Week of July 10, 2021 - Olivia Rodrigo (6)

Hey all! Just one big announcement: I'll be gone for the next three weeks. So I'll be back in three Saturdays, and I'll catch up on everything gradually throughout that week. Here are the exits for this week!

Songs We're Saying Goodbye To

Beautiful Mistakes - Maroon 5/Megan Thee Stallion (#22) [#11] {16 weeks}

Wave of You - Surfaces (#15) [#15] {10 weeks}

Last Week's #1: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo (5)

#30: WANNA BE - jxdn/Machine Gun Kelly (DEBUT) [0 weeks in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#29: You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd (-2) [#27] {2 weeks}

#28: Fine Apple - Nic D (+2) [#28] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#27: Cloudy Day - Tones And I (-1) [#26] {3 weeks}

#26: Iko Iko (My Bestie) - Justin Wellington/Small Jam (+2) [#26] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#25: working - Tate McRae/Khalid (+4) [#23] {3 weeks}

#24: Arcade - Duncan Laurence (DEBUT) [1 week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#23: telepatía - Kali Uchis (-) [#23] {6 weeks}

#22: Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf (-4) [#9] {18 weeks}

#21: Girl From Rio - Anitta/DaBaby (-) [#21] {2 weeks}

#20: A-O-K - Tai Verdes (-) [#20] {5 weeks}

#19: Best Friend - Saweetie/Doja Cat (-3) [#14] {9 weeks}

#18: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran (+6) [#18] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#17: Build a B**** - Bella Poarch (+2) [#17] {7 weeks} *new peak*

#16: la di die - Nessa Barrett/jxdn (+9) [#16] {4 weeks} *new peak*

#15: Leave The Door Open - Silk Sonic (-1) [#7] {18 weeks}

#14: 90s Kids - Jax (+3) [#14] {8 weeks} *new peak*

#13: pov - Ariana Grande (-8) [#4] {15 weeks}

#12: Heat Waves - Glass Animals (-) [#6] {24 weeks}

#11: Butter - BTS (-2) [#9] {7 weeks}

#10: Way Less Sad - AJR (-) [#3] {20 weeks}

#9: Our Song - Anne-Marie/Niall Horan (-6) [#3] {6 weeks}

#8: Shy Away - Twenty One Pilots (-1) [#7] {13 weeks}

#7: deja vu - Olivia Rodrigo (+1) [1 week at #1] {13 weeks}

#6: Lil Bit - Nelly/Florida Georgia Line (+7) [#6] {7 weeks} *new peak*

#5: You - Regard/Troye Sivan/Tate McRae (+6) [#5] {12 weeks} *new peak*

#4: MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X (-) [#2] {14 weeks}

#3: Leave Before You Love Me - Marshmello/Jonas Brothers (+3) [#3] {7 weeks} *new peak*

#2: Kiss Me More - Doja Cat/SZA (-) [#2] {13 weeks}

#1: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo (-) [6th week at #1] {7 weeks}

Last Year's #1: Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles [3/7 weeks at #1]

Countdown Extra: t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l - WILLOW/Travis Barker

Our new One to Watch, jxdn debuts the Countdown this week at #30 with his new song, WANNA BE featuring Machine Gun Kelly. This song's alright. I like the instrumentation, and MGK sounds fantastic here, but jxdn really doesn't sound good in the chorus, and the song's not too memorable. It's well-written too, but that's not really enough to bring it up to blue. I'm not too disappointed that this is the new One to Watch though, because it's decent.

After dropping out of Hit-Bound a couple weeks ago, Arcade by Duncan Laurence debuts the Countdown at #24 this week. I like this song. I think Duncan Laurence sounds great here, and I really like the chorus. My only issue with it is that the verses get a little boring. But other than that, this is just a really solid song, and I'm glad it's becoming a pop hit two years after its release.

Best Debut: Arcade - Duncan Laurence

Biggest Drop: pov - Ariana Grande (-8): I would say that I'm disappointed that this isn't in the top 5 anymore, but it's starting to get just a little old, so I don't care that much.

Biggest Jump: la di die - Nessa Barrett/jxdn (+9): This song has actually grown on me a bit since last week, so I'm pretty glad that it's all the way up at #16. I'd love to see this become a hit.

Countdown Ranking

0 - Awful:

#30: Build a B**** - Bella Poarch

1 - Bad:

#29: Lil Bit - Nelly/Florida Georgia Line

#28: Fine Apple - Nic D

#27: A-O-K - Tai Verdes

2 - Mediocre:

#26: telepatía - Kali Uchis

#25: Best Friend - Saweetie/Doja Cat

#24: You - Regard/Troye Sivan/Tate McRae

3 - Decent:

#23: Leave The Door Open - Silk Sonic

#22: Kiss Me More - Doja Cat/SZA

#21: deja vu - Olivia Rodrigo

#20: Cloudy Day - Tones And I

#19: You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd

#18: WANNA BE - jxdn/Machine Gun Kelly

#17: Heat Waves - Glass Animals

4 - Good:

#16: Iko Iko (My Bestie) - Justin Wellington/Small Jam

#15: Girl From Rio - Anitta/DaBaby

#14: Arcade - Duncan Laurence

#13: 90s Kids - Jax

#12: la di die - Nessa Barrett/jxdn

#11: Leave Before You Love Me - Marshmello/Jonas Brothers

#10: working - Tate McRae/Khalid

#9: MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X

5 - Great:

#8: Butter - BTS

#7: pov - Ariana Grande

#6: Our Song - Anne-Marie/Niall Horan

#5: Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf

#4: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran

#3: Way Less Sad - AJR

#2: Shy Away - Twenty One Pilots

#1: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo

Overall Score: 102/150 = 68%

5 Oldest Songs

#5: MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X {14 weeks}
#4: pov - Ariana Grande {15 weeks}
#3: Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf & Leave The Door Open - Silk Sonic {18 weeks}
#2: Way Less Sad - AJR {20 weeks}
#1: Heat Waves - Glass Animals {24 weeks}

#1 Recommendation for Hits 1: Wrecked - Imagine Dragons

My Favourite Song Last Year: ROCKSTAR - DaBaby/Roddy Ricch

My Least Favourite Song Last Year: Daisies - Katy Perry

Most Missed Countdown Song: Bang Bang - Jessie J/Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj

Hit-Bound

JUST LIKE YOU - NF [3]

Late At Night - Roddy Ricch [3]

Love Again - Dua Lipa [1]

Motley Crew - Post Malone [1]

Lost - Maroon 5 [2]

Dinero - Trinidad Cardona [1]

t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l - WILLOW/Travis Barker [3]

Heartbreak Anniversary - Giveon [14]

Stay - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber [1]

Renegade - Big Red Machine/Taylor Swift [1]

RAPSTAR - Polo G [2; 2nd time]

NDA - Billie Eilish [1]

Lean On Me - Cheat Codes/Tinashe [4]

Say So - Masked Wolf [1]

Jalebi Baby - Tesher/Jason Derulo [2; 2nd time]

Our first of many Hit-Bound debuts this week comes from Dua Lipa and her billionth single from her album Future Nostalgia, Love Again. Like almost all of her singles so far, this song is great. It's ridiculously catchy, Dua sounds incredible and the production is great. I don't know what that sample's from, but it fits the song really really well. Quick side note, the radio edit of this song is really weird. It goes: "But [gap], you got me in love again"... like, you couldn't have just made her say "hot damn" or something? Anyways, this is a great song and I'm glad that it's becoming a hit. I'd love to see this debut the Countdown soon.

Post Malone returns this week with a new song, Motley Crew. The first thing off of the bat that you notice is that this isn't nearly as bop-y as the Hollywood's Bleeding singles. Is that a bad thing? I'm not sure, because it's not like this dark vibe is bad. I'm not so sure I'm loving Post's voice here, and I think he definitely could've sung a bit lower here, but overall, I don't think this is that bad. I'd be alright if this became a hit.

Our next debut is yet another TikTok song from newcomer Trinidad Cardona, Dinero. This song is super catchy and I actually really love it. The chorus is super fun and I love the beat here. Trinidad Cardona sounds really good here, and I really love how he's managed to mix mainstream pop and latino music. I'd really love for this to become a hit, it's a super fun song.

Next up is a collaboration Waffle's really gonna hate, The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber on Stay. I actually really like this song. I think both LAROI and Bieber sound really good here, and the song's super upbeat and fun. I like the chorus especially the last one, and it's pretty catchy and the verses are pretty interesting too. I'm kind of surprised that these two have such great chemistry, but they really do. I have no doubts that this'll become a huge hit, and I'm super pumped for that.

We get some more Taylor Swift this week, as she teams up with Big Red Machine (Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver) on this new song, Renegade. This song has huge folklore/evermore vibes, which makes sense, as all three of them worked on both albums. This song's alright. I like the production here, and Taylor Swift sounds fantastic as always. It's only slightly boring, and I wouldn't exactly say that it's made for radio. But, I have a feeling this song will do well here nonetheless.

So... Billie Eilish released another song. *sighs* NDA is easily the worst single from Happier Than Ever so far. It has little to no production, and Billie's whisper-singing so much (when she's not drenched in autotune) that you can't even tell what she's saying. The only mildly interesting thing about this song is that it flows into Therefore I Am. I hope this flops like both Your Power and Lost Cause did.

Finally, we have a new one from Masked Wolf, Say So. H o l y c r a p. This song is 10 times more of a bop than Astronaut In The Ocean. The chorus is so catchy and the song's super upbeat. Masked Wolf sounds great in the hook, and his flow's great in the verses. This is another song where it has sad lyrics, but a happy melody, and I'm all for it. I love this song and I'm super happy for what Masked Wolf is to bring in the future.

Why is Heartbreak Anniversary still here? We can get rid of this, I don't think anybody would mind too much.

We had seven Hit-Bound dropouts this week. This is getting ridiculous. We're saying goodbye to Track Star, Solar Power, I DID IT, Higher Power, Friday, All My Favorite Songs and Good Without. The only two that I don't mind leaving are Track Star and Solar Power. I'm really sad that the rest of them are gone, and I hope at least one or two re-enter.

Best Hit-Bound Debut: Say So - Masked Wolf

Hit-Bound Ranking

0 - Awful:

#15: NDA - Billie Eilish

1 - Bad:

NONE!

2 - Mediocre:

#14: t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l - WILLOW/Travis Barker

#13: Heartbreak Anniversary - Giveon

3 - Decent:

#12: Motley Crew - Post Malone

#11: Jalebi Baby - Tesher/Jason Derulo

#10: Renegade - Big Red Machine/Taylor Swift

4 - Good:

#9: Late At Night - Roddy Ricch

5 - Great:

#8: Lost - Maroon 5

#7: Lean On Me - Cheat Codes/Tinashe

#6: RAPSTAR - Polo G

#5: Dinero - Trinidad Cardona

#4: JUST LIKE YOU - NF

#3: Stay - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber

#2: Love Again - Dua Lipa

#1: Say So - Masked Wolf

Overall Score: 57/75 = 76%

Loving Blurbs Is a Losing Game

Our two exits this week were Beautiful Mistakes and Wave of You. For the former, I'm satisfied with the run it had here, and the latter wasn't a hit and I'm not sure why it was here in the first place. That being said, it was still a good song.

Looks like Astronaut In The Ocean will leave before I get back, which sucks. But, Say So is better, so I don't care too much.

I'm glad Bad Habits had a big jump this week, which I'm quite happy about.

Our Song fell all the way to #9 for whatever reason. I definitely wasn't expecting that, but it's alright.

For whatever reason, deja vu just now decided to grow on me. Not sure why, but I don't mind it now.

Why is Lil Bit at #6? Seriously, there's no reason for this to be so high. It's getting worse and worse with each listen.

You jumped all the way up to #5 this week, which is surprising. I don't exactly mind that this is so high, but it doesn't make much sense.

I forgot to mention this last week, but good 4 u is now our longest-running #1 song this year with its very Hot 100-esque run here. I'm really happy about that, and I can definitely see it being the #1 of the year as long as it doesn't leave for a couple of months.

How Hits 1 Songs Are Doing on the Hot 100

#1: Butter - BTS

#2: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo

#3: Kiss Me More - Doja Cat/SZA

#4: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby

#5: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran

#6: Leave The Door Open - Silk Sonic

#7: Peaches - Justin Bieber/Daniel Caesar/Giveon

#8: MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X

#9: Save Your Tears (Remix) - The Weeknd/Ariana Grande

#10: deja vu - Olivia Rodrigo

#11: You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd

#12: Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf

#13: RAPSTAR - Polo G

#15: WITHOUT YOU - The Kid LAROI

#17: Beautiful Mistakes - Maroon 5/Megan Thee Stallion

#18: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd

#20: Heartbreak Anniversary - Giveon

#22: Best Friend - Saweetie/Doja Cat

#23: Lil Bit - Nelly/Florida Georgia Line

#25: Heat Waves - Glass Animals

#29: drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo

#30: telepatía - Kali Uchis

#31: Leave Before You Love Me - Marshmello/Jonas Brothers

#33: Late At Night - Roddy Ricch

#36: pov - Ariana Grande

#37: Mood - 24kGoldn/iann dior

#43: my ex's best friend - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear

#46: Calling My Phone - Lil Tjay/6LACK

#49: Need To Know - Doja Cat

#64: Way Less Sad - AJR

#67: Build a B**** - Bella Poarch

#69: Arcade - Duncan Laurence

#71: Track Star - Mooski

#75: You - Regard/Troye Sivan/Tate McRae

#85: t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l - WILLOW/Travis Barker

#90: Follow You - Imagine Dragons

#100: working - Tate McRae/Khalid

Top 10 on the Hunger Games Countdown

#10: Your Power - Billie Eilish

#9: Oh My God - Alec Benjamin

#8: Jalebi Baby - Tesher/Jason Derulo

#7: Sucks Being Sober - Annika Wells

#6: Sacrifice - Bebe Rexha

#5: Bummerland - AJR

#4: Way Less Sad - AJR

#3: Bad Girl - Daya

#2: In The Morning - Jennifer Lopez

#1: Momma Always Told Me - Mike Posner/Stanaj/Yung Bae

Top 10 If the Countdown Made Sense

#10: telepatía - Kali Uchis

#9: Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf

#8: Butter - BTS

#7: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran

#6: Best Friend - Saweetie/Doja Cat

#5: deja vu - Olivia Rodrigo

#4: pov - Ariana Grande

#3: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo

#2: MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X

#1: Kiss Me More - Doja Cat/SZA

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