Week of February 19, 2022 - Ed Sheeran (1)

Hi, all! I apologize that this is so late, but it's here now! So it's fine. Anyways, this week was... fine. There was a lot that happened, so I won't waste any time.

Songs We're Saying Goodbye To

I Love You So - The Walters (#29) [#29] {2 weeks}

Shivers - Ed Sheeran (#17) [14 weeks at #1] {20 weeks}

WYD Now? - Sadie Jean (#16) [#16] {5 weeks}

Last Week's #1: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X (3)

#30: Have Mercy - Chlöe (-) [#30] {3 weeks}

#29: Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold (DEBUT) [2 weeks in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#28: Do It To It - ACRAZE/Cherish (-) [#23] {11 weeks}

#27: The Joker And The Queen - Ed Sheeran/Taylor Swift (DEBUT) [1 week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#26: Closer - Saweetie/H.E.R. (DEBUT) [1 week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#25: I AM WOMAN - Emmy Meli (+2) [#25] {9 weeks}

#24: Anxiety - Coi Leray (+2) [#24] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#23: Cold Heart (Remix) - Elton John/Dua Lipa/PNAU (-10) [#2] {22 weeks}

#22: For Tonight - Giveon (+2) [#17] {19 weeks}

#21: emo girl - Machine Gun Kelly/WILLOW (+2) [#21] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#20: Woman - Doja Cat (-) [#19] {6 weeks}

#19: The Motto - Tiësto/Ava Max (+6) [#19] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#18: I Hate U - SZA (-) [#16] {6 weeks}

#17: High - The Chainsmokers (+2) [#17] {3 weeks} *new peak*

#16: Big Energy - Latto (+6) [#16] {4 weeks} *new peak*

#15: she's all i wanna be - Tate McRae (+6) [#15] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#14: GHOST TOWN - Benson Boone (-2) [#12] {11 weeks}

#13: Better Days - NEIKED/Mae Muller/Polo G (-7) [#3] {17 weeks}

#12: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith (+2) [#12] {5 weeks} *new peak*

#11: Love It When You Hate Me - Avril Lavigne/blackbear (-) [#11] {3 weeks}

#10: Ghost - Justin Bieber (-6) [#4] {21 weeks}

#9: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID (+6) [#9] {4 weeks} *new peak*

#8: Sacrifice - The Weeknd (+2) [#8] {4 weeks} *new peak*

#7: abcdefu - GAYLE (-2) [#5] {11 weeks}

#6: Light Switch - Charlie Puth (+3) [#6] {4 weeks} *new peak*

#5: One Right Now - Post Malone/The Weeknd (+3) [#5] {15 weeks} *new peak*

#4: Message In A Bottle (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift (-1) [#3] {13 weeks}

#3: Oh My God - Adele (+4) [#3] {11 weeks} *new peak*

#2: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X (-1) [3 weeks at #1] {21 weeks}

#1: Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran (+1) [1st week at #1] {14 weeks} *new peak*

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

Countdown Extra: Sunroof - Nicky Youre/dazy

Our first debut, at #29, is Numb Little Bug by Em Beihold, a song that's been blowing up recently. This song's pretty fun. I really like songs that have sad lyrics, but sound happy, and this one does that really well. The chorus is really catchy, Em Beihold sounds great throughout, and the production is fantastic. The jazzy piano fits the song really well, and I like it a lot. The writing's great, I think that was really well-done. I could go without the outro, but it doesn't ruin the song or anything. I'd say this song's just on the edge of being great. It'll probably get there next week.

...Of course this next song debuted after only one week in Hit-Bound, because it's Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift. This song's called The Joker And The Queen, and it's a remix of a song off of Ed's album =. I'm unsure why this is a radio single. It doesn't work well at all as a single. It's super boring, it hardly evolves, and the production feels really empty. Both Ed and Taylor sound great here, but that doesn't make the song interesting, unfortunately. I could also do without all the weird poker references that are not-quite snuck in there. I hope Hits 1 doesn't let this hit #1, but knowing their love for both artists, I wouldn't put it past them.

Next up is a song from Saweetie and H.E.R., called Closer. It debuts at #26 this week. This song's really fun. Both H.E.R. and Saweetie sound great here, I actually like Saweetie's rap verses, which is nice, and the production's really Doja Cat-y and upbeat. Yeah, I honestly don't have much else to say on this one. It's a great song, and I'd love to see it do well here.

Best Debut: Closer - Saweetie/H.E.R.

Biggest Drop: Cold Heart (Remix) - Elton John/Dua Lipa/PNAU (-10): Good. Hopefully this is its last week here, because I've been tired of this one for a while now.

Biggest Jump: The Motto - Tiësto/Ava Max, Big Energy - Latto, she's all i wanna be - Tate McRae & Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID (+6): Ayy! I really like all of these songs, that's awesome!

Countdown Ranking

0 - Awful:

#30: Do It To It - ACRAZE/Cherish

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

1 - Bad:

#28: The Joker And The Queen - Ed Sheeran/Taylor Swift

2 - Mediocre:

#27: emo girl - Machine Gun Kelly/WILLOW

3 - Decent:

#26: I Hate U - SZA

#25: Oh My God - Adele

#24: High - The Chainsmokers

#23: Woman - Doja Cat

#22: I AM WOMAN - Emmy Meli

#21: Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran

4 - Good:

#20: GHOST TOWN - Benson Boone

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

#18: Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold

#17: The Motto - Tiësto/Ava Max

5 - Great:

#16: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith

#15: Anxiety - Coi Leray

#14: Have Mercy - Chlöe

#13: Sacrifice - The Weeknd

#12: Closer - Saweetie/H.E.R.

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

#10: Love It When You Hate Me - Avril Lavigne/blackbear

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

#8: For Tonight - Giveon

#7: Big Energy - Latto

#6: Ghost - Justin Bieber

#5: abcdefu - GAYLE

#4: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X

#3: she's all i wanna be - Tate McRae

#2: Light Switch - Charlie Puth

#1: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID

Overall Score: 117/150 = 78%

5 Oldest Songs

#5: One Right Now - Post Malone/The Weeknd {15 weeks}
#4: Better Days - NEIKED/Mae Muller/Polo G {17 weeks}
#3: For Tonight - Giveon {19 weeks}
#2: Ghost - Justin Bieber & THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X {21 weeks}
#1: Cold Heart (Remix) - Elton John/Dua Lipa/PNAU {22 weeks}

#1 Recommendation for Hits 1: let you - iann dior (as a re-entry)

My Top 10 Songs Last Year

#10: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby (#3)

#9: Anyone - Justin Bieber (#15)

#8: positions - Ariana Grande (#23)

#7: forget me too - Machine Gun Kelly/Halsey (#19)

#6: Save Your Tears - The Weeknd (#7)

#5: drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo (#2)

#4: Lasting Lover - Sigala/James Arthur (#16)

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

#2: My Head & My Heart - Ava Max (#14)

#1: WITHOUT YOU - The Kid LAROI (#24)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Pray For Me - The Weeknd/Kendrick Lamar

Hit-Bound

House On Fire - Mimi Webb [1]

Weatherman - Eddie Benjamin [1]

We Don't Talk About Bruno - Encanto Cast [3]

Fast Times - Sabrina Carpenter [1]

Boyfriend - Dove Cameron [1]

Celebrity Skin - Doja Cat [2]

Sunroof - Nicky Youre/dazy [2]

i h8 that i still feel bad for u - Claire Rosinkranz [1]

ROOM FOR 2 - Benson Boone [1]

Every Summertime - NIKI [4]

pushin P - Gunna/Future/Young Thug [3]

So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings - Caroline Polachek [3]

Abyss

Boys Don't Cry - Anitta

I Love You So - The Walters

love nwantiti (ah ah ah) - CKay

Peru - Fireboy DML/Ed Sheeran

Record Player - Daisy the Great/AJR

Wandered To LA - Juice WRLD/Justin Bieber

When I'm Gone - Alesso/Katy Perry

So our first Hit-Bound debut this week is literally just Mimi Webb planning arson. It's called House On Fire, and it's a bop. It's more upbeat than Good Without and 24/5, and it works really well, I think. Mimi Webb still sounds fantastic here, and something that I've noticed with her music is that the production in her songs has a very distinct style. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but if you played me an instrumental of a Mimi Webb song, I'd probably be able to tell you it was from her. Anyways, yeah, this is a great song, and I hope it becomes her first Countdown debut, rather than her third Hit-Bound dropout.

Next up is our brand-new One to Watch, Eddie Benjamin with his new song, Weatherman. This song's... fine. I'm not too into his voice, he kinda sounds like a less good version of Conan Gray, but he doesn't sound bad, necessarily. The song as a whole is kinda underwhelming, but it's fun, so that makes up for it somewhat. One thing that doesn't make me hopeful, though, is that I already find the chorus kind of annoying. So that's probably not a good sign.

Sabrina Carpenter returns this week with her new song, Fast Times. This song's really forgettable. It's far from bad, Sabrina sounds good here, the production's pretty cool, but nothing about it is all that interesting. It's better than Sue Me from a bit ago, but I'm not so sure it's better than Skin from last year. I'd honestly rather not have this debut, because it would just be taking up space. All that being said, though, it's still decent.

Next up is Dove Cameron, with a new song that sounds like it came straight out of a spy movie, Boyfriend. This song's pretty good. Dove Cameron sounds great throughout, the production's kinda grandiose, which I think fits pretty well here, actually, and the writing's pretty good. The chorus is pretty catchy, and I could genuinely see this becoming a hit. I'd be fine with that.

We have yet another Claire Rosinkranz song debuting next, with this one being called i h8 that i still feel bad for u. This is her best song yet. It's kinda pop-punk, which I love, and I think Claire's voice fits really well with the guitar-driven production, which is great, by the way. The melodies here are fantastic, and I like the way the song flows. It's also almost three minutes, which is a step in the right direction. I'd love to see this become Claire's first song on the Countdown.

After giving us a piano ballad with GHOST TOWN, Benson Boone hits us with a super upbeat song with 80s drums, with his new song, ROOM FOR 2. This is easily better than GHOST TOWN. Personally, I kinda wish the 80s vibe stuck around throughout the entire song, and not just in the verses, but it doesn't bother me that much, because the rest of the production is good too. Benson Boone sounds great here, and the chorus is pretty catchy. I'd be more than fine with this becoming a hit here.

As for Hit-Bound dropouts, we lost Infinity, The Weekend, Don't Text Me When You're Drunk, To All The Boys I've Loved Before and Beg For You. I'm sad that The Weekend and To All The Boys are gone (even if the former stayed for a very long time), but the other ones are pretty forgettable, so it's fine.

Best Hit-Bound Debut: House On Fire - Mimi Webb

Hit-Bound/Abyss Ranking

0 - Awful:

#19: pushin P - Gunna/Future/Young Thug

#18: I Love You So - The Walters

1 - Bad:

NONE!

2 - Mediocre:

#17: Weatherman - Eddie Benjamin

#16: Celebrity Skin - Doja Cat

3 - Decent:

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

#14: Fast Times - Sabrina Carpenter

#13: Peru - Fireboy DML/Ed Sheeran

4 - Good:

#12: Boyfriend - Dove Cameron

#11: So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings - Caroline Polachek

#10: Wandered To LA - Juice WRLD/Justin Bieber

5 - Great:

#9: Every Summertime - NIKI

#8: ROOM FOR 2 - Benson Boone

#7: Sunroof - Nicky Youre/dazy

#6: We Don't Talk About Bruno - Encanto Cast

#5: i h8 that i still feel bad for u - Claire Rosinkranz

#4: Boys Don't Cry - Anitta

#3: When I'm Gone - Alesso/Katy Perry

#2: House On Fire - Mimi Webb

#1: Record Player - Daisy the Great/AJR

Overall Score: 70/95 = 74%

And I Know You Could Fall for a Thousand Blurbs

Our Countdown exits this week were I Love You So, Shivers and WYD Now?. I'm really glad that I Love You So is gone, even if it's not fully gone yet. Shivers left really quickly, which is kinda funny. As for WYD Now?, it was super forgettable, so I don't care about it leaving.

Have Mercy has just stayed at #30 for the past three weeks, which kinda sucks.

For some reason, Better Days is already dropping a bunch, which is really sad. I was hoping this one would have a slower descent.

Also, I just wanna point out that this is the first time this year that Ghost isn't at #4. Kinda interesting.

Light Switch is almost in the top 5! Wooh!

One Right Now and Oh My God both jumped into the top 5, which is fine, although I'm not a huge fan of either of them.

...And overtaking THATS WHAT I WANT for the #1 position is none other than Ed Sheeran with Overpass Graffiti. I would probably be more upset if the song wasn't growing on me, but it's still pretty ridiculous. I hope at least that THATS WHAT I WANT doesn't drop super quickly.

How Hits 1 Songs Are Doing on the Hot 100

#1: We Don't Talk About Bruno - Encanto Cast

#3: Easy On Me - Adele

#4: Heat Waves - Glass Animals

#5: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber

#7: abcdefu - GAYLE

#8: Shivers - Ed Sheeran

#9: Ghost - Justin Bieber

#11: pushin P - Gunna/Future/Young Thug

#12: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X

#13: Need to Know - Doja Cat

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

#15: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran

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

#17: Levitating - Dua Lipa

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

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

#22: Smokin Out The Window - Silk Sonic

#23: Oh My God - Adele

#24: I Hate U - SZA

#25: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo

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

#28: Big Energy - Latto

#29: Woman - Doja Cat

#31: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID

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

#34: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith

#36: Fancy Like - Walker Hayes

#37: You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd

#39: Meet Me At Our Spot - THE ANXIETY

#42: Essence - WizKid/Justin Bieber/Tems

#44: Kiss Me More - Doja Cat/SZA

#46: Sacrifice - The Weeknd

#49: Light Switch - Charlie Puth

#52: she's all i wanna be - Tate McRae

#61: Chosen - Blxst/Tyga/Ty Dolla $ign

#65: For Tonight - Giveon

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

#70: Do It To It - ACRAZE/Cherish

#75: I Love You So - The Walters

#77: emo girl - Machine Gun Kelly/WILLOW

#80: Peru - Fireboy DML/Ed Sheeran

#82: High - The Chainsmokers

#83: Circles Around This Town - Maren Morris

#86: Get Into It (Yuh) - Doja Cat

#91: Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold

#93: The Motto - Tiësto/Ava Max

#97: When I'm Gone - Alesso/Katy Perry

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

Hunger Games Countdown Top 10

#10: Dinero - Trinidad Cardona

#9: Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold

#8: Closer - Saweetie/H.E.R.

#7: Jigsaw - Conan Gray

#6: More Than Friends - 24kGoldn

#5: MONEY - LISA

#4: Chasing Stars - Alesso/Marshmello/James Bay

#3: Present - Khalid

#2: I AM WOMAN - Emmy Meli

#1: Celebrity Skin - Doja Cat

If the Countdown Made Sense Top 10

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

#9: Big Energy - Latto

#8: Light Switch - Charlie Puth

#7: Sacrifice - The Weeknd

#6: Woman - Doja Cat

#5: Oh My God - Adele

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

#3: abcdefu - GAYLE

#2: Ghost - Justin Bieber

#1: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X

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