Chart Check-in: June 2022 - Harry Styles

Hello, friends! It's always nice to be back. Anyways, my final Year-End post will be coming out this week (or at least, I sure hope so, because I'm gone all July), so look for that in the coming few days. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's take a look at Hits 1 from the past month! Remember that I've been constantly updating the Weekend Countdown on the tab above, so if you ever want to know early what some of my opinions are, go check that out (but not for next month, because I'm gone). I've also been including a blurb of the week, as well as an interesting title for each week, just in case you've been missing some of my charm. Anyways, let's get into it!

Debuts

Devil Doesn't Bargain - Alec Benjamin

Get Into It (Yuh) - Doja Cat

i feel everything - Amelia Moore

I Like You (A Happier Song) - Post Malone/Doja Cat

I Love U - The Chainsmokers

Jiggle Jiggle - Duke & Jones/Louis Theroux

Late Night Talking - Harry Styles

Numb - Marshmello/Khalid

Potion - Calvin Harris/Dua Lipa/Young Thug

SKIN OF MY TEETH - Demi Lovato

So Good - Halsey

Until I Found You - Stephen Sanchez

Viva Las Vengeance - Panic! At The Disco

Wrapped Around Your Finger - Post Malone

• Devil Doesn't Bargain is easily the best Alec Benjamin song I've ever heard. Sure, he still sounds like he's 13, but those melodies are incredible and the production is nothing short of fantastic. I'd love to see this do well here.
• After spending three weeks in Hit-Bound last year, then way too long in the Abyss this year, Get Into It (Yuh) finally debuted... and spent one week on the Countdown before leaving. Seriously? Anyways, this song is fun, but it's gotten kind of old, because I've known about it for a while.
• Amelia Moore is our newest One to Watch, and she brings us i feel everything, which is... not great. Her voice is a little grating in the chorus, and the rest isn't that interesting.
• Post Malone and Doja Cat teamed up on I Like You, which is a great song that's much more upbeat than the rest of the Twelve Carat Toothache singles. Super fun, both artists do great here, +10 bonus points for that awesome outro. Just a great song overall.
• After spending a while in the Abyss, The Chainsmokers' I Love U debuted last week. Not too interesting, but a really enjoyable song.
• Possibly the stupidest song ever, Jiggle Jiggle by Duke & Jones and british journalist Louis Theroux debuted. Not sure why this song was made, as it's ridiculously stupid, but it's just so much fun, I love it. The production is also kinda great? Yeah, I shouldn't love this, but I do (also it CRUSHED the record for the shortest song to reach the Countdown, at 1:37).
• The second single from Harry's House, Late Night Talking also debuted. While I personally think Music For a Sushi Restaurant is better, and would've made for a better single, this song is still a bop, and I'd love to see it do well here... and I mean, it's Harry Styles, so is that even in question?
• Marshmello and Khalid's new song Numb is SO GOOD! It's so catchy, I can't.
• Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa and Young Thug's Potion debuted, left and re-entered this month, and seems to be holding steady now. I like it, but it feels like it has potential to be much better. It's just not all that memorable.
• Demi Lovato returned with SKIN OF MY TEETH, which is just a full-on pop-punk song. This is fine. The chorus is pretty catchy, and I like the production, but it's not all that memorable. Probably why it only spent a week here.
• Halsey's new song So Good already feels nostalgic for whatever reason, and I love it. I also like how it kinda tells a story, which is something that I wish more songs would do. I'd love to see this do super well.
• Until I Found You is really really bad and I hope it doesn't re-enter.
• In the past few months, I've gotten really into Panic! At The Disco's stuff, and I've heard all of their songs now, so I was pretty excited to see that Viva Las Vengeance was coming out. It's definitely not their best, but it's fun and catchy, and it's always nice to see Brendon return.
• Apparently Hits 1 got confused and thought that Wrapped Around Your Finger was the big Post Malone single, and well... it wasn't, but it's still a solid song.

Best Debut of the Month: So Good - Halsey

Exits

COMPLETE MESS - 5 Seconds of Summer [#5] {12 weeks}

Cooped Up - Post Malone/Roddy Ricch [#25] {3 weeks}

Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID [6 weeks at #1] {20 weeks}

Flowers - Lauren Spencer-Smith [#19] {4 weeks}

Freaky Deaky - Tyga/Doja Cat [#15] {10 weeks}

Get Into It (Yuh) - Doja Cat [#28] {1 week}

Honest - Justin Bieber/Don Toliver [#27] {5 weeks}

Love It When You Hate Me - Avril Lavigne/blackbear [#3] {17 weeks}

Move - DNCE [#20] {3 weeks}

she's all i wanna be - Tate McRae [#5] {18 weeks}

SKIN OF MY TEETH - Demi Lovato [#29] {1 week}

Skyline - Khalid [#17] {7 weeks}

TO THE MOON - Jnr Choi/Sam Tompkins [#21] {10 weeks}

Until I Found You - Stephen Sanchez [#21] {2 weeks}

Wrapped Around Your Finger - Post Malone [#25] {1 week}

• COMPLETE MESS faded on me pretty quickly, so I'm not sad at all that it's gone.
• Cooped Up was great, but kinda forgettable, so I'm not surprised that it wasn't a hit, although I really want Roddy to get another pop hit. He's so good, you guys.
• I'm really satisfied with how well Enemy did here. It had a great run, and I hope that Bones can match it.
• Honestly, Flowers should still be here, and there's no reason Hits 1 should've dropped it, especially because of how good it is.
• Freaky Deaky should've done much better here.
• Okay, seriously, though, one week for Get Into It (Yuh)? The song is top 10 on the pop charts, yet it was only good enough for one week on Hits 1? Come on.
• Glad to see the world figured out that Honest is bad (although, I do hope that Justin Bieber gets better. That's really unfortunate, and I wish him and his family the best).
• Wait... Love It When You Hate Me left this month? Ok then.
• Oh yeah, haha, Move was a song.
• I'm happy that she's all i wanna be ended up peaking in the top five, but it shouldn't have left so quickly.
• Yeah, SKIN OF MY TEETH wasn't all that memorable, so I don't care that it's gone for good.
• Skyline deserved better, it was really fun. It fell everywhere really quickly because of Numb, and while I agree that that's a better song, Skyline is still really good.
• Oh, yeah, also, TO THE MOON should still be here. It deserved better.
• I'm beyond happy that Until I Found You only spent two weeks on the Countdown, because it is not a radio song.
• Hits 1 figured themselves out with Wrapped Around Your Finger, don't worry.

Best Exit: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID (yeah, I got tired of it too, but it's still my favourite of the bunch)

Top 10 Hits 1 Songs from June 2022

#10: Bam Bam - Camila Cabello/Ed Sheeran (-) [#9]

#9: Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold (-5) [#3]

#8: Sweetest Pie - Megan Thee Stallion/Dua Lipa (-6) [#6]

#7: Bones - Imagine Dragons (new) [#7]

#6: When You're Gone - Shawn Mendes (+2) [#5]

#5: Boyfriend - Dove Cameron (-2) [#5]

#4: Sunroof - Nicky Youre/dazy (new) [#2]

#3: 2step - Ed Sheeran/Lil Baby (+4) [#3]

#2: About Damn Time - Lizzo (new) [#2]

#1: As It Was - Harry Styles (-) [4 weeks at #1]

• Lmao, Bam Bam has been #10 for both May and June. It's really hovering in the low top 10, isn't it? Which is fitting, that's about where I'd place it.
• I'm glad Numb Little Bug ended up coming back to the top five, but it's plummeting way too fast for my comfort right now. This song is really good, and it doesn't deserve this.
• Sweetest Pie is still annoying, but #8 of the month is more tolerable than #2 of the month.
• Ayy, nice to see Bones getting some success here. I'd love to see it do even better here (yes, I know I'm a basic Nathan for liking Imagine Dragons but whatever).
• When You're Gone has reached the top five, which is awesome. It's so much fun, I've been listening to it so much this past month.
• I'm still fading on Boyfriend, but I haven't gotten outright sick of it yet, so this is fine.
• Ope. I guess Sunroof is a thing now. I'm definitely not complaining, because it's a great song, but this was definitely unexpected to say the least.
• I can't explain how much I want 2step to be a huge hit. It deserves to be bigger than Shivers (HITS 1: I AM NOT ASKING FOR 15 WEEKS AT #1. THAT IS EXCESSIVE. NO SONG DESERVES THAT).
• About Damn Time is so much fun and I'm glad it didn't end up flopping. I really want this to hit #1 on the Countdown, but I don't see that happening, because Hits 1 is Hits 1.
• And of course, As It Was dominated the #1 spot for the entire month. The song's starting to fade on me, but it's still solid, so I'm not complaining that much. Just as long as we can switch it up soon.

Hit-Bound Debuts

a letter to me - Dixie

Angry Woman - Ashe

Baby Boo - Muni Long/Saweetie

Booty - Saucy Santana/Latto

Breakfast - Dove Cameron

Carolina - Taylor Swift

die first - Nessa Barrett

Disaster - Conan Gray

DON'T YOU WORRY - Black Eyed Peas/Shakira/David Guetta

Dress - Charlotte Sands

Falling Back - Drake

Glimpse of Us - Joji

Goodbye - Mimi Webb

Grrrls - Lizzo

Left and Right - Charlie Puth/Jung Kook

Life's Too Short (English Version) - aespa

Only You - Eddie Benjamin/Alessia Cara

sheluvme - Tai Verdes

Something to Someone - Dermot Kennedy

Twinkle Twinkle Little Bitch - Leah Kate

Want Want - Maggie Rogers

• a letter to me is really boring and uninteresting. This shouldn't have replaced Wild.
• Yeah, I'm not a huge Ashe fan. The lyrics and message in Angry Woman are great, but I'm just not a huge fan of Ashe.
• Baby Boo is a bop, and this song should be actually doing something on radio.
• Booty is also a bop, and I love the Crazy In Love sample (which is probably a sample of something else, but I'm too lazy to look it up).
• Is Dove Cameron's whole vibe just "spy"? Ok then.
• Carolina is good, but I'm still waiting for a 1989 vault track to be a bop and a half and blow everyone away.
• die first is typical Nessa Barrett, except, contrary to what the title would have you think, it's actually a love song. Cool.
• Disaster is SO GOOD, and if Hits 1 lets this flop, I will have some WORDS to say.
• DON'T YOU WORRY sounds like it came right out of 2006, and I don't mean that as a compliment. At least it's better than GIRL LIKE ME.
• After Hits 1 ignoring it for way too long, Dress by Charlotte Sands is finally here! This is a good song, and I'd love to see it do well here.
• Drake released a surprise album, Honestly, Nevermind, a couple weeks ago. I've never listened to a Drake album in full, but I did for this one, and it was actually really good. Every song was pretty dance-y, and I loved it. I don't think any song would work very well as a single, but they're all good. Falling Back falls back in that category.
• I have no clue why Glimpse of Us blew up like it did, because... uh... (guys, it's bad. I'm not sure if you've been told that, but it's a bad song).
• Goodbye is a great Mimi Webb ballad, and I wish it was a hit.
• Apparently Lizzo's newest, Grrrls, had some controversy around it that's mostly cleared up now, but it probably tanked its chances of becoming a hit, which sucks, because it's a bop.
• A Charlie Puth / Jung Kook collaboration is something I never knew I needed, but it's really catchy and great.
• Life's Too Short is good, even if not all that memorable.
• Only You is definitely better than Weatherman, but Eddie Benjamin is still annoying.
• I respect Tai Verdes for not staying a TikTok artist, even if his style right now isn't really my thing.
• Something to Someone was good and should've been here for more than a week.
• Even if the "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" melody takes me out of the new Leah Kate song a bit, the rest of it is SO GOOD,
• Want Want is just a solid, if forgettable, song.

Best Hit-Bound Debut: Disaster - Conan Gray

Hit-Bound Exits

100sadsongs - Tai Verdes

Best Lover - BIBI

don't come back - Tate McRae

Don't Lose Sight - Lawrence

Falling Back - Drake

gfy - blackbear/Machine Gun Kelly

Goodbye - Mimi Webb

Grrrls - Lizzo

MEAN! - Madeline The Person

No One Dies From Love - Tove Lo

Only You - Eddie Benjamin/Alessia Cara

Overthinking - Mabel/24kGoldn

P.G.N.L. - Conor Maynard

Something to Someone - Dermot Kennedy

Too Precious - Em Beihold

Want Want - Maggie Rogers

Wild - Dixie

Will It Ever Feel The Same? - Bazzi

• I literally can't remember what 100sadsongs sounds like.
• Yeah, Best Lover wasn't all that memorable, but I think it still deserved better than this.
• don't come back shouldn't have replaced what would you do?, and that should've been a hit.
• Don't Lose Sight was here for a ridiculously long time, so while it never ended up debuting, I'm fine with it being gone.
• Massive is actually getting played on the station now instead of Falling Back, so Hits 1 might've changed their minds.
• gfy was so good, it deserved better.
• Goodbye was also really good, so I'm sad I didn't get to hear much of it.
• I get why Grrrls didn't end up doing too well, but I'm disappointed nonetheless.
• MEAN! was really forgettable, so I'm not disappointed in the slightest.
• I've never been a huge Tove Lo fan, and No One Dies From Love did not change my mind.
• I can't remember what Only You sounds like, plus it was an Eddie Benjamin song, so I'm fine with it being gone.
• Overthinking probably deserved better than what it got.
• P.G.N.L. definitely deserved to debut, and I'm sad it was only in the Abyss for a week or two after it left.
• Not sure why Something to Someone only lasted a week, but it's okay. Outnumbered was better anyways.
• I never expected Too Precious to do well, so I'm not sad it's gone.
• Want Want seems to be in the Abyss, so I don't think it's fully gone quite yet. Will it debut? Probably not, but we'll see.
• Wild definitely shouldn't have been replaced by a letter to me.
• Will It Ever Feel The Same? was never that good, so I don't care that it's gone.

Best Hit-Bound Exit: Don't Lose Sight - Lawrence

So next up is a list of the songs that charted on Billboard's Pop Songs chart this month, but haven't reached the Countdown at all yet.

Songs That Hits 1 is Missing Out On

Don't Forget My Love - Diplo/Miguel

Don't Lose Sight - Lawrence

DON'T YOU WORRY - Black Eyed Peas/Shakira/David Guetta

Dress - Charlotte Sands

MAMIII - Becky G/KAROL G

Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) - Kate Bush

this is what falling in love feels like - JVKE

Wonderland - AleXa

• Yeah, I think Hits 1 has missed out on adding Don't Forget My Love to the Countdown, which is a shame, because it was a great song.
• Same with Don't Lose Sight.
• Yeah, that's okay, we don't need DON'T YOU WORRY on the Countdown.
• As I mentioned earlier, they finally picked up on Dress, so fingers crossed.
• MAMIII had some really great production, so I kinda wish it made its way to Hits 1, but it didn't, and that's ok.
• Um... so yeah, a song from 1985 is charting on pop radio. Why, you may ask? Actually, it's not TikTok this time. Well, ok, it's partially TikTok. But it's mostly because the song was featured in the fourth season of Stranger Things. And I never would've heard Running Up That Hill if it didn't become viral, so I'm glad it did, because it's a great song.
• Yeah, we don't need this is what falling in love feels like on the Countdown either. It's been in the Abyss for a long time, and I'd be ok if it stayed that way.
• Wonderland was fun, but not all too memorable.

Song Hits 1 Should Add to the Countdown: Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) - Kate Bush

Yeah, so that's it! As I did last month, I'll open up Q&A if there's anything you guys feel like asking me. But for now, kwaheri, everybody! See you all in the next one (hopefully this week!).

Chart Check-in: May 2022 - Harry Styles

Welp, needless to say, things haven't quite gone according to plan, but I thought I'd still take the time to do my May check-in. I'll kinda go through how this is gonna work, but basically it's just a pretty quick rundown of everything that happened on the Countdown in May. Let's kick it off with the songs that debuted in May.

Debuts

Cooped Up - Post Malone/Roddy Ricch

Flowers - Lauren Spencer-Smith

Hold My Hand - Lady Gaga

Honest - Justin Bieber/Don Toliver

Love Me More - Sam Smith

Maybe You're The Problem - Ava Max

Me Myself & I - 5 Seconds of Summer

Move - DNCE

Skyline - Khalid

SUPERMODEL - Måneskin

• Ok, so Cooped Up isn't the best Post Malone song, but it's nice and chill and it's always great to have Roddy back on radio.
• I really didn't expect Flowers to debut, but here we are I guess. Can't say I'm complaining, it's a great song. A little confused though, and I don't see this lasting very long.
• Hold My Hand is definitely a movie song. It's also definitely a Lady Gaga song. Overall, pretty great, and I'd love to see this be a hit.
• Honest is so bad. Nothing really works here, except for Don Toliver, I guess. Overall just a very weird song.
• I expected Love Me More to debut, but I don't see it doing too well given it's kind of slow. Good song though.
• I'm SO HAPPY to see Maybe You're The Problem here so quickly. It's such a fun song, and I'd love to see it do well here.
• OK GUYS. Me Myself & I IS THE BEST 5SOS SONG I'VE EVER HEARD. SERIOUSLY, IT'S SO GOOD. EVERYONE HERE SOUNDS GREAT AND IT'S CATCHY AND THE INSTRUMENTATION IS GREAT AGHHHHHH. I WANT THIS TO BE A HIT SO BAD.
• Move is fine. It's fun, but not too memorable in the long run.
• I've been enjoying Skyline lately, so I'm glad it's here.
• Also, Måneskin is back and SUPERMODEL is easily the best song from them so far. So much fun, great instrumentation, just a masterpiece. I'd love to see this become a hit too.

Best Debut of the Month: SUPERMODEL - Måneskin (very close tho)

Ok next up is every song that left (without re-entering) this month.

Exits

Big Energy - Latto [#7] {15 weeks}

Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith [#10] {15 weeks}

Hold My Hand - Lady Gaga [#28] {1 week}

House On Fire - Mimi Webb [#15] {9 weeks}

IDGAF - BoyWithUke/blackbear [#25] {5 weeks}

Light Switch - Charlie Puth [1 week at #1] {15 weeks}

Overpass Graffiti - Ed Sheeran [5 weeks at #1] {24 weeks}

The Motto - Tiësto/Ava Max [#4] {14 weeks}

Weatherman - Eddie Benjamin [#18] {11 weeks}

Woman - Doja Cat [#12] {16 weeks}

• Ugh, I can't believe Big Energy flopped as much as it did here. It was such a big hit, and such a great song, and Hits 1 didn't treat it well enough.
• Fingers Crossed was good, but ultimately got a little annoying, so I'm not sad that it's gone.
• Pffsh, Hold My Hand only spent a week on the Countdown. Something tells me it'll be back though.
• Ok I could've sworn that House On Fire left way before it did. Not saying that it's a bad song, I love it, just not all that memorable.
• IDGAF should've done so much better, it was so good.
• I'm pretty satisfied with how Light Switch did here. Great song, and was treated as such.
• I really didn't expect Overpass Graffiti to grow on me as much as it did, to the point where I was a little sad when it left, even though it spent much too long here.
• I also got a little bored with The Motto, and it did quite well, so I'm not sad to see it go.
• Weatherman was trash, and should've left a long time ago.
• Woman should've done so much better what the hell.

Now is the part where I give the award for "Song That Will Be Missed the Most" (title is a work in progress). And this month, it goes to Big Energy by Latto. Seriously, this was done dirty here.

Here are the top 10 songs on Hits 1 of the month based on chart performance.

Top 10 Hits 1 Songs from May 2022

#10: Bam Bam - Camila Cabello/Ed Sheeran [#9]

#9: COMPLETE MESS - 5 Seconds of Summer [#6]

#8: When You're Gone - Shawn Mendes [#8]

#7: 2step - Ed Sheeran/Lil Baby [#6]

#6: Enemy - Imagine Dragons/JID [#1]

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

#4: Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold [#3]

#3: Boyfriend - Dove Cameron [#2]

#2: Sweetest Pie - Megan Thee Stallion/Dua Lipa [#2]

#1: As It Was - Harry Styles [#1]

• Bam Bam is pretty good, so I'm glad to see it in the top 10 now.
• COMPLETE MESS really faded on me, so I'm glad to see it starting to go.
• I'm very happy to see When You're Gone doing somewhat well, because it's a great song.
• I'm unsure why 2step hasn't entered the top five yet, considering it's Ed Sheeran, and it's probably the best = song.
• Enemy has started to drop a ton, and while I'm sad, because I still love the song, it did much better here than I expected it to, so I'm satisfied.
• Ayy, she's all i wanna be finally entered the top five! Let's go!
• I got very scared that Numb Little Bug was gonna fall quickly, but it seems to have rebounded, so fingers crossed that it'll manage to hit #1.
• I don't think Boyfriend deserves #3 of the month, but whatever.
• Sweetest Pie got so annoying. I'm sorry, I just don't really like it anymore.
• It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that As It Was is the #1 of the month. It's a solid song, though, so I'm not complaining. I listened to Harry's House too, and it was actually a pretty great little album. I wasn't expecting that at all, and I'm so glad it was.

Next is all the Hit-Bound debuts (that I haven't already talked about) from May.

Hit-Bound Debuts

100sadsongs - Tai Verdes

Best Lover - BIBI

don't come back - Tate McRae

Dope - John Legend/JID

Dua Lipa - Jack Harlow

gfy - blackbear/Machine Gun Kelly

Hope You're Not Happy - Ashe

I Love U - The Chainsmokers

In The Stars - Benson Boone

Late Night Talking - Harry Styles

MEAN! - Madeline The Person

No One Dies From Love - Tove Lo

Overthinking - Mabel/24kGoldn

P.G.N.L. - Conor Maynard

Potion - Calvin Harris/Dua Lipa/Young Thug

This Love (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift

Too Precious - Em Beihold

Until I Found You - Stephen Sanchez

what would you do? - Tate McRae

Wild - Dixie

Will It Ever Feel The Same? - Bazzi

• 100sadsongs is solid, but not too memorable.
• Best Lover isn't nearly as good as The Weekend, but it's still good, so I'll take it.
• I've really been enjoying Tate McRae's new stuff, and don't come back is a great little bop.
• A John Legend and JID song called Dope is something I never knew I needed in my life. Great song.
• Apparently Jack Harlow made a song called Dua Lipa. And it's... fine? I mean, it's Jack Harlow, it can't really be that great or that bad.
• gfy is yet another blackbear / MGK collaboration, and I don't even care, it's great.
• I've never been a fan of Ashe and Hope You're Not Happy did not change my opinion at all.
• I Love U isn't memorable at all, but it's pretty good.
• In The Stars is so sad what. I didn't need to feel that on a random Friday night.
• Late Night Talking is a BOP and I don't care what you say.
• This song, MEAN! really bothers me because it had so much potential when I first starting listening to it, but it ended up being really underwhelming.
• No One Dies From Love is really weird and it sucks.
• Overthinking is good, but I don't know, something about it just isn't enough to make it great
• P.G.N.L. is a super chill song, 8/10.
• Same issue with Overthinking applies to Potion.
• It was very weird having This Love here for a bit, because it's a song that I actually have memories attached to. It was weird to see a song I've been with for so long be on a new music show.
• Too Precious isn't nearly as good as Numb Little Bug, but it's still a very solid song.
• Ew, who is Stephen Sanchez and why does his song suck so much. Very slow and the vocal effects are bad.
• I'm sad that what would you do? got replaced, because it was SO GOOD. So much fun, I loved it.
• Wild is pretty great, actually. Dammit, Dixie, stop making me like your songs.
• Will It Ever Feel The Same? exists, I guess.

Best Hit-Bound Debut of the Month: Late Night Talking - Harry Styles

Next, the Hit-Bound exits.

Hit-Bound Exits

Dope - John Legend/JID

Dua Lipa - Jack Harlow

Hope You're Not Happy - Ashe

I Love U - The Chainsmokers

In The Stars - Benson Boone

That's Hilarious - Charlie Puth

this is what falling in love feels like - JVKE

This Love (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift

what would you do? - Tate McRae

Where you are - PinkPantheress/WILLOW

Words - Alesso/Zara Larsson

• Ugh, Dope should've lasted for more than a week, it was so fun.
• Dua Lipa was just kinda there, so I'm not sad it's gone.
• Glad to see Hope You're Not Happy didn't last.
• I think I Love U was in the Abyss for a bit, so it might not be gone, idk.
• I wish In The Stars had done better, it was so good.
• That's Hilarious had actually started to grow on me a bit, so I'm sad to see it go.
• why is this is what falling in love feels like in the Abyss? Come on, it's not good.
• Ok, yeah, This Love is good, but it would've been weird to have it on the Countdown.
• I said this earlier, but what would you do? shouldn't have been replaced.
• Where you are was pretty bad, so I don't care that it's gone.
• Oh yeah, Words exists.

Best Hit-Bound Exit of the Month: what would you do? - Tate McRae

So yeah! That's about it. I promise that my last Year-End post is coming, and the announcement I was talking about will come with it, and if not, at least before I leave for a month in July. Anyways, if you want to ask me anything about May, feel free, I'll try to respond lmao. And if you want the exact Countdown from each week in May, make sure you check out the "Weekend Countdown" tab above. That's where I've been posting the Countdown recently.

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

Week of February 20, 2021 - Harry Styles (4)

Harry Styles (4)

“Whaaat? No, we don’t rig the surveys so that Harry Styles constantly gets- Yeah, okay, we rig the surveys so that Harry Styles constantly gets the #1.” - Somebody at Hits 1 to somebody else at Hits 1.

So this week had its ups and downs. An up: I got the first two rounds of reveals up on my 2020 Countdown Extras Rankdown and I plan to do another today. A down: Our #1 is Harry Styles again. An up: Our Hit-Bound entrants were pretty good. A down: So were our Hit-Bound exits. An up: The biggest jump is great. A down: The biggest drop is also a good song.

Here’s our list of exits for this week:

Songs We’re Saying Goodbye To

Fix It to Break It - Clinton Kane (#28) [#28] {2 weeks}

Lonely - Justin Bieber/benny blanco (#13) [#13] {13 weeks}

Prisoner - Miley Cyrus/Dua Lipa (#12) [#10] {12 weeks}

Last Week’s #1: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby (3)

#30: Good Days - SZA (DEBUT) [3 weeks in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#29: I’m not Pretty - JESSIA (-2) [#27] {2 weeks}

#28: Lifestyle - Jason Derulo/Adam Levine (+2) [#28] {4 weeks} *new peak*

#27: Fly Away - Tones And I (+2) [#27] {3 weeks} *new peak*

#26: Heat Waves - Glass Animals (-) [#26] {4 weeks}

#25: Diamonds - Sam Smith (-6) [#6] {22 weeks}

#24: WITHOUT YOU - The Kid LAROI (-) [#24] {3 weeks}

#23: positions - Ariana Grande (-8) [#2] {17 weeks}

#22: Go Crazy - Chris Brown/Young Thug (+3) [#20] {9 weeks}

#21: Lie Lie Lie - Joshua Bassett (-3) [#18] {4 weeks}

#20: What You Know Bout Love - Pop Smoke (+3) [#17] {18 weeks}

#19: forget me too - Machine Gun Kelly/Halsey (+3) [#19] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#18: We’re Good - Dua Lipa (DEBUT) [0 weeks in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#17: Put Your Records On - Ritt Momney (-) [#15] {15 weeks}

#16: Lasting Lover - Sigala/James Arthur (-2) [#14] {8 weeks}

#15: Anyone - Justin Bieber (+5) [#15] {6 weeks} *new peak*

#14: My Head & My Heart - Ava Max (+7) [#14] {4 weeks} *new peak*

#13: Afterglow - Ed Sheeran (+3) [#11] {8 weeks}

#12: you broke me first - Tate McRae (-2) [#7] {21 weeks}

#11: Love Story (Taylor’s Version) - Taylor Swift (DEBUT) [1 week in Hit-Bound] {1 week}

#10: 34+35 - Ariana Grande (-2) [#8] {6 weeks}

#9: Treat People With Kindness - Harry Styles (-) [#9] {6 weeks}

#8: Therefore I Am - Billie Eilish (-3) [#3] {14 weeks}

#7: Save Your Tears - The Weeknd (+4) [#7] {14 weeks} *new peak*

#6: Monsters - All Time Low/Demi Lovato/blackbear (-) [4 weeks at #1] {23 weeks}

#5: willow - Taylor Swift (+2) [#5] {9 weeks} *new peak*

#4: my ex’s best friend - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear (-) [#2] {21 weeks}

#3: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby (-2) [3 weeks at #1] {19 weeks}

#2: drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo (+1) [#2] {6 weeks} *new peak*

#1: Golden - Harry Styles (+1) [4th week at #1] {17 weeks}

Last Year’s #1: Adore You - Harry Styles [2/10 weeks at #1]

Countdown Extra: Remember That Night? - Sara Kays

Yup, I was not expecting this at all. Surprisingly, our first debut at #30 is SZA’s new hit, Good Days. It really doesn’t sound like the type of song that would typically debut on the Countdown, but honestly, I think I’m starting to like it. It’s an extremely R&B song, which is probably a first for Hits 1. Anyways, onto the actual song. I think SZA sounds pretty great here. She’s always sounded great and that definitely showed in her past three Countdown songs. The chorus is actually somewhat catchy and I can remember what it sounds like after a few days of listening to it, which doesn’t normally happen with R&B music with me. My only real issues with it is that the verses can get kind of boring and it’s much longer than it needs to be. Other than that, though, it’s actually quite good. Expect it to start changing colours very soon.

So the other week, Dua Lipa released Future Nostalgia Side B, which added four new songs to her album Future Nostalgia. Her new single from those four new tracks, We’re Good debuts at a pretty high #18 this week. This wouldn’t have been my pick as the new single. I would have chosen Not My Problem featuring JID. Don’t get me wrong, this song isn’t bad. It just has a really different vibe from the other singles from Future Nostalgia and it’s not as interesting or catchy. It doesn’t have that infectious 80s vibe which was so prominent on most of the album, especially Physical. Other than that, it’s fine, she sounds good and the production’s alright, but it could’ve been much better.

Well, this is quite weird. I’m not sure how well the original Love Story did on the Countdown, but it probably hit the top 10 and I definitely wouldn’t be surprised if it hit #1 back in the day. So this means that two versions of Love Story by Taylor Swift will soon have both hit the top 10. I’m not entirely sure this re-recorded version was really meant for radio, but honestly, I don’t really care. This is one of those (rare) times that Hits 1 really liking an artist actually pays off for a lot of people. It’s really nice to hear this gem of a song back on the radio. It’s a great song in every meaning of the term. Taylor sounds fantastic, even better than she did in the original, you can hear the instruments here much more than in the original, but every single aspect of the original song is still here. I really love it and it would make me super happy if this hit #1 here. I would definitely expect this to turn to purple in the coming weeks if I were you.

Best Debut: Love Story (Taylor’s Version) - Taylor Swift

Biggest DROP!!!: positions - Ariana Grande (-8): Aw. That kind of sucks that this song is starting to drop, but it got a #2 peak, which is great here especially considering Hits 1 doesn’t exactly love Ariana Grande. I’m pretty sure this is one of the if not the highest-peaking Ariana song. So it’s good that she finally got that.

Biggest Jump: My Head & My Heart - Ava Max (+7): On the other hand, I’m so happy that this song is jumping. It’s debuted on the Hot 100 now and I can only see it climbing everywhere from here on out. It’s a fantastic song and I think it has huge potential to be a huge hit.

Countdown Ranking

0 - Crap:

#30: Golden - Harry Styles

1 - Bad:

#29: Therefore I Am - Billie Eilish

2 - Mediocre:

#28: Fly Away - Tones And I

#27: Put Your Records On - Ritt Momney

#26: Good Days - SZA

3 - Decent:

#25: 34+35 - Ariana Grande

#24: Heat Waves - Glass Animals

4 - Good:

#23: Diamonds - Sam Smith

#22: you broke me first - Tate McRae

#21: We’re Good - Dua Lipa

#20: willow - Taylor Swift

#19: I’m not Pretty - JESSIA

#18: Treat People With Kindness - Harry Styles

#17: Lifestyle - Jason Derulo/Adam Levine

#16: Afterglow - Ed Sheeran

#15: What You Know Bout Love - Pop Smoke

5 - Great:

#14: Go Crazy - Chris Brown/Young Thug

#13: my ex’s best friend - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear

#12: Lie Lie Lie - Joshua Bassett

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

#10: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby

#9: Anyone - Justin Bieber

#8: positions - Ariana Grande

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

#6: Save Your Tears - The Weeknd

#5: drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo

#4: Lasting Lover - Sigala/James Arthur

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

#2: My Head & My Heart - Ava Max

#1: WITHOUT YOU - The Kid LAROI

Overall Score: 119/150 = 79%

5 Oldest Songs

#5: What You Know Bout Love - Pop Smoke {18 weeks}

#4: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby {19 weeks}

#3: you broke me first - Tate McRae & my ex’s best friend - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear {21 weeks}

#2: Diamonds - Sam Smith {22 weeks}

#1: Monsters - All Time Low/Demi Lovato/blackbear {23 weeks}

#1 Recommendation for Hits 1: no body, no crime - Taylor Swift/HAIM

My Favourite Song Last Year: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd

My Least Favourite Song Last Year: Say So - Doja Cat

Most Missed Countdown Song: It’s Time - Imagine Dragons

Hit-Bound

Provide - G-Eazy/Chris Brown/Mark Morrison [1]

Fix It to Break It - Clinton Kane [1; 2nd time]

Talk About Love - Zara Larsson/Young Thug [4]

Best Friend - Saweetie/Doja Cat [3]

Cry Over Boys - Alexander 23 [2]

Remember That Night? - Sara Kays [2]

Way Less Sad - AJR [1]

Girls Like Us - Zoe Wees [5]

Overdrive - Conan Gray [1]

Body - Megan Thee Stallion [10]

Momma Always Told Me - Mike Posner/Stanaj/Yung Bae [3]

rubberband - Tate McRae [3]

cheers - blackbear/Wiz Khalifa [3]

Skin - Sabrina Carpenter [3; 2nd time*]

Goosebumps (Remix) - Travis Scott/HVME [2]

*Skipped Hit-Bound, so this is technically its first time around.

So G-Eazy and Chris Brown have sampled an old song by Mark Morrison. I’m not sure what that song is, but I’ll probably figure it out. Anyways, so now that new song, Provide in on Hit-Bound. This song is actually really good. The blue ranking is definitely just a placeholder right now. G-Eazy actually works really well with the beat here. He works much better than he did in Hate The Way. His extremely non-melodic rapping somehow fits and I don’t know how. Chris Brown also delivers a pretty great hook. Vocally, he’s quite good and he also works well with the production. I really hope that this is a hit here.

Fix It to Break It left the Countdown and re-entered Hit-Bound this week. I never expected this to be a hit, so I’m definitely not that sad about it. I highly doubt that it’ll re-enter the Weekend Countdown.

So AJR have announced since Bummerland that their new album, OK ORCHESTRA will be released on March 26, which honestly isn’t that far away and if the rest of the songs are at all like this new one and Bang!, I’m so excited. Anyways, this new single is called Way Less Sad and this is now my second-favourite AJR song (after Bang!, obviously). This really reminds me of an extremely toned-down version of 100 Bad Days. They hit that great balance of over-the-topness without going overboard that they hit in Bang! and it works so well. The chorus here is actually fantastic and I’m so glad that they didn’t give it to Kygo and Keith Urban or Cardi B. The horns honestly work so well here, Jack Met is singing in the range that works the best for his voice and he’s not trying to go way too high like in Dear Winter, and the lyrics are great too. I honestly can’t think of a single thing that would make this song better. I really hope that this debuts very soon.

So Conan Gray’s now released another single that’s made it onto here and I cannot tell you how happy I am that this is much more like Maniac than Heather. I would honestly say that Overdrive is better than Maniac. It has the same synth-heavy vibe that Maniac did, but Maniac was mainly just a catchy chorus and that was literally the only thing that made it special. This song has more layers to it. Conan actually sounds great here, the chorus has a really interesting melody that I can seriously get behind. The production is also just much more. Yeah, I’m not sure how to describe it. This is a great song though. It was a really good batch of Hit-Bound debuts this week. I want all of these songs to be hits.

Best Debut: Way Less Sad - AJR

Hit-Bound Ranking

0 - Crap:

#15: Body - Megan Thee Stallion

1 - Bad:

#14: Best Friend - Saweetie/Doja Cat

2 - Mediocre:

#13: Goosebumps (Remix) - Travis Scott/HVME

3 - Decent:

#12: rubberband - Tate McRae

#11: Girls Like Us - Zoe Wees

#10: Cry Over Boys - Alexander 23

4 - Good:

#9: Skin - Sabrina Carpenter

#8: Remember That Night? - Sara Kays

#7: Talk About Love - Zara Larsson/Young Thug

#6: Momma Always Told Me - Mike Posner/Stanaj/Yung Bae

#5: Provide - G-Eazy/Chris Brown/Mark Morrison

#4: cheers - blackbear/Wiz Khalifa

5 - Great:

#3: Fix It to Break It - Clinton Kane

#2: Overdrive - Conan Gray

#1: Way Less Sad - AJR

Overall Score: 52/75 = 69%

The Goldn Hour

One More Time - Daft Punk

3, 2, 1 - 24kGoldn

Mood - 24kGoldn/iann dior

WITHOUT YOU - The Kid LAROI

acting like that - YUNGBLUD/Machine Gun Kelly

So over a year after the YouTube 15 was discontinued, we’re finally getting a third show on Hits 1 again! It’s an artist-hosted show with 24kGoldn! He shares some of his favourite, a throwback, some of his music and Hits 1 favourites too. He hosts it with one of his producers, Omer Fedi and I think they actually do a pretty great job of hosting. “But wait, Beluga, there’s only five songs on that list. That’s a ridiculously short show!” You’re probably saying. The thing is, I noticed that Golden and Omer actually only picked about five songs. The rest were just songs that Hits 1 would regularly play and it changes with every replay. So here I’ve only listed the songs that they actually chose, because the rest of the list is just Countdown songs. Personally, I think that they should be given more selection on what they play, but for now, this is fine. If they decide to give them more options, though, I’d be all over that.

So the first song that they chose was a throwback. I can’t remember exactly what they called it, but I’ll just call it a throwback. Anyways, the song that they chose was the 2007 hit One More Time by EDM duo Daft Punk. I’ve never really loved Daft Punk’s stuff. Honestly, the only Daft Punk stuff that I like is their collaborations with The Weeknd and Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (or Kanye’s song that sampled that one). The production isn’t fantastic and the robotic vocals are really weird and don’t really work with anything. Also, this song really doesn’t need to be five minutes long.

Anyways, since 24kGoldn hosts the show, he gets to play his new song, 3, 2, 1. So I’ll be reviewing it today. I think this is pretty good. It’s definitely not his best, I would for sure say that Mood and Coco are both better, but this is still enjoyable. The electric guitar in the chorus fits pretty well with the song and I think Golden’s voice works pretty well with it. The chorus is pretty catchy too. The song’s a little too short though, only clocking in at 2:11. I think it would have benefited from a bridge and another chorus.

So I won’t review Mood, but I just want to share the story that he told right before playing it. So apparently, him, Omer and some other producers were just hanging out at iann dior’s house. Then, one of the producers (I can’t remember if it was Omer or not) picked up a guitar and started playing the riff that can be heard throughout the entire song. While playing Call of Duty, 24kGoldn, on the spot, sang the chorus to Mood. Then, he stopped the game, recorded the chorus, him and iann did their verses and the whole thing only took about 20 minutes. It’s insane how quickly great songwriters can make a huge hit.

They also played WITHOUT YOU by The Kid LAROI. Nothing to add on that one, they just played it.

So I’m pretty sure every week they get at least one song that they can play that isn’t theirs. This week, that song is acting like that by pop-punk artists YUNGBLUD and Machine Gun Kelly. It seems like Travis Barker helps to produce a lot of pop-punk songs nowadays. Anyways, this song is fantastic. I’ve always been a huge fan of pop-rock. I would definitely consider it my favourite genre, Imagine Dragons, Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy are among my favourite artists. I think both YUNGBLUD and Machine Gun Kelly sound great here and they sound honestly really great together. The instrumentation here is also really really good. I’d love to see it debut Hit-Bound sometime soon.

Best Goldn Hour Song: acting like that - YUNGBLUD/Machine Gun Kelly

It’s a Love Story, Baby Just Say “Blurbs”

The Countdown exits this week (other than FItBI) were Lonely and Prisoner. Lonely was never fantastic, even though I didn’t hate it, so I’m not too sad to see it go and Prisoner was only alright, so I’m also not disappointed to see that go.

As for our Hit-Bound exits… oh man. SO DONE and Stay Next To Me. For the former, I’m really sad that it didn’t debut. It’s still doing well on pop radio and did not deserve to drop out. As for the latter, I’m not entirely convinced that it’s gone for good, as it’s still getting consistent spins and it would be weird to just let it go when it’s been leading in spins for the longest time now. Point being, I really hope that it manages to debut next week.

I’m not Pretty fell to #29, because y’know… the One to Watch can never do well. That’s just how it works.

Okay, can we please let go of Diamonds soon? I’ll be really tired of it if it doesn’t leave very soon.

Go Crazy and What You Know Bout Love just keep jumping and dropping. I mean, come on. Just make up your minds already.

I really hope that forget me too becomes a big hit here. That would be awesome.

Yay! Anyone is now a top 15 hit! I really hope that this becomes Justin Bieber’s biggest song here from the past few years.

Save Your Tears is now at #7, which is fantastic. I’d love to see this become a top 5 hit, it really deserves it.

willow’s now a top 5 hit. I would be totally fine if this hits #1 soon. Especially considering…

Golden is back at #1, dethroning Levitating. I mean, come on. This is just absolutely ridiculous. It’ll probably just stay there until Treat People With Kindness can hit #1, completely blocking off drivers license from hitting #1. Also, listening to Adore You and Golden back-to-back made me grow a deeper dislike for Golden, because they’re really just the same song, except Harry sounds slightly less annoying in Golden.

How Hits 1 Songs Are Doing on the Hot 100

#1: drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo

#3: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd

#4: Save Your Tears - The Weeknd

#5: Mood - 24kGoldn/iann dior

#6: 34+35 - Ariana Grande

#7: Go Crazy - Chris Brown/Young Thug

#8: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby

#9: positions - Ariana Grande

#10: What You Know Bout Love - Pop Smoke

#13: Good Days - SZA

#14: Holy - Justin Bieber/Chance the Rapper

#15: Therefore I Am - Billie Eilish

#16: Lonely - Justin Bieber/benny blanco

#20: I Hope - Gabby Barrett/Charlie Puth

#21: Body - Megan Thee Stallion

#23: Bang! - AJR

#24: you broke me first - Tate McRae

#25: my ex’s best friend - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear

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

#29: willow - Taylor Swift

#30: Laugh Now Cry Later - Drake/Lil Durk

#32: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi

#34: Anyone - Justin Bieber

#41: Best Friend - Saweetie/Doja Cat

#43: Dynamite - BTS

#44: WITHOUT YOU - The Kid LAROI

#45: Put Your Records On - Ritt Momney

#48: Kings & Queens - Ava Max

#49: ROCKSTAR - DaBaby/Roddy Ricch

#57: Afterglow - Ed Sheeran

#58: Golden - Harry Styles

#59: Goosebumps (Remix) - Travis Scott/HVME

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

#64: Provide - G-Eazy/Chris Brown/Mark Morrison

#69: Heat Waves - Glass Animals

#74: SO DONE - The Kid LAROI

#82: My Head & My Heart - Ava Max

#91: Monster - Shawn Mendes/Justin Bieber

#95: Lifestyle - Jason Derulo/Adam Levine

#98: Prisoner - Miley Cyrus/Dua Lipa

#99: Skin - Sabrina Carpenter

Top 10 on the Hunger Games Countdown

#10: Fly Away - Tones And I

#9: Haunt You - X Lovers/chloe moriondo

#8: Momma Always Told Me - Mike Posner/Stanaj/Yung Bae

#7: Therefore I Am - Billie Eilish

#6: going out - ROLE MODEL

#5: Skin - Sabrina Carpenter

#4: Goosebumps (Remix) - Travis Scott/HVME

#3: Best Friend - Saweetie/Doja Cat

#2: Midnight - Alesso/Liam Payne

#1: 100 Ways - Jackson Wang

Top 10 If the Countdown Made Sense

#10: Save Your Tears - The Weeknd

#9: my ex’s best friend - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear

#8: positions - Ariana Grande

#7: Go Crazy - Chris Brown/Young Thug

#6: you broke me first - Tate McRae

#5: Put Your Records On - Ritt Momney

#4: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby

#3: Therefore I Am - Billie Eilish

#2: drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo

#1: 34+35 - Ariana Grande

Kwaheri, everybody! See you all in the next one. #GoldnHour (Yup, not sure why I put that either)

Hits 1's Top 30 of 2020 - Harry Styles

Hey guys and welcome to Hits 1's Top 30 of 2020 list! The list this year is super whack. I'm not entirely sure if it was because they shortened it to 30 songs or if it was just Hits 1 being weird, but there were so many songs that deserved to be on this list, but didn't make it. In fact, Kings & Queens was the only song that debuted in the Top 30 to be on this list, which is ridiculous. Yeah, that means that songs like Come & Go, Savage Love, Bang!, Heather, Harry's Falling and Mood. I mean, come ON! All of those songs deserved to be on there (even if I don't like Heather). But whatever, it's still fun to review this every year.

Here's my format for this year.

#POS: Song Title - Artist Name [Countdown Peak in 2020] {Weeks on the Countdown in 2020)

Review.

Here's a brief refresher on my colour-coding. (With a couple added changes)

Purple: Best Song in the Top 30

Light Purple: One of My Top 5 Picks

Green: Great

Blue: Good

Pink: Decent

Yellow: Mediocre

Light Blue: Bad

Red: Crap

Dark Red: One of My Bottom 5 Picks

Orange: Worst Song in the Top 30

Alright, let's go!

#30: 10,000 Hours - Dan + Shay/Justin Bieber [#9] {15 weeks}

Wow, it's been a while since I've listened to this song. I honestly kind of forgot that it existed. That being said, it's definitely still a good song. I think Dan + Shay work pretty well with Justin Bieber and the writing's great too. Although, I definitely wouldn't say that this is one of the biggest songs of the year. Whatever, I guess I'm still glad that it's here.

#29: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo [#11] {20 weeks}

Hunh. Back-to-back Justin Bieber. These are the only two Justin Bieber songs on the list too, but I'm definitely really glad that this song snuck in. It's my favourite Justin Bieber song of 2020, mostly just because of the production. There's so much to it and it's honestly just really interesting to listen to. Plus, Justin sounds good here and the song's pretty catchy too. Quavo's verse is a little unnecessary, but that being said, he doesn't bring the song down at all either.

#28: How Do You Sleep? - Sam Smith [#12] {15 weeks}

This is the most confusing song on the list out of all of them. How did this song do better on the Countdown than Come & Go, Falling and Monsters, which all hit #1 in 2020? I'm pretty sure in my Ultimate Rank, there's something like 50 songs that outperformed it. But whatever, this is still definitely a good song. Sam Smith sounds pretty good here and this is probably one of my favourite songs from them from the past couple of years. They work pretty well with the beat and the drop is decent. That last chorus especially is pretty good. Overall, this is just a really good song and I'm glad it's here, even if it makes no sense.

#27: Supalonely - BENEE/Gus Dapperton [#8] {23 weeks}

This was one of my least favourite hits of the year. I kind of get the appeal of this, the production's pretty groovy, but I just find this song super annoying. BENEE doesn't sound great, here voice has some pretty heavy autotune and don't even get me started on Gus Dapperton. He just sounds absolutely terrible on this song. Plus, I don't really like the "LALALALA" part in the chorus. Other than that, it's fine and I understand why people would like this, but I don't think it should've been as big of a hit as it was.

#26: hot girl bummer - blackbear [#4] {19 weeks}

This was one of the best songs of the year (as seen on my best songs of the year post). This was the start of Hits 1's stanning of blackbear and I'm honestly not sad about that. He's a pretty good artist and I like pretty much everything Hits 1's picked up of his so far. This is probably the best though, even if Monsters is pretty close to this. This song's honestly just lots and lots of fun. blackbear works super well with the song and although the pitch-shifting thing is weird, it somehow works really well with this song. I wish that this was released while Hits 1 was really in love with blackbear and I wish that it hit #1 for a few weeks. Still a great song though. But it should've been higher than his other song on the list.

#25: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots [#7] {13 weeks}

Gonna be honest here, this is one of the most forgettable songs of the year. I definitely forgot that this existed before they played it on this list. All that being said, this is still a really great song. Tyler Joseph sounds pretty good here and the production's honestly pretty solid. It's definitely not TOP's best, Heathens, The Hype and Stressed Out are all better, but this is good. This was definitely enjoyable while it was here even if I won't remember it in a couple years, or maybe even a couple months.

#24: What A Man Gotta Do - Jonas Brothers [#2] {17 weeks}

I totally forgot that this song peaked at #2. It really doesn't feel like it was that big this year, but whatever, like How Do You Sleep?, I'm still glad that it's here. All of the Jonas Brothers sound great here and this song is just a ton of fun. The chorus is very catchy and the production's really fun too. I'm really glad that this song did well on the Countdown and I'm happy that it's here.

#23: ROXANNE - Arizona Zervas [#9] {21 weeks}

Hits 1's still playing this somewhat regularly today and I'm definitely glad that Hits 1 let this onto the Countdown, let alone let it get to the top 10. I've already explained why I love this song in my Top 45 Songs of 2020 post and all of the reasons remain the same. Arizona Zervas sounds pretty great and the autotune doesn't take away from the song at all. On top of that, the song's super catchy and a lot of fun. The production also fits really well here. Overall, everything about this song just came together pretty well and it ultimately made just a really great and fun song.

#22: Kings & Queens - Ava Max [#2] {20 weeks}

Yeah, so this was the only song to debut when the Countdown was Top 30 to make this list. While I'm sad that it wasn't Bang! or Come & Go, this definitely isn't the worst song it could've been (Silently glares at Heather). This song was lots of fun while it was still new and although it's definitely faded on me mostly due to overplay as it started to get popular elsewhere in the world, I still find this song enjoyable. Ava sounds great, the writing's awesome and the layering in the chorus sounds pretty good too. I'm glad that this was a big hit.

#21: If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe/Julia Michaels [#10] {17 weeks}

Yeah, so this song did alright on the Countdown, but left kind of early just a couple of weeks into the shortening of the Countdown, then randomly re-entered one week in September then left the very next week. Not sure why, it was kind of weird. But anyways, I still enjoyed this song, even if my first impression of it doesn't necessarily hold up. I still think that JP Saxe and Julia Michaels sound pretty good and have some really great chemistry here and the writing in this song is good (even though it became popular at an awkward time). However, the reason I don't love it anymore is because it admittedly gets kind of boring when you've heard it a lot. This definitely isn't a song I'm going to remember for a long time, but it was definitely still good and overly hated, in my opinion.

#20: Maniac - Conan Gray [#2] {16 weeks}

Boy, am I glad that this was our first impression of Conan Gray and not Heather. This song was actually incredibly enjoyable and was overlooked by many mainstream radio stations for no apparent reason. It had kind of a funny run on Hits 1, as it was switching between being at #2 and #10 for weeks on end. Not sure why, but it was definitely amusing. Anyways, Conan Gray sounds pretty great here and although there's not too much to the melody, it's still enjoyable. This was a lot of fun while it was here. Good song.

#19: Midnight - Alesso/Liam Payne [1 week at #1] {20 weeks}

Welcome to another episode of "Hits 1 lets a One Direction member get a #1 song for no other reason than the fact that they were a One Direction member". Yeah, unfortunately there's five more episodes of this (Four, if you're not counting Watermelon Sugar, because that was actually a pretty big hit). This song was good, but it definitely shouldn't have done as well as it did on here. I think Alesso's production was good and Liam Payne also sounded good, but it was way too generic to actually be too interesting.

#18: me & ur ghost - blackbear [#2] {22 weeks}

This should not have re-entered. They gave it pretty much exactly the right amount of success after it left the first time. But then, for some reason, a couple of months after it had lost all of its traction, it re-entered the Countdown all the way up at #5. Then proceeded to hit #2 and was only blocked by... Watermelon Sugar, I think? Nope. Moral of the Story. Never mind, this should've hit #1. Haha but in all seriousness, this was still an enjoyable song even if it wasn't as good as hot girl bummer, queen of broken hearts, my ex's best friend or Monsters. blackbear always sounds good and that's definitely no exception here. The only issue is that it's not all too interesting and kind of fades into the background a lot. Other than that, good song though.

#17: Graveyard - Halsey [#6] {21 weeks}

I'm honestly pretty sad that You should be sad wasn't the Halsey song to make this list. I would've also been fine with Be Kind. Anyways, this song definitely isn't bad by any means, it's just honestly not that interesting or memorable. Halsey sounds good here and the production's... fine, I guess. There's honestly not much to talk about this one. (Oh yeah, also fun fact: After On-Demand Hit-Bound, this was always the song to play after it finished, which got really annoying).

#16: Old Me - 5 Seconds of Summer [1 week at #1] {22 weeks}

Oh yeah haha CALM exists. This is probably the most forgettable single from that album although none of them were too memorable. Wildflower is pretty forgettable and Easier isn't too memorable either. The only one that's kind of memorable is Teeth. Anyways, this is also the worst single from CALM. It was overplayed to death on Hits 1 and definitely shouldn't have hit #1 on Hits 1. It got really annoying really quickly and I still find it pretty annoying.

#15: Good as Hell - Lizzo [#7] {18 weeks}

So this song is spending its second year on the Year-End list and is the first of two songs to do this this year. I'm honestly quite surprised that this made it, but I'm also really happy that it's here, as it's really good. This is easily the best Lizzo song I've heard. She sounds great here and it's not in the least bit annoying, especially compared to songs like Truth Hurts and Cuz I Love You. I'm glad that this is here.

#14: My Oh My - Camila Cabello [#5] {19 weeks}

Ayyy, this was a fun song. Camila sounds really good here and the hook is honestly just pretty inventive and fun. Especially the background vocals that go "My oh myyyyyy". I'm really sad that this didn't come out after Hits 1 warmed to rap music though, because then we would've gotten DaBaby's verse on here and that makes it infinitely better. But whatever, it's still a good song without him even though he adds a lot to the song.

#13: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa [#2] {17 weeks}

Yeah, this song was pretty fun when it was here too. I already talked about this song on my best list, so there's not much that I have to say here that I haven't said already. Cool, groovy bassline and Dua sounds great. Even though I got a little tired of it, I still like it and I have a feeling I'm going to really love it again in a few more months.

#12: Moral of the Story - Ashe/Niall Horan [6 weeks at #1] {24 weeks}

Oh thank goodness, this is much lower than I expected it to be. I feel like I've explained why I really hate this song so much too many times, but this is probably one of the last times that I'll have to, so I'll do it. The original version of this song was alright although a bit boring, but then Niall Horan decided to remix it and he made it worse while also making it do terrifically on the Weekend Countdown and hitting #1 for six weeks in a row. It was just kind of ridiculous and really didn't need to happen.

#11: No Judgement - Niall Horan [1 week at #1] {21 weeks}

Even though this is so much better than Moral of the Story, it's still not a very interesting song. It's not bad, there's just little to no substance to it. The production's kind of boring and although Niall sounds pretty good here, he doesn't sound good enough to move it up to further than a pink. Oh yeah and again, this shouldn't have hit #1, even though it was only for a week. There's absolutely no way I'm going to remember that this song exists in a year or two.

#10: Teeth - 5 Seconds of Summer [#2] {21 weeks}

Haha I mentioned earlier that this was the most memorable song from CALM, yet I forgot that it was higher on this list. That being said, this is a great song and it definitely deserved to be here after missing out on the list last year, despite hitting #1 for a couple weeks. I liked the more rock-sounding vibe on this song and I think it fit really well with 5SOS. Both of the guys here sound pretty good and I really like the instrumentation here. I'm glad that this is here.

#9: Only Human - Jonas Brothers [#2] {20 weeks}

I completely forgot that this song stayed for as long as it did on the Countdown this year. In fact, it was actually one of the last songs to drop out of the Countdown before they shortened it. I'm pretty sure this and everything i wanted might have been the last two. This song's alright. It's fun to revisit sometimes, but it's not really something that I find myself constantly coming back to. It was much better than Cool, which already made it a pretty good song, but it's still not as good as Sucker. This song definitely isn't bad though, the guys sound good here and the production's cool. This song's also really catchy. I'm happy that this was a hit, even if I'm gonna forget about it in a couple more years.

#8: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd [6 weeks at #1] {20 weeks}

Yeah, okay, I'm satisfied with where this ended up on the list. It's not quite as high as I would've liked, there's definitely songs above it that shouldn't be above it, but for my favourite song of the year, #8 is a really good ranking. This actually surprisingly managed to hit #1 for six weeks on the Weekend Countdown, which just proves how big of a hit this was, because Hits 1 are by no means The Weeknd stans. I've explained countless times why I love this song and here we go again I guess. Abel sounds fantastic here, the song is catchy beyond belief and the 80s-synth vibe is executed to perfection. Great song, I'm so happy with its amount of success.

#7: Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles [7 weeks at #1] {26 weeks}

Wow, I expected this song to be much higher on this list, especially considering how much Hits 1 loves Harry Styles. This was easily the best Harry Styles single of this year and it definitely deserved to actually be a pretty big hit here and everywhere else. It had a pretty weird run here, as it debuted back in November of 2019, then stayed in Hit-Bound for a really long time before re-entering and finally staying. The production here is great and Harry sounds pretty good too. I like this song and I'm glad that it exists.

#6: Say So - Doja Cat [#3] {23 weeks}

Yeah, so this one grew on me a little bit. I definitely don't hate it nearly as much as I did when it was big. I can definitely see the appeal now, it's extremely groovy and Doja Cat actually doesn't sound that bad, but it's still extremely annoying. I just get kind of annoyed whenever it comes on the radio, because for one, it was overplayed and I never really liked it anyways. The Nicki Minaj remix is still terrible though.

#5: Don't Start Now - Dua Lipa [#2] {21 weeks}

This ended up ranking pretty well on this list and I'd say that that makes up for it not hitting #1 (or maybe I'm just saying that because she's finally gotten a #1 with Levitating). This was a great song, but it definitely wasn't the best single from Future Nostalgia. It's still super fun though and I don't think overplay really killed it that much, even though it was played a ton when it was super popular. Dua sounds good here, the production is fun and the song's super catchy too. Great song, I'm happy that it ended up this high.

#4: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi [1 week at #1] {37 weeks}

Wow, I honestly thought that this would be #1 of the year considering how long it stayed on the Countdown for. I'm honestly pretty disappointed that it wasn't, especially considering which song took the #1 spot. Anyways, I definitely like this song less than I did at the very start, but that's not saying that I don't still like it a lot. I think LewCap sounds good here and the production's more interesting than in Someone You Loved and it keeps it interesting and fresh. Good song, I'm glad that it was a hit.

#3: Nice To Meet Ya - Niall Horan [4 weeks at #1] {21 weeks}

I explained in my Top 45 Songs of 2020 post why I love this song so much. The instrumentation here is great, Niall sounds pretty great too and there's just so much energy in this song that it's practically impossible to not like it. I'm very satisfied with the amount of success that it got here and I wish it got more success outside of Hits 1.

#2: Circles - Post Malone [2 weeks at #1] {21 weeks}

Man, if I could put this higher up on my best list of 2019, I definitely would. It deserved to be much higher than I put it. I really love this song; everything about it just works super well. Post Malone sounds fantastic, as he normally does, and the instrumentation here also works really well with his voice. The main part that's really good though is the chorus. It's so catchy that I feel like it'll still get stuck in my head from time to time in a few years from now. I love this song and I'm so glad that it managed to snag a couple of weeks at #1 here.

#1: Adore You - Harry Styles [10 weeks at #1] {21 weeks}

Hunh. Four out of the top 5 songs spent exactly 21 weeks on the Countdown in 2020. Interesting. Anyways, yeah, I'm really disappointed that this song's the #1 of the year and I hoped that with its quick exit from the Countdown it wouldn't have racked up enough points to be the #1, but alas. I really can't stand this song. Harry honestly doesn't sound very good here, the production's extremely uninteresting and the song as a whole is just very very boring. I really wish that this wasn't such a big hit here.

Alright, that's all for this post! Sorry again for it being so late and you guys should do my rankdown, because you don't have that much time left to submit. (Oh yeah, also, if you want to do Callout Scores, the link is here.)

Kwaheri, everybody! See you in the next one.

Week of January 9, 2021 - Harry Styles (3)

Harry Styles (3)

...come ON!!! (If you want to do Community Ranking, the link is here.)

Last Week’s #1: Monsters - All Time Low/Demi Lovato/blackbear (2)

#30: Holding On - iann dior (-) [#29] {5 weeks}

#29: Afterglow - Ed Sheeran (-6) [#23] {2 weeks}

#28: Laugh Now Cry Later - Drake/Lil Durk (-) [#24] {8 weeks}

#27: Lasting Lover - Sigala/James Arthur (+2) [#27] {2 weeks} *new peak*

#26: Save Your Tears - The Weeknd (-9) [#14] {8 weeks}

#25: Heather - Conan Gray (-) [#6] {24 weeks}

#24: What You Know Bout Love - Pop Smoke (-) [#20] {13 weeks}

#23: Overwhelmed - Royal & the Serpent (+4) [#23] {5 weeks} *new peak*

#22: Lonely - Justin Bieber/benny blanco (-1) [#18] {8 weeks}

#21: Mood - 24kGoldn/iann dior (-1) [#2] {20 weeks}

#20: Bang! - AJR (-2) [#3] {21 weeks}

#19: Put Your Records On - Ritt Momney (-4) [#15] {9 weeks}

#18: Prisoner - Miley Cyrus/Dua Lipa (+1) [#18] {7 weeks} *new peak*

#17: HOLIDAY - Lil Nas X (+9) [#17] {8 weeks} *new peak*

#16: Dynamite - BTS (-) [#13] {15 weeks}

#15: Baby, I’m Jealous - Bebe Rexha/Doja Cat (-3) [#12] {13 weeks}

#14: Holy - Justin Bieber/Chance the Rapper (-) [#10] {16 weeks}

#13: Take You Dancing - Jason Derulo (+9) [#13] {10 weeks} *new peak*

#12: willow - Taylor Swift (+1) [#12] {3 weeks} *new peak*

#11: Monster - Shawn Mendes/Justin Bieber (-) [#11] {5 weeks}

#10: you broke me first - Tate McRae (-) [#7] {15 weeks}

#9: my ex’s best friend - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear (-2) [#6] {15 weeks}

#8: Save Myself - Ashe (-) [#3] {17 weeks}

#7: Diamonds - Sam Smith (+2) [#7] {16 weeks} *new peak*

#6: positions - Ariana Grande (-) [#5] {11 weeks}

#5: Wonder - Shawn Mendes (-) [3 weeks at #1] {14 weeks}

#4: Therefore I Am - Billie Eilish (-) [#3] {8 weeks}

#3: Monsters - All Time Low/Demi Lovato/blackbear (-2) [2 weeks at #1] {17 weeks}

#2: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby (-) [#2] {13 weeks}

#1: Golden - Harry Styles (+2) [3rd week at #1] {11 weeks}

Last Year’s #1: Nice To Meet Ya - Niall Horan [6/8 weeks at #1]

Countdown Extra: Deep End - Fousheé

Biggest DROP!!!: Save Your Tears - The Weeknd (-9): It kind of sucks that this isn’t becoming a hit, but then again, this isn’t my favourite The Weeknd song.

Biggest Jump: HOLIDAY - Lil Nas X & Take You Dancing - Jason Derulo (+9): I’m really glad that HOLIDAY’s rebounded from its big drop last week. As for Take You Dancing, it’s nice to see it doing well.

Countdown Ranking

0 - Crap:

#30: Heather - Conan Gray

1 - Bad:

#29: Golden - Harry Styles

#28: Therefore I Am - Billie Eilish

2 - Mediocre:

#27: Put Your Records On - Ritt Momney

#26: Lonely - Justin Bieber/benny blanco

3 - Decent:

#25: Save Myself - Ashe

#24: Overwhelmed - Royal & the Serpent

#23: Save Your Tears - The Weeknd

4 - Good:

#22: Wonder - Shawn Mendes

#21: Diamonds - Sam Smith

#20: Baby, I’m Jealous - Bebe Rexha/Doja Cat

#19: Laugh Now Cry Later - Drake/Lil Durk

#18: Prisoner - Miley Cyrus/Dua Lipa

#17: Holding On - iann dior

#16: willow - Taylor Swift

#15: Take You Dancing - Jason Derulo

#14: What You Know Bout Love - Pop Smoke

#13: Afterglow - Ed Sheeran

5 - Great:

#12: you broke me first - Tate McRae

#11: Dynamite - BTS

#10: Holy - Justin Bieber/Chance the Rapper

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

#8: my ex’s best friend - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear

#7: Bang! - AJR

#6: Mood - 24kGoldn/iann dior

#5: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby

#4: HOLIDAY - Lil Nas X

#3: Monster - Shawn Mendes/Justin Bieber

#2: positions - Ariana Grande

#1: Lasting Lover - Sigala/James Arthur

Overall Score: 115/150 = 77%

5 Oldest Songs

#5: Holy - Justin Bieber/Chance the Rapper & Diamonds - Sam Smith {16 weeks}

#4: Save Myself - Ashe & Monsters - All Time Low/Demi Lovato/blackbear {17 weeks}

#3: Mood - 24kGoldn/iann dior {20 weeks}

#2: Bang! - AJR {21 weeks}

#1: Heather - Conan Gray {24 weeks}

#1 Recommendation for Hits 1: WITHOUT YOU - The Kid LAROI

My Favourite Song Last Year: ROXANNE - Arizona Zervas

My Least Favourite Song Last Year: Truth Hurts - Lizzo

Most Missed Countdown Song: Centuries - Fall Out Boy

Hit-Bound

Deep End - Fousheé [5]

Anyone - Justin Bieber [2]

Fly Away - Tones And I [8]

Body - Megan Thee Stallion [4]

Goodbye - Shaylen [10]

Go Crazy - Chris Brown/Young Thug [8; 2nd time*]

Stay Next To Me - Quinn XCII/Chelsea Cutler [4]

Never the 1 - ROSIE [10]

SO DONE - The Kid LAROI [5]

34+35 - Ariana Grande [9]

One Whole Day - Dixie D’Amelio/Wiz Khalifa [5]

Fix It to Break It - Clinton Kane [8]

In The Morning - Jennifer Lopez [2]

Bitter - FLETCHER/Kito [8]

Hawái (Remix) - Maluma/The Weeknd [8]

Broke Boy - Malia Civetz [14*]

Hit-Bound Ranking

0 - Crap:

#16: Deep End - Fousheé

#15: Body - Megan Thee Stallion

1 - Bad:

#14: Never the 1 - ROSIE

2 - Mediocre:

NONE!

3 - Decent:

#13: Fly Away - Tones And I

#12: In The Morning - Jennifer Lopez

#11: 34+35 - Ariana Grande

4 - Good:

#10: Goodbye - Shaylen

#9: Hawái (Remix) - Maluma/The Weeknd

5 - Great:

#8: Fix It to Break It - Clinton Kane

#7: Bitter - FLETCHER/Kito

#6: Go Crazy - Chris Brown/Young Thug

#5: SO DONE - The Kid LAROI

#4: Anyone - Justin Bieber

#3: One Whole Day - Dixie D’Amelio/Wiz Khalifa

#2: Broke Boy - Malia Civetz

#1: Stay Next To Me - Quinn XCII/Chelsea Cutler

Overall Score: 58/80 = 73%

Blurbs

No exits this week, just one Hit-Bound exit, Blueberry Eyes… again. I have absolutely no clue why it re-entered last week if it just left again.

Afterglow fell to #29 this week, which kind of sucks, because I’m starting to really like it.

Wow, Overwhelmed is actually coming up to the top 20. I don’t really care about this song too much.

Monsters fell to #3 this week. I’m kind of sad, because I like it. Especially more than what our current #1 is…

Golden returned to #1 this week, beating out Dua Lipa again. I’m so upset that Hits 1 loves Harry Styles so much that they refuse to give anybody but him the #1 spot.

How Hits 1 Songs Are Doing on the Hot 100

#1: Mood - 24kGoldn/iann dior

#2: positions - Ariana Grande

#3: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd

#4: Holy - Justin Bieber/Chance the Rapper

#5: Dynamite - BTS

#6: Go Crazy - Chris Brown/Young Thug

#7: Laugh Now Cry Later - Drake/Lil Durk

#8: I Hope - Gabby Barrett/Charlie Puth

#10: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby

#11: Bang! - AJR

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

#16: Kings & Queens - Ava Max

#18: Therefore I Am - Billie Eilish

#19: 34+35 - Ariana Grande

#21: Body - Megan Thee Stallion

#22: What You Know Bout Love - Pop Smoke

#23: willow - Taylor Swift

#25: Lonely - Justin Bieber/benny blanco

#26: ROCKSTAR - DaBaby/Roddy Ricch

#30: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi

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

#32: Afterglow - Ed Sheeran

#34: Whats Poppin (Remix) - Jack Harlow/Tory Lanez/DaBaby/Lil Wayne

#37: I Should Probably Go To Bed - Dan + Shay

#43: HOLIDAY - Lil Nas X

#45: Monster - Shawn Mendes/Justin Bieber

#46: Diamonds - Sam Smith

#47: Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles

#49: Hawái (Remix) - Maluma/The Weeknd

#51: you broke me first - Tate McRae

#56: my ex’s best friend - Machine Gun Kelly/blackbear

#63: 7 Summers - Morgan Wallen

#67: Prisoner - Miley Cyrus/Dua Lipa

#75: Golden - Harry Styles

#79: Take You Dancing - Jason Derulo

#81: MIdnight Sky - Miley Cyrus

#84: Put Your Records On - Ritt Momney

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

#95: Save Your Tears - The Weeknd

#96: SO DONE - The Kid LAROI

Top 10 on the Hunger Games Countdown

#10: Stay Next To Me - Quinn XCII/Chelsea Cutler

#9: Haunt You - X Lovers/chloe moriondo

#8: I’m Ready - Sam Smith/Demi Lovato

#7: Fly Away - Tones And I

#6: Midnight - Alesso/Liam Payne

#5: Bummerland - AJR

#4: 100 Ways - Jackson Wang

#3: Bitter - FLETCHER/Kito

#2: 34+35 - Ariana Grande

#1: SO DONE - The Kid LAROI

Top 10 If the Countdown Made Sense

#10: Dynamite - BTS

#9: Take You Dancing - Jason Derulo

#8: Diamonds - Sam Smith

#7: Lonely - Justin Bieber/benny blanco

#6: Mood - 24kGoldn/iann dior

#5: Bang! - AJR

#4: Therefore I Am - Billie Eilish

#3: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby

#2: Holy - Justin Bieber/Chance the Rapper

#1: positions - Ariana Grande

Kwaheri, everybody! See you all later.