AT40: Camila Cabello (5) - Week Of January 13, 2018

Hello, fam! This is second AT40 countdown of 2018, and Ryan Seacrest is back on the job after being absent last week. Things are starting to look a little better. Sure, we did lose two of my favorite songs of last year, but we also got rid of one big piece of garbage. More on that in a little bit. We did get some activity on the countdown. Overall, this was a good week for the most part. Let's get right into it. So without further ado, here are the songs leaving us this week:

• It Ain't Me by Kygo featuring Selena Gomez (#40) [Spent 1 Week At #1]
• Mi Gente by J. Balvin featuring Willy William and Beyoncé (#26) (!!!!!!)
• Praying by Kesha (#23) (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

The Countdown:

Last Week's #1 Song: Havana by Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug

40. I Like Me Better by Lauv (DEBUT)

39. Unforgettable by French Montana featuring Swae Lee (#38) [–1]

38. Tell Me You Love Me by Demi Lovato (DEBUT)

37. Stay by Zedd featuring Alessia Cara (#36) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]

36. Mic Drop by BTS featuring Desiigner (#39) [+3]

35. Believer by Imagine Dragons (#34) [–1]

34. LOVE. by Kendrick Lamar featuring Zacari (DEBUT)

33. No Promises by Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato (#31) [–2]

32. What About Us by P!NK (#33) [+1]

31. Feels Great by Cheat Codes featuring Fetty Wap (#37) [+6]

30. There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back by Shawn Mendes (#27) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

29. Faking It by Calvin Harris featuring Kehlani and Lil' Yachty (#28) [–1]

28. Slow Hands by Niall Horan (#25) [–3] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

27. One Foot by Walk The Moon (#32) [+5]

26. Meant To Be by Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (#30) [+4]

25. ...Ready For It? by Taylor Swift (#14) [–11]

24. Best Friend by Sofi Tukker featuring NERVO, Alisa Ueno, and The Knocks (#29) [+5]

23. Young, Dumb, and Broke by Khalid (#24) [+1]

22. Him & I by G-Eazy featuring Halsey (#35) [+13]

21. Attention by Charlie Puth (#18) [–3] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]

20. Too Much To Ask by Niall Horan (#22) [+2]

19. 1-800-273-8255 by Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid (#13) [–6] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

18. Let Me Go by Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line and Watt (#21) [+3]

17. Good Old Days by Macklemore featuring Kesha (#19) [+2]

16. Strip That Down by Liam Payne featuring Quavo (#15) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

15. Let You Down by NF (#20) [+5]

14. Lights Down Low by MAX featuring Gnash (#16) [+2]

13. End Game by Taylor Swift featuring Ed Sheeran and Future (#17) [+4]

12. Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man (#8) [–4] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

11. Wolves by Selena Gomez featuring Marshmello (#12) [+1]

10. How Long by Charlie Puth (#11) [+1]

9. Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato (#6) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

8. Too Good At Goodbyes by Sam Smith (#7) [–1]

7. New Rules by Dua Lipa (#10) [+3]

6. Rockstar by Post Malone featuring 21 Savage (#9) [+3]

5. Thunder by Imagine Dragons (#3) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

4. What Lovers Do by Maroon 5 featuring SZA (#5) [+1]

3. Bad At Love by Halsey (#2) [–1]

2. Perfect by Ed Sheeran (#4) [+2]

1. Havana by Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug (#1) [=] [5^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj (2^nd Of 3 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: ...Ready For It? by Taylor Swift (–11)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Him & I by G-Eazy featuring Halsey (+13)

New Entrants

- Our first of three entrants comes from the arrival of Lauv, with the single titled I Like Me Better. I talked about this one two months ago when it debuted on the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown. But to recap, it's really not an interesting song for me. I do like the guys vocals, so that isn't really an issue. But it's the production and its premise that kill the song for me. Again, there's nothing really interesting about this song and I doubt I'll remember this in a year or so. Let's move on.

- Next, we have Demi Lovato with the next single as Sorry Not Sorry continues to fade elsewhere. Enter Tell Me You Love Me. I find this to be better than its predecessor. Demi's vocals are much better in this one. I love the powerhouse chorus all throughout the song. The lyrical content is also well written, in which she needs someone to love whenever she's having a bad day (Well, any day actually). The gospel direction Demi is taking is a good one. I'm hoping for success out of this song.

- Finally, we have the return of Kendrick Lamar with his latest single, LOVE. off of his album, DAMN.. While it's not necessarily one of my favorite singles from him, at least he can showcase that he's a talented hip-hop artist. The production may not be the best, but I do like everything else about this song. Do I see it sticking with me in the long run? Probably not, but for now I do kinda like this.

Oh, Tell Me You Love Blurbs

- Alright, so as I mentioned in the introduction, this was an important week in terms of our exits. First off, it's about time we say good riddance to Mi Gente. As I mentioned in my Year-End posts, this song was an embarrassment to the Latin genre and frankly, I don't know how we let a song caught on to the public. I'll bet Gloria Estefan is somewhere fuming over the fact that this was #3 on Billboard, and that was thanks to the remix with Beyoncé, which didn't make the song any better. Honestly, this song really made my ears scream for mercy and I wish this would leave airplay for good. So yeah, it's safe to say that Mi Gente will never be missed by me. The other two, however, were big favorites of mine from last year. It Ain't Me was Kygo's first big hit and I enjoyed it from the start. He's definitely proven himself to be one of the best upcoming DJ's around. His album, Kids In Love, definitely has a lot of good singles worth listening to. That said, this song will be missed by me. But more importanly, we have the departure of Praying. This song deserve some final words from me. It brought Kesha back into the spotlight after her abuse with her producer, Dr. Luke. The well written lyrical content, her vocals, and the amazing production made me fall madly in love with that song. It was a huge favorite among the blogging community and YouTube critics alike. I've said this before, but this song was basically EVERYTHING I LOVE about Kesha as an artist. I'm hoping some of her singles from her latest album, Rainbow, would catch on because it is legitimately fantastic. So, good-bye Praying. You will most definitely be missed by me.

- Meant To Be is only getting worse after each listen. And no, I don't say that because I'm still jaded by a certain song I won't talk about. The point is, I hope it doesn't get any higher. But now that I said it, watch it take a massive jump next week.

- Looks like this may unfortunately be the end for ...Ready For It? by Taylor Swift as it took a big drop out of the Top 20. I'm hoping it can hang around for a little longer.

- It was of course expected that Him & I would take a big jump on its second week. I'm starting to grow into the song a little bit, so I'm kinda happy with this.

- Not much has changed in the Top 5, except that all of the songs have moved some spots, with Perfect by Ed Sheeran reaching a new peak of #2. I wouldn't be too surprised if it ends up being our next #1 song down the road. I'm hoping it can happen someday, and with both remixes of the songs gaining popularity, that shouldn't be a problem at all.

- On that note, we have Havana still holding the top spot. That which I'm thrilled about. Also, what you're seeing is not an error: it's actually spending it's 5th week at #1. The reason being is because Ryan Seacrest counts the two frozen weeks (the last two weeks of 2017) when there was no official AT40 chart for those weeks (They did the Top 40 of 2017 for two weeks). So yeah.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Bedroom Floor by Liam Payne
• New by Daya
• Reggaeton Lento (Remix) by CNCO featuring Little Mix

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding
• 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
• Bad Romance by Lady Gaga
• Locked Away by R. City featuring Adam Levine
• Can't Feel My Face by The Weeknd
• I Took A Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner
• Silence by Marshmello featuring Khalid
• Love Me Like A Love Song by Selena Gomez & The Scene

Top 20 Breakdown:

0 – Garbage:

20. Rockstar by Post Malone featuring 21 Savage
19. Let You Down by NF

1 – Bad:
18. Strip That Down by Liam Payne featuring Quavo
17. Lights Down Low by MAX featuring Gnash

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
16. Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato
15. Too Good At Goodbyes by Sam Smith
14. How Long by Charlie Puth

4 – Good:
13. Too Much To Ask by Niall Horan

5 – Great:
12. What Lovers Do by Maroon 5 featuring SZA
11. Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man
10. 1-800-273-8255 by Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid
9. Thunder by Imagine Dragons
8. Let Me Go by Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line and Watt
7. Perfect by Ed Sheeran
6. End Game by Taylor Swift featuring Ed Sheeran and Future
5. New Rules by Dua Lipa
4. Bad At Love by Halsey
3. Havana by Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug
2. Good Old Days by Macklemore featuring Kesha

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Wolves by Selena Gomez featuring Marshmello

Total Score: 76/100 = 76% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: ABC by The Jackson 5 (1970)

Most Missed Song: Treasure by Bruno Mars

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Finesse (Remix) by Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B.

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Mercy by Shawn Mendes

My Top 5 Picks

1. Wolves by Selena Gomez featuring Marshmello

2. Good Old Days by Macklemore featuring Kesha

3. Havana by Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug

4. New Rules by Dua Lipa

5. Bad At Love by Halsey

My Bottom 5 Picks

1. Rockstar by Post Malone featuring 21 Savage

2. Meant To Be by Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line

3. MIC Drop by BTS featuring Desiigner

4. Let You Down by NF

5. Strip That Down by Liam Payne featuring Quavo

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Say It by Flume featuring Tove Lo: Flume has proven himself to be a good DJ, and Tove Lo's vocals shine. It's too bad that after Talking Body, she can't seem to catch on with the public.
Slumber Party by Britney Spears featuring Tinsahe: I do like the production, but Britney's vocals sounds a little too frail to make this a little better.
Fake Love by Drake: This song is where he really hit rock bottom. Come on, Drake. You really made me cringe when you try to hit those high notes. And even without that, his vocals are terrible all throughout the song. One of his worst songs to date.
I Got You by Bebe Rexha: I pretty much explained this one in My Top 50 Songs of 2017. But yeah, Bebe's vocals are amazing, and the chorus is a powerhouse.
Million Reasons by Lady Gaga: This song I talked briefly about in one of my posts, but yeah it's more likable than Perfect Illusion. I do like her voice for the most part. It's performance at the Super Bowl fueled this song's success. But after that, it ran out of steam so quickly that it missed the Year-End list.