Panic! At The Disco (3) – Week Of March 23, 2019

Hey guys! The due date for my rankdown is a week from today. I'm most likely going to extend it in case anyone else still wants to send. I'm pretty flexible and am not too picky about when I close the form. I'd rather wait longer and have more people who are interested participate. So that will probably be extended. If you're interested, you should really get going on it. All the information you need is in the rankdown page. Now let's get to the countdown as there is quite a bit 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.

• Avril Lavigne – Tell Me It's Over (#30)
• Lauren Daigle – You Say (#35)
• Stephen Puth – Sexual Vibe (#38)
• Seeb/Bastille – Grip (#39)
• George Ezra – Shotgun (#41)
• Jennifer Lopez – Limitless (#42)
• lovelytheband – Broken (#44)

Last Week's #1 Song: Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It

The Countdown

45. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am (#43)

44. Bebe Rexha – I'm a Mess (#45)

43. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart (#40)

42. Khalid/Normani – Love Lies (#34)

41. Maroon 5/Cardi B – Girls Like You (#37)

40. Post Malone – Wow (#36)

39. Kelsy Karter – Harry (DEBUT)

38. Zedd/Katy Perry – 365 (#32)

37. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow (RE-ENTRY)

36. Madison Beer/Offset – Hurts Like Hell (DEBUT)

35. LSD/Lil Wayne – Genius (DEBUT)

34. Sabrina Carpenter – Sue Me (#23)

33. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#33) [1 Week At #1]

32. Maren Morris – GIRL (DEBUT)

31. Cardi B/Bruno Mars – Please Me (#31)

30. Meghan Trainor – All The Ways (DEBUT)

29. Lil Peep/iLoveMakonnen/Fall Out Boy – I've Been Waiting (#28)

28. Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next (#26)

27. Jake Miller – Wait For You (#29)

26. Grandson – Apologize (#25)

25. 5 Seconds of Summer – Youngblood (#27) [5 Weeks At #1]

24. Khalid – Better (#24)

23. Yungblud/Halsey/Travis Barker – 11 Minutes (DEBUT)

22. Post Malone/Swae Lee – Sunflower (#16)

21. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#22)

20. Anne-Marie – 2002 (#21)

19. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#17)

18. Lauv/Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired (#19)

17. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More (#18)

16. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine (#20)

15. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (#12)

14. The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#13)

13. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside (#14)

12. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#11)

11. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#4)

10. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#9) [8 Weeks At #1]

  9. Ellie Goulding/Diplo – Close To Me (#10)

  8. Dean Lewis – Be Alright (#15)

  7. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#6) [7 Weeks At #1]

  6. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier (#3) [2 Weeks At #1]

  5. Halsey – Without Me (#2) [5 Weeks At #1]

  4. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#5)

  3. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#8)

  2. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#7)

  1. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#1) [3^rd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle (3)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Sabrina Carpenter – Sue Me (–11)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Dean Lewis – Be Alright (+7)

New Entrants
~ We have seven entries this week including one re-entry. We'll go from worst to best starting with what could possibly be one of the worst songs of 2019. It is Harry by Kelsy Karter. I don't know where Hits 1 found this song, but it's honestly just horrendous. I want to think this song is some kind of joke because this is one of the most obnoxious things I've heard in a while. Apparently this song is about Harry Styles, which just makes the song so weird when reading through the lyrics. It probably wouldn't be as weird if she didn't name the song after him. And her vocals here are awful. Her screaming in the chorus is hard to listen to and I don't really like her voice in the verses. Overall, this song is just more annoying than anything else and I don't understand why it's here. I hope it doesn't stick around very long.

~ Next we have Madison Beer returning with her "newer" song, Hurts Like Hell. I put quotes around that word because this song has been around for a while now. I did not like it when it was first released and nothing has changed. She is not a bad singer by any means, but her voice is not that interesting or unique. I don't like the production here and I find the chorus kind of annoying. Hits 1 did remove Offset from the song, which made it slightly better. But it's still generic. I preferred the forgettable, but fine Home With You. Even though that song wasn't that great, Hurts Like Hell is worse in almost every way. I hope this doesn't become a hit.

~ After having a big year in 2018, Maren Morris has finally released a new album and this week, we get the lead single and title track, Girl. Even though I did not like The Middle and Rich, I remember first learning about her in 2016 when I heard My Church, which I loved. I know she's very talented, but I just don't hear it in this new song. It sounds too much like 80s Mercedes, which is another song I love. So it just feels unoriginal and like it's been done before. I haven't listened to her album in full yet, but the few songs I have listened to like her collab with Brandi Carlile are better because they feel original and her talent shows more. As far as Girl goes, it's just generic unoriginal pop that's destined for radio. There's nothing special about this whatsoever.

~ Next is a song that has been around for quite a while now. It's from one of the worst pop artists this decade and it's called All The Ways. I've already talked about why I despise Meghan Trainor because I don't like her messages in her music such as promoting laziness and putting down skinny people (All About That Bass) as well as putting men down in order to uplift women (No, No Excuses, probably the majority of her discography). I think she's a bad songwriter and she's been pretty consistent throughout her career so far. It seems like the general public is also catching on with how much her last few songs have flopped and how she just took down her album that was supposed to come out last August. Having said all that, I don't hate All The Ways. I think it's one of her better songs because there is an obvious improvement in the songwriting. It's not great lyrically, but it's fine. I don't really like her voice here and the song feels generic, but it's nowhere near the worst thing she's ever made. I don't want this to get big and I don't think it will, but it's far from the worst thing on the countdown.

~ Next is the highest debut of the week, which comes from Yungblud, Halsey, and Travis Barker from Blink-182. The song is called 11 Minutes. I feel like I should dislike this, but I don't. I don't like it and I probably never will. But the instrumentation and production here is solid and Travis Barker did the best job out of the three artists involved. I don't like Yungblud here. I think his voice is really annoying and I would prefer if he didn't become the next big thing. Halsey sounds okay. She's better here than on Without Me, but this is nowhere near her best work vocally. So yeah, I'm pretty mixed on this as a whole. This is definitely not something I want to become a hit, but it probably will since radio loves Halsey. That's literally the only reason why the song is even here. So yeah. I hope this doesn't get big.

~ Moving on, we have our first good debut in the form of Genius by LSD. This song has been around for a really long time and is only just now getting big because of the remix with Lil Wayne. Despite me not liking LSD and hating songs like Audio and Mountains, Genius is easily their best song. The remix is good, but not as great. I don't love Lil Wayne's verse and his random shouting throughout the song. They also took out the last minute of the song for some reason, which also brings it down for me. So I obviously prefer the original version, but the remix is still good. I think the chorus is catchy and I like Labrinth and Sia's vocals for the most part. Even though the song is old, I'm happy to see it become a pop single because it's their best work. I'd like to see this do better than Thunderclouds because this is the better song, no question.

~ Finally we have our re-entry from Shallow by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. As you all should know, I adore this song and it's gotten even better recently for different reasons. Their performance of this at the Oscars was amazing and easily the best moment of the night. Both of them have really great voices, especially Bradley Cooper, which is impressive. These two have incredible chemistry as seen in the performance. It really was amazing and that along with it winning Best Original Song managed to get it to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, which is absolutely amazing. I also saw A Star Is Born recently and hearing the song in the context of the movie also made it even better. It's just such a well-written, well-sung, and well-produced song that is full of emotion and gives me chills every time I hear it. The fact that pop radio abandoned this song so early is absurd, but I am happy to see this song getting picked up again and re-entering countdowns like this and the American Top 40. This song is just incredible in every way and I hope it can actually stick around this time.


Best Entrant of the Week: Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow

Best Debut of the Week: LSD/Lil Wayne – Genius


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

• Ally Brooke/Tyga – Low Key
• P!nk – Walk Me Home
• Austin Brown – In Betweenin'
• Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me (DEBUT)
• Fletcher – Undrunk
• lovelytheband – Maybe, I'm Afraid
• Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime
• Kygo/Valerie Broussard – Think About You
• Avril Lavigne/Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde
• Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored
• Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us
• Ava Max – So Am I (DEBUT)
• Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah
• Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend
• NOTD/Felix Jaehn/Georgia Ku/Captain Cuts – So Close

~ Our two debuts this week are songs that are both pretty identical to their predecessors. The better of the two is obviously Here With Me by Marshmello and CHVRCHES. This is basically Happier. It sounds just like it. The only different is that it features a different pop/alt group and the drop sounds slightly different. But Happier is a great song and this is as well. I like the build-up and the drop is interesting. Lauren Mayberry sounds great on here. I really love her voice and that goes for a lot of CHVRCHES' material as well. This is obviously not the best thing CHVRCHES have ever been a part of, but I hope this gives them the mainstream success they've deserved for a while now.

~ Next is So Am I by Ava Max. This is Sweet But Psycho with different lyrics. So Am I sounds more identical to Sweet But Psycho than Here With Me does to Happier. The beat and production is literally the same. And Sweet But Psycho is not even that great of a song. Here With Me managed to still have some uniqueness to it probably because it's a different vocalist. But So Am I is completely unoriginal. Ava Max's career is not going to go very far if she keeps releasing songs that sound just like each other. This shows her lack of originality and uniqueness as an artist and that she's not very capable of making anything other than forgettable pop songs that may be a little catchy. So I would rather have this not be a hit.


Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Kygo/Valerie Broussard – Think About You
2. Avril Lavigne/Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde
3. Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us
4. Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me
5. P!nk – Walk Me Home


Blur-Blur-Blur-Blur-Blur-Blur-Blurbs
~ Hey Look Ma, I Made It continues to hold at #1, which is cool with me. But we did see jumps from Sucker up to #2 and Sweet But Psycho up to #3. I'd be cool with Sucker getting some weeks at #1, which I'm sure it will. I don't want Sweet But Psycho at #1, but it wouldn't be the worst thing ever. I'd definitely take that over Let Me Down Slowly, which sits at #4.

~ New to the Top 10 this week, we have Be Alright by Dean Lewis, which I'm definitely happy about as this is a great song. It deserves this success and I'm glad to see it doing well because it's a really well-written tune. What's even better is that it knocked 7 Rings by Ariana Grande out of the Top 10 deservingly. It's pretty clear which is superior vocally, musically, and lyrically.

~ Sabrina Carpenter – Sue Me seems to just be jumping high one week and then falling hard the next. Considering that this really isn't much of a hit, I think we should get rid of it soon, especially since we didn't let Almost Love become a hit, which is easily the much better song.

~ Zedd/Katy Perry – 365 seems to be declining everywhere and dying fast on radio. I blame the lack of promotion for this song because part of the reason The Middle was such a huge hit was because of all the Target commercials that used the song. And Katy Perry hasn't had a real hit since Dark Horse in 2014. I do think this song deserved better as it's really the only tolerable post-sellout Zedd song. But I'm cool with it if it means the world is starting to realize how generic Zedd has become. The man needs another banger like Addicted To A Memory or Transmission. I need True Colors Zedd back.

~ We have a few songs falling into the Bottom 5 for the first time. They're all pretty old. I'm really sick of Girls Like You at this point and I don't know why it's still here. Love Lies is even older, although Girls Like You feels older with how much it was overplayed. I still kinda like Love Lies, although I'd prefer if it left soon. And I still really like Don't Go Breaking My Heart and I'm glad Hits 1 let this song be a hit. It'll probably be on its way out soon, but I'm happy that it did as well as it did. It's still a bop.

~ Despite getting rid of seven songs, songs like Bebe Rexha – I'm A Mess and Charlie Puth – The Way I Am somehow managed to survive. The Way I Am was always bad and I'm A Mess is fading on me, so it'd be nice to get rid of both of them soon, at least before getting rid of Don't Go Breaking My Heart.

~ As far as the exits go, I would've kept most of them over the songs that took their places. But life is not always fair, so we got rid of a few really good songs. But we also got rid of Grip, which was very mediocre, and Limitless, which was very forgettable and generic. Neither of them should've ever debuted in the first place. We also lost Broken, which was quite old so I'm happy to see it go. But we also lost You Say, which I think is a great song and I really like her voice. Shotgun stuck around longer than I thought it would, but I'm happy about it because I do really like his voice. Sexual Vibe deserved better because it's a really catchy song. And Avril Lavigne deserves a hit and it's sad to see Tell Me It's Over go so soon. Even though it's not as great as Head Above Water, I still really like it and would've loved to see it get big and give her the hit she deserves. Oh well. It will be missed.


Top 20 Review
0 – Crap:
20. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings
19. Halsey – Without Me
18. Lauv/Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired

1 – Bad:
17. Anne-Marie – 2002
16. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly
15. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine

2 – Meh:
NONE

3 – Decent:
14. Ellie Goulding/Diplo – Close To Me
13. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho

4 – Good:
NONE

5 – Great:
12. Jonas Brothers – Sucker
11. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling
10. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It
9. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside
8. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier
7. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
6. Dan + Shay – Tequila
5. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar
4. The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love
3. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger
2. Dean Lewis – Be Alright
1. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More

Overall Score: 69/100 = 69% (B)


Throwback Pick Of The Week: Backstreet Boys – As Long As You Love Me

Most Missed Countdown Song: fun. – Some Nights

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Backstreet Boys – No Place

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Walk The Moon – One Foot (#2)


My Top 5 Picks
1. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow
2. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More
3. Dean Lewis – Be Alright
4. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger
5. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart

Panic! At The Disco (2) – Week Of March 16, 2019

Hey guys! I hope everyone is enjoying St. Patrick's Day weekend. I am now on spring break, so I'm hoping to get at least one of my two remaining year-end posts done. Ideally both, but I get lazy so we'll see. Also, just a friendly reminder that my rankdown is due at the end of the month. You still have the second half of this month to submit if you are interested. I may extend it, but try to have it by the current deadline if possible. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Travis Scott/Drake – Sicko Mode (#39)

Last Week's #1 Song: Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It

The Countdown

45. Bebe Rexha – I'm a Mess (#44)

44. lovelytheband – Broken (#45)

43. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am (#43)

42. Jennifer Lopez – Limitless (#41)

41. George Ezra – Shotgun (#42)

40. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart (#40)

39. Seeb/Bastille – Grip (#24)

38. Stephen Puth – Sexual Vibe (#34)

37. Maroon 5/Cardi B – Girls Like You (#36)

36. Post Malone – Wow (#35)

35. Lauren Daigle – You Say (#26)

34. Khalid/Normani – Love Lies (#30)

33. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#38) [1 Week At #1]

32. Zedd/Katy Perry – 365 (#28)

31. Cardi B/Bruno Mars – Please Me (#16)

30. Avril Lavigne – Tell Me It's Over (#19)

29. Jake Miller – Wait For You (#32)

28. Lil Peep/iLoveMakonnen/Fall Out Boy – I've Been Waiting (#27)

27. 5 Seconds of Summer – Youngblood (#29) [5 Weeks At #1]

26. Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next (#25)

25. Grandson – Apologize (#33)

24. Khalid – Better (#23)

23. Sabrina Carpenter – Sue Me (#31)

22. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#17)

21. Anne-Marie – 2002 (#21)

20. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine (#11)

19. Lauv/Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired (#37)

18. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More (#22)

17. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#20)

16. Post Malone/Swae Lee – Sunflower (#18)

15. Dean Lewis – Be Alright (#13)

14. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside (#14)

13. The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#15)

12. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (#12)

11. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#7)

10. Ellie Goulding/Diplo – Close To Me (#10)

  9. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#9) [8 Weeks At #1]

  8. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#6)

  7. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (DEBUT)

  6. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#2) [7 Weeks At #1]

  5. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#5)

  4. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#8)

  3. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier (#3) [2 Weeks At #1]

  2. Halsey – Without Me (#4) [5 Weeks At #1]

  1. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#1) [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/Florida Georgia Line/watt – Let Me Go (1)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Tie Between Seeb/Bastille – Grip and Cardi B/Bruno Mars – Please Me (–15)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Lauv/Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired (+18)

New Entrants
~ One lone debut this week comes from the big return of the Jonas Brothers with Sucker, which debuts all the way up in the Top 10 at #7, breaking the record for highest debut previously held by Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe. I did say that this song was a grower and I still think that. I didn't love it at first listen, but it's gotten better over time. I think it's a pretty catchy song and the vocals are pretty good for the most part. I still think the song is slightly underwhelming, but it's perfectly enjoyable. I kind of hope this song rises to #1 within the next couple weeks and I think it has a very good chance because we have two awful songs in the Top 5 that need to be kept away from the #1 spot at all costs. Once this gets to #1, I'm sure it'll spend quite a bit of time there. Overall, I think it's a really good song that could get even better with more listens.


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

• NOTD/Felix Jaehn/Georgia Ku/Captain Cuts – So Close (DEBUT)
• Avril Lavigne/Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde
• lovelytheband – Maybe, I'm Afraid
• Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us
• Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah
• Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend
• Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime
• Fletcher – Undrunk (DEBUT)
• Austin Brown – In Betweenin'
• Ally Brooke/Tyga – Low Key
• Kelsy Karter – Harry
• Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored (DEBUT)
• LSD/Lil Wayne – Genius
• P!nk – Walk Me Home
• Kygo/Valerie Broussard – Think About You

~ First up we have a bunch of artists on one song. NOTD had that very mediocre and overrated song I Wanna Know last year. Captain Cuts had a song on Hit-Bound a couple years ago that never actually did anything. I know Felix Jaehn for a collab he did with Jasmine Thompson on Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better) and that was really good. So Close is definitely better than I Wanna Know. But I find the song kind of generic, repetitive, and I don't like the vocals. It's okay right now, but I don't want it to become a hit.

~ Next is Fletcher with Undrunk. I quite like this song honestly and I can see this being a grower. It has an interesting beat and I really like her voice. The chorus is really good. The song is well-written. I see nothing really wrong with it and this is something I can picture myself really enjoying in the near future. So yeah. This is good.

~ Last and definitely least, we have more Ariana Grande with Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored. This is one of the many songs I don't like from Thank U, Next. It's not as bad as 7 Rings, Make Up, Fake Smile, and Imagine. But I just don't really get the appeal to this. The beat is scattery and annoying. She's a great singer, but she limits herself in this song and doesn't really show off the great voice she has. I also don't like the lyrics even though I'm probably not supposed to take them seriously. But I feel like with Ariana, I kind of have to take her seriously, so I do deduct points for the lyrics. Overall, it's not the worst thing she's ever done, but it's far from good.

~ We lost several songs this week, which will probably all debut on the countdown next week even though none of them are good.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Kygo/Valerie Broussard – Think About You

2. Avril Lavigne/Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde

3. Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us

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

5. Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah

Sucker For Blurbs

~ The atrocious 7 Rings by Ariana Grande rose into the Top 5 this week because her stans just will not understand how bad this song is. Hopefully Panic! At The Disco can block Ariana from #1 at least until the Jonas Brothers come in because it will be a real shame if Ariana Grande's first #1 on here happens to be the worst song of her career.

~ We have two Top 20 entrants this week. Seeing Miss Me More in the Top 20 definitely makes me happy as it is a great song. I would love to see this have even more success. But I will never understand why Hits 1 loves Lauv so much because this man relies heavily on auto tune and he sounds really bad with it. I swear if I'm So Tired becomes the next I Like Me Better, I will not take it very kindly.

~ Avril Lavigne – Tell Me It's Over could very well be on its way out soon unfortunately. This song deserved much better, but I get that it's not actually a hit because America likes to underrate good music. But still. Oh well. At least it was here.

~ Cardi B/Bruno Mars – Please Me got hit pretty hard falling to #31. I'm perfectly okay with this because I do not like this song. It's a big disappointment after how great Finesse was. The beat is bad and I don't know why but I just don't like Bruno Mars on the song. I don't like how he shouts "please" in the chorus and the song is just kinda messy overall.

~ 365 by Zedd and Katy Perry does not seem to be doing very much. I will never understand why we underrate good Zedd songs like this and overrate pieces of garbage like The Middle. But America has strange taste as I have come to learn.

~ Seeb/Bastille – Grip dropped quite a bit this week, which I am totally cool with because the song is very generic and mediocre. Bastille is much better off as an alt/rock band. Just because Happier turned out well doesn't mean they should keep working with EDM producers. Otherwise, we will get generic and bland songs like Grip.

~ As far as the exit goes, Sicko Mode definitely deserved better. But it doesn't help that it debuted so late because at this point, it's starting to decline. It should've debuted here a long time ago, but oh well. It's a great song and that's coming from someone who does not like about 90% of modern rap.

~ Personal Chart this week: http://crownnote.com/charts/adrian-c/adrian-cs-top-45-31719

Top 20 Review

0 – Crap:

20. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings

19. Halsey – Without Me

18. Lauv/Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired

1 – Bad:

17. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly

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

5 – Great:

12. Jonas Brothers – Sucker

11. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside

10. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

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

8. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar

7. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier

6. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

5. Dan + Shay – Tequila

4. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes

3. Dean Lewis – Be Alright

2. The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:

1. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More

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

Throwback Pick Of The Week: The Goo Goo Dolls – Iris

Most Missed Countdown Song: Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Tie Between Backstreet Boys – No Place and Carrie Underwood – Love Wins

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie Between Walk The Moon – One Foot (#2) and Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days (#5)

My Top 5 Picks

1. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More

2. The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love

3. Dean Lewis – Be Alright

4. Avril Lavigne – Tell Me It's Over

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

Panic! At The Disco (1) – Week Of March 9, 2019

Hey guys! So I keep forgetting to mention this, but I am on Crownnote, which is where I make my personal charts. So after a long hiatus of my personal chart on Blogger, I've brought it to Crownnote as of early January. I'm currently putting in all my old charts, but that's the site where all my new charts will be. So you should check that out. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• David Guetta/Anne-Marie – Don't Leave Me Alone (#27)
• Mark Ronson/Miley Cyrus – Nothing Breaks Like A Heart (#36)
• Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones (#42) [2 Weeks At #1]

Last Week's #1 Song: The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

The Countdown

45. lovelytheband – Broken (#44)

44. Bebe Rexha – I'm a Mess (#45)

43. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am (#43)

42. George Ezra – Shotgun (#40)

41. Jennifer Lopez – Limitless (#41)

40. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart (#38)

39. Travis Scott/Drake – Sicko Mode (#39)

38. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#37) [1 Week At #1]

37. Lauv/Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired (DEBUT)

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

35. Post Malone – Wow (DEBUT)

34. Stephen Puth – Sexual Vibe (#32)

33. Grandson – Apologize (DEBUT)

32. Jake Miller – Wait For You (#34)

31. Sabrina Carpenter – Sue Me (#25)

30. Khalid/Normani – Love Lies (#29)

29. 5 Seconds of Summer – Youngblood (#28) [5 Weeks At #1]

28. Zedd/Katy Perry – 365 (#30)

27. Lil Peep/iLoveMakonnen/Fall Out Boy – I've Been Waiting (#31)

26. Lauren Daigle – You Say (#33)

25. Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next (#17)

24. Seeb/Bastille – Grip (#24)

23. Khalid – Better (#21)

22. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More (#22)

21. Anne-Marie – 2002 (#15)

20. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#26)

19. Avril Lavigne – Tell Me It's Over (#12)

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

17. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#18)

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

15. The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#20)

14. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside (#13)

13. Dean Lewis – Be Alright (#16)

12. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (#11)

11. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine (#14)

10. Ellie Goulding/Diplo – Close To Me (#7)

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

  8. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#9)

  7. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#10)

  6. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#3)

  5. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#4)

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

  3. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier (#6) [2 Weeks At #1]

  2. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#1) [7 Weeks At #1]

  1. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#2) [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle (2)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next (–8)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Tie Between Lauren Daigle – You Say and Cardi B/Bruno Mars – Please Me (+7)

New Entrants

~ First up this week, we have more Lauv because that's exactly what America asked for. I'm So Tired is definitely not as bad as I Like Me Better, but it is worse than There's No Way. I just don't understand to this or to him. His auto tuned vocals are very hard to listen to. He sounds so bad in this song that it just makes me cringe every time I'm forced to listen to this. The production is also very generic and not interesting. Troye Sivan is easily the best thing about the song and he kind of helps it. But everything else about this song is bad and I don't know why these two would collaborate because Troye is too good for Lauv. I don't know why anyone would want to work with him. Hopefully this flops because it's pretty bad.

~ Next is Post Malone with Wow. I used to really dislike this song, but it has gotten better over time. I think the beat is generic and the song is pretty forgettable. But I actually think Post Malone sounds pretty good here and I think he actually shows a good amount of talent here as a singer and a rapper. It's not his best obviously. But this was a grower and I definitely think it's better than snooze fests like Psycho because he actually sounds somewhat energetic on Wow as opposed to sounding bored as hell on Psycho. So this song is okay. I doubt this will ever be a good song, but the man has done worse as I've mentioned. And I'd be down for this making Sunflower move down.

~ Finally we have Grandson with Apologize. This is not the kind of song I would ever expect to hear on Hits 1. I think overall, the song is okay. I really like the instrumentation on here and I think the song is very energetic unlike our other two debuts. I don't like Grandson's voice though, but that's really the only thing bringing this song down. Aside from that, it's pretty enjoyable. But all in all, it's not something I can see myself going out of my way to listen to. But if it were to come on the radio, I wouldn't change it. It could grow on me, but I don't really think it will.


Best Debut of the Week: Grandson – Apologize


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

• LSD/Lil Wayne – Genius
• P!nk – Walk Me Home
• Austin Brown – In Betweenin'
• Kelsy Karter – Harry
• Ally Brooke/Tyga – Low Key
• Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime
• Maren Morris – GIRL
• Kygo/Valerie Broussard – Think About You
• Avril Lavigne/Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde (DEBUT)
• Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah (DEBUT)
• Yungblud/Halsey/Travis Barker – 11 Minutes
• Meghan Trainor – All The Ways
• Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend (DEBUT)
• Madison Beer/Offset – Hurts Like Hell
• lovelytheband – Maybe, I'm Afraid
• Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us (DEBUT)

~ The best debut of the week comes from Avril Lavigne with Dumb Blonde featuring Nicki Minaj. It's obviously not the best song from Head Above Water as I prefer the title track and Birdie. But this song is a jam that reminds of me old-school Avril and I just find it so catchy and fun to listen to. It's a great female empowerment anthem. I can understand if people find this song annoying, but I think it's great. After all, the song did get a lot of positive reviews from critics for a reason.

~ It has not been a full year since Expectations was released, but Bebe Rexha still released a new single recently titled Last Hurrah. I consider myself a Bebe Rexha fan and I've liked her since her collab with Cash Cash on Take Me Home. I thought Expectations was a pretty good album and this new song is really good too. To me, it sounds kind of similar to I'm A Mess, but I think her vocals here are better, especially in the chorus. I'd like to see this become a hit because I really like this song.

~ Next we have an artist who I do not like and I don't get her appeal. It's Billie Eilish with Bury A Friend. I'm just gonna say it plain and simple. This girl has virtually no talent. She cannot sing for her life and I'm not gonna praise this like her fans because there's no talent here. I don't want to hear her whispering and mumbling over a lifeless "beat". The song is weird as hell and I can tell she's trying to be unique and interesting, but I'm not buying it. I think she is overrated. I will say that Bury A Friend is better than When The Party's Over, which is one of the most boring things I have ever heard, but that's not really saying much because this new song is still really bad and I hope it does not debut because the last thing we need is a recreation of 2016 when a whisperer was taking over the countdown.

~ Lastly, we have the long-awaited return of Louis Tomlinson. I would've loved if I didn't have to wait so long for new music from him, but I know he was a judge on The X Factor and all that. I think Two Of Us is a really nice song and I'm really happy to see Louis still releasing good songs. It's not as great as Back To You and Miss You, but I think it's better than Just Hold On and it's definitely better than Just Like You. What I want though is for this song to actually do well on Hits 1 because Just Hold On has been Louis' only hit and I think it's time that that changed. Overall, this song is great and I look forward to the album whenever that comes out.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Kygo/Valerie Broussard – Think About You

2. Avril Lavigne/Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde

3. Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us

4. Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah

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

YouTube15

~ I do not have the YouTube15 list on me, but I do know some of the songs that are in the list and I figured I'd just talk about a few of them. First is Mama by Clean Bandit and Ellie Goulding. I like this song mostly for Ellie Goulding's vocals. But I feel like Clean Bandit can do much better. The majority of the singles and Out At Night are better than this.

~ Also trending is Nunya by Kehlani. This song is okay because I like Kehlani's voice, but the beat is not very good and I know she's much more talented than this having heard the many guest features she's done within the past few years.

~ We also have I Can't Get Enough by Benny Blanco, Tainy, Selena Gomez, and J Balvin. I talked about this on one of the recent Wake The Pop Up episodes. I think Benny Blanco has been progressively getting worse over time. I do not like this new song because I think it's annoying and underwhelming. Selena Gomez is capable of better and J Balvin does not sound that great. I think Benny Blanco got really lazy here.

~ Stephen Puth brings another song, this one titled Half Gone. I do like the song because I think his voice sounds really good here. But the production is not as good as it is in Sexual Vibe. So I think the two songs are at about the same level of good.

~ For some reason, one of the songs trending is Be Like Me by Lil Pump featuring Lil Wayne. I do not know why we gave Lil Pump a career because doing so encourages dropping out of college, which is never a good idea. The man is talentless and why people actually listen to his music is beyond me. Be Like Me is a very cringy song because no one wants to be like Lil Pump because he is the laughing stock of rap music. Lil Wayne does nothing to help the song. It's straight up trash.

~ The last one I'll talk about is Flux by Ellie Goulding. I really like her and her music even though Close To Me is definitely the weakest lead single she has ever put out. Flux is definitely a lot better. I love that it's a piano ballad and I think her voice sounds beautiful. The lyrics are really good and I can feel the emotion. It's just a really nice song and what I was hoping for from Ellie Goulding. I kind of hope this becomes a hit, but I don't really think it will unfortunately. But who knows?

I'm So Tired of Blurbs

~ We have a new #1 this week in the form of Hey Look Ma, I Made It from Panic! At The Disco. This was kind of destined to go to #1 with how much Hits 1 loves Brendon. At least it hit #1 after its official single release. It's still a great song, so I'll take it.

~ There's not much that happened this week that's worth commenting on aside from the drops from 2002, Thank U, Next, and Sue Me. All of them are bad and deserved to fall. So this is definitely a good thing.

~ I'm pretty impressed that Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart is still here. I don't love the song now as much as I used to. But I still jam to it every now and then and it is still a great song. I'm happy that it's still here and has done so well because it was underrated everywhere else.

~ And Jennifer Lopez – Limitless is somehow still here. I'll say it once again, but I don't know who is voting for this because I doubt people even know what this is with how irrelevant it is.

~ The Way I Am should also not still be here. This song was never meant to be a hit and it is taking a spot that could be occupied by a much better song that will actually be successful. It's seriously time for this one to go.

~ As far as the exits go, we lost songs that should not have left before The Way I Am. Don't Leave Me Alone was very meh overall. I kind of liked the production and the drop, but I did not like Anne-Marie on the song. The Last Of The Real Ones had a great run and I'm glad because it is easily the best song from MANIA and it was deserving of its success. However, Nothing Breaks Like A Heart was very underrated and deserved so much more. Everything about that song is just great and it left too early.

Top 20 Review

0 – Crap:

20. TIE: Ariana Grande – 7 Rings

20. TIE: Halsey – Without Me

1 – Bad:

18. Cardi B/Bruno Mars – Please Me

17. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly

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

5 – Great:

12. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside

11. Dan + Shay – Speechless

10. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

9. The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love

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

7. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes

6. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier

5. Dan + Shay – Tequila

4. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar

3. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

2. Avril Lavigne – Tell Me It's Over

1. Dean Lewis – Be Alright

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

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Beyoncé/Jay Z – Crazy In Love

Most Missed Countdown Song: Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days (#3), Walk The Moon – One Foot (#6), and Keala Settle – This Is Me (#26) (I know, unnecessary that it's three songs)

My Top 5 Picks

1. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More

2. Dean Lewis – Be Alright

3. Avril Lavigne – Tell Me It's Over

4. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

5. Zedd/Katy Perry – 365

The Chainsmokers (7) – Week Of March 2, 2019

Hey guys! If you haven't already, be sure to check out my previous post where I ranked all the performance from the Grammys. Now that that's done, I have to seriously get to work on my remaining year-end posts. As of right now, I have two left. So hopefully those will be out soon. In other news, I finally just watched A Star Is Born and I thought it was a great movie. It definitely hit me in the feels and I highly recommend it to those who haven't seen it. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Charli XCX/Troye Sivan – 1999 (#29)
• Zara Larsson – Ruin My Life (#33)

Last Week's #1 Song: The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

The Countdown

45. Bebe Rexha – I'm a Mess (#45)

44. lovelytheband – Broken (#41)

43. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am (#43)

42. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones (#30) [2 Weeks At #1]

41. Jennifer Lopez – Limitless (#44)

40. George Ezra – Shotgun (#38)

39. Travis Scott/Drake – Sicko Mode (#42)

38. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart (#34)

37. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#25) [1 Week At #1]

36. Mark Ronson/Miley Cyrus – Nothing Breaks Like A Heart (#39)

35. Maroon 5/Cardi B – Girls Like You (#36)

34. Jake Miller – Wait For You (#40)

33. Lauren Daigle – You Say (#28)

32. Stephen Puth – Sexual Vibe (#24)

31. Lil Peep/iLoveMakonnen/Fall Out Boy – I've Been Waiting (DEBUT)

30. Zedd/Katy Perry – 365 (#37)

29. Khalid/Normani – Love Lies (#26)

28. 5 Seconds of Summer – Youngblood (#12) [5 Weeks At #1]

27. David Guetta/Anne-Marie – Don't Leave Me Alone (#27)

26. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (DEBUT)

25. Sabrina Carpenter – Sue Me (#22)

24. Seeb/Bastille – Grip (#16)

23. Cardi B/Bruno Mars – Please Me (#31)

22. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More (#35)

21. Khalid – Better (#18)

20. The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#19)

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

18. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#23)

17. Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next (#20)

16. Dean Lewis – Be Alright (#21)

15. Anne-Marie – 2002 (#7)

14. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine (#15)

13. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside (#11)

12. Avril Lavigne – Tell Me It's Over (#17)

11. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (#32)

10. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#10)

  9. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#13)

  8. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#6) [8 Weeks At #1]

  7. Ellie Goulding/Diplo – Close To Me (#9)

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

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

  4. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#8)

  3. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#5)

  2. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#2)

  1. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#1) [7^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle (1) (and so the treacherous run at #1 began...)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood (–16)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (+21)

New Entrants
~ The first of our two debuts is a posthumous release from Lil Peep titled I've Been Waiting with iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy. I don't know why we're still releasing stuff under his name and why we can't just let the man rest in peace. But for Lil Peep standards, this song is actually pretty decent. His vocals are easily the worst parts of the song though because I don't like his whiny voice. iLoveMakonnen is a pretty generic singer and I don't really like his vocals on this song aside from the chorus. That's the only part where I think he sounds pretty good. And Patrick Stump sounds pretty good as well. The production is solid and the chorus is catchy. So yeah. This is decent and it could grow on me although I don't really think it will. I don't really want it to be a big hit though. But like I said, it's decent for Lil Peep standards and it's definitely better than Falling Down.

~ The other debut comes from Imagine Dragons with the latest single from the mess that is Origins. I've already talked about the fact that I don't like the album. There were only two good songs on that album and both of them are currently on the countdown. Bad Liar was very unexpected after having heard the singles released prior. But then again, Imagine Dragons does this kind of song on almost every album. Night Visions had Demons and Evolve had Walking The Wire, which are easily two of Imagine Dragons' best songs. Now we have Bad Liar and it's really good. A lot of the tracks from Origins felt very messy and unorganized, but Bad Liar is like the opposite. It was put together very well. The production is solid. Dan Reynolds sounds really good. I feel the lyrics here more than I do in any of the other songs. This is great and I'm glad it got released as a single after Walking The Wire was robbed for not being a single. I hope this does well.


Best Debut of the Week: Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar


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

• lovelytheband – Maybe, I'm Afraid
• Post Malone – Wow
• Maren Morris – GIRL
• P!nk – Walk Me Home (DEBUT)
• Madison Beer/Offset – Hurts Like Hell
• Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime
• Kelsy Karter – Harry
• Austin Brown – In Betweenin' (DEBUT)
• Meghan Trainor – All The Ways
• Ally Brooke/Tyga – Low Key (DEBUT)
• Grandson – Apologize
• Jonas Brothers – Sucker (DEBUT)
• LSD/Lil Wayne – Genius
• Yungblud/Halsey/Travis Barker – 11 Minutes
• Lauv/Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired
• Kygo/Valerie Broussard – Think About You (DEBUT)

~ After her cover of A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman only being popular on AC radio, P!nk released her next single titled Walk Me Home. This was really good at first, but it kind of shrunk on me this past week. I still like the song and the chorus. But it feels kind of generic for P!nk. She is incredibly talented and I know she's capable of so much more. Her older hits and songs like Just Give Me A Reason and What About Us are better than this. This is still a good song though and I have good feelings for her album.

~ Now we have In Betweenin' from someone named Austin Brown. I think he's the slightly better version of Alec Benjamin. The song is pretty catchy, but it doesn't feel very original and I don't really like his voice. His age shows in his voice a little too much and it feels a little childish. I think he has potential to be better when he gets older, but as of right now, this is only okay and I don't see it growing on me.

~ So aside from Normani, none of Fifth Harmony singers have been all that good. My point is further proven as Ally Brooke releases a solo single titled Low Key. This is not very good, although I wasn't expecting it to be good anyway because most of the Fifth Harmony girls are not that good. This is just very bland and the production is very underwhelming. I don't really get the appeal to this kind of music and the song is literally just her talking about how she wants Tyga to have sex with her. I mean there's legitimately nothing good about this because she's not a good singer. This will probably debut on the countdown, although I hope it doesn't.

~ Next we have the big return of the Jonas Brothers. I'm not actually familiar with any of their old music, but I'm pretty sure they were good. The new song is called Sucker and I like it for what it is. It's not the most amazing thing I've ever heard and I kinda expected more at first listen. The song is just slightly underwhelming and I'm not head-over-heels in love with their voices. But I can definitely see this growing on me and I have a feeling this will be a big hit, which I'd be fine with. It's a perfectly enjoyable song that has potential to get better with more listens.

~ So anyone who knows me knows that I pretty much stan Kygo and I've been a fan ever since Firestone and Stole The Show. I think he is an amazing producer and a lot of songs are god tier for me. He had that one huge hit in 2017 that was my #1 song of that year. Since then, he put out Kids In Love, which was a great album, as well as a bunch of singles including Happy Now with Sandro Cavazza, which has been one of my favorite songs for the past several months. And now, Hits 1 has finally picked up another single from him. This week, we get Think About You, which was released a couple weeks ago. I naturally have high expectations for Kygo because a lot of his songs are amazing. This new song does not exceed those expectations as much as some of his best songs like the first two I mentioned, Stargazing, and Stranger Things. But it is still a great song and it's gotten better with more listens. I like the production and the drop is really good. I don't love Valerie Broussard's voice in the verses, but she sounds pretty good in the chorus. Overall, it is a great song, but Kygo has definitely done a lot better. I do really hope this debuts because I'm kinda tired of Kygo being as underrated as he is.

~ So out of curiosity, I decided to look into Harry by Kelsy Karter and why this song exists. It's supposedly about Harry Styles, which makes the song even weirder and creepier reading through the lyrics. I honestly don't know if this is a joke song, but this girl does not have a good voice whatsoever. She makes Julia Michaels of all people seem like a great singer.

~ We lost two songs this week. Rita Ora – Let You Love Me definitely deserved a lot better and it's sad to see it go so soon. I really like that song. We also lost Lost In The Fire by Gesaffelstein and The Weeknd. I do really like this song musically because the production is solid. The homophobic lyrics are very unnecessary and they kind of bring the song down for me. But other than that, it was very enjoyable and it's sad to see it decline everywhere.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Kygo/Valerie Broussard – Think About You

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

3. P!nk – Walk Me Home

4. LSD/Lil Wayne – Genius

5. Jonas Brothers – Sucker

I've Been Blurbing

~ Our Top 2 is static this week. But Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho moves up to #3. I really don't want this song to hit #1 because it's not that great or memorable aside from the chorus. Then at #4, we have Let Me Down Slowly, which deserves to go to #1 even less because it's not good. And then we have Without Me, which is garbage.

~ Speaking of garbage, Ariana Grande – 7 Rings has moved into the Top 10. I really hope this doesn't become Ariana's first #1 or something because it's legitimately her worst song and it's very undeserving of being a hit. Fortunately a great song has a good chance at dethroning it on the next Billboard Hot 100. That Oscar's performance really did it for the song.

~ After not moving last week, Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger moved up very quickly to #11. I really like the song as you know. I'd be down for this being a hit and I'm glad it's already doing well. It definitely has potential to stick around.

~ I'm honestly ready for Post Malone/Swae Lee – Sunflower to start dropping. It's still better than songs like Psycho, but Sunflower just feels basic and it doesn't have much going for it aside from the vocals. It was never meant to hold up. Nothing about this song is that great and it's time for it to leave soon.

~ Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More made a pretty good second week jump. I really hope this becomes a hit because it's a really great song that doesn't deserve to be as underrated as it is.

~ We got a few drops this week from Youngblood, Natural, and The Last Of The Real Ones. All of them have been on here for a very long time, so I think it's about time they started falling. They're still good songs, but they're not songs I really want to hear on the radio anymore.

~ As far as the exits go, Ruin My Life should've been much better than it was knowing how talented Zara Larsson is from songs like Never Forget You, Girls Like, and Symphony. 1999 was pretty underrated although I don't think the song is that great. It's still a million times better than the annoying 2002, which is still here for some ungodly reason. But I don't feel too strongly about either of these exits.


Top 20 Review
0 – Crap:
20. TIE: Ariana Grande – 7 Rings
20. TIE: Halsey – Without Me

1 – Bad:
18. Anne-Marie – 2002
17. Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next
16. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly
15. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine

2 – Mediocre:
NONE

3 – Decent:
14. Ellie Goulding/Diplo – Close To Me
13. Post Malone/Swae Lee – Sunflower

4 – Good:
12. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho

5 – Great:
11. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling
10. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It
9. Dan + Shay – Speechless
8. The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love
7. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside
6. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
5. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier
4. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger
3. Dan + Shay – Tequila
2. Avril Lavigne – Tell Me It's Over
1. Dean Lewis – Be Alright

Overall Score: 69/100 = 69% (B)


Throwback Pick Of The Week: Robyn – Show Me Love

Most Missed Countdown Song: Lady Gaga – I'll Never Love Again (that movie hit me hard)

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Demi Lovato – Stone Cold

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Tie Between Ellie Goulding – Flux and Cody Simpson & The Tide – We Had

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie Between Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days (#3) and Walk The Moon – One Foot (#12)


My Top 5 Picks
1. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More
2. Dean Lewis – Be Alright
3. Avril Lavigne – Tell Me It's Over
4. Dan + Shay – Tequila
5. Mark Ronson/Miley Cyrus – Nothing Breaks Like A Heart