Zedd (4) – Week Of March 31, 2018

Hey guys! I hope you guys had a great week. Easter is tomorrow, as well as April Fools Day. I'm not gonna pull a prank on you guys like I did last year. So sorry to disappoint. But I hope you guys have a good Easter. Some interesting things happened on the countdown this week. More on those things down below. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Imagine Dragons – Believer (#36) [3 Weeks At #1]
• Niall Horan – Slow Hands (#43) [3 Weeks At #1]
• Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry (#44) [1 Week At #1]
• Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl (#45) [4 Weeks At #1]

Last Week's #1 Song: Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle

The Countdown

45. Dua Lipa – New Rules (#42)

44. Portugal. The Man – Feel It Still (#41)

43. Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future – End Game (#38) [1 Week At #1]

42. Keala Settle/The Greatest Showman Ensemble – This Is Me (#31)

41. AJR/Rivers Cuomo – Sober Up (#39)

40. Alan Walker/Noah Cyrus/Digital Farm Animals – All Falls Down (#25)

39. Symon – Lonely Girl (#40)

38. Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night) (DEBUT)

37. Kelly Clarkson – Love So Soft (#37)

36. Khalid – Young, Dumb, and Broke (#17)

35. Charlie Puth – How Long (#26) [2 Weeks At #1]

34. Demi Lovato – Tell Me You Love Me (DEBUT)

33. Bazzi – Mine (DEBUT)

32. Shawn Mendes – In My Blood (#32)

31. Camila Cabello – Havana (#27) [1 Week At #1]

30. Noah Kahan/Julia Michaels – Hurt Somebody (#34)

29. Selena Gomez/Marshmello – Wolves (#21)

28. Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something (#28)

27. Taylor Swift – Delicate (#29)

26. Bad Wolves – Zombie (DEBUT)

25. Charlie Puth/Kehlani – Done For Me (#35)

24. Imagine Dragons – Thunder (#16) [5 Weeks At #1]

23. Halsey – Bad At Love (#19) [2 Weeks At #1]

22. P!nk – Beautiful Trauma (#24)

21. Marshmello/Anne-Marie – Friends (#30)

20. Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days (#9) [1 Week At #1]

19. Fall Out Boy – Hold Me Tight Or Don't (#12)

18. NF – Let You Down (#7)

17. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low (#20)

16. Bruno Mars/Cardi B – Finesse (#23)

15. Kesha/The Dap-Kings Horns – Woman (#33)

14. 5 Seconds of Summer – Want You Back (#14)

13. Camila Cabello – Never Be The Same (#11)

12. Niall Horan – On The Loose (#22)

11. The Weeknd/Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me (#15)

10. Ed Sheeran – Perfect (#4) [2 Weeks At #1]

  9. Meghan Trainor – No Excuses (#18)

  8. Maroon 5 – Wait (#6)

  7. Lauv – I Like Me Better (#13)

  6. Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line – Meant To Be (#10)

  5. G-Eazy/Halsey – Him & I (#5)

  4. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes (#8)

  3. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/Florida Georgia Line/watt – Let Me Go (#3) [1 Week At #1]

  2. Walk The Moon – One Foot (#2)

  1. Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle (#1) [4^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (8)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Khalid – Young Dumb & Broke (–19)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Kesha/The Dap-Kings Horns – Woman (+18)

New Entrants
~ Starting off with the least-appealing debut, we have Bazzi with Mine. The song is only a little bit over two minutes long, which I guess doesn't affect the countdown much since another one of our debuts is over four minutes long. But honestly, I don't appeal with this song. The production is slightly annoying and I'm not very interested in this guy's voice. The song sounds kind of childish to me. Hopefully this doesn't stay too long because I'm not sure how long I'll be able to tolerate it. For now, it's not the worst thing ever. But it's not something I'll be eager to hear on the radio.

~ Next we have the return of Panic! At The Disco. We got two new songs last week and thankfully, the better of the two is here with us this week. Say Amen is a jam and I'm glad that it debuted so quickly. It is definitely radio-friendly, but it's so enjoyable. The instrumentation and production is great. Brendon Urie's vocals are fantastic as always. I love the chorus. It's not their best, but it makes me look forward to the new album, Pray For The Wicked, which is set to release in June. Overall, I love this song. I saw the music video and it was definitely something. But hopefully the song does well here. It's a great jam for a Saturday night and I'll be blasting this for a while.

~ Demi Lovato debuts this week replacing Sorry Not Sorry with the superior Tell Me You Love Me. I've enjoyed this song for months now and I still love it. It's one of Demi Lovato's best songs in a while. Sorry Not Sorry was a mess all around with weird production and pitchy vocals. But Tell Me You Love Me is a whole different story. This is much more organized. Her voice sounds amazing. The verses are great and I love the way they build up to the chorus. The horns sound really good and very fitting. Overall, Demi Lovato has redeemed herself and I'm so glad this finally made its debut here. It's such a fantastic song and I really hope it does well. Like I said, this is her best song in a while.

~ Last, but certainly not least, we have Bad Wolves debuting with their cover of Zombie, originally performed by The Cranberries in 1994. I can see this one being a little controversial. But me personally, I love this cover. It's definitely not as good as the original version. But I think Bad Wolves put a nice spin on it. The vocals are really good and the instrumentation is great. Even if it isn't as good as the original, I still think it's a great song. It's like when Disturbed covered The Sound of Silence back in 2015. And this cover was released as tribute to Dolores O'Riordan. She was actually scheduled to record vocals with the band at the time of her death. Honestly I think it's a great tribute and a fantastic cover. People will probably disagree with me. But I believe this is what Dolores wanted. I'm a little surprised it actually debuted here. But I'm very happy about it and hopefully it does well.


Best Debut of the Week: Bad Wolves – Zombie


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

• Drake – God's Plan
• Echosmith – Over My Head (DEBUT)
• Rudimental/Jess Glynne/Macklemore/Dan Caplen – These Days
• Dustin Atlas/Erin Bowman – Fake Friends
• Why Don't We – Trust Fund Baby (DEBUT)
• Portugal. The Man – Live In The Moment
• Alice Merton – No Roots
• The Chainsmokers – Everybody Hates Me (DEBUT)
• Dua Lipa – IDGAF
• Kendrick Lamar/SZA – All The Stars (DEBUT)
• Maren Morris – Rich (DEBUT)
• Halsey – Alone
• Post Malone/Ty Dolla $ign – Psycho
• Foster The People – Sit Next To Me

~ The return of Echosmith is definitely a strange one. It's a little different for the band and I can't say I love it. It's really not that interesting. I think they sound best doing something along the lines of Bright, which I loved. Over My Head is not really doing it for me unfortunately.

~ Why Don't We have kind of become some boy band wannabe. I liked Something Different because I thought the band was something different. But with Trust Fund Baby, you can tell they're trying to be your typical boy band and I'm not really buying it.

~ As I've said before, The Chainsmokers have been going downhill lately. I liked Sick Boy to some extent. But Everybody Hates Me is pulling them further down and away from how good and unique they used to be. Maybe we need some more guest features because it doesn't take long to get sick of Drew's voice.

~ I can guarantee you the only reason Rich is here is because of The Middle. If it weren't that song, these people at Hits 1 wouldn't know who Maren Morris is, which is why My Church and 80s Mercedes were never hits here. It's a shame because those two songs in particular were much better than Rich. I really don't find this song that interesting. From this song alone, I feel like she thinks she's all that. But she's not, at least not on this song. 80s Mercedes will probably always be her best song.

~ The only good debut this week comes from Kendrick Lamar and SZA with another track from the Black Panther soundtrack, titled All The Stars. As usual, Kendrick shows how talented he is. I really like his verse. SZA sounds great in the chorus and her verse and I'm glad she has another song here because I do think she has a great voice. It's definitely another great song from this soundtrack and I'm glad it made its way here. Hopefully it debuts on the countdown soon.

~ We lost Legendary (again) and Walk On Water this week. The latter doesn't surprise me. Thirty Seconds To Mars' new album is currently up for pre-order and I'm not entirely sure what's going on with this band right now. The album title is not good and the cover looks terrible. And all the pre-released singles except Walk On Water are not good. I'm personally not looking forward to this and the album currently has 2.5 out of 5 stars on iTunes, with more 1-star ratings than 5-star. So clearly others are not very interested either.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Foster The People – Sit Next To Me

2. Kendrick Lamar/SZA – All The Stars

3. Rudimental/Jess Glynne/Macklemore/Dan Caplen – These Days

4. Halsey – Alone

5. Portugal. The Man – Live In The Moment

Zomblurb

~ Walk The Moon – One Foot is still hanging on at #2. I'm hoping this is The Middle's last week at #1 so that One Foot can get a chance. It'll be pure bullshit if it doesn't. One Foot is a much better song than The Middle. I'm going to vote for it as much as I can and hopefully it can get a chance at the top.

~ Meghan Trainor – No Excuses is now in the Top 10. This has been slowly dropping on iTunes lately. I feel like the big Meghan Trainor hype is over at this point. But of course it had to hit the Top 10 here at some point. But I guess sooner is better because then the sooner it'll leave.

~ It looks like the run for Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days is coming to an end. I'm very impressed with how well it did here and I'm so glad it got to spend a week at #1. It had a great run here and hopefully it can stick around for a little while longer.

~ Because of repeated listens this past week, Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something has become my most Wutchuwanted song. I'm still hoping it can make a reasonable jump soon. Sitting at #28 is not really doing it for me. It should be in the Top 20 at the very least.

~ Khalid – Young Dumb & Broke clearly did not last long. I actually thought it had a chance to do well here with that jump last week. Clearly I was wrong. I still don't find this song that interesting, so I'm kinda happy about this drop. But it seemed a little sudden to me. I wouldn't be surprised if it left next week or the week after.

~ Kelly Clarkson – Love So Soft is somehow still here. This song is not relevant anymore. It never even was a big hit. PLEASE leave us soon. It's crazy how this song does well here, yet a beautiful song like Piece By Piece doesn't even get touched by Hits 1. Although part of the problem is America's terrible taste in music. I mean, look at our #1 song.

~ Alan Walker/Noah Cyrus – All Falls Down dropped a little suddenly this week. I'm not too surprised by this since it was never a bit hit. But hopefully it can stick for a little while longer because I do still like the song. It's a little too early for it leave with how long it was on Hit-Bound.

~ Down in the Bottom 5 we have AJR/Rivers Cuomo – Sober Up and Keala Settle – This Is Me. The former shouldn't even be on the countdown. Hopefully it leaves soon. And the latter should be higher in my opinion. Though I'm not surprised it's this low. The voters seem to not be interested in songs from musicals. It's a shame because this one was actually really good.

~ As far as the exits go, all of them were former #1 songs. Believer is the only one I still really liked. It's a shame to see that one go. But at least it got to spend a year here. Slow Hands and Galway Girl were slowly losing my interest. I do still like them to some extent, but I was kind of getting sick of them. Finally, Sorry Not Sorry should've left a long time ago. At least it finally got the boot. Hopefully Tell Me You Love Me proves to be a good successor.

Top 20 Review

0 – Crap:

NONE

1 – Bad:

20. Camila Cabello – Never Be The Same

19. Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle

18. Lauv – I Like Me Better

2 – Mediocre:

NONE

3 – Decent:

17. Meghan Trainor – No Excuses

16. Fall Out Boy – Hold Me Tight Or Don't

15. Maroon 5 – Wait

4 – Good:

NONE

5 – Great:

14. Niall Horan – On The Loose

13. NF – Let You Down

12. Ed Sheeran – Perfect

11. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Want You Back

10. Bruno Mars/Cardi B – Finesse

9. Kesha/The Dap-Kings Horns – Woman

8. Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line – Meant To Be

7. G-Eazy/Halsey – Him & I

6. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/F.G.L./watt – Let Me Go

5. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes

4. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low

3. The Weeknd/Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me

2. Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days

1. Walk The Moon – One Foot

Overall Score: 82/100 = 82% (A)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Shakira – Whenever, Wherever

Most Missed Countdown Song: Carly Rae Jepsen – I Really Like You

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Shinedown – Devil

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#20)

My Top 5 Picks

1. Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something

2. Bad Wolves – Zombie

3. Walk The Moon – One Foot

4. Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days

5. Demi Lovato – Tell Me You Love Me

Zedd (3) – Week Of March 24, 2018

Hey guys! Nothing too interesting happened on the countdown this week. Shawn Mendes hosted in place of Spyder Harrison, likely due to the release of his new music. All I'm gonna say is that no guest artist can host the countdown as good as Spyder Harrison. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Troye Sivan – My My My! (#32)
• Shawn Mendes – There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#40) [5 Weeks At #1]
• X Ambassadors – Ahead Of Myself (#41)
• Maroon 5/SZA – What Lovers Do (#45)

Last Week's #1 Song: Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/F.G.L./watt – Let Me Go

The Countdown

45. Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl (#37) [4 Weeks At #1]

44. Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry (#44) [1 Week At #1]

43. Niall Horan – Slow Hands (#43) [3 Weeks At #1]

42. Dua Lipa – New Rules (#42)

41. Portugal. The Man – Feel It Still (#31)

40. Symon – Lonely Girl (#38)

39. AJR/Rivers Cuomo – Sober Up (#35)

38. Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future – End Game (#29) [1 Week At #1]

37. Kelly Clarkson – Love So Soft (#34)

36. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#39) [3 Weeks At #1]

35. Charlie Puth/Kehlani – Done For Me (DEBUT)

34. Noah Kahan/Julia Michaels – Hurt Somebody (DEBUT)

33. Kesha/The Dap-Kings Horns – Woman (#36)

32. Shawn Mendes – In My Blood (DEBUT)

31. Keala Settle/The Greatest Showman Ensemble – This Is Me (#24)

30. Marshmello/Anne-Marie – Friends (#27)

29. Taylor Swift – Delicate (DEBUT)

28. Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something (#33)

27. Camila Cabello – Havana (#25) [1 Week At #1]

26. Charlie Puth – How Long (#22) [2 Weeks At #1]

25. Alan Walker/Noah Cyrus/Digital Farm Animals – All Falls Down (#23)

24. P!nk – Beautiful Trauma (#8)

23. Bruno Mars/Cardi B – Finesse (#15)

22. Niall Horan – On The Loose (#26)

21. Selena Gomez/Marshmello – Wolves (#21)

20. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low (#16)

19. Halsey – Bad At Love (#19) [2 Weeks At #1]

18. Meghan Trainor – No Excuses (#18)

17. Khalid – Young, Dumb, and Broke (#30)

16. Imagine Dragons – Thunder (#28) [5 Weeks At #1]

15. The Weeknd/Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me (#17)

14. 5 Seconds of Summer – Want You Back (#20)

13. Lauv – I Like Me Better (#9)

12. Fall Out Boy – Hold Me Tight Or Don't (#10)

11. Camila Cabello – Never Be The Same (#13)

10. Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line – Meant To Be (#14)

  9. Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days (#5) [1 Week At #1]

  8. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes (#6)

  7. NF – Let You Down (#7)

  6. The Adam Levine Experience – Wait (#12)

  5. G-Eazy/Halsey – Him & I (#11)

  4. Ed Sheeran – Perfect (#4) [2 Weeks At #1]

  3. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/Florida Georgia Line/watt – Let Me Go (#1) [1 Week At #1]

  2. Walk The Moon – One Foot (#2)

  1. Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle (#3) [3^rd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (7)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: P!nk – Beautiful Trauma (–16)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Khalid – Young Dumb & Broke (+13)

New Entrants
~ First up this week, we have Charlie Puth with Done For Me featuring Kehlani. This is the next single from Voicenotes, which will still hopefully come out in May. By that point, Attention will be over a year old. Just like his last two singles, this song shows how much he has improved since Nine Track Mind, which was not to very many people's liking. Once again, he handles the production all on his own, which I find quite impressive, especially with how good it sounds. His vocals are really good and I find the chorus very enjoyable. It's a very catchy song and it's one I'll be listening to for a while. And Kehlani's contribution is the icing on the cake. I'm sure this will do well.

~ Next we have Noah Kahan featuring Julia Michaels with Hurt Somebody. There really isn't that much to this song. It's kind of boring in terms of the production. The vocals aren't very interesting until about halfway through the song when the two sing together. Neither of their voices are good on their own. But blended together, it sounds pretty decent. Overall, the song is okay. I can't really see myself growing into it, nor can I see it being that successful. But I guess time will tell on that.

~ It's great timing to have Shawn Mendes host the countdown the same week his song departs. But of course, another song of his has to do well, so In My Blood is joining us after being out for only a couple of days because Hits 1 is obsessed with Shawn. Between this and Lost In Japan, I do think the latter is slightly better, though they are both good songs. I feel like Shawn Mendes is kind of maturing here similar to Mercy from last year. The song is kind of laid-back in the first minute, which I like. His vocals are really good here. I like the instrumentation. I don't think it's something that'll stick with me in the long run. But for the time being, I think it's enjoyable.

~ Finally we have Taylor Swift with Delicate. I really don't think this song is all that interesting. It's a step down from End Game. I like the verses to some extent. But the majority of the song I find underwhelming and somewhat boring. Taylor Swift does not have a spectacular voice that can allow her to sing songs like this. I feel like other songs from Reputation would've made better singles. Delicate is by no means a bad song. But it's a little weak for Taylor Swift in terms of the production and vocals. I know she is capable of more. This track seems more like an album filler than a radio single.


Best Debut of the Week: Charlie Puth/Kehlani – Done For Me


Hit-Bound
~ Brendon Urie hosted Hit-Bound this week. Here is the Hit-Bound list.

• Post Malone/Ty Dolla $ign – Psycho
• Alice Merton – No Roots
• Bazzi – Mine
• Halsey – Alone
• Demi Lovato – Tell Me You Love Me
• Foster The People – Sit Next To Me
• Portugal. The Man – Live In The Moment
• Dustin Atlas/Erin Bowman – Fake Friends
• Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night) (DEBUT)
• Drake – God's Plan
• Welshly Arms – Legendary (RE-ENTRY)
• Rudimental/Jess Glynne/Macklemore/Dan Caplen – These Days
• Dua Lipa – IDGAF
• Thirty Seconds To Mars – Walk On Water

~ This week we welcome back Legendary after being away for a week. I still have my doubts about this debuting the Weekend Countdown though with how rock it is. I'm hoping it can get a chance. But we'll have to wait and see.

~ Next we have our host himself, Brendon Urie, with a brand new album coming out soon. I enjoy both new songs, though I like Say Amen better. The song is a lot of fun and it's a perfect jam for a Saturday night. And those vocals are amazing, which is nothing new. Hopefully this makes its debut soon.

~ Hits 1 has been playing the Bad Wolves cover of Zombie this past week, yet we're not seeing it here on Hit-Bound. Although it doesn't top the original version by The Cranberries, I personally think it's a very good cover and I like that Hits 1 started playing it. Maybe we can see it here soon, unless it's one of those songs that plays but doesn't actually debut on any of the weekend shows.


Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. TIE: Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night)
1. TIE: Demi Lovato – Tell Me You Love Me
3. Foster The People – Sit Next To Me
4. Rudimental/Jess Glynne/Macklemore/Dan Caplen – These Days
5. Thirty Seconds To Mars – Walk On Water


In My Blurb
~ Nothing particularly interesting happened in the Top 5 this week aside from the entry from G-Eazy/Halsey – Him & I. This was very much expected. I'm surprised it took so long with how much Hits 1 obsesses over Halsey.

~ New to the Top 10, we have Maroon 5 – Wait. As far as my opinion on the song goes, we're back to where we started. The song is okay mainly because it lacks a band. It's impressive that with seven band members, they can make their music sound like solely Adam Levine. Maroon 5 has done worse with songs like Don't Wanna Know, but this song just doesn't grab my attention like their older music did. Their older stuff is why I got into them. This is not a good direction for these guys.

~ P!nk – Beautiful Trauma took quite a hit out of the Top 20. A little sooner than I expected. Hopefully it doesn't die out completely just yet because I still really like it.

~ As far as the exits go, There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back was getting old to me. I'm sure I'll grow back into it soon. But right now I'm just a little tired of hearing it. Ahead of Myself has also been fading on me, though I still find it somewhat enjoyable. My My My was very much underrated unfortunately. And What Lovers Do is very possibly the last really good Maroon 5 song we'll get in a while. It will certainly be missed.


Top 20 Review
0 – Crap:
20. Imagine Dragons – Thunder

1 – Bad:
19. Camila Cabello – Never Be The Same
18. Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle
17. Lauv – I Like Me Better

2 – Mediocre:
16. Halsey – Bad At Love

3 – Decent:
15. Khalid – Young Dumb & Broke
14. Meghan Trainor – No Excuses
13. Maroon 5 – Wait
12. Fall Out Boy – Hold Me Tight Or Don't

4 – Good:
NONE

5 – Great:
11. NF – Let You Down
10. 5 Seconds of Summer – Want You Back
9. Ed Sheeran – Perfect
8. Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line – Meant To Be
7. G-Eazy/Halsey – Him & I
6. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes
5. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/F.G.L./watt – Let Me Go
4. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low
3. The Weeknd/Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me
2. Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Walk The Moon – One Foot

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


Throwback Pick Of The Week: Natasha Bedingfield – Pocketful Of Sunshine

Most Missed Countdown Song: Nickelback – When We Stand Together

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Eminem/Kehlani – Nowhere Fast

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#24)


My Top 5 Picks
1. Walk The Moon – One Foot
2. Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something
3. Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days
4. The Weeknd/Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me
5. Keala Settle – This Is Me

Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso (1) – Week Of March 17, 2018

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed your week. I got to see the new movie Love, Simon on Saturday and it was fantastic. It was funny, emotional, relatable, and very enjoyable. It meant a lot to me as an openly gay man and I'm glad the LGBT community is getting more representation with this movie. So I highly recommend it to anyone. And since I talk about music here, I recommend the soundtrack. Jack Antonoff did a lot with it and there are quite a few songs from Bleachers. There's also the Khalid and Normani collab, a new song from Troye Sivan, a Whitney Houston classic, and more. So do check that out. As far as the countdown goes, I have a lot to talk about this week. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Eminem/Ed Sheeran – River (#19)
• The Chainsmokers – Sick Boy (#39)
• Post Malone/21 Savage – Rockstar (#41)
• Louis Tomlinson – Miss You (#45)

Last Week's #1 Song: Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle

The Countdown

45. Maroon 5/SZA – What Lovers Do (#44)

44. Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry (#43) [1 Week At #1]

43. Niall Horan – Slow Hands (#42) [3 Weeks At #1]

42. Dua Lipa – New Rules (#37)

41. X Ambassadors – Ahead Of Myself (#40)

40. Shawn Mendes – There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#38) [5 Weeks At #1]

39. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#32) [3 Weeks At #1]

38. Symon – Lonely Girl (#35)

37. Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl (#36) [4 Weeks At #1]

36. Kesha/The Dap-Kings Horns – Woman (DEBUT)

35. AJR/Rivers Cuomo – Sober Up (#28)

34. Kelly Clarkson – Love So Soft (#33)

33. Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something (#34)

32. Troye Sivan – My My My! (#24)

31. Portugal. The Man – Feel It Still (#30)

30. Khalid – Young, Dumb, and Broke (DEBUT)

29. Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future – End Game (#29) [1 Week At #1]

28. Imagine Dragons – Thunder (#8) [5 Weeks At #1]

27. Marshmello/Anne-Marie – Friends (DEBUT)

26. Niall Horan – On The Loose (DEBUT)

25. Camila Cabello – Havana (#26) [1 Week At #1]

24. Keala Settle/The Greatest Showman Ensemble – This Is Me (#27)

23. Alan Walker/Noah Cyrus/Digital Farm Animals – All Falls Down (#31)

22. Charlie Puth – How Long (#18) [2 Weeks At #1]

21. Selena Gomez/Marshmello – Wolves (#5)

20. 5 Seconds of Summer – Want You Back (#22)

19. Halsey – Bad At Love (#7) [2 Weeks At #1]

18. Meghan Trainor – No Excuses (#20)

17. The Weeknd/Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me (#21)

16. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low (#11)

15. Bruno Mars/Cardi B – Finesse (#23)

14. Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line – Meant To Be (#10)

13. Camila Cabello – Never Be The Same (#12)

12. The Adam Levine Experience – Wait (#15)

11. G-Eazy/Halsey – Him & I (#16)

10. Fall Out Boy – Hold Me Tight Or Don't (#25)

  9. Lauv – I Like Me Better (#14)

  8. P!nk – Beautiful Trauma (#13)

  7. NF – Let You Down (#9)

  6. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes (#17)

  5. Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days (#3) [1 Week At #1]

  4. Ed Sheeran – Perfect (#4) [2 Weeks At #1]

  3. Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle (#1) [2 Weeks At #1]

  2. Walk The Moon – One Foot (#6)

  1. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/Florida Georgia Line/watt – Let Me Go (#2) [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (6)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Imagine Dragons – Thunder (–20)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Fall Out Boy – Hold Me Tight Or Don't (+15)

New Entrants
~ First up we have Kesha with the next single from Rainbow, titled Woman. This is similar to a lot of her older work as it's a little bit of an anthem. It's nowhere near as good as her older tracks, but it's still something that I find enjoyable. It's a pretty solid track overall. Kesha's vocals sound good as always and I like the production. But I'm not huge on the laughing in the second verse and the weird sound at the end of the song that sounds like laughing. I'm sure that was done for some particular reason, but I just don't think it sounds good. But other than that, it's a pretty good song and another win for Kesha.

~ Next we have rising star Khalid with a song that's been around for a while now, titled Young Dumb & Broke. I like Khalid. I think he's a talented individual and I still have a hard time believing that he's only 20 for some reason. He has a good voice and I liked his contribution in Logic's song regarding suicide. But I'm not huge on this "new" song. The lyrical content is definitely relatable even though I'm no longer in high school. I can understand why many relate to this. But the song is a little too slow for me and I find it underwhelming at times. It's decent, but it's nothing I'll be looking back on. I much prefer his newer song with Normani Kordei titled Love Lies from the Love, Simon soundtrack. But as far as this song goes, I'm kind of split overall.

~ Next we have Marshmello debuting with Friends featuring Anne-Marie. I think this is a very interesting song. It's not amazing by any means. But I find it enjoyable to some extent. I think the production is solid, even if it doesn't sound totally like an EDM track. It's different, but it's interesting in my opinion. Anne-Marie's vocals sound good for the most part. She's not a great singer, but she's decent and her voice fits reasonably well here. Since Wolves is fading on me, I've been looking for something fresh from Marshmello and I think Friends will do for the time being. It's kind of catchy and it's something that I can picture having stuck in my head. Though I will say that it's far from EDM and nowhere near his best work.

~ Finally we have a Hits 1 favorite, Niall Horan with new single On The Loose. Hits 1 pretty much revealed that it'd be debuting earlier this week on their Instagram by saying that Niall "may or may not" have a new song debuting. When someone says that something "may or may not" happen, about 95% of the time, it does happen. I think the song is pretty good. As I've said before, Niall is very talented and one of the better members from One Direction. This song is faster than Too Much To Ask and it's pretty upbeat. The instrumentation is good and I like his vocals. It's not exactly something I'll remember in the long run. But it's enjoyable at the moment.


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

• Foster The People – Sit Next To Me
• Dua Lipa – IDGAF
• Rudimental/Jess Glynne/Macklemore/Dan Caplen – These Days
• Drake – God's Plan (DEBUT)
• Thirty Seconds To Mars – Walk On Water
• Taylor Swift – Delicate (DEBUT)
• Halsey – Alone (DEBUT)
• Portugal. The Man – Live In The Moment
• Bazzi – Mine
• Post Malone/Ty Dolla $ign – Psycho
• Alice Merton – No Roots
• Demi Lovato – Tell Me You Love Me
• Charlie Puth/Kehlani – Done For Me (DEBUT)
• Dustin Atlas/Erin Bowman – Fake Friends

~ I'm not a huge fan of Drake as a rapper. I've noticed that the songs he sings on usually sound better. God's Plan is not that appealing to me. It actually kind of bores me. It's repetitive and underwhelming in my opinion. I know Drake is capable of more.

~ With the past three singles ultimately failing to get anywhere, I have a very hard time seeing Delicate get big. I'm not a huge fan of this. I like the verses, but the chorus isn't that appealing to me. It's definitely not a bad song. But she has done much better and I think there were some better choices for the next single. I don't think Delicate was a very good choice.

~ Now that Bad At Love is finally starting to fade, Halsey brings her next single, Alone. I think this is pretty good because she really shows off her voice nicely here, similar to its predecessor. I am getting a little tired of Halsey in general. But I think this song is pretty good overall and I wouldn't mind seeing it on the countdown at some point. But I know it's not a song that will stick with me.

~ Done For Me is another example of how Charlie Puth has improved significantly from Nine Track Mind to Voicenotes. His voice sounds really good here and I really like the chorus. The production is good. I like the contribution from Kehlani. I think she has a great voice, yet she's underrated. So I'm glad we're getting to hear more from her on the radio.

~ Demi Lovato recently released a remix EP for Tell Me You Love Me. Normally I don't care about remixes because they aren't usually good. But this EP actually has a Spanish version of the song, which I think sounds really good. She is already extremely talented. The fact that she can even sing in Spanish as we hear in this version and her collab with Luis Fonsi from last year makes me wonder if there's anything she can't do.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Demi Lovato – Tell Me You Love Me

2. Charlie Puth/Kehlani – Done For Me

3. Rudimental/Jess Glynne/Macklemore/Dan Caplen – These Days

4. Foster The People – Sit Next To Me

5. Thirty Seconds To Mars – Walk On Water

Young, Dumb, and Blurb

~ After being on the countdown for almost six months (half a year), Let Me Go has just now hit #1. Normally I would say I didn't see this coming. But it's Hits 1 and that jump to #2 last week was a little bit of an indication. I'm very pleased with this. I still really like the song even though it's been around for so long. I certainly wouldn't mind this spend more time at the top. It's a well put together track and probably Hailee Steinfeld's best at this point.

~ Walk The Moon – One Foot made a surprise jump to #2 this week, much to my pleasure. And I started to think the song would fade away from this countdown. I'm so glad I was wrong. It's a shame this song didn't do so well everywhere else because it is honestly fantastic. There is nothing to not like about this. That being said, I'm pulling for this song to hit #1 sometime in the near future, ideally next week. It's very worthy of it.

~ This is what I like to see. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes caught on very quickly and now it's already in the Top 10. I see big things for this song and I'm definitely looking forward to what it will accomplish. It's far superior compared to its predecessor.

~ Also entering the Top 10, we have Beautiful Trauma (yay!) and I Like Me Better (ew) returning, as well as Hold Me Tight Or Don't entering for the first time. That definitely surprised me. It seemed a little random. Thankfully, I've been growing into the song lately and it's actually pretty decent. The whistling is still annoying, but I find the chorus quite enjoyable. So I'm okay with this jump. Though I can't see the song getting any higher.

~ G-Eazy/Halsey – Him & I is moving at a snail's pace right now. You'd think that this would already be in the Top 5 because of Halsey's involvement. I'm sure it'll get there eventually. But it'd be nice for it to be popular here at the same time as everywhere else.

~ Excluding Fall Out Boy, we have three songs entering the Top 20 this week: Finesse, Pray For Me, and Want You Back. The latter went nowhere outside of this station as expected and I doubt it'll be leaving from here anytime soon. Finesse has been jumping in and out nonstop. I like the song, so I'm cool with it here. But it won't affect me if takes a sudden drop. The exciting entry is Pray For Me. Hopefully we can see this in the Top 10 soon. It gets better with each listen.

~ Selena Gomez/Marshmello – Wolves took a sudden drop this week out of the Top 20 from the Top 5. I still kind of like the song. But it's been fading on me lately and I'm actually kind of glad that it dropped. It had a nice run. But I think it's time for it to start dropping.

~ Imagine Dragons – Thunder also took a sudden drop out from the Top 10. If you've been reading my posts lately, then you know that I have a strong distaste for this song and this drop makes me very happy, especially with how sudden it was. This song was #2 two weeks ago and now it's down at #28.

~ Portugal. The Man – Feel It Still has finally dropped out of the Top 30. I honestly don't know who still listens to this. I'm starting to see why I didn't love it at first. It's one of those songs that one can easily get sick of, especially with how overplayed it was. I'm glad they had a hit, but it's been here too long at this point.

~ I'm not too happy about the drop from Troye Sivan – My My My. It's unfortunate that this song isn't as big as Youth was, especially with how talented Troye is. Hopefully it can make a recovery, though I have my doubts that it actually will.

~ While the drop from My My My disappointed me, I'm very happy about the drop from Sober Up. This needs to just go soon and I'll pretend it was never here. I don't know how anyone could be proud after making something like this. As I've said before, AJR need to just stop. They are not good whatsoever.

~ Happy one year anniversary to Imagine Dragons – Believer! Like I said before, I'm glad that I managed to grow into this because I can't imagine how I would feel about it still being here if I still disliked it. I'm very impressed that it did this well. This is easily their biggest song here ever since Radioactive. It's nowhere near as good, but I can appreciate it for what it is. Now let's see how much longer it can stay.

~ As far as the exits go, Rockstar has finally departed after having a weird amount of success here. Let me make this clear: I don't hate the song. But I have a hard time finding something to like about it. The song may have been more tolerable without the contribution from 21 Savage, who I despise. River and Miss You both debuted on the same week. The former left from #19 reminding us that no song is completely safe from elimination. The latter managed to hold out for a while despite no success. At least it was here and is eligible for my Top 45 songs of 2018. Finally we have Sick Boy departing after only three weeks. This comes as no surprise. The Chainsmokers have been going downhill lately and they're losing what made them stand out.


Top 20 Review
0 – Crap:
NONE

1 – Bad:
20. Camila Cabello – Never Be The Same
19. Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle
18. Lauv – I Like Me Better

2 – Mediocre:
NONE

3 – Decent:
17. Halsey – Bad At Love
16. Meghan Trainor – No Excuses
15. Fall Out Boy – Hold Me Tight Or Don't
14. Maroon 5 – Wait

4 – Good:
NONE

5 – Great:
13. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Want You Back
12. NF – Let You Down
11. Ed Sheeran – Perfect
10. Bruno Mars/Cardi B – Finesse
9. Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line – Meant To Be
8. P!nk – Beautiful Trauma
7. G-Eazy/Halsey – Him & I
6. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low
5. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/F.G.L./watt – Let Me Go
4. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes
3. The Weeknd/Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. TIE: Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days
1. TIE: Walk The Moon – One Foot

Overall Score: 82/100 = 82% (A)


Throwback Pick Of The Week: The Cranberries – Zombie

Most Missed Countdown Song: Tori Kelly – Should've Been Us

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Bad Wolves – Zombie

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#20)


My Top 5 Picks
1. TIE: Walk The Moon – One Foot
1. TIE: Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days
3. Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something
4. Keala Settle – This Is Me
5. The Weeknd/Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me

Zedd (2) – Week Of March 10, 2018

Hey guys! I hope you all had a good week. Unfortunately it seems like there have been issues in the comment section again. So this week I'm just going to start seriously deleting every unnecessary that doesn't make sense to me. If that doesn't work, then I'll turn comment moderation back on next week, which I really don't want to have to do. I want you guys to able to have conversations without me having to monitor everything. But I'll do it if I have to. I'll give it one more week though and we'll see how things are afterward. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Wolves – Animal (#37)
• P!nk – What About Us (#38) [1 Week At #1]

Last Week's #1 Song: Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle

The Countdown

45. Louis Tomlinson – Miss You (#45)

44. Maroon 5/SZA – What Lovers Do (#42)

43. Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry (#44) [1 Week At #1]

42. Niall Horan – Slow Hands (#43) [3 Weeks At #1]

41. Post Malone/21 Savage – Rockstar (#41)

40. X Ambassadors – Ahead of Myself (#35)

39. The Chainsmokers – Sick Boy (#39)

38. Shawn Mendes – There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#33) [5 Weeks At #1]

37. Dua Lipa – New Rules (#36)

36. Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl (#40) [4 Weeks At #1]

35. Symon – Lonely Girl (#30)

34. Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something (#29)

33. Kelly Clarkson – Love So Soft (#28)

32. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#22) [3 Weeks At #1]

31. Alan Walker/Noah Cyrus/Digital Farm Animals – All Falls Down (#34)

30. Portugal. The Man – Feel It Still (#25)

29. Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future – End Game (#31) [1 Week At #1]

28. AJR/Rivers Cuomo – Sober Up (#20)

27. Keala Settle/The Greatest Showman Ensemble – This Is Me (DEBUT)

26. Camila Cabello – Havana (#26)

25. Fall Out Boy – Hold Me Tight Or Don't (#18)

24. Troye Sivan – My My My! (#24)

23. Bruno Mars/Cardi B – Finesse (#15)

22. 5 Seconds of Summer – Want You Back (#27)

21. The Weeknd/Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me (#21)

20. Meghan Trainor – No Excuses (DEBUT)

19. Eminem/Ed Sheeran – River (#17)

18. Charlie Puth – How Long (#10) [2 Weeks At #1]

17. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes (#32)

16. G-Eazy/Halsey – Him & I (#13)

15. The Adam Levine Experience – Wait (#14)

14. Lauv – I Like Me Better (#23)

13. P!nk – Beautiful Trauma (#16)

12. Camila Cabello – Never Be The Same (#19)

11. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low (#6)

10. Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line – Meant To Be (#11)

  9. NF – Let You Down (#5)

  8. Imagine Dragons – Thunder (#2) [5 Weeks At #1]

  7. Halsey – Bad At Love (#9) [2 Weeks At #1]

  6. Walk The Moon – One Foot (#12)

  5. Selena Gomez/Marshmello – Wolves (#7)

  4. Ed Sheeran – Perfect (#8) [2 Weeks At #1]

  3. Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days (#3) [1 Week At #1]

  2. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/Florida Georgia Line/watt – Let Me Go (#4)

  1. Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle (#1) [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (5)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Imagine Dragons – Believer (–10)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes (+15)

New Entrants
~ With the highest debut of the week, we have Meghan Trainor with No Excuses. I talked about this last week when it debuted on Hit-Bound. But to sum it up, I think the song is okay. It's not enough to make up for the shit she has released in the past like All About That Bass, Dear Future Husband, and No. Me Too I liked in a guilty pleasure kind of way. But it was still not a good song. I like the production to No Excuses to some extent. It has a nice groove it and it's a catchy song. But the songwriting still smells like typical Meghan Trainor and it lacks any originality. She continues to assume that all guys are assholes that don't respect or know how to treat a lady. I get that she's a feminist and all. But we don't have to empower women by putting men down. It makes no sense. It's like her shaming skinny women in All About That Bass in an attempt to promote body image. Frankly, I don't know why anyone would want to date her. She seems like such a rude person, particularly towards men. And she has to have all these rules and guidelines for what wants in a guy as shown in Dear Future Husband. I honestly just can't get on board with her and her messages. Like I said, No Excuses is catchy, which is why it's not red. But I can definitely see myself putting this in red in the future. For now though, it's okay. I can't see it lasting that long despite it debuting up in the Top 20.

~ Next we have This Is Me by Keala Settle, which is from the soundtrack for The Greatest Showman. The soundtrack has been high on the iTunes chart for quite some time, showing that this is kind of a big deal. I think this song is fantastic. It's a great self-empowerment anthem. I love the lyrical content. The production is amazing from start to end. The song starts off nice and slow and soon turns into this anthem that's hard to resist. Keala's voice is phenomenal. She's one of the best singers I've heard in a while. Every time she hits those high notes, it gives me chills. I thought she did a great job performing it at the Oscars last weekend. It is a little different to have a song from a musical on the countdown. But a lot of times, different is good. This is true talent. It's easily one of the best songs out there currently and I'm glad it's been gaining some popularity. I'm really hoping this does reasonably well here. But either way, at least the song is eligible for my Top 45 songs of 2018.


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

• Portugal. The Man – Live In The Moment
• Demi Lovato – Tell Me You Love Me (DEBUT)
• Dustin Atlas/Erin Bowman – Fake Friends
• Post Malone/Ty Dolla $ign – Psycho
• Welshly Arms – Legendary
• Rudimental/Jess Glynne/Macklemore/Dan Caplen – These Days
• Alice Merton – No Roots
• Khalid – Young, Dumb, and Broke
• Dua Lipa – IDGAF (DEBUT)
• Foster The People – Sit Next To Me (DEBUT)
• Marshmello/Anne-Marie – Friends
• Niall Horan – On The Loose
• Thirty Seconds To Mars – Walk On Water
• Bazzi – Mine

~ Very similar to Walk On Water, Tell Me You Love Me has been around for months at this point and I actually included it in my Year-End post where I listed the twenty-five best songs that failed to make it to Hits 1. This song is fantastic and one of Demi Lovato's best songs in a while. One of the reasons I disliked Sorry Not Sorry was because it didn't sound like her. But I feel like she found herself here. Everything about this song works. The production, the horns, the lyrics, and especially the vocals. She really shows off her voice here. I'm glad she was able to redeem herself and I'm hoping this makes it debut on the countdown soon.

~ Dua Lipa returns with IDGAF. I think this is a step down from New Rules. I don't find this very interesting. Then again, I've really only listened to it once. So it could potentially grow on me. But for now, it's really only okay. It's kind of boring in my opinion.

~ I haven't heard anything from Foster The People ever since Pumped Up Kicks many years ago. Despite that, I'm glad they have another song on here. It's nice to hear from these guys again. I think Sit Next To Me is a very enjoyable song. I like the production and the vocals are good. This could very well be better than Pumped Up Kicks. But time will tell on that. For now, it's a really good song and I hope it debuts soon.

~ We lost Woman by Kesha this week. But considering how much airplay it got this past week, I don't think it's gone for good. It'll most likely make its way onto the countdown next week.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Demi Lovato – Tell Me You Love Me

2. Rudimental/Jess Glynne/Macklemore/Dan Caplen – These Days

3. Thirty Seconds To Mars – Walk On Water

4. Foster The People – Sit Next To Me

5. Dustin Atlas/Erin Bowman – Fake Friends

This Is Blurbs

~ Hailee Steinfeld/Florida Georgia Line – Let Me Go has hit a new peak at #2 this week. Because of our current #1 song, I'd be perfectly okay with this song hitting #1 soon. It's been here for a while at this point. But for some reason, I still love it. It's a catchy song and everyone sounds great. I'd personally be happy with this at #1.

~ Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line – Meant To Be is now back in the Top 10. This is still one of the biggest songs currently. So I'm glad it's still doing somewhat well here unlike New Rules. Hits 1 is probably just hesitant to have two songs with Florida Georgia Line in the Top 10. But honestly, I think both collabs are really good. I know some disagree with me on this one. But I mainly just like it because of Bebe Rexha.

~ Eminem/Ed Sheeran – River is still barely hanging around in the Top 20. I still love this song and I wish it could do better here. The Top 20 is decent. But it's the first song with Ed Sheeran that hasn't hit the Top 10 yet. It's also the first song with Ed Sheeran since Don't that hasn't hit #1. Hopefully that motivates Hits 1 to bump it up.

~ Imagine Dragons – Believer and Kelly Clarkson – Love So Soft have both dropped out the Top 30 for the first time in seemingly forever. The latter should've left a long time ago. This song was never a big hit and it's annoying that it did well here because it's one of Clarkson's weakest songs, if not her weakest. The former I'm still okay with. Frankly, I want to see this song last a year. We're not too far away from that day.

~ Of course Hits 1 is underrating Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something. This is currently #11 on iTunes. I get that it's not really that huge elsewhere. But I don't know why it's not in the Top 20 at the very least. The voters need to start getting their shit together. The song is fantastic.

~ As far as the exits go, Animal was bound to be underrated. It's unfortunate because I actually liked that song. We also lost What About Us, which was a huge favorite of mine ranking at #4 for my favorite songs of 2017. I'm glad this song was successful, hit #1, and found a spot on Hits 1's Top 45 of 2017. P!nk truly impressed me with this one. I still love it and I probably always will. You will be greatly missed.

Top 20 Review

0 – Crap:

20. Imagine Dragons – Thunder

1 – Bad:

19. Camila Cabello – Never Be The Same

18. Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle

17. Lauv – I Like Me Better

2 – Mediocre:

NONE

3 – Decent:

16. Meghan Trainor – No Excuses

15. Halsey – Bad At Love

4 – Good:

14. Maroon 5 – Wait

5 – Great:

13. Selena Gomez/Marshmello – Wolves

12. Charlie Puth – How Long

11. NF – Let You Down

10. Ed Sheeran – Perfect

9. P!nk – Beautiful Trauma

8. Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line – Meant To Be

7. G-Eazy/Halsey – Him & I

6. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/F.G.L./watt – Let Me Go

5. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low

4. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes

3. Eminem/Ed Sheeran – River

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:

1. TIE: Walk The Moon – One Foot

1. TIE: Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days

Overall Score: 80/100 = 80% (A)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Nickelback – How You Remind Me

Most Missed Countdown Song: Hunter Hayes – I Want Crazy

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Shinedown – Devil

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#17)

My Top 5 Picks

1. TIE: Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days

1. TIE: Walk The Moon – One Foot

1. TIE: Keala Settle – This Is Me

4. Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something

5. The Weeknd/Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me

As one final note, I found this interesting article linked here that discusses why The Middle is not good. This isn't entirely why I dislike it because it's from the perspective of country listeners and it talks mainly about Maren Morris. But I still thought it was an interesting read and there are some points in there that I certainly agree with. So feel free to check it out.