Halsey (2) - Week Of December 30, 2017

Hey guys! So, I have gotten most of the Year-End Posts out of the way and the big one will be coming up in a few days. This was the last countdown of the year and as expected, there were no exits. There are typically no exits the last week of the year and the first week of the following year. So, let's just get right into it.

Last Week's #1 Song: Ed Sheeran - Perfect
#1 Song This Week 1 Year Ago: Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd - Starving

The Countdown
45. MAX/Gnash - Lights Down Low (#45)
44. Macklemore/Skylar Grey - Glorious (#38)
43. Harry Styles - Kiwi (#42)
42. Cheat Codes/Demi Lovato - No Promises (#41)
41. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (#44) [9 Weeks At #1]
40. Charlie Puth - Attention (#43) [1 Week At #1]
39. Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay (#32) [4 Weeks At #1]
38. Niall Horan - Slow Hands (#27) [3 Weeks At #1]
37. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do (#31)
36. Nick Jonas - Find You (#30)
35. Symon - Lonely Girl (#33)
34. Liam Payne - Bedroom Floor (#39)
33. Linkin Park - One More Light (#37)
32. Eminem/Ed Sheeran - River (#35)
31. Louis Tomlinson - Miss You (#36)
30. P!nk - What About Us (#20) [1 Week At #1]
29. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#22) [5 Weeks At #1]
28. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry (#28) [1 Week At #1]
27. The Shadowboxers - Hot Damn (#34)
26. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still (#26)
25. Liam Payne - Strip That Down (#25) [2 Weeks At #1]
24. Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill (#28)
23. Dua Lipa - New Rules (#17)
22. Imagine Dragons - Believer (#16) [3 Weeks At #1]
21. Lauv - I Like Me Better (#19)
20. Walk The Moon - One Foot (#40)
19. Macklemore/Kesha - Good Old Days (#23)
18. X Ambassadors - Ahead Of Myself (#24)
17. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar (#21)
16. Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes (#18)
15. Selena Gomez & Marshmello - Wolves (#15)
14. Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask (#14)
13. Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line - Meant To Be (#13)
12. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl (#7) [4 Weeks At #1]
11. Kesha - Praying (#11)
10. Zayn/Sia - Dusk Till Dawn (#12)
9. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft (#9)
8. Charlie Puth - How Long (#10)
7. Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It? (#8)
6. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/Florida Georgia Line/watt - Let Me Go (#6)
5. Maroon 5/SZA - What Lovers Do (#5)
4. Imagine Dragons - Thunder (#3) [2 Weeks At #1]
3. Camila Cabello - Havana (#2) [1 Week At #1]
2. Ed Sheeran - Perfect (#1) [1 Week At #1]
1. Halsey - Bad At Love (#4) [2nd Week At #1]

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Niall Horan - Slow Hands (-11)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Walk The Moon - One Foot (+20)

#1 Recommendation Of The Week: Timeflies/Shy Martin - Raincoat


Hit-Bound

• P!nk - Beautiful Trauma 
• All Time Low - Last Young Renegade
• Alan Walker/Noah Cyrus/Digital Farm Animals - All Falls Down
• Clean Bandit/Julia Michaels - I Miss You
• Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future - End Game
• NF - Let You Down
• Imagine Dragons - Whatever It Takes
• Spencer - Whatever
• WOLVES - Animal
• Sofi Tukker/NERVO/The Knocks/Alisa Ueno - Best Friend
• AJR/Rivers Cuomo - Sober Up
• Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same
• G-Eazy & Halsey - Him & I
• Fall Out Boy - Hold Me Tight Or Don't

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same

2. Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future - End Game

3. G-Eazy & Halsey - Him & I

4. Clean Bandit/Julia Michaels - I Miss You

5. P!nk - Beautiful Trauma

One Blurb

~ Well, Halsey - Bad At Love is back at #1. Although I still find this one good, our #2 or #3 song I would much more prefer. It's alright, I'll take it for now.

~ Now, we have Zayn/Sia - Dusk Till Dawn in the top 10. To be honest, I thought that this one would have not made it this far, but I'm sure glad that it did. 

~ So, we received four new songs in the top 20. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar entered, which I am not pleased about. However, we got two good songs, X Ambassadors - Ahead Of Myself, Macklemore/Kesha - Good Old Days, and Walk The Moon - One Foot. So, at least we got more good than bad.

~ Yes! We finally got Imagine Dragons - Believer out of the upper part of the countdown. Now, only if we can keep it dropping, that would be good.

~ I'm glad that The Shadowboxers - Hot Damn made a little resurgence. 

~ P!nk - What About Us saw a pretty good sized drop this week. It's a shame because this song really is good.

~ Well, the rest of our debuts from last week all failed to do well on their second week on the chart. Louis Tomlinson - Miss You only jumped five spots, Eminem/Ed Sheeran - River only jumped three, and Liam Payne - Bedroom Floor only jumped five. None of them made it out of the top 30. I would have rather preferred that the first two did, but hopefully they will next week.

~ Well, it looks like Harry Styles - Kiwi is not going to last much longer. I find it kind of sad that this station fails to appreciate his music as a solo artist, and decides to respect his band mates notably more. He is equally as good, if not, better.

Let's Do A Top 20 Review!

0-Garbage

20. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar

1-Bad

NONE

2-Mediocre

NONE

3-Decent

19. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl

18. Imagine Dragons - Thunder

4-Good

17. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft

16. Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line - Meant To Be

5-Great

15. Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes

14. Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask

13. Charlie Puth - How Long

12. Zayn/Sia - Dusk Till Dawn

11. Kesha - Praying

10. Macklemore/Kesha - Good Old Days

9. X Ambassadors - Ahead Of Myself

8. Halsey - Bad At Love

7. Maroon 5/SZA - What Lovers Do

6. Walk The Moon - One Foot

5. Selena Gomez & Marshmello - Wolves

4. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/Florida Georgia Line/watt - Let Me Go

3. Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It?

2. Ed Sheeran - Perfect

1. Camila Cabello - Havana

Score: 89% (B+)

My Bottom 5 Countdown Picks

1. Imagine Dragons - Believer

2. Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill

3. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar

4. Liam Payne - Strip That Down

5. Niall Horan - Slow Hands

My Top 5 Countdown Picks

1. Camila Cabello - Havana

2. Ed Sheeran - Perfect

3. Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It?

4. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still

5. Louis Tomlinson - Miss You

I hope everyone has a great 2018!

~ Jack :)

Ed Sheeran - Year Of 2017 (Billboard Hot 100)

Hello again everyone! Well, I guess that this really was the year for Ed Sheeran. He has been topping so many year-end charts, and the year-end Billboard Hot 100 is no exception. Anyways, he did also top Hits 1's year-end chart as well. Alright. The same color code does apply here as well. Peak numbers will also be in parentheses. Let's get started, shall we?

Last Year's #1 Song: Justin Bieber - Love Yourself 

The Chart
100. Kieth Urban/Carrie Underwood - The Fighter (#38)
99. XXXTentacion - Look At Me! (#34)
98. blackbear/Gucci Mane - do re mi (#40)
97. Maroon 5/SZA - What Lovers Do (#9)
96. Camila Cabello/Young Thug - Havana (#2)
95. YFN Lucci/PnB Rock - Everyday We Lit (#33)
94. Dustin Lynch - Small Town Boy (#36)
93. Gucci Mane/Migos - I Get The Bag (#11)
92. Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better (#6)
91. Cheat Codes/Demi Lovato - No Promises (#38)
90. Marian Hill - Down (#21)
89. Miley Cyrus - Malibu (#10)
88. Adele - Water Under The Bridge (#26)
87. Harry Styles - Sign Of The Times (#4)
86. Migos/Gucci Mane - Slippery (#29)
85. Jason Derulo/Nicki Minaj/Ty Dolla $ign - Swalla (#29)
84. P!nk - What About Us (#13)
83. Gucci Mane/Drake - Both (#41)
82. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd - Starving (#12)
81. A Boogie Wit da Hoodie/Kodak Black - Drowning (#38)
80. SZA/Travis Scott - Love Galore (#32)
79. Playboi Carti - Magnolia (#29)
78. Khalid - Young, Dumb, & Broke (#22)
77. Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes (#4)
76. Luke Combs - Hurricane (#31)
75. Jon Bellion - All Time Low (#16)
74. Calvin Harris/Pharrell Williams/Katy Perry/Big Sean - Feels (#20)
73. Katy Perry/Skip Marley - Chained To The Rhythm (#4)
72. Kane Brown/Lauren Alaina - What Ifs (#26)
71. Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos - Slide (#25)
70. D.R.A.M./Lil Yachty - Broccoli (#5)
69. Maroon 5/Future - Cold (#16)
68. Travis Scott/Kendrick Lamar - Goosebumps (#32)
67. Kesha - Praying (#22)
66. Kendrick Lamar/Rihanna - Logyalty. (#14)
65. Drake - Passionfruit (#8)
64. Rae Sremmurd - Swang (#26)
63. Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall - Juju On That Beat [TZ Anthem] (#5)
62. Kendrick Lamar - DNA. (#4)
61. Ayo & Teo - Rolex (#20)
60. Aminé - Caroline (#11)
59. Halsey - Now Or Never (#17)
58. Twenty One Pilots - Heathens (#2)
57. Brett Young - In Case You Didn't Know (#19)
56. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar (#1) [8 Weeks]
55. Kodak Black - Tunnel Vision (#6)
54. Shawn Mendes - Mercy (#15)
53. Yo Gotti/Nicki Minaj - Rake It Up (#8)
52. Migos - T-Shirt (#19)
51. Imagine Dragons - Thunder (#4)
50. J Balvin & Willy William - Mi Gente [Beyoncé Remix] (#3)
49. Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop The Feeling! (#1) [1 Week]
48. 21 Savage - Bank Account (#12)
47. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry (#6)
46. DJ Snake/Justin Bieber - Let Me Love You (#4)
45. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still (#4)
44. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie - Rockabye (#9)
43. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj - Side To Side (#4)
42. The Chainsmokers - Paris (#6)
41. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things (#4)
40. Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill (#6)
39. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do (#1) [3 Weeks]
38. Maroon 5/Kendrick Lamar - Don't Wanna Know (#6)
37. Drake - Fake Love (#8)
36. Liam Payne/Quavo - Strip That Down (#10)
35. Big Sean - Bounce Back (#6)
34. The Weeknd/Daft Punk - I Feel It Coming (#4)
33. Rihanna - Love On The Brain (#5)
32. Niall Horan - Slow Hands (#11)
31. Logic/Alessia Cara/Khalid - 1-800-273-8255 (#3)
30. Alessia Cara - Scars To Your Beautiful (#8)
29. Julia Michaels - Issues (#11)
28. Kyle/Lil Yachty - iSpy (#4)
27. Kygo & Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me (#10)
26. Zayn & Taylor Swift - I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#2)
25. Childish Gambino - Redbone (#12)
24. Cardi B - Bodak Yellow (Money Moves) (#1) [3 Weeks]
23. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#6)
22. Charlie Puth - Attention (#5)
21. Khalid - Location (#16)
20. The Weeknd/Daft Punk - Starboy (#1) [1 Week]
19. Rae Sremmurd/Gucci Mane - Black Beatles (#1) [7 Weeks]
18. DJ Khaled/Rihanna/Bryson Tiller - Wild Thoughts (#2)
17. Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay (#7)
16. Bruno Mars - 24K Magic (#4)
15. French Montana/Swae Lee - Unforgettable (#3)
14. Future - Mask Off (#5)
13. Lil Uzi Vert - XO TOUR Llif3 (#7)
12. DJ Khaled/Justin Bieber/Quavo/Chance The Rapper/Lil Wayne - I'm The One (#1) [1 Week]
11. James Arthur - Say You Won't Let Go (#11)
10. Post Malone/Quavo - Congratulations (#8)
9. Imagine Dragons - Believer (#4)
8. Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road (#6)
7. The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer (#1) [12 Weeks]
6. Migos/Lil Uzi Vert - Bad & Boujee (#1) [3 Weeks]
5. The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This (#3)
4. Kendrick Lamar - Humble. (#1) [1 Week]
3. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like (#1) [1 Week]
2. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee - Despacito [Justin Bieber Remix] (#1) [16 Weeks]
1. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (#1) [12 Weeks]

So, a large percentage of the picks that Billboard made for the chart are pretty bad in my opinion. However, their picks were aided by the opinions of the general public, the sales, and airplay of each song. This country has, in the recent years been drawing more towards the genres of rap and hip hop. This allows genuine and decent pop (and other genres) songs, to decline on the charts. I feel like the opinions of the public are slowly beginning to degrade in quality, as there are completely utter stupid songs here such as Everyday We Lit (my worst pick), Rolex, and Juju On That Beat [TZ Anthem]. This music is just utter stupidity based on lyrics and meanings, and there are certainly more on here. However, it is nice to see that people still appreciate songs like Shape Of You, Closer (my best pick), and Starboy. To contradict that, though, there is only THREE songs in the top 20 I consider "great". So, I just feel like our taste in music, in my opinion is beginning to decrease, as there are so many genuine and good songs that don't get enough recognition.

Chart Review

Garbage Songs- 32 (x0) = 0 points

Bad Songs- 9 (x1) = 9 points

Mediocre Songs- 9 (x2) = 18 points

Decent Songs- 4 (x3) = 12 points

Good Songs- 17 (x4) = 68 points

Great Songs- 29 (x5) = 145 points

Final Chart Score: 252/500 (50%) [F]


So, as you can see the chart barely made a 50% rating of approval in my opinion. So, therefore it received an F based on the overwhelming amount of bad songs that we saw on the chart this year.


My Bottom 5 Chart Picks
1. YFN Lucci/PnB Rock - Everyday We Lit
2. Ayo & Teo - Rolex
3. Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall - Juju On That Beat [TZ Anthem]
4. Migos/Gucci Mane - Slippery
5. Migos - T-Shirt

My Top 5 Chart Picks
1. The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer
2. Camila Cabello/Young Thug - Havana
3. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things
4. Julia Michaels - Issues
5. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do

Next post will be coming soon!

~ Jack :)

Ed Sheeran - Year Of 2017

Hey guys! It has been another year that has gone by and that means that Hits 1 has counted down their most successful songs of the year. This year, they featured a good number of good songs on here. However, they did look over a few, as they do every year. Anyways, here is the fresh 45 of 2017 based on success of songs on the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown. The peak numbers of each song will be indicated in parentheses. The normal color code does apply to address how I currently feel about each of the songs on the list. Happy reading!

#1 Song Last Year: Twenty One Pilots - Stressed Out

The Countdown
45. Linkin Park - One More Light (#5)
44. The Weeknd/Daft Punk - I Feel It Coming (#10)
43. Panic! At The Disco - Death Of A Bachelor (#7)
42. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj - Side To Side (#10)
41. Kesha - Praying (#5)
40. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee - Despacito [Justin Bieber Remix] (#3)
39. Maroon 5 - Cold (#3)
38. AJR - Weak (#10)
37. Bruno Mars - 24K Magic (#6)
36. Alessia Cara - Scars To Your Beautiful (#4)
35. P!nk - What About Us (#1) [1 Week]
34. Adele - Water Under The Bridge (#5)
33. Jon Bellion - All Time Low (#5)
32. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things (#2)
31. Lady Gaga - The Cure (#6)
30. Imagine Dragons - Thunder (#1) [2 Weeks]
29. Linkin Park/Kiiara - Heavy (#5)
28. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry (#1) [1 Week]
27. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl (#1) [4 Weeks]
26. Twenty One Pilots - Heathens (#1) [2 Weeks]
25. Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On (#5)
24. Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road (#3)
23. Train - Play That Song (#10)
22. Panic! At The Disco - L.A. Devotee (#7)
21. Julia Michaels - Issues (#6)
20. Zayn & Taylor Swift - I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#3)
19. Charlie Puth - Attention (#1) [1 Week]
18. Fitz & The Tantrums - HandClap (#2)
17. Niall Horan - This Town (#2)
16. James Arthur - Say You Won't Let Go (#3)
15. Shawn Mendes - Mercy (#2)
14. The Chainsmokers - Paris (#1) [1 Week]
13. Maroon 5 - Don't Wanna Know (#1) [3 Weeks]
12. Liam Payne - Strip That Down (#1) [2 Weeks]
11. Kygo & Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me (#4)
10. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like (#1) [1 Week]
9. Niall Horan - Slow Hands (#1) [3 Weeks]
8. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd - Starving (#1) [4 Weeks]
7. Imagine Dragons - Believer (#1) [3 Weeks]
6. The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This (#1) [3 Weeks At #1]
5. Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill (#1) [3 Weeks]
4. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#1) [5 Weeks]
3. The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer (#1) [8 Weeks]
2. Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay (#1) [4 Weeks]
1. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (#1) [9 Weeks]

Shape Of Blurbs

~ I am quite fine with Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You being the #1 song this year, and honestly it was not a huge surprise, as it was the only song that spent nine weeks leading the chart this year, which was far more than any other song this year.

~ I am very surprised, however, that The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer was this high on the year-end chart, considering it had most of its success on the countdown last year. Nevertheless, I am definitely not complaining. It is one of my favorite songs. I consider it the best one here.

~ Just a side note, this year, the entire top 10 consists of songs that were #1 at one point or another. There is usually a few songs in there that peaked at #2 or somewhere in the top 3, but Kygo & Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me did earn a spot at #11, seeing as it peaked at #4. I just thought that it was a little interesting. That's all.

~ Well, four of my least favorite songs this year all came right below the top 20 this year, and right in a row. Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On, Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road, Train - Play That Song, and Panic! At The Disco - L.A. Devotee (came just short of my bottom 10), sadly came all in a row. It was a very non-pleasurable listen when these all came rolling one after another. On the bright side, we got a good chunk of them out of the way. On the dark side, though, it makes me a bit irritated that they were here in the first place.

~ I find it kind of strange that Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee - Despacito [Justin Bieber Remix] did not get any higher on this list. Oh well.

~ On note of surprises, I am also quite surprised seeing that Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj - Side To Side also made this list. Another surprise was seeing The Weeknd/Daft Punk - I Feel It Coming making the list as well. They both peaked at the lowest position in the top 10. I just wasn't expecting to see them here, but I'm glad that they made it.

~ I also find it kind of interesting seeing as successful songs here like Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do, Sia/Kendrick Lamar - The Greatest, and Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still all failed to make it onto this chart. All of the above are songs I thoroughly enjoy and I am a bit confused as to why they failed to make it here. The second one even peaked at #2.

Let's Do A Year-End Chart Review!

0-Garbage
45. Train - Play That Song
44. Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road
43. Imagine Dragons - Believer
42. Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On
41. Maroon 5 - Cold
40. Panic! At The Disco - L.A. Devotee
39. Bruno Mars - 24K Magic

1-Bad
38. Liam Payne - Strip That Down
37. Niall Horan - Slow Hands
36. Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill
35. Linkin Park - One More Light

2-Mediocre
34. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like
33. Lady Gaga - The Cure
32. Panic! At The Disco - Death Of A Bachelor
31. Maroon 5 - Don't Wanna Know
30. Niall Horan - This Town

3-Decent
29. The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This
28. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl
27. Imagine Dragons - Thunder

4-Good
26. Fitz & The Tantrums - HandClap
25. James Arthur - Say You Won't Let Go
24. Shawn Mendes - Mercy
23. Alessia Cara - Scars To Your Beautiful
22. Twenty One Pilots - Heathens
21. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry
20. Charlie Puth - Attention
19. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee - Despacito [Justin Bieber Remix]
18. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back
17. Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay

5-Great
16. Adele - Water Under The Bridge
15. P!nk - What About Us
14. AJR - Weak
13. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd - Starving
12. Kesha - Praying
11. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You
10. Linkin Park/Kiiara - Heavy
9. Kygo & Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me
8. The Chainsmokers - Paris
7. The Weeknd/Daft Punk - I Feel It Coming
6. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj - Side To Side
5. Jon Bellion - All Time Low
4. Zayn & Taylor Swift - I Don't Wanna Live Forever
3. Julia Michaels - Issues
2. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things
1. The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer

Score: 64% (D)


My Bottom 5 Year-End Countdown Picks
1. Train - Play That Song
2. Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road
3. Imagine Dragons - Believer
4. Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On
5. Maroon 5 - Cold

My Top 5 Year-End Countdown Picks
1. The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer
2. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things
3. Julia Michaels - Issues
4. Zayn & Taylor Swift - I Don't Wanna Live Forever
5. Jon Bellion - All Time Low

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to check out the countdown review that was posted before this!

~ Jack :)

Ed Sheeran (1) - Week Of December 23, 2017

Hey guys! My hopes are that you all had a wonderful Christmas. If you did not see it, The Year In Review post was posted a couple of days ago. If you have not seen that yet, then it is the post before this one. I plan to have the rest of the posts out here soon. Before we get to this week's countdown, here are the four songs that are leaving us this week.

• Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road (#23) [FINALLY!]
• Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee - Despacito [Justin Bieber Remix] (#43)
• The Script - Rain (#44)
• Logic/Alessia Cara/Khalid - 1-800-273-8255 (#45)

Last Week's #1 Song: Camila Cabello - Havana

#1 Song This Week 1 Year Ago: Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd - Starving 

The Countdown

45. MAX/Gnash - Lights Down Low (#40)

44. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (#42) [9 Weeks At #1]

43. Charlie Puth - Attention (#36) [1 Week At #1]

42. Harry Styles - Kiwi (#35)

41. Cheat Codes/Demi Lovato - No Promises (#41)

40. Walk The Moon - One Foot (DEBUT)

39. Liam Payne - Bedroom Floor (DEBUT)

38. Macklemore/Skylar Grey - Glorious (#26)

37. Linkin Park - One More Light (#37)

36. Louis Tomlinson - Miss You (DEBUT)

35. Eminem/Ed Sheeran - River (DEBUT)

34. The Shadowboxers - Hot Damn (#27)

33. Symon - Lonely Girl (#38)

32. Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay (#39) [4 Weeks At #1]

31. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do (#32)

30. Nick Jonas - Find You (#31)

29. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry (#10) [1 Week At #1]

28. Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill (#30) [3 Weeks At #1]

27. Niall Horan - Slow Hands (#33) [3 Weeks At #1]

26. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still (#20)

25. Liam Payne - Strip That Down (#29) [2 Weeks At #1]

24. X Ambassadors - Ahead Of Myself (#28)

23. Macklemore/Kesha - Good Old Days (#34)

22. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#25) [3 Weeks At #1]

21. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar (#22)

20. P!nk - What About Us (#21) [1 Week At #1]

19. Lauv - I Like Me Better (#24)

18. Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes (#18)

17. Dua Lipa - New Rules (#19)

16. Imagine Dragons - Believer (#16) [3 Weeks At #1]

15. Selena Gomez & Marshmello - Wolves (#15)

14. Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask (#13)

13. Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line - Meant To Be (#14)

12. Zayn/Sia - Dusk Till Dawn (#17)

11. Kesha - Praying (#12)

10. Charlie Puth - How Long (#11)

9. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft (#8)

8. Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It? (#5)

7. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl (#4) [4 Weeks At #1]

6. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/Florida Georgia Line/watt - Let Me Go (#6)

5. Maroon 5/SZA - What Lovers Do (#9)

4. Halsey - Bad At Love (#3) [1 Week At #1]

3. Imagine Dragons - Thunder (#4) [2 Weeks At #1]

2. Camila Cabello - Havana (#1) [1 Week At #1]

1. Ed Sheeran - Perfect (#2) [1st Week At #1]

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry (-19)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Macklemore/Kesha - Good Old Days (+11)

#1 Recommendation Of The Week: Grace VanderWaal - So Much More Than This

New Entrants

~ Our first entrant this week comes from Walk The Moon, returning with One Foot. This band had a lot to live up to after their smash hit a couple of years ago, Shut Up & Dance, and I have to say they definitely did not fail to impress with this one either. This song just has a lot of good vibes to it and it's one of those get up and dance songs. This has a good beat, and great vocals, as well as those feel-good vibes. We could definitely use more songs like this, as they are just ones that put a pause on our lives that just make us feel good.

~ Next up is Liam Payne returning with his new single, Bedroom Floor. This song reminds me a lot of Strip That Down. I liked this song for a little bit, but it quickly faded on me, probably mostly due in part to its similarity to its predecessor. Liam definitely needs to branch out a little more with the style he's taking with is music, as this style is a little awkward and his lyrical content thus far is pretty much satisfactory. I'm not sure it will last so long here, as it's not doing so great elsewhere, but it's just okay at this point, it's not a song I'm excited to listen to in summary. 

~ Next we have Louis Tomlinson with Miss You. Unlike Liam, Louis really seems to have found his own lane. Liam needs a little more work on that. I really like the solo artist Louis has become. The lyrical content on this one is pretty good considering its highlighting what you must do after you experience heartbreak.  It's just something that I'm sure a lot of people relate to. The instrumentals are very cool and I like the production. This would make a good lead single off an album, which hopefully will be coming soon from him. All in all, this is my favorite song that he has released as a solo artist this far, and I can't wait to hear what else he has in store.

~ Ladies and gentlemen, Eminem has made his return and he is back this time with Ed Sheeran. The song entering the countdown this week is River. Ed Sheeran now has FIVE, count them, FIVE songs on the countdown. I didn't think that Hits 1 would ever allow that but they love Ed Sheeran, so I guess it's not much of a surprise that they would have him be the first person to achieve such an honor. Eminem has decent flowing verses on the track and Ed Sheeran sounds great as usual. I really like how Eminem finds people who are just as passionate as him with music to collaborate with. I think it makes for pretty decent tracks every time. 

Hit-Bound

• Sofi Tukker/NERVO/The Knocks/Alisa Ueno - Best Friend
• Fall Out Boy - Hold Me Tight Or Don't
• Spencer - Whatever
• NF - Let You Down (DEBUT)
• Imagine Dragons - Whatever It Takes
• Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future - End Game
• AJR/Rivers Cuomo - Sober Up
• P!nk - Beautiful Trauma
• Alan Walker/Noah Cyrus/Digital Farm Animals - All Falls Down (DEBUT)
• Clean Bandit/Julia Michaels - I Miss You
• WOLVES - Animal
• G-Eazy & Halsey - Him & I (DEBUT)
• Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same (DEBUT)
• All Time Low - Last Young Renegade

Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same

2. Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future - End Game

3. Clean Bandit/Julia Michaels - I Miss You

4. G-Eazy & Halsey - Him & I

5. P!nk -Beautiful Trauma

Bedroom Blurbs

~ I am very happy seeing Ed Sheeran - Perfect at the top spot. It is such a very nice and beautiful song with a great meaning behind it. We definitely need more love songs like this being successful nowadays.

~ Although Camila Cabello - Havana did drop from the #1 spot, I am glad that it even reached that height here. It is still the best song here. It is so infectiously catchy, and I am so glad that it has been successful.

~ I am pretty surprised that Kesha is still up this high with Praying. I thought for sure she would be lower by now. Nevertheless, it is still a good song and I'm glad that it hasn't dropped so far down yet.

~ Although Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line - Meant To Be is still in green, it is becoming a little too much to handle. I hear this song all the time, and it is slowly becoming just an okay song. I don't know if my opinion will change on this one or not, but it could in the coming weeks.

~ I am about ready to lose it with Imagine Dragons - Believer. Now that the previous worst song has left the countdown, my main focus is on brushing this one out of here. It has been in the top 20 far too long and it needs to just leave. It's been very overplayed and overrated and its really just a poor track overall. I am hoping to see some declining from this one in the near future.

~ I am glad to see that the better Macklemore song here, Good Old Days, featuring Kesha, has been successful so far with a decent second week jump. I hope to see some success out of this one. I think it is probably going down in my book as better than its predecessor.

~ Well, it looks like it's coming close to an end for Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry. The drop came at the right time, though, as it is becoming a little old to me at this point. Its status right now is just an okay song to me.

~ The Shadowboxers - Hot Damn seems to be declining lately, and it's a bit sad, as I really wanted this one to do well. It's a good song in my book.

~ Harry Styles - Kiwi has clearly been completely unsuccessful and I am quite sad that this station seems to favor all of the other artists from the band, and not him. His music is very good, and I don't see why it always does bad here.

~ Hopefully this marks the final moments of MAX/Gnash - Lights Down Low. I am quite sick of it at this point. It would be one less bad song on the countdown if it left next week.

Let's Do A Top 20 Review!

0-Garbage

20. Imagine Dragons - Believer

1-Bad

NONE

2-Mediocre

NONE

3-Decent

19. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl

18. Imagine Dragons - Thunder

17. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft

4-Good

16. Dua Lipa - New Rules

5-Great

15. Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line - Meant To Be

14. Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes

13. P!nk - What About Us

12. Kesha - Praying

11. Charlie Puth - How Long

10. Zayn/Sia - Dusk Till Dawn

9. Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask

8. Lauv - I Like Me Better

7. Halsey - Bad At Love

6. Maroon 5/SZA - What Lovers Do

5. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/Florida Georgia Line/watt - Let Me Go

4. Selena Gomez & Marshmello - Wolves

3. Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It?

2. Ed Sheeran - Perfect

1. Camila Cabello - Havana

Score: 88% (B+)

My Bottom 5 Countdown Picks

1. Imagine Dragons - Believer

2. Liam Payne - Strip That Down

3. Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill

4. MAX/Gnash - Lights Down Low

5. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar

My Top 5 Countdown Picks

1. Camila Cabello - Havana

2. Ed Sheeran - Perfect

3. Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It?

4. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still

5. Louis Tomlinson - Miss You

Thanks for reading! More posts on the way!

~ Jack :)

A Year-End Special: 2017 - A Year In Review

Well, it's been another whole year already guys. I am fully ready to take on what next year has to bring. This year has taught me so much and given me plenty of interesting experiences. Although 2017 has been one hell of a year, I cant wait to experience another year in my life. I am going to be sixteen this coming year, so I can't wait to see what will come of that. This year has been collectively another quite successful year for this blog, as we have gathered about 85,000 views here this past year, which is the MOST views I have ever received in a year on this blog, so I thank you all tremendously for that. As for the year in music, we did not lose as many of the greats as we did last year, the biggest death this year was Chester Bennington from Linkin Park. That was very saddening and may he rest in peace. As for the music that was released this year, it was very much similar to the load of music we got last year. Again, it was not the best year we have ever had. By far, my favorite year in this decade so far was 2014. I just feel that there was such a variety that year, and that variety of hit music has been going downhill ever since.

So, getting started I will be counting down my bottom 10 songs of the year. There was a very large number of songs that I had no interest in this year. However, thankfully a good amount of them did not debut on Hits 1. The amount of rap music that has been being released nowadays and actually being successful is overwhelming, and almost one hundred percent of the time it is utter trash. Without further adieu, here are the worst songs this year that thankfully did not make it on the Weekend Countdown.

• 21 Savage - Bank Account
• Amy Shark - Adore
• Ayo & Teo - Rolex
• Bazzi - Mine
• Cardi B - Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)
• Future - Mask Off
• Iggy Azalea - Mo Bounce
• Jason Derulo/French Montana - Tip Toe
• Kendrick Lamar/Rihanna - Loyalty
• Lil Pump - Gucci Gang
• Lil Uzi Vert - XO TOUR Llife
• Migos/Lil Uzi Vert - Bad & Boujee
• Migos/Nicki Minaj/Cardi B - MotorSport
• PRETTYMUCH/French Montana - No More
• Yo Gotti/Nicki Minaj - Rake It Up

These are just a few of the songs that I actually listened to and did not find the slightest bit appealing at all. There were definitely more tracks that could have been up here I'm sure, but I didn't take a listen. So, now we will move into my bottom 10 songs of the year based on the music that debuted on the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown. Before we get to this list, here's the dishonorable mentions that were quite close to being on my list.

• All Time Low - Good Times
• Bruno Mars - That's What I Like
• Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill
• Fall Out Boy - Champion
• Liam Payne - Strip That Down
• Lukas Graham - You're Not There
• Noah Cyrus/Labrinth - Make Me (Cry)
• Panic! At The Disco - L.A. Devotee
• Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar
• Zedd & Liam Payne - Get Low

My Bottom 10 Songs Of 2017

10. Childish Gambino - Redbone

So, this wasn't the most awful song I have ever heard. I can definitely see why people found it catchy though. Although the radio version of this song is strange, if you listen to the original version of this track, you will get easily scared. It's just a weird piece of music. Not to mention, the album cover is also creepy too. Childish Gambino just created this in a very awkward way, which is why it is on this list, but the beat is kind of catchy, so I can see why the general public enjoyed it. It was just a bit too strange for me. To add, I was quite surprised that this even was played on Hits 1 to begin with.

9. Bruno Mars - Versace On The Floor (David Guetta Remix)

So, this song is mainly on the list because the remix that this station played was just not to my liking. The original version that was just Bruno Mars was again, not my favorite, but it was an okay song. The drop in this version is just really annoying to me and I also just feel like this one had lazy production. Other than that, it was just mediocre. I'm glad it didn't go too far on the countdown.

8. Maroon 5 - Cold

So, at first I was all excited for Maroon 5 to come back with all of their new music and all. Then they dropped their first single after a while, Don't Wanna Know, and I liked it to begin with and quickly found that it was mediocre. Then they released Cold not long after and it was just okay to me and I never really got into it. The more I heard it, I just grew more annoyed with it. Hits 1 played this song WAY too much, so naturally I just grew annoyed with it. Adam Levine's vocals were also just very mediocre in comparison to this band's previous music and it just really didn't live up to its title. As for their new album, I'm not the biggest fan of it either. I do like the music that has been released thus far from it, though. So yeah, this song was just poorly written and the vocals weren't all that great.

7. Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On

This song was just another one of those songs I thought was okay and never really ended up getting into, which left me to dislike it. Again, Hits 1 played this an unreasonable amount of times, considering that it wasn't even that big of a hit. Now, anything Louis Tomlinson has released after this song has been very good in my opinion. I just really thought this song had too much going on. Artists like Steve Aoki, in my opinion do not go well with a singer like this, based on what I saw from this song. The drop wasn't even that cool in this one. Although this one was a Hits 1 favorite, because One Direction, even though they don't seem to like playing Harry's music that much (because it's too good for them to handle), this just was a mess. I'm glad it wasn't too successful anywhere else, because I definitely would have died of overplay disease hearing this everywhere.

6. Imagine Dragons - Believer

I very much enjoyed this song, as I do most of Imagine Dragons's music, but this one was heavily overplayed (and it still is). I grew out of this one very quickly, and just as I was, it hit #1 three times on the countdown here. How convenient. Anyways, I don't have much to say about this one except that I could see myself getting back into it a little after radio stations finally start to give it up, but that doesn't look like it will be soon. Even though, I don't think I will grow to love this song again. I could see myself placing it in the "meh" category, as something that would probably still be a station changer, but I don't think I would flat out just hate it like I do right now.

5. Jason Derulo/Ty Dolla $ign/Nicki Minaj - Swalla

Oh this song was just a lyrical catastrophe and the vocal content was shitty, because it's Jason Derulo, and what's better than throwing Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj in for the party? Anything. Anything is better than that. Jason Derulo's music has been utter dumpster trash these past few years, with the exception of one or two songs. It just absolutely sucks, and this song absolutely showcases it. I am glad though that this one really didn't go too far, it was pretty bad.

4. Flo Rida/99 Percent - Cake

This song was absolute garbage. For the most part, Flo Rida is an artist in which I don't like. His music has just been terrible for a large portion of his career. This song, which is about how someone has "cake", we don't need to explain that. That already is a terrible premise for a song. The production sucks and the vocals are some of the worst I've heard in a while. Don't even get me started on the chorus either, it sounded like one of the worst things I've ever heard. Overall, this was just a meaningless, pointless, sorry excuse of an addition to the world of music. We did not need this.

3. Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road

Here's another song in which I have not been fond of for almost the entire time it's been released. For a good time now, it has been the worst song on the countdown. I don't understand why this was the most popular country song this year. This track is easily Sam Hunt's worst performance ever. The lyrical content on this song is terrible and the vocals aren't much to save it. 

2. Andy Grammer - Give Love

This is another example of why I don't like Andy Grammer's music. This song sounds like it was written by a four year old. "Let's give love." I know it's a good message, but seriously this sounds like something I'd write in kindergarten, and I don't know why a grown man would sing something like this. It feels like something that a younger singer would possibly sing. Also, it doesn't help that his voice never ceases to annoy me any time I listen to a song of his. All in all, this was just another mess brought to us by none other than Andy Grammer.

1. Train - Play That Song

This is it everyone, the worst song that ever payed its dues on Hits 1 this year in my opinion. Train holds the title this year with Play That Song. I had hated this song from first listen and frankly I believe that it was in orange for about 90% of its countdown career. Single after single with this band, they get progressively worse. I hope that we don't hear from them soon, and I'm very thankful that this song did not blow up. The vocals just made my ear bleed, because I have always found myself prone to really enjoying the vocals that this band has to offer. I just really have never thought that they were actually all that special with their music. I have found it very mediocre, and in this case terrible. The album in which this song was released was terrible in entirety. Their music has just become more and more terrible as its gone, so yeah. The beat in this one is nothing special either and the production is pretty bad too. All in all, it is another example of a sorry excuse for a song, which I always found myself dreading to listen to on Hits 1, which is the only place it really was successful, thankfully.

Okay, with that out of the way, let us move on to this year's pack of #1 songs on Hits 1. This year, there was really only one song that had an outstanding amount of weeks at the top. We found ourselves with a larger sum of one week number ones this year. So, here's all of the number ones this year on the Weekend Countdown.

• Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (9)
• Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (5)
• Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl (4)
• Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay (4)
• Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill (3)
• Imagine Dragons - Believer (3)
• Maroon 5 - Don't Wanna Know (3)
• Niall Horan - Slow Hands (3)
• The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This (3)
• Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd - Starving (2) [4 total]
• Halsey - Bad At Love (2)
• Imagine Dragons - Thunder (2)
• Liam Payne - Strip That Down (2)
• Bruno Mars - That's What I Like (1)
• Camila Cabello - Havana (1)
• Charlie Puth - Attention (1)
• Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry (1)
• Ed Sheeran - Perfect (1)
• P!nk - What About Us (1)
• The Chainsmokers - Paris (1)
• Twenty One Pilots - Heathens (1) [2 total]

Now, on to Hit-Bound. We again, as we do every year, found ourselves with a great load of music that never got the privilege to be announced by Spyder Harrison on the Weekend Countdown. Here are those songs.

• Bebe Rexha - The Way I Are (Dance With Somebody)
• Calum Scott - Dancing On My Own
• Captain Cuts/Nateur - Love Like We Used To
• Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut To The Feeling
• Coin - Talk Too Much
• Dua Lipa - Blow Your Mind (Mwah)
• Fall Out Boy - Young & Menace
• Gavin DeGraw - She Sets The City On Fire
• Katy Perry - Bon Appétit
• Katy Perry/Nicki Minaj - Swish Swish
• Kungs/Ephemerals - I Feel So Bad
• Little Mix - Shout Out To My Ex
• Little Mix - Touch
• Lorde - Green Light
• Mansionz/G-Eazy - Wicked
• Maty Noyes - In My Mind
• P!nk/Eminem - Revenge
• Paramore - Hard Times
• PRETTYMUCH - Would You Mind
• Rita Ora - Your Song
• Shawn Hook/Vanessa Hudgens - Reminding Me
• Taylor Swift - Gorgeous
• Why Don't We - Something Different

From the list of songs that never made it onto the countdown, I will give to you the winner of the 2017 Lights Over Paris Hit-Bound Hero Award. Every year, I give this award to the best song to make it onto Hit-Bound, but one that also failed to make it onto the Weekend Countdown. 

2017 Lights Over Paris Hit-Bound Hero Award Recipient: Maty Noyes - In My Mind

Now, I'm sure most of you already forgot about this one, but I loved this song ever since it was first released. I found it very saddening that Maty Noyes never took off. I considered this a very good pop song that was released this past year. Oh well, at least it made it on Hit-Bound.

Runner-Ups:

• Lorde - Green Light
• Taylor Swift - Gorgeous
• Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut To The Feeling
• Kungs/Ephemerals - I Feel So Bad

Now, this station normally finds a very good portion of the most popular music that it can find. Usually, though, it excludes a good portion of rap music, as it is more of a goodhearted station. However, they do completely miss some pop songs here and there. Here is one of the biggest songs that Hits 1 failed to pick up on this year.

Biggest Whiff Award: J Balvin & Willy William/Beyoncé - Mi Gente

Tenure Trophies

Shortest Tenured Song Of 2017: G-Eazy & Khelani - Good Life (one week, entered 5/20/17, exited 5/27/17)

Longest Tenured Song Of 2017: Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (fifty weeks, debuted 1/14/17, exited *not yet exited*)

Love you guys!

More posts on the way!

~ Jack :)