Thursday, 13 March 2025

All 4 1994: March 13th. I Ain't Going Out Because Streets of Innocence and Love

 This week is...exasperating...especially in terms of developments in our top ten, I am not a happy camper so lets start there because much to my annoyance "It's Alright" by East 17 remains at number one for some inexplicable reason, it's got a handy lead on sales and that might be good news because up three to number two is "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" by Michael Bolton...this song is gross and the fact it's number two is infuriating to me.

Cut 'N' Move's "Give It Up" remains stranded at number three while "Slave to the Music" by Twenty 4 Seven feat Stay-C and Nance slipped two to number four,

Meanwhile Salt 'n' Pepa and En Vogue's awesome collab single "Whatta Man" climbed one spot to number five. I desperately want this to become a hit please.

Also thrilled that Celine Dion's cover of "The Power of Love" is up ton number six from thirteen last week which is awesome to see.

Slipping down three places is "Asshole" by Denis Leary to number seven while "Feelin' Alright" by EYC tumbled one to number eight and "All for Love" by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting continues its slow decline down one to number ten.

Up eight to number ten is "Sing Hallelujah" by Dr Alban...Joy...sarcasm fully intended with that. Not thrilled about that last one at all.


Losers

So let's begin right down the bottom of the top 50 because "Is There Any Love In Your Heart?" by Lenny Kravitz fell twelve places to five while "Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through" by Meatloaf fell flat to forty seven.

"Open Up" by Leftfield and Lydon is having it's chart time closing up on it as it slipped from thirty nine to forty six. 

"Green Limosousine" by The Badloves continues to run out of fuel down eight to forty five. while Ace of Base's hit "All That She Wants" collapsed eleven places to forty two

People are starting to get tired of sappy Bryan Adams so the pain that is "Please Forgive" is down eight to thirty twi.

We've got Haddaway's follow up in the new entries this week but their former hit "What is Love" by Haddaway fell six to twenty nine. Mariah Carey also saw "Hero" fall from eleven to nineteen/


Gains

So let's talk about the gains outside the top ten and we have some huge ones this week with "Without You" by Mariah Carey which for some reason is up from twenty eight to eleven...ugh...do we really need another hit cover of this originally sappy ballad?

In better news "Dum Da Dum" by Melodie MC is up nine to fourteen while "Things Can Only Get Better" by D:Ream had one of the biggest gains of the week up eighteen places to twenty four while in other pleasing news "Mountain" by Chocolate Starfish is up ten to forty.


Re Entries

We did get two re entries with "You Open My Eyes" by Hoodoo Gurus at forty nine and 'In Your Room" by Depeche Mode at forty four. 


New Entries

Five new entries starting with 

43. "I Ain't Going Out Like That" by Cypress Hill

So first up we have the third single from American hip hop group Cypress Hill's second album "Black Sunday" and I actually don't mind this especially the use of the sample of "The Wizard" by Black Sabbath and lyrics that flick between bragging and some funny jokes like "Makin Stevie Wonder why" which made me laugh. Also learning that this song was recorded while the entire group was high on shrooms is some very funny stuff but also makes sense in terms of the lyrics where they don't quite come together. All up fun song...check it out. 

41. "Return to Innocence" by Enigma

Now to turn our attention to a German group and the lead single from their album "The Cross of Changes" and while I think it's definitely quite pretty in terms of it's production, I am just not feeling what this song is going for, it just sounds flat apart from the male chanting. Yeah, not feeling this at all...I'm skipping it. 

39. "Life" by Haddaway

Okay so the follow up to "What Is Love" has arrived and I am afraid it is very dime a dozen dance/electronic song where Haddaway sings about how life is short and everyone needs to find somebody to love over thimping dance grooves like this subjject hasn't been covered to death club dancefloor songs before. Definitely do not care for this AT ALL. Next. 

35. 'Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen

So this song is for a movie called "Philadelphia" which starred Tom Hanks and is one of the saddest songs I have heard, it paints a very raw and realistic portrait of somebody suffering with the AIDS virus while watching as society just didn't care as he struggled with his plight wandering the streets of downtown Philadelphia at night out of their sight. Springsteen's vocal delivery gives this song an incredible emotional weight. What's with so much music from 1994 hitting me like a fucking sledgehammer? Please check this one out, it's great.


27. "Because of Love" by Janet Jackson

The new single from Janet Jackson's 1993 album "Janet" and well it's a pop funk number that while it doesn't quite have the lyrical depth of some of her previous singles, this one is just funky with a good groove and Janet just being incredibly playful and she sounds like she is having fun here. I adore the chorus and the very new jack swing sound of the song...only Janet could make new jack swing not sound tired. Check this out.

However it just misses best of the week, that's going to "Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen...too much emotional weight there.

Worst is tough but I'm giving it to "Life" by Haddaway" for being nothing more than dancefloor filler.

Wednesday, 12 March 2025

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: 10th March

 The chart this week seemingly settled down a bit even though I am starting to get concerned that things are becoming a bit stagnant which is where we get to our top ten and our second longest running number one of the 2020s with "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars which has been number one on the ARIA singles chart now for thirteen weeks. 

Holding position are both "Luther" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA at number two and "Messy" by Lola Young at number three.

"That's So True" by Gracie Abrams climbed one spot to number four as it regained some traction on streaming thanks to 2025 being extremely slow so far...I just want this song gone from the top ten...that's how much I've come to dislike it. 

Also up one to number five is "Birds of a Feather" Billie Eilish while "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan climbed two places to number six.

Holding steady at number seven is "Die with a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, I expect this to get a boost thanks to the release of Lady Gaga's album "Mayhem".

Meanwhile "Not Like Us" by Kendrick Lamar tumbled four to number eight while "Sports Car" by Tate McRae held steady at number nine and "Beautiful Things by Benson Boone held on to number ten because this thing refuses to fucking go away already. 

Gains

So the lone big gain this week was "Nokia" by Drake up eight to number twelve because it's becoming something of a viral hit while "Die Trying" by PartyNextDoor and Drake feat. Yebba climbed four to forty. 

"Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls climbed six places to number twenty nine while "Indigo" by Sam Barber and Avery Anna continues to yo yo this week up six to thirty six. 


Re-entries

So we saw five returns this week as the Tate McRae album bomb receded hard this week with older songs like "Something in the Orange" by Zach Bryan back at forty eight, "Where the Wild Things Are" by Luke Combs at number forty six and "Riptide" by Vance Joy at forty three.

We also saw "Stargazing" by Myles Smith back at fifty while I am pleased to see the return of "Somedays" by Sonny Fodeera, D.O.D and Jazzy at number forty seven.


Losers

So the biggest loser this week was "I Know Love" by Tate McRae and The Kid Laroi down nine to number twenty six, it was pretty much the only major loser this week.


Drop Outs

All of the songs that dropped out were Tate McRae album cuts 


New Entry

Just the one new entry this week so this should be short for once, let's get to...


14. "Anxiety" by Sleepy Hallow feat. Doechii.

So this song actually has quite a long and somewhat confusing history which I am not going to even try to dig into here because dear god, it's complicated. The song samples the now classic hit "Somebody that I Used to Know" by Gotye and Kimbra. The content of the song is probably the best part of the song as Sleepy Hallow raps about substance abuse and violence. Doechiii's hook is solid but it's not amazing, she does better on her solo version of the song.

It's fine enough.

Thursday, 6 March 2025

All 4 1994: 6th March. Whatta Man Mountain, Get Better on Peace, Love & Harmony

Finally a reasonable week at hand here with some notable changes and new arrivals so let's get to the big story of the week...our new number one and yeah, I am not exactly thrilled about it because East 17 rose six places to take number one with "It's Alright", it's got a sizeable sales lead so it could be number one for awhile.

"Slave to the Music" by Twenty 4 Seven featuring Stay-C and Nance jumped to number two but that was basically on the weaknesses of the former number one "Give It Up" by Cur 'N' Move as it just lost a chunk of its sales momentum this week.

The same could be said for "Asshole" by Denis Leary which slipped two places to number four and it's now coming under threat from "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" by Michael Bolton up six places to number five because we apparently need shittty garbage like this in our top ten...grrr.

Than we have a new entry at number six wuth :Whatta Man" by Salt 'N' Pepa feat. En Vogue, I'll talk about the song's quality in the new entries but it's here through a decent sales week. Don't mind seeing it here in all honesty and it could be argued that Salt 'n' Pepa are merely replacing themselves in the top ten.

EYC's "Feelin' Alright" took advantage of the weaker songs below it to move up to number seven. 

The rest of the top ten is songs falling away naturally like "All For Love" by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sying which slipped four places to number eight while "Moving On Up" by M People slumped three places to number nine.

Sadly "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" by U2 skiittered down five places to number ten. Would have liked this song to have a longer time in our top ten, it deserved much better than this. 


Losses

So we had a lot of songs move downward in large style this week with 1993 hit "Again" by Janet Jackson down ten to forty nine and "No Rain" by Blind Melon down from thirty six to forty eight. 

"The Key, The Secret" by Urban Cookie Collective tumbled six to forty seven while their other hit "Feels Like Heaven" slipped eight notches to twenty one, it might take some major effort to relight the fire for Take That and Lulu's "Relight My fire" which slipped nine to forty four and "Creep" by Radiohead wound up being one of the biggest losers of the week down twelve to forty five.

Also down twelve is "Rock and Roll Dreams come Through" by Mestloaf to forty

Finally "Boom! Shake the Room" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince slipped nine to twenty nine.

Gains

So the rise of "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion continues unabated, its up eleven spots to thirteen this week and seems to be plotting a course for the top ten.

"Sing Hallelujah" by Dr Alban rose broke into the top twenty this week up from twenty five to eighteen this week...guess we had to have some junk rise. 

Melodie MC's "Dum Da Dum" climbed twelve places to twenty five. wbile "One Night in Heaven" by M People got a decent eight place gain to 32 off it's debut last week.


New Entries

Four new entries this week beginning with...

50. "Mountain" by Chocolate Starfish

So doing these retrospective charts and I occasionally see a song I vaguely recognise, one that got played all the time on the radio at the time after it's release or in the background of some event I was at and that's kind of the case for this song from Australian rock band Chocolate Starfish (I hear the laughing overseas and all I can say is get your filthy minds out of the gutter...:)) with "Mountain" being the third single from their self titled album and yeah this one does click with its incredibly instrumental swell as the lyrics sound off about how he can't be what his partner wants him to be which is an immovable force or object like a mountain when he feels like a river.

Damn good song, worth checking out if you aren't familiar with it or don't listen to the radio.



43. "Peace, Love and Harmony" by Cut 'N' Move"

So the follow up to "Give It Up" is here and well, I am not a big fan of this at all, it's this standard eurodance and rap song that kind of feels a bit dime a dozen especially in 1994. I might like their cover of "Give It Up" but I am really not a fan of this especially when others just the previous week did it better. Next!

42. "Things Can Only Get Better" by D:Ream

This is a song from a North Ireland group called D:Ream with this song's inspration coming from a conversation that one of the band members was having with an office colleague and you know what? I do like this a fair bit, I like the passion and resolve that the hook is sung with and the swell of the backing vocals. Solid song, worth checking out.

6. "Whatta Man"  by Salt 'N' Pepa feat. En Vogue

Well no wonder this song charted so high, a collab between two girl groups that could be almighty interesting and what we got was this pretty sweet, fun song about praising the guys in their lives that are apparently incredibly good providers and lovers and while I'd love for the hook to be something a little more than that one line, I love the beat and groove of this to the point that it feels like nit picking on the hook, this is a damn good song.

Yeah, "Whatta Man" by Salt 'n' Pepa feat. En Vogue gets bet of the week. It was close though because "Mountain" by Chocolate Starfish hits like a train for me.

As for worst, I guess that has to go to Cut 'N' Move for "Peace, Love and Harmony" although its really not that bad...just a sound and style that I need a break from for a bit.

Wednesday, 5 March 2025

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 3rd March.

This week surprised me so much not just that we have a returning number one but that we had something resembling a major album bomb from Tate McRae for "So Close To What?" and somehow it had a bigger impact on the chart than The Weeknd's "Hurrry Up Tomorrow"

So let's not delay any further and get to the top ten where Tate McRae does impact just not right at the rop where "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars returns to number one despite not really ruling in any channel other than maybe having some sales.

It held out "Luther" which remained at number two this week despite having some incredible streaming ahead of 'Messy" by Lola Young which rebounded one place to number three although that might have been because "Not Like Us" by Kendrick Lamar fell three places to number four as the momentum from the Superbowl performance fell away

Staying at number five is "That's So True" by Gracie Abrams as it clings to what streaming it has. ( honestly wish this song was gone sooner because I am done with it.

Regaining one spot to number six is "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish although it probably regained traction thanks to the weaknesses of  "Die with a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars which slipped back to number seven.

Rising one place to number eight this week is "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan, its just steady at the moment, like it's settling for a long run in the top ten. 

Then we have the first sign of the Tate McRae album bomb with "Sports Car" returning to the top ten up sixteen to number nine. It's a new peak for this song after debuting at number ten.

Finally still clinging to the top ten like poo is "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone at number ten, can we just get rid of this song now please.


Losers

Not really a lot of big losers this week with "The Door" by Teddy Swims down eight to forty three while "I Love You, I'm Sorry" by Gracie Abrams fell seven to forty one and "Indigo" by Sam Barber feat. Avery Anna lost most of it's boost last week down six to forty two. 

The biggest loser this week was Sabrina Carpenter's "Please Please Please" which slipped fifteen places to thirty two this week and while on Sabrina Carpenter, "Busy Woman" tumbled nine to thirty one and former chart topper "Taste" slipped seven to twenty three. 

Finally "TV Off" by Kendrick Lamar fell seven to nineteen. '


Gains

So I have already mentioned the biggest gain of the week in the top ten with "Sports Car" by Tate McRae up sixteen to number nine. \

Outside of that though, there's really not much with "Nokia" by Drake up eight to twenty being the other considerable gain. 


Re Entries

Four re entries this week headlined by the returns Tate McRae's "2 Hands" at forty and "It's Ok, I'm Ok" at thirty seven.

Also saw "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac back at forty eight and "Chihiro" by Billie Eilish at number forty five. 


Drop Outs

So we saw some longstanding hits leave like "Stick Season" by Noah Kahan, "Stargazing"  by Myles Smith, "Where the Wild Things are" by Luke Combs and "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar.

We also lost SZA tracks like "BMF" and "30 for 30"  feat. Kendrick Lamar.

I am definitely complaining that "CN Towe" by PartyNextDoor and Drake and "Gimme A Hug" by Drake are gone along with "I'm The Problem" by Morgan Wallen and "Dreamin"  by Dom Dolla feat. Daya.


New entries

So we did get an album bomb for Tate McRae's "So Close to What?" so apart from the top 20 and the best or worst, we had "BloodonmyHands" feat Flo Milli at forty seven (pretty close to worst of the week, this isn't good), "Miss Possessive" at thirty four, "Dear God" at twenty six 

Now that's out of the way, we've got four new entries to deal with but we're not starting with Tate McRae because...


44. "Die Trying" by PartyNextDoor, Drake and Yebba

And here I was thinking that I was done dealing with songs from that already forgotten PartyNextDoor and Drake project however this is probably one of the better songs from that project even if Yebba is just backing vocals but at least Drake is putting aside his shitty misogyny and is trying to be genuine here in his attempt to find love...let's just hope he can keep the misogyny to a minimum

33. "Purple Lace Bra" by Tate McRae

One of the biggest issues I have with Tate McRae is that she has a very limited vocal range and has very little charisma or personality that she can use in her music mercifully she actually got a pretty good sultry R'n'B jam out of it because yeah I like this especially when McRae switches to cooing on the chorus that reminds me a lot of Ariana Grande on "Positions". I'll take it. 

17. "I Know Love" by Tate McRae feat, The Kid Laroi

Oh xome on this is just Tate McRae and The Kid Laroi taking their flirting into the recording studio and it sounds embarrassing as all hell with Tate going on about she knows love when it hits. Now I actually like the hook but god damn, this song has very little substance otherwise especially when The Kid Laroi does his whiny yelping like a love sick puppy best.

13. "Revolving Door" by Tate McRae

Kind of stunned this is being pushed as a single especially as I just don't think it's better than "Purple Lace Bra" especially when the song exposes a lot of the issues around Tate's lack of charisma or actual personality. I kind of wish her song writing had more oomph or substance which again is a very real problem with this song.


So yeah...that was our week. Giving best to "Purple Lace Bra" by Tate McRse and the worst to "Revolving Door" also by Tate McRae although that hook only just saved "I Know Love"

Next week...who knows?

Saturday, 1 March 2025

All 4 1994: 27th February. Cornflake Girl Without Anything Sings Hallelujah to Heaven

 Ahh...so this one is going to be a little late, blame my procrastination but hey a week like this one will do it to you where Cut 'N' Move's "Give It Up" remains at number one for another week. it's actually starting to look shaky and when we look further down the chart, you'll see why

The challenge for the top spot certainly isn't going to come from "Asshole" by Denis Leary which returned to number two ahead of "Slave to the Music" by Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance down to number three whose challenge looks to have come to end.

The sane can be said for "All For Love" by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart at number four and "Stay (Faraway. So Close!)" by U2 remains at number five. 

M People's "Moving On Up" stalls at number six however the challenger for number one comes from our first of two new arrivals to the top ten with "It's Alright" by East 17 climbing from twenty five to seven, this has a massive amount of momentum and could make a play for the top as early as next week.

What's not making a play is "Shoop" by Salt 'n' Pepa which slipped one to number eight and "Hero" by Mariah Carey which lost some of it's regained traction down to number nine.

Finally rounding out our top ten is the second of the new arrivals to the top which is "Feelin' Alright" b EYC which rose one...Blergh but I'll take it over that god damn awful Michael Bolton song.


Losses

Like we normally do let's look at the big losers, down nine to fifty is "Let's Get It On" by Peter Andre as his funky junky slips away. 

"Green Limousine" by The Badloves is running out of petrol down eight places to forty four. The same goes for Caligula's "Tears of a Clown" which slumped eight to forty two. 

"The Key. The Secret" by Urban Cookie Collective is increasingly starting to look like it lost the key and the secret to chart success as the song slipped from thirty five to forty one.

"Relax '93" by Frankie goes to Hollywood slipped nine to thirty eight whlle "All That She Wants" by Ace of Base was one of the biggest losers of the week down eleven to thirty two. 

The audio torture that is "Somebody Dance With Me" by DJ BoBo also took a nine place slide to thirty one. 

Biggest disappointment of this week was the seven place slide to thirty for Soundgarden's "Spoonman"...come on the song is excellent! however not going to complain that "Dirty Dawg" by NKOTB dipped seven to twenty seven.

Finally "Boom! Shake the Room" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince seems to be on it's way out naturally down seven to twenty. 


Gains

The gains are a bit easier this week because apart from the big gain into the top ten for "It's Alright" by East 17. We also got a decent nine place gain for Celine Dion's cover of "The Power of Love" 

Also unfortunately got an eight place gain for the increasingly corny "Now and Forever" by Richard Maex up to  sixteen for some inexplicable reason. 

Re Entries

One re entry this week courtesy of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince with "I'm Looking Fpr the One (To Be With Me)" back at forty eight. 


New Entries

Six new entries this week...yeah...it's a busy one...beginning with...

47. "Without You" by Mariah Carey

Oh great...we're starting off with a cover of a song that I really cringe at everytime I hear it mostly because it sounds so god damn overwrought and clingy like this person who has had enough and wants out of the relationship is somehow responsible for living this partner's life...it's icky so yeah that's my feelings on Harry Nilsson's 1972 hit that Mariah Carey is covering here and yeah, the same issues I had with the original show here because my god the overwrought singing these guilt trippy lyrics just makes me cringe, Mariah has a great voice but my god, there were far better songs she could have covered instead of this cloying, icky song. Next!

40. "One Night in Heaven" by M People

So we have the follow up to "Moving On Up" and unfortunately...it's not as good as that song. Sure the lead vocals are great but that weird nineties dance groove doesn't sound like somebody being taken to heaven in one night for as much as the vocals try to sell it. I don't know...I like the hook but this song is not doing a lot for me. That's all. 

37. "Dum Da Dum" by Melodie MC

Alright, a Swedish MC going by the name Melodie MC sampling "Feel That Beat" by 2 Static and I don't know but I dig this a bit!. The melody is punchy and has this tendency ro get stuck in your head a fair bit along with that hook. Melodie MC can certainly flow even if I am not convinced his bars are all that good just empty bragging and flexing but you know what? I'll take this, it's a cool dance rap jam. 

26. "Cornflake Girl" by Tori Amos

Lead single from Tori Amos second studio album entitled "Under the Pink" and yeah, holy hell, this is a damn great song! I love the piano and now it adds to the song where Amos has said the inspiration was derived from conversations with a friend about female genital mutilation in Africa and how often it was the closest fenale family member doing the operation and the betrayal to the victim of the operation. Amos said those who did this were called "Cornflake Girls" and yeah it hits...terrific song!

25. "Sing Hallelujah!" by Dr Alban

Another big beat dance rap song that unlike "Dum Da Dum" lacks the punch from Dr Alban in the rapping especiallhy when the verses seem so short and derivative, theyfeel like empty words for partying, the best parts of this song are the female vocals on the hook which at least have harmonies but when the handclaps come in I was about done with this song. Yeah, not a fan...next! 

14. "Anything" by Culture Beat.

Kind of surprised this one debuted so high but I guess after having a decent sized hit, this German Eurodance act had to roll the dice again with this third single from "Serenity" and honestly of the big beat songs that dropped this week...this is one I don't mind even if that melody doesn't change much and the vocals on the hook seem way too low in the mix but the rapping has punch and flow which I like plus the guy has some charisma...I don't mind this. 

However best of the Week is going to Tori Amos for "Cornflake Girl"...what can I say,,,I love it. 

As for the worsr...nothing to egregious this week but I'm giving it to "Sing Hallelujah" by Dr Alban for just not having much to it at all. 

Tuesday, 25 February 2025

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 24th February: Busy Woman Going 30 for 30 Complains Music Lacks Sexy

 I was dreading this week...really dreading it,  mostly because of one disaster that pops up in our new entries and by now you know what that disaaster is...PartyNextDoor and Drake impacted the ARIA singles top 50 ths week with three songs from "$ome $exy $ongs 4 U" and we'll get into why the album blows in the new entries because it doesn't impact our top ten where to my surprise, "Not Like Us" by Kendrick Lamar remained at number one for a second week, it built up enough for a srreaming lead to hold out Kendrick's "Luther" with SZA at number two, I would favour this song to take number one nexr week as it took the streaming lead.

It did have the effect of pushing "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars down to number three as it is losing on streaming and sales, the same goes for "Messy" by Lola Young down to number four and 'That's So True' by Gracie Abrams down to five.

"Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars holds on at number six mostly because streaming refuses to let this song go. The same could be said for "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish which slipped two spots to number seven, surving basically on the scraps of streaming.

Rising fourteen to the top ten is "All the Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA because I would guess people are looking for more music these two have made together and the fact this was performed at the Superbowl.

All of this unfortunately knocked "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan to number nine. It spent this week losing traction on streaming unfortunately.

Benson Boone's 'Beautiful Things" tumbled one spot to number ten because we can't have a one hundred percent good top ten for a fucking change.

Losses

So some of the big losses were just Luke Combs songs that fell back because the tour has ended with "When It Rains It Pours" down eighteen spots to forty eight and "Where the Wild Things Are" down fourteen spots to forty two.

In other double digit losses, "Dreamin" by Dom Dolla feat. Daya down ten to forty three and "Abracadabra" by Lady Gaga down twelve to twenty four but I figure the latter will rebound when "Mayhem" drops in a few weeks time.

Gains

So the big story this week is that "Please Please Please"  by Sabrina Carpenter thanks to the deluxe edition of her album "Short 'n' Sweet" with a pretty god awful remix of the song with Dolly Parton, it climbed twenty two spots to seventeen. 

Weirdly "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls swung up nine spots to thirty two.

Re Entries

Three re entries this week with "Pink Skies" by Zach Bryan at forty nine, "Bad Dreams" by Teddy Swims at forty six and "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar back nt forty


Drop outs

Eight drop outs and really the only drop out I am sad about is "Born Again" by Lisa, Doja Cat and Raye...it's a great pop song and deserves to be a smash.

"Fast Car" by Luke Combs, "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac and "Hot to Go!" by Chappell Roan have all had great runs but it was beyond time fior them to depart,

Also gone are songs that I am mostly indifferent to like "Cry For Me" by The Weeknd and "Beautiful Crazy" by Luke Comb however I am absolutely delighted that "Kisses" by BL3SS x CamrinWatson feat. bbyclose and "Slow It Down" by Benson Boone are gone, good fucking riddance.


New Entries

Sigh...five new entries this week and unfortunately we have to start with...

44. "Gimme A Hug" by Drake

Let's begin this laborious three track exploration of "$ome $exy $ongs 4 U" with Drake throwing himself a pity party complete with his god damn victim narrative to boot complaining that people wanted to see him dead etc and begging women who he is calling "hoes" and "bitches" to give him a hug and claim that despite everyone apart from 21 Savage, turning on him, he came out of the rap beef unscathed except for you know...suing his own record label and all that jazz...

Yeah the instrumental might be okay but it doesn't make this song any good or sound any less like Drake swallowing large bottles of copium. Next!


39. "30 for 30" by SZA and Kendrick Lamar

Look, when these two have made a song like "Luther", my standards are going to be pretty fucking high and yeah, I do think this song is a bit of a step back from "Luther" but it's still decent, the ionstrumental is at least gentle and kind of pretty as both SZA and Kendrick assert their demand for boundaries and respect and not allowing fake energy to interupt their peace. I do wish there'd been a little more introspection on the track but hey, it's fine enough, I'll take it, it's better than...


38. "CN Tower" by PartyNextDoor and Drake.

So this only charted because it's the first song on the album and the fitst indication that this album has absolutely nothing to offer anyone who tries to listen to it and this dull trap beat where both Drake and PartyNextDoor concern troll this poor woman who has clearly not wanted any contact with either of these two clowns ands then brag about going to Japan of all places and having a load of money. 

Yeah, this song is as worthless as "Gimme A Hug"...Next!


28. "Nokia" by Drake

So this is the best song on the album mostly because it actually has a pulse and Drake actually rapping with some enthusiasm here with a vibrant beat and a pretty inspired sample of the Nokia phone start up music. The content isn't much, it's basically just Drake wanting to hook up with a woman but it's mostly innocuous, I can vibe to this. Not too bad. 


22. "Busy Woman" by Sabrina Carpenter

Ahh...it feels like a treat to get a Sabrina Carpenter song even though I am not Sabrina's biggest fan at all  but despite what I said about the remix of "Please Please Please". I actually like most of the new somgs from the deluxe edition of "Short 'n' Sweet",,,except for this one...it's this pretty little pop song where Sabrina is all prepared to be this perfect woman for this guy if he wants to love her and be loverd in return until the song gets actively where she says "If you don't want me, I'll just deem you gay" which is just downright ugly and toxic in a manner that puts me off this song.

It's not the worst of the week, that's going to "Gimme a Hug" by Drake for being a load of pathetic copium from a man who should know better. Best of the week was going to go to Sabrina but that one line...oof...so "30 for 30" by SZA and Kendrick Lamar gets it, I don't think it's their best but in a week like this...yeah.

Next week...ugh...Tate McRae album bomb seems likely. 

Thursday, 20 February 2025

All 4 1994. 20th February. The Power Of My Eyes, It's Alright.

Well...things have slowed a little bit on the chart this week, just the three new entries, the top ten continued to shuffle around with at least one change that wasn't for the better and some old hits have finally started falling away so let's get to that top ten where for another week "Give It Up' by Cut 'N' Move continued to rule the roost at number one and I don't see what is going to stop it. it's got solid sales traction at this point.

Rising two to number two is "Slave to the Music" ny Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance but it just doesn't have the traction on sales to challenge our current number one however it was enough to move past "Asshole" by Denis Leary at number three while "All for Love" by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting slipped back to number four.

Much to my surprise, "Stsy (Faraway So Close!)" by U2 remained at number five but hey I am happy about this, would love to see it become a massive hit. 

M People's "Moving On Up" continues to live up to it's name up one to number six, it moved past "Shoop" by Salt 'N' Pepa which slipped to number seven. 

"Hero" by Mariah Carey climbed one spot to number eight, I guess it's not completely done after all~. Then we get to the first of two new arrivals to our top ten with "Hey Mr. D.J" by Zhane up two number nine this week.

Unfortunately, "Said I Loved You...but I Lied" by Michael Bolton somehow got a seven place boost to number ten as it had a solid sales week. 

Losers

Lets blow through these losers quickly because it looks like the end of Gabrielle's "Dreams" chart run is nigh as it tumbled from thirty six to forty nine this week.

Sadly the great "In Your Room" by Depeche Mode was hit with a seven place drop to forty seven while Jimmy Barnes 1993 hit with The Badloves "The Weight slipped nine to forty six.

A ten place tumble to forty five occured for The Pet Shop Boys single "I wouldn't normally do thing kind of thing" while "Nails in My Feet" fail eight to forty two for Ceowded House.

Peter Andre saw one of the biggest falls of the week as it collapsed from twenty nine to forty one with "Let's Get It On" 

Bit disappointed that Take That's "Relight My Fire" feat. Lulu isn't taking off as trhat slipped six to thirty nine while Janet Jackson's "Again" fell seven to thirty eight

"Creep" by Radiohead" hit a nine place skid to thirty one while "No Rain" by Blind Melon stumbled nine to thirty and "All That She Wants" by Ace of Base" fell from fifteen to twenty one. 

Gains

Our gains this week are a rather rough lot this week, I already mentioned Michael Bolton climbing into the top ten but can anyone explain why "Feelin' Alrught" by EYC is up five to eleven or that "Can We Talk" by Tevin Campbell is up eight places to nineteen? Neither song is all that good.

At least "Spoonman" by Soundgarden got a decent seven place boost to twenty three but it's not exactrly a good sign that the biggest gain of the week was a ten place gain for "Is There Any Love in Your Heart" by Lenny Kravitz to thirty two or that "Tears of a Clown" by Caligula got a five place jump to  thirty four. 

"Green Limousine" by The Badlovrs drove from forty three to thirty six ehile "She Don't Let Nobody"
 by Chaka Demus and Pliers climbed from forty one to thirty seven. 

Re Entries

One re entry this week with "The Power of Love" by Beverly back at number twenty seven.

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New Entries

Just the three new entries this week, lets get this started with...

43. "You Open My Eyes" by Hoodoo Gurus

So we begin this week with the second single from the Hoodoo Gurus album "Crank" and interestingly enough, it's the first song that was not written or co written by frontman Dave Faulkner with Brad Shepherd taking over lead vocal duties on this particular song and while I think the rock instrumentation sounds great...I can't be the only one who thinks the lead vocals are buried way too far back in the mix here? The back vocals have better placement in this song than Shepherd's do which is a shame because it's not a bad song. 


33.  "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion

Another week another cover of Jennifer Rush's 1985 hit "The Power Of Love", this time coming from Celine Dion for her album "Falling into You" and I have to be honest here...I actually really think Celine's version might be the best version of the song, she absolutely owns this song, she MAKES you believe that she believes in the relationship she has and the power of love with HER man and the instrumentation that swells around Celine but still allows her to own the song...yeah, you'll see this on a list at the end of the year, Believe me. 

25. "It's Alright" by East 17

Oh boy, East 17 are back after angering me with their rancid cover of Pet Shop Boys "West End Girls", "It's Alright is the sixth and final I was hoping that this song could make me forgive me.
the 
Well it started off well enough with the gentle piano and the vocals about love shining through and a chorus where the band sing repeatedly "It's alright" but than the beat switch happens and the song turns into this electronic pop song and when the hook is nothing more than the band repeating "Alright" and "Everything's going to be alright"into ad najuseam...yeah...no thanks.

It takes worst of the week too only mostly because there was more to like about the Hoodoo Gurus track.

Celine Dion runs away with best of the week for "The Power of Love"