October 29, 2016 - The Chainsmokers + Halsey (4)

Welcome to the terrifying world of Sirius XM Hits 1's Halloweekend Countdown, where lots of frights await you in the world of ear-popping music. And on that note, Niall Horan of One Direction hosted this countdown. After seeing it, yeah, I can kinda get why people hated having guest hosts when they were a bigger thing so long ago (they don't announce exits or recap the sets of five songs, or the biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! or jump of the week). But at least he had a lot of clever stories behind the people of the songs he introduced. I'll talk about some of those in the blurbs. So without further ado, here are the songs leaving us this week.

• No by Meghan Trainor (#45)

The Countdown!
Last Week’s #1 Song: Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
45. Work From Home by Fifth Harmony (#39)
44. Mama Said by Lukas Graham (#42)
43. Body Say by Demi Lovato (#41)
42. I'm Not Famous by AJR (#43)
41. Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande (#44)
40. I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner (#37) (two weeks at #1)
39. Just Like Fire by P!nk (#40)
38. Never Be Like You by Flume featuring Kai (#35)
37. New Romantics by Taylor Swift (#38) (two weeks at #1)
36. Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga (#31)
35. We Don't Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth featuring Selena Gomez (#36)
34. Chase You Down by RUNAGROUND (#33)
33. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele (#32) (one week at #1)
32. My Way by Calvin Harris (#29)
31. Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer (#30)
30. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (#25) (Uh...okay?)
29. Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots (#28) (five weeks at #1)
28. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj (debut)
27. Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer (#34)
26. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna (#14)
25. Kids by OneRepublic (#24)
24. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#27) (three weeks at #1)
23. I Hate U, I Love U by gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien (#22)
22. Bacon by Nick Jonas (#23)
21. Setting The World On Fire by Kenny Chesney featuring P!nk (#14)
20. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (#18) (ten weeks at #1)
19. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco (#26)
18. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar (#21)
17. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#6)
16. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara (#17)
15. Gold by Kiiara (#19)
14. This Town by Niall Horan (#20)
13. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars (#12)
12. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5 (#15)
11. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber (#7) (What the HECK?!)
10. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#10)
9. Into You by Ariana Grande (#11)
8. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (#3)
7. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya (#5)
6. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul (#4)
5. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd (#9)
4. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay (#8)
3. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ (#16)
2. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots (#1) (one week at #1)
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Drag Me Down by One Direction (first and only week at #1) (how appropriate)
1. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (#2) (fourth week at #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna (-12)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ (+13)

New Entrants
- So we've got one new entrant this week, from Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj, with Side To Side. While reggae feels like a very unusual inclusion on the Dangerous Woman album, I had a feeling that this would become a hit because of Nicki Minaj. This does have some pretty weird lines, and despite the rhyme scheme being almost nonexistent at parts, I do think the song is fun overall. Production works on this kind of track. I'm sure it'll be successful here.

Got Me Walking Blurb To Blurb
- So to start, No by Meghan Trainor has finally taken its well-deserved exit, and good riddance for that. The atmosphere of the countdown definitely feels more refreshing now that there's no more Meghan Meghans in it. Hopefully someday she'll leave music for good.

- Chase You Down by RUNAGROUND made a floppy second week drop. Come on, Hits 1. I was not expecting that.

- Before introducing My Way by Calvin Harris, Niall talked about how Calvin Harris had initially wanted to play football before becoming a DJ. That'd be funny to imagine.

- Before introducing Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer, Niall talked about how Luke Hemmings of the band ate like 17 bowls of ice cream in a contest once. That's crazy. I wish I could enter some crazy food eating contest sometime. And I have a lot of different binge foods. That aside, I should be questioning this song still being here, but with it being from Ghostbusters it kinda fits for this season.

- So is Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk gonna be like One Dance in that it's huge elsewhere but just does nothing here? I hope not.

- And nice to see This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna continue to drop. Hopefully it can be on its way out soon.

- Before introducing Kids by OneRepublic, Niall talked about how Ryan Tedder said that Wonderwall by Oasis and Mysterious Ways by U2 were some of his favorite songs of all time. Niall talked about how he was a big fan of The Eagles. Me? On the note of U2, With Or Without You is surely a favorite of mine. But if you held a gun to my head and made me choose my favorite song of all time, I think I would go with Thriller by Michael Jackson. Maybe not, but it's definitely up there. I also like Into The Groove by Madonna - it's not my absolute #1 but it's a huge favorite for me. She has a handful of songs from the 80s that I like. Don't judge me, please. Then again, most of you probably don't care.

- I'm surprised that Setting The World On Fire by Kenny Chesney featuring P!nk dropped out of the Top 20 this week. I heard it a lot over the past few days, so I thought it would remain in that territory. And since his album, Cosmic Hallelujah, just dropped, it could rebound next week. But that was what I predicted would happen to Perfect Illusion here, and it didn't.

- Our other three debuts from last week all made decent jumps. While The Greatest and Scars To Your Beautiful are definitely welcomes, I'm not looking forward to Don't Wanna Know getting big.

- 24K Magic by Bruno Mars dropped to #13. Let's hope this isn't a sign that it's about to flop.

- Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber got played a lot this past week, and it was a Most Wutchuwanted a few times. I thought for sure that it would be Top 5...and yet, it somehow (and I do seriously say "somehow") dropped out of the Top 10. What the heck?!

- So with No gone, I was juggling between whether to put Gold or Sit Still, Look Pretty in orange, and decided on the latter. The former can at least be humorable at times, but not the latter. It'd be great if it could leave the Top 10 and the countdown soon, k thanks bye.

- Both Hymn For The Weekend and Cold Water made some nice jumps into the Top 5. I'll gladly take both of those. However...

- I'm not happy that Heathens lost #1. It did not help that before introducing Closer, Niall called it "definitely the best song of the year". He better have been talking popularity, because right now, a lot of YouTubers I've seen are calling it among the opposite. I really don't want to hate this song again, but as it continues to hog #1, that gets harder. (Then again, I basically just summarized what many probably thought about Shut Up and Dance and Can't Stop the Feeling.)

In the world of Hit-Bound, we have but one new entrant: The Night Is Young by The Summer Set. I enjoyed Figure Me Out, but I think I may like this more. I'll have more words for it if it debuts.

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 — Shit:
20. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya
19. Gold by Kiiara
18. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes

1 — Bad:
17. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd

2 — Meh:
16. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul
15. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
14. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5

3 — Decent:
13. Unsteady by X Ambassadors
12. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots

4 — Good:
11. This Town by Niall Horan
10. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco
9. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber
8. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake

5 — Great:
7. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar
6. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay
5. Into You by Ariana Grande
4. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ
3. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara
2. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
1. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars

Total score: 64/100

Countdown Bottom 5
1. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya
2. Gold by Kiiara
3. Work From Home by Fifth Harmony
4. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna
5. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes

Countdown Top 5
1. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
2. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
3. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara
4. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
5. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk

Most Missed Song: Welcome To New York by Taylor Swift - #2YearsOf1989 :D I spent most of Thursday with that album on repeat. And while this song was a one-week wonder, I do still enjoy it.

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1 And The Countdown: True Disaster by Tove Lo - Just after I say that Cool Girl would make for a good pick, I may like this even more.

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Hello by Adele — Ah yes, the big return from Adele after three years. It's not quite up there with her two big singles from 21, and may be just as overplayed as a certain other song I won't name, but I will never say it's a bad song.

Thanks for reading, everybody!

October 22, 2016 - Twenty-one Pilots (1)

This was definitely an interesting week. We did get rid of some trash, including one big one, as well as a handful of nice new arrivals. And we have a pretty solid new #1, which definitely excites me. Hit-Bound isn't looking quite as good, however. Hopefully things will continue to mix up for the better! So without further ado, here are the songs leaving us this week.

• The Little Things by Big Gigantic featuring Angela McCluskey (#21)
• Cake By The Ocean by DNCE (#34) (spent four weeks at #1)
• Victorious by Panic! At The Disco (#38) (spent one week at #1) (x2)
• Spirits by The Strumbellas (#41)

The Countdown!

Last Week’s #1 Song: Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey

45. No by Meghan Trainor (#35)

44. Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande (#41)

43. I'm Not Famous by AJR (#42)

42. Mama Said by Lukas Graham (#44)

41. Body Say by Demi Lovato (#45)

40. Just Like Fire by P!nk (#36)

39. Work From Home by Fifth Harmony (#37)

38. New Romantics by Taylor Swift (#33) (two weeks at #1)

37. I Took a Pill In Ibiza (#39) (two weeks at #1)

36. We Don't Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez (#23)

35. Never Be Like You by Flume featuring Kai (#43)

34. Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer (#32)

33. Chase You Down by RUNAGROUND (debut)

32. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele (#27) (one week at #1)

31. Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga (#16)

30. Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer (#30)

29. My Way by Calvin Harris (#31)

28. Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots (#27) (five weeks at #1)

27. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#14) (three weeks at #1)

26. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco (#22)

25. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (#24)

24. Kids by OneRepublic (#15)

23. Bacon by Nick Jonas (#29)

22. I Hate U, I Love U by gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien (#17)

21. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar (debut)

20. This Town by Niall Horan (#20)

19. Gold by Kiiara (#26)

18. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (#13) (ten weeks at #1)

17. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara (debut)

16. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ (#8)

15. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5 (debut)

14. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna (#4)

13. Setting The World on Fire by Kenny Chesney featuring P!nk (#25)

12. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars (#19)

11. Into You by Ariana Grande (#5)

10. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#11)

9. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd (#10)

8. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay (#6)

7. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber (#18)

6. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#9)

5. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya (#7)

4. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul (#12)

3. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (#3)

2. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (#1) (three weeks at #1)

#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift (first and only week at #1)

1. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots (#2) (YES! :D)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga (-15)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Setting The World On Fire by Kenny Chesney featuring P!nk (+12)

New Entrants

- Our first new entrant comes in the form of Chase You Down by RUNAGROUND. I had heard this song before it even made Hit-Bound, on Venus a few times. This sounds in many ways like the songs by Robin Schulz, such as Waves and Prayer in C, most notably for having a guitar riff that loops throughout the entire song and repeating lyrics. But hey, I'll take it. We'll see if it lasts.

- Then we have another new round from Sia, with The Greatest. At first I didn't think this song sounded very "Sia", as many of her songs are known for being more somber and not upbeat. But lyrically, it very much is. I can't say I'm a fan of Kendrick Lamar's very short verse though, which they actually kept for some reason. So yeah, for now I kinda like it. We'll see how long it sticks with me, though.

- And we have more Alessia Cara, with Scars To Your Beautiful. While Here, her first hit, remains one of my favorite songs from last year, this is another song that's about wanting to appreciate one's image even if you're not happy with it yourself. Something like that. The song's definitely good, but was it necessary for the word "BEAUTIFUL!!!" in the chorus to be emphasized? Cute song, though. Definitely not as good as Here, but I guess I'll take it over Wild Things.

- Finally we have Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5. We haven't heard much from them since last year where Sugar was one of the biggest songs of the year, and the rotten This Summer's Gonna Hurt thankfully flopped. On the song itself, I can't say I care for this one. Maroon 5 and tropical house don't mix, and I don't even care about them cutting out Kendrick Lamar's verse, because he was an unnecessary fit for the song. I also don't think he needed to repeat words in the chorus to fill up space. Video's pretty funny though - as Spyder Harrison said before introducing it, the video is a parody of Pokémon Go. I'll give it that. But the song is definitely closer to red than it is green, so don't be surprised if it becomes red before long.

No Blurbs To Your Beautiful

- So as always, let's start with our exits. To begin, I'm sad that we lost Spirits by The Strumbellas. While Parker rejoices over that departure, I will be doing the exact opposite. Farewell, Spirits. My sincerest apologies for Parker having demonized you while I considered you a beautiful song that didn't deserve to flop. But as we all know, alternative music is cursed in today's day and age. That aside, you will be missed, at least by me. Cake By The Ocean by DNCE, on the other hand... While I liked it at first, I eventually realized how dumb the lyrical content was and am thankful it did not last a year on the countdown. Good riddance, you Uptown Funk wannabe. (How appropriate that I say that, you'll see why later.) And I didn't care for The Little Things at all, but it took a pretty brutal exit from #21 after only three weeks. Victorious was overdue to leave too. It lived up to its name and hit #1, so I'll give it props for that.

- To start... No by Meghan Trainor is still here, appropriately at #45. Honestly, it gets weirder every week.

- Both songs by Ariana Grande were introduced by guest DJs.

- Before introducing Work From Home by Fifth Harmony, Spyder Harrison talked about how Lauren from the group quit social media as a result of bullying. Are you kidding me?! Just because this group made two crappy songs (three actually, more on that later) doesn't mean people have to treat their members like garbage! And on that note, that song and I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner switched spots.

- Never Be Like You by Flume featuring Kai had a decent little rebound after its huge DRRRRRRROP!!! last week.

- So the music video for Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer dropped the other day. It's a nice concept, as the video shows Andy Grammer at a shelter for homeless people as they attend different activities. Not really sure how that's related to the song's lyrics, though.

- While Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga just dropped, parent album Joanne, just released yesterday, so it might rebound next week.

- I still like Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer. I don't know why. It definitely sounds different from the tracks of theirs that we knew from the past two years. But I think now is the time that I put it in dark yellow. 

- Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya has left the Top 20. But it aired as the first Most Wutchuwanted stop during the first round of Hit-Bound, so I have a feeling it's going to jump next week.

- I was not expecting Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco to drop, as I heard that one quite a bit this week. But you don't hear it elsewhere, so yeah.

- Our Top 10 had some big shifts this week. I'll get to the entries in a bit, but Into You by Ariana Grande finally left the Top 10. I knew it couldn't stay there forever, and it's dropping hard elsewhere. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna thankfully dropped out after that scary jump to #4 last week. But last and definitely least, Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ dropped out after only one week there, which stinks.

- Of course 24K Magic by Bruno Mars jumped after debuting last week. This thing is definitely destined for the Top 10. More than likely next week.

- As for our Top 10 entries, I did not expect Ride by Twenty-one Pilots to re-enter, but Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul took a sudden jump back into the Top 5. Then we've got Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber, which after a slow start is finally gaining some traction here.

- Meanwhile, Unsteady by X Ambassadors continues to reach new peaks at #6. Honestly, at this point that huge drop it had back at the beginning of September may as well not have happened at all.

- And we have another #1! I am very pleased that Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots has managed to take its well-deserved top spot over Closer, after being chart-blocked on the Hot 100 for four weeks at least here it dealt some nice karma. However, before introducing it, Spyder Harrison made a mistake in saying that two of the duo's other songs hit #1 before... Ride came close more times than one, but just came short, silly Spyder. :P Also, if it weren't for 24K Magic, it would be my favorite song on the countdown, and appropriately fitting with #45 being my least favorite.

Hit-Bound
Love Me Now by John Legend (debut)
She Sets The World On Fire by Gavin DeGraw (debut)
Greenlight by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida
Love On The Brain by Rihanna (debut)
All Time Low by Jon Bellion
That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony (debut)
Mercy by Shawn Mendes
Red Dress by MAGIC!
Be As You Are by Mike Posner
Body Moves by DNCE
Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
Still Falling For You by Ellie Goulding
Good Grief by Bastille
Kiss The Sky by Jason Derulo

- Brendon Urie from Panic! At The Disco hosted Hit-Bound this week. I'm not too pleased with our round of entrants, but let's get on with them now.

- To start off our debuts, we have Love Me Now by John Legend. Now, I wasn't the biggest fan of All Of Me from 2014, but at least this has more going on. I don't know if it needed the chanting "LOVE ME NOW!" choir in the chorus, but I do like the percussion for some reason. For now it's in blue. That could change.

- Gavin DeGraw has returned with a new song, She Sets The City on Fire. While he's made some memorable stuff like I Don't Want To Be, Chariot, and Not Over You, this song definitely sounds different from them. And I'm not totally sure if I'm on board with that right now.

- Love On The Brain by Rihanna is not that exciting. She is not best when it comes to slow, minimalist ballads. Not helping is her constant warbling "I-i-i-i-i-i" in the post-verses. I'll talk more about it if it debuts.

- That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony is not a fun listen. Those horns in the verses get grating, and the chorus does not sound good either. I wouldn't say it's as bad as Work From Home, but it will not be taken kindly should it debut.

- Greenlight by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida just surged up on iTunes recently, thanks to not only being used in a car commercial (apparently), but because it was discounted to .69 on iTunes. I can all but guarantee this one will debut soon.

- You know that Hit-Bound is not looking too great for you when four new entrants arrive and none of them you have in green. I was barely able to make a Top 5 for that.

Top 20 Breakdown:

0 — Shit:
20. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya
19. Gold by Kiiara
18. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
17. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna

1 — Bad:

16. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd

2 — Meh:
15. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul

14. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5

3 — Decent:

13. Setting The World On Fire by Kenny Chesney featuring P!nk
12. Unsteady by X Ambassadors

4 — Good:
11. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
10. This Town by Niall Horan
9. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots

5 — Great:
8. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (yes, still)
7. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber
6. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay
5. Into You by Ariana Grande
4. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara
3. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ
2. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
1. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars

Total score: 63/100 (Those four songs in the Shit tier did not help...)

Countdown Bottom 5

1. No by Meghan Trainor

2. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya

3. Gold by Kiiara

4. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes

5. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna

Countdown Top 5

1. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars

2. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots

3. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ

4. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara

5. Into You by Ariana Grande

Hit-Bound Top 5

1. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj

2. Greenlight by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida

3. Mercy by Shawn Mendes

4. Body Moves by DNCE

5. Kiss The Sky by Jason Derulo

Most Missed Song: Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars - Congrats to not only this song for being certified Diamond status by the RIAA, but for parent album Uptown Special for being certified Platinum. I feel like the hype from 24K Magic allowed its sales to significantly boost, because I know it was in the top 100 on iTunes for a little while after that released. I do like that album as a whole, too, not just this song. It dropped at the beginning of 2015 right after the song first hit #1, and has a lot of throwback tracks. If you enjoyed this song, I'd recommend giving the album a listen if you haven't.

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1 And The Countdown: Cool Girl by Tove Lo - This was on the YouTube15, if memory serves. Let's see it on the countdown, because I have really been enjoying this one as of recent.

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:

Perfect by One Direction — What Unsteady is to this countdown community right now, this was that back in spring. Back then, it was the bane of just about everyone here except WAMB10. That being said, if this makes the Year-End Hot 100 for 2016 with how terribly unlucky it got in the second half of its chart run, I'll be very pleased.

Hey Everybody! by 5 Seconds of Summer — While there aren't many songs from 5sauce that I care that much about, I guess I can appreciate them trying to encourage us to get jobs. Even though I'm older than most of their general audience.

Confident by Demi Lovato — I was sad when this left the countdown, but not as much as I am over how it ended up even worse than Perfect on the Hot 100 (in doing nothing but collapsing in the second half of its chart run with no signs of recovery whatsoever) and has no chance at the Year-End list.

Here by Alessia Cara — Already discussed this one in my Year-End Hot 100 page, but it's a song that describes myself somewhat. And quite a few other people I've known on the Internet. It's also highly appropriate that a new song by Alessia Cara debuts a year after her first one.

Irresistible by Fall Out Boy and Demi Lovato — The final stand from Fall Out Boy out of a streak that lasted over three years, but Demi makes for a good mix with them.
Hula Hoop by OMI — I'll admit this one's lively and kinda fun, but it's not that much different from Cheerleader when you really listen to it.

Like I'm Gonna Lose You by Meghan Trainor and John Legend — I was juggling between blue and pink for this one, and decided on the latter. I've kinda dulled on this one to an extent (maybe that owes in part to hearing it in the break room at my workplace multiple times even now), but I do like the sentiment the song has to it. On that note, I'll probably be revisiting my 2015 Year-End Hot 100 piece before I do my 2016 piece.

Also, before I wrap this up, I would like to say that I think I know what I want to do for my 5,000 Pageview Special. That should be up in the coming week. Thanks for reading, everybody!

October 15, 2016 - The Chainsmokers + Halsey (3)

This countdown... Well, I'd be lying if I said there wasn't bad here. On one hand, while not much may have come and gone, we got rid of my worst song of the year and replaced it with the song that I've been awaiting for some time now. More on that later, but on the other hand, some crappy stuff is getting dangerously high. Although it certainly helps that we're getting some activity, and we have a shake-up in the Top 10. Could we finally be getting out of the drabs of the summer? It very well could. So without further ado, here are the songs leaving us this week.

• Me Too by Meghan Trainor (#34) (!!!!!!!!!!)
• 7 Years by Lukas Graham (#45)

The Countdown!
Last Week’s #1 Song: Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
45. Body Say by Demi Lovato (#29)
44. Mama Said by Lukas Graham (#37)
43. Never Be Like You by Flume featuring Kai (#12)
42. I'm Not Famous by AJR (#32)
41. Spirits by The Strumbellas (#22)
40. Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande (#45)
39. I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner (two weeks at #1)
38. Victorious by Panic! At The Disco (#41) (one week at #1)
37. Work From Home by Fifth Harmony (#39)
36. Just Like Fire by P!nk (#43)
35. No by Meghan Trainor (#44)
34. Cake By The Ocean by DNCE (#38) (four weeks at #1)
33. New Romantics by Taylor Swift (#40) (two weeks at #1)
32. Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer (#33)
31. My Way by Calvin Harris (#17)
30. Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer (#16)
29. Bacon by Nick Jonas (debut)
28. Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots (#31) (five weeks at #1)
27. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele (#28) (one week at #1)
26. Gold by Kiiara (#19)
25. Setting The World On Fire by Kenny Chesney featuring P!nk (#35)
24. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (#27)
23. We Don't Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez (#18)
22. Death of a Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco (#20)
21. The Little Things by Big Gigantic featuring Angela McCluskey (#23)
20. This Town by Niall Horan (#30)
19. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars (debut)
18. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber (#25)
17. I Hate U, I Love U by gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien (#24)
16. Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga (#21)
15. Kids by OneRepublic (#26)
14. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#5) (three weeks at #1)
13. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (#4) (ten weeks at #1)
12. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul (#12)
11. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#13)
10. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd (#6)
9. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#7)
8. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ (#14)
7. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya (#15)
6. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay (#11)
5. Into You by Ariana Grande (#9)
4. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna (#10) (...)
3. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (#6)
2. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots (#2)
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Stitches by Shawn Mendes (second of three weeks at #1)
1. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (third week at #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Never Be Like You by Flume featuring Kai (-31)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Kids by OneRepublic (+11)

New Entrants
- First we have Bacon by Nick Jonas. And Hits 1 cut out Ty Dolla $ign's verse, because of course they did. I don't think it's as good as Chains or even Levels, but it's definitely more fun than Close was. The video for the song is pretty cool as well, and Spyder even talked about that in the introduction. It's not something I'm gonna pay for with my money to listen to, but it is a pretty funny song. We'll see where it gets.

- Then we have the return of Bruno Mars, with 24K Magic. I had really been waiting for the man to do something since Uptown Funk with Mark Ronson, which was the biggest song of last year*. And to say the least, this did not disappoint. I have listened to this song SO MANY times since it first dropped. But I figure I may as well talk about some of the things that people don't like about it. Some people have said that in general, not only do they not like the idea that Bruno Mars turned from the sweet, serenading guy that he was on his first album, as well as When I Was Your Man, to a conceited player just like a lot of the generic rappers that tend to flood the charts nowadays, but calling it the same song as Uptown Funk. I do see why people are saying that - sure, lyrically both this and that are little beyond him talking about how awesome he is, but as time passes, it's gonna be harder to think of new conceptual ideas for songs, and much like that one, it's a song that people can just have a good time to and intended for parties. You can say the same about most "party party party" songs out there, like just about anything by Pitbull or Flo Rida. And he has over 9000 times more charisma and talent to back it up than most rappers in that vein will ever realize even exists (to be fair, the former has made plenty of stuff I like). Lines like "Bad bitches and your ugly ass friends" sound like something that a typical luxury rapper would say, and most of the time those lines can come off as condescending, but when Bruno Mars does it I cannot help but be pulled in. I still remember my reaction when I listened to it upon it first dropping. Granted, I may be in this mindset because I'm older and do have knowledge on some of the classics by acts like The Bee Gees, Prince and Michael Jackson, but I think my point stands. Anyway, I've rambled enough. Back to the song itself. This song is just badass in every sense of the word. Seriously, to think he ever wasted his time writing songs like It Will Rain, Grenade, or god help you, The Lazy Song, the latter of which even he admitted he wasn't proud of in the long run. THIS is the kind of guy we need. I'll admit, while I do think its predecessor was more instantly quotable and memorable, I feel this may have more fire and raw bombast to it. That could change, but we've needed something to save this incredibly underwhelming year for pop music and this very well may be that something. The point I'm trying to get across is, yeah, I see why some aren't quite as big on this song, but for me, right now it is no question my favorite song on the countdown. And I'm looking forward to it getting overplayed. Bring it on!

* Yes, I know that Shut Up and Dance was Hits 1's biggest song of last year, but Uptown Funk was Billboard's, and that song was overall bigger in just about every other source.

24 Karat Blurbing In the Air
- As much as I want to save the best for last, I ALWAYS go by the order of the countdown, starting with exits, no exceptions! And I have my pride, so be it! We must now celebrate as Me Too by Meghan Trainor, one of the worst songs I have EVER had the displeasure of hearing in my entire life, has left the Sirius XM Hits 1 Weekend Countdown!!!!!!! And of course this had to happen when I overslept and missed the first few songs... I'm absolutely overjoyed to see this one off!!!!!!! Good fucking riddance, you piece of shit!!!!!!! You will not be missed. And as for 7 Years by Lukas Graham, I still like the song, but I know that a certain few will be attending the be-gone party for that one.

- ...Wow. Never Be Like You by Flume featuring Kai just had the biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! of the entire year so far. I can't say this devastates me too much, because it did just leave the Billboard Hot 100, but that huge a drop did kinda catch me out of nowhere.

- Now that Me Too is no more, its predecessor is my new least favorite song on the countdown. I have no idea who is still voting for this *cough Parker cough*, but it jumping out of the bottom ten is ridiculous and I really hope it leaves soon. Also, is it just me, or did Spyder say "one of the catchiest hits on the planet" upon introducing this one?

- Alongside it, New Romantics by Taylor Swift also made a jump out of the bottom ten. A little odd, but I'm not complaining. This song can stay as long as it wants to.

- Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer has finally left the Top 20. It may not be much longer for us. And on the note of 5sauce, I heard Amnesia twice in the past few days - the first being the other day when I was about to leave for work, and the second being yesterday right before the YouTube15.

- Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk didn't jump as much as I thought it would, but at least it didn't drop on its second week.

- The guest DJ who introduced The Little Things by Big Gigantic featuring Angela McCluskey was not only a teacher, but a Florida native much like Spyder Harrison.

- Before introducing Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga, Spyder mentioned how The Chainsmokers said they were not fans of the song. I read about that on Billboard, but I don't care, because the song still gives me the chills.

- So OneRepublic considers Kids the "best song they've put out this month". Planning to release better songs from that album in future months, then? It having the biggest jump of the week definitely owes in part to the album dropping.

- Both Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake and Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul have finally left the Top 10. So the former's shot at the record and the latter's shot at #1 at all are all but finished. Wonder how much longer they'll be with us. With the Trolls movie releasing soon, the former might last to the very end of the year.

- I watched Twenty-one Pilots perform both Heathens and Ride on Saturday Night Live last weekend. When they did the latter, I noticed that the elongated words in the chorus were just cut down to one word each (as in "riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide" being just "ride"). They did pretty good with both performances.

- Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ entering the Top 10? Sure.

- Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya, on the other hand, is not welcomed back in the Top 10 at all. This song was never that good to begin with and I was a hair away from putting it in orange along with No, but her debut album of the same name dropped, so I'll give it some credit for that. Hopefully 24K Magic will kick it out of the Top 10 again next week.

- Into You by Ariana Grande has reached a new peak at #5. I highly doubt that it'll hit #1, but I'd be pretty darn pleased if it did. I still do like the song a lot, even though most are getting sick of it.

- I was also very close to putting This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna in orange as well after it jumped up to #4 like that. The most interesting thing I can say about that is Spyder Harrison sadly sharing of Rihanna and Drake's split before introducing it, which I knew about before then thanks to the YouTube15. This better not hit #1. It just left the Top 10 on the Hot 100. It needs to leave this countdown now.

- Once again, Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey has to block the superior (to me at least) Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots from #1. At least the former is looking like it'll finally have some competition for #1 on Billboard - more on that in a bit - but Heathens better not get countdown blocked from #1 because of this damn thing.

Hit-Bound
Body Moves by DNCE
The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar
Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara
Kiss The Sky by Jason Derulo
Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj (debut)
Good Grief by Bastille
Red Dress by MAGIC! (How in the name of everything good and pure in this world are you still here?!?!)
Still Falling For You by Ellie Goulding
Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5 (debut)
Green Light by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida
Mercy by Shawn Mendes (debut)
All Time Low by Jon Bellion
Be As You Are by Mike Posner
Chase You Down by RUNAGROUND

- Yes. It's still here. I have no idea why. I have a feeling that it's gonna become what Infinity by AJR was, which first made Hit-Bound in late 2014 and debuted in late April 2015, if memory serves.

- That being said, I'm sad that This Girl by Kungs vs Cookin' On 3 Burners left. As if that drop it just took on the Hot 100 wasn't enough. America, you are really underrating some quality music here.

- We've got ourselves a few new Hit-Bound entrants yet again. The first, and arguably most important one of them, would be Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj. These two have good synergy together, and although reggae feels like an odd thing to have on the album, the song itself actually works quite well.

- And there's Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5. I'm not wild about this one, but that could change. Although it's currently #1 on iTunes... Could it be the song that'll dethrone Closer on the Billboard Hot 100?!

- Finally there's Mercy by Shawn Mendes, which is probably my favorite of his singles yet (well, besides Something Big, which was never big, ironically). It's much better written than Treat You Better was.

And since I have some time to myself, I figure I'll do the YouTube15 again. I still hate it when Jenna Marbles talks for like ten seconds after introducing a song before it starts, including talking as long as she possibly can during intros until the lyrics come in, but let's see what she has in store this time around.

Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
Perfect Strangers by Jonas Blue featuring JP Cooper
Times Like These by A&J
Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ
Live For Today by MattyBRaps
This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna
Love On Me by Galantis featuring Hook N Sling
Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
Carry Me by Kygo featuring Julia Michaels
Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
Trust Nobody by Cashmere Cat featuring Selena Gomez and Tory Lanez
Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur
Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber
In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha

So, things changed quite a bit from when I covered this last month. We lost quite a few of the songs here that I really liked, which is a shame.

- Times Like These by A&J is a song that I heard for the first time here. These two are a couple, and the girl, Acacia Brinley, is 18 (although she's apparently just about to turn 19) and pregnant. D'awwwwwww! I hope that the two have a happy life when she has the kid. As for the song, I think they can sing quite nicely, and the song itself is very sweet and made me tear up a bit. It was super close to purple, but I'll get to my favorite later.

- There's also Live For Today by MattyBRaps. The song's production feels similar, I want to say I know a song that it takes off from. Anyway, the song isn't anything too special aside from another basic "live your life" type of song. Eh.

- Galantis has made quite a few cheesy and annoying tracks, like No Money. Love On Me is unfortunately among that group, as the lyrics are pretty repetitive and everything feels extremely auto-tuned. Not really a lot to say beyond that.

- We also have Carry Me by Kygo featuring Julia Michaels. Lyrically, it's another basic love song, but I like the production. Apparently this was performed at the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

- Trust Nobody by Cashmere Cat featuring Selena Gomez and Tory Lanez is a track that I've been hearing buzz about. This makes Selena sound kinda hardcore, I don't know why. But I think I like this sound for her. This song is pretty cool, definitely better than all four of the singles off of Revival.

- Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur is another acoustic guitar track, and with lines like "And I wanna stay with you until we're gray and old", it feels kinda reminiscent of Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran. Eh, whatever.

- I'm glad they saved my favorite song here, In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha, for last. I am really liking that one more and more with every listen.

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 — Shit:
20. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna
19. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya

1 — Bad:
18. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
17. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld featuring Grey and Zedd

2 — Meh:
16. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul
15. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya

3 — Decent:
14. Unsteady by X Ambassadors
13. Kids by OneRepublic

4 — Good:
12. This Town by Niall Horan
11. I Hate U, I Love U by gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien
10. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
9. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots

5 — Great:
8. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
7. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay
6. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber
5. Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga
4. Into You by Ariana Grande
3. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ
2. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots

Oh my god this song is so incredibly boss I need another tier because no words can describe how fucking magical this song is I could seriously give a shit what the haters think I'm going on too long here aren't I
1. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars

Total score: 68/100 (I so wanna up that at least three points or so because that #1 pick just runs away with the entire Top 20)

Countdown Bottom 5
1. No by Meghan Trainor
2. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna
3. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya
4. Work From Home by Fifth Harmony
5. Gold by Kiiara

Countdown Top 5
1. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
2. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
3. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ
4. Into You by Ariana Grande
5. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk

Hit-Bound Top 5
1. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
2. Green Light by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida
3. Mercy by Shawn Mendes
4. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara
5. Body Moves by DNCE

YouTube15 Top 5
1. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha
2. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
3. Times Like These by A&J
4. Trust Nobody by Cashmere Cat featuring Selena Gomez and Tory Lanez
5. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ

Most Missed Song: Can't Feel My Face by The Weeknd

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1 And The Countdown: HandClap by Fitz and The Tantrums

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Same Old Love by Selena Gomez — I'm pretty tired of Selena Gomez, to be honest (aside from the aforementioned YouTube15 song). I'll have more words for this one come December or January.
Good To Be Alive (Hallelujah) by Andy Grammer — While super catchy, it comes off as full-force and kind of a draining listen.

Thanks for reading, everybody!