Ed Sheeran (1) - Week Of October 14, 2017

Hello, friends! So, my blog has reached 20,000 Pageviews! Again, thanks to everyone who's been reading my blog! I'll try to come up with a special post sometime next week. This was an interesting week for the most part. We have a new #1, which I'm very thrilled about, and we have a song that I've been waiting for that just arrived on Hit-Bound! You'll see what I'm talking about later. Before we get to this week's fresh 45, here are the songs exiting the countdown this week:

• Hey Violet - Hoodie (#45)

The Countdown:

Last Week's #1 Song: Liam Payne - Strip That Down

45. Louis Tomlinson featuring Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals - Back To You (#43) [-2]

44. Kygo featuring Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me (#42) [-2]

43. MAX featuring Gnash - Lights Down Low (#41) [-2]

42. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like (#44) [+2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

41. Charlie Puth - Attention (#29) [-12]

40. The All-American Rejects - Sweat (#25) [-15]

39. Zedd featuring Liam Payne - Get Low (#36) [-3]

38. Lady Gaga - The Cure (#40) [+2]

37. Harry Styles - Two Ghosts (#39) [+2]

36. Justin Bieber featuring BloodPop® - Friends (#33) [-3]

35. Panic! At The Disco - L.A. Devotee (#30) [-5]

34. Selena Gomez - Fetish (#31) [-3]

33. The Script - Rain (#32) [-1]

32. Sabrina Carpenter - Why (#35) [+3]

31. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (#37) [+6] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]

30. Charlie Puth - How Long (DEBUT) [=]

29. Linkin Park - One More Light (#34) [+5]

28. Zedd featuring Alessia Cara - Stay (#27) [-1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]

27. The Revivalists - Wish I Knew You (#21) [-6]

26. Camila Cabello - Havana (#23) [-3]

25. Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes (#24) [-1]

24. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line and Watt - Let Me Go (#38) [+14]

23. Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee - Despacito (#22) [-1]

22. Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It? (#17) [-5]

21. Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill (#26) [+5]

20. Kesha - Praying (#14) [-6]

19. Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato - No Promises (#18) [-1]

18. Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road (#28) [+10] (Are you kidding me?!)

17. Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid - 1-800-273-8255 (#20) [+3]

16. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft (#19) [+3]

15. Imagine Dragons - Believer (#11) [-4] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

14. Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey - Glorious (#8) [-6]

13. Maroon 5 featuring SZA - What Lovers Do (#16) [+3]

12. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do (#12) [=] (Get back in the Top 10, please!)

11. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still (#9) [-2]

10. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay - Something Just Like This (#13) [+3] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

9. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#5) [-4] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]

8. Halsey - Bad At Love (#15) [+7]

7. P!NK - What About Us (#7) [=]

6. Mono Mind - Save Me A Place (#6) [=]

5. Niall Horan - Slow Hands (#3) [-2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

4. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry (#10) [+6]

3. Imagine Dragons - Thunder (#4) [+1]

2. Liam Payne - Strip That Down (#1) [-1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

1. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl (#2) [+1] [FIRST WEEK AT #1!!!]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey - Closer (3rd Of 8 Weeks At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: The All-American Rejects - Sweat (-15)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line and Watt - Let Me Go (+14)

New Entrants

- As Attention is dying out here and everywhere else, Charlie Puth decides to go ahead and release a follow-up single. Enter How Long, his second single off of his upcoming album, VoiceNotes, due out sometime in early 2018. This is basically part 2 of Attention, in which it talks about a relationship. Similar to its predecessor, it has a nice groove to it. Now, do I think this is better than Attention? I can't say yet, but I do like it for now at least. We'll see how far it gets.

I'll Drive A Million Miles, To Blurb With You Tonight

- For our exit, we've lost Hoodie, which was indeed more likable to the blogging community. A part of me kinda wishes that Hey Violet would have a respectable hit at least, since they seem to be getting better with each single they've released, but the public just isn't buying into their music. Oh well, maybe another day.

- Before introducing It Ain't Me, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Selena Gomez was with The Weeknd at Comic-Con where he launched his new comic called "Starboy". I liked how Spyder said the name itself, in a superhero tone. I wonder, is The Weeknd going to get in the comic business soon? Let's hope it doesn't interfere with him still making music!

- Before introducing Attention, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Charlie Puth wrote this song about Bella Thorne during an interview with Ellen DeGeneres. I wonder, did he intend for this song to be about their relationship or was it just about her in general? Hmm...no one really knows.

- Just as I was growing into Sweat, it took a massive drop all the way down to #40 this week. Dang!

- Spyder Harrison mentioned upon introducing Get Low that Liam Payne's sister just had a baby. Congrats on being an uncle, Liam!

- Before introducing Two Ghosts, Spyder Harrison mentioned that a girl lost it when she got tickets to see Harry Styles perform live. I'm guessing with that reaction, she seems to be a huge fan of him. I remember my cousin giving me tickets for a concert and though I didn't have the same excitement as she did, I still very much enjoyed it. Someday, I like to go to another concert, which hopefully features a big name artist!  That would be so cool!

- So, Spyder Harrison mentioned during his introduction for Friends that Justin Bieber is looking into acting. I wonder how will he work that out, what with him being as overexposed as he is right now. But then again, since people are tired of hearing his music at this point, maybe that'll be the best choice for him. I wonder what genre he'll start out with? Hmm...we'll just have to find out!

- Before introducing Fetish, Spyder Harrison once again talked about Selena Gomez's relationship with The Weeknd. He mentioned that both herself The Weeknd would take vacations so they could spend time together. I wish there were more couples like this who would do things like this together.

- Three of our four debuts from last week did nothing but dropped this week. Meanwhile, only Let Me Go jumped this week, and it was a big jump, too. It's good to see this song starting to catch on.

- I'm not thrilled to see that Praying is just going to continue to drop like this. Just a few weeks ago, it was #5. Since then, it's been falling quite steadily. Oh well, at least it managed to hit the Top 5.

- Don't even get me started on Body Like A Back Road jumping back into the Top 20. I can't believe I jinxed it when I said I wanted it to leave last week.

- Okay, so the person from the hotline crisis talked with Spyder Harrison about the song from Logic, which has actually helped more people. As I've said, it's nice to have a song that people can relate to. Plus, it's been getting better for me with each listen.

- This is the first time in seemingly forever that There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back is NOT in the Top 5. It had a great run while it lasted. I'm thankful this managed to spend 5 weeks at #1.

- So, Spyder Harrison mentioned during his introduction for What About Us that P!NK's biggest critic is actually her daughter. I mean, really? My guess is, she probably listens to her music a lot and tells her which song is the best, heh.

- Speaking of our Top 5, we have Sorry Not Sorry back up there. Now if I'm being honest, my interest in this song is starting to wane a bit, as you can see. Other than some cool lines and some pretty good lyrics, the chorus in this one can be painful for some ears, as well as mine. I'm starting to get some mixed opinions about this one, also. And bad news for some, it could potentially hit #1 at some point, since it's still gaining elsewhere. Me, personally, I'd be okay with it. If anything, I'll take it over Strip That Down any day.

- And that brings us to our #1 song this week, in which Ed Sheeran manages to reclaim the top spot once again, this time with Galway Girl. I'm very pleased to see it get there as I consider Galway Girl to be a more superior single off of Divide. Despite this song not hitting big elsewhere and its successor is waiting in the wings, Hits 1 somehow managed to get this on the countdown, because they love Ed Sheeran. With the year he's been having so far, I'm not a surprised. But I'm definitely happy that it hit #1, and I'm hoping it stays there for a while.

Hit-Bound

• Why Don't We - Something Different
• Bruno Mars - Chunky (DEBUT)
• Evaride - Heartless
• Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask
• PRETTYMUCH - Would You Mind
• Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line - Meant To Be
• Ed Sheeran - Perfect
• Nick Jonas - Find You
• Post Malone featuring 21 Savage - Rockstar
• Dua Lipa - New Rules
• X Ambassadors - Ahead Of Myself
• ZAYN featuring Sia - Dusk Till Dawn
• Lauv - I Like Me Better
• Fergie featuring Nicki Minaj - You Already Know

- On this week's edition of Hit-Bound, we have more Bruno Mars once again, and this time, he brings us his new single titled Chunky. Pretty much everyone wanted this as his next single off of 24K Magic, and for a very good reason. It definitely has that funky vibe to it much like some of his other songs off the album. I'll have more on this when it debuts. But yeah, I'm definitely loving this at the moment!

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Bruno Mars - Chunky

2. PRETTYMUCH - Would You Mind

3. Ed Sheeran - Perfect

4. Dua Lipa - New Rules

5. ZAYN featuring Sia - Dusk Till Dawn

Top 20 Review:

0 - Awful:

20. Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road

1 - Bad:

19. Liam Payne - Strip That Down

2 - Mediocre:
None!

3 - Decent:
None!

4 - Good:
18. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry
17. Halsey - Bad At Love
16. Niall Horan - Slow Hands

5 - Great:
15. Imagine Dragons - Believer
14. Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato - No Promises
13. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft
12. Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey - Glorious
11. Imagine Dragons - Thunder
10. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still
9. Maroon 5 featuring SZA - What Lovers Do
8. P!NK - What About Us
7. Mono Mind - Save Me A Place
6. Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid - 1-800-273-8255
5. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay - Something Just Like This
4. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back
3. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do

BONUS: 6 - Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: 1. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl
TIE: 1. Kesha - Praying

Overall Grade: 90/100 (A-)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Boyz II Men - I'll Make Love To You (1994)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do 

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Macklemore featuring Kesha - Good Old Days

Favorite Countdown Song One Year Ago: DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber - Let Me Love You

My Top 5 Picks

TIE: 1. Kesha - Praying
TIE: 1. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl

3. Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It?

4. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do

5. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

My Bottom 5 Picks

1. Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road

2. Selena Gomez - Fetish

3. Sabrina Carpenter - Why

4. MAX featuring Gnash - Lights Down Low

5. Liam Payne - Strip That Down

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Nick Jonas - Bacon: It's quite a funny song if you ask me, and I do love how Nick Jonas used a kitchen set to perform this song in the 2016 VMAs.
Bruno Mars - 24K Magic: Ah yes, Bruno Mars's return to music. I call this Uptown Funk 2.0. It's really sad that, even after the long gap between this and its predecessor, some people are still not too fond of his funky new sound.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Breakouts/On The Verge:

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

Extras/Optional Extras:

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

Top 20 Breakdown:

0 - Awful:

None!

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

2 - Mediocre:
None!

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

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

14. Attention by Charlie Puth

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

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

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

Most Missed Song: Into You by Ariana Grande

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

My Top 5 Picks

1. Praying by Kesha

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

3. Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift

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

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

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

Liam Payne (2) - Week Of October 7, 2017

Hey there, friends! So as I mentioned yesterday in my introduction, there was a mass shooting in Las Vegas Sunday night which killed many people and injured many others. It really broke my heart into a million pieces after hearing this news. Again, my prayers go out to their families during this very difficult time. Let's get to the countdown, shall we? I'll say this, though: how about that! This week was quite a step up from last week.  Despite having the same mediocre #1, we have a much better class of entrants, and there was some good activity going on. With that being said, here are the songs dropping out this week:

• Hailee Steinfeld - Most Girls (#45)
• Andy Grammer - Give Love (#37)
• Bruno Mars - Versace On The Floor (#32)
• All Time Low - Good Times (#42)

The Countdown:

Last Week's #1 Song: Liam Payne - Strip That Down

45. Hey Violet - Hoodie (#43) [-2]

44. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like (#44) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

43. Louis Tomlinson featuring Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals - Back To You (#29) [-14]

42. Kygo featuring Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me (#40) [-2]

41. MAX featuring Gnash - Lights Down Low (#39) [-2]

40. Lady Gaga - The Cure (#41) [+1]

39. Harry Styles - Two Ghosts (#31) [-8]

38. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line and Watt - Let Me Go (DEBUT) [=]

37. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (#36) [-1] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]

36. Zedd featuring Liam Payne - Get Low (#34) [-2]

35. Sabrina Carpenter - Why (#38) [+3]

34. Linkin Park - One More Light (#33) [-1]

33. Justin Bieber featuring BloodPop® - Friends (#36) [+3]

32. The Script - Rain (DEBUT) [=]

31. Selena Gomez - Fetish (#30) [-1]

30. Panic! At The Disco - L.A. Devotee (#30) [-4]

29. Charlie Puth - Attention (#23) [-6] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

28. Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road (#28) [=]

27. Zedd featuring Alessia Cara - Stay (#21) [-6] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]

26. Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill (#24) [-2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

25. The All-American Rejects - Sweat (#17) [-8]

24. Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes (#16) [-8]

23. Camila Cabello - Havana (DEBUT) [=]

22. Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee - Despacito (#19) [-3]

21. The Revivalists - Wish I Knew You (#20) [-1]

20. Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid - 1-800-273-8255 (#25) [+5]

19. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft (#18) [-1]

18. Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato - No Promises (#27) [+9]

17. Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It? (HIGHEST DEBUT OF THE WEEK!) [=]

16. Maroon 5 featuring SZA - What Lovers Do (#23) [+7]

15. Halsey - Bad At Love (#15) [=]

14. Kesha - Praying (#10) [-4]

13. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay - Something Just Like This (#9) [=] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

12. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do (#13) [+1]

11. Imagine Dragons - Believer (#14) [+3] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

10. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry (#4) [-6]

9. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still (#12) [+3]

8. Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey - Glorious (#11) [+3]

7. P!NK - What About Us (#8) [+1]

6. Mono Mind - Save Me A Place (#7) [+1]

5. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#5) [=] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]

4. Imagine Dragons - Thunder (#6) [+2]

3. Niall Horan - Slow Hands (#3) [=] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

2. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl (#2) [=]

1. Liam Payne - Strip That Down (#1) [=] [2nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey - Closer (2nd of 8 Weeks At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Louis Tomlinson featuring Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals - Back To You (-14)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato - No Promises (+9)

New Entrants

- As I've said, this week class of entrants are much better than last week. Let's begin with our first debut of the week. As one song from Hailee Steinfeld departs, another comes to take its place. Enter Let Me Go, in which she collaborates with Alesso, Florida Georgia Line, and Watt.  This is a step up from Starving, both in terms of the production and the lyrical content. If you think about it, it's actually a sweet song for the most part. Hailee Steinfeld has proven that she has great vocals, as she shows in this track. Florida Georgia Line also contributes to the song very well. I like how their vocals blend together, especially when the chorus kicks in. Also, we have Alesso making a great impression in terms of the EDM production. Overall, it's a win for all four of these artists. We'll see how far this one goes.

- So, who remembers  The Script? Well, they're back, and this time, they're bringing us their new single called Rain. It's quite something different than what we're getting from these guys. There's that tropical vibe to it, something we've never heard from The Script. It kinda reminds me of Shape Of You, in which it has that simplicity to it. Overall, mostly everything about this one works for me.

- Next up, for our second-highest debut of the week, we have more Camila Cabello.  And this time around, she brought us Havana. I'll admit, my reaction wasn't as good at the first listen. Now, I do like the piano work here, and Camila has somewhat improved on her vocals. Hits 1 did edit out Yung Thug's verses, and that's good since I don't think he contributes to it too much. Right now, I don't have much of an opinion on this one.

- Finally, we have the all-important debut of the week. At #17, Taylor Swift comes in with her second song here. Enter ...Ready For It?, her second single off of her upcoming album, Reputation. I talked about this one when it made its debut on the American Top 40 yesterday. But to sum it all up, this song is less polarizing than Look What You Made Me Do in terms of critical reception. It sounds much more like the Taylor Swift people know & love. There is more singing going than that of its predecessor, and the lyrical content has improved, which is the reason why many find this much more likable. It also has that game-day feel to it. In fact, This was first used in a commercial for a college football game, where she put a snippet of that song on there. Overall, Taylor Swift impresses me once again with her music.

Baby, Let The Blurbs Begin!

As the title says, let the blurbs begin! So, get ready to read some blurbs about this round!

- We'll start with our exits. To begin, Versace On The Floor sadly got the boot. It's a shame that many people have underrated this song as opposed to his predecessors. As for the other three exits, Give Love took a brutal exit after that huge drop last week. Fun fact: this is the third week in a row in which the song that had the Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week the previous week left the following week. Good Times was good for a while, but didn't really stick with me in the long run. I'm sure some people will be sad about Most Girls leaving, but I'm okay with its departure.

- Back To You taking a massive drop into the bottom 5 is nothing but bad news. It just left the American Top 40 this week, and it doesn't look like it's going to be here much longer either. Too bad most people can't appreciate Louis Tomlinson's music, or even Bebe Rexha's for the matter.

- So, for some people who are tired of the Fast & The Furious franchise, I've got bad news for you: I just heard there's going to be another movie coming out in 2019. I'm interested to see how this next one goes.

- I can't help but cringe every time I hear the line "Got a girl from the south side". That song is still so annoying, if you know what I'm talking about. I'm hoping it leaves soon, like right now. But sadly, since I jinxed it, watch it take a massive jump within the next week or so.

- Oh, this is just great. I grew into Sweat and of course, it decides to drop out of the Top 20. Just great.

- No Promises took a very nice jump back into the Top 20. It's almost like that big drop from last week never happened. It helps that it's still somewhat gaining traction in terms of radio.

- Our new top 10 entrants consists of Feel It Still & Glorious, the former which appears to be a sleeper hit as it is still gaining on all fronts.  It's good to see a song like this catch on to the public. The latter is also welcome in that region, although it's starting to lose its edge elsewhere, so I don't know how long it'll stay in the Top 10.

- In some music news, Shawn Mendes has confirmed via his twitter page that he is planning to start working on his new album within the next week or so. Now the question is, will he change up the sound or will he stick to his acoustic tracks? Time will tell on that.

- As far as the rest of the Top 5 goes, not too much has changed except we have Thunder making its arrival, which has been getting bigger than most of us have expected, in large part due to sales and radio gains. Also, Liam Payne reigns at the top for a second week in a row, which is also not a surprise. While I'm not as infuriated as others, I'm not really wild about it staying there. But since everyone still loves One Direction so much, I can see the appeal to it.

Hit-Bound

• Lauv - I Like Me Better
• ZAYN featuring Sia - Dusk Till Dawn
• X Ambassadors - Ahead Of Myself (DEBUT)
• Charlie Puth - How Long (DEBUT)
• Ed Sheeran - Perfect
• Post Malone featuring 21 Savage - Rockstar
• Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask
• PRETTYMUCH - Would You Mind
• Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line - Meant To Be
• Nick Jonas - Find You (DEBUT)
• Evaride - Heartless
• Fergie featuring Nicki Minaj - You Already Know
• Dua Lipa - New Rules
• Why Don't We - Something Different

- On the note of Hit-Bound, we have three new songs making their arrival this week. First, we'll begin with the return of the X Ambassadors. Enter Ahead Of Myself, their first new single in over a year. Right off the bat, this is a step up from Unsteady, which was rather weak all around despite having a good message. As for this one, it doesn't have the same kind of message. However, it does have that acoustic feel to it.  I'll have more to say about this when it debuts. 

- So, Charlie Puth is back for another round, huh? Well, he has his new single titled How Long. This is basically Attention 2.0, albeit a little less. Still, Charlie Puth shows he has improved after the trainwreck that is of his last album Nine Track Mind. I'll have more on this should it make its inevitable debut.

- Finally, we have Nick Jonas making his return to music with his new single, Find You. This one does have a good beat to it, though the rest of the song is a little underwhelming. Not much else I can say about it.

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. PRETTYMUCH - Would You Mind

2. Ed Sheeran - Perfect

3. Dua Lipa - New Rules

4. Evaride - Heartless

5. ZAYN featuring Sia - Dusk Till Dawn

YouTube 15

Surprise! You guys didn't think I was going to review the YouTube 15 for two weeks in a row, huh? Well, anyway, here's the list of songs trending this week:

• Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes
• Avicii featuring Rita Ora - Lonely Together
• HAIM - Little Of Your Love
• Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee - Despacito
• Charli XCX - Boys
• DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller - Wild Thoughts
• Olivia Holt - Generous
• Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid - 1-800-273-8255
• Kygo featuring Sasha Sloan - This Town
• Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry
• Ofenbach & Nick Waterhouse - Katchi
• Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do
• Fifth Harmony - He Like That
• French Montana featuring Swae Lee - Unforgettable
• Noah Cyrus featuring XXXtentacion - Again

- We have more Haim with their new single titled Little Of Your Love. It's a little more vibrant than its predecessor, Want You Back, which I talked about a few months ago when it was on here. The melody is pretty divine, and I like how the girls showcase their vocals in this one.

- I can't say I'm a fan of Olivia Holt's new single, Generous. It's basically a better version of Bad Liar, so I'll give her that. The lyrical content is questionable and she doesn't do too well with her vocals, which brings the song down for me.

- Oh boy. We have Noah Cyrus once again trending with her new single titled Again, which features rapper XXXtentacion. I'm not so sure why she is getting so much attention (not a Charlie Puth reference) in the music scene as opposed to her older sister, Miley. Now, I may have kinda like Stay Together somewhat to a degree. Even Make Me (Cry), a song that I absolutely detest, wasn't this bad. This song is nothing more than just trash. One of the worst things about it was her vocals, in which she failed to improve upon. Also, the production is a huge mess across the board. If this somehow becomes a hit, my reaction will not be pretty at all. So, I'm hoping it flops.

My Top 5 YouTube 15 Picks

1. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do

2. Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee - Despacito

3. DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller - Wild Thoughts

4. Avicii featuring Rita Ora - Lonely Together

5. HAIM - Little Of Your Love

Top 20 Review

0 - Awful:
None!

1 - Bad:
20. Liam Payne - Strip That Down

2 - Mediocre:
None!

3 - Decent:
None!

4 - Good:
19. Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato - No Promises
18. Halsey - Bad At Love
17. Niall Horan - Slow Hands

5 - Great:
16. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry
15. Imagine Dragons - Believer
14. Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey - Glorious
13. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still
12. Imagine Dragons - Thunder
11. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft
10. Maroon 5 featuring SZA - What Lovers Do
9. Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid - 1-800-273-8255
8. P!NK - What About Us
7. Mono Mind - Save Me A Place
6. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay - Something Just Like This
5. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back
4. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl
3. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do
2. Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It?

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

Overall Grade: 94/100 (A!)

Throwback Picks Of The Week: The Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love (1977) and Tom Petty - Free Fallin' (1989)

Most Missed Countdown Songs: Ella Henderson - Ghost and Adele - When We Were Young

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Echosmith - 18

Favorite Countdown Song One Year Ago: DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber - Let Me Love You

My Top 5 Picks

1. Kesha - Praying

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

3. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do

4. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl

5. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

My Bottom 5 Picks

1. Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road

2. Selena Gomez - Fetish

3. Sabrina Carpenter - Why

4. MAX featuring Gnash - Lights Down Low

5. Liam Payne - Strip That Down

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:

Andy Grammer - Fresh Eyes: Some people preferred his more upbeat songs (Honey I'm Good, Keep Your Head Up, etc.), and I can somewhat see why. It's premise may not necessarily be lively, but at least the lyrics are good to some degree.

Niall Horan - This Town: Ah, yes. The second member of One Direction going solo with his debut single. While it's not out of this world at all, at least he put this acoustic track to good use.

The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk - Starboy: Ah, yes. The Weeknd's return to music. This is another song that helped him made a breakthrough as an artist. Pretty much everything about this one is solid, and it helps that we also had the return of Daft Punk, who contributes to this song very well. Just before this song was released, he cut off his dreads.

AT40: Niall Horan (1) - Week Of October 6, 2017

Hello, friends. This is the first countdown of October, and...unfortunately, I would like to begin my introduction on a very somber note. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims' families during this difficult time when at least 59 people were killed and many more were injured in a shooting that occurred in Las Vegas this past Sunday, which is now THE WORST MASS SHOOTING IN U.S. HISTORY. Before we get to the American Top 40 this week, let's take a moment of silence to remember the victims.























Now, let's begin reviewing, shall we? Here are the songs dropping out this week:

• Castle On The Hill by Ed Sheeran
  Last Week: #36 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 22

• Redbone by Childish Gambino
  Last Week: #27 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 14

• Back To You by Louis Tomlinson featuring Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals
  Last Week: #24 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 7

The Countdown

Last Week's #1 Song: Attention by Charlie Puth

40. Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran [-1] [Spent 10 Weeks At #1]

Last Week: #39 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 38

39. Hoodie by Hey Violet [+1]

Last Week: #40 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 2

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

37. Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay [-3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

Last Week: #34 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 30

36. Two Ghosts by Harry Styles [+1]

Last Week: #37 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 4

35. Love So Soft by Kelly Clarkson (DEBUT)

Last Week: N/A | # Of Weeks On Chart: 1

34. That's What I Like by Bruno Mars [-3] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

Last Week: #31 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 35

33. New Rules by Dua Lipa (DEBUT)

Last Week: N/A | # Of Weeks On Chart: 1

32. It Ain't Me by Kygo featuring Selena Gomez [-4] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

Last Week: #28 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 31

31. Know No Better by Major Lazer featuring Travis Scott, Camila Cabello, and Quavo [+1]
Last Week: #32 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 7

30. Now Or Never by Halsey [-4]
Last Week: #26 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 24

29. Location by Khalid [=]
Last Week: #29 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 9

28. Lights Down Low by MAX featuring Gnash [+7]
Last Week: #35 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 5

27. Mi Gente by J. Balvin featuring Willy William [+3]
Last Week: #30 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 6

26. I'm The One by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper, and Lil' Wayne [-3]
Last Week: #23 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 21

25. ...Ready For It? by Taylor Swift (DEBUT)

Last Week: N/A | # Of Weeks On Chart: 1

24. Too Good At Goodbyes by Sam Smith [+9]
Last Week: #33 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 2

23. Body Like A Back Road by Sam Hunt [-1]
Last Week: #22 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 18

22. Glorious by Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey [-1]
Last Week: #21 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 11

21. Bad At Love by Halsey [+4]
Last Week: #25 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 3

20. Fetish by Selena Gomez featuring Gucci Mane [-1]

Last Week: #19 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 8

19. Feels by Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell, Katy Perry, and Big Sean [-5]
Last Week: #14 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 13

18. Stay by Zedd featuring Alessia Cara [-2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
Last Week: #16 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 30

17. What About Us by P!NK [=]
Last Week: #17 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 6

16. 1-800-273-8255 by Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid [+2]
Last Week: #18 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 12

15. What Lovers Do by Maroon 5 featuring SZA [+5]
Last Week: #20 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 3

14. Praying by Kesha [+1]
Last Week: #15 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 9

13. Despacito by Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee [-4] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
Last Week: #9 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 20

12. Friends by Justin Bieber featuring BloodPop® [-1]
Last Week: #11 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 5

11. Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato [+2]
Last Week: #13 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 8

10. Wild Thoughts by DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller [-4]
Last Week: #6 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 14

9. Unforgettable by French Montana featuring Swae Lee [+1]
Last Week: #10 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 12

8. Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man [+4]
Last Week: #12 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 7

7. No Promises by Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato [+1]
Last Week: #8 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 18

6. Believer by Imagine Dragons [-1]
Last Week: #5 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 20

5. Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift [+2]
Last Week: #7 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 4

4. There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back by Shawn Mendes [-1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
Last Week: #3 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 21

3. Strip That Down by Liam Payne featuring Quavo [+1]
Last Week: #4 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 16

2. Attention by Charlie Puth [-1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]

Last Week: #1 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 19

1. Slow Hands by Niall Horan [+1] [1st Week At #1]

Last Week: #2 | # Of Weeks On Chart: 19

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ (2nd And Final Week At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Feels by Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell, Katy Perry, and Big Sean (-5)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Too Good At Goodbyes by Sam Smith (+9)

New Entrants

- To start off our round of new arrivals, we have the return of one of my favorite artists, Kelly Clarkson, in the form of Love So Soft, her lead single from her forthcoming album, Meaning Of Life. I have been a fan of Kelly Clarkson for a long time. She's been working her magic with many hits since she won American Idol back in 2002, with songs such as Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You), Catch My Breath, Since U Been Gone, and many more. As for this one, I can say it's pretty divine. I do like she is experimenting her new sound in which it is more soulful and R&B. While there are a few questionable lyrics, the rest of the song is still pretty good. I also like how she sounds like Adele, especially at the beginning before she starts singing. Overall, while it's not her best, I find it quite enjoyable.

- Next up, we have Dua Lipa making her second appearance on the American Top 40. Enter New Rules, her new single from her debut album. Earlier, she had her debut single Blow Your Mind (Mwah) charted here, but it failed to blow up elsewhere. Now, she's looking to redeem herself chart-wise for the second time around. And with New Rules still gaining slightly more steam as of this moment, it appears to be the case. Anyway, about this song, it showcases Dua Lipa's vocals more, and the lyrical content is slightly better when compared to its predecessor. While it's not quite her best song off of her debut album, it's still a solid track all around.

- Finally, we have more Taylor Swift once again, which excites me. Enter ...Ready For It?, the promo single for her upcoming album Reputation. Right off the bat, this one is less polarizing from a critical standpoint than Look What You Made Me Do and it basically sounds like the Taylor Swift people know and love. Here, there is more singing going on, and there is slightly more melody. The lyrical content is also better, in which it reflects her relationship and wanting to do things together. This was used in a commercial for a college football game early in September. It has that game-day feel to it, with the lines such as "Baby, let the games begin". Once again, Taylor Swift doesn't disappoint and it's good to see many people are finding this more likable.

I've Got New Blurbs, I Count 'Em

- On the note of exits, I did not expect Back To You to leave from a high position at #24. I'm very sad that one failed to take off and it deserved better. It's too bad people aren't buying into Louis Tomlinson's solo music as opposed to the other members of One Direction. Same with Bebe Rexha, seeing as many people still underrate her music in general, also. With that said, this song will sadly be missed by me. However, on a positive note, I'm happy about the departure of Redbone and it will certainly not be missed. Finally, we have the important exit, with Castle On The Hill departing from this countdown. Although it didn't quite live up to Shape Of You in terms of success on here, at least this one had a solid tenure. So, good-bye, Castle On The Hill, you will not be forgotten.

- Speaking of Shape Of You, it looks like this may be its final week here, what with it being on the tail end of the countdown at #40.

- I'm not necessarily happy about Lights Down Low making a big jump into the Top 30, but I can somewhat see the appeal to it. If you like it, that's fine. I do respect your opinions, though.

- Of course, we have Too Good At Goodbyes making a huge second-week jump here. That's kinda good news, because I'm starting to grow more into it. You can expect this to be in green pretty soon.

- Remember when I said that Friends was going to end up being another huge hit for Justin Bieber? Well, I think I've kinda jinxed it, because it's starting to falter elsewhere, both in sales and radio. I guess people really are sick of him at this point, especially after both I'm The One & Despacito got massively overplayed.

- Meanwhile, we have Feel It Still cracking the Top 10, which isn't surprising since both its sales and radio gains are massive. This has gotten slightly better for me, so I'm glad to see this one is catching on.

- And that brings us to our new #1, in which Niall Horan manages to dethrone Attention by Charlie Puth after spending five weeks at the top. With Slow Hands being near the top on most charts, I wasn't surprised to see this as #1. It was only a matter of time before this would occur. Despite me not enjoying this as much as I used to, I'm happy it came through this week.

Breakouts/On The Verge

• Why by Sabrina Carpenter
• Let Me Go by Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line and Watt
• Havana by Camila Cabello featuring Yung Thug

- Despite Thunder by Imagine Dragons gaining massive popularity, it still has yet to appear as a Breakout. It'll probably happen at some point eventually.

Extras/Optional Extras

• 2U by David Guetta featuring Justin Bieber
• Chains by Nick Jonas
• Just Give Me A Reason by P!NK featuring Nate Ruess
• Mama by Jonas Blue featuring William Singe
• Happy by Pharrell
• The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars
• Good Old Days by Macklemore featuring Kesha
• I Love It by Icona Pop featuring Charli XCX

- What you're seeing is not an error. Good Old Days by Macklemore featuring Kesha is indeed listed an extra. I'm surprised by this, since this single was just released.

- To this day, I still enjoy Just Give Me A Reason a lot more than I should, in large part because both singers' vocals blend really well together. I love the lyrical content and the production, especially with the piano being put to great use.

Top 20 Breakdown

0 - Awful:

20. Fetish by Selena Gomez featuring Gucci Mane

1 - Bad:

19. Strip That Down by Liam Payne featuring Quavo

2 - Mediocre:

None!

3 - Decent:

18. Stay by Zedd featuring Alessia Cara

4 - Good:

17. No Promises by Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato

5 - Great:

16. Slow Hands by Niall Horan

15. Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato

14. Believer by Imagine Dragons

13. Attention by Charlie Puth

12. Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man

11. 1-800-273-8255 by Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid

10. What Lovers Do by Maroon 5 featuring SZA

9. Friends by Justin Bieber featuring BloodPop®

8. Feels by Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell, Katy Perry, and Big Sean

7. Unforgettable by French Montana featuring Swae Lee

6. What About Us by P!NK

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

4. Despacito by Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee

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

2. Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift

BONUS: 6 - Best Song On The Countdown:

1. Praying by Kesha

Total Score: 89/100 (B+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Free Fallin' by Tom Petty (1989)

Most Missed Song: Symphony by Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: 18 by Echosmith

My Top 5 Picks

1. Praying by Kesha

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

3. Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift

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

5. Despacito by Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee

My Bottom 5 Picks

TIE: 1. Body Like A Back Road By Sam Hunt

TIE: 1. Mi Gente by J. Balvin featuring Willy William

3. Fetish by Selena Gomez

4. Location by Khalid

5. Know No Better by Major Lazer featuring Travis Scott, Camila Cabello, and Quavo

Liam Payne (1) - Week Of September 30, 2017

Hello, friends! You know, it's really hard for me to come up with some cool introductions. But whatever, let's just get to the countdown. This week, to put it simply, just wasn't good. But you know, it's one of the weeks you've got to fight through. Not much I can do about that. Before we get to this week's fresh 45, we're saying good-bye to these songs leaving us this week:

• The Chainsmokers - Honest (#44)
• Fall Out Boy - Champion (#45)
• Linkin Park featuring Kiiara - Heavy (#41)

The Countdown

Last Week's #1 Song: Niall Horan - Slow Hands

45. Hailee Steinfeld - Most Girls (#42) [-3]

44. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like (#40) [-4] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

43. Hey Violet - Hoodie (#35) [-8]

42. All Time Low - Good Times (#43) [+1]

41. Lady Gaga - The Cure (#39) [-2]

40. Kygo featuring Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me (#37) [-3]

39. MAX featuring Gnash - Lights Down Low (#33) [-6]

38. Sabrina Carpenter - Why (DEBUT) [=]

37. Andy Grammer - Give Love (#21) [-16]

36. Justin Bieber featuring BloodPop® - Friends (#31) [-5]

35. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (#36) [+1] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]

34. Zedd featuring Liam Payne - Get Low (#29) [-5]

33. Linkin Park - One More Light (#24) [-9]

32. Bruno Mars - Versace On The Floor (#27) [-5]

31. Harry Styles - Two Ghosts (#38) [+7]

30. Selena Gomez - Fetish (DEBUT) [=]

29. Louis Tomlinson featuring Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals - Back To You (#26) [-3]

28. Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road (#19) [-9]

27. Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato - No Promises (#16) [-11]

26. Panic! At The Disco - L.A. Devotee (#30) [+4]

25. Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid - 1-800-273-8255 (DEBUT) [=]

24. Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill (#25) [+1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

23. Charlie Puth - Attention (#18) [-5] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

22. Maroon 5 featuring SZA - What Lovers Do (#13) [-9]

21. Zedd featuring Alessia Cara - Stay (#10) [-11] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]

20. The Revivalists - Wish I Knew You (#28) [+8]

19. Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee - Despacito (#20) [+1]

18. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft (#32) [+14]

17. The All-American Rejects - Sweat (#34) [+17]

16. Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes (#23) [+7]

15. Halsey - Bad At Love (#22) [+7]

14. Imagine Dragons - Believer (#6) [-8] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

13. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do (#9) [-4]

12. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still (#17) [+5]

11. Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey - Glorious (#14) [+3]

10. Kesha - Praying (#5) [-5]

9. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay - Something Just Like This (#8) [-1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

8. P!NK - What About Us (#11) [+3]

7. Mono Mind - Save Me A Place (#12) [+5]

6. Imagine Dragons - Thunder (#15) [-9]

5. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#2) [-3] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]

4. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry (#3) [-1]

3. Niall Horan - Slow Hands (#1) [-2] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

2. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl (#4) [+2]

1. Liam Payne - Strip That Down (#7) [+6] [1st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey - Closer (1st Of 8 Weeks At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Andy Grammer - Give Love (-16)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: The All-American Rejects - Sweat (+17)

New Entrants

- I'm kinda mixed on this week's entrants overall. To start us off, we have Sabrina Carpenter making her first appearance on the countdown, in the form of Why. Now, she brought us Thumbs, which I did kinda like, but never actually made it to Hit-Bound despite playing on Hits 1. As for her new single, I can't say I care for this one. Her vocals seem a little weak, and the production is quite underwhelming to say the least. That's just me, though, but my opinion could change. Right now, I'm not feeling this one. NEXT!

- So, here's a question for you all: are you tired of Selena Gomez making all those nonsensical sultry songs? You are? Well, guess what? I am too. And unfortunately, she makes her return with her new single Fetish. I talked about this one when it debuted on the American Top 40 last month. To recap, it's another one of those songs that tries to be sultry, and it just doesn't work. It's slightly better than Bad Liar in part because her vocals have improved, so I'll give her that, but that's not saying much because the lyrical content is terrible and its premise is dull across the board. It's only been getting worse every time I hear it. Now, I'm going to ask you another question: what happened to the Selena Gomez I used to love? She simply just needs to stick to her upbeat pop songs, or heck even something from Revival. The sad thing is, I'd rather listen to it than the song that arrived on Hit-Bound, which we'll get to later. Anyway, the point I'm trying to get across is, this song just blows. NEXT!

- Probably our best debut this week is a song that is currently gaining steam. It comes from Logic collaborating with Alessia Cara and Khalid, in the form of 1-800-273-8255. It's nice to see this one become a sleeper hit, especially after the song's performance on the VMA's last month. It's a pretty good song in terms of the lyrical content and I'm sure everyone can relate, especially given Chester Bennington's passing after committing suicide two months ago. Overall, I do like it for what it is.

Blurbs So Soft, You Ain't Had Nothing Softer

- In terms of our exits this week, Honest took its departure, and with it brings The Chainsmokers' streak of big hits to an end. I know pretty much everyone is rejoicing over this song not being a big hit. Also, there's Champion, which unsurprisingly left given that people aren't really buying into Fall Out Boy's music anymore. We'll see if that one makes it to my Top 45 songs of the year. Lastly, we have the all-important exit, in which Heavy has officially departed from this countdown. It did have quite a weird tenure jumping and dropping all over the place, but it eventually lost its steam. Although I kinda stopped caring for it a while ago, I know there are some people who are going to be sad about its departure.

- Well, dang! Give Love surprisingly took a big drop this week. Also, Spyder Harrison did not mention that this was the Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week, because he didn't recap the second set of five. Another fail on his part. Last week, he failed to mention one of the songs in his next set of five.

- Spyder Harrison mentioned upon introducing Back To You that Louis Tomlinson was secretly married to his girlfriend. I mean, really? I wonder how did we not know this before? Hmm...

- Thank the high heavens above for making Body Like A Back Road drop out of the Top 20! Now, can we PLEASE get this awful song out of the countdown soon?!

- Spyder Harrison also made a mistake by saying that both No Promises and Stay were tied for the Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week, when it actually Give Love that was given this honor. Spyder, you better step up your game soon. :P

- After spending a long while in the Top 10, both Stay and Believer have managed to drop out, with the former just barely out of the Top 20. Meanwhile, the latter literally swapped places with Thunder, which is now in the Top 10.

- Speaking of Imagine Dragons, I have a feeling that Thunder is going to blow up here, because it soared to #1 on iTunes earlier this week and has been gaining sales elsewhere since. Keep in mind that this hasn't made its debut on the American Top 40 yet.

- Finally, we come to our #1. As you can see, I'm not too kind about this one. I figured it was going to happen sooner or later, given that it's still gaining in both sales and radio. Plus, with Hits 1's love of One Direction, I shouldn't be surprised by this. Here's to hoping next week's #1 is better.

Hit-Bound

• The Script - Rain
• Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It?
• Fergie featuring Nicki Minaj - You Already Know
• ZAYN featuring Sia - Dusk Till Dawn
• Why Don't We - Something Different
• Camila Cabello - Havana (DEBUT)
• PRETTYMUCH - Would You Mind
• Evaride - Heartless
• Post Malone featuring 21 Savage - Rockstar (DEBUT)
• Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line - Meant To Be (DEBUT)
• Dua Lipa - New Rules
• Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask
• Ed Sheeran - Perfect
• Lauv - I Like Me Better

- So, we have a shake-up on Hit-Bound this week, and...I can't say I'm fond of either of our debuts. Let's get right into it.

- To begin, we have more Bebe Rexha with her new single Meant To Be, which features country band Florida Georgia Line. I'm kinda split on this one for that reason. Now it's better than Body Like A Back Road, I'll give them that. Not much else I can say about this one.

- So, I have a question. Who's tired of Camila Cabello? You are? Well, too bad, because she's back for another round, this time with Havana. I briefly talked about this one last month on the YouTube 15. But to sum it all up, it's simply just not a good choice for her next single. Hits 1 did edit out rapper Young Thug, and she did improve on her vocals, so I'll give her that. But the rest of the song is just underwhelming. Maybe it'll change.

- Oh, boy. We've come to the one debut I was not looking forward to at all. We have Post Malone making his arrival along with 21 Savage in their new single Rockstar. This is going to be a long rant, so get ready. I'm going make it simple: this song is just trash. The production, the lyrics, etc. I don't know why in the world would a song of this caliber, especially given that Hits 1 simply does NOT care for rap music of any kind, would make it here, instead of maybe Lorde, whose lead single from Melodrama was a huge flop?! I already talked about Congratulations being one of the worst songs of the year, and now he wants to bring this new single to Hits 1, over rising artist Lorde of all people?! Or Rachel Platten, whose new single is clearly 25 times better than this pile of trash?! You know what, I'm going to stop right here. I'll say more when it inevitably debuts, but my reaction is NOT going to be pretty, at all.

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It?

2. PRETTYMUCH - Would You Mind

3. Evaride - Heartless

4. Dua Lipa - New Rules

5. ZAYN featuring Sia - Dusk Till Dawn

YouTube 15

So, I didn't mention this at all, but this month marks YouTube 15 host, Jenna Marbles's birthday. She turned 31 on September 15. So, I would like to wish her a Happy belated birthday! With that said, here are the songs trending this week:

• Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid - 1-800-273-8255
• Fifth Harmony - He Like That
• Kungs featuring Olly Murs and Coely - More Mess
• DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller - Wild Thoughts
• Why Don't We - These Girls
• Bruno Mars - That's What I Like
• Loote - Out Of My Head
• Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry
• Avicii featuring Rita Ora - Lonely Together
• Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do
• Kygo featuring Sasha Sloan - This Town
• Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You
• Charli XCX - Boys
• Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee - Despacito
• LANY - Super Far

- We have more Kungs, in the form of More Mess which features Olly Murs and Coely. Right off the bat, Kungs continues to impress me in terms of the EDM production. Both Olly Murs's and Coely's vocals blend together really well. Although I can't say it's as good as This Girl, it's solid and it works for me.

- I haven't really talked about Why Don't We - These Girls when it was trending a few weeks ago. So, I'll do so right now. While Something Different is kinda solid, this one is a different story. To put it easy, I can't really say I'm a fan. The lyrical content isn't all that good, and the song is too repetitive for my tastes. Maybe it's just me, though. That could change.

- Similarly, I don't really care for Loote - Out Of My Head. Their vocals don't really shine in this one, and the production is decent at best. The lyrical content, however, is better than that of These Girls. I don't have too much to say about this one.

- We have the return of Avicii, this time collaborating with Rita Ora in their new single Lonely Together. It's been a while since we've heard from Avicii, when Wake Me Up became his biggest hit of 2013. To say the least, Rita Ora's vocals definitely shine in this one, and the production here is vibrant too.  It also helps that the lyrical content is pretty solid. Once again, Avicii manages to impress me, and the duo made a great track overall.

- With Kygo making his presence known in the music industry, it's no surprise that he has recently released a new single. Enter This Town, which features an unknown artist whose name is Sasha Sloan. His new single is pretty weak compared to his predecessors. The production isn't quite as lively, and Sasha Sloan doesn't add too much to the song. It's definitely not as good as It Ain't Me or the amazing First Time (w/ Ellie Goulding), the latter which unfortunately ended up being a flop. My opinion on this song could change, but right now, I'm not quite a fan yet.

- LANY has a new single called Super Far, and while it's not quite as lively as some of the other songs mentioned above, it's quite solid. It has that 80's feel to it, and their vocals are pretty good. Other than that, not much to say here.

My Top 5 YouTube 15 Picks

1. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do

2. DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller - Wild Thoughts

3. Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee - Despacito

4. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like

5. Avicii featuring Rita Ora - Lonely Together

Top 20 Review
0 - Awful:
None!

1 - Bad:
20. Liam Payne - Strip That Down

2 - Mediocre:
None!

3 - Decent:
19. Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes
18. The All American Rejects - Sweat

4 - Good:
17. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry
16. Niall Horan - Slow Hands

5 - Great:
15. The Revivalists - Wish I Knew You
14. Imagine Dragons - Believer
13. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still
12. Halsey - Bad At Love
11. Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey - Glorious
10. Imagine Dragons - Thunder
9. P!NK - What About Us
8. Mono Mind - Save Me A Place
7. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft
6. Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee - Despacito
5. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay - Something Just Like This
4. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl
3. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back
2. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do

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

Overall Grade: 91/100 (A-) (Things are getting better here)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Celine Dion - That's The Way It Is (1999) (Again, everything by Celine Dion is amazing)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Meghan Trainor - All About That Bass (I'm really REALLY sorry, Adrian, but I actually still like this)

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Echosmith - 18 (I HIGHLY recommend listening to their new EP Inside A Dream. Trust me, it's really good.)

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey - Closer

My Top 5 Picks

1. Kesha - Praying

2. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do

3. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

4. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl

5. The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay - Something Just Like This

My Bottom 5 Picks

1. Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road

2. Selena Gomez - Fetish

3. Sabrina Carpenter - Why

4. MAX featuring Gnash - Lights Down Low

5. Liam Payne - Strip That Down

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:

Gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien - I Hate U, I Love U: This is basically a better version of Unsteady. I love the message in this one, and I'm sure everyone can relate. I also like how their vocals blend together. That said, I wish everyone would appreciate this more.

Big Gigantic featuring Angela McCluskey - The Little Things: For an EDM song, it may be loud, but that doesn't mean it's bad per se. That saxophone in the end was pretty darn epic.