We have a new #1, and I’m a little disappointed, because I think there were some better songs that deserved to dethrone Blinding Lights, but I’m not too disappointed, because our current #1 isn’t bad. Other than that, we had a Hit-Bound re-entry, (which I thought would stop with the condensing, but I guess not because songs fluctuate in and out of the top 30 all the time) One debut in the last spot, and a pretty small biggest drop. Here’s the link for the current Community Rankings if you’re interested in that, and I’ll make this the last day to do the form for the prep for Event 3 of the Weekend Countdown Olympics, which I’ll then announce tomorrow (although you may have a pretty good idea as to what it is at this point). We’ve hit 50K Pageviews, so an announcement for that will come in the following days, so for now, we’ll jump into this week’s countdown starting with an… “exit”.
Song We’re Saying Goodbye To
Like That - Doja Cat/Gucci Mane (#29) [#29]
Last Week’s #1: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd (6)
#30: Heartless - Diplo/Julia Michaels/Morgan Wallen (DEBUT) [2* weeks in Hit-Bound] {1 week}
#29: Roses (Remix) - SAINt JHN/Imanbek (+1) [#29] {4 weeks} *new peak*
#28: Rain On Me - Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande (-) [#28] {2 weeks}
#27: death bed (coffee for your head) - Powfu/beabadoobee (-6) [#21] {11 weeks}
#26: CITY OF ANGELS - 24kGoldn (+1) [#26] {5 weeks} *new peak*
#25: RITMO - Black Eyed Peas/J Balvin (-) [#25] {8 weeks}
#24: X - Jonas Brothers/KAROL G (+2) [#24] {3 weeks} *new peak*
#23: Supalonely - BENEE/Gus Dapperton (+1) [#17] {10 weeks}
#22: Ride It - Regard (+1) [#22] {6 weeks} *new peak*
#21: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber (+1) [#21] {4 weeks} *new peak*
#20: Falling - Trevor Daniel (-3) [#14] {9 weeks}
#19: Oh My God - Alec Benjamin (+1) [#17] {7 weeks}
#18: Sunday Best - Surfaces (-5) [#13] {11 weeks}
#17: Be Kind - Marshmello/Halsey (+1) [#17] {5 weeks} *new peak*
#16: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo (-2) [#14] {13 weeks}
#15: If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe/Julia Michaels (-4) [#10] {16 weeks}
#14: In Your Eyes - The Weeknd (+1) [#10] {7 weeks}
#13: me & ur ghost - blackbear (+6) [#13] {14 weeks} *new peak*
#12: The Bones - Maren Morris (-3) [#9] {6 weeks}
#11: Midnight - Alesso/Liam Payne (+1) [#11] {6 weeks} *new peak*
#10: I Love Me - Demi Lovato (-3) [#7] {13 weeks}
#9: Old Me - 5 Seconds of Summer (-1) [#7] {10 weeks}
#8: Say So - Doja Cat (-3) [#3] {22 weeks}
#7: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots (+9) [#7] {8 weeks} *new peak*
#6: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd (-5) [6 weeks at #1] {16 weeks}
#5: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi (-1) [#2] {18 weeks}
#4: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa (-1) [#3] {7 weeks}
#3: Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles (+3) [#3] {13 weeks} *new peak*
#2: Maniac - Conan Gray (+8) [#2] {13 weeks}
#1: No Judgement - Niall Horan (+1) [1st week at #1] {13 weeks}
Last Year’s #1: Sucker - Jonas Brothers [11/13 weeks at #1]
Countdown Extra: The Box - Roddy Ricch
Our one and only debut this week is actually my favourite song currently on the countdown. It’s Heartless… no, not by The Weeknd, by Diplo, Julia Michaels and Morgan Wallen. This is the second song on Hits 1 from Dilpo’s country Thomas Wesley project (which is actually just Diplo’s real name) and it’s really good. Diplo’s production is actually really good here, definitely better than that awful guitar in Lonely, with the Jonas Brothers, and Julia Michaels actually fits the song really well. The best part of Julia Michaels’ contribution is the fact that it gets rid of the only part I don’t like in the original, and that’s the first verse a la Morgan Wallen. He really doesn’t sound good in the first verse, so when replaced with Julia Michaels, it’s much better. I feel the clean version takes away from the flow of the song a bit, but it’s not that big of an issue. Overall, fantastic song that’s definitely making it onto my year-end list. *1 week in Hit-Bound, 2 weeks on Voting Poll
Biggest DROP!!!: death bed (coffee for your head) - Powfu/beabadoobee (-6): Yay! I’m really glad that this song got the biggest drop, since this is easily the worst song on the countdown right now (even though it wasn’t too big of a drop, I’m still happy).
Biggest Jump: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots (+9): Another relatively small biggest something, but I’m still happy that this jumped. It’s for sure not one of the best songs on the countdown, but it’s solid.
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: Oh My God - Alec Benjamin
#24: me & ur ghost - blackbear
#23: If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe/Julia Michaels
3 - Decent:
#22: Old Me - 5 Seconds of Summer
#21: I Love Me - Demi Lovato
#20: No Judgement - Niall Horan
#19: RITMO - Black Eyed Peas/J Balvin
#18: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo
4 - Good:
#17: Maniac - Conan Gray
#16: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots
#15: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber
#14: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa
5 - Great:
#13: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi
#12: X - Jonas Brothers/KAROL G
#11: Be Kind - Marshmello/Halsey
#10: Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles
#9: Sunday Best - Surfaces
#8: CITY OF ANGELS - 24kGoldn
#7: Roses (Remix) - SAINt JHN/Imanbek
#6: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
#5: The Bones - Maren Morris
#4: Midnight - Alesso/Liam Payne
#3: Rain On Me - Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande
#2: In Your Eyes - The Weeknd
#1: Heartless - Diplo/Julia Michaels/Morgan Wallen
Overall Score: 104/150 = 69%
5 Oldest Songs
#5: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo, I Love Me - Demi Lovato, Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles, Maniac - Conan Gray & No Judgement - Niall Horan {13 weeks}
#4: me & ur ghost - blackbear {14 weeks}
#3: If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe/Julia Michaels & Blinding Lights - The Weeknd {16 weeks}
#2: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi {18 weeks}
#1: Say So - Doja Cat {22 weeks}
#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Breaking Me - Topic/A7S
My Favourite Song Last Year: Summer Days - Martin Garrix/Macklemore/Patrick Stump
My Least Favourite Song Last Year: bad guy - Billie Eilish
Hit-Bound
Toosie Slide - Drake [10*]
Bang! - AJR [6]
Daisies - Katy Perry [4*]
100 Ways - Jackson Wang [7*]
Let’s Fall in Love for the Night - FINNEAS [3*]
17 - Pink Sweat$ [11*]
I Hope - Gabby Barrett/Charlie Puth [7***]
Together - Sia [3*]
Kings & Queens - Ava Max [7*]
Moral of the Story - Ashe [5; 2nd time]
Like That - Doja Cat/Gucci Mane [1; 2nd time]
Ur So F**kInG cOoL - Tones And I [1]
the other girl - Kelsea Ballerini/Halsey [4; 2nd time]
Blueberry Faygo - Lil Mosey [7*]
Also Available For Vote
Banana (Minisiren Remix) - Conkarah/Shaggy/DJ FLe [1*]
Falling - Harry Styles [1*]
Black And White - Niall Horan [1*]
ROCKSTAR - DaBaby/Roddy Ricch [1*]
If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know) - The 1975 [7**]
The Box - Roddy Ricch [3*]
Savage (Remix) - Megan Thee Stallion/Beyoncé [5**]
I guess we’ll start off with Like That by Doja Cat and Gucci Mane. I already reviewed this the last two weeks in a row, so I don’t feel the need to again, but I will say that I’m pretty sure it’ll re-enter, because I highly doubt that that was its peak.
Our only debut this week actually debuting Hit-Bound is more Tones And I with her new song Ur So F**kInG cOoL. (That stylization is a pain to write) Personally, this is my favourite Tones And I single yet. It doesn’t stray too far from what she does all the time, being the keys and other production stuff, like the bassline, but I think she has much better control over her voice this time around, and it isn’t as scratchy (is that the right word?) as it is in Dance Monkey. The production in the chorus is actually really cool, and her voice works really well with it. I think the clean version doesn’t take away too much either, because it has her breathing in instead of… well, you know what. I hope it does better than Bad Child, and I definitely think it could.
This had better be a Tik Tok song, or else I’m just really confused. It’s DJ FLe's Minisiren Remix of Banana by Conkarah and Shaggy, and um… this is okay? I mean, it’s one of the weirdest songs I’ve heard in a really long time, probably because it’s a latino song… and a Tik Tok song. It’s not terrible, the beat’s pretty good, it’s really steady. Whoever’s singing (I didn’t bother to check) sounds decent, but it’s just a little too weird for me to really like.
Hits 1 picked up on two One Direction ballads this week. The first one is It’s Black And White by Niall Horan, and these songs are… kind of non-singles. Both were released earlier, and only picked up because Hits 1 loves One Direction. That being said, they’re probably the best songs from their respective albums. This one was released alongside Heartbreak Weather, when Hits 1 picked up on Small Talk. I actually really like this song. I’d say that this and Nice To Meet Ya are probably tied, just because they’re so different. Niall sounds really good, and the song fits him really well. I like the instrumentation quite a bit here, and I hope this outperforms Small Talk.
The next song that I was talking about is Falling by Harry Styles. I think Hits 1 just decided to pick up on this, because the rest of the world is picking up on Watermelon Sugar, and they want more Harry Styles. This song is spectacular though. Harry just sounds jaw-dropping-ly amazing in the chorus, and it really gives me chills. The piano line is really well constructed, and actually changes throughout the song (unlike some other ballads in the past), and I really like it. If this debuts, (and I think it will because I mean, it’s Harry Styles. How could it not?) it could be the first time in a long time that we’ve had two songs of the same title on the countdown at once, of course with the other Falling being Trevor Daniel’s. If that happens, I’ll try to indicate who it is in every blurb. As for the Hunger Games Countdown? We’ll fix that issue when we get to that crossroads.
Hits 1 is starting to pick up on some more rap songs, and I’m pretty happy about that, because this is easily one of the best rap songs of the year. Of course, I’m talking about ROCKSTAR by DaBaby and Roddy Ricch. Oddly, we now have two Roddy Ricch songs on Hits 1. As for DaBaby, he makes his Hits 1 debut, even though he should’ve been on My Oh My. The best part of this song is easily the production. That guitar is freaking addicting, and both artist’s voices work really well with it. I think DaBaby’s voice sounds better than Roddy’s here, but Roddy does put in a good verse. I just like DaBaby more because he can sing, and he raps pretty fast at some points. That chorus is actually really catchy, and I can totally see this appealing to pop lovers, and debuting soon.
Best Debut: Falling - Harry Styles (It was really close)
Hit-Bound Ranking
0 - Crap:
#21: Daisies - Katy Perry
#20: If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know) - The 1975
1 - Bad:
#19: Toosie Slide - Drake
#18: 100 Ways - Jackson Wang
2 - Mediocre:
#17: Moral of the Story - Ashe
3 - Decent:
#16: Together - Sia
#15: 17 - Pink Sweat$
#14: Banana (Minisiren Remix) - Conkarah/Shaggy/DJ FLe
#13: Like That - Doja Cat/Gucci Mane
4 - Good:
#12: Savage (Remix) - Megan Thee Stallion/Beyoncé
5 - Great:
#11: Kings & Queens - Ava Max
#10: the other girl - Kelsea Ballerini/Halsey
#9: Let’s Fall in Love for the Night - FINNEAS
#8: Black And White - Niall Horan
#7: Blueberry Faygo - Lil Mosey
#6: I Hope - Gabby Barrett/Charlie Puth
#5: Ur So F**kInG cOoL - Tones And I
#4: Bang! - AJR
#3: ROCKSTAR - DaBaby/Roddy Ricch
#2: The Box - Roddy Ricch
#1: Falling - Harry Styles
Overall Score: 75/105 = 71%
Why You Gotta Be So Blurb-less?
Three songs left Hit-Bound but stayed on the voting poll this week, being The Box, Savage and If You’re Too Shy. The Box was the countdown extra this week, so I’m pretty sure it’ll debut next week. Savage got a lot of airplay this week, so I think it also has a really good shot at debuting. As for If You’re Too Shy, I hope it leaves.
Rain On Me pulled a Sunday Best this week, so I just didn’t add it to the list.
Okay, why is Ride It higher than Roses? Roses is definitely more popular, and should be way higher on this list.
Also, why didn’t Rain On Me jump? There was so much potential for it to jump, but then it didn’t. Oh, Hits 1. We’ll never understand you.
I’ve lost interest in both RITMO and Intentions, both due to overplay. I also lost interest in Toosie Slide and 100 Ways. Toosie Slide is getting really annoying and boring, and I really don’t like Jackson Wang’s voice, even if the production in 100 Ways is decent.
Sunday Best dropped 5 spots this week, and I have absolutely no clue why.
Why the heck is me & ur ghost jumping so much? It should not be getting a new peak this late in its run.
Also Midnight’s just shy of the top 10. I’m not complaining, but it’s odd.
Blinding Lights fell off of #1. I’m not too sad, because it got six weeks at #1, which was more than I could ask for, but I’m still disappointed.
Watermelon Sugar made its top 5 debut this week, and I’m really happy. I’d like to see it hit #1.
Maniac keeps sporadically jumping from #10 to #2 for no apparent reason. Don’t ask.
Our new #1 this week is none other than No Judgement by Niall Horan. This song’s alright. I’m okay with it being at #1, since it’s not bad, but I’m not okay with why it’s at #1. It’s only there because Hits 1 just loves One Direction and can’t let one of their songs slip by. Honestly, I hope they reunite just so we don’t have to get music from four separate artists. Oh well, what can you do.
I listened to Kygo’s new album, Golden Hours, and it’s really good. I would recommend it.
How Hits 1 Songs Are Doing on the Hot 100
#1: Rain On Me - Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande
#2: Savage (Remix) - Megan Thee Stallion/Beyoncé
#3: ROCKSTAR - DaBaby/Roddy Ricch
#4: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
#5: Say So - Doja Cat/Nicki Minaj
#6: Toosie Slide - Drake
#7: Don’t Start Now - Dua Lipa
#8: The Box - Roddy Ricch
#9: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo
#11: Circles - Post Malone
#12: Adore You - Harry Styles
#13: The Bones - Maren Morris
#14: Roses (Remix) - SAINt JHN/Imanbek
#15: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber
#16: Blueberry Faygo - Lil Mosey
#19: I Hope - Gabby Barrett
#21: Falling - Trevor Daniel
#24: Sunday Best - Surfaces
#26: death bed (coffee for your head) - Powfu/beabadoobee
#30: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi
#31: My Oh My - Camila Cabello/DaBaby
#32: In Your Eyes - The Weeknd
#34: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa
#35: everything i wanted - Billie Eilish
#36: Memories - Maroon 5
#39: Be Kind - Marshmello/Halsey
#42: RITMO - Black Eyed Peas/J Balvin
#43: hot girl bummer - blackbear
#44: Supalonely - BENEE/Gus Dapperton
#45: Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles
#48: Dance Monkey - Tones And I
#53: Heartless - Diplo/Morgan Wallen
#61: Level of Concern - Twenty One Pilots
#66: X - Jonas Brothers/KAROL G
#73: If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe/Julia Michaels
#75: Ride It - Regard
#79: Daisies - Katy Perry
Top 10 on the Hunger Games Countdown
#10: Nice to Meet Ya - Meghan Trainor/Nicki Minaj
#9: Small Talk - Niall Horan
#8: Put A Little Love On Me - Niall Horan
#7: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber
#6: YOU CAN’T HOLD MY HEART - Monsta X
#5: Kill My Mind - Louis Tomlinson
#4: Kings & Queens - Ava Max
#3: Lights Up - Harry Styles
#2: Good Thing - Zedd/Kehlani
#1: Oh My God - Alec Benjamin
Top 10 If the Countdown Made Sense
#10: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa
#9: In Your Eyes - The Weeknd
#8: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi
#7: Sunday Best - Surfaces
#6: Stuck with U - Ariana Grande/Justin Bieber
#5: Falling - Trevor Daniel
#4: The Bones - Maren Morris
#3: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo
#2: Say So - Doja Cat
#1: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
Kwaheri, everyone! See you all soon.
