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!