Ed Sheeran (7) – Week Of March 25, 2017

Hey guys! Kid Kelly hosted the countdown yet again. Spyder Harrison needs to seriously stop being "sick" if it means we have this guy hosting. I mean, he's not bad. But he's a little hard to understand with the speed at which he speaks. I much preferred when the Morning Mash Up hosted at some point. But now Kid Kelly has become the go-to guest host for the countdown when Spyder is out. Oh well. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• John Legend – Love Me Now (#45)

Last Week's #1 Song: Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You

The Countdown

45. Daya – Words (#44)

44. X Ambassadors – Unsteady (#43)

43. Bebe Rexha – I Got You (#42)

42. Coldplay/Beyoncé – Hymn For The Weekend (#41)

41. DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You (#26)

40. Noah Cyrus/Labrinth – Make Me (Cry) (#31)

39. James Hersey – Miss You (#24)

38. Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know (#39) [3 Weeks At #1]

37. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side (#37)

36. Niall Horan – This Town (#38)

35. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic (#40)

34. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee (#36)

33. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – Starboy (#33)

32. Alessia Cara – Scars To Your Beautiful (#25)

31. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye (DEBUT)

30. Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul (#32)

29. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better (#29) [2 Weeks At #1]

28. Rihanna – Love On The Brain (#35)

27. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#30)

26. AJR – Weak (#22)

25. Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor (#23)

24. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#20)

23. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go (#11)

22. Jon Bellion – All Time Low (#27)

21. Julia Michaels – Issues (#19)

20. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (#21) [2 Weeks At #1]

19. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#18)

18. Adele – Water Under The Bridge (#9)

17. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me (#14)

16. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons (#8)

15. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm (#10)

14. Train – Play That Song (#13)

13. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay (#16)

12. Maroon 5 – Cold (#3)

11. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#12)

10. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy (#34)

  9. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like (#5)

  8. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#17)

  7. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#4)

  6. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (#15)

  5. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (#27) [How is this even okay???] {4 Weeks At #1}

  4. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#2) [8 Weeks At #1]

  3. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#6)

  2. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#7)

  1. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#1) [7^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Charlie Puth – One Call Away

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Tie Between DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You and James Hersey – Miss You (–15)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy (+24)

New Entrants
~ Our lone new entrant this week comes from Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie with Rockabye. For those unaware, the song is about a child that's being raised by a single mother, which can definitely be tough at times. That being said, the song does have a very nice meaning behind it and I would expect that from Clean Bandit as opposed to a lot of other artists we have nowadays. And they even make it a fun song. The production is very good all throughout the song. Anne-Marie's vocals are reasonably good and Sean Paul's verse is pretty fun as well. Overall, it's a great song with a great message. It is a little late to the party. But I guess better late than never. Hopefully it does well.


Rockablurb
~ And Shape Of You continues to hold at #1. Thankfully, I do like this song unlike Thinking Out Loud from 2015. So I don't necessarily mind it being at #1. But at some point soon, it'll become a little too much.

~ Rising to #2 this week is Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things. While I do have this song in green, it is reasonably close to being in blue. It's not exactly a song I want to see at #1. But it wouldn't be the end of the world if it did reach that spot.

~ The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer is somehow still in the Top 5. I'm beyond shocked that I am not sick of this song yet. It is still a fun song to jam out to. But my goodness has it been here for a long time. Why don't we give some other songs a chance?

~ I have been an active Hits 1 listener for about four years now and I've blogged for about three and a half years. I've seen a lot of bogus shit happen on this countdown. This week, we had a certain song jump all the way back into the Top 5 when it really shouldn't still be here. It is definitely one of the most obnoxious things that has happened on this countdown in a while and probably one of the most obnoxious things ever during my four years of listening to this station. Hits 1, please fix this.

~ Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill is now in the Top 10. Not surprising. Hits 1 just can't get enough of Ed Sheeran. I'll admit that because of how much Shape Of You has been played, Castle On The Hill is now the better of the two songs. We'll see how long that lasts.

~ Hits 1 must've read my comment last week on how Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy seemed to be flopping, especially when Linkin Park's previous song, A Light That Never Comes, reached #10 on the countdown. So they decided to give Heavy the same exact peak despite it not being as good as A Light That Never Comes (my opinion as this was my favorite song of 2013). I can't see this as a song that'll stay there long though.

~ Maroon 5 – Cold clearly did not last long in the Top 5. Last week when it jumped, I began to see it as a potential #1 song. Guess not. But thinking realistically knowing how much Hits 1 loves Maroon 5, this will be back up in the Top 5 at some point in the near future.

~ Goodbye John Legend – Love Me Now. You will be missed.

~ I apologize for the lack of blurbs. It's mainly so that I can get this post out as soon as possible.

~ The Hit 45 Chart for this week is also being worked on and will hopefully be out tomorrow though I'm not entirely certain.

Top 20 Review
0 – Crap:
20. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like
19. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving

1 – Bad:
NONE

2 – Mediocre:
NONE

3 – Decent:
18. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever
17. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens

4 – Good:
16. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things

5 – Great:
15. The Chainsmokers – Paris
14. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
13. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay
12. Shawn Mendes – Mercy
11. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
10. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy
9. Adele – Water Under The Bridge
8. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap
7. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On
6. Maroon 5 – Cold
5. Train – Play That Song
4. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me
3. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill
2. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm
1. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons

Total Score: 85/100 = 85% (B)


Throwback Pick Of The Week: Gwen Stefani/Akon – The Sweet Escape

Most Missed Countdown Song: Cher Lloyd – With Ur Love

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Lindsey Stirling/ZZ Ward – Hold My Heart

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: 5 Seconds Of Summer – Jet Black Heart


My Top 5 Picks
1. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming
2. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons
3. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye
4. Jon Bellion – All Time Low
5. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like
2. Noah Cyrus/Labrinth – Make Me (Cry)
3. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving
4. Rihanna – Love On The Brain
5. X Ambassadors – Unsteady

Ed Sheeran (6) – Week Of March 18, 2017

Hey guys! I am now on Spring Break! The reason for this being posted today as opposed to sometime over the weekend is just pure laziness. So I really don't have a good reason for this week. But at least it's out relatively early in comparison to the previous two weeks. This week really wasn't anything special. We got rid of a good song and a bad song and replaced them with a good song and a bad song. So let's get into it. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Sia/Kendrick Lamar – The Greatest (#29)
• Charli XCX – After The Afterparty (#44)

Last Week's #1 Song: Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You

The Countdown

45. John Legend – Love Me Now (#45)

44. Daya – Words (#42)

43. X Ambassadors – Unsteady (#43)

42. Bebe Rexha – I Got You (#13)

41. Coldplay/Beyoncé – Hymn For The Weekend (#41)

40. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic (#39)

39. Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know (#30) [3 Weeks At #1]

38. Niall Horan – This Town (#34)

37. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side (#24)

36. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee (DEBUT)

35. Rihanna – Love On The Brain (#40)

34. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy (#19)

33. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – Starboy (#31)

32. Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul (#23)

31. Noah Cyrus/Labrinth – Make Me (Cry) (#32)

30. Imagine Dragons – Believer (DEBUT)

29. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better (#28) [2 Weeks At #1]

28. Jon Bellion – All Time Low (#27)

27. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (#18) [4 Weeks At #1]

26. DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You (#35)

25. Alessia Cara – Scars To Your Beautiful (#37)

24. James Hersey – Miss You (#38)

23. Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor (#25)

22. AJR – Weak (#21)

21. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (#14) [2 Weeks At #1]

20. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#17)

19. Julia Michaels – Issues (#26)

18. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#5)

17. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#4)

16. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay (#22)

15. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (#33)

14. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me (#15)

13. Train – Play That Song (#12)

12. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#20)

11. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go (#36)

10. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm (#6)

  9. Adele – Water Under The Bridge (#10)

  8. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons (#8)

  7. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#11)

  6. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#2)

  5. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like (#9)

  4. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#3)

  3. Maroon 5 – Cold (#16)

  2. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#7) [8 Weeks At #1]

  1. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#1) [6^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Charlie Puth – One Call Away

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Bebe Rexha – I Got You (–29)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go (+25)

New Entrants
~ We'll start with the (much) less interesting song, which is Believer by Imagine Dragons. Ideally, I was kind of hoping for something similar to Night Visions where we had It's Time, Radioactive, and Demons. Despite these songs being overplayed, they are still top-notch songs. They seem to be (once again) trying something new with their music and unfortunately it just does not work. Believer consists of a ton of yelling in the chorus that just doesn't grab my attention. It's actually pretty annoying. I get that they're experimenting new sounds and trying to be a little more rock, which is fine. But this song just does not set a good example. Like I said, a lot of yelling is going on. The production is a little weird, and not the good kind of weird. Overall, I hope this song doesn't last long. But honestly, I can't picture a song like this staying here for that long. Hopefully I'm right.

~ Next we have our favorite Brendon Urie! L.A. Devotee is easily one of the most "pop" songs on the Death Of A Bachelor album. It's really fast and it's really catchy. I really like the instrumentation and the production. Brendon Urie's vocals are on point from beginning to end. It's not the best song on the album, but it is definitely up there. I really don't have much else to say about this song other than the fact that it's very enjoyable and I'm sure it'll do well.


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

• Snakehips/MØ – Don't Leave
• MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low
• Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos – Slide
• Lorde – Green Light
• The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This
• Ocean Park Standoff – Good News
• Little Mix – Touch
• Flo Rida/99 Percent – Cake
• Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye
• The Vamps/Matoma – All Night
• Ariana Grande/Future – Everyday
• Coin – Talk Too Much
• One Ok Rock – American Girls
• Jason Derulo/Nicki Minaj/Ty Dolla $ign – Swalla

~ I'm still very fascinated by the fact that Cake is actually on here.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This

2. The Vamps/Matoma – All Night

3. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye

4. Little Mix – Touch

5. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low

L.A. Blurbotee

~ We're kind of at that point now where if Shape Of You continues to hold at #1, it'll get pretty damn annoying. So it'd be nice if it could leave that spot pretty soon. We really don't need another song reaching ten weeks at the top.

~ Maroon 5 – Cold took a relatively unexpected leap to #3 this week. Because it's Maroon 5, it's pretty much set to hit #1 at some point in the near future. Since we still have Shape Of You at the top, I think the sooner the better.

~ This week we got yet another massive jump from James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go rising all the way to #11. I still like this song, so I really don't have a problem with this. There are certainly some worse songs on this countdown.

~ Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill also took a big jump up into the Top 15. While it's definitely a good song, I can't really see it becoming the massive hit that Shape Of You is right now. That said, I really don't know how long it'll stay. But I am definitely enjoying it right now.

~ Out of nowhere Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap dropped out of the Top 10 this week. I can't say I'm that happy about that. I mean, I am surprised it even got into the Top 10 at all. But I really don't think it stayed there long enough.

~ The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming continues to drop for some unknown reason. This song should be in the Top 10 right now. Also, I did see the music video for this song and it is quite interesting. But I'm hoping that this song can jump into the Top 10 at some point soon.

~ Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy took a random drop all the way back down to #34. I guess anything Kiiara does just can't be a hit. Even Linkin Park, who hit #10 in 2013 with A Light That Never Comes, couldn't save this song from flopping. But somehow, this was not the Biggest DROP!!!... of the Week.

~ The actual biggest drop came from Bebe Rexha – I Got You. This drop was pretty uncalled for and unnecessary if I do say so myself. Of course anything Bebe Rexha does solo can't be as big a hit as when she does collabs. Oh well.

~ The Hit 45 Chart for this week is currently being worked on and will be posted as soon as possible.

Top 20 Review

0 – Crap:

20. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like

1 – Bad:

19. Julia Michaels – Issues

2 – Mediocre:

NONE

3 – Decent:

18. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever

17. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things

4 – Good:

NONE

5 – Great:

16. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay

15. The Chainsmokers – Paris

14. Maroon 5 – Cold

13. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer

12. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You

11. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill

10. Train – Play That Song

9. Shawn Mendes – Mercy

8. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go

7. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap

6. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On

5. Adele – Water Under The Bridge

4. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me

3. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm

2. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:

1. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming

Total Score: 88/100 = 88% (B+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Maroon 5 – Makes Me Wonder

Most Missed Countdown Song: Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen – Good Time

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: All Time Low – Dirty Laundry

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Ellie Goulding – Something In The Way You Move

My Top 5 Picks

1. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming

2. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons

3. Jon Bellion – All Time Low

4. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee

5. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend

Ed Sheeran (5) – Week Of March 11, 2017

Hey guys! Once again, I apologize for the late post. This week has been a relatively busy week as well. But at least next week is spring break for me. So I should definitely have the next countdown post out over the weekend. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Hey Violet – Guys My Age (#39)

Last Week's #1 Song: Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You

The Countdown

45. John Legend – Love Me Now (#41)

44. Charli XCX – After The Afterparty (#42)

43. X Ambassadors – Unsteady (#44)

42. Daya – Words (#45)

41. Coldplay/Beyoncé – Hymn For The Weekend (#37)

40. Rihanna – Love On The Brain (#21)

39. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic (#34)

38. James Hersey – Miss You (DEBUT)

37. Alessia Cara – Scars To Your Beautiful (#30)

36. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go (#29)

35. DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You (#43)

34. Niall Horan – This Town (#32)

33. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (#35)

32. Noah Cyrus/Labrinth – Make Me (Cry) (#26)

31. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – Starboy (#38)

30. Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know (#22) [3 Weeks At #1]

29. Sia/Kendrick Lamar – The Greatest (#31)

28. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better (#28) [2 Weeks At #1]

27. Jon Bellion – All Time Low (#27)

26. Julia Michaels – Issues (#17)

25. Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor (#33)

24. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side (#23)

23. Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul (#24)

22. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay (#36)

21. AJR – Weak (#40)

20. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#14)

19. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy (#18)

18. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (#4) [4 Weeks At #1]

17. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#12)

16. Maroon 5 – Cold (#13)

15. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me (#19)

14. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (#15) [2 Weeks At #1]

13. Bebe Rexha – I Got You (#16)

12. Train – Play That Song (#20)

11. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#8)

10. Adele – Water Under The Bridge (#5)

  9. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like (#10)

  8. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons (#11)

  7. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#3) [8 Weeks At #1]

  6. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm (#9)

  5. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#25)

  4. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#7)

  3. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#6)

  2. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#2)

  1. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#1) [5^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Rihanna – Love On The Brain (–19)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (+20)

New Entrants
~ Our lone new entrant this week comes from James Hersey with Miss You. I really don't have much to say about this one. It is kind of catchy. But for the most part, it's not really anything special. I don't think it'll stay that long. But yeah. It's okay for now. We'll see if that changes.


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

• Jason Derulo/Nicki Minaj/Ty Dolla $ign – Swalla (DEBUT)
• The Vamps/Matoma – All Night
• Imagine Dragons – Believer
• The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This
• Ariana Grande/Future – Everyday
• Coin – Talk Too Much
• MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low
• Snakehips/MØ – Don't Leave
• Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye
• One Ok Rock – American Girls
• Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos – Slide
• Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee
• Little Mix – Touch
• Flo Rida/99 Percent – Cake

~ I had to think for the longest time whether I wanted to put Swalla in blue or green. It's definitely a catchy song. But it's one of those songs that can get a little annoying a few times. Catchiness outranked the annoying factor this time around. But I can't say it'll be the same thing after a few months if this song actually becomes a hit. But from what Jason Derulo has been releasing recently, he is going in a decent-ish direction.

~ With more and more listens, Touch has been proving that it actually can be better than Shout Out To My Ex. I wouldn't it's better at this moment, but it is getting better with each listen.

~ I've pretty much lost all hope for Lights Down Low debuting. It was definitely nice having it here.


Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This
2. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye
3. The Vamps/Matoma – All Night
4. Little Mix – Touch
5. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low


Blurbs Down Low
~ It's pretty clear that any song from any One Direction member has to be a Top 5 hit. Just Hold On is just slightly late to the party. Now I have no problem with it in the Top 5. But I think it'd be hilarious to see it fall right back out of the Top 20.

~ I am pleased to see the drop out of the Top 10 from Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving. Here's to hoping it's done for good. This song was actually good at first, but it is not one meant to hit #1.

~ Can't say I'm thrilled about the jump from AJR – Weak. But I'll certainly take the jump from Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay.

~ Noah Cyrus/Labrinth – Make Me (Cry) has dropped out of the Top 30 on its third week. Hopefully this is a sign that this song will be leaving soon. This song really has no good qualities at all. I'm still shocked to even see it on the countdown.

~ I'm very pleased to say that Rihanna – Love On The Brain has the Biggest DROP!!!!.... of the Week! That jump last week made me nervous that it would become a hit. Thankfully I was wrong. I mean, it is still a hit outside of Hits 1. But at least I won't have to hear it on this station.

~ Finally, we say goodbye to a song that never deserved to get a single spin on radio at all. Guys My Age has easily been the strangest song that is the farthest thing from sexy. It served no purpose and the lyrical content is actually pretty aggravating. Guys My Age, you will never be missed and I hope this is the last time we hear from you.

~ The Hit 45 Chart for this week is being worked on and will be posted as soon as possible.

Top 20 Review
0 – Crap:
20. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like

1 – Bad:
NONE

2 – Mediocre:
19. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving

3 – Decent:
18. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever
17. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens
16. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things

4 – Good:
NONE

5 – Great:
15. Train – Play That Song
14. Maroon 5 – Cold
13. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
12. The Chainsmokers – Paris
11. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
10. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy
9. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap
8. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On
7. Shawn Mendes – Mercy
6. Adele – Water Under The Bridge
5. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me
4. Bebe Rexha – I Got You
3. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm
2. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming

Total Score: 87/100 = 87% (B+)


Throwback Pick Of The Week: Nickelback – Someday

Most Missed Countdown Song: Avicii/Dan Tyminski – Hey Brother

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness – Fire Escape

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Ellie Goulding – Something In The Way You Move


My Top 5 Picks
1. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming
2. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons
3. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm
4. Jon Bellion – All Time Low
5. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Rihanna – Love On The Brain
2. Noah Cyrus/Labrinth – Make Me (Cry)
3. Charli XCX – After The Afterparty
4. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like
5. X Ambassadors – Unsteady

Ed Sheeran (4) – Week Of March 4, 2017

Hey guys! I apologize for the very late post. When you're a senior in high school, you will have to deal with a lot of college-related things including scholarship applications. That was what took up my entire week with all my usual work on top of it. But even then, I still refuse to skip a week. Also, I did look at the comments on the last post and I'm getting pretty damn tired of these comment issues that I have addressed over and over and over again. So I did turn on comment moderation. What this means is that when you post a comment, it has to be moderated first by me. I will get an email and I can choose whether to publish or delete your comment. This is unfortunately what it has come to. But it may be better since I check my email a lot more often than I check the comment section on my posts. I am unsure of how long I will leave it like this. We'll just have to go with it and see what happens. But now onto the countdown. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• OneRepublic – Kids (#43)
• Pitbull/Flo Rida/LunchMoney Lewis – Greenlight (#44)
• Lukas Graham – You're Not There (#45)

Last Week's #1 Song: Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You

The Countdown

45. Daya – Words (#31)

44. X Ambassadors – Unsteady (#28)

43. DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You (#29)

42. Charli XCX – After The Afterparty (#40)

41. John Legend – Love Me Now (#39)

40. AJR – Weak (DEBUT)

39. Hey Violet – Guys My Age (#30)

38. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – Starboy (#42)

37. Coldplay/Beyoncé – Hymn For The Weekend (#41)

36. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay (DEBUT)

35. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (RE-ENTRY)

34. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic (#38)

33. Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor (#24)

32. Niall Horan – This Town (#35)

31. Sia/Kendrick Lamar – The Greatest (#36)

30. Alessia Cara – Scars To Your Beautiful (#27)

29. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go (#19)

28. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better (#32) [2 Weeks At #1]

27. Jon Bellion – All Time Low (#7)

26. Noah Cyrus/Labrinth – Make Me (Cry) (#37)

25. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#16)

24. Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul (#21)

23. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side (#10)

22. Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know (#26) [3 Weeks At #1]

21. Rihanna – Love On The Brain (#33)

20. Train – Play That Song (#17)

19. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me (#20)

18. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy (#34)

17. Julia Michaels – Issues (#23)

16. Bebe Rexha – I Got You (#25)

15. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (#9) [2 Weeks At #1]

14. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#14)

13. Maroon 5 – Cold (#15)

12. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#18)

11. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons (#11)

10. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like (#22)

  9. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm (#12)

  8. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#5)

  7. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#2)

  6. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#4)

  5. Adele – Water Under The Bridge (#13)

  4. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (#8) [4 Weeks At #1]

  3. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#3) [8 Weeks At #1]

  2. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#6)

  1. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#1) [4^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: One Direction – Perfect

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Jon Bellion – All Time Low (–20)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy (+16)

New Entrants
~ We have a re-entry from Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill, coming a little sooner than expected. So that leaves us with two new songs.

~ The return of AJR has never appealed to me. Out of all their songs, they've only had one that I don't consider bad. They're definitely not on my good side. But honestly, they have good ideas and their writing skills are decent. It's mainly the production that kills them and that's exactly what kills Weak. The writing on this track isn't bad. But my goodness is the production quite annoying, especially in the chorus. And honestly, do we really need those obnoxious background vocal effects in the second half of the chorus? I'd like to think no. But I feel like this has been consistent in all of their songs and it's doing them no good. I don't anticipate any future releases from these guys. But if they do release more, I hope they do something a little different.

~ Next we have the return of Zedd after 2015's Beautiful Now featuring countdown artist Jon Bellion. That song landed itself the #12 spot on my Top 45 of 2015, proving itself to be one of Zedd's best songs along with Clarity and Stay The Night. So there's a lot of competition to top. He debuts with Stay featuring Alessia Cara. I definitely think this song starts off strong and continues right through the chorus, which is probably my favorite part of the song. But I personally was expecting a little bit more out of that drop. It doesn't do too much for me. But I do believe that the rest of the song is on point. It's just the drop that I'm not fully on board with. But at the very least, it is not on the mediocre level that Starving currently is on. So that's good.


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

• Flo Rida/99 Percent – Cake
• Little Mix – Touch
• James Hersey – Miss You
• Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee
• Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos – Slide (DEBUT)
• Imagine Dragons – Believer
• Ariana Grande/Future – Everyday
• The Vamps/Matoma – All Night
• Coin – Talk Too Much (DEBUT)
• Snakehips/MØ – Don't Leave
• MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low
• Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye
• One Ok Rock – American Girls (DEBUT)
• The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This

~ Slide is unlike anything I've ever heard from Calvin Harris, and I mean that in a good way. Production-wise, it's a HUGE step up from the mediocre This Is What You Came For. I'm not completely on board with the vocals, but they're certainly not bad. It's actually better than the extremely repetitive "you-ooo-ooo-oo-oooo" from This Is What You Came For. But as far as the production goes, I genuinely believe that the production on this track is dope. For whatever reason, that just seems like the perfect word to describe it.

~ Talk Too Much doesn't grab my interest very much. American Girls is actually pretty catchy. I can't really see it becoming a massive hit, but I enjoy it for what it is.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This

2. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye

3. The Vamps/Matoma – All Night

4. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low

5. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee

Blurbs On The Hill

~ Starving is back in the Top 5. How amazing.

~ We have two new entrants into the Top 10 this week. That's What I Like is the one I'm not too thrilled about. I still find the song quite annoying. However, Chained To The Rhythm is much more pleasing to see. I can already see this one being a massive hit and I can't wait to see how it does.

~ For the highest debut last week, Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me only jumped one spot this week. I get that it's kind of hard to make a big jump when you debut in the Top 20. But one spot? Seriously?

~ We are now at a point where slow and strange Rihanna ballads that don't sound good at all are actually doing decent. C'mon Hits 1. You underrate a lot of her good songs and now that I actually want one underrated, it starts to do well.

~ Not gonna lie, that drop from Jon Bellion – All Time Low came quite unexpectedly. I can't say I'm very pleased by that.

~ X Ambassadors – Unsteady took quite the stumble down into the Bottom 5 this week. We are getting close to the one-year anniversary of this song being around. Strange pick if I'm being honest. But this could very well be one of the very rare occasions in which a song that never reached the Top 5 lasts a full year.

~ As far as the exits go, Greenlight I didn't care for. Kids had a very nice and successful run and I'm glad it did well. You're Not There was for sure underrated and I'm not too pleased by that. It is similar to 7 Years in a way. But apparently it did not chart similarly. In fact, their songs have only been getting more underrated with time. It seems as though 7 Years will the band's only hit.

~ The Hit 45 Chart for the week of March 4 is being worked on and will hopefully be out sometime today.

Top 20 Review
0 – Crap:
20. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like

1 – Bad:
19. Julia Michaels – Issues

2 – Mediocre:
18. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving

3 – Decent:
17. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever
16. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens
15. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things

4 – Good:
NONE

5 – Great:
14. Train – Play That Song
13. Maroon 5 – Cold
12. The Chainsmokers – Paris
11. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
10. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
9. Shawn Mendes – Mercy
8. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy
7. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap
6. Adele – Water Under The Bridge
5. Bebe Rexha – I Got You
4. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me
3. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons
2. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming

Total Score: 83/100 = 83% (B)


Throwback Pick Of The Week: Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man

Most Missed Countdown Song: Rihanna – Diamonds

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Lindsey Stirling/ZZ Ward – Hold My Heart

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Ellie Goulding – Something In The Way You Move


My Top 5 Picks
1. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming
2. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm
3. Jon Bellion – All Time Low
4. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons
5. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend