ARIA Singles Top Ten/Chart Review: 2nd November. Ariana Grande positions herself at number one.

So this week was probably a bit busier than I would have liked given there's likely an Ariana Grande album bomb coming next week (despite the album being fine but pretty underwhelming) because we've got four new entries and some big moves in the top twenty but let's start with the biggest story of the week, our new number one which is "positions" by Ariana Grande, it got there through solid sales and streaming and should hold onto number one for a couple of weeks post the album release and while the song is not bad, it's like the album...underwhelming that said I think my opinion on the song is somewhat soured by the behaviour of some of Ariana's fanbase during the week however I will save my bake of stan Twitter for the year end worst list though.

Anyway all that was enough to push "Mood" by 24k Goldn and Iann Dior down to number two...I would have liked to have seen this remain number one as I think it is the better song, the same can be said for "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry and MNEK which slipped to number three.

"Holy" by Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper continues to linger like herpes on the genitals by remaining at number four.

"WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion is finally on it's way out as it bled on streaming and on sales to drop two places to number five.

Also remaining steady this week is "Lemonade" by Internet Money & Gunna feat. Don Toliver and NAV at number six.

The virality slipping away has seen "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac fall two spots to number seven...honestly this should be enough to seal a year end spot but we'll have to see in January. Pop Smoke's "What You Know Bout Love" dropped one place to number eight.

Staying at number nine is "You Broke Me First" by Tate McRae....hopefully Ariana's album bomb knocks this out of the top ten and stalls it's momentum.

Speaking of  momentum that's dying off, "Savage Love" by Jawsh 685 and Jason DeRulo slipped down two places to number ten.

Gains

Pretty quiet on the gains front with the biggest gain being for "Levitating (remix)" by Dua Lipa feat DaBaby which rose nine places to 13 while "Diamonds" by Sam Smith rose four to 43 this week ("Diamonds" should get a boost  off the back of the album release next week)

Losers

The biggest loser this week is "Kings & Queens" by Ava Max which got dethroned from 42 to 48 this week while "Everybody Rise" is doing the opposite of the songs title in collapsing down from 43 to 49.

Drop Outs

So there are four drop outs this week with "Wishing Well" by Juice WRLD, "Adore You" by Harry Styles, "Be Kind" by Marshmello and Halsey and "Look Into My Eyes" by Brando all gone

New Entries

So beyond Ariana Grande's "positions" debuting at number one, we did have three other new entries with American country star Luke Combs achieving his highest ever singles chart position in Australia thanks to the deluxe release of his album thanks to the song "Forever After All" debuting at number 14, I am all for this happening, it's the best country song to hit the ARIA top 50 in such a long time.

The Kid LAROI's "So Done" arrives at number 20 while James Arthur's "Train Wreck" turns up at number 45 thanks to virality on TikTok.

So next week, we should see what carnage Ariana Grande can create with the "positions" album bomb when the chart updates at 5pm AEDT on Saturday. 

2000 Sound: 29th October: If This Ain't Love for Spiller Groovejetting to number 1

Another busy old week on the ARIA singles chart where for yet another week we have a new number one courtesy of Spiller's "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" which climbed two places hit the top spot...and really when you think about it it was about time, it's an open question of whether it will stay at number one but it locked "Most Girls" by Pink out of top spot as it remained at number two for another week.

Ricky Martin has this week's highest debut at number three with "She Bangs" thanks to massive sales that couldn't quite match the top two. 

All this meant last week's number one "Beautiful Day" by U2 got pushed back to number four as sales fell off following it's debut at number one last week but it's going come under threat from "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus which had the biggest gain of anything inside the top ten as it rose five places to number five.

Hell, it blew right place "On A Night Like This" by Kylie Minogue which suffered a two place stumble to number six while Craig David's "Fill Me In" recovered one place to number seven. 

Mostly because "Shackles (Praise You)" by Mary Mary slipped three places to number eight, it's on its way out. 

Rising two places to number nine is "Come On Over Baby (All I Want is You)" by Christina Aguilera, this song could climb higher in the weeks ahead, it's got traction, it pushed back "B-Boys & Flygirls" by Bomfunk MCs which slipped one place to number ten which is good news but I just hope it leaves the chart altogether sooner rather than later.

Gains

In good news "Black Coffee" by All Saints rebounded from 45 up to 25. That song is still a really damn good one. 

Vitamin C's "Friends Forever (Graduation)" continues to pick up steam as it rose from 29 to 22. 

Green Day's "Minority" climbed six places to 30 while "Lady (Hear Me Tonight" by Modjo jumped from 41 to 36 because it's a hit in the making.

Losers

Most of the big losses came for songs that have been hits this year and are on their way out anyway like Madonna's "Music" which fell nine places to 16, "Rock DJ" by Robbie Williams tumbled seven spots to 13, "Try Again" by Aaliyah tumbled from 26 to 31, "We Will Rock You" by Five and Queen got rocked down nine spots to 33, "Lucky" by Britney Spears had its luck run out as it collapsed from 25 to 37, "Breathless" by The Corrs lived up to it's name by sliding ten to 40 and finally "I'm Outta Love" by Anastacia collapsed from 31 to 47.

There are two songs that just haven't quite got going with "These Days" by Bardot having its days on the chart drawing to a close down ten to 42 while "Out of Your Mind" bt True Steppers feat. Victoria Beckham dropped from 38 to 44 as it sputters to an end of its run.

New Entries

So I already mentioned "She Bangs" by Ricky Martin being the highest debut of the week at number three so let's see what else turned up on the chart...

The Living End are back at number 18 with their latest single called "Pictures in the Mirror", Sash! sees into the chart at number 39 with "With My Own Eyes" and finally Matchbox Twenty are back on the chart at number 48 with "If You're Gone"

ARIA Singles Top Ten/Chart Review: 26th October. Lonely Levitating Proves it CAN levitate

 So here we have another quiet week on the ARIA singles chart which I am grateful for considering the album bomb that is coming from Ariana Grande in two weeks time...not to mention the impact she might well make next week with her new single but that's all ahead of us next week, let's stick to this week and the current top ten where right at the very top is "Mood" by24k Goldn and Ian Diorr which spends a fourth week at number one and really while it's dependent on the numbers "positions" by Ariana Grande does this week, I'm confident "Mood" will get another week at the top given "positions" really has underwhelmed on both streaming and sales in it's first full days since it's release on Friday afternoon...got to wonder if people are feeling the burnout with Ariana Grande...

Anyway, we finally saw change at number two with "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry and MNEK which gained on both sales and streaming to climb to number two, it pushed past "WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion which has just lost sales in a big way and finally started to bleed on streaming to slip to number three.

Its coming under threat unfortunately from "Holy" by Justin Bieber feat. Chance The Rapper which climbed one spot to number four, it took advantage of "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac starting to show signs of losing some of that virality as it slipped one place to number five.

All that saw "Lemonade" by Internet Money and Gunna feat. NAV and Don Toliver remain steady at uumber six as all this song has is streaming.

Speaking of just having streaming its pretty much the same for Pop Smoke's "What You Know Bout Love" which rose one place to number seven, it did push back "Savage Love" by Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo to number eight as it is fading naturally. 

Tate McRae remains at number nine with "You Broke Me First" while spending it's first week inside the top ten unfortunately is "Put Your Records On" by Ritt Momney and most likely ensuring it's a candidate for my worst list.

Gains

So there really only is one gain worth talking about here and fortunately it's on the good side with "Levitating" by Dua Lipa feat DaBaby which went up from 35 to 22 this week. ARIA corrected the error from last week and credited the DaBaby remix thank goodness but this looks like being a hit as it has solid momentum on both streaming and sales which for me is a nightmare as there are already three other Dua Lipa songs in contention for best list.

Re-Entries

We got two really damn good songs back in the top 50, "Adore You" by Harry Stylrs at 48 and "Be Kind" by Marshmello feat. Halsey at 49

Losers

Like the gains, here's not much worth mentioning here with the biggest loser being "Together" by Sia down five to 41.

Drop Outs

Three songs gone are "Mr Right Now" by 21 Savage and Metro Boomin feat. Drake, "Franchise" by Travis Scott feat. Young Thug and Drake and "Ride It" by Regard.

New Entry

Just the one new entry courtesy of Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco who have teamed up for "Lonely" at number 14, it's legit the best song Justin Bieber has done in awhile in that's just decent rather than mediocre or terrible.

So that wraps up a pretty quiet week...next week, Ariana Grande arrives with "positions" and honestly I am not sure it's in the fight for the number one spot based on the numbers so we'll see what happens when the chart updates at 5pm on Saturday. 

2000 Sound: 22nd October. it's a Beautiful Day to be Friends Forever with a Teenage Dirtbag

Another week and yet another change right at the very top and plenty of moves up and down the chart yet again, the new number one comes from a new entry from U2 with their new single "Beautiful Day", it got to number one on the back of massive sales but I don't see it staying at number one.

If not for U2, it would have almost certainly meant Pink's "Most Girls", stuck at number two, would have gone back to number one but it is starting to show signs of weakening which makes it vulnerable to "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" by Spiller which also remained at three but is an incredibly strong chance of taking number one if not next week...very soon.

All of this saw "On A Night Like This" by Kylie Minogue drop three places to number four and "Shackles (Praise You)" by Mary Mary down one to number five.

What is remaining steady is "Rock DJ" by Robbie Williams at number six, this song is actually surprisingly consistent.

Madonna's "Music" fell two places to number seven. Good. The sooner its gone the better while "Fill Me In" by Craig David unfortunately slipped one to number eight, also taking a one place hit is Bomfunk MCs with "B-Boys & Flygirls" at number nine.

Hitting the top ten for the first time is "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus which rose three places to number ten.

Gains

Up eleven places to 29 is "Friends Forever (Graduation)" by Vitamin C because somehow this song is going to be a thing and looks like it might suffer from overplay down the track.

Rising eight places into the top 20 is "Something Deep Inside" by Billie Piper. The song is fine but it's not better than "Day & Night"

Losers

Former number one "I'm Outta Love" by Anastacia dropped hard from 18 to 31 this week (more on Anastacia in the new entries) while "Jumpin' Jumpin'" by Destiny's Child fell 16 places to 46 and "Say It Isn't So" by Bon Jovi dived down from 34 to 48...ouch. 

"Breathless" by The Corrs plunged 7 places to 30 as it literally runs out of puff on the chart, the same for Savage Garden's "Chained To You" as it lost it's gains from last week to go back to 28 while "Everything You Need" by Madison Avenue slipped 7 places to 17.

New Entries

So I already mentioned the biggest debut of the week belonging to U2's "Beautiful Day" at number one but we also have a slew of new songs beyond the top ten so let's start at number 19 with thirteen year old Nikki Webster and the Sing 2001 Choir's song from the Sydney Olympics called "We'll be One" which got enough traction to hit the chart. 

Anastacia's follow up to "I'm Outta Love" called "Not That Kind" lodges at number 21, it's not quite as good as "I'm Outta Love" but hey it's still decent.

Eminem's new single "The Way I Am" enters at number 34/ *NSync are promising the girls things at number 42 with "This I Promise You" while on the other side the Pacific, British boy group A1 have hit the ARIA chart with a cover of A-Ha's 1985 smash "Take On Me". 

Unfortunately "Black Coffee" by All Saints lost all momentum to go cold down from 29 to 45...a shame because it's one of All Saints best songs.

ARIA Top 20 Ranked for week of 29th September (Mood, WAP, Midnight Sky)

It’s finally time to yet again take a look a the health of the current ARIA Singles top 20 with Top 20 Ranked for the week of September 29^th 2020 and really, it has been such a long time between rankings mostly due to the fact that the singles chart has been to a point kind of slow where even hit songs from 2019 are still in the top 50 (Looking at you, “Dance Monkey”, “Someone You Loved” and “Circles”!) well into October 2020 however there’s been just enough turnover to allow for this ranking of the chart to go ahead as there are only three songs that I have talked about in a previous ranking (the last one was in May). You all know by now how this works so let us dive right into it…

There are no songs in the awful tier, so we start in the bad tier…

BAD.

20. “Lemonade” by Internet Money & Gunna feat. Don Toliver and NAV

Let’s be real here, NOBODY expected a song featuring two of the worst rappers in the current hip hop scene to be any good, right? Not to mention bringing along the usually mediocre Don Toliver.

I’ll give “Lemonade” this though, the melody of the song is good and I can understand why people like it from that point of view , it’s just such a shame that the rappers on this song offer nought in the way of charisma or personality when they are bragging about all the sex, drugs and jewellery they have. I’ll stick to the Beyonce album of the same name and the sweet drink.

 

19. “You Broke Me First” by Tate McRae.

Australia, I get Billie Eilish has had a relatively quiet year but there is no need to fill the chart with bland derivative rip offs that none of Billie’s charisma or can match her intensity. This song about a fractured relationship is ugly and not good. Pass.

 

18. “Holy” by Justin Bieber feat. Chance the Rapper

Justin Bieber is likely going to be making my top ten worst hit songs twice and guess what? He might get a third entry on the worst list because “Holy” does nothing of what it claims to do. Gospel has passion in the vocals and soaring instrumentation, this has none of that with Bieber crooning that the way his wife or Jesus holding him makes him feel “Holy” and it’s seriously lame then Chance The Rapper comes along to make the song even worse in his verse referencing both Joe Pesci and Lionel Messi…this song is token garbage dressed as ‘gospel’

 

MEH

17. “One Too Many” by Keith Urban and Pink

 This almost wound up in the bad tier because of how much I dislike the fact that this song just strips away Pink’s personality and Keith Urban is a shell of that interesting country artist he was back at the end of the 2000s but if neither of them sound like they care…why should I?

 

16. ‘For the night” by Pop Smoke

15. “Mood Swings” by Pop Smoke

I just do not have an opinion on Pop Smoke’s music. Objectively I can see why people would like these two songs though

 

14. “Roses” by Saint Jhn

This weird discordant song that seems to go in one ear out the other is still here. WHY?

 

13. “Laugh Now, Cry Later” by Drake feat. Lil Durk

Well it is better than the dross he was releasing in 2018 but it’s not better than “Money in the Grave” from 2019 but I’d argue that it’s the sample that makes this song just meh rather than bad.

 

12. “Take You Dancing” by Jason Derulo

This song is saved from the bad tier by that incredible groove under the hook. Everything else about this song is annoying. It also feels like a re-tread of “Savage Love”…Speaking of which….

 

DECENT

11. “Savage Love” by Jawsh 685 and Jason DeRulo

I don’t hate this song; I actually think it’s stupid enough to actually work even if Jason Derulo’s vocals are a mess…that said the discourse around this song is getting progressively worse especially after a recent remix that sent this song number one on the Hot 100 so I may sour on this song before the year is out.

 

10. “Come & Go” by Marshmello and Juice WRLD

I have come around on this one as while Marshmello’s production is still a bit questionable here, this is actually a pretty solid rap rock song that Juice WRLD sells well. Let’s just hope those involved with Juice WRLD’s legacy aren’t going to milk him for all it’s worth like the music industry did to XXXtentacion.

 

9. “Rockstar” by DaBaby and Roddy Ricch

No change for this song, it is still just decent…it is the best thing DaBaby has done all year though.

 

8. “Dynamite” by BTS

This song is just a bit of fun. It would have been cool if the song had a little more explosive presence though and reflected the title of the song but otherwise it’s just a nice pop song to have around.

 

Good

7. “Breaking Me” by Topic feat. A7S

I can’t lie I am a little tired of this song now but its still pretty good…A7S sells the song well enough and the groove is there so yeah, I’ll take it.

 

6. “WAP” by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion

I can’t see how me placing this song here isn’t going to be controversial but here’s the thing…nakedly brazen sexuality in popular music from women has been a thing in popular music for years and “WAP” really isn’t doing anything that’s all that new but my god this song is so much fun to listen to, the “get a bucket and a mop for this wet ass pussy” line never fails to crack me up and Megan Thee Stallion just absolutely nails her verse here.

If you are that offended by the song, maybe you need to take a chill pill because all you effectively are doing is the work of Cardi B’s marketing team for them.

 

5. “Midnight Sky” by Miley Cyrus

This is not quite Miley’s best song but my god its close. Sampling “Edge of Seventeen” by Stevie Nicks, Miley just sounds great here and while the 80s worship has at times felt a little overdone at times especially this year, Miley does it well here. I can see this growing on me even more.

 

Great

4. “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles

Once I got past the fact that this song isn’t better than “Adore You” (“Adore You” is the best song on that last Harry Styles album), I actually got to appreciating this song more. It is the second blatant vagina song in the top 20. Harry really wants that high from eating pussy…this is a great track that took its time to really grow on me and furthers the argument that One Direction are better off not reuniting as Harry and Niall are making better music now as solo acts.

3. “Head & Heart” by Joel Corry and MNEK

So much like “Watermelon Sugar”, this former UK number one grew on me A LOT mostly because I realized that this song sounds like something straight out of the dance music out of the early 90s and given a 2020 twist, it’s a catchy Eurodance/pop/house song where MNEK’s heart is telling him that this connection he had made with somebody is more than a crush but his head is telling him something other, it’s that moment we’ve all experienced. This is a darn good song that I am glad became a hit.

 

So here we go again….

2. “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd

Like the last ranking I was all set to put this song at number one but another song during this period came along and stole my heart much like “Adore You” by Harry Styles did but “Blinding Lights” is still an amazing song and one of the The Weeknd’s best songs of his career but it isn’t going to top this ranking so what could be better?

 

1.       “Mood” by 24k Goldn feat. Iann Dior.

Yeah…a trap rock song is topping this ranking. I cannot believe it however this song is something special even if it is quite basic, that hook is one of the most ridiculously catchy things I have heard in a very long time and those guitars are bright and colourful not exactly something I’ve ever associated with music associated with trap but its more than welcome and I more than welcome this song’s run at the top of the ARIA singles chart.

 

So that wraps up this ranking:

We had 0 AWFUL songs

3 BAD songs (1 point) = 3 points

6 MEH song (2 points) = 12 points

4 DECENT songs (3 points) = 12 points

3 GOOD songs (4 points) = 12 points

4 GREAT songs (5 points) = 20 points

 

This gives us a total of 59 out of 100 which is a big improvement on the last rankings but the charts can still be better.

ARIA Singles Top Ten/Chart Review: 19th October. Dreams of top five for Fleetwood Mac has me Levitating

 We got a pretty quiet week here, folks, yes, we got some expected shifts in the top ten but we only got the one new entry (considering New Music Friday was quiet for this chart week...not overly surprising) but let's get stuck into the top ten where I'm happy to say "Mood" by 24kGoldn feat. Iann Diorr spends a third week at number one and right now it's dominating on streaming and while it's not dominant on sales, it looks comfortable at number one for now.

This leaves "WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion stuck at number two, it's sales are dying in slow motion and it just hasn't got the streaming to match "Mood" anymore however it was enough to keep it ahead of "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry and MNEK at number three which yes is doing much better than the top two on sales, it just doesn't quite have the streaming to challenge either right now which is a shame because I think the song deserves a week or two at number one.

This takes us to..."Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac rising ten places to NUMBER FOUR, this song is not done yet either, it's got decent sales and a surge on streaming, this is staying in the top ten for at least another couple of week.s

It caused both "Holy" by Justin Bieber feat. Chance the Rapper to stay at number five and "Lemonade" by Internet Money and Gunna feat. Don Toliver and NAV to remain glued at number six.

"Savage Love" by Jawsh 685 feat. Jason DeRulo fell three places to number seven, hopefully this song is allowed to now go away...the discourse around this song is getting uglier than the discourse over "WAP"

Breaking into the top ten is "What You Know Bout Love" by Pop Smoke up three spots to number eight, streaming lovers this song so expect this to stick around in the top ten for a bit.

Tate McRae's "You Broke Me First" dropped one place to number nine, this song has streaming so this won't be leaving the top ten while "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles looks to finally be set to leave the top ten down three places to number ten.

Gains

I already mentioned the big gain for "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac up ten spots to number four but what also gained well this week is Ritt Momney's cover of "Put Your Records On" up six to number 12...this is probably going to replace "Watermelon Sugar" in the top ten next week and no, that is not a win.

"This City" by Sam Fischer recovered up from 45 to 38 this week but apart from those the gains were mostly one or two place gains.

Re-Entries

Good news on return front with "Diamonds" by Sam Smith back at number 48, it brought "Ride It" by Regard back at number 50 with it which is kind of odd...

Losers

Much like our gains, there just isn't much in the way of big losers. "Mr Right Now" by 21 Savage and Metro Boomin' feat Drake slipped from 39 to 44 while 'Roses" by Saint Jhn dropped five places to 17

Drop Outs

All three drop outs this week are from Blackpink with "Lovesick Girls", "Bet You Wanna" feat. Cardi B (actually thought that one had a chance of sticking around given Cardi B's success with "WAP" this year) and "Ice Cream" feat. Selena Gomez all gone.

New Entry

Our one new entry is from Dua Lipa with "Levitating" at number 35 however it seems like ARIA have accredited Blessed Madonna remix feat. Madonna and Missy Elliott as the reason for the song charting when it probably should have been the remix with Dababy that got the credit. I'm fine with the song being here though as the album version is fantastic. 

Next week...another new song from Justin Bieber this time with Benny Blanco and maybe a return for a Guy Sebastian song or two off the back of the release of his album but it could be the last pretty quiet week for awhile rumours of Drake, Ariana Grande (Ariana's confirmed to drop her album on October 30th) and even Adele dropping new albums in the next weeks so things are about to get wild. We'll find out if Fleetwood Mac can go any higher when the chart updates on Saturday at 5pm

2000 Sound: 15th October: On A Night like this, I Want Candy and Black Coffee

 Just me or are the is the chart really unstable right now? We have a change at the top and movement right up and down the charts so let's begin with the top ten where the big story is a return to number on for "On a Night Like This" by Kylir Minogue which climbed four spots to re take top spot but it's not a comfortable number one by any means. 

This of course means "Most Girls" by Pink, which despite it getting pushed back to number two this week, is a chance of returning to number one next week. 

What has momentum is Spiller's "Groovejet (If this Ain't Love)" which climbed five places to number three on the back of strong sales push, this is also a player for the number one spot. 

This is not case for "Shackles (Praise You)" by Mary Mary which fell one place to number four, "Music" by Madonna down three places to number five and "Rock DJ" by Robbie Williams to number six.

The big surprise was the sudden one place drop for "Fill Me In" by Craig David to number seven, this song looked like breaking into the top five last week but that didn't happen somehow.

Also down one to number eight is "B-Boys & FlyGirls" by Bomfunk MCs, this should be gone from the top ten soon...or at least I hope it will be.

At number nine is the one place gain for "Come On Over (All I Want Is You)" by Christina Aguilera, it pushed past "Everything You Need" by Madison Avenue which slipped down one to number ten.

Gains

Samantha Mumba's "Gotta Tell You" looks like being a hit in the making as it rose seven places to break into the top twenty at number 16 while "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus  jumped five places to 18.

Savage Garden's "Chained to You" got unchained, rising seven places to 21 while Powderfinger's "My Happiness" rebounded from 31 to 25.

Modjo's "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" climbed nine places to 41.

Losers.

So the biggest loser this week "The Real Slim Shady" by Eminem as it plummeted from 30 to 42 while Daphne & Celeste slipped ten places to 50 with "U.G.L.Y"

Destiny's Child suffered a five place plunge with "Bug A Boo" and "Jumpin' Jumpin'" crashed through the floor down eight to 30

Britney Spear's "Lucky" dropped six places to 19.

New Entries

The new entries begin with All Saints taking the highest new entry of the week with a song I actually really like, it's called "Black Coffee" and yeah,,it's just as good as their top ten hit "Pure Shores"

Backstreet Boy Nick Carter's little brother Aaron is on the chart this time lodging at 33 with his cover of Bow Wow Wow's "I want Candy"

Melanie B's latest solo single "Tell Me" debuts at number 43 while American boyband BBMak enter at number 47 with :"Back Here"

Finally The Avalanches hit the top 50 with "Frontier Psychiatrist" at number 49