Fall Out Boy (1) - Week Of August 25, 2018

Hey guys! Welcome back! If you have not seen my last post, I will link it here. It was a chart update, and I enjoy doing those, so I hope you like it. Anyways, the milestone special is coming soon. I have something pretty interesting in the works. I hope you will enjoy it, as I am excited to share it with you. Aside from all that, the countdown was pretty crazy this week. This is the first seven exit week that we have had in a long while. So, before we get to this week's fresh 45, here are the songs that are leaving us this week.

• Bebe Rexha/Florida Georgia Line - Meant To Be (#21) [1 Week At #1]
• The Weeknd/Kendrick Lamar - Pray For Me (#33)
• Walk The Moon - One Foot (#39)
• U2/Cheat Codes - Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way (#41)
• MNEK/Hailee Steinfeld - Colour (#43)
• Sugarland/Taylor Swift - Babe (#44)
• Bazzi - Mine (#45) 

  
#1 Song This Week 1 Year Ago: Charlie Puth - Attention (1)
Last Week's #1 Song: Panic! At The Disco - High Hopes


The Countdown
45. Lauv - I Like Me Better (#34)
44. Meghan Trainor - Let You Be Right (#40)
43. Drake - In My Feelings (#36)
42. Charlie Puth/Kehlani - Done For Me (#42)
41. Alessia Cara - Growing Pains (#24)
40. 5 Seconds Of Summer - Want You Back (#37) [1 Week At #1]
39. George Ezra - Shotgun (DEBUT)
38. Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same (#28) [1 Week At #1]
37. Train/Cam/Travie McCoy - Call Me Sir (DEBUT)
36. Halsey - Alone (#35)
35. Brown & Gray - Top Down (DEBUT)
34. PNAU - Go Bang (#38) 
33. Weezer - Africa (DEBUT)
32. Niall Horan - On The Loose (#29)
31. Dennis Lloyd - Nevermind (DEBUT)
30. Dua Lipa - IDGAF (#26)
29. Maroon 5 - Wait (#25)
28. The Chainsmokers/Emily Warren - Side Effects (#20)
27. Charlie Puth - The Way I Am (DEBUT)
26. Madison Beer - Home With You (#32)
25. Post Malone - Better Now (#14)
24. Bebe Rexha - I'm A Mess (#30)
23. PRETTYMUCH - Summer On You (#27)
22. Cardi B - I Like It (#22)
21. Dan + Shay - Tequila (#31)
20. Ariana Grande - God Is A Woman (DEBUT)
19. Imagine Dragons - Natural (#17)
18. Khalid & Normani - Love Lies (#16)
17. Marshmello & Anne-Marie - FRIENDS (#18)
16. Foster The People - Sit Next To Me (#15)
15. NOTD/Bea Miller - I Wanna Know (#6)
14. Shawn Mendes - In My Blood (#23) [2 Weeks At #1]
13. Taylor Swift - Delicate (#10) [2 Weeks At #1]
12. Ariana Grande - No Tears Left To Cry (#12)
11. lovelytheband - Broken (#19)
10. Zedd, Maren Morris, & Grey - The Middle (#4) [9 Weeks At #1]
9. Imagine Dragons - Whatever It Takes (#9) [1 Week At #1]
8. Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa - One Kiss (#8)
7. Backstreet Boys - Don't Go Breaking My Heart (#13)
6. Selena Gomez - Back To You (#2)
5. Panic! At The Disco - Say Amen (Saturday Night) [#5] {4 Weeks At #1}
4. Maroon 5/Cardi B - Girls Like You (#11)
3. 5 Seconds Of Summer - Youngblood (#3)
2. Panic! At The Disco - High Hopes (#1) [2 Weeks At #1]
1. Fall Out Boy - The Last Of The Real Ones (#7) [1st Week At #1] 

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Alessia Cara - Growing Pains (-17)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Dan + Shay - Tequila (+10)

#1 Recommendation Of The Week: Gabbie Hanna - Honestly


New Entrants
~ First up in our long string of entrants this week, we have George Ezra with Shotgun. I think the song is good, but nothing that really stands out in a huge way. It has the potential to be better after more listens, but right now it is just there. His voice is quite good, but it does get repetitive at some points. I do realize that Ezra has a unique style and it does show in this song. I don't mind seeing it have success here, as it is quite a good song in my eyes at the moment.

~ Next up we have quite the odd pairing, with pop-rock band Train, country vocalist Cam, and rapper Travie McCoy. Train's music has just progressively gotten worse year after year. This is just another example of where it has gone. This song is just not good at all. It develops very slowly and the vocal contributions do not mix well in my opinion. This style is just awkward and these features just don't fit together with Train at all.

~ Our third new appearance comes this week from pop-country duo Brown & Gray. They debut this week with Top Down. This song is from last year, and is just getting here now, which is odd, but oh well. This song is just another "meh" country song in my opinion. It is not the greatest song I have ever heard. It is just mediocre. The vocals are bland and uninteresting. I can see the direction in which this song was intended to go, but in the end it just doesn't appeal to me as a listener. I don't wish to see this do incredibly well here.

~ Our next entrant comes from Weezer with a cover of the classic Africa, originally recorded by Toto. Weezer is a group that I have never clicked with completely, but this is easily the best track that they have put out. The cover is good, and while it is nothing more than that to me at the moment, it has the potential to rise out of the "blue zone" into the green. This by no means tops the original version, but the vocals and instrumentation paint a nice picture to reflect the original.

~ Onto the next one. Dennis Lloyd enters this week with Nevermind. While this song has really nothing much to it, I find its simplicity enjoyable. There's not much to say about this one. The vocals are good enough, although there is not much showcased here. The production is really good on this one, although the lyrical content is much to be desired. This song is pretty good in my eyes, but it has, in recent weeks, become increasingly less interesting to me, as it has been out for a while. Hopefully it has some minimal success, at least, here. 

~ Next up comes Charlie Puth with The Way I Am. This song has been good since I first heard it a few months ago. The production is the only thing that is average at best here. Otherwise, I enjoy the vocals and everything else the track has to offer. It is a pretty catchy song, so hopefully we see a bit of success out of it.

~ With the highest debut of the week, and already in the top 20, is Ariana Grande with God Is A Woman. Before I get started with reviewing it, I highly recommend you go listen to her new album, Sweetener. There are several great songs on there that have been stuck in my head all week. Anyways, this song is quite the show of what Ariana Grande can do vocally, especially the ending of the song. Likewise, the song as a whole is just really interesting in terms of its approach, and I'm sure the song may be controversial to others, which makes it even more interesting in my opinion. Grande took a risk with this one, and I enjoy how it played out. I hope to see even more success than it has already seen here.

Best New Entrant Of The Week: Ariana Grande - God Is A Woman


HitBound

• DJ Khaled/Justin Bieber/Chance The Rapper/Quavo - No Brainer
• Marshmello/Bastille - Happier (DEBUT)
• Sabrina Carpenter - Almost Love 
• Zedd & Elley Duhé - Happy Now
• The Vamps - Just My Type (DEBUT)
• LSD - Thunderclouds (DEBUT)
• Panic! At The Disco - Hey Look Ma, I Made It (DEBUT)
• NF - Lie
• Clean Bandit/Demi Lovato - Solo (DEBUT)
• Bazzi/Camila Cabello - Beautiful
• Walk The Moon - Kamikaze (DEBUT)
• Calvin Harris & Sam Smith - Promises (DEBUT)
• Anne-Marie - 2002 
• AJR - Burn The House Down
• Bryce Vine - Drew Barrymore (DEBUT)           

Entrant Reviews
~ Our first new appearance on HitBound this weeks comes from Marshmello and Bastille, in the form of Happier. The only thing that really kills this song is the production. It is not very interesting in my opinion. However, I do thoroughly enjoy the vocals from Dan Smith on this one, which makes this a good song in my eyes, despite me believing that Marshmello could have done better on his part.

~ Next up we have The Vamps - Just My Type. This is nothing more than something typical that I would expect from this band. It's just another catchy pop song on their part. The vocals and vibe are just good, and it's here. There's not much more that I have to say about it.

~ Third this week we have an appearance from LSD, which is a grouping of Labrinth, Sia, and Diplo. This is a strange grouping, in my opinion, and I'm sure many others. Thunderclouds is the best of the three songs that they have released so far. Audio and Genius were not very good at all. The production is the only thing I find interesting here. The vocals are okay and the lyrics are underwhelming. It's just an okay song at the moment for me. This music is just very awkward and the project that these three are creating is just weird.

~ Moving forward, we have Panic! At The Disco - Hey Look Ma, I Made It. It is a catchy song, which is what I expected from this song. Urie's vocals are great as always and the instrumentals are really cool on this track. Panic! At The Disco has had some good music lately.

~ This next song comes from Clean Bandit, whom I think produce very good tracks. They debut with Solo, featuring Demi Lovato. I have been enjoying this song for months now. I would have never expected Demi on a song like this, but now that I have heard it, it makes sense to me. Anyways, I hope this makes it onto the countdown.

~ With the departure of One Foot from the countdown this week, we have Walk The Moon here with Kamikaze. This song is just good, and there's nothing much I have to say about it until I listen to it a little more or that it debuts on the countdown. It's not there best work by any means, but I still find it a bit enjoyable at the moment.

~ Calvin Harris brings a new single, after the huge success of One Kiss with Dua Lipa, which happens to be one of my favorite tracks this year. So, in my book, Promises had a lot to live up to. Sam Smith just doesn't work extremely well on a track like this if you ask me. The weird voice in the background during the chorus is also annoying on this one. It might take a few more listens for me to possibly see myself enjoying this one. Right now, I'm not in love with it.

~ Finally, we have my favorite new entrant to HitBound this week, Bryce Vine - Drew Barrymore. When I first heard about this one about a month ago, I wasn't sure that I was going to enjoy it. When I listened to it, though, it was a whole other story. The song has a nice romantic feel, as well as a dark vibe to it. Bryce Vine fits the vibe of the song too. I hope this one can make it to the countdown, as it is at the top of my playlist right now.

Best New Entrant Of The Week: Bryce Vine - Drew Barrymore

My Top 5 HitBound Picks
1. Bazzi/Camila Cabello - Beautiful
2. Bryce Vine - Drew Barrymore
3. Sabrina Carpenter - Almost Love
4. Clean Bandit/Demi Lovato - Solo
5. NF - Lie


God Is A Blurb
~ Fall Out Boy - The Last Of The Real Ones is now #1 on the countdown. I do not mind this one being at the top at all, in fact, I would be okay with it having a few more weeks up there. It keeps getting better after each listen, in my opinion.

~ Our top 10 is looking pretty good right now, except I would like to see Imagine Dragons - Whatever It Takes start declining here soon. Airplay has really killed this one in my opinion.

~ Shawn Mendes made a recovery this week with In My Blood. I didn't think that drop last week was going to last long.

~ Dan + Shay - Tequila is just brushing the surface of the top 20. I would like to see this song peak here. It just really isn't interesting to me. It's just another typical modern country song. It's basic and boring, and these guys have done better.

~ Post Malone has dropped out of the top 20 with Better Now. It looks like this one has peaked here. Oh well, I was hoping to see a little more out of it. Maybe there is still a chance, but I'm not sure Hits 1 is completely in love with this track. 

~ Madison Beer - Home With You is finally getting a little bit of action. It has jumped above the #30 mark, so that's something. It's a very fun and catchy song, and I love the vibe of this one. Hopefully it can gain a little more traction.

~ Side Effects really lost some steam this week. I was hoping to see this one at least make it into the top 10. Hopefully it can turn around and make a comeback. This is the best song that The Chainsmokers have put out this year, and Emily Warren is a big reason for it. It is kind of sad to see that it is having minimal success, compared to their other releases of this year.

~ After that leap from Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same last week, it has once again dipped down in the numbers. I am starting to accept that this one is just not as popular with a lot of people, despite my love for it.

~ Meghan Trainor - Let You Be Right is almost out of here. Let's make it next week voters! This song is atrocious.


Top 20 Review

0-Garbage
NONE

1-Bad
NONE

2-Mediocre
20. Imagine Dragons - Whatever It Takes

3-Decent
19. Panic! At The Disco - Say Amen (Saturday Night)
18. Marshmello & Anne-Marie - FRIENDS
17. Zedd, Maren Morris, & Grey - The Middle

4-Good
16. NOTD/Bea Miller - I Wanna Know

5-Great
15. Backstreet Boys - Don't Go Breaking Me Heart
14. Shawn Mendes - In My Blood
13. 5 Seconds Of Summer - Youngblood
12. Foster The People - Sit Next To Me
11. Khalid & Normani - Love Lies
10. Panic! At The Disco - High Hopes
9. Fall Out Boy - The Last Of The Real Ones 
8. Selena Gomez - Back To You
7. Imagine Dragons - Natural
6. lovelytheband - Broken
5. Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa - One Kiss
4. Maroon 5/Cardi B - Girls Like You
3. Ariana Grande - No Tears Left To Cry
2. Taylor Swift - Delicate
1. Ariana Grande - God Is A Woman

Score: 90% (A-)


My Top 5 Countdown Picks
1. Camila Cabello - Never Be The Same
2. Ariana Grande - God Is A Woman
3. Taylor Swift - Delicate
4. Ariana Grande - No Tears Left To Cry
5. The Chainsmokers/Emily Warren - Side Effects

My Bottom 5 Countdown Picks
1. Meghan Trainor - Let You Be Right
2. PNAU - Go Bang
3. Train/Cam/Travie McCoy - Call Me Sir
4. Brown & Gray - Top Down
5. Dan + Shay - Tequila


Thanks for reading!

~ Jack