The Chainsmokers (1) – Week Of May 27, 2017

Due to Spyder Harrison being out on vacation in Italy, Kid Kelly hosted the countdown yet again. Hopefully everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend! I spent the entire weekend out and about. If it weren't for that, I would've actually gotten this post out sooner. Anyway, some interesting things happened this week. We have a fantastic new #1 song, which I'm thrilled about! Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• G-Eazy/Kehlani – Good Life (#36)
• Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm (#43)

Last Week's #1 Song: Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill

The Countdown

45. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#42)
44. Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know (#37) [3 Weeks At #1]
43. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#45)
42. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (#41) [4 Weeks At #1]
41. Zayn/PartyNextDoor – Still Got Time (#38)
40. Niall Horan – This Town (#44)
39. Aaron Carter – Sooner Or Later (#40)
38. One Ok Rock – American Girls (#39)
37. The Vamps/Matoma – All Night (#22)
36. DNCE – Kissing Strangers (#33)
35. Liam Payne/Quavo – Strip That Down (DEBUT)
34. Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul (#35)
33. Machine Gun Kelly/Hailee Steinfeld – At My Best (#31)
32. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#32)
31. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#29) [8 Weeks At #1]
30. Miley Cyrus – Malibu (DEBUT)
29. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#30)
28. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye (#25)
27. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low (#28)
26. DJ Khaled/Justin Bieber/Chance The Rapper – I'm The One (#23)
25. Train – Play That Song (#19)
24. AJR – Weak (#18)
23. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#21)
22. Jason Derulo/Nicki Minaj/Ty Dolla $ign – Swalla (#34)
21. Niall Horan – Slow Hands (#16)
20. Maroon 5 – Cold (#27)
19. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#9) [1 Week At #1]
18. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee (#12)
17. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#26)
16. Halsey – Now Or Never (#14)
15. Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos – Slide (#15)
14. Harry Styles – Sign Of The Times (#24)
13. Lady Gaga – The Cure (#13)
12. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go (#10)
11. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like (#17) [1 Week At #1]
10. Charlie Puth – Attention (#20)
  9. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy (#7)
  8. Julia Michaels – Issues (#8)
  7. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#3) [9 Weeks At #1]
  6. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me (#6)
  5. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#5)
  4. Shawn Mendes – There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#11)
  3. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay (#2) [2 Weeks At #1]
  2. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (#1) [2 Weeks At #1]
  1. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This (#4) [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Taylor Swift – New Romantics

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: The Vamps/Matoma – All Night (–15)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Jason Derulo/Nicki Minaj/Ty Dolla $ign – Swalla (+12)

New Entrants
~ First up, we have our final member of One Direction branching out with his debut single. It's Liam Payne with Strip That Down. Now that he's on the countdown, each member of One Direction is currently on the countdown. If I'm being honest here, out of all the debut singles from our One Direction members, Liam's debut is the weakest. There's really nothing interesting to it. It's just slightly more interesting than your typical rap song. Here's how I view the One Direction members and their solo singles. Harry and Niall are really the two talented members with fantastic vocal performances, well-produced tracks, and great acoustics. They seem to care more about their music. Liam and Zayn seem to be under the impression that because they're from One Direction and because they're hot, they can just produce anything and it'll get popular. They don't seem to care as much about their music as they do about their image. I can't really say anything about Louis until we get more music from him. I'd like to think he'll be more like Harry and Niall. But that's how I view them. Strip That Down and other songs like Sign Of The Times, This Town, and Still Got Time are clear evidence currently on the countdown. While Strip That Down may be blue right now, it is very close to red.

~ Next we have the return of Miley Cyrus with Malibu. Her career has pretty much been all over the place these past several years. Starting off as Hannah Montana with some pretty good songs such as The Climb, she was doing pretty good. Then she fell apart when we got Bangerz with songs like We Can't Stop and she continued to fall to an all time low with Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz. Now she seems to be rebuilding herself with the release of Malibu. I can't see her ever performing this song half-naked, so that's an improvement. And she really showcases her voice in this one as opposed to her other songs where her voice was lost in the production. There's great improvement as far as lyrical and musical content go. At first, I thought the song was simply a good song. But it's good to think about where Miley Cyrus came from with her past music. After thinking about that and giving the song more listens, I've come to realize that it is her best song in the long time. I hope this does well because she deserves to be recognized for how much she has improved with her music.


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

• Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road
• Hailee Steinfeld – Most Girls
• Jon Bellion – Overwhelming
• Camila Cabello – Crying In The Club
• Hey Violet – Break My Heart
• Katy Perry/Nicki Minaj – Swish Swish
• Ocean Park Standoff – Good News
• Selena Gomez – Bad Liar
• Erin Bowman – Good Time Good Life
• Fall Out Boy – Young & Menace
• Noah Cyrus – Stay Together
• Mansionz/G-Eazy – Wicked
• Bruno Mars – Versace On The Floor (RE-ENTRY)

~ If I'm being honest, Versace On The Floor is a song that I could probably manage to come around to. I'm sure it would be appreciated by the die-hard Bruno Mars fans that cringe every time I rant about him. But I can't make any promises.

~ Remember what I said last week about Katy Perry's music starting to become questionable? Yeah scratch that. Swish Swish is a really fun song and with only a couple more listens, it quickly became one of my favorites right now.

Maliblurb

~ Our new #1 song this week is greatly appreciated by me. It's been a while since the best song on the countdown achieved the #1 spot and I'm glad Something Just Like This managed to do it. Hopefully this song is there to stay for a few weeks longer at the very least. Congrats The Chainsmokers and Coldplay!

~ It was only a matter of time until Shawn Mendes would jump into the Top 10 with There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back. I do really like this song so I am happy about this jump. However, I would appreciate it if it doesn't stay ridiculously long.

~ Charlie Puth – Attention is also now in the Top 10. For now, I'm okay with this. It is a good song, so I don't really mind. As long as it doesn't get too overrated, I don't care how long this song stays.

~ Of course Harry Styles was destined to jump into the Top 20 with Sign Of The Times. I can guarantee this song will be in the Top 10 sometime within the next few weeks.

~ Almost all of last week's debuts are not having a very good week this week. The only song that actually jumped was Jason Derulo/Nicki Minaj/Ty Dolla $ign – Swalla, jumping up to #22. I am pleased with this. But I'm still questioning whether or not this song will actually do well. For some reason, I feel like it's not going to last very long. That's just how I feel. Hopefully I'm wrong.

~ I just heard DJ Khaled/Justin Bieber/Chance The Rapper – I'm The One on Hits 1 for the first time this week. I didn't realize how short this song is with two of our rappers being cut out. The song literally only has one verse. It's actually quite funny. But it's not like those other two verses really did anything for the song.

~ DNCE – Kissing Strangers and Zayn/PartyNextDoor – Still Got Time both seem to have second-week drops. Neither of these are really that popular right now, so I don't think they'll last very long. It'd be nice if we got Still Got Time out as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Kissing Strangers will likely become the next Body Moves. DNCE just can't seem to have another hit after Cake By The Ocean.

~ Of course we had two good songs depart this week. G-Eazy/Kehlani – Good Life currently holds the award for Most Hysterically Short Tenure of the year lasting only one week. Very unfortunate because it was a really good song. Hopefully it'll be able to make it on to my Top 45 Songs of 2017, but I can't be sure about it as we still have another half of the year to go. Chained To The Rhythm never ended up being the massive hit I wanted it to be. I was hoping it would be the real big Katy Perry comeback. Guess not. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. But by this point, I've already listened to it more times than I should.

~ I'm still trying to catch up on my Hit 45 Chart posts. So hopefully I'll start to get those out soon, hopefully this week. Also, expect a post sometime this week regarding America's Got Talent and how I will go about reviewing the show as the season progresses. It should flow very similarly to how I did it last year. So that should be coming this week.

Top 20 Review

0 – Crap:

20. Julia Michaels – Issues

19. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like

1 – Bad:

18. Imagine Dragons – Believer

17. Halsey – Now Or Never

2 – Mediocre:

NONE

3 – Decent:

NONE

4 – Good:

NONE

5 – Great:

16. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You

15. Shawn Mendes – Mercy

14. Maroon 5 – Cold

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

12. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy

11. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay

10. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee

9. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill

8. Harry Styles – Sign Of The Times

7. Charlie Puth – Attention

6. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me

5. The Chainsmokers – Paris

4. Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos – Slide

3. Shawn Mendes – There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

2. Lady Gaga – The Cure

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:

1. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This (+2 extra points for being #1)

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

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Ricky Martin – Livin' La Vida Loca

Most Missed Countdown Song: Havana Brown/Pitbull – We Run The Night

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Carly Rae Jepsen – Cut To The Feeling (this song is fantastic)

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: P!nk – Just Like Fire

My Top 5 Picks

1. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This

2. Lady Gaga – The Cure

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

4. Aaron Carter – Sooner Or Later

5. Miley Cyrus – Malibu

Ed Sheeran (2) – Week Of May 20, 2017

Yes, I am completely aware of the fact that I skipped a week. Keep in mind that I am not someone who likes to skip weeks considering that this is the first time that has ever happened. But when you're a senior in high school, you'll realize that the last week of school is always the busiest with finishing final exams, prom, and graduation. So I really didn't have much of a choice here. If you would like to see last week's countdown, feel free to visit fellow blogger Jack Farrell's blog or anyone else in the "Other SiriusXM Hits 1 Countdown Blogs" section. Once again, I apologize for skipping a week. But I hope you can understand. Here are the songs that left last week.

• Adele – Water Under The Bridge (#39)
• James Hersey – Miss You (#43)
• Lady Gaga – Million Reasons (#44)
• Rihanna – Love On The Brain (#45)

Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Flo Rida/99 Percent – Cake (#27)
• Jon Bellion – All Time Low (#29)
• Bruno Mars – 24K Magic (#34)
• Snakehips/MØ – Don't Leave (#39)
• Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side (#41)

Last Week's #1 Song: Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay

The Countdown

45. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#45)

44. Niall Horan – This Town (#44)

43. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm (#43)

42. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#32)

41. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (#38) [4 Weeks At #1]
40. Aaron Carter – Sooner Or Later (#37)
39. One Ok Rock – American Girls (#40)
38. Zayn/PartyNextDoor – Still Got Time (DEBUT)
37. Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know (#42) [3 Weeks At #1]
36. G-Eazy/Kehlani – Good Life (DEBUT)
35. Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul (#31)
34. Jason Derulo/Nicki Minaj/Ty Dolla $ign – Swalla (DEBUT)
33. DNCE – Kissing Strangers (DEBUT)
32. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#33)
31. Machine Gun Kelly/Hailee Steinfeld – At My Best (DEBUT)
30. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#24)
29. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#13) [8 Weeks At #1]
28. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low (#36)
27. Maroon 5 – Cold (#17)
26. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#6)
25. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye (#25)
24. Harry Styles – Sign Of The Times (#28)
23. DJ Khaled/Justin Bieber/Chance The Rapper – I'm The One (#35)
22. The Vamps/Matoma – All Night (#16)
21. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#23)
20. Charlie Puth – Attention (#20)
19. Train – Play That Song (#21)
18. AJR – Weak (#22)
17. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like (#5) [1 Week At #1]
16. Niall Horan – Slow Hands (#30)
15. Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos – Slide (#15)
14. Halsey – Now Or Never (#26)
13. Lady Gaga – The Cure (#18)
12. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee (#8)
11. Shawn Mendes – There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#14)
10. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go (#12)
  9. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#9)
  8. Julia Michaels – Issues (#10)
  7. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy (#19)
  6. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me (#7)
  5. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#11)
  4. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This (#3)
  3. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#2) [9 Weeks At #1]
  2. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay (#1) [2 Weeks At #1]
  1. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (#4) [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Panic! At The Disco – Victorious

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Shawn Mendes – Mercy (–20)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Niall Horan – Slow Hands (+14)

New Entrants
~ We have five new entrants this week as well as the four from last week that I didn't review. So buckle up guys. I got nine new songs to review right now. First up, last week's debuts. Kicking it off with One Ok Rock – American Girls. I don't have much to say about this one. It's really catchy and a cool rock song. I like the instrumentation and the production. The vocals are pretty good. All in all, it's a good song. I don't think it'll last very long, but I'm curious to see how it does.

~ Next up we have Aaron Carter with Sooner Or Later. I was really disappointed when I heard that this song left Hit-Bound two weeks ago. I'm really glad it still debuted. The production on this track is fantastic. I love the chorus, especially when we get that first loud drop. The vocals are very good. I like the verses. Overall, it's a great song that I really hope does well. Unfortunately, it seemed to have dropped on its second week. Hopefully it can recover from that. I refuse to watch this song die out early. It's way too good to go through that. Out of both of these two weeks, Sooner Or Later is the best debut.

~ Next we have producer DJ Khaled making his first appearance on the Weekend Countdown. He brings I'm The One with Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper, eliminating Quavo and Lil Wayne from the song (thankfully). If I'm being honest, I really don't see the appeal. It's not a bad song per se, but it really isn't something I think is worthy of a #1 spot anywhere. I like Bieber's work on the chorus. But the production seems very underwhelming and I'm going to blame Khaled for that. I've read some things about this song potentially being the song of the summer, which does not sound very pleasing to me. Last year, we had the same thing happen with Calvin Harris/Rihanna – This Is What You Came For, which was beyond mediocre. Not to say that I'm The One is as mediocre as This Is What You Came For. Like I said, it's not a bad song. However, it's not a song that'll last very long with me and if it really is gonna be the song of the summer, it ain't leaving anytime soon. We're just gonna have to wait and see what happens. My opinions on this song could very well change. I don't anticipate it, but it could happen.

~ Niall Horan debuts with his second countdown song, Slow Hands. This one is a lot more upbeat than This Town. But at the same time, it's still a pretty chill song. There's some good instrumentation going on here and I think Niall's vocals sound really good. Overall, it's a good song. It's not necessarily a song that I'll have on repeat. But it's the kind of song where if it comes on the radio, I won't change the station.

~ Moving on to this week's debuts. Zayn returns (again....) with PartyNextDoor on the track, Still Got Time. When your least favorite member of a certain boyband decides to make music solo, you'll be lucky if you ever get a good song. I really don't like the production on this track. It's probably my least favorite thing about it. The vocals are not good either. Zayn has better vocal capabilities than what he does on this song. It's not an awful song, but it's pretty damn flavorless. I hope it doesn't do well. It doesn't seem to be very big of a hit elsewhere, which I guess is a good thing. But if this gets the same treatment as his other songs, I won't be very happy.

~ Next we have the return of G-Eazy with Kehlani on the track Good Life from The Fate of the Furious soundtrack. G-Eazy has some pretty solid verses that are certainly enjoyable. I absolutely love Kehlani's work on the chorus. I think she has a great voice. There really isn't much else to say about it. It's a catchy song and I hope it does well. It probably won't, but it still doesn't hurt to hope.

~ Next up we have Jason Derulo/Nicki Minaj/Ty Dolla $ign – Swalla. I'm willing to consider it to be my guilty pleasure of 2017 so far. It's such a strange song, but I just love it. The chorus is really catchy. Both rap verses are pretty good, especially Nicki's. Her verse is probably my favorite part of the song next to the chorus. Like I said, it's a very strange song. But somehow, it all works out well. It's hard to tell how this song will do. Hopefully it does decently well. It's a catchy song and I don't want to see it drop out too early.

~ DNCE is back. They bring the song Kissing Strangers, a title that certainly sounds like a whole lot of fun to do in real life. I haven't heard it on Hits 1, so I'm assuming Nicki Minaj's verse is edited out, which sucks because I really like her verse. Oh well. Despite that, it is still a good song. I thought it was a little annoying at first. It took a few listens for me to really get into it. I guess I can consider it a fun song. I really like Joe Jonas' vocals. Overall, it's a good song. It definitely isn't their best. But they really haven't disappointed me yet with their music. Let's see if this song can do better than the very underrated Body Moves.

~ Finally, we have Machine Gun Kelly debuting with his second song currently on the countdown, At My Best featuring another artist currently on the countdown, Hailee Steinfeld. I would say At My Best is definitely superior to both Bad Things and Starving. As far as MGK's music, At My Best doesn't exactly top some of his other songs like A Little More, but it is still enjoyable. Hailee Steinfeld does a lot better on the chorus for this song than Camila Cabello does for Bad Things. The verses flow pretty smoothly. Overall, it's a very good song. I can't really see it being as big of a hit as Bad Things unfortunately. We'll just have to wait and see.


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

• Camila Cabello – Crying In The Club (DEBUT)
• Erin Bowman – Good Time Good Life
• Hey Violet – Break My Heart
• Liam Payne/Quavo – Strip That Down (DEBUT)
• Noah Cyrus – Stay Together
• Ocean Park Standoff – Good News
• Selena Gomez – Bad Liar (DEBUT)
• Fall Out Boy – Young & Menace
• Hailee Steinfeld – Most Girls
• Mansionz/G-Eazy – Wicked
• Miley Cyrus – Malibu (DEBUT)
• Jon Bellion – Overwhelming
• Katy Perry/Nicki Minaj – Swish Swish (DEBUT)
• Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road

~ Hit-Bound just seems to be getting less and less appealing. Body Like A Back Road is legit on the line between an okay song and a bad song. I've certainly heard worse songs (such as every other red/orange song on this list). But at the same time, it's kind of embarrassing to the country genre.

~ Malibu isn't exactly that exciting of a song. But it seems as though we're getting a different side of Miley Cyrus. If she continues to release songs like this, I will start to view her as a better artist. She's definitely talented and she has a great voice. It's just a matter of how she uses it and in Malibu, she uses it well. Now I can't say the same thing about her sister, Noah Cyrus. She does not have a good voice at all. I tried listening to Stay Together and I just suffered. Can she just not make music?

~ Camila Cabello and Liam Payne's new singles are not very appealing. As of right now, I'll consider them okay. But that could very well change. Selena Gomez has once again proven that she sucks as a solo artist. Bad Liar sounds like Hands To Myself 2.0.

~ Katy Perry has debuted with Swish Swish, replacing Bon Appetit. This one is definitely a bit more interesting. However, her music is still getting a little questionable. And it's pretty obvious Katy Perry is continuing this feud with Taylor Swift. She even just confirmed it recently saying something along the lines of, "She started it, and it's time for her to finish it." I don't know. We'll see how this new album turns out, but I know some people aren't exactly looking forward to it with all these singles so far.


American Blurbs
~ Our Top 5 looks pretty decent-ish. I'm very pleased to see Something Just Like This getting some love. Hopefully it can hit #1 soon. However, I'm too thrilled to see Believer in the Top 5 as well. It's really not a song that should get any higher than this.

~ Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy is once again in the Top 10. As usual, I didn't really expect it. This song is very unpredictable. With time, it is starting to fade a little bit on me. It is still in green, but it could very well change to blue sometime in the near future.

~ I feel like the only person that actually dislikes Julia Michaels – Issues. But I don't care. Her voice sucks. The song itself is not at all interesting either. I'm not very happy about it being in the Top 10. Please do not stay long.

~ And of course there had to be a jump at some point for Halsey – Now Or Never. This song is just straight up boring. It has nothing to it to really grab your attention. Halsey's vocal performance is pretty mediocre. The song just has nothing interesting to it. But it's Halsey, so it has to do well according to Hits 1's logic.

~ I am pretty happy with the drop out of the Top 10 from Bruno Mars – That's What I Like. Now if we can just get it out of the Top 20, and soon enough the countdown.

~ We finally got a drop from The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer. While I still like the song, it had its time towards the top. Now it's time to give other songs a chance. However, I can guarantee this song is not leaving anytime soon.

~ The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming seems to have dropped to the very bottom of the countdown. At times like these, I question who it is that does these rankings because this is just absurd. A fantastic song is getting relatively underrated. Yes, it did peak in the Top 10. But it only spent one week there at #10. Doesn't seem like enough to me. Oh well. Now I just hope it doesn't fall out just yet. Hopefully it can hang on for a little while longer.

~ As far as our exits go, it was really nice to see Rihanna – Love On The Brain finally leave last week. That one was here much longer than it should've been. Jon Bellion – All Time Low will for sure be missed. I did not expect it to leave already. I kind of expected it to hang around for a little while like Hymn For The Weekend. It was really nice to see Cake, 24K Magic, and Don't Leave exit the countdown. All of those songs desperately needed to go. Finally, I was starting to get sick of Side To Side. So I consider that to be good timing.

~ I am very behind on my Hit 45 Chart posts. So bear with me as I attempt to catch up.

Senior Prom!
~ My senior prom took place last Friday. Those of you that follow me on Instagram should know because I did post about it. So here's the playlist of songs that I heard and know.

• The 1975 – The Sound
• Beyoncé – Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
• Bruno Mars – 24K Magic
• Bruno Mars – That's What I Like
• Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos – Slide
• The Chainsmokers – Paris
• The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
• The Chainsmokers/Rozes – Roses
• Daddy Yankee – Gasolina
• Deorro/Pitbull/Elvis Crespo – Bailar
• DJ Khaled/Justin Bieber/Quavo/Chance The Rapper/Lil Wayne – I'm The One
• Drake – Hotline Bling
• Drake/WizKid/Kyla – One Dance
• Enrique Iglesias/Sean Paul – Bailando
• Flo Rida/T-Pain – Low
• Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving
• iLoveMemphis – Hit The Quan
• Imagine Dragons – Believer
• James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go
• Jason Derulo – Want To Want Me
• Kelly Clarkson – Since U Been Gone
• Ke$ha – TiK ToK
• Lil Uzi Vert – XO TOUR Llif3
• Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee/Justin Bieber – Despacito
• Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things
• Migos/Lil Uzi Vert – Bad and Boujee
• Miley Cyrus – Party In The U.S.A.
• Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor
• Outkast – Hey Ya!
• Sam Smith – Stay With Me
• Sean Paul – Temperature
• Shakira/Wyclef Jean – Hips Don't Lie
• Shaggy – It Wasn't Me
• Shawn Mendes – There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back
• Snakehips/MØ – Don't Leave
• The Spice Girls – Wannabe
• The Vamps/Matoma – All Night
• The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming
• Usher/Lil Jon/Ludacris – Yeah!
• Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall – Juju On That Beat
• + a bunch of other rap songs I didn't know

The playlist doesn't look that bad. But there was a lot of seemingly random rap music that I just did not find appealing. But other than that, it was a very fun night and a great experience that I'm glad I didn't miss out on.

~ So now that I have officially graduated high school, I will hopefully be able to start blogging normally again (at least over the course of the summer). My first priority is to catch up on the Hit 45 Chart. Then I may do some special additional posts. I know America's Got Talent is returning next week. So I may start to review that show for a second year. We'll see.

Top 20 Review

0 – Crap:

20. AJR – Weak

19. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like

18. Julia Michaels – Issues

17. Imagine Dragons – Believer

1 – Bad:

16. Halsey – Now Or Never

2 – Mediocre:

NONE

3 – Decent:

NONE

4 – Good:

NONE

5 – Great:

15. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You

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

13. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy

12. Niall Horan – Slow Hands

11. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay

10. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee

9. Train – Play That Song

8. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill

7. Charlie Puth – Attention

6. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me

5. The Chainsmokers – Paris

4. Shawn Mendes – There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

3. Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos – Slide

2. Lady Gaga – The Cure

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:

1. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This

Total Score: 77/100 = 77% (C+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: OneRepublic – Good Life

Most Missed Countdown Song: Pitbull/Chris Brown – International Love

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee/Justin Bieber – Despacito

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza

My Top 5 Picks

1. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This

2. Lady Gaga – The Cure

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

4. Aaron Carter – Sooner Or Later

5. Jason Derulo/Nicki Minaj/Ty Dolla $ign – Swalla

Zedd (1) – Week Of May 6, 2017

I'm so behind it's not even funny. Final projects and exams are killing me right now, guys. Soon enough, I'll be able to start blogging at a normal schedule. But for now, they will come out whenever I get the chance to work on them. No songs leaving the countdown this week. So let's get right into it!



Last Week's #1 Song: The Chainsmokers – Paris
The Countdown
45. Rihanna – Love On The Brain (#45)
44. James Hersey – Miss You (#43)
43. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons (#42)
42. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm (#44)
41. Niall Horan – This Town (#38)
40. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#39)
39. Adele – Water Under The Bridge (#40)
38. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side (#41)
37. Harry Styles – Sign Of The Times (#36)
36. Snakehips/MØ – Don't Leave (#37)
35. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low (#26)
34. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic (#32)
33. Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul (#21)
32. Jon Bellion – All Time Low (#34)
31. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#31)
30. Halsey – Now Or Never (#30)
29. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (#35) [4 Weeks At #1]
28. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#28)
27. Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know (#27) [3 Weeks At #1]
26. Shawn Mendes – There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#29)
25. Flo Rida/99 Percent – Cake (#20)
24. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#24)
23. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#23)
22. The Vamps/Matoma – All Night (#17)
21. Train – Play That Song (#19)
20. Charlie Puth – Attention (#33)
19. Lady Gaga – The Cure (#25)
18. AJR – Weak (#22)
17. Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos – Slide (#16)
16. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy (#15)
15. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This (#18)
14. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee (#11)
13. Julia Michaels – Issues (#14)
12. Maroon 5 – Cold (#13)
11. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye (#12)
10. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#9)
  9. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#10) [8 Weeks At #1]
  8. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go (#5)
  7. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me (#8)
  6. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (#7) [1 Week At #1]
  5. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like (#6) [1 Week At #1]
  4. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#3)
  3. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#1) [1 Week At #1]
  2. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#2) [9 Weeks At #1]
  1. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay (#4) [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: DNCE – Cake By The Ocean

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul (–12)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Charlie Puth – Attention (+13)

Blurbed To The Rhythm
~ While I'm certainly okay with our #1 song, it still irritates me that of all of Zedd's songs that made it on to the countdown, this is his #1 song. I would've much preferred Clarity or Stay The Night.

~ I have a feeling that Shape Of You is pretty much done with being #1. Now it'll probably just hang around in the Top 5/Top 10 for a couple more months until we start to get irritated.

~ And AJR – Weak is back in the Top 20. Lovely.

~ Lady Gaga – The Cure and Charlie Puth – Attention both made some pretty reasonable jumps into the Top 20 this week. I have grown more into these songs this past week with more listens.

~ Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul seems to have dropped out of the Top 30. This song has kind of left my playlist rotation, so I'm not completely heartbroken by this drop. However, it's still a good song. So hopefully, it can stay for a little while longer.

~ As far as Hit-Bound goes, I'm not too thrilled about the departure of Aaron Carter – Sooner Or Later. That song was very good and of course, Hits 1 underrated it. Not cool, guys.

~ And that concludes my recap of this relatively boring week.


Top 20 Review
0 – Crap:
20. AJR – Weak
19. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like
18. Imagine Dragons – Believer
17. Julia Michaels – Issues

1 – Bad:
NONE

2 – Mediocre:
NONE

3 – Decent:
NONE

4 – Good:
NONE

5 – Great:
16. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
15. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
14. Shawn Mendes – Mercy
13. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy
12. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go
11. Charlie Puth – Attention
10. Maroon 5 – Cold
9. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay
8. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee
7. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill
6. The Chainsmokers – Paris
5. Lady Gaga – The Cure
4. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me
3. Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos – Slide
2. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This

Total Score: 81/100 = 81% (B–) [same exact score as last week....]


Throwback Pick Of The Week: Ke$ha – We R Who We R

Most Missed Countdown Song: The Script/will.i.am – Hall Of Fame

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee/Justin Bieber – Despacito (gonna keep recommending it till you pick up on it, Hits 1)

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: P!nk – Just Like Fire


My Top 5 Picks
1. TIE: The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This
1. TIE: The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming
3. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye
4. Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos – Slide
5. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me

The Chainsmokers (1) – Week Of April 29, 2017

Hey guys! I apologize for the rushed post last week and the late post this week. For those unaware, I am a high school student taking AP classes and this past week has been AP Exam week. So all of last weekend was preparation for my AP Chemistry Exam this past Monday and all of this week was getting work done for other classes. I also have projects to work on this coming weekend so I'm 95% sure next week's post won't be out for a little while. I apologize for the inconsistency with my posting schedule. But I hope you understand that I have priorities. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (#38) [2 Weeks At #1]
• Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better (#42) [2 Weeks At #1]
• Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor (#44)

Last Week's #1 Song: Bruno Mars – That's What I Like

The Countdown

45. Rihanna – Love On The Brain (#43)

44. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm (#21)

43. James Hersey – Miss You (#39)

42. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons (#45)

41. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side (#41)

40. Adele – Water Under The Bridge (#30)

39. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#11)

38. Niall Horan – This Town (#40)

37. Snakehips/MØ – Don't Leave (#35)

36. Harry Styles – Sign Of The Times (#25)

35. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (#26) [4 Weeks At #1]

34. Jon Bellion – All Time Low (#28)

33. Charlie Puth – Attention (DEBUT)

32. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic (#33)

31. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#29)

30. Halsey – Now Or Never (#36)

29. Shawn Mendes – There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (DEBUT)

28. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#31)

27. Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know (#32) [3 Weeks At #1]

26. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low (#34)

25. Lady Gaga – The Cure (DEBUT)

24. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#27)

23. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#22)

22. AJR – Weak (#17)

21. Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul (#14)

20. Flo Rida/99 Percent – Cake (#37)

19. Train – Play That Song (#20)

18. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This (#19)

17. The Vamps/Matoma – All Night (#23)

16. Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos – Slide (#24)

15. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy (#18)

14. Julia Michaels – Issues (#15)

13. Maroon 5 – Cold (#12)

12. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye (#9)

11. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee (#16)

10. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#13) [8 Weeks At #1]

  9. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#8)

  8. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me (#7)

  7. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (#10) [1 Week At #1]

  6. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like (#1) [1 Week At #1]

  5. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go (#6)

  4. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay (#3)

  3. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#4)

  2. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#2) [9 Weeks At #1]

  1. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#5) [1^st Week At #1]

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

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (–28) [.........]

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Flo Rida/99 Percent – Cake (+17) [...............]

New Entrants
~ We have three new entrants this week plus the one song I didn't review last week. Last week, Flo Rida debuted with his worst single to date. I usually stand up for him and his music because he's had some fantastic songs in the past (Right Round, Wild Ones, etc.) But Cake is nothing less than straight up trash. Frankly, I'm surprised it actually debuted. The production is annoying. I absolutely hate that part where they repeat "cake". It's no surprise that this song is featured in the same mixtape as songs like Juju On That Beat and Watch Me. So I'm not too thrilled by it having the biggest jump of the week. But oh well. Can't really do anything about that. NEXT!

~ Debuting this week, we have the return of Charlie Puth after We Don't Talk Anymore from last year. I don't have too much to say about his new song, Attention. I guess you can say it grabbed my attention. The beat is catchy and I like the bass. His vocals are good for the most part. However, I do not see this song sticking with me in the long run. Whether or not, this song will be successful, I don't know. We'll have to wait and see.

~ Next we have Shawn Mendes replacing himself on the countdown with his new single, There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back. It is an interesting, upbeat track. I can't say that it's as good as Mercy was initially. But without a doubt, it is a good song. The vocals are really good and I like the instrumentals. Will this song stick with me? Probably not. But I'm enjoying it for the time being.

~ Finally, we have who I consider to be one of the biggest icons still making music to this day. It is Lady Gaga and she debuts with The Cure. Very rarely have I ever disliked a song by Lady Gaga. I adore a huge load of her songs (Just Dance, Poker Face, Born This Way, Bad Romance, Alejandro, Telephone, etc.). The Cure is no different. I wouldn't go as far to say that it's as amazing as the classics that I listed. But it is a very good song regardless. Lady Gaga is a phenomenal singer and she does show off her voice very well in this song. Will it stick with me? Well, most of the classics that I listed have stuck with me ever since the first listen. Even look at Million Reasons, which is still green. So maybe. I can't be too sure. But I'm betting it'll be a VERY long time until I get sick of it.


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

• Ocean Park Standoff – Good News
• Mansionz/G-Eazy – Wicked
• Hey Violet – Break My Heart
• Jon Bellion – Overwhelming
• Hailee Steinfeld – Most Girls (DEBUT)
• Zayn/PartyNextDoor – Still Got Time
• DNCE – Kissing Strangers
• Jason Derulo/Nicki Minaj/Ty Dolla $ign – Swalla
• Aaron Carter – Sooner Or Later
• Fall Out Boy – Young & Menace (DEBUT)
• Erin Bowman – Good Time Good Life
• Katy Perry – Bon Appetit (DEBUT)
• One Ok Rock – American Girls
• G-Eazy/Kehlani – Good Life

~ Most Girls is actually pretty good and it's nice to hear something from her that's not Starving.

~ Going into Young & Menace, I had heard non-stop criticism and negative comments regarding the song, and I completely understand why. Let's just say if you're a fan of Fall Out Boy's older music, you'll most likely hate this song. If you're brand new to the Fall Out Boy fan group, you may like it. Me personally, as someone who mostly likes some of their older stuff, this song is a straight up disappointment.

~ Bon Appetit literally has two and a half stars out of five on iTunes. This song is not being taken very well. If I'm being honest, I'm pretty split. Split enough to the point where I don't know how this song is going to end up for me. It can honestly go either way.

~ It appears as though Kungs/Ephemerals – I Feel So Bad is done, which sucks because it is a really good song. I even heard it on Hits 1 sometime within the past week. Oh well.

~ I am waiting for the debut of Paramore's new single, Hard Times. That song is some good stuff that has to make on here very soon.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Aaron Carter – Sooner Or Later
2. Jon Bellion – Overwhelming
3. Jason Derulo/Nicki Minaj/Ty Dolla $ign – Swalla
4. One Ok Rock – American Girls
5. DNCE – Kissing Strangers


There's Nothing Blurbin' Me Back
~ Me personally, I did not see Paris as a potential #1 song, especially this late in the game. But I will certainly take it over our #1 song from last week.

~ I'm not too thrilled to see Imagine Dragons – Believer in the Top 10. This band has been going downhill with their music and are now at an all time low. It's really not necessary to overrate this song when it isn't even that big of a hit.

~ Must Closer still be in the Top 10? I know for some people, this song is really pushing their limits. Swap this with Something Just Like This and I'll be happy.

~ Over the past week, I was forced to listen AJR – Weak a few times the whole way through. My goodness is that song awful. That last chorus is absolutely unbearable. AJR, please just stop.

~ MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low finally made a reasonable jump. Hopefully it can last at least a little while longer.

~ Halsey – Now Or Never seems to not be doing very much. Fine by me as I've come to realize that it is not a good song. There is just nothing to it. Nothing unique whatsoever.

~ Harry Styles – Sign Of The Times isn't doing so hot right now. I'm sure it'll jump back up sometime in the near future. There's no way a Harry Styles song will just die out this early.

~ For whatever reason, Hits 1 thought it'd be a good idea to make The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming drop almost 30 spots. Seriously guys? Rude.

~ Not too thrilled about the huge drop from Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm either. Guess this won't be the Katy Perry #1 comeback single we were hoping for. But this song is definitely better than Bon Appetit. So I won't be too happy if that one comes on here and does better.

~ And Rihanna – Love On The Brain is somehow still here....


Top 20 Review
0 – Crap:
20. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like
19. Julia Michaels – Issues
18. Imagine Dragons – Believer
17. Flo Rida/99 Percent – Cake

1 – Bad:
NONE

2 – Mediocre:
NONE

3 – Decent:
NONE

4 – Good:
NONE

5 – Great:
16. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
15. Shawn Mendes – Mercy
14. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
13. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy
12. Maroon 5 – Cold
11. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go
10. The Chainsmokers – Paris
9. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay
8. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee
7. Train – Play That Song
6. The Vamps/Matoma – All Night
5. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill
4. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me
3. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye
2. Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos – Slide

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This

Total Score: 81/100 = 81% (B–)


Throwback Pick Of The Week: Don McLean – American Pie

Most Missed Countdown Song: Maroon 5 – Payphone

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee/Justin Bieber – Despacito

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: P!nk – Just Like Fire


My Top 5 Picks
1. TIE: The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This
1. TIE: The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming
3. Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos – Slide
4. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye
5. Lady Gaga – The Cure