Ed Sheeran (3) - Week Of February 25, 2017

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great week. If you had the week off from school, I hope you enjoyed that, because I did. I have posted several posts that I was behind on such as the Year-End Hot 45 Chart, the 100,000 Pageview Special, and the Grammy Performance Reviews. So, if you haven't got a chance to look at those yet, please do! Anyways, this week wasn't anything too special, but there were some interesting parts to it. Besides everything else, before we get to this week's review of the fresh 45 songs in America, here's the list of songs we're saying goodbye to.

• The Chainsmokers/Daya - Don't Let Me Down (#39) [3 Weeks At #1]
• Runaground - Chase You Down (#41)
• Martin Garrix & Bebe Rexha - In The Name Of Love (#43)

Last Week's #1 Song: Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You

#1 Song This Week 1 Year Ago: Twenty One Pilots - Stressed Out

The Countdown

45. Lukas Graham - You're Not There (#42)
44. Pitbull/Flo Rida/LunchMoney Lewis - Greenlight (#45)
43. OneRepublic - Kids (#44)
42. The Weeknd/Daft Punk - Starboy (#37)
41. Coldplay/SeeB - Hymn For The Weekend (#38)
40. Charli XCX - After The Afterparty (#15)
39. John Legend - Love Me Now (#29)
38. Bruno Mars - 24K Magic (#27)
37. Noah Cyrus/Labrinth - Make Me (Cry) (DEBUT)
36. Sia/Kendrick Lamar - The Greatest (#35)
35. Niall Horan - This Town (#36)
34. Linkin Park/Kiiara - Heavy (DEBUT)
33. Rihanna - Love On The Brain (#33)
32. Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better (#32) [2 Weeks At #1]
31. Daya - Words (#25)
30. Hey Violet - Guys My Age (#28)
29. DJ Snake/Justin Bieber - Let Me Love You (#31)
28. X Ambassadors - Unsteady (#24)
27. Alessia Cara - Scars To Your Beautiful (#30)
26. Maroon 5 - Don't Wanna Know (#17) [3 Weeks At #1]
25. Bebe Rexha - I Got You (#23)
24. Panic! At The Disco - Death Of A Bachelor (#22)
23. Julia Michaels - Issues (#19)
22. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like (#18)
21. Twenty One Pilots - Heavydirtysoul (#26)
20. Kygo & Selena Gomez -It Ain't Me (DEBUT)
19. James Arthur - Say You Won't Let Go (#40)
18. The Weeknd/Daft Punk - I Feel It Coming (#14)
17. Train - Play That Song (#20)
16. Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On (#13)
15. Maroon 5 - Cold (#34)
14. The Chainsmokers - Paris (#16)
13. Adele - Water Under The Bridge (#7)
12. Katy Perry/Skip Marley - Chained To The Rhythm (#21)
11. Lady Gaga - Million Reasons (#10)
10. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj - Side To Side (#11)
9. Twenty One Pilots - Heathens (#12) [2 Weeks At #1]
8. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd - Starving (#9) [4 Weeks At #1]
7. Jon Bellion - All Time Low (#5)
6. Shawn Mendes - Mercy (#4)
5. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things (#8)
4. Zayn & Taylor Swift - I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#6)
3. The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer (#2) [8 Weeks At #1]
2. Fitz & The Tantrums - HandClap (#3)
1. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (#1) [3rd Week At #1]

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Charli XCX - After The Afterparty (-25)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: James Arthur - Say You Won't Let Go (+19)

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Jax Jones/RAYE - You Don't Know Me 

#1 Recommendation For You: Kygo & Selena Gomez - It Ain't You

New Entrants

~ Our first entrant this week comes in the form of Make Me (Cry), from Miley Cyrus's sister, Noah Cyrus, and Labrinth. This song has been wavering in opinion for me. When I first heard it, I really wasn't attracted to it at all, and when it debuted on HitBound, I just started to believe that it was an okay song after more listens, and after a few more listens, the song has grown on me a bit more. I wouldn't be surprised if this song changed in my opinion again, but time will tell. I really don't think I would care if this song does well here, because of the pain this song may be with my changing opinion.

~ Next up this week for entrants we have Linkin Park with Kiiara in a new single called Heavy. This song is really good, but I feel like the one small flaw with this song is Chester Bennington's vocals, as they are still adapting to the slower version of music, rather than their normal sound. Other than that, everything else is perfect and Kiiara does a great job, as does the rest of the band. I would love to see this song do good here, so yeah.

~ Lastly, this week we have a return from Selena Gomez with Kygo. The song is It Ain't Me. I really am enjoying this song as I had expected. I really like the interesting choice Kygo made with having Selena Gomez for the vocalist on this song, as he has had several underdog singers as vocalists for his music in the past and those songs got underrated. I believe he was tired of not getting recognized in the past, so he chose an artist everyone loved and it worked. I would love to see this song have a lot of success here, which I don't doubt because it's already all the way at #20.

Best Entrant Of The Week: Kygo & Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me

HitBound

• Snakehips & MØ - Don't Leave
• MAX/Gnash - Lights Down Low
• Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie - Rockabye
• Imagine Dragons - Believer
• Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay (DEBUT)
• AJR - Weak
• James Hersey - Miss You
• Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill
• Flo Rida/99 Percent - Cake
• The Vamps/Matoma - All Night
• Panic! At The Disco - L.A. Devotee
• Ariana Grande/Future - Everyday (DEBUT)
• Little Mix - Touch
• The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This (DEBUT)

Top 5 HitBound Songs

1. TIE: AJR - Weak

1. TIE: Ariana Grande/Future - Everyday

3. Little Mix - Touch

4. Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay

5. The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This

Make Me (Blurb)

~ I'm really enjoying this reign at #1 from Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You, but I would prefer our new top 5 entries, Zayn & Taylor Swift - I Don't Wanna Live Forever and Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things, the better songs taking that spot soon, but I shouldn't complain. At least it is a good song there.

~ I would appreciate if Twenty One Pilots - Heathens could give up now. I would love to see their better song at #9, not this one.

~ Well, Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj - Side To Side made a comeback, sort of.

~ Katy Perry/Skip Marley - Chained To The Rhythm and Maroon 5 - Cold caught on pretty quickly, but I didn't expect them not to, so it's no surprise. I am enjoying the jumps without a doubt.

~ Wow. James Arthur - Say You Won't Let Go must have had a massive spike in votes this past week. I didn't see that huge jump coming. I mean, it's a little excessive because it's not the best song here, it's good but I don't think it's necessarily the best thing here.

~ Bruno Mars - That's What I Like and Julia Michaels - Issues definitely didn't last too long in the top 20. Here's to hoping they make a quick recovery.

~ Well, at least X Ambassadors - Unsteady is getting closer and closer to the bottom 15 songs. That's a small plus.

~ Rihanna - Love On The Brain clearly isn't being successful here thus far. I really wanted to see this song soar, but I'm doubting that's even going to happen anymore.

~ Well. This looks like the Bruno Mars - 24K Magic. Yay! This also looks like the end of John Legend - Love Me Now. No!

~ Speaking of endings, Charli XCX - After The Afterparty dropped a number of spots this week, and I just have to say that I did see it coming, so I bid you goodbye, if this is the end. Thank you for your service.

~ Lukas Graham - You're Not There has clearly had one of the most unsuccessful chart runs this year. Well, goodbye to you too!

~ I will have The Hot 45 Chart out soon for you guys! 

Let's Do A Top 20 Review!

0-Garbage

NONE

1-Bad

NONE

2-Mediocre

NONE

3-Decent

20. Twenty One Pilots - Heathens

19. Shawn Mendes - Mercy

4-Good

18. Train - Play That Song

17. Lady Gaga - Million Reasons

16. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd - Starving

5-Great

15. James Arthur - Say You Won't Let Go

14. Jon Bellion - All Time Low

13. Adele - Water Under The Bridge

12. Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On

11. The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer

10. Fitz & The Tantrums - HandClap

9. The Chainsmokers - Paris

8. Maroon 5 - Cold

7. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj - Side To Side

6. Kygo & Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me

5. The Weeknd/Daft Punk - I Feel It Coming

4. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You

3. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things

2. Katy Perry/Skip Marley - Chained To The Rhythm

1. Zayn & Taylor Swift - I Don't Wanna Live Forever

Score: 93% (A)

Bottom 5 Countdown Picks

1. Pitbull/Flo Rida/LunchMoney Lewis - Greenlight

2. X Ambassadors - Unsteady

3. Bruno Mars - 24K Magic

4. OneRepublic - Kids

5. Coldplay/SeeB - Hymn For The Weekend

Top 5 Countdown Picks

1. Zayn & Taylor Swift - I Don't Wanna Live Forever

2. Katy Perry/Skip Marley - Chained To The Rhythm

3. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things

4. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You

5. The Weeknd & Daft Punk - I Feel It Coming

Love you guys!

~ Jack :)

100,000 Pageview Special: A Q&A With Graham Badenhausen

Hey guys! I have left you guys waiting for a little while for this special. Well, here it is guys! I really enjoy all you guys do for this blog and I am very happy we have finally received our first "big" milestone. I couldn't have done it without you guys! We are also inching closer to our next big milestone, so I can't wait to do that for you guys! So, this is for you guys!

So, for today's milestone special, I have fellow music blogger, Graham Badenhausen here to answer some questions with me! I have completely picked these questions out of my head, and also some questions that helped me get to know Graham a little more! My answers will be highlighted in blue, and Graham's will be in orange, for you're reference. So, let's get going guys!


1. What is/are your favorite music genre(s) and why?

Jack's Answer: My favorite music genre has pretty much always been pop. I enjoy the different experimental sounds we hear with pop everyday. I enjoy the diversity in the genre and I like to hear something new once in a while, without leaving the safety of my favorite genre. I also like other genres such as R&B and country, but pop is mainly my favorite.

Graham's Answer: My favorite music genre happens to be pop. I enjoy some other genres like R&B, country, hip hop, and more, but pop just appeals to me the most. It's what you usually hear on the radio, so that is probably why.


2. What is your favorite movie/television genre(s) and why?

Jack's Answer: I love comedy movies and television. I really don't enjoy anything other than that. I like comedy, because I love to laugh, and they are fairly easy to process, as all you have to do is relax and enjoy and just laugh at the hilarious parts, instead of putting so much focus into it.

Graham's Answer: Action and comedy are my two favorites. If I had to choose one, it would probably be comedy because you don't necessarily need to process a lot of information. You can just sit back and laugh at the jokes. This is going to sound really generic, but I like action because I like when stuff is going on.


3. What is your favorite movie and why?

Jack's Answer: This will be weird, and it's not even a comedy. I have loved Finding Nemo my whole entire life, it has definitely been my favorite movie since I was basically one year old. I have so many Nemo themed things it's not even funny. I have pillows, sheets, pool toys, and stuffed animals, as well as various books. I don't technically use any of them anymore, but I have watched it at least a hundred times and I will always love it.

Graham's Answer: I can't choose between two movies for my favorite. The title goes to either Pitch Perfect 2 or The Blind Side. Pitch Perfect 2 is just hilarious and I love the music as well. The Blind Side is just a really inspirational and action-packed true story.


4. What is your favorite television show and why?

Jack's Answer: I don't necessarily have a favorite television show. I love cartoons, haha. SpongeBob SquarePants has pretty much been my favorite show since first or second grade, and I have pretty much every home video release of it. I enjoy the show, as it is funny and I just love animation. I also enjoy various ABC comedies, like Modern Family and Blackish, that I watch as well, but SpongeBob SquarePants is just so lit, I can't even deal. Haha.

Graham's Answer: My favorite television show right now is The Walking Dead, which some of you may know. I can't really explain why for this one, but there is suspense, action, and the show keeps things moving along with an interesting plot. 


5. How old are you? When is your next birthday?

Jack's Answer: I am 14 at the moment. My birthday is April 24th, and I will be 15 then, even though I don't really want to be 15.

Graham's Answer: I am 12 right now. My birthday is March 10th, which is coming up, so I will be 13.


6. What grade are you in at school?

Jack's Answer: I am in 9th grade at school, so a freshman.

Graham's Answer: I am in 7th grade. I can't really develop a sentence about that.


7. What is your favorite school subject and why?

Jack's Answer: This year, I am enjoying my English class, but I'm not exactly sure why. I really just have been cruising through that class this year.

Graham's Answer: My favorite school subject is math. It's really hard this year in high level algebra, but my brain is just good with numbers. It's just an interesting way to process information I like learning new concepts as well.


8. What is your least favorite school subject and why?

Jack's Answer: I don't really like math this year as much, just because I'm not entirely good at understanding every concept, even though I still get pretty good grades. It's not too hard so far, but it's starting to get a little bit harder in my Geometry class.

Graham's Answer: My least favorite school subject is definitely social studies. The thing is that we learn about things from 200 years ago that no one cares about. Then reaching that and writing an essay on it is very hard. Plus, I don't like my teacher this year.


9. Do you play any sports? If so, at what level?

Jack's Answer: We have three sports levels at our high school. There is modified for 7th and 8th graders, junior varsity for 9th and 10th graders, and varsity for 11th and 12th graders. I play soccer at the varsity level, although I had to quit this past year due to leg injuries for the first time since first grade. I also coached my little brother's basketball team this past season, so that may count, sort of.

Graham's Answer: For level, we don't have varsity yet in 7th grade. I play soccer year-round and baseball in the spring and summer. I ski in the winter every weekend at a mountain called Stratton, as we have a condo there. I used to do racing, but now I just ski for fun. I've done track for the past two years, but I don't know if I'm doing it this year because it's kind of boring.


10. Is school generally easy-going for you? Do you get good grades?

Jack's Answer: Yes. I have always loved school, and I am an honors student at school, which means I take more advanced courses compared to the regular ones. I have one of the highest averages each quarter of the year. In fact, last school year, I won "Most Outstanding 8th Grade Boy", so that was very good for me. I also have tons of work, like a massive research project for English and Social Studies, which is called National History Day, which I just finished. I did a website on the Korean War this year. I didn't really enjoy the topic, as it was pretty boring. We get judged on that in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade at a museum for regional competition to see if we come in 1st or 2nd place, to move on to states competition, and if we win there, we move on to national competition in Washington D.C., so it's kind of a big deal if we win. That is actually coming up on March 4th for me.

Graham's Answer: Usually, everything works out and it is pretty easy. It's more the amount of work that's tough, not so much the difficulty. My grades are definitely good, as I usually get straight A's every semester. We have four semesters, though, and not two, as I believe most schools have that.


11. Do you like school events, such as dances?

Jack's Answer: I loved my junior high dances. People do go out in our grade, as we are in high school now, and I did have a date to one of my 7th grade dances. However, I didn't go to my first Homecoming this year, as I felt like it was kind of a waste of time and money for some reason, and I kind of regret it.

Graham's Answer: I do like and attend school events. People go out in our grade, but there aren't necessarily school dances. They have these things at school, three a year, for every grade. They call them "Teen Canteens". There is food, basketball in the gym, music in the cafeteria, games like ping pong in the halls, and much more. They're fun, as I attend them with my friends.


12. What do you enjoy doing with your friends?

Jack's Answer: Well, I lost my best friend this past year over ridiculousness, so now I have a small circle of like four or five friends, and we sadly don't do much. I used to go to the movies and have sleepovers with my best friend, but that clearly doesn't happen anymore.

Graham's Answer: I enjoy doing stuff like going over to friend's houses, having sleepovers, going into town, and sometimes going to the movies. I usually go to town on Fridays, but after I got to town, I leave to ski in Vermont at Stratton and stay until Sunday. So, I can't really hang out with friends on winter weekends, unless we either don't go one week, or they come with me, which happens sometimes. I live in New Jersey, so it takes me three and a half hours to get there. 


13. Are you the jealous type?

Jack's Answer: Yes, I am definitely the jealous type. I do get jealous if my friends talk to people and grow closer to them, but that's not really an issue for me, due to my small circle of friends. I may get jealous if a crush is with someone else, but I haven't really had many crushes. 

Graham's Answer: Honestly, yes, I do get jealous (like Nick Jonas :P). If someone starts dating someone I have a crush on, that could be something, or, maybe if someone I don't like or find annoying starts talking to one of my friends. I usually do a good job of hiding it, though.


14. Do you have any talents unknown to some people?

Jack's Answer: I like to sing, and no one has heard me, as I kind of have stage fright when it comes to that. Many people actually don't know I have a blog, but they know I like music, so that is all that comes to mind for me.

Graham's Answer: This is pretty funny, because blogging is the first thing that comes to my mind when I say this. Most of my friends don't really know about my blog or that I'm super into music, really. If they do, they don't really care all that much. That is all I can really think of. 


15. What is your favorite food?

Jack's Answer: I love to cook my own food, and I am a vegetarian, besides bacon every once in a while, haha. I really love making my homemade cheese and kale ravioli, because it is really good.

Graham's Answer: My favorite food is bacon (another one!). That was a DJ Khaled and Nick Jonas reference. That's actually half just a joke and half right. My real favorite food is just pizza. I like it with bacon (yes!) and olives.


16. What are some of your pet peeves?

Jack's Answer: I hate when people chew with their mouths open and smack their lips rather loudly. It annoys me when I'm trying to concentrate on something or even talk. I also hate when people ignore me when I'm talking to them, as it is very rude, as well as when people talk bad about me behind my back (I absolutely hate these kinds of people!). So, yeah, those are some of my main pet peeves.

Graham's Answer: I find it really annoying when people in school are walking really slow and talking with their friends, who take up the whole hallway. I have to find some way around them, but I usually can't. So, then I end up being late for class. I have many more pet peeves, but that is the only one I can recall at the moment.


17. Do you have have any celebrity crushes? If not, any real ones?

Jack's Answer: I don't recall any celebrity crushes, but I have in the past kind of liked Selena Gomez. I am not naming any of my real crushes, so yeah.

Graham's Answer: Oh gosh, haha. There's no way I'm naming anyone I like at school (even though you wouldn't even know who they were). I'll name my celebrity crushes. They are Selena Gomez, who you all know and Emily Kinney, who plays Beth Greene on The Walking Dead. Don't ask why.


18. Are you competitive? If so, what drives you to be?

Jack's Answer: Eh. It depends on what I'm doing. Not really much to say here. 

Graham's Answer: I'm really only competitive if there's a prize or I care about something. Those two things I just mentioned are what drives me to be competitive. If the competition affects me, I am.


19. What social media app is your favorite and why?

Jack's Answer: I like Facebook a lot and I enjoy making Funimates from time to time. I like Snapchat a lot as well, but Instagram is sort of fading on me. I like to interact with friends when they're not around, so that's a cool thing about it. I also stalk people from time to time, haha.

Graham's Answer: My favorite social media app happens to be what I'm typing this on, Instagram. Usually, social media apps are popular for a little while, and then they fade away. Instagram and Snapchat seem to be the two that stick with people. I use Snapchat, but I'm not a huge fan of it, as it's all about streaks and everyone saying "snr" and "100 @_____." On Instagram, you can see people's photos forever (and stalk them), while commenting normally. I can't really explain. 


20. What is your favorite color? 

Jack's Answer: I like a teal kind of color. I have always liked that color because it's a blend of my two favorite colors, blue and green.

Graham's Answer: Light green is my favorite color, I don't know why, but it's just interesting.


21. Do you have any siblings? If so, how old are they? How big is your immediate family?

Jack's Answer: I have two younger brothers, one is 9 years old and the other is 13 years old. I have a mother and a father too, haha. So, I have five people in my immediate family.

Graham's Answer: I have a 10 year-old brother and a 13 year-old chocolate lab (if that counts). Then, my mom and dad, plus me, so four, or five if you include my dog.


22. What is your favorite holiday and why?

Jack's Answer: I love the winter holiday spirit, so Christmas is definitely my favorite holiday. My mom makes so many kinds of cookies, and I enjoy making them with her, and they really are good. I also love choosing gifts for my friends and family, and I also anticipate receiving things on my Christmas List in return.

Graham's Answer: My favorite holiday is Christmas. We have a long break from school and teachers usually don't give us work over the break. I also get many presents that are pretty much everything I want every year. I give, even though I don't necessarily like to. I'm so greedy.


23. What is your favorite thing about blogging?

Jack's Answer: I enjoy music so much, and I really like sharing my opinions with others. My favorite way to do that is through my personal chart, The Hot 45 Chart, out weekly. I also like providing entertainment for my viewers and I just really enjoy working with numbers and statistics as well, which are incorporated into my charts, so that is also a really fun part of blogging.

Graham's Answer: My favorite thing about blogging is sharing and explaining my opinions. I definitely prefer that over typing up my own charts. Entrant previews are probably my most favorite part, just because I like being able to explain what I like and dislike about a song and afterwards seeing if others agree with me or not.


24. Who/what is your favorite artist/band of all time and why?

Jack's Answer: You all probably know by now that I love Taylor Swift. I enjoy her musical diversity between country and pop and she really is a talented, as well as kind, giving back to some charity. I enjoy most of her old country songs, like Mine, Love Story, Picture To Burn, The Story Of Us, and Fearless. I also enjoy her newer pop songs like Blank Space, Shake It Off, Bad Blood, Wildest Dreams, and Style. So, yeah. I also have a Tumblr account dedicated to her. I really enjoy her personality and I really admire her as a role model. I know a lot about her and I wish to see her in concert on her next tour, so I hope she releases that surprise album soon. Her instrumentals in her music are also really nice to listen to, so yeah, that is why she is my favorite artists.

Graham's Answer: My favorite band of all time is Maroon 5. Currently, they're not as I feel like they are turning into "the Adam Levine band", but they are definitely my favorite band of all time. They have put out some phenomenal music, such as This Love, Payphone, One More Night, Sugar, She Will Be Loved, Misery, Daylight, Maps, and many more songs that I am not going to list. They are very original and see music in a very creative way. Adam Levine has incredible vocals and there is just magic created with all of the instruments and singing.


So, that's it guys! Thank you, Graham for participating in this post, and I will see you guys in my next post! Thanks guys!


Love you guys and live life to the fullest!

~ Jack and Graham :)

59th Annual Grammy Awards Performance Reviews

Well, I hope you all enjoyed your Valentine's Day, and I hope most of you got the chance to see the 59th Annual Grammy Awards on CBS, airing Sunday night. All in all, the show was much better than last year's show. The performances, for the most part, were good. So, I'm here to give my comments on each performance, and I hope you enjoy and read this all of the way through, as I could be working on something else that is school-related at the moment, but I decided to dedicate this amount of time to you, so here it goes.

NOTE: Each performance will receive a number grade and none other.

Host: James Corden

I enjoyed the fresh comedy from our new host James Corden. I felt as if he did a nice job and was quite active in the show. Also, the live carpool karaoke was cool, even though some of those stars didn't know the words to Sweet Caroline (especially you, Jason Derulo and Kieth Urban). Blue Ivy saved that, let's be honest here. Anyways, let's get on with it, shall we? 

NOTE: These will not be in correct order, they will just be spread out randomly.

Television Premiere: Carly Rae Jepsen & Lil Yachty - It Takes Two

Comments: I understand this isn't essentially a "performance", but it was part of the show technically, and I reviewed the Target premiere of Gwen Stefani's Make Me Like You last year, so this will get the same treatment. All in all, this was a good performance, there were some minor screw-ups, but Lil Yachty's verses flowed surprisingly smoothly, and Carly Rae Jepsen's line was stuck in my head after I finished watching the show, so this is definitely something good, but I felt like the whole "grocery" aspect was kind of unfitting, so that's what brought the weird out in this.

Score: 83% (8.3) [B]


Gary Clark Jr. & William Bell - Born Under A Bad Sign

Comments: Yeah, no this wasn't good at all really. I mean, the beginning was okay, but the rest of the performance just went downhill from there. I just can't sit through these types of sleepers. I mean, I enjoy simple performances at times, but this, with just the presence of an amp and a guitar, was so utterly simple it was clear. So, no folks, this performance was nothing but a daydreaming time for me, or nightdreaming time, but I wasn't in bed. I digress.

Score: 32% (3.2) [F]


Adele - Hello

Comments: This obviously wasn't the best performance of the night, but it certainly wasn't bad at all. Hello still fails to disappoint me and this was a good way to open the show. I personally think Adele does a lot more with her music on stage, and is one of those artists whom autotune doesn't affect her voice too much. I enjoy that in an artist, and this is obviously an example of that. I really thoroughly enjoy her performances for the most part and I'm extremely glad she was one of the two artists allowed to perform twice. So, yeah, that's the thick of it, not really much else to say about it.

Score: 87% (8.7) [B+]


Pentatonix - ABC

Comments: This was one of the most unnecessary performances at the show this year. Hey, whoever lines up these performances, these people do not need to perform at every Grammy show. At this point, you're just adding them on to fill time. Fill that time with something else, or maybe just a performance that doesn't get on people's nerves. Don't get me wrong, Pentatonix are very good at what they do, its just that the performance was really not needed and their voices, dare I say it, can get old of hearing after a while. I feel, even though they are an acappella group, they need to expand their horizons a little more.

Score: 55% (5.5) [F]


Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You

Comments: I was very interested with this one. I enjoyed that Ed Sheeran did everything from the beat to the singing to the guitar on his own. His voice was good, and the beginning was a little shaky with it, but he quickly recovered. It feels like there was a lot going on at the beginning, so that could have been a factor to it. The guitar was very complimenting to the voice, and the beat sounded very cool with the whole performance. All in all, there was limited problems with this whole performance.

Score: 91% (9.1) [A-]


Kieth Urban & Carrie Underwood - The Fighter

Comments: Not really impressed. This performance was just meh. The song doesn't sound good. I just don't like hearing that repeated line over and over again from Carrie Underwood. Kieth Urban was okay. The electric lights in the background didn't even match the theme of a country song, and I feel as if country isn't country nowadays, its pop singers alternating their voices to sing in a southern-like accent.

Score: 67% (6.7) [D+]


The Weeknd/Daft Punk - Starboy/I Feel It Coming

Comments: This was very good. The opening with Starboy led us into a very cool performance of "the better song", I Feel It Coming. I really enjoyed the very cool setup for this one, and The Weeknd had limited flaws with his voice, although at one point, he did get a little shaky with it, but quickly recovered. Daft Punk did great as always. So, yeah, not really much that I had a problem with.

Score: 90% (9.0) [A-]


Lukas Graham/Kelsea Ballerini - 7 Years/Peter Pan

Comments: I really found this performance as a good one. I enjoy how they combined their two hits together to make this really cool medley that I think took a lot of preparation, and it sounded decent in the end. I think these songs are also very fitting together. I also have grown back into 7 Years since its departure from the countdown, and I've always enjoyed Peter Pan. I mean, the set up was nothing much, but I really enjoyed their presence, and it was their first time, and a pretty good start if I may add.

Score: 90% (9.0) [A-]


Metallica/Lady Gaga - Moth Into Flame

Comments: Okay, so this definitely was not the best performances of the night, but it also wasn't completely godly terrible. At the beginning, there was malfunctions with the microphone, which was a bit of a problem. I'll admit the stage setup was pretty cool and the first minute or so of the performance ran rather smoothly. I feel like Lady Gaga had much to contribute to that. After that smooth run, I feel like the performance escalated to just screams and hollers, which really degraded the final score of this one.

Score: 53% (5.3) [F]


Sturgill Simpson - All Around You

Comments: This was deathly boring. First of all, I would like to address the fact that this guy was nominated for album of the year. How in the world did that happen? I've never even heard of Sturgill Simpson. Anyways, he really isn't that good and this was one of the worst performances of the night. The guitar made me all the more drowsy and his voice isn't interesting at all. This guy didn't impress me all around. I just don't think he was that good, and I don't like performances that make me bored. So, Sturgill Simpson, jazz up your performance next time, but hopefully CBS doesn't let this guy perform again, because, yeah, I'm not going to sit through it again.

Score: 11% (1.1) (F)


John Legend/Cynthia Erivo - God Only Knows

Comments: These people know how to make a slow performance a lot more interesting. Take notes, Sturgill Simpson. The fact that this was also a tribute to deceased musical talents in the past year. Also, Grammy's, you need to take notes because you completely forgot to include Christina Grimmie in this slideshow. She may have just been starting her career, but I felt like there was need to include her. Besides all that, the performance was very well done. The piano was on point and the vocals were pretty good. I think this was the perfect choice for the slideshow of past deaths this year, so this performance was definitely worthwhile, and I enjoy these two and their voices together. Overall, a pretty good performance.

Score: 86% (8.6) [B]


Bruno Mars - That's What I Like

Comments: I enjoyed that Bruno Mars left out the performance of 24K Magic this time, as that song is really getting old. His performance really had nothing significant to it, it was just pretty good, and the dancers did a very nice job as usual. So, I don't have much to note, just that it was a pretty good performance.

Score: 88% (8.8) [B+]


Chance The Rapper/Kurt Franklin Gospel Choir - How Great/All We Got/No Problem

Comments: This wasn't as awful as I had expected it to be, but it wasn't that great either. It was kind of just decent. The beginning wasn't all that good, and the rapping was a little off. He definitely is one of those rappers who doesn't just rap about sex, drugs, and money. He raps about meaning, which I appreciate. Anyways, he moved into the choir and they complimented Chance rather nicely and I really enjoyed the ending, as it was something different, but it was just the beginning that was really the only thing that I didn't quite enjoy with this one.

Score: 78% (7.8) [C+]


Beyoncé - Love Drought/Sandcastles


Comments: This woman is a natural born performer. I thoroughly enjoyed this performance. The beginning where she's just talking feels so cryptic, and when she finally gets into the singing combined with all the choreography, it's just fantastic. I can easily see that her performances have a lot of work that go into them, and that is something I deeply respect in an artist. I really can truly see how Beyoncé's album is considered so monumental. Also, keep in mind that this performance all happened with two children inside of her. Just keep that in mind.

Score: 93% (9.3) [A]


A Tribe Called Quest/Anderson. Paak/Busta Rhymes/Consequence - Award Tour/Movin' Backwards/We The People

Comments: This was freaking ridiculous. Shut your mouth over the politics. Every show has to be political nowadays, doesn't it. Trump is your president. Get over yourselves and suck it up. I swear to god that this show made the worst mistake ever letting these people perform. Besides that point, these people also have no musical talent, and I wholly hated this performance. These rappers suck and they have no musical bone in their body. So, I should've given this a 0, but I can't give a zero, so I'll just give it a 1% because that was how awful and atrocious this was.

Score: 1% (0.1) [F]


Maren Morris/Alicia Keys - Once

Comments: This was so good! I really enjoy Maren Morris's vocals. I believe she is one of the best country artists on the radio right now. Alicia Keys was a pleasant surprise for this one, and their vocals just fit so well together. I loved the enthusiasm from both artists. Their styles may be a little different, but they really were a great match with this performance and their high notes were just on point. I would totally buy this track with both of their vocals on it.

Score: 94% (9.4) [A]


Katy Perry/Skip Marley - Chained To The Rhythm

Comments: This was spectacular throughout the whole performance. The setup was wicked cool and Katy and Skip both did great, just to sum it up. I literally was prepared to give this performance at 99% or something, until that ending. Enough with the politics! I swear, I didn't expect it in this performance either. So, due to that I am dropping its grade a few points.

Score: 92% (9.2) [A-]


Demi Lovato/Tori Kelly/Little Big Town/Andra Day - Stayin' Alive/Tragedy/How Deep Is Your Love/Night Fever (Bee Gees Tribute)

Comments: This wasn't half bad. I really enjoyed the colorful setup and how each artist performed a different song. The audience seemed to be thoroughly enjoyed by this and I really thought it was quite good. I feel like all of these artists have different styles, and I like how they all really incorporated it into one beautiful medley to show tribute to a great band, the Bee Gees.

Score: 89% (8.9) [B+]


Bruno Mars - Jungle Love/Let's Go Crazy (Prince Tribute)

Comments: He dressed the part. He sang the part. He sounded the part. Bruno Mars did a spectacular job with this performance. The beginning was very well done and his singing was on point to the song and his guitar and bass skills were on point. The only criticism I have with this was that weird intermission between the two songs with the really long instrument solo. I was wondering was it over, or was it not? That was the only thing. Everything else about this worked in perfect harmony and Prince had his wonderful tribute looking down from above.

Score: 92% (9.2) [A-]


Adele - Fastlove (George Michael Tribute)

Comments: This performance really showed me the overwhelming amount of respect I have for Adele as an artist. She really didn't want to mess up something near and dear to her heart and something near to the public's as well. I really think her choice in restarting the performance in order to get it right was the correct decision. There were still a few minor screw ups afterwards, but besides that, this was a kindhearted and good performance.

Score: 92% (9.2) [A-]


Bottom 5 Performances
1. A Tribe Called Quest/Anderson. Paak/Busta Rhymes/Consequence - Award Tour/Movin' Backwards/We The People
2. Sturgill Simspon - All Around You
3. Gary Clark Jr. & William Bell - Born Under A Bad Sign
4. Metallica/Lady Gaga - Moth Into Flame
5. Pentatonix - ABC

Top 5 Performances
1. Maren Morris/Alicia Keys - Once
2. Beyonce - Love Drought/Sandcastles
3. TIE: Katy Perry/Skip Marley - Chained To The Rhythm
3. TIE: Bruno Mars - Jungle Love/Let's Go Crazy (Prince Tribute)
3. TIE: Adele - Fastlove (George Michael Tribute)

Thanks for reading guys!

What was your favorite performance at the Grammy's? Let me know in the comments below!

Love you guys!

~ Jack :)

Ed Sheeran (2) - Week Of February 18, 2017

Hey guys! I hope you all enjoyed your week. I can say that this week definitely had some strange things going on countdown-wise. We had a number of large falls and large rises, and some other minor things that made me very happy. I also realize that my Grammy's review post is still not out. I am about halfway done with that, but I had to work from three in the afternoon until midnight on Thursday to finish a project that was not supposed to be due the next day. So, yeah, I was quite tired, but, at least I have this week off for my mid-winter break. Enough about me, though, before we get to this week's fresh 45 songs, here's a list of songs we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Gnash/Olivia O'Brien - I Hate U, I Love U (#42)
• Adele - Send My Love (To Your New Lover) (#44) [1 Week At #1]

Last Week's #1 Song: Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You

#1 Song This Week 1 Year Ago: Twenty One Pilots - Stressed Out

The Countdown

45. Pitbull/Flo Rida/LunchMoney Lewis - Greenlight (#43)
44. OneRepublic - Kids (#40)
43. Martin Garrix & Bebe Rexha - In The Name Of Love (#41)
42. Lukas Graham - You're Not There (#36)
41. Runaground - Chase You Down (#15)
40. James Arthur - Say You Won't Let Go (#32)
39. The Chainsmokers/Daya - Don't Let Me Down (#45) [3 Weeks At #1]
38. Coldplay/SeeB - Hymn For The Weekend (#38)
37. The Weeknd/Daft Punk - Starboy (#31)
36. Niall Horan - This Town (#14)
35. Sia/Kendrick Lamar - The Greatest (#37)
34. Maroon 5 - Cold (DEBUT)
33. Rihanna - Love On The Brain (#39)
32. Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better (#28) [2 Weeks At #1]
31. DJ Snake/Justin Bieber - Let Me Love You (#33)
30. Alessia Cara - Scars To Your Beautiful (#24)
29. John Legend - Love Me Now (#9)
28. Hey Violet - Guys My Age (#30)
27. Bruno Mars - 24K Magic (#25)
26. Twenty One Pilots - Heavydirtysoul (#26)
25. Daya - Words (#21)
24. X Ambassadors - Unsteady (#20)
23. Bebe Rexha - I Got You (#29)
22. Panic! At The Disco - Death Of A Bachelor (#22)
21. Katy Perry/Skip Marley - Chained To The Rhythm (DEBUT)
20. Train - Play That Song (#10)
19. Julia Michaels - Issues (#34)
18. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like (#35)
17. Maroon 5 - Don't Wanna Know (#8) [3 Weeks At #1]
16. The Chainsmokers - Paris (#13)
15. Charli XCX - After The Afterparty (#19)
14. The Weeknd/Daft Punk - I Feel It Coming (#23)
13. Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On (#18)
12. Twenty One Pilots - Heathens (#12) [2 Weeks At #1]
11. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj - Side To Side (#27)
10. Lady Gaga - Million Reasons (#17)
9. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd - Starving (#12) [4 Weeks At #1]
8. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things (#11)
7. Adele - Water Under The Bridge (#5)
6. Zayn & Taylor Swift - I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#7)
5. Jon Bellion - All Time Low (#6)
4. Shawn Mendes - Mercy (#4)
3. Fitz & The Tantrums - HandClap (#3)
2. The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer (#2) [8 Weeks At #1]
1. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (#1) [2nd Week At #1]

Biggest DROP!!! Of The Week: Runaground - Chase You Down (-26)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Bruno Mars - That's What I Like (+17)

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Lost Kings/Tinashe - Quit You

#1 Recommendation For You: Maroon 5/Future - Cold

New Entrants

~ Our first entrant this week comes from Maroon 5 with a song that was just released this Tuesday, called Cold. I'm not necessarily happy that Future was cut out of this, like Kendrick Lamar was cut out of Don't Wanna Know. All in all, this song is quite simple and I feel like this song works in that manner with the lyrics, as there is not much to them. I don't necessarily believe that this song will stick with me in the long run, but for the time being I hope it has some decent success here, as I don't expect it to not have any.

~ Returning with the second and highest entry of the week is Katy Perry with Skip Marley on the disco-pop infused track Chained To The Rhythm. This is exactly up to expectation on what a comeback from Perry would look like. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of this song on last Sunday's Grammy Awards on CBS. I enjoy Skip's part and I am very glad it wasn't cut on this station. Katy does great as usual, and I am expecting thorough success from this song on this countdown.

HitBound

• AJR - Weak
• Noah Cyrus/Labrinth - Make Me (Cry)
• James Hersey - Miss You
• Panic! At The Disco - L.A. Devotee
• Calum Scott - Dancing On My Own
• The Vamps/Matoma - All Night
• Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie - Rockabye (DEBUT)
• Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill
• MAX/Gnash - Lights Down Low
• Snakehips/MØ - Don't Leave
• Linkin Park/Kiiara - Heavy (DEBUT)
• Flo Rida/99 Percent - Cake
• Little Mix - Touch (DEBUT)
• Imagine Dragons - Believer

Top 5 HitBound Songs

1. Little Mix - Touch

2. Snakehips/MØ - Don't Leave

3. AJR - Weak

4. The Vamps/Matoma - All Night

5. James Hersey - Miss You

Blurbed To The Rhythm

~ I am very content seeing Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You at #1. Out of the top 5 right now, this is the song that I want most at #1. I have really been jamming to this song lately, with all of its simplicity.

~ I don't understand why Shawn Mendes - Mercy needs to be this high up, I mean, it's better than his other song here, but it just feels too overrated. Out of the top 10 would be okay.

~ I see Lady Gaga - Million Reasons has made one quick recovery. I don't mind this at all, either. This song has grew on me quite a bit, but I may start to be bothered if its one of those songs that stays for months on end.

~ I really don't understand the story behind Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj - Side To Side's tenure. One week, its almost to the bottom 30, and the next its back near the top 10. I mean, I prefer its position this week over last week's, but I'll take what happens, as long as it's still here.

~ Sadly, The Chainsmokers - Paris made a small drop this week. Happily, Maroon 5 - Don't Wanna Know declined out of the top 10.

~ I am quite enjoying the sudden leaps from Bruno Mars - That's What I Like and Julia Michaels - Issues. Two very good songs got much deserved recognition this week. I would love to see the latter continue to succeed, as it is only one spot below top 40 radio right now. One spot. I really never expected this song to become how big it already is, and I am excited to see the future of the song as well.

~ I very much enjoy the drop from the top 10 from Train - Play That Song. Although it's okay right now, that's not the place for it. I feel as if my opinion could change very rapidly, back to my old one, leading to me whining about its presence there. So, yeah, it's probably for the best.

~ I am really surprised seeing Twenty One Pilots - Heavydirtysoul doing no jumping, besides that one spot rise last weekend. I hope this song changes with the one that is higher up, and that doesn't belong there (you know what song I'm talking about) soon, as this song is one hundred times better at the moment.

~ Wow. I didn't expect that huge fall from John Legend - Love Me Now, and just when things were looking up for the song, too. I guess its just not going to happen again, but I shouldn't say that, because with this countdown, anything is possible.

~ I guess Rihanna - Love On The Brain made a small comeback. It's nothing significant, but I'll take it.

~ I am enjoying the drop from Niall Horan - This Town, and maybe a little bit from Runaground - Chase You Down, just because they are slowly getting old, and I feel like this is the best place for them, clearing some soon to be clutter out of the top 20 early.

~ I can't believe that Pitbull/Flo Rida/LunchMoney Lewis - Greenlight is still here. This is ridiculous. I thought this would have left weeks ago, but no. At least its all the way at the bottom spot, so hopefully it will depart next week.

~ The Hot 45 Chart will be out soon and hopefully I can get the year-end post out this week, as I have the whole week off. So, be prepared for those two posts in the coming days.

Let's Do A Top 20 Review!

0-Garbage

NONE

1-Bad

NONE

2-Mediocre

20. Twenty One Pilots - Heathens

3-Decent

19. Shawn Mendes - Mercy

18. Train - Play That Song

17. Maroon 5 - Don't Wanna Know

4-Good

NONE

5-Great

16. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd - Starving

15. Charli XCX - After The Afterparty

14. Lady Gaga - Million Reasons

13. Jon Bellion - All Time Low

12. The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer

11. Adele - Water Under The Bridge

10. Fitz & The Tantrums - HandClap

9. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like

8. Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On

7. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj - Side To Side

6. The Weeknd/Daft Punk - I Feel It Coming

5. The Chainsmokers - Paris

4. Julia Michaels - Issues

3. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You

2. Zayn & Taylor Swift - I Don't Wanna Live Forever

1. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things

Score: 91% (A-)

Most Missed Countdown Song: Maroon 5 - Payphone

Favorite Countdown Song This Week 1 Year Ago: Taylor Swift - Out Of The Woods

Bottom 5 Picks

1. Pitbull/Flo Rida/LunchMoney Lewis - Greenlight

2. X Ambassadors - Unsteady

3. OneRepublic - Kids

4. Bruno Mars - 24K Magic

5. Coldplay/SeeB - Hymn For The Weekend

Top 5 Picks

1. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things

2. Zayn & Taylor Swift - I Don't Wanna Live Forever

3. Katy Perry/Skip Marley - Chained To The Rhythm

4. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You

5. Julia Michaels - Issues

Love you guys!

~ Jack :)