ARIA singles top ten/ Chart Review: 1st April: Chart braces for the Billie Bomb

First thngs first, lets not take this week too seriously because make no mistake, that Billie Eilish album bomb is going to detonate with some force next week and it's pretty much going to be interesting what survives and really beyond a two interesting new entries that are currently huge overseas

Let's deal with the top ten first off where "Sucker" by Jonas Brothers remains at number one for a third week, whether or not it gets a fourth week remans an open question with "Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish now at the top of the charts on streaming servives, "Sucker" could well be on borrowed time at number one.

Then we go back to "Wow" by Post Malone which returned to number two, Post Malone is pretty much battling with himself because "Sunflower" with Swae Lee fell back to number three. I don't see "Sunflower' returning to number one.

Remaining at number four is Ariana Grande's "7 Rings" (which still sucks and still needs to be gone from the chart as soon as possible, Australia!) as it's streaming remained steady.

Somehow because Australia seems to think "3 Nights" by Dominic Fike is worth something, ots up three places to hit the top 5 at number 5.

"Dancing With a Stranger" by Sam Smith feat. Normani stays at number six.

"Talk" by Khalid and Disclosure goes up one place to number seven, I expect this song to climb  with the release of Khalid's sophomore album on Friday.

"Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper slipped 3 places to number 8 as the Oscars hype falls away. Its amazing this song is still in the top ten quite honestly.

"Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" by Ariana Grande drops two places to number nine. Expect to see a song called "Monopoly" by Victoria Monet on the chart soon as Ariana has a co-sign on that song.

Finally Dean Lewis has his second top ten hit with "7 Minutes" up 7 places to number ten courtesy of the release of the album last Friday but like I said with Billie Eilish album bomb ahead, I don't expect any top ten longevity for this song.

Gains

The biggest gain this week belongs to Marshmello and CHVRCHES song "Here With Me" which went from 35 off it's debut last week to 22. (Seriously, this is going to be CHVRCHES first serious hit? Ugh).

Also up off it's debut last week is "Don't Call Me up" by Mabel which went to 34 from 38.

The album also meant former number one "Be Alright" by Dean Lewis went back into the top twenty at number 17.

"Giant" by Calvin Harris and Rag 'N' Bone Man is also into the top ten at number 19 up five places.

Re-Entries

Back again this week is "Lovely"  by Billie Eilish and Khalid at number 48. I actually expect to see this song jump up again because of Billie's album.

Losers

Imagine Dragons have the biggest loser of the week with "Bad Liar" down 12 places to 38. Also suffering a bad fall is "Nothing Breaks Like A Heart" by Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus which slipped from 29 to 36.

A song that I thought would be doing a bit better than it is is "Please Me" by Cardi B and Bruno Mars which dropped nine places to 39.

A bit of an inconsequential loss for "Wish You Were Gay" by Billie Eilish which fell from 15 to 21 but that will regain some lost ground and then some next week.

Drop Outs

So I am not exactly too upset about the drop outs this week, the biggest drop out is "Love Someone" by Lukas Graham wbich spent 24 weeks on the chart. Always found that song a tad twee and preachy.

Also gone are "Pure Water" by Mustard and Migos (Migos have really struggled to have anywhere near the traction in Australia as they do in the US), the "Mi Gente" rip off "I Can't Get enough" by Benny Blanco feat. Tainy, Selena Gomez and J. Balvin, "Close to Me" by Ellie Goulding feat. Diplo and Swae Lee (really don't care for that song) and "Saturday Nights" by Khalid (Likely to return soon because of the album)

New Entries

Four brand new entries this week and some of these have been HUGE in other parts of the world although the highest debut goes to Dean Lewi s with "Stay Awake" at number 26.

Ava Max has tried to follow up "Sweet But Psycho" with "So Am I" which has landed at number 29.

At number 46 is the current British nunmber one "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi (Yes, he is a distant cousin of former Doctor Who Peter Capaldi). Really, hope this song is a hit.

Finally a song that is big in the US due a controversy over whether it belongs on the Billboard country charts, it's "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X which is somehow become huge more due to the controversy rather than anything else.

So that completes the week and really, it's brace yourself for the Billie Eilish album bomb and really if it cleans the chart out than it's a good thing even if it means more than a little too much Billie Eilish to mention next week.  ARIA releases the new chart at 5pm AEDT on Saturday

Charting 1996: March 31st: Cover songs do well as Joan Osborne hangs on

So this week feels a little two paced as for a fourth week, Joan Osborne remains at number one with "One Of Us" and really I am not seeing what could knock this song off the top spot. Sure there's "Missing" by Everything But Girl which remains stuck at number two but it's showing signs  that it can't much "One of Us"

Babylon Zoo's "Spaceman" looks a contender in the weeks ahead as it jumped one place to number three. but it's starting to get some serious hit from "How Bizarre" by OMC which jumped three places to number four, now maybe this song looks a shot for the top spot soon.

Peter Andre feat. Past to Present remains steady at number 5 with "Get Down on It" while some people appear to have lost the faith in John Farnham's "Have a Little Faith in us" which slipped three places to number six.

The one of the biggest movers of the week came from United Kingdom boy band Boyzone with their cover of Cat Stevens "Father and Son" jumping from 24 all the way into the top ten at number 7...really, Australia? Really?

Former chart topper "Boombastic" by Shaggy slips two places to number eight but then we have British girl group Eternal jump from 17 to number 9 with "Power of Aa Woman". Now granted I like the song but for it to rise this suddenly says a lot about 1996 so far as does that Boyzone "Father and Son" cover ahead of it.

Completely the top ten is "Anything" by 3T which jumped five places to reach number 10.

Gains

Alanis Morissette looks set to have another huge hit with "Ironic" busting up from 40 to number 27 while Tracy Chapman has rebounded from 21 to 15.

Alex Party breaks into the top 20 at number 17 courtesy of a 9 place gain.

The Corrs are running away up six places to 30 with "Runaway" while Bjork has gained 12 spots with "Hyperballad to 33.

Madonna's "One More Chance" jumped from 43 to 35,

Losers

Oasis slip from 9 to 13 this week with "Wonderwall" as that song begins a pretty natural descent down the chart. Not worried as it will likely make the year end list.

"Real Love" by The Beatles continues to lose all its traction as it slips ten places to number 22 whle LL Cool J's "Hey Lover" did the slippery slide down from 13 to 21.

Also having a big slide is Bjork's former top ten hit "It's Oh So Quiet" which dropped 12 places to 26 while La Bouche's "Be My Lover" slid 14 places to 36 (thank goodness, the sooner this song is gone the better)

Groove Theory's  "Tell Me" stumbled down from 22 to 29.

New Entries

It must the week for covers because the biggest debut of the week belongs to Take That's cover of the Bee Gee's 1977 song "How Deep is Your Love" at number 14. I'll stick with the Bee Gees version, thank you very much!

Speaking of boy bands, we need to go all the way down to 48 where we find Australian boy band Human Nature with their debut single "Got It Goin' on" and I got to be honest here, this song is really something quite catchy even if that bridge is a little yikes!

Canadian singer songwriter Deborah Cox snares number 49 with "Sentimental" which isn't a bad song I guess. Heard worse R'n'B elsewhere.

Finally at number 50 is a Croatin singer and model Tatjana with "Santa Maria". A song that would have sounded good in 1991 not in 1996!

ARIA Singles top ten/Chart Review: March 24th:

So we got a quiet week this week given the lack of big new releases but we still got a couple of newbies lower down the chart but we'll get to all that in a second but first the business of the top ten where "Sucker" by Jonas Brothers remains at number one for a second week and really I don't see what is going to topple it right now...(well, I can but it hasn't been released yet).

"Sunflowe" by Post Malone and Swae Lee took back the number two position, it's battling with "Wow" by Post Malone on streams right now which is why "Sunflower" managed to push past it this week with "Wow" down one to number three.

"7 Rings' by Ariana Grande remains at number four and "Shallow' by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper at number five (the fact this song has stuck around in the top ten for so long is incredible)

"Dancing With a Stranger" by Sam Smith and Normani waltzes its way up one spot to number six which I am happy to see especially as it passed "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" by Ariana Grande which slipped back to number seven.

"3 Nights" by Dominic Fike continues to have an unwelcome presence in the top ten moving up one place to number eight pushing "Talk" by Khalid and Disclosure back to number nine

Rounding out the top ten is "Sweet but Psycho" by Ava Max which clings to number ten for another week.

Gains

Unsurprisingly the biggest gain of the week came for Khalid's "My Bad" which jumped from 30 straight into the top 20 at number 18. Australia love Khalid plenty.

"I'm So Tired"  by Lauv and Troye Sivan continued it's upward momentum by leaping six places to number 11.

"Bad Liar" by Imagine Dragons is up to 26 from 33 for some inexplicable reason;...the song blows chunks.

A song I don't mind that broke onto the chart last week is Drax Project's effort with Hailee Steinfeld called "Woke up Late" which is up three to 37

"Exit Sign" by Hilltop Hoods feat. Ecca Vandal and Illy jumped from 47 to 42.

Losers

Some big losers this week with former number one "Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande unsurprisingly slipping from 25 to 32.

"Nothing Breaks Like A Heart" by Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus dropped six places to 29. Not overly worried, this song should make year end regardless.

"When the Party's Over" by Billie Eilish dropped from 37 to 41 but should rebound with the release of the album.


Drop Outs

Juice WRLD's lead single sunk like a stone "Robbery" disappered off the chart after two weeks taking with it "Look Back At it" by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie.

Also out is "Lovely" by Billie Eilish and Khalid but I kind of feel as though this song might return given the Billie Eilish association.

New Entries


So the highest debut of the week is "Here with Me" by Marshmello and CHVRCHES at number 35. I kind of feel as though this song should be a lot better than it actually is.

"Don't Call Me" by Mabel, a song that is a huge hit in Europe already, calls in at number 38. The best of the new arrivals.

Finally for some inexplicable reason, "Swervin'" by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and 6ix9ine enters at 47. Hopefully a one week wonder because it is not a good song.

Anyway that wraps up the week and yeah, Dean Lewis and Flume will be the act to watch given Lewis's album and Flume's mixtape dropped last Friday. Whether Lrewis charts any new songs remains to be seen when the chart for the week beginning 1st April is released by ARIA on Saturday.

Charting 1996: March 24th. Top five debut for Farnsey!

Well this week is a turn up for the books, we got a new entry debuting in the top ten and the top two remained steady so yes for another week, “One Of Us’ by Joan Osborne remains at number one but she’s got competition from “Missing” by Everything But the Girl staying at number two for a second week, whether or not it can challenge for number one remains an open question and given the wild shifts 1996 has seen so far, “One of Us” staying at number one is an open question as well.

Now for that new entry which turns up at number three for John Farnham, “Have a Little Faith in Us” becomes his eighth top ten hit in the ARIA era. It’s a decent song too.

Babylon Zoo remain steady at number 4 with “Babylon Zoo”, I expect this song to climb though so don’t be surprised if it reaches number two in the weeks ahead.

Peter Andre continues to experience success with “Get Down on It” feat Past to Present as it jumped 2 places to number 5, it helped to push former chart topper “Boombastic” by Shaggy down to number 6.

“How Bizarre” by OMC is the big mover into the top ten this week, up 6 places to number 7…this is looking like being huge.

TLC’s “Diggin’ On You” jumped one place to number 8

Oasis’s “Wonderwall” is beginning to crumble hard, down 4 places to number 9 while “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” by Deep Blue Something looks to have completed it’s meal in the top ten clinging on at number ten.

Gains

Big gain this week for Celine Dion’s ‘Falling into You” which jumped from 20 to 12 this week, is Celine set for another top ten hit?

3T arrive in the top 20 with “Anything” leaping from 22 to 15. Keep an eye on this one as well. Plays quite well into a sound that is popular right now.

Also, into the top 20 is Oasis with “Don’t Look Back in Anger” up to 19 from 24.

One of the big gainers of the week is Boyzone’s “Father and Son” up ten places to 24. Strange a Cat Stevens cover is doing so damn well!

Losers

The underwhelming new The Beatles song “Real Love’ slipped 5 places to 11 as people realize that it’s not one of the Beatles better songs.

La Bouche’s “Be My Lover” slumped from 11 to 20.

Tracy Chapman’s “Give One Reason” lost 5 places in the chart shuffle this week to 21 while Groove Theory’s “Tell Me” slopped from 15 to 22…Ouch!

“Wrap Me Up” by Alex Party stumbled from 19 to 26 and “Til you do me right” by After 7 dropped from 21 to 27.

New Entries

John Farnham earned the highest debut this week with “Have a Little Faith in Us” at number 3 but you have to scan lower down the chart to find the rest of them beginning at number 40 with Alanis Morissette’s new single “Ironic” arriving and damn that song goes off!

Melissa Etheridge got her wish to come over to the Australian charts again with “I want to come over” getting a gig at number 42.

Madonna gets “One More Chance” onto the chart at number 43.

While “It’s Oh So Quiet” slips down the chart, Bjork’s new single “Hyperballad” turns up at number 45.

Two rock bands also debuted new songs on the chart this week with Garbage entering with “Stupid Girl” at number 47 and finally “Disco 2000” at number 50.

ARIA Singles top ten/ Chart Review: 18th March. Jonas Brothers "Sucker" in the Australian singles chart

This was an odd week.

An odd week in a sense that I wasn't expecting until I saw streaming data on Tuesday that suggested we were about to get a new number one out of nowhere and from a complete surprise but there also was only some modest movement even in the top ten not counting out the fact anothr song has joined the top ten but we'll get to that in a second because as I mentioned we do have a new number one and for the first time, the Jonas Brothers have hit the top with "Sucker' riding fantastic streaming and good digital sales to go to number one. It's the Jonas Brother's first number one in Australia.

Post Malone rode some strong streaming gains with "Wow" jumping four places to reach number two and honestly, this is a little bit of a surprise considering I thought it was struggling to gain traction due to Post's second single in the top 5 "Sunflower" feat. Swae Lee which also climbed one to number 3. It was a good week for Post Malone!.

Not so good for Ariana Grande however with "7 Rings" dropping two places back to number four, this song will slowly fall down the charts, I would imagine.

Former number one "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper slipped four places back to number 5 and it also pushed back Ariana Grande's second single in the top ten "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored' down three to number six.

In good news, "Dancing with a Stranger" by Sam Smith and Normani jumped up one place to number 7 largely due to good digital sales and streaming that hasn't completely fallen off yet.

:"Talk" by Khalid and Disclosure dropped one place to number eight as it's streams looked a tad more shaky this week.

However we do have a new song busting into the top ten, unfortunately it's "3 Nights" by Dominic Fike which jumped 3 places to number 9 making it Fijke's first top ten hit.

Wrapping up the top ten is "Sweet But Psycho" by Ava Max which dropped two places to number ten.

Gains

Lots of small gains this week with the biggest of the week going to "I'm So Tired" by Lauv and Troye Sivan which jumped into the top twenty at number 17 from 22.

The only other major gain was the toxic masculinity anthem "Robbery" by Juice WRLD which jumped 5 placws to 46 because of the realease of his pretty atrocious new album.

Losers

Big falls this week for A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie down to 50 with "Look Back at it", Lukas Graham slipped to 45 with "Love Someone". Both of those I am fine with slipping because both aren't great to say the least.

Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next" slips to 25 from 18 and "Leave Me Lonely" by Hilltop Hoods goes down six to 20.


Drop Outs

So let's get the non starters out of the way like "365" by Zedd and Katy Perry which fell out because nobody remembers having heard it just moments after listening to it. Unfortunately "Nights Like This" by Kehlani feat. Ty Dolla $ign, was pulling for Kehlani to have a hit with this song.

The other two songs have been reasonable hits with  "Let You Love Me" by Rita Ora and "Always Remember Us This Way" by Lady Gaga also joining those that dropped out. I note Lady Gaga has started to tease a new album.

New Entries

Billie Eilish nabs the highest new entry of the four songs that entered this week with "Wish You were Gay" debuting at number 12. Khalid's latest song "My Bad" arrives at number 30 (this one is as bad as "Talk", what the hell is going on with you, Khalid?)

New  Zealand group Drax Project have teamed up with Hailee Steinfeld for "Woke Up Late" which debuts at number 40 (not heard this song tbh!) and finally Mustard (formerly DJ Mustard_) has teamed up with Migos for "Pure Water" which hits the chart at number 49.

So that wraps up the week, I have no idea if the Jonas Brothers can get a second week at number one, it looks like being a quiet week on the new arrival scene with not much in the way of new songs on New Music Friday but I guess we'll find out when ARIA release the chart for next week on Saturday at 5pm

Charting 1996: March 17th. Tbe Beatles turn up in the top ten

So this week saw a number of shifts inside the top ten as a couple of songs made big moves toward the top of the chart this week and we got a new entry debuting inside the top ten but nothing could stop Joan Osborne's "One of Us" from spending a second week at number and really it looks pretty comfortable at the top for the moment.

Everything But the Girl's "Missing" jumped two places to be the closest challenger at number two, heck, it pushed former number one "Boombastic" by Shaggy back to number three this week.

Another song that is emerging as a challenger is "Spaceman" by Babylon Zoo which jumped 5 places to number 4. Now granted this song isn't all that great so I am surprised it's doing so well.

What is starting to fade is 'Wonderwall" by Oasis which fell back two places to number 5. Not to worry there's more Oasis to be mentioned a bit later.

We have a new entry at number six from of all bands...The Beatles  with a rather badly overdubbed version of a John Lennon wrritten "Real Love" which arrived at number six this week. Hopefully it leaves quickly.

Peter Andre feat. Past to Present are up one place to number 7 with "Get Down On It"

A surprise drop for Deep Blue Something's "Breakfast At Tiffany's" which got swarmed by better performing tracks this week to drop three places to number eight. Ouch.

Same can be said (unfortunately) for TLC's "Diggin' On You" which slipped three places to number 9.

Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet" rounds out the top ten with it's return to number ten.

Gains


A lot of 5 place gains this week especially for the Presidents of the United States of America with "Peaches" rising to number 17. Alex Party's "Wrap Me Up" breaks into the top 20 at number 19. The Corrs "Runaway" jumped to 33 from 38 and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers climbed into their "Aeroplane" for a flight to 39,

Re-Entries

One re-entry this week with "Imagination" by Deni Hines back at number 40.

Losers

So lets go through some of the big losers most of them seem to be songs that were already losing traction like The Presidents of the United States of America's "Lump" which fell back to 31 from 24.

"Apple Eyes" by Swoop fell hard from 29 to 37/ The New Power Generation has lost power with "The Good Life" down from 37 to 42.

Things have gone sour for the Candy Girls feat. Sweet Pussy Pauline with "Fee Fi Fo Fum" down 11 places to 41 in our biggest fall of the week.

Blur's "Charmless Man" confirmed the man has no charm in a six place fall to 47.

Finally, :"One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men fell 7 to number 27.


New Entries

So we got a heap of new entries this week including The Beatles with "Real Love" at number six as the highest debut of the week. Perhaps quite appropriately following them is Oasis with their new single "Don't Look Back in Anger" arriving at number 24.

I mentioned Mariah Carey in the losers section, she's back with "Always be my Baby" in at number 28.

Aussies CDB complete the top 30 with "Don't Stop" arriving at number 30 and hopefully that song does climb to follow up the success of "Let's Groove"


Another Australian act debuting on the chart is groove band Renegade Funktrain which features members of Sound Unlimited, they debut at 49.

That wraps up the week and wow it was a fascinating one, I look forward to finding out if anything that stop Joan Osborne taking a third week at number one. See you all for this week's 2019 ARIA Singles chart top ten and chart review.

ARIA top 20 ranked: Summer 2019

Trying to do this season’s edition of top 20 ranked has been difficult…not just due to time constraints but because a lot of the songs in the top 20 are songs that are still very much from 2018 and the Ariana Grande album bomb of a few weeks ago however I am going to go back to the week of 17^th February and base my ranking on that chart week.

Let’s begin with the total garbage

Awful

20. “Sicko Mode” by Travis Scott feat. Drake

I think I have made my hatred of this song clear and the fact some people are labelling it a modern hip hop classic is an absolute slight to hip hop that has actual quality and bars to go with it. Ugh.

19. “7 Rings” by Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande cooing over a trap beat is not something I have any desire to hear again and interpolating “Favourite Things” makes it even worse. Sadly, the next single isn’t good, and I was starting to LIKE YOU, ARIANA!

Bad

18. “Without Me” by Halsey

I am actively now sick of Halsey writing melodramatic bad relationship songs without anything that would make what she is trying to sell remotely interesting. Also G-Eazy was (unfortunately) a vacuous boring thing before you arrived on the pop scene, Halsey, you weren’t the one to put him there.

17. “Happier” by Marshmello and Bastille

I really don’t understand the appeal of this song at all. Bastille sounds better on their own tracks rather than braying over this electronic mess. We eventually need to start asking questions about when Marshmello is going to release music of a good quality because at this point I’m getting to where I don’t care.

Meh

16. “Thank U, Next” by Ariana Grande

This song is okay but I’ve generally forgotten about it five minutes after having heard it. Not the most memorable number one that Australia has ever had if I am going to be blunt.

15. “Middle Child” by J Cole

I have never really cared or taken much interest in J Cole’s music and this song doesn’t spark any interest in checking out this guy’s music. It’s tolerable but not anything that makes me want to go and see what else he has done.

14. “Wow” by Post Malone

Hey Post, Fall out Boy have no idea what ‘rock’ is so I am not sure what album you were listening to you when you wrote “Rocking out to Fall out Boy” line. I like to think Posty was listening to “Uma Thurman” while writing this song. It’s got a good beat but the lyrics kind of suck.

Decent

13. “7 Minutes” by Dean Lewis

So “Be Alright” has faded on me hard, that song just makes me want to throw things now and this one is kind of better in terms of the framing where Dean Lewis is berating himself for losing this girl and is working out how he let her down and all these memories he has of their time together. The only issue with this song is how painfully repetitive that chorus is.

12. “Waiting” by Kian

A song I am surprised that has stuck around but Kian has shown plenty of promise as a song writer so yeah, all in all “Waiting” is a pleasant listen and I don’t change the station if this song comes on the radio. That guitar line is good and Kian has a pretty strong vocal presence, just wish that the hook was a little better.

11. “Confidence” by Ocean Alley

This is high up because of how good that hook is and not much else because to be honest, I find Ocean Alley’s music to be sleepy surfer rock but “Confidence” works on that person to person level for me that most of Ocean Alley’s other music, but that hook is probably why it topped the hot 100

Good.

10. “Eastside” by Benny Blanco feat. Halsey and Khalid

This is the only GOOD song Benny Blanco has released so far. I am not going to repeat my thoughts on this song that I wrote in a previous edition of top 20 ranked

9. “Sunflower” by Post Malone and Swae Lee

I finally decided to stop lying to myself and admit that this song is actually pretty good. Post Malone sounds great and Swae Lee can sound like The Weeknd if you really squint hard. Really, I can’t explain what clicked for me but yeah, I admit I like this song a lot.

8. “Better” by Khalid

Why is Khalid moving away from this kind of sound? “Better” is the sort of song that suits him more than the increasingly grating “Talk”. The “SunCity” EP was excellent and this was one of the best songs from it, a delicious slice of moody R ‘n’ B where Khalid is meeting up with this girl he has made a connection with and how nothing feels better than when he is with her. It’s a good song and really deserved to be the hit that “Talk” looks like being.

7. “Sweet but Psycho” by Ava Max

You know when you hear a song where the lyrics get more ridiculous the more you think about it but somehow the song overcomes the ridiculousness by being insanely catchy and full of hooks that you are left singing along? Well yeah, that’s the appeal of “Sweet but Psycho” to me, it’s just a silly song that arrived at a time when we do with some fun and kind of stupid songs on the chart.

Great.

6. “Bury A Friend” by Billie Eilish

This song is so creepy, and the video just adds to that but its just dark and twisted enough to suck you in, it’s Billie talking to that monster lurking under her bed. There’s just enough groove and energy to keep the song moving, it’s one of the more twisted songs that Billie has written but it’s also one of her best.

5. “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” by Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus

My heart breaks knowing this song isn’t the huge world wide smash that it deserved to be. Miley sounds fantastic over the music provided by Mark Ronson with its country sounding groove that sounds better than anything out of Nashville in the last six months. Oh well, at least I know I can rest easy with the idea that it will make the ARIA year end chart for 2019.

4. “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

It’s taken awhile but the song connected for me in the last couple of months. Bradley Cooper is surprisingly good but Lady Gaga really does steal the show with her vocals, she just sounds amazing and I am so happy that this song finally became a number one hit in the US. Will be a decade defining classic in the years ahead. Nice one, Lady Gaga and Bradley!

3. “Shotgun” by George Ezra

Keeping this short because I’ve already talked about this song and how good it is. Great song from George Ezra. So happy he got it to number one last year deserved.

2. “Dancing With a stranger” by Sam Smith and Normani

Sam Smith and Normani have a surprising amount of chemistry for a song that uses all its elements well with that fizzy crack of a beat and just enough guitar to keep things moving. Also, Sam Smith sounds amazing on this song as song as he sounded on “Promises”, can he keep going on dance songs, pleas

So that leaves the number one and this doesn’t surprise me one little bit considering how much I have listened to it and loved it.

1.       “Leave Me Lonely” by Hilltop Hoods

This is the kind of hip hop I love, one that makes me smile and want to jump around with it’s prominent guitar rollick and the Hoods rapping about how they’d rather be left alone than hearing bullshit talk and that line “Me and my friends, we aren’t here for your BS” (have to paraphrase that last word!) is just ridiculously catchy and slipping in a line or two about Paul Manafort is priceless. If you haven’t checked out the Hilltop Hoods and their new album “The Great Expanse” than please do so because its excellent.

Final score: 63/100

Comment: Wow. I didn’t realize how good the chart was a few weeks ago. Obviously that score may well have come down a little since but yeah despite the bad, there’s a lot of good to great. Feeling optimistic about this year.