ARIA Singles Top 50 Top Ten. 28th March Let's Maybe Trot

 So full confession, this would have been done sooner had the charrt been interesting this week...well okay maybe the top half is still incredibly dull but at least we did get a new song in the top ten...it's not a good song but still it's a change to the top ten so let's dive straight in where for a tenth week "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals rules the chart.but it's starting to waver a bit particularly on streaming, it's really waiting for something to be strong enough to knock it off.

"Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran returns to number twi likely off the back of a boost following the Australian tour announcement as I don't see this lasting which means there's every possibility that "Stay" by The Kid Laroi feat.Justin Bieber rebounds to number two next week after it got pushed back to number three this week.

Same goes for "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa which slipped one to number four. 

Then there's "Shovers" by Ed Sheeran which basically got the boost that "Bad Habits" did as it rose two spots to number five.

It was enough to push down the song that's performing well on sales which is "Where Are You Now" by Lost Frequencies feat. Calum Scott back to number six, Mostly because it's performance on Spotify is not matching that of songs of above it. 

This is also the case for "abcdefu" by Gayle which is .losing strength right across the board, it's probably a song that is weak rnough to exit the top ten in the weeks ahead.

At number eight is "Starlight" by Dave having climbed three spots to seal Dave's first top ten hit in Australia.

It pushed "We Don't Talk About Bruno" by The Cast of Encanto and "That's What I Want" by Lil Nas X back to nine and ten respectively.

Gains

A slew of songs rose two or three places this week, the only song to have a major gain this week was "Say Nothing" by Flume feat.MAY-A which jumped eleven places to 29 but that was about it this week.

Re-Entries

Two returns with one of those being "My Universe" by Coldplay feat. BTS at number 44 while "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran returns at 47 mostly again due to tour announcement.but yeah I do think it's beyond time for recurrency rules on the ARIA singles chart.

Losers

Most of the losers are a case of continued losses with "Surface Pressure" by Jessica Darrow down nine to 39.

"Nail Tech" by Jack Harlow down five to 37 however "Something in the Way" by Nirvana slipped eight places off it's debut to number 30 and Dove Cameron's "Boyfriend took a five place slide to number 25.

Drop Outs.

Four songs fell out this week with the only one I'm disappointed about being "Edamame" by bbno$ and Rich Brian...that song is just plain stupid fun so I'm sad it's gone.

Gowever it took "I'm Tired" by Labrinth and Zendaya, "Missing Piece" by Vance Joy and "To The Moon" by Jnr Choi and I ain't complaining about losing those!

New Entries

40. "Let's Trot!" by Brothers feat. Joel Fletcher

Well this is going to take some explaining...Brothers are a rap duo hailing from Western Sydney, they've teamed up with Joel Fletcher who was last on the charts in 2013 alongside Seany B with a song called "Loco" so I was a bit concerned going into this song and it turns out my concerns were justified because oh man, this song isn't any good. The rap flow is weak and the bars are a homogenous mix of sports references before this squealing annoying breakdown interpersed with "let's fucking trot"

If this is what drill in Australia plans to sound like then fuck it, maybe we were better off with "Body" after all

38. "Maybe" by Machine Gun Kelly feat. Bring Me the Horizon.

So Machine Gun Kelly released "Mainstream Sellout" on Friday and I'll say it now...it's a mess of an album but luckily we did get one of the better songs from it on the singles chart this week with the song dipping into the darkness that seems to embody a lot of the album as MGK and BMTH frontman Oli Sykes contemplate letting this other person go over roaring guitars and Sykes actually screaming during the middle section of the song. All up, I don't mind this.

And really it's the best of the week with "Let's Trot" by Brothers feat. Joel Fletcher taking the worst.

Next week could be a quiet one so we'll have to see when the chart updates on Friday at 5pm AEDST

Lookin' Fine '89. 26th March: Too Many Ring My Bell Lost and Celebrate The Broken Hearts World

 Well, this feels like a pretty significant week even if the changes were somewhat expected so let's dive straight into the top ten where as expected "Like a Prayer" by Madonna took the number one spot, I'd say it's mostly because of the attention that's been on the song due to the religious controversy around the music video but sales for this song have been excellent.

We also have a new number two with "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals rising to be the closxest threat to Madonna but I am wondering if sales have peaked for this song.

All of this pushed last week's number one "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers back two places to number three as sales fell hard and couldn't compete with the top two. As I expected, sales are falling away for "Tucker's Daughter" by Ian Moss back two number four.

Surprisingly holding steady is "You Go It" by Roy Orbison while "The Living Years" by Mike + The Mechanics rose one to number six.

Then we have a new entry at number seven, it comes courtesy of "Too Many Broken Hearts" by Jason Donovan, I'll have more to say about the quality of the song later but solid sales propelled this song to debut in the top ten....I'm not sure that's a good thing by the way...

Then we have the second top ten entry for The Proclaimers as "I'm On My Way" climbed from 16 to reach number eight likely because of how well "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" has been doing which raised some public curiosity about the new song.

Falling three places is "Teardrops" by Womack & Womack to number nine while "Soul Revival" by Johnny Diesel & The Injectors suffered the biggest fall of any song in the top ten this week down four places to number ten.

Gains

The big story this week is that "Stop" by Sam Brown broke into the top twenty by climbing four places to 17...jooyy.

In much better news "Chained to the Wheel" by The Black Sorrows climbed ten places to 27. I'm happy about that while "Cumb Things" by Paul Kelly and The Coloured Girls rose from 42 to 36 and "voice of Reason" by Noise Works jumped from 50 to 43. 

Losers

New Order's "Fine Time" is having a rough time on the chart as it tumbled eight spots to 41. Phil Collins "Two Hearts" is finally on it's way out as it tumbled from 20 to 33 this week.

Finally falling out of the top ten is "Kikomo" by The Beach Boys which fell from 8 to 15...I ain't complaining about that!

New Entries

50. "Over Tomorrow" by Pseudo Echo

So this is the second single from Pseudo Echo's second album "Race" and man, this song feels like it's trying to be a combination of Bon Jovi, INXS and the hair metal rock craze in the instrumentation and it doesn't really work here especially as lead vocallist Brian Canham sounds buried under the guitars here. I would also question what the song going for because by about the middle of the song it sounds like a ballad! Either way, it's pretty generic stuff that I am not going to remember down the track. I'm moving on...

47. "Lost In Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson

So here we have the lead single for American singer/songwriter Debbie Gibson ahead of her new album "Electric Youth"  and while lyrically it's your pretty standard love song, I do like it does not just stick to being a piano ballad by introducing a guitar on the second verse which made the song somewhat interesting even if there's something weirdly dispassionate about Debbie Gibson's delivery. Look, I'll take this...even if it's just for now., it's okay.

46. "Celebrate The World" by Womack & Womack

Ooh this is the follow up single I have been waiting for for awhile, There's not that much info out there about this song which is a bit of a shame because it's a pretty good song even if the chorus sounds a bit repetitive lyrically but it's a cute song aimed at celebrating people's differences and how the world can be in harmony in spite of the differences people have. It's not quite as sharply written as "Teardrops" but it goes down smooth so yeah, I'll take it!

45. "So Good" by Wa Wa Nee

So a new single from Wa Wa Nee as the follow up to 1988's "Can't Control Myself" and comes from the album called "Blush" and yeah "So Good" is a very Wa Wa Nee sounding song even if the sound has matured more from 1986's "Stimulation" but wow that introduction is long for a song that is basically about this girl looking 'so good' and when the vocals sound oddly weedy...yeah I am not a fan of this at all. 

39. "Ring My Bell" by Collette

And here's your regularly scheduled cover for the week...this time it's New Zealand born, Australia based singer Collette covering Anita Ward's 1979 disco classic which peaked at number three on Australia's Kent Music Report charts and dear god, this is by any standard of music,,,a mess, I may not like the original all that much but why does Collete's version feature what sounds a like woman grunting in the background with only what can be described as a very generic eighties dance beat over it, this is the sort of cover that leaves somebody reaching for the headache relief...ugh.

7. "Too Many Broken Hearts" by Jason Donovan

A new single from Jason Donovan, it being the third from "Ten Good Reasons" and yeah this one is a fairly  cut and paste Stock, Aitken and Waterman song in that Rick Astley or any other male star on that label could have recorded the song. It's all about how this girl wants to finish this relationship and leave but Donovan doesn't want her to leave and vows to continue to fight for her to stay because there's  already "too many broken hearts in the world", dude, if she wants to leave let her, don't let yourself get painted into being an abusive asshole so yeah this isn't all that good....

That wraps up a pretty underwhelming week with the worst going to "Ring My Bell" by Collette for being the worst kind of noise to be called 'music'.

The best...tough call...but it's going to "Celebrate The World" by Womack and Womack because the song works more often than not.

ARIA Singles top 50 Top Ten/ Chart Review: 21st March. Sweetest Pie in the Way

 Can I just go back to 1989? Seriously "Lookin' Fine '89" is more interesting then the current day ARIA singles chart, take for example the top ten where for yet another week, "Heatwaves" by Glass Animals remains at number one however there are signs that this could change as it's not completely dominant on sales, streaming or Youtube, it's more likely that Spotify streaming is keeping it at number one.

And from there the top four also remained the same with "Stay" by The Kid Laroi feat. Justin Bieber at number two, "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" at number three and "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran at number four

Then there's the next likely number one "Where are You Now" by Lost Frequencies and Calum Scott up one place to number five as it leads on sales, is doing well on streaming, I suspect this might challenge for number one soon enough.

It pushed "abcdefu" by Gayle back to number six while "Shivers" held steady at number seven while "We Don't Talk About Bruno" by The Cast of Encanto remains at number eight,

Then we've the two Lil Nas X songs with "That's What I Want" up one place to number nine, it effectively swapped with "Industry Baby" feat Jack Harlow which slipped back to number ten and looks like it might be gone next week

Gains

The biggest gain by far this week is "Starlight" by Dave which climbed twenty four places to number eleven this week and looks like it might well leap into the top ten with the momentum it has on streaming.

"Boyfriend" by Dove Cameron broke into the top twenty up three places to number twenty while "Following the Sun" by SUPER-Hi featuring Neeka rose four places to 23.

Re-Entries

The one re entry that does prove how stale the chart is right now is that of "Love Tonight" by Shouse which come back in at number 47.

Losses

Not really complaining about most of the major ones here when it's considered "To The Moon" by Jnr Choi down eleven to 50 or "I'm Tired" by Labrinth down seventeen to 38...both songs aren't good.

"Surface Pressure" by Jessica Darrow down eight to 30.

Drop Outs

Our drop outs really aren't that much to complain about either,...I mean when "Pushin' P" by Gunna and Future feat. Young Thug is gone...I'm not about to complain, it did take "The Family Madrigal" by The Cast of Encanto with it. 

The only drop out I am sort of upset about is "My Universe" by Coldplay feat. BTS...I can only hope that it's done enough now to make the the year end for 2022.

New Entries

Just the two new entries this week, startung with...

27. "Sweetest Pie" by Megan Thee Stallion feat. Dua Lipa

Ohh I was so looking forward to hearing this collab the moment that it was announced that Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa would be collaborating and well the result of their collaboration is "Sweetest Pie" and...it's exactly what you'd expect a collab between Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa to sound like as the song does sound like something straight off "Future Nostalgia" and Megan's verses are basically hot girl shit and really not anything that we haven't heard from her before. All up the song is a bit lame but for what it is...I'll take it. 

22. "Something in the Way" by Nirvana

This was something of a surprise for me as after covering 1992, I didn't expect to be covering Nirvana again but as it turns out it's on the soundtrack of the new "The Batman" and look I get why it has been included in the film, it does sound like a song for the new It's also a short song with it being the same verse and chorus repeated with the song apparently about Kurt Cobain living under a bridge after being kicked out of home. it's actually a pretty chilling song, recommend giving it a listen.

It's also the best of the week. No worst this week as "Sweetest Pie" is a bit lame but it's not that bad. Next week hopefully some big changes to the top ten to break up the monotony, the chart updates at 5pm AEDST on Friday

Lookin' Fine '89. 19th March: Love Train Got A Hold Of My Prayer Chained To The Wheel

Ahh remember when I said last week that there was going to be a disruption to the top ten...well that disruption happened and it looks like being the most significant challenge our number one has faced for awhile so let's get right into it because for another week, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Prcolaimers spends another week at number one, it's still mostly pretty strong but it's going to need to be to withstand the challenger coming in the next few weeks.

That challenger is not going to be "Tucker's Daughter" by Ian Moss as it's starting to show signs of weakness and is coming under severe pressure from stronger songs below it. 

This brings us to our highest new entry of the week and the most likely challenger to our current number one "Like A Prayer" by Madonna, we'll talk about the song's quality later but it's here thanks to good sales that will only get better with the controversy around the music video. 

"She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals rose one spot to number four this week, it's momentum has kind of stalled a bit but all this was enough to push both "You Got It" by Roy Orbison back to number five and "Teardrops" by Womack & Womack back to number six.

Now I'm happy to see a new arrival in the top ten with "The Living Years" by Mike + the Mechanics rising five places to number seven this week! Awesome stuff.

It pushed the naturally fading "Kokomo" back one place to number eight for the Beach Boys. The sooner this song is gone the better.

Also rising into the top ten this week (the top ten actually almost awesome!) is "Soukl Revival" by Johnny Diesel and the Injectors which climbed two spots to number nine.

Finally falling two places os "Kiss" by The Art of Noise feat. Tom Jones to number ten.

Gains

Wll the gains outside the top ten are an interesting and kind of mixed in terms of quality bunch because on the one hand you have "Belfast Child" by Simple Minds rising ten places to number 12, "End of the Line" by Traveling Wilburys rising five places to number 13 and "You'll Never Know" by 1927 leaping up twelve places to 15 but on the other you have "I'm On My Way" by The Proclaimers rising tweny slots to 16. "Stop!" by Sam Brown up seven to 21 and more infuriatingly, "Your Mama Don'y Dance" by Poison up from 42 to 29 this week.

Losers

Pleased to see "I Want Your Love" by Transvision Vamp down ten places to 47...that song has just gotten painful to listen to in recent months. 

Not a good week for Robert Palmer as "Early in the Morning" slimped twelve places to 46 and "She Makes My Day" down from 14 to 27. 

On the way out is "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" by Poison because that plunged eleven spots to 43 while "Copperhead Road" by Steve Earle dropped from 35 to 41.

'Bring Me Some Water" by Melissa Etheridge slipped five places to 38 and "Love Bites" by Def Leppard copped a six place hit to 36. There was a nine place fall for New Order with "Fine Time"...a song that seems to be fizzling out.

Former top ten hits also took falls this week with "Especially for You" by Kylie Mimogue and Jason Donovan slipping from 17 to 30. "Handle With Care" by The Traveling Wilburys taking a hard hit down from number nine to 25 (ouch!) , "Rock And Roll Music" by Mental As Anything slipped six places to 19 and "Orinoco Flow" by Enya fell five to number eleven ending it's way too god damn long tenure at number six (I was beginning to think the flow had rented the number six slot).

New Entries

Four new entries this week beginning with...

39. "Love Train" by Holly Johnson

So this song comes from English singer Holly Johnson and comes from his debut album "Blast" so how's the song? It's a pretty enetgetic, bouncy pop song that really does soak in a lot of the late 80s pop music tropes and even if the lyrics are pretty cliche, this is still a lot of fun. Holly sounds really damn good and that guitar solo works well for what it is even if it doesn't really fit with the rest of the song...I liked this more than I expected. Check it out

37. "Chained to the Wheel" by The Black Sorrows.

About time we got a new single from The Black Sorrows with this being the third single from their fifth studiio album "Hold On To Me" and what's even better is that this song is AWESOME. Joe Camilleri trades verses with Vika and Linda Bull before the songs bursts into a hook that is just a massive sing a long about doing it tough and knowing what you want enough to make ends meet and feed the family and oh that guitar riff is fucking iconic. Great song!

34. "Something's Got a Hold of My Heart" by Marc Almond feat. Gene Pitney

And now for your regularly scheduled charting cover song this week coming from English singer-writer Marc Almond who recorded a version of "Something's Got a Hold of My Heart" alongside Gene Pitney, the man who recorded the song in 1967 and sadly this song really doesn't do much for me especially as the vocals feel somewhat buried in the orchestral priduction and the song feels like it should be apart of a musical theatre production...yeah no, this one kind of bored me...not completely bad but it's not a song I'll go back to. 

3. "Like a Prayer" by Madonna

Well, here we have the lead single from Madonna for her album "Like A Prayer" and let's just skip past the video controversy because we know Madonna's team is fantastic at whipping up controversys for those who get their knickers too easily into a twist, let's get right to the music because "Like A Prayer" is a damn fantastic pop song with how airy and open the song is with a gospel choir adding an incredible element to the end of the song on the hook as Madonna sings about this young girl who is so in love with God or the idea of a God to the point where she believes this God to be the pre eminent male figure in her life this the relationship between this girl and God.-Now while I am agnostic, I do understand what Madonna is trying to do with this song and it winds up being pretty damn great. Check it out.

And that ends a great week to the point where I'm not having a worst of the week this week but giving a tie for the best of the week between "Like a Prayer" by Madonna and "Chained to The Wheel" by The Black Sorrows.

ARIA Top 50 Top Ten/Chart Review: 14th March. Bam Bam is Freaky Deaky in MIddle Of The Night

 So this week might just be the busiest for awhile, we got a slew of new rntries to the chart and some big moves but all of that happened outside our top ten...sigh...let's deal with the incredibly uniteresting top ten because still at number one is "Heatwaves" by Glass Animals thanks to streaming which is the only thing holding this song up right now.

The exact same can be said for "Stay" by The Kid Laroi feat. Justin Bieber which remained at number two, it's continuing to refuse to go away on streaming unfortunately.

Rebounding one place to number three is "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa which has sales and streaming plus some Youtube because of course it did...I am so tired of this song.

It pushed past "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran which slipped to number four because it's not got any sales but it does have streaming and a little Youtube but that's about it.

Steady at number five is "abcdefu" by Gayle with whatecver streaming it has left, it's still good on sales. Also steady is "Where Are You Now" by Lost Frequenicies feat. Calum Scott at number six mostly because it seems like while sales are doing well, its stalled on streaming and Youtube isn't giving the song much assistance.

Ed Sheeran's second song in the top ten, "Shivers" mioved up one place to number seven thanks to a streaming push which is odd but it did push back "We Don't Talk About Bruno" by The Cast of Encanto back to number eight (nobody talks about how increasingly annoying this song has become) mostly because the big push for it on streaming hasn't come and I get the feeling people are moving on from Encanto as it is. 

"Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow moved up one place to number nine but that might be because "That's What I Want" by Lil Nas X lost hard this week on streaming and as a result slipped to number ten.

Gains

There's not a lot in the way of gains here but "Numb Little Bug" by Em Beihold rose three places to number 33 while "Light Switch" by Charlie Puth rebounded five places to number 34 but that's about it.

Losers

Well because we got quite a lot of new entries this week, there were plenty of losers with the biggest being "Pushin' P" by Gunna and Future feat. Young Thug, "Missing Piece" by Vance Joy slumped eleven places to 41. 

"The Family Madrigal" by The Cast of Encanto fell nine places to 50 while "Happier Thna Ever" by Billie Eilish tumbled eight to 45, "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac slipped six to 44 and most sadly, "Edamame" by bbno$ fell nine to 43.

"One Right Now" by Post Malone and The Weeknd slid seven places to 42 while "To The Moon" by Jnr Choi slipped seven to 39.

The underwhelming "Say Nothing" by Flume feat. MAY-A collapsed nine places to 37 while "She's All I Wanna Be" by Tate McRae slumped nine to 32.

Drop Outs

So the big ones this week are "Drivers License" by Olivia Rodrigo, "Need to Know" by Doja Cat (good) and "On My Knees" by Rufus Du Sol

Also gone are the short lived "Oh My God" by Adele and "The Joker and The Queen" by Ed Sheeran feat Taylor Swift.

Taking their exits as well are "We Run The Night" by Havana Brown and "All For Us" by Labrinth and Zendaya

New Entries

So after a heap of slow weeks to start the year, we have SEVEN new entries, let's start with..

48. "Infinity" by Jaymes Young

So we're starting with this first timer...an American singer/songwriter who has toured with Vance Joy with this song being his first to hit the ARIA singles chart and well, it's not all that good apart from the vocal production sounding like complete ass, Jaymes Young sounding like he cannot pronounce the word 'infinity' to save himself and the song is the done to death cliche of loving another person forever over this hollow sounding beat...yeah I ain't a fan of this...NEXT!

35. "Starlight" by Dave

Okay so next up is UK rapper Dave, this being his latest single that debuted at number one in the UK and I got to be honest here but I'm not feeling this at all especially that sample which sounds closer to a cat yowling in the middle of the night and when the content is mostly bragging about women and his lifestyle in London...yeah I think I'll move on because I don't see this sticking around.

31. "Middle of the Night" by Elley Duhey

Okay so this is something of a surprise, you might remember Elley Duhey for her 2017 song "Happy Now" that she recorded with Zedd and was a pretty good song that peaked at number 27 in Australia, well in 2022, she's returned on her own with a new single and well, I'll give the song credit as it really does sound like it's in the middle of the night and there's enough atmosphere to make the song sound kind of spooky even if I don't think it works well with Elley Duhey's voice which is very similar to that of Ellie Goulding either way it's probably well worth checking out. 

29. "Freaky Deaky" by Tyga and Doja Cat

Did anyone really want this? Well they did given it  wound up on the charts this week so we've got Tyga and Doja Cat together here and for one thing, Doja Cat actually works well on the song and probably should have been her song alone because she works nicely over that guitar although I do have to ask why they included the snaps overt the latter part of Doja's hook but it's some of the cringeworthy bars from Tuga "Body like December, ass like summer time" and "Let me slide it in, Wayne Gretzky"...geezus. It's not completely cringe but this could have been a really great Doja Cat song...as it is? It's okay but it's not anything I'll come back to.

27. "Following The Sun" by SUPER-Hi feat. Neeka

Alright so this is a song that was released in 2020b and up until now has only charted in Germany, Austria and New Zealand so now that it looks like being a hit in Australia, how is the song? You know, I actually think this is pretty good! It's a warm summer song with guitars that are bright and really feel warm with Neeka bringing a somewhat blissed out summer tone with her vocals. It's definitely a song to get lost in the hear of summer too and as a result, I actually like this more than I thought I would. Check it out it.

21. "I'm Tired" by Labrinth and Zendaya

Our second song connected with the TV show "Euphoria" in as many weeks so I am hoping this one is better than last week's effort...welll sadly this song kind of falls into the oppsite end of the spectrum of being a slow somewhat limp ballad that really isn't all that interesting and doesn't match any of the teenage angst of the actual show not to mention, I am not convinced that Labrinth and Zendaya have all that much chemistry on the song so yeah I ain't feeling this one

19. "Bam Bam" by Camila Cabello feat. Ed Sheeran

I was pretty disappointed that "Don't Go Yet" wasn't a hit in 2021, it was one of Camila's better songs since "Havana" and kind of deserved to be absolutely huge but regardless here's the latest single from "Familia" bringing along a feature from Ed Sheeran for added appeal (even if I think Ed Sheeran's appeal is waning a bit right now) and well, it turns out that this song is really good! It's got a really solid latin pop flavour that's consistent through out the song and finally Camila's got some production that supports her more limited delivery to the poujt she really sounds good here. The song may allude to her relationship break up with fellow singer Shawn Mendes but regardless I enjoyed this song a lot even if Ed does feel kind of superfluous on the song. 

"Bam Bam"  is also the best of the week with honourable mention going to "Following the Sun" by SUPER-Hi feat. Neeka.

As for the worst, well that falls out easily with "Infinity" by James Young getting that with dishnourable mention going to "I'm Tired" by Labrinth and Zendaya.

Next week..should see that collab between Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa enter along with good knows what else when the chart updates at 5pm AEDST on Friday.

Lookin' Fine '89. 12th March. Waiting For A Voice Of Reason for Your Mama

 Another busy week here with some wild turn over so let's get right into it with the top ten where as has been the morm for the past couple of weeks, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers keeps hold of the number one and really for the moment, it seems like its safe where it is and I say for the moment because there's a new Madonna release coming that's likely to shake up the top of the charts a bit.

It kept "Tucker's Daughter" by Ian Moss at number two as it couldn't bridge the margins, nor could "You Got It" by Roy Orbison at number three or "Teardrops" by Womack & Womack stuck at number four.

Continuing it's push up the charts is the insanely catchy "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals up two places to number five. Looks an ermerging challenger for the number one.

Enya's "Orrinoco Flow" has been stuck at number six for the past couple of weeks and continues to stay there like a god damn beached whale.

Regardless of the blockage, it caused "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys to slip two places to number seven.

"Kiss" by The Art of Noise feat. Tom JOnes rose one place to number eight while returning to the top ten is "Handle With Care" by The Traveling Wilburys up five places to number nine!

Finally wrapping up the top ten is "If I Could" by 1927 which remains stalled at number ten.

Gains

"The Living Years" by Mike + The Mechanics got massive boost this week up from 45 to number 12. I expect this song to be absolutely huge.

In more good news, "One Summer" by Daryl Braithwaite climbed from 38 to 15 this week which is really nice to see as that song still bangs.

What I am not thrilled about is "What I Am" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians rising from 40 and breaking into the top 20 at 19 or the gain for the utter crap that is "Baby, I Love Your way - Free Bird" by Will to Power which rose four places to 20.

The mediocre "Stop" by Sam Brown climbed nine places to 28 while the decent "The Music Goes Round My Head" by The Saints got a ten place boost to 39

Losers

All the big moves down are mostly at the lower end of the chatrt with "Don't Worry Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin down eight to 49 and "The Only Way is Up" by Yazz and The Plastic Popilation slipping ten places to 46.

Collapsing is "Orange Crush" by R.E.M which is utterly dying now down from 29 to 44 while "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" by Annie Lennox & Al Green down from 28 to 43.

"Armaggedon It" by Def Leppard lost all it's gains last week to slip from 34 to 41. "I Want Your Love" by Trabsvision Vamp slimped twelve places to 37 while "Copperhead Road" by Steve Earle fell nine places to 35

"You'll Never Know" by 1927 fell eight to 27  while "Real Gone Kid" by Deacon Blue slumped down from 18 to 23/

New Entries

50. 'Voice of Reason" by Noiseworks

So we're starting with the group led by New Zealand based frontman Jon Stevens with this particular song being the second single from their second studio album "Touch", now I have to be honest and say that I'm really not feeling the guitar tone or the production here mostly because Stevens vocals sound like they are buried in the mix behind the guitars which is kind of an asinine decision considering the song is about insane situations and the need for somebody to act as a voice of reason in that situation so this ain't doing it for me...next!

42. "Your Mama Don't Dance" by Poison

And just like that we have your regularly scheduled cover song, this time it's Poison covering Loggins and Messina's 1972 hit "Your Mama Don't Dance" for their album called "Open Up and Say...Ahh" and right from the get go I have to ask who was asking for this? It's just more proof really that this brand of hair metal is sounding well and truly washed out because this is really kind of chintzy and naff especially as there's no cheeky edge that sells the song from Poison. The best I can say about this is at least they kept the catchiness of the hook but that's it...I'm skipping this.

40. "Waiting For a Star to Fall"  by Boy Meets Girl

So this is a single from American pop duo Boy Meets Girl which was released in mid 1988 *wgucg rauses the question as to why it took so long for it chart to in Australia tbh) after the song was rejected for Whitney Houston by Arista CEO before Belinda Carlisle recorded it and left it off her 1987 album meaning this song fell to Boy Meets Girl duo Shannon Rubicam and Greg Merrill who pretty much recorded and released this song themselves and you know I am so glad they did because this is just really adorably cute and really catchy pop love song!

I love the vocals with Boy Meets Girl harmonising on the hook and Merrill sounding fantastic on the verses, there's a certain charm that makes the song work and sound big without being overwhelming. All up it made me smile, check it out

36. "I'm On My Way" by The Proclaimers

Well I figurred we'd be getting follow up to the current number one soon enough from The Proclaimers and "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" is a good song so I was curious to see how The Proclaimers would follow it up and well...I'm not sure I like this as much mostly because that vocal delivery kind of drives me insane, it's the sort of nasal delivery that doesn't work for me at all and even if I do like how jaunty the song sounds overall and get what the song is trying to do...just that one element just takes me out of the song, it's not precisely bad but it's not anything I'd go back to in a hurry

31/ "It's Only Love" by Simply Red

So I have a mixed relationship with Simply Red, I think they've released some really damn good songs however they've also released some mediocre to forgettable mush and unfortunately this song, taken from the album "A New Flame" and is a cover of a 1978 Barry White song called "It's Only Love Doing It's Thing", falls into the latter category of being kind of forgettable, sure Mick Hucknall sounds love struck and blissed out but dear god, the instrumentation does not much the blissed out, love struck/sexy vibe that the song is going for here, Simply Red can do better.

However it's not the worst of the week because that's going to Poison's pretty terrible cover of "Your Mama Don't Dance", Best of the week is going to Boy Meets Girl for "Waiting for A Star to Fall".

                                                                                                                                                                       

ARIA Top 50 Top Ten/Chart Review: 7th March. Adding Youtube All For Us

 So the big story this week really isn't on the chart but a change that has been long in coming with ARIA announcing this week that they are finally going to be factoring in Youtube when they put together the weekly charts with that change beginning this week so I was kind of curious to see if the change would shake up our very stale top ten...and really, it kind of did but only ensured that we have another new/old number one in the form of "Hrat Waves" by Glass Animals a year after it first went to number one and it got there thanks to streaming.

However right behind it is "Stay" by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber which returned to number two on the back of both streaming and some Youtube.

The big surprise this week was the continued resurgence for "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran as it rose two places to number three. I guess that rock version with Bring Me The Horizion is holding up nicely for him.

All of this sent "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa down three to number four as it had a rough week on sales and streaming but Youtube kept it stable enough so it didn't freefall. 

It also pushed "abcdefu" by GAYLE down one despite it being a sales leader, those streams or Youtube aren't holding up.

Staying steady at number six is "Where Are You Now" by Lost Frequencies and Calum Scott which has sales, steady streaming but Youtube isn't quite on board with this yet.

The Youtube leader lies at number seven with "We Don't Talk About Bruno" by The Cast of Encanto, I say this because while it's got sales still, it's falling back on streaming so ARIA adding Youtube this week came at the right time for it.

All of this pushed "Shivers" by Ed Sheeran back to number eight because it's showing signs of weakness all over.

Which might well be good news for the future for "That's What I Want" by Little Nas X which remained steady at number nine, it's still growing on streaming but needs sales and Youtube to get on board.

Also holding steady is "Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow at number ten and is pretty much now just waiting to be unseated.

Gains

Much to my surprise there was a six place gain for "Save Your Tears" by The Weeknd back up to 15 somehow while "Blinding Lights" also by The Weeknd climbed ten places to number 33

Breaking into the top 20 is a song from the soundtrack of "Encanto" with "Surface Pressure" by Jessica Darrow up four to 19.

One of the biggest gains of the week belonged to Jack Harlow with "Nail Tech" up fourteen places off it's debut last week to 22...I can see this becoming a hit.

The other debutant from last week "Numb Little Bug" by Em Beihold climbed twelve places to 36

Losers

Most of our big losers come lower down the chart with "The Joker and The Queen" by Ed Sheeran feat. Taylor Swift the biggest loser of the week plunging twenty places to number 40.

"The Family Madrigal" by The Cast of Encanto slipped six to 41 while "Light Switch" by Charlie Puth slumped six places to 39.

"On My Knees" by Rufus Du Sol slipped seven places to 46

Drop Out

Just the one drop out this week with "Lose Yourself" by Eminem leaving as expected.

New Entries

Just the one new entry this week so let's dive into...

49. "All For Us" by Labrinth feat Zendaya

 Well it's been awhile since Labrinth has seen the inside of the the top 50 on the Australian chart, last time this British singer songwriter was on the charts was in 2015 when "Jealous" peaked at number 18 so up until now it's been a quiet stretch for him as far as chart success goes. Well it turns out this song is from the soundtrack for hit TV series "Euphoria" and I expect more songs from it to chart so what's this like...I'm sorry I'm not a fan as this feels so overproduced that it actively distracts from Labrinth and Zendaya's talents as singers especially those synths, it almost feels like you need to hope that both shout the lyrics in order for you to hear them especially as the synths are almost way too loud so yeah I hope there is better from the Euphoria sound track coming because this ain't it.

That's a wrap for this week...next week potentially...more Euphoria songs, Camila Cabello's collab with Ed Sheeran and 5 Seconds of Summer but we'll have to see when the chart updates at 5pm AEDST