February 18, 2017 - Ed Sheeran (2)

Well after the disappointment that was last week, things actually got active this time around. I don't know if it was post-Grammys hype that got people voting here, or if they got bored of streaming and decided to jump back onto the bandwagon. Yeah, who needs streaming when you can vote for songs and declare them the real deal, huh?! But I digress. Anyway, we had some surprises, some of which were good, but others not to my welcoming. So without further ado, here are the songs leaving us this week.

• Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele (#44) (spent one week at #1)
• I Hate U, I Love U by gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien (#42)

The Countdown!
Last Week’s #1 Song: Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran
45. Greenlight by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida (#43)
44. Kids by OneRepublic (#40)
43. In the Name of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha (#41)
42. You're Not There by Lukas Graham (#36)
41. Chase You Down by Runaground (#15)
40. Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur (#32)
39. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#45) (three weeks at #1)
38. Hymn For the Weekend by Coldplay (#38)
37. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (#31)
36. This Town by Niall Horan (#14)
35. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar (#37)
34. Cold by Maroon 5 (debut)
33. Love on the Brain by Rihanna (#39)
32. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (#28) (two weeks at #1)
31. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber (#33)
30. Scars to Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara (#24)
29. Love Me Now by John Legend (#8)
28. Guys My Age by Hey Violet (#30)
27. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars (#25)
26. Heavydirtysoul by Twenty-one Pilots (#26)
25. Words by Daya (#21)
24. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#20)
23. I Got You by Bebe Rexha (#29)
22. Death of a Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco (#22)
21. Chained to the Rhythm by Katy Perry (debut)
20. Play That Song by Train (#10)
19. Issues by Julia Michaels (#34)
18. That's What I Like by Bruno Mars (#35)
17. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5 (#8) (three weeks at #1)
16. Paris by The Chainsmokers (#13)
15. After The Afterparty by Charli XCX (#19)
14. I Feel It Coming by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (#23)
13. Just Hold On by Steve Aoki featuring Louis Tomlinson (#18)
12. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots (#16) (two weeks at #1)
11. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj (#27)
10. Million Reasons by Lady Gaga (#17)
9. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd (#12) (four weeks at #1)
8. Bad Things by Machine Gun Kelly and Camilla Cabello (#11)
7. Water Under The Bridge by Adele (#5)
6. I Don't Wanna Live Forever by Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift (#7)
5. All Time Low by Jon Bellion (#6)
4. Mercy by Shawn Mendes (#4)
3. HandClap by Fitz And The Tantrums (#3)
2. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (#2) (eight weeks at #1)
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots (first of 5 weeks at #1)
1. Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran (#1) (second week at #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Chase You Down by Runaground (-26)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: That's What I Like by Bruno Mars (+17)

New Entrants
- Yay, more Maroon 5, woo-hoo. As Don't Wanna Know continues to test my patience (although it does look like it's dropping quick and I'll get to that later), they're getting to the follow-up, and it isn't much better. To put it short, Cold does not sound like these guys' original sound at all. As for the song itself, the guitar sounds alright, and the verses are your basic Maroon 5 content, I guess it's not terrible in the big picture. But since 2012, many have said that Maroon 5 have started to sound less like a band and now Adam Levine is the only one who does anything anymore. And I definitely see why. And the studio version features Future of all people, and my first thought upon seeing that was "why?". Because if you were to ask me who I could see joining Maroon 5 for a song, Future is one of the LAST names I would picture myself answering that question with. But Hits 1 cut his verse out, unsurprisingly. The bottom line is, the song is nothing special. I do not see myself growing into it and it could very well become red soon.

- So, I'm sure many of you are sick of me talking about Rise by Katy Perry, but I'm just as sick of having to defend my opinion that it was a waste that alternated between very boring verses and one of the most grating choruses of the year. Heck, I even left a page and a half of a follow-up to my A Year In Review page to do that alone. And yet, I was still hoping that she would be able to give us more of the fun, tasteless tracks that were from her first two albums and not more of that. With her return track this year, I got my wish. Enter Chained To The Rhythm. In this, you can clearly hear some disco influences, and Katy Perry sounds quite good. But more importantly, when that chorus kicks in, it's something I can actually get down to and have fun with. The song really has a cool sounding 80's vibe backing it up. And there's a guest verse from Skip Marley, which Hits 1 did not cut out, and I am fine with that because while it's a short verse, it does give more to the song. There's plenty to like here, but although some have flacked the song for being political, I do not see it. And I am not going to get into that here. Point is, this is definitely a step in the right direction for Katy Perry and I hope for more of this. Definitely curious for that album when it comes.

Chained To The Blurbs
- So, two exits. One of which has been loathed by YouTubers but adored by quite a few of the fam, and the other of which I can safely say nobody here likes anymore except me and Miles. It should be easy to see which one is which.

- The entire bottom 5 consists of songs that really weren't big in areas besides here, one of which is new to this region that I'll get to in a bit, one of which I had hopes for, and one of which showed quite a bit of promise only to be squandered.

- Before introducing Say You Won’t Let Go, Spyder talked about how James Arthur had a picture of him wrapped in bandages and that scared his viewers…until he informed them that his nose needed fixing. Ouch! But then Spyder’s British sidekick (whatever you refer to his “funny voice” as) went on about what the picture’s commentary would read. Funny. Anyway, this may be the end for this song. I do still kinda like it, even if it does sound like it takes off of Ed Sheeran’s success.

- The Greatest is starting to fade on me. Sia songs are known for what they are, but this one was not what Chandelier was.

- Before introducing Let Me Love You, Spyder talked about how Justin Bieber, despite being nominated for four Grammys, skipped the show and instead got sushi. Dude, you had the most important song of the year and you skip the biggest music awards show that there is? How uncouth.

- Dang, we had not one or even two, but three drops over 20 spots. First was Chase You Down, which I'm fine with, and This Town, which came sooner than I thought it would. But the third was Love Me Now, which, if you can't tell, I'm not thrilled about. I was really hoping the very latter would become a real hit, and whether it'll be that or not is really in limbo at this point.

- Anyone else notice that that sound during the pre-choruses and bridge of Heavydirtysoul sounds like it's straight-up ripped from Pac-Man? If you've ever played Pac-Man, which I'm sure you have at least once in your life, you'll know what I'm talking about.

- Then we have That's What I Like taking a big jump into the Top 20 off of its debut last week. This one looks like it's gonna become a hit in no time.

- Good thing Don't Wanna Know dropped out of the Top 10. To think that it was #1 two weeks ago. God bless.

- Before introducing I Feel It Coming, Spyder talked about how during the performance of that song at the Grammys, Daft Punk were on stage, but it looked like they didn't do anything besides stand there and look cool. But hey, I enjoyed the performance so I'm not complaining. Nice to see this enter the Top 20, that's a definite plus. And as you can see, it's only getting more enjoyable for me, so great timing.

- Meanwhile, out of absolutely nowhere, Side To Side re-entered the Top 20 and came just short of the Top 10. But I'm not complaining, I'm totally cool with that. brb flexing.

- And on that note, our Top 10 is a mixed bag. We have a new entrant in Million Reasons, which is surely welcomed, but neither of our re-entries into the region are anything for me to get thrilled about, particularly Starving. In fact, the entire Top 5 held their spots save the #5, which is pretty interesting.

- Before introducing Closer, Spyder talked about how it feels like The Chainsmokers always have drama going on and that some were upset that during the Grammys, David Bowie's posthumous award was presented by them. He said, "Don't blame them, blame the producers." Yeah, these guys can't catch a break. But they have this song that nobody thought would be that big a deal, but is now on the verge of passing Uptown Funk and Party Rock Anthem as being declared the most important song of the decade. My goodness this song.

- And of course, we have our #1, which should not come as a surprise to anybody right about now. I think it's safe to say that we have a long-term #1 on our hands.

Hit-Bound
Weak by AJR
Make Me (Cry) by Noah Cyrus featuring Labrinth
Miss You by James Hersey
L.A. Devotee by Panic! At The Disco
Dancing On My Own by Calum Scott
All Night by The Vamps featuring Matoma
Rockabye by Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul and Anna-Marie (debut)
Castle On The Hill by Ed Sheeran
Lights Down Low by MAX featuring gnash
Don't Leave by Snakehips featuring MØ
Heavy by Linkin Park featuring Kiiara (debut)
Cake by Flo Rida featuring 99 Percent
Touch by Little Mix
Believer by Imagine Dragons

- To start, we lost both Versace On The Floor by Bruno Mars and Shout Out To My Ex by Little Mix, the latter for good this time it looks like. I'm sad about both of them departing, but the latter was exchanged with Touch, which I also kinda like. It's not quite as fun, but I'm content with it being here. Sure.

- But then we come to another track that's been building up on other fronts, Rockabye by Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul and Anna-Marie. It did take me a bit to come around to this song, but it's one that's easy to appreciate. I'll talk more about it if it debuts, which I'm sure it will.

- Then we have an unusual duet in the name of Heavy by Linkin Park featuring Kiiara. Who would think we'd hear from her again after that lousy mish-mash that was Gold? But we did, and I'm not really sure what I think of Linkin Park abandoning the rock to them for nothing but synth. I don't really have much of an opinion on it yet, but if I had to say, I'll admit it's closer to green than it is red, at least for the time being.

And while I'm here, let's do a YouTube15 piece, why don't we?

Paris by The Chainsmokers
Now & Later by Sage The Gemini
Work The Middle by Alex Aiono
24K Magic by Bruno Mars
Quit You by Lost Kings featuring Tinashe
Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran
So Good by Zara Larsson featuring Ty Dolla $ign
I Don't Wanna Live Forever by Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift
You Don't Know Me by Jack Jones featuring Raye
Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
Where Would I Bet Without You by Kendall K
Black Beatles by Rae Sremmurd featuring Gucci Mane
Scared To Be Lonely by Martin Garrix and Dua Lipa
Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
Make Me Move by Culture Code featuring Karra

- Although Sage The Gemini basically comes off as your basic luxury rapper, Now & Later I find to be a lot of fun. Its candy references are silly, but there's a nice flow to it and unlike this guy's lousy first single known as Gas Pedal from 2013 or so, there's some nice energy.

- I'm not really in for Work The Middle. While the verses are okay, what is with that sound in the post-chorus parts? Sounds like the sound of car tires coming to a halt fused with a cat's bad meowing.

- Quit You, on the other hand, I do find to be enjoyable. Even if those thumping drums can get a little annoying at times, the drop is nice enough. And while the song is essentially another song about trying to get past the temptation of a break-up, Tinashe definitely has talent in her capability.

- Although I adored Never Forget You, So Good I found to be a disappointment. What is with her repeating the titular phrase in the chorus ad nauseum? And in the verses she doesn't sound as good either. This sounds like something that would've been bigger in the 2000's. Ty Dolla $ign does alright, however. But it's quite a bit closer to red than it is green.

- Apparently, Kendall K was from Lifetime's Dance Moms, something like that. But Where Would I Be Without You I kinda like, it's sweet and fun.

- And we have more Martin Garrix. While Scared To Be Lonely has different lyrical content than In The Name Of Love, the drop is very similar, but Dua Lipa sounds good here, at least for me.

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 — Shit:
20. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
19. After The Afterparty by Charli XCX
18. Play That Song by Train

1 — Bad:
17. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd
16. Bad Things by Machine Gun Kelly and Camilla Cabello

2 — Meh:
15. Issues by Julia Michaels

3 — Decent:
14. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey

4 — Good:
None!

5 — Great:
13. Million Reasons by Lady Gaga
12. Paris by The Chainsmokers
11. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
10. HandClap by Fitz And The Tantrums
9. All Time Low by Jon Bellion
8. Mercy by Shawn Mendes
7. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
6. Just Hold On by Steve Aoki featuring Louis Tomlinson
5. Water Under The Bridge by Adele
4. I Don't Wanna Live Forever by Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift
3. Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran
2. That's What I Like by Bruno Mars
1. I Feel It Coming by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (Favorite Song Bonus: +1)

Total score: 73/100

Countdown Bottom 5
1. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
2. After The Afterparty by Charli XCX
3. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
4. Play That Song by Train
5. Unsteady by X Ambassadors

Countdown Top 5
1. I Feel It Coming by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
2. Love Me Now by John Legend
3. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
4. Heavydirtysoul by Twenty-one Pilots
5. That's What I Like by Bruno Mars

Hit-Bound Top 5
1. Castle On The Hill by Ed Sheeran
2. Rockabye by Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul and Anna-Marie
3. Don't Leave by MØ
4. Touch by Little Mix
5. Weak by AJR

YouTube15 Top 5
1. Tie: 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
1. Tie: Now & Later by Sage The Gemini (I couldn't choose the above one without picking a tie)
3. Make Me Move by Culture Code featuring Karra
4. Scared To Be Lonely by Martin Garrix and Dua Lipa
5. Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran

Most Missed Song: Lights by Ellie Goulding

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1 And The Countdown: The Fighter by Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood

Favorite Countdown Song This Week One Year Ago: In The Night by The Weeknd

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Youth by Troye Sivan — While the video's kinda cute and colorful, you can only hear the words "what if" and "my youth" so many times, not to mention that drop in the chorus, before it gets a little annoying.

QOTD: Touch or Shout Out To My Ex by Little Mix? As I said, I like the latter more right now, but that could change in time.

Thanks for reading, everybody!