Ed Sheeran (3) – Week Of February 25, 2017

Hey guys! This week was a reasonably good week. We had two good debuts out of three, a great biggest drop and biggest jump, and a good looking Top 20. But we did lose a song that will be missed very much by me. Also, I am aware that my Grammys Performance Review post is still not out. More on that will be down in the blurbs. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down (#39) [3 Weeks At #1]
• Runaground – Chase You Down (#41)
• Martin Garrix/Bebe Rexha – In The Name Of Love (#43)

Last Week's #1 Song: Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You

The Countdown

45. Lukas Graham – You're Not There (#42)

44. Pitbull/Flo Rida/LunchMoney Lewis – Greenlight (#45)

43. OneRepublic – Kids (#44)

42. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – Starboy (#37)

41. Coldplay/Beyoncé – Hymn For The Weekend (#38)

40. Charli XCX – After The Afterparty (#15)

39. John Legend – Love Me Now (#29)

38. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic (#27)

37. Noah Cyrus/Labrinth – Make Me (Cry) (DEBUT)

36. Sia/Kendrick Lamar – The Greatest (#35)

35. Niall Horan – This Town (#36)

34. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy (DEBUT)

33. Rihanna – Love On The Brain (#33)

32. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better (#32) [2 Weeks At #1]

31. Daya – Words (#25)

30. Hey Violet – Guys My Age (#28)

29. DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You (#31)

28. X Ambassadors – Unsteady (#24)

27. Alessia Cara – Scars To Your Beautiful (#30)

26. Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know (#17) [3 Weeks At #1]

25. Bebe Rexha – I Got You (#23)

24. Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor (#22)

23. Julia Michaels – Issues (#19)

22. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like (#18)

21. Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul (#26)

20. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me (DEBUT)

19. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go (#40)

18. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#14)

17. Train – Play That Song (#20)

16. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#13)

15. Maroon 5 – Cold (#34)

14. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#16)

13. Adele – Water Under The Bridge (#7)

12. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm (#21)

11. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons (#10)

10. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side (#11)

  9. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (#12) [2 Weeks At #1]

  8. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (#9) [4 Weeks At #1]

  7. Jon Bellion – All Time Low (#5)

  6. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#4)

  5. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#8)

  4. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#6)

  3. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#2)

  2. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#3)

  1. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#1) [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Charli XCX – After The Afterparty (–25)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go (+21)

New Entrants
~ Let's get the awful debut over with first. Miley Cyrus is definitely a talented individual, especially after watching her as a judge on The Voice. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for her sister, Noah Cyrus. All throughout this song, her voice is just mediocre at best. She could potentially have a good voice, but she does not show it on Make Me (Cry) whatsoever. Not even Labrinth, who produced the amazing Beneath Your Beautiful from 2013, could save this song. I mean, his voice is certainly better than Cyrus'. But in this song, not by much. The production is very weak and very slow. I hate the little sound effects, including the teardrop at the end of the chorus. Ultimately, this song is just pointless, serves no purpose, and will be easily forgotten. Frankly, the only reason this girl is getting some recognition is because of her being Miley Cyrus' sister. Without that, she's nothing. Hopefully this does not become a massive hit.

~ I kind of already talked about Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy last week when it debuted on Hit-Bound. I did anticipate on it debuting so soon. But overall, I do like the song. I know it'll face a lot of mixed opinions due to it being yet another change away from rock for Linkin Park. But I do like this song. Chester Bennington's vocals aren't exactly that amazing. He has certainly sounded better in other songs. His voice is pretty much meant for the heavier rock sounds. So it doesn't sound that amazing here. Even Kiiara (who actually sounds pretty good) sounds better than him. Something I find a little disappointing is that we don't get any vocals from Mike Shinoda, who actually has a very good voice rapping and singing. After having heard him in Linkin Park's previous songs as well as the music from his side project, Fort Minor, he is very talented. So I hope that we can hear more vocals from him on future singles.

~ Finally we have It Ain't Me by Kygo featuring Selena Gomez. First off, I really like Kygo. He has had four songs on the Hit 45 Chart, all of which are very good (Stole The Show, Firestone, Here For You, and Stay). He is an excellent producer and DJ and while his songs may not be club bangers necessarily, they do have some pretty chill vibes. Is this his best song? No. I feel like Stole The Show featuring Parson James holds that title. But this is still a good song. The production is very good. Selena Gomez actually does a very nice job on the vocals. Overall it's a great song and I feel like Kygo just got himself a hit bringing in Selena Gomez as the guest vocalist. I hope this song does well and I'm curious as to what Kygo will do next.


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

• Snakehips/MØ – Don't Leave
• MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low
• Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye
• Imagine Dragons – Believer
• Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay (DEBUT)
• AJR – Weak
• James Hersey – Miss You
• Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill
• Flo Rida/99 Percent – Cake
• The Vamps/Matoma – All Night
• Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee
• Ariana Grande/Future – Everyday (DEBUT)
• Little Mix – Touch
• The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This (DEBUT)

~ Alessia Cara's vocals shine in Stay. Zedd's production is a little weird and not necessarily what I expected. But it is interesting enough for a few more listens.

~ I can't say I'm enjoying Everyday at this moment. I think I just need to get a few more listens in. But right now it really isn't anything special. I can't see it getting as big as the other three singles from this album.

~ The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This is absolutely fantastic. More words when it debuts on the countdown.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This

2. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye

3. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low

4. The Vamps/Matoma – All Night

5. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee

It Ain't Blurbs

~ Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever and Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things have both jumped into the Top 5 this week. I haven't been listening to the former very much to avoid getting sick of it. But it's getting awfully hard when it comes on Hits 1 a million times.

~ Yes, you are seeing that correctly. I did grow back into Starving very slightly. It has been a little while since I listened to it. But don't plan on seeing it stay like that in a few weeks.

~ Honestly, do we really need Heathens back in the Top 10? It's getting a little annoying how every time I see Twenty One Pilots on Hits 1, I put it on that station in hopes that it's Heavydirtysoul playing, but it ends up being Heathens. I do still enjoy it somewhat, but I don't think it'll be very long until I start to get slightly sick of it. So I'd appreciate it if it started to drop.

~ Maroon 5 – Cold jumped over Don't Wanna Know much quicker than I thought it would. Looks like this song really is going to be a massive hit. Brace yourselves everyone.

~ I am completely okay with that jump into the Top 20 from James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go. My friend is pretty much addicted to this song and I can understand why. It's a very sweet song that deserves the success it's getting. It's a lot like James Bay – Let It Go. I enjoy it for what it is, a sweet love song.

~ I'm also okay with the drop out of the Top 30 from Daya – Words. It's getting really annoying how Hits 1 overplays Daya's music, so it's nice to see this one drop a little.

~ And Rihanna – Love On The Brain holds. I would appreciate it very much if this song dropped out, like next week.

~ Bruno Mars – 24K Magic and John Legend – Love Me Now both dropped out of the Top 30. One I am very saddened by, and the other I'm very happy with. Hopefully you guys know which one is which based off of my very explicit opinions that I could not have made any more clear.

~ Words cannot explain how pleasing it is to see Charli XCX – After The Afterparty drop not 10, not 15, not 20, but 25 spots! Let's please get this obnoxious childish song off of this countdown!

~ Finally, we have the one exit that I am truly saddened by. It may have seemed like a space filler to everyone at first, but I saw some potential in it. Sure enough, it stayed for quite a while and peaked at #9. It definitely had a successful run on this countdown. And so it saddens me to this song go. But ultimately it did well and that's really all we can ask for. So thank you for your service, Runaground – Chase You Down. You will be missed.

~ The Hit 45 Chart for this week is currently being worked on and will be posted as soon as possible.

~ Unfortunately due to timing, I never did get around to posting a review post for the Grammy's two weeks ago. I feel as though it's a little too late now to post it and I have very little done. So instead, I'll just run through the performances and give each of them a grade out of 20. There are no reviews to go with them. However, if you want me to explain why a certain performance got the score it has, feel free to leave a comment and I'd be more than happy to give a review and explain.

• Adele – Hello: 20/20 (A+)

• The Weeknd/Daft Punk – Starboy / I Feel It Coming: 20/20 (A+)

• Keith Urban/Carrie Underwood – The Fighter: 15/20 (C)

• Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You: 19/20 (A)

• Lukas Graham/Kelsea Ballerini – 7 Years / Peter Pan: 16/20 (B–)

• Beyoncé – Love Drought / Sandcastles: 20/20 (A+)

• Bruno Mars – That's What I Like: 1/20 (F)

• Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm: 20/20 (A+)

• William Bell/Gary Clark Jr. – Born Under A Bad Sign: 14/20 (C–)

• Maren Morris/Alicia Keys – Once: 17/20 (B)

• Adele – Fastlove (Tribute To George Michael): 19.5/20 (A+)

• Metallica/Lady Gaga – Moth Into Flame: 17/20 (B)

• Sturgill Simpson – All Around You: 13/20 (D)

• Demi Lovato/Tori Kelly/Little Big Town/Andra Day – Tribute To The Bee Gees (Medley): 18/20 (A–)

• A Tribute Called Quest/Anderson .Paak/Busta Rhymes/Consequence – Award Tour / Movin Backwards / We The People...: 15.5/20 (C+) [maybe a light 16/20 (B–)]

• The Time/Bruno Mars – Tribute To Prince (Medley): 19.5/20 (A+)

• Pentatonix – ABC: 16/20 (B–)

• Chance The Rapper/Kirk Franklin/Tamela Mann – How Great / All We Got: 15/20 (C)

• John Legend/Cynthia Erivo – God Only Knows: 19/20 (A)

Like I said, if you want me to review any, leave a comment down below and I'd be happy to explain why a certain performance got the score it has.

Top 20 Review

0 – Crap:

NONE

1 – Bad:

NONE

2 – Mediocre:

NONE

3 – Decent:

NONE

4 – Good:

20. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving

5 – Great:

19. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever

18. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens

17. Maroon 5 – Cold

16. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer

15. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things

14. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side

13. The Chainsmokers – Paris

12. Train – Play That Song

11. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On

10. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go

9. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You

8. Shawn Mendes – Mercy

7. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me

6. Adele – Water Under The Bridge

5. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap

4. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons

3. Jon Bellion – All Time Low

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:

1. TIE: Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm

1. TIE: The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming

Total Score: 101/100 = 101% (A+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Nelly Furtado – Say It Right

Most Missed Countdown Song: Rihanna – Diamonds

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness – Fire Escape

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Ellie Goulding – Something In The Way You Move

My Top 5 Picks

1. TIE: The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming

1. TIE: Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm

3. Jon Bellion – All Time Low

4. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons

5. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend

Ed Sheeran (2) – Week Of February 18, 2017

This week was definitely an interesting one. We had quite a few big drops, a couple of big jumps, and a new song in the Top 5 that I am very pleased with. And I do realize that my performance review post for the Grammys is still not out. I'm hoping I can get that out soon as I still have tomorrow and Monday off. So that's the plan right now. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Gnash/Olivia O'Brien – I Hate U, I Love U (#42)
• Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover) (#44) [1 Week At #1]

Last Week's #1 Song: Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You

The Countdown
45. Pitbull/Flo Rida/LunchMoney Lewis – Greenlight (#43)
44. OneRepublic – Kids (#40)
43. Martin Garrix/Bebe Rexha – In The Name Of Love (#41)
42. Lukas Graham – You're Not There (#36)
41. Runaground – Chase You Down (#15)
40. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go (#32)
39. The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down (#45) [3 Weeks At #1]
38. Coldplay/Beyoncé – Hymn For The Weekend (#38)
37. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – Starboy (#31)
36. Niall Horan – This Town (#14)
35. Sia/Kendrick Lamar – The Greatest (#37)
34. Maroon 5 – Cold (DEBUT)
33. Rihanna – Love On The Brain (#39)
32. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better (#28) [2 Weeks At #1]
31. DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You (#33)
30. Alessia Cara – Scars To Your Beautiful (#24)
29. John Legend – Love Me Now (#9)
28. Hey Violet – Guys My Age (#30)
27. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic (#25)
26. Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul (#26)
25. Daya – Words (#21)
24. X Ambassadors – Unsteady (#20)
23. Bebe Rexha – I Got You (#29)
22. Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor (#22)
21. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm (DEBUT)
20. Train – Play That Song (#10)
19. Julia Michaels – Issues (#34)
18. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like (#35)
17. Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know (#8) [3 Weeks At #1]
16. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#13)
15. Charli XCX – After The Afterparty (#19)
14. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#23)
13. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#18)
12. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (#16) [2 Weeks At #1]
11. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side (#27)
10. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons (#17)
  9. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (#12) [4 Weeks At #1]
  8. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#11)
  7. Adele – Water Under The Bridge (#5)
  6. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#7)
  5. Jon Bellion – All Time Low (#6)
  4. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#4)
  3. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#3)
  2. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#2) [8 Weeks At #1]
  1. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#1) [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Runaground – Chase You Down (–26)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Bruno Mars – That's What I Like (+17)

New Entrants
~ We have two debuts this week as well as the two debuts from last week that I didn't review. We'll start with those starting with Bruno Mars – That's What I Like. This is just my opinion, but I just don't like this new Bruno Mars. That said, there really isn't that much I can say about why I don't like this song. It's pretty similar to 24K Magic, so you can kind of flashback to my review of that song. But yeah, I really don't have anything to say about it. It just seems kind of pointless to me. Hopefully it won't be as big as 24K Magic.

~ Also debuting last week, we have Bebe Rexha with I Got You. Bebe Rexha is one of those very talented individuals that for whatever reason are very underrated. It seems like she only gets recognized for her featuring roles in songs like Hey Mama, Me, Myself, & I, and In The Name Of Love. No Broken Hearts from last year did make it on to Hit-Bound, but didn't get any farther than that. I Got You is definitely a top-notch song. It is pure catchiness, specifically in the chorus. I love Bebe Rexha's vocals. Overall, it's a very good song that I'm glad is getting some recognition. Bebe Rexha deserves more than what she's been getting.

~ Now on to this week's debuts. First up, we have Maroon 5 returning with Cold. No surprise that Future was cut out of this song. It seems as though with every new release, Maroon 5 are continuously steering away from their sound from albums like Songs About Jane and It Won't Be Soon Before Long. I can tell you right now, Cold is a song that will definitely be facing some kind of criticism due to it not exactly sounding very much like a Maroon 5 song and I have to agree. It sounds nothing like what they've previously released. I'm actually kind of curious as to how the album will sound. But I feel like with every new release, it sounds more and more like just Adam Levine and less and less like Maroon 5. What I mean by that is that they don't necessarily sound very much like a band anymore at least compared to their first two albums. That being said, we've kind of gotten to the point where this sounds like a song by Adam Levine. They've lost that iconic band sound that got them big back when Songs About Jane was the hottest thing out there. Now you're probably wondering why the song is in green considering that I just pointed out everything that's wrong with it. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't think this was catchy. It definitely is. The chorus is enjoyable and I guess the verses are okay. Future's verse was rather unnecessary, but thankfully Hits 1 edited that out. While it's not a bad song, Maroon 5 is not steering in a good direction. I can guarantee this will not last long with me similar to Don't Wanna Know. It's just barely in green right now. But we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

~ Finally we have the best debut of these past two weeks. It comes from Katy Perry and it's called Chained To The Rhythm. I gotta say, this is a much better comeback than Rise from last year and with the high debut at #21, I'm sure it'll do better on the charts as well. I did see this song on iTunes when it was released last Friday, but didn't actually listen to it until Katy Perry performed it at the Grammys last Sunday. Right off the bat, I lost track of how many times I've listened to this song this past week. It is just fantastic. This is how you do a comeback. I like the verses. The chorus is amazing. Even Skip Marley's verse is really enjoyable and I'm glad Hits 1 did not edit him out. Katy Perry's vocals are on point. Overall, the song is a whole lot of fun. Now it's definitely nowhere near songs like Teenage Dream. But after 2016, it's pretty much everything we want in a song (or at least everything I want in a song). I can definitely see this song staying with me for a while. As of right now, it is probably somewhere in the Top 3 for best debuts of the year so far. Now here's to hoping it does well.


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

• AJR – Weak
• Noah Cyrus/Labrinth – Make Me (Cry)
• James Hersey – Miss You
• Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee
• Calum Scott – Dancing On My Own
• The Vamps/Matoma – All Night
• Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye (DEBUT)
• Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill
• MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low
• Snakehips/MØ – Don't Leave
• Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy (DEBUT)
• Flo Rida/99 Percent – Cake
• Little Mix – Touch (DEBUT)
• Imagine Dragons – Believer

~ We have three debuts this week as well as the debut last week from Castle On The Hill. You should already know what I think of that song so I'll just move on. First up we have Touch by Little Mix coming in to replace Shout Out To My Ex. It's definitely not as good as Shout Out To My Ex. But it's still pretty catchy. These girls have very good vocals and the chorus is enjoyable.

~ Next we have Linkin Park making their return. We have not heard from them since A Light That Never Comes from 2013, which landed itself the #1 spot on my Top 45 of 2013. They return with Heavy featuring Kiiara. Now those that have been following this blog last year know how much I despised Kiiara's "hit single" Gold. I was not looking forward to a new release from her, but since she happened to have been featured in a Linkin Park song, I felt as though there was no choice but to suck it up and listen to what she brings this time. Similar to Maroon 5, Linkin Park have changed a lot since their very first few singles. I'm sure a lot of people are considering this to be a pop single for a band like Linkin Park. Now I do like this song quite a bit. The instrumentation is on point and the chorus sounds pretty cool. However, I would like to criticize one of these two artists' vocals and you may be shocked to find out it's not Kiiara's vocals that I'm having a problem with. It's actually Chester Bennington's vocals. I don't think his vocals fit the song very well. Kiiara on the other hand surprisingly sounds very good. She managed to actually show off her voice this time around. She actually sounds a little bit like Selena Gomez if I'm being honest. But I am definitely impressed with her. Overall, it's a good song. The vocals just weren't amazing on Chester's part.

~ Finally we have a song that is long overdue. It is Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie with Rockabye. It is a very catchy song and is very enjoyable. Anne-Marie's vocals sound very good and I love what Sean Paul has to contribute. The production is on point from beginning to end. I love the lyrical content. It's just a very cool song and I really don't see what there is to dislike about it. So hopefully it'll debut soon because it is a little late to the party right now.

~ Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me did air quite a bit yesterday and I'm surprised it didn't make it on to Hit-Bound. Hopefully it'll make its way there or even the countdown next week because I am really enjoying that song.

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie – Rockabye

2. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low

3. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy

4. The Vamps/Matoma – All Night

5. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee

Chained To The Blurbs

~ I would've been absolutely shocked if Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You did not hold at #1. That song is pretty much destined to hold there for a few more weeks. Hopefully a song like HandClap can squeeze in there at some point and snag at least one week at the top. But one can only dream.

~ I am very pleased to see Jon Bellion – All Time Low in the Top 5. I was worried that this song would do very poorly on this countdown. I'm very glad to see that that is not the case with this song.

~ With our Top 10 entrants, I forgot that Bad Things even dropped out last week. Starving should not be re-entering and should be making its way down. But Million Reasons is very welcome to stay as long as it likes. I never did actually give a review for the Lady Gaga's halftime show at the Super Bowl a few weeks ago. I'll just say that I really enjoyed it. I thought it was fantastic. Lady Gaga can do no wrong (unless it's Perfect Illusion).

~ I am very happy to see The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming finally in the Top 30 and doing well on the countdown. This song only gets better with each listen so I would love to see it in the Top 10 soon.

~ I'm not too happy to see Julia Michaels – Issues in the Top 20. But I guess it can be worse. I am hoping that this song can drop soon though. In fact, I would appreciate if this song flopped, but that's probably not gonna happen.

~ Last week, I did notice that Train – Play That Song and John Legend – Love Me Now both entered the Top 10. It clearly didn't last long for either of those songs, especially the latter as it dropped twice as many spots as the former. It's very unfortunate because I actually really like both of these songs. Hopefully this is not the end.

~ So I'm guessing Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul is just gonna sit there and not do anything. That's awesome. A Twenty One Pilots song I actually really like is doing absolutely nothing. Get it together, Hits 1!

~ Yuck. Rihanna – Love On The Brain actually jumped. I had hopes that this song would fail out after that drop last week. Guess I was wrong. Oh well. At least it's still outside of the Top 30. I still don't get what's so good about this song though. Frankly, it shouldn't even be here.

~ Niall Horan – This Town took a pretty big drop this week. This song is getting less interesting with each listen at this point, so I'm actually happy with this drop. And for once it was actually decent timing. It did not get overplayed to death. Now I probably just jinxed it. But I am quite impressed that this didn't stay in the Top 10 forever like a lot of songs do.

~ The massive drop from Runaground – Chase You Down was very uncalled for and actually quite annoying. But it did have a pretty successful run on this countdown and I'm happy about that. It did well in its time here and I'm hoping that this isn't the end just yet.

~ The Hit 45 Chart for this week is being worked on and will be out as soon as possible.

Top 20 Review

0 – Crap:

20. Charli XCX – After The Afterparty

19. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like

1 – Bad:

18. Julia Michaels – Issues

2 – Mediocre:

17. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving

3 – Decent:

16. Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know

15. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever

4 – Good:

NONE

5 – Great:

14. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens

13. Train – Play That Song

12. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer

11. The Chainsmokers – Paris

10. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On

9. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things

8. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side

7. Shawn Mendes – Mercy

6. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You

5. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap

4. Adele – Water Under The Bridge

3. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:

1. TIE: Jon Bellion – All Time Low

1. TIE: The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming

Total Score: 81/100 = 81% (B–)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Daddy Yankee – Gasolina

Most Missed Countdown Song: Linkin Park/Steve Aoki – A Light That Never Comes

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Kaleo – Way Down We Go

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Ellie Goulding – Something In The Way You Move

My Top 5 Picks

1. TIE: The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming

1. TIE: Jon Bellion – All Time Low

3. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm

4. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons

5. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend

Ed Sheeran (1) – Week Of February 11, 2017

Hey guys! I apologize for the late post. I had this huge formal lab report for my AP Chemistry class that was due yesterday and it pretty much took up my entire weekend. I have a lot of other stuff I want to do this week. So this post will be a rather quick post. You'll see what I mean if you keep reading. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Twenty One Pilots – Ride (#37)
• Ariana Grande – Into You (#41)

Last Week's #1 Song: Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know

The Countdown

45. The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down (#44) [3 Weeks At #1]

44. Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover) (#36) [1 Week At #1]

43. Pitbull/Flo Rida/LunchMoney Lewis – Greenlight (#42)

42. Gnash/Olivia O'Brien – I Hate U, I Love U (#45)

41. Martin Garrix/Bebe Rexha – In The Name Of Love (#40)

40. OneRepublic – Kids (#43)

39. Rihanna – Love On The Brain (#35)

38. Coldplay/Beyoncé – Hymn For The Weekend (#34)

37. Sia/Kendrick Lamar – The Greatest (#25)

36. Lukas Graham – You're Not There (#30)

35. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like (DEBUT)

34. Julia Michaels – Issues (#32)

33. DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You (#33)

32. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go (#28)

31. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – Starboy (#14)

30. Hey Violet – Guys My Age (#39)

29. Bebe Rexha – I Got You (DEBUT)

28. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better (#24) [2 Weeks At #1]

27. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side (#16)

26. Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul (#27)

25. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic (#20)

24. Alessia Cara – Scars To Your Beautiful (#13)

23. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#31)

22. Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor (#19)

21. Daya – Words (#29)

20. X Ambassadors – Unsteady (#23)
19. Charli XCX – After The Afterparty (#21)
18. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#26)
17. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons (#38)
16. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (#11) [2 Weeks At #1]
15. Runaground – Chase You Down (#18)
14. Niall Horan – This Town (#15)
13. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#22)
12. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (#6) [4 Weeks At #1]
11. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#10)
10. Train – Play That Song (#17)
  9. John Legend – Love Me Now (#12)
  8. Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know (#1) [3 Weeks At #1]
  7. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#8)
  6. Jon Bellion – All Time Low (#7)
  5. Adele – Water Under The Bridge (#9)
  4. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#4)
  3. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#5)
  2. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#2) [8 Weeks At #1]
  1. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#3) [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Adele – Hello

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: The Weeknd/Daft Punk – Starboy (–17)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Lady Gaga – Million Reasons (+21)

New Entrants (to be reviewed next week)

~ Bruno Mars – That's What I Like (DEBUT)

~ Bebe Rexha – I Got You (DEBUT)


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

• The Vamps/Matoma – All Night
• Imagine Dragons – Believer
• MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low
• Snakehips/MØ – Don't Leave
• Little Mix – Shout Out To My Ex
• Bruno Mars – Versace On The Floor
• Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee
• Flo Rida/99 Percent – Cake
• AJR – Weak
• Noah Cyrus/Labrinth – Make Me (Cry)
• James Hersey – Miss You
• Calum Scott – Dancing On My Own
• Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm (DEBUT)
• Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (DEBUT)

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Katy Perry/Skip Marley – Chained To The Rhythm

2. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low

3. The Vamps/Matoma – All Night

4. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee

5. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill

Blurbs

~ Unfortunately for the sake of time, there will be no blurbs this week. I have to get the Hit 45 Chart for this week out and I also really want to do a review of the Grammy's from this past Sunday. So because of that, there will be no blurbs this week. Hopefully, my review will be out sometime this week.

My Top 5 Picks

1. TIE: Lady Gaga – Million Reasons

1. TIE: Jon Bellion – All Time Low

3. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming
4. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
5. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Rihanna – Love On The Brain
2. Hey Violet – Guys My Age
3. Charli XCX – After The Afterparty
4. X Ambassadors – Unsteady
5. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like

Maroon 5 (3) – Week Of February 4, 2017

Hey guys! I did have one busy weekend, which is why this post is a little late. First off, last night was the Winter Formal dance at my school and I actually went with a few of my friends. I'll talk more about that later in the post. Today was also Super Bowl Sunday. I really only watched for Lady Gaga's halftime performance, though I did see how the game went and who won (thanks to social media). As far as the countdown goes, it was okay. I'm not crazy about the debuts for the most part. But the Top 10 did have a little bit of change, which is always good. Before we get to this week's Fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (#28)
• Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling (#34) [10 Weeks At #1]
• Major Lazer/Justin Bieber/MØ – Cold Water (#38)
• DNCE – Body Moves (#41)
• Fifth Harmony – That's My Girl (#44)
• Andy Grammer – Fresh Eyes (#45)

Last Week's #1 Song: Twenty One Pilots – Heathens

The Countdown

45. Gnash/Olivia O'Brien – I Hate U, I Love U (#43)

44. The Chainsmokers/Daya – Don't Let Me Down (#36) [3 Weeks At #1]

43. OneRepublic – Kids (#39)

42. Pitbull/Flo Rida/LunchMoney Lewis – Greenlight (#42)

41. Ariana Grande – Into You (#40)

40. Martin Garrix/Bebe Rexha – In The Name Of Love (#33)

39. Hey Violet – Guys My Age (DEBUT)

38. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons (#22)

37. Twenty One Pilots – Ride (#32)

36. Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover) (#35) [1 Week At #1]

35. Rihanna – Love On The Brain (DEBUT)

34. Coldplay/Beyoncé – Hymn For The Weekend (#26)

33. DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You (#27)

32. Julia Michaels – Issues (DEBUT)

31. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#31)

30. Lukas Graham – You're Not There (#37)

29. Daya – Words (DEBUT)

28. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go (#30)

27. Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul (DEBUT)

26. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#29)

25. Sia/Kendrick Lamar – The Greatest (#2)
24. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better (#20) [2 Weeks At #1]
23. X Ambassadors – Unsteady (#21)
22. The Chainsmokers – Paris (DEBUT)
21. Charli XCX – After The Afterparty (#24)
20. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic (#19)
19. Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor (#16)
18. Runaground – Chase You Down (#9)
17. Train – Play That Song (#23)
16. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side (#25)
15. Niall Horan – This Town (#5)
14. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – Starboy (#6)
13. Alessia Cara – Scars To Your Beautiful (#12)
12. John Legend – Love Me Now (#13)
11. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (#1) [1 Week At #1]
10. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#15)
  9. Adele – Water Under The Bridge (#10)
  8. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#17)
  7. Jon Bellion – All Time Low (#11)
  6. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (#3) [4 Weeks At #1]
  5. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#18)
  4. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#7)
  3. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#14)
  2. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#4) [8 Weeks At #1]
  1. Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know (#8) [3^rd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Adele – Hello

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Sia/Kendrick Lamar – The Greatest (–23)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (+13)

New Entrants
~ We'll go from worst to best with the debuts. To kick it all off, we have Rihanna – Love On The Brain. Honestly, this is not the Rihanna I used to know and love. I get that she's trying something new, but this just does not work at all. She cannot do slow ballads. Her voice is obnoxious all throughout the verses. The way she hits the high notes literally makes me cringe. As of right now, this song is the worst single off of that disappointment of an album titled Anti. But like I said, she experimented here and it unfortunately did not work out in her favor. I say this all the time, but Rihanna used to be one of my favorite artists. But unfortunately this entire album has changed that significantly. Here's to hoping this song doesn't do well on here because it is utter shit.

~ Next we have Hey Violet with Guys My Age. I was questioning this one since the very first listen and it only got worse from there. First off, the production is beyond cringe-worthy. At first, this was the only thing that affected what I thought of the song, which is why it was already blue to begin with. But once I started actually paying attention to the lyrics, that's when I officially had it with this song. The lead vocalist is like 18 years old and she apparently has a problem with guys her age. For those unaware, I am very close to her age (17 turning 18 in a few months). She's making it sound like all guys her age are immature, which is completely false. And she thinks that dating older guys is what's going to solve the problem. There are plenty of nice guys out there that are her age. She has just simply failed to find them. Ultimately, the lyrical content is beyond stupid and the way she delivers it makes the song even worse. I have no idea if this song is supposed to attract older guys. But in my opinion, this is one of the furthest things from sexy I have ever heard. If you have not heard this song, I recommend you just skip over it. It's not worth your time. Please save your ears.

~ Next we have Julia Michaels with Issues. It's really the production that kills this song. The lyrical content is okay. But the way it's delivered is simply not working for me. I'm not head-over-heels in love with Julia Michaels' vocals either. Overall, this song is weird. And not the good kind of weird. Maybe it'll grow on me. It's possible. But as of right now, I do not like this song. I don't hate it like the first two debuts, but I certainly don't like it.

~ Daya is back (hooray.....). Really the only thing about Words that is kind of catchy is the chorus. But everything else just isn't that interesting. I would've appreciated if we had more time between this song's entrance and Sit Still, Look Pretty's departure so that I could start to appreciate Daya once again. But I'm still pretty over her after Sit Still, Look Pretty. And of course, Hits 1 is probably going to overplay this song. Hopefully it doesn't last long. While it is in blue, it's slightly closer to red than it is to green.

~ Now we're getting into the good stuff. Having the highest debut of the week up at #22, we have The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren with Paris. This song is definitely different compared to Roses, Don't Let Me Down, and of course Closer. Andrew Taggart's are definitely improving as well. He takes on over 90% of the song and I'm impressed by his vocals. The production, while it may not be as good as songs like Roses, is still good. I like the build-up and the drop at the end. Overall, it's a good song. Is it amazing? No. But I'm sure this will be a song that'll stick with me for a little while at the very least.

~ We now come to the best debut of the week, which ironically comes from Twenty One Pilots, a band that I tend to be a little critical to. But at this very moment, Heavydirtysoul is a fantastic song. I'm sure it's received some criticism for Tyler Joseph's "rapping". The reason for the quotation marks is because Joseph himself says that it's not rapping. But I think he does a very nice job during those verses and I love the way it leads into that slower pre-chorus, which then leads into the once again fast chorus. The vocal performance on this track is exceptional, which is where I started to criticize Ride. I love the production and the lyrical content is very good as well. Overall, I am really enjoying this one. It'll probably be overplayed to death. But for the time being, I stick by my decision to call this song the best debut of the week.


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

• AJR – Weak (DEBUT)
• Flo Rida/99 Percent – Cake (DEBUT)
• Calum Scott – Dancing On My Own
• Bruno Mars – That's What I Like
• Bebe Rexha – I Got You
• Imagine Dragons – Believer (DEBUT)
• Snakehips/MØ – Don't Leave
• MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low
• Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee (DEBUT)
• James Hersey – Miss You (DEBUT)
• Little Mix – Shout Out To My Ex
• Bruno Mars – Versace On The Floor
• The Vamps/Matoma – All Night (DEBUT)
• Noah Cyrus/Labrinth – Make Me (Cry)

~ Long story short, Weak is not that different from AJR's previous songs. The vocals are very weak on this one (see what I did there?). It's no surprise that Cake is on the same compilation as Juju On That Beat, because it's just as shitty. Flo Rida, what happened?

~ Imagine Dragons appear to be trying something new that is not working for them at all. The chorus is literally just yelling and I'm sorry, but that just does not impress me. In fact, it's actually pretty damn annoying.

~ L.A. Devotee is probably the best debut this week. I enjoyed this song when it was released as a promotional single and I still enjoy it to this day. It's got a really catchy chorus to it. Is it their best? No. But it's very fun.

~ Miss You really isn't anything special. More words on it if it debuts. Finally, we have the return of The Vamps with producer Matoma. All Night is catchy and all, but it doesn't stand out as much as Somebody To You. I do like it though.

~ Do we really need both Bruno Mars songs here? Can we please get rid of at least one of them (preferably both)?

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. MAX/Gnash – Lights Down Low

2. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee

3. Bebe Rexha – I Got You

4. Little Mix – Shout Out To My Ex

5. The Vamps/Matoma – All Night


Winter Formal
~ So my school's winter formal did take place last night. I went with a few of my friends and we had a great time. Here are the songs I remember hearing.

• Avicii/Aloe Blacc – Wake Me Up
• Beyoncé – Sorry
• Britney Spears – Till The World Ends
• Bruno Mars – 24K Magic
• Calvin Harris/Florence Welch – Sweet Nothing
• The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
• Daddy Yankee – Gasolina
• Darude – Sandstorm*
• DJ Snake/Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You
• Drake – Hotline Bling
• Fetty Wap – Trap Queen
• Flo Rida – Good Feeling
• Flo Rida/Sage The Gemini/Lookas – GDFR
• Flo Rida/T-Pain – Low
• Icona Pop – I Love It
• Iggy Azalea/Charli XCX – Fancy
• Justin Bieber – Sorry
• Justin Bieber/Ludacris – Baby
• Justin Bieber/Nicki Minaj – Beauty and a Beat
• Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling
• LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem
• LMFAO – Sexy and I Know It
• Miley Cyrus – Party In The U.S.A.
• Nicki Minaj – Anaconda
• Nicki Minaj – Starships
• Omi – Cheerleader
• One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful
• Pitbull/Ne-Yo/Afrojack/Nayer – Give Me Everything
• Rae Sremmurd/Gucci Mane – Black Beatles
• Rihanna/Drake – Work
• Sean Paul – Temperature
• + many more I don't remember/don't know

*Yes, they actually played this.

Like all dances, it was really fun. There were barely any slow songs. It was mostly the fast, upbeat songs, which I like. But yeah, it was a lot of fun. My next and final dance this year will be Senior Prom in May, which I will be sure to post about when that time comes.

Heavydirtyblurbs

~ Don't Wanna Know is going through exactly what I didn't want it to go through. I said from the very beginning that this song will not survive radio overplay and it's getting beaten up pretty bad right now. Hopefully this can end soon.

~ I did hear Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You air as a "Most Wutchuwanted Song" this past week. So it jumping into the Top 3 isn't really surprising. However, what is surprising is the jump into the Top 5 from Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap. This one rose to the peak pretty damn quickly and I'm surprised. This is the same song that only jumped two spots on its second week. It definitely recovered quickly.

~ Shawn Mendes – Mercy jumping into the Top 5 also isn't surprising. At this very moment, this is the Top 5 that I want to see hit #1 next week. Either this or Shape Of You. Even HandClap would be acceptable. I just want something other than Don't Wanna Know.

~ Aside from HandClap and Shape Of You, we have three more entrants into the Top 10, one of which being a re-entry from Jon Bellion – All Time Low (thank you very much voters). The other two come from Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever and Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things. I am happier with latter of the two. The former is still good, but it's been slightly fading on me. Hopefully if I don't listen to it for a while it'll get a little better.

~ Train – Play That Song is getting a lot more popular than I thought it would. It is definitely a good song. It's just a little different than what I'm used to from these guys.

~ And just when we thought that Sia/Kendrick Lamar – The Greatest had a shot at #1, it drops all the way down to #25. Ouch. So much for this being a #1 song. But I'm kind of fine with it in a way because now it may not become as annoying as Cheap Thrills.

~ The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming once again holds at #31. I want to see this song be a hit. I've been listening to it repeatedly all week and it has only gotten better after each listen. So I'd appreciate if it can make some jump into the upper half of the countdown.

~ Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend has dropped out of the Top 30 for the first time. Something tells me this song's journey may be coming to an end. I'm not necessarily sad about it because it did have a very good run on the countdown. But I am hoping it can hold out for a little while longer.

~ The drop from Lady Gaga – Million Reasons was rather unnecessary, especially right before her big Super Bowl half-time performance. As for how the performance went, I'll see if I can give a full-on review in a new post sometime this week. If not, I'll just straight up tell you what I thought of it. But I'll try to do a post like I did last year when Coldplay performed.

~ As far as the exits go, Can't Stop The Feeling had a nice run. Cold Water did pretty good too. I'm very pleased to see Fresh Eyes leave. That's My Girl was growing out of me and I was starting to get sick of Body Moves. Finally we have Castle On The Hill, which has set the record this year for the shortest tenure of the year lasting only two weeks. This was a little uncalled for, especially since I was just starting to really like the song. But oh well.

~ The Hit 45 Chart for this week is currently being worked on and will be posted as soon as possible.

Top 20 Review
0 – Crap:
NONE

1 – Bad:
20. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic

2 – Mediocre:
19. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving

3 – Decent:
18. Niall Horan – This Town

4 – Good:
17. Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know

5 – Great:
16. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens
15. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever
14. Train – Play That Song
13. Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor
12. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
11. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – Starboy
10. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side
9. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things
8. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap
7. Alessia Cara – Scars To Your Beautiful
6. John Legend – Love Me Now
5. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
4. Adele – Water Under The Bridge
3. Shawn Mendes – Mercy
2. Runaground – Chase You Down
1. Jon Bellion – All Time Low

Total Score: 90/100 = 90% (A–)


Throwback Pick Of The Week: Lady Gaga/Beyoncé – Telephone

Most Missed Countdown Song: Lady Gaga – Applause

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Troye Sivan/Betty Who – Heaven

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Justin Bieber – Sorry


My Top 5 Picks
1. Jon Bellion – All Time Low
2. Runaground – Chase You Down
3. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons
4. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming
5. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend