selected her. I thought the whole lottery trick was really cool. But it would've been even better if Paula Abdul wasn't so dumb and just read the numbers in order on the ticket. She just made things so much more confusing. Someone get her some glasses. For Jon's part of the performance, he did an amazing card trick with Paula that thankfully did not involve her having to read anything. Overall, I thought this performance was really good from our two top notch magic acts. And of course, Paula Abdul.


Alright! Now that those reviews are done, it's time for the results! The setup of how the finale works is the same as last year. For those who don't know, basically out of the Top 10 acts, host Nick Cannon announces in no particular order which acts made it into the Top 5, eliminating the other 5. Their positions in the Bottom 5 of the Top 10 remains unknown. So first, here are the five acts that did not make the Top 5.

• Tape Face: He did receive a lot of criticism for still being in the show. I guess a lot of people just got over the mime act saying that it isn't real talent. I can agree in a way, but it is entertaining. Especially that last performance was the horses on the sticks. That was pretty funny. I thought that would boost him to the Top 5, but I guess not.

• Linkin' Bridge: These guys have had a pretty successful journey on America's Got Talent. Like I said before, I love their story and the love they have for each other and what they do. Unfortunately, they didn't bring enough to be voted in the Top 5. But it was nice having them around. I can definitely say that they were the biggest surprise of the season in the auditions.

• Sofie Dossi: While she is really talented, I did predict her not making it into the Top 5 with the tough competition this year in the finals. But hey, I don't remember the last contortionist that made it this far in the competition, so she should be proud for getting this far. At least she'll always have the memory of receiving that golden buzzer from Judge Cuts guest judge Reba McEntire.

• Viktor Kee: I cannot recall the last juggler that made it this far in the competition, so this guy already has something to be proud of. He was honestly just very graceful with what he does that he just reeled me in every time we saw him. He is extremely talented and had a good run this season. We honestly need more jugglers like this man, not some random clown.

• Laura Bretan: I'm a little glad that she didn't make the Top 5, just because I feel like she hasn't really grown over the course of this show. She's kind of just stayed in one steady line, not getting better or worse. I feel like if she did make the Top 5, it would be overrating her more than she should be. But this is all my opinion since I'm not a huge fan of opera.

Now that those five acts have been eliminated, we have five acts remaining and they will be counted down from fifth place all the way to first place. Without further ado, here is the Top 5:

5^th Place: Sal Valentinetti: Thankfully he wasn't too high up in the Top 5. Not that I don't like him, but he is not that good when compared to the other four acts in the Top 5. I mean, he has a good voice. But it really isn't anything too exciting. But I do see a career for him and a Vegas show actually seems pretty fitting for him. We'll see what he does in the future.


4^th Place: Brian Justin Crum: This one definitely shocked me quite a bit. Since the audition, I had a really good feeling that he would win the competition. I guess not. And if he didn't win, I thought he would've been runner-up or even third place. But win or not, Brian for sure has a great career ahead of him and I will patiently await the day where we get some music from him. He was my favorite act this season and I've enjoyed every performance from him from auditions to finals. He has an incredible voice and always knows how to convey emotion to the audience and that's what made him really stand out above all other singers in my opinion.


3^rd Place: Jon Dorenbos: Obviously this guy got a lot of votes if he has his football team behind him voting for him nonstop. He has definitely had some amazing performances this year and I am slightly shocked he made it so high in the rankings. But I do really like him. I think he's a great magician and he truly is an inspiration. Like I said, he is more than a magician and that's probably why America voted for him so much. Overall, I'm glad he made it this far as he is truly amazing at what he does.


2^nd Place/Runner-Up: The Clairvoyants: I'm actually pretty shocked that these two made it so far. They haven't always received the best comments from America, with a lot of people trying to figure out how they do their tricks. But honestly, I've enjoyed them the entire season. From audition to finals, they have consistently given us mind-blowing performances that leave me wondering "How?!?!" I've re-watched pretty much all of their performances and they all still to this day just blow my mind. Definitely the best magic act this year. And not only that, but they always give such a creepy, yet amazing performance. I still think all season, they have been the best possible act to have a show in Vegas and that's pretty much why I wanted them to win at this point. I would easily pay to go see them. Even though they didn't win, I'm very glad that they made it this far because they are truly incredible.

1^st Place/Winner: Grace VanderWaal: I really shouldn't be too surprised about this, considering that she has the biggest fanbase out of all the acts this season. I am definitely happy for her. Seeing her reaction when Nick Cannon called out her name as the winner of AGT was very sweet. I remember at her audition, Simon Cowell asked her before she performed if she thought she could win. Then she replied something along the lines of, "Miracles can happen. So possibly." Hard to believe that that same little girl is now the winner of Season 11 of America's Got Talent. The only thing about her winning that I don't really like is that she really is not that much of a Vegas show act. She's only 12 and I believe she's way too young to have her own show. I definitely don't think she's bad. But I just think there were better acts that were more deserving of the win. I've said it before plenty of times that I don't really love her voice, but I do love her songwriting. I'm sure within the next couple years, her voice will mature more and she'll be a great singer on top of a great songwriter. In the meantime though while she's definitely not bad, I don't think she was good enough to win. Apparently America disagreed, which is fine. Ultimately, I'm happy for her. This win obviously means a lot to her and it's something she'll always remember for the rest of her life. And hey, if she makes it really big, which is definitely possible, we can easily say that we remember when she performed for the very first time on that audition stage for America's Got Talent. I see great things ahead of her. So congratulations, Grace VanderWaal! Here is her first audition if you missed it. :)

Alright guys! That is it for Season 11 of America's Got Talent. I had a really fun time blogging this and I hope you had a fun time reading these posts. It is a little sad that that's it until next year, but what matters is that we had a fun time this year and we really did find a hell lot of talented people. If you have a talent that you want to show America, there is still time to audition for Season 12. More info about that on americasgottalentauditions.com. But that is it for America's Got Talent! I hope you enjoyed! Now it's time to get back to just the Weekend Countdown as well as all the special posts I'm extremely behind on. My countdown post will hopefully come out tomorrow at the latest and I plan to start catching up on everything as soon as possible. But thanks for reading guys! I love you all and I appreciate all your support for this blog. :)

The Chainsmokers (1) – Week Of September 10, 2016

Hey guys! Before we begin this post, I want to quickly talk about something. 15 years ago today was an attack that honestly just left us speechless. On September 11, 2001 (when I was like 2 years old), there were a series of plane crashes, a couple of which had hit the World Trade Center in New York City. One of them was even aimed towards Washington D.C., but after the passengers tried to overcome the hijackers, it ended up crashing somewhere in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed and over 6,000 were injured. So I thought we would have a short moment of silence for those who lost their lives in the attack.


No songs leaving the countdown this week. So let's get right into it.



Last Week's #1 Song: Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling
The Countdown
45. Fifth Harmony – All In My Head (Flex) (#29)
44. Lukas Graham – 7 Years (#44)
43. Selena Gomez – Kill Em With Kindness (#45)
42. Drake/WizKid/Kyla – One Dance (#43)
41. Timeflies – Once In A While (#41)
40. DNCE – Toothbrush (#24)
39. Meghan Trainor – No (#37)
38. The Summer Set – Figure Me Out (#32)
37. Fifth Harmony – Work From Home (#38)
36. Taylor Swift – New Romantics (#42) [2 Weeks At #1]
35. Selena Gomez – Hands To Myself (#35)
34. Panic! At The Disco – Victorious (#28) [1 Week At #1]
33. P!nk – Just Like Fire (#30)
32. DNCE – Cake By The Ocean (#39) [4 Weeks At #1]
31. Mike Posner/SeeB – I Took A Pill In Ibiza (#27) [2 Weeks At #1]
30. X Ambassadors – Unsteady (#34)
29. Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman (#33)
28. Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out (#26) [5 Weeks At #1]
27. Meghan Trainor – Me Too (#23)
26. Kenny Chesney/P!nk – Setting The World On Fire (#19)
25. Katy Perry – Rise (#40)
24. All Time Low – Missing You (#22)
23. Flume/Kai – Never Be Like You (#31)
22. The Strumbellas – Spirits (#36)
21. Symon – Say (#20)
20. Jacob Whitesides – Lovesick (#17)
19. Major Lazer/Justin Bieber/MØ – Cold Water (#25)
18. Lukas Graham – Mama Said (#21)
17. Demi Lovato – Body Say (#13)
16. AJR – I'm Not Famous (#15)
15. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#16)
14. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Girls Talk Boys (#10)
13. Daya – Sit Still, Look Pretty (#18)
12. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (#14)
11. Charlie Puth/Selena Gomez – We Don't Talk Anymore (#11)
10. The 1975 – The Sound (#7)
  9. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better (#6)
  8. Ariana Grande – Into You (#8)
  7. Coldplay/Beyoncé – Hymn For The Weekend (#12)
  6. Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For (#9)
  5. Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling (#1) [10 Weeks At #1]
  4. Sia/Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills (#2)
  3. Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover) (#3) [1 Week At #1]
  2. Twenty One Pilots – Ride (#5)
  1. The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down (#4) [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Ed Sheeran – Photograph

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Tie Between Fifth Harmony – All In My Head and DNCE – Toothbrush (–16)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Katy Perry – Rise (+15)

Cold Blurbs
~ Once again, I was on the edge of my seat hoping that Ride would not be our #1 song. I'm really tired of this. This song seriously needs to get the hell out of the Top 10, even better out of the countdown. I will happily take Don't Let Me Down, Send My Love, or even freakin' Cheap Thrills at #1 over Ride.

~ Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For is still hitting new peaks. It has reached the peak of Calvin Harris' 2013 smash hit, I Need Your Love. This annoys me so much because this song is nowhere near as good as I Need Your Love. I can't stand the lazy ass drop and the constant repetition of the word "you". It's so annoying! We've had much better dance songs this year.

~ Yuck. Lukas Graham – Mama Said is back in the Top 20. This song is just awful for so many reasons. I swear, if this song becomes as big of a hit as the superior 7 Years, I will not handle it very nicely at all. Lukas Graham will probably forever remain a one-hit wonder group in my book.

~ The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer just calmly sits at #15, while it is #1 on a lot of different charts at the moment. Yet Hits 1 feels like they should have the older Don't Let Me Down at #1. Does anyone even like this song anymore? Closer, on the other hand, is much newer, more fresh, and more worthy of the #1 spot at the moment.

~ Looks like All In My Head was never meant to be an actual hit, which sucks because I personally think it's a better song than Work From Home. Oh well. A for effort.

~ I'm having a hard time believe that Hands To Myself and Kill Em With Kindness are both still here. Honestly, both of these songs suck. I'm still waiting for that week when they both leave on the same week. That would be pretty cool to see.

~ I think the best thing that happened this week was the jump into the Top 10 from Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend. I don't even know what their last Top 10 song was. It must've been a really time ago, if they ever even had a song in the Top 10 on this countdown. But I'm very happy that this song managed to make the Top 10. It's an amazing song. So thank you voters!

~ This past Friday was the release of one of the most anticipated comeback singles of the year. Lady Gaga has officially returned with Perfect Illusion. I went into the song so excited because I love Lady Gaga. I listened to it and I have to say, this song sucks ass. I don't like the production on this song at all. It feels a little messy at times. And my goodness.......what happened to Lady Gaga's voice??? Without a doubt, she is a very talented singer, but she does not show it at all in this song. It sounds like she's screaming more than she is singing. And just when I thought this song couldn't get any worse, we reach the last chorus where the sound completely changes and it's just painful to my ears. After the first listen, I thought, "Hey. Maybe this song is one of those songs that'll grow on me with more listens." So I listened to it a few more times, and it actually got worse. Basically overall, this song is shit and one time it gave me a headache when I listened to it. Huge disappointment from Lady Gaga. It is nowhere near as good as some of her biggest hits like Just Dance, Bad Romance, Alejandro, Telephone, Applause, etc. But since it's Lady Gaga, it's probably going to end up being the most overrated song of the year, even though it is not good.

~ The Hit 45 Chart is currently being worked on. I will try to get it out to you guys as soon as possible.

Top 20 Review:
0 – Crap:
20. Lukas Graham – Mama Said
19. AJR – I'm Not Famous

1 – Bad:
18. Twenty One Pilots – Ride
17. Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For

2 – Mediocre:
16. Daya – Sit Still, Look Pretty
15. Sia/Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills

3 – Decent:
14. The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down
13. The 1975 – The Sound
12. Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
11. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Girls Talk Boys

4 – Good:
10. Demi Lovato – Body Say

5 – Great:
9. Ariana Grande – Into You
8. Charlie Puth/Selena Gomez – We Don't Talk Anymore
7. Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling
6. Jacob Whitesides – Lovesick
5. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens
4. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better
3. Major Lazer/Justin Bieber/MØ – Cold Water
2. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
1. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend

Total Score: 67/100


Throwback Pick Of The Week: Lady Gaga/Beyoncé – Telephone

Most Missed Countdown Song: One Direction – Kiss You

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Shawn Mendes – Mercy

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: X Ambassadors – Renegades


My Top 5 Picks
1. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend
2. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
3. Major Lazer/Justin Bieber/MØ – Cold Water
4. Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza
5. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better


To conclude, reader/commenter/blogger Miles Washcalus challenged us to, for every post we make, select a song that we either love or hate and explain why. I accidentally forgot to do it in my last post, but I'll just start here anyway. Since I kind of just ranted on the new Lady Gaga single, I'll review a song that I love.

Pretty much all of you know that I mainly listen to pop and hit music, which is why I review Hits 1's countdown as opposed to other SiriusXM station's countdowns. But even though I love most of today's pop music, back in previous years I was a fan of quite a few rock bands and their songs. Bands like Linkin Park, Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Nickelback, etc. Right now I'm going to review one of my favorite rock songs of all-time from 2003. That is Bring Me To Life by Evanescence.

I feel like back when this song was released in 2003, it really set an example of how an ideal rock song should sound. The song opens up with very mysterious-sounding piano work followed by Amy Lee's amazing, yet haunting voice. It kind of flows with that mysterious vibe and piano for the rest of the first verse, and then into a more rock sound. It quiets down at the end of the verse and then drops this loud, yet awesome chorus which actually features guest vocals from Paul McCoy from 12 Stones. I absolutely love the back and forth switching of vocalists between Lee and McCoy. The guitar work that is heard in the background is amazing and you can hear it very precisely between the first chorus and the second verse. The second verse is pretty much the same as the first except the rock sound is used for the entire verse. Then it once again quiets down and we get that incredible chorus once again. The bridge of the song contains more fantastic vocals from Amy Lee, which soon builds up to an awesome verse handled by Paul McCoy, with Lee dropping in in the middle. Then we get the chorus yet again. We get a couple more lines from Lee and McCoy followed by the song fading out as Lee sings the final "Bring Me To Life".

The song overall is just a phenomenal masterpiece. I see absolutely no flaws to this song whatsoever. Amy Lee is an amazing singer. I loved Paul McCoy's drop ins. The instrumentation ranging from the piano to the guitars is just incredible. I love the mysterious vibe it has to it in specific parts of the song. It's just perfection from start to end. Personally, I picture this as an ideal rock song. It has everything needed to make it fantastic. It makes me want to just get up and rock out to it, and not very many songs can do that for me. This is definitely in the Top 3 for my favorite rock songs of all-time. This song really did set an example of a high-standard rock track.

As far as other songs by Evanescence goes, there aren't that many other songs that stood out of their discography. I mean, they have songs like My Immortal, which is a little slower and really showcases Amy Lee's voice even more than Bring Me To Life does, and Call Me When You're Sober, which is pretty much another amazing banger track. Other than that, they don't really have much else that stands out. But Bring Me To Life was just too awesome of a song to forget about Evanescence. Every now and then I'll hear this song on SiriusXM The Pulse (channel 15) and I can't help but turn the volume up. You can listen to this song on YouTube and it has also been discounted to 69 cents on iTunes if you're considering buying it. Overall, this song will forever be a favorite of mine.