Saturday, June 25, 2016

June 25, 2016 - Mike Posner (1)


So while we didn't get much in the way of new entries, we got some activity that I can say was partially expected. I want to say I called the new #1, but I'm sure others did too. It does look like we're about to get some steam going on here and the activity will start to pick up. With that being said, we have one song leaving us this week, so here it is.
  • Roses by The Chainsmokers featuring ROZES (#41)
The Countdown!
Last Week’s #1 Song: New Romantics by Taylor Swift
45. Work by Rihanna featuring Drake (#43) (Get out already!!!)
44. Make Me Like You by Gwen Stefani (#44)
43. Me, Myself and I by G-Eazy and Bebe Rexha (#45)
42. Lost Boy by Ruth B. (#38)
41. If It Ain't Love by Jason Derulo (#37)
40. Missing You by All Time Low (#36)
39. Never Forget You by Zara Larsson and MNEK (#39) (Jump please? ;_;)
38. No by Meghan Trainor (#42)
37. Wherever I Go by OneRepublic (#28)
36. Hands to Myself by Selena Gomez (#21) (hahaha)
35. Youth by Troye Sivan (#35)
34. My House by Flo Rida (#29)
33. Irresistible by Fall Out Boy and Demi Lovato (#30)
32. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (debut)
31. Cake By The Ocean by DNCE (#18) (yay!)
30. Love Yourself by Justin Bieber (#32)
29. Jet Black Heart by 5 Seconds of Summer (#24)
28. Messin' Around by Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias (#17)
27. We Don't Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez (#40)
26. Once In a While by Timeflies (#27)
25. Pillowtalk by Zayn Malik (#26)
24. Wild Things by Alessia Cara (#34)
23. Victorious by Panic! At The Disco (#12)
22. Me Too by Meghan Trainor (#25)
21. 7 Years by Lukas Graham (#22)
20. Kill 'Em With Kindness by Selena Gomez (#31)
19. Toothbrush by DNCE (#33)
18. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris and Rihanna (#19)
17. Figure Me Out by The Summer Set (#20)
16. You Don't Own Me by Grace (#13)
15. Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots (#4)
14. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya (#23)
13. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#16)
12. Work From Home by Fifth Harmony (#5)
11. Close by Nick Jonas and Tove Lo (#9)
10. Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande (#11)
9. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul (#13)
8. History by One Direction (#7)
7. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#14)
6. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#10)
5. Let It Go by James Bay (#6)
4. New Romantics by Taylor Swift (#1)
3. Just Like Fire by P!nk (#8)
2. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (#2)
1. I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner (#3) (Woohoo!)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Hands to Myself by Selena Gomez (-15)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Toothbrush by DNCE (+14)

New Entrants
- This week, we have but one new entrant - Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes. Its predecessor, Stitches, hit #1 on the countdown back in the fall and blew up, so we'll see if this one manages to follow suit. I don't have too much to say about it, except that I like the instrumentation. I'll probably get sick of it eventually, but for now I like it.

I Know I Can Blurb You Better
- So we lost Roses by The Chainsmokers featuring ROZES this week, which had gotten old to me but thankfully left before I could hate it.

- As you can see, there are quite a few songs here I've grown into in notable portions, like We Don't Talk Anymore, Don't Let Me Down and Love Yourself.

- So that's two weeks in a row that Hands to Myself by Selena Gomez had the biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! of the week. I think the Wutchuwant crew figured out that she needs to start keeping her hands to herself already, even though she doesn't want to.

- And the song that was tied with it last week, Cake By The Ocean by DNCE, also took a big drop. Looks like it's on its way out, and that's good.

- I laugh at how Spyder Harrison puts emphasis on how he says Enrique Iglesias' name. That being said, Messin' Around did take a noticeable drop this week.

- Of our five debuts from last week, two of them took small drops, and three of them took nice jumps up that I'm totally cool with.

- Me Too by Meghan Trainor is for me, as Adrian once put it, the "Insta-Station Change" in that it will make me change the station as fast as I can as soon as it comes on. Don't be that guy (well, gal) and peak any higher, okay? But now that I've said that, watch it take a huge jump next week.

- Speaking of Selena Gomez, Kill 'Em With Kindness is already getting worse every time I hear it. The beat is annoying, the whistling doesn't help, and the lyrics are lazily written. It's repetition at its core. It'll probably be red very soon.

- During the Weekend Rewind, I heard from Nicole that Taylor Swift dumped Calvin Harris over the phone. I do not buy that for one second! Wasn't he the one who dumped her? Anyway, This Is What You Came For is still something I can like, but I can't deny that I'm seeing where the disdain comes from for it. Don't be surprised if it starts to change color.

- Before introducing Dangerous Woman, Spyder Harrison commented that it was the birthday weekend of Ariana Grande. I remember her Nickelodeon days, and she shares the same birthday as her fellow former Dan Schneider star, Jennette McCurdy. It's too bad that the two of them ended up fighting late into the run of Sam and Cat, but did they ever reconcile? I think they did... Or at least I hope. Ah, that aside, I'm still not as big on the song as many of these bloggers are. Hits 1 needs to get Into You in here and they need to do it soon.

- Both Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul and Ride by Twenty-one Pilots making the Top 10 is very satisfying, especially seeing as they knocked Work From Home by Fifth Harmony out of the Top 10.

- Then we have Just Like Fire by P!nk jumping into the Top 3. The song has been growing on me, but I don't love it as much as most other bloggers do. While I would rather see Don't Let Me Down or Ride in its spot, we'll see if it becomes green eventually.

- So Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake once again failed to reclaim #1. Although it was by a song I'm glad hit #1 and I'll get to that in a moment, I will say, I wonder how many times while driving I’m gonna hear a random act introduce themselves and say “This is your most wutchuwanted song." then the DJ with "Tell us yours! Join the wutchuwant crew at siriusxm.com/hits1!” followed by the opening piano and cymbals then “I got this feeling, inside my bones”. Not that I'm complaining right about now, though!

- And last, but certainly not least, we get to our new #1 - I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner. I voted for this one a fair bit in the past week. It's still one of my favorite hit songs we've had this year so far, and I'm very happy to see it at #1. This is the second week this month where I put the #1 in purple. I don't know if it'll last long there given the monster force to be reckoned with that is Can't Stop the Feeling, but even if it leaves the #1 spot next week I'm glad it made it.

On the note of Hit-Bound, I'm not gonna give a full review, because not much changed. The only new entrant there was Mama Said by Lukas Graham. I liked 7 Years, but this successor... I'm not really sure what I listened to there, but those children in the background felt kinda annoying. We'll see how well it holds, but if it makes the countdown, I can see it wearing on me quickly. Nothing else to say, my favorite and least favorite since (The Sound by The 1975 and Hello Friday by Flo Rida featuring Jason Derulo respectively) haven't changed. I am hoping for Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele to make the countdown, though.

Countdown Bottom 5
1. Me Too by Meghan Trainor
2. Work by Rihanna featuring Drake
3. No by Meghan Trainor
4. Cake By The Ocean by DNCE
5. Hands to Myself by Selena Gomez

Countdown Top 5
1. I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner
2. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
3. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul
4. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots
5. Never Forget You by Zara Larsson and MNEK

So, that was the countdown. All in all, I'd say this week was pretty good overall. It does give me a good feeling about what's to come.

Also, as a bonus, since I'm new to this countdown thing and some have liked how I've done things, I'm gonna do something else. Someone in the comments of one of Adrian's newest countdown updates had covered the countdown a year from that day and a year and a half from that day. Just for fun, I'll be covering it from a year ago. 2015 has definitely been my favorite year for music of this decade so far, which should make it even more fun. Not gonna list previous numbers or anything, just the countdown as it was then. However, this may get boring for some of you after a while, as these songs have all left the countdown obviously and I'm not gonna listen to all of them right then and there, so my opinions probably won't change if I keep doing this (except the dark green no real opinion songs if I listen to them in between updates). I don't know if I'll do this regularly, but it's fun to look back on previous years and see how much things have changed.

Also, instead of the standard color code judging on if a song was bad to me because it got old or something, I'll have it this way: red = garbage, orange = least favorite song, turquoise = bad, yellow = meh, pink = decent, blue = good, green = great, purple = favorite song, dark green = no real opinion/never heard/don't remember it. Here we go!

Dropouts:
Night Changes by One Direction
Earned It by The Weeknd

45. Chains by Nick Jonas
44. When The Beat Drops Out by Marlon Roudette
43. Wrapped Up by Olly Murs/Travie McCoy
42. Dear Future Husband by Meghan Trainor
41. No Way No by MAGIC!
40. Budapest by George Ezra
39. Blank Space by Taylor Swift
38. Can't Feel My Face by The Weeknd
37. Centuries by Fall Out Boy
36. Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding
35. Lay Me Down by Sam Smith with John Legend
34. You Know You Like It by DJ Snake with AlunaGeorge
33. Ghost by Ella Henderson
32. Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars
31. Marvin Gaye by Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor
30. Lean On by Major Lazer with DJ Snake and MØ
29. Sugar by Maroon 5
28. Fun by Pitbull and Chris Brown
27. Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran
26. The Night Is Still Young by Nicki Minaj
25. Fire N Gold by Bea Miller
24. Hold My Hand by Jess Glynne
23. Jealous by Nick Jonas
22. Worth It by Fifth Harmony
21. Tear In My Heart by Twenty-one Pilots
20. Cheerleader by OMI
19. Fight Song by Rachel Platten
18. Whistle (While You Work It) by Katy Tiz
17. Something's Gotta Give by All Time Low
16. Where Do Broken Hearts Go by One Direction
15. Photograph by Ed Sheeran
14. I Need Your Love by Shaggy, Mohombi, Faydee and Costi
13. Bright by Echosmith
12. I Really Like You by Carly Rae Jepsen
11. Take Your Time by Sam Hunt
10. This Summer's Gonna Hurt... by Maroon 5
9. Hey Mama by David Guetta with Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha and Afrojack
8. Style by Taylor Swift
7. Uma Thurman by Fall Out Boy
6. Want To Want Me by Jason Derulo
5. Talking Body by Tove Lo
4. Honey I'm Good by Andy Grammer
3. See You Again by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth
2. Bad Blood by Taylor Swift
1. Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon

Around this point was when See You Again had been blowing up, but it was losing its steam and about to be dethroned by Cheerleader on the Hot 100. And it's good that I Need Your Love and I Really Like You were having success here when they weren't on the charts.

Also, to make it a little more interesting, I'm not allowed to mention Uptown Funk in my Top 5. I mean, I still absolutely love the song, no matter how annoying others may find it, but to say the least, I feel like it's too easy a choice for my top list, so including it would feel unfair to other songs. I also want to try to mention at least a few songs that were snubbed and failed to become real hits on the Hot 100, as there's something else I want to do on that note. But I won't say what it is just yet.

Top 5:
1. You Know You Like It by DJ Snake with AlunaGeorge
2. Style by Taylor Swift
3. Can't Feel My Face by The Weeknd
4. Chains by Nick Jonas
5. Hold My Hand by Jess Glynne

Bottom 5:
1. Marvin Gaye by Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor
2. This Summer's Gonna Hurt... by Maroon 5
3. Dear Future Husband by Meghan Trainor
4. Whistle (While You Work It) by Katy Tiz
5. Jealous by Nick Jonas

So, with all of that, thanks for reading!

Saturday, June 18, 2016

June 18, 2016 - Taylor Swift (2)


Well, I know that many were predicting a lot of exits on the countdown this weekend. And while we had a good shakeup of new debuts, the amount of drops and jumps wasn't quite what I'm sure some prepared for. And our #1 was not what I expected, either. We did get some nice activity in the higher part of the countdown, however. I like when there's competition throughout the minefield. With that being said, here are the songs leaving us this week.
  • Sorry by Justin Bieber (#45)
  • America's Sweetheart by Elle King (#44)
  • Hello by Adele (#40) (spent 12 weeks at #1)
  • In the Night by The Weeknd (#37)
  • One Call Away by Charlie Puth (#32) (spent two weeks at #1)
The Countdown!
Last Week’s #1 Song: Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
#1 Song This Week 1 Year Ago: Bad Blood by Taylor Swift
45. Me, Myself and I by G-Easy and Bebe Rexha (#41)
44. Make Me Like You by Gwen Stefani (#42)
43. Work by Rihanna featuring Drake (#43)
42. No by Meghan Trainor (#38)
41. Roses by The Chainsmokers featuring ROZES (#35)
40. We Don't Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez (debut)
39. Never Forget You by Zara Larsson and MNEK (#29)
38. Lost Boy by Ruth B. (debut)
37. If It Ain't Love by Jason Derulo (#39)
36. Missing You by All Time Low (debut)
35. Youth by Troye Sivan (#26)
34. Wild Things by Alessia Cara (debut)
33. Toothbrush by DNCE (debut)
32. Love Yourself by Justin Bieber (#36)
31. Kill 'Em With Kindness by Selena Gomez (#31)
30. Irresistible by Fall Out Boy and Demi Lovato (#34)
29. My House by Flo Rida (#23)
28. Wherever I Go by OneRepublic (#28)
27. Once In a While by Timeflies (#20)
26. Pillowtalk by Zayn Malik (#17)
25. Me Too by Meghan Trainor (#25)
24. Jet Black Heart by 5 Seconds of Summer (#14)
23. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya (#22)
22. 7 Years by Lukas Graham (#19)
21. Hands to Myself by Selena Gomez (#10)
20. Figure Me Out by The Summer Set (#30)
19. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna (#15)
18. Cake By The Ocean by DNCE (#7)
17. Messin' Around by Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias (#18)
16. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#21)
15. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul (#33)
14. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#16)
13. You Don't Own Me by Grace (#27)
12. Victorious by Panic! At the Disco (#3)
11. Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande (#13)
10. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#12)
9. Close by Nick Jonas and Tove Lo (#24)
8. Just Like Fire by P!nk (#11)
7. History by One Direction (#4)
6. Let It Go by James Bay (#9)
5. Work From Home by Fifth Harmony (#5)
4. Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots (#6)
3. I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner (#8)
2. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (#1)
1. New Romantics by Taylor Swift (#2) (second week at #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Tie between Hands to Myself by Selena Gomez and Cake By The Ocean by DNCE (-11)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul (+18)

New Entrants
- First and foremost, with our former entry from Charlie Puth being no more, we have another one to replace it, with Selena Gomez, in We Don't Talk Anymore. And it's...well, better. I didn't like this one at all at first, the lyrics feel pissy (how exactly should you care that you "don't talk anymore" if you're seeing others?) and I'm not as big a fan of the acoustic guitar overlapping most of the song, but there are elements of the instrumental that work with me. I'll probably hate it again eventually, but for now it's not unbearable.

- Next in line is long-time Hit-Bound resident Lost Boy by Ruth B.. I think the song's cute for what it is, a piano ballad with Peter Pan references, but anyone else find it ironic that the singer is a female and she calls herself a "lost boy"? And I said last week that I wasn't sure if I would want it here on the countdown, and listening to it here I can see why I made that claim. So yeah, it's respectable, but we'll see if it continues to stick with me.

- And then we've got Missing You by All Time Low. Now, I'm not as big a fan of ATL as I'm sure many others are, but I can say that I do like the premise of the song, trying to reach out to someone that feels hopeless or weak. It's something that's been done many a times by different acts, though, and right now it comes off as countdown filler. Again, I'm not as big a fan.

- Following that is our fourth debut and my favorite of them by far - Wild Things by Alessia Cara. After her breakout hit with Here, it's natural that she would have a follow-up eventually, even if the song was first a thing at the end of winter and it's been teetering near the top half of the Hot 100 for a while now. Alessia sings quite well in this one, and those drums give a jungle-ish feel to the song but I think my favorite part is the chorus when the disco beat comes alongside the "aye aye aye aye"s backing. So yeah, this one's fun and I hope it has success on the countdown.

- Finally we have Toothbrush by DNCE. I'll reiterate what I said when I talked about it on Hit-Bound last week, in a way it feels like a rehash of Cake By The Ocean, except the lyrics aren't quite as sleazy. The groove is cool, though. Again, I could see this annoying me after a while, however.

I Am a Lost Blurb
- As mentioned in the prelude, we had a massacre this week in terms of exits. Thankfully we got rid of one big piece of junk in One Call Away by Charlie Puth, along with one of the biggest songs of the year so far with Hello by Adele, and two other songs that were losing their appeal to me. I also noticed that Spyder Harrison said "finally" before mentioning the latter, maybe he was getting sick of it as many were. And while I'm sure many are glad to see In the Night by The Weeknd off, I still like it and will probably be raving about it again in December when the Year-End Hot 100 comes. I'm not even gonna talk about our bottom two occupants again...

- ...But how the heck did Work by Rihanna featuring Drake survive that massacre? Leave already!!!

- It's disappointing to see yet another undeserved drop for Never Forget You by Zara Larsson and MNEK. What the heck, Hits 1?!

- Good thing Youth by Troye Sivan took a hit as well, because I'm sick of hearing the words "what if..." and "My youth!" a bunch of times. Other than the twinkling parts in the post-verses, it's officially old. Hopefully it'll be on its way out soon.

- And yet, I still haven't put Irresistible by Fall Out Boy and Demi Lovato or Love Yourself by Justin Bieber in red yet. Or Pillowtalk by Zayn Malik, which I still find kind of exaggerative in his delivery, and that's why.

- Thank goodness Me Too by Meghan Trainor didn't jump any higher after its debut. Can we please not with this one?

- At least the biggest DRRRRRRROP!!!s were both overdue ones. I already talked about how Cake By The Ocean by DNCE has officially worn on me, and Hands to Myself by Selena Gomez needs no explanation.

- We did have two pretty nice jumps this week - the first being Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul, which I figured would jump after its debut; no complaints there. The second is You Don't Own Me by Grace, which while I still wish G-Eazy was on this one it's still nice to see it peak much higher than I thought, especially given how much it's bombed on the Hot 100.

Close by Nick Jonas and Tove Lo, on the other hand, which took a big jump presumably because Nick Jonas dropped his album last week, is one that I don't take lightly.

- And on the topic of things growing on me, I'll admit, Just Like Fire by P!nk has been starting to sound better. I don't love it as much as most of the bloggers in this vein do, but it won't make me want to change the station immediately. Still, P!nk is capable of better than this, and I may be tainted by it being a soundtrack hit. But I'm okay with putting it in blue for now.

- Even though I can't deny that History by One Direction is old, I'll still be sad when it leaves because it may be the last we see of One Direction for a very long time...

- ...And I can say the same about our returning #1, New Romantics by Taylor Swift, as her final single off of 1989. This definitely caught me off-guard, and I'll get to the former #1 in a moment, but you know, it really feels like a long time ago when Shake It Off debuted on the countdown in August 2014, so if this song was to last past August, the 1989 album representations as a whole would have an uninterrupted tenure of two years on the countdown. That is amazing. Poor Lance Warren...

- That jump for I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner up to #3 is definitely welcomed. I would be very happy to see it at #1, although that may not happen at this point.

- I was for sure expecting Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake to take another week at #1.  Hopefully that won't make it quite as insufferable for some for a bit longer. But it's nice to see competition going on around here.

Hit-Bound

  • No Broken Hearts by Bebe Rexha and Nicki Minaj
  • Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele (debut)
  • Lovesick by Jacob Whitesides
  • Red Dress by MAGIC! (debut)
  • I Wanna Know by Alesso with Nico and Vinz
  • I'm Not Famous by AJR (debut)
  • The Sound of Silence by Disturbed
  • Say by Symon
  • Hello Friday by Flo Rida featuring Jason Derulo
  • The Sound by 1975
  • Don't Mind by Kent Jones
  • Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
  • All About Us by Jordan Fisher (debut)
  • Brand New by Ben Rector (debut)
Well it's not surprising that we got another round from Adele, in the form of Send My Love (To Your New Lover). This song isn't as good as Hello when it first came or When We Were Young, but it's good for now. Seeing as it's Adele, it'll probably make the countdown before long.

MAGIC! is back with yet another one, in Red Dress. Given that Lay You Down Easy didn't go anywhere, I'm not seeing this taking off. They might be known as one-hit wonders, but I could surely be wrong. Also, Rude was DLC in Rock Band 4 this past Tuesday, random fact. Anyway, the song's just decent for the time being.

We've also got I'm Not Famous by AJR. I know how much Adrian got annoyed with I'm Ready in 2014, but that was a big guilty pleasure of mine that year. This one is goofy as well, and I can surely appreciate what it tries to say. I don't mind funny songs like this.

I can safely say that The Sound of Silence and Say are not gonna make the countdown at this point.

I thought that Hello Friday would be gone given it wasn't available for vote last week. Guess not. Anyway, it still hasn't gotten any better since its debut last week. The song does nothing for me, even by Flo Rida's low standards.

Very surprised that Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes didn't make the countdown. I didn't talk about it last week, but I like the guitar parts of the song (or are those keys like I've heard some say they are?) and Mendes' vocal delivery, although the lyrics are questionable. I also caught Mikey Piff say that Mendes covered Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran and liked that cover. After that, I feel like he may have been better off taking that song.

Countdown Bottom 5
1. Me Too by Meghan Trainor
2. Work by Rihanna featuring Drake
3. Hands to Myself by Selena Gomez
4. No by Meghan Trainor
5. Work From Home by Fifth Harmony

Countdown Top 5
1. I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner
2. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
3. Never Forget You by Zara Larsson and MNEK
4. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul
5. Wild Things by Alessia Cara

Hit-Bound Top 5
1. The Sound by 1975
2. I'm Not Famous by AJR
3. Say by Symon
4. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele
5. I Wanna Know by Alesso with Nico and Vinz

So yeah, that's that. And Happy Father's Day to any and all fathers out there! It was nice seeing shout outs, especially given that poor Spyder Harrison himself said that his has passed. Anyway, thanks for reading!

Saturday, June 11, 2016

June 11, 2016 - Justin Timberlake (2)


Looks like we got a big burst of activity on the countdown this time around, but not all the changes were for the better. We got some good, some bad, and some ugly. And I mean really, REALLY ugly. But thankfully we had plenty of good to countermeasure. I wonder if all the tumbles here will just be a hoax and things will reform next week. But seeing as Hit-Bound actually saw some activity, things look to be bound for a shake-up before long, especially as the summer is finally in reach. With that being said, here are the songs leaving us this week.

  • Stand By You by Rachel Platten (#35)
  • Somebody to Love Me by Tryon (#36)
  • I Know What You Did Last Summer by Shawn Mendes and Camilla Cabello (#41)
The Countdown!
Last Week's #1 Song: Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
#1 Song This Week 1 Year Ago: See You Again by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth
45. Sorry by Justin Bieber (#39)
44. America's Sweetheart by Elle King (#43)
43. Work by Rihanna featuring Drake (#44)
42. Make Me Like You by Gwen Stefani (#45) (wow...)
41. Me, Myself and I by G-Eazy featuring Bebe Rexha (#42)
40. Hello by Adele (#40)
39. If It Ain't Love by Jason Derulo (#22)
38. No by Meghan Trainor (#31)
37. In the Night by The Weeknd (#30)
36. Love Yourself by Justin Bieber (#29)
35. Roses by the Chainsmokers featuring Rozes (#38)
34. Irresistible by Fall Out Boy featuring Demi Lovato (#32)
33. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul (debut)
32. One Call Away by Charlie Puth (#33)
31. Kill 'Em With Kindness by Selena Gomez (debut)
30. Figure Me Out by The Summer Set (#27)
29. Never Forget You by Zara Larsson and MNEK (#13) (:sadpanda:)
28. Wherever I Go by OneRepublic (#37)
27. You Don't Own Me by Grace (#26)
26. Youth by Troye Sivan (#14)
25. Me Too by Meghan Trainor (debut)
24. Close by Nick Jonas and Tove Lo (#23)
23. My House by Flo Rida (#9) (about time...)
22. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya (#28)
21. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#18)
20. Once In a While by Timeflies (#24)
19. 7 Years by Lukas Graham (#21)
18. Messin' Around by Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias (#34)
17. Pillowtalk by Zayn Malik (#5)
16. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#16)
15. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna (#19)
14. Jet Black Heart by 5 Seconds of Summer (#10)
13. Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande (#25)
12. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#17)
11. Just Like Fire by P!nk (#20)
10. Hands to Myself by Selena Gomez (#15)
9. Let It Go by James Bay (#6)
8. I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner (#11)
7. Cake By The Ocean by DNCE (#8)
6. Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots (#4)
5. Work From Home by Fifth Harmony (#7)
4. History by One Direction (#2)
3. Victorious by Panic! At the Disco (#12) (heh...)
2. New Romantics by Taylor Swift (#3)
1. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (second week at #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: If It Ain't Love by Jason Derulo (-18)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Messin' Around by Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias (+17)

New Entrants
- Our first debut comes from Sia, who's back with a new hit named Cheap Thrills. This song is about not needing money to have fun at parties, and it has a fun groove to it. I feel like Sean Paul doesn't do too much to contribute to the song other than some backing stuff and one extra verse, but he does have a lot of personality to him. Also, did Sia say "come on, come on, turn Hits 1 on"? That is awesome! I hope to see success from this one.

- Then we have Selena Gomez, with another release from Revival, this time around called Kill 'Em With Kindness. The groove is decent, but the lyrics leave something to be desired. And what the heck is with that whistling throughout the song? It's definitely better than Hands to Myself, and I don't care right now, but we'll see if that changes. Oh, and trigger warning, because...

- ...Now we come to our third and final new entry, and hoooooooooo boy, we've got a doozy here. I heard terrible things about Me Too by Meghan Trainor before I even heard the song, and at first the song was just goofy, but after repeated listens...wow. Remember Wiggle by Jason Derulo from 2014? How that song (nearly) topped several worst of 2014 lists (including mine) and received almost unanimous thrashing for utter incompetence? Some are saying this will be the Wiggle of 2016. For starters, that bass overlaps over half the song, which kinda shows that she really is all about that bass. The chorus is asinine, and I don't know what that...drop, thing, or whatever it is after the chorus is, but it sounds like distorted burping. Trainor sounds so satisfied with herself in this and her lines are nonsensical ("So bless me baby, achoo"? Are you kidding me?!). What even is this thing?! This song is a bigger mess than Dear Future Husband ever was. Heck, as much as I hated Marvin Gaye with Charlie Puth (my most hated song from 2015's Year-End Hot 100, and Dear Future Husband was my #3 on that note), at least that song tried to be pretty. I mean, it failed spectacularly in every way you can think of, but it TRIED! Here, she acts like she's the best thing ever and wants you to be jealous of her. You expect me to be jealous of weird burping, trying to be fancy, and then some? If that's what you pass yourself off as, no, Meghan Trainor, I will never want to be you, attracting controversy as much as you have. Speaking of Jason Derulo, I found out that he actually worked on this thing, which explains how it managed to get ugly. Okay, I'll stop the puns there. So, that long rant aside, hopefully its tenure on the countdown will be short.

I Love Cheap Blurbs!
- Seems Justin Bieber is starting to tumble once again, as now Sorry is at the tail-end of the countdown and Love Yourself also took a hit too. I'm pretty much over both of those songs, even if the latter does feel on the silly kind of dissing side.

- Does anyone else besides me hear Elle King saying "fuck this town" in America's Sweetheart? I know the line's "Well, they say I'm too loud for this town" because I looked it up, but I could've sworn I heard the f-bomb. But of course you can't have that on the radio.

- Seems that Make Me Like You by Gwen Stefani and Me, Myself and I by G-Eazy featuring Bebe Rexha won't give up without a fight. It's impressive that they're both still hanging on after those big drops.

- So I heard that Fall Out Boy will be doing a theme for the Ghostbusters reboot that is around the corner. Given that the movie has already been dreadfully (no pun intended) received based on the trailer, I cannot picture that going well at all. Maybe it'll be so bad it's good, but I do not see it ending well. That aside, Irresistible has had its time on the countdown, but I'm ready for it to go already.

- Charlie Puth, please hang up your phone, let Superman beat the crud out of you and get One Call Away out of the countdown.

- That huge drop for Never Forget You by Zara Larsson and MNEK makes me a sad panda. :(

- It annoys me that Venus keeps G-Eazy's verses in You Don't Own Me by Grace, yet Hits 1 cuts them out. Still like the song though, but without G-Eazy it might change color eventually.

- After My House by Flo Rida has spent most of the year in the Top 15, that drop was to be expected eventually. Although he has a much worse follow-up that might show up in its stead, and I'll get to it in a bit, but at least this had a good run here.

- So when Spyder Harrison introduced 7 Years by Lukas Graham, he said that the eponymous lead singer is expecting his first child in September. D'awwwww. Wonder if his child will find the song inspiring. I still like the song even though I see why people have hated it.

- And also on the note of big drops, it's good to see Pillowtalk by Zayn Malik drop out of the Top 10. As hilarious as it can be to hear his exaggerated delivery of the song's name in the second verse, the song is definitely old now. I'm amazed it stuck around the Top 10 of the Hot 100 after its #1 debut back in February as long as it did, though.

- It's crazy how sometimes opinions from one side and the other can be complete opposite ends of the spectrum, because I saw a podcast group who between combined opinions ranked Just Like Fire by P!nk as the worst song in the Top 20 of the Hot 100...and yet, every single Weekend Countdown blog I've seen here has that song in either green or purple. Except mine. It took a big jump this week, why am I not surprised. I guess I can see the appeal, as it's a comeback single, but it's not what I crave.

- As much as I didn't want to put Cake By The Ocean by DNCE in red, the song has been here too long and I'm officially sick of hearing that not-Uptown Funk intro followed by "Oh no". I would appreciate if it'd start to tumble again soon.

- Guess I spoke too soon about Victorious by Panic! At The Disco, because it rebounded right back to #3 after that drop to #12 last week. I do like the rock that the song tries to throw on the table, but I could definitely tire on it.

- I was juggling between whether to choose Never Forget You, I Took a Pill In Ibiza and Can't Stop the Feeling! for purple, but ultimately decided on the very latter. They're all great, but right now  the upbeat groove of that one has been pulling me in more and more recently. I say once more, get ready for the summer, everybody.

And since I didn't do Hit-Bound last week, I figure it's only fair I do it here, especially since we had a nice shake-up in activity this time around that shows we could be bound for something interesting.

Hit-Bound
  • Say by Symon
  • Lost Boy by Ruth B.
  • We Don't Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth featuring Selena Gomez
  • Hello Friday by Flo Rida featuring Jason Derulo (debut)
  • No Broken Hearts by Bebe Rexha featuring Nicki Minaj
  • Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (debut)
  • The Sound by The 1975
  • Don't Mind by Kent Jones
  • Lay You Down Easy by MAGIC! featuring Sean Paul
  • The Sound of Silence by Disturbed
  • Wild Things by Alessia Cara (debut)
  • Lovesick by Jacob Whitesides (debut)
  • Toothbrush by DNCE
  • I Wanna Know by Nico and Vinz featuring Alesso (debut)
I turned Lost Boy by Ruth B. to green. The song's become quite cute to me recently as I've listened to it more, and while I don't know if I'd want to see it on the countdown, I can still appreciate it.

Ugh... On the other side, we have Hello Friday by Flo Rida featuring Jason Derulo. Not only does it feel like an edgy ripoff of Friday I'm In Love by The Cure, but Jason Derulo's autotune in the chorus and Flo Rida referencing Limp Bizkit's Nookie in the second verse is off-putting. I'm out for this party. Let's hope it doesn't make the countdown.

Don't Mind by Kent Jones isn't much better. This Pitbull ripoff recently jumped into the Top 20 on the Hot 100 and is bound for the Top 10, and I do not feel good about that.

With Cheap Thrills now on the countdown, my favorite song on Hit-Bound right now would be Wild Things by Alessia Cara. As the follow-up to her anti-partying smash hit Here, I've liked the song since March, because there are some fun elements to it, but unfortunately, at the rate it's going on the Hot 100, it'll most likely miss the year-end list there. But hopefully it can make the countdown.

And lastly, since I didn't talk about it last week, we have Toothbrush by DNCE, which in ways feels similar to Cake By The Ocean - decent groove, but weird lyrics. I don't mind it for now, but if it makes the countdown I can see it annoying me.

Countdown Top 5:
1. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
2. Never Forget You by Zara Larsson and MNEK
3. I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner
4. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul
5. Let It Go by James Bay

Hit-Bound Top 5:
1. Wild Things by Alessia Cara
2. The Sound of Silence by Disturbed
3. Say by Symon
4. No Broken Hearts by Bebe Rexha featuring Nicki Minaj
5. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes

Overall, a pretty good week I'll say. I like the direction things seem to be headed, but we'll see if it holds up. Thanks for reading!

Sunday, June 5, 2016

June 4, 2016 - Justin Timberlake (1)















With things having relaxed a little bit since Memorial Day, it's natural that things would get in regular order. But the summer sizzle is starting, and it definitely shows in our new #1. That doesn't come as any surprise really, and we'll get to that later. Not too much else changed, but there was still a decent mix of stuff going on. With that being said, here are the songs that are leaving us this week.

  • Perfect by One Direction (#37) (spent two weeks at #1)
  • The Story of Tonight by We The Kings (#44)

The Countdown!
Last Week's #1 Song: New Romantics by Taylor Swift
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon
45. Make Me Like You by Gwen Stefani (#42)
44. Work by Rihanna featuring Drake (#43)
43. America's Sweetheart by Elle King (#30)
42. Me, Myself and I by G-Eazy featuring Bebe Rexha (#45)
41. I Know What You Did Last Summer by Shawn Mendes and Camilla Cabello (#40)
40. Hello by Adele (#38)
39. Sorry by Justin Bieber (#33)
38. Roses by The Chainsmokers featuring Roses (#41)
37. Wherever I Go by OneRepublic (debut)
36. Somebody to Love Me by Tryon (#39)
35. Stand By You by Rachel Platten (#35)
34. Messin' Around by Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias (debut)
33. One Call Away by Charlie Puth (#31)
32. Irresistible by Fall Out Boy and Demi Lovato (#32)
31. No by Meghan Trainor (#27)
30. In the Night by The Weeknd (#34)
29. Love Yourself by Justin Bieber (#23)
28. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya (#24)
27. Figure Me Out by The Summer Set (#25)
26. You Don't Own Me by Grace (#26)
25. Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande (#20)
24. Once In a While by Timeflies (#36)
23. Close by Nick Jonas and Tove Lo (#29)
22. If It Ain't Love by Jason Derulo (#22)
21. 7 Years by Lukas Graham (#14)
20. Just Like Fire by P!nk (#18)
19. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna (#28)
18. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#21)
17. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#17)
16. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#16)
15. Hands to Myself by Selena Gomez (#15)
14. Youth by Troye Sivan (#13)
13. Never Forget You by Zara Larsson and MNEK (#19)
12. Victorious by Panic! At the Disco (#4)
11. I Took a Pill in Ibiza by Mike Posner (#9)
10. Jet Black Heart by 5 Seconds of Summer (#10)
9. My House by Flo Rida (#7)
8. Cake By The Ocean by DNCE (#12)
7. Work From Home by Fifth Harmony (#11)
6. Let It Go by James Bay (#8)
5. Pillowtalk by Zayn Malik (#5)
4. Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots (#6)
3. New Romantics by Taylor Swift (#1)
2. History by One Direction (#3)
1. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (#2)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: America's Sweetheart by Elle King (-13)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Once In a While by Timeflies (+12)

New Entrants
- Our first new entry is a new round from OneRepublic, known as Wherever I Go. I heard the song before it made HitBound, and sorry to say that it doesn't work for me. The production doesn't sound very much like what this band has done before, and the vocals aren't that fun for me either. Counting Stars and Love Runs Out were better. Maybe it'll grow on me, but I doubt it.

-Then we have ourselves a new one from one Mr. Worldwide, or Pitbull, whatever you want to call him. He and Enrique Iglesias are Messin' Around. These two are one of a handful of Latin bromances I've read of (thanks Billboard), and they've had more than one work together where Pitbull has been relegated to a guest verse. With that being said, this song interpolates from REO Speedwagon's 1981 classic, Take It On The Run. And I do like it, but not as much as some of the other notable hits he's had this decade, particularly Time of Our Lives with Ne-Yo. It feels a little more low-key and less energetic, but I guess I'm enjoying it for now. I could see myself getting sick of it, though. We'll see.

I Been Blurbin' Around
- Unlike almost every other blogger in this mold, Perfect by One Direction will be missed by me. I won't deny that it stuck around probably longer than necessary, but it's still a pretty song to me.

- Nice to see Me, Myself and I by G-Eazy featuring Bebe Rexha still hanging on. Reckon it won't be long before it leaves, though.

- While I can respect the two songs by The Chainsmokers, they're starting to wear on me. Roses has left me finding the drops repetitive, and Don't Let Me Down isn't that gripping anymore. I liked them both at first but I'm finding them not as special. While I don't care that much right now, I'm sure I will eventually.

- No by Meghan Trainor has officially overstayed its welcome. And it's not because of the message, I think it's because of how dark the song sounds. I remember watching a review not terribly long ago, and the reviewer tried to imagine what those young girls wanting to be like her in 2014 may think of her now. I may be jaded by the music video, but I'm ready for it to go. And given it took a relatively big hit on the Hot 100 recently, I reckon it'll be on its way out sooner than we'd think.

- Speaking of old songs, I said this on Adrian's blog, but everyone has that one song on the countdown that's been there forever and they know full well most others are sick of and yet they still love it. Adrian still isn't tired of My House by Flo Rida. Jack Farrell is still as into most of Taylor Swift's hits as he's been for a while. For me, it is In The Night by The Weeknd. This Michael Jackson inspired track can stay as long as it wants, I don't care.

- Fun fact: Although Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya became a single in the spring, it existed in September 2015 on her EP with Hide Away, which...is pretty ironic when you think about it. This one is about how she doesn't need anyone, after Hide Away was about how she looks for a good guy. Existing on the same EP is almost redundant. And we had the aforementioned Don't Let Me Down before this track became a single. Can she just make up her mind about needing a guy already?

- Not too bummed to see Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande drop. I do still like that guitar solo, but I won't be surprised if this turns turquoise or even red eventually. Why not give us the superior Into You instead? Hoping that one makes it eventually.

- I will say I've grown back into 7 Years by Lukas Graham, even if I wonder why they keep that film reel and the crowd chanting in the actual song.

- I would think that Just Like Fire by P!nk would've gained a boost or something because the movie released last week, but I guess not. Not that I care, though - it can drop all it wants.

- For a song that was #1 two weeks ago, Victorious by Panic! At the Disco took a pretty quick drop out of the Top 10.

- As for Work From Home by Fifth Harmony, no surprise that it jumped into the Top 10, given the 7/27 album dropped last week. I wonder how long it'll stick around, though. Hopefully not much longer. Kinda sad that on Billboard's poll predicting the song of the summer, this one won in a landslide. That being said, I'd rather listen to it than certain other songs about work, though (looking at you, Work by Rihanna featuring Drake).

- Not surprised at all by our new #1. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake is definitely in prime form to own the summer. But once again, I know people are gonna get sick of it. If this thing stays at #1 for a while like Shake It Off, Shut Up and Dance or Hello, I won't be surprised, unless Hits 1 gets One Dance by Drake, which is #1 on the Hot 100 (why haven't they played it yet, by the way?).

Not gonna bother with Hit-Bound this week, I'm already loaded enough as is.

Countdown Top 5:
1. I Took a Pill in Ibiza by Mike Posner
2. Never Forget You by Zara Larsson and MNEK
3. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
4. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots
5. Me, Myself and I by G-Eazy featuring Bebe Rexha

So that's that. We'll see if we get more activity on the countdown next week. Thanks for reading!