Week of November 20, 2021 - Ed Sheeran (5)

Hey, all! We've had another pretty interesting week, and I've got tons of songs to review this week. Before we jump into it, I just have one quick reminder for you guys. After Thursday's Countdown (because of Thanksgiving weekend) the 2021 Hit-Bound Dropouts Rankdown will open, so make sure you keep an eye out for that. Here are our exits this week.

Songs We're Saying Goodbye To

Life Goes On - Oliver Tree (#28) [#28] {1 week}

edamame - bbno$/Rich Brian (#23) [#23] {4 weeks}

Angel Baby - Troye Sivan (#22) [#22] {3 weeks}

You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd (#10) [#7] {20 weeks}

Last Week's #1: Shivers - Ed Sheeran (4)

#30: love nwantiti (ah ah ah) - CKay (-1) [#23] {6 weeks}

#29: The Outside - Twenty One Pilots (DEBUT) [1 week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#28: Way 2 Sexy - Drake/Future/Young Thug (-1) [#22] {9 weeks}

#27: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber (-3) [6 weeks at #1] {19 weeks}

#26: Smokin Out The Window - Silk Sonic (-5) [#21] {2 weeks}

#25: Bite Me - Avril Lavigne (DEBUT) [1 week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#24: Let's go to Hell - Tai Verdes (+6) [#24] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#23: Run (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran (DEBUT) [1 week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#22: One Right Now - Post Malone/The Weeknd (+3) [#22] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#21: Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish (+5) [#21] {10 weeks} *new peak*

#20: Moth To A Flame - Swedish House Mafia/The Weeknd (-) [#20] {3 weeks}

#19: Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran (DEBUT) [2 weeks in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#18: For Tonight - Giveon (-) [#18] {6 weeks}

#17: Meet Me At Our Spot - THE ANXIETY (+2) [#17] {6 weeks} *new peak*

#16: A-O-K - Tai Verdes (-2) [#6] {24 weeks}

#15: Fancy Like - Walker Hayes (-8) [#5] {15 weeks}

#14: Better Days - NEIKED/Mae Muller/Polo G (+3) [#14] {4 weeks} *new peak*

#13: Saturday - Twenty One Pilots (-8) [#2] {18 weeks}

#12: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X (-) [#11] {8 weeks}

#11: Beggin' - Måneskin (-) [#8] {15 weeks}

#10: traitor - Olivia Rodrigo (+3) [#8] {12 weeks}

#9: Memory - Kane Brown/blackbear (-) [#9] {16 weeks}

#8: Need to Know - Doja Cat (+8) [#8] {12 weeks} *new peak*

#7: My Universe - Coldplay/BTS (+8) [#7] {6 weeks} *new peak*

#6: Ghost - Justin Bieber (+2) [#6] {8 weeks} *new peak*

#5: INDUSTRY BABY - Lil Nas X/Jack Harlow (-1) [#2] {16 weeks}

#4: Who's In Your Head - Jonas Brothers (+2) [#4] {9 weeks} *new peak*

#3: Easy On Me - Adele (-) [#3] {5 weeks}

#2: Cold Heart (Remix) - Elton John/Dua Lipa/PNAU (-) [#2] {9 weeks}

#1: Shivers - Ed Sheeran (-) [5th week at #1] {8 weeks}

Last Year's #1: Wonder - Shawn Mendes [1/2 weeks at #1]

Countdown Extra: GHOST TOWN - Benson Boone

Well, that was certainly unexpected. After debuting Hit-Bound last week, The Outside by Twenty One Pilots enters the Countdown at #29! I'm extremely happy that this managed to debut so quickly, as it's a great song. As of right now, I'm not sure how I'd rank it, Shy Away and Saturday, but I'm sure I'll figure it out before I have to make my year-end list. Anyways, this song's nothing short of amazing. The production's really cool here, and actually compliments Tyler Joseph's voice really well. I also love how the song is divided into sections that are all really different from each other, and it makes me a little sad that Hits 1 edited out the last one, even if it's my least favourite. All in all, this is just a really catchy, fun Twenty One Pilots song, and I hope it can manage to hit #1 here.

Speaking of songs that only spent one week in Hit-Bound, Bite Me by Avril Lavigne also enters the Countdown this week. This is a great song. Avril sounds great throughout it, and her voice fits the pop-punk sound much better than it does anything else. Travis Barker did a very good job with the production here too. He's honestly a genius with pop-punk instrumentation. This is an extremely enjoyable song, and I'd love to see it stick around for a bit here.

After releasing Red (Taylor's Version) last week, Taylor Swift scores yet another song on the Weekend Countdown with Run, which is a "From The Vault" song with Ed Sheeran. I'm unsure as to why Hits 1 decided that this was the big single, as Message In A Bottle is the song that's actually being pushed to pop radio, but I'm not as salty about it anymore, considering that that song debuted Hit-Bound this week. Anyways, this song's still pretty good. It's nice and chill, with some warm guitars and nice vocals from both Taylor and Ed. I've liked all of their collaborations, but I would honestly consider saying that this is my favourite of all three. This will likely perform here about the same as Renegade from earlier this year did, but I'd be happy if it decided to do better.

Ed Sheeran also gets a second debut this week, as Overpass Graffiti debuts after dropping out of Hit-Bound last week. I'm totally fine with this being here. It's still not my favourite song from him, and I don't particularly love it, but it's definitely somewhat enjoyable. My main issue with it is that it feels a little bland. He went for a bit of an 80s vibe here, and I don't think he pulled it off as well as artists like Dua Lipa or The Weeknd can. That being said, though, the writing's pretty great, and the melodies are awesome. The production could be better, though.

Best Debut: The Outside - Twenty One Pilots

Biggest Drop: Fancy Like - Walker Hayes & Saturday - Twenty One Pilots (-8): Well, I'm certainly happy that Fancy Like is starting to leave, as a #5 peak was way too high, but I'm pretty sad that Saturday's leaving, even if it had a great run here. I still enjoy it a fair bit.

Biggest Jump: Need to Know - Doja Cat & My Universe - Coldplay/BTS (+8): Ew. We really don't need Need to Know to be a top 10 hit. The sooner this can reverse, the better. As for My Universe, I'm honestly surprised that it's so high, at #7, and is now BTS' biggest song ever here, and Coldplay's biggest in a while.

Countdown Ranking

0 - Awful:

#30: Fancy Like - Walker Hayes

#29: Way 2 Sexy - Drake/Future/Young Thug

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

1 - Bad:

#27: Need to Know - Doja Cat

#26: A-O-K - Tai Verdes

2 - Mediocre:

#25: Smokin Out The Window - Silk Sonic

3 - Decent:

#24: love nwantiti (ah ah ah) - CKay

#23: Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran

4 - Good:

#22: Beggin' - Måneskin

#21: Who's In Your Head - Jonas Brothers

#20: Memory - Kane Brown/blackbear

#19: One Right Now - Post Malone/The Weeknd

5 - Great:

#18: traitor - Olivia Rodrigo

#17: Easy On Me - Adele

#16: Run (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran

#15: Meet Me At Our Spot - THE ANXIETY

#14: My Universe - Coldplay/BTS

#13: Better Days - NEIKED/Mae Muller/Polo G

#12: Shivers - Ed Sheeran

#11: Let's go to Hell - Tai Verdes

#10: Bite Me - Avril Lavigne

#9: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber

#8: Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish

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

#6: Ghost - Justin Bieber

#5: For Tonight - Giveon

#4: Moth To A Flame - Swedish House Mafia/The Weeknd

#3: Saturday - Twenty One Pilots

#2: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X

#1: The Outside - Twenty One Pilots

Overall Score: 116/150 = 77%

5 Oldest Songs

#5: Fancy Like - Walker Hayes & Beggin' - Måneskin {15 weeks}
#4: Memory - Kane Brown/blackbear & INDUSTRY BABY - Lil Nas X/Jack Harlow {16 weeks}
#3: Saturday - Twenty One Pilots {18 weeks}

#2: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber {19 weeks}

#1: A-O-K - Tai Verdes {24 weeks}

#1 Recommendation for Hits 1: All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift

My Favourite Song Last Year: Mood - 24kGoldn/iann dior

My Least Favourite Song Last Year: Heather - Conan Gray

Most Missed Countdown Song: My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) - Fall Out Boy

Hit-Bound

Have Mercy - Chlöe [3]

Dynamite - Sean Paul/Sia [5]

Life Goes On - Oliver Tree [1; 2nd time]

feel like s**t - Tate McRae [2]

Alone - Trevor Daniel [8]

It's You, Not Me (Sabotage) - Masked Wolf/Bebe Rexha [1]

MONEY - LISA [5]

GHOST TOWN - Benson Boone [2]

Message In A Bottle (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift [1]

Do It To It - ACRAZE/Cherish [1]

let you - iann dior [1]

SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY (Remix) - Amaarae/Kali Uchis/Moliy [1]

Soft Landing - JP Saxe [2]

The Weekend - BIBI [5]

Abyss

Can I Get It - Adele

edamame - bbno$/Rich Brian

Faking Love - Anitta/Saweetie

I Feel Good - Pitbull/Anthony Watts/DJ White Shadow

Oh My God - Adele

One Day - Monsta X

U Gurl - Walker Hayes

I have quite a few new Hit-Bound songs to talk about, but before I get into them, Life Goes On and edamame dropped out of the Countdown and into Hit-Bound and the Abyss, respectively, and Alone returned to Hit-Bound after dropping out of it last week. I'm happy that edamame's still here, but not so much about the other two.

Anyways, our first actual new Hit-Bound song is a collaboration between Masked Wolf and Bebe Rexha, which is an... interesting collaboration, to say the least. This is actually a Masked Wolf remix of a pre-existing Bebe Rexha song called Sabotage, and Masked Wolf's renamed this one It's You, Not Me (Sabotage). This song is pretty much just a Masked Wolf song that uses the Bebe Rexha chorus, but because Sabotage is a ballad, the song creates an effect that's very similar to Eminem and Rihanna's Love The Way You Lie, where the hook is really emotional, then the rapper just adds that much more punch that you never knew you needed. It works extremely well, especially here, where the production has enough of a beat to work with the verses, but also a good piano line that works well with the chorus. Both Masked Wolf and Bebe Rexha sound amazing in their respective parts, and their voices work really well together, surprisingly enough. On top of that, you've got an amazing Bebe bridge which fits amazingly with the song. I definitely didn't expect this song to be that good, but it definitely is, and I'd love to see it be a huge hit.

Next up, we have, as I hinted at earlier, Taylor Swift with the song she's actually pushing to pop radio, Message In A Bottle. This is another "From The Vault" song from her new version of Red, and I'm honestly really surprised that this wasn't on the original album. It's super upbeat and fun, the chorus is extremely catchy, and Taylor sounds great throughout. In addition to that, it's got some great production that definitely wouldn't have been there had it been released in 2012, so there's one upside to this being released now (that, and the fact that it can be pushed on radio). Overall, this is just a really fun song that I'd love to see become a huge hit. It's certainly better than Mr. Perfectly Fine, and if that can hit #1 here, I'm sure this can too.

Wow, I've really had enough of EDM songs that sample four lines of a song and add a beat. But, naturally, we have another one of those songs stumbling its way onto pop radio this week. This song's called Do It To It by ACRAZE and Cherish, and, as you guessed, it's awful. It's extremely repetitive with very underwhelming production. The only thing that I could praise it on would be the vocals, except that ACRAZE made them super choppy. Yeah, this song is terrible, and I really hope it doesn't debut anytime soon.

So, funny story, when I was listening to Hit-Bound last night, the last song and this one played back-to-back without even a little "EAR-poppin' music" thing in between, and I thought they were the same song. When I heard that, I was like "why the hell was there an awful two-minute long intro to an iann dior song?". Then, it jumped straight into the Most Wutchuwanted Song, and I realized that they were two different songs, which makes a lot more sense. Anyways, this next song is, as I said, by iann dior, and it's called let you. It's an extremely fun song, which seems to be a trend with iann's music, and the dance production is super fun. In addition, iann sounds great here, and the chorus is extremely catchy. I'd love for this to become a hit, because iann dior is a great artist and really deserves a second hit after Mood.

Okay, so our next song is, no joke, called SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY. Trust me, the title's a good indication of the song, as in, it's a mess. It's by Amaarae, Kali Uchis (if you remember her from telepatía earlier in the year) and Moliy. Yeah, anyways, this song's really slow and R&B-y, which just isn't my type of song anyways, but all the artists are singing extremely quietly here and the song as a whole is super boring. I'm not even sure if I'm supposed to take this song seriously or not, but judging by the title, I probably shouldn't. Either way, I don't want it to be a hit.

So, we didn't get any new Adele songs from her album 30 on Hit-Bound this week, but my most recent Hitmaker survey asked about two Adele songs, and they're both getting airplay on the channel, so I added them to the Abyss list. The first of the two songs is called Can I Get It, and it's an upbeat, guitar-filled song. This one's pretty fun. The verses evolve nicely, and I like the progression of the beat throughout the song, but I wish that the choruses stayed full energy, because they kind of drop off, and we don't even get one full energy chorus, not even at the end. That part kinda sucks, but Adele can still sell the song well with her voice, so I'm not complaining too much. This is good.

The other Adele song here is called Oh My God. This song's essentially the opposite of Can I Get It, where the verses lack energy, but it picks up a lot in the choruses. I definitely like Can I Get It more, because I think Adele sounds better in that one, and I like the production more. This one's slightly boring, and I'm finding it a little hard to get into it. It's far from bad, though.

We only lost three Hit-Bound songs this week, which is definitely a step up from the last few weeks. Anyways, we say goodbye to The Motto, i hope ur miserable until ur dead and MAMMAMIA this week. The Motto wasn't super memorable, so I don't really care that it's gone. i hope ur miserable definitely deserved to debut, especially considering it's actually somewhat of a pop hit, so I'm pretty sad that it's gone. As for MAMMAMIA, it definitely wasn't fit for pop, so I don't mind that it's gone.

As for Abyss exits, we lost Essence, Cheat Codes' Hurricane and justified. I also removed Wildest Dreams from the list, but that's only because I realized they were treating it like an old song, and it was never gonna debut. All three of these songs were good, but not very memorable, so I don't care that any of them are gone.

Best Hit-Bound Debut: It's You, Not Me (Sabotage) - Masked Wolf/Bebe Rexha

Hit-Bound/Abyss Ranking

-1 - Possibly the Worst Song I've Ever Heard:

#21: U Gurl - Walker Hayes

0 - Awful:

#20: Do It To It - ACRAZE/Cherish

#19: SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY (Remix) - Amaarae/Kali Uchis/Moliy

1 - Bad:

#18: MONEY - LISA

#17: Life Goes On - Oliver Tree

2 - Mediocre:

#16: Dynamite - Sean Paul/Sia

#15: Alone - Trevor Daniel

3 - Decent:

#14: Oh My God - Adele

4 - Good:

#13: Faking Love - Anitta/Saweetie

#12: I Feel Good - Pitbull/Anthony Watts/DJ White Shadow

#11: Can I Get It - Adele

#10: edamame - bbno$/Rich Brian

5 - Great:

#9: Have Mercy - Chlöe

#8: The Weekend - BIBI

#7: feel like s**t - Tate McRae

#6: One Day - Monsta X

#5: GHOST TOWN - Benson Boone

#4: let you - iann dior

#3: Soft Landing - JP Saxe

#2: Message In A Bottle (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift

#1: It's You, Not Me (Sabotage) - Masked Wolf/Bebe Rexha

Overall Score: 69/105 = 66%

Or Am I on the Blurb-side?

We lost four Countdown songs this week, Life Goes On, edamame, Angel Baby and You Right. I'm definitely happy that Life Goes On only spent one week on the Countdown, and I hope it doesn't re-enter. edamame was pretty good, and I'm genuinely surprised that it's already gone. I'm pretty sad that Angel Baby's gone, as it was actually really starting to grow on me. It probably would've switched to blue in the next week or two. Oh well. As for You Right, it was old and never that good, so I'm glad it's gone.

It seems as though STAY is on its last week here, which I'm okay with, because it did very well here.

I'm glad Smokin Out The Window dropped on its second week, because it's just taking up space here.

There were a couple big jumps this week from Let's go to Hell and Happier Than Ever, which is great, because I love them both.

Ghost is all the way up at #6, which is pretty cool. I'd love to see it become a top 5 hit.

Speaking of top 5 hits, Who's In Your Head is now one. I'm okay with that.

Hunh. Maybe Easy On Me won't hit #1. I'm probably speaking too soon, though.

How Hits 1 Songs Are Doing on the Hot 100

#1: Easy On Me - Adele

#2: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber

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

#4: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran

#5: Shivers - Ed Sheeran

#6: One Right Now - Post Malone/The Weeknd

#7: Fancy Like - Walker Hayes

#8: Smokin Out The Window - Silk Sonic

#9: Need to Know - Doja Cat

#10: Heat Waves - Glass Animals

#12: Way 2 Sexy - Drake/Future/Young Thug

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

#15: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo

#16: Essence - WizKid/Justin Bieber/Tems

#17: Beggin' - Måneskin

#18: Levitating - Dua Lipa

#19: You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd

#20: Kiss Me More - Doja Cat/SZA

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

#27: Meet Me At Our Spot - THE ANXIETY

#28: Girls Want Girls - Drake/Lil Baby

#29: Better Days - NEIKED/Mae Muller/Polo G

#31: Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish

#32: love nwantiti (ah ah ah) - CKay

#34: traitor - Olivia Rodrigo

#36: Ghost - Justin Bieber

#38: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X

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

#43: My Universe - Coldplay/BTS

#46: Leave The Door Open - Silk Sonic

#53: Wild Side - Normani/Cardi B

#55: Have Mercy - Chlöe

#65: Memory - Kane Brown/blackbear

#70: Take My Breath - The Weeknd

#71: Moth To A Flame - Swedish House Mafia/The Weeknd

#72: A-O-K - Tai Verdes

#80: SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY (Remix) - Amaarae/Kali Uchis/Moliy

#83: Woman - Doja Cat

#85: Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran

#87: Hurricane - Kanye West/The Weeknd/Lil Baby

#92: For Tonight - Giveon

Top 10 on the Hunger Games Countdown

#10: Don't Go Yet - Camila Cabello

#9: Bite Me - Avril Lavigne

#8: Present - Khalid

#7: Way 2 Sexy - Drake/Future/Young Thug

#6: Smokin Out The Window - Silk Sonic

#5: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber

#4: Way Less Sad - AJR
#3: Paralyzed - Sueco

#2: Let's go to Hell - Tai Verdes

#1: Lifestyle - Jason Derulo/Adam Levine

Top 10 If the Countdown Made Sense

#10: Who's In Your Head - Jonas Brothers

#9: traitor - Olivia Rodrigo

#8: Ghost - Justin Bieber

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

#6: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X

#5: Shivers - Ed Sheeran

#4: Need to Know - Doja Cat

#3: Beggin' - Måneskin

#2: Easy On Me - Adele

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

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