August 27, 2016 - Adele (1)

...Just when it looked like some change was brewing, things start to fall right back into the slumps. Actually, I don't think this week was that bad in the biggest picture. For one thing, at least we have ourselves a new #1 for the first time in two months, so it's not like nothing interesting happened at all. But let's just hope things pick up in the fall. It's like we're still waiting for that big burst that will massively shift the tides. Also, the MTV Video Music Awards are tomorrow. Even though they probably won't be overly exciting, I'm still gonna watch them and might do a log of the performances if I have time. There are no songs leaving us this week, so let’s go.

The Countdown!
Last Week’s #1 Song: Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
45. Close by Nick Jonas and Tove Lo (#43)
44. Don't Mind by Kent Jones (#45)
43. Kill 'Em With Kindness by Selena Gomez (#44)
42. Cake By The Ocean by DNCE (#32) (four weeks at #1)
41. Wherever I Go by OneRepublic (#41)
40. Work From Home by Fifth Harmony (#40)
39. 7 Years by Lukas Graham (#37)
38. No by Meghan Trainor (#31)
37. Figure Me Out by The Summer Set (#30)
36. New Romantics by Taylor Swift (#38) (two weeks at #1)
35. Say by Symon (#42) (...)
34. Victorious by Panic! At The Disco (#39) (one week at #1)
33. Hands To Myself by Selena Gomez (#34)
32. Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande (#29)
31. I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner (#36)
30. Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots (#27) (five weeks at #1)
29. Just Like Fire by P!nk (#25)
28. All About Us by Jordan Fisher (#26)
27. Toothbrush by DNCE (#13)
26. All In My Head (Flex) by Fifth Harmony (#18)
25. I'm Not Famous by AJR (#19)
24. Missing You by All Time Low (#22)
23. Mama Said by Lukas Graham (#21)
22. Setting The World On Fire by Kenny Chesney and P!nk (#35)
21. One Dance by Drake featuring WizKid and Kyla (#28)
20. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots (#20)
19. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (#24)
18. Lovesick by Jacob Whitesides (#23)
17. Body Say by Demi Lovato (#16)
16. Once In A While by Timeflies (#33)
15. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya (#14)
14. We Don't Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez (#8)
13. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay (#17)
12. Me Too by Meghan Trainor (#10)
11. Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer (#11)
10. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna (#7)
9. The Sound by The 1975 (#15)
8. Into You by Ariana Grande (#12)
7. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#9)
6. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (#6)
5. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul (#3)
4. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (#1) (nine weeks at #1)
3. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#4)
2. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#5)
#1 Song This Week 1 Year Ago: Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon
1. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele (#2) (first week at #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Toothbrush by DNCE (-14)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Once In A While by Timeflies (+17)

Blurbs Ain't Ever Getting Older
- I'm glad Cake By The Ocean by DNCE dropped into the Bottom 5. It's the longest tenured song on the countdown (entered December 5, if memory serves), unless you count Victorious by Panic! At The Disco having made a re-entry six months ago. Hopefully it makes its way out soon.

- I think this is the second time that Wherever I Go by OneRepublic has had a guest DJ while at #41. It's been there for three weeks now. This is also the third week in a row that Work From Home by Fifth Harmony has held at #40. Also, is it just me or am I hearing the sounds of a sad puppy in that second verse and the break before the last chorus? That puppy seems as sad to be a part of this song as most of us are having to hear it.

- I'm honestly wondering when New Romantics by Taylor Swift, and likewise the last of her for some time, is going to give and drop out. But I have a feeling it won't leave for at least a month or so, until some of the ones that have been lingering around for a while are no more.

- Just Like Fire by P!nk might turn blue soon. I just know that I'll eventually remember why I didn't like it to begin with. Setting The World On Fire, on the other hand, I've been enjoying a lot more since its debut last week.

- Even in the absence of Fetty Wap, I'm still liking All In My Head (Flex) by Fifth Harmony, so it sucks that it had to take a hit down so soon.

- Something tells me that Mama Said by Lukas Graham is gonna blow up soon.

- I had a feeling that Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey would jump into the Top 20, because it's #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song hasn't grown on me since it debuted last week, and while it's leading in sales and streaming, it's bound to gain on radio. It's surely gonna get overplayed, which stinks.

- Once In A While by Timeflies rebounded pretty nicely after having the biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! last week.

- During the recaps, Spyder referred to Body Say by Demi Lovato as "Body Talk", and This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna as "This Is What I Came For". Are you sure that's what you came for, bro? :P

- The guest DJ who introduced We Don't Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez gave a shout-out to her boyfriend, and Spyder Harrison asked her how long they had been dating, for a year and a half, claiming they had never had a fight, which Spyder said he didn't believe. How appropriate for the song she was introducing.

- Nice to have my least favorite song out of the Top 10 and have my two favorites enter.

- On that note, true story: while I was out and about the other day, Into You by Ariana Grande came on just as I was arriving at my destinations twice the same day - when I was arriving at the doctor's office for an appointment, and when returning home from a pool later that day. And on Wednesday when I got in my car to leave work, the last 15 seconds of Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars were on. Gosh darn it, Hits 1. Y u have to play my favorites at inopportune times for me.

- Finally, we come to our new #1. Being the menace that Adele is, I'm not surprised to see Send My Love (To Your New Lover) at #1. Although it's my least favorite of the Top 3, I still like the song a lot, so I'm cool with it being #1. It was nice to have a guest DJ introduce Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake, though. Seeing as its airplay is starting to shrink, we'll see if its shot at 12 weeks at #1 is over or not.

Hit-Bound
Superstitious by MKTO
Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer
Wild by Troye Sivan and Alessia Cara
Red Dress by MAGIC!
Never Be Like You by Flume featuring Kai
Spirits by The Strumbellas
Cruel by Snakehips featuring Zayn
Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd
This Girl by Kungs vs Cooking On 3 Burners
Cold Water by Major Lazer with Justin Bieber and MØ (debut)
The Little Things by Big Gigantic featuring Angela McCluskey
Kids by OneRepublic
Rise by Katy Perry
Back 2 U by Steve Aoki and Boehm featuring Walk The Moon

- All-Time Low hosted Hit-Bound this week.

- Here we say goodbye to Brand New by Ben Rector, which would've been fun to have on the countdown but I'm not too bummed about it.

- We have but one new Hit-Bound entrant this week, in the form of Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ. I'm not really sure if I'm completely on board with the song yet. It's definitely not as good as Lean On from last year, but I can't say it's a bad song at all, so for now it's in blue. We'll see if it turns green.

- Starving by Hailee Steinfeld featuring Grey and Zedd very well may turn red soon. The first part of that drop is awkward and scrunchy enough, but that screechy thing before she says "By the way, by the way, you do things to my body" sounds like a cat being scratched and having its reaction echoed and mutated. Yeah, this one is not going to stick with me at all.

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 - Garbage:
20. Me Too by Meghan Trainor

1 - Bad:
19. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya
18. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey

2 - Meh:
17. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna

3 - Decent:
16. Unsteady by X Ambassadors
15. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
14. We Don't Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez

4 - Good:
13. Lovesick by Jacob Whitesides
12. Body Say by Demi Lovato
11. Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer
10. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul

5 - Great:
9. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya
8. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele
7. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
6. Once In A While by Timeflies
5. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots
4. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
3. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay
2. Into You by Ariana Grande
1. The Sound by The 1975

Overall score: 74/100 - Good

Countdown Bottom 5
1. Me Too by Meghan Trainor
2. No by Meghan Trainor
3. Kill 'Em With Kindness by Selena Gomez
4. Work From Home by Fifth Harmony
5. Cake By The Ocean by DNCE

Countdown Top 5
1. The Sound by The 1975
2. Into You by Ariana Grande
3. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay
4. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
5. All In My Head (Flex) by Fifth Harmony

Hit-Bound Top 5
1. This Girl by Kungs vs Cooking On 3 Burners
2. Back 2 U by Steve Aoki and Boehm featuring Walk The Moon
3. Superstitious by MKTO
4. Spirits by The Strumbellas
5. Never Be Like You by Flume featuring Kai

Most Missed Song: Blank Space by Taylor Swift - It left the countdown this week one year ago. How appropriate.

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1 And The Countdown: Kiss The Sky by Jason Derulo

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Love Myself by Hailee Steinfeld — I LOVE ME!!! GONNA LOVE MYSELF NO I DON'T NEED ANYBODY ELSE!!! While there isn't anything particularly stand-out about this track, that chorus is fun to shout out to.
Black Magic by Little Mix — I already talked about this song and the next two, but put short, this is like what Fifth Harmony would sound like if they threw a disco sound on them.
Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift — Leave it to Taylor Swift to make a song that's a touching parting gift and not a stupid kiss-off. Fun fact, earlier this year this would've been in my Top 5 for 2015, but in time it got bumped off the Top 10. Still great though.
Locked Away by R. City featuring Adam Levine — Adam Levine's best performance in a long time, and its premise is pretty well done and heartfelt.
Beautiful Now by Zedd with Jon Bellion — I really can't say that I'm as big a fan of this song as a lot of these bloggers were. This doesn't feel quite as lively as most EDM tracks feel like they should. And what the heck is with the part in the video where Zedd tries to smuggle at a convenience store then threatens the owner with a knife?

One last thing I want to say before I wrap this up, I'll be on vacation in California next week (the 31st through the 4th), so it won't be as easy to do the countdown post that week. I don't know when I'll be back home on the 4th, so depending on then, either I won't listen to the countdown and I'll just go off of what's given, or I'll listen to the 9 PM one on Sunday. We'll see what happens, but either way the post then will probably be late. Either way, thanks for reading, everybody!

August 20, 2016 - Justin Timberlake (9)

If there was ever a thought that the summer lull was dragging on, that was definitely smashed apart right here. Hopefully this will show that things are picking up and we can get back on the track we used to be on. But at the same time, there was some ugly that went on, and we'll get to it, but for the most part I can say I'm happy with the results of this round. With that being said, here are the songs leaving us this week.

• Let It Go by James Bay (#33)
• Lost Boy by Ruth B. (#40)
• You Don't Own Me by Grace (#45)

The Countdown!
Last Week’s #1 Song: Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
45. Don't Mind by Kent Jones (#38)
44. Kill 'Em With Kindness by Selena Gomez (#42)
43. Close by Nick Jonas and Tove Lo (#44)
42. Say by Symon (#24)
41. Wherever I Go by OneRepublic (#41)
40. Work From Home by Fifth Harmony (#40)
39. Victorious by Panic! At The Disco (#39) (one week at #1)
38. New Romantics by Taylor Swift (#31)
37. 7 Years by Lukas Graham (#37)
36. I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner (#34) (two weeks at #1)
35. Setting The World On Fire by Kenny Chesney featuring P!nk (debut)
34. Hands To Myself by Selena Gomez (#32)
33. Once In A While by Timeflies (#11) (That escalated quickly!)
32. Cake By The Ocean by DNCE (#35) (four weeks at #1) (GET OUT!!!)
31. No by Meghan Trainor (#36) (YOU TOO!!!)
30. Figure Me Out by The Summer Set (#14)
29. Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande (#15)
28. One Dance by Drake featuring WizKid and Kyla (#17)
27. Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots (#16) (five weeks at #1)
26. All About Us by Jordan Fisher (#28)
25. Just Like Fire by P!nk (#9)
24. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (debut)
23. Lovesick by Jacob Whitesides (#21)
22. Missing You by All Time Low (#25)
21. Mama Said by Lukas Graham (#23)
20. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots (#27)
19. I'm Not Famous by AJR (#29)
18. All In My Head (Flex) by Fifth Harmony (#30)
17. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay (debut)
16. Body Say by Demi Lovato (#19)
15. The Sound by The 1975 (#18)
14. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya (#4)
13. Toothbrush by DNCE (#22)
12. Into You by Ariana Grande (#26)
11. Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer (#20)
10. Me Too by Meghan Trainor (#13) (#notfunny #nowords)
9. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#12)
8. We Don't Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez (#10)
7. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna (#8)
6. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (#5)
5. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#2)
4. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#3)
3. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul (#6)
2. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele (#7)
#1 Song This Week 1 Year Ago: Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon (Yep, still love this one)
1. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (#1) (9th week at #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Once In A While by Timeflies (-22)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Into You by Ariana Grande (+14) (Thank you, America!)

New Entrants
- As I said when Setting The World On Fire by Kenny Chesney featuring P!nk debuted on Hit-Bound two weeks ago, it's pretty rare that we see country music here on Hits 1. And here it is now. Listening to this one again, I can say that P!nk does have a voice that fits nicely for country music. That being said, I don't think the song is completely great, but I could see it growing on me.

- Then we have the return of The Chainsmokers, with Closer. Here they grabbed Halsey from the crappy New Americana from last year. And to say the least...yeah, I can't say I like this at all. I'm not finding it catchy, the piano and the drop feel too fuzzy at times, and what is with Halsey making references to old bands? And furthermore, the drop is LITERALLY stolen from Over My Head (Cable Car) by The Fray. No seriously, go listen to that song and tell me this isn't ripped off. The point I'm trying to get across is, this is not for me. Roses and Don't Let Me Down were both a lot more enjoyable. Sorry.

- And finally, we have the long-awaited arrival of Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay, which is still the Seeb remix, making a very impressive debut in the Top 20. And yes, I've listened to the original, and I guess that for the kind of song it is I would see why people might prefer the original. This, I feel like they wanted to try to make it livelier to give it more flair, and that worked for me at least. But yeah, both versions are beautiful songs, but I guess I just like something fast and energetic. Maybe I'll grow more on the original in time, but for now I still have the unpopular opinion. I do find it ironic that the original played in the background when Spyder Harrison preluded it, though. That aside, seeing how high this one debuted, it'll probably be here a while.

Let Me Blurb Across The Sky
- First up, our exits. Lost Boy and You Don't Own Me I'm sure many were wondering when they'd leave, but I'm sure many are happy about the former. As for Let It Go, I did like it while it was a thing, but I'm okay with it departing.

- And just like that, with New Romantics still here, the representations from Taylor Swift's 1989 album have spent a full two year tenure on this countdown. On that note, last Thursday was #2YearsOfShakeItOff. Many won't feel the same, but to me, that really feels like a long time ago.

- Whoa. We had a lot of noticeable drops, two of them being songs that have had a lot of strength on the countdown. To be honest, I could see myself growing back out of Just Like Fire by P!nk soon, but it's done good enough.

- But then the biggest DRRRRRRROP!!!, Once In A While by Timeflies, is one that's stuck around for so long despite not doing too much. So it did kinda come out of nowhere for me. Kind of a shame because I still like the song.

- My goodness, Cake By The Ocean by DNCE and No by Meghan Trainor need to leave already!!!

- Two of our new debuts also debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on the same week.

- I'm sorry, I still can't hate Mama Said by Lukas Graham, no matter how much I'm supposed to.

- After that scary jump for Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya to #2 not long ago, it's nice to see it fall back down to #14. Thanks, Hits 1!

- Happy birthday to Demi Lovato! Body Say is still cool, even if it's not what its predecessor was.

- With Into You by Ariana Grande having the biggest jump... Yeah, I'm definitely pleased about that. B)

- But then there's that big, ugly elephant that just entered the Top 10. Yeah, you know the one. Me Too by Meghan Trainor, of course. I...have no words. I'm gonna try to keep the negativity out of this one. To put it quick, seeing as it left the kworb radio chart, hopefully this will be fixed relatively quickly.

- I also only just noticed how much cowbell Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer has. Hey 5sauce, maybe you should join Blue Oyster Cult and Christopher Walken?

- I'm surprised Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes dropped. As I said before, it could definitely hit #1, if Hits 1's obsession for Can't Stop the Feeling simmers out.

- Ride by Twenty-one Pilots has had a guest DJ twice in its time in the Top 10. The one here said it was her favorite. Yay for another one who appreciates TOP's reflections on life!

- Lots of drops? Songs debuting higher than usual? Could the countdown actually be gaining traction? Is the summer lull getting broken apart?! Maybe things will actually start to get good again!

- Also, unrelated to all of this, but where I work had their company picnic on Thursday. They didn't play a lot of 2016 hits that I caught onto, but they played several 2015 hits, which I was happy about.

Hit-Bound
Never Be Like You by Flume featuring Kai
Kids by OneRepublic (debut)
Starving by Hailee Steinfeld featuring Grey and Zedd
Superstitious by MKTO
Brand New by Ben Rector
Back 2 U by Steve Aoki and Boehm featuring Walk The Moon
Wild by Troye Sivan and Alessia Cara
The Little Things by Big Gigantic featuring Angela McCluskey
Red Dress by MAGIC!
Rise by Katy Perry
Cruel by Snakehips featuring Zayn Malik (debut)
Spirits by The Strumbellas
Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer
This Girl by Kungs & Cooking On 3 Burners (debut)

- For our first debut, we have Kids by OneRepublic. Between this and Wherever I Go, it's clear that they are trying a different sound than their previous album. I didn't like that track at first and I did grow into it, so we'll see what happens with this one.

- We also have Cruel by Snakehips featuring Zayn Malik. This one's kinda weird, but I won't say it's bad, although I don't have much of an opinion to give right away.

- Then there's This Girl by Kungs & Cooking On 3 Burners, a pretty solid track. Spectrum Pulse covered this song on World Hits (and would later cover it again on its own), and it's quite reminiscent of the songs that Robin Schulz has released such as Waves, Prayer in C and Sugar. I've heard it a few times on Venus, and it's my new favorite song on Hit-Bound, so I hope it debuts.

- Now that the Olympics are no more, Rise by Katy Perry may not be much longer for us. And that's good, because that song is only getting worse with every listen. While I'd say that The Little Things is worse objectively, Rise is just a disappointment.

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 - Garbage:
20. Me Too by Meghan Trainor

1 - Bad:
19. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya

2 - Meh:
18. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna
17. Toothbrush by DNCE

3 - Decent:
16. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
15. I'm Not Famous by AJR
14. Unsteady by X Ambassadors

4 - Good:
13. We Don't Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez

5 - Great:
12. All In My Head (Flex) by Fifth Harmony
11. Body Say by Demi Lovato

10. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya
9. Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer
8. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul
7. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele
6. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
5. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
4. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots
3. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay
1. Tie: Into You by Ariana Grande
1. Tie: The Sound by The 1975

Overall score: 78/100 - Solid

Countdown Bottom 5
1. Me Too by Meghan Trainor
2. No by Meghan Trainor
3. Kill 'Em With Kindness by Selena Gomez
4. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya
5. Work From Home by Fifth Harmony

Countdown Top 5
1. Tie: Into You by Ariana Grande
1. Tie: The Sound by The 1975
3. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay
4. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots
5. I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner

Hit-Bound Top 5
1. This Girl by Kungs & Cooking On 3 Burners
2. Back 2 U by Steve Aoki and Boehm featuring Walk The Moon
3. Superstitious by MKTO
4. Spirits by The Strumbellas
5. Brand New by Ben Rector

Most Missed Song: Come With Me Now by KONGOS

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1 And The Countdown: Bacon by Nick Jonas - I heard that this one is going to be performed during the VMAs next week.

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Mine by Phoebe Ryan — I like nice and calming songs like this, even if there isn't exactly anything particularly stand-out about it. But this lady is a little over half a year older than me and I definitely don't think she looks 25! (She'll be 26 in a month, even.)

Thanks for reading, everybody!

The Top 30 Selling Songs Of The Decade (So Far)

So yesterday, while I was browsing through the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 article, someone posted about how there was someone on the Billboard 200 article interested in the best-selling songs of the decade. That user posted a list of the 30 best-selling songs of the decade so far. We’re 2/3 the way through the decade, so it’s not a bad time to look back on it…

…Especially seeing as sales may not be anywhere near as big a deal as they used to be. Given that the overall amount of sales have really decreased since this year, case in point – come the mid-year, only one song had sold anywhere near close to 2 million copies. That would be My House by Flo Rida, which at the time had 1.95 million (and has probably sold more since), although Can’t Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake isn’t too far behind. I don’t know whether that’s a testament to how crappy 2016 has been or how much people don’t care enough to buy new songs because of the rise of streaming, but one thing I do know is that since Billboard increased the impact of sales in their formula and lowered the impact of streaming, I find it highly ironic that this downfall would happen at a time like this.

And since I said I would try to make at least one non-countdown post a month (at least I’m sure I did), I think this will give something to do for it. Given that sales may not increase someday (but I could always be wrong), let’s see just how much really managed to stand out in the days before streaming took over.

I assume you know the color code by now, but just in case:

Red = Shit (0 points)

Orange = Least favorite song (0 points)

Turquoise = Bad (1 point)

Yellow = Meh (2 points)

Pink = Decent (3 points)

Blue = Good (4 points)

Green = Great (5 points)

Purple = Favorite song (5 points)

I’ll be taking the songs based on how much that user had listed at the time, even if they gained more before then. One thing to keep in mind before I review these songs, is that these are just for the singles in the United States. Therefore, it does not count any album sales. I’ll talk more about that later, but for now, let’s just get to the songs, shall we?

1. Rolling In The Deep by Adele (8.6 million) – I’ll say, when Adele first came out, I’m sure not many expected her to stick around. But she is one of the names we have to thank for giving us something new after the repetitive 2000s, and in a pop world with lack of quality control, this really stands out.

2. Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock (8.1 million) – I feel obligated to not hate this song, given that it’s #5 on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time list. I liked it way more when it was new, but revisiting it (and hearing it on Venus commonly), the drop is rather ugly, but the chorus vocals are good enough and the “Everyday I’m shuffling” is still funny.

3. Radioactive by Imagine Dragons (7.95 million) – Thanks to Billboard’s lame 52/25 recurrent rule, this will forever hold the record for longest time on the Hot 100, with 87 weeks. I used to like this a lot more in 2013 when it was mainstream, but looking back on it… I guess it does have good appeal. Dan Reynolds does have raw oomph to his vocals here, at the least.

4. Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye featuring Kimbra (7.9 million) – My goodness, do I love this one. Although it may appear minimalist when you really hear it, you realize just how good a song it is when you see how un-pop it is. And let’s not forget that video, too. It being the #1 song of 2012 makes absolutely no sense, but I will never complain about it, because it deserved it. I absolutely love it. There is but one thing I can say I dislike about it: the fact that it has crappy remixes that add dance beats. Let me make one thing extremely clear: THIS IS NOT AN EDM SONG. It’s indie and pulls that off well. But really, did this guy need to have only one hit? You didn’t have to cut him off! But no, turns out he’s just somebody that we used to know.

5. Thrift Shop by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz (7.9 million) – While this may be a silly song about saving money by buying stupid clothes as opposed to fancy ones, it’s still epic. With that awesome trumpet anchoring the song, and a song that takes on the premise of spending thousands of dollars when they don’t need that to have fun, that’s how you tear down the tired world that pop tends to have. “This is fucking awesome”, indeed.

6. Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen (7.6 million) – Similar to Party Rock Anthem, I feel obligated to not hate this. I mean, sure, it’s asinine and completely nothing, aside from some nice guitar in the chorus, but at the end of the day it does have its own unique charm to it that I can’t adequately explain.

7. Cruise by Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly (7.55 million) – Blech. A mix of terrible lines combined with everything being drenched in auto-tune and an over-produced mess that feels like everything is just scrunched together. And Nelly hardly adds anything to the song. Yeah, this is garbage. Next!

8. Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams (7.55 million) – This is completely insufferable. Those “hey hey hey”s in the background combined with some pretty questionable lyrics make for one unpleasant listen. And to think that despite all its success, it somehow failed to hit #1 on the Weekend Countdown, and god bless for that. This deserved the suing it got from Marvin Gaye’s estate. Next!

9. Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars (7.4 million) – The throwback that came out of nowhere and took the world by storm, I’ve pretty much said my praise for this and don’t need to re-state it. It completely deserved its success and will never be forgotten by me. Also, here’s some trivia for you all: I found out on Pulse Music Board that if it weren’t for the stupid 52/25 recurrent rule, this song would have spent a total of 76 weeks on the chart. That’s right, 76. Third highest only behind Radioactive and a certain other song I’ll discuss later. In that case, not only would it have easily made 2016’s Year-End Hot 100 as well, but it potentially would’ve claimed the Top 5 of the Greatest of All Time chart. My goodness this song.

10. Happy by Pharrell Williams (7.33 million) – Very over-hated, but I can definitely say that I respect it, even if it is ridiculous and doesn’t quite stand out.

11. We Are Young by fun. featuring Janelle Monae (7.15 million) – Is it just me, or is this song REALLY over-hated? Admittedly, the overplay did leave me to find that there isn’t much all too special or exciting about it, but it certainly doesn’t deserve all the hate it’s gotten.

12. Firework by Katy Perry (7.13 million) – This doesn’t come to the high point of the fun factor that California Gurls and Teenage Dream did, and would proceed to be the first of her self-empowerment trilogy, with another being one I’ll discuss shortly.

13. Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars (6.88 million) – As with We Are Young, hearing this so much did leave me to realize that it doesn’t stand out perfectly. Even so, I won’t say it’s a bad song. It’s sweet, and not a bad start for the guy.

14. Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera (6.85 million) – While I can appreciate the song’s disco sound, that’s really the only thing about it I find worth caring about. Is it just me, or did this song get popular at a time when “swagger” was really popular? That’s why Mick Jagger’s name got popular again very early in the decade (see: Tik Tok by Ke$ha, The Time (Dirty Bit) by The Black Eyed Peas, Swagger Jagger by Cher Lloyd). Not really sure what Christina Aguilera does here, either.

15. Love The Way You Lie by Eminem and Rihanna (6.61 million) – Ah yes, Adrian’s favorite song of all time, if memory serves. It does a good job at showing the premise of two people in a love-hate relationship, Eminem was far more on-point here than in anything he did since Lose Yourself, and Rihanna’s chorus is a well-crafted sarcastic whinge at Chris Brown for being the dick-hole that he was.

16. Sexy And I Know It by LMFAO (6.4 million) – With a repulsive endlessly looping beat and lacking a hook, combined with some pretty crappy repetition, this is just an underwritten slog of a song. Likewise, I liked it when it was new, but hearing it again – no thank you.

17. Someone Like You by Adele (6.19 million) – This track shows Adele seeing her ex happy and wishing him the best and leaves her hoping to find someone new. It’s well-written and really captures the bittersweet thoughts of both sides. Sometimes it lasts to love, but sometimes it hurts instead, indeed. To me, this is definitely Adele’s best song – I’ll take it over both of her two other biggest successes.

18. Roar by Katy Perry (6.18 million) – Looking back on this one, I don’t think it’s as craptastic as many make it out to be, but it still isn’t anything special and not the kind of thing that Katy Perry should be trying to sell. Sadly, I’d rather listen to it than its crappy “successor” – not Dark Horse, but the third of her self-empowerment trilogy (sorry people that like Rise, but for me that is a skip).

19. Grenade by Bruno Mars (6.1 million) – Bruno Mars has always been talented, but this was not a good display of his capability. Too much melodrama, it gets more pissy than it should, and worst of all, the “I would die for you, baby / But you won’t do the same” in the chorus has some pretty unsettling implications. But I guess I can see the appeal, I’m just not a fan.

20. Dark Horse by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J (6.08 million) – This, however, ugh. Ugly production plus trying to pass her off as a powerful destroyer is a dreadful mix. And not helping whatsoever is Juicy J’s verse where he’ll “put her in a coma” instead of waking her up from it. Once again, I actually liked it at first until I really paid attention. Even my folks said they hated this one when I mentioned it as being 2014’s biggest song from iHeartRadio. Next!

21. Dynamite by Taio Cruz (6 million) – For a feel-good party song, this does work, but it hasn’t held up as well. For one, I can’t ignore those elongated syllables in the verses (do-do-do-do? I’ll let you guess the joke for that yourself). I guess there’s not too much to hate about it, but there are better songs like it and thus it's rather forgettable today.

22. Fuck You!/Forget You by Cee Lo Green (6 million) – Meanwhile, here’s Graham’s favorite song of all time, yet one of Adrian’s most hated. What makes this song so good is how funny and happy it is. Although it may seem jarring to have a song with the f-bomb in its chorus, it’s not a song that really needs to be taken seriously in the bigger picture. And if you want them to, it’s a good kiss-off to an ex. :P Oh yeah, and the uncensored version is infinitely better. Censoring it ruins the whole point. I mean, come on, I have no idea who could really be offended by this.

23. Sail by AWOLNATION (5.97 million) – Now, it is cool to see songs have ridiculous longevity in pop music, and this does have eerie synth and dub-step, but to say the least, I have no idea what the song is even about.

24. All Of Me by John Legend (5.96 million) – Not really much to say about this one, while I can’t exactly call it a bad love song, it could’ve been written better. But admittedly, having listened to the Tïesto remix (the one that got big on Hits 1, if I’m not mistaken), I can honestly say I prefer that, which admittedly does feel odd.

25. Royals by Lorde (5.9 million) – How about that? I mean, sure, I like these party and dance jams, but I also like that we have a teenager attempting to step up and slam all these songs about this lifestyle. It’s something that really deserves credit.

26. E.T. by Katy Perry featuring Kanye West (5.8 million) – While I will admit that this one sounds cool, and Kanye’s second verse is funny, it does have its bouts of awkwardness that keep me from putting it higher.

27. Counting Stars by OneRepublic (5.71 million) – A pretty solid single from a band that for a while had been deemed uninteresting. Something like “Take that money, watch it burn” is one that could only be written by someone who has already made a lot of money. As Hits 1’s #1 song of 2014, I’m glad it was as big as it was.

28. California Gurls by Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg (5.7 million) – I’m honestly not sure why I like this one still. To me it’s not quite as good as Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.), which to me remains my favorite of her tasteless songs to date, not to mention shooting whipped cream from her breasts in the video, but it’s still fun.

29. All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor (5.56 million) – Meghan Trainor. As I’ve said before, nowadays I find this song too stupid to really hate. That doesn’t make it good per se, though, but at least it can make me laugh some days.

30. Payphone by Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa (5.51 million) – Too sulky and underperformed by Adam Levine’s low standards. Top it off with an ugly guest verse from Wiz Khalifa with a complete lack of rhyming and being a jerk to the woman in question, and you have yourself one disappointing song. Sorry.

Overall score of all these songs: 88/150 - Not quite enough to really be good, but there were a few standouts despite more iffy stuff.

Bottom 5 of these songs:

1. Cruise by Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly

2. Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams

3. Sexy And I Know It by LMFAO

4. Dark Horse by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J

5. Payphone by Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa

Top 5 of these songs:

1. Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye featuring Kimbra

2. Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars

3. Someone Like You by Adele

4. Thrift Shop by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz

5. Fuck You! by Cee Lo Green

Some comments I wanted to make:

– Here are the artists with more than one representation on this list:

Katy Perry (5)

Bruno Mars (3)

Adele (2)

LMFAO (2)

Pharrell Williams (2)

Maroon 5 (2)

– The two biggest songs here were from 2011, but they both carried into 2012.

– At first, I was very surprised to not see Hello by Adele on this list, seeing as it broke the record for the highest first-week sales with over 1 million when it debuted. But it has not even been around for a full 10 months (it was released on October 23, 2015, for reference), and it came along around the time that sales were starting to diminish. It also had the disadvantage of having many use “complete my album” on iTunes, which set it back at least half a million. Just imagine if it had released in 2014 or earlier… Looks like it will most likely be remembered as the last song to sell more than five million copies, when that inevitably comes, as well as the only song to sell more than one million in a week. Set Fire To The Rain, on the other hand, did sell over 5 million.

– Likewise, not seeing any Taylor Swift falls under that same note. Shake It Off (5.08 million) and Blank Space (4.4 million) were both on the mammoth of an album that was 1989, which did cut into some of their individual sales. She had but one other single that sold over 5 million copies, and that would be I Knew You Were Trouble (5.31 million).

– A total of six of these songs failed to make #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Cruise, Dynamite, Fuck You!, Sail, Counting Stars, and Payphone. Sail never even made the Top 10, either.

– Uptown Funk is the newest song on this list, having released in November 2014. For the last massive sales song we may ever see, it sure did pretty darn well. (Actually, Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran also sold pretty well, but not enough to make this list.)

– 12 of these songs are currently on Billboard's Greatest of All Time chart – Rolling In The Deep, Party Rock Anthem, Somebody That I Used To Know, Call Me Maybe, Blurred Lines, Uptown Funk, Happy, Just The Way You Are, Moves Like Jagger, Dark Horse, Royals, and All About That Bass, although Dark Horse is #100 and will more than likely be booted off come the next update. From what I heard, Thrift Shop disappointingly missed it by the skin of its teeth.

– Despite being the #1 song of 2010, Tik Tok by Ke$ha was the only #1 song of any year this decade up until now to not make this list.

There are probably other things I'm thinking to say right now, but I can't think of them at the moment. If there are any other songs not here that you’re curious about, mention them and I’ll see how well they did.

There you have it. These may be the last songs that will make it look like sales ever matter. Things might pick up again someday, but seeing as sales have hit a record low, it’s not likely. But streaming is what the music industry has come to, so we have these to remember when things felt like sales mattered. Thanks for reading, everybody!