Well it was coming, this is the week, the latest single from the new Ariana Grande album 'Thank U. Next" hit the charts and surprise, surprise, it's in straight at number 1 and when you add another song arriving in the top ten along with other songs debuting further down the chart, it was a busy week.
So let's get to that top ten and yes, like I mentioned Ariana Geande has her third Australian number one with "7 Rings" largely all due to the fact that she and her management have managed to come up with a release strategy that make every release seem like a massive event and with streaming numbers and the upcoming album drop, I expect this song to be number one for awhile despite the fact it is pretty damn awful (Ariana sounds terrible over trap music) and considered to be the worst song of her career.
The arrival of "7 Rings" pushed the better of the trap leaning songs, "Sunflower" by Post Malone and Swae Lee back to number two. It's still pretty strong but its getting blown away on streaming by "7 Rings"
It also pushed "Sweet but Psycho" by Ava Max to number 3, (her new single is due out in February by the way), Halsey's "Without Me" back to number 4, "Wow" by Post Malone back to number 5 and Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next' back to number 6.
Mercifully the rest of the top ten looks better than most of the first half with "Nothing Breaks Like A Heart" by Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus riding strong digital sales to rebound to number 7. "Shotgun" by George Ezra continues on it's way out gracefully down two places to number eight while "Eastside" by Benny Blanco feat. Halsey and Khalid is also down two places to number 9.
Finally a much welcome arrival to the top ten is "Dancing With a Stranger" by Sam Smith and Normani which climbed nine places to number ten...so happy about this one as it's an excellent song.
Gains
However despite the strong gain for "Dancing With a Stranger", it wasn't the biggest new arrival last week gaining traction with "Giant" by Calvin Harris feat. Rag 'n' Bone Man up 19 places to 28.
The only other major gain was for "3 Nights" by Dominic fike which jumped from 42 to 38....lovely, as that song is unadulterated garbage.
Re-Entry
What isn't garbage though is the one re-entry to the ARIA top 50 with "Before I Go" by Guy Sebastian back at 48. Now Australia, let's make it a HIT.
Losers
No surprise the biggest loser this week was "Imagine" by Ariana Grande which fell ten places to 49, it is only a promotional single and will probably rebound whenthe album is released.
"Perfect" by Ed Sheeran finally appears to be on the way out after 80 weeks on the chart after it fell from 41 to 47 (thank goodness). Anne Marie's '2002" dropped six places to 50.
It was also good to see utter crap like "Mo Bamba" by Sheck Wes dropped four places to 44. and awful bro country like "Day Drunk" by Morgan Evans dropped from 34 to 41, "In My mind" by Dynoro fell six places to 30 and "Love Someone" by Lukas Graham fell to 29 from 23.
Sadly, the hype from the film fading means Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" is down from 37 to 45.
Also on the sad side of things, Billie Eilish's "When the Party is over" slid from 26 to 31
Drop Outs
Not a lot to complain about here because of the 5 drop outs, four are utter crap.with 2017 crap like "Rockstar" by Post Malone and 21 Savage gone along with "I Fall Apart" also by Post Malone gone taking with it "Arms Around You" by XXXTentacion feat. Lil Pump, Maluma and Swae Lee and "This Feeling" by The Chainsmokers feat. Kelsea Ballerini,
The only song that was any good that left was "Lovely" by Billie Eilish and Khalid
New Entries
Apart from "7 Rings" by Ariana Grande entering at number one. "7 Minutes" by Dean Lewis ws the second biggest debut of the week at number 16.
5 Secomds of Summer's "Lie to Me" enters at 42 and "Hope by The Chainsmokers feat. Winona Oak arrives at 43.
I have no idea what to expect next week given there's usually some big gains following the Hoptttest 100. Pretty confident the number one from that countdown should enter the chart along with the new song for Dua Lipa but we'll find out on Saturday at 5pm AEDT.
Thursday 31 January 2019
Charting 1996: January 28th 1996. A much calmer week thankfully.
We got a much calmer week this week with a couple of new entries and a couple of songs looking like they may well bust their way into the top ten in the weeks ahead.
But yes for a second week, "Jesus to a Child" by George Michael is the number one song and while it doesn't have any challengers at the moment, it will be looking over its shoulder at a song that's just out of the top ten at the moment....
That challenge isn't going to come from Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's collab "One Sweet Day" which held on at number two
On their way toward maybe challenging for number one are the excruiating "Be My Lover" by La Bouche which wentt up two places to number three.and the pretty good "Wonderwall" by Oasis jumping three places to number 4.
"Boom Boom Boom" by The Outhere Brothers dropped two places to number 5.
Tracy Chapman's excellent "Give Me One Reason" rose two places to number six, it could well be a top 5 hit.
The receding former number one "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio feat. L.V. continues its way down as it slipped to umber 7.
CDB are the lone Aussie act inside the top ten with "Let's Groove" down four places to number 8.
There's a new arrival to the top ten with "Tell Me" by Groove Theory rising five places to number 9.
Finally Swoop's "Apple Eyes" lowered down to number ten.
Gains
If there is a song that is looking like a challenger for number one than it has got to be "Boombastic" by Shaggy which exploded from 37 to number 11 this week. It was a good week for Shaggy with "In the Summertime' feat. Rayvon breaking into the top 20 at 144 up 7 places.
Deep Blue Something has found something at Tiffany's because "Breakfast at Tiffany's" gobbled up ten places up to 20.
TLC isn't just digging on their man but they are digging their way up the charts with a nine place climb to 27 for "Diggin' On You"
Also making a big climb was "Fee Fi Fo Fum" by Candy Girls feat. Sweet Pussy Pauline. which broke into the top 30 at 29 thanks to a ten place climb
"Til You Do Me Right" by After 7 leapt from 49 to 37.
We also had the M People's awful cover of "Itchycoo Park" break into the top 40 as it climbed from 41 to 36...
Re Entries
We got a cluster of re-entries this week as Enya's "Anywhere" returned at 45, "I Luv U Baby" by The Original is back at 48 and Oasis also returned with "Morning Glory" at 49
Losers
Sadly we're losing "Runaway' by Janet Jackson as it fell 12 places to 50...don't worry there's still some Janet to talk about.
Sophie B Hawkins "As I Lay Me down" slipped hard from 31 to 43. Ouch.
Peter Andre's collab with Bubbler Ranx "Mysterious Girl" slipped from 42 to 35.
"My Friends" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers fell from 29 to 38. It also wasn't a great week for Michael Jackson with the underwhelming "Earth Song" slipping hard to 32 from 23.
Finally "Lie to Me" by Bon Jovi stumbled nine places to 35.
New Entries
The lone new entry this week was "Twenty Foreplay" by Janet Jackson debuting at 34
So I get the feeling we could be seeing a new number one soon. Find out next week.
But yes for a second week, "Jesus to a Child" by George Michael is the number one song and while it doesn't have any challengers at the moment, it will be looking over its shoulder at a song that's just out of the top ten at the moment....
That challenge isn't going to come from Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's collab "One Sweet Day" which held on at number two
On their way toward maybe challenging for number one are the excruiating "Be My Lover" by La Bouche which wentt up two places to number three.and the pretty good "Wonderwall" by Oasis jumping three places to number 4.
"Boom Boom Boom" by The Outhere Brothers dropped two places to number 5.
Tracy Chapman's excellent "Give Me One Reason" rose two places to number six, it could well be a top 5 hit.
The receding former number one "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio feat. L.V. continues its way down as it slipped to umber 7.
CDB are the lone Aussie act inside the top ten with "Let's Groove" down four places to number 8.
There's a new arrival to the top ten with "Tell Me" by Groove Theory rising five places to number 9.
Finally Swoop's "Apple Eyes" lowered down to number ten.
Gains
If there is a song that is looking like a challenger for number one than it has got to be "Boombastic" by Shaggy which exploded from 37 to number 11 this week. It was a good week for Shaggy with "In the Summertime' feat. Rayvon breaking into the top 20 at 144 up 7 places.
Deep Blue Something has found something at Tiffany's because "Breakfast at Tiffany's" gobbled up ten places up to 20.
TLC isn't just digging on their man but they are digging their way up the charts with a nine place climb to 27 for "Diggin' On You"
Also making a big climb was "Fee Fi Fo Fum" by Candy Girls feat. Sweet Pussy Pauline. which broke into the top 30 at 29 thanks to a ten place climb
"Til You Do Me Right" by After 7 leapt from 49 to 37.
We also had the M People's awful cover of "Itchycoo Park" break into the top 40 as it climbed from 41 to 36...
Re Entries
We got a cluster of re-entries this week as Enya's "Anywhere" returned at 45, "I Luv U Baby" by The Original is back at 48 and Oasis also returned with "Morning Glory" at 49
Losers
Sadly we're losing "Runaway' by Janet Jackson as it fell 12 places to 50...don't worry there's still some Janet to talk about.
Sophie B Hawkins "As I Lay Me down" slipped hard from 31 to 43. Ouch.
Peter Andre's collab with Bubbler Ranx "Mysterious Girl" slipped from 42 to 35.
"My Friends" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers fell from 29 to 38. It also wasn't a great week for Michael Jackson with the underwhelming "Earth Song" slipping hard to 32 from 23.
Finally "Lie to Me" by Bon Jovi stumbled nine places to 35.
New Entries
The lone new entry this week was "Twenty Foreplay" by Janet Jackson debuting at 34
So I get the feeling we could be seeing a new number one soon. Find out next week.
Tuesday 22 January 2019
ARIA singles top ten/Chart Review: 21st January 2019: New entries dominate a rather stagnant week
This week was pretty stagnant or at least quiet with there being barely any changes to the top ten and muted moves up and down the chart, the quiet had been coming for awhile as the year music wise has gotten off to a rather slow start but with some new songs coming, I am expecting some big changes to our top ten sooner rather than later but speaking of which lets begin with the least interesting part of this week...the top ten where "Sunflower" by Post Malone feat. Swae Lee remains at number one for a third week and you know? I am fine with it, I don't mind the song but wow, it's got some hot competition coming and I don't necessarily mean from what is below it...if you saw what was released on Friday, you'll know who I mean.
"Sweet But Psycho" by Ava Max remains at number two but honestly I don't see this getting to number one, its falling back on streaming and while digital sales are still good, it's eventually going to start getting bumped back by stronger songs.
"Without Me" by Halsey spends another week at number three and frankly the longer we stall this song out the better as it is not a good song and unlike "Sweet but Psycho", it's streaming is good but digital sales are an issue for it down the track.
Post Malone's second entry "Wow" remains at number four but I don't see this song going anywhere soon, it's streaming is excellent even with the new arrivals next week, it should hang onto it's spot in the top 5.
Former number one "Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande remains at number 5, it will get a boost from the new single "7 Rings" and the impending allegedly being released on February 8 but all of that remains to be seen. Pre orders apparently on Friday.
George Ezra continues to ride "Shotgun" at number six, it's leaving slowly but gracefully however with the song being in a recent banking ad, I kind of expect this to hang around which is fine with me, it's one of the better songs in the top 10.
"Eastside" by Benny Blanco feat. Halsey and Khalid made the only move up inside the top 10 as it moved past "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper to number 7 pushing "Shallow" back to number 8.
Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus continues it's stay at number nine with "Nothing Breaks Like A Heart", it sits at number 2 in the UK behind Ava Max's "Sweet but Psycho"
Unfortunately chart clogger "Sicko Mode" by Travis Scott and Drake remains at number 10. I'd like to see this song gone sooner rather than later as it isn't a good one.
Gains
Look I am going to keep this short this week as there wasn't much that gained a lot of places this week with "Saturday Night" by Khalid climbing up from 32 to 29. Yeah..that's the kind of week it was.
Losers
Ariana Grande suffered the biggest loss of the week with promo single "Imagine" down ten to 39.
Morgan Evans "Day Drunk" dropped six places to 34 while Jonas Blue feat. Jack and Jack dropped five places to 35 with "Rise"
Drop Outs
Not much of note here but really really disappointing that Guy Sebastian's "Before I Go" exited after a mere week in the top 50. Really, Australia?
The other three songs that dropped are all crap from 2018 and 2019 that re-entered the chart last week those being "Lucid Dreams" by Juice WRLD, "God's Plan" by Drake and "Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign.
New Entries
"Dancing With A Stranger" by Sam Smith and Normani is the biggest new entry of the week at number 19. I expect this song will be a top ten hit.
A song I like but with its content being a bit questionable, "Lost in the Fire" by Gesaffelstein and The Weeknd entering at number 25, a song that will probably be a hit especially given the well publicised diss of Drake.
New at 42 is "3 Nights" by Dominc Fike, a song that by any margin is pretty damn awful and shouldn't be a hit even with the good production which is absolutely wasted.
Finally a song I really don't care all that much for is "Giant" by Calvin Harris feat. Rag 'N' Bone Man entering at number 47.
So yeah that wraps up this week and I got a feeling despite this week being slow, we're in for a few big changes especially in the top ten but we'll see what happens on Saturday at 5pm AEDT.
"Sweet But Psycho" by Ava Max remains at number two but honestly I don't see this getting to number one, its falling back on streaming and while digital sales are still good, it's eventually going to start getting bumped back by stronger songs.
"Without Me" by Halsey spends another week at number three and frankly the longer we stall this song out the better as it is not a good song and unlike "Sweet but Psycho", it's streaming is good but digital sales are an issue for it down the track.
Post Malone's second entry "Wow" remains at number four but I don't see this song going anywhere soon, it's streaming is excellent even with the new arrivals next week, it should hang onto it's spot in the top 5.
Former number one "Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande remains at number 5, it will get a boost from the new single "7 Rings" and the impending allegedly being released on February 8 but all of that remains to be seen. Pre orders apparently on Friday.
George Ezra continues to ride "Shotgun" at number six, it's leaving slowly but gracefully however with the song being in a recent banking ad, I kind of expect this to hang around which is fine with me, it's one of the better songs in the top 10.
"Eastside" by Benny Blanco feat. Halsey and Khalid made the only move up inside the top 10 as it moved past "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper to number 7 pushing "Shallow" back to number 8.
Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus continues it's stay at number nine with "Nothing Breaks Like A Heart", it sits at number 2 in the UK behind Ava Max's "Sweet but Psycho"
Unfortunately chart clogger "Sicko Mode" by Travis Scott and Drake remains at number 10. I'd like to see this song gone sooner rather than later as it isn't a good one.
Gains
Look I am going to keep this short this week as there wasn't much that gained a lot of places this week with "Saturday Night" by Khalid climbing up from 32 to 29. Yeah..that's the kind of week it was.
Losers
Ariana Grande suffered the biggest loss of the week with promo single "Imagine" down ten to 39.
Morgan Evans "Day Drunk" dropped six places to 34 while Jonas Blue feat. Jack and Jack dropped five places to 35 with "Rise"
Drop Outs
Not much of note here but really really disappointing that Guy Sebastian's "Before I Go" exited after a mere week in the top 50. Really, Australia?
The other three songs that dropped are all crap from 2018 and 2019 that re-entered the chart last week those being "Lucid Dreams" by Juice WRLD, "God's Plan" by Drake and "Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign.
New Entries
"Dancing With A Stranger" by Sam Smith and Normani is the biggest new entry of the week at number 19. I expect this song will be a top ten hit.
A song I like but with its content being a bit questionable, "Lost in the Fire" by Gesaffelstein and The Weeknd entering at number 25, a song that will probably be a hit especially given the well publicised diss of Drake.
New at 42 is "3 Nights" by Dominc Fike, a song that by any margin is pretty damn awful and shouldn't be a hit even with the good production which is absolutely wasted.
Finally a song I really don't care all that much for is "Giant" by Calvin Harris feat. Rag 'N' Bone Man entering at number 47.
So yeah that wraps up this week and I got a feeling despite this week being slow, we're in for a few big changes especially in the top ten but we'll see what happens on Saturday at 5pm AEDT.
Charting 1996: 21st January 1996. New number one as the chart goes crazy
Can't say this week's chart isn't boring. WOW. We got big swathes of change in the top ten including a new entry straight in at number one and a heap of new entries lower down the chart but let's not muck around and get to that new number one.
That new number one is "Jesus to a Child" by George Michael, it's George's third solo number one in Australia.
We also have a new number two with Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men having "One Sweet Day
The Outhere Brothers "Boom Boom Boom" down to number 3.
CDB are grooving their way down one to number four.
La Bouche's "Be My Lover" are one of the few songs to stay where it is at number 5. Not a fan of this song at all, it's probably the worst of the songs in the top 5.
Finally, we reach last week's niumber one "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio feat. L.V. at number 6, a five place tumble as finally sales slowed right down and other songs moved past it.
Oasis moved deeper into the top ten jumping three places with "Wonderwall" - a pretty terrific song.
Arriving in the top ten is Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason" made a massive climb from 15 to 8.
Swoop's 'Apple Eyes" also made a jump although not quite as big with "Apple Eyes" up from 11 to number 9.
Rounding out the top ten is Deni Hines "It's Alright" which fell three places to number ten.
Gains
Monica's "Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)" had one of dem weeks by moving up from 33 to 27 right behind it is "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)" by M.C. Sar and the Real McCoy saw people hear the call for love so much so it jumped from 35 to 28.
Bjork quietly jumped from 39 to 33 with "Its Oh So Quiet" off it's debut last week.
Losers
So yeah the losers are a long list and we'll start number 50 where Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" slipped 7 places. Darn.
Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" dropped ten places to 48.
It wasn't so good a week for Tina Arena's "Wasn't It Good" dropped hard from 31 to 45. Not surprising, Tina is capable of better tbh.
The Beatles also dropped hard with "Free as a Bird down hard from 29 to 43.
The charts aren't proving to heaven for Queen with "Heaven for Everyone down ten places to 44.
Also big drops for Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone" (down from 32 to 40) and Pearl Jam's "Merkinball (EP)"
New Entries
Holy shit, we got a wave of a new entries this week and we start with a song that I actually kind of like, it's Deep Blue Something with "Breakfast At Tiffany's" (yeah I know but come on the song has a fantastic chorus).
TLC arrives at 36 with "Diggin' on You" (it's okay, a smooth song that works in the background)
Following right behind it is Shaggy's second song on the chart this week with "Boombastic" arriving at 37 (honestly, am not a fan of this song at all. Sorry).
"Fee Fi Fo Fum" by Candy Girls feat. Sweet Pussy Pauline arrives at 39 (a song that I really don't care about at all)
At nunmber 41 is M People's cover of the Small Faces 1966 hit "Itchycoo Park" at number 41 (Really, Australia, really?)
LL Cool J's "Hey Lover" debuts at 46, Coolio is trying for a 2nd hit with "Too Hot" debuting at 47 and finally After 7 is the last of the debuts with "Til You Do Me Right"
That wraps up the week and wow, it was busy, looking forward to seeing if George Michael can hold onto that number one spot next week,
That new number one is "Jesus to a Child" by George Michael, it's George's third solo number one in Australia.
We also have a new number two with Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men having "One Sweet Day
The Outhere Brothers "Boom Boom Boom" down to number 3.
CDB are grooving their way down one to number four.
La Bouche's "Be My Lover" are one of the few songs to stay where it is at number 5. Not a fan of this song at all, it's probably the worst of the songs in the top 5.
Finally, we reach last week's niumber one "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio feat. L.V. at number 6, a five place tumble as finally sales slowed right down and other songs moved past it.
Oasis moved deeper into the top ten jumping three places with "Wonderwall" - a pretty terrific song.
Arriving in the top ten is Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason" made a massive climb from 15 to 8.
Swoop's 'Apple Eyes" also made a jump although not quite as big with "Apple Eyes" up from 11 to number 9.
Rounding out the top ten is Deni Hines "It's Alright" which fell three places to number ten.
Gains
Monica's "Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)" had one of dem weeks by moving up from 33 to 27 right behind it is "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)" by M.C. Sar and the Real McCoy saw people hear the call for love so much so it jumped from 35 to 28.
Bjork quietly jumped from 39 to 33 with "Its Oh So Quiet" off it's debut last week.
Losers
So yeah the losers are a long list and we'll start number 50 where Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" slipped 7 places. Darn.
Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" dropped ten places to 48.
It wasn't so good a week for Tina Arena's "Wasn't It Good" dropped hard from 31 to 45. Not surprising, Tina is capable of better tbh.
The Beatles also dropped hard with "Free as a Bird down hard from 29 to 43.
The charts aren't proving to heaven for Queen with "Heaven for Everyone down ten places to 44.
Also big drops for Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone" (down from 32 to 40) and Pearl Jam's "Merkinball (EP)"
New Entries
Holy shit, we got a wave of a new entries this week and we start with a song that I actually kind of like, it's Deep Blue Something with "Breakfast At Tiffany's" (yeah I know but come on the song has a fantastic chorus).
TLC arrives at 36 with "Diggin' on You" (it's okay, a smooth song that works in the background)
Following right behind it is Shaggy's second song on the chart this week with "Boombastic" arriving at 37 (honestly, am not a fan of this song at all. Sorry).
"Fee Fi Fo Fum" by Candy Girls feat. Sweet Pussy Pauline arrives at 39 (a song that I really don't care about at all)
At nunmber 41 is M People's cover of the Small Faces 1966 hit "Itchycoo Park" at number 41 (Really, Australia, really?)
LL Cool J's "Hey Lover" debuts at 46, Coolio is trying for a 2nd hit with "Too Hot" debuting at 47 and finally After 7 is the last of the debuts with "Til You Do Me Right"
That wraps up the week and wow, it was busy, looking forward to seeing if George Michael can hold onto that number one spot next week,
Wednesday 16 January 2019
ARIA Singles top ten/Chart review: 14th January 1999.
Let's not waste any time this week and get straight into the top ten where for a second week "Sunflower" by Post Malone and Swae Lee blooms at number one and honestly, I don't see this song going anywhere for the time being at least while the soundtrack for the new Spiderman movie is doing well and it is dominating on streaming right now.
Ava Max remains at number two this week with "Sweet but Psycho" but this song and "Without Me" by Halsey at number three are facing a threat from a song below.
A song that I think can leap to number two is "Wow" by Post Malone, it is behind "Sunflower" on streaming and with a good sales week, it is a contender for number one as well. It might be a really dumb song but hell, there's plenty of groove behind it.
The rise of "Without Me" and "Wow" meant "Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande suffered a two place drop back to number 5 and "Shotgun" by George Ezra also stumbled two places to number six
What isn't going anywhere is "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper as it remains steady at number seven. Honestly don't see this song leaving the charts any time soon,
"Eastside" by Benny Blanco feat. Halsey and Khalid switched with "Nothing Breaks like a Heart" by Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus to take number 8 and push "Nothing Breaks Like A Heart" back to number 9.
Finally also remaining steady at number ten is "Sicko Mode" by Travis Scott and Drake. Ugghh. Maybe the onslaught of new music might see it gone.
Gains
The biggest gainer this week is "Close to Me" by Ellie Goulding feat. Diplo and Swae Lee which jumped from 32 to 26. "Love Someone" by Lukas Graham jumped five places to 21 for no explainable reason (that song is horrid).
Best of the gains this week is "Saturday Nights" by Khalid which got a boost up to 32 from 37 this week but there's a remix with Kane Brown doing the rounds. Ugh, Why, Khalid?
Re-Entries
Speaking of Khalid, he has the highest placed return with "Lovely' with Billie Eilish back at 48 while the less welcome "Psycho" by Post Malone feat. Ty Dolla $ign is back at 50 because the charts fucking hate me.
Losses.
There were scant big drops this week so the biggest fall went to a 2018 left over "God's Plan" which fell to 49. (Honestly, there's a big argument as to why the ARIA Charts need to introduce recurring rules)
Drop outs
All four drop outs are songs that returned last week so "I Like It" by Cardi B feat. Bad Bunny and J Balvin, "In My Feelings" by Drake, 2017 left over "Shape Of You" by Ed Sheeran and "I Love It" by Kanye West and Lil Pump (Hopefully we can consign all of them to history, okay)
New Entries
We have two new entries with Guy Sebastian finally breaking into the top 50 with "Before I Go" at number 43. It's a terrific song and we need to make it a hit.
Finally NOTD have teamed up with Felix Jaehn, Captain Cuts and Georgia Ku for the new entry at 45 called "So Close"
Next week shapes as an interesting one especially with the new releases such as Sam Smith working with Normani but we'll find out on Saturday at 5pm AEDT when the chart updates.
Ava Max remains at number two this week with "Sweet but Psycho" but this song and "Without Me" by Halsey at number three are facing a threat from a song below.
A song that I think can leap to number two is "Wow" by Post Malone, it is behind "Sunflower" on streaming and with a good sales week, it is a contender for number one as well. It might be a really dumb song but hell, there's plenty of groove behind it.
The rise of "Without Me" and "Wow" meant "Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande suffered a two place drop back to number 5 and "Shotgun" by George Ezra also stumbled two places to number six
What isn't going anywhere is "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper as it remains steady at number seven. Honestly don't see this song leaving the charts any time soon,
"Eastside" by Benny Blanco feat. Halsey and Khalid switched with "Nothing Breaks like a Heart" by Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus to take number 8 and push "Nothing Breaks Like A Heart" back to number 9.
Finally also remaining steady at number ten is "Sicko Mode" by Travis Scott and Drake. Ugghh. Maybe the onslaught of new music might see it gone.
Gains
The biggest gainer this week is "Close to Me" by Ellie Goulding feat. Diplo and Swae Lee which jumped from 32 to 26. "Love Someone" by Lukas Graham jumped five places to 21 for no explainable reason (that song is horrid).
Best of the gains this week is "Saturday Nights" by Khalid which got a boost up to 32 from 37 this week but there's a remix with Kane Brown doing the rounds. Ugh, Why, Khalid?
Re-Entries
Speaking of Khalid, he has the highest placed return with "Lovely' with Billie Eilish back at 48 while the less welcome "Psycho" by Post Malone feat. Ty Dolla $ign is back at 50 because the charts fucking hate me.
Losses.
There were scant big drops this week so the biggest fall went to a 2018 left over "God's Plan" which fell to 49. (Honestly, there's a big argument as to why the ARIA Charts need to introduce recurring rules)
Drop outs
All four drop outs are songs that returned last week so "I Like It" by Cardi B feat. Bad Bunny and J Balvin, "In My Feelings" by Drake, 2017 left over "Shape Of You" by Ed Sheeran and "I Love It" by Kanye West and Lil Pump (Hopefully we can consign all of them to history, okay)
New Entries
We have two new entries with Guy Sebastian finally breaking into the top 50 with "Before I Go" at number 43. It's a terrific song and we need to make it a hit.
Finally NOTD have teamed up with Felix Jaehn, Captain Cuts and Georgia Ku for the new entry at 45 called "So Close"
Next week shapes as an interesting one especially with the new releases such as Sam Smith working with Normani but we'll find out on Saturday at 5pm AEDT when the chart updates.
Monday 14 January 2019
Top Ten Best Hit Songs of 2018
It's now time to flip the script and talk about the top ten best songs of the year and while there were some good songs this year they don't really beat out the best of 2017's hits, my 2018 number one best hit doesn't hold a candle to 2017's number one which was "Castle on the Hill" by Ed Sheeran (a pick that I still stand by for the record)
So without further adieu is here my list of the top ten best hit songs of 2018 and we begin with a song that spent eight weeks at number one because hey, this band actually had a good song after all.
10. "Youngblood" by 5 Seconds of Summer
Look, I have never liked a lot of 5 Seconds of Summer's music so when this song came along I was pleasantly surprised. Yeah the song could have had more roaring guitars through the chorus but come on the content is downright catchy and its hard not to find yourself singing along due to the propulsive momentum from the bridge and chorus. Put it this way, this song won song of the year at the ARIAs for damn good reason.
In 2018, rock was pretty much dead on the charts unless you consider "High Hopes" by Panic! At the Disco rock music and this was the closest to a rock song we got on the ARIA charts and for once, it was pretty darn good.
9. "In My Blood" by Shawn Mendes
I so badly wanted to put "Youth" with Khalid as my pick here but as it wasn't a hit like it SHOULD have been I have gone for "In My Blood" a song that could be mistaken for a Kings of Leon "Use Somebody" especially in the production but hell, it suits the almost raw nature of the song where Shawn Mendes is desperate for help as he experiences feelings of anxiety and how it's cause him to want to give up, it shows with the tension in Shawn's voice, that tension matching in the production and finally causing the explosive yell of "It's in my blood" which releases the tension a little and then is allowed to build up again, its a good song and deserves its place here.
Calvin Harris had a good 2018 with two pretty good to excellent songs being top ten hits this year, the excellent making this list.
8. "Promises" by Calvin Harris and Sam Smith
Now look, like with the previous two other songs, this one has it's flaws. Jessie Reyez saying "Tonight" is pretty damn annoying and that giggle is obnoxious but there are elements within this song that work so well and a lot of it is down to Sam Smith's vocals where he uses a lot of his lower register which prove incredibly effective against the melody Calvin Harris supplies that is just infectious and while I am disappointed Harris went away from his funk sound that was fantastic in 2017, he did provide an awesome song that I just couldn't leave off this list because of it's unfiltered awesome.
Speaking of awesome, this woman had quite the 2018...
7. "I Said Hi" by Amy Shark
It's the second time Amy Shark has made my best list two years in a row and this song is probably better than "Adore". "Adore" has suffered a bit for me in recent months due to overplay but "I Said Hi" hit all the right buttons for me in terms of its 'fuck you' to the record label executives who thought Amy wasn't good enough over guitars and percussion that really amplify Amy's vocals and her success in the last two years is also a good middle finger to the record companies that wanted nothing of her, reckon most of them should be eating humble pie right now.
If you were wondering what happened George Ezra when he kind of disappeared for a couple of years following his last smash hit "Budapest"...well in 2018, he was back with a new album and his first number one single and welll....
6. "Shotgun" by George Ezra
I just couldn't deny this slice of infectious pop that just got stuck iny head most days especially after listening to his album 'Staying at Tamara's", :a song about slowing down and figuring out where you are at wbich is what Ezra did while on holidays, he went to Barcelona and sat in this garden and sorted out how he was feeling which is sometimes what we all to do is find a quiet place to sit down and reflect for awhile. I adore this song and it deserves to be on this list.
2018 was the year I understood this guy's appeal and hell, I even came to like what he was doing with his more moody R 'n' B so when he teamed up with a former member of a girl band who I consider to have released some of the worst songs from a girl group this decade, we got...this....
5. "Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani
So it's the second of the collaborations to make this list and honestly, it's actually surprising how much I fell in love with it as 2018 went on even despite an apparent lack of chemistry between Khalid and Normani as both ask their partners to choose who they want to be with over a kind of sleazy and a little creepy in a good way guitar line (heck, I wish guitar was used more in modern pop music). This song really became my jam during 2018.
4. "IDGAF" by Dua Lipa
So this is another of those "fuck you" songs that made this list (hmmm) and yeah it does sound like a top tier Pink song and much like most great Pink song, Dua Lipa knows how to restrain the swearing so that her point is made loud and clear, this guy isn't apart of her life anymore and she doesn't care about or need him anymore no matter how hard he tries to worm his way back into her heart and while "New Rules" was okay, "IDGAF" was soo much better.
So this year, this young lady got big, she even had her first and second number one singles in Australia, she even got her very first US number one but its her first Australian number one that's landing on this list and for good reason...
3. "No Tears Left to Cry" by Ariana Grande
2018 was a pretty awful year in Ariana Grande's personal life but for a couple of sweet months this song was something of a catharsis not only for her but for me as well off the back of dealing a lot of issues in recent years, this song came along and really made me smile reminiscent of Janet Jackson's early nineties work, "No Tears Left to cry" sees Grande declaring she hasn't got any more tears left to cry so instead she is going to pick her life up and move on as best she can without letting those internal or external problems bother her. It's a fantastic pop R 'n' B song that deserved more than just a week at number one.
So we're down to the final two songs on this list and for the longest time, I couldn't decide between two songs, one song that had made me cry and the other that made me smile. I re-listened to both songs and well.
2. "Healing Hands" by Conrad Sewell
It's been a couple of lean years for Conrad Sewell given he had been battling health issues in recent years but "Healing Hands" was a way to return to form with it's organ and piano as Conrad Sewell sings about those that were there for him when he was at his lowest/worst and vowing he will never try to push those who love him away again. "Healing Hands" was the song that broke my heart and brought me to tears quite often in 2018 such as how much it connected for me and deserves to be this high on this list.
So 2018 was a year that felt as though music had lost its sense of fun or at least helping people escape their own troubles in attempts to "relate" to the audience.but when Bruno Mars teamed up with the new Queen of Rap for a song that had a old but welcome sound.
1, "Finesse (Remix)" by Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B
Combine the king of retro music stylings, Bruno Mars with the newly crowned Queen of female rap, Cardi B and you get this slice of delicious revisit back to the late 80s, early 90s when New Jack Swing was everywhere in the top 40. Cardi B hops on an old school 80s flow for her verse that while does feel a bit tacked on works and Bruno Mars works the song with so much charisma that it's just a lot of fun that really makes me forget that the lyrics don't make sense. I cannot wait to see what both these two do next.
"Finesse" the best hit song of 2018.
So without further adieu is here my list of the top ten best hit songs of 2018 and we begin with a song that spent eight weeks at number one because hey, this band actually had a good song after all.
10. "Youngblood" by 5 Seconds of Summer
Look, I have never liked a lot of 5 Seconds of Summer's music so when this song came along I was pleasantly surprised. Yeah the song could have had more roaring guitars through the chorus but come on the content is downright catchy and its hard not to find yourself singing along due to the propulsive momentum from the bridge and chorus. Put it this way, this song won song of the year at the ARIAs for damn good reason.
In 2018, rock was pretty much dead on the charts unless you consider "High Hopes" by Panic! At the Disco rock music and this was the closest to a rock song we got on the ARIA charts and for once, it was pretty darn good.
9. "In My Blood" by Shawn Mendes
I so badly wanted to put "Youth" with Khalid as my pick here but as it wasn't a hit like it SHOULD have been I have gone for "In My Blood" a song that could be mistaken for a Kings of Leon "Use Somebody" especially in the production but hell, it suits the almost raw nature of the song where Shawn Mendes is desperate for help as he experiences feelings of anxiety and how it's cause him to want to give up, it shows with the tension in Shawn's voice, that tension matching in the production and finally causing the explosive yell of "It's in my blood" which releases the tension a little and then is allowed to build up again, its a good song and deserves its place here.
Calvin Harris had a good 2018 with two pretty good to excellent songs being top ten hits this year, the excellent making this list.
8. "Promises" by Calvin Harris and Sam Smith
Now look, like with the previous two other songs, this one has it's flaws. Jessie Reyez saying "Tonight" is pretty damn annoying and that giggle is obnoxious but there are elements within this song that work so well and a lot of it is down to Sam Smith's vocals where he uses a lot of his lower register which prove incredibly effective against the melody Calvin Harris supplies that is just infectious and while I am disappointed Harris went away from his funk sound that was fantastic in 2017, he did provide an awesome song that I just couldn't leave off this list because of it's unfiltered awesome.
Speaking of awesome, this woman had quite the 2018...
7. "I Said Hi" by Amy Shark
It's the second time Amy Shark has made my best list two years in a row and this song is probably better than "Adore". "Adore" has suffered a bit for me in recent months due to overplay but "I Said Hi" hit all the right buttons for me in terms of its 'fuck you' to the record label executives who thought Amy wasn't good enough over guitars and percussion that really amplify Amy's vocals and her success in the last two years is also a good middle finger to the record companies that wanted nothing of her, reckon most of them should be eating humble pie right now.
If you were wondering what happened George Ezra when he kind of disappeared for a couple of years following his last smash hit "Budapest"...well in 2018, he was back with a new album and his first number one single and welll....
6. "Shotgun" by George Ezra
I just couldn't deny this slice of infectious pop that just got stuck iny head most days especially after listening to his album 'Staying at Tamara's", :a song about slowing down and figuring out where you are at wbich is what Ezra did while on holidays, he went to Barcelona and sat in this garden and sorted out how he was feeling which is sometimes what we all to do is find a quiet place to sit down and reflect for awhile. I adore this song and it deserves to be on this list.
2018 was the year I understood this guy's appeal and hell, I even came to like what he was doing with his more moody R 'n' B so when he teamed up with a former member of a girl band who I consider to have released some of the worst songs from a girl group this decade, we got...this....
5. "Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani
So it's the second of the collaborations to make this list and honestly, it's actually surprising how much I fell in love with it as 2018 went on even despite an apparent lack of chemistry between Khalid and Normani as both ask their partners to choose who they want to be with over a kind of sleazy and a little creepy in a good way guitar line (heck, I wish guitar was used more in modern pop music). This song really became my jam during 2018.
4. "IDGAF" by Dua Lipa
So this is another of those "fuck you" songs that made this list (hmmm) and yeah it does sound like a top tier Pink song and much like most great Pink song, Dua Lipa knows how to restrain the swearing so that her point is made loud and clear, this guy isn't apart of her life anymore and she doesn't care about or need him anymore no matter how hard he tries to worm his way back into her heart and while "New Rules" was okay, "IDGAF" was soo much better.
So this year, this young lady got big, she even had her first and second number one singles in Australia, she even got her very first US number one but its her first Australian number one that's landing on this list and for good reason...
3. "No Tears Left to Cry" by Ariana Grande
2018 was a pretty awful year in Ariana Grande's personal life but for a couple of sweet months this song was something of a catharsis not only for her but for me as well off the back of dealing a lot of issues in recent years, this song came along and really made me smile reminiscent of Janet Jackson's early nineties work, "No Tears Left to cry" sees Grande declaring she hasn't got any more tears left to cry so instead she is going to pick her life up and move on as best she can without letting those internal or external problems bother her. It's a fantastic pop R 'n' B song that deserved more than just a week at number one.
So we're down to the final two songs on this list and for the longest time, I couldn't decide between two songs, one song that had made me cry and the other that made me smile. I re-listened to both songs and well.
2. "Healing Hands" by Conrad Sewell
It's been a couple of lean years for Conrad Sewell given he had been battling health issues in recent years but "Healing Hands" was a way to return to form with it's organ and piano as Conrad Sewell sings about those that were there for him when he was at his lowest/worst and vowing he will never try to push those who love him away again. "Healing Hands" was the song that broke my heart and brought me to tears quite often in 2018 such as how much it connected for me and deserves to be this high on this list.
So 2018 was a year that felt as though music had lost its sense of fun or at least helping people escape their own troubles in attempts to "relate" to the audience.but when Bruno Mars teamed up with the new Queen of Rap for a song that had a old but welcome sound.
1, "Finesse (Remix)" by Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B
Combine the king of retro music stylings, Bruno Mars with the newly crowned Queen of female rap, Cardi B and you get this slice of delicious revisit back to the late 80s, early 90s when New Jack Swing was everywhere in the top 40. Cardi B hops on an old school 80s flow for her verse that while does feel a bit tacked on works and Bruno Mars works the song with so much charisma that it's just a lot of fun that really makes me forget that the lyrics don't make sense. I cannot wait to see what both these two do next.
"Finesse" the best hit song of 2018.
Charting 1996: January 14th, 1996.HAPPY NEW CHART YEAR!
So here we are at the beginning of 1996.. ARIA took a break over the Christmas/New Year period which meant no charts so when things paused on Christmas Eve, the biggest hit song in Australia for 1995, "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio feat. I.V. was spending its tenth week at number one so have things really changed?
Well no...
For an eleventh week, "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio feat. I.V. remains at number one. A song that I respect more than actually like but hey, it was better than a large portion of the number ones in 1995 so eh.
Outhere Brothers jump one place to number 2 with "Boom Boom Boom" dislodging CDB's "Let's Groove" back to number 3.
The record breaker in the US, "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men remains at number 4. Don't see it getting to number one though as it seems to have already peaked and looks like being on it's way out.
One of the biggest gainers of the week is La Bouche's "Be My Lover" which jumped an extraordinary 12 places to reach number 5 and appears to be some chance of reaching number one.
Pearl Jam's "Merkinball" EP drops one place to number six but it took Deni Hines "It's Alright" down to number 7 and N-Trance feat. Ricardo Da Force's atrocious cover of the Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive" down to number 8.
Miss Sarajevo's "Passenger" also dropped one place to number 9.
Finally the biggest gainer of the week lies at number ten, that being.."Wonderwall" by Oasis which jumped 16 places to number 10.
Gainers
So outside the top ten? Groove Theory's "Tell Me" has people rushing to buy it as it surged to number 18 from 42 and Dreamworld (SE)'s "Movin' Up" jumped from 32 to 19.
Alanis Morissette continues get chart success with "Hand In My Pocket" up to 22 from 28. and "In the Summertime" by Shaggy feat. Rayvon leaping from 38 to 24.
Re Entries
Just the one re-entry with "Morning Glory" by Oasis back at number 46.
Losers.
Janet Jackson's "Runaway" began to run down the charts as it slipped twelve spots down to 37 while Sophie B. Hawkins song "As I Lay Me Down" stumbled eight places to 19.
The Beatles "Free as A Bird" suffered serious wing damage in it's plummet from 29 to 12.
Drop Outs
So the drop outs include "Joy to the World" by Mariah Carey, "Power of One" by Merril Bainbridge, "Mr. Milk" by You Am I and former chart topper in 1995 "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal
New Entries
Three new entries this week with the highest new entry being from M.C. Sar and The Real McCoy's "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)" at number 35, Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet" number 39 and number 50 'The Original's "I Luv U Baby"\
So that's it for the first chart round up of 1996, see you next week to find out if Coolio can remain at number one.
Well no...
For an eleventh week, "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio feat. I.V. remains at number one. A song that I respect more than actually like but hey, it was better than a large portion of the number ones in 1995 so eh.
Outhere Brothers jump one place to number 2 with "Boom Boom Boom" dislodging CDB's "Let's Groove" back to number 3.
The record breaker in the US, "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men remains at number 4. Don't see it getting to number one though as it seems to have already peaked and looks like being on it's way out.
One of the biggest gainers of the week is La Bouche's "Be My Lover" which jumped an extraordinary 12 places to reach number 5 and appears to be some chance of reaching number one.
Pearl Jam's "Merkinball" EP drops one place to number six but it took Deni Hines "It's Alright" down to number 7 and N-Trance feat. Ricardo Da Force's atrocious cover of the Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive" down to number 8.
Miss Sarajevo's "Passenger" also dropped one place to number 9.
Finally the biggest gainer of the week lies at number ten, that being.."Wonderwall" by Oasis which jumped 16 places to number 10.
Gainers
So outside the top ten? Groove Theory's "Tell Me" has people rushing to buy it as it surged to number 18 from 42 and Dreamworld (SE)'s "Movin' Up" jumped from 32 to 19.
Alanis Morissette continues get chart success with "Hand In My Pocket" up to 22 from 28. and "In the Summertime" by Shaggy feat. Rayvon leaping from 38 to 24.
Re Entries
Just the one re-entry with "Morning Glory" by Oasis back at number 46.
Losers.
Janet Jackson's "Runaway" began to run down the charts as it slipped twelve spots down to 37 while Sophie B. Hawkins song "As I Lay Me Down" stumbled eight places to 19.
The Beatles "Free as A Bird" suffered serious wing damage in it's plummet from 29 to 12.
Drop Outs
So the drop outs include "Joy to the World" by Mariah Carey, "Power of One" by Merril Bainbridge, "Mr. Milk" by You Am I and former chart topper in 1995 "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal
New Entries
Three new entries this week with the highest new entry being from M.C. Sar and The Real McCoy's "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)" at number 35, Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet" number 39 and number 50 'The Original's "I Luv U Baby"\
So that's it for the first chart round up of 1996, see you next week to find out if Coolio can remain at number one.
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