Halsey (3) - Week Of January 26, 2019

Hey guys! Welcome back! This week wasn't very eventful in countdown land. There definitely wasn't much going on. We had another week with the same #1 song, and only one song joined us this week. With that being said, let's get into this week's fresh 45. We will start off with the sole exit from the countdown this week.

• Zedd, Maren Morris, & Grey - The Middle (#44) [9 Weeks At #1]

Last Week's #1 Song: Halsey - Without Me
#1 Song This Week 1 Year Ago: Imagine Dragons - Thunder

The Countdown 
45. Shawn Mendes - In My Blood (#45) [2 Weeks At #1]
44. Little Mix/Nicki Minaj - Woman Like Me (#35)
43. Charlie Puth - The Way I Am (#41)
42. Jennifer Lopez - Limitless (#42)
41. Steve Aoki/BTS - Waste It On Me (#38)
40. Lauv/Julia Micahels - There's No Way (#39)
39. Bebe Rexha - I'm A Mess (#37)
38. George Ezra - Shotgun (#43)
37. Silk City & Dua Lipa - Electricity (#40)
36. Panic! At The Disco - Say Amen (Saturday Night) (#36) [4 Weeks At #1]
35. Benny Blanco & Calvin Harris - I Found You (DEBUT)
34. Backstreet Boys - Don't Go Breaking My Heart (#34)
33. Selena Gomez - Back To You (#33)
32. Maroon 5/Cardi B - Girls Like You (#32)
31. Mark Ronson/Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart (#27)
30. lovelytheband - Broken (#30)
29. Alessia Cara - Trust My Lonely (#31)
28. James Arthur - Empty Space (#26)
27. Ariana Grande - Breathin (#20)
26. Fall Out Boy - The Last Of The Real Ones (#24) [2 Weeks At #1]
25. Camila Cabello - Consequences (#29)
24. The Struts/Kesha - Body Talks (#28)
23. Lauren Jauregui - Expectations (#23)
22. Khalid - Better (#21)
21. Imagine Dragons - Natural (#18) [1 Week At #1]
20. Zara Larsson - Ruin My Life (#25)
19. Dan + Shay - Speechless (#22)
18. David Guetta & Anne-Marie - Don't Leave Me Alone (#18)
17. Twenty One Pilots - Chlorine (#16)
16. Post Malone & Swae Lee - Sunflower (#19)
15. Ava Max - Sweet But Psycho (#17)
14. Khalid & Normani - Love Lies (#5)
13. Imagine Dragons - Machine (#14)
12. Ellie Goulding & Diplo - Close To Me (#11)
11. Alec Benjamin - Let Me Down Slowly (#8)
10. Anne-Marie - 2002 (#7)
9. Panic! At The Disco - Hey Look Ma, I Made It (#10)
8. Ariana Grande - Thank U, Next (#9)
7. Dan + Shay - Tequila (#12)
6. Benny Blanco, Halsey & Khalid - Eastside (#13)
5. 5 Seconds Of Summer - Youngblood (#6) [5 Weeks At #1]
4. Marshmello & Bastille - Happier (#4) [2 Weeks At #1]
3. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini - This Feeling (#2) [4 Weeks At #1]
2. Panic! At The Disco - High Hopes (#3) [8 Weeks At #1]
1. Halsey - Without Me (#1) [3rd Week At #1]

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Tie Between Khalid & Normani - Love Lies and Little Mix/Nicki Minaj - Woman Like Me (-9)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Benny Blanco, Halsey, & Khalid - Eastside (+7)

#1 Recommendation Of The Week: Ariana Grande - 7 Rings

Best Countdown Song This Week 1 Year Ago: Camila Cabello - Havana


New Entrants

~ Our only debut this week comes in the form of a collaboration between Benny Blanco and Calvin Harris. This one is called I Found You. Needless to say, this one is fairly underwhelming. The track features vocals from Calvin Harris, which are decent, but they could be better. Benny Blanco attempts to produce the track, but it misses the mark for me. I would have expected a better production on this one, given that it is brought to us from two professional producers/DJs. All set aside, this one is pretty much a space filler for me. But, it did take the place of a much worse song that left this week, so I am okay with it for the time being.


Hit-Bound

• Lauren Daigle - You Say 
• Jake Miller - Wait For You
• Post Malone - Wow.
• Dean Lewis - Be Alright
• Sabrina Carpenter - Sue Me
• Seeb & Bastille - Grip
• lovelytheband - Maybe, I'm Afraid
• Pitbull & Rhea - Ocean To Ocean
• Avril Lavigne - Tell Me Its Over
• Gesaffelstein & The Weeknd - Lost In The Fire
• Kelsea Ballerini - Miss Me More
• Sam Smith & Normani - Dancing With A Stranger (DEBUT)
• Stephen Puth - Sexual Vibe
• Travis Scott - Sicko Mode
• Charli XCX/Troye Sivan - 1999

~ Our sole debut onto Hit-Bound this week comes from Sam Smith and Normani, in the form of Dancing With A Stranger. I really like this song. Both of them give superb vocals, and the quality of this track is great. I like the simplicity of the track. The lyrics are expected of a traditional ballad-esque track. I would love to see this one debut on the countdown in the near future. 

My Top 5 Hit-Bound Picks
1. Gesaffelstein & The Weeknd - Lost In The Fire
2. Sam Smith & Normani - Dancing With A Stranger
3. Avril Lavigne - Tell Me It's Over
4. Sabrina Carpenter - Sue Me
5. Kelsea Ballerini - Miss Me More


I Found Blurbs

~ Halsey - Without Me sticks it out for a third week atop the countdown. I am definitely okay with this. It is the best song in the top 5. It's not the best song in the top 10 at the moment, but I can do with this. 

~ Well, well, well...what have we here...in the top 10? Two songs that don't belong. Eastside and Tequila both made jumps into the top 10 this week for some unknown reason. I would appreciate it if this doesn't last. It is not helping the case for the quality of our top 10 at all.

~ At least we got a fresh, and nice face in the top 20 this week. Zara Larsson has joined with Ruin My Life. I hope that this success isn't short.

~ It feels like Expectations has occupied the #23 spot for the majority of its time here at this point. It is kind of similar to how In My Blood hasn't budged from the #45 spot in weeks, either.

~ Sadly, we have reached the beginning of the demise of Ariana Grande - Breathin. I am pretty sad that this one didn't reach its fullest extent here, because of the inferior Thank U, Next. I would prefer this one at #9, but Thank U, Next is still a good song, so I am not completely devastated.

~ It really feels like Nothing Breaks Like A Heart hasn't been hugely successful here, which is a shame because it is a really good song.

~ It looks like Jennifer Lopez - Limitless didn't have a remarkable second week. Its predicted level of success here could be easily comparable to that of Steve Aoki/BTS - Waste It On Me, given its dormancy this week.

~ Woman Like Me has fallen within two spots of its countdown life. It really wasn't all that successful here, which wasn't a huge surprise to me--I must admit. I just really didn't see it going excessively far.

~ Finally, let's discuss the exit this week. It is about time that The Middle has left. I am so happy to see this one leave, and one week before it reached a year on the countdown. This one has been done to death and I am just glad that there is one less station that I have to listen to it on all the time.

~ Earlier today, I went on with the results of my rankdown, after about a two week hiatus. If you would like to see those, please click here.


Let's Do A Top 20 Review!

0-Garbage
20. Imagine Dragons - Machine

1-Bad
19. Dan + Shay - Tequila
18. Anne-Marie - 2002
17. Twenty One Pilots - Chlorine
16. Dan + Shay - Speechless
15. David Guetta & Anne-Marie - Don't Leave Me Alone
14. Benny Blanco, Halsey, & Khalid - Eastside 

2-Mediocre
NONE

3-Decent
NONE

4-Good
13. Panic! At The Disco - High Hopes
12. Khalid & Normani - Love Lies
11. Marshmello & Bastille - Happier
10. 5 Seconds Of Summer - Youngblood 

5-Great
9. The Chainsmokers/Kelsea Ballerini - This Feeling
8. Panic! At The Disco - Hey Look Ma, I Made It
7. Ellie Goulding & Diplo - Close To Me
6. Post Malone & Swae Lee - Sunflower
5. Halsey - Without Me
4. Alec Benjamin - Let Me Down Slowly
3. Zara Larsson - Ruin My Life
2. Ava Max - Sweet But Psycho
1. Ariana Grande - Thank U, Next

Score: 67% (D-) [REALLY BAD!!! (close to failing)]

 
My Bottom 5 Countdown Picks
1. Imagine Dragons - Machine
2. Dan + Shay - Tequila
3. Anne-Marie - 2002
4. Twenty One Pilots - Chlorine
5. Charlie Puth - The Way I Am

My Top 5 Countdown Picks
1. Ariana Grande - Breathin
2. Camila Cabello - Consequences
3. Ariana Grande - Thank U, Next
4. Alessia Cara - Trust My Lonely
5. Ava Max - Sweet But Psycho


Have a great week!

~ Jack :)