The Chainsmokers (5) – Week Of February 16, 2019

Hey guys! In case you missed it, I did talk about the awards given out at the Grammys last week in my previous post. I still plan on reviewing the performances, although if that doesn't get done this week, then I don't think it'll end up happening. So we'll see what happens. I would like to talk about them, so I will try to put a review together this week. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Alessia Cara – Trust My Lonely (#30)
• Selena Gomez – Back To You (#36)
• Ariana Grande – Breathin (#38)
• Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night) (#39) [4 Weeks At #1]
• Pitbull/Rhea – Ocean To Ocean (#44)
• Shawn Mendes – In My Blood (#45) [2 Weeks At #1]

Last Week's #1 Song: Halsey – Without Me

The Countdown

45. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am (#43)

44. Bebe Rexha – I'm a Mess (#40)

43. George Ezra – Shotgun (#41)

42. Benny Blanco/Calvin Harris – I Found You (#22)

41. lovelytheband – Broken (#33)

40. Jennifer Lopez – Limitless (#42)

39. The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (DEBUT)

38. Imagine Dragons – Machine (#29)

37. Travis Scott/Drake – Sicko Mode (DEBUT)

36. Mark Ronson/Miley Cyrus – Nothing Breaks Like A Heart (#26)

35. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart (#37)

34. Sabrina Carpenter – Sue Me (DEBUT)

33. Maroon 5/Cardi B – Girls Like You (#35)

32. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (DEBUT)
31. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones (#31) [2 Weeks At #1]

30. Jake Miller – Wait For You (DEBUT)

29. Zara Larsson – Ruin My Life (#21)

28. Khalid – Better (#24)

27. Seeb/Bastille – Grip (#25)

26. James Arthur – Empty Space (#27)

25. Charli XCX/Troye Sivan – 1999 (#28)

24. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#20) [1 Week At #1]

23. David Guetta/Anne-Marie – Don't Leave Me Alone (#17)

22. Dean Lewis – Be Alright (#18)

21. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (DEBUT)

20. Lauren Daigle – You Say (#23)

19. Khalid/Normani – Love Lies (#15)

18. Avril Lavigne – Tell Me It's Over (#32)

17. Post Malone/Swae Lee – Sunflower (#19)

16. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#15)

15. Stephen Puth – Sexual Vibe (#34)

14. Ellie Goulding/Diplo – Close To Me (#13)

13. Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next (#9)

12. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine (#16)

11. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#10)

10. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside (#8)

  9. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#11)

  8. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#7)

  7. Anne-Marie – 2002 (#6)

  6. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#12)

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

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

  3. Halsey – Without Me (#1) [5 Weeks At #1]

  2. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#3) [8 Weeks At #1]

  1. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#4) [5^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Charlie Puth – How Long (2)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Benny Blanco/Calvin Harris – I Found You (–20)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Stephen Puth – Sexual Vibe (+19)

New Entrants
~ We have six debuts this week. I'm going to go from worst to best starting with the highest debut of the week, 7 Rings by Ariana Grande. I wrote a pretty good rant on this song when it debuted on Hit-Bound. I'm not entirely sure what Ariana was going for here because this is easily the worst song of her career. The production is really bad and I don't like the trap beat at all. Ariana barely sings and we get a lot of rapping from her, which does not sound good. She has a beautiful voice when she sings, but rapping is just not her thing. And the lyrics are shit. The song is literally just her bragging about rich and having everything she wants. "Whoever said money can't solve your problems must not have had enough money to solve 'em." I just can't get on board with this because it gives off bad messages and is musically annoying as shit. This is definitely one of the worst songs of the year so far and it's safe to say that those who like this song are the Ariana stans who consume literally everything she puts out. So yeah. I hate this song and Ariana is much better than this.

~ Next we have an artist who I have never really liked aside from one song. It's the irrelevant Sabrina Carpenter debuting with Sue Me. The only song of hers that I've liked in the past is Almost Love. But other than that, her music has just never appealed to me and I feel like she's meant for younger audiences than me. I don't really know. She is talented, but she doesn't really show that a lot of the time, which includes Sue Me. The song sounds a lot like Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato since Sabrina Carpenter seems to have worked with the same producer. I thought the production on that song was a hot mess and this one is not much better. I do not like the beat at all and her voice just annoys me for some reason in this song. She has an interesting voice that can sound great if used well, which is not the case here. Overall, I think this song is  a little bit of a mess and quite annoying. Hopefully it does not stick around long.

~ Next we have the return of Jake Miller, who I kind of forgot existed because of how irrelevant he's been these past several years. I do like his voice and I think he's a good singer. The production on this song is very strange and not very interesting in my opinion. The lyrics are fine for the most part, but the song is very forgettable. I'm surprised it actually debuted. He's done a lot better in the past. Good singer, but needs a better production team.

~ I did not think this song would actually debut, but coming in late to the party, we have Sicko Mode by Travis Scott featuring Drake, Big Hawk, and Swae Lee. Despite me only being almost 20, when it comes to rap music, I have the taste of an old man. I just think a lot of it is very pointless and generic. But I quite like Sicko Mode honestly. Is it the best rap song I've ever heard? Of course not. But I think the production is solid and I like the transition at the beginning from Drake to Travis. I think they both deliver great performances. There's not exactly much to the lyrics, which is not exactly surprising. But musically, I find this song pleasing enough and it's definitely something I can enjoy whenever it comes on. It's been around for quite a while now, but I still like it quite a bit. I already know it's going to flop here after seeing how Drake has done on this countdown within the past year. Hopefully it can stick around a little bit.

~ Next is a collaboration I did not see coming. It's Sam Smith and Normani Kordei with Dancing With A Stranger. I've enjoyed music from both artists in the past and I was interested when I saw that they collaborated on a song. It's a little different from what I'd expect from Sam Smith, but it's definitely very catchy. I really like the beat and I love Sam Smith's voice here all throughout. The way he transitions from the verses to the chorus sounds really good. Normani also sounds really good, further proving that she is the best singer from Fifth Harmony and I'd argue she's the only good one. I think her performance here is her best performance yet. Her voice is very unique and it just fits well with the vibe of the song. I think the two artists have great chemistry. So yeah. I think this is a great song and it's hard to picture it not being a hit.

~ Finally we have two of Hits 1's favorite artists. It's The Chainsmokers and 5 Seconds Of Summer. I already know this is Hits 1's dream come true given how much they stan both acts. So of course it's already here. Who Do You Love is once again a step in the right direction for The Chainsmokers. I thought the song was good at first listen, but it definitely got better with time. The production is really good for the most part. I don't love the drop, but it's enjoyable enough, especially the last one. The vocals here are fantastic and I'm glad Drew Taggart doesn't come in at any point because usually their best songs are the ones he doesn't have lead vocals in (see Roses, Something Just Like This, and Side Effects). The members of 5 Seconds Of Summer easily have better voices than him, so I'm glad he has no part. Overall, I really enjoy this and I think it has potential to do well here. Hopefully it becomes a hit everywhere else.


Best Debut of the Week: The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love


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

• Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar
• Rita Ora – Let You Love Me
• lovelytheband – Maybe, I'm Afraid
• Maren Morris – GIRL (DEBUT)
• Gesaffelstein/The Weeknd – Lost In The Fire
• Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime
• Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More
• Post Malone – Wow
• Grandson – Apologize
• Meghan Trainor – All The Ways (DEBUT)
• Lil Peep/iLoveMakonnen/Fall Out Boy – I've Been Waiting
• Madison Beer/Offset – Hurts Like Hell (DEBUT)
• Lauv/Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired
• LSD/Lil Wayne – Genius (DEBUT)
• Kelsy Karter – Harry (DEBUT)

~ Despite Maren Morris being involved in two of the worst songs to hit Hits 1 in 2018, I still think she's very talented because I very much remember when I first heard My Church, which I fell in love with back in 2016. Regarding GIRL, I've been very mixed on it since it was released. On the one hand, it's a step up from what we got from her last year. But on the other hand, it's not original and it does nothing for me. This, to me, is a ripoff of 80s Mercedes, which is one of her best songs. Musically, this is unoriginal, uninteresting, and it just feels like an album filler. Her voice is technically good, but she doesn't shine here like I know she can. I much prefer her newer song Common with Brandi Carlile (who I only know because of all the Grammys she was nominated for). That one felt original and I can really hear how talented she is. GIRL is a bland pop song that is just destined for radio honestly.

~ For those who are unaware of what's been going on with Meghan Trainor's music, her album Treat Myself was originally supposed to come out last August, but was pushed back to January. Then we hit January and the album was taken down from iTunes, which I think is hilarious because I can only imagine what the fans were thinking. So instead, we got The Love Train EP including All The Ways, which has been around for a while. I don't like Meghan Trainor at all if I haven't made that clear already. Her songwriting just bugs me, I don't like her voice, and she made the worst song of this decade back in 2014. This new song is better than the majority of what she has released in the past. I can get on board with the lyrics because it is improvement. But I still don't like her voice and the song kind of bores me. But it's definitely not the worst thing ever.

~ Following up on songs that have been out for a while and are just now playing on Hits 1, Hurts Like Hell by Madison Beer has made its debut onto Hit-Bound. She had that Home With You song last year, which was good but forgettable as hell as I don't remember how the song goes at all. Hurts Like Hell is worse because I don't like the production and I find the chorus annoying. I kinda liked her voice on Home With You, but I don't like her voice here at all. She doesn't sound unique and it just doesn't fit with the rest of the song. Offset's verse added nothing, so removing him didn't affect the song at all. Overall, the song is very generic.

~ I feel like I made my thoughts on LSD clear back when Thunderclouds came around. Of course Genius has been around longer, but honestly who cares about logic? The only reason it's here is because of the rerelease with Lil Wayne. I initially said I didn't like this song, but it has warmed up on me and I enjoy the original version. The remix is still good but I don't love Lil Wayne on it and the song became a lot shorter. I still enjoy it, but I'll very much stick with the original version.

~ Sometimes I wonder where the hell Hits 1 picks up some of these random songs. A lot of times they're good, and then once in a while we get a song like Harry by Kelsy Karter. If this song actually makes it onto the countdown, it will have a very good chance at appearing high in my Worst of 2019 list. This song is beyond obnoxious and her voice is absolutely terrible. Her vocals are not singing. They are a weird mix of talking and screaming and it sounds awful. I don't know why this is here but I hope it goes away.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More

2. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime

3. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar

4. Rita Ora – Let You Love Me

5. Gesaffelstein/The Weeknd – Lost In The Fire

Blurbing With A Stranger

~ So I just recently listened to This Feeling for the first time in a while and it's better than I remembered. So I enjoy it quite a bit and I'm so glad to see it back at #1 just because it's a million times better than Without Me. I'd be all for it sticking around as long as it wants.

~ 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood should honestly not still be in the Top 5. This is a such a 2018 song and it feels so old at this point. I don't know anyone that still jams to this when it comes on the radio because no one wants to hear it anymore.

~ Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho rose into the Top 10 this week. I don't love the song and aside from the chorus, I find it quite forgettable. But it's solid and I'm fine with it sticking around for a little while. I just hope it doesn't stay this high too long like our #7 song.

~ Stephen Puth – Sexual Vibe and Avril Lavigne – Tell Me It's Over made some nice second-week jumps. I definitely hope they become hits because both of them are great songs.

~ For some reason, Jennifer Lopez – Limitless rose out of the Bottom 5. I'm not sure who's voting for this as I doubt anyone actually knows what this is. This woman is talented, but this song doesn't show it.

~ Benny Blanco/Calvin Harris – I Found You took quite a fall this week. The song isn't bad, but I don't like it because it's very generic and Calvin Harris is not that great of a singer. I'd be all for it falling off the countdown soon.

~ As far as the exits go, Trust My Lonely was bad. Ocean To Ocean should've never debuted, although it is quite amusing to see it go so quickly. Breathin definitely deserved better as it's one of Ariana Grande's best songs. But of course her putting out Thank U, Next killed Breathin's chance of becoming a single as big as No Tears Left To Cry. Back To You had a great run and I'm glad the great Selena Gomez song did well and not the trash she put out in 2017. Say Amen has been here for what feels like ages, so I'm not too disappointed to see it go. It did insanely well for a song that wasn't big anywhere else. And finally, we have my #2 song of 2018, In My Blood. I still really love this song and I doubt it'll ever get old to me. Everything about it was just done so well and it very much deserved all the success it had. This is, in my opinion, Shawn Mendes' best song and even though it had an amazing run, it will still be missed by me. And with that, we conclude a long run of having Shawn Mendes songs on the countdown (for now at least).

Top 20 Review

0 – Crap:

20. Halsey – Without Me

1 – Bad:

19. Anne-Marie – 2002

18. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly

17. Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next

16. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine

2 – Mediocre:

NONE

3 – Decent:

15. Ellie Goulding/Diplo – Close To Me

14. Post Malone/Swae Lee – Sunflower

4 – Good:

13. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho

12. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood

5 – Great:

11. Khalid/Normani – Love Lies

10. Stephen Puth – Sexual Vibe

9. Dan + Shay – Speechless

8. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside

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

6. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

5. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier

4. Lauren Daigle – You Say

3. Dan + Shay – Tequila

2. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:

1. Avril Lavigne – Tell Me It's Over

Overall Score: 74/100 = 74% (B)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Blondie – Call Me

Most Missed Countdown Song: Bonnie McKee – American Girl

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Sofi Tukker/NERVO – Best Friend

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Tie Between Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah and Avril Lavigne/Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie Between Walk The Moon – One Foot (#7) and Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something (#38)

My Top 5 Picks

1. Avril Lavigne – Tell Me It's Over

2. Dean Lewis – Be Alright

3. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes

4. Dan + Shay – Tequila

5. Lauren Daigle – You Say