AT40: Niall Horan (2) - Week Of October 14, 2017

Hello, friends! I am happy to announce that my blog has reached 20,000 Pageviews! As always, thank you all for coming to my blog and sharing your thoughts about my posts. I mean, where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday I was new to the blogging community. I do plan on doing a special post, which should come within the next week or so. Now with that being said, here are the songs leaving us this week:

• Location by Khalid
  Last Week: #29 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 9

• I'm The One by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper, and Lil' Wayne
  Last Week: #26 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 21
  
  
• Feels by Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell, Katy Perry, and Big Sean
  Last Week: #19 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 13

The Countdown:
Last Week's #1 Song: Slow Hands by Niall Horan

40. Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran [=] [Spent 10 Weeks At #1]
Last Week: #40 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 39

39. Hoodie by Hey Violet [=]
Last Week: #39 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 3

38. Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay [-1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
Last Week: #37 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 31

37. Two Ghosts by Harry Styles [-1]
Last Week: #36 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 5

36. Something Different by Why Don't We [+2]
Last Week: #38 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 3

35. That's What I Like by Bruno Mars [-1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
Last Week: #34 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 36

34. Havana by Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug (DEBUT)
Last Week: N/A | # Of Weeks On Chart: 1

33. It Ain't Me by Kygo featuring Selena Gomez [-1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
Last Week: #32 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 32

32. Let Me Go by Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line and Watt (DEBUT)
Last Week: N/A | # Of Weeks On Chart: 1

31. Now Or Never by Halsey [-1]
Last Week: #30 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 25

30. Thunder by Imagine Dragons (DEBUT)
Last Week: N/A | # Of Weeks On Chart: 1

29. Love So Soft by Kelly Clarkson [+6]
Last Week: #35 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 2

28. Know No Better by Major Lazer featuring Travis Scott, Camila Cabello, and Quavo [+3]
Last Week: #31 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 8

27. Lights Down Low by MAX featuring Gnash [+1]
Last Week: #28 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 6

26. Body Like A Back Road by Sam Hunt [-3]
Last Week: #23 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 19

25. Mi Gente by J. Balvin featuring Willy William [+2]
Last Week: #27 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 7

24. Fetish by Selena Gomez featuring Gucci Mane [-4]
Last Week: #20 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 9

23. New Rules by Dua Lipa [+10]
Last Week: #33 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 2

22. ...Ready For It? by Taylor Swift [+3]
Last Week: #25 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 2

21. Glorious by Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey [+1]
Last Week: #22 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 12

20. Bad At Love by Halsey [+1]
Last Week: #21 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 4

19. Stay by Zedd featuring Alessia Cara [-1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
Last Week: #18 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 31

18. Too Good At Goodbyes by Sam Smith [+6]
Last Week: #24 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 3

17. What About Us by P!NK [=]
Last Week: #17 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 7

16. Despacito by Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee [-3] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
Last Week: #13 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 21

15. Wild Thoughts by DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller [-5]
Last Week: #10 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 15

14. Praying by Kesha [=]
Last Week: #14 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 10

13. What Lovers Do by Maroon 5 featuring SZA [+2]
Last Week: #15 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 4

12. Friends by Justin Bieber featuring BloodPop® [=]
Last Week: #12 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 6

11. Believer by Imagine Dragons [-5]
Last Week: #6 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 21

10. 1-800-273-8255 by Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid [+6]
Last Week: #16 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 13

9. Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato [+2]
Last Week: #11 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 9

8. Unforgettable by French Montana featuring Swae Lee [+1]
Last Week: #9 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 13

7. No Promises by Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato [=]
Last Week: #7 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 19

6. Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man [+2]
Last Week: #8 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 8

5. There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back by Shawn Mendes [-1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
Last Week: #4 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 22

4. Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift [+1]
Last Week: #5 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 5

3. Strip That Down by Liam Payne featuring Quavo [=]
Last Week: #3 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 17

2. Attention by Charlie Puth [=] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
Last Week: #2 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 20

1. Slow Hands by Niall Horan [=] [2nd Week At #1]
Last Week: #1 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 20

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (1st Of 7 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Tie between Believer by Imagine Dragons and Wild Thoughts by DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller (-5)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: New Rules by Dua Lipa (+10)

New Entrants
- To start our round of new debuts this week, we have more Camila Cabello, this time collaborating with Young Thug for her new single titled Havana. My reaction wasn't good when I first heard this. Plus, I questioned this collaboration, which made me afraid of what I was getting into. With more listens, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Although Young Thug doesn't contribute too much, at least Camila has improved on her vocals a bit, and the piano work is quite solid. We'll see how far this gets.

- Not long after Hailee Steinfeld left the AT40 with Most Girls, she returns to the countdown with her successor, in the form of Let Me Go, which features Alesso, Florida Georgia Line, and Watt. I talked about this one last week when it debuted on the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown. But just to recap, it's definitely a sweet song that talks about letting someone go and hoping somebody loves them. Hailee Steinfeld showcases her vocal talent more so than she did in Starving, especially in the chorus. It helps that her vocals blend together with that of Florida Georgia Line, who also makes a great contribution to the song. Here's to hoping this one can be a hit because I'm in love with this solid track.

- As Believer continues to die out elsewhere, Imagine Dragons has a follow-up in its stead. Enter Thunder, their second single off of Evolve. Now, the American Top 40 was definitely late to the party with this one, what with it gaining a lot of steam since late last month because it was used in a commercial, and it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Anyway, about this song, while it's a little bit of a step down in terms of the production, everything else about this song is solid. I do love the chorus in this one, and I like the line "Lightning, then the thunder", which pulls me in. When reading the lyrics, it talks about being a kid dreaming of doing better things in life, and it's something that people can relate to in a way. Overall, I like this a lot more than I should, and I can see this doing well here.

I've Been Hoping, Someone Will Love You, Let Me Blurb
- For our exits, we have Location by Khalid, which I didn't really like that much, so I have no complaints about its departure. As for the other two, I'm The One left sooner than I expected it to, especially from a pretty high position at #26. Although I was ready to move on from it and I won't exactly be remembering this in the big picture, I thought it was going to stay for a little bit longer. But it was not meant to be. Finally, there's Feels, which also left from a high position at #19. It's really sad that people have moved on from Katy Perry in general, seeing as her album didn't catch on and failed to produce many hits. Although Feels and her predecessor, Chained To The Rhythm, were respectable in their own rights, they didn't become as big as some thought it would. Who knows what Katy Perry has something up her sleeve besides her future stint on the forthcoming American Idol reboot. Anyway, it was nice to have Feels around while it lasted. I can see myself putting this in My Top 45 Songs Of The Year. Good-bye, Feels. I will miss you.

- Last week's debuts made some nice jumps, in particular Love So Soft and New Rules. When it comes to the former, it seems that the public is starting to catch on to Kelly Clarkson's new soulful sound. The latter isn't much of a surprise, though, and it's nice to see Dua Lipa finally getting a respectable hit in the U.S.

- However, on the negative side, we have Mi Gente slowly rising up as it heads for the Top 20. This song just continues to get more irritating every time I hear it. It doesn't help that it somehow managed to reach #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. I can't believe we're letting this Latin-based embarrassment of a song get this big when there are clearly better songs that deserve some recognition.

- While we're on that subject, all of my Bottom 5 picks (in no order) are from #28-#24.

- On a more positive note, we have Too Good At Goodbyes making a big jump to the Top 20. As you can see, I have now fully warmed up to this song. And I'm sure people have, too, seeing as they miss Sam Smith so much.

- Also, the song which talks about suicide has been getting better for me with each listen. I'm kinda glad it's also catching on to the public. It's definitely a song people can relate to.

- Something tells me that Look What You Made Me Do will potentially become the next #1 song, because it's experiencing a massive resurgence in radio spins. But hey, it's Taylor Swift, so I won't be surprised if it gets to #1 here within a couple of weeks, maybe even sooner.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Why by Sabrina Carpenter
• Bodak Yellow (Money Moves) by Cardi B.
• Perfect by Ed Sheeran

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Honest by The Chainsmokers
• Sweet Nothing by Calvin Harris featuring Florence Welch
• One More Night by Maroon 5
• Back To You by Louis Tomlinson featuring Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals
• Paris by The Chainsmokers
• Good Old Days by Macklemore featuring Kesha
• Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
• Hello by Adele

Top 20 Breakdown:

0 - Awful:

None!

1 - Bad:
20. Strip That Down by Liam Payne featuring Quavo

2 - Mediocre:
None!

3 - Decent:
19. Stay by Zedd featuring Alessia Cara

4 - Good:
18. Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato
17. Bad At Love by Halsey
16. Too Good At Goodbyes by Sam Smith
15. Slow Hands by Niall Horan

14. Attention by Charlie Puth

5 - Great:
12. Believer by Imagine Dragons
11. No Promises by Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato
10. Friends by Justin Bieber featuring BloodPop®
9. Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man
8. What Lovers Do by Maroon 5 featuring SZA
7. What About Us by P!NK
6. Unforgettable by French Montana featuring Swae Lee
5. 1-800-273-8255 by Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid
4. Wild Thoughts by DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller
3. There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back by Shawn Mendes
2. Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift

BONUS: 6 - Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Praying by Kesha

Throwback Pick Of The Week: To Love You More by Celine Dion (1995)

Most Missed Song: Into You by Ariana Grande

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Save Me A Place by Mono Mind

My Top 5 Picks

1. Praying by Kesha

2. ...Ready For It? by Taylor Swift

3. Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift

4. There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back by Shawn Mendes

5. Wild Thoughts by DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller

My Bottom 5 Picks
TIE: 1. Body Like A Back Road by Sam Hunt
TIE: 1. Mi Gente by J. Balvin featuring Willy William
3. Fetish by Selena Gomez featuring Gucci Mane
4. Know No Better by Major Lazer featuring Travis Scott, Camila Cabello, and Quavo
5. Lights Down Low by MAX featuring Gnash