December 10, 2016 - Shawn Mendes (2), plus end of year plans

Well everyone, this is it. Hits 1's final countdown of 2016. Well, correction, the final countdown that'll count towards their final Top 45 of the year in a few weeks, if I'm not mistaken. Correct me if I'm wrong there. If I'm not...then for the final week of the year, this could have been a worse note to go out on. But let's hope for better quality of music next year, because it definitely shows that people got sick of certain stuff, which may have bogged things down here this year. I'll talk more about that in my A Year In Review page, but for now, let's focus on what's important. So without further ado, here are the songs leaving us this week.

• We Don't Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez (#42)
• Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga (#39)
• Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande (#36)
• Bacon by Nick Jonas (#45)

The Countdown!
Last Week’s #1 Song: Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
45. My Way by Calvin Harris (#43)
44. Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer (#41)
43. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele (#40) (one week at #1)
42. I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner (#37) (two weeks at #1)
41. Setting The World On Fire by Kenny Chesney featuring P!nk (#44)
40. After The Afterparty (debut)
39. Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots (#38) (five weeks at #1)
38. Love Me Now (debut)
37. Body Moves by DNCE (#29)
36. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna (#35)
35. Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur (debut)
34. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (#34) (ten weeks at #1)
33. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul (#34)
32. Million Reasons by Lady Gaga (debut)
31. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#27)
30. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#31) (three weeks at #1)
29. I Hate U, I Love U by gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien (#32)
28. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ (#15)
27. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay (#23)
26. Chase You Down by Runaground (#26)
25. That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony (#22)
24. Good Grief by Bastille (#21)
23. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar (#17)
22. Water Under The Bridge by Adele (#30)
21. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj (#19)
20. Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer (#14)
19. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber (#3)
18. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#18)
17. All Time Low by Jon Bellion (#28)
16. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya (#11)
15. Greenlight by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida (#24)
14. Play That Song by Train (#25)
13. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (#8)
12. Kids by OneRepublic (#16)
11. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha (#20)
10. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5 (#12)
9. Into You by Ariana Grande (#9)
8. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco (#7)
7. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars (#6)
6. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots (#2) (one week at #1)
5. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara (#13)
4. This Town by Niall Horan (#10)
3. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (#1) (eight weeks at #1)
2. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd (#4)
Top 5 This Week One Year Ago: 5. Perfect by One Direction
4. Black Magic by Little Mix
3. Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift
2. Ex's and Oh's by Elle King
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Hello by Adele (5th of 12 weeks at #1)
1. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (#5) (second week at #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber (-16)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Tie between All Time Low by Jon Bellion and Play That Song by Train (+11)

New Entrants
- So we haven't heard that much from Charli XCX since 2014 when she was on Fancy with Iggy Azalea and Boom Clap, and when she had uncredited vocals on Same Old Love by Selena Gomez. But she's back with After the Afterparty. And of course Hits 1 cut out the guest verse from Lil Yachty. There's not much to the instrumentation, and the lyrics are about wanting to keep a party going, much like your average party party party jam. But they are pretty ridiculous, even by low standards. Lines line "I got glitter in my underwear like it was Studio 54", and "And we do it like ice cream for dinner, bucket of liquor, we're getting sicker"? No thank you. Not to mention the song feels like it just drags on and on at points. So yeah, much like Adrian, I don't think this will grow on me and it likely won't be long before it turns red.

- So, with All Of Me by John Legend being one of the biggest songs of 2014, it's pretty surprising that he didn't release a real follow-up, even though he was featured in a few songs, the most notable of them being Like I'm Gonna Lose You with Meghan Meghans. With that, enter Love Me Now. I wasn't huge on this song when it first dropped, but I came to really appreciate it after it was performed at the American Music Awards. The lyrics are yet another song about living and loving in the moment, hence the chorus being about how he feels that the relationship he's in may not last. And instrumentally? Unlike All Of Me (at least the original and not the Tiesto remix), there's definitely more going on here, like the more lively piano, drums backing, and a gospel choir in the chorus. There are a couple gripes I have, one of them being how some of the lines in the verses feel like they don't end at the proper time. But overall I am definitely enjoying this now.

- Then we've got Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur. This song was on the YouTube15 with Jenna Marbles. When I first heard it, I thought that it sounded so reminiscent of Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran. Why do I say that? Well, to make it easy, they're both white guy with acoustic guitar songs by British people that are about spending life together (hence the "until we're gray and old" line here). But unlike the older song, which admittedly didn't say that much in the big picture, this one at least tries to be descriptive. Now, it's cute, but I'm not sure how long it'll last with me.

- As one song by Lady Gaga exits, another takes its place. Million Reasons is the second single off of her new album Joanne. While it felt like an unpopular opinion among this community to actually like Perfect Illusion, and I'll get to that in just a bit, I did like that for how raw it was, even if it was admittedly messy. But onto this one; it's about how Gaga is in this relationship that she's wanting to part with, and has every reason in the world to do so (hence the name of the song), but, as the chorus says, she longs for that one reason to stay. You'd wonder why she doesn't just leave him. I do like ballads, and the empty atmosphere is kinda nice, not to mention the American Music Awards performance of it was pretty, but once more, it might not stick with me as well. We'll see.

Blurb Me Now
- You know the drill at this point. Both We Don't Talk Anymore and Dangerous Woman I was ready to part with, the latter of which lasted way longer than I'm sure anyone expected. Bacon I'm not too sad to see leave though it's still a funny song every so often. But then we have the disappointing (at least for me) departure of Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga, which bums me out that that one didn't become a real hit. I know that many here hated that song but I still think it's pretty cool, and as far as diva comebacks go in this year that was full of them, I'd take it over the crappy Rise by Katy Perry any day.

- The guest DJ who introduced Girls Talk Boys was from Canada and said something like "how he was freezing his butt off". Yeah, you and me both, my friend. Even though I'm American.

- Before introducing Send My Love (To Your New Lover), Spyder talked about how Adele's carpool karaoke video with James Corden was the biggest viral video of the year. Is it sad that I don't even remember that video?

- Come on, Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots, pull it together! Two more weeks to lasting a year on the countdown! Also, I'm very happy that it was the #5 song on Billboard's Year-End Hot 100 and not Panda by Desiigner. And yes, I will be doing a review of that page, but not for a little while.

- I did not think that Body Moves by DNCE would take a drop as steep as that. Then again it's not big elsewhere.

- Before introducing Can't Stop the Feeling!, Spyder mentioned how Time Magazine called that one the worst song of 2016. I saw that, and remember hearing the Morning Mash-Up talk about that one day when I was out. Anyway, he said that he doesn't agree. Thank you, Spyder. Sure, it's kind of an inferior Uptown Funk or Shut Up and Dance, but in a year where we had so many garbage rap songs and Meghan Meghans there is no way it was the bottom.

- Likewise, the guest DJ who introduced Ride was from Orlando, Florida. I sure wish I could be somewhere hot like there right now. But now I don't think I'll ever be able to hear this song again without imagining my character ramming around on a Tauros, or another Ride Pokémon like Sharpedo or Stoutland. I've been playing too much Pokémon since Sun and Moon released last month. Also, I'm sure I've mentioned before that it feels like Spyder likes giving that song to guest DJs, as it was introduced by such three times while in the Top 10.

- The only thing in the 20s to really catch my attention was Cold Water dropping right near where it fell to two weeks ago. Yeah, that jump last week may as well not have happened.

- Oh, yeah, and Water Under The Bridge by Adele took a nice jump after debuting last week. Good thing it did not drop. But it worries me that this could possibly flop. (lol, that rhyme was totally unintentional)

- But then we get to Let Me Love You, which, out of absolutely nowhere, had the biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! of the week right to the tail end of the Top 20. I'm not too opposed to this, as I really don't want to get sick of this song.

- Before introducing Kids, Spyder talked about how OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder had good to say about Adele, one of the biggest names and icons of our new time. Like Bruno Mars, he's one who's clearly in the know. Well, Adele is a name that kinda came out at the beginning of the decade in an era where we call pop stupid, and she's as soulful as we're gonna get.

- Very nice to see In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha so close to the Top 10. Get it in there, like, now please and get Don't Wanna Know out of there?

- Well, Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots took a small drop from #2 out of the Top 5. I do still like the song, but I reckon I'll have it in dark yellow before too long.

- I did not think that This Town by Niall Horan would jump into the Top 5, but Hits 1 likes One Direction and their members.

- Finally, we come to our #1. As of right now, I don't hate it as much as I did when it first hit #1, because I did grow back into it some thanks to his performance at the American Music Awards (which the picture of him is from), hence why it's in pink right now. However, that doesn't mean it'll be high on the inevitable Year-End Hot 100 post I make. I think you guys can guess what song I think should be #1, however.

Hit-Bound
HandClap by Fitz and The Tantrums
Shout Out To My Ex by Little Mix (debut)
Love Like We Used To by Captain Cuts
Love On The Brain by Rihanna
Bad Things by Machine Gun Kelly and Camilla Cabello
Mercy by Shawn Mendes
Blow Your Mind by Dua Lipa
Dancing On My Own by Calum Scott
You're Not There by Lukas Graham
In My Mind by Maty Noyes (debut)
I Don't Wanna Live Forever by Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift (debut)
She Sets The City On Fire by Gavin DeGraw
Guys My Age by Hey Violet (debut)
Words by Daya

- Shout Out To My Ex by Little Mix isn't as good as Black Magic from last year, but right now it's a ton of fun and easily my new favorite song on Hit-Bound.

- In My Mind by Maty Noyes has quite a few elements of your standard indie rock. It's fun, but not something I can see myself remembering a year from now.

- Guys My Age by Hey Violet is also kinda cool, it's another one that has some rock elements and is soft but enjoyable.

- Saving the most important one here for last... the duet with Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift by the name of I Don't Wanna Live Forever. This is for Fifty Shades Darker, which is releasing early next year. While I kinda like it for now, it's not a massive standout. It'll probably debut next week, so I'll have more words for it then.

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 — Shit:
20. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya
19. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5

1 — Bad:
18. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd
17. Unsteady by X Ambassadors

2 — Meh:
16. Play That Song by Train

3 — Decent:
15. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
14. All Time Low by Jon Bellion
13. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey

4 — Good:
12. This Town by Niall Horan
11. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco
10. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber

5 — Great:
9. Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer
8. Kids by OneRepublic
7. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
6. Greenlight by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida
5. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara
4. Into You by Ariana Grande
3. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
2. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha
1. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars

Overall score: 70/100

Countdown Bottom 5
1. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna
2. That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony
3. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya
4. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
5. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd

Countdown Top 5
1. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
2. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha
3. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
4. Love Me Now by John Legend
5. Into You by Ariana Grande

Hit-Bound Top 5
1. Shout Out To My Ex by Little Mix
2. Love Like We Used To by Captain Cuts
3. HandClap by Fitz And The Tantrums
4. In My Mind by Maty Noyes
5. Guys My Age by Hey Violet

Most Missed Song: Black Magic by Little Mix

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1 And The Countdown: Party Monster by The Weeknd

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Used To Love You by Gwen Stefani — While Gwen Stefani has made some interesting stuff, I can't say that she has the right capability to pull this kind of post-breakup thing off. And who still pretends that those one-shot stare into the camera videos are a thing? That being said, I do kinda like it, even if it's not a standout.

So before I close this out, there are four posts that I'll be covering soon:
2016: A Year In Review - Here there are things from this year that I'll want to express my final thoughts on, such as the #1s, my Bottom 5 (or maybe 10) songs of the year, among other things.
Hits 1's Final Top 45 Songs of 2016 - Exactly what it says, Hits 1's 45 biggest songs of the year of 2016. They'll be the ones that had the most presence on the countdown overall.
My Top 45 (or 30, or however many) Songs of 2016 - This is where I will list the songs on the countdown that I liked the most throughout the year, my favorites, whether they ended up on the final Top 45 or not. However, although most do Top 45, I may end up doing Top 30 or 45. If you want explanation as to why it might be a Top 30 and not Top 45, I would be happy to explain.
Billboard's 2016 Year-End Hot 100 - Once again, just like what I did for 2015's page earlier in the year, I'll be running through every single song on Billboard's Year-End Hot 100 for 2016 and giving the entire list my own ranking.

I might try to condense my top songs in with the A Year In Review page, mostly so I can knock two things off in one. But that would make it pretty darn long, although we'll see what I end up doing. I should have at least the first three out by the end of the year, but the very latter might not be until January. But we'll see what happens. All this being said, thanks for reading, everybody!

December 3, 2016 - The Chainsmokers + Halsey (8)

So yeah, this post was out later than usual. Aside from the fact that I had a big trip on Saturday that would've required me to go fast, I didn't feel quite as motivated on Friday night. I knew it was past 7 when I woke up and didn't even care. And no, I'm not like certain people whom I won't name who thinks we need lots of exits to be worth any discussion! Please don't think I'm like that! But honestly, I might not always try to get posts out right off the bat from here on out; even though I know some people like it when I talk about certain aspects of the countdown (like Spyder's commentary) it does take some out of me waking up at 6 AM every Saturday to get it done. But you don't want to hear me ramble about that. You want me to talk about the countdown. So be it! So without further ado, here are the songs leaving us this week.

• Body Say by Demi Lovato (#41)

The Countdown!
Last Week’s #1 Song: Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
45. Bacon by Nick Jonas (#45)
44. Setting The World On Fire by Kenny Chesney featuring P!nk (#29)
43. My Way by Calvin Harris (#42)
42. We Don't Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez (#43)
41. Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer (#40)
40. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele (#35) (one week at #1)
39. Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga (#44)
38. Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots (#37)
37. I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner (#34)
36. Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande (#39)
35. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna (#36)
34. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul (#38)
33. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (#33) (ten weeks at #1)
32. I Hate U, I Love U by gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien (#27)
31. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#32) (three weeks at #1)
30. Water Under The Bridge by Adele (debut)
29. Body Moves by DNCE (#25)
28. All Time Low by Jon Bellion (#18)
27. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#23)
26. Chase You Down by Runaground (#28)
25. Play That Song by Train (#31)
24. Greenlight by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida (#16)
23. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay (#21)
22. That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony (#24)
21. Good Grief by Bastille (#13)
20. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha (#20)
19. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj (#22)
18. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#19)
17. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar (#26)
16. Kids by OneRepublic (#11)
15. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ (#30)
14. Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer (#7)
13. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara (#10)
12. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5(#15)
11. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya (#8)
10. This Town by Niall Horan (#17)
9. Into You by Ariana Grande (#12)
8. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (#14)
7. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco (#9)
6. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars (#6)
5. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (#5) (one week at #1)
4. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd (#4)
3. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber (#3)
2. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots (#2)
Top 5 This Week One Year Ago: 5. Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon
4. Stitches by Shawn Mendes
3. Ex's and Oh's by Elle King
2. Drag Me Down by One Direction
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Hello by Adele (4th of 12 weeks at #1)
1. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (#1) (8th week at #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Setting The World On Fire by Kenny Chesney featuring P!nk (-15)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ (+15)

New Entrants
- So have you had enough of Adele yet? No? Good, because she's back with what I can safely consider one of the most anticipated singles from 25 so far, with Water Under The Bridge. This one has a nice flow to it and there's plenty going on, unlike Send My Love (To Your New Lover), which while I did like it overall it's not that hard to see why others didn't. Reportedly, the song is about Adele's relationship with the man that she had her son with a couple years back. To say the least, this is very well written and has quite a nice instrumental to it, and I'm hoping that this becomes a hit much like the last three singles from the album did.

Water Under The Blurbs
- Once again we have but one exit, it being Body Say by Demi Lovato. While the song was fun to start, it didn't last overly long with me in the big picture. I much preferred Cool For The Summer from last year. That one wasn't ultimately top tier material, but I enjoyed it and definitely preferred it to this.

- I would've thought that Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga would've left by now. It jumped out of the bottom 5, but I'm not complaining.

- That's right, This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna is my new least favorite song on the countdown. I may have said that Sit Still, Look Pretty is more annoying in general, but this is just less of a real song and I don't know why I liked it to start. I have a feeling that my orange pick will swap between those two and That's My Girl for a little while until something worse comes along. But if Starving hits #1... Ho boy.

- I'm not too surprised to see I Hate U, I Love U by gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien drop out of the Top 30. The song's been pretty hated by many YouTube critics and bloggers.

- The drop for All Time Low by Jon Bellion definitely caught my eye. I may not care for the song but that was a bit alarming.

- Kinda stinks to see Good Grief by Bastille leave the Top 20. Then again it hasn't been big elsewhere, these guys deserve more than one real hit here in America.

- But we also got The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar back in that region. It was in the Top 10 a little while ago but we'll see if it lasts.

- Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ did rebound pretty well after that drop from last week. Was there even a point to that drop then?

- So I watched the video for Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber, which featured a robbery at what looks like a diner followed by a heist, and then apparently the whole thing turns out to be a virtual reality video game. If I may ask... What the heck does that have to do with the song itself?

- And on that note, our entire top 6 remains completely static. Not much to say there.

- Aside from that, we also had Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco gain a bit, along with two new Top 10 entries: This Town by Niall Horan, which is doing better here than I bet anyone could've expected, and Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk, which is FINALLY no longer being underrated here and getting the treatment that it should! I was worried that it would've followed the same path that The Hills did last year, thank god it didn't.

- Finally we have yet ANOTHER re-entry into the Top 10 from Into You by Ariana Grande. I know that probably every other chart must be over this song by now, not to mention poor Graham... But as for me? I honestly won't care if this song spends another month in the Top 10.

In the world of Hit-Bound, we have two debuts - After The Afterparty by Charli XCX and Bad Things by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Camilla Cabello. I'll talk about them more if they debut. Also, The Night Is Young by The Summer Set didn't last at all, which doesn't surprise me. I would've liked to see it debut, though.

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 — Shit:
20. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya

1 — Bad:
19. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
18. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd

2 — Meh:
17. Unsteady by X Ambassadors

3 — Decent:
16. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
15. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey

4 — Good:
14. Kids by OneRepublic
13. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber
12. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ
11. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco

5 — Great:
10. Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer
9. This Town by Niall Horan
8. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
7. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar

6. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara5. Into You by Ariana Grande
4. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
3. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
2. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha
1. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars

Countdown Bottom 5
1. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna
2. That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony
3. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya
4. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5
5. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd

Countdown Top 5
1. Tie: 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
1. Tie: Water Under The Bridge by Adele
3. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha
4. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
5. Good Grief by Bastille

Most Missed Song: FourFiveSeconds by Rihanna featuring Kanye West and Paul McCartney - When I was in New York on Saturday, I actually heard a bit of this song playing in one of the souvenir shops I passed by.

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1 And The Countdown: False Alarm by The Weeknd - GET THIS ON HITS 1 LIKE NOW PLEASE

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Cake By The Ocean by DNCE — I'll have more words for this one later in the month (or maybe next month, I don't know), but long story short, you don't have to look far to see it called an Uptown Funk wannabe.
In The Night by The Weeknd — Again, I'll talk more about this one after the Year-End Hot 100 drops, but this one tells a story and The Weeknd sells it so well. I feel like more remember it for that random re-entry it made back the week that CSTF debuted.
Out Of The Woods by Taylor Swift — While this is a re-entry, I'm calling it a debut because last time it only had one week and here it was a proper tenure. That being said, you basically know what to expect from Taylor Swift nowadays, but the production here is pretty cool.

Thanks for reading, everybody!

November 26, 2016 - The Chainsmokers + Halsey (7)

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! In countdown land, this was basically your typical slow Thanksgiving weekend. But that being said, there was definitely stuff for me to like about this week. Our Top 10 got a good shake-up, and the aftermath of the American Music Awards did allow me to like a handful of old songs more. There was definitely some change going on, particularly in our Top 20. And even if the growing back into things probably won't last for me, I can say that overall this week was progress in the right direction. So without further ado, here are the songs leaving us this week.

• New Romantics by Taylor Swift (#36) (spent two weeks at #1) (!!!!!!!)

The Countdown!
Last Week’s #1 Song: Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
45. Bacon by Nick Jonas (#44)
44. Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga (#43)
43. We Don't Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez (#38)
42. My Way by Calvin Harris (#45)
41. Body Say by Demi Lovato (#39)
40. Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer (#40)
39. Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande (#42)
38. Cheap Thrills by Sia featuring Sean Paul (#32)
37. Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots (#35) (five weeks at #1) (Hang in there!!!)
36. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna (#37)
35. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele (#33) (one week at #1)
34. I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner (#41) (two weeks at #1)
33. Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake (#31) (ten weeks at #1)
32. Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#30) (three weeks at #1)
31. Play That Song by Train (debut)
30. Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ (#14)
29. Setting The World On Fire by Kenny Chesney featuring P!nk (#27)
28. Chase You Down by Runaground (#28)
27. I Hate U, I Love U by gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien (#23)
26. The Greatest by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar (#16)
25. Body Moves by DNCE (#21)
24. That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony (#22)
23. Ride by Twenty-one Pilots (#19)
22. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj (#18)
21. Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay (#6) (Ouch!)
20. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha (#34)
19. Unsteady by X Ambassadors (#29) (...)
18. All Time Low by Jon Bellion (#26)
17. This Town by Niall Horan (#13)
16. Greenlight by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida (#24)
15. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5 (#10)
14. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (#20)
13. Good Grief by Bastille (#17)
12. Into You by Ariana Grande (#9)
11. Kids by OneRepublic (#8)
10. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara (#11)
9. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco (#25)
8. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya (#7)
7. Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer (#15)
6. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars (#12)
5. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes (#3) (one week at #1)
4. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd (#2)
3. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber (#5)
2. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots (#4) (one week at #1)
Top 5 This Week One Year Ago: 5. Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon
4. Black Magic by Little Mix
3. Ex's and Oh's by Elle King
2. Drag Me Down by One Direction
#1 Song This Week One Year Ago: Hello by Adele (third of 12 weeks at #1)
1. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (#1) (seventh week at #1)

Biggest DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ (-16)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco (+16)

New Entrants
- So, did you know that Train is still making music? Better question: did you care? I sure don't, but they're back after another album from earlier this year, one I haven't heard a lot of big buzz about at all. They are best known for being stiff, whitebread safety adult alternative, most notably the absolutely rotten Hey, Soul Sister from 2010, which I absolutely detest. I'm not gonna go into that right here, but their newest track, Play That Song, is another prime example of such. That guitar just loops for a majority of the song and Pat Monahan's vocals aren't any help. The lyrics are him trying to encourage a DJ to play a song that he and his girl like, apparently. Overall, it's not much and just stiff. It's in blue right now, but that was me being nice. It's not very far from red, so don't be surprised if it turns to red eventually.

Play That Blurb
Alright, everyone. I have a lot to say here, so this may be a long list of blurbs. Get ready.

- As always, we begin with our exit. With New Romantics by Taylor Swift being no more, we have officially bid farewell to the 1989 representations. I thought that Perfect Illusion would leave first, guess not. But it really feels like a long time ago since Shake It Off first debuted in 2014. That song was the first of three so far to spend 12 weeks at #1 here and is one of the biggest songs of the decade. Then you had Blank Space, which was pretty big in late 2014 and then 2015. After that was Style, which remains a big favorite of mine from 2015, then Bad Blood which I didn't enjoy in the long run, Wildest Dreams which I liked a lot (and also debuted the same week that Blank Space left), Out Of The Woods which was decent but not quite as good, and finally, New Romantics here, which flopped everywhere except here. (Oh yeah, and there was Welcome To New York and it lasting one week.) RIP 1989, 8/23/14 - 11/26/16. It's not as insane as Fall Out Boy's three and a half year tenure, but it's still very impressive for one album. While many are probably rejoicing and attending the Taylor Swift be-gone party, I'm not one of them.

- Before introducing We Don't Talk Anymore, Spyder talked about Selena's beautiful speech at the American Music Awards about how she "doesn't need validation", which was considered by many as one of the best moments of the night. It was infuriating seeing comments saying that she's an attention whore for that.

- Our bottom 5 is nothing new, as most of them have been hanging there a while and just waiting for the boot. I was a little surprised that Lady Gaga didn't perform Perfect Illusion at the AMAs, but she did play its successor - more on that later. The other three songs I didn't mention have not done a lot.

- Before introducing Stressed Out, Spyder shared an interview with Twenty-one Pilots from the AMAs where they were asked about what their first big purchase was after they got big. It was a car, and they talked about how when going through the drive-thru at McDonald's, they would have to inch closer to the window to be able to grab the food because of how the car was designed. Something like that. Anyway, as for the song itself, it's four weeks away from lasting a year on the countdown, which I'm still rooting for.

- I do like that I Took a Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner jumped out of the Bottom 5 and likewise Bottom 10. In a year like this, he's aware of how this year has been, well, sad songs. I seriously won't care if this lasts to the beginning of 2016.

- Well, the biggest drop for Cold Water by Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ kinda came out of nowhere if you ask me. It has been there for a while and it may have enough points to make the final Top 45. But we'll see.

- And on that note, this is the first week that Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay has not been in the Top 20. Adrian is gonna be disappointed there. But it's held up pretty good and should still definitely make the final Top 45.

- There go both The Greatest and Side To Side out of the Top 20. While the former hasn't quite caught up to steam yet, I would like to question why the latter has been having such a floppy run here while it's done so well on other charts.

- While Ride may have left the Top 20 again, it was once again a Most Wutchuwanted stop during Hit-Bound. Do they just decide to spin that and Don't Let Me Down there just because?

- Spyder made a mistake saying that Unsteady went down 10 to #19. It's up 10 to #19. Silly Spyder! But that aside, I get a weird feeling that this song is going to be like My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light 'Em Up) from 2013, and we all remember that nightmare. I HIGHLY doubt this'll have a tenure as long, but this has definitely had by far the weirdest tenure of the year.

- That aside, we have three new entrants to the Top 20, In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha, Greenlight by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida and All Time Low by Jon Bellion. The former two are completely welcomed there, and the latter I'm still not totally on board with but I do see the appeal.

- Before introducing Starboy, Spyder talked about how he felt like it'd be fun to be on Dancing With The Stars, even if as just a host. That aside, while this rivaled 24K Magic for my favorite performance at the American Music Awards the past weekend, I've heard mixed things about the album, which just dropped yesterday. But False Alarm is one that should get here soon, because that song just bangs.

- You may have seen that I did grow into Kids by OneRepublic. I'm still not totally a fan of the falsetto in the chorus, but the song's meaning is nice at least. Someone once described it as the "perfect anti-90's kids song".

- Speaking of 24K Magic, that song has finally entered the Top 10 like it deserves to. I know that some will be irritated with this, but I don't care. ;D Before introducing it, Spyder talked about the album and Bruno's upcoming tour and how he mentioned that Perm along with the title track were among his favorites from the album. I think mine would have to be the title track, Chunky and Finesse.

- Oh, and Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco also entered the Top 10, so that's cool too. And while I wasn't expecting Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer to enter the Top 10, I'll take it. I managed to catch his halftime show performance on Thanksgiving, that was fun.

- I came quite close to putting This Is What You Came For in orange instead of Sit Still, Look Pretty, but the latter has less of a right to be this high up at this point, especially seeing as it just left the Billboard Hot 100 this past week, while the former at least has name recognition going for it. If we can get that and Starving out of the Top 10, things would be looking pretty nice right about now.

- And on that note, American Music Awards, those performances did allow me to grow back into a handful of songs, like Treat You Better, This Town, and yes, even Closer. Even though my reviews may not have been as nice, it did allow me to like them more to some degree. Don't expect these to last too long, though. Also, on that page Adrian said he was shocked that I didn't give any of the performances a 10/10. I was initially going to do my usual 5 point scale, but decided against it for some reason I don't really know. Let this be a note as to why I prefer the 5 point scale nowadays.

- As much as I would've liked for Heathens to be #1 again, I guess I'm alright with Closer holding at the top, because as I did just say, the AMAs performance admittedly did breathe some life into it. But at least it looks like some are starting to dull on it, hehehe.

Hit-Bound
Dancing On My Own by Calum Scott
Million Reasons by Lady Gaga
Love Like We Used To by Captain Cuts
Love Me Now by John Legend
You're Not There by Lukas Graham
Love On The Brain by Rihanna
Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur
Words by Daya
Blow Your Mind (Mwah) by Dua Lipa
She Sets The City On Fire by Gavin DeGraw
Mercy by Shawn Mendes
Water Under The Bridge by Adele
The Night Is Young by The Summer Set
HandClap by Fitz and The Tantrums (debut)

- We've got one new entry into Hit-Bound this week: HandClap by Fitz and The Tantrums. Although this song is ridiculous and loud, I seriously can't help but enjoy it a lot.

Top 20 Breakdown:
0 — Shit:
20. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya

1 — Bad:
19. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd
18. Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5

2 — Meh:
17. Unsteady by X Ambassadors

3 — Decent:
16. All Time Low by Jon Bellion

4 — Good:
15. Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
14. Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
13. Kids by OneRepublic
12. Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco

5 — Great:
11. Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber
10. This Town by Niall Horan
9. Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer
8. Into You by Ariana Grande
7. Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara
6. Heathens by Twenty-one Pilots
5. Good Grief by Bastille
4. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
3. Greenlight by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida
2. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha
1. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars

Overall score: 78/100

Countdown Bottom 5
1. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya
2. This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris with Rihanna
3. That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony
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. In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha
3. Greenlight by Pitbull featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Flo Rida
4. Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
5. Side To Side by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj

Hit-Bound Top 5
1. Water Under The Bridge by Adele
2. HandClap by Fitz and The Tantrums
3. The Night Is Young by The Summer Set
4. Love Like We Used To by Captain Cuts
5. Love Me Now by John Legend

Most Missed Song: Here by Alessia Cara

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1 And The Countdown: Chunky by Bruno Mars (Heh, I feel like I could choose half a dozen Bruno Mars songs for this one)

Songs That Debuted This Week One Year Ago:
Stand By You by Rachel Platten — The song's cute, I'll give it that. Even if Rachel Platten still comes off as little more than someone who would fit on your average adult contemporary station, I do like this to some degree.

Thanks for reading, everybody!

2016 American Music Awards Performances!

Well, the 2016 American Music Awards were this past weekend. This awards show usually happens late in the year and they honor the music of the year in various awards. While this isn't as big a deal as the Grammys, the AMAs are still an important time to remember what we've had in our year. As always, we had several performances, some of which were fun, others not as much. Let's check them out, shall we?

Opening act: 24K Magic by Bruno Mars

My thoughts: A beautifully done opening performance, as Bruno Mars has always been capable of. I may be a little biased loving the song and all, but Bruno and his guys definitely have moves. The blue lighting definitely made it livelier. And they did a little dubstep breakdown before the bridge, which, as much as I love the song, didn't feel like it really added much to the performance. However, much like his Saturday Night Live performance, I wonder why they cut the first chorus out. Also, I'm surprised they didn't censor "bad bitches and your ugly ass friends" but didn't say the word "shit" in "spend your money like money ain't shit". Either way, still a solid performance and a great way to kick things off.

My rating: 9/10

This Town by Niall Horan

My thoughts: While the song isn't stellar on its own, I do like the way he was able to perform it. He sounded good enough, and the drums in the background were a nice extra touch, and so was the piano, and the way everything else cut out right before that last chorus. Cute performance.

My rating: 7.5/10

That's My Girl by Fifth Harmony

My thoughts: I hate this song, which is already a peg against the performance there. I'll give it a little credit for two things, though: one, Camilla actually sounded a little better than normal. Two, the setting, because I watched the video and recall that's supposed to be a parody of the Syrian war. Something like that. Even though I'm not sure what that has to do with the song. And what was with the breakdown right before the last chorus? Either way, yeah, I really didn't care here. Sorry.

My rating: 3.5/10

Closer by The Chainsmokers and Halsey featuring Travis Barker

My thoughts: I've been getting tired of this song. Halsey didn't sound very appealing, but then out of nowhere, Travis Barker took the helm in that build-up before the last chorus, then things got a bit more interesting. Not enough to save the song for me, but that last bit was cool at least.

My rating: 6.5/10

Let It Go by James Bay

My thoughts: Another watered-down live performance. Feel like he got off a few times here, like on that "and I'll be me" at the end of the second chorus. It didn't help that his guitar didn't have much presence. While the song itself is decent, I feel like I would've liked more if he had played the faster version (the one that was played by Hits 1 while it was here).

My rating: 5/10

Medley of Treat You Better and Mercy by Shawn Mendes

My thoughts: Though I still couldn't stand Treat You Better at that time, I think the backdrop was a nice touch and the guitar playing and singing was a lot more lively than in the studio version. This will be an unpopular opinion, but I thought this performance sounded pretty nice. I will say, I like how there were a few moments of the song stopping for him to make his lines more dramatic. So I will say this did breathe a little more life into Treat You Better right now, but then then he stepped on the piano for Mercy, and the backdrop was still there and he sounded pretty good. However, that one was way too short and they cut out too much.

My rating: 8/10

Starboy by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk

My thoughts: That crystalline hallway that The Weeknd resided in while performing was pretty cool. He's definitely capable of a good live performance, and I like how during the bridge everything just went totally blue. Kinda funny how he's saying "look what you've done" to the people in the crowd, given what the song is supposed to be about. Great performance though.

My rating: 9/10

Side To Side by Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj

My thoughts: I'm not sure what a jungle background has to do with the song, and there were a few times where she let the song talk for her. The background was kinda cool, but there were a few off-key moments that Ariana had. Even with all of that, I have to say I liked this performance better than the VMAs performance.

My rating: 7.5/10

Love Me Now by John Legend

My thoughts: That backdrop with people loving each other did give the song a nice touch, and so did that choir in the last chorus. The song has definitely been growing on me, and this surely made me like it more. He definitely put his talent to good use here.

My rating: 8.5/10

Medley of Heathens and Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots

My thoughts: While they definitely sounded kinda off-key here, that animation during the bridge of Heathens made it pretty neat. And when it went into Stressed Out things got nice. After being hammered in by this song most of the year, it was nice to see one last time for it. Things got really trippy at the end of Stressed Out but it was cool, sure enough. Definitely a performance I liked, even if they were off-key at points. I do understand what people hated here, though.

My rating: 7/10

Let Me Love You by DJ Snake with Justin Bieber

My thoughts: As a song among my favorite things that Bieber has done, this performance left a little to be desired. He did sound good, but not sure if it was as good as the studio version. Also, he started off the second verse saying "I used to believe, at the wheel we got a million miles ahead of us". He may have been out of it before this. Very cool spatial backdrop, though.

My rating: 7.5/10

Million Reasons by Lady Gaga

My thoughts: I do like this song, even if I'm not THE biggest fan of it. She was off a few times, but the guitar was a good fit. I guess there was just something missing here, although the background was pretty at least.

My rating: 7/10

Bang Bang by Green Day

My thoughts: I haven't paid as much attention to Green Day's new album, but they were able to pull of this new song well. They were pretty on-key and on-rhythm, and they had a lot of energy to it. And it was bold of them to have that "no Trump" interlude, haha. And once again I am not going to have any political discussion here. But I liked this one. Now I'm curious for their new album.

My rating: 8/10

A medley of Sting's biggest hits

My thoughts: Honestly, this far in I was tired (and distracted as I was multitasking, guess doing what) to really care or pay attention. But Sting has usually not sounded that great live, and it wasn't that engaging. Sure, it was nice to see some of their older songs, but this wasn't anything I cared for.

My rating: 5/10

Do You Mind? by DJ Khaled featuring Chris Brown, Nicki Minaj, Future, Rick Ross and August Alsina

My thoughts: I actually like the song on its own quite a bit, though I'm not totally sure if this is a song meant to be performed at a live awards show like this. That being said, the acts all sounded pretty good, though I wasn't wild about Khaled constantly shouting random things, including "Miami" when they were in Los Angeles. Who are you, Pitbull? Not to mention "#1 album in the country" when that time is long since past. But this was something I could enjoy, even if it was flawed. And I hope that Future enjoyed getting to perform on his birthday.

My rating: 7/10

Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5 featuring Kendrick Lamar

My thoughts: I don't like this song, and it's appropriate that the worst performance was the last one. Adam Levine definitely sounded pretty off here, especially in the pre-chorus parts. And I still wonder what Kendrick adds to the song. Really nothing to say about this beyond that. A very weak closing performance. Ah well.

My rating: 2.5/10

And while I'm here, may as well list the awards and their winners. These are only the awards that were presented on TV, not the ones that were listed online. I think these are enough for me to go through, so sorry for that.

Favorite Pop Rock Duo Or Group: Twenty-one Pilots

Favorite R&B/Hip-Hop Album: Views by Drake

Favorite Electronic Dance Music Artist: The Chainsmokers

Favorite Collaboration Of The Year: Work From Home by Fifth Harmony featuring Ty Dolla $ign

Favorite Country Song: Humble and Kind by Tim McGraw

New Artist Unleashed: Zayn Malik

Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist: Drake

Favorite Soundtrack: Purple Rain

Favorite Country Duo/Group: Florida Georgia Line

Favorite Alternative Rock Artist: Twenty-one Pilots

Favorite Pop Rock Female: Selena Gomez

Artist Of The Year: Ariana Grande

And that was this year's American Music Awards! I'm not going to bother listing my top/bottom 5 performances because there were some I liked and others that I didn't. And while the Artist of the Year was a surprise, I'm definitely happy for it, as I've always enjoyed Ariana Grande and her music so this was quite something for her to acquire. And sorry if this post feels rushed, once again I haven't had as much time as I would like to really perfect it.

And with that, thanks for reading, everybody!