Week of July 17, 2021 - Olivia Rodrigo (7)

Hey, all! I'm finally back after three weeks of being away, and I have to say, I feel great. It's entirely possible that everything here will either pick up a lot, or slow to only my three weekly posts. We'll see. Anyways, the posts for the past few weeks will come trickling in throughout the week, so enjoy that! This week in particular was pretty interesting. The jumps and drops weren't ridiculous, but there was enough happening to keep it an enjoyable countdown. Here are our two exits for this week.

Songs We're Saying Goodbye To

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

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

Last Week's #1: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo (6)

#30: You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd (-1) [#27] {3 weeks}

#29: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber (DEBUT) [1 week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#28: Cloudy Day - Tones And I (-1) [#26] {4 weeks}

#27: Say So - Masked Wolf (DEBUT) [1 week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#26: working - Tate McRae/Khalid (-1) [#23] {4 weeks}

#25: WANNA BE - jxdn/Machine Gun Kelly (+5) [#25] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#24: telepatía - Kali Uchis (-1) [#23] {7 weeks}

#23: Heat Waves - Glass Animals (-11) [#6] {25 weeks}

#22: Fine Apple - Nic D (+6) [#22] {3 weeks} *new peak*

#21: Leave The Door Open - Silk Sonic (-6) [#7] {19 weeks}

#20: Girl From Rio - Anitta/DaBaby (+1) [#20] {3 weeks} *new peak*

#19: la di die - Nessa Barrett/jxdn (-3) [#16] {5 weeks}

#18: pov - Ariana Grande (-5) [#4] {16 weeks}

#17: Arcade - Duncan Laurence (+7) [#17] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#16: Iko Iko (My Bestie) - Justin Wellington/Small Jam (+10) [#16] {3 weeks} *new peak*

#15: Way Less Sad - AJR (-5) [#3] {21 weeks}

#14: A-O-K - Tai Verdes (+6) [#14] {6 weeks} *new peak*

#13: 90s Kids - Jax (+1) [#13] {9 weeks} *new peak*

#12: Build a B**** - Bella Poarch (+5) [#12] {8 weeks} *new peak*

#11: Shy Away - Twenty One Pilots (-3) [#7] {14 weeks}

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

#9: Lil Bit - Nelly/Florida Georgia Line (-3) [#6] {8 weeks}

#8: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran (+10) [#8] {3 weeks} *new peak*

#7: deja vu - Olivia Rodrigo (-) [1 week at #1] {14 weeks}

#6: Our Song - Anne-Marie/Niall Horan (+3) [#3] {7 weeks}

#5: MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X (-1) [#2] {15 weeks}

#4: You - Regard/Troye Sivan/Tate McRae (+1) [#4] {13 weeks} *new peak*

#3: Kiss Me More - Doja Cat/SZA (-1) [#2] {14 weeks}

#2: Leave Before You Love Me - Marshmello/Jonas Brothers (+1) [#2] {8 weeks} *new peak*

#1: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo (-) [7th week at #1] {8 weeks}

Last Year's #1: Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles [4/7 weeks at #1]

Countdown Extra: Motley Crew - Post Malone

So both of our debuts this week had actually debuted Hit-Bound the week before, with the first one being STAY by The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber at #29. This song has definitely grown on me a lot since I first heard it. Neither artist sounds their best here, but the song is just so insanely catchy, and it has a really cool beat to it too. LAROI and Bieber actually have decent chemistry, and I like how their voices mix with each other. I have absolutely no doubts that this will be huge (pretending I don't know that it blows up) and I'm excited to see how it does here.

Masked Wolf scores his second song on the Weekend Countdown this week, as Say So debuts this week at #27, replacing Astronaut In The Ocean. Honestly, I'm totally fine with AITO leaving, because I like this one more. The chorus is undeniably catchy, and the song as a whole is so upbeat and fun. Masked Wolf sounds great here and I love his rapping and his voice in the hook. I'd love to see this become a hit.

Best Debut: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber

Biggest Drop: Heat Waves - Glass Animals (-11): Unsurprisingly, this song took a huge tumble this week to #23. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if this is its last week here.

Biggest Jump: Iko Iko (My Bestie) - Justin Wellington/Small Jam & Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran (+10): For the former song, I'm really surprised it's getting success here, and I definitely thought it was going to flop, and for the latter, I'm very happy and not at all surprised that it's already in the top 10.

Countdown Ranking

0 - Awful:

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

1 - Bad:

#29: Fine Apple - Nic D

#28: A-O-K - Tai Verdes

#27: Lil Bit - Nelly/Florida Georgia Line

2 - Mediocre:

#26: telepatía - Kali Uchis

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

3 - Decent:

#24: Kiss Me More - Doja Cat/SZA

#23: Leave The Door Open - Silk Sonic

#22: You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd

#21: deja vu - Olivia Rodrigo

#20: Cloudy Day - Tones And I

#19: WANNA BE - jxdn/Machine Gun Kelly

#18: Heat Waves - Glass Animals

4 - Good:

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

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

#15: Arcade - Duncan Laurence

#14: 90s Kids - Jax

#13: la di die - Nessa Barrett/jxdn

#12: Girl From Rio - Anitta/DaBaby

#11: working - Tate McRae/Khalid

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

5 - Great:

#9: Butter - BTS

#8: pov - Ariana Grande

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

#6: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran

#5: Shy Away - Twenty One Pilots

#4: Way Less Sad - AJR

#3: Say So - Masked Wolf

#2: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber

#1: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo

Overall Score: 105/150 = 70%

5 Oldest Songs

#5: MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X {15 weeks}
#4: pov - Ariana Grande {16 weeks}
#3: Leave The Door Open - Silk Sonic {19 weeks}
#2: Way Less Sad - AJR {21 weeks}
#1: Heat Waves - Glass Animals {25 weeks}

#1 Recommendation for Hits 1: Wrecked - Imagine Dragons

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

My Least Favourite Song Last Year: Heather - Conan Gray

Most Missed Countdown Song: Stereo Hearts - Gym Class Heroes/Adam Levine

Hit-Bound

t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l - WILLOW/Travis Barker [4]

Motley Crew - Post Malone [2]

Lost - Maroon 5 [3]

Jalebi Baby - Tesher/Jason Derulo [3; 2nd time]

Heartbreak Anniversary - Giveon [15]

seaside_demo - SEB [1]

People Watching - Conan Gray [1]

JUST LIKE YOU - NF [4]

Sweet Dream - Alessia Cara [1]

Thot S*** - Megan Thee Stallion [1]

Lean On Me - Cheat Codes/Tinashe [5]

Permission to Dance - BTS [1]

Dinero - Trinidad Cardona [2]

Beggin' - Måneskin [1]

Love Again - Dua Lipa [2]

I have a ton of new Hit-Bound songs to talk about this week, with the first being seaside_demo by SEB. It wouldn't surprise me if this song was a TikTok song, because it just kinda came out of nowhere. This song's decent. I like SEB's verse here, and I think he sounds good in the chorus. My only issue with it is that it gets a little boring at times, and the production could've been a little more upbeat. But other than that, it's a solid song, and I'd be fine with it staying here.

Continuing with the Hit-Bound debuts, we have Conan Gray's fourth appearance on Hits 1 with People Watching. This song doesn't go for the upbeat vibe of Maniac or Overdrive, but it's not quite as slow and boring as Heather. Actually, it's kind of like a much more improved version of Heather. Conan sounds better here, the chorus is more interesting, and the production has much more substance to it. I can definitely see this debuting, and honestly, I'd be totally fine with that.

Next up we have the return of Alessia Cara for the first time since Out Of Love way back in 2019. She returns with her brand-new song, Sweet Dream, and it's quite good. It has some weird production elements in it, which is kind of reminiscent of Trust My Lonely from a while back, but this feels like a much more improved version of it. Alessia sounds great here, and the chorus is quite good. I like the... drop, I guess you could call it? Overall, this is just a very solid song, and I'd like to see it become a hit.

Next up is a new song by Megan Thee Stallion (and the third song this year who's title I've had to censor), Thot S***. This song's solid. It's much better and definitely not as annoying as Body, but it's not nearly on the same level as Savage. Megan's flow here is great, but the production feels substanceless and could've benefited from more production. Overall, it's fine, but I really don't see it becoming a pop hit.

BTS have released another song called Permission to Dance this week (which also debuted at #1 on the Hot 100, proving how stupid and effective the BTS Army's chart manipulation tactics are) and it's a pretty solid song. It's not as much of a bop as Dynamite or Butter, but it's still got a fun dance beat and a catchy chorus. The guys sound good here, even if their voices sound a little like they're reaching their limits, like in Butter. Overall, this is a good song, and I'd be fine if it was a hit.

So you know how I mentioned earlier that Duncan Laurence won EuroVision (a European song contest) back in 2019, but just now started to gain popularity because of TikTok? Well, we have the exact same situation today, except with 2021's winners, a band called Måneskin. They've covered a song by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Beggin'. I would love this song, because the instrumentation is great, and the song itself is fantastic, but I don't really like the guy's voice at all. It's not terrible, but it certainly has the potential to be much better.

This week we lost Late At Night, Renegade, RAPSTAR and NDA. I know for a fact that Renegade and NDA debut next week, so I'm not even gonna comment on them, Late At Night was good, but kinda forgettable and RAPSTAR was great and deserved more than just one week on the Countdown.

Best Hit-Bound Debut: Sweet Dream - Alessia Cara

Hit-Bound Ranking

0 - Awful:

NONE!

1 - Bad:

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

2 - Mediocre:

#14: Heartbreak Anniversary - Giveon

3 - Decent:

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

#12: People Watching - Conan Gray

#11: seaside_demo - SEB

#10: Motley Crew - Post Malone

#9: Jalebi Baby - Tesher/Jason Derulo

#8: Beggin' - Måneskin

4 - Good:

#7: Permission to Dance - BTS

#6: Sweet Dream - Alessia Cara

5 - Great:

#5: Lean On Me - Cheat Codes/Tinashe

#4: Lost - Maroon 5

#3: Dinero - Trinidad Cardona

#2: JUST LIKE YOU - NF

#1: Love Again - Dua Lipa

Overall Score: 54/75 = 72%

I Need Blurbs to Stay, Need Blurbs to Stay, Hey

Our two exits this week were Astronaut In The Ocean and Best Friend. I don't really care that either of them are gone, because both were starting to get kind of old.

I honestly wish that working was doing better here. It's quite a good song.

Fine Apple got a big jump this week, which sucks. I hope it doesn't stick around for too much longer.

Leave The Door Open also seems like it's on its last week. I'd be totally fine with that.

Arcade got a big jump this week, which I'm happy about. It might actually be a hit here.

A-O-K is in the top 15, which really sucks. It's not a good song at all.

Speaking of songs that are in the top 15, Build a B**** jumped up to #12. I'd really rather not have this become a hit.

Luckily, Lil Bit dropped back down to #9. Nobody needs this to become a top 5 hit here.

Leave Before You Love Me is all the way up at #2. I don't really see it dethroning good 4 u, but I guess I'd be fine if it did.

How Hits 1 Songs Are Doing on the Hot 100

#1: Butter - BTS

#2: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo

#3: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby

#4: Kiss Me More - Doja Cat/SZA

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

#6: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran

#7: Leave The Door Open - Silk Sonic

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

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

#10: deja vu - Olivia Rodrigo

#11: Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf

#12: RAPSTAR - Polo G

#13: You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd

#15: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd

#16: WITHOUT YOU - The Kid LAROI

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

#19: Heartbreak Anniversary - Giveon

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

#24: Best Friend - Saweetie/Doja Cat

#25: Lil Bit - Nelly/Florida Georgia Line

#27: Heat Waves - Glass Animals

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

#32: Late At Night - Roddy Ricch

#33: drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo

#34: telepatía - Kali Uchis

#36: Mood - 24kGoldn/iann dior

#42: pov - Ariana Grande

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

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

#46: Beggin' - Måneskin

#54: Way Less Sad - AJR

#58: Arcade - Duncan Laurence

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

#64: Need To Know - Doja Cat

#65: Track Star - Mooski

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

#73: Renegade - Big Red Machine/Taylor Swift

#77: Follow You - Imagine Dragons

#83: A-O-K - Tai Verdes

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

#93: working - Tate McRae/Khalid

Top 10 on the Hunger Games Countdown

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

#9: The Way You Felt - Alec Benjamin

#8: We're Good - Dua Lipa

#7: Lifestyle - Jason Derulo/Adam Levine

#6: Solar Power - Lorde

#5: Jalebi Baby - Tesher/Jason Derulo

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

#3: Motley Crew - Post Malone

#2: Sucks Being Sober - Annika Wells

#1: Bad Girl - Daya

Top 10 If the Countdown Made Sense

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

#9: telepatía - Kali Uchis

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

#7: Butter - BTS

#6: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran

#5: pov - Ariana Grande

#4: deja vu - Olivia Rodrigo

#3: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo

#2: Kiss Me More - Doja Cat/SZA

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

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