Well, here we are again. Louis Tomlinson of One Direction hosted this countdown alongside Steve Aoki. But honestly, this was not a good week for Spyder to take off, between a handful of news on some of the acts that I have a feeling he'll talk about next week (a beef between Canadians, a certain Oscar nomination, etcetera). But I digress. Anyway, this wasn't the best week overall, but it did have some perks, including our...interesting #1. So not much more to it than that. There are no songs leaving us this week, so let’s go.
The Countdown!
Last Week’s #1 Song: Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd
45. Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer (#43)
44. That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony (#44)
43. I Hate U, I Love U by gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien (#45)
42. Greenlight by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida (#42)
41. Body Moves by DNCE (#41)
40. Into You by Ariana Grande (#28)
39. Kids by OneRepublic (#29)
38. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ (#40)
37. You're Not There by Lukas Graham (#39)
36. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#34) (three weeks at #1)
35. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele (#37) (one week at #1)
34. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (#32) (ten weeks at #1)
33. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha (#36)
32. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#31)
31. I Feel It Coming by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (#38)
30. Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur (#35)
29. Just Hold On by Steve Aoki and Louis Tomlinson (#24)
28. Castle On The Hill by Ed Sheeran (#33)
27. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber (#30)
26. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay (#25)
25. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj (#19)
24. After The Afterparty by Charli XCX (#26)
23. Play That Song by Train (#27)
22. Million Reasons by Lady Gaga (#21)
21. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#23)
20. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (#8) (two weeks at #1)
19. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars (#14)
18. HandClap by Fitz And The Tantrums (#20)
17. I Don't Wanna Live Forever by Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift (#12)
16. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco (#11)
15. Bad Things by Machine Gun Kelly and Camilla Cabello (#16)
14. Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran (#15)
13. Love Me Now by John Legend (#18)
12. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara (#9)
11. All Time Low by Jon Bellion (#10)
10. Water Under The Bridge by Adele (#13)
9. Chase You Down by Runaground (#22)
8. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5 (#2) (two weeks at #1)
7. Mercy by Shawn Mendes (#17)
6. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (#7)
5. This Town by Niall Horan (#6)
4. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (#3) (eight weeks at #1)
3. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd (#1) (four weeks at #1)
2. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar (#5)
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Hello by Adele (10th of 12 weeks at #1)
1. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots (#4) (second week at #1)
Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Tie between Into You by Ariana Grande and Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (-12)
Biggest Jump Of The Week: Chase You Down by Runaground (+13)
Just Blurb On
- Before introducing Fresh Eyes, they talked about how Andy Grammer said that one of his places to visit on tour is New Orleans, because he likes the sandwiches at one of the shops that's there. Steve and Louis talked about how they like Los Angeles in comparison. Wonder how the Hits 1 In Hollywood crew is over there?
- Yes, you are seeing that right, I have indeed grown into That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony to some degree. I mean, not to the degree of it being among my favorites, and it's closer to red than it is green (I mean, the autotuned unison in the chorus is still pretty annoying), but I guess it does have a few fun parts to it.
- Yep, this is definitely the end for Into You by Ariana Grande. It tumbled into the bottom 10, but Hits 1 held onto this song for some time so it was bound to happen eventually.
- Before introducing Don't Let Me Down, they talked about how some of the favorite things for The Chainsmokers to do are read books and play video games. When Steve talked with Louis about some of the games he likes, he mentioned Call of Duty and Overwatch. How dare they not mention Pokémon.
- Before introducing I Feel It Coming, they talked about how The Weeknd knew he wanted to make music after first hearing Dirty Diana by Michael Jackson. That certainly explains why many are calling his newest hits MJ-lite, like Can't Feel My Face, In The Night and now this. Good thing this one jumped after its debut last week. Let's get this one further up, shall we?
- While it was generous of the guest hosts to let their song drop, I hope it can do better than this. But I guess One Direction hype has died out, but I wonder if that'll change now that it's been confirmed they'll be back.
- Treat You Better dropping out of the Top 10 is nothing but good news. Could it possibly leave soon? Thank you.
- Before introducing 24K Magic, they talked about how Bruno Mars got his stage name from a pro wrestler, then they discussed if they ever had their own nicknames, including Steve's name of "Chewy". That's kinda funny. That aside, I guess this could be it for the song, for real this time. It's too bad that this song wasn't a bigger hit. While I know that certain people I won't name are anxiously awaiting its departure, I'll be sad when it leaves. Let's hope that one of his two songs on Hit-Bound - or even better, any of the songs from the album (cough Chunky or Finesse cough) - can get bigger eventually, because this guy's return does deserve more than one real success.
- I reckon that it won't be long before Shape Of You enters the Top 10. I'd say the same about I Don't Wanna Live Forever, but that took a drop, so we'll see.
- We also have a couple songs that are making slow jumps, like HandClap and Love Me Now, but I like both of those and hope for more success from them.
- Before introducing Water Under The Bridge, they talked about how one of Adele's favorite things to do at an earlier age was listen to The Spice Girls. Who would've thought? They talked about how they had hobbies like snowboarding, and Louis was on a football team with a band member and he played defense. Again, these are interesting facts you learn. That aside, nice to see this finally enter the Top 10! Let's get it higher soon. Maybe even #1? That'd be pretty great.
- So, Chase You Down by Runaground took a sudden jump into the Top 10. This isn't a song that to me makes sense as a Top 10 entry, but I guess it's interesting to see it there. But I have been getting tired of this one, and I'm sure others are too.
- They didn't do the Weekend Rewind or play the one year ago #1, which is weird. I know that they did the one year ago #1 when Niall Horan hosted three months ago (although that was a One Direction song).
- Finally, we come to our #1. After this first hit #1 back in October, I was hoping that it'd have more than one week after Closer chart-blocked it on the Hot 100 for so long. And this...is an unusual #1. I think this is the longest gap we've had between a song returning to #1 since Bad Blood by Taylor Swift back in summer 2015. I can't deny that the song is old, as it's not in the Top 10 on Billboard anymore, but I do still like it.
As far as Hit-Bound goes, it appears that Shout Out To My Ex by Little Mix is back once again, which is good, and as far as debuts go, we've got Make Me (Cry) by Noah Cyrus featuring Labrinth, which I may have talked about when it was on the YouTube15 back in December or so. Long story short, it's closer to red than it is green. I'm not big for that one.
Top 20 Breakdown:
0 — Shit:
20. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
19. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd
18. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
1 — Bad:
17. Bad Things by Machine Gun Kelly and Camilla Cabello
2 — Meh:
16. Chase You Down by Runaground
15. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco
14. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara
3 — Decent:
13. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
12. This Town by Niall Horan
4 — Good:
11. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar
5 — Great:
10. HandClap by Fitz and the Tantrums
9. Mercy by Shawn Mendes
8. I Don't Wanna Live Forever by Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift
7. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
6. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
5. Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran
4. All Time Low by Jon Bellion
3. Water Under The Bridge by Adele
2. Love Me Now by John Legend
1. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
Overall score: 67/100
Countdown Bottom 5
1. After The Afterparty by Charli XCX
2. Play That Song by Train
3. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
4. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd
5. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
Countdown Top 5
1. Castle On The Hill by Ed Sheeran
2. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
3. Love Me Now by John Legend
4. I Feel It Coming by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
5. Water Under The Bridge by Adele
Most Missed Song: Paradise by Coldplay
Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: Magnets by Disclosure featuring Lorde
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Hands To Myself by Selena Gomez — Yeah, she could keep her hands to herself... But why would she want to? Bad, but in the hysterical kind of way.
Adventure Of A Lifetime by Coldplay — One of the upbeat and fun songs that the year needed. And while I know that many hated it for Coldplay being a sellout, I always enjoyed it for what it was.
QOTD: Who do you think will win the Super Bowl? I want the Falcons to win, because screw the Patriots. I'm so sick of them running away with every game. Wasn't there a season where they were undefeated up until the Super Bowl and then they choked?
Thanks for reading, everybody!
Another week I have mixed feelings about. On one hand, our Top 10 is still pretty messy, including our #1. On the other hand, we got rid of one obnoxious piece of trash and another old song, and replaced them with two very solid debuts. More on that later, but overall this week was definitely a step up from last week. So without further ado, here are the songs leaving us this week.
- Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya (#29) (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
- Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul (#40)
The Countdown!
Last Week’s #1 Song: Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
45. I Hate U, I Love U by gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien (#41)
44. That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony (#42)
43. Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer (#45)
42. Greenlight by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida (#44)
41. Body Moves by DNCE (#43)
40. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ (#36)
39. You're Not There by Lukas Graham (#30)
38. I Feel It Coming by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (debut)
37. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele (#39) (one week at #1)
36. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha (#32)
35. Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur (#28)
34. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#38) (three weeks at #1)
33. Castle On The Hill by Ed Sheeran (debut)
32. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (#33) (ten weeks at #1)
31. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#35)
30. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber (#25)
29. Kids by OneRepublic (#24)
28. Into You by Ariana Grande (#23)
27. Play That Song by Train (#22)
26. After The Afterparty by Charli XCX (#18)
25. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay (#26)
24. Just Hold On by Steve Aoki featuring Louis Tomlinson (#27)
23. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#17)
22. Chase You Down by Runaground (#21)
21. Million Reasons by Lady Gaga (#15)
20. HandClap by Fitz and The Tantrums (#37)
19. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj (#12)
18. Love Me Now by John Legend (#19)
17. Mercy by Shawn Mendes (#20)
16. Bad Things by Machine Gun Kelly and Camilla Cabello (#34)
15. Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran (#32)
14. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars (#6)
13. Water Under The Bridge by Adele (#11)
12. I Don't Wanna Live Forever by Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift (#16)
11. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco (#13)
10. All Time Low by Jon Bellion (#14)
9. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara (#7)
8. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (#9) (two weeks at #1)
7. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (#10)
6. This Town by Niall Horan (#5)
5. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar (#8)
4. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots (#3) (one week at #1)
3. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (#4) (eight weeks at #1)
2. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5 (#1) (two weeks at #1)
Top 5 This Week One Year Ago: 5. Drag Me Down by One Direction
4. Irresistible by Fall Out Boy and Demi Lovato
3. Same Old Love by Selena Gomez
2. Confident by Demi Lovato
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Perfect by One Direction (first of two weeks at #1)
1. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd (#2) (fourth annoying week at #1)
Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: You're Not There by Lukas Graham (-9)
Biggest Jump Of The Week: Bad Things by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Camilla Cabello (+18) (Why am I not surprised...)
New Entrants
- With Starboy still dominating for as long as it has, you wouldn't think its successor would be dropped so soon, but here it is. Enter I Feel It Coming. This one is not as dark as Starboy was, and is more about The Weeknd wanting to treat a girl nicely after what seems like being scared from a past relationship (if the pre-chorus is any indication). Daft Punk contributes some good vibes to the song, and makes it surprisingly upbeat for a somewhat melancholy premised song. Definitely a new favorite of mine.
- So last week, we had one new song from Ed Sheeran debuting, name of Shape Of You. Alongside it was the song debuting here, Castle On The Hill. I definitely like this more. The guitar that goes throughout the song complements the fast nature well, and then the lyrics are about Ed's experiences and fun times in his days past before nearing the end and seeing what some of those friends are up to now, followed by the line, "But these people raised me". Remember Stressed Out and 7 Years, two songs that were bout growing old and what comes in the future? This is like them, and while I liked them both, I like this more than both of them. If I'm being honest, this is to me the best song I've heard on the radio since 24K Magic, and debuts as my new favorite song on the countdown. Sadly, the song is projected to sink on the Billboard Hot 100 this coming week, so I'm worried that it could potentially flop. Hopefully I'll be wrong.
Castle On The Blurbs
- So we had two exits, but they were both important ones, so let's not waste any time. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul took its departure, and I enjoyed it for a while but I wasn't quite as infuriated by the overplay as a lot of others here were, and in the end you can say I never outright hated it. But more importantly... As this song came out, rendering the existence of its predecessor to be completely pointless, after being insanely overplayed here on Hits 1 for a song that never even made the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, and so much nonsense with it repeatedly jumping in and out of the Top 10... We can celebrate as Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya has FINALLY left this countdown. Good riddance. You will not be missed in the slightest.
- Our bottom 5 remain the same, but none of them held their spots.
- Before introducing Cold Water, Spyder mentioned how Justin Bieber had went back to the old hairstyle he had when he was first discovered back in 2007, and that he could get away with it because he's Justin Bieber, but warning against us trying it at home.
- I did not think that You're Not There would drop that much. That's too bad though, because I like the song, as well as the stories this band want to tell.
- While I feel like I shouldn't be surprised about the flopping of Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur, now that Ed Sheeran is back, the time for his placeholder might be out. Shame though because I do kind of like the song.
- Play That Song continues to get worse and worse every listen. Good thing it dropped more. Hopefully it can see to its way out soon.
- Before introducing After The Afterparty, Spyder talked about how when Charli XCX was with The Morning Mash-Up, Nicole wanted her to be kicked out after she mentioned how they've done the pancakes, bacon and maple syrup thing. Spyder didn't have a problem with that mention, and neither do I, because bacon makes (almost) everything better. Even though it's still my least favorite song on the countdown (good thing it dropped out of the Top 20), I did think that was pretty funny.
- Unsteady by X Ambassadors has dropped out of the Top 20 once again, hopefully for good this time. It just left the Billboard Hot 100, so let's hope this is the end.
- It was obviously expected that Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran would jump into the Top 20 after its debut last week. And HandClap took a big jump into that region as well.
- We also had Bad Things taking the biggest jump of the week right into the Top 20 also, which I'm not exactly thrilled about. Guess people have really missed Camilla Cabello from Fifth Harmony. Not me.
- I'm not even going to comment on 24K Magic dropping out of the Top 10 once again.
- Or Treat You Better re-entering the Top 10. This better not become the next Sit Still, Look Pretty.
- While I do still like The Greatest, I did not think that it'd be a Top 5 hit. That is pretty strong presence. People must like their Sia.
- Spyder had a funny conversation with the guest DJ who introduced Don't Wanna Know. Dude was from Fort Lauderdale, and Spyder said that maybe he should pick him up from the airport when he returns from New York on Monday night. Then he gave a shout-out to his girlfriend of 5 months, and finding out that he was 31, Spyder suggested him propose on radio because "his biological clock was ticking". He refused, and Spyder said, "Come on, you're being very uncooperative". Although I still loathe Don't Wanna Know, I thought that was funny.
- I will say, I did cry a bit hearing Perfect, the one year ago #1. But in the good way.
Hit-Bound
Dancing On My Own by Calum Scott
That's What I Like by Bruno Mars (debut)
Words by Daya
Guys My Age by Hey Violet
Paris by The Chainsmokers
Heavydirtysoul by Twenty-one Pilots
Don't Leave by Snakehips featuring MØ (debut)
Lights Down Low by MAX featuring gnash
Love On The Brain by Rihanna
Love Like We Used To by Captain Cuts
Versace On The Floor by Bruno Mars
Issues by Julia Michaels
I Got You by Bebe Rexha (debut)
- Twenty-one Pilots hosted Hit-Bound this week.
- More Bruno Mars excites me. Even though That's What I Like isn't a favorite of mine from the 24K Magic album, and it's not as good as Versace On The Floor, it definitely has some fun to me. I still want him to release Chunky or Finesse as real singles, though.
- Then we have another new track, Don't Leave by Snakehips featuring MØ. It's no All My Friends or Final Song, but it's definitely better than Cruel, which debuted Hit-Bound last year but never made the countdown. I guess I like it for now.
- We also have I Got You by Bebe Rexha. This one I'm kinda torn between. Some of it's not bad, but some is annoying. It might grow on me, but right now I'm not totally thrilled here.
- I am seriously so sick of Daya at this point. Words just makes me rage when it comes on here. And no, I don't say that just because of Sit Still, Look Pretty being overplayed. The point I'm trying to get across is, please get off Hit-Bound soon and DO NOT make the countdown.
- Lastly, I only heard 13 songs, and neither In My Mind by Maty Noyes or Shout Out To My Ex by Little Mix was among them, which tells me that at least one of them has left Hit-Bound for good. Hopefully not the latter, because that one is supposed to be officially impacting pop radio very soon.
Top 20 Breakdown:
0 — Shit:
20. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
19. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd
18. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
1 — Bad:
17. Bad Things by Machine Gun Kelly and Camilla Cabello
2 — Meh:
16. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco
3 — Decent:
15. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara
14. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
13. This Town by Niall Horan
4 — Good:
12. I Don't Wanna Live Forever by Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift
11. Million Reasons by Lady Gaga
5 — Great:
10. Mercy by Shawn Mendes
9. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
8. HandClap by Fitz And The Tantrums
7. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar
6. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
5. All Time Low by Jon Bellion
4. Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran
3. Water Under The Bridge by Adele
2. Love Me Now by John Legend
1. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
Overall score: 70/100
Countdown Bottom 5
1. After The Afterparty by Charli XCX
2. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
3. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd
4. Play That Song by Train
5. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
Countdown Top 5
1. Castle On The Hill by Ed Sheeran
2. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
3. I Feel It Coming by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
4. You're Not There by Lukas Graham
5. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha
Hit-Bound Top 5
1. Love Like We Used To by Captain Cuts
2. Heavydirtysoul by Twenty-one Pilots
3. Don't Leave by Snakehips featuring MØ
4. Versace On The Floor by Bruno Mars
5. That's What I Like by Bruno Mars
Most Missed Song: Love Me Again by John Newman
Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: When We Were Young by Adele
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Magnets by Disclosure featuring Lorde — While this doesn't quite feel like something Lorde would release on her own, the beat is kinda cool, and the video, while really weird, ends on a rather bizarre but interesting note.
Hold Me Up by Conrad Sewell — It's too bad this song had such a short tenure. This guy really has some vocal presence and the song comes with some fun throwback vibes. Also, fun fact, this guy is the brother of Grace from You Don't Own Me.
Also, I may as well introduce a new feature I'm going to be adding to my blog posts, where I ask a specific question that you guys might be up for answering. It can be music related, or something else but it'll probably be music related. Maybe this'll give a little something to spark some discussion. Anyway...
Question of the Day: Of Ed Sheeran's two new singles, which do you prefer? Given that I have Castle On The Hill in purple, that should give you my answer.
Thanks for reading, everybody!
So this was the Martin Luther King Jr. Day edition of the countdown... To put it easily, this week was just a mess. We have the same annoying #1 and the Top 5 isn't looking so hot right now. And while we got rid of one old waste, we lost another good one that was cut too short. Now 1/4 of the countdown is looking nasty. I had hopes for this year to be great, but that hope is not holding out. This is not gonna be fun to talk about. But at least an old face made his long-awaited return, which was interesting at least. Let's just get to it. So without further ado, here are the songs leaving us this week.
- Setting The World On Fire by Kenny Chesney featuring P!nk (#45)
- Good Grief by Bastille (#33)
The Countdown!
Last Week’s #1 Song: Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
45. Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer (#43)
44. Greenlight by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida (#44)
43. Body Moves by DNCE (#41)
42. That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony (#27)
41. I Hate U, I Love U by gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien (#37)
40. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul (#40)
39. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele (#31) (one week at #1)
38. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#32) (three weeks at #1)
37. HandClap by Fitz and The Tantrums (#39)
36. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ (#38)
35. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#30)
34. Bad Things by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Camilla Cabello (debut)
33. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (#36) (ten weeks at #1)
32. Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran (debut)
31. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha (#8) (What the fuck...)
30. You're Not There by Lukas Graham (#35)
29. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya (#43)
28. Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur (#26)
27. Just Hold On by Steve Aoki featuring Louis Tomlinson (#29)
26. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay (#28)
25. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber (#25)
24. Kids by OneRepublic (#19)
23. Into You by Ariana Grande (#20)
22. Play That Song by Train (#24)
21. Chase You Down by Runaground (#18)
20. Mercy by Shawn Mendes (#21)
19. Love Me Now by John Legend (#22)
18. After The Afterparty by Charli XCX (#34) (You've gotta be kidding me...)
17. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#17)
16. I Don't Wanna Live Forever by Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift (#23)
15. Million Reasons by Lady Gaga (#15)
14. All Time Low by Jon Bellion (#16)
13. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco (#9)
12. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj (#10)
11. Water Under The Bridge by Adele (#13) (Get in the Top 10 plz.)
10. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (#14)
9. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (#11) (two weeks at #1)
8. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar (#12)
7. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara (#7)
6. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars (#6)
5. This Town by Niall Horan (#2)
4. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (#4) (eight weeks at #1)
3. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots (#3) (one week at #1)
2. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd (#5) (three weeks at #1)
Top 5 This Week One Year Ago: 5. Hello by Adele
4. Same Old Love by Selena Gomez
3. Irresistible by Fall Out Boy and Demi Lovato
2. Perfect by One Direction
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Confident by Demi Lovato (first and only week at #1)
1. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5 (second week at #1)
Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha (-23)
Biggest Jump Of The Week: After The Afterparty by Charli XCX (+16)
New Entrants
- So, who's gonna miss Camilla Cabello now that she's departed from Fifth Harmony? Not me, I'll say that. Bad Things apparently interpolates from a song by Fastball, not the one that they're most well known for. Machine Gun Kelly is on the track, and his verses aren't very innovative. I really can't say I'm feeling this one. This should've been done by better performers. I know that I won't be tuning in for Camilla Cabello's solo career when that takes off. Right now, I'm not impressed by this one.
- Ed Sheeran is back, and here he is with one of two new singles, this one named Shape Of You. This one falls under the vibe of the tropical themed songs we've been getting for a while now, but I can appreciate the guy trying to do something different, even if there are traces of the guitar in there. That being said, I'm not huge on the lyrics, with them being about appreciating a woman for her body. I may be in the unpopular crowd of liking Castle On The Hill more, but I am liking this.
I'm In Love With The Shape Of Blurbs
- While Setting The World On Fire had a pretty weird tenure, I'm not exactly sad to see it off. Good Grief, on the other hand, I really liked, because that song was upbeat which is something we needed this year. I'm sad that it didn't take off well.
- The guest DJ who introduced Greenlight was from San Diego, California. Hope their weather is nicer than it is here!
- Before introducing Cheap Thrills, Spyder mentioned how Sia will eventually be on Sesame Street. Kinda funny to imagine someone like her on a show that's meant to be kiddy based... Then again, Katy Perry was on it so what can I say.
- Interesting that Can't Stop the Feeling! is still here. In fact, some on Pulse Music Boards are speculating that it'll be one of the songs to repeat on 2017's Year-End Hot 100 chart. I'd be okay with that, honestly.
- Kinda funny how Ride switched spots with one of our debuts from last week.
- I'm not happy about In The Name Of Love having the biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! of the week. I really like this song, so to see it flopping is sad. I don't have a lot of hope for it recovering, unfortunately. We'll see.
- None of our debuts from last week took serious jumps. You're Not There was the only one to get at least five in, but I'll take that. That song doesn't feel as broad as 7 Years did, but it's still very sentimental.
- So the other day, I was playing Pokémon Black 2, and in the Virbank Complex (which is early in the game), I discovered the Lass there is named Daya. And she uses a Woobat. To think that for as many times as I've played Black 2 and White 2, I only just noticed that. Looks like Daya was liked by Game Freak well before she was liked by Hits 1. Good thing they made her a simple Lass early in the game and not something like an Ace Trainer, because that would be insulting to that trainer class.
- I am a little disappointed to see Kids drop out of the Top 20. While certain people I won't name are overjoyed to see that one gone, I was starting to like that one a lot.
- Before introducing Mercy, Spyder talked about how Shawn Mendes hasn't been completely caught up to his fame yet and has said that there are other people who deserve what he has. With this song's predecessor, yeah, there are songs that deserve to be bigger than that, for sure, but this is alright.
- Love Me Now is completely welcomed into the top 20. This looks like it could easily become a potential favorite of mine from this year if it gains momentum.
- After The Afterparty jumping into the Top 20, on the other hand, is unacceptable. After that drop last week I thought it was dead. Guess I was wrong. I don't know what happened to Charli XCX. Boom Clap from 2014 was beautiful and very well-written. This is just disappointing. I'm sorry, but now I have no choice but to put it in orange.
- Before introducing I Don't Wanna Live Forever, Spyder talked about the long list of acts who are going to have representations on the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack alongside that one. Interesting lineup! Wonder if it'll be 2015 all over again where those hits dominate the year.
- Chase You Down, Death Of A Bachelor and Scars To Your Beautiful are all starting to fade on me.
- Treat You Better back in the Top 10 is a big fat no. Stop it. Now. I really don't know who still likes this (come at me, Shawn Mendes fam).
- Can we please get 24K Magic into the Top 5, like, next week? That'd be so much better than it's looking right about now.
- The guest DJ who introduced Closer was from British Columbia and when saying his parents' names (forgot what they were), Spyder asked if those were really their names. Haha.
- Speaking of which, the Top 5 remained the same, even if some of them changed their spots. And on that note, for you who may be wondering, "When will _______ be in red/pink/blue/what have you?!"...
Cheap Thrills - This one won't avoid being red for much longer. Or maybe it won't turn red. I don't know.
Send My Love (To Your New Lover) and Heathens - I just can't bring myself to hate these. And no, not because I'm scared of Twenty-one Pilots fans or anything, don't think that! And because I like Adele in general. But I have to have them in dark yellow, basically.
Closer - I've basically stopped caring at this point. For all I know, this may be in blue for the remainder of its tenure...unless it passes Uptown Funk's 31 weeks in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, which would actually bring it to the highest of all, with 32 from How Do I Live by LeAnn Rimes. If that were to happen...ho boy, my reaction will NOT be pretty. and don't you even pretend you want that to happen kthxbai.
Into You - I still love this, no matter how overplayed it gets. And because this has been regarded by many as one of the best songs of the year, I have zero qualms with keeping it in green.
24K Magic - Yeah, the odds of me having this in anything lower than green are about as likely as a Paras with Dry Skin surviving a +6 Inferno Overdrive on base of Overheat from a Chandelure in sunlight after Flash Fire had activated.
Hit-Bound
Love On The Brain by Rihanna
Shout Out To My Ex by Little Mix
Guys My Age by Hey Violet
I Feel It Coming by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
Issues by Julia Michaels (debut)
Paris by The Chainsmokers (debut)
Heavydirtysoul by Twenty-one Pilots (debut)
Versace On The Floor by Bruno Mars
Love Like We Used To by Captain Cuts
Words by Daya
Dancing On My Own by Calum Scott
In My Mind by Maty Noyes
Blow Your Mind (Mwah) by Dua Lipa
Lights Down Low by MAX featuring Gnash
- Jon Bellion hosted Hit-Bound this week.
- Issues is not exactly the most exciting song. Not to mention the singer's voice is not very appealing.
- Oh goodness, not The Chainsmokers again... Paris does have some life to it, but I'm just sick of these guys at this point. I'll talk more about it when it inevitably debuts.
- I've heard Heavydirtysoul before now, since I own the Blurryface album, and it does work well. Twenty-one Pilots do have good skill in writing. Hopefully this debuts soon.
Top 20 Breakdown:
0 — Shit:
20. Tie: After The Afterparty by Charli XCX
20. Tie: Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
18. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd
17. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
16. Unsteady by X Ambassadors
1 — Bad:
None!
2 — Meh:
None!
3 — Decent:
15. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco
14. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara
13. This Town by Niall Horan
12. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
4 — Good:
None!
5 — Great:
11. Mercy by Shawn Mendes
10. Million Reasons by Lady Gaga
9. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
8. I Don't Wanna Live Forever by Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift
7. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
6. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar
5. All Time Low by Jon Bellion
4. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
3. Water Under The Bridge by Adele
2. Love Me Now by John Legend
1. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
Overall score: 67/100
Countdown Bottom 5
1. Tie: After The Afterparty by Charli XCX
1. Tie: Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
3. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya
4. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd
5. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
Countdown Top 5
1. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
2. Love Me Now by John Legend
3. Water Under The Bridge by Adele
4. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha
5. HandClap by Fitz And The Tantrums
Hit-Bound Top 5
1. Tie: Shout Out To My Ex by Little Mix
1. Tie: Love Like We Used To by Captain Cuts
1. Tie: I Feel It Coming by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
4. Versace On The Floor by Bruno Mars
5. Heavydirtysoul by Twenty-one Pilots
Most Missed Song: America's Sweetheart by Elle King
Favorite Countdown Song From This Week One Year Ago: Tie between Here by Alessia Cara and Something Better by Audien featuring Lady Antebellum
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
The Fix by Nelly featuring Jeremih — Not exactly a fan of this kind of R&B. And does anyone notice that Jeremih is hard-pressed to be able to do a song on his own or without using a sample of some sort?
Wake Up by The Vamps — Happy and upbeat, even if it's not particularly standout and it's not exactly the biggest wake-up call.
Kamikaze by MØ — Ah yes, Adrian's bane. I actually thought this song was kinda cool at first. That said, it is kind of weird, and it does make me feel bad that Final Song never took off here in the US.
Thanks for reading, everybody!
So here's the first countdown of 2017. To say the least, this may not have been the best week overall, but I guess it works for a starting ground. Let's hope that the year can give us some better music, though. We did get a return from a certain act, but more on that later. So without further ado, here are the songs leaving us this week.
- I Took a Pill In Ibiza (#40) (spent two weeks at #1)
- Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer (#45)
- My Way by Calvin Harris (#44)
The Countdown!
Last Week’s #1 Song: Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd
45. Setting The World On Fire by Kenny Chesney featuring P!nk (#41)
44. Green Light by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida (#21)
43. Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer (#39)
42. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya (#42)
41. Body Moves by DNCE (#43)
40. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul (#38)
39. HandClap by Fitz and The Tantrums (debut)
38. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ (#36)
37. I Hate U, I Love U by gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien (#37)
36. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (#35) (ten weeks at #1)
35. You're Not There by Lukas Graham (debut)
34. After the Afterparty by Charli XCX (#22)
33. Good Grief by Bastille (#34)
32. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#33)
31. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele (#32) (one week at #1)
30. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#31) (Not a color-coding error.)
29. Just Hold On by Steve Aoki featuring Louis Tomlinson (#29)
28. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay (#24)
27. That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony (#19)
26. Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur (#26)
25. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber (#27)
24. Play That Song by Train (#28)
23. I Don't Wanna Live Forever by Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift (#17)
22. Love Me Now by John Legend (#30)
21. Mercy by Shawn Mendes (debut)
20. Into You by Ariana Grande (#25)
19. Kids by OneRepublic (#18)
18. Chase You Down by Runaground (#23)
17. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#15)
16. All Time Low by Jon Bellion (#16)
15. Million Reasons by Lady Gaga (#20)
14. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (#5)
13. Water Under The Bridge by Adele (#12)
12. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar (#7)
11. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (#10) (two weeks at #1)
10. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj (#11)
9. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco (#8)
8. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha (#9)
7. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara (#13)
6. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars (#14)
5. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd (#1) (three weeks at #1)
4. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (#2) (eight weeks at #1)
3. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots (#3) (one week at #1)
2. This Town by Niall Horan (#4)
Top 5 This Week One Year Ago: 5. Stitches by Shawn Mendes
4. Ex's and Oh's by Elle King
3. Drag Me Down by One Direction
2. On My Mind by Ellie Goulding
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Hello by Adele (9th of 12 weeks at #1)
1. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5 (#6) (first week at #1)
Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Green Light by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida (-23)
Biggest Jump Of The Week: Tie between Love Me Now by John Legend and 24K Magic by Bruno Mars (+8)
New Entrants
- First up, we have a song that's been kind of a sleeper hit in recent memory, HandClap by Fitz And The Tantrums. As goofy and loud as this song is all-around, it's a hysterical listen, at least for me. Some may hate it, but I do enjoy it, as silly as it is for a guy in his 40s to be fronting a song that's about, well, trying to make your hands clap. The bass and the trumpets do give the song some energy to it. Yeah, it's dumb, but I do like it right now.
- Then we've got more Lukas Graham. After 7 Years was huge and Mama Said failed to become a real hit, we have You're Not There. This one...from what I'm getting at is another song about how Lukas Forchammer is sad about his father's death and how he wishes he could be there to celebrate his success. Even if the band became big in Denmark before they made a name for themselves here in America (which 7 Years is about), it makes sense what this is about. This one I'm starting to hear elsewhere so we'll see if it becomes a real hit or not.
- Finally, we come to Mercy by Shawn Mendes. After Stitches was at least passable to a degree and Treat You Better got annoying, this is here. This one takes on the matter of trying to have his girl treat him right and not make things hard for him, at least it's what I see. The production is nice, but all in all we'll see how long this sticks with me in the long run.
I Can Make Your Hands Blurb
- Well, to start, our exits begin My Way, which wasn't something worth seriously caring about. Then there was Girls Talk Boys, which many here hated for some reason, yet I actually liked and I didn't really know why. But the most important song to drop out here would be none other than I Took a Pill In Ibiza, which, after so long, has finally departed. A song that has been widely regarded as one of the best songs of 2016 by many, and after everything, it is no more. It was nice to see it at #1 on the countdown, too.
- Before introducing Green Light, Spyder talked about how Pitbull was being paid $1,000,000 by the state of Florida to promote tourism in the state, which said that it made him (not?) feel bad about him having the biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! of the week. As I've said many times, Hits 1 hasn't been kind to Pitbull so I won't be surprised if this leaves. I'm just disappointed it didn't become a real hit, but it'll easily make my top countdown songs of the year.
- Before introducing Fresh Eyes, Spyder mentioned how Andy Grammer said his New Year's Resolution was to cut back on pizza. Spyder was devastated by this. "That's ridiculous. Cutting back on pizza, please..." That being said, I prefer to get my pizza from select places.
- If I liked I Hate U, I Love U, that's over now. And Don't Let Me Down I'm done with too but I will give credit on the YE Hot 100 post.
- The guest DJ who introduced After The Afterparty I think talked about how she was moving from Florida to Seattle. Spyder commented on how it's colder up there, and he said something else too. Good thing the song dropped. Hopefully it'll leave soon (for my sake and Adrian's).
- #30 is not a color-coding error. Remember how I mentioned being hypnotized into liking New Romantics a while back? Yep, the same thing happened here. I can safely say that Ride will be in my top songs of the year.
- Before introducing Just Hold On, Spyder got teary while talking about how Louis Tomlinson and girlfriend Danielle Campbell had broken up. Poor guy, as if getting restricted from the son that his past girlfriend gave birth to wasn't bad enough, now he's been dumped again. That being said, I do wish this song was doing better than it is.
- I'm not exactly thrilled that Hymn For The Weekend and Play That Song switched spots.
- With I Don't Wanna Live Forever dropping out of the Top 20, it looks like that one won't be gaining until the Fifty Shades Darker hype starts to enter.
- Before introducing Into You, Spyder mentioned how Ariana Grande is going to play a character in the Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius. I don't play Final Fantasy, but that is kinda cool. That aside, don't pay any mind to that bitchy Graham. Jack and I are happy to have you in the Top 20 for as long as you like.
- America, please do not underrate Water Under The Bridge, okay? That song completely deserves to be a hit.
- We did get three pretty welcome re-entries into the Top 10, even if that means Starboy got knocked out of that region.
- At least we got Treat You Better out of the Top 10. Let's get it down and eventually out of here, shall we?
- Then we have our new #1. To say the least, while I can't stand this song, it doesn't surprise me that it's here. It makes more sense as #1 than Starving, I'll say that, but it's still pretty crappy. Seriously, keep Closer at #1 for all I care.
Hit-Bound
Words by Daya
Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran (debut)
Bad Things by Machine Gun Kelly and Camilla Cabello
In My Mind by Maty Noyes
Blow Your Mind (Mwah) by Dua Lipa
She Sets The City On Fire by Gavin DeGraw
Lights Down Low by MAX and Gnash (debut)
Love Like We Used To by Captain Cuts
I Feel It Coming by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (debut)
Dancing On My Own by Calum Scott
Shout Out To My Ex by Little Mix
Love On The Brain by Rihanna
Versace On The Floor by Bruno Mars
Guys My Age by Hey Violet
- So Ed Sheeran is back, and the first of his return singles consists of Shape Of You. To say the least, I do think that Ed Sheeran has a good direction going for him trying something different from just the acoustic guitar. But some of the lyrics are pretty questionable. I'll talk more about it when it debuts next week.
- We also have Lights Down Low by MAX and Gnash, which I'm really not wild about. I can hardly even remember anything from that song, honestly.
- Lastly, we have yet another track with The Weeknd and Daft Punk, name of I Feel It Coming. While I like Starboy, I think this has more going on. Here's to hoping it can be successful.
Top 20 Breakdown:
0 — Shit:
20. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
19. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
18. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd
17. Unsteady by X Ambassadors
1 — Bad:
None!
2 — Meh:
None!
3 — Decent:
16. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
15. This Town by Niall Horan
4 — Good:
14. Chase You Down by Runaground
13. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco
12. Million Reasons by Lady Gaga
5 — Great:
11. All Time Low by Jon Bellion
10. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara
9. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar
8. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
7. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
6. Kids by OneRepublic
5. Into You by Ariana Grande
4. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
3. Water Under The Bridge by Adele
1. Tie: In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha
1. Tie: 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
Overall score: 73/100
My Bottom 5 Countdown Picks
1. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
2. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya
3. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
4. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd
5. After The Afterparty by Charli XCX
My Top 5 Countdown Picks
1. Tie: 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
1. Tie: In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha
3. Water Under The Bridge by Adele
4. Just Hold On by Steve Aoki featuring Louis Tomlinson
5. Love Me Now by John Legend
My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Shout Out To My Ex by Little Mix
2. I Feel It Coming by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
3. Love Like We Used To by Captain Cuts
4. In My Mind by Maty Noyes
5. Versace On The Floor by Bruno Mars
Most Missed Song: Hold My Hand by Jess Glynne - A song that this countdown community criminally underrated for what I can only assume was its hanging in the bottom range and refusing to leave. It's pristine, soaring fun and I may be slightly biased coming off of Rather Be, but I still love it today. Shame on you people.
Favorite Countdown Song From This Week One Year Ago: Tie between Black Magic by Little Mix and Something Better by Audien featuring Lady Antebellum
Also, I won't be including recommendations for Hits 1 in every update, just when I think there's something worth talking about that deserves a mention.
Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Roses by The Chainsmokers featuring ROZES — Indeed, the bane of Graham's existence. I'll have more words for this soon, but I think the composure here is what I like the most.
Moments by Tove Lo — There's a part of me that wishes this had became a hit, but what's even more unfortunate is that nothing from Lady Wood has caught on at all.
So I'll try to have my top countdown songs of 2016 out soon, as I mentioned. Thanks for reading, everybody!
