AT40: Post Malone (1) - Week Of September 15, 2018

Hello, fam! I hope everyone here has had a good week. I don't have much to say except that this was a rather interesting week. We have a new #1 song, and we got a couple of good debuts. Also, I'll be praying to those that will be affected by Hurricane Florence. Hopefully, everyone can stay safe. Before we get to this week's fresh 40, here are the songs we're saying good-bye to this week:

• Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Backstreet Boys (#25)
• Let You Be Right by Meghan Trainor (#38)
• Meant To Be by Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (#39)

The Countdown:
Last Week's #1 Song: Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B.
40. Boo'd Up by Elle Mai (DEBUT)
39. New Rules by Dua Lipa (#37) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
38. Happy Now by Zedd featuring Elley Duhé (DEBUT)
37. Beautiful (Remix) by Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello (DEBUT)
36. Pray For Me by The Weeknd featuring Kendrick Lamar (#35) [–1]
35. Broken by lovelytheband (#40) [+5]
34. Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons (#33) [–1]
33. Almost Love by Sabrina Carpenter (#36) [+3]
32. Wait by Maroon 5 (#31) [–1]
31. Natural by Imagine Dragons (#34) [+3]
30. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid (#32) [+2]
29. Never Be The Same by Camila Cabello (#27) [–2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
28. Jackie Chan by Tiesto & Dzeko featuring Preme and Post Malone (#29) [+1]
27. The Way I Am by Charlie Puth (#30) [+3]
26. In My Blood by Shawn Mendes (#24) [–2]
25. Home With You by Madison Beer (#26) [+1]
24. I Like Me Better by Lauv (#22) [–2]
23. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD (#28) [+5]
22. The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey (#19) [–3]
21. Lie by NF (#21) [=]
20. One Kiss by Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa (#18)
19. Drew Barrymore by Bryce Vine (#23) [+4]
18. Mine by Bazzi (#16) [–2]
17. Side Effects by The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren (#20) [+3]
16. Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie (#14) [–2]
15. Growing Pains by Alessia Cara (#13) [–2]
14. Psycho by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign (#12) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
13. I'm A Mess by Bebe Rexha (#17) [+4]
12. Remind Me To Forget by Kygo featuring Miguel (#15) [+3]
11. Delicate by Taylor Swift (#9) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
10. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande (#11) [+1]
9. No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande (#8) [–1]
8. No Brainer by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance The Rapper (#10) [+2]
7. In My Feelings by Drake (#6) [–1]
6. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#7) [+1]
5. Back To You by Selena Gomez (#5) [=]
4. I Like It by Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin (#3) [–1]
3. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani (#4) [+1]
2. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. (#1) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
1. Better Now by Post Malone (#2) [+1] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Attention by Charlie Puth (3^rd of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey (–3)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Tie between Broken by lovelytheband and Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD (+5)

New Entrants
- Our first debut comes from new artist Elle Mai with the song titled Boo'd Up. Right off the bat, I find this to be decent for the most part. One of the things I do like about is her vocals. She doesn't necessarily shine in the song, but she sounds pretty good in some parts. However, I don't think there's really anything original about the production. I feel like more work could've been done here. So yeah, it's a decent song, though it may not be something I'll remember in about a year or so.

- Next, we have more of Zedd, and he's collaborating with a new artist named Elley Duhé his latest single titled Happy Now. I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion to many here in the blogging community, but I'm actually in love with the song. I talked about why in detail when I reviewed the song last week. Zedd has been taking a risk with his new sound and I do like what he has in store here. I like the production throughout the song and the xylophone. But what I really love about the song is Elley Duhé herself. I absolutely LOVE her voice. It is very unique and different. I can totally see why people don't like this, but I'm not one of them. I do hope it has some success.

- Finally, we have more Bazzi who just selected his second single off of his debut album Cosmic. Here, he has a remix which features Camila Cabello in his new song titled Beautiful. This is one of those slow songs that I'm sure people can dance to. I do like how their vocals blend together in the chorus. Both Bazzi and Camila sounded really good throughout the song, though I can say that there's not much to the production. I'm glad Bazzi chose this as a single because it's a nice song. We'll see if it ends up having some success.

Best Debut Of The Week: Happy Now by Zedd featuring Elley Duhé

Blurbed Up
- As far as our exits go, we sadly say good-bye to two songs this week. Don't Go Breaking My Heart was a great comeback for the Backstreet Boys and I enjoyed it a lot. Let You Be Right failed to become a success. It's really a damn shame that Meghan Trainor is underrated today as opposed to back in 2014 when she made a breakthrough with All About That Bass. She deserves much better. Finally, we can now celebrate as Meant To Be has left the countdown! Good riddance!

- We finally have a new #1 for the first time in over a month. Better Now has dethroned Girls Like You to take the top spot this week. I can say it's one of the best Post Malone has to offer and it's certainly better than his previous singles (aside from Stay and Candy Paint). I'm sure it'll probably hold there for at least a couple weeks, considering Post Malone is still popular.

- It was only a matter of time until God Is A Woman was going to enter the Top 10. I'm looking forward to seeing this one become a Top 5 hit. I'll be waiting.

- There are some big jumps worth noting. First off, we have Lucid Dreams inching closer the Top 20 (yuck). But then there's the big jump from Broken which I don't mind at all. It would be nice to see lovelytheband end up with at least a respectable hit.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Happier by Marshmello featuring Bastille
• Solo by Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato
• Promises by Calvin Harris featuring Sam Smith

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Love Yourself by Justin Bieber
• Redbone by Childish Gambino
• God's Plan by Drake
• HUMBLE. by Kendrick Lamar
• Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man
• All Night by Big Boi
• Nice For What by Drake
• The Hills by The Weeknd
• Him & I by G-Eazy featuring Halsey

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie
19. Psycho by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign
18. I'm A Mess by Bebe Rexha

1 – Bad:
17. In My Feelings by Drake

2 – Mediocre:
16. Drew Barrymore by Bryce Vine
15. I Like It by Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin

3 – Decent:
14. No Brainer by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance The Rapper
13. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B.

4 – Good:
12. Mine by Bazzi

5 – Great:
11. Back To You by Selena Gomez
10. Better Now by Post Malone
9. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani
8. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer
7. Delicate by Taylor Swift
6. Remind Me To Forget by Kygo featuring Miguel
5. Growing Pains by Alessia Cara
4. One Kiss by Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa
3. No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande
2. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: Side Effects by The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren

Total Score: 71/100 = 71% (C–)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Independent Women by Destiny's Child (2001)

Most Missed Song: New Romantics by Taylor Swift

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Body Talks by The Struts featuring Kesha

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Praying by Kesha (#15)

My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. Happy Now by Zedd featuring Elley Duhé
TIE: 1. Side Effects by The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren
3. The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey
4. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande
5. No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. I Like Me Better by Lauv
2. Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie
3. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD
4. Psycho by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign
5. Never Be The Same by Camila Cabello

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Two Ghosts by Harry Styles:
Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift:

5 Seconds Of Summer (1) - Week Of September 8, 2018

Hello, fam! The first week of September is in the books and we're ever so close to the first day of fall. Believe it or not, it's actually my favorite season and we get to enjoy carving pumpkins, watching football, and all of that good stuff! Anyway, this was a relatively good week. We got rid of some garbage and made way for some good songs in their place. We also have a new #1 that I saw coming, and sure, I'll take it! So with that, let's get into things! Before we get to this week's fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying good-bye to this week:

• Maroon 5 – Wait (#34)
• Camila Cabello – Never Be The Same (#39) [Spent 1 Week At #1]
• Charlie Puth featuring Kehlani – Done For Me (#42)
• Lauv – I Like Me Better (#45)

The Countdown:
Last Week's #1 Song: Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones
45. Alessia Cara – Growing Pains (#44) [–1]
44. Niall Horan – On The Loose (#36) [–8]
43. Halsey – Alone (#37) [–6]
42. Drake – In My Feelings (#40) [–2]
41. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Want You Back (#41) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

40. Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin – I Like It (#42) [+2]

39. George Ezra – Shotgun (#37) [–2]

38. NF – Lie (DEBUT)

37. Madison Beer – Home With You (#31) [–6]

36. Marshmello featuring Bastille – Happier (DEBUT)

35. Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello – Beautiful (Remix) (DEBUT)

34. Brown & Gray – Top Down (#30) [–4]

33. PNAU – Go Bang (#33) [=]

32. Train featuring Cam and Travie McCoy – Call Me Sir (#32) [=]

31. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now (DEBUT)

30. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#27) [–3]

29. PRETTYMUCH – Summer On You (#24) [–5]

28. Dua Lipa – IDGAF (#35) [+7]

27. Shawn Mendes – In My Blood (#16) [–11] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

26. Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie – Friends (#19) [–7]

25. Dennis Lloyd – Nevermind (#26) [+1]

24. Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry (#13) [–11]

23. Foster The People – Sit Next To Me (#14) [–9]

22. Bebe Rexha – I'm A Mess (#28) [+6]

21. DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance The Rapper (#29) [+8]

20. Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa – One Kiss (#23) [+3]

19. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#18) [–1]

18. NOTD featuring Bea Miller – I Wanna Know (#17) [–1]

17. Weezer – Africa (#22) [+5]

16. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle (#6) [–10] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]

15. lovelytheband – Broken (#11) [–4]

14. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman (#25) [+11]

13. Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You (#7) [–6]

12. Taylor Swift – Delicate (#13) [+1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

11. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes (#9) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

10. Selena Gomez – Back To You (#3) [–7]

9. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am (#20) [+11]

8. Post Malone – Better Now (#15) [+7]

7. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects (#21) [+14]

6. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart (#13) [+7]

5. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies (#10) [+5]

4. Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night) (#5) [+1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]

3. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones (#1) [–2] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

2. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#2) [=] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

1. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood (#4) [+3] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Shawn Mendes – There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (5^th and Final Week At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Tie between Shawn Mendes – In My Blood and Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry (–11)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects (+14)

New Entrants
- To kick off this week's new entrants, we have the return of NF with his latest single, by the name of Lie. His predecessor wasn't really to my liking. But this song is a step up from that. We don't get to hear the chipmunk vocals in the background. It's just NF singing and rapping in the song. I do like the piano work in this one. The lyrical content here is well-written. It talks about someone not being honest to one another. It's a nice song overall. We'll see how long it sticks around.

- Okay, so ever since Marshmello had a amazing collaboration with Selena Gomez in Wolves, his recent singles have been a mixed bag for me lately. You have songs like Everyday, which was pretty good for the most part. Buy you also have Friends which still annoys me to no end and probably won't go away anytime soon (Despite the fact that it has dropped big, and I'll talk more about it in the blurbs section). But what else does he have up his sleeve? Well, another new single of course. And he's collaborating with the band Bastille, who you probably know had a huge hit back in 2014 with Pompeii. Anyway, the name of his new single is titled Happier. After listening to the song in its entirety, I can say that it's only a little bit of a step up from its predecessor. Friends was just simply an embarrassment to the EDM genre because the production and everything else in it did not live up to my expectations whatsoever. As far as my opinion on the song goes...well, it's still not quite what I was hoping for, but at least the production has improved. But do I think Bastille is the band that fits in the song? I mean, sure the vocals aren't as bad because Dan Smith does have a good voice. But here he doesn't stand out too much if I do say so myself. The lyrical content here is better as opposed to its predecessor in which is just a friend-zone anthem which doesn't sit well with me at all. It's basically about someone in a relationship wanting to find someone so he/she can be happy. I definitely can see where we can relate to this. But in terms of execution...I feel like Marshmello could've done more. I may have it in blue, but that could change. The verdict: it's not all that interesting for me right now.

- So, we finally bid good riddance to a song from Camila Cabello. We'll talk about that in just a moment. But because this is Hits 1, her new single will have to take the place of the one that just left. Actually, it's NOT her new song. But she is in the remix of a song that I'll talk about. Bazzi has another new single as Mine starts to die out elsewhere. In fact, it had left this countdown about two weeks ago. But he had another song that was waiting in the wings, and this week it makes it's debut. The song in question is titled Beautiful. Bazzi made a rather nice impression with his predecessor, Mine (even though it was only a little over two minutes). Here in Beautiful, I think he shows that he can use his voice quite well. Camila does sound very good with her vocals and she doesn't sound grating at all. The production here is relatively good throughout. But for me, it's the vocals that stand out. I think they mix very well together. That's one of the reasons why I like it quite a lot. After hearing this, I can say that it's one of his best songs off of Cosmic. Now the question is, can this be another hit for this guy? That would be nice, but only time will tell on that. I do hope to see some success out of this one.

- It sounds like to me a lot of people here aren't interested in what Zedd has to offer anymore especially after his latest singles make it seem like he is selling out and what not. It doesn't help that The Middle spent so many weeks in the Top 5 and many here are begging for this song to leave (or at the very least, drop out of the Top 10). Although their wish was granted this week with The Middle no longer in that region, Zedd is not done yet. Believe it or not, he has another collaboration, this time with a new artist named Elley Duhé in his latest single titled Happy Now. Like I said, I'm sure people here are not looking forward to hearing more of Zedd because they think he's selling out. I'm not the type who thinks this way. I judge based on the songs themselves. One of the reasons why I absolutely LOVE The Middle so much is because of Maren Morris. She sounds AMAZING!!! Plus, I thought the production was pretty good and not as annoying as some may say it is. I like Happy Now just the same. Despite it being a little bit more slow-paced than its predecessor, I still find this song to be amazing. First off, I LOVE Elley's vocals! She's the best thing about the song in general. The production is good in a way and not annoying at all. Before introducing the song, Spyder Harrison mentioned that it took about a year and a half for Zedd to create this. If I'm being honest, I think Zedd has done a nice job. He made another great choice in picking the artist for this one. I may feel alone in this opinion, but I simply don't care. It's definitely an enjoyable song in my book. I would love for it to have some success.

Best Debut Of The Week: Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now

Blurb On, Eileen!
- Our exits consist of three songs that deserved to go, and one which I'll miss most. Both I Like Me Better and Never Be The Same have left the countdown this week! It's about damn time that's happened! I can pretty much say the same for Wait. While it's not quite as bad as the other two, it was still an undesirable listen. So, no complaints about that exit. The only exit that I'm sad about is Done For Me. It did last quite longer here as opposed to elsewhere. I'd say this is one of Charlie Puth's best songs and it's disappointing to see that it'll miss the Year-End on the Hot 100. I do wish it had been more successful.

- So, I heard that Halsey is going to play the role of herself in a movie titled A Star Is Born. Something tells me that she may have a future in acting seeing as she's been involved with her movie roles lately, such as playing Wonder Woman in the Teen Titans Go! movie. I'm sure she'll do just fine. Maybe she'll find a way to balance that and continue to make music?

- Shotgun really doesn't seem to be getting anywhere at the moment. I get that it may not be popular, but I want it to at least move up somewhat. I do like the song and I'm hoping for better than this.

- On that note, we have Call Me Sir holding at #32. Frankly, this song is only getting worse with each listen. Between Pat Monahan's obnoxious vocals and bad lyrical content, it's very possible this could be orange soon.

- We have quite a few noticeable drops this week. In My Blood and No Tears Left To Cry both dropped out of the Top 20. I'm a little saddened by those drops, but they both did well here. However, Friends finally got the drop I was waiting for! All I simply have to say is it's about damn time!

- The Way I Am jumped into the Top 10 faster than his previous singles. Looks like the song may end up being a success, but I can't be certain yet. We'll see what happens from here on out.

- It's definitely nice to see Side Effects get the big jump in the Top 10. It's an amazing comeback from The Chainsmokers. That one looks like it may end up being a hit, at least on this countdown.

- Jumping into the Top 5 this week is Love Lies. I do still like the song, so it's nice to see it have some success despite it being out since early this year. I wouldn't really mind it being #1 soon.

- Before introducing Say (Amen) Saturday Night), Spyder Harrison mentioned that Brendon Urie may have more roles in acting soon. If that's true, then maybe he'll become something more than just being a singer. I'll be he wouldn't object to that!

- Then we've come to our new #1. I figured Youngblood would take the crown sooner, given that Hits 1 loves 5 Seconds Of Summer. Plus, the song itself is actually still gaining popularity at this moment. It's quite a stand-out from the title album. I wouldn't mind seeing it hold the spot for at least a few more weeks.

Hit-Bound:

• Jason Derulo & David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj and Willy William – Goodbye
• LSD – Thunderclouds
• Sabrina Carpenter – Almost Love
• Calvin Harris featuring Sam Smith – Promises
• The Struts featuring Kesha – Body Talks
• Tiesto & Dzeko featuring Preme and Post Malone – Jackie Chan (DEBUT)
• Anne-Marie – 2002
• AJR – Burn The House Down
• Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato – Solo
• Pitbull featuring Theron Theron – Free Free Free (DEBUT)
• Kim Petras – Heart To Break (DEBUT)
• Walk The Moon – Kamikaze
• The Vamps – Just My Type
• Bryce Vine – Drew Barrymore
• Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (RE-ENTRY)

- We've got three debuts this week, plus a re-entry from Hey Look Ma, I Made It. Let's get right into them.

- First off, we have four artists (Tiesto, Dzeko, Preme, and Post Malone) with their song Jackie Chan. I talked about this song when it debuted on the American Top 40. I personally think Tiesto did a nice job as a DJ overall with the production. Post Malone pretty much stands out throughout the song. It's definitely worth a listen.

- We have more Pitbull, and he's collaborating with Theron Theron in the song Free Free Free. This was on the YouTube 15 not too long ago. I do like Theron's vocals here and the production is quite solid. Not a stand-out from Pitbull, but it's worth enjoying.

- Finally, we have a new artist named Kim Petras with her single Heart To Break, which I heard on Venus quite a few times. Simply put, this is definitely a great first impression from her. I love pretty much everything about the song from her vocals to the lyrical content. I'm hoping it can debut soon.

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato – Solo
2. Walk The Moon – Kamikaze
3. Tiesto & Dzeko featuring Preme and Post Malone – Jackie Chan
4. Kim Petras – Heart To Break
5. The Struts featuring Kesha – Body Talks

Top 20 Review:
0 – Putrid:
20. Weezer – Africa

1 – Bad:
None!

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
19. NOTD featuring Bea Miller – I Wanna Know
18. Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You

4 – Good:
None!

5 – Great:
17. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am
16. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes
15. Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night)
14. lovelytheband – Broken
13. Imagine Dragons – Natural
12. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies
11. Post Malone – Better Now
10. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
9. Selena Gomez – Back To You
8. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood
7. Taylor Swift – Delicate
6. Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa – One Kiss
5. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones
4. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart
3. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle

Overall Grade: 93/100 = 93% (A–)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Dexys Midnight Runners – Come On Eileen (1982)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Tori Kelly – Should've Been Us

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Nathan Sykes featuring Ariana Grande – Over And Over Again

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Tori Kelly featuring Kirk Franklin – Never Alone

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between Kesha – Praying (#13) and Taylor Swift – Look What You Made Me Do (#10)

My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now
4. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman
5. Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie – Friends
2. Train featuring Cam and Travie McCoy – Call Me Sir
3. Weezer – Africa
4. Drake – In My Feelings
5. PNAU – Go Bang

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Harry Styles – Two Ghosts: While it's not a stand-out from his self-titled album, I do like how Harry can make a rock ballad similar to that of the 70's and 80's.
Andy Grammer – Give Love: Ever since Honey I'm Good was pretty big back in 2015, Andy Grammer hasn't had a surefire hit. This song has a nice sentiment to it.
Portugal. The Man – Feel It Still: I can definitely see why some have gotten sick of this. But at the time this was gaining popularity, many embraced this song simply because people wanted something to hear other than the likes of Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber.
Halsey – Bad At Love: After her on again, off again relationship with G-Eazy, I now start to see what this song is truly about. Basically, she goes through her history with her failed relationship with her past lovers. I like how she's able to deliver with her vocals, and the production is catchy. I'll talk more about this in my Year-End posts. Simply put, there's nothing I hate about this at all.
Justin Bieber featuring BloodPop – Friends: Honestly, I wished this song had caught on with the public. But it was at that point where people were sick of Despacito and didn't want to hear any more from Justin Bieber. It's a pretty damn shame because I love everything the song has to offer.
Maroon 5 featuring SZA – What Lovers Do: Maroon 5 hasn't been making music to my liking lately, but at least they were able to craft up this track that fits their sound. The addition of SZA was a nice idea.

QOTW: Since this week's was Beyoncé's birthday, what is your favorite song from her and why?

That will wrap it up for this week. But before I go, I have an important announcement to make.

One of my fellow bloggers named Adrian is going to start doing his very first rankdown, which is about the 2013 Billboard Hot 100 Year-End List. I, of course, do have plans to participate in this rankdown. For those of you who want to participate, you will have to submit your rankings by September 15 at 11:00am, which is next Saturday. More details, such as how the game works and the link to submit, will be on his page. As always, thank you all for reading my posts. I hope everyone here has a good weekend. I'll see you guys next week!

AT40: Maroon 5 & Cardi B. (5) - Week Of September 8, 2018

What's up, guys? So, we're just about through with summer and we're ever closer to fall. Last night was opening night for my Falcons (I'm a Falcons fan, by the way)...and to say the least, we just couldn't get it done. A lot of things just didn't go our way yesterday. Oh well, nothing I can do about that. But anyway, here's the American Top 40 post. We got some activity this week, most of which is for the better. Plus, Ryan Seacrest is back on the job after being absent for two weeks. So, that's good news. Before we get to this week's fresh 40, here are the songs leaving the countdown this week:

• Bed by Nicki Minaj featuring Ariana Grande (#32)
• Nevermind by Dennis Lloyd (#36)
• Let You Down by NF (#40) [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

The Countdown:
Last Week's #1 Song: Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B.
40. Broken by lovelytheband (DEBUT)
39. Meant To Be by Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (#38) [–1]
38. Let You Be Right by Meghan Trainor (#34) [–4]
37. New Rules by Dua Lipa (#35) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
36. Almost Love by Sabrina Carpenter (DEBUT)
35. Pray For Me by The Weeknd featuring Kendrick Lamar (#33) [–2]
34. Natural by Imagine Dragons (DEBUT)
33. Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons (#31) [–2]
32. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid (#37) [–5]
31. Wait by Maroon 5 (#28) [–3]
30. The Way I Am by Charlie Puth (#39) [+9]
29. Jackie Chan by Tiesto & Dzeko featuring Preme and Post Malone (#30) [+1]
28. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD (#29) [+1]
27. Never Be The Same by Camila Cabello (#25) [–2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
26. Home With You by Madison Beer (#26) [=]
25. Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Backstreet Boys (#20) [–5]
24. In My Blood by Shawn Mendes (#22) [–2]
23. Drew Barrymore by Bryce Vine (#23) [=]
22. I Like Me Better by Lauv (#17) [–5]
21. Lie by NF (#24) [+3]
20. Side Effects by The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren (#27) [+7]
19. The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey (#19) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
18. One Kiss by Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa (#9) [–9]
17. I'm A Mess by Bebe Rexha (#21) [+4]
16. Mine by Bazzi (#13) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
15. Remind Me To Forget by Kygo featuring Miguel (#16) [+1]
14. Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie (#7) [–7] (:D)
13. Growing Pains by Alessia Cara (#14) [+1]
12. Psycho by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign (#10) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
11. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande (#18) [+7]
10. No Brainer by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance The Rapper (#15) [+5]
9. Delicate by Taylor Swift (#8) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
8. No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande (#6) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
7. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#12) [+5]
6. In My Feelings by Drake (#11) [+5]
5. Back To You by Selena Gomez (#5) [=]
4. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani (#4) [=]
3. I Like It by Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin (#3) [=]
2. Better Now by Post Malone (#2) [=]
1. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. (#1) [=] [5^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Attention by Charlie Puth (2^nd of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: The Way I Am by Charlie Puth (+9)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: One Kiss by Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa (–9)

New Entrants
- First up, we have a new group called lovelytheband making their first appearance on this countdown with their debut single titled Broken. This song has been around for quite a while. When I first heard it, I didn't exactly care for it that much. But of course with more listens, I started to grow into it. I do kinda like the sentiment it has behind it. Although I'm not necessarily huge on the production overall, I do think their vocals are pretty good. Yeah, it's a nice song for the most part.

- After only a year, Sabrina Carpenter makes her return with her new single titled Almost Love. Right off the bat, it's a little bit of a step up from her previous singles such as Why. She does showcase her vocals a little more here as opposed to her other singles, where she sounded pretty underwhelming. The production may not stand out, but it is pretty decent. I do kinda like the lyrics. So yeah, not a bad song overall. I can definitely see myself growing into this in the near future.

- For our final debut of the week, we have more Imagine Dragons, this time with Natural. If I recall correctly, the song is being used as an official anthem for the college football season. I do like how it turned out. One of the things that stood out to me is Dan Reynold's vocals. He's pushing his limits and just hit those high notes pretty hard. The production here is well done, and I like the lyrics here. And with this song gaining a lot of steam, this could very well be yet another huge hit for these guys. I'm definitely cool with this sticking around.

Best Debut Of The Week: Natural by Imagine Dragons

It Could Be Blurbs
- As far as our exits go, I didn't care for Nevermind too much. The same goes for Bed. It wasn't too interesting of a song either, and Ariana and Nicki have done better. So I'm not complaining about this. Finally, the departure of Let You Down was overdue, at least for me. I'm sure some people here are sad about this, but I'm happy. It's nice to see that it has finally left us.

- Our Top 5 remains the same this week, so nothing really to talk about here.

- We do however, have some new entrants in the Top 10. In My Feelings reaching a peak of #6 is something I'm not thrilled about. Of course, because it's immensely popular, I can see it sticking around, though hopefully not much longer. Youngblood was expected given the song's popularity right now and I could see it go farther. Then, there's No Brainer which rose thanks to Justin Bieber. However, I don't think it'll last long given that the hype has died down somewhat.

- There are some noticeable drops that I should mention. First off, Friends has finally dropped out of the Top 10 this week! I've been waiting a long time for this to happen! It's only a matter of time until this dreck of a song leaves hopefully. But we have the drop from One Kiss, which is a little saddening. Though, it did quite well for the most part. We'll see how long that song can stick around.

- The jumps from both The Way I Am and God Is A Woman are nice to see, especially the latter. That one I'm certain will be another hit for Ariana. I anticipate the day it can hopefully hit #1.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Happy Now by Zedd featuring Elley Duhé
• Boo'd Up by Elle Mai
• Beautiful (Remix) by Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Perfect by Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé
• Feels So Close by Calvin Harris
• Ride by TWENTY ØNE PILØTS
• Dinero by Jennifer Lopez featuring DJ Khaled and Cardi B.
• Love Somebody by Maroon 5
• Mercy by Shawn Mendes
• Let Me Go by Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line and Watt
• Bad At Love by Halsey

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie
19. Psycho by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign

1 – Bad:
18. I'm A Mess by Bebe Rexha
17. In My Feelings by Drake

2 – Mediocre:
16. I Like It by Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin

3 – Decent:
15. No Brainer by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance The Rapper
14. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B.

4 – Good:
13. Mine by Bazzi

5 – Great:
12. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani
11. Better Now by Post Malone
10. Back To You by Selena Gomez
9. Remind Me To Forget by Kygo featuring Miguel
8. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer
7. Delicate by Taylor Swift
6. One Kiss by Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa
5. Growing Pains by Alessia Cara
4. No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande
3. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: 1. Side Effects by The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren
TIE: 1. The Middle byy Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey

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

Throwback Pick Of The Week: September by Earth, Wind, & Fire (1979)

Most Missed Song: Heartbeat Song by Kelly Clarkson

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Electricity by Silk City featuring Dua Lipa

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Praying by Kesha (#15)

My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey
TIE: 1. Side Effects by The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren
3. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande
4. No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande
5. Let You Be Right by Meghan Trainor

Honorable Mentions: Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Backstreet Boys and Growing Pains by Alessia Cara

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. I Like Me Better by Lauv
2. Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie
3. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD
4. Meant To Be by Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line
5. Psycho by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Mama by Jonas Blue featuring William Singe: This is probably a standout from Jonas Blue. William's vocals are pretty spot on for the most part. I do kinda wish it had at least some success, but I guess it was not meant to be (no pun intended).
Lights Down Low by MAX featuring Gnash: I'll probably talk more about this in a later post, but I'll just simply say that I don't like the sentiment the song has behind it. Not to mention the line "I promise you that no one will ever treat you better" comes off as whiny.
Friends by Justin Bieber featuring BloodPop: This was Justin's attempt to get another hit after Despacito. But by that point, people were simply tired of him. It's really a shame because pretty much everything about the song works for me.

Fall Out Boy (2) - Week Of September 1, 2018

Hello, fam! So, it's that time of year again! I just want to say that college football season is back! It's a good feeling that I get to spend the weekend watching all the college games. Anyway, I'm not here to talk about sports. I'm here to talk about one thing and one thing only: the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown! So, this is the Labor Day edition of the weekend countdown. After a week in which we had plenty of activity, things pretty much cooled down a bit. I'll have more to say about it in the blurbs. Before we get to this week's fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying good-bye to this week:

• Meghan Trainor – Let You Be Right (#44)

The Countdown:
Last Week's #1 Song: Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones
45. Lauv – I Like Me Better (#45) [=]
44. Alessia Cara – Growing Pains (#41) [–3]
43. Charlie Puth featuring Kehlani – Done For Me (#42) [–1]
42. Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin – I Like It (#22) [–20]
41. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Want You Back (#40) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

40. Drake – In My Feelings (#43) [+3]

39. Camila Cabello – Never Be The Same (#38) [–1] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

38. George Ezra – Shotgun (#39) [+1]

37. Halsey – Alone (#36) [–1]

36. Niall Horan – On The Loose (#32) [–4]

35. Dua Lipa – IDGAF (#30) [–5]

34. Maroon 5 – Wait (#29) [–5]

33. PNAU – Go Bang (#34) [+1]

32. Train featuring Cam and Travie McCoy – Call Me Sir (#37) [+5]

31. Madison Beer – Home With You (#26) [–5]

30. Brown & Gray – Top Down (#35) [+5]

29. DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance The Rapper – No Brainer (DEBUT)

28. Bebe Rexha – I'm A Mess (#24) [–4]

27. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#21) [–6]

26. Dennis Lloyd – Nevermind (#31) [+5]

25. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman (#20) [–5]

24. PRETTYMUCH – Summer On You (#23) [–1]

23. Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa – One Kiss (#8) [–15]

22. Weezer – Africa (#33) [+11]

21. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects (#28) [+7]

20. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am (#27) [+7]

19. Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie – Friends (#18) [–1]

18. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#17) [–1]

17. NOTD featuring Bea Miller – I Wanna Know (#15) [–2]

16. Shawn Mendes – In My Blood (#14) [–2]

15. Post Malone – Better Now (#25) [+10]

14. Foster The People – Sit Next To Me (#16) [+2]

13. Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry (#12) [–1]

12. Taylor Swift – Delicate (#13) [+1] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]

11. lovelytheband – Broken (#11) [=]

10. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies (#18) [+8]

9. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes (#9) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]

8. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart (#7) [–1]

7. Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You (#4) [–3]

6. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle (#10) [+4] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]

5. Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night) (#5) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]

4. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood (#3) [–1]

3. Selena Gomez – Back To You (#6) [+3]

2. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#2) [=] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]

1. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones (#1) [=] [2^nd Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Niall Horan – Slow Hands (1^st of 3 Weeks At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin – I Like It (–20)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Weezer – Africa (+11)

New Entrants
- We have only one new entrant this week. DJ Khaled and Justin Bieber collaborate once again in their new single titled No Brainer. This song also features Quavo and Chance The Rapper, who were also on I'm The One. The only difference is that Lil' Wayne is not in this song as opposed to its predecessor, thankfully. Right off the bat, No Brainer is basically a rehash of I'm The One. I do like Justin's verses throughout the song. I think he does a nice job overall. But I feel like the song lacks something to make it more interesting. The production is quite underwhelming. I can probably see myself growing into this, but more likely than not I'll get sick of it with time.

Blurbs Of '69
- So, we sadly have to say good-bye to Let You Be Right. It's such a damn shame that this song had to be underrated. Meghan Trainor deserves more success than this. And now with her new album being pushed back to January, I'm afraid it's going to be a while before we hear more new music from her.

- It's nice to see I Like It take a massive drop down to the Bottom 5. I don't quite hate the song as much, but I just simply don't really see the appeal to it.

- Before introducing Alone, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Halsey is officially back together with G-Eazy. It's nice to see these two were finally able to work out something. I'm sure they're hoping they can stay together.

- One Kiss took a rather surprising drop this week. And I say this because I heard it quite a bit last week. Though given that it's starting to fade elsewhere, I have a feeling it won't be with us for any longer. Oh well.

- Of course, Africa was bound to take a big jump in its second week. It looks like that one is going to stick around. I'm still not fond of that song, so hopefully it won't last.

- Love Lies has made its way into the Top 10. That which I'm cool with. It's nice to see Khalid get his first Top 10 hit on the Hits 1 Countdown. It helps that the song is still gaining elsewhere.

- So, I just recently watched Selena Gomez dance to the Michael Jackson classic, Rock With You. It reminds me of times like these where I could just dance to his music. This week would've been his 60th Birthday. He was a legend, and I loved his music.

- The Last Of The Real Ones hold the #1 spot this week. Sounds like Hits 1 has started to fall back in love with Fall Out Boy. I have a feeling that song is likely going to stay in the Top 5 for a while. I do love the song, so I have no complaints about this.

Summer Throwbacks:

Because this is the Labor Day Edition of the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown, they decided to play their summer throwback hits. Here below are the list of songs they played. Note that this will be updated throughout the weekend.

• Katy Perry – Teenage Dream
• Taylor Swift – You Belong With Me
• Ke$ha – Your Love Is My Drug
• Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo and Afrojack – Give Me Everything
• Florida Georgia Line – Cruise
• Flo Rida featuring Sia – Wild Ones
• Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe
• Meghan Trainor – All About That Bass
• One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful
• Sia featuring Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills
• Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road
• Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell and T.I. – Blurred Lines
• Katy Perry – Last Fright Night (T.G.I.F.)
• Eminem featuring Rihanna – Love The Way You Lie
• Jason Derulo – Want To Want Me
• Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber – Despacito
• LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem
• Owl City featuring Carly Rae Jepsen – Good Time
• Bruno Mars – The Lazy Song

My Top 5 Summer Throwbacks

1. Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe

2. Katy Perry – Teenage Dream

3. Eminem featuring Rihanna – Love The Way You Lie

4. Katy Perry – Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)

5. Meghan Trainor – All About That Bass

Hit-Bound:

• Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato – Solo
• Walk The Moon – Kamikaze
• Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now
• Anne-Marie – 2002
• Marshmello featuring Bastille – Happier
• Bryce Vine – Drew Barrymore
• Jason Derulo & David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj and Willy William – Goodbye (DEBUT)
• Sabrina Carpenter – Almost Love
• The Vamps – Just My Type
• AJR – Burn The House Down
• Calvin Harris featuring Sam Smith – Promises
• NF – Lie
• LSD – Thunderclouds
• Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello – Beautiful (Remix)
• The Struts featuring Kesha – Body Talks (DEBUT)

- So, we have two new songs on Hit-Bound this week. There's the return of Kesha who is collaborating with The Struts in the song called Body Talks. I listened to the song quite a few times and I'm not exactly sure what to think of it yet. I do like Kesha's contribution here. That's all I've got for now.

- We have the return of Jason Derulo and David Guetta with their latest single titled Goodbye, which features Nicki Minaj and Willy William. I never thought of Jason doing a song from the Latin-based genre, but I'm kinda glad it worked out well. I like the verses from both Nicki and Willy. I'll talk more about it when it debuts.

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now
2. Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello – Beautiful
3. Walk The Moon – Kamikaze
4. Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato – Solo
5. Calvin Harris featuring Sam Smith – Promises

Top 20 Review:
0 – Putrid:
20. Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie – Friends

1 – Bad:
None!

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
19. NOTD featuring Bea Miller – I Wanna Know
18. Foster The People – Sit Next To Me
17. Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You

4 – Good:
16. Shawn Mendes – In My Blood

5 – Great:
15. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes
14. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am
13. lovelytheband – Broken
12. Imagine Dragons – Natural
11. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies
10. Post Malone – Better Now
9. Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night)
8. Selena Gomez – Back To You
7. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood
6. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
5. Taylor Swift – Delicate
4. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones
3. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart
2. Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle

Overall Grade: 89/100 = 89% (B+)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Bryan Adams – Summer Of '69 (1985)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Little Mix – Touch

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Gabbie Hanna – Honestly

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Tie between Kesha – Praying (#23) and Taylor Swift – Look What You Made Me Do (#13)

My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle
TIE: 1. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects
3. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman
4. Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry
5. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Lauv – I Like Me Better
2. Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie – Friends
3. Train featuring Cam and Travie McCoy – Call Me Sir
4. Weezer – Africa
5. Drake – In My Feelings

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Cheat Codes featuring Demi Lovato – No Promises: This is an interesting collaboration between these two. I love Demi's contribution in the song. She sounds amazing. I'm glad it turned out well.
Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl: Although the song didn't really gain much traction elsewhere, it was still successful here on Hits 1 because of their love for Ed Sheeran. This is still the best song off of Divide. Anything that has a folk vibe pulls me in.
Mono Mind – Save Me A Place: This underground EDM group made a great first impression with this song. Plus, the female vocals remind me of Ellie Goulding.
Taylor Swift – Look What You Made Me Do: This was a controversial lead single for Taylor's latest album, Reputation. Fans and YouTube critics were not very fond of this because it was too much of a departure of her previous singles. However, I myself kinda like it in a guilty pleasure way.

AT40: Maroon 5 & Cardi B. (4) - Week Of September 1, 2018

Hello, fam! So, I would like to say Happy Labor Day weekend to you all as we close in on the month of September! This year has flown by faster than the speed of light. Okay, well I don't really mean it like that, but you get the picture. Anyway, this is the second week in which we have a guest host as Ryan Seacrest is absent. This time, it's Alessia Cara who wanted to talk her new album, which comes out this fall. I'm definitely looking forward to what she has to offer. Before we get to this week's fresh 40, here are the songs we're saying good-bye to this week:

• Nice For What by Drake (#30)
• Dinero by Jennifer Lopez featuring DJ Khaled and Cardi B. (#32)

The Countdown:
Last Week's #1 Song: Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B.
40. Let You Down by NF (#39) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
39. The Way I Am by Charlie Puth (#40) [+1]
38. Meant To Be by Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (#37) [–1]
37. Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid (DEBUT)
36. Nevermind by Dennis Lloyd (#36) [=]
35. New Rules by Dua Lipa (#34) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
34. Let You Be Right by Meghan Trainor (#33) [–1]
33. Pray For Me by The Weeknd featuring Kendrick Lamar (#31) [–2]
32. Bed by Nicki Minaj featuring Ariana Grande (#23) [–9]
31. Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons (#29) [–2]
30. Jackie Chan by Tiesto & Dzeko featuring Post Malone and Preme (#35) [+5]
29. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD (#38) [+9]
28. Wait by Maroon 5 (#27) [–1]
27. Side Effects by The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren (DEBUT)
26. Home With You by Madison Beer (#26) [=]
25. Never Be The Same by Camila Cabello (#24) [–1] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
24. Lie by NF (#28) [+4]
23. Drew Barrymore by Bryce Vine (#22) [–1]
22. In My Blood by Shawn Mendes (#17) [–5]
21. I'm A Mess by Bebe Rexha (#21) [=]
20. Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Backstreet Boys (#19) [–1]
19. The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey (#18) [–1] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
18. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande (#25) [+7]
17. I Like Me Better by Lauv (#15) [–2]
16. Remind Me To Forget by Kygo featuring Miguel (#16) [=]
15. No Brainer by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance The Rapper (#20) [+5]
14. Growing Pains by Alessia Cara (#14) [=]
13. Mine by Bazzi (#11) [–2] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
12. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer (#12) [=]
11. In My Feelings by Drake (#13) [+2]
10. Psycho by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign (#8) [–2] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
9. One Kiss by Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa (#10) [+1]
8. Delicate by Taylor Swift (#4) [–4] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
7. Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie (#3) [–4]
6. No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande (#6) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
5. Back To You by Selena Gomez (#9) [+4]
4. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani (#7) [+3]
3. I Like It by Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin (#5) [+2]
2. Better Now by Post Malone (#2) [=]
1. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. (#1) [=] [4^th Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Attention by Charlie Puth (1^st of 5 Weeks At #1)

Biggest Fall Of The Week: Bed by Nicki Minaj featuring Ariana Grande (–9)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD (+9)

New Entrants
- So, we have newcomer Benny Blanco making his first appearance on the countdown this week. Here, he has an interesting collaboration between Halsey and Khalid in the single titled Eastside. When I look at the song title, it basically reminds me of the days of high school. Let's be real, though: that's not the name of the school I went to, thankfully. Anyway, I do love pretty much everything about the song. The verses from both Halsey and Khalid are well done. Their vocals blend together very nicely. I love the lyrical content about wanting to meeting each other and falling in love. These artists did a nice job with the song overall. I would love to see this be successful.

- Next, we have the return of The Chainsmokers. And this time they collaborate with Emily Warren, who wrote most of their singles from their previous albums. Their new single is called Side Effects. This one I talked about in detail when it debuted on the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown, but I'll recap. The Chainsmokers have been flopping with their latest music, which in the long run really wasn't to my liking. In Side Effects, they stepped up big time. Emily does the singing instead of Andrew Taggart. She sounds amazing. I love the production these guys put together. The music video just recently came out and it stars Camila Mendes from the TV series, Riverdale. I thought she did an excellent job as a dancer throughout the entire video. Anyway, this is a big win for The Chainsmokers and Emily. They fully impressed me with the song.

Best Debut Of The Week: Side Effects by The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren

Come On And Give Me Some Blurbs Tonight
- As far as our exits go, Nice For What didn't quite do as well here unlike everywhere else. This is one of Drake's best off of Scorpion and I'm a little disappointed that it left us so soon. But at least it made the countdown. Good riddance to Dinero. Jennifer Lopez has done so much better with her music. I'm glad that song didn't last long.

- Though we do still have the same #1 song, there's been quite a shift in the Top 5 this week as Love Lies and Back To You both jump into that territory. Love Lies entering was expected given that it's still gaining even though the song has been out for a while. I believe this is Khalid's second Top 5 hit since last year when he collaborated with Logic in the song 1-800-273-8255.

- I'm a little surprised about Back To You. I didn't quite think it would be successful. I'm glad I was wrong. Given that the song is still going strong, it would be nice to see it hit #1 soon.

- It's about damn time Friends has dropped out of the Top 5! Spending all those weeks in that region made me feared this would be #1, but I'm glad it wasn't. Now let's get the song to drop more.

- Blech. Lucid Dreams makes a big jump this week. This song is just annoying all around. It's unfortunate that the song is still popular elsewhere. So, I don't expect it to leave anytime soon. :/

- Not surprised about the drop from Bed. I'm fine with that because there's really nothing to the song. Though I won't say it's a bad, Nicki and Ariana have done better.

Breakouts/On The Verge:

• Almost Love by Sabrina Carpenter
• Broken by lovelytheband
• Natural by Imagine Dragons

Extras/Optional Extras:

• Blank Space by Taylor Swift
• Teenage Dream by Katy Perry
• Stay by Zedd featuring Alessia Cara
• Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars
• Love The Way You Lie by Eminem featuring Rihanna
• Here by Alessia Cara
• Demons by Imagine Dragons
• Wild Things by Alessia Cara
• Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Garbage:
20. I Like Me Better by Lauv
19. Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie
18. Psycho by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign

1 – Bad:
17. In My Feelings by Drake

2 – Mediocre:
16. I Like It by Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin

3 – Decent:
15. No Brainer by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance The Rapper
14. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B.

4 – Good:
13. Mine by Bazzi

5 – Great:
12. Better Now by Post Malone
11. Love Lies by Khalid featuring Normani
10. Back To You by Selena Gomez
9. Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer
8. Delicate by Taylor Swift
7. Remind Me To Forget by Kygo featuring Miguel
6. Growing Pains by Alessia Cara
5. One Kiss by Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa
4. Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Backstreet Boys
3. No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: 1. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande
TIE: 1. The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey

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

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Candle In The Wind by Elton John (1997)

Most Missed Song: Sing by Ed Sheeran

#1 Recommendation For The American Top 40: Happy Now by Zedd featuring Elley Duhé (I sure hope this gets picked up soon. This is AMAZING!!!)

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Praying by Kesha (#17)

My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. The Middle by Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey
TIE: 1. God Is A Woman by Ariana Grande
TIE: 1. Let You Be Right by Meghan Trainor
4. Side Effects by The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren
5. No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande

Honorable Mentions: Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring Halsey and Khalid, Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Backstreet Boys, and One Kiss by Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. I Like Me Better
2. Friends by Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie
3. Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD
4. Meant To Be by Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line
5. Psycho by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Mi Gente by J. Balvin featuring Willy William: This song is just an embarrassment to the Latin genre. These two artists have no personality whatsoever. Not even the remix from Beyoncé could save it unfortunately.
What About Us by P!NK: It may not be P!NK's best by any means, but it still shows just how talented she is vocally, and the production here is pretty good. It's too bad that nothing else from her latest album has caught on since.

Fall Out Boy (1) - Week Of August 25, 2018

Hello, fam! This post came out a little later than expected. My apologies, but I had a very busy weekend. So, I went to the movies and saw Crazy Rich Asians, and I fell in love with it. If you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend it. Anyway, here's the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown post! Well, how about that! This was a week that I'm sure quite a few people around here were wanting to see for sometime. There was no doubt a lot of activity going on, and we got a new #1 which virtually came out of nowhere. Sure, this'll be a lot of fun to talk about. Let's get on with it! Before we get to this week's fresh 45, here are the songs leaving us this week:

• Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line – Meant To Be (#21) [Spent 1 Week At #1]
• The Weeknd featuring Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me (#33)
• Walk The Moon – One Foot (#39)
• U2 featuring Cheat Codes – Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way (#41)
• MNEK featuring Hailee Steinfeld – Colour (#43)
• Sugarland featuring Taylor Swift – Babe (#44)
• Bazzi – Mine (#45)

The Countdown:
Last Week's #1 Song: Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
45. Lauv – I Like Me Better (#34) [–11]
44. Meghan Trainor – Let You Be Right (#40) [–4]
43. Drake – In My Feelings (#36) [–7]
42. Charlie Puth featuring Kehlani – Done For Me (#42) [=]
41. Alessia Cara – Growing Pains (#24) [–17]
40. 5 Seconds of Summer – Want You Back (#37) [–3] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
39. George Ezra – Shotgun (DEBUT)
38. Camila Cabello – Never Be The Same (#28) [–10] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
37. Train featuring Cam and Travie McCoy – Call Me Sir (DEBUT)
36. Halsey – Alone (#35) [–1]
35. Brown & Gray – Top Down (DEBUT)
34. PNAU – Go Bang (#38) [+4]
33. Weezer – Africa (DEBUT)
32. Niall Horan – On The Loose (#29) [–3]
31. Dennis Lloyd – Nevermind (DEBUT)
30. Dua Lipa – IDGAF (#26) [–4]
29. Maroon 5 – Wait (#25) [–4]
28. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects (#20) [–8]
27. Charlie Puth – The Way I Am (DEBUT)
26. Madison Beer – Home With You (#32) [+6]
25. Post Malone – Better Now (#14) [–11]
24. Bebe Rexha – I'm A Mess (#30) [+6]
23. PRETTYMUCH – Summer On You (#27) [+4]
22. Cardi B. featuring Bad Bunny and J. Balvin – I Like It (#22) [=]
21. Dan + Shay – Tequila (#31) [+10]
20. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman (DEBUT)
19. Imagine Dragons – Natural (#17)
18. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies (#16) [–2]
17. Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie – Friends (#18) [+1]
16. Foster The People – Sit Next To Me (#15) [–1]
15. NOTD featuring Bea Miller – I Wanna Know (#6) [–9]
14. Shawn Mendes – In My Blood (#23) [+9] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
13. Taylor Swift – Delicate (#10) [–3] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
12. Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry (#12) [=]
11. lovelytheband – Broken (#19) [+8]
10. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle (#4) [–6] [Spent 9 Weeks At #1]
9. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes (#9) [=] [Spent 1 Week At #1]
8. Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa – One Kiss (#8) [=]
7. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart (#13) [+6]
6. Selena Gomez – Back To You (#2) [–4]
5. Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night) (#5) [=] [Spent 4 Weeks At #1]
4. Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You (#11) [+7]
3. 5 Seconds of Summer – Youngblood (#3) [=]
2. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#1) [–1] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
1. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones (#7) [+6] [1^st Week At #1]

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Charlie Puth – Attention (1^st And Only Week At #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Alessia Cara – Growing Pains (–17)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Dan + Shay – Tequila (+10)

New Entrants
- Wow. We have seven (Yes, SEVEN) debuts that I'll be talking about this week. So, buckle up everyone. First up, we have the return of George Ezra with his latest single titled Shotgun. For those who don't know him, I'll just simply tell you the story. He went mainstream back in 2015 when he had Budapest, which was a good song. I remember first listening to it and I thought that he has a unique voice. That was one of the reasons why I liked the song. His new single is really no different. Once again, his voice stands out here for the most part. The production here is nice, and I like the use of the guitars throughout the song. It sounds great and it fits well for an alternative song. Overall, it's a nice comeback single for George Ezra. I do hope it can last long.

- For our next debut, we have the return of Train, who collaborate with Cam and Travie McCoy in their latest single titled Call Me Sir. The last time we saw them was last year when they had Play That Song, which I still detest even to this day. Call Me Sir is not any better. In fact, the song is basically Play That Song 2.0. I don't see anything good about this whatsoever. Pat Monahan's voice sounds grating. I'd say that's the worst aspect of the song. I'm also not a fan of the contribution we get from Cam and Travie McCoy. They sound good in parts of the song, but they don't stand out. So yeah, I'm not fond of this at all. Hopefully it doesn't stay for too long like its predecessor.

- While we have Dan + Shay with their current representation on the countdown, there's also another country duo that makes its debut this week. Brown & Gray, who consist of Kaci Brown and Sam Gray, have their debut single titled Top Down. Right off the bat, it's one of the better country songs around, along with Tequila. The production here is very well done. These guys put forth the effort in working the song. I love how their vocals blend together. They sound really good all throughout the song. Simply put, this was a great first impression for the country duo. I would like for it to stick around.

- I was not looking forward to having Weezer making an appearance on the countdown. But alas, here they are with the song title Africa, which is the cover of the 1982 song from Toto. I first took a listen of this song and I thought to myself that it's not good. Although the production is okay, my problem here is the vocals we get from Rivers Cuomo. It's underwhelming, especially in the verses he sings. To put it easy, this is nowhere near as good as the original version. It's just a weak cover of a song and Weezer did a poor job of executing the song. NEXT!

- Next, we have newcomer Dennis Lloyd with a song titled Nevermind. I did talk about this one when it debuted on the American Top 40. But let's recap what I said. I do think the production is decent, especially with the use of guitars. But I'm not too big on his vocals. I feel like he didn't really stand out for much of the song. Also, the song is repetitive, especially when looking at the lyrical content. Personally, I think more could've been done with the songwriting. So yeah, it's not really a bad song, but I most likely won't remember it in a year or so.

- Charlie Puth has yet another new single from his latest album Voicenotes, this time he has chosen The Way I Am. As I explained quite a few times, Charlie has improved from the dreck that was Nine Track Mind when he released Voicenotes. It was praised by many YouTube critics in contrast to its predecessor, which they panned because the songs were too generic. It showed basically a different side of Charlie with songs such as Attention, How Long, and Done For Me. As for The Way I Am...well I can say it's not quite as good as what he's been releasing lately. But still, it shows Charlie's growth in terms of his songwriting and his vocals. What the song talks about is dealing with anxiety and social insecurities. We have times where we can be shy and not as confident and this is something most of us can relate to. Parts of the song kinda remind me of the Michael Jackson song Smooth Criminal, especially with what it sounds like. When I listen to that song, I often compared to Charlie's single. Anyway, it's a pretty good song from Voicenotes, though not as good as the others. We'll see if it ends up getting big.

- Ariana Grande has just released her brand new album Sweetner this month. One of the songs from that album, titled God Is A Woman, makes its highest debut this week. Now I haven't really listened to her entire album as of yet, but I'm willing to bet it's a good album all around. God Is A Woman is definitely an amazing song in my opinion. I love Ariana's voice all throughout the song. Although there's not really much to the production, her vocals easily make up for it. I'm sure some people can be turned off by the song title itself given that it can be controversial. But I'm not among that crowd. It's definitely a great follow-up to its predecessor. I'm looking forward to seeing that one do well.

Best Debut Of The Week: Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman

Blurbs Down In Africa
- As always we'll begin with our exits, and boy we cleaned house! First off, the departure of Mine was expected, especially since it performed pretty poorly on this countdown as opposed to everywhere else. Babe was underrated for a country song. Colour wasn't destined to last long especially after that big drop last week. That leaves us with three big songs. One Foot had a nice tenure here even though the song itself didn't get as big as Shut Up And Dance. Walk The Moon has another song on Hit-Bound and we'll get to that later. But I'm pleased with its countdown run. Pray For Me also did well, too. It was a nice collaboration between The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar and I enjoyed its presence. That one will be missed by me. And finally, let us celebrate as Meant To Be has officially left the countdown! This was a horrible mix of county and pop, and Bebe Rexha has done better. At least it's finally gone. Good riddance.

- It's very pleasing to see I Like Me Better drop all the way down to the bottom of the countdown. I will never understand the appeal to this song. It won't be long until it leaves hopefully.

-  Before introducing Alone, Spyder Harrison mentioned that G-Eazy and Halsey appeared to be getting back together again. Looks like they may end up becoming a couple again, but only time will tell on that.

- Spyder Harrison mentioned during the introduction for On The Loose that Niall Horan was spotted kissing Hailee Steinfeld. I have a feeling that he may have a thing for Hailee. Could they end up being a couple in the near future? We'll have to wait and see for ourselves.

- The music video for Side Effects just recently came out and it actually features Camila Mendes from the TV series, Riverdale. Although I don't really watch that show, I did see the music video and she turned out to be a very good dancer. She has some groove. That said, I'm not thrilled to see the song drop out of the Top 20. I hope it gets back up there like real soon and doesn't lose its momentum.

- Before introducing Tequila, Spyder Harrison mentioned that Dan + Shay celebrated by throwing a street party. I'll bet they probably had a lot of fun with their friends and all. I'll bet one of these guys was a party animal.

- I Wanna Know took quite a drop out of the Top 10. I was starting to lose interest in the song, though I'll admit it did quite well during its countdown run.

- This is the first time The Middle is not in the Top 5 since I don't know how long. It's been quite a ride. For some reason I still love, love, LOVE this song even though it's been out for a long while. I'm very thankful for the success that it has. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it become #1 of the year on Hits 1's Top 45 Of 2018.

- Girls Like You has now entered the Top 5 after spending quite a while outside of that region. I'm sure it'll probably end up hitting #1 here as well.

- So, the music video for High Hopes just came out, and I was quite impressed with how Brendon Urie was able to walk on buildings like that just to get to the top. Did he had some magic shoes or something like that?

- Finally, we've come to our brand new #1 for this week! The Last Of The Real Ones took a surprise jump into the Top 5 and then take the #1 spot. I definitely did not see that coming. Hits 1 has been kind to Fall Out Boy for sometime, since their previous singles have hit #1. The Last Of The Real Ones is easily the best song off of MANIA and I'm glad these guys chose it as a single.

Hit-Bound:

• DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Chance The Rapper, and Quavo – No Brainer
• Marshmello featuring Bastille – Happier (DEBUT)
• Sabrina Carpenter – Almost Love
• Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now
• The Vamps – Just My Type (DEBUT)
• LSD – Thunderclouds (DEBUT)
• Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (DEBUT)
• NF – Lie
• Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato – Solo (DEBUT)
• Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello – Beautiful
• Walk The Moon – Kamikaze (DEBUT)
• Calvin Harris featuring Sam Smith – Promises (DEBUT)
• Anne-Marie – 2002
• AJR – Burn The House Down
• Bryce Vine – Drew Barrymore (DEBUT)

- Alright, everyone. We have a bunch of new songs entering Hit-Bound this week, so let's cover them all!

- I've been pretty mixed with Marshmello's music lately. Songs such as Wolves and Every Day were both amazing, but Friends was annoying all around. His new single kinda lands somewhere in the middle as far as my opinion goes. I do like the vocals, but the production here is still relatively mediocre, especially for Marshmello. It's a step up from Friends, but it's still pales in comparison to his two predecessors.

- Next we have the return of The Vamps, by the name of Just My Type. Right off the bat, it's quite a fun and enjoyable song all around. It's a little more fast-paced than their previous singles. The production here is good and they sound better vocals-wise. I'll have more on this when it debuts.

- A new group called LSD, consisting of three artists Labrinth, Sia, and Diplo, has a new song titled Thunderclouds. I'm sure some here are familiar with Sia, who had quite a few huge hits in recent years. Anyway, I cannot stand Sia's vocals at all. She sounds scratchy in most parts of the song and the production is garbled many times. Simply put, this song is a mess. I do hope it doesn't debut.

- Once more, Panic! At The Disco have another new single, this time it's Hey Look Ma, I Made It. I'll have more on this when it inevitably debuts. But let me just simply say that Brendon Urie and company have impressed me yet again.

- We have the return of Clean Bandit, who collaborates with Demi Lovato in their latest single titled Solo. I love the work Clean Bandit has done here, and Demi sounds amazing. I'll have more on this should it debut.

- As one song from Walk The Moon leaves the countdown, another is coming to take its place. Their next single off of What If Nothing is called Kamikaze. It actually the same name of the song from MØ, that which I'm sure will bring back bad memories for those who don't like it. The intro to the song pretty much resembles Happy Now when I first listened to it. The song is pretty enjoyable, though not quite as good as its predecessor.

- Next, we have Calvin Harris with his next single and it features Sam Smith, by the name of Promises. I can't say it's as good as One Kiss. But I do like Sam Smith's contribution in this one. More on this if it debuts.

- Finally, Bryce Vine has a song that is somewhat gaining momentum, titled Drew Barrymore. I talked about this one when it debuted on the AT40. But to recap, it's not really all that interesting for the most part. The production is decent, but I'm not too fond of his vocals. That's all I have to say about it.

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Zedd featuring Elley Duhé – Happy Now
2. Bazzi featuring Camila Cabello – Beautiful
3. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It
4. Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato – Solo
5. Walk The Moon – Kamikaze

Top 20 Review:
0 – Putrid:
20. Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie – Friends

1 – Bad:
None!

2 – Mediocre:
None!

3 – Decent:
19. NOTD featuring Bea Miller – I Wanna Know
18. Foster The People – Sit Next To Me
17. Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B. – Girls Like You

4 – Good:
16. Shawn Mendes – In My Blood

5 – Great:
15. lovelytheband – Broken
14. Imagine Dragons – Natural
13. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes
12. Khalid featuring Normani – Love Lies 
11. Selena Gomez – Back To You
10. Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night)
9. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
8. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood
7. Taylor Swift – Delicate
6. Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry
5. Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa – One Kiss
4. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones

BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
TIE: 1. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle
TIE: 1. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart

Overall Grade: 91/100 = 91% (A–)

Throwback Pick Of The Week: Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (1983) (This week would've been his 60th Birthday, so Happy Birthday to the late Michael Jackson)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Demi Lovato – Heart Attack

Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Lorde – Green Light

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Tori Kelly featuring Kirk Franklin – Never Alone

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Kesha – Praying (#20)

My Top 5 Picks
TIE: 1. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart
TIE: 1. Zedd featuring Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle
TIE: 1. Ariana Grande – God Is A Woman
4. The Chainsmokers featuring Emily Warren – Side Effects
5. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones

Honorable Mentions: Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry, Meghan Trainor – Let You Be Right, and Alessia Cara – Growing Pains

My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Lauv – I Like Me Better
2. Marshmello featuring Anne-Marie – Friends
3. Train featuring Cam and Travie McCoy – Call Me Sir
4. Weezer – Africa
5. Drake – In My Feelings

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey – Glorious: It was nice to see the return of Macklemore. And he bought along Skylar Grey. I was happy with how the collaboration turned out. I felt like this should've been bigger than it was.
Imagine Dragons – Thunder: Although the song itself is catchy, I'm starting to see why some here aren't too fond of it. I'll probably have more to say about this in my Year-End posts. But I'll just say that Imagine Dragons have done better.

QOTW: What are your thoughts on Ariana Grande's latest album, Sweetner? What is your favorite song? Least favorite? Why?