Imagine Dragons (5) - Week Of January 27, 2018

Hey guys! Welcome back! I apologize for my year-end Hot 45 Chart post still not being out. I will have that out as soon as possible. This past week has been pretty hectic, as will this week. I have had so many midterms and a load of assignments that were due, because today is the official beginning of the second half of the year for me. Anyways, the Grammy's were on last night. I don't really know if I will be doing a review on them, though. The performances seemed a little all over the place in my opinion. So, we'll have to see what I do. Anyways, before we get to this week's fresh 45 songs, here's the songs that we're saying goodbye to.

• Liam Payne - Bedroom Floor (#26)
• Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (#39) [9 Weeks At #1]
• Harry Styles - Kiwi (#43)
• Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do (#44)

Last Week's #1 Song: Imagine Dragons - Thunder

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

The Countdown

45. The Shadowboxers - Hot Damn (#45)

44. P!nk - What About Us (#42) [1 Week At #1]

43. Charlie Puth - Attention (#41) [1 Week At #1]

42. Sam Smith - Too Good At My Goodbyes (#20)

41. Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It? (#31)

40. Zayn/Sia - Dusk Till Dawn (#35)

39. Kesha - Praying (#36)

38. WOLVES - Animal (DEBUT)
37. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry (#29) [1 Week At #1]

36. Niall Horan - Slow Hands (#39) [3 Weeks At #1]

35. NF - Let You Down (DEBUT)

34. P!nk - Beautiful Trauma (DEBUT)
33. Liam Payne - Strip That Down (#37) [1 Week At #1]

32. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl (#32)

31. Symon - Lonely Girl (#34) 

30. Maroon 5/SZA - What Lovers Do (#16)

29. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#28) [5 Weeks At #1]

28. Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same (DEBUT)

27. MAX/Gnash - Lights Down Low (#30)

26. Justin Timberlake - Filthy (#23)

24. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still (#18)

23. Eminem/Ed Sheeran - River (#24)

22. Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask (#7)

21. Bruno Mars/Cardi B - Finesse [Remix] (#33)

20. Maroon 5 - Wait (#38)

19. G-Eazy & Halsey - Him & I (#21)

18. Fall Out Boy - Hold Me Tight Or Don't (#25)

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

16. Imagine Dragons - Believer (#14) [3 Weeks At #1]

15. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar (#17)

14. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft (#10)

13. Dua Lipa - New Rules (#11)

12. X Ambassadors - Ahead Of Myself (#27)

11. Camila Cabello - Havana (#6) [1 Week At #1]

10. Walk The Moon - One Foot (#12)

9. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/Florida Georgia Line/watt - Let Me Go (#8)

8. Charlie Puth - How Long (#2)

7. Selena Gomez & Marshmello - Wolves (#13)

6. Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line - Meant To Be (#3)

5. Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future - End Game (#15)

4. Macklemore/Kesha - Good Old Days (#9)

3. Ed Sheeran - Perfect (#5) [2 Weeks At #1]

2. Halsey - Bad At Love (#4) [2 Weeks At #1]

1. Imagine Dragons - Thunder (#1) [5th Week At #1]

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes (-22)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Maroon 5 - Wait (+18)

#1 Recommendation Of The Week: Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton - Say Something

New Entrants

~ The first new song we see here this week comes from WOLVES. They enter with Animal. I don't love this song as much now as I did when it first made its appearance on Hits 1. It's still good, though. The chorus is without question my favorite part in this song. The production is alright, and the vocals say the same as the production on this track. They are alright, but they are nothing that is a complete stand out. Anyways, I really don't mind if this song does good here, but I can't really see it being a song that is going to do good. Oh well, we will have to wait and see.

~ Our second entrant this week comes from NF with Let You Down. So, I first heard this song a few months ago. I think it was around the time of October. This song struck me as something very different from most rap songs that we have nowadays, which may have been the main reason that I found this song quite entertaining. Also, around the time I listened to this song, I felt like I was really relating to its vibe and lyrics. I just find it to be a nice song. The chorus is especially my favorite part in this song. I feel like it is losing a lot of traction at this point, so I don't know how well it will do here, but hoepfully we will see some success out of this.

~ We find ourselves with a new P!nk song people. It goes by the name of Beautiful Trauma. I am definitely a fan of this song. I have not come to the conclusion if this is better than What About Us, but at this point they are just equal in my book. Her vocals sound really good in this song. The chorus is nice. This is definitely a stand-out track from her latest album, and I was throughly entertained with the music video for this song. If you have not seen that video yet, I recommend that you go and watch it. Nevertheless, I hope to see this song do good here. 

~ Our last debut this week, and the best one in my opinion, comes from Camila Cabello. We receive the amazing track this week, Never Be The Same. This song, in my opinion, is just breathtaking. The first time I ever heard this song, I think I had it on replay almost all night, and I still do. Also, by the way, if you are reading this and have not listened to her debut album, Camila, yet I highly suggest that you go and listen to it as soon as possible. Every song on the album could not have been done any better in my opinion. All set aside, this song is just amazing to me. Camila has amazing vocals on this track, and this is just the perfect example of why I am so happy that she decided to be a solo artist. She is one of the most talented artists that we have out there right now. The pre-chorus and chorus is absolutely my favorite part of this song. She showcases her vocals the most there. The verses flow very nicely as well. I just cannot stop listening to this song on repeat. This is probably just going to be one of those songs that I am never going to get sick of. I really hope that this one does well here.

Best Entrant Of The Week: Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same

Hit-Bound

• Sofi Tukker/NERVO/The Knocks/Alisa Ueno - Best Friend
• Troye Sivan - My My My!
• Clean Bandit/Julia Michaels - I Miss You
• The Chainsmokers - Sick Boy
• Portugal. The Man - Live In The Moment (DEBUT)
• Post Malone - I Fall Apart (DEBUT)
• All Time Low - Last Young Renegade 
• Wild Things - Don't Wanna Feel It (DEBUT)
• Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey - The Middle (DEBUT)
• Alan Walker/Noah Cyrus/Digital Farm Animals - All Falls Down
• AJR/Rivers Cuomo - Sober Up
• Imagine Dragons - Whatever It Takes
• Kesha/The Dap-Kings Horns - Woman
• Spencer - Whatever

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Songs

1. Troye Sivan - My My My!

2. The Chainsmokers - Sick Boy

3. Clean Bandit/Julia Michaels - I Miss You

4. Kesha/The Dap-Kings Horns - Woman

5. Imagine Dragons - Whatever It Takes

Never Blurb The Same

~ Well, Imagine Dragons log another week atop the chart with Thunder. At this point, I really hope that this is the final week we see this song atop the countdown. It is getting quite old at this point, and I would prefer any other song in the top 10 at the #1 position.

~ We welcome two new and very pleasing top 5 entrants this week. Both of these songs rose up here quite quickly, especially the latter. We receive Macklemore/Kesha - Good Old Days and Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future - End Game. I hope to see these songs continue to dominate here. They are easily two of the best songs on this countdown.

~ I am glad to see that Walk The Moon - One Foot is having tremendous success here. It is growing better and better after each listen.

~ Come on people. We are not making any progress with the amount of bad songs within this countdown's top 20. Rockstar, Believer, and Hold Me Tight Or Don't definitely need to be way lower than where they are at.

~ After that little mishap on its second week here, Finesse had a nice recovery this week with a twelve spot jump right outside of the top 20. This song just keeps growing more and more on me. Let's get this closer to the top 10 next week.

~ I absolutely do not understand how MAX/Gnash - Lights Down Low had this spontaneous revival of success in the past couple of weeks. Just when I thought that we were going to get rid of this, it's become a problem again.

~ Well, this looks like the end for Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes. It's been a nice run with this one. I can't see it lasting much longer here.

Let's Do A Top 20 Review!

0-Garbage

20. Imagine Dragons - Believer

19. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar

18. Fall Out Boy - Hold Me Tight Or Don't

1-Bad

NONE

2-Mediocre

NONE

3-Decent

17. Imagine Dragons - Thunder

16. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft

4-Good

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

5-Great

14. Charlie Puth - How Long

13. Dua Lipa - New Rules

12. Lauv - I Like Me Better

11. Halsey - Bad At Love

10. X Ambassadors - Ahead Of Myself

9. Maroon 5 - Wait

8. Walk The Moon - One Foot

7. Macklemore/Kesha - Good Old Days

6. Selena Gomez & Marshmello - Wolves

5. G-Eazy & Halsey - Him & I

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

3. Ed Sheeran - Perfect

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

1. Camila Cabello - Havana

Score: 80% (B-)

My Bottom 5 Countdown Picks

1. Imagine Dragons - Believer

2. Liam Payne - Strip That Down

3. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar

4. Fall Out Boy - Hold Me Tight Or Don't

5. MAX/Gnash - Lights Down Low

My Top 5 Countdown Picks

1. Camila Cabello - Havana

2. Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same

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

4. Ed Sheeran - Perfect

5. Bruno Mars/Cardi B - Finesse [Remix]

Thanks for reading!

See you all next time!

~ Jack :)

Imagine Dragons (4) - Week Of January 20, 2018

Hello everyone and welcome back! I am still in the process of making the year-end list for the Hot 45 Chart and that should be posted by next week. We are inching further to this year's Grammy Awards, which is next weekend. I don't know if I will be reviewing the show at this point. It honestly depends on how good, or how bad I found it. At the moment, the lineup for performers looks okay, but it could be a bit better. Anyways, you are all here for the countdown this time around. Before we get to this week's fresh 45 songs, there is one song leaving us this week.

• Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay (#42) [4 Weeks At #1]

Last Week's #1 Song: Ed Sheeran - Perfect

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

The Chart

45. The Shadowboxers - Hot Damn (#41)

44. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do (#44) 

43. Harry Styles - Kiwi (#45)

42. P!nk - What About Us (#37) [1 Week At #1]

41. Charlie Puth - Attention (#40) [1 Week At #1]

40. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (#39) [9 Weeks At #1]

39. Niall Horan - Slow Hands (#38) [3 Weeks At #1]

38. Maroon 5 - Wait (DEBUT)
37. Liam Payne - Strip That Down (#36) [2 Weeks At #1]

36. Kesha - Praying (#33)

35. Zayn/Sia - Dusk Till Dawn (#32)

34. Symon - Lonely Girl (#27)

33. Bruno Mars/Cardi B - Finesse [Remix] (#30)

32. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl (#32) [4 Weeks At #1]

31. Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It? (#35)

30. MAX/Gnash - Lights Down Low (#43)

29. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry (#28) [1 Week At #1]

28. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#29) [5 Weeks At #1]

27. X Ambassadors - Ahead Of Myself (#21)

26. Liam Payne - Bedroom Floor (#26)

25. Fall Out Boy - Hold Me Tight Or Don't (#19)

24. Eminem/Ed Sheeran - River (#14)

23. Justin Timberlake - Filthy (#24)

22. Louis Tomlinson - Miss You (#34)

21. G-Eazy & Halsey - Him & I (#20)

20. Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes (#13)

19. Lauv - I Like Me Better (#18)

18. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still (#23)

17. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar (#16)

16. Maroon 5/SZA - What Lovers Do (#15)

15. Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future - End Game (#22)

14. Imagine Dragons - Believer (#17) [3 Weeks At #1]

13. Selena Gomez & Marshmello - Wolves (#8)

12. Walk The Moon - One Foot (#25)

11. Dua Lipa - New Rules (#12)

10. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft (#7)

9. Macklemore/Kesha - Good Old Days (#10)

8. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/Florida Georgia Line/watt - Let Me Go (#4)

7. Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask (#11)

6. Camila Cabello - Havana (#5) [1 Week At #1]

5. Ed Sheeran - Perfect (#1) [2 Weeks At #1]

4. Halsey - Bad At Love (#2) [2 Weeks At #1]

3. Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line - Meant To Be (#6)

2. Charlie Puth - How Long (#9)

1. Imagine Dragons - Thunder (#3) [4th Week At #1]

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Eminem/Ed Sheeran - River (-10)

Biggest Rise Of The Week: Tie Between MAX/Gnash - Lights Down Low and Walk The Moon - One Foot (+13)

#1 Recommendation Of The Week: The Chainsmokers - Sick Boy

New Entrants

~ We only had one new song that made it to the countdown this week. Maroon 5 enters the countdown this week with their latest single off of their album, Red Pill Blues. The track is simply titled, Wait. I believe that they have reached their peak of redemption after their two atrocious singles, Don't Wanna Know and Cold. What Lovers Do is still going strong with me and this song pretty much holds the same opinions I had on that one. The chorus in this song is especially good, as Adam really does nice here with his falsetto, and doesn't unnecessarily utilize it. He uses it in the right places with this track. Although the band cannot really be picked up in this song, I'm not complaining, as it definitely is good. However, I would like to hear a little more of them. They have been kind of in the shadows on most of the songs on this album. I like how the lyrics are very good, too. They tell a little bit of a story. I would like to see this song become successful, but I just don't see it going too far. It seems like one people would easily forget about. We'll just have to wait and see with this one.

Hit-Bound

• NF - Let You Down
• Kesha/The Dap-Kings Horns - Woman
• Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same
• Alan Walker/Noah Cyrus/Digital Farm Animals - All Falls Down
• P!nk - Beautiful Trauma
• Spencer - Whatever
• Troye Sivan - My My My!
• Clean Bandit/Julia Michaels - I Miss You
• Imagine Dragons - Whatever It Takes
• The Chainsmokers - Sick Boy (DEBUT)
• WOLVES - Animal
• All Time Low - Last Young Renegade
• AJR/Rivers Cuomo - Sober Up
• Sofi Tukker/NERVO/The Knocks/Alisa Ueno - Best Friend

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same

2. Clean Bandit/Julia Michaels - I Miss You

3. Troye Sivan - My My My!

4. The Chainsmokers - Sick Boy

5. Kesha/The Dap-Kings Horns - Woman

Blurb Game

~ Thunder is back at #1 people. I really would appreciate it if this was it's final week at the top. It is really getting old at this point. Let's get last week's #1 back up top here.

~ Not really sure how or why How Long or Meant To Be are in the top 3. It just doesn't feel right. Especially the former. I had not even expected that song to be in the top 10. The latter should get back out of the top 5, as there are better songs at the moment that could take its place, but I'll take it, it is certainly not bad. 

~ I am also surprised to see Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask in the top 10. I had expected this song to do good here, but I wasn't expecting a #7 kind of good. 

~ I am very glad to see Walk The Moon - One Foot doing so good here. It is one of those underground picks and it is a good one. I like it when Hits 1 picks up these songs and they do well. It's just kind of something to shake up the countdown, so it isn't just hit after hit after hit. However, I wish this one was a lot more popular than it is right now.

~ Just when I thought Imagine Dragons - Believer was going on its way down the countdown, we have it back at #14. Seriously people, stop voting for this song. I don't understand how you still have not got sick of it yet, but I do respect your opinion.

~ End Game is now in the top 20. I am very happy that this one is doing well here. It is my favorite single that has been released off of Taylor's latest album. I do like each song off the album on a different level. Nevertheless, this is my favorite single that has been released. 

~ Sadly, Eminem/Ed Sheeran - River is already losing steam. I would appreciate if this drop would not last too long. This is one of the better songs here at the moment and we need it back in the upper third of the countdown.

~ One of the major things that really just tested me this week was the large jump from MAX/Gnash - Lights Down Low. I don't even understand how this song even got this many votes to push it up thirteen more spots. I seriously hope that this jump was just a random thing and we can see this back at the bottom of the countdown next week, or even better, off of it.

Let's Do A Top 20 Review!

0-Garbage

20. Imagine Dragons - Believer

19. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar

1-Bad

NONE

2-Mediocre

NONE

3-Decent

18. Imagine Dragons - Thunder

17. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft

4-Good

16. Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes

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

14. Dua Lipa - New Rules

5-Great

13. Charlie Puth - How Long

12. Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask

11. Lauv - I Like Me Better

10. Halsey - Bad At Love

9. Maroon 5/SZA - What Lovers Do

8. Macklemore/Kesha - Good Old Days

7. Walk The Moon - One Foot

6. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still

5. Selena Gomez & Marshmello - Wolves

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

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

2. Ed Sheeran - Perfect

1. Camila Cabello - Havana

Score: 83% (B)

My Bottom 5 Countdown Picks

1. Imagine Dragons - Believer

2. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar

3. Liam Payne - Strip That Down

4. Niall Horan - Slow Hands

5. Fall Out Boy - Hold Me Tight Or Don't

My Top 5 Countdown Picks

1. Camila Cabello - Havana

2. Ed Sheeran - Perfet

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

4. G-Eazy & Halsey - Him & I

5. Eminem/Ed Sheeran - River

Thanks for reading!

~ Jack :)

Ed Sheeran (2) - Week Of January 13, 2018

Hey guys! I am sorry that I have been taking a little long on this last post for the end of the year. I promise that it will be out as soon as possible. This countdown brought a few shake-ups with things, but I have mixed feelings about it. Anyways, before we get to this week's countdown. Here's the songs that we are saying goodbye to this week.

• Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill (#27) [3 Weeks At #1] {DTHNOBx2}
• Cheat Codes/Demi Lovato - No Promises (#38)
• Macklemore/Skylar Grey - Glorious (#43)

Last Week's #1 Song: Imagine Dragons - Thunder

#1 Song This Week 1 Year Ago: Maroon 5 - Don't Wanna Know

The Countdown

45. Harry Styles - Kiwi (#41)

44. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do (#42)

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

42. Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay (#36) [4 Weeks At #1]

41. The Shadowboxers - Hot Damn (#30)

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

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

38. Niall Horan - Slow Hands (#35) [3 Weeks At #1]

37. P!nk - What About Us (#31) [1 Week At #1]

36. Liam Payne - Strip That Down (#32) [2 Weeks At #1]

35. Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It? (#22)

34. Louis Tomlinson - Miss You (#36)

33. Kesha - Praying (#26)

32. Zayn/Sia - Dusk Till Dawn (#21)

31. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl (#11) [4 Weeks At #1]

30. Bruno Mars/Cardi B - Finesse [Remix] (DEBUT)

29. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#29) [5 Weeks At #1]

28. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry (#28)

27. Symon - Lonely Girl (#39)

26. Liam Payne - Bedroom Floor (#24)

25. Walk The Moon - One Foot (#18)

24. Justin Timberlake - Filthy (DEBUT)

23. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still (#24)

22. Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future - End Game (#34)

21. X Ambassadors - Ahead Of Myself (#20)

20. G-Eazy & Halsey - Him & I (DEBUT)

19. Fall Out Boy - Hold Me Tight Or Don't (#33)

18. Lauv - I Like Me Better (#23)

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

16. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar (#8)

15. Maroon 5/SZA - What Lovers Do (#6)

14. Eminem/Ed Sheeran - River (#19)

13. Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes (#13)

12. Dua Lipa - New Rules (#12)

11. Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask (#15)

10. Macklemore/Kesha - Good Old Days (#14)

9. Charlie Puth - How Long (#7)

8. Selena Gomez & Marshmello - Wolves (#10)

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

6. Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line - Meant To Be (#17)

5. Camila Cabello - Havana (#4) [1 Week At #1]

4. Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso/Florida Georgia Line/watt - Let Me Go (#5)

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

2. Halsey - Bad At Love (#2) [2 Weeks At #1]

1. Ed Sheeran - Perfect (#3) [2nd Week At #1]

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl (-20)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Fall Out Boy - Hold Me Tight Or Don't (+14)

#1 Recommendation Of The Week: Troye Sivan - My My My!

New Entrants

~ Our first entrant this week comes from Bruno Mars with his best single off of 24K Magic yet. Chunky was just bad, as was Versace On The Floor. 24K Magic was also pretty bad, and That's What I Like grew old on me very fast. I am glad that a decent single was released off of this album. Finesse took me a few listens to actually start truly enjoying, but it is really just a fun song with a lot going on. Cardi B actually sounds pretty good here, unlike how she sounds in her other songs. I mean, for sure, the lyrical content in this song lacks something to be desired, but it's not bad at all. The beat is really fun too, and it's just one of those songs that you can't help but dance to. I hope it does well here.

~ As I'm sure we all know by now, Justin Timberlake is performing at this year's Super Bowl during halftime. He makes a debut this week with Filthy, the lead single off of his upcoming album, Man Of The Woods. This song was really just a lot different than anything I have ever listened to from him. I am not surprised that he took a risk with this one, though. His music does have a lot of variation. I don't know if this song is going to contrast to the rest of the songs on the album, but we'll have to wait an see. I mean, the production for this song is pretty funky, and it is definitely one of the first things I noticed when listening to this last week. His vocals are okay, but definitely not the best I have ever heard from him. This definitely in no means his best song, but it is a grower. It may take me a few more listens to really get this song in green for me. It debuted fairly high, so I assume that it will do pretty well here.

~ Our final debut this week comes from G-Eazy and Halsey in the form of Him & I. This song has such a dark vibe, and I feel like it really fits both of these artists really well. Their collaboration is very nice, in other words, and I really feel the love between them. I like how they really make us believe their love story, as they are dating. The vocals are on point for Halsey and G-Eazy has some nice verses. The song was well put together. I just hope it doesn't flop, because it is really good. I want to see this become pretty big, but we'll have to wait and see on that. 

Best Debut Of The Week: G-Eazy & Halsey - Him & I

Hit-Bound

• Sofi Tukker/NERVO/The Knocks/Alisa Ueno - Best Friend
• P!nk - Beautiful Trauma
• Alan Walker/Noah Cyrus/Digital Farm Animals - All Falls Down
• Clean Bandit/Julia Michaels - I Miss You
• AJR/Rivers Cuomo - Sober Up
• Maroon 5 - Wait
• Kesha/The Dap-Kings Horns - Woman (DEBUT)
• Spencer - Whatever
• All Time Low - Last Young Renegade
• Imagine Dragons - Whatever It Takes 
• NF - Let You Down
• Troye Sivan - My My My! (DEBUT)
• Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same
• WOLVES - Animal

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same

2. Clean Bandit/Julia Michaels - I Miss You

3. Maroon 5 - Wait

4. P!nk - Beautiful Trauma

5. Troye Sivan - My My My!

Him & Blurbs

~ Ed Sheeran - Perfect returns to the top spot this week, and I am very happy about this. It is one of his three songs that are in my personal top 5 on this countdown. I would prefer this or Havana at #1, as they are both tied for my favorite song here at the moment. I am just so glad this song is getting the success it deserves. 

~ We also garnered two new top 10 entrants this week with Meant To Be and Good Old Days. I am glad that the latter has made it this far, as I was not expecting it to go this far. Meant To Be is just getting a little less interesting at this point. I certainly don't mind that it is here, but it's just okay, so I really have no reaction to its entry.

~ With our two new entrants, we got rid of Maroon 5/SZA - What Lovers Do, which is okay, I guess. I don't really mind all that much at this point. We also thankfully got rid of Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar from the top 10. I don't even know what that was, but I am glad that it is over. 

~ I personally think that the top 20 is just not getting cleared up at all. Fall Out Boy - Hold Me Tight Or Don't entered blasted all the way to #19 this week. I seriously don't understand all of the appeal to this song. I just really hope that this is as far as this song goes, but knowing Hits 1's love of Fall Out Boy, I seriously doubt that.

~ Thankfully End Game is edging closer to the top 20, so I hope we can see this one swap out with one of the bad songs for next week. This is one of the best songs here at the moment. 

~ Symon - Lonely Girl surprisingly made a jump above #30 this week, just when I thought that this song was just going to be a flop. Still, this song is nothing special at all. It's not good, or bad, it's just meh. I just feel like this one is more of a space-filler, but I really don't care all that much about how it does at this point.

~ We finally saw a massive drop from Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl. This was just one of the most bland songs I have ever heard from him. I just am ready for this one to leave at this point.

~ Sadly, Zayn/Sia - Dusk Till Dawn and Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It? seem to be reaching the end of their countdown tenures, due to their pretty big drops this week. The former especially did not last long enough. I just hope that they stick on just a little bit longer.

~ Hot Damn is (not surprisingly) in the bottom 5 of the countdown at this point. I really was just glad that this song was here. It was good while it lasted.

~ The Hot 45 Chart for this week has been released! If you would like to catch up on that, then head on right over here after this post: http://hotfortyfive.blogspot.com/2018/01/week-of-january-13-2018.html

Let's Do A Top 20 Review!

0-Garbage

20. Imagine Dragons - Believer

19. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar

18. Fall Out Boy - Hold Me Tight Or Don't

1-Bad

NONE

2-Mediocre

NONE

3-Decent

17. Imagine Dragons - Thunder

16. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft

4-Good

15. Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes

14. Dua Lipa - New Rules

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

5-Great

12. Charlie Puth - How Long

11. Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask

10. Lauv - I Like Me Better

9. Maroon 5/SZA - What Lovers Do

8. Halsey - Bad At Love

7. Macklemore/Kesha - Good Old Days

6. X Ambassadors - Ahead Of Myself

5. Selena Gomez & Marshmello - Wolves

4. G-Eazy & Halsey - Him & I

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

1. TIE: Camila Cabello - Havana

1. TIE: Ed Sheeran - Perfect

Score: 78% (C+)

My Bottom 5 Countdown Picks

1. Imagine Dragons - Believer

2. Liam Payne - Strip That Down

3. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar

4. Fall Out Boy - Hold Me Tight Or Don't

5. Niall Horan - Slow Hands

My Top 5 Countdown Picks

1. TIE: Ed Sheeran - Perfect

1. TIE: Camila Cabello - Havana

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

4. Eminem/Ed Sheeran - River

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

Thanks for reading guys!

~ Jack :)

Imagine Dragons (3) - Week Of January 6, 2018

Hello everyone! I still have one final Year-End post to catch up on, and hopefully that will be out before the end of the month. I hope you are all having a great year so far. Before we get started with the first fresh 45 of the year, here are the songs that are leaving us this week.

• Linkin Park - One More Light (#33)
• Nick Jonas - Find You (#36)

Last Week's #1 Song: Halsey - Bad At Love

#1 Song This Week 1 Year Ago: Maroon 5 - Don't Wanna Know

The Countdown

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

44. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (#41) [9 Weeks At #1]

43. Charlie Puth - Attention (#40) [1 Week At #1]

42. Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do (#37)

41. Harry Styles - Kiwi (#43)

40. Macklemore/Skylar Grey - Glorious (#44)

39. Symon - Lonely Girl (#35)

38. Cheat Codes/Demi Lovato - No Promises (#42)

37. Louis Tomlinson - Miss You (#31)

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

35. Niall Horan - Slow Hands (#38) [3 Weeks At #1]

34. Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future - End Game (DEBUT)

33. Fall Out Boy - Hold Me Tight Or Don't (DEBUT)

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

31. P!nk - What About Us (#30) [1 Week At #1]

30. The Shadowboxers - Hot Damn (#27)

29. Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#29) [5 Weeks At #1]

28. Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry (#28) [1 Week At #1]

27. Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill (#24) [3 Weeks At #1]

26. Kesha - Praying (#11)

25. Liam Payne - Bedroom Floor (#34)

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

23. Lauv - I Like Me Better (#21)

22. Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It? (#7)

21. Zayn/Sia - Dusk Till Dawn (#10)

20. X Ambassadors - Ahead Of Myself (#18)

19. Eminem/Ed Sheeran - River (#32)

18. Walk The Moon - One Foot (#20)

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

16. Imagine Dragons - Believer (#22)

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

14. Macklemore/Kesha - Good Old Days (#19)

13. Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes (#16)

12. Dua Lipa - New Rules (#23)

11. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl (#12) [4 Weeks At #1]

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

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

8. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar (#17)

7. Charlie Puth - How Long (#8)

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

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

4. Camila Cabello - Havana (#3) [1 Week At #1]

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

2. Halsey - Bad At Love (#1) [2 Weeks At #1]

1. Imagine Dragons - Thunder (#4) [3rd Week At #1]

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Tie Between Kesha - Praying and Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It? (-15)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Eminem/Ed Sheeran - River (+13)

#1 Recommendation Of The Week: Kesha/The Dap-Kings Horns - Woman

New Entrants

~ Well, we get another song from the new era of Taylor Swift. This week enters End Game, the newest single off of reputation. I haven't come to the consensus if this is better than ...Ready For It? so far, but I definitely find this track and ...Ready For It? better than Look What You Made Me Do, which still is good, of course. I think Taylor really showcases her voice here more than in this album's previous two singles. She sounds good as usual, so no surprise there. My favorite part is when she sings leading up to the final chorus. It is very catchy. Ed Sheeran also bears his SIXTH, count it, SIXTH, appearance on this countdown, which is insane, because I always thought that this countdown only allowed three songs per artist, which is the most this countdown has had of one artist, until now. Besides that, Ed Sheeran has nice vocals on this song, as I was expecting. Future is also a feature on this song. I was quite surprised to see his name listed on this track at first, but his verse is actually quite good here. I feel like his features in pop singles are his best work. His solo songs are nothing really to be desired. I hope this song does well here, and starts taking off in other places as well. I just really want to see this song do well.

~ All of the music that Fall Out Boy has released off of their upcoming album has been frankly okay, mediocre, or just bad. In this case, it was just bad. They enter the countdown this week with Hold Me Tight Or Don't. They experimented way too much on this song in my opinion and it is something that should have never come close to this countdown. The chorus sucks in this song as well and the vocals are just mediocre. The annoying whistling is also unnecessary throughout this song. My only hope is that this song doesn't do so well here and it's one of those songs with a really short tenure.

Hit-Bound

• Spencer - Whatever
• AJR/Rivers Cuomo - Sober Up
• Sofi Tukker/NERVO/The Knocks/Alisa Ueno - Best Friend
• Bruno Mars/Cardi B - Finesse [Remix] (DEBUT)
• WOLVES - Animal
• Imagine Dragons - Whatever It Takes
• Maroon 5 - Wait (DEBUT)
• NF - Let You Down
• Justin Timberlake - Filthy (DEBUT)
• Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same
• P!nk - Beautiful Trauma
• Clean Bandit/Julia Michaels - I Miss You
• All Time Low - Last Young Renegade
• Alan Walker/Noah Cyrus/Digital Farm Animals - All Falls Down

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks

1. Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same

2. Maroon 5 - Wait

3. Clean Bandit/Julia Michaels - I Miss You

4. P!nk - Beautiful Trauma

5. Bruno Mars/Cardi B - Finesse [Remix]

Blurb Me Tight Or Don't

~ I believe that Imagine Dragons - Thunder is definitely not the best choice for a number one song to start off the year. Any of the other four songs in the top 5 would have been much better. Hopefully we cans see one of them rise to the top next week. 

~ I do not understand why or how Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar is in the top 10. This song needs to go right back in the other direction. It does not belong here. Also, I just am plain surprised that this song was even on this countdown in the first place. This is normally not the type of music that Hits 1 picks up.

~ Dua Lipa - New Rules is moving right on up. I don't really mind this too much at the moment, but it is not my favorite song here right now. So, I don't really care exactly what it does. It's just "good".

~ Of course Imagine Dragons - Believer is seen back in the top 20 again this week. I am absolutely sick of this song. It needs to leave now. I don't understand how this is still getting this many votes. 

~ Eminem/Ed Sheeran - River is on the rise. In fact, it had the biggest jump this week. I am very happy about this. This is one of the songs I have been listening to the most lately.

~ Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It? and Kesha - Praying are both sadly on the decline. Both songs dropped the largest amount of spots this week and are no longer in the top 20. It is a shame because these are two of the best songs we have here at the moment.

~ Louis Tomlinson - Miss You is sadly not off to a really good start. It is going in the other direction. It is showing similarities to Harry Styles - Kiwi. I guess Hits 1 is starting to lesser favor more band members of One Direction. I just hope these two are going to pull off some miracle and jump a good number of spots, but sadly, that is probably not going to happen.

Let's Do A Top 20 Review!

0-Garbage

20. Imagine Dragons - Believer

19. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar

1-Bad

NONE

2-Mediocre

NONE

3-Decent

18. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl

17. Imagine Dragons - Thunder

16. Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft

4-Good

15. Dua Lipa - New Rules

14. Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes

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

5-Great

12. Charlie Puth - How Long

11. Macklemore/Kesha - Good Old Days

10. Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask

9. Halsey - Bad At Love

8. X Ambassadors - Ahead Of Myself

7. Maroon 5/SZA - What Lovers Do

6. Walk The Moon - One Foot

5. Selena Gomez & Marshmello - Wolves

4. Eminem/Ed Sheeran - River

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

2. Camila Cabello - Havana

1. Ed Sheeran - Perfect

Score: 81% (B-)

My Bottom 5 Countdown Picks

1. Imagine Dragons - Believer

2. Liam Payne - Strip That Down

3. Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill

4. Post Malone/21 Savage - Rockstar

5. Niall Horan - Slow Hands

My Top 5 Countdown Picks

1. Ed Sheeran - Perfect

2. Camila Cabello - Havana

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

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

5. Eminem/Ed Sheeran - River

Thanks everyone for reading!

~ Jack :)