My Top 45 Songs of 2020

Hey guys! So 2020 is now gone and even though it wasn't a great year, it came with a ton of great songs. So today, I present to you just a few of my favourite songs of the year. Here's the rules on which songs are eligible first though. I can add any song that was on either the Weekend Countdown or the top 40 of the Hot 100 (since I started doing that this year) for at least one week in 2020. However, I can't include any song that I added in last year's list that also spent a week in 2020. This includes:

• Beautiful People - Ed Sheeran/Khalid
• Circles - Post Malone
• I Don't Care - Ed Sheeran/Justin Bieber
• Memories - Maroon 5 (not that I'd want to add this though...)
• Old Town Road (Remix) - Lil Nas X/Billy Ray Cyrus
• Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi
• Sucker - Jonas Brothers
• The Hype - Twenty One Pilots
• Time - NF
• Trampoline - SHAED
• What Am I - Why Don't We
• You Need To Calm Down - Taylor Swift

Compared to this year, last year was a cake walk in making this list. I wasn't even 50% sure what my #1 of the year was going to be before going into this. There were so many songs that I unfortunately had to cut off of the list and it really sucks that I didn't get to add them, so I'm putting an honourable mentions list here:

• Be Kind - Marshmello/Halsey
• CITY OF ANGELS - 24kGoldn
• Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift
• Falling - Harry Styles
• Go Crazy - Chris Brown/Young Thug
• Holy - Justin Bieber/Chance the Rapper
• Kings & Queens - Ava Max
• Make You Mine - PUBLIC
• Maniac - Conan Gray
• Modern Loneliness - Lauv
• My Oh My - Camila Cabello/DaBaby
• One Of Them Girls - Lee Brice
• Panini - Lil Nas X
• Savage - Megan Thee Stallion
• South of the Border - Ed Sheeran/Camila Cabello/Cardi B
• Teeth - 5 Seconds of Summer
• The Bones - Maren Morris
• The Man - Taylor Swift
• the other girl - Kelsea Ballerini/Halsey
• THE SCOTTS - THE SCOTTS
• Walk Em Down - NLE Choppa/Roddy Ricch
• Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles
• What If I Never Get Over You - Lady A
• X - Jonas Brothers/KAROL G
• You should be sad - Halsey
• 10/10 - Rex Orange County

So there was one more rule that kind of came into play here and it was that the song had to actually be released as a single. Because sometimes artists can chart entire albums on the Hot 100, some non-singles can hit the Top 40, which would technically make them eligible for this list, but they weren't actually singles. But, I still wanted to review a couple really good songs, so I added them as bonuses right here.

Bonus: #47: pov - Ariana Grande

So this was part of Ariana Grande's album from this year, Positions. It was my favourite song from the album, mostly because it's just a great ballad. Ariana sounds fantastic here and she can really work with the slower tempo and the production. That being said, the production can definitely hold up by itself. I also just think that the melody was really good. Great song.

Bonus: #46 - Scared To Live - The Weeknd

This was from The Weeknd's album After Hours. I really wish that this was released as a single. It was my second-favourite song from an... alright album. The Weeknd sounds fantastic here and although the song's a little slower, I actually kind of really love it. The Weeknd really works well with it, especially compared to Over Now with Calvin Harris and off the table with Ariana Grande. I'm still not entirely into the cut up vocals in the chorus, but other than that, this song's perfect.

Alright, let's get to the actual list now.

#45: RITMO - Black Eyed Peas/J Balvin

So I first heard this song back when the YouTube 15 was still a thing, in late(r) 2019, and if I'm being honest, I didn't love it. But since then, I decided that I really like it. I'm still not entirely a fan of the new spanish Black Eyed Peas, as MAMACITA was only good and their new song GIRL LIKE ME with Shakira isn't great. I much preferred their older stuff. But, I definitely like this song. They've somehow found a way to have a female artist in every song ever since they lost Fergie, which I definitely appreciate and this time around it came in the form of a sample from the song The Rhythm of the Night by Corona (an unfortunate name) anyways, I think the sample was really well-used here and the guys from BEP and J Balvin work really well with it. Also, somehow, J Balvin works with this song. Yeah, I'm not sure how either.

#44: High Fashion - Roddy Ricch/Mustard

Okay, so elephant in the room, this is the first of four Roddy Ricch songs on this list... consider me a pretty big fan, I guess. Especially since there were only seven songs from him eligible for this list. Anyways, this was definitely one of my favourites. I think Roddy Ricch sounds pretty good here and Mustard's production is great and just brings everything together really nicely. The chorus is also pretty catchy, which is always a good thing to have on a rap song.

#43: Breaking Me - Topic/A7S

Okay, quick sidetrack, but I'm pretty good at recommending songs for Hits 1. Out of the 28 songs that I recommended, 11 of them were picked up by Hits 1. That's a 39% success rate. Obviously, I'm mentioning this because I recommended this song back in the day. (A few other notable ones are Bang!, Lose Somebody, Harry's Falling, RITMO, Lemonade, The Box and Savage Love) Anyways, this was definitely one of my favourite EDM songs of the year. A7S sounds a bit like good old LewCap (Lewis Capaldi) and since I like LewCap's voice, this doesn't bother me in the slightest. Topic's production is also very reminiscent of Imanbek's production in Roses (Spoiler: this is definitely higher up on the list) so overall, just a really good song.

#42: I Hope - Gabby Barrett/Charlie Puth

Yeah, so I think that it's safe to say that Hits 1 gave this song its start when Charlie Puth remixed it and when they first started playing it, I loved it. But when it eventually went to radio everywhere else, radio just decided to murder it. That being said, I still do like this song and I think Charlie Puth works surprisingly well with a country song. Gabby Barrett also sounds pretty good here and overall, it's just a really solid song. But yeah, radio definitely killed its placement on this chart.

#41: Dynamite - BTS

Boy, did BTS surprise me with this one. I'm generally not a big fan of k-pop or BTS in particular (with the exception of Make It Right, but that was mostly because of Lauv) but BOY did they make a radio song with this one. It's extremely catchy and just a lot of fun to listen to. I think it helps that the entire song is sung in english and I can actually understand it, (no offense, but it's just easier to appreciate songs when I know what they're saying) but I was surprised nonetheless. Plus, somehow BTS just went ahead and did a key change? A key change automatically elevates a song to a whole new level, as they just sound really good and I think they did it really well here. A few more examples of how to properly do a key change come from Good Thing by Zedd and Kehlani, betty by Taylor Swift and The Woo by Pop Smoke. Personally, I think I got a little sick of this song and if I didn't, it'd probably be higher here, but this is still a pretty good placement for a BTS song.

#40: Whats Poppin - Jack Harlow

Yeah, so Hits 1 started more widely accepting rap and let a lot more rap songs on Hits 1 than the last few years combined. This was definitely one of the best and I was seriously considering whether I wanted this version, or the remix the was on the Hot 100. Ultimately, I went with the original, even though I really like Tory Lanez's verse. Literally the only reason that this is better is because Lil Wayne's verse in the remix is terrible. Anyways, Jack Harlow has some really great flow here and I think he's pretty promising as a rapper. The piano line also fits surprisingly well here. Good song.

#39: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo

Yeah, so somehow, Justin Bieber ended up being my #1 artist of 2020 on Spotify and I think it was entirely due to me literally shuffling every Justin Bieber song for an entire day and listening to that for around 9 hours... maybe. That being said, there were still some Justin Bieber songs that I liked from this year, and although this was his only song to make the actual list, Holy was an honourable mention and is still eligible for next year. Anyways, I think the production was the best part in this song. It was only just pretty cool and I think it was pretty well put together. Justin Bieber sounds great here and Quavo's voice is alright. He doesn't really add much, but he doesn't make the song worse either, so he's kind of just there.

#38: What A Man Gotta Do - Jonas Brothers

Yeah, so the Jonas Brothers released three songs from an upcoming album this year, but the last one they released was in, like, May, so I'm not entirely sure what's up with that. Anyways, this was the lead single and it was really good. Definitely not as good as Sucker, but I'd say it's better than Only Human and Cool... okay, definitely Cool. All of the guys sound great here and the song is so much fun. They just sound like they're having a lot of fun doing this song, even in the production. Great song.

#37: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi

Gosh, this would be so much higher if Hits 1 had've just let it go a bit earlier. This is still a great song though, even if I don't like it anywhere close to as much as I liked it when it was first released. I've always liked LewCap's voice and I think he sounds pretty good here too. The production's definitely more interesting in this one than in Someone You Loved and I think the writing's better here too. Overall, just a good song that was definitely killed by radio.

#36: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa

Dua Lipa was so snubbed this year on the Countdown. First, she released Don't Start Now, which jumped all the way up to #2, but was blocked by Harry Styles' Adore You. Right now, Levitating is peaking at #2, while being blocked by Harry Styles' Golden and this song was blocked by Harry Styles' Watermelon Sugar. Dang Harry Styles. I think this song was killed a bit by radio, but I definitely still really like it. Dua sounds great and the production's really groovy, but all that being said, I'd still consider it the worst single from Future Nostalgia. Don't Start Now, Physical and Levitating are all better than it. Still good though.

#35: The Other Side - SZA/Justin Timberlake

So, the second Trolls movie was released this year, but had to be released digitally for obvious reasons. Quick sidetrack, but I watched the first Trolls movie... gosh, it was really bad. Obviously, it was meant for kids, but I just found myself checking my watch constantly and not really watching it. Anyways, this song was released from the second movie and it's fantastic. I really like SZA when she strays away from R&B and does a more pop-ish song. Plus, Justin Timberlake's just really good. This song flopped and I honestly can't think of a single good reason why. It's fantastic and it deserved so much more success than it got.

#34: Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat) - Jawsh 685/Jason Derulo

So yeah, this again probably would've been much higher had it not been played on radio so much. That being said, it's still a very good song. Jason Derulo's already a fantastic artist, and this is what happens when he gets his hands on an instrumental Tik Tok song. Just a straight-up great song. Jawsh 685's production is already great, but then you just throw Jason Derulo's vocals into the mix and it's just honestly really really good. I'm glad this hit #1 on the Hot 100, even if it was the pretty bad BTS remix.

#33: Let There Be Love - Ananya Birla

This was 100% the best song to come out of the Ones to Watch thing that Hits 1 started doing this year. It was the only One to Watch that I'd actually consider great and only one of two that I'd consider good (the other one being Holding On by iann dior). I have absolutely no clue why this song did nothing on the Weekend Countdown, but I sure am glad that it was One to Watch, or else it probably never would've debuted the Countdown. But yeah, this song is great. Ananya sounds really really good here and that production is just really good. Especially the drop, I think it was really well-done, especially considering there was no DJ on this.

#32: In Your Eyes - The Weeknd

So The Weeknd had a really great year this year, scoring the #1 song of the year on Billboard with Blinding Lights (which definitely shows up on this list). However, this was a great song that definitely deserved to do better than it did on the charts. It has a similar vibe to Blinding Lights, but it's different enough that it didn't just seem like a carbon copy. The same can be said for Save Your Tears, even if I don't love that one. The disco vibe in this is great and Abel sounds amazing as always. By the way, there was a Doja Cat remix of this song and it's definitely not as good as the original. Yeah, a great song though and it definitely deserved better.

#31: Monsters - All Time Low/Demi Lovato/blackbear

Yeah, so All Time Low score a couple songs on my list this year, the first one being this. This has actually started to become a mainstream hit, not just on Hits 1, which is great. That's probably entirely because of Demi Lovato, but whatever. I would say that I like the original, but I'm not quite sure anymore. I've grown a newfound appreciation for the remix, as it just kind of makes it feel more fresh and although Demi doesn't fit in too well, she still fits in enough to not make it feel awkward. Other than that, I'm a sucker for pop-rock, so I was pretty much guaranteed to like this. All Time Low have a great sound and that really shines here and blackbear's verse is also great. Yeah, I hope this continues to get more weeks at #1 on the Weekend Countdown and I hope that it becomes a Top 40 hit on the Hot 100.

#30: Into the Unknown - Panic! At The Disco

Yeah, so this was the only Panic! At The Disco song to be on the Countdown this year and it was actually released in 2019. So yeah, I kind of miss Panic! At The Disco. They were kind of excessive on Hits 1 closer to the end of 2019, so I was getting a little sick of them, kind of like what they were doing with blackbear halfway through 2020, but I like Brendon Urie again. This song is for sure no exception. Brendon Urie sounds fantastic here and I think he works spectacularly with this song. The song itself is also just extremely cinematic and it's much better than the original. I wish that this was actually a hit and that it didn't flop on the Countdown and do nothing anywhere else.

#29: hot girl bummer - blackbear

So Hits 1 became hardcore blackbear fans this year for seemingly no reason, but I'm definitely not complaining. This was his first song this year and it was actually a pretty big hit. I really like this song. blackbear sounds great here and I really like what he did with the melody here. It's really simple and repetitive, but it works really well with the song. Aside from the inconsistent censoring in the chorus that I don't really feel like mentioning right now, this is a great song.

#28: Sunday Best - Surfaces

Wow, I had quite a journey with this song. I first heard it back when the YouTube 15 was a thing in August 2019 and I hated it. Like, really despised it. That was mostly because of his voice. Then, it became a Tik Tok song when that started making hits and it debuted Hits 1 and I still really hated it. But then I realized that it was actually just a lot of fun and the guy's voice could be easily overlooked. I really enjoy this song now, and I'm really happy that it became such a big hit.

#27: Wishing Well - Juice WRLD

So this song dropped out of Hit-Bound, but it hit the Top 40 on the Hot 100 and was released as a single, so it's still eligible for this list. I really enjoyed this song while it was a hit. I think Juice WRLD sounds good here. Not nearly as good as he sounds in songs such as Lucid Dreams or Come & Go, but good nonetheless. This song was pretty catchy too and I really like the production here. The writing's also good.

#26: Fallin' (Adrenaline) - Why Don't We

Yeah, so Why Don't We just recently released an album and this was the very first single from it. It quickly became their biggest hit just by debuted on the Hot 100 during its debut week and personally, I'm quite glad that it did. It's by far the best song that I've heard from them and I think that if they do more songs that sound like this, I could be very interested in what they have to bring to the table. I think the whole feel of the song was really well-done here. It feels like there's constant momentum through the song, but not too much to feel rushed. All the guys sound great here too and the build-up to the last chorus is easily the best part of the song.

#25: Don't Start Now - Dua Lipa

So this song was the lead single from Dua's new album, Future Nostalgia and it did a very good job of introducing what that album had to bring. Just a lot of retro-sounding greatness. This song went for a bit more of a disco vibe than can be heard in songs like Break My Heart or Levitating, but I really like it. I think her voice sounds great with the song too and even though this faded on me while it was here, it's been long enough now that I like it again. This was a great song it definitely deserved to hit #1 at least for a week while Adore You was on its #1 run.

#24: The Woo - Pop Smoke/50 Cent/Roddy Ricch

So Pop Smoke started to blow up this year after he sadly died earlier this year. I'm really glad that he got success this year, since I really like his stuff and it's really sad that he can't even see all of his success. Anyways, I think that this was definitely the best single from Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon. All of the artists here sound great. I love both Roddy Ricch and 50 Cent's verses and Pop Smoke's hook and verse are both great. I also love the key change for the final chorus. The guitar too sounds really good here. Overall, just a really solid song and I'm happy that it was a hit on the Hot 100.

#23: Nice To Meet Ya - Niall Horan

So this was a hit very early on in the year and I'm so glad that it was. This was easily the best Niall Horan single from this year, leagues better than anything else he released and it honestly kind of sucks that it wasn't a huge hit anywhere other than Hits 1. Niall sounds really good here and I like the structure for the song that he does here. It kind of just follows its own structure and I really like that. The production too here is really good and I think the instrumentation was near perfect. This was a really great song and I'm super happy that it logged eight weeks at #1 on the Weekend Countdown.

#22: Lose You To Love Me - Selena Gomez

So this song was released in October 2019 and it really became a big hit and for great reason. It's easily Selena Gomez's best song and I really like it, which is great coming from somebody who really doesn't generally like Selena Gomez and her music. Hands To Myself is probably one of my least-favourite songs of all time. Anyways, Selena sounds fantastic here and the instrumentation was really good and evolved enough to keep it pretty interesting. Overall, this is just a really fantastic song that definitely deserved all of the success that it got.

#21: Blueberry Faygo - Lil Mosey

So this song became a hit entirely because of Tik Tok and I'm super happy that it did. It's a really great song. For starters, it's just extremely catchy and the hook can easily get stuck in your head. On top of that, Lil Mosey sounds really good throughout the song. This song was just a ton of fun and I feel like it's actually kind of forgettable and a lot of people probably forgot that it existed. Which is a shame, because it was a very good song.

#20: Heartless - Diplo/Julia Michaels/Morgan Wallen

So Diplo's started a weird country project. Not sure what that's about, but whatever because this song's great. It only lasted two weeks on the Weekend Countdown, but that was enough to make it eligible for this list. In my opinion, the original version of this without Julia Michaels is just decent. Morgan sounds really bad in the first verse, which is the part that was edited out in the remix, so it just makes the song that much better. Julia Michaels sounds really good here and she works very well with the song. It's honestly just a fun song that I can never get sick of. I wish this was a bigger hit.

#19: Roses (Remix) - SAINt JHN/Imanbek

So this was actually a remix of a 2018 song by SAINt JHN and it only blew up because of (you guessed it) Tik Tok. It ended up becoming a huge hit on the Hot 100 and actually did pretty well on Hits 1, despite them not putting it high enough on the Countdown earlier on. It stayed long enough to rack up more than a few points though, don't you worry. I really like this song. Even though the high-pitched vocals are a bit weird and I would much prefer if the song was adjusted so that it didn't have to be so high, Imanbek's thumping production really just makes the song great and I love it a lot. Great song.

#18: Don't Let It Break Your Heart - Louis Tomlinson

I find it really funny when a song only lasts a week on the Countdown. It somehow makes the song much more memorable than if it had a three-to-four week run and sometimes those songs are really good, so it's nice that they're known for something. Last year, the one-weeker Power is Power by SZA, The Weeknd and Travis Scott cracked the top 10 on my list and this one winds up a bit lower, but still pretty high. Louis Tomlinson sounds really good here and the song overall is just really feel-good. I just really can't find anything wrong with this song.

#17: Some Kind of Disaster - All Time Low

So this is the second All Time Low song that I mentioned earlier when I was reviewing Monsters. I really love this song. As I said before, I love pretty much anything pop-rock, especially coming from bands such as Imagine Dragons, Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco, but I think if All Time Low can score more hits, they could definitely end up in that list alongside those bigger bands. This song didn't do great anywhere else, but it had a pretty good run on Hits 1. I think the instrumentation in this song is fantastic and Alex Gaskarth sounds really good with it. This song was super fun while it was here and I really love it.

#16: Dance Monkey - Tones And I

Okay, so unpopular opinion kind of, but then again, not really because it was a huge hit. Anyways, I think Tones And I's voice actually has some charm to it and I don't really find it all that hard to listen to. Pair that with some cool production and a super catchy chorus and you have a great song. That's all I have to say.

#15: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby

Yeah, so this is my favourite single from Future Nostalgia and it's currently on its run everywhere and gaining too. It has all of that Future Nostalgia charm. Great production, great vocals, the chorus being very catchy. Then, pair that with a great verse from DaBaby and it just makes it feel really fresh and distinguishes it from Don't Start Now and Break My Heart. Yeah, that's really all I have to say about that except that I really hope that it manages to hit #1 on the Weekend Countdown and become Dua's first #1.

#14: Godzilla - Eminem/Juice WRLD

Yeah, so I've never actually had the privilege to review this song on my blog before, as it had its run on the Hot 100 before I did those reviews, but I listened to it and really enjoyed it while it was a hit. I've always had a deep respect for Eminem, because he's a great writer, then on top of that, he can really rap. Him and Kendrick Lamar are the most talented rappers in my opinion. Eminem really shows off his rapping skills in this song and obviously, he broke his own record for the fastest rap in a song. Pair that with a pretty solid chorus from Juice WRLD and then top that off with a great bassline and fantastic production... I have no words. It's just a great great song.

#13: The Box - Roddy Ricch

So this was a huge hit this year, racking up a whopping eleven weeks at #1 on the Hot 100. I'm so glad that it did too. I became a huge Roddy Ricch fan and this kicked it all off. The funny thing is though, I actually really didn't like this song when I first heard it. That was back when I really didn't like rap and hadn't really given it a chance. Nowadays, a song like this would immediately go to green here. It has fantastic production and a great beat. Roddy Ricch also sounds really good and I quite like his voice (if I haven't made that clear at all on this post). I wish this spent more than just two weeks on the Weekend Countdown.

#12: exile - Taylor Swift/Bon Iver

Yeah so despite this only logging a couple weeks in the Top 40 of the Hot 100 due to folklore's release, it was officially released as a single, thus making it eligible for this list. Plus, I just released that this is the only exclusive-Hot 100 song on this list that didn't make Year-End. Anyways, this song is fantastic. It's easily the best song from folklore (though some may disagree) and both Taylor and Justin Vernon have great voices and they work really well together. The production's simplistic, but with their voices and the writing, it hits in a way that still really gets me every time. I really love this song and I'm really sad that it didn't take off as an official single.

#11: ROCKSTAR - DaBaby/Roddy Ricch

So this song was actually really surprisingly a huge pop hit, despite being a song by two pretty well-known rappers. I think most of the reason for that was DaBaby's chorus, which he actually does really well on. In my opinion, I think he should sing more hooks, because if he did that more often, he could make more big mainstream songs like this. The beat is also really good and I like when the bassline drops out a bit near the end of DaBaby's verse. Roddy's verse is also really good. It's definitely not one of his best performances and I think the song would've been just fine without him, but he's definitely welcome. This is a fantastic song and it deserved to do much better on Hits 1.

#10: Rain On Me - Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande

I wasn't going into this song with high expectations at all because I thought that the song would be a really really weird combo. Boy, was I wrong. The first few times that I listened to it I didn't love it, but boy did that change (clearly). This song is just an absolute bop. I've liked what both Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande have had to offer before, but this just elevated both of them to a whole other level. I'm so glad that this hit #1 on the Hot 100, even if only for its debut week. It's just so much fun and it deserved all of its success.

#9: Hard To Forget - Sam Hunt

Boy, I did not see this one coming. Especially when I first heard it. My first thought was: "Wow, this is a really really strange song." Now, I just love it. I think everything just falls together really well even though I really wasn't expecting it too. The sample fits pretty well with the song, the trap beat also works pretty well and Sam Hunt's voice fits really well here too. Keep in mind that this is the guy that did Body Like A Back Road, one of, if not THE worst country hit ever. Yeah, I'm not sure why I really fell in love with this, but boy did I.

#8: ROXANNE - Arizona Zervas

(Silently ignores those first few weeks on Hit-Bound when I absolutely hated this song) Wow, this is a really great song. Especially coming from a pretty much nobody, this was a fantastic introduction from him to the world. I'd love to see him make another song like this. The main reason that I love this so much is that it's just so much fun. None of this should work, but it does and it works so well. The song's ridiculously catchy and Arizona Zervas honestly sounds pretty good here. I'm also just gonna pretend that the Swae Lee remix doesn't exist, because although it doesn't make the song bad, it makes it worse. Yeah, I'm really glad that this was a hit and I'm upset that it was snubbed of a #2 peak on the Hot 100 just because of Christmas songs.

#7: Lose Somebody - Kygo/OneRepublic

It's pretty much impossible for OneRepublic to make a bad song. They're pretty much just incapable. This song is DEFINITELY no exception to that, being one of my favourite songs from them, but Counting Stars, Loved Runs Out, I Lived and Apologize are all also great. Kygo really just pulls this song together and his production here is actually really good. Pair that with some great vocals from Ryan Tedder and great lyrics too and you just have a pretty solid song that's good enough to make top 10 on my Year-End list.

#6: Take What You Want - Post Malone/Ozzy Osbourne/Travis Scott

I'm pretty sad that this song didn't make the top 5, but all of the other songs are really fantastic and it would've been really hard to beat them. However, I will say that from here on out, all of the songs are better than my #2 from last year, I've Been Waiting. So that's saying something for the year in music. Post Malone had a fantastic album with Hollywood's Bleeding with nearly all of the singles from it being fantastic. I mean, come on, who could forget Sunflower or Circles? I can see this and Goodbye being a little more forgettable, this one especially, since it wasn't as big of a hit, but this should've been a bigger hit. Everything about it is great. Ozzy Osbourne delivers a great hook, Post Malone kills in his chorus and verses and Travis Scott has a fantastic verse too. Bring in the guitar solo too and it gives it enough momentum to hit #6 on my list this year. This deserved so much more than just three weeks on the Countdown.

#5: Mood - 24kGoldn/iann dior

When I first heard this song, I knew that it was fantastic, but I didn't think that it would blow up anywhere, especially considering that the first thing we got from him was CITY OF ANGELS, which flopped. But boy, was I wrong. This song's currently sitting at #2 on the Hot 100 and has 8 weeks at #1 logged already. Both artists here sound fantastic and the song's just so catchy. It's one of the most catchy songs of the year and yeah, I'd say the most catchy rap song of the year. I'm so glad that this was a huge hit and I'm really excited for what else both of these artists have to offer (Coco by 24kGoldn is pure perfection).

#4: Lemonade - Internet Money/Gunna/Don Toliver/NAV

So I was considering saving this song for next year, but it's actually losing quite a bit of momentum, which sucks. I'm not too sure it would've been that memorable to get as high on my list as it did this year. Anyways, all that being said, this song is just absolutely fantastic. The main thing that pulls you in at the start is that hook with the great production and Don Toliver just fitting fantastically where he is. Actually, everybody fits in super well with their parts and I think that's one of the reasons this song is so great. In fact, I think the remix with Roddy Ricch and Don Toliver just gave me a greater appreciation for this one, because although Roddy Ricch's verse was fantastic and if that was on this song, it probably would be at #2, they replaced both Gunna and NAV's verses with a Don Toliver verse and I hated that. Both Gunna and NAV had fantastic verses and Don Toliver's really only suited for the chorus. So yeah, this song is great and it sucks that it dropped out of Hit-Bound.

#3: Bang! - AJR

Ok so I have a lot to talk about here. I pretty much discovered this song and I take FULL credit for its success (not really, but I'm still gonna lay out some facts for ya). I first heard this song when it was first released, all the way back in February 2020, nearly a year ago. A solid three months before it was added to Hit-Bound and a solid five months before it hit the Hot 100. Now, it's a freaking TOP TEN hit on the Hot 100. Yeah, you heard that right. AJR sitting at #8 on the HOT 100. I've always really liked AJR and I think they're really good at what they do, but they just took this song and practically perfected their formula. They did some of the over-the-top stuff that's almost too prominent in songs like Burn the House Down and 100 Bad Days, which is probably why people don't love those songs, but they did it in a way so that it was still there, but it wasn't so in-your-face that it was a turn-off, which is exactly how they got a top 10 hit. If they keep doing songs like this, pushing the barriers of how loud and in-your-face they can be without going too far across the line, I think they'd have a few more hits and they should do that instead of being a little boring like what they've been doing with Bummerland and My Play.

#2: Come & Go - Juice WRLD/Marshmello

Ok so you've probably figure out by now what my #1 of the year is, and you were probably expecting it for a while. But guys, you have NO IDEA how close it was. Either one of the top 3 easily could've been at the #1 spot and there's really one main reason why I picked the next song, but I'll get to that later, we're talking about this song now. So this Juice WRLD and Marshmello both worked in the studio together, so this was probably finished already and wasn't just put together by Marshmello and I think that definitely shows here. For starters, Juice WRLD sounds fantastic here. His voice is right where it needs to be for it to sound fantastic. On top of that, Marshmello's production and drop is just so good. It's kind of a rock-EDM fusion but it just works so well. I'm not even kidding, I listened to this song, like, eight times on the day it was released and I still love it. I'm so glad that it hit #1 on the Countdown, if even only for a week.

So before I get to my #1 of the year, I'm just gonna flashback to my top 10 favourite songs from last year.

#10: Time - NF

#9: Sunflower - Post Malone/Swae Lee

#8: Power is Power - SZA/The Weeknd/Travis Scott

#7: Don't Give Up On Me - Andy Grammer

#6: Higher Love - Kygo/Whitney Houston

#5: Body Talks - The Struts/Kesha

#4: Trampoline - SHAED

#3: Be Alright - Dean Lewis

#2: I've Been Waiting - Lil Peep/ILOVEMAKONNEN/Fall Out Boy

#1: Bad Liar - Imagine Dragons

Here it is...

#1: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd

Man, what to say about this song that hasn't already been said? It's freaking ICONIC at this point. I honestly wouldn't really be surprised if it was the #1 song of the 2020s. You'd have to have a pretty big song to beat this one for that spot. I loved this from the very start, I recommended it for weeks on end before Hits 1 finally gave in and added it to Hit-Bound. It spent pretty much most of its run on the Countdown in purple for me, it's STILL in the top 5 on the Hot 100 and it broke that record for most weeks in the top 5. Honestly, the reason that it beat out Bang! and Come & Go is just because of how huge it is and how big of a staple it was for this year. It deserved all of the success that it got and I'm so happy that it was so huge. This song deserved so much better from the Grammys. If you asked be though if I prefer this song or my #1 from last year, Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons... oof. That's a really tough question. Bad Liar is one of my favourite songs of all time by my favourite band of all time, but Blinding Lights is honestly just a fantastic song. I think in the end, I'd pick Bad Liar, but so slightly.

Anyways, that's all for now guys. I apologize that I wasn't as on top of my list this year as I was last year, but it's out now. My next Year-End post will be the Top 30 of 2020 from Hits 1, then the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 of 2020 will be last. If you haven't yet, or you didn't know about it, I highly suggest you go do my brand new rankdown, the 2020 Countdown Extras Rankdown. Have a good day everybody! Kwaheri, and I'll see you all on Saturday.

If the Countdown Made Sense: Week of June 20, 2020 - The Weeknd (8)

Songs We're Saying Goodbye To
Adore You - Harry Styles (#30) [#3] [x2]
Circles - Post Malone (#29) [#3] [x2]

#30: Oh My God - Alec Benjamin (RE-ENTRY) [#30] {-15} *new peak*
#29: Don't Start Now - Dua Lipa (-2) [#2] {N/A}
#28: X - Jonas Brothers/KAROL G (-) [#16] {-15}
#27: Supalonely - BENEE/Gus Dapperton (RE-ENTRY) [#24] {-15}
#26: Toosie Slide - Drake (-) [#11] {N/A}
#25: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots (-2) [#10] {-15}
#24: Maniac - Conan Gray (-4) [#17] {-15}
#23: Heartless - Diplo/Julia Michaels/Morgan Wallen (+2) [#23] {N/A} *new peak*
#22: Midnight - Alesso/Liam Payne (+2) [#22] {-15} *new peak*
#21: Be Kind - Marshmello/Halsey (+1) [#16] {-15}
#20: Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles (-2) [#18] {-15}
#19: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa (-) [#10] {-15}
#18: No Judgement - Niall Horan (-1) [#16] {-15}
#17: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi (-1) [#8] {-15}
#16: Old Me - 5 Seconds of Summer (+5) [#16] {-15} *new peak*
#15: death bed (coffee for your head) - Powfu/beabadoobee (-) [#8] {+4}
#14: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber (-6) [#5] {+13}
#13: Sunday Best - Surfaces (-3) [#6] {-2}
#12: Blueberry Faygo - Lil Mosey (+2) [#12] {+14}
#11: ROCKSTAR - DaBaby/Roddy Ricch (-) [#11] {N/A}
#10: Roses (Remix) - SAINt JHN/Imanbek (-5) [#5] {+15}
#9: The Box - Roddy Ricch (-3) [#6] {+15}
#8: I Hope - Gabby Barrett/Charlie Puth (+5) [#8] {+15} *new peak*
#7: Falling - Trevor Daniel (+2) [#5] {+10}
#6: Savage - Megan Thee Stallion (+6) [#6] {+15} *new peak*
#5: Rain On Me - Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande (-2) [#3] {+15}
#4: The Bones - Maren Morris (+3) [#4] {+4}
#3: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo (+1) [#3] {+15}
#2: Say So - Doja Cat (-) [3 weeks at #1] {+14}
#1: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd (-) [8th week at #1] {+13}

Biggest DROP!!!: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber (-6)

Biggest Jump: Savage - Megan Thee Stallion (+6)

Hit-Bound

Banana (Minisiren Remix) - Conkarah/Shaggy/DJ Fle [3]

Bang! - AJR [4]

Black And White - Niall Horan [3]

Breaking Me - Topic/A7S [2]

Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift [2]

Daisies - Katy Perry [3]

Don't Rush - Young T & Bugsey/Headie One [1]

Falling - Harry Styles [3]

Kings & Queens - Ava Max [4]

Let's Fall in Love for the Night - FINNEAS [4]

Like That - Doja Cat/Gucci Mane [4]

MAMACITA - Black Eyed Peas/Ozuna/J. Rey Soul [2]

Man - JoJo [2]

Moral of the Story - Ashe/Niall Horan [4]

Together - Sia [4]

Ur So F**kInG cOoL - Tones And I [3]

17 - Pink Sweat$ [4]

100 Ways - Jackson Wang [4]

Kwaheri, everybody! See you all soon.

If the Countdown Made Sense: Week of June 13, 2020 - The Weeknd (7)

Hit-Bound dropouts follow the same rules as countdown dropouts.

Songs We're Saying Goodbye To

If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe/Julia Michaels (#30) [#26]

me & ur ghost - blackbear (#28) [#28]

I Love Me - Demi Lovato (#25) [#16]

In Your Eyes - The Weeknd (#9) [#9]

Last Week's #1: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd (6)

#30: Adore You - Harry Styles (RE-ENTRY) [#3] {N/A}

#29: Circles - Post Malone (RE-ENTRY) [#3] {N/A}

#28: X - Jonas Brothers/KAROL G (RE-ENTRY) [#16] {-15}

#27: Don't Start Now - Dua Lipa (+2) [#2] {N/A}

#26: Toosie Slide - Drake (-12) [#11] {N/A}

#25: Heartless - Diplo/Julia Michaels/Morgan Wallen (RE-ENTRY) [#25] {+3} *new peak*

#24: Midnight - Alesso/Liam Payne (+2) [#24] {-15} *new peak*

#23: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots (-1) [#10] {-15}

#22: Be Kind - Marshmello/Halsey (+5) [#16] {-15}

#21: Old Me - 5 Seconds of Summer (+3) [#21] {-15} *new peak*

#20: Maniac - Conan Gray (-3) [#17] {-15}

#19: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa (-9) [#10] {-15}

#18: Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles (-) [#18] {-15}

#17: No Judgement - Niall Horan (-1) [#16] {-15}

#16: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi (-8) [#8] {-15}

#15: death bed (coffee for your head) - Powfu/beabadoobee (+8) [#8] {+10}

#14: Blueberry Faygo - Lil Mosey (+6) [#12] {+15}

#13: I Hope - Gabby Barrett/Charlie Puth (+8) [#12] {+13}

#12: Savage (Remix) - Megan Thee Stallion/Beyoncé (-1) [#11] {+15}

#11: ROCKSTAR - DaBaby/Roddy Ricch (+1) [#11] {N/A} *new peak*

#10: Sunday Best - Surfaces (-3) [#6] {+5}

#9: Falling - Trevor Daniel (-4) [#5] {+8}

#8: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber (-2) [#5] {+12}

#7: The Bones - Maren Morris (-3) [#4] {+3}

#6: The Box - Roddy Ricch (+9) [#6] {+15} *new peak*

#5: Roses (Remix) - SAINt JHN/Imanbek (+14) [#5] {+14} *new peak*

#4: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo (-1) [#3] {+7}

#3: Rain On Me - Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande (+10) [#3] {+13} *new peak*

#2: Say So - Doja Cat (-) [3 weeks at #1] {+12}

#1: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd (-) [7th week at #1] {+11}

Biggest DROP!!!: Toosie Slide - Drake (-12)

Biggest Jump: Rain On Me - Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande (+10)

Hit-Bound

Banana (Minisiren Remix) - Conkarah/Shaggy/DJ Fle [2]

Bang! - AJR [3]

Black And White - Niall Horan [2]

Breaking Me - Topic/A7S [1]

CITY OF ANGELS - 24kGoldn [3]

Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift [1]

Daisies - Katy Perry [2]

Falling - Harry Styles [2]

In Your Eyes - The Weeknd [1]

Kings & Queens - Ava Max [3]

Let's Fall in Love for the Night - FINNEAS [3]

Like That - Doja Cat/Gucci Mane [3]

MAMACITA - Black Eyed Peas/Ozuna/J. Rey Soul [1]

Man - JoJo [1]

Moral of the Story - Ashe [3]

Oh My God - Alec Benjamin [3]

Ride It - Regard [2]

RITMO - Black Eyed Peas/J Balvin [2]

Supalonely - BENEE/Gus Dapperton [2]

the other girl - Kelsea Ballerini/Halsey [3]

Together - Sia [3]

Ur So F**kInG cOoL - Tones And I [2]

17 - Pink Sweat$ [3]

100 Ways - Jackson Wang [3]

Kwaheri, everybody! See you all soon.

If the Countdown Made Sense: Week of June 6, 2020 - The Weeknd (6)

Songs We're Saying Goodbye To
Circles - Post Malone (#29) [#3]
Supalonely - BENEE/Gus Dapperton (#24) [#24]
RITMO - Black Eyed Peas/J Balvin (#19) [#17]
Daisies - Katy Perry (#18) [#18]
X - Jonas Brothers/KAROL G (#16) [#16]

Last Week's #1: Say So - Doja Cat (3)

#30: If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe/Julia Michaels (-4) [#26] {-15}
#29: Don't Start Now - Dua Lipa (-1) [#2] {N/A}
#28: me & ur ghost - blackbear (RE-ENTRY) [#28] {-15} *new peak*
#27: Be Kind - Marshmello/Halsey (-7) [#16] {-10}
#26: Midnight - Alesso/Liam Payne (+1) [#26] {-15} *new peak*
#25: I Love Me - Demi Lovato (-3) [#16] {-15}
#24: Old Me - 5 Seconds of Summer (-1) [#23] {-15}
#23: death bed (coffee for your head) - Powfu/beabadoobee (-15) [#8] {+4}
#22: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots (RE-ENTRY) [#10] {-15}
#21: I Hope - Gabby Barrett/Charlie Puth (-6) [#12] {N/A}
#20: Blueberry Faygo - Lil Mosey (-6) [#12] {N/A}
#19: Roses (Remix) - SAINt JHN/Imanbek (RE-ENTRY) [#14] {+10}
#18: Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles (+3) [#18] {-15} *new peak*
#17: Maniac - Conan Gray (+8) [#17] {-15} *new peak*
#16: No Judgement - Niall Horan (+1) [#16] {-15} *new peak*
#15: The Box - Roddy Ricch (-2) [#13] {N/A}
#14: Toosie Slide - Drake (-2) [#11] {N/A}
#13: Rain On Me - Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande (DEBUT) [1 week in Hit-Bound] {+15}
#12: ROCKSTAR - DaBaby/Roddy Ricch (DEBUT) [0 weeks in Hit-Bound] {N/A}
#11: Savage (Remix) - Megan Thee Stallion/Beyoncé (-) [#11] {N/A}
#10: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa (-) [#10] {-6}
#9: In Your Eyes - The Weeknd (+21) [#9] {+5} *new peak*
#8: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi (+1) [#8] {-3} *new peak*
#7: Sunday Best - Surfaces (-1) [#6] {+11}
#6: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber (+1) [#5] {+15}
#5: Falling - Trevor Daniel (-) [#5] {+15}
#4: The Bones - Maren Morris (-) [#4] {+8}
#3: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo (-) [#3] {+13}
#2: Say So - Doja Cat (-1) [3 weeks at #1] {+6}
#1: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd (+1) [6th week at #1] {+5}

Biggest DROP!!!: death bed (coffee for your head) - Powfu/beabadoobee (-15)

Biggest Jump: In Your Eyes - The Weeknd (+21)

Hit-Bound

Banana (Minisiren Remix) - Conkarah/Shaggy/DJ FLe [1]

Bang! - AJR [2]

Black And White - Niall Horan [1]

CITY OF ANGELS - 24kGoldn [2]

Daisies - Katy Perry [1]

Falling - Harry Styles [1]

Heartless - Diplo/Julia Michaels/Morgan Wallen [2]

If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know) - The 1975 [2]

Kings & Queens - Ava Max [2]

Let's Fall in Love for the Night - FINNEAS [2]

Like That - Doja Cat/Gucci Mane [2]

Moral of the Story - Ashe [2]

Oh My God - Alec Benjamin [2]

Ride It - Regard [2]

RITMO - Black Eyed Peas/J Balvin [1]

Supalonely - BENEE/Gus Dapperton [1]

the other girl - Kelsea Ballerini/Halsey [2]

Together - Sia [2]

Ur So F**kInG cOoL - Tones And I [1]

X - Jonas Brothers/KAROL G [1]

17 - Pink Sweat$ [2]

100 Ways - Jackson Wang [2]

Kwaheri, everybody! See you all very soon.

Week of May 30, 2020 - The Weeknd (6) [FULL CHART REVIEW!]

The Weeknd (6)

Man, what a week for my 1-Year Anniversary to land on. So turns out, the countdown was shortened to 30 songs. Is this permanent? Probably, but I’m not certain. This is kind of a disappointment, because Hits 1 probably won’t pick up on any of the smaller hits anymore, and the 2020 Ultimate Rank… we’ll figure that one out. For the time being, that’s still happening. This does have its perks though, as Hits 1 won’t keep songs around for nearly as long as they used to (as you may be able to see from our list of exits) and the voting poll is finally back to normal. Unfortunately, I had to stop If the Countdown Made Sense, because it would be pretty much identical to the countdown. If not, very close. I’m already planning a replacement though. We do have a bunch of good songs that managed to survive this, but a bunch of good songs that left too. Anyways, this week is full chart review week, so I’ll be going over every single song currently on the countdown right now. A few changes will be made to the weekly posts, mostly in regards to the top 20 ranking. I decided I would just rank the entire countdown, because it’s only 10 songs more than I normally would, and 20 is over half anyways. That also means I’ll be combining my top/bottom 5 picks into that as well. Of course this week there will be no blurbs, as I’m reviewing every song anyways. So I say we start this thing with our whopping record-breaking list of 17 (!) exits. (Fun fact, 17 also made a re-entry this week in Hit-Bound. Coincidence? I think not.) Oh, yeah! Event 2 on the Weekend Countdown Olympics is live! And you have to redo Community Rankings! (The #80-#71 one)

Songs We’re Saying Goodbye To
Dance Monkey - Tones And I (#45) [#21] {30 weeks}
South of the Border - Ed Sheeran/Camila Cabello/Cardi B (#44) [#7] {23 weeks}
ROXANNE - Arizona Zervas (#43) [#9] {25 weeks}
Graveyard - Halsey (#42) [#3] {36 weeks}
hot girl bummer - blackbear (#41) [#4] {19 weeks}
Nice To Meet Ya - Niall Horan (#40) [8 weeks at #1] {32 weeks}
What A Man Gotta Do - Jonas Brothers (#38) [#2] {17 weeks}
Teeth - 5 Seconds of Summer (#36) [2 weeks at #1] {31 weeks}
Adore You - Harry Styles (#34) [10 weeks at #1] {24 weeks}
I’m Ready - Sam Smith/Demi Lovato (#32) [#31] {3 weeks}
You should be sad - Halsey (#29) [#6] {16 weeks}
Circles - Post Malone (#27) [2 weeks at #1] {35 weeks}
The Man - Taylor Swift (#23) [#7] {15 weeks}
Stupid Love - Lady Gaga (#22) [#9] {12 weeks}
Modern Loneliness - Lauv (#21) [#17] {13 weeks}
Don’t Start Now - Dua Lipa (#18) [#2] {23 weeks}
My Oh My - Camila Cabello (#12) [#5] {20 weeks}

Last Week’s #1: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd (5)

#30: Roses (Remix) - SAINt JHN/Imanbek (+7) [#30] {3 weeks} *new peak*
#29: Like That - Doja Cat/Gucci Mane (DEBUT) [1* week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}
#28: Rain On Me - Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande (DEBUT) [1* week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}
#27: CITY OF ANGELS - 24kGoldn (+12) [#27] {4 weeks} *new peak*
#26: X - Jonas Brothers/KAROL G (+2) [#26] {2 weeks} *new peak*
#25: RITMO - Black Eyed Peas/J Balvin (+8) [#25] {7 weeks} *new peak*
#24: Supalonely - BENEE/Gus Dapperton (-) [#17] {9 weeks}
#23: Ride It - Regard (+12) [#23] {5 weeks} *new peak*
#22: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber (+3) [#22] {3 weeks} *new peak*
#21: death bed (coffee for your head) - Powfu/beabadoobee (+10) [#21] {10 weeks} *new peak*
#20: Oh My God - Alec Benjamin (-3) [#17] {6 weeks}
#19: me & ur ghost - blackbear (-5) [#14] {13 weeks}
#18: Be Kind - Marshmello/Halsey (+2) [#18] {4 weeks} *new peak*
#17: Falling - Trevor Daniel (-1) [#14] {8 weeks}
#16: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots (-3) [#11] {7 weeks}
#15: In Your Eyes - The Weeknd (-5) [#10] {6 weeks}
#14: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo (+16) [#14] {12 weeks} *new peak*
#13: Sunday Best - Surfaces (+6) [#13] {10 weeks}
#12: Midnight - Alesso/Liam Payne (+14) [#12] {5 weeks} *new peak*
#11: If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe/Julia Michaels (+4) [#10] {15 weeks}
#10: Maniac - Conan Gray (-8) [#2] {12 weeks}
#9: The Bones - Maren Morris (+2) [#9] {5 weeks} *new peak*
#8: Old Me - 5 Seconds of Summer (+1) [#7] {9 weeks}
#7: I Love Me - Demi Lovato (+1) [#7] {12 weeks}
#6: Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles (+1) [#6] {12 weeks}
#5: Say So - Doja Cat (-2) [#3] {21 weeks}
#4: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi (+1) [#2] {17 weeks}
#3: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa (+3) [#3] {6 weeks} *new peak*
#2: No Judgement - Niall Horan (+2) [#2] {12 weeks}
#1: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd (-) [6th week at #1] {15 weeks}

Last Year's #1: Sucker - Jonas Brothers [10/13 weeks at #1]

Countdown Extra: Daisies - Katy Perry

Well… should I go through all 17 exits? Yeah, probably. Our first is Dance Monkey. I liked this song, but it was getting kind of old. Although I do wish it got more success. Next up is South of the Border. It was also old, but also good. ROXANNE left next, and it was fantastic, and I’m sad it’s gone. Graveyard also left. That was the oldest song on the countdown, and I didn’t love it anyways. Another exit was hot girl bummer, and that was a good song, if not getting a little old. Nice To Meet Ya also left, and it was a great song, but old. What A Man Gotta Do kind of flopped, and I’m fine with that although it was good. Teeth was getting really old and stayed here for too long, Adore You LEFT!!! YES!!! I’m Ready was a flop, which sucks since it was pretty good. You should be sad was good. Circles was also old, but it was fantastic. If I could go and redo my top 45 of 2019 list, this would for sure be higher. The Man was alright for Taylor Swift standards. I lost interest in Stupid Love, so I’m not disappointed. Modern Loneliness was fantastic, and I’m sad it was a flop. Don’t Start Now was getting a little old, but good, and I lost interest in My Oh My. There you go.

Since our beloved countdown was shortened, it makes it quite a bit easier to do a full chart review this week. So there’s a bonus. We’ll start with our #30 (ouch) being the Imanbek Remix of Roses by SAINt JHN. I’m pretty glad this song survived this week, since it’s really good. I listened to the original, and yeah, this is for sure better. The bass-heavy production really adds a lot to the song, and really fits with this song. The pitched-up vocals actually sound decent, although it’s a little hard to hear the lyrics. Overall, a really great song, and I’m glad it’s currently a hit. Oh also, this is the first time the bottom spot on the countdown has jumped from last week.

Actually our first of two debuts this week, both of which skipped Hit-Bound. At #29, this one’s called Like That by Doja Cat and Gucci Mane. I think I’m actually turning around a bit on this one. (Go ahead, gasp) Although I still don’t like Doja’s rapping, which is probably what prevents this from being green, I’ve come to tolerate her singing voice, and this is less overplayed and more catchy than Say So. Also, Gucci Mane surprisingly adds a lot to the song, making it feel a little less like a carbon copy of Say So. Although I don’t love the bridge, overall this is a decently solid song. I could see it doing well here and everywhere.

Immediately after our first debut, we have our second called Rain On Me by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. As predicted, this grew on me. I learned to tolerate Gaga’s speaking voice a little more, and in all honesty, Ariana makes this song a lot better. Other than that, the song’s extremely catchy. I really like the contrast between Gaga and Ariana’s voices, and they really make the other’s voices stand out. I started listening to Chromatica, Gaga’s new album, and I didn’t love it, but I’m glad this is still good.

This is another song that I’m really glad survived this, at #27, called CITY OF ANGELS by 24kGoldn. I’ve explained why I like this before. I really like his voice, and it’s really unique. I think it fits really well with the song, and I like his accent when he yells “no!”... I’m not sure why. The guitar sounds really good in this song, and overall the chorus is pretty great. My only problem with this is that it’s under two minutes, which is really short. But overall, a great song that I’m glad is still here despite the massive cuts.

At #26, we have last week’s debut, X by the Jonas Brothers and KAROL G. I feel like I could literally just copy-paste last week’s review and it would all still apply. This song is an absolute bop, excelling vocally, and while KAROL G doesn’t add too much to the song, it really doesn’t bring down the song at all. As I expected, it didn’t debut too high on the Hot 100, so this could be a flop, but I have no doubts it’ll do well here. I like the latino vibe.

Another song that I’m glad survived at #25, RITMO by the Black Eyed Peas and J Balvin. I like the Rhythm of the Night sample, and it fits well with the song. Although this song is starting to get slightly annoying, due to overplay on my local radio station, I still like it quite a bit. J Balvin feels a little lifeless when he’s rapping, and it’s in spanish and I don’t understand it, but will.i.am and Corona sound pretty good, although that’s an unfortunate rapper name based on the current circumstances. I think this has already hit its peak globally, so I can’t see this going too much higher than it is now, but I still like it.

Although not my least favourite song on the countdown without Adore You, I definitely don’t like this next one, Supalonely by BENEE and Gus Dapperton. It feels way too meme-y, and although the production’s cool and it’s kind of groovy, I really can’t get behind either BENEE or Gus’ voices here. BENEE’s is heavily layered with autotune, and Gus’ is… not. One of my least favourite lines is “I been lonely by the way” near the end. No, I don’t know why, I just really hate it every time I hear it. Yeah, not a great song.

Coming in at #23, we have the remix of a Jay Sean song, Ride It, by Regard. I don’t love this. The pitched-down vocals really don’t sound that good, and if I were him, I definitely would’ve pitched them up, even if that would’ve sounded a little high… or you know, just change the key, and make it not that low. What I don’t like is that this was such an easy fix, but he went with the pitched-down vocals anyways. Although this is undoubtedly catchy, the production just really doesn’t do it for me. In the original or this, really. I’d rather this not be a hit… even though it already is… hold on. Just ignore me for a second while I go and have a crisis.

This next song at #22 came out a few weeks ago, and I’d say it still holds up, although not as good. Stuck with U by Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber really just got overshadowed by Rain On Me, I feel. This was for charity, and although it’s an incredible vocal performance from both artists, it being one of Justin’s best, this feels a little forgettable. I mean, just a few weeks ago, it was a huge release, and after a week, I kind of forgot it existed. We’ll see how it does here, since this is still fairly early in its run, and I’d honestly be fine if it was a hit.

My new least favourite countdown song, just outside of the top 20, we have death bed by Powfu and beabadoobee. It’s pretty obvious why this isn’t great, it’s the same two lines repeated over and over again by beabadoobee with some mediocre rapping overtop of it by Powfu. That’s right. OVERTOP of the two lines. They don’t just bring it back in the chorus, in which case I’d like it a whole lot better, no. He raps overtop of it. Also, for some weird reason, Hits 1 edited it so it sounds like a breakup… which makes it a whole lot worse, because it loses the half-decent writing that it had. Yeah, this isn’t great.

At #20, we have one of the five non-hits left on the countdown. It comes from Alec Benjamin’s new album, These Two Windows, and it’s called Oh My God. This is just your typical Alec Benjamin song, with his high unemotional voice, and it’s just a really boring song. I feel like a lot of his stuff is just underwhelming, and the production leaves a lot to be desired. I think if he collaborated with a DJ it would turn out really well. No? Tell me what you think of that idea.

The third of five non-hits, (the first being CITY OF ANGELS), at #19 we have me & ur ghost by blackbear. I’m really surprised this outlasted hot girl bummer, because that song was a much bigger hit than this. Overall, I think this song’s more boring than hot girl bummer. It’s much different, being kind of chill, but I preferred hot girl bummer’s upbeat vibe. The production actually leaves quite a bit to be desired. I find it odd that it’s still here, but whatever.

Coming right up in at #18, we have the new Marshmello song with Halsey, Be Kind. I predicted this would be the song of the summer, and I’m officially stepping away from that prediction. Although I think it had potential to be that, it didn’t score as well as I thought it would. Halsey actually sounds quite good, and compared to the singles from Manic, this is much better. There’s no drop, but Marsh’s production is noticeable, and pretty good. This is a really good song.

Next up, we have a song that re-entered (which I think is another reason they shortened the countdown) called Falling by Trevor Daniel. I don’t like this song. Although the song’s catchy, and the production’s fine I guess, I really don’t like his voice. It brings down this song so much. In the pre-chorus, the pitched-up background vocals really don’t sound that good. I really wish this wasn’t a hit, but it is, so oh well.

At #16, we have Twenty One Pilots with Level of Concern. I think this song’s decently forgettable, because I constantly forget about it, but I still really like this song. Tyler Joseph’s unique vocals really shine here, and the production is pretty great. It’s not that catchy, but I really like the chorus. TOP’s sound is always unique and cool, so this is good. Better than most of the singles from Trench.

My personal favourite countdown song, In Your Eyes dropped five spots this week. I listened to the other In Your Eyes, by Robin Schulz and Alida, and it’s also good. But this song’s great. The only reason I like it better than Blinding Lights right now is because it’s newer. It gives off a bit of the same vibe, but also a bit of a different vibe, because the saxophone actually adds a lot to the 80s-type production. Abel’s vocals are really good, and I hope this becomes just as big a hit as Blinding Lights. Although I doubt it will.

I was actually kind of scared that Intentions by Justin Bieber and Quavo survived this, but I guess Hits 1’s finally accepted that this is a hit. I’ve almost always been a fan of Justin’s vocals, and this is no exception. This is extremely catchy, and is for sure a step up from Yummy. I think the production’s actually really cool here, and Quavo’s voice is honestly decent. Overall, this is a great hit.

Back up at #13, we have our current #1 on the Hunger Games Countdown, Sunday Best by Surfaces. This is such a fun song, and although I didn’t like it at first, I quite love it now. The guy’s voice honestly doesn’t sound that bad, and has become a lot more tolerable. This song is really catchy, upbeat, and just a ton of fun, which I don’t think anyone could hate. There’s no way these guys are getting another hit, but this is good in the meantime.

Another one of the non-hits here, at #12 surprisingly, we have Midnight by Alesso and Liam Payne. I’m actually really glad this is up in the top 20. It’s pretty fantastic. Liam’s voice is the best it’s ever been, and Alesso’s production is pretty good, especially the drop. I don’t have much else to say here, except that it’s really good.

JP Saxe and Julia Michaels come in at #11 with If the World Was Ending. This song’s kind of boring if I’m being honest. JP’s voice isn’t great, and I can almost fall asleep listening to it. But other than that, it’s not terrible.

Starting off the top 10, we have the biggest drop this week, dropping from #2, Maniac by Conan Gray. I consider this a hit, despite it having not charted on the Hot 100 yet, although I think it will soon. This is a really upbeat song, and it’s pretty catchy. Conan’s voice sounds pretty good, and I was really surprised to find out he didn’t have an accent. I sincerely thought he was British. This probably didn’t deserve to be #2 here… but whatever, I’m not complaining.

I’d say this next song at #9 is fairly new here, The Bones by Maren Morris. This is the biggest country song right now, and for good reason. Maren Morris actually sounds spectacular in this song. Like, just really really good. The song’s really catchy, and I find it surprisingly suitable for a pop audience. This is better than her last three songs that have been on Hits 1, GIRL, Rich and The Middle. This is a fantastic song that deserves to be even higher than this.

Six non-hits? Ah shoot, I counted wrong. Okay, Hits 1 is still fine. Of course, it’s 5SOS with Old Me at #8. This is alright. It’s not bad, but it’s not good either. It’s really forgettable and kind of boring. I also think the clean version interrupts the flow of this song. So yeah, this isn’t great.

At #7, we have I Love Me by Demi Lovato. Meh. This song’s alright. I for sure lost interest in it since its Hit-Bound debut. It’s definitely better than Anyone, but not as good as I’m Ready, which we lost this week. This song feels boring, and suffers from the exact same problems as Old Me.

I was really surprised this next song didn’t hit the top 5, since it got re-released last week. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles is #6, and I forgot how much I liked this song because of the weird run it had. It’s really catchy, and the production is fantastic here. Harry actually sounds really good here, and I have no doubt that this will hit #1 here. Actually, I think it has a really good shot at hitting the top 5 on the Hot 100.

Starting the top 5, we have Say So by Doja Cat. This song is extremely annoying. I’ve heard it way too much, and I really don’t like this at all anyways. Her voice in the chorus honestly isn’t great, compared to Like That, and the rapping still isn’t good. Although the song’s really groovy, and the production is admittedly pretty good, her vocals bring this down a lot for me, and the sheer repetitiveness of it also brings it down.

At #4, we have Lewis Capaldi’s second slow hit, Before You Go. It’s taking a really long time, but I can definitely see it in the top 5 on the Hot 100 in the next few weeks. I honestly don’t hate Lewis’ voice, and although it’s a bit gravelly, I don’t think it’s a turn-off, I think it actually adds quite a bit of charm to his voice. The writing’s fantastic in this song, being about one of his friends who took his own life, and it’s also really catchy. I’d love to see this be the song that dethrones Blinding Lights whenever that may happen.

A top 5 debut this week, Break My Heart by Dua Lipa comes in at #3. This song’s really groovy, and for sure better than Don’t Start Now, which left this week. Dua sounds really good, and the chorus is really great.

Niall Horan’s No Judgement hits #2 this week, and this is another forgettable song that’s only here because Hits 1 stans One Direction members. It’s alright. It’s slow, which I don’t really like, and it gets very boring at points. That being said, Niall’s vocals are still really good, so it doesn’t go in red, just blue for being boring.

And for the sixth week in a row at #1, we have Blinding Lights by The Weeknd. I could easily see this being the #1 of the year, and at this rate, it for sure could be. The cut this week might not help it, but I think it’ll still have a good shot. I’ve already explained why I like this countless times, so I don’t really feel the need to again, but I hope it stays at #1 even longer.

Biggest DROP!!!: Maniac - Conan Gray (-8)

Biggest Jump: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo (+16)

Full Countdown Ranking

0 - Crap:
#30: death bed (coffee for your head) - Powfu/beabadoobee
#29: Supalonely - BENEE/Gus Dapperton
#28: Falling - Trevor Daniel

1 - Bad:
#27: Say So - Doja Cat
#26: Ride It - Regard

2 - Mediocre:
#25: If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe/Julia Michaels
#24: Old Me - 5 Seconds of Summer
#23: me & ur ghost - blackbear
#22: No Judgement - Niall Horan
#21: Oh My God - Alec Benjamin

3 - Decent:
#20: I Love Me - Demi Lovato
#19: Like That - Doja Cat/Gucci Mane

4 - Good:
#18: Maniac - Conan Gray
#17: Roses (Remix) - SAINt JHN/Imanbek
#16: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber
#15: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa
#14: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots

5 - Great:
#13: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi
#12: Be Kind - Marshmello/Halsey
#11: X - Jonas Brothers/KAROL G
#10: RITMO - Black Eyed Peas/J Balvin
#9: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo
#8: Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles
#7: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
#6: Rain On Me - Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande
#5: Midnight - Alesso/Liam Payne
#4: CITY OF ANGELS - 24kGoldn
#3: Sunday Best - Surfaces
#2: The Bones - Maren Morris
#1: In Your Eyes - The Weeknd

Overall Score: 103/150 = 69%

5 Oldest Songs
#5: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo, Maniac - Conan Gray, I Love Me - Demi Lovato, Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles & No Judgement - Niall Horan {12 weeks}
#4: me & ur ghost - blackbear {13 weeks}
#3: If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe/Julia Michaels & Blinding Lights - The Weeknd {15 weeks}
#2: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi {17 weeks}
#1: Say So - Doja Cat {21 weeks}

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Lose Somebody - Kygo/OneRepublic

My Favourite Song Last Year: Power is Power - The Weeknd/Travis Scott/SZA

My Least Favourite Song Last Year: bad guy - Billie Eilish

Hit-Bound

If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know) - The 1975 [6*]

Together - Sia [2*]

the other girl - Kelsea Ballerini/Halsey [3; 2nd time*]

I Hope - Gabby Barrett/Charlie Puth [6***]

The Box - Roddy Ricch [2]

Let’s Fall in Love for the Night - FINNEAS [2*]

Heartless - Diplo/Julia Michaels/Morgan Wallen [2*]

Toosie Slide - Drake [9*]

Daisies - Katy Perry [3*]

Blueberry Faygo - Lil Mosey [6*]

Bang! - AJR [5]

Kings & Queens - Ava Max [6*]

Savage (Remix) - Megan Thee Stallion/Beyoncé [4*]

Moral of the Story - Ashe [4; 2nd time]

100 Ways - Jackson Wang [6*]

Also Available For Vote

17 - Pink Sweat$ [10]

We only got one Hit-Bound song this week, that being a re-entry, that being 17 by Pink Sweat$. This song’s kind of forgettable, but whatever, I guess it’s here.

Oh yeah, also, we lost two Hit-Bound songs this week, Lay Your Head On Me and Bad Child. LYHOM was alright, but I lost interest in it, and Bad Child was good.

Hit-Bound Ranking

0 - Crap:
#16: Daisies - Katy Perry

1 - Bad:
#15: If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know) - The 1975

2 - Mediocre:
#14: 100 Ways - Jackson Wang
#13: Moral of the Story - Ashe
#12: 17 - Pink Sweat$

3 - Decent:
#11: Toosie Slide - Drake
#10: Together - Sia

4 - Good:
#9: Savage (Remix) - Megan Thee Stallion/Beyoncé

5 - Great:
#8: the other girl - Kelsea Ballerini/Halsey
#7: Kings & Queens - Ava Max
#6: Let’s Fall in Love for the Night - FINNEAS
#5: Blueberry Faygo - Lil Mosey
#4: I Hope - Gabby Barrett/Charlie Puth
#3: Bang! - AJR
#2: The Box - Roddy Ricch
#1: Heartless - Diplo/Julia Michaels/Morgan Wallen

Overall Score: 57/80 = 71%

How Hits 1 Songs Are Doing on the Hot 100
#1: Savage (Remix) - Megan Thee Stallion/Beyoncé
#2: Say So - Doja Cat/Nicki Minaj
#3: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
#5: Toosie Slide - Drake
#7: The Box - Roddy Ricch
#8: Don’t Start Now - Dua Lipa
#9: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo
#10: Circles - Post Malone
#12: Adore You - Harry Styles
#13: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber
#14: The Bones - Maren Morris
#15: Roses (Remix) - SAINt JHN/Imanbek
#17: Blueberry Faygo - Lil Mosey
#19: I Hope - Gabby Barrett
#20: Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi
#21: Falling - Trevor Daniel
#25: My Oh My - Camila Cabello/DaBaby
#26: Sunday Best - Surfaces
#27: everything i wanted - Billie Eilish
#29: death bed (coffee for your head) - Powfu/beabadoobee
#31: Memories - Maroon 5
#33: X - Jonas Brothers/KAROL G
#36: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi
#39: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa
#40: Daisies - Katy Perry
#41: RITMO - Black Eyed Peas/J Balvin
#43: Be Kind - Marshmello/Halsey
#45: Supalonely - BENEE/Gus Dapperton
#46: hot girl bummer - blackbear
#47: Dance Monkey - Tones And I
#50: Heartless - Diplo/Morgan Wallen
#58: In Your Eyes - The Weeknd
#64: Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles
#66: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots
#73: If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe/Julia Michaels
#74: Ride It - Regard

Top 10 on the Hunger Games Countdown
#10: YOU CAN’T HOLD MY HEART - Monsta X
#9: I’m Ready - Sam Smith/Demi Lovato
#8: Slow Dance - AJ Mitchell/Ava Max
#7: Put A Little Love On Me - Niall Horan
#6: Teeth - 5 Seconds of Summer
#5: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots
#4: Falling - Trevor Daniel
#3: Yummy - Justin Bieber
#2: ROXANNE - Arizona Zervas
#1: Sunday Best - Surfaces

Top 10 If the Countdown Made Sense
#10: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa
#9: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi
#8: death bed (coffee for your head) - Powfu/beabadoobee
#7: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber
#6: Sunday Best - Surfaces
#5: Falling - Trevor Daniel
#4: The Bones - Maren Morris
#3: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo
#2: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
#1: Say So - Doja Cat

Kwaheri, everybody! See you all soon.

Week of May 23, 2020 - The Weeknd (5)

The Weeknd (5)

Happy Memorial Day Weekend to you Americans, and I hope you guys are having a great start to your summer. The first event for the Weekend Countdown Olympics is live, so if you haven’t competed yet, what are you waiting for? Click this link to go do that! This week’s countdown was hosted by Ryan Sampson, Nicole Ryan, Stanley T, Symon, Tony Fly and Spyder Harrison (Not all at the same time, they split the countdown into thirds) I think everyone did a pretty good job, and this is probably the first time, but someone other than Spyder Harrison actually read the list of exits! You have no clue how good that makes me feel. So without further ado, here are said exits. Oh also, just a heads-up there was no Countdown Extra this week.

Songs We’re Saying Goodbye To
Only Human - Jonas Brothers (#43) [1 week at #1]
everything i wanted - Billie Eilish (#28) [#9]

Last Week’s #1: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd (4)

#45: Dance Monkey - Tones And I (-1) [#21] {30 weeks}
#44: South of the Border - Ed Sheeran/Camila Cabello/Cardi B (+1) [#7] {23 weeks}
#43: ROXANNE - Arizona Zervas (-2) [#9] {25 weeks}
#42: Graveyard - Halsey (-) [#3] {36 weeks}
#41: hot girl bummer - blackbear (-2) [#4] {19 weeks}
#40: Nice To Meet Ya - Niall Horan (-) [8 weeks at #1] {32 weeks}
#39: CITY OF ANGELS - 24kGoldn (RE-ENTRY) [#34] {3 weeks}
#38: What A Man Gotta Do - Jonas Brothers (-12) [#2] {17 weeks}
#37: Roses (Remix) - SAINt JHN/Imanbek (-) [#37] {2 weeks}
#36: Teeth - 5 Seconds of Summer (+2) [2 weeks at #1] {31 weeks}
#35: Ride It - Regard (-) [#35] {4 weeks}
#34: Adore You - Harry Styles (-2) [10 weeks at #1] {24 weeks}
#33: RITMO - Black Eyed Peas/J Balvin (-) [#33] {6 weeks}
#32: I’m Ready - Sam Smith/Demi Lovato (+4) [#31] {3 weeks}
#31: death bed (coffee for your head) - Powfu/beabadoobee (-6) [#25] {9 weeks}
#30: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo (-7) [#15] {11 weeks}
#29: You should be sad - Halsey (-7) [#6] {16 weeks}
#28: X - Jonas Brothers/KAROL G (DEBUT) [1* week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}
#27: Circles - Post Malone (+3) [2 weeks at #1] {34 weeks}
#26: Midnight - Alesso/Liam Payne (+3) [#26] {4 weeks} *new peak*
#25: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber (+9) [#25] {2 weeks} *new peak*
#24: Supalonely - BENEE/Gus Dapperton (-) [#17] {8 weeks}
#23: The Man - Taylor Swift (-5) [#7] {15 weeks}
#22: Stupid Love - Lady Gaga (-2) [#9] {12 weeks}
#21: Modern Loneliness - Lauv (-4) [#17] {13 weeks}
#20: Be Kind - Marshmello/Halsey (+11) [#20] {3 weeks} *new peak*
#19: Sunday Best - Surfaces (+2) [#13] {9 weeks}
#18: Don’t Start Now - Dua Lipa (-2) [#2] {23 weeks}
#17: Oh My God - Alec Benjamin (+2) [#17] {5 weeks} *new peak*
#16: Falling - Trevor Daniel (-2) [#14] {7 weeks}
#15: If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe/Julia Michaels (-) [#10] {14 weeks}
#14: me & ur ghost - blackbear (+13) [#14] {12 weeks} *new peak*
#13: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots (-2) [#11] {6 weeks}
#12: My Oh My - Camila Cabello (-2) [#5] {19 weeks}
#11: The Bones - Maren Morris (+2) [#11] {4 weeks} *new peak*
#10: In Your Eyes - The Weeknd (+2) [#10] {5 weeks} *new peak*
#9: Old Me - 5 Seconds of Summer (-2) [#7] {8 weeks}
#8: I Love Me - Demi Lovato (-) [#8] {11 weeks}
#7: Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles (+2) [#6] {11 weeks}
#6: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa (-) [#6] {5 weeks}
#5: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi (-2) [#2] {16 weeks}
#4: No Judgement - Niall Horan (+1) [#4] {11 weeks}
#3: Say So - Doja Cat (+1) [#3] {20 weeks}
#2: Maniac - Conan Gray (-) [#2] {11 weeks}
#1: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd (-) [5th week at #1] {14 weeks}

Last Year’s #1: Sucker - Jonas Brothers [9/13 weeks at #1]

Our first entrant this week is actually a re-entry that was only away for a week; CITY OF ANGELS by 24kGoldn. You guys know my opinion on this one, I really like it. His voice is different, and I actually don’t mind it. Although this song’s fairly short, it’s still extremely catchy, and is probably one of the reasons I like this so much. I hope it doesn’t leave again, and it actually stays this time.

Next up, at #28, is X by the Jonas Brothers, featuring KAROL G. This is easily one of the most catchy songs on the countdown right now. Personally, I still think that Sucker’s better, but this is for sure a close second for Jonas Brothers singles. This will probably be a hit here, since Hits 1 loves the Jonas Brothers, and I’m totally fine with that. The chorus is honestly pretty great, and Joe and Nick’s voices blend really well here. I don’t think KAROL G adds too much to the song, and feels a little unnecessary, but I don’t care that much, because it actually doesn’t bring down the song at all. *1 week on Voting Poll, 0 weeks in Hit-Bound

Best Entrant: X - Jonas Brothers/KAROL G

Biggest DROP!!!: What A Man Gotta Do - Jonas Brothers (-12): Highs and lows for the Jonas Brothers this week, as they have an exit, a debut and the biggest drop. This song’s already fallen everywhere else, so I’m pretty satisfied with how well it did here, and Hits 1 isn’t keeping it around for longer than they should.

Biggest Jump: me & ur ghost - blackbear (+13): This jump was so pointless. This clearly wasn’t a hit anywhere, and it’s been here for way too long already, and I don’t think it deserves to be back in the top 20.

My Top 5 Picks
#5: Modern Loneliness - Lauv
#4: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
#3: Midnight - Alesso/Liam Payne
#2: The Bones - Maren Morris
#1: In Your Eyes - The Weeknd

My Bottom 5 Picks
#5: Ride It - Regard
#4: Falling - Trevor Daniel
#3: Supalonely - BENEE/Gus Dapperton
#2: death bed (coffee for your head) - Powfu/beabadoobee
#1: Adore You - Harry Styles

Top 20 Ranking

0 - Crap:
#20: Falling - Trevor Daniel

1 - Bad:
#19: Say So - Doja Cat

2 - Mediocre:
#18: Oh My God - Alec Benjamin
#17: If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe/Julia Michaels
#16: me & ur ghost - blackbear
#15: No Judgement - Niall Horan
#14: My Oh My - Camila Cabello

3 - Decent:
#13: Old Me - 5 Seconds of Summer
#12: Don’t Start Now - Dua Lipa
#11: I Love Me - Demi Lovato

4 - Good:
#10: Maniac - Conan Gray
#9: Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles

5 - Great:
#8: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa
#7: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots
#6: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi
#5: Sunday Best - Surfaces
#4: Be Kind - Marshmello/Halsey
#3: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
#2: The Bones - Maren Morris

Bonus: 6 - Best Song on the Countdown
#1: In Your Eyes - The Weeknd

Overall Score: 69/100 = 69%

5 Oldest Songs
#5: Dance Monkey - Tones And I {30 weeks}
#4: Teeth - 5 Seconds of Summer {31 weeks}
#3: Nice To Meet Ya - Niall Horan {32 weeks}
#2: Circles - Post Malone {34 weeks}
#1: Graveyard - Halsey {36 weeks}

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Lose Somebody - Kygo/OneRepublic

My Favourite Song Last Year: I Don’t Care - Ed Sheeran/Justin Bieber (#11)

My Least Favourite Song Last Year: bad guy - Billie Eilish (#25)

Hit-Bound

Moral of the Story - Ashe [3; 2nd time]

Toosie Slide - Drake [8*]

Kings & Queens - Ava Max [5*]

Blueberry Faygo - Lil Mosey [5*]

Bad Child - Tones And I [10*]

I Hope - Gabby Barrett/Charlie Puth [5***]

Bang! - AJR [4]

Savage (Remix) - Megan Thee Stallion/Beyoncé [3*]

Daisies - Katy Perry [2*]

100 Ways - Jackson Wang [5*]

If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know) - The 1975 [5*]

The Box - Roddy Ricch [1]

Lay Your Head On Me - Major Lazer/Marcus Mumford [8*]

the other girl - Kelsea Ballerini/Halsey [2; 2nd time*]

Also Available For Vote

Rain On Me - Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande [1]

Together - Sia [1]

Let’s Fall in Love for the Night - FINNEAS [1]

Heartless - Diplo/Julia Michaels/Morgan Wallen [1]

Like That - Doja Cat/Gucci Mane [1]

I have been waiting for SO LONG to review this first song here, so much so that I even considered making a seperate post just so I could. I didn’t though. In case you didn’t notice. The song is The Box by Roddy Ricch and it literally shocks me that Hits 1’s just now picking up on it. If I’m being honest, it’s probably because they’re on a free trial, and they thought people would enjoy it. Anyways, this song hit #1 on the Hot 100 for many weeks, and for very good reasons. This song’s just absolutely spectacular. Roddy’s got pretty great flow with his rapping, and the song also flows perfectly. The beat’s alright, but I wish the track went somewhere. But that’s really my only criticism for this song. And yeah, I’ll acknowledge the elephant in the room. The door hinge noise is honestly pretty great and adds a lot to the song, and although it’s meme-y, it’s what makes the song really good.

So they aired RITMO in Hit-Bound, but if airing countdown songs in Hit-Bound is becoming a normal thing, I’m just gonna exclude them. So onto the voting poll songs.

In case you’re new to this blog, the voting poll shows you which songs Hits 1 is gonna pick up on next, and sometimes those songs don’t air on Hit-Bound right away, but I like to review them anyways. Our first song is an unlikely collaboration between Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, which I’m sure nobody expected. It’s called Rain On Me, and I’m slightly conflicted on it. The song’s pretty great as a whole, with it being just a spectacular dance bop, and with both Gaga and Ariana slaying it vocally, but I just absolutely hate when Gaga speaks “Rain. On. Me.” before the drop, and it brings the song down a lot for me. But if I’m being honest, after a few listens, I’ve learned to ignore it enough for it to get a green ranking. So y’know. This is good. Oh also, the bridge isn’t great, because Gaga’s also talking there. But yeah, a good song nonetheless, and I can for sure see it growing on me. Also also, Chromatica comes out this Friday. Hype.

Sia released a new song called Together this week. Um… it’s not terrible. It’s catchy enough, I guess, but in the chorus, it could definitely sound better vocally speaking. Sia’s definitely sounded better. (Chandelier) The “Love. Together!” vocals are a little odd, and I don’t like them all that much. The bridge is super weird, and her voice sounds also really weird, because she’s kind of half-singing, half-talking. The energy of this song prevents me from not liking it though, since that part of the song is pretty good. Will this be a hit? Maybe? I’m not quite sure, I’ll have to see where it debuts on the Hot 100 before I make that judgement, but I think it has a decent shot.

Billie Eilish’s brother, FINNEAS makes his Hits 1 debut this week with a 2018 song called Let’s Fall in Love for the Night. I’ve gotta say, he’s much more talented than his sister. In case you didn’t know, FINNEAS produces all of Billie’s stuff, so he’s the one that made that bassline in bad guy and the cool production in all the good girls go to hell. I actually quite like his voice, and I think he definitely has some potential to be a big hit. Probably not as big as Billie, but still decently big. This song’s really catchy, and I literally had it stuck in my head for an hour straight today. The production’s definitely good, with a pretty good beat, (and the frogs in the slow part… they’re my favourite part) and the writing’s definitely a high point in this song. I also love that laugh at the end. Don’t ask me why.

A pretty big country song gets a Julia Michaels remix and a debut on Hits 1 this week, that song being Heartless by Diplo and Morgan Wallen. This is an unpopular opinion here, but I quite like this. I don’t tend to like country music, but this is a really good song. Julia Michaels has definitely grown as a singer since Issues, and I don’t mind her voice anymore. Morgan Wallen’s voice is alright, it’s nothing to write home about, but it’s not terrible either. I can definitely see why this song is big. It’s actually really catchy, and I think Diplo definitely did a better job with the production here than with Lonely with the Jonas Brothers. Overall, I think this has potential to debut, and I wouldn’t mind if it did.

An overall positive bunch of debuts unfortunately has to end on a low note, because of Doja Cat. I think I’ve formulated an opinion on Doja Cat. I don’t like her music. It’s really catchy and groovy, but I just really don’t like her voice. Not her high, layered singing voice or rapping voice. This is probably better than Say So, because of Gucci Mane, since he actually doesn’t do too bad of a job, and I think he’s actually pretty tolerable. This will probably be a big song, and I can see Doja Cat being a big future artist, but for now, I don’t like her music. Maybe in the future I will, but not yet.

Best Debut: The Box - Roddy Ricch

Hit-Bound Ranking

0 - Crap:
NONE!

1 - Bad:
#19: Like That - Doja Cat/Gucci Mane
#18: Daisies - Katy Perry
#17: If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know) - The 1975

2 - Mediocre:
#16: Lay Your Head On Me - Major Lazer/Marcus Mumford
#15: Toosie Slide - Drake
#14: Moral of the Story - Ashe

3 - Decent:
#13: 100 Ways - Jackson Wang
#12: Together - Sia
#11: Savage (Remix) - Megan Thee Stallion/Beyoncé

4 - Good:
#10: Bad Child - Tones And I
#9: Rain On Me - Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande

5 - Great:
#8: the other girl - Kelsea Ballerini/Halsey
#7: Kings & Queens - Ava Max
#6: Let’s Fall in Love for the Night - FINNEAS
#5: I Hope - Gabby Barrett/Charlie Puth
#4: Blueberry Faygo - Lil Mosey
#3: Heartless - Diplo/Julia Michaels/Morgan Wallen
#2: Bang! - AJR
#1: The Box - Roddy Ricch

Overall Score: 66/95 = 69%

Kiss Me Like Your Blurb Is in the Room

We lost two countdown songs this week: Only Human and everything i wanted. I’m honestly glad both of these songs are gone. Only Human was good, but stayed on the countdown for much longer than it should have, beating out Sucker by number of weeks actually (I think, you may need to fact-check me there), and everything i wanted was just bad to begin with, so I’m glad it’s gone even though it’s still doing well on the charts.

Not too much happened this week, except Teeth jumped up two spots for no apparent reason. Although it’s extremely old.

For some reason, Intentions is just barely in the top 30? I mean, come on, Hits 1! Why is this not higher?

Surprisingly, Stuck with U isn’t in the top 20 yet, which could mean it’s going to flop on radio? Probably not, Hits 1 doesn’t tend to be too accurate, but it’s for sure a possibility.

Be Kind is actually in the top 20, so maybe it won’t be a flop. It also didn’t take too hard of a hit on the Hot 100, so this could actually be a hit. Who knows at this point.

Got that sunshine on my sunday be-est!

I’ve started to lose a little interest in My Oh My. It feels really hollow without DaBaby.

In Your Eyes is in the top 10! It’s following the same path as Blinding Lights, so it could very possibly hit #1!

Blinding Lights is still #1 in the meantime though, and I’m happy it hasn’t been overtaken by Say So yet. Hopefully, this can be the #1 of the year.

Bang! is in the top 10 of the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart on Billboard, which basically just means if it was the Billboard Hot 110, it would have already debuted. So that bodes well.

How Hits 1 Songs Are Doing on the Hot 100
#1: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber
#2: Say So - Doja Cat/Nicki Minaj
#4: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
#5: Savage (Remix) - Megan Thee Stallion/Beyoncé
#6: Toosie Slide - Drake
#7: The Box - Roddy Ricch
#9: Don’t Start Now - Dua Lipa
#10: Circles - Post Malone
#11: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo
#12: Adore You - Harry Styles
#14: The Bones - Maren Morris
#16: Roses (Remix) - SAINt JHN/Imanbek
#17: My Oh My - Camila Cabello/DaBaby
#18: Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi
#19: everything i wanted - Billie Eilish
#20: Blueberry Faygo - Lil Mosey
#22: Falling - Trevor Daniel
#23: I Hope - Gabby Barrett
#24: Memories - Maroon 5
#27: death bed (coffee for your head) - Powfu/beabadoobee
#29: Sunday Best - Surfaces
#30: RITMO - Black Eyed Peas/J Balvin
#31: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa
#33: Be Kind - Marshmello/Halsey
#35: hot girl bummer - blackbear
#37: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi
#39: Supalonely - BENEE/Gus Dapperton
#42: Dance Monkey - Tones And I
#47: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots
#54: In Your Eyes - The Weeknd
#58: Heartless - Diplo/Morgan Wallen
#61: If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe/Julia Michaels
#62: Ride It - Regard
#71: I’m Ready - Sam Smith/Demi Lovato
#75: I Love Me - Demi Lovato
#97: You should be sad - Halsey

Top 10 on the Hunger Games Countdown
#10: Yummy - Justin Bieber
#9: Put A Little Love On Me - Niall Horan
#8: Kill My Mind - Louis Tomlinson
#7: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo
#6: Maniac - Conan Gray
#5: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots
#4: Check Your Phone - Cheap Cuts/Pete Wentz
#3: The Hype - Twenty One Pilots
#2: Nice to Meet Ya - Meghan Trainor/Nicki Minaj
#1: Mind Is A Prison - Alec Benjamin

Top 10 If the Countdown Made Sense
#10: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo
#9: Sunday Best - Surfaces
#8: Falling - Trevor Daniel
#7: Circles - Post Malone
#6: My Oh My - Camila Cabello
#5: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber
#4: The Bones - Maren Morris
#3: Don’t Start Now - Dua Lipa
#2: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
#1: Say So - Doja Cat

Kwaheri, everyone! See you all next week.