Tuesday, 1 April 2025
ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: 31st March
Saturday, 29 March 2025
All 4 1994: 27th March Feel Like You Made Me Twist and Shout
So this week is all change in our top ten and we do have our regular allotment of new entries that somehow don't seem to slow down any however the only thing that hasn't changed is that "It's Alright" by East 17 remains at number one, now it's got good sales but it really is now a matter of how long it can hang on because it's now got a song with genuine momentum behind it. that being "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion which climbed one place to number two.
It moved past "Whatta Man" by Salt-n-Pepa feat. En Vogue down one two number three while 'Without You" by Mariah Carey which climbed two places to number four and looks to have some solid momentum unfortunately, it pushed "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" by Michael Bolton back one place to number five.
"Sing Hallelujah" by Dr Alban rose three places to number six while "Dum Da Dum" by Melodie MC climbed four places to number seven this week.
All of this saw "Slave to the Music" by Twenty 4 Seven feat Stay-C and Nance slide three spots to number eight while Cut 'N' Move's "Give It Up" continues its graceful exit from the top ten down two to number nine
Also down two places this week is "Feelin' Alright" by EYC to number ten and it's looking like it's time in the top ten is done.
Losers
Down to forty five from thirty eight last week is "Dirty Dawg" by NKOTB. "Feels Like Heaven" by Urban Cookie Collective continues its slide toward the ecit down eight to thirty eight while "What is Love" is being asked even louder by Haddaway as it tumbled nine to thirty seven.
"Will You Be There (In the Morning)" by Heart took an eight place tumble to thirty two while "Shoop" by Salt 'n' Pepa slipped eight to twenty five.
Finally "All For Love" by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting slipped seven to twenty one.
Gains
A lot of big gains were for recent new entries with the first of those being a nine place gain to thirty six fot Jimmy Cliff's "I Can See Clearly Now" while "Let Me Show You" by K-Klass climbed from forty one to thirty five.
"Breathe Again" by Toni Braxton got a seventeen place boost to thirty while "One Night in Heaven" by M People climbed six to twenty three.
"Mr Jones" saw a ten place gain to twenty two for Counting Crows but in great news this week, Bruce Springsteen's emotional "Streets of Philadelphia" climbed up to seventeen from thirty one. Happy to see it.
Beck's "Loser" jumped eight places to fourteen while D:Ream's "Things Can Only Get Better" rose six to thirteen.
New Entries
50. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and RuPaul
No, stop...can we not do this? What the hell? Elton John teaming up with drag artist Ru Paul for a cover of his own song "Don't Go Breaking my Heart" and honestly this seems to have more novelty value on first glance especially with involvement of RuPaul and yeah...this is a novelty version of what was originally a damn great song just messing with the production and instrumentation enough to water it down into this trending chasing Eurodance number that really does not do anything to help Elton John's vocals at all so yeah...skip it.
49. "Feel Like Making Love" by Pauline Henry
Rough start but let's see if we can do any better with former The Chimes singer Pauline Henry's cover of Bad Company's 1975 song "Feel like Making Love" which surprisingly wasn't a hit here back then even though it did reasonably well in the US, Canada and New Zealand and that surprises me because the Bad Company version gets played a lot on the radio in 2025! Anyway, I dig this version, the more soulful verse delivery by Henry and then drops into this kick ass rock hook with the guitars delivering a hell of a punch, Henry makes this work! Check it out.
48. "Let the Beat Control Your Body" by 2 Unlimited
Alright, for some more 2 Unlimited, the last couple of run ins I have had with this group haven't gone well so let's see if this newest single is any better and nope...still the same crappy annoyance with doofy euro club beats that don't change up or do anything different complete with nightclub lyrics about letting the beat control the way your body moves. I am done with this shit already.
43. "You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart" by Sinead O'Connor
I was dreading having to review this song mostly because Sinead O'Connor as an artist was really complex and this song that was co written in part by Bono for a film called "In the Name of the Father" which starred Daniel Day-Lewis and it's this murky piano driven ballad about a woman murdering her lover just to keep him with her in the 14th century and yeah...this song is hard to listen to. It's worth a listen as the song is definitely good but yeah it's definitely not an easy listen.
27. "Twist and Shout" by Chaka Demus & Pliers with Jack Radics & Taxi Gang.
Oh god,,,no please no...this is a cover of a song that written and recorded in 1961 and wasn't a hit until the Isley Brothers reworked it and made into a hit, it has since been covered by The Beatles (The Beatles version is my absolute favourite) and Salt 'N' Pepa so what the charts did not require was this reggae infused version by Chaka Demus and Pliers where what sounds like yapping dogs feature prominently in the production and everyone sounds jacked up on too much marijuana to care about the music because dear god, at least The Beatles and the Isley Brothers infused their covers with some passion to show they cared, this is just a lazy, phoned in hack job of what is a pretty damn great song.
Yeah, it's the worst of the week by a country mile...I fucking hate it. Best of the week is going to "Feel Like Making Love" by Pauline Henry because at least she makes that song her own and it feels like less of a hack job,
Thursday, 27 March 2025
ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart: March 24th. The Music Giver's Emergence Rather Lies to Evil J0rdan
Thursday, 20 March 2025
All 4 1994: 20th March. I Can See Mr Jones and Loser Breathe Again Clearly Now, Let Me Show You
Tuesday, 18 March 2025
ARIA Singles Top 50 Singles Chart Review: March 17th.
Not going to lie, I am getting pretty frustrated with the charts in 2025 and that frustration is only made worse by the fact that a Playboi Carti album bomb is likely all but assured on the horizon but also the fact the charts have been so slow and really just tired.
What? You want proof? Look at our number one this week where "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars retained the number one spot for a fourteenth non consecutive week.
There was an album boost for "Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars up five to number rwo even though you can argue that this song doesn't fit at all on "Mayhem"
"That's So True" by Gracie Abrams continues to refuse to go away as it is up one spot to number three while "Messy" by Lola Young slipped one spot to number four. Kendrick Lamar and SZA's "Luther fell three places to number five.
"Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan keeps dancing at number six while "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish fell two to number seven and "Sports Car" by Tate McRae climbed one to number eight.
We have a new entry at number nine with "Anxiety" by Doechii debuting at number nine, it's the solo version of the song that was released witih Sleepy Hallow and debuted last week, more on the quality of the song later.
Finally "Beautiful Things" by Benson continues to be the worst song in the top ten right now and refuses to go away as it should have done months ago clinging on at number ten.
Gains
So let's go through some of the big gains this week with "Ordinary" by Alex Warren looking like it's going to be his big breakthrough hit up thirteen places to fourteen next week. I fully expect this song to be top ten post the Playboi Carti album bomb.
Lady Gaga saw some album impact with "Abracadabra" up ten to twenty one
Losers
The big loser this week was "Die Trying" bty PartyNextDoor and Drake feat. Yebba down nine places to forty nine while "Too Sweet" by Hozier is falling away naturally down eight to forty three.
"Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" by Luke Combs slipped eight to forty as the traction he gained from his recent Australian tour has really died off.
Finally "Riptide" by Vance Joy finally appears to be about to exit the top 50 again as it lost seven places to fifty.
Re Entries
Two songs re entered this week with "Austin" by Dasha back at number forty seven and "Carry You Home" by Alex Warren back at number thirty (Not really surprising that the latter would gain some traction considering how often radio stations are playing this song)
Drop Outs
This week saw the exits of both "Chihiro" by Billie Eilish and "Where the Wild Things Are" by Luke Combs, two good to great songs that have had decently good chart runs unlike "Somedays" by Sonny Fodera, D.O.D and Jazzy which also exited...a good song that deserved better
New Entries
Two new entries this week, beginning with...
35. "Like Jennie" by JENNIE
Bit surprised we got album impact from JENNIE of Blackpink instead of anything from Lady Gaga but none the less we got this from Jennie's album and I'm unfortunately not as much of a fan of this as I like to be. It's clear that Jennie was inspired by Charli XCX in terms of how the song's sound seems to chase the sound Charli XCX used for "Brat" obly the sound here is less appealing and when Jennie's vocals aren't appealing to me...yeah I'm going to skip this.
9. "Anxiety' by Doechii
So we finally get the solo form of "Anxiety" and I think the solo form of this song might be better just in terms of Doechii's performance, you can absolutely tell this wad meant to be a solo jaunt at first and she sounds smoother in her flow and vocal delivery than she did in the versiion with Sleepy Hallow. Yeah that sample of "Somebody I Used to Know" by Gotye and Kimbra remains prominent but I wouldn't mind if this become a hit.
Yeah it's best of the week this week. JENNIE gets worst of the week by default for "Like Jennie"
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.