Ed Sheeran (5) - Week Of March 11, 2017

Hey there, everyone! This week wasn't necessarily anything too important. I mean, sure there were a few notable things that happened, like usual, but most of the countdown was just business as usual. So, before we get to this week's fresh 45 songs, here's the sole song we're saying goodbye to this week.

• Hey Violet - Guys My Age (#39)

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

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

The Countdown

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

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Rihanna - Love On The Brain (-19)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On (+20)

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Lorde - Green Light

#1 Recommendation For You: Jason Derulo/Nicki Minaj/Ty Dolla $ign - Swalla

New Entrants

~ Our sole entrant this week comes from new artist James Hersey. He debuts with Miss You. When I first heard this song was debuting on HitBound, I was unsure how I would feel about the song with it being from a new artist and all. I listened to it, and I found it a decent song. It's fairly simple and the lyrical content compliments the interesting beat quite well. I hope to see this song do well here, as it is a very interesting compliment to outsider music appearing on this channel. Again, I hope it'll do well, but you can never be sure with these kinds of songs on this station. 

HitBound

• Jason Derulo/Nicki Minaj/Ty Dola $ign - Swalla (DEBUT)
• The Vamps/Matoma - All Night
• Imagine Dragons - Believer
• The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This
• Ariana Grande/Future - Everyday
• COIN - Talk Too Much
• MAX/Gnash - Lights Down Low
• Snakehips/MØ - Don't Leave
• Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie - Rockabye
• ONE OK ROCK - American Girls
• Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos - Slide
• Panic! At The Disco - L.A. Devotee
• Little Mix - Touch
• Flo Rida/99 Percent - Cake

My Top 5 HitBound Picks

1. Ariana Grande/Future - Everyday

2. Little Mix - Touch

3. Imagine Dragons - Believer

4. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie - Rockabye

5. The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This

Miss Blurbs

~ Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You continues to hold atop the countdown for a fifth consecutive week. I really would prefer Zayn & Taylor Swift - I Don't Wanna Live Forever being out #1 song at this point in time, but I don't hate the former, so I guess it's okay being there for the time being.

~ Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On made quite the leap into the top 5 this week. I still enjoy the song, but this just seems a little excessive.

~ It literally just seemed to dawn on me this week that The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer had been in the top 10 for almost half of a year now. That's impressive.

~ It also just dawned on me that Twenty One Pilots - Heathens has been sticking around here forever. Oh, wait, it didn't, I was already thinking that. I would enjoy it if it dropped out of the top 20 before I start to think it's worse.

~ Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd - Starving is beginning to lose its steam. It took a reasonable fall out of the top 10 this week.

~ AJR - Weak and Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay took very reasonable second week jumps and they're already looking to be successful here, so hopefully they will keep it up next week.

~ Julia Michaels - Issues took a small dip in the numbers this week. Hopefully it can recover.

~ Can someone explain to me why Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better continues to try? It's over, get over it.

~ Can someone else also explain to me why Niall Horan - This Town continues to get airplay. Hits 1, I am done with these ridiculous obsessions.

~ Rihanna - Love On The Brain took quite the tumble this week. I guess this song was just destined to not be successful on this station.

~ John Legend - Love Me Now made a small success here in an odd way. Well, it was nice knowing you.

Let's Do A Top 20 Review!

0-Garbage

NONE

1-Bad

NONE

2-Mediocre

20. Twenty One Pilots - Heathens

3-Decent

19. Train - Play That Song

18. Lady Gaga - Million Reasons

17. Shawn Mendes - Mercy

4-Good

16. Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On

15. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd - Starving

5-Great

14. The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer

13. Fitz & The Tantrums - HandClap

12. Adele - Water Under The Bridge

11. The Chainsmokers - Paris

10. Bebe Rexha - I Got You

9. Maroon 5 - Cold

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

7. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like

6. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things

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

4. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You

3. Linkin Park/Kiiara - Heavy

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

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

Score: 89% (B+)

My Bottom 5 Countdown Picks

1. X Ambassadors - Unsteady

2. Panic! At The Disco - Death Of A Bachelor

3. Coldplay/SeeB - Hymn For The Weekend

4. Niall Horan - This Town

5. Bruno Mars - 24K Magic

My Top 5 Countdown Picks

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

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

3. Linkin Park/Kiiara - Heavy

4. AJR - Weak

5. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You

Love you guys!

~ Jack :)

Ed Sheeran (4) - Week Of March 4, 2017

Hello guys! So, I couldn't get this out yesterday because I was at an event for my Pre-AP Global Class in Albany, New York. The ten of us had been working on massive history projects since July this past summer, and we finally got to show them to judges yesterday at National History Day: Capital Region Competition. No, most of us didn't win anything. Two of us won silver medals due to the lack of entries in a category, but it was a fun experience for us, as it was last year as well. Some of us I believe got very close to winning. I, personally believe I got just outside the top 3, maybe 4th place, as they said my website I created was very good. So, now I'm here and I didn't get a chance to really listen to the countdown this weekend in order and everything, but it was a little interesting, an example of that would be a re-entry, which we haven't seen in a while. So, before we get to this week's fresh 45 songs, here's a list of songs we're saying goodbye to.

• OneRepublic - Kids (#43)
• Pitbull/Flo Rida/LunchMoney Lewis - Greenlight (#44)
• Lukas Graham - You're Not There (#45)

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

#1 Song This Week 1 Year Ago: One Direction - Perfect

The Countdown

45. Daya - Words (#31)

44. X Ambassadors - Unsteady (#28)

43. DJ Snake/Justin Bieber - Let Me Love You (#29)

42. Charli XCX - After The Afterparty (#40)

41. John Legend - Love Me Now (#39)

40. AJR - Weak (DEBUT)

39. Hey Violet - Guys My Age (#30)

38. The Weeknd/Daft Punk - Starboy (#42)

37. Coldplay/SeeB - Hymn For The Weekend (#41)

36. Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay (DEBUT)

35. Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill (RE-ENTRY)

34. Bruno Mars - 24K Magic (#38)

33. Panic! At The Disco - Death Of A Bachelor (#24)

32. Niall Horan - This Town (#35)

31. Sia/Kendrick Lamar - The Greatest (#36)

30. Alessia Cara - Scars To Your Beautiful (#27)

29. James Arthur - Say You Won't Let Go (#19)

28. Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better (#32) [2 Weeks At #1]

27. Jon Bellion - All Time Low (#7)

26. Noah Cyrus/Labrinth - Make Me (Cry) (#37)

25. Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On (#16)

24. Twenty One Pilots - Heavydirtysoul (#21)

23. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj - Side To Side (#10)

22. Maroon 5 - Don't Wanna Know (#26) [3 Weeks At #1]

21. Rihanna - Love On The Brain (#33)

20. Train - Play That Song (#17)

19. Kygo & Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me (#20)

18. Linkin Park/Kiiara - Heavy (#34)

17. Julia Michaels - Issues (#23)

16. Bebe Rexha - I Got You (#25)

15. Twenty One Pilots - Heathens (#9) [2 Weeks At #1]

14. The Chainsmokers - Paris (#14)

13. Maroon 5 - Cold (#15)

12. The Weeknd/Daft Punk - I Feel It Coming (#18)

11. Lady Gaga - Million Reasons (#11)

10. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like (#22)

9. Katy Perry/Skip Marley - Chained To The Rhythm (#12)

8. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things (#5)

7. Fitz & The Tantrums - HandClap (#2)

6. Zayn & Taylor Swift - I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#4)

5. Adele - Water Under The Bridge (#13)

4. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd - Starving (#8) [4 Weeks At #1]

3. The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer (#3) [8 Weeks At #1]

2. Shawn Mendes - Mercy (#6)

1. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You (#1) [4th Week At #1]

Biggest DROP!!!... Of The Week: Jon Bellion - All Time Low (-20)

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Linkin Park/Kiiara - Heavy (+16)

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Sabrina Carpenter - Thumbs

#1 Recommendation For You: Cashmere Cat/Camila Cabello - Love Incredible

New Entrants

~ Our first entrant this week comes from AJR with their new single, Weak. This is by far their best single so far. Their past singles weren't that amazing, but this song is lyrical genius. Many of you may think this song is mediocre, but I really believe the lyrical content deserves an A+, the vocals are on point, and that key change later in the song is very creative. So, this has definitely been on replay lately for me. Now, all I would like to see this song do is to have a successful countdown run, because it is so far one of the best songs this year in my opinion. 

~ Our second and final new entrant comes in the form of Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay. Before I listened to this song, I was honestly unsure if I would like the sound of Alessia Cara on an electronic song, but boy was I wrong. She sounds amazing on this track and Zedd does a great job with the drop, as well as with the rest of the song. In the long run, the only thing I could see getting annoying is the repetition of the same lyrics over and over. Besides that, for now, I hope to see this song do well here, and I expect it to do so.

~ Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill had already been reviewed, refer to the week it first debuted.

HitBound

• Flo Rida/99 Percent - Cake
• Little Mix - Touch
• James Hersey - Miss You
• Panic! At The Disco - L.A. Devotee
• Calvin Harris/Frank Ocean/Migos - Slide (DEBUT)
• Imagine Dragons - Believer
• Ariana Grande/Future - Everyday
• The Vamps/Matoma - All Night
• COIN - Talk Too Much (DEBUT)
• Snakehips/MØ - Don't Leave
• MAX/Gnash - Lights Down Low
• Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie - Rockabye
• ONE OK ROCK - American Girls (DEBUT)
• The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This

Top 5 HitBound Songs
1. Ariana Grande/Future - Everyday
2. Little Mix - Touch
3. Snakehips/MØ - Don't Leave
4. Clean Bandit/Sean Paul/Anne-Marie - Rockabye
5. The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This

• NO BLURBS THIS WEEK DUE TO LATENESS OF THIS POST

Let's Do A Top 20 Review!

0-Garbage

NONE

1-Bad

NONE

2-Mediocre

20. Twenty One Pilots - Heathens

19. Train - Play That Song

3-Decent

18. Shawn Mendes - Mercy

17. Lady Gaga - Million Reasons

4-Good

16. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd - Starving

5-Great

15. The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer

14. Adele - Water Under The Bridge

13. Maroon 5 - Cold

12. Fitz & The Tantrums - HandClap

11. Bebe Rexha - I Got You

10. The Chainsmokers - Paris

9. Julia Michaels - Issues

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

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

6. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things

5. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You

4. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like

3. Linkin Park/Kiiara - Heavy

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

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

Score: 89% (B+)

Bottom 5 Songs This Week

1. X Ambassadors - Unsteady

2. Panic! At The Disco - Death Of A Bachelor

3. Coldplay/SeeB - Hymn For The Weekend

4. Niall Horan - This Town

5. Bruno Mars - 24K Magic

Top 5 Songs This Week

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

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

3. AJR - Weak

4. Linkin Park/Kiiara - Heavy

5. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like

Love you guys! The post will hopefully be on schedule tomorrow morning! I had quite a busy week!

~ Jack :)

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

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

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

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

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

The Countdown

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

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

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

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

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

New Entrants

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

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

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

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

HitBound

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

Top 5 HitBound Songs

1. TIE: AJR - Weak

1. TIE: Ariana Grande/Future - Everyday

3. Little Mix - Touch

4. Zedd & Alessia Cara - Stay

5. The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This

Make Me (Blurb)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let's Do A Top 20 Review!

0-Garbage

NONE

1-Bad

NONE

2-Mediocre

NONE

3-Decent

20. Twenty One Pilots - Heathens

19. Shawn Mendes - Mercy

4-Good

18. Train - Play That Song

17. Lady Gaga - Million Reasons

16. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd - Starving

5-Great

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

14. Jon Bellion - All Time Low

13. Adele - Water Under The Bridge

12. Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On

11. The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer

10. Fitz & The Tantrums - HandClap

9. The Chainsmokers - Paris

8. Maroon 5 - Cold

7. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj - Side To Side

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

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

4. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You

3. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things

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

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

Score: 93% (A)

Bottom 5 Countdown Picks

1. Pitbull/Flo Rida/LunchMoney Lewis - Greenlight

2. X Ambassadors - Unsteady

3. Bruno Mars - 24K Magic

4. OneRepublic - Kids

5. Coldplay/SeeB - Hymn For The Weekend

Top 5 Countdown Picks

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

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

3. Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello - Bad Things

4. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You

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

Love you guys!

~ Jack :)

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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


3. What is your favorite movie and why?

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

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


4. What is your favorite television show and why?

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

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


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

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

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


6. What grade are you in at school?

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

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


7. What is your favorite school subject and why?

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


12. What do you enjoy doing with your friends?

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

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


13. Are you the jealous type?

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

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


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

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

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


15. What is your favorite food?

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

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


16. What are some of your pet peeves?

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


20. What is your favorite color? 

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

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


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

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

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


22. What is your favorite holiday and why?

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

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


23. What is your favorite thing about blogging?

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

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


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

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

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


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


Love you guys and live life to the fullest!

~ Jack and Graham :)