Shawn Mendes (1) – Week Of June 29, 2019

Hey guys! Just an update that reveals for the 2010s Rankdown are still happening. Be sure to check out the page every now and then. Anyway, it feels nice to have this done today, especially since I'll be out all day tomorrow at Chicago's Pride Parade for the end of Pride Month. So I figured the sooner I get this done, the better. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Alessia Cara – Out Of Love (#42)

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

The Countdown

45. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#44)

44. Jordan McGraw – Flexible (#43)

43. Billie Eilish – When The Party's Over (#45)

42. Bazzi – Paradise (#37)

41. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier (#38) [2 Weeks At #1]

40. Ellie Goulding/Diplo – Close To Me (#39)

39. Post Malone – Wow (#40)

38. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine (#41)

37. NOTD/Felix Jaehn/Captain Cuts/Georgia Ku – So Close (#35)

36. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#34) [8 Weeks At #1]

35. Lauv/Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired (#32)

34. Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend (#36)

33. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#31) [7 Weeks At #1]

32. Andy Grammer – Don't Give Up On Me (#28)

31. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored (#29)

30. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#30)

29. Martin Garrix/Macklemore/Patrick Stump – Summer Days (#27)

28. P!nk – Walk Me Home (#26)

27. Kaskade/Meghan Trainor – With You (#33)

26. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#19)

25. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (#25)

24. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#21)

23. Ciara – Thinkin Bout You (#14)

22. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy (#23)

21. MAX/Quinn XCII – Love Me Less (#24)

20. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime (#17)

19. Ava Max – So Am I (#20)

18. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (#22)

17. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down (DEBUT)

16. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#15)

15. Katy Perry – Never Really Over (#16)

14. Lil Nas X/Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (#12)

13. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#13)

12. Halsey – Without Me (#10) [5 Weeks At #1]

11. Jonas Brothers – Cool (#11)

10. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#7) [3 Weeks At #1]

  9. Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me (#9)

  8. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#8)

  7. Khalid – Talk (#18)

  6. Ed Sheeran/Justin Bieber – I Don't Care (#5)

  5. Taylor Swift/Brendon Urie – ME! (#2)

  4. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#1) [13 Weeks At #1]

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

  2. Halsey – Nightmare (#6)

  1. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You (#3) [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night) (4)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Ciara – Thinkin Bout You (–9)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Khalid – Talk (+11)

New Entrants
~ Our one new entrant this week comes from Taylor Swift with You Need To Calm Down from her new album Lover. As much as I like the lead single, I'm not really digging this new song. I like the music video and the concept she was going for. I just think the song itself is really bland and sounds like pure album filler. It's the kind of underwhelming album track that should never be released as a single. I also don't think she sounds that good here and the chorus kind of annoys me for some reason. I am still interested in how Lover will sound, but this was not a good choice for the second single. Hopefully, she will make smarter decisions in the future.


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

• Blanco Brown – The Git Up (DEBUT)
• P!nk – Hustle
• In Real Life – Crazy AF
• Lizzo – Truth Hurts
• SHAED – Trampoline (DEBUT)
• Shawn Mendes/Camila Cabello – Señorita
• The Chainsmokers/Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine
• AJR – 100 Bad Days
• Ed Sheeran/Chance The Rapper/PnB Rock – Cross Me
• Asher Angel – One Thought Away
• OneRepublic – Rescue Me
• Mark Ronson/Camila Cabello – Find U Again
• Miley Cyrus – Mother's Daughter
• Public – Make You Mine
• Kygo/Rita Ora – Carry On

~ Apparently making songs similar to Old Town Road has become a trend as Blanco Brown is here with The Git Up. I compare this to Old Town Road, but I think this is worse because while Lil Nas X has a mediocre voice, Blanco Brown sounds awful here. I will say this is the more country-sounding song between the two. Maybe if it was a different singer, the song would be better. But as of right now, this sucks.

~ Next is alt-crossover Trampoline by SHAED. This song has been around for a while, but I just recently listened to it for the first time. I like the song a fair amount, but I can see why others might not. It's a cool song and I like the mysterious-type vibe it has. Her voice is good and the song is interesting. So I would like to see it be a hit.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Kygo/Rita Ora – Carry On

2. The Chainsmokers/Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine

3. SHAED – Trampoline

4. P!nk – Hustle

5. Mark Ronson/Camila Cabello – Find U Again

You Need To Blurb Down

~ The record-breaking Sucker has finally been dethroned by If I Can't Have You by Shawn Mendes. I'll take it over Sucker, but this song is still decent at best. It remind me too much of There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back and I prefer pretty much all of the singles from his self-titled last year, especially In My Blood, which was my #2 favorite song of 2018. This does not get anywhere near that height, but it's still a fine song.

~ Nightmare by Halsey hit a scary peak at #2 this week. I just don't get the appeal to this. I think it has an extremely obnoxious chorus with every other part of the song being mediocre and bland and Halsey sounds terrible. Even though I don't love If I Can't Have You, I need that song to keep this nightmare of a song away from #1.

~ Talk by Khalid is already in the Top 10 out-peaking Better, which was the better song by a clear mile. Once again, I don't really get the appeal to this. Khalid has a good voice, but it does not fit with this weird electronic production. Stick to R&B, Khalid.

~ Never Really Over by Katy Perry is just chilling in the teens right now. I really don't want this to be a hit with how generic it is and how bad the chorus sounds. Hopefully it doesn't become one because she hasn't had a hit here in a long time.

~ So for some reason, I've been really enjoying This Feeling enough to call it the best song on the countdown despite how old it is at this point. I will say that it's mostly because of weak competition and a severe lack of great music on this countdown.

~ Paradise by Bazzi fell into the Bottom 5. I'm hoping this means it will leave soon because it's not a very good song.

~ As far as the exit goes, I pretty much knew Out Of Love would be leaving soon. It's very boring and I don't know why it even debuted. It seems like the kind of song I would only hear on AC radio, yet Hits 1 picked up on it anyway. I'm not surprised by how it did performance-wise. I am surprised by how long it stuck around.

Top 20 Review

0 – Crap:

20. Halsey – Nightmare

19. Halsey – Without Me

18. Ava Max – So Am I

1 – Bad:

17. Katy Perry – Never Really Over

16. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down

15. Jonas Brothers – Cool

14. Khalid – Talk

13. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved

12. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho

11. Lil Nas X/Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road

2 – Mediocre:

10. Jonas Brothers – Sucker

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

3 – Decent:

8. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other

7. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier

6. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You

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

4 – Good:

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

3. Ed Sheeran/Justin Bieber – I Don't Care

5 – Great:

2. Taylor Swift/Brendon Urie – ME!

1. Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me

Overall Score: 38/100 = 38% (D)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Chumbawamba – Tubthumping

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Kygo/Whitney Houston – Higher Love

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie Between Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (#1) and Foster The People – Sit Next To Me (#6)

My Top 5 Picks

1. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

2. Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me

3. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

4. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar

5. Andy Grammer – Don't Give Up On Me

My Bottom 5 Picks

1. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings

2. Halsey – Nightmare

3. Billie Eilish – When The Party's Over

4. Halsey – Without Me

5. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored

Jonas Brothers (12 & 13) – Weeks Of June 15 & 22, 2019

Hey guys! So yeah. This is gonna be another combination of posts because I was very unmotivated to get last week's countdown post done in a timely manner. So I just decided to combine last week's countdown with this week's countdown and there's definitely a lot to talk about this week. Before we get to last week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we said goodbye to last week.

• Dean Lewis – Be Alright (#40)

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

The Countdown

45. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#45)

44. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#44)

43. Jordan McGraw – Flexible (#31)

42. Billie Eilish – When The Party's Over (#43)

41. Ellie Goulding/Diplo – Close To Me (#39)

40. Alessia Cara – Out Of Love (#38)

39. Post Malone – Wow (#42)

38. NOTD/Felix Jaehn/Captain Cuts/Georgia Ku – So Close (#41)

37. BTS/Halsey – Boy With Luv (#37)

36. Andy Grammer – Don't Give Up On Me (#34)

35. Ciara – Thinkin Bout You (#24)

34. Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend (#32)

33. Bazzi – Paradise (DEBUT)

32. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine (#26)

31. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#33) [7 Weeks At #1]

30. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#25)

29. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored (#11)

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

27. Martin Garrix/Macklemore/Patrick Stump – Summer Days (#35)

26. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#23)

25. Ava Max – So Am I (#30)

24. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#29) [8 Weeks At #1]

23. Khalid – Talk (#28)

22. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (#36)

21. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier (#16) [2 Weeks At #1]

20. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (#14)

19. MAX/Quinn XCII – Love Me Less (#27)

18. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy (#13)

17. P!nk – Walk Me Home (#17)

16. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime (#20)

15. Ed Sheeran/Justin Bieber – I Don't Care (#15)

14. Katy Perry – Never Really Over (#19)

13. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#12)

12. Lil Nas X/Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (#22)

11. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#18)

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

  9. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#8)

  8. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#9)

  7. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#10) [3 Weeks At #1]

  6. Halsey – Nightmare (#6)

  5. Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me (#7)

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

  3. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You (#5)

  2. Taylor Swift/Brendon Urie – ME! (#2)

  1. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#1) [12^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night) (2)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored (–18)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (+14)




With that, I will move on to this week's countdown. Then I will just have blurbs and reviews for this week's list. Last week's countdown is just there because I started working on it and didn't want to delete it. So yeah. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• BTS/Halsey – Boy With Luv (#37)
• Dan + Shay – Tequila (#45)

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

The Countdown

45. Billie Eilish – When The Party's Over (#42)

44. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#44)

43. Jordan McGraw – Flexible (#43)

42. Alessia Cara – Out Of Love (#40)

41. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine (#32)

40. Post Malone – Wow (#39)

39. Ellie Goulding/Diplo – Close To Me (#41)

38. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier (#21) [2 Weeks At #1]

37. Bazzi – Paradise (#33)

36. Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend (#34)

35. NOTD/Felix Jaehn/Captain Cuts/Georgia Ku – So Close (#38)

34. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#24) [8 Weeks At #1]

33. Kaskade/Meghan Trainor – With You (DEBUT)

32. Lauv/Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired (#28)

31. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#31) [7 Weeks At #1]

30. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#30)

29. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored (#29)

28. Andy Grammer – Don't Give Up On Me (#36)

27. Martin Garrix/Macklemore/Patrick Stump – Summer Days (#27)

26. P!nk – Walk Me Home (#17)

25. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (#20)

24. MAX/Quinn XCII – Love Me Less (#19)

23. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy (#18)

22. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (#22)

21. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#9)

20. Ava Max – So Am I (#25)

19. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#13)

18. Khalid – Talk (#23)

17. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime (#16)

16. Katy Perry – Never Really Over (#14)

15. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#26)

14. Ciara – Thinkin Bout You (#35)

13. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#11)

12. Lil Nas X/Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (#12)

11. Jonas Brothers – Cool (DEBUT)

10. Halsey – Without Me (#10) [5 Weeks At #1]

  9. Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me (#5)

  8. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#8)

  7. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#7) [3 Weeks At #1]

  6. Halsey – Nightmare (#6)

  5. Ed Sheeran/Justin Bieber – I Don't Care (#15)

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

  3. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You (#3)

  2. Taylor Swift/Brendon Urie – ME! (#2)

  1. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#1) [13^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night) (3)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Marshmello/Bastille – Happier (–17)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Ciara – Thinkin Bout You (+21)

New Entrants
~ Last week, we had one debut in the form of Paradise by Bazzi. I'm not huge on Bazzi as a whole and my opinion on this is similar to my opinion on most of his music. I think he's talented and has a good voice, but his music is underwhelming and he doesn't use his voice to its full potential. I'll take this over his newer single with 21 Savage, but I still don't like this and given that it's not really a hit, I hope it doesn't stick around.

~ Moving on to this week, we have With You by Kaskade and Meghan Trainor. I'm not sure why Hits 1 has been making such a big deal about this song. I completely forgot about it when it was released last week because iTunes was not promoting it and it was not very high at all on their Hot Tracks. The song itself is not very good as it's just another generic EDM track with underwhelming production and mediocre vocals. I like a few of Kaskade's songs, but he can do so much better than this. And Meghan Trainor is typical untalented Meghan Trainor. So need I say more? This is not a hit, so I hope to see it on its way out soon.

~ Finally, we have the Jonas Brothers, who have been a big name on Hits 1 this past year. They bring Cool. I do think Sucker is pretty catchy and it's a nice little tune despite being extremely overrated. It can seem underwhelming at times. But Cool is basically Sucker without the catchiness. It's just underwhelming, boring, forgettable, and Nick Jonas does not sound good. I haven't listened to Happiness Begins and I don't exactly plan to, but I'm sure there are much better songs on there that should've been pushed instead of Cool. This is very bland and it's absolutely insane that this debuted at #11. This for sure is because of Jonas Brothers stannage because there is absolutely nothing unique or original about this.


Best Debut of the Week: You're not honestly gonna make me pick, are you?


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

• Lizzo – Truth Hurts
• AJR – 100 Bad Days
• Kygo/Rita Ora – Carry On
• Asher Angel – One Thought Away
• P!nk – Hustle
• Miley Cyrus – Mother's Daughter
• Shawn Mendes/Camila Cabello – Señorita (DEBUT)
• The Chainsmokers/Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine
• Push Baby – Mama's House
• Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down
• Public – Make You Mine
• Ed Sheeran/Chance The Rapper/PnB Rock – Cross Me
• Mark Ronson/Camila Cabello – Find U Again
• OneRepublic – Rescue Me
• In Real Life – Crazy AF

~ Last week, we saw the debut of You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift. I like what she was going for with the song and the video and I loved the moment she had with Katy Perry in the video. But the song is just so painfully bland. I don't like the beat, I don't think Taylor sounds good here, and I just think this is an example of a generic unoriginal pop song. To me, this song sounds like pure album filler and not single material at all. I like Taylor and I'm still interested in how her album is going to sound, but this song is not working for me at all.

~ Our one debut this week is a collaboration between Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello with Señorita. I think the Latin vibe is pretty cool and it's a well-produced track. Camila sounds pretty bad, but I quite like Shawn's vocals. So I'm conflicted vocal-wise. It is pretty new though, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. I do also think this is the superior Shawn and Camila collaboration.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Kygo/Rita Ora – Carry On

2. The Chainsmokers/Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine

3. P!nk – Hustle

4. Mark Ronson/Camila Cabello – Find U Again

5. Miley Cyrus – Mother's Daughter

Parablurbs

~ So Sucker by the Jonas Brothers is now the longest running #1 song in Hits 1 Weekend Countdown history at 13 weeks. It was previously a tie between Shake It Off by Taylor Swift, Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon, and Hello by Adele each at 12 weeks. Then before that, it was Apologize by OneRepublic at 11. First of all, I just want to say that Apologize is easily the best out of all of these. Second, I don't think Sucker is worthy of holding this record. But then again, of the previous three holders, Shut Up and Dance was the only one worthy and I don't like the idea of four songs tied for one record. It's nice to be back at one even if Walk The Moon deserved it the most out of these four. But Sucker is really not that great of a song. It's a cute little bop that I can enjoy on the radio every now and then (certainly not every hour). I'm pretty much certain that this only got big because "OMG the Jonas Brothers are back!" This song is not groundbreaking or that amazing. It's a fine song and that's not enough for it to be breaking records in my eyes. I guess Hits 1 sees it differently, which is fine I guess. I'm happy to see these guys back. I just wish that this fine song called Sucker was not made out to be so much better than it actually is because I doubt I'll remember this song in the next few years.

~ ME by Taylor Swift and Brendon Urie is still at #2. I doubt this will hit #1 at this point because Sucker has been blocking songs from the top for the past 2-3 months. I don't think ME is amazing, but I do think it would've been nice to see it spend one week at #1.

~ I Don't Care by Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber finally hit the Top 5. I think the song is okay, but it has been getting better with each listen. It's really catchy. I'd be down to see this song at #1 in the near future given that it's been a really long time since Justin Bieber had a #1 song, assuming he ever even had one.

~ Here With Me by Marshmello and CHVRCHES peaked in the Top 5 last week, which I think is pretty cool. It's nice to see CHVRCHES finally have some mainstream success. For some reason, I didn't see this song as a Top 5 hit, but I'm happy with it. I do like the song quite a bit even though it's Happier with a different singer.

~ Thinkin Bout You by Ciara made a pretty big jump after falling last week. I don't know why, but I just can't get into this song. It's fine, but not very exciting and pretty underwhelming for the most part. I can't see myself disliking it, but I also can't see myself loving it.

~ Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi rose into the Top 20. I know my thoughts on this changed pretty quickly. I just think the oversinging sounds pretty bad and the song itself is pretty boring. I know I usually like ballads, but they need great singers to work.

~ If anyone here likes generic songs, then you're probably happy to see Talk by Khalid and So Am I by Ava Max in the Top 20. But me on the other hand, I prefer actual R&B music from someone like Khalid and original music from someone like Ava Max.

~ Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons dropped out of the Top 20, which I can't really say surprises me. I'm surprised it stuck around as long as it did. It's a great song though and I'm glad it was a hit here even though it did poorly everywhere else.

~ Happier by Marshmello and Bastille dropped quite a bit this week. It's been around for a long time now, so I'm surprised it didn't drop sooner. It's still a good song even though it's gotten a little stale. I applaud Marshmello for choosing Bastille because Dan Smith's vocals are the reason I still think this is a good song.

~ Out Of Love by Alessia Cara is now in the Bottom 5. This song's time is ending. I don't know how else to say it. I'm surprised it even debuted, although Hits 1 has been picking up on her latest mediocre singles. I can say this is the best of the three, but this one in particular is pretty boring.

~ I'm ready for the two pieces of trash in the Bottom 2 to leave us soon. One for being very annoying and braggy and the other for being excruciatingly boring.

~ As far as the exits go, Be Alright and Tequila are great and will be missed and Boy With Luv sucks. I'm glad this overrated collaboration did not stick around.

Top 20 Review

0 – Crap:

20. Halsey – Without Me

19. Halsey – Nightmare

18. Ava Max – So Am I

1 – Bad:

17. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved

16. Jonas Brothers – Cool

15. Khalid – Talk

14. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho

13. Katy Perry – Never Really Over

12. Lil Nas X/Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road

2 – Mediocre:

11. Jonas Brothers – Sucker

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

3 – Decent:

9. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier

8. Ciara – Thinkin Bout You

7. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You

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

5. Ed Sheeran/Justin Bieber – I Don't Care

4 – Good:

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

5 – Great:

3. Taylor Swift/Brendon Urie – ME!

2. Dan + Shay – Speechless

1. Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me

Overall Score: 44/100 = 44% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Whitney Houston – Run To You

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: P!nk/Wrabel – 90 Days

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie Between Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (#1) and Foster The People – Sit Next To Me (#6)

My Top 5 Picks

1. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

2. Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me

3. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar

4. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

5. Dan + Shay – Speechless

Jonas Brothers (11) – Week Of June 8, 2019

Hey guys! So I just got back from spending a week in Florida. I am going to skip last week's countdown because I don't want to have to be behind again. So we're just going to do this week and you can check out any of the other Hits 1 blogs for last week's countdown. So here are the songs we said goodbye to last week.

• Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah (#42)
• Ally Brooke/Tyga – Low Key (#44)

Now before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Lizzo – Juice (#32)
• SZA/The Weeknd/Travis Scott – Power Is Power (#34)
• Jennifer Lopez/French Montana – Medicine (#36)
• Lil Peep/iLoveMakonnen/Fall Out Boy – I've Been Waiting (#41)
• Khalid – Better (#42)
• Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow (#45) [x2]

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

The Countdown

45. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#43)

44. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#44)

43. Billie Eilish – When The Party's Over (#40)

42. Post Malone – Wow (#39)

41. NOTD/Felix Jaehn/Captain Cuts/Georgia Ku – So Close (#30)

40. Dean Lewis – Be Alright (#33)

39. Ellie Goulding/Diplo – Close To Me (#28)

38. Alessia Cara – Out Of Love (#38)

37. BTS/Halsey – Boy With Luv (#22)

36. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (DEBUT)

35. Martin Garrix/Macklemore/Patrick Stump – Summer Days (DEBUT)

34. Andy Grammer – Don't Give Up On Me (DEBUT)

33. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#20) [7 Weeks At #1]

32. Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend (#31)

31. Jordan McGraw – Flexible (#37)

30. Ava Max – So Am I (DEBUT)

29. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#17) [8 Weeks At #1]

28. Khalid – Talk (DEBUT)

27. MAX/Quinn XCII – Love Me Less (#29)

26. Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine (#35)

25. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#15)

24. Ciara – Thinkin Bout You (#26)

23. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#27)

22. Lil Nas X/Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (#24)

21. Lauv/Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired (#12)

20. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime (#25)

19. Katy Perry – Never Really Over (DEBUT)

18. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#19)

17. P!nk – Walk Me Home (#3)

16. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier (#13) [2 Weeks At #1]

15. Ed Sheeran/Justin Bieber – I Don't Care (#10)

14. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (#16)

13. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy (#23)

12. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#21)

11. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored (#18)

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

  9. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#8)

  8. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#11)

  7. Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me (#7)

  6. Halsey – Nightmare (#14)

  5. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You (#4)

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

  3. The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#9)

  2. Taylor Swift/Brendon Urie – ME! (#2)

  1. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#1) [11^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night) (1)

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: BTS/Halsey – Boy With Luv (–15)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Billie Eilish – Bad Guy (+10)

New Entrants
~ So I'll start with last week's debuts kicking it off with Power Is Power by SZA, The Weeknd, and Travis Scott from the soundtrack for the latest season of Game of Thrones. I kind of knew this would have a very shitty run, so I was surprised it actually debuted last week. Now it's gone after one week, which doesn't surprise me. It's a great song even though it's Starboy rehashed for the third or fourth time. But I liked all the artists on it. So yeah. I don't have much else to say since it's already out.

~ The other debut was Easier by 5 Seconds Of Summer. These guys are talented, but this song does not show that because there really is no band here. Maybe if this were credited as a solo artist, I wouldn't have much of a problem with it. But because this is by a band, I have to be real and say that this is not that good. I have higher expectations for these guys and they did not come through here.

~ Moving on to this week, we kick things off with more Alec Benjamin, this time with If We Have Each Other. It's better than Let Me Down Slowly, but it's still really boring and his voice kind of sucks. I don't know why Hits 1 all of a sudden become such big fans of him. His music is forgettable and mediocre at best. We don't need to be making him any bigger than he deserves to be.

~ Next is the only good debut this week. It's Summer Days by Martin Garrix featuring Macklemore and Patrick Stump. This is obviously only here because of Patrick Stump, which is the same reason why I've Been Waiting spent some time here. Martin Garrix has done a lot better, but this is still good. It's not that memorable, but it's one of the better songs on the countdown, so I'll take it.

~ Immediately following that, we have Andy Grammer with Don't Give Up On Me. I like what he was going for here. I think it's a nice song and we could definitely use more nice songs like this. I just don't think it was executed as well as it could've been. His voice is not up to par here, which makes the song not very memorable. And I like a handful of Andy Grammer's songs from the earlier Keep Your Head Up and Fine By Me to 2014's Back Home. He's talented, but I just don't think this song is as good as it should've been. A for effort though.

~ Next is Sweet But Psycho So Am I by Ava Max. I've noticed that when people dislike an artist, they sometimes use the reasoning "all their music sounds the same" and a lot of times, I don't think it does. It's not very often that I actually think an artist's songs all sound the same. But now we have Ava Max and this new song is literally Sweet But Psycho with different lyrics. It's the same beat and production. And you know how I feel about Sweet But Psycho. So yeah. This is a generic ripoff of her own song. Ava Max, you need to start being more original because Sweet But Psycho was not a very original song to begin with.

~ Next we have Talk by Khalid. At first, I thought this was mediocre and now I just don't like it at all and it kind of bugs me that this is his highest peaking song on the Billboard Hot 100. It's very bland, flavorless, and generic. It was Disclosure who have made some great songs in the past. But this just doesn't work for Khalid in my opinion. He has the kind of voice that is perfect for R&B, which is why I really like Better. But this weird electronic production just doesn't suit his voice and it's not as pleasant of a listen. So yeah. Not a fan of this.

~ Finally, we have Katy Perry with her first lead single since Chained To The Rhythm. It's called Never Really Over. For some reason I wasn't really expecting to like this and sure enough, I was right. This is one of the most generic songs she has ever released. I could tell this was produced by Zedd without even looking it up because it has his new signature generic sound and production. The song is very cluttered and messy. I think her voice sounds good in the pre-chorus, but the chorus with that terrible drop is hard to listen to and I've had it with mediocre Zedd. After how hard 365 flopped, I don't know why Katy Perry would work with him again. But here we are and yeah, this is not good. Katy Perry was at her peak during her Teenage Dream era in the early 2010s. But this isn't working for her anymore. I doubt this will be a hit and I think she should just stick to judging on American Idol because she just doesn't have it in her anymore. This song is pretty bad.


Best Debut of the Week: Martin Garrix/Macklemore/Patrick Stump – Summer Days


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

• Lizzo – Truth Hurts (DEBUT)
• Asher Angel – One Thought Away (DEBUT)
• Push Baby – Mama's House
• Public – Make You Mine (DEBUT)
• Kygo/Rita Ora – Carry On
• Ed Sheeran/Chance The Rapper/PnB Rock – Cross Me
• Miley Cyrus – Mother's Daughter (DEBUT)
• In Real Life – Crazy AF
• Mark Ronson/Camila Cabello – Find U Again (DEBUT)
• OneRepublic – Rescue Me (DEBUT)
• The Chainsmokers/Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine
• Jonas Brothers – Cool
• P!nk – Hustle
• Bazzi – Paradise
• AJR – 100 Bad Days (DEBUT)

~ Lizzo is back again with Truth Hurts and I don't really like this. I get the appeal to Lizzo but her music is just not for me. I don't think this song is very interesting at all and I don't like her voice. I doubt it will grow on me.

~ One Thought Away is okay. I was expecting this to be a lot worse when I learned that this guy is another kid like Austin Brown. But this song is fine and it's somewhat enjoyable.

~ Make You Mine has been around a few years now, so I'm not sure why it's just debuting on Hit-Bound this week. On first listen, I thought it was good but I doubt I'll remember anything about it in a little while.

~ I like Ed Sheeran, but Cross Me is just not what I think he should be doing. This just doesn't feel like him. I prefer his slower, nicer songs like his earlier work (The A Team, Lego House, etc.). This isn't that bad, but I just can't get into it personally. And Chance The Rapper kind of sucks now and it's no different here.

~ Mother's Daughter is good but it kind of shrunk on me a little bit since I first listened to it. I don't think it's as great now. But I still like it and I think Miley sounds good. She's done a lot better in the past, but she's also done worse and this is solid.

~ Find U Again has grown on me somewhat since my first time listening to it. It's not as great as Nothing Breaks Like A Heart and I find this song kind of underwhelming in some parts. I also don't love how auto tuned Camila's voice is. But I think the song is interesting enough and the production is solid for the most part. This could very well continue to be a grower.

~ Rescue Me is okay, but OneRepublic has done a lot better during their Dreaming Out Loud and Waking Up eras. The singles from those albums like Apologize, Stop and Stare, Come Home, and Good Life are some of their best work. This is kind of underwhelming, but catchy at the same time. It's definitely better than Connection from last year, which sucked. But they can do better.

~ I really like Bebe Rexha on Call You Mine, but I hate how The Chainsmokers were trying to remake Closer when they made that drop. It sucks and brings the song down. But other than that, it's really good. Shout out to Bebe Rexha for being the song's saving grace.

~ I will never understand why these people at Hits 1 are fans of AJR. Their music is garbage and that includes 100 Bad Days. It's not quite as bad as Burn The House Down, but it's still AJR. Therefore, it sucks.

~ It looks like we lost Don't Call Me Up by Mabel. I won't be surprised if it never debuts on the countdown.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Kygo/Rita Ora – Carry On

2. The Chainsmokers/Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine

3. P!nk – Hustle

4. Mark Ronson/Camila Cabello – Find U Again

5. Miley Cyrus – Mother's Daughter

Summer Blurbs

~ Nightmare by Halsey is already in the Top 10 because of course it is. The people at Hits 1 are Halsey stans even though her latest singles after Alone have sucked. Nightmare is no different and I really don't want this to be a #1 song, but it probably will.

~ Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons is having some good success here despite flopping everywhere else. I do quite like the song, so I'm happy about it. I think it should be acknowledged since it's the best song and one of the only good songs on Origins.

~ Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored by Ariana Grande should not be right outside of the Top 10. The song sucks and it really should start dropping at this point.

~ Bad Guy by Billie Eilish jumped into the Top 20 this week. While it's easily the best of the three songs she has here, it's still not very good and I'd prefer if this was not a Top 10 hit.

~ Walk Me Home by P!nk kind of collapsed after hitting a new peak of #3 last week. I never saw this as a Top 5 hit, so I'm not too shocked by this drop. It's a fine song but Top 5 is a bit much for it.

~ We got some drops this week from High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco and This Feeling by The Chainsmokers and Kelsea Ballerini. I know I complained about both of them recently. But I listened to This Feeling the other day for the first time in a little while and I really enjoyed it. So I'll be nice to that one.

~ I'd appreciate just getting rid of BTS/Halsey – Boy With Luv as opposed to letting it jump and drop every week. It's hilarious how overpromoted this was on Hits 1's social media and it's doing this poorly.

~ And Out Of Love by Alessia Cara is still here after having such minimal movement these past several weeks. Like I said, the song bores me, but it is a lot better than a lot of what's on the countdown. I don't see it lasting much longer though because how long can you really just sit around in the #36-38 range?

~ So Close by NOTD and friends dropped pretty quickly as it went from Top 20 to Bottom 5 within two weeks. I do not care for this song at all. It's mediocre for a song with this many producers and the vocals are not very good. I'm glad this wasn't as big as NOTD's previous hit and I'd appreciate it leaving soon.

~ As far as last week's exits go, Low Key sucked and should've never been here. Last Hurrah flopping is not much of a surprise. With this week, I already talked about Power Is Power. I never cared much about Juice and I've Been Waiting is decent. I'm glad Better lasted as long as it did since it's one of Khalid's best songs. It will always be much better than its successor. Medicine should've been a hit. Rarely does Jennifer Lopez make a song that I love, especially after last year's Dinero. Medicine is a highlight in her discography and it deserved much better. And finally, Shallow is incredible and deserved a better second run. At least one week in the Top 10 would've been nice. But it's fine. It may not be one of Hits 1's favorites, but it's definitely one of the best songs they've played in 2019, whether or not they treated it as such.


Top 20 Review
0 – Crap:
20. Halsey – Without Me
19. Halsey – Nightmare
18. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored

1 – Bad:
17. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
16. Katy Perry – Never Really Over
15. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho

2 – Mediocre:
14. Jonas Brothers – Sucker
13. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It

3 – Decent:
12. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
11. Ed Sheeran/Justin Bieber – I Don't Care
10. Marshmello/Bastille – Happier
9. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You
8. P!nk – Walk Me Home

4 – Good:
7. The Chainsmokers/5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love
6. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime

5 – Great:
5. Dan + Shay – Speechless
4. Taylor Swift/Brendon Urie – ME!
3. Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me
2. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

Overall Score: 56/100 = 56% (C)


Throwback Pick Of The Week: The Fray – Over My Head (Cable Car)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/Florida Georgia Line/watt – Let Me Go

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Avicii/Chris Martin – Heaven

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie Between Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (#1), Bad Wolves – Zombie (#13), and Foster The People – Sit Next To Me (#17)


My Top 5 Picks
1. Sam Smith/Normani – Dancing With A Stranger
2. Dean Lewis – Be Alright
3. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar
4. Marshmello/CHVRCHES – Here With Me
5. Dan + Shay – Tequila