Week of August 14, 2021 - Ed Sheeran (2)

Hey, everyone! Just so you all know, I'll be gone for all of next week. My posts for next week will come out on the Monday. This week's countdown was pretty interesting. There was a lot of movement, and we got a ton of new Hit-Bound songs that I get to review today. Here are our three exits for this week.

Songs We're Saying Goodbye To

MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X (#21) [#2] {18 weeks}

WANNA BE - jxdn/Machine Gun Kelly (#20) [#18] {5 weeks}

Kiss Me More - Doja Cat/SZA (#5) [#2] {17 weeks}

Last Week's #1: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran (1)

#30: Take My Breath - The Weeknd (DEBUT) [0 weeks in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#29: NDA - Billie Eilish (-2) [#27] {4 weeks}

#28: Motley Crew - Post Malone (-2) [#26] {3 weeks}

#27: Beggin' - Måneskin (DEBUT) [3 weeks in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#26: Demeanor - Pop Smoke/Dua Lipa (+2) [#26] {4 weeks} *new peak*

#25: People Watching - Conan Gray (+4) [#25] {3 weeks}

#24: INDUSTRY BABY - Lil Nas X/Jack Harlow (+6) [#24] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#23: Fancy Like - Walker Hayes (DEBUT) [3 weeks in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#22: Skate - Silk Sonic (+2) [#22] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#21: working - Tate McRae/Khalid (-4) [#17] {8 weeks}

#20: Renegade - Big Red Machine/Taylor Swift (-2) [#18] {4 weeks}

#19: Iko Iko (My Bestie) - Justin Wellington/Small Jam (-) [#16] {7 weeks}

#18: Don't Go Yet - Camila Cabello (+7) [#18] {3 weeks} *new peak*

#17: You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd (+6) [#17] {7 weeks} *new peak*

#16: Arcade - Duncan Laurence (-3) [#10] {6 weeks}

#15: Memory - Kane Brown/blackbear (+7) [#15] {4 weeks} *new peak*

#14: Shy Away - Twenty One Pilots (+1) [#7] {18 weeks}

#13: A-O-K - Tai Verdes (+3) [#13] {10 weeks} *new peak*

#12: 90s Kids - Jax (-) [#12] {13 weeks}

#11: Lil Bit - Nelly/Florida Georgia Line (-2) [#6] {12 weeks}

#10: deja vu - Olivia Rodrigo (+1) [1 week at #1] {18 weeks}

#9: Butter - BTS (-1) [#8] {12 weeks}

#8: Love Again - Dua Lipa (+6) [#8] {4 weeks} *new peak*

#7: You - Regard/Troye Sivan/Tate McRae (-3) [#4] {17 weeks}

#6: Saturday - Twenty One Pilots (+1) [#6] {4 weeks} *new peak*

#5: Our Song - Anne-Marie/Niall Horan (+1) [#3] {11 weeks}

#4: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber (+6) [#4] {5 weeks} *new peak*

#3: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo (-) [9 weeks at #1] {12 weeks}

#2: Leave Before You Love Me - Marshmello/Jonas Brothers (-) [#2] {12 weeks}

#1: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran (-) [2nd week at #1] {7 weeks}

Last Year's #1: Midnight - Alesso/Liam Payne [1/1 week at #1]

Countdown Extra: everything sucks - vaultboy

So our first debut this week skips Hit-Bound. It's Take My Breath by The Weeknd at #30. This is the first single from his next album, and it doesn't stray very far from the '80s-sounding singles we got from After Hours. As always, Abel sounds great throughout the song, and the chorus is super catchy. Tie that all together with great production, and you have a very solid song. I wouldn't say this is nearly as good as Blinding Lights or In Your Eyes, but I would say that it's better than Save Your Tears.

After dropping out of Hit-Bound last week, Beggin' by Måneskin debuts at #27 this week. I'm gonna be honest: this song's grown on me a lot since it debuted Hit-Bound a month ago. I still don't love the guy's voice here, but I do love the instrumentation, and the verses are great. I'd love to see this become a hit here, because it's quite a good song.

*sighs* For whatever reason, Fancy Like by Walker Hayes has actually managed to debut the Weekend Countdown. My only question is: why? This song's very bad. Honestly, it's worse than NDA. I strongly dislike Walker Hayes' voice, and the production here's grating too. The chorus is also just straight-up annoying. I can see myself getting very tired of this song very quickly if it decides to stick around here, which I hope it doesn't. We don't need country songs like this here.

Best Debut: Take My Breath - The Weeknd

Biggest Drop: working - Tate McRae/Khalid (-4): Aw, that sucks. Luckily, it's only four spots, so it could definitely make a rebound next week, which I hope it does.

Biggest Jump: Don't Go Yet - Camila Cabello & Memory - Kane Brown/blackbear (+7): I'm more happy about Memory getting a good boost than I am about Don't Go Yet, but it's nice to see both songs gaining traction here.

Countdown Ranking

0 - Awful:

#30: Fancy Like - Walker Hayes

#29: NDA - Billie Eilish

1 - Bad:

#28: A-O-K - Tai Verdes

#27: Lil Bit - Nelly/Florida Georgia Line

2 - Mediocre:

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

3 - Decent:

#25: You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd

#24: Motley Crew - Post Malone

#23: People Watching - Conan Gray

4 - Good:

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

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

#20: deja vu - Olivia Rodrigo

#19: Don't Go Yet - Camila Cabello

#18: Renegade - Big Red Machine/Taylor Swift

#17: Arcade - Duncan Laurence

#16: 90s Kids - Jax

#15: Beggin' - Måneskin

#14: Memory - Kane Brown/blackbear

#13: working - Tate McRae/Khalid

5 - Great:

#12: Butter - BTS

#11: INDUSTRY BABY - Lil Nas X/Jack Harlow

#10: Skate - Silk Sonic

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

#8: Shy Away - Twenty One Pilots

#7: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran

#6: Take My Breath - The Weeknd

#5: Demeanor - Pop Smoke/Dua Lipa

#4: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber

#3: Love Again - Dua Lipa

#2: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo

#1: Saturday - Twenty One Pilots

Overall Score: 113/150 = 75%

5 Oldest Songs

#5: Our Song - Anne-Marie/Niall Horan {11 weeks}

#4: Lil Bit - Nelly/Florida Georgia Line, Butter - BTS, good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo & Leave Before You Love Me - Marshmello/Jonas Brothers {12 weeks}
#3: 90s Kids - Jax {13 weeks}
#2: You - Regard/Troye Sivan/Tate McRae {17 weeks}
#1: Shy Away - Twenty One Pilots & deja vu - Olivia Rodrigo {18 weeks}

#1 Recommendation for Hits 1: 3 O'Clock Things - AJR

My Favourite Song Last Year: Lose Somebody - Kygo/OneRepublic

My Least Favourite Song Last Year: Daisies - Katy Perry

Most Missed Countdown Song: Jumpsuit - Twenty One Pilots

Hit-Bound

Say So - Masked Wolf [1; 2nd time]

Cold Heart (Remix) - Elton John/Dua Lipa/PNAU [1]

everything sucks - vaultboy [2]

Sweet Dream - Alessia Cara [5]

Reckless - Madison Beer [1]

Essence - WizKid/Justin Bieber/Tems [1]

i hope ur miserable until ur dead - Nessa Barrett [1]

Rumors - Lizzo/Cardi B [1]

Love Tonight - Shouse [1]

traitor - Olivia Rodrigo [2]

@ my worst - blackbear [2]

Psycho - Dixie/Rubi Rose [4]

t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l - WILLOW/Travis Barker [7]

Kiss My (Uh Oh) - Anne-Marie/Little Mix [3]

seaside_demo - SEB [5]

til the end of time - almost monday [3]

Both Say So and t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l re-entered Hit-Bound this week. For one of them, I'm very happy, because I thought it was gone forever, and for the other one, I really wish it had have stayed gone. Take a wild guess as to which is which.

Our first Hit-Bound debut this week is a collaboration between... what? Elton John and Dua Lipa? May I ask why? There's also production from PNAU, who if you remember, made a song called Go Bang back in 2018. Yeah, I don't like this song. I've never really liked Elton John's voice, and here's really no exception. Also, the production's just weird. I'm not sure why, but I really don't like it, and it doesn't feel like it should be on pop radio. Sure, Dua Lipa sounds good here, but it's not nearly enough to save the song.

Madison Beer returns this week for the first time since 2019's Hurts Like Hell, this time with a song called Reckless. This song's solid. The melodies and the production are great here, and I think the production evolves really well for a ballad like this. However, I think this song needed a voice more powerful than Madison Beer's. She's not a bad singer, but I think she's more cut out for pop-y songs than power ballads. Also, weird side note, but the chorus here really sounds like the pre-chorus from Good Thing by Zedd and Kehlani, a much better song from last year.

Next up is WizKid (yes, the guy that featured on Drake's One Dance) teaming up with Justin Bieber and Tems on a song called Essence. Honestly, this is just a very solid R&B song. All of the artists fit well with their respective parts, and the production's pretty good. Honestly, I don't have much else to say about it. It's just a very solid song, although it's kind of forgettable.

Nessa Barrett scores her second song on Hits 1 this week, with a very cheery song, i hope ur miserable until ur dead. 😄 This is just a great pop-rock song. I thought that la di die was good, but the instrumentation here is honestly incredible, Nessa Barrett sounds great throughout, and her voice fits really well with the song. I actually really love this song, and I'd love to see it become a hit.

Lizzo returns this week after a while with a new song, Rumors featuring Cardi B. This song is fantastic. Honestly, I'd call it the best rap/pop song yet this year. Both Lizzo and Cardi B sound great here, and have great flow and chemistry. The self-confidence in the lyrics are great, and it's one of the things that I love about Lizzo. The production here is also fantastic, specifically when the electric guitar kicks in near the end. I love this song and I'd love to see it become a huge hit.

Finally, we have a song called Love Tonight by a group called Shouse. Yeah, I don't like this song. Everybody here sounds fine, but the song gives off a bit of a creepy vibe, which I really don't like. The production also doesn't seem to fit here, as if you're just listening to the melodies, it could easily be a fun, upbeat song, but instead it's haunting with a saxophone. I'd rather not have this become a hit.

Best Hit-Bound Debut: Rumors - Lizzo/Cardi B

Hit-Bound Ranking

0 - Awful:

#16: Love Tonight - Shouse

#15: Cold Heart (Remix) - Elton John/Dua Lipa/PNAU

1 - Bad:

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

2 - Mediocre:

NONE!

3 - Decent:

#13: seaside_demo - SEB

#12: Reckless - Madison Beer

#11: til the end of time - almost monday

4 - Good:

#10: Essence - WizKid/Justin Bieber/Tems

#9: everything sucks - vaultboy

#8: Psycho - Dixie/Rubi Rose

5 - Great:

#7: Sweet Dream - Alessia Cara

#6: traitor - Olivia Rodrigo

#5: Kiss My (Uh Oh) - Anne-Marie/Little Mix

#4: i hope ur miserable until ur dead - Nessa Barrett

#3: Say So - Masked Wolf

#2: Rumors - Lizzo/Cardi B

#1: @ my worst - blackbear

Overall Score: 57/80 = 71%

Take My Blurbs... Away

So, vaultboy has been chosen as the next One to Watch, but his song everything sucks hadn't been getting spins all week, so it's just the Countdown Extra rather than actually debuting the Countdown. Strange.

Our three exits this week were MONTERO, WANNA BE and Kiss Me More. MONTERO was good but old, and I'm satisfied with how it did here. WANNA BE was never that good, so I'm not disappointed that it's gone, and Kiss Me More is now the highest dropout ever, leaving from #5. I never really liked the song, so I'm not disappointed that it's gone.

NDA fell to #29 this week. Hopefully this means that it won't stick around for too much longer.

Demeanor is up to #26, which is great. I hope it sticks around for more than a month.

INDUSTRY BABY got a big boost from its debut last week up to #24, which is great. I'd love to see this song do well here.

Surprisingly, You Right is actually becoming a hit. I didn't really expect this, and I'm not too sure if I'm on board with it.

Love Again jumped up to #8, which is fantastic. I'd love to see this hit #1 sometime in the near future.

STAY is all the way up at #4! Hopefully, this can become both artist's first #1.

And finally, I'd like to talk about Twenty One Pilots for a bit. I recently went and listened to all of their albums, and discovered that I really like the band. Their first, self-titled album wasn't that good, but from then on, the rest of them (Vessel, Blurryface, Trench, Scaled And Icy) are all great, and I've discovered a lot of songs that I really like, specifically on their newest album, Scaled And Icy. The album was released on the same day as SOUR by Olivia Rodrigo, but personally, I think that it's better than SOUR. Nearly every song is really upbeat, which is a really fun new direction for TØP. My favourites from that album are Shy Away and Saturday, Redecorate, Never Take It and The Outside. All are great, and I'd highly suggest you listen to them.

How Hits 1 Songs Are Doing on the Hot 100

#1: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber

#2: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo

#3: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby

#4: Butter - BTS

#5: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran

#6: Kiss Me More - Doja Cat/SZA

#7: INDUSTRY BABY - Lil Nas X/Jack Harlow

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

#9: deja vu - Olivia Rodrigo

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

#12: Leave The Door Open - Silk Sonic

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

#14: Skate - Silk Sonic

#15: Fancy Like - Walker Hayes

#16: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd

#17: Heartbreak Anniversary - Giveon

#18: You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd

#19: RAPSTAR - Polo G

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

#22: WITHOUT YOU - The Kid LAROI

#26: Lil Bit - Nelly/Florida Georgia Line

#27: Permission to Dance - BTS

#28: Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf

#29: Late At Night - Roddy Ricch

#30: Thot S*** - Megan Thee Stallion

#31: Heat Waves - Glass Animals

#32: Need To Know - Doja Cat

#33: telepatía - Kali Uchis

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

#38: Best Friend - Saweetie/Doja Cat

#39: Motley Crew - Post Malone

#44: Beggin' - Måneskin

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

#48: Mood - 24kGoldn/iann dior

#49: traitor - Olivia Rodrigo

#50: Arcade - Duncan Laurence

#54: Essence - WizKid/Tems

#59: NDA - Billie Eilish

#61: Wild Side - Normani/Cardi B

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

#63: Don't Go Yet - Camila Cabello

#65: Love Again - Dua Lipa

#67: A-O-K - Tai Verdes

#68: Memory - Kane Brown/blackbear

#81: Way Less Sad - AJR

#84: Lost Cause - Billie Eilish

#91: my future - Billie Eilish

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

#100: working - Tate McRae/Khalid

Top 10 on the Hunger Games Countdown

#10: Demeanor - Pop Smoke/Dua Lipa

#9: Say So - Masked Wolf

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

#7: Motley Crew - Post Malone

#6: Permission to Dance - BTS

#5: NDA - Billie Eilish

#4: Jalebi Baby - Tesher/Jason Derulo

#3: In The Morning - Jennifer Lopez

#2: People Watching - Conan Gray

#1: til the end of time - almost monday

Top 10 If the Countdown Made Sense

#10: Love Again - Dua Lipa

#9: You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd

#8: Arcade - Duncan Laurence

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

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

#5: Butter - BTS

#4: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber

#3: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran

#2: deja vu - Olivia Rodrigo

#1: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo

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