AT40: Billie Eilish (3) - Week Of August 31, 2019

Hello, fam! It's the Labor Day weekend, which means that summer is winding down and we're approaching autumn. I'll get to enjoy the cool weather, the leaves falling, and what not. Yeah, that's some stuff I'll be looking forward to. Before we get to this week's fresh 40, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week:

• La La Land by Bryce Vine featuring YG (#38)
• Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee (#39)
• Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee (#40)

The Countdown:
Last Week's #1 Song: Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
40. Rescue Me by OneRepublic (DEBUT)
39. Better by Khalid (#37) [–2]
38. Panini by Lil Nas X (DEBUT)
37. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco (#35) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
36. One Thing Right by Marshmello featuring Kane Brown (#36) [=]
35. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid (#32) [–3] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
34. All The Time by Zara Larsson (#34) [=]
33. Time by NF (DEBUT)
32. Without Me by Halsey (#29) [–3] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
31. Trampoline by SHAED (#31) [=]
30. Mother's Daughter by Miley Cyrus (#33) [+3]
29. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored by Ariana Grande (#27) [–2]
28. Hate Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Juice WRLD (#30) [+2]
27. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande (#25) [–2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
26. Never Really Over by Katy Perry (#11) [–15]
25. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max (#20) [–5]
24. Just Us by DJ Khaled featuring SZA (#23) [–1]
23. Love Me Less by MAX featuring Quinn XCII (#22) [–1]
22. The Git Up by Blanco Brown (#24) [+2]
21. How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith (#26) [+5]
20. Call You Mine by The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha (#21) [+1]
19. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (#18) [–1]
18. Speechless by Dan + Shay (#19) [+1]
17. Boyfriend by Ariana Grande featuring Social House (#28) [+11]
16. Wow. by Post Malone (#14) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
15. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#17) [+2]
14. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani (#12) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
13. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (#16) [+3]
12. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#14) [+2]
11. Easier by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#13) [+2]
10. You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift (#9) [–1]
9. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug (#10) [+1]
8. Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco (#7) [–1]
7. Sucker by Jonas Brothers (#8) [+1] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
6. Talk by Khalid (#4) [–2]
5. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#6) [+1]
4. If I Can't Have You by Shawn Mendes (#3) [–1]
3. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#5) [+2]
2. I Don't Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber (#2) [=] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
1. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (#1) [=] [3^rd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B (4^th of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Never Really Over by Katy Perry (–15)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Boyfriend by Ariana Grande featuring Social House (+11)

New Entrants:
- Kicking things off this week is the return of OneRepublic after a while. They give us their single titled Rescue Me. Last year, they had Connection, which for some reason didn't chart at all. I was a little mixed on that song, so I didn't complain about it much. As far as Rescue Me goes, I think it's a step up from that. I like the instrumentation and the beat. Ryan Tedder sounds good here, which proves that he is a good singer and hasn't lost a step. I also kinda like the lyrics here, though there are ways in which it could be improved on. Despite this, I think it's a good comeback for these guys. Do I think it's their best work? Not really, but it's a good listen.

- Up next is more of Lil Nas X, who has been a big name this year following the massive success of Old Town Road. This week, he gives us Panini. First off, the song clocks in at under two minutes, making this one of the shortest songs to ever hit the countdown. As far as the song goes, I'm pretty split on this. I kinda like the production here. It's a bit of a step up from that of Old Town Road. But my concern is that Lil Nas X has a slightly underwhelming voice. That's just me, though. I could possibly see myself getting on board with this one unlike its predecessor.

- Lastly, we have the return of NF with his latest single, Time. I don't have much to say about this one. I think Time is a good song for the most part. NF proves that he can be a good songwriter and it shows when looking at the lyrics. I like his flow here. The production is pretty good for the most part. Overall, it's solid.

Best Debut Of The Week: Rescue Me by OneRepublic

I Just Need Blurbs
- In terms of our exits this week, it's about time we bid adieu to La La Land. That one was just annoying vocally, mostly because Bryce Vine doesn't have a good voice. It's even worse than Drew Barrymore from last year, which I did not like either. Sunflower and Close To Me both had a great run during their countdown tenure. I enjoyed both of those songs overall. Sunflower is what I can consider to be Post Malone's best song, and Close To Me was a great comeback for Ellie Goulding even though she's had better. Yeah, I'm happy they had some success.

- First off, I want to say happy one-year anniversary to Eastside. The song made its debut this time one year ago and would end up becoming a success. I still like this song quite a lot and I'm happy that it was a hit.

- Never Really Over did not deserve to drop. But of course, people are really over Katy Perry and it's a shame because I adore that song. Oh well.

- On the opposite end of the spectrum, Boyfriend jumps into the Top 20 because of course. Ariana has not impressed me this year with her latest music and this is no different. I do hope it does not get any higher, but I have my doubts.

- Truth Hurts entering the Top 5 is no shock at all. That one looks destined to become a #1 hit on Billboard, much to the dismay of some people here. I don't really mind this song at all, so I'll be fine with this.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• No Guidance by Chris Brown featuring Drake
• With You by Kaskade featuring Meghan Trainor
• Spicy by Herve Pagez & Diplo featuring Charli XCX

Extras/Optional Extras:

• This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna
• I Took A Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner
• Perfect by Ed Sheeran
• Want To Want Me by Jason Derulo
• Where Are You Now by Skrillex & Diplo featuring Justin Bieber
• Can't Stop The Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
• One Kiss by Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa
• Mine by Bazzi
• Taki Taki by DJ Snake featuring Selena Gomez, Ozuna, & Cardi B
• Thunder by Imagine Dragons
• Let Me Go by Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line and watt
• In My Feelings by Drake
• Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Boyfriend by Ariana Grande featuring Social House
19. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus

1 – Bad:
18. Easier by 5 Seconds Of Summer
17. Wow. by Post Malone
16. You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift

2 – Mediocre:
15. Talk by Khalid

3 – Decent:
14. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
13. I Don't Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber

4 – Good:
12. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug
11. Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco
10. Sucker by Jonas Brothers

5 – Great:
9. Truth Hurts by Lizzo
8. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid
7. Only Human by Jonas Brothers
6. Speechless by Dan + Shay
5. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani
4. If I Can't Have You by Shawn Mendes
3. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello
2. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Call You Mine by The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rehxa

Total Score: 69/100 = 69% (D+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Black Or White by Michael Jackson (1991)

Most Missed Song: Just Give Me A Reason by P!NK featuring Nate Ruess

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Takeaway by The Chainsmokers & ILLENIUM featuring Lennon Stella

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between Let You Be Right by Meghan Trainor (#34), The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey (#19), and God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande (#18)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Call You Mine by The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha
2. Never Really Over by Katy Perry
3. All The Time by Zara Larsson
4. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
5. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. One Thing Right by Marshmello featuring Kane Brown
2. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
3. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored by Ariana Grande
4. Boyrfriend by Ariana Grande featuring Social House
5. Love Me Less by MAX featuring Quinn XCII

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid: I didn't envision that song to be as big as it was. But I'm glad it did because it's a really good song. I love the chemistry between Halsey and Khalid. Yeah, everything about this works well.
Side Effects by The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren: After their singles from Sick Boy were not to my liking, it was definitely refreshing to see them go back to their roots with this song. Even though it wasn't as successful as I would like it to be, it was still a good song.

Shawn Mendes (7) - Week Of August 24, 2019

Hello, fam! This weekend, college football is making its comeback. If you're like me and love to watch sports, then I'm sure you're as excited as I am about watching college football. Also, the MTV Video Music Awards take place this Monday. I plan on watching the show in its entirety, though it's not likely that I'll do a review on the performances. But I'm sure it'll be plenty of fun. Taylor Swift had her Weekend Takeover as she hosted both the Weekend Countdown and Hit-Bound. I think she did great at hosting. There were some interesting things she said about some artists. Let's jump right into things, shall we? Before we get to this week's fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week:

• P!NK – Hustle (#37)
• Andy Grammer – Don't Give Up On Me (#40)

The Countdown:
Last Week's #1 Song: Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You
45. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#45) [=]
44. Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE – Happier (#44) [=] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
43. Halsey – Without Me (#41) [–2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
42. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#42) [=]
41. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#38) [–3] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
40. Thomas Rhett – Look What God Gave Her (DEBUT)
39. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#39) [=] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
38. Asher Angel featuring Wiz Khalifa – One Thought Away (#36) [–2]
37. Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES – Here With Me (#26) [–11]
36. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#30) [–6]
35. Ava Max – So Am I (#33) [–2]
34. Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME! (#31) [–3]
33. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#34) [+1]
32. Zara Larsson – All The Time (DEBUT)
31. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix) (#29) [–2]
30. PUBLIC – Make You Mine (#19) [–11]
29. Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello – Find U Again (#23) [–6]
28. SHAED – Trampoline (#35) [+7]
27. Lizzo – Truth Hurts (#27) [=]
26. Kaskade featuring Meghan Trainor – With You (#43) [+17]
25. Stephen Puth – Look Away (#32) [+7]
24. Miley Cyrus – Mother's Daughter (#20) [–4]
23. OneRepublic – Rescue Me (#24) [+1]
22. Blanco Brown – The Git Up (#22) [=]
21. Katy Perry – Small Talk (#28) [+7]
20. Post Malone featuring Young Thug – Goodbyes (#25) [+5]
19. AJR – 100 Bad Days (#21) [+2]
18. The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine (#18) [=]
17. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less (#10) [–7]
16. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (#17) [+1]
15. Halsey – Nightmare (#13) [–2]
14. Khalid – Talk (#16) [+2]
13. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime (#15) [+2]
12. Katy Perry – Never Really Over (#14) [+2]
11. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy (#11) [=]
10. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#9) [–1]
9. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#6) [–3]
8. Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber – I Don't Care (#12) [+4]
7. Jonas Brothers – Cool (#5) [–2]
6. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#3) [–3] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
5. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita (#7) [+2]
4. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down (#8) [+4]
3. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#4) [+1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
2. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#2) [=] [Spent 13 Weeks At #1]
1. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You (#1) [=] [7^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones (1^st of 2 Weeks At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Tie between Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES – Here With Me and PUBLIC – Make You Mine (–11)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Kaskade featuring Meghan Trainor – With You (+17)

New Entrants:
- It's about time Hits 1 has picked up on Thomas Rhett. He makes his first appearance, I believe, on the countdown with his single titled Look What God Gave Her. I'm going to go on the record and say that Look What God Gave Her doesn't quite live up to Marry Me, which was a huge favorite of mine outside of Hits 1 back in 2018. But it's still pretty good for the most part. I like the lyrical content here. It shows how talented Thomas is as a songwriter. He has a nice voice and he uses it well. I like the chorus, along with the production of the song. I think it exceptional. Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing it have some success.

- Zara Larsson makes her return to the countdown this week. This time around, she gives us All The Time. She did give us Ruin My Life at the beginning of this year, which is a solid song overall and I enjoyed it for the most part. I think All The Time is a little bit of a step up from its predecessor, in large part because of the production. I absolutely adore it and the beat is interesting. Zara has a good voice and she genuinely impressed me with her performance in the song. The computerized backing vocals are just awesome to listen to. Simply put, this song is such a bop. It is fun, upbeat, and just makes me want to dance! When I hear the song come on, it definitely puts a big smile on my face. Yeah, she really wowed me with this track!

Best Debut Of The Week: Zara Larsson – All The Time

How Do I Blurb Without You
- We have two exits this week, but they were both expected. I did enjoy Don't Give Up On Me quite a bit. But I'm not necessarily saddened by its exit considering that Andy Grammer hasn't been a presence since Honey, I'm Good was his last huge hit. Hustle didn't really take off elsewhere as it wasn't an official single off of Hurts 2B Human. This is probably the last we'll hear from P!NK for a while.

- Before introducing High Hopes, Taylor Swift mentioned that the song inspires people. I definitely agree with her on that statement. After all, Brendon Urie does have the talent to pull it off. I love when he's able to create songs like this. With it having been on the countdown for well over a year, could this possibly break the record for number of weeks spent on the countdown? We'll have to see.

- Before introducing Trampoline, Taylor Swift mentioned that the members of SHAED heard the song while they were shopping at a local store. One of the employees mentioned to them that they love the song. Well, guess what? So do I. I've heard stories of workers who share their favorite songs to their customers. I'll bet they have some good taste in music.

- Did we really need With You to make a big jump like that? Come on, people. I wasn't never fond of the song from the start. But now, I've had it. This song gives me another reason as to why I've been losing faith in the EDM genre lately. While With You isn't as bad as One Thing Right by Marshmello featuring Kane Brown (which I referenced during my review of the song on the American Top 40 that it's my new least favorite song of the year), it is still undesirable in every way. Meghan's poor vocal performance and weak effort from Kaskade aren't helping matters.

- Stephen Puth makes a move up this week as his song, Look Away, enters the Top 25. It won't be much longer until his brother Charlie comes back, because he just released his new single which I'll get to in just a bit. Looks like we have a family reunion next week, perhaps?

- Before introducing Mother's Daughter, Taylor Swift mentioned that Miley Cyrus also has a thing for cats, much like Taylor does. Though, Miley has some pets which are different animals. I'll bet Taylor would like to visit her and meet her pets.

- Thank you, voters, for allowing Love Me Less to drop out of the Top 10 this week. The sooner this asinine mess of a song leaves the countdown, the better. We don't need anymore songs like that polluting the countdown, let alone the Top 10.

- On that note, our Top 10 is a pretty mixed bag. If I Can't Have You holds at #1 once more, which is good considering it's the best song in the Top 5 at this moment. There are songs that I would like to see start moving down soon. I hope Señorita can hit #1 real soon and hopefully hold the top spot until we get some better music.

Hit-Bound:
Taylor Swift is the host of Hit-Bound this week to celebrate the release of her new album, Lover. Here is the full list:

• Ellie Goulding featuring Juice WRLD – Hate Me
• Alec Benjamin – Jesus In LA
• Jax Jones featuring Bebe Rexha – Harder
• Lizzo – Good As Hell
• 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth (DEBUT)
• Ariana Grande featuring Social House – Boyfriend
• Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep?
• Panic! At The Disco – Roaring 20's
• Charlie Puth – I Warned Myself (DEBUT)
• Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People
• TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – The Hype
• Taylor Swift – Lover
• Dominic Fike – 3 Nights
• Jonas Brothers – Only Human
• Waterparks – Dream Boy

Entrant Reviews:
- First, we have more of 5 Seconds Of Summer as they bring us their new single titled Teeth, taken from the 13 Reasons Why soundtrack for the second season. I will say that it's a step up from Easier because there's some resemblance of a band here. But I'm not that impressed, mostly because I don't like their vocal work. The lyrics also leave something to be desired. This'll likely end up debuting on the countdown soon, because Hits 1 can't seem to get enough of these guys.

- And of course, Charlie Puth makes his big return this week. He brings us his brand new single in the form of I Warned Myself. I came into this one with high expectations and he did not deliver for the most part. It lacks lyrical depth in many areas and the production leaves a lot to be desired. I also don't like the way he chokes in the second verse. So yeah, this is just underwhelming all around. I have it in blue, but it's closer to red.

Best Hit-Bound Entrant Of The Week: 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth

Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
15. Ariana Grande featuring Social House – Boyfriend

1 – Bad:
14. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep?

2 – Mediocre:
13. Dominic Fike – 3 Nights
12. Charlie Puth – I Warned Myself
11. Alec Benjamin – Jesus In LA

3 – Decent:
10. Jax Jones featuring Bebe Rexha – Harder
9. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Teeth

4 – Good:
8. Ellie Goulding featuring Juice WRLD – Hate Me

5 – Great:
7. Panic! At The Disco – Roaring 20's
6. Jonas Brothers – Only Human
5. Waterparks – Dream Boy
4. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People
3. Lizzo – Good As Hell
2. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – The Hype

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:
1. Taylor Swift – Lover

Overall Grade: 53/75 = 71% (C–)

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Kungs vs. Cookin' On 3 Burners – This Girl

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Taylor Swift – Lover
2. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – The Hype
3. Lizzo – Good As Hell
4. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People
5. Waterparks – Dream Boy

YouTube 15:

• Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
• Megan Thee Stallion featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolls $ign – Hot Girl Summer
• ILLENIUM featuring X Ambassadors – In Your Arms
• Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
• Becky G featuring Myke Towers – Dollar
• Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)
• Niki – Indigo
• Lizzo – Truth Hurts
• Alan Walker featuring Sabrina Carpenter and Farruko – On My Way
• Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger
• Miley Cyrus – Slide Away
• Khalid – Talk
• Sebastian Yatra featuring Jonas Brothers, Daddy Yankee, and Natti Natasha – Runaway
• Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down
• Normani – Motivation

Song Reviews:
- EDM producer ILLENIUM collaborates with the group, X Ambassadors in their latest single titled In Your Arms. I'm going to be straight up and simply say that this is divine. I love the vocals we get from Sam Harris. He is a good singer as he showed me in Renegades, which was a huge favorite of mine from 2015, and Ahead Of Myself which I also liked. ILLENIUM did an excellent job as an DJ and I like his work here. I feel that he has the potential to get better. This is a fine work of art for him.

- On the less interesting side, we have a new singer named Niki, and she brings us Indigo. There's not a whole lot about this one that is worth caring about. Her voice is not too good and the production is underwhelming at best. It lacks in many different areas that makes it unique. Yeah, I'm not a fan of this. NEXT!

- Miley Cyrus has a newer single that she just recently released following the break-up of Liam Hensworth. It's called Slide Away. The song basically tells a story about their past relationship and moving on from said relationship. I like the lyrical depth in this one. Miley sounds good in the chorus and I like the beat here. Overall, it's a solid song.

- Finally, we have more of Normani, who has been a big name following the success of Love Lies and Dancing With A Stranger. She brings us her new single titled Motivation. First off, I would like to say that the music video is pretty cool. It has a little bit of a throwback feel to it and I love that it transitions to the present day. The beginning definitely reminded me of the days when I watched music videos on television. Those were good times, indeed. Anyway, on to my opinion. I referenced before that Normani is one of the two best singers out of all the members of Fifth Harmony (the other being Lauren Jauregui) and I stand by that. But I'm not particularly sold on Motivation. She sounds decent here, but not at her best. Something about the production kinda puts me off. I don't know why, but it's not working for me in most aspects. Yeah, I'm not totally in love with this one. My opinion could change. But right now, I'd rather stick with her two biggest hits.

YouTube 15 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
15. Becky G featuring Myke Towers – Dollar
14. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)

1 – Bad:
13. Niki – Indigo
12. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down

2 – Mediocre:
11. Khalid – Talk
10. Alan Walker featuring Sabrina Carpenter and Farruko – On My Way
9. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved

3 – Decent:
8. Normani – Motivation
7. Megan Thee Stallion featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign – Hot Girl 

4 – Good:
None!

5 – Great:
6. Sebastian Yatra featuring Jonas Brothers, Daddy Yankee, and Natti Natasha – Runaway
5. Lizzo – Truth Hurts
4. Miley Cyrus – Slide Away
3. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
2. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The YouTube 15:
1. ILLENIUM featuring X Ambassadors – In Your Arms

Overall Grade: 45/75 = 60% (D–)

Most Missed YouTube 15 Song: Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson – Symphony

My Top 5 YouTube 15 Picks
1. ILLENIUM featuring X Ambassadors – In Your Arms
2. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger
3. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
4. Miley Cyrus – Slide Away
5. Lizzo – Truth Hurts

Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less
19. AJR – 100 Bad Days

1 – Bad:
18. Jonas Brothers – Cool
17. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
16. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down

2 – Mediocre:
15. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
14. Khalid – Talk

3 – Decent:
13. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love
12. Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber – I Don't Care
11. Halsey – Nightmare
10. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other

4 – Good:
9. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime
8. Post Malone featuring Young Thug – Goodbyes

5 – Great:
7. Jonas Brothers – Sucker
6. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It
5. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita
4. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
3. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You
2. The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Katy Perry – Never Really Over

Overall Grade: 63/100 = 63% (D–)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: LeAnn Rimes – How Do I Live (1997)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Justin Timberlake featuring Chris Stapleton – Say Something

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: The Chainsmokers & ILLENIUM featuring Lennon Stella – Takeaway

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman (#20), Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle (#10), and Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart (#7)

My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. Katy Perry – Never Really Over
TIE: 1. Zara Larsson – All The Time
3. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You
4. Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES – Here With Me
5. The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less
2. AJR – 100 Bad Days
3. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)
4. Kaskade featuring Meghan Trainor – With You
5. Jonas Brothers – Cool

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
George Ezra – Shotgun: This doesn't quite live up to Budapest, but it's still solid, mostly because I do like George's voice here. It is very unique and I like the instrumentation here. Yeah, this is enjoyable.
Train featuring Cam and Travie McCoy – Call Me Sir: This is just as bad as Hey, Soul Sister. Pat Monahan's voice is just obnoxious from the very first line, and the "oh oh oh oh oh" is annoying. Neither Cam and Travie McCoy made any sort of contribution here. Yeah, this blows. NEXT!
Brown & Gray – Top Down: This came a week after Dan + Shay debuted on the countdown last year with Tequila. I think Tequila is the better song, in part because it has better harmonies. But Top Down is upbeat and fun. Kaci Brown and Sam Gray both made a good first impression here. I like the vocal chemistry between the two and the guitar sounds great. I enjoyed it when it was new. They did just recently release Last To Know, which is pretty divine as well. I recommend listening to that song.
Weezer – Africa: I'll never really understand the appeal to this. Underwhelming production combined with poor vocal performance from Rivers Cuomo does not make this a fun listen. Yeah, this was a terrible cover of the 1982 song from Toto.
Dennis Lloyd – Nevermind: The groove is there, but the song itself is so repetitive and not very interesting for the most part. Yeah, it's not something I'll remember in about two years or so.
Charlie Puth – The Way I Am: One of the weakest singles from Voicenotes, though it's definitely not a bad song. I still like how Charlie handles the production, though. But everything else leaves quite a bit to be desired. One thing's for sure though, I'd rather hear this than his newer single at the moment.
Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman: A controversial single if you will. But despite this, Ariana sounds amazing in the song, especially in the final chorus. Her voice alone is what makes me fall in love with this one.

AT40: Billie Eilish (2) - Week Of August 24, 2019

Hello, fam! This is second consecutive week in which I got this out a little earlier than usual. It's highly doubtful that it'll happen every week. But I do try to get these out in a timely manner. Also, August has gone by pretty fast. We're closing in on the month of September, and with it comes Fall, one of my favorite seasons of the year. I'm definitely looking forward it. Before we get to this week's fresh 40, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week:

• Find U Again by Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello (#29)
• Paradise by Bazzi (#34)
• Summer Days by Martin Garrix featuring Macklemore and Patrick Stump (#36)
• Cool by Jonas Brothers (#39)

The Countdown:
Last Week's #1 Song: Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
40. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee (#40) [=]
39. Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee (#38) [–1]
38. La La Land by Bryce Vine featuring YG (#27) [–11]
37. Better by Khalid (#37) [=]
36. One Thing Right by Marshmello featuring Kane Brown (DEBUT)
35. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco (#35) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
34. All The Time by Zara Larsson (DEBUT)
33. Mother's Daughter by Miley Cyrus (DEBUT)
32. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid (#31) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
31. Trampoline by SHAED (#32) [+1]
30. Hate Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Juice WRLD (#33) [+3]
29. Without Me by Halsey (#28) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
28. Boyfriend by Ariana Grande featuring Social House (DEBUT)
27. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored by Ariana Grande (#26) [–1]
26. How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith (#30) [+4]
25. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande (#23) [–2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
24. The Git Up by Blanco Brown (#25) [+1]
23. Just Us by DJ Khaled featuring SZA (#24) [+1]
22. Love Me Less by MAX featuring Quinn XCII (#22) [=]
21. Call You Mine by The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha (#21) [=]
20. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max (#19) [–1]
19. Speechless by Dan + Shay (#17) [–2]
18. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (#15) [–3]
17. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#20) [+3]
16. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (#18) [+2]
15. Wow. by Post Malone (#14) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
14. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#16) [+2]
13. Easier by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#13) [=]
12. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani (#11) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
11. Never Really Over by Katy Perry (#10) [–1]
10. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug (#12) [+2]
9. You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift (#9) [=]
8. Sucker by Jonas Brothers (#5) [–3] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
7. Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco (#6) [–1]
6. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#7) [+1]
5. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#8) [+3]
4. Talk by Khalid (#3) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
3. If I Can't Have You by Shawn Mendes (#4) [+1]
2. I Don't Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber (#2) [=] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
1. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (#1) [=] [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B (3^rd of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: La La Land by Bryce Vine featuring YG (–11)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith (+4)

New Entrants:
- Normally, I would go in order. But for this week, I'm going to save the two debuts for last. So, first up is more of Zara Larsson with her latest single titled All The Time. Earlier this year, she did give us Ruin My Life, which was solid overall. All The Time is just as good as its predecessor, maybe even better. One big reason for that is the production and the beat, which sounds really good. I like Zara's voice here. She is a talented singer and she further proved my point in this song. The robotic vocals are just awesome. It makes me want to dance! So, hearing this one definitely puts a smile on my face. I don't really expect it to last very long given that Zara is underrated in the US. But she has impressed me with this song.

- Immediately after that is Miley Cyrus with her single titled Mother's Daughter, which is taken from her EP She Is Coming. She actually has a newer song out titled Slide Away, which was just recently released following her break-up with Liam Hemsworth. I do kinda like that song, but I won't get into that one right now. As far as Mother's Daughter goes, this is solid. I like the production in a way and her vocals sound good. Miley has talent as a singer and she uses it well here. I also like the lyrics for the most part. Yeah, this is a good song overall.

- Alright. Now I'm going to go through the two worst debuts of the week, and Dear Jesus, help me with those two. First up is more of Ariana Grande yet again because the whole world can't seem to get enough of her these days. She collaborates with Social House in their new single, Boyfriend. Ever since Ariana released Thank U, Next, things have been going southward. 7 Rings was terrible and is easily a candidate for one of my Bottom 10 songs of 2019. But of course, it spent 5 fucking weeks at #1 on the AT40, which shows just how shitty the quality of music has gone. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored isn't any better either. And now we have Boyfriend. The song isn't as bad as the other two, but it is still underwhelming in every sense of the word. The production is not interesting and I do not like the beat. There is very little to no cohesion in that aspect. I don't see a damn thing interesting about it at all. Ariana barely shows any vocal talent here, which is very sad for me to say because I really like her. But she hasn't impressed me with her latest singles and this song isn't helping matters. The members of Social House hardly make any sort of contribution towards the song. What the hell did these guys show me exactly that would make me give them the benefit of the doubt? I'm not seeing any of it here. And then there's the lyrics, which lack depth whatsoever and it sends bad messages. Ariana is a good songwriter, but she does not show it in the song. Honestly, I know she can do so much better. Overall, this song is straight up terrible and it shows just how much Ariana has been selling out. I really hope it does not become a big hit, because it will not take it very kindly if it does. But it probably will anyway.

- Sigh...help me with this one. Last and definitely least, we have my new least favorite song of the year. It comes from the return of Marshmello because of course. And he collaborates with country singer Kane Brown in One Thing Right. Let's get into this one. I've not been very fond of what Marshmello has to offer lately. Ever since his collaboration with Anne-Marie in Friends, it's been all downhill for him. Other than Here With Me, almost every release has sucked. One Thing Right is no exception. I found this simply bad initially and it has quickly gotten worse from there. I'll never get the appeal to the song whatsoever. This is not EDM. I'm going to emphasize this again: THIS IS NOT EDM IN THE SLIGHTEST! Everything about the song is a fucking mess from top to bottom. Marshmello did not put forth any effort at all when it comes to production. It shows just how lazy he's gotten as an EDM producer. Kane Brown is a good singer and he has some stuff that I liked. But here, he sounds like absolute shit in every second of the song. I honestly can't think of any part of the song where he shines. As a matter of fact, he is DRENCHED in auto-tune. And don't even get me started on the bridge, as well as the last chorus, because it is just insufferable. Simply put, this is a fucking terrible song and is the worst I've heard in EDM this year. Marshmello has basically sold out. He was at his peak when he did a collaboration with Selena Gomez in Wolves, which is easily his best song by a clear mile. I was rooting for him following his success of that song, but now he's become lazy and I don't even know if I like him anymore at this point. I'm sure some here were saying the same about Zedd at this point last year. I still hold the 100% unpopular opinion on loving songs like Stay, The Middle (my #1 favorite song of 2018), and Happy Now. But unfortunately, Marshmello has been a different story. His latest singles have not been to my liking and this is another low for him. Thanks a lot. This song really gives me another good reason to lose faith in EDM right now.

Best Debut Of The Week: All The Time by Zara Larsson 

Something About The Way You Blurb Tonight
- We'll start with the exits. First off, good riddance to Cool. I did like its predecessor for the most part, but Cool was simply underwhelming and frankly, not very good. Paradise didn't exactly appeal to me the same way Mine did. I just couldn't quite get into that one. Find U Again I was recently starting to grow into and I find it pretty solid. But it leaving didn't affect me that much. The saddest one for me is Summer Days. It was definitely my jam for the summer and I'm sad this wasn't a huge hit. But at the same time, I can't say I'm surprised given that Martin Garrix isn't relevant in mainstream.

- It's very nice to see La La Land making a big drop down to the Bottom 5. I'm glad this ended up flopping because everything about it is not good whatsoever. Bryce Vine hasn't impressed me with his music so far.

- Goodbyes enters the Top 10 because of course, people can't seem to get enough of Post Malone nowadays. I do like the song quite a bit, and I wouldn't mind seeing it continue its momentum.

- Señorita is continuing is upward march as it enters the Top 5 this week. This'll likely end up as the next #1 within the next couple of weeks or so. Once it gets up there, I'm sure it hold it for a little while. I wouldn't object to that because it is cool song with a Latin vibe.

- In even better news, the record-breaking Old Town Road has FINALLY been dethroned by Bad Guy this week on the Billboard Hot 100! I definitely did not envision this happening, but I'm very happy. It's probably one of the coolest #1 songs we've had in a while. Also, here's a fun fact: Billie is the first artist born in the 21^st Century to hit #1. So congrats to her for this achievement!

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Time by NF
• Rescue Me by OneRepublic
• Panini by Lil Nas X

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Teenage Dream by Katy Perry
• Dead And Gone by T.I. featuring Justin Timberlake
• Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5 featuring Kendrick Lamar
• I Like Me Better by Lauv
• Look Back At It by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
• Wake Up by Travis Scott featuring The Weeknd
• I'm So Tired... by Lauv featuring Troye Sivan
• Nothin' On You by B.O.B. featuring Bruno Mars
• Crazy In Love by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z
• No Promises by Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato
• Can't Hold Us by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton
• Worth It by Fifth Harmony featuring Kid Ink
• Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus

1 – Bad:
19. Easier by 5 Seconds Of Summer
18. Wow. by Post Malone
17. You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift

2 – Mediocre:
16. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
15. Talk by Khalid

3 – Decent:
14. I Don't Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber

4 – Good:
13. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug

5 – Great:
12. Sucker by Jonas Brothers
11. Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco
10. Truth Hurts by Lizzo
9. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max
8. Only Human by Jonas Brothers
7. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid
6. Speechless by Dan + Shay
5. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello
4. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani
3. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
2. If I Can't Have You by Shawn Mendes

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Never Really Over by Katy Perry

Total Score: 75/100 = 75% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Something About The Way You Look Tonight by Elton John (1997)

Most Missed Song: Stay The Night by Zedd featuring Hayley Williams (back when EDM was actually good)

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Higher Love by Kygo featuring Whitney Houston

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Backstreet Boys (#19) and The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey (#18)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Never Really Over by Katy Perry
2. Call You Mine by The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha
3. If I Can't Have You by Shawn Mendes
4. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
5. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. One Thing Right by Marshmello featuring Kane Brown
2. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
3. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored by Ariana Grande
4. Boyfriend by Ariana Grande featuring Social House
5. Love Me Less by MAX featuring Quinn XCII

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
The Way I Am by Charlie Puth: One of Charlie's weakest singles off of Voicenotes. Outside of the production and his vocals, there's not a lot that this one has to offer. That's really all I have to say about this one
Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD: Nothing about the song works well at all. Terrible beat, shitty lyrics, and poor vocal performance by Juice WRLD. Do I even need to say anymore?

Shawn Mendes (6) - Week Of August 17, 2019

Hello, fam! My 200,000 Pageview Special has now been posted. In case you missed it, I did a Q&A and I was able to answer some questions you guys have sent me. I put a lot of work into it. Feel free to check it out if you haven't already. Also, we're halfway through the month of August. The 2012 Billboard Year-End Rankdown is still going on. You have until the end of this month to submit your rankings. If you haven't already, now is the time to do so. Before we get to this week's fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week:

• P!NK – Walk Me Home (#45)

The Countdown:
Last Week's #1 Song: Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You
45. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#44) [–1]
44. Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE – Happier (#43) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
43. Kaskade featuring Meghan Trainor – With You (#41) [–2]
42. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#40) [–2]
41. Halsey – Without Me (#33) [–8] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
40. Andy Grammer – Don't Give Up On Me (#22) [–18]
39. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#37) [–2] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
38. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#38) [=] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
37. P!NK – Hustle (#26) [–11]
36. Asher Angel featuring Wiz Khalifa – One Thought Away (#42) [+6]
35. SHAED – Trampoline (#36) [+1]
34. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#28) [–6]
33. Ava Max – So Am I (#23) [–10]
32. Stephen Puth – Look Away (#34) [+2]
31. Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME! (#31) [=]
30. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#30) [=]
29. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix) (#17) [–12]
28. Katy Perry – Small Talk (DEBUT)
27. Lizzo – Truth Hurts (#7) [–20]
26. Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES – Here With Me (#27) [+1]
25. Post Malone featuring Young Thug – Goodbyes (#29) [+4]
24. OneRepublic – Rescue Me (#32) [+8]
23. Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello – Find U Again (#35) [+12]
22. Blanco Brown – The Git Up (#25) [+3]
21. AJR – 100 Bad Days (#20) [–1]
20. Miley Cyrus – Mother's Daughter (#39) [+19]
19. PUBLIC – Make You Mine (#24) [+5]
18. The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine (#19) [+1]
17. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (#3) [–14]
16. Khalid – Talk (#10) [–6]
15. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime (#18) [+3]
14. Katy Perry – Never Really Over (#21) [+7]
13. Halsey – Nightmare (#4) [–9]
12. Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber – I Don't Care (#13) [+1]
11. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy (#16) [+5]
10. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less (#12) [+2]
9. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#9) [=]
8. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down (#15) [+7]
7. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita (#8) [+1]
6. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#5) [–1]
5. Jonas Brothers – Cool (#14) [+9]
4. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#2) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
3. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#11) [+8] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
2. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#6) [+4] [Spent 13 Weeks At #1]
1. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You (#1) [=] [6^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (2^nd of 8 Weeks At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Lizzo – Truth Hurts (–20)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Miley Cyrus – Mother's Daughter (+19)

New Entrants:
- We have more of Katy Perry as she gives us her follow-up to Never Really Over, which I absolutely ADORE with a burning passion. Enter Small Talk. This single is actually written by Charlie Puth, which I find to be interesting. Coming into the song, I was expecting this one to be just as good, maybe even better. But ultimately, it just didn't happen that way. I like the well-written lyrics for the most part, though Charlie did most of the work on that aspect. Aside from that, there's not a whole lot to the production, and the beat here is a little too simplistic. Katy sounds pretty decent here, but she's not at her best. I'm very interested in what Katy Perry will bring in the future. But I'm not totally in love with the song as a whole. This may grow on me, but we'll see.

I Knew You Were Blurbing
- I grew back into P!NK – Walk Me Home and of course, this is the week that it leaves. Though I won't exactly be missing this song too much, it was still pretty good despite it not being P!NK's best.

- So, Spyder Harrison mentioned that The Chainsmokers are now the highest paid DJ duo. Wow, that's pretty darn impressive!

- *sees #27* Well, this didn't last very long. Truth Hurts is right back to square one after only spending one week in the Top 10.

- Before introducing Rescue Me, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Ryan Tedder wrote the song in about 8 minutes. Heh, never knew Ryan was a fast writer. Or maybe he typed the lyrics on a computer. We don't know for sure.

- That big jump we get from Find U Again is nice to see. That one I'm enjoying with each listen, so I'm cool with that! Also, Spyder Harrison mentioned during the introduction for the song that Camila Cabello has made it official. She and Shawn are actually dating. Figured this would happen sooner or later. Wow.

- Mother's Daughter would wound up making the Biggest Jump Of The Week. And to cap it off, it kicked 100 Bad Days out of the Top 20. Good stuff!

- Along with Truth Hurts, If We Have Each Other didn't spend long in the Top 10 either. It actually dropped out big time this week following its massive jump all the way into the Top 3 last week. Looks like its 15 seconds of fame was over quick!

- Our Top 10 entrants are ones I'm pretty mixed on. I'm not thrilled seeing You Need To Calm Down back up there. That song is just a disappointment for Taylor Swift overall. But she does have a much better single on Hit-Bound which I'm fixing to get to eventually. And don't even get me started on Love Me Less. I cannot stand this song and the fact that its gaining momentum is only making matters worse. -_-

- In terms of the Top 5, Hey Look Ma, I Made It is still a good song and even though its close to lasting a year, I'm not sick of it yet. I may never get sick of it. I don't know. But Cool should not be in the Top 5. It's only up there because Hits 1 started falling in love with the Jonas Brothers since their comeback this year. But the song is just bad in and of itself.  I'm certain this will be on their Year-End list as well.

Hit-Bound:

• Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People
• Waterparks – Dream Boy (DEBUT)
• Dominic Fike – 3 Nights
• Zara Larsson – All The Time
• Panic! At The Disco – Roaring 20s
• Lizzo – Good As Hell
• Jax Jones featuring Bebe Rexha – Harder
• TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – The Hype
• Jonas Brothers – Only Human
• Ellie Goulding featuring Juice WRLD – Hate Me
• Alec Benjamin – Jesus In LA
• Taylor Swift – Lover (DEBUT)
• Ariana Grande featuring Social House – Boyfriend
• Thomas Rhett – Look What God Gave Her
• Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep?

Entrant Reviews:
- First up, we get an appearance from the band Waterparks as they bring us Dream Boy. Right off the bat, it's a pretty cool song. I love the rock vibe here and these guys sound good. I'll have more on this if it manages to debut.

- More of Taylor Swift is nice. We're one step closer to her new album Lover as this week, she brings us the title track from her album. It's pretty slow, but I love her voice in this one and the production is better. That chorus is just divine. I'll save my words for if it debuts.

Best Hit-Bound Entrant Of The Week: Taylor Swift – Lover

Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
15. Ariana Grande featuring Social House – Boyfriend

1 – Bad:
14. Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep?

2 – Mediocre:
13. Dominic Fike – 3 Nights
12. Alec Benjamin – Jesus In LA

3 – Decent:
11. Jax Jones featuring Bebe Rexha – Harder

4 – Good:
10. Ellie Goulding featuring Juice WRLD – Hate Me

5 – Great:
9. Panic! At The Disco – Roaring 20's
8. Jonas Brothers – Only Human
7. Thomas Rhett – Look What God Gave Her
6. Waterparks – Dream Boy
5. Zara Larsson – All The Time
4. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – The Hype
3. Lizzo – Good As Hell
2. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:
1. Taylor Swift – Lover

Overall Grade: 58/75 = 77% (C+)

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Alesso featuring Nico and Vinz – I Wanna Know

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Taylor Swift – Lover
2. Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – Beautiful People
3. Lizzo – Good As Hell
4. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – The Hype
5. Zara Larsson – All The Time

YouTube 15:

• Lizzo – Truth Hurts
• Ed Sheeran featuring Travis Scott – Antisocial
• Grace Vanderwaal – Waste My Time
• Khalid – Talk
• Sebastian Yatra featuring Jonas Brothers, Daddy Yankee, and Natti Natasha – Runaway
• Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
• Bazzi – No Way!
• Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
• Alan Walker featuring Sabrina Carpenter and Farruko – On My Way
• Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)
• Ruel – Face To Face
• Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down
• Becky G featuring Myke Towers – Dollar
• Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger
• Megan Thee Stallion featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign – Hot Girl Summer

Song Reviews:
- I'm not thrilled about the YouTube 15 list for this week at all. First, we'll kick things off is the former winner of America's Got Talent, Grace Vanderwaal with her new single, Waste My Time. I think this pretty solid for the most part. Grace is talented and she shows it in this song. I love pretty much the instrumentation and lyrics. Yeah, this is a nice song.

- Following that, we have more of Bazzi as he gives us No Way! from his latest album Soul Searching. Personally, I much prefer his singles off of Cosmic over what he has to offer in his new album. Paradise didn't exactly appeal to me and I'm not feeling his new single for the most part. It doesn't have a whole lot to offer here and Bazzi doesn't sound his best here. Then again, this is based on my initial reaction and it could change with more listens. But right now, I'm not impressed.

- Next is more of Ruel with Face To Face. There's not much I can say about this one. I'm not exactly feeling his voice and everything else leaves a lot to be desired. Again, this is based on my initial reaction. We'll see if it ends up growing on me.

- Finally, we have Megan Thee Stallion, and she is collaborating with Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign in Hot Girl Summer. I'm not sure how I feel about this one overall. I like the beat here, but I'm not feeling the rest of the song. There's not a whole lot of chemistry between those artists. Nicki's verse is probably the best thing about it. I have it in blue for now, but it could change.

YouTube 15 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
15. Becky G featuring Myke Towers – Dollar
14. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)

1 – Bad:
13. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down
12. Bazzi – No Way!

2 – Mediocre:
11. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
10. Khalid – Talk
9. Ruel – Face To Face

3 – Decent:
8. Alan Walker featuring Sabrina Carpenter and Farruko – On My Way
7. Megan Thee Stallion featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign – Hot Girl Summer
6. Ed Sheeran featuring Travis Scott – Antisocial

4 – Good:
None!

5 – Great:
5. Sebastian Yatra featuring Jonas Brothers, Daddy Yankee, and Natti Natasha – Runaway
4. Lizzo – Truth Hurts
3. Grace Vanderwaal – Waste My Time
2. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The YouTube 15:
1. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

Overall Grade: 43/75 = 57% (F)

Most Missed YouTube 15 Song: Sofia Carson – Love Is The Name

My Top 5 YouTube 15 Picks
1. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger
2. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
3. Grace Vanderwaal – Waste My Time
4. Lizzo – Truth Hurts
5. Sebastian Yatra featuring Jonas Brothers, Daddy Yankee, and Natti Natasha – Runaway

Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less

1 – Bad:
19. Jonas Brothers – Cool
18. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
17. Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down

2 – Mediocre:
16. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
15. Khalid – Talk

3 – Decent:
14. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love
13. Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber – I Don't Care
12. Halsey – Nightmare
11. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other

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

5 – Great:
9. Jonas Brothers – Sucker
8. PUBLIC – Make You Mine
7. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It
6. Miley Cyrus – Mother's Daughter
5. Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello – Señorita
4. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
3. The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine
2. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You
1. Katy Perry – Never Really Over

Overall Grade: 68/100 = 68% (D+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Aretha Franklin featuring Georgia Michael – I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (1987) (One year since she passed...)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Adele – When We Were Young

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Carly Rae Jepsen – Julien

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects (#20) and Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart (#13)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES – Here With Me
2. Katy Perry – Never Really Over
3. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You
4. The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine
5. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less
2. AJR – 100 Bad Days
3. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)
4. Kaskade featuring Meghan Trainor – With You
5. Jonas Brothers – Cool

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
PNAU – Go Bang: There's not a whole lot I can say about this one. Production-wise, it's okay. But it's repetitive and too childish for my tastes. NEXT!
Dan + Shay – Tequila: I'm glad Hits 1 picked up on this song and it ended up being a success. I'm sure this'll make their Year-End list. This won an award at the Grammys for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, which says a lot about it. It's a divine song with good vocals from these guys, good lyrical content, and good harmonies. It's much better than a certain country song that shall not be named.
Bebe Rexha – I'm A Mess: Yeah, the title of the song speaks for itself. Everything about this song is literally a mess. The guitars are asinine and the beat is brittle. To top it all off, Bebe shows no effort in her verses and she is heavily DRENCHED in auto-tune when singing the chorus. All of those combined certainly does not make this a fun listen at all.

AT40: Billie Eilish (1) - Week Of August 17, 2019

Hello, fam! I was finally able to post my 200,000 Pageview Special this week! In case anyone was wondering, it was a Q&A post. I answered some questions that you guys have sent me. It was a lot of fun. If you haven't already, you can check it out in my previous post. Again, I definitely appreciate for all you do by simply reading this blog. Thank you very much! It won't be much longer until I reach 300,000 Pageviews. I do hope to come up with some good ideas by then. Before we get to this week's fresh 40, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week:

• Nightmare by Halsey (#16)

The Countdown:
Last Week's #1 Song: I Don't Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber
40. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee (#40) [=]
39. Cool by Jonas Brothers (#21) [–18]
38. Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee (#38) [=]
37. Better by Khalid (#36) [–1]
36. Summer Days by Martin Garrix featuring Macklemore and Patrick Stump (#32) [–4]
35. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco (#33) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
34. Paradise by Bazzi (#34) [=]
33. Hate Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Juice WRLD (#39) [+6]
32. Trampoline by SHAED (#35) [+3]
31. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid (#29) [–2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
30. How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith (DEBUT)
29. Find U Again by Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello (#31) [+2]
28. Without Me by Halsey (#27) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
27. La La Land by Bryce Vine featuring YG (#18) [–9]
26. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored by Ariana Grande (#25) [–1]
25. The Git Up by Blanco Brown (#37) [+12]
24. Just Us by DJ Khaled featuring SZA (#26) [+2]
23. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande (#22) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
22. Love Me Less by MAX featuring Quinn XCII (#24) [+2]
21. Call You Mine by The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha (#23) [+2]
20. Only Human by Jonas Brothers (#28) [+8]
19. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max (#19) [=]
18. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (#30) [+12]
17. Speechless by Dan + Shay (#17) [=]
16. Somone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi (#20) [+4]
15. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (#13) [–2]
14. Wow by Post Malone (#12) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
13. Easier by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#14) [+1]
12. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug (#15) [+3]
11. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani (#9) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
10. Never Really Over by Katy Perry (#11) [+1]
9. You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift (#10) [+1]
8. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello (#8) [=]
7. Truth Hurts by Lizzo (#7) [=]
6. Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco (#6) [=]
5. Sucker by Jonas Brothers (#5) [=] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
4. If I Can't Have You by Shawn Mendes (#4) [=]
3. Talk by Khalid (#3) [=] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
2. I Don't Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber (#1) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
1. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (#2) [+1] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B (2^nd of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Cool by Jonas Brothers (–18)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Tie between The Git Up by Blanco Brown and Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid (+12)

New Entrants:
- We get more of Sam Smith on the countdown as this week, he brings us his latest single titled How Do You Sleep?. And here's a fun fact: this is actually the second time this year that Sam Smith has had a song debut at #30. Dancing With A Stranger debuted at that spot back in February. Heh, I guess he likes the number 30. I'm thinking that's his lucky spot. But anyway, How Do You Sleep? is not to my liking. First off, the introduction is a little weird. I kinda like Sam's voice for most of the song. But then, the rest of the song goes downhill when the drop comes after the chorus. The drop alone really killed the song's potential. The rest of the production isn't too good. Sam is a good songwriter, and it shows when looking at the lyrical content. But that's really the only redeeming quality in a otherwise bad song. Yeah, Sam really let me down with this follow-up. I much prefer something more along the lines of Dancing With A Stranger and his singles from In The Lonely Hour and The Thrill Of It All.

How Do You Blurb?
- We say goodbye to Nightmare as that one never really took off. This is probably one of the few songs from Halsey to become a flop. I was starting to grow out of that one, so it leaving doesn't affect me much.

- I Don't Care has been dethroned this week as Bad Guy takes the #1, much to the distaste of some people here. But I certainly don't mind at all. I like Billie's mysterious voice here and she showed me how talented she is. Bad Guy has been one of my favorites for most of the summer. North America did a good thing by allowing this song to hold the crown.

- We get the Top 10 entrant from Never Really Over! This is good news as well! It's nice to have a song from Katy Perry back in the Top 10, though I don't expect it to last very long. I'm definitely interested in what her new album has in store.

- Now, this is what I like to see. Only Human and Beautiful People both make big jumps into the Top 20. replacing La La Land which thankfully dropped big and looks to be on its way out soon. I can see Only Human become another hit for the Jonas Brothers and I certainly wouldn't mind that. Beautiful People is better than Cross Me and it gets better with each listen. I'm hoping that one can be a success and not flop like its predecessor did.

- You know it's a good week when Cool takes a big drop all the way down to the Bottom 5 this week. The drop really set the tone for how this week would go. I'm glad that one didn't end up getting any farther. I'm hoping it leaves soon and I think it'll very likely happen next week.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Mother's Daughter by Miley Cyrus
• All The Time by Zara Larsson
• One Thing Right by Marshmello featuring Kane Brown

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Happier by Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE
• Cross Me by Ed Sheeran featuring Chance The Rapper and PnB Rock
• Delicate by Taylor Swift
• Finesse (Remix) by Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B
• MIA by Bad Bunny featuring Drake
• Clarity by Zedd featuring Foxes
• Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato
• Chlorine by TWENTY ØNE PILØTS
• Nice For What by Drake
• Let You Down by NF
• Latch by Disclosure featuring Sam Smith
• Into You by Ariana Grande

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus

1 – Bad:
19. Easier by 5 Seconds Of Summer
18. Wow. by Post Malone
17. You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift

2 – Mediocre:
16. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi
15. Talk by Khalid

3 – Decent:
14. I Don't Care by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber

4 – Good:
13. Goodbyes by Post Malone featuring Young Thug

5 – Great:
12. Sucker by Jonas Brothers
11. Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco
10. Truth Hurts by Lizzo
9. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max
8. Only Human by Jonas Brothers
7. Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid
6. Speechless by Dan + Shay
5. Señorita by Shawn Mendes featuring Camila Cabello
4. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani
3. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
2. Never Really Over by Katy Perry
1. If I Can't Have You by Shawn Mendes

Total Score: 74/100 = 74% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Live To Tell by Madonna (1986) (Happy 61^st Birthday to her!)

Most Missed Song: Team by Lorde

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Julien by Carly Rae Jepsen

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Backstreet Boys (#19) and The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey (#17)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Call You Mine The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha 
2. If I Can't Have You by Shawn Mendes
3. Never Really Over by Katy Perry
4. Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
5. Summer Days by Martin Garrix featuring Macklemore and Patrick Stump

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
2. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored by Ariana Grande
3. Love Me Less by MAX featuring Quinn XCII
4. La La Land by Bryce Vine featuring YG
5. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande: A controversial single if you will. But it's still good, thanks in large part to Ariana's amazing voice, especially at the end. It gives me chills.
No Brainer by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance The Rapper: This is basically a rehash of I'm The One, except worse. I'm not feeling the production here and neither artist has good vocal chemistry here. Yeah, this was disappointing more than anything else.