Week of March 19, 2022 - Ed Sheeran (5)

Hi, everybody! Welcome back to yet another Weekend Countdown. I'd say this week was pretty good, I have quite a few things to talk about, at least. Let's not waste any more time, here are the exits for this week!

Songs We're Saying Goodbye To

Attention - Omah Lay/Justin Bieber (#28) [#28] {1 week}

I AM WOMAN - Emmy Meli (#27) [#25] {12 weeks}

Message In A Bottle (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift (#20) [#3] {16 weeks}

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

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

#30: Peru - Fireboy DML/Ed Sheeran (-) [#30] {3 weeks}

#29: WYD Now? - Sadie Jean (RE-ENTRY) [#16] {6 weeks}

#28: Sweetest Pie - Megan Thee Stallion/Dua Lipa (DEBUT) [1 week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#27: emo girl - Machine Gun Kelly/WILLOW (+2) [#21] {6 weeks}

#26: I Hate U - SZA (-) [#16] {10 weeks}

#25: Weatherman - Eddie Benjamin (-) [#25] {4 weeks}

#24: Closer - Saweetie/H.E.R. (-3) [#19] {5 weeks}

#23: Bam Bam - Camila Cabello/Ed Sheeran (+1) [#23] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#22: GHOST TOWN - Benson Boone (-12) [#10] {15 weeks}

#21: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X (-4) [3 weeks at #1] {25 weeks}

#20: We Don't Talk About Bruno - Encanto Cast (DEBUT) [4 weeks in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#19: Woman - Doja Cat (-4) [#15] {10 weeks}

#18: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith (-) [#12] {9 weeks}

#17: Big Energy - Latto (-5) [#12] {8 weeks}

#16: Dancing Feet - Kygo/DNCE (DEBUT) [2 weeks in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#15: Oh My God - Adele (+1) [#3] {15 weeks}

#14: High - The Chainsmokers (-) [#13] {7 weeks}

#13: Boyfriend - Dove Cameron (+10) [#13] {3 weeks} *new peak*

#12: COMPLETE MESS - 5 Seconds of Summer (+10) [#12] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#11: she's all i wanna be - Tate McRae (-) [#10] {6 weeks}

#10: One Right Now - Post Malone/The Weeknd (-1) [#4] {19 weeks}

#9: abcdefu - GAYLE (-3) [#4] {15 weeks}

#8: The Motto - Tiësto/Ava Max (-1) [#7] {6 weeks}

#7: Love It When You Hate Me - Avril Lavigne/blackbear (+6) [#7] {7 weeks} *new peak*

#6: When I'm Gone - Alesso/Katy Perry (-4) [#2] {4 weeks}

#5: Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold (+3) [#5] {5 weeks} *new peak*

#4: Sacrifice - The Weeknd (+1) [#4] {8 weeks} *new peak*

#3: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID (+1) [#3] {8 weeks}

#2: Light Switch - Charlie Puth (+1) [#2] {8 weeks}

#1: Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran (-) [5th week at #1] {18 weeks}

Last Year's #1: drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo [4/4 weeks at #1]

Countdown Extra: Stupid Song - Hot Chelle Rae

So before we get into any of our debuts this week, we see the return of our One to Watch song before the current one, WYD Now? by Sadie Jean. I'm definitely not upset that this is back, the song's pretty good, just a little confused is all.

So our first and lowest debut of the week, at #28, is the big release from last weekend, Sweetest Pie by Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa. I said this last week, and I'll say it again, I'm kinda disappointed by this one. Coming from two artists who have proven that they know how to make a bop, you'd expect this to really be a bop. But instead, it's just alright. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot to like here, all the verses are great, the production is well-made, and the song as a whole is extremely fun, but I think I've found what I don't like about this, and it's the hook. It's nothing particularly special, even though it's kinda catchy, and it comes back way too often for me to remember much about the rest of the song. Even though I know I like Megan's verses, I find it kinda hard to remember what they sound like. Plus, who's idea was it to make the hi-hats THAT LOUD. The hi-hats aren't so important that they need me to focus on them more than I do Dua's voice. Anyways, I'm just nitpicking at this point, it's still a good song, and I'd be okay with it being a hit here.

Well, everyone. We have a Disney song on the Weekend Countdown. The surprise smash hit from the movie Encanto has finally debuted at a very high #20 this week. I've actually really grown into We Don't Talk About Bruno, and I find it pretty great now. Elephant in the room, it's from a movie, so you do need a bit of context, or else the lyrics are pretty confusing (and also makes for some strange lines, but usually a bunch of other stuff is happening at the same time, so it's easy to ignore those ones), but other than that, the song is great. I genuinely think everybody sounds good here, especially Rhenzy Feliz and Diane Guerrero, which is pretty surprising, considering this is just the cast from a movie, but I'm very happy that that's the case. Anyways, the song is structured so that every verse is similar, but also all very unique (which makes for a great moment at the end, but I'll get to that later). I particularly enjoy how the chords switch up to major chords during Diane Guerrero's verse. The production here is excellent, and embraces the Columbian style very well, while also mixing with some more pop-ish production elements. Then, at the end, there's a big build right before everybody sings their verses at the same time. Which sounds chaotic on paper, but it's actually really cool. I'm unsure why this became such a big hit, but I'm very happy that it did, because it's a great song, and I'd love to see it last for a bit here. Lin-Manuel Miranda really is a musical genius.

Lastly, we have another song that I've grown into quite a bit recently, Kygo's newest, Dancing Feet featuring Joe Jonas' band from 2015, DNCE. I only remember a couple songs from DNCE, which are Cake By The Ocean and Kissing Strangers, but I remember loving both, so I was pretty excited when I saw that they were back. Now, I'm not sure if I would actually consider this a DNCE song, because the band isn't very prominent here, it's pretty much just Kygo featuring Joe Jonas, but I don't care. I think Kygo's a really talented producer when he makes upbeat songs, and he really lets that shine in this song. His buildup and drop during the chorus is really good, and I love the mix of his production with Joe Jonas' voice. The upbeat, trumpet-heavy production adds to the super fun vibe of this song, and I love it. Speaking of the chorus, the melody in the chorus is really great, and I'm literally obsessed with it. It's so catchy, and it's perfect for Joe Jonas' register. The only part of the song that I'm not a huge fan of is the bridge, with the, "da-da-da-da-dancing feet" part, because Joe sounds kinda nasally, but it's fine. It doesn't ruin the song. I'd love to see this do well here.

Best Debut: Dancing Feet - Kygo/DNCE

Biggest Drop: GHOST TOWN - Benson Boone (-12): Okay, yeah, I didn't expect that jump last week to last very long, and I was right. It seems as though this is this song's last week here, which I'm fine with, because it was good, but not too memorable.

Biggest Jump: Boyfriend - Dove Cameron & COMPLETE MESS - 5 Seconds of Summer (+10): I'm glad that both of these jumped into the top 15. Both are pretty good, and they're pushing out older songs, so I'm happy. Oh, wait a minute... nope, they just pushed out two rap songs. Come on, Hits 1.

Countdown Ranking

0 - Awful:

#30: Weatherman - Eddie Benjamin

1 - Bad:

NONE!

2 - Mediocre:

#29: emo girl - Machine Gun Kelly/WILLOW

3 - Decent:

#28: Oh My God - Adele

#27: I Hate U - SZA

#26: Woman - Doja Cat

#25: WYD Now? - Sadie Jean

#24: High - The Chainsmokers

#23: Peru - Fireboy DML/Ed Sheeran

#22: Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran

4 - Good:

#21: GHOST TOWN - Benson Boone

#20: Bam Bam - Camila Cabello/Ed Sheeran

#19: COMPLETE MESS - 5 Seconds of Summer

#18: Sweetest Pie - Megan Thee Stallion/Dua Lipa

#17: Boyfriend - Dove Cameron

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

#15: The Motto - Tiësto/Ava Max

5 - Great:

#14: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith

#13: Sacrifice - The Weeknd

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

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

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

#9: abcdefu - GAYLE

#8: Big Energy - Latto

#7: Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold

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

#5: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X

#4: Light Switch - Charlie Puth

#3: Dancing Feet - Kygo/DNCE

#2: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID

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

Overall Score: 121/150 = 81%

5 Oldest Songs

#5: I Hate U - SZA & Woman - Doja Cat {10 weeks}
#4: GHOST TOWN - Benson Boone, Oh My God - Adele & abcdefu - GAYLE {15 weeks}

#3: Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran {18 weeks}
#2: One Right Now - Post Malone/The Weeknd {19 weeks}
#1: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X {25 weeks}

#1 Recommendation for Hits 1: Less Than Zero - The Weeknd

My Top 10 Songs Last Year

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

#9: Anyone - Justin Bieber (#16)

#8: forget me too - Machine Gun Kelly/Halsey (#13)

#7: drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo (#1)

#6: Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf (#30)

#5: WITHOUT YOU - The Kid LAROI (#18)

#4: Overdrive - Conan Gray (#14)

#3: My Head & My Heart - Ava Max (#8)

#2: Way Less Sad - AJR (#25)

#1: Lasting Lover - Sigala/James Arthur (#19)

Most Missed Song: Sucker for Pain - Lil Wayne/Wiz Khalifa/Imagine Dragons/Logic/Ty Dolla $ign

Hit-Bound

MF - Bailey Bryan/24kGoldn [1]

Stupid Song - Hot Chelle Rae [3]

Don't Forget My Love - Diplo/Miguel [1]

Don't Lose Sight - Lawrence [2]

luv starved - GAYLE [1]

Bones - Imagine Dragons [1]

I'm Tired - Labrinth/Zendaya [2]

Remind Me - Tom Grennan [1]

F U Anthem - Leah Kate [1]

Freaky Deaky - Tyga/Doja Cat [3]

House On Fire - Mimi Webb [5]

Sunroof - Nicky Youre/dazy [5]

Another Man's Jeans - Ashe [3]

Checkmate - Jena Rose [3]

Abyss

Boys Don't Cry - Anitta

I AM WOMAN - Emmy Meli

I Love You So - The Walters

iPad - The Chainsmokers

love nwantiti (ah ah ah) - CKay

Record Player - Daisy the Great/AJR

24kGoldn has struggled to score a follow-up hit to Mood, but he's stayed pretty active despite that. Will this be the song to become his second hit? We'll see. It's MF by Bailey Bryan and 24kGoldn, and I think the song's pretty good. Both Bailey Bryan and 24kGoldn sound great here, and the production is pretty groovy, which is fun, but nothing about it is all that interesting. It feels like it's dragging a bit throughout, especially in the chorus, which kinda sucks, because 24kGoldn works best with quick, to-the-point bops. This might grow on me, it's probably just a matter of time. But for now, this just isn't really doing it for me, even if I still think it's good.

When Diplo isn't working on any of his fifteen separate side projects, he can make a pretty great song, and that really shows with this new one, Don't Forget My Love, with Miguel. I'm not too familiar with Miguel, as I believe this is his first song on Hits 1 despite having a few smaller pop hits here and there. But, if this song is any indication, I think he has a pretty good voice. It fits especially well with Diplo's chill EDM production here. The chorus is pretty simple, with just one line, and a guitar riff that builds up into a drop (in which it kinda sounds like Miguel is saying "donkey" over and over again), but I think it works. Overall, this song is just enjoyable, and I'd love for it to be a hit.

GAYLE tries once again to score a follow-up to abcdefu, with another single from her debut EP, this one being called luv starved. I think this is my least favourite song that I've heard from her so far, but I still think it's good. It's definitely less gimmicky than the last couple of songs, and actually makes an attempt at making a serious song, which I definitely appreciate. GAYLE sounds pretty great here, but I do have a couple issues with this. First of all, the song isn't too memorable. But, it's okay, it might just take a couple more listens. The other issue I have with this one is that GAYLE's production has never been that well-mixed, and that's certainly still prominent here. Other than that, though, the song's fine. 

I think I've made it pretty clear that Imagine Dragons are my favourite artist, so I was pretty excited when I saw the Act 1 label on their last album, Mercury, because it meant we were likely getting a Mercury - Act 2 in 2022, and well... here we have the first single from it, Bones! This song definitely sticks to the Imagine Dragons single formula, but it's a little more experimental than songs like Natural, Believer or Enemy. The lyrics are a little nonsensical, but the song makes up for it sonically. It has a really cool sound to it, being kinda darker, and I think Dan Reynolds' voice works really well with it. The pre-chorus is a little strange, with there being some very weird vocal effects on Dan's voice, but when they bring that back in the bridge, it makes for a really cool intensity-building moment, because they get rid of the vocal effect, and I like how well it builds up the final chorus. Yeah. Not my favourite Imagine Dragons single ever, Bad Liar is still the best single to reach Hits 1, but it's definitely great.

Next up, we have Best Song Ever by One Direction, except... nine years later and by that guy Tom Grennan, who had a couple songs on Hits 1 last year, Little Bit of Love and By Your Side with Calvin Harris. Anyways, this song is called Remind Me, and yeah, it's pretty much just Best Song Ever. The whole concept of the song is trying to remember a song, and the hook is like the whole, "woah, I'm gonna sing the melody of the song I can't remember, except without the lyrics" thing, and it even goes as far to take a line right out of Best Song Ever, "I think it went, oh-oh-oh". All that being said, though, Best Song Ever is a great song, and this is a great song too, so I'm not annoyed in the slightest. I've always been a fan of Tom Grennan's voice (although I can see how you could make a case for the other side of things, too), and I think he does well here. The chorus is pretty catchy, and I think the production is really well-done too. I'd be more than okay with this becoming a hit.

Our last Hit-Bound debut (key work being Hit-Bound) of the week is F U Anthem by somebody named Leah Kate. This is a pop-punk song, which... I mean, you could probably gather that from the title alone. Anyways, I don't really like this one. The lyrics aren't very creative, the production is a little all over the place, and it's honestly just too loud. It doesn't need to be that loud. I guess Leah Kate sounds fine here, but that's the only redeemable thing about this song.

The Chainsmokers release another song from their upcoming album this week, with this one called iPad. It didn't actually reach Hit-Bound this weekend, but it's being played on the station, and it was on the most recent survey I did, so I'm pretty sure it's officially part of the rotation. Now, I've been growing into High a little bit recently, but honestly, I think this song is better. Alex Taggart's voice has definitely gotten better since a couple years ago, so while I'm sad that they don't tend to collaborate anymore, it's okay. The production here is probably the highlight, though (aside from that awful, weirdly-pitched post-chorus). It's really well-made, and I think there's a lot that I still need to unpack, which is always a great feeling from a song.

We lost dying on the inside, ROOM FOR 2, PS5 and How Long, plus Celebrity Skin and Have Mercy from the Abyss. dying on the inside was great, but kinda forgettable so I'm fine with it going. ROOM FOR 2 was great, and should've been a follow-up hit for Benson Boone. PS5 was never destined to do well here, so I'm not surprised in the slightest that it's gone. How Long was extremely forgettable, and I'm sure I'll completely forget about it in a week or two. Freaky Deaky is much better than Celebrity Skin, so I'm not sad at all that it's gone. As for Have Mercy, I didn't really expect it to re-enter, so it's okay.

Best Hit-Bound Debut: Bones - Imagine Dragons

Hit-Bound/Abyss Ranking

0 - Awful:

#20: Another Man's Jeans - Ashe

#19: I Love You So - The Walters

1 - Bad:

#18: F U Anthem - Leah Kate

2 - Mediocre:

#17: I'm Tired - Labrinth/Zendaya

3 - Decent:

#16: I AM WOMAN - Emmy Meli

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

4 - Good:

#14: luv starved - GAYLE

#13: iPad - The Chainsmokers

#12: MF - Bailey Bryan/24kGoldn

#11: Checkmate - Jena Rose

#10: Stupid Song - Hot Chelle Rae

5 - Great:

#9: Don't Forget My Love - Diplo/Miguel

#8: Remind Me - Tom Grennan

#7: Sunroof - Nicky Youre/dazy

#6: Don't Lose Sight - Lawrence

#5: Boys Don't Cry - Anitta

#4: Record Player - Daisy the Great/AJR

#3: House On Fire - Mimi Webb

#2: Freaky Deaky - Tyga/Doja Cat

#1: Bones - Imagine Dragons

Overall Score: 74/100 = 74%

We Don't Talk About Blurb-o, No, No, No, We Don't Talk About Blurb-oooooo, BUT!

We lost Attention, I AM WOMAN, Message In A Bottle and For Tonight this week. It's kinda funny that Attention only lasted one week here, and I'm very glad that it did, because it wasn't very good. I AM WOMAN didn't really do anything here, so I'm not disappointed that it's gone. Message In A Bottle was great, and did really well here, so I'm not sad that it's gone, and For Tonight didn't even crack the top 15 despite being here for 20+ weeks, so it was just taking up space at this point, even though I still love it.

Yeah, I've decided that I really don't like Weatherman. It's super annoying.

Y'know, I've probably heard THATS WHAT I WANT 100+ times now, but I still really love it. Just shows how great of a song it actually is.

Both Woman and Big Energy were pushed out of the top 15 this week, which sucks for both of them, because they're both actually doing quite well on pop radio right now, and they're both good, especially the latter.

Love It When You Hate Me jumped back up to #7, which is great!

When I'm Gone dropped all the way back down to #6 this week, which I'm happy about, because the song wasn't that good.

Numb Little Bug is in the top five now, which is awesome! It's a fantastic song, and I love seeing it do well here.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this more high-effort post, I enjoyed writing it. We'll see how long I can keep this up, though. No promises.

How Hits 1 Songs Are Doing on the Hot 100

#1: Heat Waves - Glass Animals

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

#4: abcdefu - GAYLE

#5: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber

#6: Easy On Me - Adele

#7: Ghost - Justin Bieber

#8: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran

#9: Shivers - Ed Sheeran

#10: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X

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

#12: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID

#13: Need to Know - Doja Cat

#14: Big Energy - Latto

#15: Woman - Doja Cat

#16: Levitating - Dua Lipa

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

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

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

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

#22: I Hate U - SZA

#23: Bam Bam - Camila Cabello/Ed Sheeran

#27: Light Switch - Charlie Puth

#29: You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd

#30: Fancy Like - Walker Hayes

#31: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo

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

#35: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith

#39: Essence - WizKid/Justin Bieber/Tems

#42: Boyfriend - Dove Cameron

#48: Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold

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

#50: Meet Me At Our Spot - THE ANXIETY

#53: I'm Tired - Labrinth/Zendaya

#56: Sacrifice - The Weeknd

#57: Peru - Fireboy DML/Ed Sheeran

#64: Smokin Out The Window - Silk Sonic

#65: Circles Around This Town - Maren Morris

#67: Freaky Deaky - Tyga/Doja Cat

#71: The Motto - Tiësto/Ava Max

#76: High - The Chainsmokers

#84: Oh My God - Adele

#85: I Love You So - The Walters

#95: Do It To It - ACRAZE/Cherish

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

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

Hunger Games Countdown Top 10

#10: Boys Don't Cry - Anitta

#9: Crisis - Joshua Bassett

#8: I'm Tired - Labrinth/Zendaya

#7: Present - Khalid

#6: Paralyzed - Sueco

#5: More Than Friends - 24kGoldn

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

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

#2: Jigsaw - Conan Gray

#1: Dancing Feet - Kygo/DNCE

If the Countdown Made Sense Top 10

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

#9: Sacrifice - The Weeknd

#8: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith

#7: Light Switch - Charlie Puth

#6: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X

#5: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID

#4: Woman - Doja Cat

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

#2: Big Energy - Latto

#1: abcdefu - GAYLE

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