Hey guys! Welcome back. Hopefully this will set me on a track to be on time from here on out. Anyways, this week was pretty interesting. Lots of big movements on the Countdown, and a bunch of big new songs were released on Friday. So let's jump into it!
Songs We're Saying Goodbye To
When I'm Gone - Alesso/Katy Perry (#19) [#2] {9 weeks}
Dancing Feet - Kygo/DNCE (#7) [#7] {6 weeks}
Last Week's #1: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID (4)
#30: Thousand Miles - The Kid LAROI (DEBUT) [1 week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}
#29: First Class - Jack Harlow (+1) [#29] {2 weeks} *new peak*
#28: 10 Things I Hate About You - Leah Kate (DEBUT) [5 weeks in Hit-Bound] {1 week}
#27: TO THE MOON - Jnr Choi/Sam Tompkins (-2) [#25] {5 weeks}
#26: All 4 Nothing (I'm So In Love) - Lauv (+3) [#26] {2 weeks} *new peak*
#25: IDGAF - BoyWithUke/blackbear (+2) [#25] {5 weeks} *new peak*
#24: About Damn Time - Lizzo (+4) [#24] {2 weeks} *new peak*
#23: Weatherman - Eddie Benjamin (+1) [#18] {10 weeks}
#22: Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran (-7) [5 weeks at #1] {24 weeks}
#21: House On Fire - Mimi Webb (-1) [#20] {6 weeks}
#20: Woman - Doja Cat (-3) [#12] {16 weeks}
#19: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith (-3) [#10] {15 weeks}
#18: Sunroof - Nicky Youre/dazy (+8) [#18] {3 weeks} *new peak*
#17: Freaky Deaky - Tyga/Doja Cat (+6) [#17] {6 weeks} *new peak*
#16: Bones - Imagine Dragons (+2) [#16] {2 weeks} *new peak*
#15: Bam Bam - Camila Cabello/Ed Sheeran (-3) [#12] {8 weeks}
#14: When You're Gone - Shawn Mendes (-1) [#13] {4 weeks}
#13: Out of Time - The Weeknd (+8) [#13] {5 weeks} *new peak*
#12: Love It When You Hate Me - Avril Lavigne/blackbear (-9) [#3] {13 weeks}
#11: Big Energy - Latto (-) [#7] {14 weeks}
#10: 2step - Ed Sheeran/Lil Baby (-1) [#9] {5 weeks}
#9: The Motto - Tiësto/Ava Max (-3) [#4] {12 weeks}
#8: she's all i wanna be - Tate McRae (+2) [#8] {12 weeks} *new peak*
#7: Light Switch - Charlie Puth (-5) [1 week at #1] {14 weeks}
#6: Boyfriend - Dove Cameron (+8) [#6] {9 weeks} *new peak*
#5: COMPLETE MESS - 5 Seconds of Summer (-) [#5] {8 weeks}
#4: Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold (-) [#2] {11 weeks}
#3: As It Was - Harry Styles (+19) [#3] {4 weeks} *new peak*
#2: Sweetest Pie - Megan Thee Stallion/Dua Lipa (+6) [#2] {7 weeks} *new peak*
#1: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID (-) [5th week at #1] {14 weeks}
Last Year's #1: We're Good - Dua Lipa [1/2 weeks at #1]
Countdown Extra: Sunshine - Latto/Lil Wayne/Childish Gambino
Our first debut, at #30 this week, is The Kid LAROI's newest single (and first in 2022), Thousand Miles. I've liked pretty much everything that The Kid LAROI has put out so far. I can definitely see how some people would find his voice annoying, but I personally like it. I don't know why, I just think it's really unique, and fits his style really nicely. This song's definitely a lot less immediately catchy than his last few songs, but I think it's just as good. The melodies here, especially during the chorus, are very well-done, even if the song isn't all that catchy. Solid pre-chorus too. The production here is great, I like the mix of piano and guitar along with the trap beat. I think it all works really well together. I'm, like, 99% sure that this won't be as big as WITHOUT YOU or STAY, but I don't mind too much, because that means that it won't get overplayed, and I can just continue to enjoy this one. Very solid song, I'd love to see it do well here.
For our second and final debut of the week, we have Leah Kate, who's been announced as our newest Hits One to Watch, with her song 10 Things I Hate About You. The first thing I heard from her was F U Anthem, which was a mess in every sense of the word, so I wasn't too sold on Leah Kate as a whole. As for this one, though, it's much better. One of my biggest issues with F U Anthem was that the mixing was atrocious, and while that's still somewhat of an issue here, it's much less of one. Leah Kate sounds good here, the pop-punk production fits nicely, although I wish I could hear some of the background guitar stuff more, because it's pretty well-done. The writing in the chorus is kinda clever, with the whole counting thing, and although some of the lines are definitely a little cringey, I think "1, I hate the fact that you made me love you" is enough of a payoff to make up for the weaker lines. Easily the best line here though is right before the second chorus, "And I've got a list of why you don't get to f*** me". Honestly, I think it's even better censored, because it makes the whole thing that much more funny. So yeah, overall, this song has its flaws, but it's much more enjoyable than our last One to Watch, so I'll happily take it.
Best Debut: Thousand Miles - The Kid LAROI
Biggest Drop: Love It When You Hate Me - Avril Lavigne/blackbear (-9): I figured this was coming eventually, because it was started to fade everywhere else, but given how much Hits 1 loves both Avril and blackbear, I had my doubts. I'm definitely surprised it made it all the way up to #3, though.
Biggest Jump: As It Was - Harry Styles (+19): I mean... it was only a matter of time. I'm not particularly mad that this is all the way up here, because it's a solid song. I kinda wish it would hold off just for a bit, so we can maybe get an Em Beihold or Megan Thee Stallion #1, but I'm sure that's not gonna happen, so I've accepted it. Considering this is Harry's biggest song yet, I'm sure it'll be #1 for a very long time here. Enjoy, folks.
Countdown Ranking
0 - Awful:
#30: Weatherman - Eddie Benjamin
1 - Bad:
NONE!
2 - Mediocre:
#29: COMPLETE MESS - 5 Seconds of Summer
3 - Decent:
#28: First Class - Jack Harlow
#27: Woman - Doja Cat
#26: As It Was - Harry Styles
#25: Boyfriend - Dove Cameron
4 - Good:
#24: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith
#23: 10 Things I Hate About You - Leah Kate
#22: Sweetest Pie - Megan Thee Stallion/Dua Lipa
#21: Bam Bam - Camila Cabello/Ed Sheeran
#20: The Motto - Tiësto/Ava Max
#19: All 4 Nothing (I'm So In Love) - Lauv
#18: Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran
5 - Great:
#17: Love It When You Hate Me - Avril Lavigne/blackbear
#16: Thousand Miles - The Kid LAROI
#15: 2step - Ed Sheeran/Lil Baby
#14: TO THE MOON - Jnr Choi/Sam Tompkins
#13: Sunroof - Nicky Youre/dazy
#12: House On Fire - Mimi Webb
#11: About Damn Time - Lizzo
#10: Big Energy - Latto
#9: Freaky Deaky - Tyga/Doja Cat
#8: IDGAF - BoyWithUke/blackbear
#7: Light Switch - Charlie Puth
#6: When You're Gone - Shawn Mendes
#5: Out of Time - The Weeknd
#4: she's all i wanna be - Tate McRae
#3: Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold
#2: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID
#1: Bones - Imagine Dragons
Overall Score: 127/150 = 85%
5 Oldest Songs
#5: Love It When You Hate Me - Avril Lavigne/blackbear {13 weeks}
#4: Big Energy - Latto, Light Switch - Charlie Puth & Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID {14 weeks}
#3: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith {15 weeks}
#2: Woman - Doja Cat {16 weeks}
#1: Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran {24 weeks}
#1 Recommendation for Hits 1: Sleep Tight - Holly Humberstone
My Top 10 Songs Last Year
#10: Save Your Tears - The Weeknd (#18)
#9: Once In A Lifetime - All Time Low (#24)
#8: Beautiful Mistakes - Maroon 5/Megan Thee Stallion (#17)
#7: Wave of You - Surfaces (#28)
#6: pov - Ariana Grande (#11)
#5: forget me too - Machine Gun Kelly/Halsey (#3)
#4: Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf (#15)
#3: Way Less Sad - AJR (#12)
#2: Overdrive - Conan Gray (#2)
#1: Follow You - Imagine Dragons (#14)
Most Missed Song: Live While We're Young - One Direction
Hit-Bound
Sunshine - Latto/Lil Wayne/Childish Gambino [2]
psychofreak - Camila Cabello/WILLOW [3]
this is what falling in love feels like - JVKE [4]
Maybe You're The Problem - Ava Max [1]
That's Hilarious - Charlie Puth [3]
Skyline - Khalid [1]
Don't Lose Sight - Lawrence [8]
Love Me More - Sam Smith [1]
Where you are - PinkPantheress/WILLOW [2]
Flowers - Lauren Spencer-Smith [3]
Honest - Justin Bieber/Don Toliver [1]
Checkmate - Jena Rose [9]
Go The Distance - New Rules [4]
Words - Alesso/Zara Larsson [2]
Abyss
Chosen - Blxst/Tyga/Ty Dolla $ign
Dancing Feet - Kygo/DNCE
Don't Forget My Love - Diplo/Miguel
Get Into It (Yuh) - Doja Cat
HANDSOMER (Remix) - Russ/Ktlyn
I Can't Help But Feel - Surfaces
I Love You So - The Walters
Just a Cloud Away - Pharrell Williams
Peru - Fireboy DML/Ed Sheeran
Remind Me - Tom Grennan
Hype sucks. When an artist announces something way ahead of the release date, it just build up your expectations of the song, because you have to wait for it. Then, most of the time, it just wasn't worth the wait. This new Ava Max song, Maybe You're The Problem was announced a long time ago, and naturally, I was pretty excited when I heard it was coming, because Ava has a pretty great track record of making bops. And BOY did it actually live up to the hype. In fact, it surpassed the hype. I would honestly say that this is the best Ava Max song that I've heard. The second I heard that intro, I was immediately hooked, and knew I was in for something special, which isn't a common thing with new songs. It's so stupidly catchy, and I've had trouble getting out of my head this past week. That chorus is nothing short of masterful. Then, you have Ava's great voice, on top of a very well-done synth-driven track. Seriously, the production is so good on this one. It's super dancy, the song has nice momentum that never really drops, and the riff in the post-chorus is fantastic. I'm not so sure I'm a huge fan of the bridge yet, but I'm sure it'll grow on me. It certainly doesn't ruin the song. Overall, this is an amazing song, and I'd love to see it do well here. Great job, Ava, you did it again.
Next, we have a new Khalid song called Skyline. I've generally been a fan of Khalid, because I think he has a great voice, and can pull off a bunch of different styles. It seems like he's kind of going for a Song of the Summer thing here, and while I don't think he entirely pulled it off, it's still an enjoyable song. The bassline is super groovy, and the chorus is really catchy too, but I don't know. Something about Khalid's voice doesn't really fit here. Obviously, there's the super weird intro that's painful to listen to, but other than that, I can't really understand what he's saying most of the time. It doesn't bother me all that much, and I think he executes the song fine, I just also think it could've been much better if someone else recorded it.
Ayy, Sam Smith is back! It's been a while since they've brought us a single, with their last big one being Diamonds from 2020. I remember, actually, that song dropped the same day as Holy by Justin Bieber, and I really enjoyed both. Anyways, Sam has flip-flopped a lot between upbeat songs and slower songs lately, and with this new one, Love Me More, they really seem to be trying to find a middle. Because the tempo itself is kind of upbeat, but the song's also really chill. I think they pulled it off really well, too. I enjoy this one probably more than I should, because it has obvious flaws, but I don't mind too much. I think the song evolves nicely enough to keep me interested, and Sam sounds great throughout, too. I like the melodies here, although the chorus kinda sneaks up on me, and it's a little hard to tell that you're in the chorus when you're in it. Good song, I'd love to see it do well, although it probably won't.
...aaaand to kill our good streak of songs, we have none other than the aforementioned Justin Bieber. Funny how Sam and Justin dropped on the same day twice now. Anyways, for our final Hit-Bound debut, he teams up with Don Toliver on a song called Honest, and if you remember the last time they collaborated, they brought us Don't Go with Skrillex, which was a really messy and pretty bad song. And this song sounds pretty much identical. I'm pretty sure it even has the same chords (or at least very similar ones). The production is super weird here, and feels generally very clunky. The chorus is strange, and honestly sounds improvised. Justin doesn't sound that good here either, and doesn't really fit with the vibe of the song. Honestly, I'm surprised to say this, but the only saving grace of this song is Don Toliver. He fits much better here than Justin does, and I honestly kinda like his verse. But, yeah, I still don't want this to be a hit.
Ha. You thought I was done. Nope! We've got a song in the Abyss that I've never talked about before. Just a Cloud Away by Pharrell Williams. From *sighs* the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack. Yup. You heard me right. The movie from 2013. This song is nine years old. It came from the same soundtrack as Happy. I remember this song, and it's probably been six or seven years since I'd have a good reason to. Take a wild guess where this came from. Did you guess TikTok? Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. Enough of the clowning, though. In all honesty, this song isn't bad. Pharrell sounds good throughout, the song is pretty catchy, and the vibe is nice and chill. It's definitely not as upbeat as Happy, and I wouldn't expect it to be, because it WASn't the SINgle. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Overall, good song? Yes. Should this be on radio? Absolutely not.
As for dropouts, we say goodbye to Riptide, HANDSOMER and Speakers. Riptide was great, so I'm really sad that it only spent a week here. It deserved more. Speakers was alright, but I didn't really expect it to debut. As for HANDSOMER, it's my least favourite of the songs that left, and it's the one that moved into the Abyss... great. I doubt this will debut, but we'll see. Hits 1 likes to throw curveballs sometimes.
Best Hit-Bound Debut: Maybe You're The Problem - Ava Max
Hit-Bound/Abyss Ranking
0 - Awful:
#24: this is what falling in love feels like - JVKE
#23: I Love You So - The Walters
1 - Bad:
#22: Honest - Justin Bieber/Don Toliver
#21: I Can't Help But Feel - Surfaces
#20: Where you are - PinkPantheress/WILLOW
2 - Mediocre:
#19: HANDSOMER (Remix) - Russ/Ktlyn
3 - Decent:
#18: Get Into It (Yuh) - Doja Cat
#17: Words - Alesso/Zara Larsson
4 - Good:
#16: psychofreak - Camila Cabello/WILLOW
#15: Checkmate - Jena Rose
#14: Peru - Fireboy DML/Ed Sheeran
#13: Skyline - Khalid
#12: Just a Cloud Away - Pharrell Williams
#11: That's Hilarious - Charlie Puth
#10: Go The Distance - New Rules
5 - Great:
#9: Flowers - Lauren Spencer-Smith
#8: Love Me More - Sam Smith
#7: Remind Me - Tom Grennan
#6: Don't Forget My Love - Diplo/Miguel
#5: Sunshine - Latto/Lil Wayne/Childish Gambino
#4: Don't Lose Sight - Lawrence
#3: Dancing Feet - Kygo/DNCE
#2: Chosen - Blxst/Tyga/Ty Dolla $ign
#1: Maybe You're The Problem - Ava Max
Overall Score: 88/120 = 73%
10 Things I Bluuuuuurb Aaaaabouuuuuut Youuuuuu
Our Countdown exits this week were When I'm Gone and Dancing Feet. I got really bored of When I'm Gone really quickly, so I'm not disappointed at all that it's gone. As for Dancing Feet, I know it was fading on radio, but it shouldn't have. It especially shouldn't have dropped out at #7. It's in the Abyss for now, but we'll see how much longer this lasts.
Looks like Overpass Graffiti is probably on its last week here. I'm okay with that, even though the song hasn't stopped growing on me.
Um... nobody gonna question why Sunroof jumped eight spots? No? We're just rolling with it and moving on? Ok then.
Freaky Deaky is up at #17, which is great to see. I'd love to see this do well here.
Bones jumped to #16 on its second week here, which I think bodes well. Who knows? Maybe this will hit #1 too.
Another song that got an eight-spot jump this week was Out of Time. I've been with this song since January pretty much, so it's less new to me now than it probably is for most people, but I'm still glad to see it doing well.
Oh yeah! Ed Sheeran decided to make a remix of his newest single, 2step, and who did he choose to be on it? Lil Baby. Yup. That was a choice. But honestly? It makes the song so much better. I actually really like Lil Baby's verse here, and it makes the song feel so much more fresh and new. Another positive on top of that is that this means we'll probably get a Lil Baby #1 on the Weekend Countdown sometime in the future.
Boyfriend is all the way up at #6, and the song's started to fade on me, so... meh.
For whatever reason, Sweetest Pie jumped all the way up to #2. I'll take it, I guess. I'm still not loving the song, though.
How Hits 1 Songs Are Doing on the Hot 100
#1: As It Was - Harry Styles
#2: First Class - Jack Harlow
#3: Heat Waves - Glass Animals
#4: Big Energy - Latto
#5: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID
#6: STAY - The Kid LAROI/Justin Bieber
#8: Woman - Doja Cat
#10: Ghost - Justin Bieber
#11: THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X
#12: Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran
#13: abcdefu - GAYLE
#14: Shivers - Ed Sheeran
#15: Cold Heart (Remix) - Elton John/Dua Lipa/PNAU
#16: Easy On Me - Adele
#17: Need to Know - Doja Cat
#18: Save Your Tears (Remix) - The Weeknd/Ariana Grande
#19: One Right Now - Post Malone/The Weeknd
#21: Levitating - Dua Lipa
#23: INDUSTRY BABY - Lil Nas X/Jack Harlow
#25: Bam Bam - Camila Cabello/Ed Sheeran
#27: We Don't Talk About Bruno - Encanto Cast
#33: good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo
#34: Sweetest Pie - Megan Thee Stallion/Dua Lipa
#35: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith
#36: I Hate U - SZA
#37: Boyfriend - Dove Cameron
#38: TO THE MOON - Jnr Choi/Sam Tompkins
#39: You Right - Doja Cat/The Weeknd
#40: Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold
#41: Fancy Like - Walker Hayes
#44: pushin P - Gunna/Future/Young Thug
#46: The Motto - Tiësto/Ava Max
#47: she's all i wanna be - Tate McRae
#48: When You're Gone - Shawn Mendes
#50: About Damn Time - Lizzo
#52: Light Switch - Charlie Puth
#54: Peru - Fireboy DML/Ed Sheeran
#55: Flowers - Lauren Spencer-Smith
#57: Freaky Deaky - Tyga/Doja Cat
#70: HANDSOMER (Remix) - Russ/Ktlyn
#73: Get Into It (Yuh) - Doja Cat
#77: Circles Around This Town - Maren Morris
#81: I Love You So - The Walters
#85: COMPLETE MESS - 5 Seconds of Summer
#87: Bones - Imagine Dragons
Hunger Games Countdown Top 10
#10: Faking Love - Anitta/Saweetie
#9: Celebrity Skin - Doja Cat
#8: As It Was - Harry Styles
#7: MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X
#6: When You're Gone - Shawn Mendes
#5: make up sex - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear
#4: Sweetest Pie - Megan Thee Stallion/Dua Lipa
#3: Lifestyle - Jason Derulo/Adam Levine
#2: Paralyzed - Sueco
#1: Freaky Deaky - Tyga/Doja Cat
If the Countdown Made Sense Top 10
#10: The Motto - Tiësto/Ava Max
#9: she's all i wanna be - Tate McRae
#8: Boyfriend - Dove Cameron
#7: Bam Bam - Camila Cabello/Ed Sheeran
#6: Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith
#5: Woman - Doja Cat
#4: Sweetest Pie - Megan Thee Stallion/Dua Lipa
#3: As It Was - Harry Styles
#2: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID
#1: Big Energy - Latto
Kwaheri, everybody! See you all in the next one.
