Pretty Fly (For 1999): 25th April Protect Angel Bee of Mine and Thank 9pm

This week is going to be a long especially in terms of the new entries...there's seven of those this week however let's start with the top ten where "Baby, One More Time" by Britney Spears remains at number one but its sales are starting to slow a bit and it could find itself vulnerable. 

The challengers are beckoning too with "Why Don't You Get a Job?" by The Offspring which climbed one spot to number two, "We Like to Party (The Vengabus)" by The Vengaboys jumped three spots to number three and "No Scrubs" by TLC  which looks to have the better momentum of the three challengers as it skidattled up four spots to number four.

Of course all this could be because "That Don't Impress Me Much" by Shania Twain crashed three spots to number five and "The Animal Song" by Savage Garden down two to number sx. 

"Touch It" by Monifah remained unmoved by the chaos above it stuck at nnumber seven. "Anthem for the Year 2000" by Silverchair down thre to number eight.

What I was surprised to see was "Until the Time is Through" by Five up two into the top ten at number nine. "This Kiss" by Faith Hill slid one to number ten and thankfully looks to be done in the top ten.

Losers

So as you can imagine this week is messy so lets begin with "Heartbeat/Tragedy" by Steps which just utterly collapsed from nineteen to forty five. Former top ten hit "Jackie" by BZ and Joanne slumped from thirty to forty four.

"Last to Know" by Human Nature slipped eight to forty two while Pandora's "A Little Bit" slipped eleven to forty. 

Sadly Jennifer Love Hewitt's "How Do I Deal?" is not getting all the answers down from twenty two to thirty six. and in the loss I am surprised by,.."Changes" by 2pac lost all it's momentum to slide from number twelve to thirty five. 

"Doo Wop (That Thing)" by Lauryn Hill slumped ten slots to thirty four.

Gains

We did get some gains this week with the biggest gain of the week belonging to Eminem's "Hi! My Name Is" climing twenty spots to twenty one. "Every Morning" by Sugar Ray jumped eight to twenty three. 

Korn's "Freak On A Leash" found some more freak to gain eight spots to twenty three while The Living End are tearing up the charts with "All Torn Down" up ten to twenty six.  

New Entries

A nassuve seven new entries this week, beginning with...

50. "Put Your Hands Up" by The Black  and White Brothers

So the Black and White Brothers are an electronic duo hailing from Switzerland with this being the first snng to hit the ARIA singles chart and I'm sorry, I fucking hate this, the vocals are just nasal with nothing more than the lame "Put your hands up in the air" refrain that gets incrementally more annoying every time it is said by that neutered dog whistle of a voice over that bassline, 

We can do better than THIS! Come on..

48. "9pm (Til I Come)" by ATB

So we head to Germany for this song from DJ and producer ATB and mercifully this one doesn't hit the infernal annoyance the previous song does by actually having a dang solid guitar loop that winds up pretty catchy and the female vocals actually fit the song nicely, throw in the bassline and the song is actually pretty dang good for what is an electronic song with not much in the way of lyrics. 

Yeah, check this out, this is pretty good. 

37. "Stand by Me" by 4 the Cause

So we go from dance to r'n'b with 4 The Caause, an Illinois group that later moved to Germany and well this is exactly what you are thinking this is...a cover of Ben E. King's "Stand by Me" amd well. this is something of a mess, the hook is singing with other members repeating by rapping which hits the right point of being annoying and taking the emotion out of the song that King so carefully crafted, it sounds like a Glee performance...oh wait...Glee did this song somewhat better.  This is obnoxious...next!

33. "Honey to the Bee" by Billie Piper

Stepping back into the UK pop scene with this new song from Billie Piper who is actually involved with the next two new entries however "Honey to the Bee" is the latest single from Piper's album entitiled "Honey to the B" and you know what" If there's anything to be said about this song is that Billie does have some pipes, she sounds better on this song than she did on "Because I Want To" (that song is still incredibly obnoxious) but especially on softer songs like this one she sounds really good.

Also this song overall this song is a pretty damn good pop song even if the chorus doesn't quite pop in the way the bridge build suggest its going to and it helps that Piper is a commanding presence. The content is your standard pining love song where she's trying to convince this guy that he is meant for her that she's his honey to his bee. It's cute. Don't mind this overall. 

29. "Thank ABBA For The Music" by Steps, Tina Cousins, Cleopatra, B*Witched and Billie Piper

So this is a strange one, a bunch of established artists and groups like Steps, Tina Cousins and Cleopatra got together at rhe Brit Awards in February to perform a medley of ABBA songs beginning with "Take a Chance on Me", "Dancing Queen", "Mamma Mia" and "Thank You for the Music", now I will say they did stick wth melodies and there were no hackneyed changes apart from changing "you" to "ABBA" in "Tbank You for the Music".

However the issue with this song is the balance here, eleven women to two guys (Lee and H from Steps) and the lack of baritone that the guys could have provided is missing in the medley here. Don't get me wrong, the ladies all sound amazing and the harmonies on point. It's fine enough...nice tribute that just misses in one spot.

28. "Angel of Mine" by Monica

Swinging back to R'n'B with this song from Monica which was recorded by Eternal in 1997 and then re recorded by Monica for her second album "The Boy is Mine" and really, there's not much to say about this song. it's a pretty standard love song where Monica has found her soulmate and describes that meeting that soul mate ande' that instant pyrrhic feeling of an instant connection with that someone special over piano anf strings. Its sweet and cloying but I am not going to remember this song long term. 

27. "Protect Your Mind (Braveheart)" by DJ Sakin & Friends

We're ending the week with a song from a Turkish-German trance project DJ Sakin and friends. It's pretty much a love song that's centre focussed onsomeone who has found their "Braveheart", a warrior, who is willing able to fight for love, truth and justice and that this guy is her one true brave heart but I will say that I do like this form of trance where it blends in instrumentation from other countries like the Scotland's bagpipes and a bit of pan flute to make the song sound really evocative and majestic, it sounds almost unique!. Nice song, check it out if you are curious. 

That was our week, a long one but the worst of the week falls out easily...whatever the hell "Put Your Hands Up" by The Black and White Brothers was. I have no desire to hear that song again.

best of the week is a little harder but I am going to give it to ATB for "9pm (Til I Come)"

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: April 20th. The one where the new entries are a cavalcade of...something...

 So the battle for the number one spot continued this week and it's about to become a three way go with the arrival of "drop dead" by Olivia Rodrigo next week and just glancing at this week's new entries...we are in for a trainwreck of a week in that regard but let's get back to the top ten where "Rein Me" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean returned to number one basically on the margins in terms of sales and a little streaming. 

It sent "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean back to number two, it still remains a threat for the top spot but a lot is going to depend on those streaming margins against "drop dead".

All of this leaves "IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay in a strange post as it almost feels like this song has peaked in some way given it's not makng gains on streaming anymore. 

What was surprisingly was that "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley did not make the ground I thought it would, the album boost really only helped this song maintain its postion. 

Speaking holding position that is the case for "Dracula" by Tame Impala at number five. "So Easy (Too Fall in Love" by Olivia Dean at number six, "Ordinary" by Alex Warren stubbornly clinging on at number seven and "Stateside" by Pink Pantheress and Zara Larsson at number eight.

Raye's "Where is My Husband" rebounded to number nine while thanks to Coachella performance and subsequent discourse "Daisies" by Justin Bieber climbed twenty six spots to number ten. 

Losers

"Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez fell nine spots to number forty seven while "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae turned off seven spots to forty eight.  

Olivia Dean's "Baby Steps" slipped nine to forty one while "Swim" by BTS continues to struggle to remain afloat on the chart down eleven to forty.

Drop Outs

So we have a slew of drop outs this week, let's begin with the long running songs like "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars, "Pink Skies" by Zach Bryan and "Carry You Home" by Alex Warren.

Then there's country singles like "Be By You" by Luke Combs and "Weren't for the Wind" by Ella Langley. 

Then there's the songs that really didn't quite get going like "I Run" by HVN and Kaitlyn Aragon and "Aperture" by Harry Styles. 

Finally there's "Father" by Kanye West and Andre Troutman which will be mothballed and forgotten. 

Gains

So outside of that massive gain for "Daisies" by Justin Bieber, there was only one other major gain this week with "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter rising nine places to twenty six.

Re-Entries

Three new entries this beginning with "Porch Light" by Noah Kahan is back at fifty (I'd expect this to get a bigger boost with the album being released this Friday).

"House Tour" by Sabrina Carpenter is back at number forty three because of a combination of Coachella and likely because it got a video.

"Yukon" by Justin Bieber also returned at twenty three due to Coachella and the subsequent discourse around his performance.

New Entries

Five new entries this week...let's just get this over with because this is gonna fucking suck..

49. "Freakin' Out" by Dexter and the Moon Rocks

Wow, so this is a weird one this week, Desternd the Moon Rocks are a country rock act hailing from Texas, USA, yet this song in particular feels more like a weaker grunge song that could have come out in 1994/95 only this feels like a cheap Soundgarden rip off, its okay in terms of the lyrics and it might well be one of the better songs new this week.

As for the content of the song, it really doesn't dig deeper than surface level of being alone and wanting somebody to come warm them up and not freak out. Its fine but that's all it will be at best. 

46. "Pop Dat Thing" by DaBaby

Oh I see the Da Baby redemption arc has well and truly begun in the US so Australia just had to get in on the redemption arc train which gives us this pile of nonsense which amounts to DaBaby begging this girl to "Pop Dat Thing" with the thing DaBaby is referencing being his god damn dick, he isn't being shy about what he wants this girl to do which involves a combination of sitting in his lap and eventually blowing and sucking on his 'D'

Throw in the god awful canned production complete with a tinny voice going "Pop Dat Thing" and you have one of the most disposable and utterly useless rap songs of 2026...NEXT!

34. "Earrings" by Malcolm Todd

It's never a good sign when the artist involved is signed to a recording deal on basis of going viral on Tik Tok which is the story of American musician and singer/songwriter Malcolm Todd and with this being his first single to hit the ARIA singles chart I was wary especially as I had heard this song wasn't particularly good and in a week like this one...I was hoping that the horror stories weren't true and so how was it?

Uh yeah, the horror stories checked out because this is the rancid sort of song that sets the industry back twenty years because dear god what even is that arse backward production that doesn't allow anything including Todd's vocals to breathe? Or how the song is just a bunch of choruses and refrains about how earrings got lost in some girl's bed.and Todd is accusing him of being scared to tell this girl that he lost the lyrics because he isn't talking to her before finishing the "song" with "I hope you like my mixtape".

I hope this song dies a very fast death on the charts because this sucks royally/

33.  "Be Her" by Ella Langley

Of all the new songs from "Dandelion", Australia had to go and pick the worst song of the bunch to chart...yeah, I said it, this is the worst song from that album and I am absolutely stunned that it was picked to be a single because threads like a song that GirlDefined would love for what it preaches within the lyrics of the song, its basically "Dear Future Husband" except in this czse this woman has found herself a husband and is now aspiring to be the ultimate Christian tradwife who cooks, cleans, takes care of the kids and wirships Jesus just like 'her'. It's just got this icky overtly conservative vibe that makes milk curdle in my intestines every time I hear it.  I hope this doesn't stick around.

19. "Pinky Up" by Katseye

My last hope for something that might be good...oh wait, it's new song from Katseye, the female group version of Onision releasing pop atrocities and yeah, this one is no different... this is a disaster of obnoxious production that's all centred around the hook that got no chance of actually being a thing..."Pinky Up" (Talk about trying to make fetch happen). I won't say it's worse than a previous single of theirs but it's definitely the sort of song that makes your ears lose hope that they may not hear good music ever again.

That winds up our week...I am nixing best of the week this week...NONE of this crap deserves the title of "best" at all so instead I am giving out a tie for worst of the week which is going to "Pinky Up" by Katseye, "Earring" by Malcolm Todd and "Be Her" by Ella Langley...yeah a three way tie for worst...that's how bad this week was. 

At least next week brings Olivia Rodrigo...it's only up from here...we can hope.

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart. 13th April. The one where Australia continues "Choosin' Texas" in the top ten

So I am grateful that this week's chart is a bit slower,n no new entries and a bunch of songs re-entering this week mostly because this week's "Pretty Fly (for 1999)" is A LOT this week (seven new entries) and this week is a bit of a slow down with Ella Langley likely to have some impact next week however lets get straight to our top ten where "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean returned to number onem ow this is absolutely on its incredible streaming strength because the bottom has gone out of sales for this song, it's losing ground there fast.

Which might well open the way for Sam Fender and Olivia Dean to return to number one with "Rein Me In" which slipped back to number two, it's doing better on sales and if it can bridge that streaming margin than it can make a play for number one.

It seems like "IloveitILoveitIloveit" by Bella Kay has stalled out at number three, this is it's fourth consecutive week at number three and it's not really looking like making a push for higher spots which leaves it vulnerable to our big top ten gainer this week "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley which climbed six places to number four, this song is killing it on sales and just needs a good streaming uplift and this can absolutely make a play for number one. Hey Twitter stans, looks like the song you dismissed as a "local" hit is now a global hit. 

From there 'Dracula" by Tame Impala slipped one back to number five, the same goes for "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean to number six.

Unfortunately "Ordinary" by Alex Warren held firm at number six, that was not the case for " Stateside" by Pink Pantheress and Zara Larsson which slipped two spots to number eight. 

Finally both "Raindance" by Dave and Tems and "Where is My Husband" by Raye both fell one spot to numbers nine and ten respectively.

Losers

We did see some big losers this week with "Aperture" by Harry Styles down ten slots to forty nine, it could be out nex week.

"Father" by Ye and Travis Scott down twelve to forty two while "Swim" by BTS continues to fall away down ten to twenty nine.

Drop Outs

No real surprises with the drop outs this week with "All the Love" by Ye and Andre Troutman, "Potch Light" by Noah Kahan, "Click Clack Symphony" by Raye and Hans Zimmer ad "Body to Body" by BTS all gone.

Gains

"Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez got a ten place boost to number thirty eight while "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen climbed eight to thirty three.

Those two were the only big gains this week.

Re-Entries

Four returns this week and they are all older songs with "Carry You Home" back at fifty for Alex Warren. "Pink Skies" came over at number forty seven for Zach Bryan. 

Sadly "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter back at forty six and "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars returning at number forty two.

That wraps our week with there being no new entries. Next week is probably going to be Ella Langley and Katseye...sadly.

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review. 6th April. The one where we no talk about THAT guy.

 So this week surprised me in some ways, we got a new number one that I am incredibly excited to write about and we have a litany of movement to deal with so let's dive into the top ten where we have our first new number of 2026 and it's a first for the lead artist and the second for the featured artist...it's "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean, now make no mistake here, this is was absolutely won on the margins here because this sure as hell is not dominating in any of the sectors be it sales, streaming or Youtube but it did just enough to take the number one however this is not a strong chart topper by any matter of means.

It does leave the door open for "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean, which slipped back to number two this week, to return to number one considering it's strength on streaming. It did stay ahead of "ILoveitILoveitIloveit" by Bella Kay which remained at number three week despite a good week on streaming this week. 

Up three to number four is "Dracula" by Tame Impalawhile "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean remains at number five and "Stateside" by Pink Pantheress and Zara Larsson is on hold at number six. 

"Ordinary" by Alex Warren rebounded one slot to number seven because this song refuses to go away. "Raindance" by Dave and Tems climbed one spot to number eight.

An album boost saw Raye's "Where Is My Husband" climb two places to number nine while rising five places to be our sole new arrival to the top ten it's "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley at number ten. 

Losers

" Body to Body" by BTS slipped twenty slots this week to forty six while "Swim" sank fifteen places to nineteen. 

"Porchlight" by Noah Kahan saw it's light dimmed eight places to forty while "Aperture" by Harry Styles also did an eight place skid to thirty nine.

Drop Outs

None of the drop outs are that surprising with BTS and Harry Styles album tracks gone alongside "The Visitor" by Sienna Spiro and"Sleepless in a Hotel Room" by Luke Combs

Maybe the only song of this departing crew that might make the year end is "DTMF"  by Bad Bunny.

Gains

No real major gains this week, combination of new entries and returns keeping this at a minimum with the gains. I guess the biggest would be that gain for "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley into the top ten that I have already mentioned.

Re-Entries

Two returns this week witb "I Run" by HVN and Kaitlyn Aragon at fifty and "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae back at number forty five.

New Entries

So this week means I have to deal with the Kanye West conundrum because of our four new enties, two come from West's new album, I instigated a policy when West released the two previous albums that I would not cover any track that charted because of the way Kanye has behaved and that policy going to remind in place, yes, I am aware he has apologised but proof will be in his actions not in the words he says. I am also not obliged to give Kanye any kind of platforn,

So the two songs that did chart from Kanye are "Father" with Travis Scott at thirty two and "All The Love" feat. Andre Troutman at thirty three.

Moving on the other two new arrivals, he start with...

49. "Ween't For the Wind" by Ella Langley

Si I have been expecting more Ella Langley songs to show up given the success of "Choosin' Texas" so I am not surprised to see this song here and I think I'd be fine wth this song picking up even more traction bbecause this is really a damn solid song even though...yeah it's a bit compressed (it's Music Row production...what do you expect?) but there's something about this song that feels really homespun and like this is something that is coming from Ella's heart. 

It;s a sibg about somebody who isn't able to stay in the one place for too long and this is that person reflecting on that journey and just floating wherever the wind takes them. Damn good song, check it out if you are curious

42. "Click Clack Symphony" by RAYE feat. Hans Zimmer.

The only song from RAYE's new album "This Music May Contain Hope" to hit the chart this week and I am kind of sad about that given I think Raye deserves better than the crumbs she is being handed and this song really isn't one of the best cuts from the album...although its still decent, I just wish the song settled down a groove and melody because it just swerves from right to left and every which way with it's sound which I guess could be a part of the part. It's fine enough but I'd rather see "I Know You're Hurting On" on the chart over this.

That was our week wth "Weren't for the Wind" by Ella Langley taking best of the week. Worst of the week is between the two Kanye songs,,,you can choose which one as I have no desire to listen to unfinished music from a man who doesn't deserve anymore real attention.

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 30th March. The one where it's a mess.

So I apologise if I come off as grumpy this edition of the ARIA Singles Chart Review, some if it is due to in real life stuff and some of it is due to the sudden turn to...well...you'll see it was something of a rough week...we got a mini album bomb from the new BTS album "Arirang" which I do have opinions on which we'll get to but lets deal with the rest of the chart first where for yet amother week "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean continues to hold sway at the top, this song is still a titan on streaming and it's not going to be pushed off the top spot easily.


As I said last week, I don't think the compettion is going to come from "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean which remains glued to number two however "IloveitIloveitILoveit" by Bella Kay, which remained at number three, is fighting "Man I Need" for dominance on streaming right now and I can see it pushing it's way past "Rein Me In" in the weeks ahead.


There;s a new entry at number four courtesy of "Swim" by BTS in the first sign of "Arirang" having some impaxt on the chart even if it's not going to last which probably means there's a chance for "So Easy (To Fall in Love" by Olivia Dean holding steady at number five and "Stateside" by Pink Pantheress and Zara Larsson down two to number six to rebound next week...we'll see.


Tame Impala's "Dracula" rose one to number sevn this week while "Ordinary" by Alex Warren slipped one back to number eight and "Raindance" by Dave and Tems" held firm at number nine.


finally returninig to the top ten is "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters up two slots, this will not hang around, it's more likely an Oscars boost.


Losers


The continued losses for the Harry Styles album continued as "Taste Back" dropped fourteen slots to number thirty seven, "Aperture" down nine to thirty one and "American Girls" fell six out of the top ten to number twelve. '


Outside of that "DTMF" by Bad Bunny fell seven to forty.


Drop Outs

So if you are wondering where the rest of the Harry Styles songs that didn't drop out last week are, they are here alongside "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae and "I Run" by HVN and Kaitlyn Aragon.


Gains

Not much in the way of big gains this week with "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish up six to tirty four and "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter also up six to thirty six.

Re-Entries

So this where the impact of Luke Combs album "The Way I Am" comes into play because he has two of the three new entries courtesy of "Sleepless in a Hotel Room" at forty seven and "Be By You" at number thirty nine. 

The third return is the now habitual return of "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen at nnumber forty four. 

New Entries

We have five new entries total this week but because we're somewhat in album bomb territory for BTS, I will only cover the songs in the top twenty so with that..."FYA" at forty eight, "Hooligan" at forty six and 'Body to Body" at twenty six.

This means we're starting our new arrivals with...

41. "The Visitor" by Sienna Spiro

Time fot another piano led ballad from Sienna Spiro and yeah, it's another boring as hell dirge that sounds like ass where she's bitching that she's just some temporary thing everytime in a relationship with a man. This isn't as bad as "Die On a Hill" but this sure as hell is basic and honestly, I really struggle to care at all about this.

4. "Swim" by BTS

So the biggest problem with BTS's new album is the production just how much it just sounds like it was done on the cheap given how thin a lot of it sounds but that isn't even the biggest problem with this song which is the actual single from the album, the biggest issue with this song is that it feels derivative of The Kid Laroi circa 2021 complete with the same sort of vocal delivery as Laroi, this is just completely forgettable rather than outright bad. BTS are capable of much better than this. 

No best of the week, I am giving worst of the week to "The Visitor" by Sienna Spiro for being uninspired dirge. 

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 23rd March

 This is a settle down week as the chart recalibrated following the Harry Styles album bomb last week and with a limited impact likely from BTS next week, we'll see how things play out however nothing is getting in the way of Olviia Dean's "Man I Need" which racked up another week at number one to break the record for the longest running non Australian chart topper and really...it's a margins game given the gap has closed on streaming. 

Which brings us to "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean which remains stalled at number two and is coming under heavy pressure from "IloveitIlloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay up one to number three after having spent the week at number one on Spotify streaming. 

Rising one spot to number four is "Stateside" by Pink Psntheress and Zara Larsson, also up one is "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Oliva Dean, these gains can be explained through "American Girls" by Harry Styles slipping three spots to number six. 

Remaining steady at number seven is "Ordinary" by Alex Warren because this song just clings on and on like an unremovable stain. 

For the first time since 2024, there's an Australian song in the top ten...shame it's "Dracula" by Tame Impala, it climbed seven points to hit the top ten for the first time in it's chart run.

"Raindance" by Dave and Tems is back in the top ten rebounding two spots to number nine while Raye 's "Where is My Husband" slumped two to number ten but should rebound soon courtesy of the release of her upcoming album. 

Losers

ALL the big losers are from the Harry Styles album bomb so let's blast through these quickly "Carla's Song" down nineteen to fifty, "Dance No More" has started grooving spots fifteen spots to forty four, people continue to not listen to "Are You Listening Yet?" as it's stumbled seventeen to thirty nine while "Pop" has well and truly popped down fourteen to thirty six, "Coming Up Roses" actually wilted eleven spots to thirty two, "Ready, Steady, Go" false started down eighteen to thirty one, "Taste Back" lost it's taste so down nine to twenty three while "Aperture" slumped twelve being out of focus to twenty two. 

Drop Outs

the rest of the Harry Styles album account for the drop outs this week with "The Waiting Game", "Season 2 Weight Loss" and "Paint by Numbers" departing the chart. 

Gains

Given everything else that wasn't Harry Styles moved up, I am going to focus only on those songs that had double digit gains this week, we start with Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" which finally got a good boost this week up ten slots to number sixteen as Australia finally decide to make this song a hit which is fine by me.

What I am not fine with are the continued gains for "White Keys" by Dominic Fike which climbed another ten places tp twenty and looks to have streaming traction...geezus...I know we're short of guys doing nicely in the pop mainstream but we do not need this!

"Fever Dream" by Alex Warren rebounded eleven spots to twenty four while Milky and Mallgrab's "Just the Way You Are" jumped ten spots to thirty.

Re-Entries

So we have two re entries this week with the first of those being "Die With A Smike" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars at number forty seven and the other being "Midnight Sun" by Zara Larsson back at number thirty four.

New Entries

Just the one new entry this week so let's talk about...

29. "Porch Light" by Noah Kahan

I have been so disappointed in the performance of the lead single "The Great Divide" mostly because that song really grew on me something insane but anyway we have the follow up single with it almost completely along the same lines as the previous single with this person Kahan is talking too having gossip about their health spreading all over the internet and how this person is tearing thier life apart even if Kahan's vocals are not at all impressive on this song. It's fine enough but he has done better. Meh.

That wraps our week, likely a bunch of BTS and maybe Luke Combs next week but we'll have to see. 

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 16th Match The one where I'd rather be listening to anything else...

So yeah, the Harry Styles album bomb for "Kiss All the time. Disco Occasionally" did happen and honestly while I do not like the album I am grateful for the disruption it caused on the chart even if it didn't get as far as disrupting our current runaway number one which yet for another week is "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean, now it just absolutely rules streaming to a ridiculous degree at this point, it really doesn't even need sales or Youtube to keep the number one.

It held up over "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean which remained at number two, mostly because streaming and sales took a bit of a dip this week and it just didn't have enough to compete with "Man I Need". 

The first sign of Harry Styles impact is at number three with "American Girls" entering the chart. More on this song later but this song is here thanks to decent rather than outright impressive streaming.

Rising three spots to number four is "IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay, this song is getting some serious streaming traction now, whether or not it challenges 'Man I Need" remains to be seen. 

All of this pusbed the next four songs down two places, those being "Stateside" by PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson at number five, "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean at number six, "Ordinary" by Alex Warren at number seven and "Where is My Husband" by Raye at number eight,

Rising three spots to return to the top ten is "12 to 12" by Sombr at number nine and finally rising twenty eight spots to number ten on the back of the album bomb is "Aperture" by Harry Styles (I still fundamentally hate this song).

Losers

So we had a whole raft of double digit losers this week beginning with the ten place slide to forty seven for "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter...I cannot wait to see this song gone permanently from the chart.

I also don't mind that "I Run" by HVN and Kaitlyn Aragon slipped eleven spots to forty six...I can live with this song disappearing too...just quietly.

Justin Bieber's "Daisies" took a thirteen place wilting to forty four while "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish lost ten places to forty three like wise for "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" by Shaboozey which slumped ten to forty two,, 

"Baby Steps" by Olivia Dean got sat on it's bum down thirteen to forty one while "Just the Way You":by Milky and Mallgrab got a thirteen spot disfiguring to forty. 

Sombr's "Undressed" is nearly naked down thirteen to thirty nine while "DTMF" by Bad Bunny slumped nineteen to thirty seven (it's done well to be on the chart this long). 

Sieena Spiro's "Die On this Hill" hopefully will die off the charts as it slumped eleven to thirty six and "Fever Dream" by Alex Warren got a cold wet wipe to the face as it suffered a fifteen place drop to thirty five.

A rough week for Olivia Dean continued as "A Couple Minutes" dipped eleven to thirty four while "Opalite' by Taylor Swift got booted eleven to thirty three.

"Homewrecker" by Sombr got wrecked eleven spots to twenty.  

Drop Outs

So I am going to do the drop outs this way:

Gone and not coming back are "Deadline" by Blackpinkm "4 Raws" by EsdeeKid and "Be By You" by Luke Combs

Might come back with album release: "The Great Divide" by Noah Kahan

Might return should streaming return for them: "Nuevayol" and "Baile Involidable" both by Bad Bunny, "Midnight Sun" by Zara Larsson. "Let Alone the One You Love" by Olivia Dean. 

Long running hits that should have been gone ages ago but will probably return: "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen, "Sports Car' by Tate McRae and "Die with a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.

Gains

Outside of "Aperture" returning to the top ten thanks to the album dropping. The only other gain was for "Dracula" by Tame Impala up two to fifteen.

New entries

We are in album bomb territory for Harry Styles so I am only covering the best, worst and what made the top twenty this album is not interesting enough to cover the whole damn thing) so "Paint By Numbers" painted itsself in at thirty eight, "Carla's Song" is being sung at thirty one, "Dance No More" stalled at twenty nine, "The Waiting Game' waits to plunge next week at twenty seven,  "Pop" at twenty four and "Coming Up Roses" sprouting at twenty one. 

So that still leaves us with a meaty porton of this Harry Styles album to cover..unfortunately beginning with...

22. "Are You Listening Yet?" by Harry Styles

These reviews are going to be quite short because there's only so much you can say about an album that gives you very little to say except to call out the "Harry only wishes he could make music as good as LCD system and this one might be the worst example of this yet with the badly blended instrumentation not fitting in with anything on the album including the random guitar and hand claps while Harry sings "Are You Listening Yet?" repeatedly because he thinks that is what passes for a hook these days. Blergh. Never want to hear this again. 

13. Ready, Steady, Go" by Harry Styles

At least this song has a pulse and a bit of energy that doesn't make me want to turn it off and actually listen to LCD Soundsystem and Harry Styles actually seems to have an energy to his voals that is barely present on most of these songs and there's a nice guitar lick that really works at least until the sound effect on the song annoy me enough. Look, there are elements of the production that annoy me but I'll take this...its one of the better specimens on this album. 

12. "Taste Back" by Harry Styles 

The problem with this album is that it's more an LCD Soundsystem worship album that feels very devoid of any actual personality from Harry Styles if you cna hear him at all over the the production because half the time he sounds like he recorded the vocals in a nearby council toilet as the production reminds me a lot of one of the more dramataic Sega Megadrive games made for 2026. The song goes on about somebody reappearing in Harry's life and I am sorry but this isn't interesting or justifiies the annoyingly bad production on the vocals. Next. 

3.  "American Girls" by Harry Styles.

We bring this exploration of Harry Styles new album to a close with the second single and really, almost got to ask why because this really isn't anything other than LCD Soundsystem worship again complete with garbage vocal production, seriously..whoever was responsible for Harry recording thi song from possibly his toilet  or the bathroom should be fired immediately then again maybe when the song revolves around his friends dating American girls, it's probably better to ignore how banal the lyrics or bettter yet? Go and actually listen to some fucking LCD Soundsystem instead.

That was our week and boy that sucked,worst of the week is going to "Are You Listening Yet?" becaus I just cannot stand that song. "Ready, Steady. Go" gets the best of the week for being somewhat decent rather than just boring. 

Next week,, probably Noah Kahan. 

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: 9th March

 I am a bit torn about whether to say this is a good or bad week because what does it truly matter with a likely Harry Styles album bomb (and given how forgettable the album is, I am not looking forward to covering that in any case) on the way but we do have a reasonable week here so let's start with the top ten where for yet another week "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean keeps the number one spot, it's just a monster on streaming tight now that not even Harry Styles can get near at this point. 

It held up over "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia which held on to number two but with it's streaming already seemingly on the downward slide, its going to come under some pressure from "Stateside" by Pink Pantherress feat. Zara Larsson which climbed a massive eight spots to number three this week but Harry Styles next week might curb some of that momentum for this song. 

So as a result we saw "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean fall back one to number four, "Ordinary" by Alex Warren back one to number five and "Where is My Husband" by Raye slipped one spot to number six.

The second big arrival to our top ten is "IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay which raced up thirteen places to number seven, this song has some momentum behind it, it will be interesting to see what happens to this in the weeks ahead post Harry Styles bomb.

An album boost saw "I Just Might" by Bruno Mars rise six spots to number eight,

All of this saw Sombr's "Homewrecker" slide three spots to number nine and "Raindance" by Dave and Tems down two to number ten, 

 Losers

So we do have a chunk of songs that lost hard this week like "Let Alone the One You Love" by Olivia Dean which slipped eight to forty eight and "4 Raws" by EsDeeKid which tumbled twelve spots to forty seven. 

Sadly, "The Great Divide" by Noah Kahan had one of the biggest losses of the week down fourteen places to forty four, sad about that one because it's a really damn good song and deserves better. 

We also had some losses for songs that are country or country adjacent with "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen down seven to forty three and "Be by You" by Luke Combs down eight to forty two. I wouldn't mind if the Post Malone and Morgan Wallen song left already...it's had a great run and really is just clogging room on the charts at this point.

Closing in on the end of it's lap is "Victory Lap" by Fred Again, Skepta and Plaque Boy Max down seven to thirty six and while "I Run" is running in the run direction for HVN and Kaitlyn Aragon down seven to thirty five,

Drop Outs

Four songs dropped out this week and I am not really complaining about any of thhese to a degree with "Tit For Tat" by Tate McRae, "Sapphire" by Ed Sheeran, "I've Seen It" by Olivia Dean and...yet again.."Good Luck, Babe1' by Chappell Roan. 

Gains

Not much in the way of big gains outside our top ten although "Neuvayol" by Bad  Bunny up twelve spots to thirty four.

What I was disappointed with is the nineteen place gain for "White Keys" by Dominic Fike to twenty nine. Australia, seriously, we can do better than this nasal discharge.

Re-Entries

Just the one return this week with "Baile Involidable" by Bad Bunny back at forty nine. 

New Entries

Three new entries, starting with...

30. "Go" by Blackpink

Look, be glad that nothng else from Blackpink's recent EP broke through this week because it could have been so much worse than this and even then, "Go" isn't exactly anything to write home about, "Go" still features unnecessary noise that takes away from the song and it's not helped that Blackpink just sound incredibly nasal and like they have colds or something. As i said, it's probably one of the better songs on "Deadline" but that is about it. 

20. "Fever Dream"  by Alex Warren

My views on Alex Warren are mixed while I don't hate "Ordinary" with anywhere near the energy others have reserved for the song but its definitely become a song I have grown sick of and if "Eternity" had of made the year end list for 2025 than that would have made my worst hit songs list however I do like "Bloodline" with Jelly Roll so I was hoping this song was more "Bloodline" than "Eternity" and yeah...I think we got there! 

There's a bounce to the production on this song that makes it feel summery even though we're now past summer in Australia even if the lyrics are a bit naff, he is having this fever dream where he is seeing this girl everywhere  and knows he is damned if she loves him and damned if she doesn't, it plays a bit in dicey territory but I'll take it, it's one of his better efforts.

13. "Risk It All" by Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars just releasing his latest wedding song from his new album and I do find it interesting that this is the only new song from this album to hit the singles chart this week but we did get this pretty sweet piano ballad that throws in a latin flair (inspired by Bad Bunny, Bruno) thanks to the horns as Bruno declares he'd risk everything for this woman in his life with a sincerity that seems genuine enough. I like it. Check it out if you are curious,

That's our week. Best and worst fall out easily enough, I am going to give worst of the week to "Go" by Blackpink and the best of the week to "Risk It All" by Bruno Mars, it's just slightly better than "Fever Dream" by Alex Warren. 

Next week...yeah...Harry Styles album bomb...yay?

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: March 2nd.

 This feels like a really quiet week which I will take considering that Bruno Mars and Blackpink are likely to both make an impact on the chart in a big way next week however let's dive into this week's top ten where for a fifteenth week, it's "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean, it's dominant on sales and streaming but not yet on Youtube. 

What did shock and thrill me is the four place gain to number two for "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean thanks to major streaming gains but it was enough for "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean to be pushed back to number three, "Ordinary" by Alex Warren back to number four and "Where is My Husband" by Raye back to number five.

Sombr's katest top ten hit "Homewrecker" climbed  two places to number six thanks to streaming.  Taylor Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia" held steady at number seven which is interesting for reasons you'll see why later. 

"Raindance" by Dave and Tems rebounded one spot to number eight and Sombr's '12 to 12" returned to the top ten up two spots to number nine while "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters also returned to the top ten up two spots to number ten. 

Losers

"Good Luck, Babe" bv Chappell Rean is  back on the cusp of leaving the chart (again) down fourteen spots to fifty. 

Bad Bunny's "Nuevayol" tumbled twenty places to forty six (Frankly I am surprised this song is still on the charts at all)

It will rebound in a couple of weeks time but "Aperture" by Harry Styles continues to fall in the mean time down ten places to thirty seven. 

Finally "Opalite" by Taylor Swift collapsed twelve places because an artificial boost via gaming the charts only nets rewards for so long and when there are other songs that do what this song is trying to do better,...yeah...

Drop Outs

Djo's "Back to beginning" returned to the On Replay Singles chart after it's ten week stint on the chaet thanks to virality. 

Long running hit "Yukon" by Justin Bieber took it's exit this week along with "Baile Involidable" by Bad Bunny ad "Sally, When the Wine Runs Out" by Role Model. 

Gains

So I am going to get to the big gain of the week in a moment but I do want to mention "Stateside" by Pink Pantheress which jumped six places to number eleven and looks likely to climb even higher in the weeks ahead thanks to the song being used by American ice skater Alysa Liu during her gold medal winning skate at the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina.

However the biggest gain of the week is "IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay up a massive twenty two spots to twenty,

"4 Raws" by EsDeeKid rebounded eight spots to thirty five and "I've Seen It" by Olivia Dean up eight to forty one. 

Re-Entries

Three returns this week with "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae back at forty four and "I Had some Help" by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen returning at thirty nine.

Finally back at number twenty seven is a 2002 song from Italian house music group Milky that originally peaked forty seven at the time, this time a remix with Mallgrab ensuring it returned to the chart,,,I don't see this lasting long on the chart but we'll have to see.

New Entries

Just the one new entry this week...

47. "White Keys" by Dominic Fike

Oh god, we're not giving Dominic Fike another hit again, are we? We've been lucky in that the new rules kept the terrible "Baby Doll" off the charts but we did get this and so I guess I do need to talk about in some capacity...and it meets my very low expectations of being alternative shlock that pop radio would accept as transgressive, who told Fike that his vocal delivery needed to be so inexecrably annoying to the point I had to turn the song off at multiple points? Also this bare bones production is unmitigated amounts of ass as that guitar sounds like it was in the middle of being fucking neutered. 

As for the content, its about a failed relationship and Fike musing on his early years geowing up in Florida and given how obnoxious he sounds on this sound, I don't blame the girl for leaving him because nooo, this song is not worth it. 

That was our week and geezus, I hope Bruno strikes in a big way to get ass like "White Keys" off the charts.

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 23rd February

So there have been some shifts on the chart this week that I did not see coming and some of them on the absolutely amazing side but let's set sail with the top ten because remaining at number one for a fourteenh week, it's "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean at number one, it's got massive streaming margins ahead of "So Easy (Tio Fall In Love)" also by Olivia Dean, she's still a dominant presence in the top ten right now.

Holding steady at number three is "Ordinary" by Alex Warren. Streaming and sales are mostly done with this song but Youtube is not letting this song go away. Rebounding one spot to number four is "Where is My Husband" by Raye (a song I am kind of sick of at this point, I wouldn't mind if it started to lose some traction)

Rising two to number five off the back of a sales boost is "Opalite" by Taylor Swift, we'll see how long the sales boost and traction from the video hold up because streaming is dine for this song, what's getting ready to move past it is "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean which climbed eight places to reach a new peak of number six, it pushed "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift back one to number seven.

"Homewrecker" by Sombr is the second new arrival to our top ten rising ten spots off its debut to number eight, this song is looking to be absolutely huge in the next few weeks. 

Holding steady at number nine is "Raindance" by Dave and Tems, tbe fact this song is still doing great on streaming is impressive to me. Finally in no surprise to anyone, "DtMF" by Bad Bunny fell six places to number six...I would be surprised if this song doesn't leave quickly.

Losers

"Yukon" bty Justin Bieber couldn't make much of it's return so it slipped thirteen places to fifty this week. 

"Baile Involidable" by Bad Bunny slipped seven places to number forty one while "Aperture" by Harry Styles contiinues to free fall down seven to twenty seven. 

Drop Outs

 Six drop outs this week and I am not complaining about any of these being gone with long running hits like "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter, "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen, "Gabriela" by Katseye and "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae gone

Also gone are "Fame is a Gun" by Addison Rae and "The Days (Notion Remix)" by Chrystal. Massive net win here!

 

Gaiuns

Not much in the way of gains outside the two already mentioned in the top ten. The biggest gain unfortunately comes from "Die On this Hill" by Sienna Spiro up six to twenty two sadly.

Re-Entries

Two returns this week, Ed Sheeran in the country at the moment meant that "Sapphire" returned at forty seven while "I've Seen It" by Olivia Dean made it's return for the third time at fifty. 

New Entries

Four new entries this week, lets start with...

45. "Sally, When the Wine Runs Out" by Role Model

So this finally turns up in the top 50, for those who are unaware, Role Model is a former rapper turned singer/songwriter hailing from the USA with this song released as a single in February last year and having some viral traction without ever really breaking through in Australia, this song got some renewed interest this past week thanks to Robert Irwin playing the role of Sally at Role Model's appearance at Laneway Festival in Perth and yeah this song has something of a charm that would net an audience over on Triple J with it's electric guitars and stompy bassAnother  as Role Model tells Sally that he'll buy her couple of drinks but begs her not to fall in love with him or to leave when the wine runs out only for him to realize that he is catching feelings for her. 

Definitely a cute summer song that I wouldn't mind sticking around. 

42. "IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay

Another new name on the charts this week in the form of nineteen year old Bella Kay, an American singer who was born in Texas but is now living in Florida with this song coming from her yet to be named second album and I am not sure how to feel about this one especially given the themes running in the lyrics where she is acknowledging that she is in a toxic and possibly abusive relationship but she loves it because the drama associated with such a horrifically bad relationship is giving her validation and a visceral thrill from all the drama of it even though she knows it's bad for her...now that 

Also this song feels very bare bones in the production with just an acoustic guitar and some backing vocals supporting Bella. I want to like this because we do need more guitar driven songs on the charts...check this out if you are curious but I am not going to be surprised if the content of this song gets some pushback. 

39. "Midnight Sun" by Zara Larsson

Oh I am not surprised to see this here what with the revisit Australia and the rest of the world seems to be giving Zara Larsson's music amidst this bizarre obsession with 2016 (2016 was a terrible year for the world in general), "Lush Life" would be in the top ten of this chart if it were not for ARIA"s new rules and with this song being the title track from Zara's album last year that was generally well recieved, I was curious.

Well turns out that Zara is playing into the Pink Pantheress lane of pop music with more than a few glances at Charli XCX's notes and that dtop into the chorus does feel very computer music but it's not terrible and I have heard worse. Decent song...that's about all I have to say about this one

33. "Be By You" by Luke Combs

So I cannot be the only one feeling a sense of trepidation over this new Luke Combs album that's coming next month, right? The singles for this album have at best been underwhelming to outright mediocre so I went into this song with some very limited expectations given the disappointment of the past singles nad much to my very welcome surprise, Combs swings back toward neo traditional country with this ballad dedicated to his wife and how he wants to spend every moment he can with her and their three children.

It's a pretty sweet love song that definitely works for Valentines Day hence why it chaeted. 

It's also tbe best song of the week. As for the worst...nothiing outright terrible here and I actually like all four to some degree...I think I am going to go with "IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay mostly because I do think the lack of pushback on some of the themes expressed in the song just don't sit well. 

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review 16th February

 We got a Spanish influx this week thanks to Bad Bunny and his performance at the Superbowl and as a result we mght see some interesting times ahead on the chart especially if Bad Bunny can challenge in the weeks ahead. although he isn't challenging Olviia Dean right now as "Man I Need" comfortably holds number one with bumper streaming. 

It held up over her second top ten hit "So Easy (To Fall In Love)" which remained at number two but it may well start coming under heat from songs below it in the weeks ahead. 

Why is "Ordinary" by Alex Warren back up two slots to number three? Australia, I thought we came to a mutual understanding that we were just going to let this song fade away gracefully? Hmph!

A new arrival in the top ten this week at number four, it's "DtMF" by Bad Bunny, now I will talk about this song later but it's here thanks to insane streaming following that Superbowl performan ce...there's a whole load of discourse going on right now that I kind of really don't want to get into because it involves a whole lot of stupid. 

The above did have the affect of pushing "Where is My Husband" by Raye back two places to number five and "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift also back two to number six.

Taylor also has one of the biggest gains of the week with "Opalite" up twenty spots to number seven but that was due to the release of the music video on streaming services Spotify and Apple Music. I doubt it's going to stick around and I honestly hope it doesn't. 

Sombr's new single is one we'll get to in the new entries however "12 to 12" is down two spots to number eight. "Raindance" by Dave and Tems remains steady at number nine. Finally "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters slipped two spots to be on the cusp of leaving the top ten at number ten.

Losers

So it was a rough week for a few older songs like "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen which collapsed eight spots to number forty six,. 

It was a rough week for Tate McRae with "Tit for Tat" down seven to forty three and "Sports Car" down nine to forty two. 

EsdeeKid's "4 Raws" got rawdogged down ten to forty while Olivia Dean's "Let Alone the One You Love" slipped seven to thirty six. Fred Again's "Victory Lap" with Skepta annd Plaqueboy Max slipped seven to thirty three,

"I Run" by HVN and Kaitlyn Aragon has not quite caught on in the same way so it's down ten to thirty two. 

"The Great Divide" by Noah Kahan had the biggest fall of the week down twelve to twenty seven...I do expect this song to recover though,

The fall of "Aperture" by Harry Styles continues, this week down eight to twenty. 

Drop Outs

So we have some big ones in this category with "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars and "Messy by Lola Young again departing.

More recent arrivals "Sleepless in a Hotel Room" by Luke Combs, "Folded" by Kehlani and "Chanel" by Tyla also took their exits.

Gains

Some of these gains just don't make any sense at all like "Good Luck, Babe!" by Chappell Roan up eight to thirty six and "Dracula" by Tame Impala up ten to twenty two although in the latter's case, it got a remix with Jennie so that explais that. 

Re-Entries

And that befuddlement remains because our one return is "Yukon" by Justin Bieber at  number thirty seven. HIs Grammys performance can't have been that good especiially when this song is one of the more underwhelming cuts on "SWAG"

New entries

We have four new entries this week with three of them being from Bad Bunny, let's begin with

34. "Baile Involidable" by Bad Bunny

So parsing my way through these Bad Bunny songs is going to be tough given I do not speak a word of Spanish but this is one of my favourites from the album with it's thumping dancefloor ready grooves and Bad Bunny rapping about a past love who clearly left her mark on him. the relationship fleeting but beautiful and that no one compares to her and he realizes he was the one who so stupidly threw that good thing away. Good song. Glad that's it is here. 

25. "Nuevayol" by Bad Bunny

One of the songs that explores one of the biggest themes of the album from Bad Bunny and it's a song that vividly celebrates Latin American culture especially Bad Bunny's home of Puerto Rico in New York City and how the latino/latinx culture plays out in a city like New York. It's definitely a fun jam even it's in political subtext (fighting for immigrants and against modertnisation). I just wish I liked this as much as "Baile Involidable" but I do appreciate what it's going for. 

18. "Homewrecker by Sombr

Was not expecting a brand new Sombr song but from everything I have been seeing on social media, people have ebeen rushing to praise this song even people I respect so what did we get? Yeah, this is a great song even if yet again its about a relationship gone wrong except this time the morality is framed as him having cheated on her which actually makes the song even more interesting. I just wish the hook didn't sound so weird but otherwise, I'm taking this. 

4. "DtMF" by Bad Bunny

Now to end the week with the album title track and this one is actualy a really sad and kind of profound track where Bad Bunny regrets not taking more photos of special moments in his life especially moments with family and friends who have died. It's also a rather sweet celebration of Puerto Rican culture but definitely more restrained. Sweet song and Benito, keep celebrating Latino/latinx cuture loud and proud. 

That ends our week on a somber note. I'm scrapping worst of the week because nothing here is worth that. I'm giving a tie for best of the week to "DtMF" by Bad Bunny and "Homewrecker" by Sombr. Fuck ICE.

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: 9th February

 So look, the Grammys happened this week and it kind of explains a lot of what happened here. Olivia Dean now has a duopoly at the very pointy end of the chart with "Man I Need" holding strong at number onem, it's not giving up it's streaming lead any time soon, the margins were a little too much for Dean's other major smash "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" which jumped two spots to number two thanks to gains on streaming. 

Raye's "Where Is My Husband" remains steady at number three while "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift rebounded one spot to number foour. 

Alex Warren also rebounded but just five places up to number five, I am ready for this song to disappear. Sombr's got "Homewrecker" coming to the chart soon but for now "12 to 12" continues to hang on in the top ten up three spots to six (it's original peak).

The virality of "End of Beginning" by Djo is beginning to fade so it's down one to number seven. "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunter remains at number eight. 

"Raindance" by Dave and Tems  returns to the top ten up two to number nine while "No Broke Boys" bu Disco Lines and Tinashe slumped three places to number ten...please we can end this song's time on the chart sooner rather than later. 

Losers

Now you may have noticed that there was no mention of Harry Styles song "Aperture' in that top ten, that is because the song tumbled ten spots to twelve...this song is NOT going to stick around, its losing momentum on streaming. Another single is going to have to come if they are going to save this album cycle at this rate. 

"I Run" by HVN and Kaitlyn Aragon down seven to twenty one while :"Victory Lap" by Fred Again, Skepta and PlaqueboyMax down ten slots to twenty six. 

"The Days (Notion Remix)" by Chrystal slipped eight spots to forty two while "Fame is a Gun" by Addison Rae slumped eight to forty seven.

Finally the biggest loser of the week is Tyla's "Chanel" which is on the way out down twelve to fifty

Drop Outs

Drop outs were "Dancing 2" by Keli Holiday and 'Phantoms" by EsdeeKid and Rico Ace

Gains

Look, I am going to pin the thirteen place gain to thirty four for "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter to a boost after the Grammys because otherwise I am bewildered at the massive gain for this song...I am done with it!

Outside of that, there no other major gains this week although "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean is up four places to sixteen. 

Re-Entries

Grannys also likely responsible for the return of Lola Young's "Messy" at forty five

New Entries

One new entry this week, let's dive into...

15. "The Great Divide" by Noah Kahan

Okay, Noah Kahan is somebody I respect more than I like. "Stick Season" is okay and I do think he is a better collaborator than anything he has done solo so I haf low expectations for this song which is the lead single from his upcoming album and yeah, this might be the first song from Kahan that I actually like but it's mostly for the subject matter of the song where he is with this person who is desperately trying to find relief and escape from trouble be it an addiction or family trouble but in a reckless way and Kahan's there as the helpless passenger trying to remind this person that they have so much stil to live for without doing all the reckless things they are doing eg: getting married, finding joy in the mundane little moments. I do like that this song sounds like it could push into heartland rock if it wanted to as well. I'll take this. 

That wraps our week. No best or worst this week as we only had the one song. Nrxt week...Sombr and a shit tonne of Bad Bunny...

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 2nd February

 So let's rip and tear into this week on the ARIA singles chart because yeah, we finally saw some real change in the top ten just not at number one where for yet another week, Olivia Dean's "Man I Need" ruled the roost, it's got streaming on board hard where it got boosted alongside its sales thanks to the impact of Triple J's Hottest 100 ( a common story for a lot of what we saw on the chart this week).

It held up over a new entry at number two...yep, it's "Aperture" by Harry Styles which had a strong start on sales and streaming but tumbled backwards during the week, we'll discuss why in the new entries a bit later. 

"Where is My Husband" by Raye held firm at number three while "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean rebounded two spots to number four. 

Songs like "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift suffered a three place fall to number five as it did not benefit from placement on the Hottest 100, the same applies to "End of Beginning" by Djo which slipped two places to number six. 

"No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinashe climbed two spots to number seven thanks to it's placement in the top ten of the Hottest 100 while "Golden" by K-Pop Demon Hunters slumped three places to number eight.

"12 to 12" by Sombr got a two place rebound back into the top ten up to number nine. It's really obvious what made the Hottest 100 and what wasn't shortlisted or voted in just by what gained or lost this week)

Finally "Ordinary" by Alex Warren slipped three places to number ten and at this point, I have to kind of hope people are done with this song.

Losers

It was a rough week for EsDeeKid with "Phantom" featuring Rico Ace down ten to fifty while "4 Raws" slumped ten to thirty one. 

Luke Combs suffered continued losses with "Sleepless in a Hotel Room" slumping thirteen spots to forty four. 

Finally "Opalite" by Taylor Swift could do with a boost from a music video sometime soon because it's down seven to twenty two. 

Drop Outs

You won't find me complaining too hard about the drop outs this week because we finally saw the permanent exit of "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone to the On Replay singles chart. Good fucking riddance.

Also gone are "Soda Pop" from K-Pop Demon Hunters and "Messy" by Lola Young, both have had very good runs on the chart...I'm fine with them both being gone.

The only one I am bit unhappy about is the exit of "Plastic Cigarette" by Zach Bryan

Gains

Again these big gains were fuelled by Hottest 100 so we had "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean up nine to break the top twenty at twenty! I am so happy to see this becoming a genuine hit.

"Victory Lap" by Fred, Again, Skepta and Plaqueboy Max up eleven spots to sixteen.

Re-Entries

Two returns this week with neither song being all that good, "Fame is a Gun" by Addison Rae back at thirty nine and "Dracula" by Tame Impala somehow back at twenty six.

New Entries

Two new entries this week, starting with...

24. "Dancing 2" by Keli Holiday

So Keli Holiday is actually just a psuedo name for Adam Hyde who is one half of Australian electronic duo Peking Duk with this song written about his unexpected connection and love...radio star Abbie Chatfield and yeah, I am going to lie I like it...A LOT, it's a song that just hits in all the right places even if I think there's some Gang of Youths "Angel in Real Time" vibes going here but it works to the song's favour because Holiday is absolutely selling the shit out of this song, he has found that connection and joy in his life and it's felt in the way the strings played high and happy singing the praises of love found. Pretty good song...hope it sticks around. 

2. "Aperture" by Harry Styles

So the big new single from Harry Styles, the first from his new album "Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally" (horribly clunky and honestly terrible album title) and I will admit some curiosity...I was hoping Harry would lean back into the more rock sound from his self titled debut but instead what we got was a electronic song that honestly is incredibly underwhelming in a number of ways, for one thing, where's a defiantly memorable melody to this, it's full of buzzy noises that just lead to nothing....what is Kid Harpoon doing on the production here? Then there's the writing which again, it's giving nothing memorable for me to grip onto or a reason to go back to this song.

If Harry wants to make electronic music, can he actually work with producers who understand electronica? Maybe Calvin Harris or someone becauxe this song does not work for me whatsoever.

Yeah, easy worst of the week for "Aperture" by Harry Styles. Best of the week is easily going to "Dancing 2" by Keli Holiday. I hope "Aperture" does not stick around, that song is really disappointing coming from Harry. Next week...I suspect Noah Kahan but otherwise we could be in for a quiet week...oh wait...the Grammys are on on Monday afternoon.

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: January 19th.

We have quite the interesting week here, four new entries as 2026 gets going in earnest but where it's not really getting going is in the top ten where for a ninth week, "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean sits pretty at number one. It's still a streaming behemoth and sales remain decent. Youtube really isn't much of a factor at this point.

"The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift is is hanging on at number two even as it's streaming and sales are falling away, it's being thratened by stronger songs around it more than posing a threat to our current number one, that threat is coming from "End Of Beginning" by Djo up one to number three, it's got streaming on side and it looks a strong player to take the number one. 

It finally pushed "Golden" by K-Pop Demon Hunters back one spot to number four, it's going to slowly move down which is a shame because I am sick to death of it. 

Hopefully it will mean "So Easy (To Fall in Love" by Olivia Dean can continue it's rise, it climbed two spots up to number five. Raye's "Where Is my Husband" fell back one place to number six and "Ordinary" by Alex Warren slipped back to number seven. 

"No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinashe remains at number eight and "12 to 12" by Sombr is glued to number nine for another week. 

Rising eight off it's debut to number ten is "Raindance" by Dave feat. Tems.

Losers

So a bunch of older hits lost ground big time this week which is nice to see so let's begin with "Soda Pop" from K-Pop Demon Hunters going flat down eleven to forty six. 

"Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter fnally going cold down twelve to forty five. "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter is giving up down thirteen to forty three. 

"APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars slumped twelve to thirty eight. 

Drop Outs

Glad to see "Internet Girl" by Katseye gone along with "Mystical Magaical" by Benson Boone and "What it Sounds" like from K-Pop Demon Hunters.Also taking it's exit is "I've Seen It" by Olivia Dean. 

Gains

Already mentioned "Raindance" by Dave and Tems entering the top ten but that wasn't the biggest gain of the week that belonged to "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley as it jumped sixteen places off it's debut to thirty while in great news "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean climbed nine spots to thirty one (My hope is that this song just rules 2026). 

The only other major gain is EsDeeKid's "4 Raws" bouncing up six spot to twenty two.

New Entries

Four new entries this week beginning with...

48. "Think About Us" by Sonny Fodera, D.O.D and Poppy Baskcomb

Yay for Australian artist in the top 50 for a change, its nice to see Sonny Fodera here and "Somedays" is still a terrific song that keeps getting better with every subsequent listen, I also say this because I don't think this song is as good as "Somedays" mostly because the production feels more jarring, blocky and leaves me feeling that the synthetic nature of the production takes away from the impact of the lyrics which is asking this other person that when he or she is touching another man or woman are they thinking about the relationship they have with the singer which reminds me way too much of that Morgan Wallen song "Think About Me" so...nooo. 

29. "Die on This Hill" by Sienna Spiro

Sienna Spiro is a British singer-songwriter that had a break out year in the UK in 2025, now she's landed her first song on the Australian charts and sadly I don't really care for this at at all, it's this sparse piano ballad where Spiro sings about her partner being stubborn and all "I don't give a fuck" but can't let the relationship go because "letting go would feel worse" which cannot be more of a god damn toxic ass sentiment, she KNOWS the relationship is not healthy but is staying in it for what reason? The sex is good? Yeah no...ew.  

19. "Sleepless in a Hotel Room" by Luke Combs

Just me or are the singles for this upcoming new album from Luke Combs been kind of a let down? "Back in the Saddle" was okay as was "Giving Her Away" and now we've got this and...yeah again, it's fine but it just kind of falls flat for me. Combs is alone on tour, unable to sleep and is missing his wife, it's a sweet sentiment but the issue here is that the production is missing something...it feels less homespun and cold (which I admit is probably the point given the subject matter of the song) but why does it feel like Combs voice has a filter on it? It sounds strange considering Combs has one of the best belting voices in country.

11. "I Just Might" by Bruno Mars

Finally, we have to deal with Bruno Mars first solo lead single since 2016. "I Just Might" is the lead single for Msrs new album "The Romantic" out late next month and while this does feel very safe coming from Bruno Mars, it does feel like a good bridge from the sound of Silk Sonic to whatever Bruno has in store on "The Romantic" and this is just pure silly pop fun that Bruno does best. The production is tight, funky and Bruno sounds like he is having a good time.

It's running away with the best of the week. Worst of the week goes to "Die on this Hill" by Sienna Spiro. 

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 12th January

 So 2026 is finally starting to gain some rhythm and with that new Bruno Mars single coming next week, we're about to see some movement at the top which is good because yet again...the very top of the chart remains unchanged with "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean remaining at number one for yet another week, 

It held strong on streaming over both "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift at number and "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters even though both are nowing pretty much done on streaming at this point. 

This means "End of Beginning" by Djo looks to be the competitor for number one as it jumped ten spots to number four and is one of the biggest gainers of the week, it's got a strong presence on streaming and really just needs another push to get it to number one. Now bare in mind, it's only on the chart because of going viral and will only chart for a further eight weeks so if it's going to get that number one, it had better make it's move soon. 

Rising one place to number five is "Where is my Husband?" by RAYE although that could be due to "Ordinary' by" Alex Warren finally weakening enough to slip two places to number six. 

The second of Olivia Dean's three songs in the top ten "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" remains steady at number seen while "No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinashe slumped three spots to number eight while Sombr's "12 to 12" slipped one to number nine.

Also down one is "Nice to Each Other" by Olvia Dean to number ten which rounds out our top ten. 

Losers

"Dracula" by Tame Impala finally looks to be on the way out down ten to forty seven while Tate McRae's "Tit for Tat" down ten to thirty eight while "Die with a Smile" slumped eight to thirty seven for Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. 

K-Pop Demon Hunters also took a hit with "Soda Pop" down nine to thirty five. . 

Drop Outs

So we lost four songs this week with K-Pop Demon Hunters seeing the exits of "Your Idol" and "How It's Done", they took "Bad Dreams" by Teddy Swims and "Too Sweet" by Hozier with them. 

Gains

So I mentioned Djo having the biggest gain the week up ten to number four but we also saw "Sports Car" by Tate McRae up eight to thirty six and "Baby Steps" by Olivia Dean also up eight to twenty five.

Re-Entries

Just one return which is "I've Seen It' by Olivia Dean at number fifty.

 New Entries

Three new entries this week, starting with...

46. "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley

I was not expecting to see tong here but I guess it's cross over was inevitable given how much it has blown up in the US with it being at number five at the Billboard Hot 100 but anyway Ella Langley is a American country artist who has seen some success in the US mostly due to collabs with fellow country artist Riley Green however this is Langley's big breakout hit that was in part co written and produced with fellow country stat Miranda Lambert and well...if neo traditional country found a way to break into the mainstream this is certainly the way to do it with a steel guitar driving song about a couple where she's from Tennessee and he is from Texas, they go and visit Texas and suddenly he realizes that his heart belongs in Texas and she realizes that she cannot deny him being where his heart belongs and that while she is heart broken, she understands that his first love is home which is in Texas. Damn good song, chec it out. 

45. "Internet Girl" by Katseye

Another round with Katseye and look...I still have pretty vehement dislike of "Gabriela" and I was dreading the release of this single and it turned out that going into this with a lot of trepidation might have been the best way to go because this wound up being akin to audio torture to listen to, it just sounds incredibly unpleasant from start to finish with the obnoxious delivery of "Haven't you heard? I'm the internet girl" to that overtly processed "Eat zucchini" which reminded me in the worst way of Onision's "I'm a Banana"! This is one of the worst songs I have heard in some time and I will be very glad when it leaves the charts. 

18. "Raindance" by Dave feat. Tems.

Look, I have a feeling this going to become a huge hit given it's rise on streaming and the subject matter so nothing I say here is going to matter even if I actually don't mind the song and think it's kind of sweet even with Dave brand name dropping on the first verse but the sentiments he expressed toward this girl are incredibly cute however the start of the show on this song is Tems, she sells that hook so hard that she made me believe that she is so desperately in love with this guy and when you combine it with the Afrobeat production...I get why people are liking this.

However it's not best of the week, that's going to "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley. Worst of the week allso no contest with that going to "Internet Girl" by Kateye.

ARIA Singles top 50 Chart Review: 5th January

 Another quiet week on the ARIA singles chart with there being no new entries so let's just get right into the top ten because "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean consolidated it's hold on the number one slot and really its only strengthened it's hold on streaming, its sales are good and Youtube while not great...is fine.

The top four remains the same with "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift at number two (it's not going back to number as it's streaming is starting to slide, "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters at number three and "Ordinary" by Alex Warren at number four.

Streaming isn't letting go of the utterly annoying now "No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines feat. Tinashe which climbed two spots to rebound to number five. Raye's search for a husband on "Where is My Husband" held steady at number six while "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean slipped two spots to number seven.

Holding station are "12 to 12" by Sombr at number eight and "Nice to Each Other" by Olivia Dean at number nine.

Finally Sombr's "Back to Friends" is back to the top ten rising one spot to number ten.

Losers

 Olivia Dean's "Let Alone the One You Love slipped eight spots to thirty nine and "Baby Steps" to thirty three while it was the same for "4 Raws" by EsDeeKid which slipped eight spots off it's debut to thirty six. 

Drop Outs

The drop outs were three of the four songs that debuted last week with "It Feels Like Christmas" by Fall Out Boy, "I've Seen it" by Olivia Dean and "Century" by EsDeekid all gone.

Gains

The big gains are all for past hits with "Espresso" up sixteen to twenty seven and "Manchild" up eleven to twrnty four both for Sabrina Carpenter.

"APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars rebounded ten spots to number twenty two. Kehlani's "Folded" is up six to thirty eight which is a new peak for that song.

Re-Entries

Three returns this week and it's a shame I don't really care for any of them with "How It's Done" from K-Pop Demon Hunters back at fifty. "Mystical Magical" by Benson Boone mystically magically pissing me off by returning at forty eight and finally a song that I can only assume got an exception from ARIA to chart under it's new rules due to it going viral. "End of Beginning" by Djo at number fourteen probably due to Djo being in Stranger Things.

So with there being no new entries, that ends the week. Pretty slow way to start off 2026 but with Zach Bryan, Bruno Mars and The Kid Laroi releasing new music on Friday, the chart action might be about to fire up.