AT40: Jonas Brothers (1) - Week Of May 4, 2019

Hello, fam! I know I keep saying this. But I'm still working on trying to catch up with my posts. It's still been a slow process. Here is yet another late AT40 post. Let's get into things. Before we get to this week's fresh 40, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week:

• Please Me by Cardi B featuring Bruno Mars (#14)

The Countdown:

Last Week's #1 Song: 7 Rings by Ariana Grande

40. Woke Up Late by Drax Project featuring Hailee Steinfeld (DEBUT)

39. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B (#38) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]

38. I Can't Get Enough by Benny Blanco featuring Tainy, Selena Gomez, and J. Balvin (#40) [+2]

37. Better Now by Post Malone (#36) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

36. Talk by Khalid (#37) [+1]

35. Beautiful (Remix) by Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello (#34) [–1]

34. Out Of Love by Alessia Cara (#33) [–1]

33. Breathin' by Ariana Grande (#32) [–1]

32. When The Party's Over by Billie Eilish (#31) [–1]

31. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani (#29) [–2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

30. I'm So Tired... by Lauv featuring Troye Sivan (#30) [=]

29. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#26) [–3] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

28. Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco (#28) [=]

27. Low Key by Ally Brooke featuring Tyga (#27) [=]

26. Sicko Mode by Travis Scott featuring Drake (#23) [–3]

25. Cool by Jonas Brothers (#39) [+14]

24. Last Hurrah by Bebe Rexha (#25) [+1]

23. You Say by Lauren Daigle (#21) [–2]

22. Happier by Marshmello featuring Bastille (#20) [–2]

21. Shallow by Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper (#22) [+1]

20. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (#35) [+15]

19. Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande (#18) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

18. Don't Call Me Up by Mabel (#24) [+6]

17. Here With Me by Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES (#19) [+2]

16. Undrunk by FLETCHER (#17) [+1]

15. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco (#15) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]

14. I've Been Waiting by Lil Peep featuring iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy (#16) [+2]

13. Who Do You Love by The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer (#13) [=]

12. Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee (#11) [–1]

11. Be Alright by Dean Lewis (#12) [+1]

10. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid (#6) [–4] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

9. Wow. by Post Malone (#10) [+1]

8. Better by Khalid (#4) [–4]

7. Without Me by Halsey (#5) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]

6. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max (#8) [+2]

5. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored by Ariana Grande (#9) [+4]

4. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani (#7) [+3]

3. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee (#2) [–1]

2. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande (#1) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]

1. Sucker by Jonas Brothers (#3) [+2] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey (3^rd of 4 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Tie between Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid and Better by Khalid (–4)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (+15)

New Entrants:

- So, we have only one entrant for the week, and it comes from a new band called the Drax Project, who are collaborating with Hailee Steinfeld in Woke Up Late. There's not a lot I can say about this one. I kinda like their voice and I think Hailee made a nice contribution to the song. But I think the production is underwhelming in some parts and the beat isn't too interesting, though I do like the guitar. So yeah, this is okay. I don't think I'll remember this in a year or so.

Blurb Up Late
- So, for our exit, Please Me left from a very high position. And while it wasn't special like its predecessor, I did enjoy the song somewhat. But I wasn't too surprised about its departure given that it has died down elsewhere.

- It's definitely refreshing to see a new #1 dethrone the mess that is of 7 Rings. I'm just happy that Sucker ended up taking the top spot. I'm sure it'll probably stay up there for a while at least, given that the song is.

- Dancing With A Stranger has now entered the Top 5! It's nice to see the song still gaining momentum. I would like to see that at #1 soon, but I'm cool with Sucker having its reign first (so long as we keep 7 Rings out).

- Of course, Old Town Road ends up having the Biggest Rise Of The Week despite how terrible the song is. This is one of the worst country songs I've ever heard since a certain song I won't mention. I already know it's going to stick around for a long while, so I'll have to get used to it.

- We also get a big jump from Cool, which I'm cool with (see what I did there)., even though that song isn't amazing either. Normally with a jump like this, I would think it'll stick around for a while. But considering the song isn't doing well in sales, I don't see it lasting too long.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Boy With Luv by BTS featuring Halsey
• All My Friends by AJ Mitchell
• La La Land by Bryce Vine featuring YG

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons
• Lights Down Low by MAX featuring Gnash
• Earned It by The Weeknd
• Tequila by Dan + Shay
• Don't Tell 'Em by Jeremih featuring YG
• Hands To Myself by Selena Gomez
• Broken by lovelytheband
• Body by Loud Luxury featuring Brando
• Chandelier by Sia
• The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey
• Roses by The Chainsmokers featuring ROZES
• Bailando by Enrique Iglesias featuring Sean Paul

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
19. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande 

1 – Bad:
18. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored by Ariana Grande
17. Wow. by Post Malone

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
16. Be Alright by Dean Lewis
15. Don't Call Me Up by Mabel
14. Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande

4 – Good:
13. Without Me by Halsey

5 – Great: 
12. Better by Khalid
11. Sucker by Jonas Brothers
10. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco
9. I've Been Waiting by Lil' Peep featuring iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy
8. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid
7. Here With Me by Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES
6. Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee
5. Undrunk by FLETCHER
4. Who Do You Love by The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer
3. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max
2. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee

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

Total Score: 76/100 = 76% (C+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Emotions by Mariah Carey (1991)

Most Missed Song: Midnight City by M83

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: ME! by Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Pray For Me by The Weeknd featuring Kendrick Lamar (#4)

My Top 5 Picks

1. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max
2. You Say by Lauren Daigle
3. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani
4. Shallow by Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper 
5. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Old Town Road by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
2. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
3. Sicko Mode by Travis Scott featuring Drake
4. I'm So Tired... by Lauv featuring Troye Sivan
5. Happier by Marshmello featuring Bastille

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Everybody Hates Me by The Chainsmokers: Weak vocals from Drew Taggart, combined with the underwhelming production just makes the song not a fun listen. This was The Chainsmokers hitting rock bottom. They have done much better.

Jonas Brothers (5) - Week Of April 27, 2019

Hello, fam! We're closing in on my two-year anniversary. For those who don't know, I started this blog two years ago. I just want to say thank you for reading this amazing blog. You guys are absolutely special. I do hope to keep going. Right now, I'm going to continue to catch up on my posts. Here's the first of many. Before we get to this week's fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week:

• Kelsea Ballerini - Miss Me More (#39)
• Cardi B featuring Bruno Mars - Please Me (#40)
• 5 Seconds of Summer - Youngblood (#41) [Spent 5 Weeks at #1]
• Maren Morris - GIRL (#43)
• Khalid featuring Normani - Love Lies (#44)

The Countdown:

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

45. Anne-Marie – 2002 (#34) [–11]
44. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#45) [+1] [Spent 1 Week at #1]
43. Post Malone featuring Swae Lee – Sunflower (#42) [–1]
42. FLETCHER – Undrunk (#36) [–6]
41. Austin Brown – In Betweenin' (#33) [–8]
40. Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next (#37) [–3]
39. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (DEBUT)
38. Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside (#35)
37. Jake Miller – Wait For You (#30)
36. Alessia Cara – Out Of Love (DEBUT)
35. Avril Lavigne featuring Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde (#20)
34. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix) (#38) [+4]
33. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#28) [–5]
32. NOTD featuring Felix Jaehn, Captain Cuts, and Georgia Ku – So Close (DEBUT)
31. Ciara – Thinkin Bout You (#32) [+1]
30. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less (DEBUT)
29. YUNGBLUD & Halsey featuring Travis Barker – 11 Minutes (#26) [–3]
28. Lizzo – Juice (#23) [–5]
27. Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend (DEBUT)
26. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#29) [+3]
25. Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper – Shallow (#18) [–7]
24. Khalid – Better (#21) [–3]
23. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – Chlorine (#31) [+8]
22. Post Malone – Wow. (#27) [+4]
21. Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES – Here With Me (#24) [+3]
20. Ally Brooke featuring Tyga – Low Key (#25) [+5]
19. Lil Peep featuring iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy – I've Been Waiting (#19) [=]
18. Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah (#12) [–6]
17. Dean Lewis – Be Alright (#22) [+5]
16. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored (#15) [–1]
15. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#7) [–8] [Spent 8 Weeks at #1]
14. Lauv featuring Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired... (#17) [+3]
13. P!NK – Walk Me Home (#16) [+3]
12. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (#8) [–4]
11. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#6) [–5] [Spent 7 Weeks at #1]
10. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#9) [–1]
9. Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE  – Happier (#11) [+2] [Spent 2 Weeks at #1]
8. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#13) [+5]
7. Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo – Close to Me (#10) [+3]
6. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#14) [+8]
5. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#2) [–3]
4. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#3) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks at #1]
3. Halsey – Without Me (#5) [+2] [Spent 5 Weeks at #1]
2. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds of Summer – Who Do You Love (#4) [+2]
1. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#1) [=] [5^th Week at #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line – Meant To Be (1^st And Only Week At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Avril Lavigne featuring Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde (–15)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Tie between TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – Chlorine and Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (+8)

New Entrants:
- So, we have two songs that debuted straight to the countdown this week. First up is newcomer Lewis Capaldi with a piano ballad called Someone You Loved. I do like what the song is supposed to be about. It basically talks about love and we've have a lot of songs like these nowadays. I think his voice is okay, but he doesn't really stand out to me. But I do like the piano work here and the lyrics are nicely done. I might grow into this one, but I don't see it sticking with me in the long run.

- Next, Alessia Cara returns with her latest single titled Out Of Love. Earlier, she gave us Growing Pains, which I did like. But then, there was Trust My Lonely, which was not good and thus was one of my least favorite singles from her. As far as her album goes, I was pretty mixed on it for the most part. But Out Of Love is a good song. Like Someone You Loved, this one is also a piano ballad. I like her voice in this one, and the lyrics are nice. I've been a fan of Alessia, and I can say I kinda like the song overall.

- We have the return of NOTD, and they're collaborating with Felix Jaehn, Captain Cuts, and Georgia Ku in their latest single titled So Close. Last year, the EDM duo introduced themselves to the world when they collaborated with Bea Miller in I Wanna Know. I did like that one at first, but I realized it wasn't all that special. As far as So Close goes, I think it's a step up from that. Production-wise, I like the beat and I think these guys did a nice job in that aspect. My concern is that I'm not a big fan of Georgia Ku's voice. I don't think she stands out. While it is better than its predecessor, it's not really something I'll come back to in the long run.

- Up next, we have the return of MAX and he teams up with Quinn XCII with Love Me Less. I'm not really the biggest fan of what MAX has to offer when it comes to his music. I will say that Love Me Less is better than Lights Down Low. I like his voice here, but I'm not feeling the production and the beat isn't too interesting. Quinn XCII doesn't really contribute to much of the song. Overall, I find this to be okay. It's not really special.

- The best debut of the week comes from Billie Eilish, and she makes her very first appearance with Bury A Friend. Unlike most people in the blogging community, I'm actually into her music. I think she has a mysterious voice and she uses it well, though it took me a while to grow into the song. Sure, there may not be much to the production. But it is really her voice that impresses me, even though it doesn't sit well with most people. So yeah, I really like this and I hope it can stick around.

Best Debut Of The Week: Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend

Would You Blurb Me Less?
- We'll start with our exits. First, we have two songs that'll be missed by me. Miss Me More was something I loved and is one of Kelsea's best solo singles, and GIRL was an amazing lead single for Maren's latest album. It's too bad both of them didn't do very well. I do like Please Me as well, but I'm too disappointed about it leaving, seeing as that one never really took off. Love Lies and Youngblood have both been here for a while, but they did have great countdown runs so I'm happy with their respective success.

- It was nice to see 2002 fall all the way to the bottom of the countdown. That song has definitely overstayed its welcome. I do wish the song would end up leaving soon.

- Dumb Blonde took quite a big drop in its third week of its tenure. I would say I'm disappointed about this. But given that not very many people care about Avril Lavigne right now, I'm not all that surprised.

- Can we please not with Happier and Let Me Down Slowly?!?! Why are they jumping? Hopefully, Hits 1 can fix this soon because this is seriously not okay. We have better songs that deserve to be in the Top 10 than these two.

Hit-Bound:

• SZA featuring The Weeknd and Travis Scott – Power Is Power
• Billie Eilish – Bad Guy 
• Bazzi – Paradise 
• Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME! (DEBUT) 
• Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other 
• Ava Max – So Am I 
• Jennifer Lopez featuring French Montana – Medicine 
• The Chainsmokers – Kills You Slowly
• Jonas Brothers – Cool
• lovelytheband – Maybe, I'm Afraid
• Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us 
• BTS featuring Halsey – Boy With Luv
• Kygo featuring Valerie Broussard – Think About You 
• Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime 
• Jordan McGraw – Flexible

Entrant Reviews:

- Our only Hit-Bound entrant comes from the interesting collaboration between Taylor Swift and Brendon Urie with their brand new single titled ME!. I'll say that this is a much better comeback single for Taylor Swift than Look What You Made Me Do, which I'm indifferent on. ME! basically reminds me of some of her earlier singles. I love her voice in this one and the production is just neat. I'll have much more on this when it inevitably debuts.

Hit-Bound Breakdown:

0 – Crap:

None!

1 – Bad:

15. The Chainsmokers – Kills You Slowly

14. BTS featuring Halsey – Boy With Luv

2 – Mediocre:

13. Jordan McGraw – Flexible

3 – Decent:

12. lovelytheband – Maybe I'm Afraid

11. Bazzi – Paradise

10. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other

9. Jonas Brothers – Cool

4 – Good:

8. Ava Max – So Am I

5 – Great:

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

6. Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us

5. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy

4. Kygo featuring Valerie Broussard – Think About You

3. Jennifer Lopez featuring French Montana – Medicine

2. SZA featuring The Weeknd and Travis Scott – Power Is Power

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:

1. Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME!

Overall Grade: 59/75 = 79% (C+)

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Ellie Goulding – Still Falling For You

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME!

2. SZA featuring The Weeknd featuring Travis Scott – Power Is Power

3. Jennifer Lopez featuring French Montana – Medicine

4. Kygo featuring Valerie Broussard – Think About You

5. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy

Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:

0 – Crap:

20. Lauv featuring Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired...

19. Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE – Happier

1 – Bad:
18. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored

17. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly
16. Ally Brooke featuring Tyga – Low Key

2 – Mediocre:

None!

3 – Decent:
15. Dean Lewis – Be Alright

4 – Good:

14. Halsey – Without Me 

5 – Great:

13. Jonas Brothers – Sucker

12. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes

11. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It
10. P!NK – Walk Me Home

9. Lil Peep featuring iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy – I've Been Waiting

8. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love
7. Dan + Shay – Speechless

6. Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah

5. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar

4. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

3. Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo – Close To Me

2. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho

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

Overall Grade: 81/100 = 81% (B–)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Kenny Loggins – I'm Alright (1980)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Taylor Swift – Out Of The Woods

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Ellie Goulding – Sixteen

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: The Weeknd featuring Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me (#9)

My Top 5 Picks

1. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

2. Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper – Shallow

3. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho

4. Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo – Close To Me

5. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

My Bottom 5 Picks

1. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)
2. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings
3. Lauv featuring Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired...

4. Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE – Happier

5. Post Malone – Wow.

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign – Psycho:
Halsey – Alone:

Jonas Brothers (4) - Week Of April 20, 2019

Hello, fam! So, I've got another post for you today. This time, it's about the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown. I hope to continue catching up on my posts. As soon as I'm done, I might have a surprise coming hopefully this month. We'll see. Before we get to this week's fresh 45, here are the songs leaving us this week:

• Grandson – Apologize (#39)

The Countdown:

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

45. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#44) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
44. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies (#45) [+1]

43. Maren Morris – GIRL (#42) [–1]
42. Post Malone featuring Swae Lee – Sunflower (#43) [+1]

41. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood (#37) [–4] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
40. Cardi B featuring Bruno Mars – Please Me (#41) [+1]
39. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More (#34) [–5]
38. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix) (DEBUT)
37. Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next (#38) [+1]
36. FLETCHER – Undrunk (#40) [+4]
35. Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside (#33) [–2]
34. Anne-Marie – 2002 (#36) [+2]
33. Austin Brown – In Betweenin' (#30) [–3]
32. Ciara – Thinkin Bout You (#31) [–1]
31. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – Chlorine (#20) [–11]
30. Jake Miller – Wait For You (#35) [+5]
29. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#15) [–14]
28. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#26) [–2]
27. Post Malone – Wow. (#23) [–4]
26. YUNGBLUD & Halsey featuring Travis Barker – 11 Minutes (#24) [–2]
25. Ally Brooke featuring Tyga – Low Key (#21) [–4]
24. Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES – Here With Me (#32) [+8]
23. Lizzo – Juice (#27) [+4]
22. Dean Lewis – Be Alright (#18) [–4]
21. Khalid – Better (#17) [–4]
20. Avril Lavigne featuring Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde (#28) [+8]
19. Lil Peep featuring iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy – I've Been Waiting (#29) [+10]
18. Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper – Shallow (#14) [–4]
17. Lauv featuring Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired... (#13) [–4]
16. P!NK – Walk Me Home (#22) [+6]
15. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored (#25) [+10]
14. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#16) [+2]
13. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#8) [–5]
12. Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah (#19) [+7]
11. Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE – Happier (#6) [–5] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
10. Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo – Close To Me (#7) [–3]
9. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#12) [+3]
8. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (#11) [+3]
7. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#10) [+3] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
6. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#9) [+3] [Spent 7 Weeks At #1]
5. Halsey – Without Me (#5) [=] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
4. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#4) [=]
3. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#2) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
2. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#3) [+1]
1. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#1) [=] [4^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle (7^th of 9 Weeks At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (–14)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Tie between Lil Peep featuring iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy and Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored (+10)

New Entrants:

- There's only one new song debuting this week, and unfortunately it is my least favorite song of the year so far. Lil Nas X makes his first appearance on the countdown with the remix of the song Old Town Road, which features Billy Ray Cyrus. As you may recall, the solo version charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs since the beginning of this year. But for whatever reason they decided to take it off that chart. He would later release a remix to the song with Billy Ray Cyrus, which ended up at #1 on the Hot 100. Anyway, everything about the song is terrible. The production is just awful and the trap beat is just grating. The lyrical content is just pointless. I do not like Lil Nas X's voice at all. He just doesn't sound good. Billy didn't add much to the remix. I think his voice is okay, but he doesn't stand out in any part of the song. This is the farthest thing from country and it's the worst song  I've heard in the country genre since Body Like A Back Road. As of right now, it is my least favorite song of the year and it does not deserve to be on the countdown.

Old Town Blurbs
- So, we say farewell to Grandson – Apologize. I didn't exactly cared for the song in the big picture. I'll say that I liked the instrumentation, but nothing else about the song really stood out to me. So, I'm okay with its departure.

- Our Top 5 remains the same, so there's really nothing to talk about there.

- I'm very pleased by our two Top 10 entrants. Speechless and Dancing With A Stranger both deserve to be in that region. It's nice to see the former catch on much like Tequila, and the latter is now my new favorite song on the countdown. That one has gotten better with each listen. Hopefully, both songs will stay there for a while.

- It is also very pleasing to see that 7 Rings had the Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week this week. I'm glad this didn't hit #1 here. Hopefully, we'll see it leave the countdown soon.

Hit-Bound:

• Jennifer Lopez featuring French Montana – Medicine
• Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other
• Kygo featuring Valerie Broussard – Think About You
• Jordan McGraw – Flexible
• The Chainsmokers – Kills You Slowly
• Jonas Brothers – Cool
• SZA featuring The Weeknd and Travis Scott – Power Is Power (DEBUT)
• Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime
• MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less
• Billie Eilish – Bad Guy (DEBUT)
• Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us
• Ava Max – So Am I
• BTS featuring Halsey – Boy With Luv
• lovelytheband – Maybe, I'm Afraid
• Bazzi – Paradise (DEBUT)

Entrant Reviews:
- We have the return of SZA who is collaborating between The Weeknd and Travis Scott with their new single Power Is Power, which is taken from the Game Of Thrones soundtrack. Yeah, everything about the song is just spot on. This reminds me of Pray For Me, which I loved. I love the vocals in this one and the production is neat. I'll be looking forward to seeing that one debut soon.

- Next, we have Billie Eilish who replaces herself on Hit-Bound with Bad Guy. I won't quite say its as good as her other singles. But I still like it mainly because of her unique voice. That's all I have for this one.

- Finally, we have the return of Bazzi with his latest single titled Paradise. Not much I can say about this one. I do like his voice here, but something about the production just doesn't click with me. I'm not sure why. It's not nearly as good as Mine, which I thought had more to it.

Best Hit-Bound Entrant Of The Week: SZA featuring The Weeknd and Travis Scott – Power Is Power

Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
None!

1 – Bad:
15. The Chainsmokers – Kills You Slowly
14. BTS featuring Halsey – Boy With Luv

2 – Mediocre:
13. Jordan McGraw – Flexible

3 – Decent:
12. lovelytheband – Maybe I'm Afraid
11. Bazzi – Paradise
10. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less
9. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other
8. Jonas Brothers – Cool

4 – Good:
7. Ava Max – So Am I

5 – Great:
6. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime
5. Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us
4. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
3. Kygo featuring Valerie Broussard – Think About You
2. Jennifer Lopez featuring French Montana – Medicine

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:
1. SZA featuring The Weeknd and Travis Scott – Power Is Power

Overall Grade: 54/75 = 72% (C–)

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Bruno Mars – Chunky

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. SZA featuring The Weeknd featuring Travis Scott – Power Is Power
2. Jennifer Lopez featuring French Montana – Medicine
3. Kygo featuring Valerie Broussard – Think About You
4. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
5. Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us

Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:

0 – Crap:

20. Lauv featuring Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired...

19. Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE – Happier

1 – Bad:
18. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored

17. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly

2 – Mediocre:

None!

3 – Decent:
16. Halsey – Without Me

4 – Good:

None!

5 – Great:

15. Jonas Brothers – Sucker

14. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes

13. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It
12. P!NK – Walk Me Home

11. Lil Peep featuring iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy – I've Been Waiting

10. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love
9. Dan + Shay – Speechless

8. Avril Lavigne featuring Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde

7. Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah

6. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar

5. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho

4. Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo – Close To Me

3. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

2. Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper – Shallow

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

Overall Grade: 81/100 = 81% (B–)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland – Promiscuous (2006)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Ed Sheeran – The A Team

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Ellie Goulding – Flux

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: The Weeknd featuring Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me (#9)

My Top 5 Picks

1. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger

2. Maren Morris – GIRL

3. Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper – Shallow

4. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

5. Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo – Close To Me

My Bottom 5 Picks

1. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)
2. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings
3. Lauv featuring Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired...

4. Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE – Happier

5. Post Malone – Wow.

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Portugal. The Man – Live In The Moment: This is a step up from Feel It Still, in large part because there's more going on with the production. In addition, they sound much better when singing the chorus. Too bad this didn't last long on the countdown.
NOTD featuring Bea Miller – I Wanna Know: I actually liked this when it was new. But after many listens, it's just not really special anymore. I like her voice for the most part. But the production was just a little too basic here.
ZAYN – Let Me: Not too much I can say about this one. I feel like it's a step down from Dusk Till Dawn. I kinda like his voice here and the lyrics are nice. But ultimately, it just didn't stick with me in the long run.

AT40: Ariana Grande (5) - Week Of April 27, 2019

Hello, fam! So, I'm planning on spending most of my day getting posts done. That way, I can be able to catch up faster. No, I'm not skipping weeks that I missed. I'll be posting all of the weeks at one time. And then, I'll shift my focus towards other things. Here's the first of many posts to come. Before we get to this week's fresh 40, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week:

• Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons (#27)
• Broken by lovelytheband (#38)
• Tequila by Dan + Shay (#40)

The Countdown:

Last Week's #1 Song: 7 Rings by Ariana Grande

40. I Can't Get Enough by Benny Blanco featuring Tainy, Selena Gomez, and J. Balvin (DEBUT)

39. Cool by Jonas Brothers (DEBUT)

38. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B (#37) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]

37. Talk by Khalid (#38) [+1]

36. Better Now by Post Malone (#35) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

35. Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (DEBUT)

34. Beautiful (Remix) by Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello (#33) [–1]

33. Out Of Love by Alessia Cara (#34) [+1]

32. Breathin' by Ariana Grande (#31) [–1]

31. When The Party's Over by Billie Eilish (#36) [+5]

30. I'm So Tired... by Lauv featuring Troye Sivan (#32) [+2]

29. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani (#28) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
28. Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco (#29) [+1]
27. Low Key by Ally Brooke featuring Tyga (#29) [+2]
26. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#25) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
25. Last Hurrah by Bebe Rexha (#24) [–1]
24. Don't Call Me Up by Mabel (#26) [+2]
23. Sicko Mode by Travis Scott featuring Drake (#22) [–1]
22. Shallow by Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper (#23) [+1]
21. You Say by Lauren Daigle (#20) [–1]
20. Happier by Marshmello featuring Bastille (#19) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
19. Here With Me by Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES (#21) [+2]
18. Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande (#16) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
17. Undrunk by FLETCHER (#17) [=]
16. I've Been Waiting by Lil Peep featuring iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy (#18) [+2]
15. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco (#14) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
14. Please Me by Cardi B featuring Bruno Mars (#15) [+1]
13. Who Do You Love by The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer (#15) [+2]
12. Be Alright by Dean Lewis (#12) [=]
11. Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee (#11) [=]
10. Wow. by Post Malone (#9) [–1]
9. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored by Ariana Grande (#10) [+1]
8. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max (#6) [–2]
7. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani (#7) [=]
6. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid (#5) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
5. Without Me by Halsey (#3) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
4. Better by Khalid (#4) [=]

3. Sucker by Jonas Brothers (#8) [+5]

2. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee (#2) [=]

1. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande (#1) [=] [5^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey (2^nd of 4 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Tie between Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande, Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max, and Without Me by Halsey (–2)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Tie between When The Party's Over by Billie Eilish and Sucker by Jonas Brothers (+5)

New Entrants:
- This is another week of not-so great debuts. We'll start with Benny Blanco who has yet another song making its debut. He collaborates with Tainy, Selena Gomez, and J. Balvin in their single called I Can't Get Enough. Benny has impressed me with Eastside, which I still love. But since then, his latest singles have not appealed to me. Earlier this year, he gave us I Found You, which was pretty mediocre. Now, he has I Can Get Enough, which I think is the worst thing he has released. There's nothing really interesting about the song. The production here is basic and at times, underwhelming. The Latin vibe is just not good. It just shows that Benny did not do a good job in the production department. The verses we get from these artists are also pretty underwhelming. To put it short, this is just not a good song. Let's move on.

- Next, we have more of the Jonas Brothers with their latest single titled Cool. There's not a whole lot I can say about this one. Based on the first listen, I think it is a bit of a step down from Sucker, which is a little more upbeat. Sure, the vocals are good and the instrumentation is nice. But it's really not special by any means. There's just something about it that doesn't quite wow me yet. Maybe I'll get into it with more listens. But right now, I think it's only decent.

- Last and definitely least, we have my new worst song of the year so far. And it comes from Lil Nas X with Old Town Road. He just recently released the remix with Billy Ray Cyrus, which is currently #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. For those who don't know, the solo version was on the Hot Country Songs chart at one point in time. But it was removed for whatever reason. So in response, he decided to release the remix. I guess Billy Ray Cyrus wanted to help him out a bit. But anyway, there's a lot wrong with the song, one of which being the production overall. I hate the guitar and the trap beat is not interesting at all. His voice is terrible and his verses have no momentum of any kind whatsoever. The lyrical content is just dumb and pointless. So yeah, this is just garbage and as of right now, it is my least favorite song of the year. Though, that may change as the year continues to go along. We'll see.

Best Debut Of The Week: Cool by Jonas Brothers

I Can't Blurb Enough
- Let's talk about our exits first. To begin, Bad Liar left pretty early. I was hoping that one would catch on especially following the success of Natural. But of course, it ended up getting underrated instead, and it's a shame because I like the song. I was starting to grow out of Broken, but it had a decent run for a band who's not known elsewhere (outside of alternative). Tequila was probably one of the best country songs I've heard in a while, and I was kinda happy about the success it got. While I know there are some who will be happy about it leaving, I'm not one of them.

- It's nice to see Sucker quickly make its way to the Top 5. Even though I don't quite enjoy the song as much as some people, I do hope that it ends up replacing our current #1, which just continues to get worse with each listen.

- On that note, I would like to see Dancing With A Stranger hit #1 at some point, or maybe even Sweet But Psycho. Hopefully, one of those two end up getting there.

- There wasn't much movement on the AT40 for the week, except for big jumps from Sucker and When The Party's Over, which were the highlights.

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
19. Happier by Marshmello featuring Bastille 

1 – Bad:
18. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored by Ariana Grande
17. Wow. by Post Malone

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
16. Be Alright by Dean Lewis
15. Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande
14. Without Me by Halsey

4 – Good:
None!

5 – Great: 
13. Better by Khalid
12. Sucker by Jonas Brothers
11. Please Me by Cardi B featuring Bruno Mars
10. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco
9. I've Been Waiting by Lil' Peep featuring iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy
8. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid
7. Here With Me by Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES
6. Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee
5. Undrunk by FLETCHER
4. Who Do You Love by The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer
3. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max
2. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee

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

Total Score: 77/100 = 77% (C+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Too Close by Next (1997)

Most Missed Song: Alejandro by Lady Gaga

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: ME! by Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Pray For Me by The Weeknd featuring Kendrick Lamar (#5)

My Top 5 Picks

1. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani
2. You Say by Lauren Daigle
3. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max
4. Shallow by Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper 
5. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Old Town Road by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
2. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
3. Sicko Mode by Travis Scott featuring Drake
4. I'm So Tired... by Lauv featuring Troye Sivan
5. Happier by Marshmello featuring Bastille

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Everyday by Marshmello featuring Logic:
One Kiss by Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa:

AT40: Ariana Grande (4) - Week Of April 20, 2019

Hello, fam. I don't really have anything to say for my introduction at this moment. We still have the same annoying #1 song for the week, and our debuts this week aren't really that good. But oh well. Can't really do anything about that. Before we get to this week's fresh 40, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week:

• 365 by Zedd featuring Katy Perry (#28)
• God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande (#40) [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

The Countdown:

Last Week's #1 Song: 7 Rings by Ariana Grande

40. Tequila by Dan + Shay (#25) [–15]

39. Broken by lovelytheband (#38) [–1]

38. Talk by Khalid (DEBUT)

37. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B (#35) [–2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]

36. When The Party's Over by Billie Eilish (#39) [+3]

35. Better Now by Post Malone (#34) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

34. Out Of Love by Alessia Cara (#37) [+3]

33. Beautiful (Remix) by Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello (#32) [–1]

32. I'm So Tired by Lauv featuring Troye Sivan (DEBUT)

31. Breathin' by Ariana Grande (#30) [–1]

30. Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco (#36) [+6]

29. Low Key by Ally Brooke featuring Tyga (#33) [+4]

28. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani (#27) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

27. Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons (#22) [–5]

26. Don't Call Me Up by Mabel (#31) [+5]

25. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#23) [–2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

24. Last Hurrah by Bebe Rexha (#24) [=]

23. Shallow by Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper (#29) [+6]

22. Sicko Mode by Travis Scott featuring Drake (#20) [–2]

21. Here With Me by Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES (#26) [+5]

20. You Say by Lauren Daigle (#21) [+1]
19. Happier by Marshmello featuring Bastille (#16) [–3] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
18. I've Been Waiting by Lil Peep featuring iLoveMakonnen and Fally Out Boy (#19) [+1]
17. Undrunk by FLETCHER (#18) [+1]
16. Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande (#12) [–4] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
15. Who Do You Love by The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer (#17) [+2]
14. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco (#9) [–5] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
13. Please Me by Cardi B featuring Bruno Mars (#14) [+1]
12. Be Alright by Dean Lewis (#15) [+2]
11. Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee (#10) [–1]
10. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored by Ariana Grande (#11) [+1]
9. Wow. by Post Malone (#8) [–1]
8. Sucker by Jonas Brothers (#13) [+5]
7. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani (#7) [=]
6. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max (#6) [=]
5. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid (#4) [–1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
4. Better by Khalid (#5) [+1]
3. Without Me by Halsey (#2) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
2. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee (#3) [+1]
1. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande (#1) [=] [4^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey (1^st of 4 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Tequila by Dan + Shay (–15)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Tie between Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! At The Disco and Shallow by Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper (+6)

New Entrants:
- We have two not-so interesting debuts for the week. To begin, we have Khalid with his next single titled Talk. I remember first hearing the song when it was on the YouTube 15 a while back. It's a bit of a step down from its predecessor. While I like Khalid's voice in general, he doesn't exactly shine here in the song. I find the production to be a little underwhelming. Something about it just doesn't work for me. Maybe this will end up growing on me, but right now I just find this okay.

- Then, we have the return of Lauv and he's collaborating with Troye Sivan in their latest single titled I'm So Tired.... I have not been very fond of Lauv's music. Last year, he gave us I Like Me Better which was one of my worst songs for 2018. As far as his latest single goes, it's not quite as bad. But it is still underwhelming overall. I'll admit the production is okay and not as cringe-worthy as in I Like Me Better. But Lauv's voice doesn't sound good here. I'm not feeling the lyrics. Troye couldn't save the song unfortunately. I do like his part here, though. But that's the only good thing about it. So yeah, this is just plain bad and I hope it doesn't last long here.

Best Debut Of The Week: Talk by Khalid

Can We Just Blurb?
- As far as our two exits go, we say goodbye to 365. That one didn't really take off unlike The Middle which was one of the biggest hits of last year. While I didn't quite loved 365 as much as I did The Middle, it was still pretty fun overall. We also say goodbye to God Is A Woman. As controversial as the song was, I loved it (and I still do) mainly because Ariana has a great voice and she shines in the chorus. I'm glad it was successful. That song will be missed by me.

- Yikes! Tequila made a massive drop all the way down to #40. Looks like the song's tenure is coming to an end unfortunately. It had a decent run on most charts and it was pretty successful. So I'm happy about that.

- It was only a matter of time before Sucker made its way into the Top 10. This is definitely going to be #1 soon, and I'll be fine with that.

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
19. Sicko Mode by Travis Scott featuring Drake
18. Happier by Marshmello featuring Bastille 

1 – Bad:
17. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored by Ariana Grande
16. Wow. by Post Malone

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
15. Without Me by Halsey
14. Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande

4 – Good:
13. Be Alright by Dean Lewis

5 – Great: 
12. Better by Khalid
11. Sucker by Jonas Brothers
10. Please Me by Cardi B featuring Bruno Mars
9. High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco
8. I've Been Waiting by Lil' Peep featuring iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy
7. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid
6. Sunflower by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee
5. Undrunk by FLETCHER
4. Who Do You Love by The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer
3. Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max
2. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee
1. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani

Total Score: 77/100 = 77% (C+)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani
2. You Say by Lauren Daigle
3. Shallow by Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper
4. Close To Me by Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo and Swae Lee
5. Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. 7 Rings by Ariana Grande
2. Sicko Mode by Travis Scott featuring Drake
3. Happier by Marshmello featuring Bastille
4. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored by Ariana Grande
5. Wow. by Post Malone

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Trust Fund Baby by Why Don't We:
Alone by Halsey featuring Big Sean and Stefflon Don:

Jonas Brothers (3) - Week Of April 13, 2019

Hello, fam! Once again, it's a very late post. I know, it's been a very slow process. But my work schedule has been killing me lately. I'm just gonna skip the introductions and get right to the post. Before we get to this week's fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week:

• Meghan Trainor – All the Ways (#39)
• LSD featuring Lil Wayne – Genius (Remix) (#40)
• Madison Beer featuring Offset – Hurts Like Hell (#41)
• Charlie Puth – The Way I Am (#44)
• Bebe Rexha – I'm A Mess (#45)

The Countdown:
Last Week's #1 Song: Jonas Brothers – Sucker
45. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies (#43) [–2]
44. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#42) [–2] [Spent 1 Week at #1]
43. Post Malone featuring Swae Lee – Sunflower (#20) [–23]
42. Maren Morris – GIRL (#35) [–7]
41. Cardi B featuring Bruno Mars – Please Me (#38) [–3]
40. FLETCHER – Undrunk (DEBUT)
39. Grandson – Apologize (#31) [–8]
38. Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next (#37) [–1]
37. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood (#33) [–4] [Spent 5 Weeks at #1]
36. Anne-Marie – 2002 (#28) [–8]
35. Jake Miller – Wait For You (#26) [–9]
34. Kelsea Ballerini – Miss Me More (#25) [–9]
33. Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid – Eastside (#14) [–19]
32. Marshmello featuring CHRVCHES – Here With Me (DEBUT)
31. Ciara – Thinkin Bout You (DEBUT)
30. Austin Brown – In Betweenin' (#22) [–8]
29. Lil Peep featuring iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy – I've Been Waiting (#29) [=]
28. Avril Lavigne featuring Nicki Minaj – Dumb Blonde (DEBUT)
27. Lizzo – Juice (#34) [+7]
26. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#12) [–14]
25. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored (DEBUT)
24. YUNGBLUD & Halsey featuring Travis Barker – 11 Minutes (#27) [+3]
23. Post Malone – Wow. (#36) [+13]
22. P!NK – Walk Me Home (#23) [+1]
21. Ally Brooke featuring Tyga – Low Key (#32) [+11]
20. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – Chlorine (#19) [–1]
19. Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah (#30) [+11]
18. Dean Lewis – Be Alright (#15) [–3]
17. Khalid – Better (#24) [+7]
16. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#8) [–8]
15. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (#11) [–4]
14. Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper – Shallow (#17) [+3]
13. Lauv featuring Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired... (#16) [+3]
12. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#21) [+9]
11. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (#18) [+7]
10. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#13) [+3] [Spent 8 Weeks at #1]
9. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling (#7) [–2] [Spent 7 Weeks at #1]
8. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#4) [–4]
7. Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo – Close to Me (#9) [+2]
6. Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE – Happier (#10) [+4] [Spent 2 Weeks at #1]
5. Halsey – Without Me (#6) [+1] [Spent 5 Weeks at #1]
4. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#3) [–1]
3. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#2) [–3]
2. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#5) [+2] [Spent 3 Weeks at #1]
1. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#1) [=] [3^rd Week at #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle (6^th of 9 Weeks At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! of the Week: Post Malone featuring Swae Lee – Sunflower (–23)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Post Malone – Wow. (+13)

New Entrants:
- To kick things off, we have a newcomer making her first appearance on the Weekend Countdown. FLETCHER brings us her single titled Undrunk. This was on the YouTube 15 earlier this year and I gave a brief review of the song. I thought it was pretty good for the most part. But it has gotten better with each listen. I think FLETCHER has a good voice and she uses it well in the song. The production is pretty neat, and the lyrical content is well written. Overall, I'm in love with the song.

- Next, we have more of Marshmello, and this time around, he collaborates with the alternative band CHVRCHES in their latest single called Here With Me. I personally think this is a step up from what Marshmello had done previously. Friends was just straight up garbage and one of my least favorite songs of last year, and Happier isn't very good either. As far as Here With Me goes, the production is better. Marshmello did a nice job overall as a DJ. Lauren Bradberry's voice is amazing. I think she shines in the chorus. I do like the lyrics as well. So yeah, this is really good and I hope to see it do well.

- We have the return of Ciara with her comeback single titled Thinkin Bout You. We haven't heard much of Ciara in a while. This is just fun! Although it can be repetitive at times, I do like everything about it. Ciara doesn't disappoint me with her voice at all. I love the chorus in this one, and the production here is just awesome. I hope it ends up being successful.

- Next, we have an interesting collaboration between two artists: Avril Lavigne and Nicki Minaj. They give us their single titled Dumb Blonde. When I first heard about a possible collaboration between those two, I was interested coming in. After listening to the song in full, I was happy with the way it turned out. Avril sounds good here. I like the verse we get from Nicki Minaj. I think she has a good flow here. The production is pretty solid as well. Sure, it may be controversial on its own. But everything about the song works well.

- Last and definitely least, we have Ariana Grande with another single from Thank U, Next called Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored. I'll say that it is a step up from 7 Rings. But that's not saying too much because there's nothing about the song that really appeals to me. I don't like the lyrics and I hate the beat. However, I do like her voice and she sounds better here. That's probably the only redeeming quality I can say about the song. So yeah, not a good song overall.

Best Debut Of The Week: Ciara – Thinkin Bout You

I've Been Thinkin Bout Blurbs
- Our five exits for the week mostly comes from songs that deserved to go. Hurts Like Hell was a step down from its predecessor that I liked last year. I wasn't really fond of Genius even though it's slightly better than most of LSD's music. It's about time we got rid of the atrocious mess that is of I'm A Mess. I genuinely hope to never have to suffer through this song again. The Way I Am had been here for a while and I was ready for that one to leave. With that, this is the first time we don't have any songs from Charlie Puth on the countdown. The only song that I'm really sad about leaving is All The Ways. It's a damn shame that Meghan Trainor's music is underrated. That song deserves better in my opinion. But of course, it's just not meant to be.

- Seriously, Hits 1? Was is really a good idea to allow songs like Eastside and Sunflower (especially the former) to drop this many spots?!?! I'm definitely not okay with this. I hope they hang around for a little while longer.

- GIRL and Miss Me More aren't doing as well as I hoped, which is very disappointing because I find both of the songs to be amazing. But at least they're here. It's a shame because both Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris are very talented singers.

- On that note, Tequila took a massive drop this week as well. I can't really say that's disappointing to me because it has had a nice run on this countdown. I still enjoy the song, however. We'll see how long it can stick around.

- In it's place, we have Speechless making it back to the Top 20. That I'm definitely cool with. It's just as good as its predecessor. I'm glad it is still here.

Hit-Bound:

Alec Benjamin was the guest host for Hit-Bound that weekend as he took over for Mikey Piff. Here's the full list:

• Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix) (DEBUT)
• Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend
• NOTD featuring Felix Jaehn, Captain Cuts, and Georgia Ku – So Close
• BTS featuring Halsey – Boy With Luv (Remix) (DEBUT)
• lovelytheband – Maybe, I'm Afraid
• MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less
• Ava Max – So Am I
• Jonas Brothers – Cool
• Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime
• Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other (DEBUT)
• Kygo featuring Valerie Broussard – Think About You
• Jordan McGraw – Flexible
• Jennifer Lopez featuring French Montana – Medicine (DEBUT)
• Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us
• The Chainsmokers – Kills You Slowly (DEBUT)

Entrant Reviews:

- We'll kick things off with my new least favorite song of the year so far. It's from Lil Nas X and he brings us the remix of Old Town Road with Billy Ray Cyrus. I won't really go in-depth about it's origins. But I'll tell you that the remix just recently came out and thus, it ended up hitting #1 on Billboard. As far as the song goes, everything about it is shit. I hate the beat and his vocals are terrible. Billy Ray Cyrus himself doesn't sound good in the remix. As of right now, it is my least favorite song of the year. I'll talk more about it in the next post.

- Up next, we have a collaboration between the K-Pop band BTS and Halsey in the remix of Boy With Luv. There's really nothing I like about the song for the most part. While the production is okay, the rest of the song is just unappealing. Halsey is a non-factor in the song even though she is featured in it. More on this when it debuts.

- With Alec Benjamin hosting that weekend, he brings us his new single titled If We Have Each Other. I do think this is a step up from Let Me Down Slowly. Although I'm not too fond of his voice, he does sound slightly better in the song. I think this song has a better chance of growing on me than its predecessor.

- Next, we have the return of Jennifer Lopez, and she collaborates with French Montana in their new single titled Medicine. Earlier this year, she gave us Limitless, which I did like. I can pretty much say the same for Medicine. I think Jennifer sounds good here and French Montana's contribution is solid as well. Do I think it's her best song overall? Not really, she has had better. But this is still a good song and I hope to see it debut soon.

- Lastly, we have more of The Chainsmokers with their next single called Kills You Slowly. I can't say I'm loving this one. I'm not a fan of Drew's voice in the song. He just doesn't sound good. The production is not very good here, either. I feel like they put forth a lazy effort with the song. I'll talk more about the song should it debut.

Best Hit-Bound Entrant Of The Week: Jennifer Lopez featuring French Montana – Medicine

Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
15. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)

1 – Bad:
14. The Chainsmokers – Kills You Slowly
13. BTS featuring Halsey – Boy With Luv (Remix)

2 – Mediocre:
12. Jordan McGraw – Flexible

3 – Decent:
11. lovelytheband – Maybe I'm Afraid
10. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less
9. Alec Benjamin – If We Have Each Other
8. NOTD featuring Felix Jaehn, Captain Cuts, and Georgia Ku – So Close

4 – Good:
7. Jonas Brothers – Cool
6. Ava Max – So Am I

5 – Great:

5. Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us

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

3. Jennifer Lopez featuring French Montana – Medicine 

2. Kygo featuring Valerie Broussard – Think About You

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:

1. Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend

Overall Grade: 50/75 = 66% (D+)

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

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend
2. Kygo featuring Valerie Broussard – Think About You
3. Jennifer Lopez featuring French Montana – Medicine
4. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime
5. Louis Tomlinson – Two Of Us

Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:

0 – Crap:

20. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings
19. Lauv featuring Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired...

18. Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE – Happier

1 – Bad:

17. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly

2 – Mediocre:

16. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – Chlorine

3 – Decent:

15. Halsey – Without Me

4 – Good:

14. Dean Lewis – Be Alright

5 – Great:

13. Khalid – Better

12. Jonas Brothers – Sucker

11. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes

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

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

8. Post Malone featuring Swae Lee – Sunflower

7. Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah

6. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar

5. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho

4. Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo – Close To Me

3. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling

2. Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper – Shallow

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

Overall Grade: 76/100 = 76% (C)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (1983)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Alesso featuring Tove Lo – Heroes (We Could Be)

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Ellie Goulding – Flux

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B – Finesse (Remix) (#9)

My Top 5 Picks
1. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger
2. Maren Morris – GIRL
3. Lady Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper – Shallow
4. The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini – This Feeling
5. Ellie Goulding featuring Diplo – Close To Me

My Bottom 5 Picks

1. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings
2. Lauv featuring Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired

3. Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE – Happier

4. Post Malone – Wow.

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

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Drake – God's Plan: This was Drake's biggest hit this past year and the #1 song of 2018 on Billboard. Despite this, it didn't do so well on Hits 1. There's really nothing about the song that appeals to me. But if anything, he has done a lot worse than this.