Week of February 27, 2021 - Olivia Rodrigo (1)

Wow, I guess 2021 is going to be a good year. If this week is any indication of how the rest of the year Countdown-wise will look like, I’m all for it. In other news, we’re down to the top 20 on my 2020 Countdown Extras Rankdown, so if you’re not caught up on that, I would highly suggest doing that. I’m also extremely close to getting my new Hot 100 post up. Just warning you guys, there’s gonna be some changes to how I’m doing those. Also, sometime today, I’ll have February’s Callout Scores ready. Once that’s up, I’ll put the link here. Anyways, here’s our exits for this week.

Songs We’re Saying Goodbye To

Diamonds - Sam Smith (#25) [#6] {22 weeks}

positions - Ariana Grande (#23) [#2] {17 weeks}

forget me too - Machine Gun Kelly/Halsey (#19) [#19] {2 weeks}

Last Week’s #1: Golden - Harry Styles (4)

#30: Way Less Sad - AJR (DEBUT) [1 week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#29: Good Days - SZA (+1) [#29] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#28: Overdrive - Conan Gray (DEBUT) [1 week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#27: We’re Good - Dua Lipa (-9) [#18] {2 weeks}

#26: Lifestyle - Jason Derulo/Adam Levine (+2) [#26] {5 weeks} *new peak*

#25: Fly Away - Tones And I (+2) [#25] {4 weeks} *new peak*

#24: Go Crazy - Chris Brown/Young Thug (-2) [#20] {10 weeks}

#23: I’m not Pretty - JESSIA (+6) [#23] {3 weeks} *new peak*

#22: WITHOUT YOU - The Kid LAROI (+2) [#22] {4 weeks} *new peak*

#21: Skin - Sabrina Carpenter (RE-ENTRY) [#21] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#20: Put Your Records On - Ritt Momney (-3) [#15] {16 weeks}

#19: Heat Waves - Glass Animals (+7) [#19] {5 weeks} *new peak*

#18: What You Know Bout Love - Pop Smoke (+2) [#17] {19 weeks}

#17: Afterglow - Ed Sheeran (-4) [#11] {9 weeks}

#16: My Head & My Heart - Ava Max (-2) [#14] {5 weeks}

#15: Anyone - Justin Bieber (-) [#15] {7 weeks}

#14: Lasting Lover - Sigala/James Arthur (+2) [#14] {9 weeks}

#13: Love Story (Taylor’s Version) - Taylor Swift (-2) [#11] {2 weeks}

#12: 34+35 - Ariana Grande (-2) [#8] {7 weeks}

#11: Lie Lie Lie - Joshua Bassett (+10) [#11] {5 weeks} *new peak*

#10: Therefore I Am - Billie Eilish (-2) [#3] {15 weeks}

#9: Treat People With Kindness - Harry Styles (-) [#9] {7 weeks}

#8: you broke me first - Tate McRae (+4) [#7] {22 weeks}

#7: my ex’s best friend - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear (-3) [#2] {22 weeks}

#6: willow - Taylor Swift (-1) [#5] {10 weeks}

#5: Save Your Tears - The Weeknd (+2) [#5] {15 weeks} *new peak*

#4: Monsters - All Time Low/Demi Lovato/blackbear (+2) [4 weeks at #1] {24 weeks}

#3: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby (-) [3 weeks at #1] {20 weeks}

#2: Golden - Harry Styles (-1) [4 weeks at #1] {18 weeks}

#1: drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo (+1) [1st week at #1] {7 weeks} *new peak*

Last Year’s #1: Adore You - Harry Styles [3/10 weeks at #1]

Countdown Extra: Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf

Well that was a lot quicker than Bang!. Our first debut this week, coming in at #30 after only one week in Hit-Bound is Way Less Sad by AJR! I’m really happy that this debuted so soon, because it’s one of my favourite AJR songs. I’d really love to see this become a hit both here and everywhere else. This song is really just a lot of fun. I mean, all of their songs are, but this one in particular is a lot of fun. Jack Met sounds great here, the horns are great, the writing’s fantastic and it’s really catchy too. Great song.

So my new favourite Conan Gray song is next, being Overdrive at #28. This song is actually just really great. The main part that I really like here is the production. It just has so many layers to it and it’s really interesting to listen to. Conan sounds pretty good with the song too and it’s catchy, while not being overly catchy like Maniac. I really hope this out-peaks Maniac and can hit #1 here. I think it has a shot too, because Hits 1 really likes Conan Gray because they premiered him I’m pretty sure.

Sabrina Carpenter’s Skin re-entered the Countdown at #21 this week. I guess I’m happy it’s back. Although I do want to say that it’s a diss track for a song where she didn’t really say anything bad about her. Who knows, some other stuff might have happened behind the scenes, though.

Best Debut: Way Less Sad - AJR

Biggest DROP!!!: We’re Good - Dua Lipa (-9): It kind of sucks to see this drop so much off of its debut last week, but I don’t care that much, because it’s not her best.

Biggest Jump: Lie Lie Lie - Joshua Bassett (+10): Even though I don’t like this nearly as much as I did when it was first released, I’m still happy that this is almost in the top 10.

Countdown Ranking

0 - Crap:

#30: Golden - Harry Styles

1 - Bad:

#29: Therefore I Am - Billie Eilish

2 - Mediocre:

#28: Fly Away - Tones And I

#27: Put Your Records On - Ritt Momney

3 - Decent:

#26: Good Days - SZA

#25: 34+35 - Ariana Grande

#24: Heat Waves - Glass Animals

4 - Good:

#23: you broke me first - Tate McRae

#22: Skin - Sabrina Carpenter

#21: We’re Good - Dua Lipa

#20: willow - Taylor Swift

#19: Lifestyle - Jason Derulo/Adam Levine

#18: I’m not Pretty - JESSIA

#17: Treat People With Kindness - Harry Styles

#16: Afterglow - Ed Sheeran

#15: What You Know Bout Love - Pop Smoke

5 - Great:

#14: Go Crazy - Chris Brown/Young Thug

#13: Lie Lie Lie - Joshua Bassett

#12: my ex’s best friend - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear

#11: Monsters - All Time Low/Demi Lovato/blackbear

#10: Anyone - Justin Bieber

#9: drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo

#8: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby

#7: Overdrive - Conan Gray

#6: Save Your Tears - The Weeknd

#5: Lasting Lover - Sigala/James Arthur

#4: WITHOUT YOU - The Kid LAROI

#3: My Head & My Heart - Ava Max

#2: Love Story (Taylor’s Version) - Taylor Swift

#1: Way Less Sad - AJR

Overall Score: 120/150 = 80%

5 Oldest Songs

#5: Golden - Harry Styles {18 weeks}

#4: What You Know Bout Love - Pop Smoke {19 weeks}

#3: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby {20 weeks}

#2: you broke me first - Tate McRae & my ex’s best friend - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear {22 weeks}

#1: Monsters - All Time Low/Demi Lovato/blackbear {24 weeks}

#1 Recommendation for Hits 1: no body, no crime - Taylor Swift/HAIM

My Favourite Song Last Year: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd

My Least Favourite Song Last Year: Say So - Doja Cat

Most Missed Countdown Song: Radioactive - Imagine Dragons

Hit-Bound

3, 2, 1 - 24kGoldn [1]

Remember That Night? - Sara Kays [3]

Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf [1]

cheers - blackbear/Wiz Khalifa [4]

Talk About Love - Zara Larsson/Young Thug [5]

forget me too - Machine Gun Kelly/Halsey [1; 2nd time]

too many feelings - Ruel [1]

Beginning Middle End - Leah Nobel [1]

Goosebumps (Remix) - Travis Scott/HVME [3]

Bad Girl - Daya [1]

Cry Over Boys - Alexander 23 [3]

Best Friend - Saweetie/Doja Cat [4]

The Business - Tiësto [1]

Provide - G-Eazy/Chris Brown/Mark Morrison [2]

rubberband - Tate McRae [4]

Lots of Hit-Bound entrants this week because we had quite a few Hit-Bound dropouts. Anyways, this first one, I actually reviewed last week for The Goldn Hour (which I’ve switched up by the way… we’ll get to it). I guess since 24kGoldn’s now a host on Hits 1, they’re letting more of his music on Hit-Bound. Anyways, 3, 2, 1 makes its Hit-Bound debut this week. I like this. It’s definitely not my favourite 24kGoldn song, but it actually has some pretty cool production and I’d honestly go as far to say that this is the best production in a 24kGoldn song yet. It’s not all too catchy, but it’s still fun.

Ahhh yes. So this next song has been on my Crownnote recently. If you’re not sure what that is, it’s basically just my personal chart. You can see my page here. Anyways, it’s Astronaut In The Ocean by Masked Wolf. I’ve never heard of this guy before, so I have to assume that it’s a TikTok song. I’m really interested in what this guy has to bring next though, because if it’s anything like this song, it’ll be really good. He switches flows a lot here and he does it really well. The hook is also really catchy. My only problem with this is that I want to be a little bit longer, but whatever. I really hope that this debuts soon.

forget me too dropped out of the Countdown after only two weeks on it. That kind of sucks, but at least it’s back in Hit-Bound, I guess.

Ruel brings his first song to Hits 1. This song’s called too many feelings and it’s pretty good. It’s kind of vibey if I’m being honest. It’s one of those chill songs that you can just sit and bop to. His voice is decent and while the song has room to build a bit and it doesn’t, I don’t really care that much. I don’t know, I enjoy this. Expect it to move into blue somewhat soon.

So next up is somebody called Leah Nobel with her song Beginning Middle End from some Netflix movie. I don’t really like this song. I’m really not a fan of Leah Nobel’s voice. There’s some vocal effect on it that makes it really hard to listen to. Plus, the chorus is just kind of annoying. I don’t know, I’m just really not feeling this one.

Next up is Daya. Remember that name? Yeah, it’s been a while. She had three pretty big hits in 2016, Don’t Let Me Down with The Chainsmokers, Sit Still, Look Pretty and Hide Away and hasn’t really been heard from since. All of those songs were fine. I don’t know, I was never a huge fan of Daya. Don’t Let Me Down was probably the best of those three and even then, it was only good at best. Anyways, this new song is called Bad Girl and I guess the production’s decent? Nothing about this really sticks out to me. Daya’s voice sounds fine, I just find this pretty uninteresting.

Oh yeah, Tiësto exists. That’s pretty much the only thing notable about his new song, The Business. The vocals are pitched down, like in Goosebumps and Ride It. I really don’t like this technique and I don’t get why it’s a thing in EDM songs. It was better in Roses, because it was pitched up, which just sounds better overall. Anyways, yeah, this is pretty much pitched down vocals and mediocre production. Not much else to say about this. Hard pass.

Best Debut: Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf

Hit-Bound Ranking

0 - Crap:

NONE!

1 - Bad:

#15: The Business - Tiësto

#14: Beginning Middle End - Leah Nobel

#13: Best Friend - Saweetie/Doja Cat

2 - Mediocre:

#12: Goosebumps (Remix) - Travis Scott/HVME

3 - Decent:

#11: rubberband - Tate McRae

#10: Cry Over Boys - Alexander 23

#9: too many feelings - Ruel

#8: Bad Girl - Daya

4 - Good:

#7: Remember That Night? - Sara Kays

#6: Talk About Love - Zara Larsson/Young Thug

#5: 3, 2, 1 - 24kGoldn

#4: cheers - blackbear/Wiz Khalifa

5 - Great:

#3: Provide - G-Eazy/Chris Brown/Mark Morrison

#2: Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf

#1: forget me too - Machine Gun Kelly/Halsey

Overall Score: 48/75 = 64%

Goldn Era Pick

Best I Ever Had - Drake (2009)

Yeah, so for The Goldn Hour, I’ll just be talking about the throwback pick and 24kGoldn’s pick of the week. Those songs from last week were One More Time and acting like that, respectively. Anyways, the throwback pick (or Goldn Era Pick, as he called it) this week was Best I Ever Had by Drake. I don’t remember ever hearing this song and I don’t know, it doesn’t really grab my attention that much. He sounds good in the verses, but he could sound better in the chorus. Anyways, yeah, that’s pretty much it.

24kGoldn’s Pick of the Week

Good Days - SZA

Yeah, so no new song to review, because he picked Good Days, which is already on the Countdown.

No I Ain’t Happy Yet, But I’m Way Less Blurbs

The exits from the Countdown this week (other than forget me too) were Diamonds and positions. I’m not too disappointed to see either of these go, as they were both getting kind of old.

Now, for Hit-Bound, we lost Fix It to Break It, Girls Like Us, Body and Momma Always Told Me. I don’t care about FItBI too much, as it was pretty good, but not unbelievably fantastic. Plus, it was only destined for a couple of weeks on the Countdown. For Girls Like Us, again, I don’t really care because it wasn’t that good. For Body, I’m pretty happy that it’s gone, because it was pretty bad and for Momma Always Told Me, I’m kind of sad that they didn’t even really give it a shot here. Whatever.

We can get rid of Fly Away at any point now and I really wouldn’t care.

I’m not Pretty actually made a decent-sized jump this week, so that gives me hope that it’ll actually stick around after it’s done being the One to Watch.

Heat Waves is up in the top 20. Even though it’s not my favourite, I’m still happy that it’s here.

Aww My Head & My Heart dropped a couple of spots. Hopefully it can rebound.

Love Story also dropped a couple of spots, which was pretty surprising. But honestly, I’m pretty sure that it’ll hit #1 anyways.

Save Your Tears is in the top 5!!! I really hope that this is the song that dethrones our new #1.

Which is… (finger on table drumroll)... drivers license! Wow, I’m actually really shocked but really happy that Hits 1 recognized this as the hit that it is and brought it to #1. Especially dethroning Harry Styles of all people. You know what’s crazy, though? We’ve already had more female artists at #1 this year than we did for the entirety of last year. We’re only in February too. Awesome, I’m so glad that this is #1.

How Hits 1 Songs Are Doing on the Hot 100

#1: drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo

#2: 34+35 - Ariana Grande

#4: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd

#6: Save Your Tears - The Weeknd

#7: Mood - 24kGoldn/iann dior

#8: Go Crazy - Chris Brown/Young Thug

#9: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby

#10: positions - Ariana Grande

#11: Love Story (Taylor’s Version) - Taylor Swift

#12: What You Know Bout Love - Pop Smoke

#13: Therefore I Am - Billie Eilish

#17: Holy - Justin Bieber/Chance the Rapper

#18: Good Days - SZA

#19: I Hope - Gabby Barrett/Charlie Puth

#22: Lonely - Justin Bieber/benny blanco

#23: you broke me first - Tate McRae

#25: willow - Taylor Swift

#26: Body - Megan Thee Stallion

#28: Anyone - Justin Bieber

#29: my ex’s best friend - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear

#31: Bang! - AJR

#33: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi

#34: Lemonade - Internet Money/Gunna/Don Toliver/NAV

#36: Laugh Now Cry Later - Drake/Lil Durk

#38: Best Friend - Saweetie/Doja Cat

#39: Put Your Records On - Ritt Momney

#43: WITHOUT YOU - The Kid LAROI

#45: Dynamite - BTS

#49: We’re Good - Dua Lipa

#58: Golden - Harry Styles

#59: Monsters - All Time Low/Demi Lovato/blackbear

#60: Goosebumps (Remix) - Travis Scott/HVME

#61: My Head & My Heart - Ava Max

#64: Heat Waves - Glass Animals

#65: Afterglow - Ed Sheeran

#68: Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf

#76: Lifestyle - Jason Derulo/Adam Levine

#77: SO DONE - The Kid LAROI

#91: Monster - Shawn Mendes/Justin Bieber

Top 10 on the Hunger Games Countdown

#10: drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo

#9: Stay Next To Me - Quinn XCII/Chelsea Cutler

#8: positions - Ariana Grande

#7: Overdrive - Conan Gray

#6: Space Girl - Frances Forever

#5: 34+35 - Ariana Grande

#4: 100 Ways - Jackson Wang

#3: Best Friend - Saweetie/Doja Cat

#2: Haunt You - X Lovers/chloe moriondo

#1: Prisoner - Miley Cyrus/Dua Lipa

Top 10 If the Countdown Made Sense

#10: Golden - Harry Styles

#9: Go Crazy - Chris Brown/Young Thug

#8: Save Your Tears - The Weeknd

#7: my ex’s best friend - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear

#6: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby

#5: Put Your Records On - Ritt Momney

#4: you broke me first - Tate McRae

#3: Therefore I Am - Billie Eilish

#2: drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo

#1: 34+35 - Ariana Grande

Kwaheri, everybody! See you all in the next one.