Jonas Brothers (4) – Week Of April 20, 2019

Hey guys! I'm getting closer to the end of my semester at school, which is always the busiest time. So posts might be coming out around this time for the next few weeks because I'm very busy and stressed. So reveals for my rankdown probably won't be until I'm done with school, which is like midway through May. In the meantime, the form is still open if anyone wants to send in a last minute submission. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Grandson – Apologize (#39)

Last Week's #1 Song: Jonas Brothers – Sucker

The Countdown

45. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#44) [1 Week At #1]

44. Khalid/Normani – Love Lies (#45)

43. Maren Morris – GIRL (#42)

42. Post Malone/Swae Lee – Sunflower (#43)

41. 5 Seconds of Summer – Youngblood (#37) [5 Weeks At #1]

40. Cardi B/Bruno Mars – Please Me (#41)

39. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More (#34)

38. Lil Nas X/Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (DEBUT)
37. Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next (#38)

36. FLETCHER – Undrunk (#40)

35. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside (#33)

34. Anne-Marie – 2002 (#36)

33. Austin Brown – In Betweenin' (#30)

32. Ciara – Thinkin Bout You (#31)

31. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine (#20)

30. Jake Miller – Wait For You (#35)

29. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#15)

28. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#26)

27. Post Malone – Wow (#23)

26. Yungblud/Halsey/Travis Barker – 11 Minutes (#24)

25. Ally Brooke/Tyga – Low Key (#21)

24. Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me (#32)

23. Lizzo – Juice (#27)

22. Dean Lewis – Be Alright (#18)

21. Khalid – Better (#17)

20. Avril Lavigne/Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde (#28)

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

18. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow (#14)

17. Lauv/Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired (#13)

16. P!nk – Walk Me Home (#22)

15. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored (#25)

14. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#16)

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

12. Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah (#19)

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

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

  9. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#12)

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

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

  6. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#9) [7 Weeks At #1]

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

  4. The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#4)

  3. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#2) [3 Weeks At #1]

  2. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#3)

  1. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#1) [4^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle (7)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (–14)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Tie Between Lil Peep/iLoveMakonnen/Fall Out Boy – I've Been Waiting and Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored (+10)

New Entrants
~ Our one new entrant this week comes from arguably the biggest joke in music right now. It's Old Town Road by Lil Nas X. Fortunately this is the version with Billy Ray Cyrus, which is good since his voice is actually tolerable and the song is no longer under two minutes. The song still sucks though and just because you put Billy Ray Cyrus in your song (why would ever even agree to it) and you talk about horses, it doesn't make it country, Lil Nas X. This is still a very mediocre and bland trap song with no redeeming qualities. The beat is beyond basic and generic. His voice is not good at all and the autotune does not help. It's just a really terrible "song" all around and shows how far downhill the quality of mainstream music has gone. I would hope this follows a path similar to other big hits that make Hits 1 like In My Feelings and Sicko Mode. This really shouldn't be a hit here. So hopefully it goes away soon.


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

• Jennifer Lopez/French Montana – Medicine
• Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other
• Kygo/Valerie Broussard – Think About You
• Jordan McGraw – Flexible
• The Chainsmokers – Kills You Slowly
• Jonas Brothers – Cool
• SZA/The Weeknd/Travis Scott – Power Is Power (DEBUT)
• Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime
• MAX/Quinn XCII – Love Me Less
• Billie Eilish – Bad Guy (DEBUT)
• Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us
• Ava Max – So Am I
• BTS/Halsey – Boy With Luv
• lovelytheband – Maybe, I'm Afraid
• Bazzi – Paradise (DEBUT)

~ I'm gonna save the only good debut for the last. So we'll start with Billie Eilish making another Hit-Bound appearance with Bad Guy. I thought this song was okay at first, but it shrunk on me pretty fast. It's one of Billie's better songs, but that's not exactly saying much. She still sounds like she's dying when she sings. The vocal effects are also not good The production is kind of interesting, but it's not that great. The song is just not that exciting, which is nothing new honestly. I'll take it over some of the other songs from the album.

~ Next is Paradise by Bazzi. I wanted to like this song, but it was just hard to get into for me. It reminds me too much of Mine and I did not like that song. The beat is not very good. Bazzi is a good singer, but I didn't hear that in this song. I thought his vocals here were mediocre. The song is also just forgettable and not that unique. It's not awful, but it's far from good.

~ Our good debut this week is Power Is Power by SZA, The Weeknd, and Travis Scott from the Game of Thrones soundtrack. Even though this sounds a lot like Pray For Me, I think it's a really cool song. A collab between SZA and The Weeknd is something I never knew I needed in my life. I think both singers sound great here and I love hearing their voices together. Travis Scott has a really good verse and I like that he was a part of this. I think this is probably one of the best collaborations of the year so far. I really like this song a lot.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Jennifer Lopez/French Montana – Medicine

2. SZA/The Weeknd/Travis Scott – Power Is Power

3. Kygo/Valerie Broussard – Think About You

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

5. Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us

Old Town Blurbs

~ Can we please get Halsey – Without Me out of the Top 5. I would prefer if it were just off the countdown. But at the very least I'd like this out of the Top 5 and maybe even the Top 10.

~ Last Hurrah by Bebe Rexha is moving up rather quickly. I have a feeling this is not going to last very long, but I'm cool with how it's doing so far. It's a great song.

~ Walk Me Home by P!nk entered the Top 20 this week. After listening to Hurts 2B Human, I can safely say that this is one of the more bland songs on the album. There are a few songs including the collaborations with Wrabel, Khalid, and Chris Stapleton that are a lot better.

~ I've Been Waiting also entered the Top 20 because when a song has Fall Out Boy, Hits 1 will play it. This song has grown on me though, so I'll take it. I don't love it, but it's good enough.

~ Avril Lavigne/Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde made a nice jump into the Top 20 on its second week. I already know this song is not going to last since it's not a hit and Avril has been severely underrated here after Here's To Never Growing Up, which was her last real hit. Also songs with Nicki Minaj tend to not do very well here. I've noticed that pattern. But it's nice to have this song around for the time being.

~ Ariana Grande – 7 Rings having the Biggest DROP!!!... of the Week definitely made me happy. This song is just straight up trash and I'm really happy to see it falling so fast.

~ As far as the exit goes, I never cared too much for Apologize. I just recently listened to Blood // Water and I think Apologize is superior instrumentally. His vocals are not good in either song, but I think Apologize was well-produced. I'm okay with it leaving though because it was always just there.


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

1 – Bad:
18. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored
17. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly

2 – Mediocre:
NONE

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

4 – Good:
14. Lil Peep/iLoveMakonnen/Fall Out Boy – I've Been Waiting

5 – Great:
13. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
12. Jonas Brothers – Sucker
11. P!nk – Walk Me Home
10. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier
9. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling
8. Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah
7. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It
6. The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love
5. Dan + Shay – Speechless
4. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar
3. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger
2. Avril Lavigne/Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow

Overall Score: 78/100 = 78% (B)


Throwback Pick Of The Week: Eiffel 65 – Blue (Da Ba Dee)

Most Missed Countdown Song: MIKA/Ariana Grande – Popular Song

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: P!nk/Khalid – Hurts 2B Human

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something (#17)


My Top 5 Picks
1. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow
2. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More
3. Dean Lewis – Be Alright
4. Avril Lavigne/Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde
5. Khalid – Better

Jonas Brothers (3) – Week Of April 13, 2019

Hey guys! I quite liked this week's countdown as we get a few great new songs replacing some not-so-good songs. There were also some good drops and some good jumps. So I had a good time with this post. Also just a reminder that my 2010s rankdown is closing at the end of this week. You may have extra time because I don't know when I'll get around to entering the rest of the submissions I have into Excel. So it'll probably be a while until I start doing results. But yeah, the official due date is this Saturday evening. So get on it. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Meghan Trainor – All The Ways (#39)
• LSD/Lil Wayne – Genius (#40)
• Madison Beer/Offset – Hurts Like Hell (#41)
• Charlie Puth – The Way I Am (#44)
• Bebe Rexha – I'm A Mess (#45)

Last Week's #1 Song: Jonas Brothers – Sucker

The Countdown

45. Khalid/Normani – Love Lies (#43)

44. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#42) [1 Week At #1]

43. Post Malone/Swae Lee – Sunflower (#20)

42. Maren Morris – GIRL (#37)

41. Cardi B/Bruno Mars – Please Me (#38)

40. FLETCHER – Undrunk (DEBUT)

39. Grandson – Apologize (#31)

38. Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next (#37)

37. 5 Seconds of Summer – Youngblood (#33) [5 Weeks At #1]

36. Anne-Marie – 2002 (#28)

35. Jake Miller – Wait For You (#26)

34. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More (#25)

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

32. Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me (DEBUT)

31. Ciara – Thinkin Bout You (DEBUT)

30. Austin Brown – In Betweenin' (#22)

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

28. Avril Lavigne/Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde (DEBUT)

27. Lizzo – Juice (#34)

26. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#12)

25. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored (DEBUT)

24. Yungblud/Halsey/Travis Barker – 11 Minutes (#27)

23. Post Malone – Wow (#36)

22. P!nk – Walk Me Home (#23)

21. Ally Brooke/Tyga – Low Key (#32)

20. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine (#19)

19. Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah (#30)

18. Dean Lewis – Be Alright (#15)

17. Khalid – Better (#24)

16. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#8)

15. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#11)

14. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow (#17)

13. Lauv/Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired (#16)

12. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#21)

11. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (#18)

10. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#13) [8 Weeks At #1]

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

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

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

  6. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier (#10) [2 Weeks At #1]

  5. Halsey – Without Me (#6) [5 Weeks At #1]

  4. The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#3)

  3. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#2)

  2. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#4) [3 Weeks At #1]

  1. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#1) [3^rd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle (6)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Post Malone/Swae Lee – Sunflower (–23)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Post Malone – Wow (+13)

New Entrants
~ First up this week is FLETCHER with her song Undrunk. I thought this was okay at first, but it definitely grew on me over time. I really like her voice here and I love the production. I don't really know how to describe it, but it's almost calming in a way. I also really like the way she opened herself up with these lyrics. The song is so well-written that I can actually feel something when listening to the words. The chorus is great. I really like this song and I hope this does decent here.

~ Next is Marshmello, who just keeps bringing in the singles. This time it's with pop/alt group CHVRCHES on the song Here With Me. This is basically Happier with a slightly different drop and a different vocalist. Aside from the drop, the production is similar in both songs and the build-up is the same. But Happier is a great song, so this is really good too. I mostly like it for Lauren Mayberry's vocals. I think she sounds excellent here. Marshmello got a little generic as usual, but it's still an enjoyable listen. It's nice to see CHVRCHES actually have a mainstream hit and not be underrated for once. I'm sure this will end up being a hit since it's Marshmello. Overall, I really like this and I'm happy for CHVRCHES.

~ Immediately following that, we have Ciara with Thinkin Bout You. I find it interesting how Hits 1 did a world premiere for this song since they haven't exactly cared much for Ciara's music in the past. As for this song, I think it's fine. It's not bad, but there's really nothing about it that makes it stand out or makes it that memorable. To me, it's kind of just there and that's probably how it's gonna be during its run here. I can't see this having very much success since it's not exactly a hit. But this is Hits 1, so who knows? Hit or not, the song is just okay.

~ Next is a rather polarizing single, at least for this artist. It's Dumb Blonde by Avril Lavigne featuring Nicki Minaj. I really like this song and I know there are people who will disagree with me. It's definitely not the best song from Head Above Water as I prefer songs like the title track and Birdie. But Dumb Blonde is a jam and I respect it for that. It's a good empowerment anthem and it's really catchy. Avril is one of those artists who can pull off slower ballads like I'm With You and Let Me Go, while still being able to make bops like this. I can see why people would dislike this and how it can be annoying. But I just really like it personally and it would be nice to see it become a hit.

~ Last and definitely least, we have Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored by Ariana Grande. It's no surprise why she decided to push this as her next single. Is it better than 7 Rings? Yes, but that is a low bar. It's still very generic with a lame trap beat and not very impressive vocals. The lyrics are probably supposed to be a joke, but Ariana Grande is the kind of artist who I tend to take seriously. I listened to Thank U, Next in full when it was released and I thought this was a very weak album closer as it really didn't do what album closers should do, which is to provide some kind of closure. If this album's closer is supposed to be a joke, is the rest of the album supposed to be taken that way as well because that's kind of what I get when an album is concluded in this way. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but at the end of the day, it's still a generic, poorly-written song.


Best Debut of the Week: Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me


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

• Lil Nas X/Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (DEBUT)
• Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend
• NOTD/Felix Jaehn/Captain Cuts/Georgia Ku – So Close
• BTS/Halsey – Boy With Luv (DEBUT)
• lovelytheband – Maybe, I'm Afraid
• MAX/Quinn XCII – Love Me Less
• Ava Max – So Am I
• Jonas Brothers – Cool
• Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime
• Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (DEBUT)
• Kygo/Valerie Broussard – Think About You
• Jordan McGraw – Flexible
• Jennifer Lopez/French Montana – Medicine (DEBUT)
• Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us
• The Chainsmokers – Kills You Slowly (DEBUT)

~ I would go in order, but this first one I'll actually save for last. So first up is the overpromoted Boy With Luv by BTS featuring Halsey. It's times like these where I wonder why I follow Hits 1 on Instagram because on Friday, my feed was full of their posts with clips of their discussions with BTS on the Morning Mash Up. I wasn't expecting this song to be very good and I was right. This feels a little overproduced, but it's not so much the production that I have problems with. It's BTS themselves. I don't like their voices and their rapper is obnoxious. I'm probably going to get murdered by the BTS stans, but I'm just saying it as it is. And Halsey is such a non-presence here that you can't even tell she's featured on the track. So yeah. I don't like this and I would prefer if this didn't become a hit.

~ Next is Alec Benjamin because these people at Hits 1 have apparently become fans of this guy. He also hosted Hit-Bound this week, so it would only make sense that he plays his own song. In comparison to Let You Down Slowly, this is okay. It's not as boring and it's kind of interesting instrumentally. I still don't like this voice because he sounds much younger than he is. But this is improvement, so I'll take it.

~ Next is the only good debut that I'm really glad Hits 1 picked up on as quickly as they did. It's Medicine by Jennifer Lopez and French Montana. This song is a bop. I was really impressed when I first listened to it. And it's clear proof that JLo is a really good singer. I think her voice sounds really good here. The production is solid and the chorus is great. Even French Montana's verse is solid and I quite like his contribution here. All in all, great song and I would love to see this on the countdown in the near future.

~ Next is The Chainsmokers with Kills You Slowly. If you had played this song for me without me knowing what it was, I would've never guessed it was The Chainsmokers because this sounds nothing like their style. Drew Taggart doesn't sound like himself and the song is just so generic. They were doing fine with songs like Side Effects, This Feeling, Beach House, and Who Do You Love. But this new song is as generic as the earlier Sick Boy singles. I'd prefer if this didn't become a hit.

~ Alright, now we can go back to the worst entrant this week. It's Old Town Road by Lil Nas X with Billy Ray Cyrus. So this guy put out a solo version of this song a while ago claiming it is a country song, which it is not. Sure, it has a couple country elements. But this is a straight up trap song and that's not really up for debate. So Billboard realizes this and takes the song off the country charts, which then leads to people calling Billboard racist even though Darius Rucker and Kane Brown were/are big country stars. So then Lil Nas X decides to rerelease the song with country legend Billy Ray Cyrus. Why he would ever agree to this, I have no idea. But it shows that this guy is desperate to get this trap song to be seen as country when it's not. Now, on to my opinion. This song is shit. It's beyond generic, has no real substance, and Lil Nas X is not a good singer. The trap beat is terrible and the song is just nonsense. There's nothing unique about this. It's a stupid song that shouldn't be as popular as it is. I will say that Billy Ray somewhat helped the song, but it's still not country and it's still very generic. I don't know why Hits 1 decided to pick up on this and I hope it doesn't become a hit here. It's a terrible song and one of the biggest jokes in music right now.


Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Jennifer Lopez/French Montana – Medicine
2. Kygo/Valerie Broussard – Think About You
3. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime
4. Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us
5. MAX/Quinn XCII – Love Me Less


Dumb Blurbe
~ As a result of Tequila dropping this week, Dan + Shay – Speechless made a jump up to #12. I feel like this song debuted a little early because it feels like it's been here for a long time already. But I do like the song, so no complaints here. I'm glad it's having a chance at being successful after Tequila stuck around much longer than I thought it would.

~ You know it's a good week when the best song on the countdown rises over the worst song on the countdown. Even though there's only a one-spot difference, Shallow deserves to be above 7 Rings as it is a million times superior in terms of quality. 7 Rings is shit and Shallow is amazing.

~ I'm also happy to see Better by Khalid rising back (?) into the Top 20. I've liked this song quite a bit since I first heard it. It's just very vibey and I love his vocals. I hope this sticks around here for a while because this should definitely be a hit on Hits 1.

~ All of last weeks debuts seem to have jumped a reasonable amount this week with Last Hurrah hitting the Top 20 already. But for some reason, Low Key by Ally Brooke is already up to #21. We don't need generic, poorly sung tunes about nothing but sex being hits just because they're from a member of a popular girl group. This is probably the second worst single from a Fifth Harmony member (behind Camila's Never Be The Same).

~ Wow by Post Malone made a jump this week, which I'm cool with. The song is okay and it has grown on me quite a bit since first listen. I'm okay with it sticking around for a little while as long as it doesn't become a massive hit.

~ We had quite a few drops this week, some good and some bad. I already mentioned Tequila. While I do still really like the song, it's been around for quite a while now and should be dropping frankly. Eastside and Sunflower took some big drops this week. The former is good, but has been around for a while and should be dropping. And the latter is old at this point and I was never fully on board with this song because while it has good vocals, it has nothing else unique about it. The production is basic.

~ Continuing with the drops, Jake Miller – Wait For You and Anne-Marie – 2002 fell out of the Top 30, and Please Me by Cardi B/Bruno Mars fell into the Bottom 5. None of these are good and I'm glad Please Me didn't end up being a big hit because this is just not good at all. We also saw drops from two country girls with their pop singles: Miss Me More by Kelsea Ballerini and Girl by Maren Morris. I was never able to get into Girl unfortunately because it's so bland and I'm happy that it seems to be flopping. But Miss Me More definitely deserved better for being a well-written and well-produced track with great vocals. After the success of This Feeling, I do think Kelsea Ballerini deserved to have this as a hit because frankly, Miss Me More is the much better song.

~ As far as the exits go, three of these were 3-weekers and the other two overstayed. All The Ways and Hurts Like Hell are very bland and generic, especially the latter which is much worse in my opinion, so it's nice to see them drop out quickly. Neither of these were deserving of being hits. The Way I Am was always the weakest Voicenotes single and stayed way too long for a song that wasn't actually a hit. I did like I'm A Mess for a while, but it stayed too long and should've left a while ago. And finally, we have Genius, which definitely deserved better as it's one of the few good LSD songs. I didn't even mind the fact that they played the Lil Wayne version. It was still good and shouldn't have left so soon. It should've at least been a bigger hit than Thunderclouds because that song is pretty bad. But we don't always get what we want.


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. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho

4 – Good:
NONE

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

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow

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


Throwback Pick Of The Week: Lady Antebellum – I Run To You

Most Missed Countdown Song: One Direction – Where Do Broken Hearts Go

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Avicii/Aloe Blacc – SOS

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Walk The Moon – One Foot (#6)


My Top 5 Picks
1. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow
2. Dean Lewis – Be Alright
3. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More
4. Khalid – Better
5. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

Jonas Brothers (2) – Week Of April 6, 2019

Hey guys! I forgot to announce it here, but I'm extending my rankdown deadline. The new date is Saturday, April 20. Procrastinators should really get to work on it if interested because I'm probably not extending it any further. If you have questions about it, just drop a comment and I'll answer. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Zedd/Katy Perry – 365 (#31)
• Kelsy Karter – Harry (#39)
• Maroon 5/Cardi B – Girls Like You (#43)

Last Week's #1 Song: Jonas Brothers – Sucker

The Countdown

45. Bebe Rexha – I'm a Mess (#44)

44. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am (#45)

43. Khalid/Normani – Love Lies (#42)

42. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#41) [1 Week At #1]

41. Madison Beer/Offset – Hurts Like Hell (#37)

40. LSD/Lil Wayne – Genius (#38)

39. Meghan Trainor – All The Ways (#23)

38. Cardi B/Bruno Mars – Please Me (#32)

37. Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next (#35)

36. Post Malone – Wow (#36)

35. Maren Morris – GIRL (#27)

34. Lizzo – Juice (DEBUT)

33. 5 Seconds of Summer – Youngblood (#29) [5 Weeks At #1]

32. Ally Brooke/Tyga – Low Key (DEBUT)

31. Grandson – Apologize (#30)

30. Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah (DEBUT)

29. Lil Peep/iLoveMakonnen/Fall Out Boy – I've Been Waiting (#22)

28. Anne-Marie – 2002 (#29)

27. Yungblud/Halsey/Travis Barker – 11 Minutes (#25)

26. Jake Miller – Wait For You (#33)

25. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More (#20)

24. Khalid – Better (#26)

23. P!nk – Walk Me Home (#34)

22. Austin Brown – In Betweenin' (#40)

21. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#24)

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

19. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine (#18)

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

17. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow (#16)

16. Lauv/Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired (#21)

15. Dean Lewis – Be Alright (#7)

14. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside (#17)

13. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#4) [8 Weeks At #1]

12. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#14)

11. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#8)

10. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier (#11) [2 Weeks At #1]

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

  8. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#9)

  7. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#13) [7 Weeks At #1]

  6. Halsey – Without Me (#6) [5 Weeks At #1]

  5. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#2) [3 Weeks At #1]

  4. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#12)

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

  2. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#3)

  1. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#1) [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle (5)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Meghan Trainor – All The Ways (–16)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Austin Brown – In Betweenin' (+18)

New Entrants
~ First up is Juice by Lizzo. I don't really get the hype for this song. It's okay and it's pretty catchy. It has solid production. But that's kind of it. I don't like her voice and I find the chorus kind of annoying. I'd prefer if this didn't become a hit. Same goes for Low Key by Ally Brooke, except this song is worse. The production is just so generic and bland that I see no appeal to this whatsoever. Ally Brooke is not a good singer, which is not surprising since no one from Fifth Harmony is good aside from Normani. The lyrics are shit too. I already know this will do poorly because of how irrelevant it is. We need to stop trying to make untalented Fifth Harmony members successful in their solo careers.

~ The only good debut this week is Last Hurrah by Bebe Rexha. I find this song very similar to I'm A Mess in terms of the sound and production. But her vocals here are stronger. One of the reasons I like Bebe Rexha is that she has such a unique voice that makes it easy to distinguish her from others. I think her voice shines well here, especially in the chorus. Is it her best work? Probably not. But it's still a great song and I hope it does well because I like Bebe Rexha and Last Hurrah is really good.


Best Debut of the Week: Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah


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

• Kygo/Valerie Broussard – Think About You
• lovelytheband – Maybe, I'm Afraid
• Jordan McGraw – Flexible (DEBUT)
• Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored
• Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime
• Avril Lavigne/Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde
• Ciara – Thinkin Bout You
• Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend
• Jonas Brothers – Cool (DEBUT)
• MAX/Quin XCII – Love Me Less (DEBUT)
• Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me
• Ava Max – So Am I
• FLETCHER – Undrunk
• Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us
• NOTD/Felix Jaehn/Captain Cuts/Georgia Ku – So Close

~ All of our debuts this week were songs I listened to days ago and don't feel up to listening to again right now. So my thoughts are based on first listens. Basically everything was very meh and underwhelming. I prefer Love Me Less of the three, but none of them are that great.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Kygo/Valerie Broussard – Think About You

2. FLETCHER – Undrunk

3. Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me

4. Avril Lavigne/Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde

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

Last Blurb-ah

~ Can we not continue to push Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly into the Top 5? This song is just so lifeless and no one is gonna remember this guy afterwards. This shouldn't even be a thing right now.

~ I'd also appreciate if we didn't make Lauv/Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired a thing. It's so generic and annoying and Lauv sounds so bad in this song. I don't know why people like this and are voting for it. This song is ass and Troye Sivan should know better than to work with Lauv.

~ I find it interesting how Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger continues to make small drops because I hear this song a lot on Hits 1. Maybe it's just coincidental timing when I tune into Hits 1. But this song gets played a lot when I'm listening.

~ I really hope this Austin Brown kid doesn't become the next Alec Benjamin. I still have In Betweenin' in blue, but it could easily change to red in the near future. I just don't like his voice and the rest of the song slowly gets worse with more listens.

~ Jake Miller – Wait For You is still here for some reason.

~ We had some good drops this week including, Girl, All The Ways, Hurts Like Hell, and Please Me. The former two are incredibly bland and the latter are just annoying. I'd appreciate if they all left soon.

~ However, LSD/Lil Wayne – Genius should not be dropping like it is. For once, an LSD song is actually good.

~ As far as the exits go, Harry was garbage and should've never debuted. I genuinely hope to never hear this song again, but I know I'm gonna have to revisit it come December. Girls Like You is old as shit and really should've left a while ago. I know it was in my Best of 2018 list, but the song is bland for Maroon 5 standards. Finally, we have the biggest flop of 2019 so far, 365 by Zedd and Katy Perry. This is what happens when you don't promote your song. The Middle was featured in Target commercials and stuff like that and 365 got nothing. Plus Katy Perry hasn't had a real hit since 2014. So I can't say I'm that surprised. Hopefully people are starting to realize we don't want generic sellout Zedd.

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 – Meh:

15. Post Malone/Swae Lee – Sunflower

3 – Decent:

14. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho

13. Ellie Goulding/Diplo – Close To Me

4 – Good:

NONE

5 – Great:

12. Jonas Brothers – Sucker

11. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes

10. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

9. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside

8. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier

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

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

5. Dan + Shay – Tequila

4. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar

3. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

2. Dean Lewis – Be Alright

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:

1. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow

Overall Score: 71/100 = 71% (B)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Shinedown – If You Only Knew

Most Missed Countdown Song: Aloe Blacc – The Man

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Avicii/Aloe Blacc – SOS

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie Between Walk The Moon – One Foot (#2) and Bad Wolves – Zombie (#14)

My Top 5 Picks

1. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow

2. Dean Lewis – Be Alright

3. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More

4. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

5. Khalid – Better

Jonas Brothers (1) – Week Of March 30, 2019

Hey guys! As you can probably tell, this week was kind of a busy week for me. But the countdown post is here and that's what matters. As you guys probably know, Google+ officially shut down earlier this week, which I figured would affect commenting in some way. It seems like you guys can still comment normally and you can edit your Blogger accounts if you want to add a profile photo. But yeah. It seems like not much has changed, which is good. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Sabrina Carpenter – Sue Me (#34)
• Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart (#43)

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

The Countdown

45. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am (#45)

44. Bebe Rexha – I'm a Mess (#44)

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

42. Khalid/Normani – Love Lies (#42)

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

40. Austin Brown – In Betweenin' (DEBUT)

39. Kelsy Karter – Harry (#39)

38. LSD/Lil Wayne – Genius (#35)

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

36. Post Malone – Wow (#40)

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

34. P!nk – Walk Me Home (DEBUT)

33. Jake Miller – Wait For You (#27)

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

31. Zedd/Katy Perry – 365 (#38)

30. Grandson – Apologize (#26)

29. Anne-Marie – 2002 (#20)

28. 5 Seconds of Summer – Youngblood (#25) [5 Weeks At #1]

27. Maren Morris – GIRL (#32)

26. Khalid – Better (#24)

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

24. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#21)

23. Meghan Trainor – All The Ways (#30)

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

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

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

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

18. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine (#16)

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

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

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

14. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#12)

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

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

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

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

  9. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#19)

  8. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#11)

  7. Dean Lewis – Be Alright (#8)

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

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

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

  3. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#3)

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

  1. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#2) [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey – The Middle (4)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Anne-Marie – 2002 (–9)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow (+21)

New Entrants
~ The first of our debuts and the less interesting of the two comes from Austin Brown with In Betweenin'. I really don't have much to say about this song other than the fact that it's just not that interesting. I thought it was okay at first listen, but it's been slowly getting worse over time. The production is fine and the song is kind of catchy. But I don't like the vocals. They show his age too much, which I understand is beyond his control. But maybe he should wait a few years for his voice to mature or something. I don't really know, but those vocals just aren't working for me.

~ Next is Walk Me Home by P!nk. This is probably the weakest lead single she has ever released. It's still good because of the beat and her vocals. But it's very poppy and radio-friendly and I know P!nk is capable of better. The song is also kind of short being under 3 minutes. I usually prefer some of her longer songs like Just Give Me A Reason and What About Us. It's not bad by any means and I'm still looking forward to Hurts 2B Human (especially the collabs with Wrabel and Khalid). I just know P!nk is extremely talented and can make better music.


Best Debut of the Week: P!nk – Walk Me Home


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

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

~ I find it interesting how Hits 1 did a whole premiere for Thinkin Bout You, especially since it doesn't seem like they've cared much for Ciara. The song is okay. I like the production and the song is kind of catchy. But I don't love her voice here and I just feel like the song is missing something. It could be a grower, but for now I consider it decent.

~ Next is Juice by Lizzo. Again, I think the production is solid and the song is catchy. But I don't really like her voice. Thinkin Bout You has a better chance at growing on me because I think Ciara is a better vocalist. Juice doesn't really have much going for it. It's not bad, but it's not memorable and I'd prefer it didn't become a hit.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Kygo/Valerie Broussard – Think About You

2. Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me

3. Avril Lavigne/Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde

4. Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah

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

Blurb Me Home

~ Sucker by the Jonas Brothers moved up to #1 this week, which is not surprising at all. I already know this is gonna be there for a while. Fortunately, it's a really good song, so I'm cool with it.

~ Also moving into the Top 5, we have Who Do You Love, which was expected to happen at some point, and..... High Hopes????? I mean I still enjoy the song, but it's been here for what feels like forever. I think it's time for the song to start moving down. It really does not still need to be in the Top 5. But I'll take it over Without Me.

~ Ariana Grande – 7 Rings rose back into the Top 10, which I figured would happen since it has aired as Most Wutchuwanted for some reason. Ariana even has a new song out with Victoria Monet and it's utter trash. Seriously, I don't understand what happened to Ariana Grande. I remember when she used to be really talented. And now all that seems to have gone away and she's become extremely overrated.

~ Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar moved into the Top 10 this week, which I'm all for since it is a great song. I'm not sure how much longer this will last here, but I kind of hope it becomes a hit. It deserves it.

~ Now this is what I like to see. Shallow by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper had the Biggest Jump of the Week into the Top 20. This is easily the best thing that happened on the countdown this week. I really hope this actually becomes a hit here. It's truly an amazing song.

~ On the other side of things, 2002 by Anne-Marie had the Biggest DROP!!!!... of the week and it definitely deserved it. This should not still be here. It was never a hit and it's not even a good song. Hits 1, you guys need to stop trying to make Anne-Marie a thing.

~ Four of our seven debuts from last week either held their spot or fell, which shows how weak some of them are. The only big jump was Shallow, and then there were some smaller jumps from All The Ways and Girl, neither of which are good. Genius did not deserve to drop. I would like to see this become a bigger hit than Thunderclouds because it's obviously the better song.

~ As far as the exits go, Sue Me is bad and one of Sabrina Carpenter's most generic songs. I'm really glad this didn't become a hit and I think Hits 1 should stop picking up her music because aside from Almost Love, none of it is good. I'm quite impressed with how well Don't Go Breaking My Heart did. This was severely underrated everywhere else and it was one of the best songs of 2018. I'm so glad it was hit here. It's such a fun song and it's really nice to have these guys back. I still love this song, but I'm happy with how long it stuck around and how well it did. It definitely deserved it.

Top 20 Review

0 – Crap:

20. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings

19. Halsey – Without Me

1 – Bad:

18. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly

2 – Mediocre:

17. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine

16. Post Malone/Swae Lee – Sunflower

3 – Decent:

15. Ellie Goulding/Diplo – Close To Me

14. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho

4 – Good:

NONE

5 – Great:

13. Jonas Brothers – Sucker

12. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

11. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes

10. Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside

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

8. Dan + Shay – Tequila

7. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier

6. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar

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

4. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

3. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More

2. Dean Lewis – Be Alright

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:

1. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow

Overall Score: 77/100 = 77% (B)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Kevin Rudolf/Lil Wayne – Let It Rock

Most Missed Countdown Song: Linkin Park – Burn It Down

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Dean Lewis – Stay Awake

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something (#28)

My Top 5 Picks

1. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow

2. Dean Lewis – Be Alright

3. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More

4. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

5. Khalid – Better