Zedd (1) – Week Of March 3, 2018

Hey guys! For those unaware, I posted my review of Billboard's Year-End Hot 100 chart for 2017 a couple days ago. Be sure to check that out if you haven't already. As far as the countdown this week goes, it was okay. We lost three good songs, but got three more good songs in their places. Our #1 is not good, but more on that in the blurbs. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• All Time Low – Last Young Renegade (#29)
• Kesha – Praying (#42)
• Sam Smith – Too Good At Goodbyes (#45)

Last Week's #1 Song: Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days

The Countdown

45. Louis Tomlinson – Miss You (#41)

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

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

42. Maroon 5/SZA – What Lovers Do (#36)

41. Post Malone/21 Savage – Rockstar (#40)

40. Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl (#33) [4 Weeks At #1]

39. The Chainsmokers – Sick Boy (#30)

38. P!nk – What About Us (#39) [1 Week At #1]

37. Wolves – Animal (#35)

36. Dua Lipa – New Rules (#34)

35. X Ambassadors – Ahead of Myself (#10)

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

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

32. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes (DEBUT)

31. Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future – End Game (#25) [1 Week At #1]

30. Symon – Lonely Girl (#37)

29. Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something (#31)

28. Kelly Clarkson – Love So Soft (#27)

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

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

25. Portugal. The Man – Feel It Still (#23)

24. Troye Sivan – My My My! (#32)

23. Lauv – I Like Me Better (#24)

22. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#21) [3 Weeks At #1]

21. The Weeknd/Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me (#28)

20. AJR/Rivers Cuomo – Sober Up (#19)

19. Camila Cabello – Never Be The Same (#16)

18. Fall Out Boy – Hold Me Tight Or Don't (#17)

17. Eminem/Ed Sheeran – River (#18)

16. P!nk – Beautiful Trauma (#13)

15. Bruno Mars/Cardi B – Finesse (#22)

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

13. G-Eazy/Halsey – Him & I (#14)

12. Walk The Moon – One Foot (#8)

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

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

  9. Halsey – Bad At Love (#5) [2 Weeks At #1]

  8. Ed Sheeran – Perfect (#6) [2 Weeks At #1]

  7. Selena Gomez/Marshmello – Wolves (#9)

  6. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low (#20)

  5. NF – Let You Down (#12)

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

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

  2. Imagine Dragons – Thunder (#3) [5 Weeks At #1]

  1. Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle (#7) [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (4)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: X Ambassadors – Ahead Of Myself (–25)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low (+14)

New Entrants
~ First up we have long-time Hit-Bound veteran Alan Walker featuring Noah Cyrus with All Falls Down. Alan Walker is another underrated producer similar to Kygo. I've enjoyed a good amount of his music in the past and I'm glad he was able to finally debut here with something. I like the production in All Falls Down. It has an interesting drop that I think sounds really good. EDM is not exactly being represented very well at the moment. But I think this song shows that there are still some good dance songs out there. Noah Cyrus doesn't sound as bad here as she usually does. Her voice does still seem a little flat. But it's not awful. That's really the only problem I have with the song. Other than that, it's a very enjoyable listen and I'm glad it was able to make it onto the countdown.

~ Next we have Imagine Dragons with Whatever It Takes. This song spent several months on Hit-Bound to the point where I wasn't sure if it would debut. But it's been gaining some steam lately, which made me believe that it still had a chance. Now here it is. This is one of the better songs off of Evolve, which I personally did not think was a good album aside from a couple of songs including this one. Whatever It Takes is definitely the best single so far from the album. It's very fast and Dan Reynolds sounds really good on the vocals. The verses are enjoyable and I love that pre-chorus, which then leads into what I would refer to as the epic chorus. It's still not their best work by any means. But it's the one single out of the three so far that sounds the closest to their Night Visions days. It's something I can certainly live with and it's truly the Imagine Dragons that I like. Overall, I think the song is very good and I would love to see it do well and replace Thunder in the Top 10 hopefully.

~ Finally we have the return of 5 Seconds Of Summer with their latest single, Want You Back. They've had quite a few hits on this countdown within the past few years. But the only one that was really memorable was Jet Black Heart, which was my #4 favorite song of 2016. Everything else wasn't exactly anything special. Want You Back is a bit different than what they used to do. But I think it's pretty good. The instrumentation on here is good and I really like the vocals. The chorus is enjoyable and it's a very catchy song. It's probably one of their better songs so far along with Jet Black Heart. While I can't really see this being that big of a hit everywhere else, I can see it doing well here. I certainly wouldn't mind because it is a good song. But Hits 1 needs to not do anything crazy with it. I know how much they love 5SOS, but this is not something that should be spending many weeks at the top, even though they haven't had a #1 since She Looks So Perfect. Just putting that out there.


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

• Bazzi – Mine
• Meghan Trainor – No Excuses (DEBUT)
• Khalid – Young, Dumb, and Broke
• Rudimental/Jess Glynne/Macklemore/Dan Caplen – These Days
• Niall Horan – On The Loose
• Portugal. The Man – Live In The Moment
• Kesha/The Dap-Kings Horns – Woman
• Post Malone/Ty Dolla $ign – Psycho
• Thirty Seconds To Mars – Walk On Water
• Marshmello/Anne-Marie – Friends
• Welshly Arms – Legendary
• Keala Settle – This Is Me
• Alice Merton – No Roots (DEBUT)
• Dustin Atlas/Erin Bowman – Fake Friends (DEBUT)

~ It was only a matter of time until we'd get the comeback from one of my least favorite artists at the moment, Meghan Trainor. Right off the bat, No Excuses doesn't suck. It's actually a pretty decent song in terms of the production. It has a nice groove to it and the chorus is pretty catchy. Where the song loses me is the songwriting. This is a typical Meghan Trainor song in terms of the lyrics where she's basically saying no to any guy interested in her or even looking at her because apparently all guys are assholes that don't "respect her". It's nothing new, but it gets more annoying each time. Overall, I'm pretty split on this. It's better than All About That Bass, Dear Future Husband, and No. But the lyrics don't have very much to offer. We'll see if my thoughts change. Though I doubt this will get that big.

~ No Roots definitely had some potential, but the song just falls flat for me. It's been around for quite a while and I just haven't been able to get into it. I like the bass, but there isn't very much else this song has to it. I expected a little bit more out of the chorus with how the verse and pre-chorus led up to it. There are no spectacular moments in the song and there's virtually nothing interesting about it. The simplicity here doesn't work as well as it did with songs Shape of You by Ed Sheeran and Attention by Charlie Puth. The production just doesn't do it for me unfortunately. I also find her voice irritating, especially in the verses and pre-chorus, making this an unenjoyable listen. Overall, I'm not a fan of this. It's not the worst thing ever and I may come around to it. But I just don't find it very interesting at all.

~ At first listen, Fake Friends was only okay. But after a few more listens, it's grown on me. I like the production and both artists sound pretty good on vocals. The lyrical content is somewhat relatable. I really don't have much else to say. Overall, it's a good song. It's not amazing, but I like it for what it is. I wouldn't mind seeing this on the countdown at some point.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Keala Settle – This Is Me

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

3. Thirty Seconds To Mars – Walk On Water

4. Kesha/The Dap-Kings Horns – Woman

5. Dustin Atlas/Erin Bowman – Fake Friends

Blurb You Back

~ I'm really not surprised with The Middle being #1 this week. But it certainly doesn't make me happy. I'm sure this encourages Zedd to continue producing these mediocre-type songs. I've done a lot of comparing to his previous two albums because, truthfully, The Middle is shit compared to some of the songs from those. But even not comparing them, The Middle is still beyond mediocre. There's no originality because it sounds like Starving and Stay. The "drop" sounds very bad and the sound effects in the background are painful to the ears. I'll admit that Maren Morris sounds decent here. But the more I hear this, the more her voice gets on my nerves. So yeah, I'm not really happy about this. At least Good Old Days got to spend a week at the top because I'm sure The Middle will be there for a little while with how much Hits 1 has been obsessing over it on their Instagram.

~ Here we go again with Thunder being the #2 song in North America. Who the hell is still listening to this? It shouldn't even be in the Top 10 anymore. But Hits 1 has been all over their latest album even though the majority of it sucks. I'm still okay with Believer. But Thunder makes it seem like the band is selling out and trying to get a radio hit and that annoys me. They're very talented when they do what makes them stand out. Songs like Whatever It Takes and Walking The Wire show that. Thunder, on the other hand, shows that it doesn't take much to have a smash hit.

~ NF – Let You Down seems to have jumped up into the Top 5 this week. I'm very okay with this. I think the song has a good meaning to it and I like the vocals for the most part. I'm glad this song has been successful so far. I wouldn't mind it staying this high for a little while.

~ MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low has now hit a new peak in the Top 10 at #6. It's still crazy to think about how far this song has come. I remember loving it when it first debuted on Hit-Bound over a year ago. I still love it to this day and I'm glad the song is having a second chance at success here. It's a very sweet song and it deserves to be successful.

~ Camila Cabello – Never Be The Same has been getting worse every time I hear it. Her voice is just not good, especially when she attempts to go high before the chorus. It makes the song hard to listen. She doesn't even sound good in the chorus either. She's trying way too hard. Personally, I think she sounds better in songs like Havana where she doesn't try that hard to sound good. That being said, I'm hoping this song can drop soon.

~ Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future – End Game is already out of the Top 30. I guess her Reputation era is just not meant to be as successful as her 1989 era. It's certainly not as good of an album. But this is the third single now and, while it reached the Top 5 and even #1, it still didn't last long. Either Hits 1 is losing interest, which I doubt is the case, or the voters are not fans, which would make sense. This song was actually pretty good compared to the last two, which is unfortunate. But oh well. At least it spent a week at the top.

~ X Ambassadors – Ahead Of Myself took quite a drop this week from the Top 10 out of the Top 30. I am impressed with how well it did these past couple of months. But I don't think a drop like that was necessary. I get that it's not popular elsewhere. But it would've been better to just let it drop slowly in my opinion. Hopefully the song can stick around for a little while longer.

~ The Chainsmokers – Sick Boy took a little drop on its second week, which isn't too surprising considering its lack of airplay. Frankly, I don't care too much about what will happen to it. It's a good song, but they've definitely done better. If it does well, then that's great. If not, then that's fine too. But if this song is going to stay and do nothing, we might as well just have a different song come in its place because we don't need it here hogging up a spot if it's not going to do anything.

~ Maroon 5/SZA – What Lovers Do has fallen into the Bottom 5 this week. The end may be near with this song. It was enjoyable while it lasted. It might be the last really good Maroon 5 song in a while.

~ As far as the exits go, Last Young Renegade left a little too soon. It was good while it lasted. Too Good At Goodbyes did pretty well here, which I'm happy about. It's still a very good song and I'm glad Sam Smith had a good comeback. Finally we have Praying, which was obviously a huge favorite of mine as well as the blogging community. It was a very emotional song and I'm glad it was a big hit for Kesha. After everything she's been through, she deserved it. This song will never be forgotten. Thank you for your time and service, Praying.

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. AJR/Rivers Cuomo – Sober Up

2 – Mediocre:

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

3 – Decent:

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. Bruno Mars/Cardi B – Finesse

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

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

5. G-Eazy/Halsey – Him & I

4. Eminem/Ed Sheeran – River

3. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:

1. TIE: Walk The Moon – One Foot

1. TIE: Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days

Overall Score: 79/100 = 79% (B)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Coldplay – The Scientist (since Chris Martin's birthday was yesterday)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Coldplay – A Sky Full Of Stars

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Khalid/Normani – Love Lies

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

My Top 5 Picks

1. TIE: Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days

1. TIE: Walk The Moon – One Foot

3. Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something

4. The Weeknd/Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me

5. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low