had their weekend takeover on Hits 1, meaning they hosted Hit-Bound and the Weekend Countdown to celebrate the release of their new album,
, which came out yesterday. I thought these guys did a decent job hosting. As for the rest of the countdown itself...well, I'm not gonna lie. I actually have mixed feelings about this week overall. On one hand, we got the big return of one of my favorite artists this week. I'll have more on that in just a bit. But on the other hand, a lot of good songs left us this week. And while there was definitely a lot of activity on the countdown, Hit-Bound and the YouTube 15 aren't really looking too good. But if anything, at least we're doing some cleaning up as summer gets underway. Before we get to this week's fresh 45, here are the songs we're saying goodbye to this week:
29. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes (#17) [–12] [Spent 8 Weeks At #1]
28. Khalid – Talk (DEBUT)
27. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less (#29) [+2]
26. TWENTY ØNE PILØTS – Chlorine (#35) [+9]
25. Alec Benjamin – Let Me Down Slowly (#15) [–10]
24. Ciara – Thinkin Bout You (#26) [+2]
23. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved (#27) [+4]
22. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix) (#24) [+2]
21. Lauv featuring Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired... (#12) [–9]
20. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime (#25) [+5]
19. Katy Perry – Never Really Over (DEBUT)
18. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier (#19) [+1]
17. P!NK – Walk Me Home (#3) [–14]
16. Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE – Happier (#13) [–3] [Spent 2 Weeks At #1]
15. Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber – I Don't Care (#10) [–5]
14. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger (#16) [+2]
13. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy (#23) [+10]
12. Dan + Shay – Speechless (#21) [+9]
11. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored (#18) [+7]
10. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#5) [–5] [Spent 3 Weeks At #1]
9. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho (#8) [–1]
8. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar (#11) [+3]
7. Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES – Here With Me (#7) [=]
6. Halsey – Nightmare (#14) [+8]
5. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You (#4) [–1]
4. Halsey – Without Me (#6) [+2] [Spent 5 Weeks At #1]
3. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love (#9) [+6]
2. Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME! (#2) [=]
1. Jonas Brothers – Sucker (#1) [=] [11th Week At #1]
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago:
Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night) (1st of 4 Weeks At #1)
Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week:
BTS featuring Halsey – Boy With Luv (–15)
Biggest Jump Of The Week:
Billie Eilish – Bad Guy (+10)
New Entrants:
- We have six new songs entering the countdown this week. It feels like we had a lot of 5-6 exit weeks this year. I guess the voters liked a bunch of songs that were on Hit-Bound before. Anyway, we'll start with
Alec Benjamin who has the follow-up to
Let Me Down Slowly, which is thankfully starting to die down. His new song is called
If We Had Each Other. I think this is a step up from its predecessor. While I don't really like his voice very much, he does sound better in the song. So I can consider this an improvement from a vocal standpoint. The instrumentation and the lyrics are okay. I recently found out that he wrote the song to dedicate his sister. I'll bet she loves it. Overall, this is actually decent.
- If you remember
Martin Garrix, then you probably know that he did have a couple of songs that were on the countdown at one point in time, such as
Animals and
In The Name Of Love, both of which were good songs. This week, he returns and he teams up with
Macklemore and
Patrick Stump in
Summer Days. As the title of the song obviously suggests, we're in for another hot summer. About the song itself, while this is not his best work thus far, I do love this quite a bit. The groove here is pretty awesome and I like the guitar riff.
Patrick and
Macklemore both had a nice performance in terms of their verses. These guys sound good in the chorus. So yeah, I'm digging this one.
- Next is the return of
Andy Grammer with the single taken from the
Five Feet Apart movie soundtrack, by the name of
Don't Give Up On Me.
Andy Grammer hasn't had much to offer as far as the charts go since
Honey, I'm Good, which was his last major hit. The last time he was on the countdown, he gave us
Give Love, which was a couple of years ago. As for his latest single, I can I pretty much like this. Here he sings with emotion, and I can feel it during the chorus. That's one of good qualities about the song. The instrumentation is nice and I love the lyrics. This might not stick around for long, but it is a good song overall.
- With
Ava Max breaking out in music this year, I figured it was only a matter of time until her successor would show up on the countdown. This week, she gives us
So Am I, which is actually
Sweet But Psycho 2.0. I say this because the song sounds much like its predecessor in terms of the production and the beat. The only real difference here is the lyrical content, which talks about how one is different and setting themselves apart from everyone else.
Ava sounds good here, which further proves that she is talented, both as a vocalist and a songwriter. But even as I say those words, the song itself isn't without at least one flaw. The creativity here is lacking in large part because it is very similar to
Sweet But Psycho, hence why some here may not be fond of the song, despite it have good qualities. As for myself...yeah, this is still a good song on its own. Although I can't really envision this being a hit, I'm just glad
Ava is becoming a presence in the world of music.
- On the note of other artists who have been making a presence in music, we have
Khalid. He has established himself as one of the breakout artists since
Location charted back in 2017 on Billboard (although the song itself never made it to Hits 1, because little was known about him at the time). This week, he replaces himself with one of his weakest singles to date, in the form of
Talk. It's not so much about his voice that makes me dislike it. He actually sounds pretty decent, which proves that he is talented. It's really the production itself, in which it sounds underwhelming. It lacks any sort of originality and it shows throughout the song. In case you're wondering, the EDM duo
Disclosure helped produced the song. They made quite a few stuff I love, such as
Latch and
Magnets. But here, they didn't put forth the effort in the production. Yeah, this is simply not good and I'm not too thrilled about it being peaked higher on the Billboard Hot 100 than his previous singles, although I'll certainly take it over a certain song at this point.
Khalid can do better (no pun intended).
- Finally, we have a song that debuts in the Top 20 for the sixth week in a row (that's got to be the record). We have the comeback single from one of, if not my favorite, artists of the entire decade:
Katy Perry! She brings us her new single titled
Never Really Over! The song is actually produced by
Zedd, who has recently been in the news this week due to
Matthew Koma criticizing him. But let's not get into that. I've been a big fan of
Katy ever since
I Kissed A Girl was huge back in 2008. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that I adore the song. First off,
Katy sounds amazing. Honestly, I don't even need to say how incredibly talented she is as a vocalist because if you listen to her music (especially her singles such as
Teenage Dream,
Hot N Cold, etc.), then it should be obvious. Now I'll admit that
Witness wasn't really a good album in my book, but I did love
Chained To The Rhythm, which as you can recall was my #3 favorite song of 2017 (were it not for
Kesha – Praying, I had strongly considered putting
Chained To The Rhythm at #1 for that year). I love the chorus as always and the production is solid. Looking at the lyrics, it basically tells a story about her relationship with
Orlando Bloom. I like the effort she put in her songwriting. So yeah, this is just amazing and it's no surprise given that I absolutely adore
Katy Perry. I am definitely hyped for her new album. Hopefully, it'll be better than
Witness.
Best Debut Of The Week:
Katy Perry – Never Really Over (easily)
Can't We Just Blurb?
- So we sadly have to say goodbye to six songs this week. To start,
Power Is Power lasted only one week, thus making it the first song to leave after one week since
Lady Gaga – I'll Never Love Again on November 3, 2018. I guess it wasn't meant to be a hit since the
Game Of Thrones hype died down after the series ended. Speaking of
Lady Gaga,
Shallow left us for the second time. And despite it gaining traction after hitting #1 on Billboard a few months, it didn't exactly ring true as it didn't get anywhere near the Top 10. But at least it was here for a while, though it deserved to have a better run in its second tenure.
Better had been here for a while, but it was clearly better than his current representation.
Juice left a little earlier considering it's starting to slightly gain traction elsewhere.
Medicine never really got anywhere, and it's pretty sad because I love the song. Finally, we say goodbye to
I've Been Waiting. I thought it was a solid song for all three artists and I think it deserved better than what it ultimately got. All of those songs will be missed by me.
- Before introducing
Tequila, the
Jonas Brothers mentioned that
Dan + Shay both love themselves a fresh cup of coffee. I wonder will they make a song about coffee? That would be fun, given that it helps them get the energy they need to continue making music.
-
So Close has fallen into the Bottom 5 this week, which I'm okay with. I'm just glad it didn't become the next
I Wanna Know.
- On that note, that's the second week in a row in which
Close To Me dropped 11 spots. Dang!
- Nice to see
Boy With Luv having the Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week this week. The song just isn't appealing to me, in part because I don't buy the
BTS hype. Hopefully, it ends up leaving soon.
-
This Feeling took a massive drop as well, which is very sad given that I still love the song. It looks like its time may finally be coming to an end. It had a incredible run on Hits 1, so I'm happy about that.
-
High Hopes has finally dropped out of the Top 20. The song's run is just insane. I remember when it first debuted that it would only get big on Hits 1 because they love
Panic! At The Disco. But little did I know that it ended up becoming the band's biggest hit of his career. It's only a few weeks from lasting a year on the countdown. Could it possibly make it? We'll see what happens.
- There was a cover of
Old Town Road released by
Jessie James Decker and I'll admit, she sounds okay. But the song itself is still garbage either way. So yeah.
- On the note of mediocrity, good to see
I'm So Tired... drop out of the Top 20. That song still blows. I'm glad this didn't become the next
I Like Me Better. Hopefully it'll continue to drop and eventually leave the countdown soon. But since I just jinxed it, watch it jump into the Top 10 next week.
- Whoa, there! I didn't envision
P!NK – Walk Me Home to abruptly drop out of the Top 3 like that, given how much I've heard it during the course of the week. Heh, I guess one week in that region is too much according to Hits 1 logic.
- So...I found out during the 4-1-1 recap that
Britney Spears is a huge fan of
Billie Eilish and danced to
Bad Guy at her place. I'll bet she had tons of fun dancing to the song. It's good to see it gain some momentum on Hits 1 as it jumped into the Top 20 this week.
- So, there is a remix of
Speechleess that was just recently released with
Tori Kelly. I listened to it and I find that it's amazing. In fact, I like it even better than the original. Could this be the thing that helps the song get a second wind on the charts? We'll have to find out.
-
Hey Look Ma, I Made It has made its way out of the Top 5. This is the first time a song from
Panic! At The Disco is not in that region since I don't know how long. Although I doubt it'll last very long, given that
Dancing's Not A Crime has eyes on the potential Top 5 spot (because hello, Hits 1 loves all things
Brendon Urie).
- I thought
Bad Liar and
Here With Me would for sure jump into the Top 5, given I heard them both as Most Wutchuwanted all this week. Both of these songs aren't popular elsewhere. But them staying in the Top 10 shows how Hits 1 set themselves apart from everyone else. Remember,
Taylor Swift – New Romantics was a #1 hit on Hits 1 back in 2016, although that had more to do with them falling in love with
Taylor Swift than anything else.
- Before introducing
ME!, the
Jonas Brothers mentioned that
Taylor Swift loves cats! In fact, she just recently made her new kitty part of her cat family. I'll bet he's adorable!
- And of course, the
Jonas Brothers themselves are #1 yet again. It's very fitting given that they hosted the countdown and Hit-Bound this weekend, which I'll get to in just a sec. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up tying or even breaking the record for weeks at #1 held by three songs (
Taylor Swift – Shake It Off,
Walk The Moon – Shut Up And Dance, and
Adele – Hello, in that order). We'll see what ultimately happens within the next couple of weeks or so.
Hit-Bound:
- Lizzo – Truth Hurts (DEBUT)
- Asher Angel
featuring Wiz Khalifa – One Thought Away (DEBUT)
- Push Baby – Mama's House
- Public – Make You Mine (DEBUT)
- Kygo featuring Rita Ora – Carry On
- Ed Sheeran featuring Chance The Rapper and PnB Rock – Cross Me
- Miley Cyrus – Mother's Daughter (DEBUT)
- In Real Life – Crazy AF
- Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello – Find U Again (DEBUT)
- OneRepublic – Rescue Me (DEBUT)
- The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine
- Jonas Brothers – Cool
- P!NK – Hustle
- Bazzi – Paradise
- AJR – 100 Bad Days (DEBUT)
Entrant Reviews:
- I'm actually mixed on Hit-Bound this week. First, we'll start with Lizzo who brings us Truth Hurts as her song Juice leaves the countdown this week. I did a brief review of the song when it was on the YouTube 15. It's a bit of a step down from Juice. But this is still good. I like her voice in the song, but I feel like something's missing that prevents the song from being really great. I'll have more on this when it debuts.
- Next is newcomer Asher Angel with the song called One Thought Away. I like the instrumentation in this one and the lyrics are good, but I'm not necessarily big on his voice. I feel like it's a little too childish, kinda like how I felt about Alec Benjamin when I first started hearing his music. Overall, it's a decent song. But I feel like if he had a better voice, my opinions would change.
- Up next, we have a song that's actually been around since 2014 (no joke). The band, Public, gives us their single titled Make You Mine. I don't have much to say about this one as the band isn't really relevant. I like the instrumentation and I think their vocals are good. The rock vibes are pretty interesting. I recommend this.
- We have Miley Cyrus with her brand new solo single in the form of Mother's Daughter, taken from her latest EP She Is Coming, which was just released this past week. I think it's really good as far as the production goes, and Miley sounds great in the chorus. I'll talk more about the song should it debut.
- Mark Ronson has another new single in its stead, and he collaborates with Camila Cabello in Find U Again. I'm not totally in love with this one right from the jump. I like the production in this one. It shows that Mark Ronson is still talented. But Camila kinda ruins the song for me, in part because of the chorus. I'm not huge on her voice for the most part. This may grow on me with time, but right now I just find it okay. Mark has obviously done better with Nothing Breaks Like A Heart which came early this year, and of course I can't forget about his biggest hit, Uptown Funk.
- The group, OneRepublic, are back as well. They give us their latest single titled Rescue Me. This did make an appearance last week on the YouTube 15, when I did a review of the song. Right off the bat, I like the instrumentation and Ryan Tedder sounds good with his vocals. This is not quite their best work thus far. Songs like Counting Stars and Good Life are better. But Rescue Me is still solid on its own. We'll see if this one ends up debuting on the countdown.
- And finally...oh boy. I had high hopes (no pun intended) we didn't get more of AJR. But alas, here they are with 100 Bad Days. I figured it was a matter a time before Hits 1 was able to pick up that song. It's a bit of a step up from their previous singles, and I'll give them that. But I still don't like the song overall given that I'm not fond of what these guys had to offer. The production is actually pretty decent, but I'm not a fan of the lyrics and their vocals don't sound good, although they're not as obnoxious as before. Yeah, this still isn't good. I do hope it doesn't graduate to the weekend countdown (which it probably will at some point).
Best Hit-Bound Entrant Of The Week: Miley Cyrus – Mother's Daughter
Hit-Bound Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
15. Ed Sheeran featuring Chance The Rapper and PnB Rock – Cross Me
1 – Bad:
14. Jonas Brothers – Cool
13. AJR – 100 Bad Days
12. Push Baby – Mama's House
2 – Mediocre:
11. In Real Life – Crazy AF
3 – Decent:
10. Bazzi – Paradise
9. Asher Angel – One Thought Away
8. Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello – Find U Again
7. The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine
4 – Good:
None!
5 – Great:
6. P!NK – Hustle
5. OneRepublic – Rescue Me
4. Lizzo – Truth Hurts
3. Public – Make You Mine
2. Miley Cyrus – Mother's Daughter
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On Hit-Bound:
1. Kygo featuring Rita Ora – Carry On
Overall Grade: 48/75 = 64% (D–)
Most Missed Hit-Bound Dropout: Carly Rae Jepsen – Run Away With Me
My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Kygo featuring Rita Ora – Carry On
2. Lizzo – Truth Hurts
3. Public – Make You Mine
4. Miley Cyrus – Mother's Daughter
5. OneRepublic – Rescue Me
YouTube 15:
- Khalid – Talk
- Alan Walker featuring Sabrina Carpenter – On My Way
Lauv – Sad Forever
Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)
Jess Glynne featuring Jax Jones – One Touch
Post Malone – Wow.
Tove Lo – Glad He's Gone
Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber – I Don't Care
DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend – Higher
Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine
Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME!
Ally Brooke featuring A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie – Lips Don't Lie
Halsey – Nightmare
Katy Perry – Never Really Over
Song Reviews:
- More of
Lauv is not what I was hoping for. But alas, here he is with his latest single titled
Sad Forever. I will say that I actually find this to be pretty decent.
Lauv sounds better here with his voice. I do think the ticking clock in the background is unnecessary. Overall, I find this to be okay. It's better than his previous singles and certainly better than its current representation on the countdown.
- Tove Lo makes her return with her new single, in the form of Glad He's Gone. She made a breakthrough with Talking Body back in 2015, which remains to this day as a big favorite of mine. I can't say that about Glad He's Gone. I'm not a fan of her voice for the most part. She sounds too high-pitched and the beat isn't very interesting. So yeah, I'm not feeling the song. It's slightly closer to red than it is green.
YouTube 15 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
15. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)
1 – Bad:
14. Post Malone – Wow.
2 – Mediocre:
13. Khalid – Talk
3 – Decent:
12. Alan Walker featuring Sabrina Carpenter – On My Way
11. Lauv – Sad Forever
10. Tove Lo – Glad He's Gone
9. Halsey – Nightmare
8. Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber – I Don't Care
7. Jess Glynne featuring Jax Jones – One Touch
6. The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – Call You Mine
4 – Good:
None!
5 – Great:
5. Ally Brooke featuring A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie – Lips Don't Lie
4. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
3. DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend – Higher
2. Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME!
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The YouTube 15:
1. Katy Perry – Never Really Over
Overall Grade: 50/75 = 67% (D+)
Most Missed YouTube 15 song: Rachel Platten – Broken Glass
My Top 5 YouTube 15 Picks
1. Katy Perry – Never Really Over
2. Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME!
3. DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend – Higher
4. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
5. Ally Brooke featuring A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie – Lips Don't Lie
Hits 1 Weekend Countdown Top 20 Breakdown:
0 – Crap:
20. Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE – Happier
1 – Bad:
19. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored
2 – Mediocre:
None!
3 – Decent:
18. Halsey – Without Me
17. Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber – I Don't Care
16. Halsey – Nightmare
15. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier
4 – Good:
14. P!NK – Walk Me Home
13. Jonas Brothers – Sucker
5 – Great:
12. Panic! At The Disco – Dancing's Not A Crime
11. The Chainsmokers featuring 5 Seconds Of Summer – Who Do You Love
10. Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It
9. Marshmello featuring CHVRCHES – Here With Me
8. Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar
7. Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho
6. Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
5. Dan + Shay – Speechless
4. Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME!
3. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger
2. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You
BONUS: 6 – Best Song On The Countdown:
1. Katy Perry – Never Really Over
Overall Grade: 82/100 = 82% (B–)
Throwback Pick Of The Week: Jennifer Lopez – If You Had My Love (1999)
Most Missed Countdown Song: Demi Lovato – Cool For The Summer
#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Carly Rae Jepsen – Now That I Found You
Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry (#16)
My Top 5 Picks
1. Katy Perry – Never Really Over
2. Shawn Mendes – If I Can't Have You
3. Sam Smith featuring Normani – Dancing With A Stranger
4. Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie – ME!
5. Dan + Shay – Speechless
My Bottom 5 Picks
1. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)
2. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings
3. Lauv featuring Troye Sivan – I'm So Tired...
4. Marshmello featuring BΔSTILLE – Happier
5. Jordan McGraw – Flexible
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Maren Morris – Rich: Although I did love The Middle last year, I'm not fond of this one. The lyrics make it sound like she's conceited and thinks she's all that. Not helping matters is that the "La-a-a-a-di-da" is annoying. Maren has made plenty of stuff I love. But this is not one of them.
Calvin Harris featuring Dua Lipa – One Kiss: This is far from Calvin's best, but it is still solid overall, in part because of Dua's unique vocals. It may not have been as big as New Rules, but it was one of my favorites from the summer.
QOTW: What do you guys think of the Jonas Brothers's new album Happiness Begins? What is your favorite song from their album? Also, what is their worst song, and why?
