Week of April 2, 2022 - Imagine Dragons/JID (2)

Hey, guys! I know I've been falling behind a lot, especially with the Rankdown, but I promise I'll catch up, and we'll finish the Rankdown very soon, don't you worry. Anyways, this week was pretty interesting, even if I don't have nearly as many songs to talk about as I did the last couple of weeks. Here are our four exits (for the third week in a row, actually) for this week.

Songs We're Saying Goodbye To

iPad - The Chainsmokers (#29) [#29] {1 week}

Oh My God - Adele (#28) [#3] {16 weeks} [x2]

Peru - Fireboy DML/Ed Sheeran (#27) [#27] {4 weeks}

WYD Now? - Sadie Jean (#23) [#16] {7 weeks} [x2]

Last Week's #1: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID (1)

#30: I'm Tired - Labrinth/Zendaya (-) [#30] {2 weeks}

#29: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X (-4) [3 weeks at #1] {27 weeks}

#28: IDGAF - BoyWithUke/blackbear (DEBUT) [1 week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#27: 2step - Ed Sheeran (DEBUT) [0 weeks in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#26: TO THE MOON - Jnr Choi/Sam Tompkins (DEBUT) [0 weeks in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#25: Bam Bam - Camila Cabello/Ed Sheeran (-4) [#21] {4 weeks}

#24: Out of Time - The Weeknd (DEBUT) [0 weeks in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#23: Freaky Deaky - Tyga/Doja Cat (+3) [#23] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#22: Weatherman - Eddie Benjamin (-3) [#19] {6 weeks}

#21: House On Fire - Mimi Webb (+3) [#21] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#20: abcdefu - GAYLE (-11) [#4] {17 weeks}

#19: Dancing Feet - Kygo/DNCE (-5) [#14] {3 weeks}

#18: Closer - Saweetie/H.E.R. (+4) [#18] {7 weeks} *new peak*

#17: Boyfriend - Dove Cameron (-4) [#13] {5 weeks}

#16: COMPLETE MESS - 5 Seconds of Summer (+1) [#12] {4 weeks}

#15: Woman - Doja Cat (+1) [#15] {12 weeks}

#14: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith (+1) [#12] {11 weeks}

#13: One Right Now - Post Malone/The Weeknd (-1) [#4] {21 weeks}

#12: High - The Chainsmokers (-5) [#7] {9 weeks}

#11: Sweetest Pie - Megan Thee Stallion/Dua Lipa (+9) [#11] {3 weeks} *new peak*

#10: she's all i wanna be - Tate McRae (+1) [#10] {8 weeks}

#9: Sacrifice - The Weeknd (-1) [#4] {10 weeks}

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

#7: Big Energy - Latto (+11) [#7] {10 weeks} *new peak*

#6: Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran (-2) [5 weeks at #1] {20 weeks}

#5: Love It When You Hate Me - Avril Lavigne/blackbear (+1) [#5] {9 weeks} *new peak*

#4: The Motto - Tiësto/Ava Max (+1) [#4] {8 weeks} *new peak*

#3: Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold (-) [#3] {7 weeks}

#2: Light Switch - Charlie Puth (-) [#2] {10 weeks}

#1: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID (-) [2nd week at #1] {10 weeks}

Last Year's #1: willow - Taylor Swift [2/4 weeks at #1]

Countdown Extra: make up sex - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear

I reviewed most of this week's debuts last week, but I'll try to do more in depth reviews this time around, to spice it up a bit. Anyways, our first of four very solid debuts this week is IDGAF by BoyWithUke and blackbear at #28. If you remember BoyWithUke, he had a song that only spent a week in Hit-Bound last year, Toxic, and it was... messy to say the least. This song is much better, and I actually quite like it. It definitely helps that it's a collaboration with blackbear, he tends to elevate anything and everything he's on, but BoyWithUke would definitely hold his own if this was just his song. Anyways, easily my favourite part of this song is how catchy the chorus is. I've had trouble getting it out of my head this past week, which is always a good sign (y'know... if it's a good song). I especially like the line in the chorus, "give me back me hoodies, or I'm kicking down doors", it's kinda funny and definitely works with the song. blackbear sounds fantastic here, as he usually does, and BoyWithUke honestly sounds pretty good when the production kicks up a bit. Speaking of the production, I'm not a huge fan of when it's literally just the ukulele (but it honestly doesn't work too badly with blackbear's voice), but when it picks up in the chorus... *chef's kiss*. I really love the sound of these drums for some reason, which is something I've definitely felt with BoyWithUke's music, especially his song Two Moons. For some reason, he just uses really nice-sounding drums. Yeah, I'd love to see this do well here, and I have a feeling it might.

The next three debuts all skipped Hit-Bound, and we're starting with more Ed Sheeran... yaaaaaaaaaaaay. For some reason, Hits 1 decided that they should pick up on a non-single from =, with this one being called 2step. Honestly, though? I'm kinda feeling this one. I tend to forget that Ed Sheeran is actually a decent rapper, so it always kinda surprises me when he raps in a song, although it probably shouldn't, because it's definitely not something new for him. Ed sounds good here, particularly in the verses, although he definitely doesn't sound bad in the chorus. Just a little too low, in my opinion. I'm a really big fan of the production here, I like genre blending when it's done well, and it's very well-done here. The mix of the acoustic guitar and the trap beat blends really well here, and also works with the vibe of the song, and Ed's voice. Right now, I'd say it's Shivers > Bad Habits > 2step > Overpass Graffiti > The Joker And The Queen, but that's subject to change if Hits 1 makes me listen to this song too much (although Overpass Graffiti kinda grew on me as I heard it more, so maybe not?). Yeah, this is good for now, but it doesn't need to hit #1, okay Hits 1?

Another song that joined the Abyss last week, and debuted really quickly is TO THE MOON by Jnr Choi and Sam Tompkins. When I first saw the single art for the song (before I heard the song), I got really scared, because it was definitely a TikTok song. 'Cause, there's just something about an Elon Musk tweet that just screams "Internet" or something, idk. I've never been there. Anyways, when I listened to the song, I was pleasantly surprised, because it's a great song. The song is built around Sam Tompkins doing a bit of Talking to the Moon by Bruno Mars, a song from Doo-Wops & Hooligans that I'm pretty sure is a fan-favourite. Sam Tompkins himself sounds pretty good in his bit, but there's an effect that makes his voice kinda cut out a bit, which I don't love, but it doesn't bother me that much because his voice is kinda buried for most of the time. The best part of this song, though, is easily Jnr Choi. He really sounds like Pop Smoke, and I'm a pretty big fan of Pop Smoke, so that's definitely a good thing. Even the production has a distinct Pop Smoke vibe. Yeah, but Jnr Choi does really well here, I like how he switches up flows a bit, but still makes it all flow really well.

The Weeknd. Need I say more? It's the best debut of the week. Since Sacrifice is starting to fall, The Weeknd decided it was about time to release another single from Dawn FM. And the song he chose was Out of Time. I still would've liked Less Than Zero to be released as a single, but I'm sure it'll become the Save Your Tears of Dawn FM. Anyways, when I first heard this song, it was instantly a favourite of mine, and right now, I'd consider it my third-favourite from the album, after Less Than Zero and the five-minute long Take My Breath. This song is a lot slower than most Weeknd songs, but it's somehow still a bop, which is great. He seems to really have leaned into sounding like Michael Jackson, because this song really sounds like a slow MJ song. Which is to say, it's absolutely fantastic. First of all, the vocallllls. I am a firm believer that The Weeknd is the best vocalist of our time, and this song does nothing but prove me right. He sounds amazing both in his falsetto and in his regular voice, and the belting he does here is perfection. The chorus is super catchy, which only helps, and the production is also extremely well-fabricated, which was a trend throughout the album. You can tell just how much effort was put into the production when listening to the album, especially because it all flows together so nicely. The Jim Carrey bit at the end is a little strange outside the context of the album, but it's always funny when this song is in a playlist and Jim goes, "here's three minutes of easily listening to some slow tracks on 103.5 Dawn FM", then it launches in to a super upbeat song. Once I heard it flow into THATS WHAT I WANT, which is definitely something worth checking out. Yeah, I'd love for this to be a hit, and I have a very good feeling that it will be.

Best Debut: Out of Time - The Weeknd

Biggest Drop: abcdefu - GAYLE (-11): Yeah, I'd be fine with not hearing this song daily anymore. I still think it's a great song, and it deserved all the success it got, but I've heard way too many times for its own good.

Biggest Jump: Big Energy - Latto (+11): On the other hand, though, I love this song, and I'd love to hear it more. It just decided to randomly skyrocket to #3 on the Hot 100 this past week, which is definitely something I can get behind. This song is a bop in every sense of the word.

Countdown Ranking

0 - Awful:

#30: Weatherman - Eddie Benjamin

1 - Bad:

#29: I'm Tired - Labrinth/Zendaya

2 - Mediocre:

NONE!

3 - Decent:

#28: Woman - Doja Cat

#27: High - The Chainsmokers

#26: Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran

4 - Good:

#25: COMPLETE MESS - 5 Seconds of Summer

#24: Boyfriend - Dove Cameron

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

#22: Bam Bam - Camila Cabello/Ed Sheeran

#21: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith

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

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

#18: 2step - Ed Sheeran

#17: The Motto - Tiësto/Ava Max

5 - Great:

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

#15: Sacrifice - The Weeknd

#14: abcdefu - GAYLE

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

#12: IDGAF - BoyWithUke/blackbear

#11: Big Energy - Latto

#10: House On Fire - Mimi Webb

#9: Freaky Deaky - Tyga/Doja Cat

#8: TO THE MOON - Jnr Choi/Sam Tompkins

#7: Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold

#6: Light Switch - Charlie Puth

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

#4: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X

#3: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID

#2: Out of Time - The Weeknd

#1: Dancing Feet - Kygo/DNCE

Overall Score: 126/150 = 84%

5 Oldest Songs

#5: Woman - Doja Cat {12 weeks}
#4: abcdefu - GAYLE {17 weeks}
#3: Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran {20 weeks}

#2: One Right Now - Post Malone/The Weeknd {21 weeks}
#1: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X {27 weeks}

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

My Top 10 Songs Last Year

#10: First Time - ILLENIUM/iann dior (#26)

#9: Beautiful Mistakes - Maroon 5/Megan Thee Stallion (#20)

#8: WITHOUT YOU - The Kid LAROI (#19)

#7: forget me too - Machine Gun Kelly/Halsey (#9)

#6: Too Late - Cash Cash/Wiz Khalifa/Lukas Graham (#28)

#5: My Head & My Heart - Ava Max (#10)

#4: Overdrive - Conan Gray (#8)

#3: Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf (#21)

#2: pov - Ariana Grande (#18)

#1: Way Less Sad - AJR (#14)

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

Hit-Bound

Don't Forget My Love - Diplo/Miguel [3]

As It Was - Harry Styles [1]

Sunroof - Nicky Youre/dazy [7]

In My Head - 24kGoldn/Travis Barker [2]

make up sex - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear [2]

Remind Me - Tom Grennan [3]

I Can't Help But Feel - Surfaces [1]

Bones - Imagine Dragons [3]

Don't Lose Sight - Lawrence [4]

When You're Gone - Shawn Mendes [1]

let you - iann dior [5]

Tom's Diner - AnnenMayKantereit/Giant Rooks [2]

MF - Bailey Bryan/24kGoldn [3]

10 Things I Hate About You - Leah Kate [2]

Checkmate - Jena Rose [5]

Abyss

Chosen - Blxst/Tyga/Ty Dolla $ign

I Love You So - The Walters

iPad - The Chainsmokers

love nwantiti (ah ah ah) - CKay

Peru - Fireboy DML/Ed Sheeran

Welp. Harry Styles has announced that his new album, Harry's House will be released in May, and he released the first single from it, As It Was this past Friday. I'm sure this will be #1 on the Countdown within two months, if not sooner. But, honestly? I wouldn't mind. This is definitely one of the better Harry Styles songs that I've heard in awhile. I don't think it's quite as great or as special as the general public has made it out to be, but I can see why people like it, at least. Harry sounds pretty good here, and I like his voice in this one. Plus, the production honestly sounds like it's coming from an indie alternative band, which is definitely something I can get behind. One problem I have with this song, though, is that it feels like more should be happening in the chorus. It should at least evolve as it goes on. Honestly, even if they just turned up the freaking track, it would've sounded better. I'm also not a huge fan of the bridge there, but hey. This song's better than Adore You, so I'm taking any and all progress I can find.

Two years ago, Surfaces broke out with their TikTok hit Sunday Best. It was a pretty fun little song, and it did pretty well on pop radio, too. They've since struggled to get another hit, but they've had a couple songs reach Hits 1, neither of which was too memorable. This week, they return with their new single, I Can't Help But Feel... and this is the worst song I've heard from them. And it's so frustrating too, because there's such a simple fix that would make this song actually pretty good. Let's start with what this song does well. The bassline and the song as a whole is really groovy, and it helps move the song along really well. The little saxophone bits that come in sometimes fit really nicely, and I like them a lot. The chorus is kinda catchy, even if it's only one sentence, and the melodies are pretty great. But then you have the guy's voice. For some reason, he decided to sing in a falsetto for the entire song, and BOY does he sound bad with a falsetto. Seriously, it ruins the entire song, I can't stress this enough. If he sang just an octave lower, the song would've been good, great even. But unfortunately, the dude just sounds really bad throughout, and it makes the song bad. I really wish that this was better, and it sucks that it isn't.

For our final new song this week, we have Shawn Mendes bringing his follow-up to the heart-wrenching, It'll Be Okay, with this one called When You're Gone. This song's a lot more upbeat, and definitely more geared towards radio, which, even though I liked It'll Be Okay a lot, it definitely wasn't meant for radio. As for this one, the chorus is super catchy, the production is really dance-y, and Shawn does his ShawnScream™ in the later choruses, which always sounds really good. Shawn Mendes' songs tend to fade on me really quickly, because they're all pretty surface level, but I feel like this song still has a lot that I need to unpack, which is my favourite feeling with a song. Overall, this is a great song that I'm very excited to dive into more in the coming weeks.

This week, we say goodbye to luv starved and Stupid Song from Hit-Bound, and they've also stopped playing I AM WOMAN and Record Player, which means they're gone from the Abyss. Both luv starved and Stupid Song were good, but not great, so I don't care too much that they're gone. I AM WOMAN was on the Countdown for a while, and I was starting to get kinda bored with it, so I also don't care that it's gone. As for Record Player, it really deserved to debut, and I'm really sad that it didn't, because it was a great song. Oh, well. AJR are working on new music, so they'll be back soon.

Best Hit-Bound Debut: When You're Gone - Shawn Mendes

Hit-Bound/Abyss Ranking

0 - Awful:

#20: Tom's Diner - AnnenMayKantereit/Giant Rooks

#19: I Love You So - The Walters

1 - Bad:

#18: I Can't Help But Feel - Surfaces

2 - Mediocre:

NONE!

3 - Decent:

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

#16: Peru - Fireboy DML/Ed Sheeran

#15: As It Was - Harry Styles

4 - Good:

#14: 10 Things I Hate About You - Leah Kate

#13: MF - Bailey Bryan/24kGoldn

#12: iPad - The Chainsmokers

#11: Checkmate - Jena Rose

5 - Great:

#10: make up sex - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear

#9: Sunroof - Nicky Youre/dazy

#8: In My Head - 24kGoldn/Travis Barker

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

#6: When You're Gone - Shawn Mendes

#5: Remind Me - Tom Grennan

#4: Don't Lose Sight - Lawrence

#3: let you - iann dior

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

#1: Bones - Imagine Dragons

Overall Score: 76/100 = 76%

SAYYYYYY That I Care for You but I'm Ouuut of Bluuurbs

This week, we lost iPad, Oh My God, Peru and WYD Now?. iPad definitely should've lasted more than one week, but I think it's pretty safe to say that it'll be back. I started to get kinda sick of Oh My God, so I'm definitely not sad that it's gone. Peru is pretty much gone at this point, even though it showed up on the survey, which I'm okay with. It was a good song, but nothing ridiculously memorable. As for WYD Now?, I'm unsure why it re-entered in the first place, so whatever.

Looks like THATS WHAT I WANT is at its last week here, which I'm okay with, even though it's one of my favourite songs. It actually lasted for longer than I expected it to here, so it's fine.

Bam Bam has been flopping here, which is kinda surprising. Knowing Hits 1, though, this isn't the end for it.

NO why is Dancing Feet dropping. This song better not flop, or else there's gonna be a RANT.

Looks like High has started to fade on radio, which, even though I think it's a pretty good song, I didn't love it, so I'm fine with this.

Sweetest Pie continues to climb like crazy, which I'm... mixed on, still. I still can't shake the feeling that I'm gonna get sick of this very soon.

Love It When You Hate Me is now a top five hit, which is great. I definitely didn't expect Avril Lavigne to be in the top five at the start of this decade.

And now, let's talk about the Grammys, because that happened last night! There were TONS of performances this year compared to last year, and they ranged to laughably bad (Justin Bieber's slow version of Peaches) to me being very pleasantly surprised (H.E.R.'s absolute SLAY). Some of the best ones were Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, H.E.R., Jon Batiste and John Legend... and then there was BTS. Look, they have good stage presence, but the heavy autotune throws me off each time I see them perform. As for the awards, it was great seeing Olivia Rodrigo get three wins this year, and to see Billie get none (although I would've been fine with the title track winning). But, two things made me upset. First of all, HOW did Leave The Door Open win both Record AND Song of the year? Come ON. I mean, I know that Silk Sonic is super geared towards the Academy, but that song was NOT deserving of both major awards it was nominated for. There were so many better songs up for the same awards, and to give it to this annoying, not too memorable song was ridiculous. The second thing that make me upset was that Lil Nas X won nothing. MONTERO is a masterpiece of an album, and the fact that Old Town Road won more Grammys than his entire debut album is ridiculous. It's fine, at the end of the day, he did get nominated five times, which is more than we can say for The Weeknd last year.

How Hits 1 Songs Are Doing on the Hot 100

#1: Heat Waves - Glass Animals

#2: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber

#4: abcdefu - GAYLE

#5: Ghost - Justin Bieber

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

#7: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID

#8: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X

#9: Woman - Doja Cat

#10: Easy On Me - Adele

#11: Big Energy - Latto

#12: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran

#13: Shivers - Ed Sheeran

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

#15: Need to Know - Doja Cat

#16: Levitating - Dua Lipa

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

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

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

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

#23: I Hate U - SZA

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

#27: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo

#29: Light Switch - Charlie Puth

#31: You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd

#32: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith

#34: Bam Bam - Camila Cabello/Ed Sheeran

#36: Fancy Like - Walker Hayes

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

#42: Boyfriend - Dove Cameron

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

#49: Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold

#51: The Motto - Tiësto/Ava Max

#54: Peru - Fireboy DML/Ed Sheeran

#60: Circles Around This Town - Maren Morris

#64: TO THE MOON - Jnr Choi/Sam Tompkins

#71: Freaky Deaky - Tyga/Doja Cat

#75: High - The Chainsmokers

#78: Smokin Out The Window - Silk Sonic

#84: Tom's Diner - AnnenMayKantereit/Giant Rooks

#85: I Love You So - The Walters

#87: Bones - Imagine Dragons

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

#97: I'm Tired - Labrinth/Zendaya

#99: IDGAF - BoyWithUke/blackbear

Hunger Games Countdown Top 10

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

#9: More Than Friends - 24kGoldn

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

#7: Dancing Feet - Kygo/DNCE

#6: Celebrity Skin - Doja Cat

#5: Another Man's Jeans - Ashe

#4: MF - Bailey Bryan/24kGoldn

#3: Jigsaw - Conan Gray

#2: How Long - Tove Lo

#1: Present - Khalid

If the Countdown Made Sense Top 10

#10: Bam Bam - Camila Cabello/Ed Sheeran

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

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

#7: Light Switch - Charlie Puth

#6: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith

#5: abcdefu - GAYLE

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

#3: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID

#2: Big Energy - Latto

#1: Woman - Doja Cat

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