The Chainsmokers (1) – Week Of December 15, 2018

Hey guys! Before we get to the countdown, I just wanted to give a music recommendation. This past Friday was the release of an album I had been looking forward to. It was the self-titled from the sibling group We Three. These three were semifinalists from America's Got Talent who made their way through by performing originals. They got robbed for not making it to the finals, but that's a whole other discussion. Anyway, their music is really good and I highly recommend the album. These guys deserve it. Here's a link to listen to it on Spotify if you're interested. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Loud Luxury/brando – Body (#34)
• Alex Aiono – Big Mistake (#36)
• Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman (#45)

Last Week's #1 Song: 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood

The Countdown

45. Calvin Harris/Sam Smith – Promises (#43)

44. Shawn Mendes – In My Blood (#44) [2 Weeks At #1]

43. Taylor Swift – Delicate (#42)

42. Bazzi/Camila Cabello – Beautiful (#41)

41. George Ezra – Shotgun (#37)

40. Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle (#38) [9 Weeks At #1]

39. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am (#39)

38. NOTD/Bea Miller – I Wanna Know (#40)

37. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow (#33)

36. Silk City/Dua Lipa – Electricity (#30)

35. Olly Murs/Snoop Dogg – Moves (DEBUT)

34. Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night) (#35) [4 Weeks At #1]

33. Shawn Mendes/Zedd – Lost In Japan (#32)

32. Lauren Jauregui – Expectations (DEBUT)

31. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes (#31) [1 Week At #1]

30. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (DEBUT)

29. Maroon 5/Cardi B – Girls Like You (#20)

28. Selena Gomez – Back To You (#28)

27. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart (#25)

26. The Chainsmokers/Emily Warren – Side Effects (#26)

25. Lauv/Julia Michaels – There's No Way (#29)

24. David Guetta/Anne-Marie – Don't Leave Me Alone (#22)

23. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#27)

22. Little Mix/Nicki Minaj – Woman Like Me (#19)

21. Twenty One Pilots – My Blood (#18)

20. Camila Cabello – Consequences (#16)

19. Shawn Mendes – Nervous (#13)

18. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside (#24)

17. The Struts/Kesha – Body Talks (#15)

16. Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next (#21)

15. lovelytheband – Broken (#11)

14. Post Malone/Swae Lee – Sunflower (#17)

13. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#9)

12. Bebe Rexha – I'm a Mess (#14)

11. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#23)

10. Khalid/Normani – Love Lies (#10)

  9. Anne-Marie – 2002 (#8)

  8. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones (#7) [2 Weeks At #1]

  7. Ariana Grande – Breathin (#12)

  6. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#5) [1 Week At #1]

  5. Halsey – Without Me (#6)

  4. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier (#4) [2 Weeks At #1]

  3. 5 Seconds of Summer – Youngblood (#1) [5 Weeks At #1]

  2. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#2) [8 Weeks At #1]

  1. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#2) [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Camila Cabello – Havana (1)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Maroon 5/Cardi B – Girls Like You (–9)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (+12)

New Entrants
~ I have seven songs to review this week because there were four debuts two weeks ago that I did not get a chance to talk about. So we'll start off with a song that is extremely overhyped and overrated. It's Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande. I like what she was going for. But this song is a snooze-fest. There's not very much going on. Ariana does not sound as great as she usually does. This is very boring overall and it's kind of sad that this is her first #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 because she has done SO much better. I also don't like how there is no gap between Sweetener and this new project. I'm already getting a little tired of Ariana at the moment and her putting out these new mediocre songs is not helping.

~ Next we have David Guetta making an unawaited return with Don't Leave Me Alone featuring Anne-Marie. It's safe to say that David Guetta is not as good now as he used to be back in 2011-2012 when the singles from Nothing But The Beat were big. Production-wise, this song is okay. It's not that interesting, but I applaud Guetta for not going full-on generic like Zedd and Marshmello. I don't like Anne-Marie's voice here. I actually just don't like her voice in general. So, this song is kinda just mediocre. I don't hate it, but I don't think it'll ever grow on me because I don't anticipate on ever listening to it.

~ After bringing us one of the worst songs this year, Lauv is back with new single There's No Way featuring Julia Michaels, who I guess is his girlfriend? It's slightly better than its predecessor, but that's not really saying much because this is not very good at all. It's very bland and very generic. Lauv does not sound that good. I hate Julia Michaels' voice. I still think she should just stick to songwriting because her voice is too scratchy and cracks too much. So yeah. This is not good at all. It also annoys me that the bland Julia Michaels songs always debut like this and Hurt Somebody with Noah Kahan (remember that one?). But the good ones like Jump and I Miss You with Clean Bandit get stuck on Hit-Bound. This woman is a hit or miss and this new song did not work out very well at all.

~ Next is the return of Little Mix after getting stranded on Hit-Bound with a few 2017 singles. They bring Woman Like Me featuring Nicki Minaj. I didn't think this would debut because of how underrated Little Mix is and how Hits 1 does not really like Nicki Minaj. But it's here and it's a great song in my opinion. Black Magic and Wings were better. But this is still solid. Their voices sound great. It's catchy. I really like Nicki Minaj's verse. The lyrical content is kind of ehhh, but the catchiness of the song kind of makes up for it. So yeah. I enjoy this and I hope it doesn't flop, which it might because I'm surprised it even debuted.

~ Moving on to this week's debuts, we have Lauren Jauregui from Fifth Harmony with Expectations. This song had potential because that guitar is very slick and sounds great. The production is good. But Lauren's voice is like nails down a chalkboard, making me wonder if I was right to say Camila had the worst voice. It's a tough race, but Lauren's voice is bad enough to make this song an unbearable listen, which is unfortunate because I like that guitar. Oh well.

~ Next is Ava Max with Sweet But Psycho. I wasn't expecting much going into this, so I was pretty pleasantly surprised by what I got from it. It's a very catchy pop song and Ava Max has a good voice. It sounds like something I've heard before. Is it memorable? Probably not. I don't think I'll ever revisit it after it leaves. But it's solid and it's something I can enjoy for the time being.

~ Finally we have the return of Olly Murs with Moves. Look at Olly coming back strong with this gem. This is how you make a great pop song. It's fun. It's catchy. It's kinda groovy. Olly sounds really good. I enjoyed Snoop Dogg's verse, although Hits 1 edited it out because of course. But either way, this is a great song and I would love to see it do well even if it's not big anywhere else except maybe the UK.


Best Debut of the Last Few Weeks: Olly Murs – Moves


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

• Dan + Shay – Speechless
• Alessia Cara – Trust My Lonely
• Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine
• Seeb/Bastille – Grip (DEBUT)
• Zara Larsson – Ruin My Life
• Imagine Dragons – Machine
• Steve Aoki/BTS – Waste It On Me
• Dean Lewis – Be Alright
• Ellie Goulding/Diplo/Swae Lee – Close To Me
• Mark Ronson/Miley Cyrus – Nothing Breaks Like A Heart
• James Arthur – Empty Space
• Charli XCX/Troye Sivan – 1999 (DEBUT)
• Khalid – Better
• Lauren Daigle – You Say (DEBUT)
• 5 Seconds Of Summer – Killer Queen

~ A few songs have made their way onto Hit-Bound since I temporarily disappeared. We'll kick it off with a song that I love more than I thought I would. It's Better by Khalid. This song is great. I really like this. It's chill and the vibe fits perfectly with Khalid's voice. I think he sounds great here. This song is very enjoyable. I would love to see this on the countdown soon.

~ I guess next I can talk about Grip by Seeb and Bastille because there really isn't anything to this. I like Dan Smith's voice here. But the production is very generic and not very interesting at all. This could grow on me like Happier. But for some reason, I can't really see that happening.

~ Next is Alessia Cara with Trust My Lonely. I think Alessia Cara used to be good with songs like Here, Wild Things, and Scars To Your Beautiful, the latter of which I think is her best song. But this new stuff is just weird and not in the good way. She does not sound that good here. The production is terrible. I knew she was heading in the wrong direction with Growing Pains, but wow this is bad. Now I feel like she's trying too hard to be different, hence why she's wearing an over-sized suit in her album cover. I'm sorry, but this is not good at all.

~ Next we have Be Alright by Dean Lewis. I think this is pretty solid. The instrumentation is good and I really like this guy's voice. I think he has potential to be even better. But for now, this song is good. I like this. Not much else to say, but I enjoy this song.

~ Up next is the return of Charli XCX and Troye Sivan on the song that was titled after my birth year, 1999. It should go without saying that this song is a bop. It's not the best from either artist, but I enjoy it. I also just want to mention that I was born in 1999 and my brother was born in 2002. So I like mentioning to him that the song titled after my birth year is actually fun and enjoyable, while he's stuck with 2002 by Anne-Marie.

~ Dan + Shay bring their second song Speechless. This is not better than Tequila and probably not by a long shot. But it's Dan + Shay, so it's pretty much automatically great. And it is. It's very nice. The vocals are good. Very solid track from the best duo in country music right now.

~ After being around for many months, we have You Say by Lauren Daigle making its way on here. This is going to annoy my Discord group, but I really like this. You can call her an Adele ripoff all you want. But at the end of the day, she has a great voice and this is a well-written song. So yeah. I enjoy this.

~ Wrapping us up we have a song that I just have to praise. It's Nothing Breaks Like A Heart by Mark Ronson featuring Miley Cyrus. This song has only gotten better the more I've listened to it. The production is great. I absolutely love that guitar all throughout the song. It sounds very cool and just fits in nicely. Miley Cyrus sounds great here even if it's not her best. The lyrics are good. Everything about this song just works. I want this to be a big hit and I think it might just happen. Hopefully.

~ Surprise. I don't think Close To Me is that good of a song anymore. I don't know why, but this just feels so weird for Ellie Goulding and I'm going to blame Diplo for the weird as hell production. I like her voice she has done so much better and I was kind of hoping for a lot more knowing what she's capable of. Hopefully she brings something soon that feels more like her if that makes sense.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Mark Ronson/Miley Cyrus – Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

2. Khalid – Better

3. Dan + Shay – Speechless

4. Lauren Daigle – You Say

5. Charli XCX/Troye Sivan – 1999

Blurbs Like Me

~ The Chainsmokers hit #1 this week because for some reason Hits 1 started loving dance songs featuring female country artists. They already stanned the hell out of one, which is going to end up being their #1 song of the year despite how terrible it is. I'm not trying to compare the two songs because This Feeling is obviously better. But the drop is not very good at all. I do like the duet, but these guys have done better with the production. So I kind of prefer a different song at #1. I don't really care what as long as it's not Halsey or Anne-Marie (even though she never really stood a chance).

~ Speaking of Hits 1's #1 song of the year, their Year-End list for 2018 will start airing next weekend. I won't be reviewing it for a little while though because I have other things scheduled to come before it. But I just wanted to let you guys know.

~ Ariana Grande – Breathin is in the Top 10. It got there a lot quicker than God Is A Woman, which is definitely a good thing. I'm hoping it can stick around for a while and not drop out because of the very mediocre newer Ariana song.

~ Who the hell is voting for Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly??? This is pure mediocrity and this guy's voice is not very good at all. He's very irrelevant, so I don't know who's actually voting.

~ I kind of forgot Bazzi/Camila Cabello – Beautiful was still here. It's a great song, but with how poorly it's done here, I would've expected it to leave by now. I'm not complaining though

~ As far as the exits go, good riddance to Body and God Is A Woman. The former I will probably never understand the appeal as it was very annoying and the guy's voice was not good at all. The latter was just not my cup of tea, but I can see why Ariana fans enjoy it. Big Mistake kind of deserved better. But I wasn't exactly expecting it to stick around.

Top 20 Review

0 – Crap:

20. Halsey – Without Me

1 – Bad:

19. Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next

2 – Mediocre:

18. Anne-Marie – 2002

3 – Decent:

17. Post Malone/Swae Lee – Sunflower

4 – Good:

16. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

5 – Great:

15. lovelytheband – Broken

14. Imagine Dragons – Natural

13. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood

12. Bebe Rexha – I'm A Mess

11. Khalid/Normani – Love Lies

10. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It

9. Ariana Grande – Breathin

8. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier

7. Camila Cabello – Consequences

6. Shawn Mendes – Nervous

5. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones

4. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes

3. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside

2. Dan + Shay – Tequila

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:

1. The Struts/Kesha – Body Talks

Overall Score: 86/100 = 86% (A)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Orianthi – According To You

Most Missed Countdown Song: One Direction – Perfect

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: We Three – So They Say

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie Between Macklemore/Skylar Grey – Glorious (#26) and Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days (#34)

My Top 5 Picks

1. The Struts/Kesha – Body Talks

2. Dan + Shay – Tequila

3. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow

4. Shawn Mendes/Zedd – Lost In Japan

5. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart