ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review.9th November. The One Where Harry Returns

 So let's dive into this week because this really is late this week, let's begin with the top ten where to nobody's surprise it's still "Housewife" sitting at number one for Tate McRae thanks mostly to streaming, it held up well over a weakening "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley at number two, streaming is holding this one up right now but that may not be for too much longer.

This would place "Nicole Kidman" by Adela in a good position to climb higher but streaming isn't moving the needle for it as much to make a run for the top spot.

"Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean rebounded one spot to number four while Dean's likely year end chart topper "Man I Need" also recovered one spot to number five.

The big gainer in our top ten this week is "Babydoll" by Jamie Miller which climbed three spots to number six, this is the song that seems the most likely to challenge "Housewife" in the weeks ahead.

Also likely to climb higher in the weeks ahead is "Stop The Wedding!" by Ashe however that remained tethered to number seven this week.

"Expectations" by Olivia Rodrigo and the remix with Chappell Roan slipped four spots to number eight, kind of expected this song to go into freefall this week, bit surprised it didn't/

Rebounding one slot is "Boston" by Stella Lefty to number nine and rebounding three to number ten is "Ordinary" by Alex Warren because people don't seem all that keen on getting rid of either song.

Losers

Not too many big fallers this week with "IloveItILoveItILoveIt" by Bella Kay down eleven to forty six

Drop Outs 

Three songs took their exit this week with "Lodi When" by Zach Bryan, "Baby Steps" by Olivia Dean and "Weren't For the Wind" by Ella Langley leaving. 

Gains

"Back to Friends" by Sombr rebounded eight to twenty four and "Sports Car" by Tate McRae also got an eight place boost to twrnty eight.

Re-Entries

Three songs came back this week, older songs like "Victory Lap" by Fred Again, Skepta and Plaqueboy Max at fifty and "Daisies" by Justin Bieber at forty but the last of three returns is "Coming Up Roses" by Harry Styles, sadly that song is pretty mediocre like the rest of that last album of Harry's.

With there being no new entries this week that wraps our week. 

Pretty Fly (for 1999). 7th November There Goes Red Best Friend Rising

So let's dive straight into our top ten this week and much to my surprise, it's still "Mambo No.5" by Lou Bega at number one, it's got to only be holding on by a thumbnail if that. because "Blue (Da BA Dee)" by Eiffel 65 which remained at number two and continues to be the most likely song to make the top of the chart next.

"Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera rebounded one spot to number three while "Smooth" by Santana and Rob Thomas moved up to number four, both these songs moved past "Don't Call Me Baby" by Madison Avenue down two to number five.

"I Knew I Loved You" by Savage Garden rrebounded two to number six while "Sister" by Sister2Sister also climbed two slots to number seven.

Ann Lee's "2 Times" slipped one to number eight while "Larger Than Life" fell three to number nine.

Finally "If Ya Gettin' Down"by Five makes its unwelcom return to the top ten up four to number ten.

Losers

Not much in the way of losers this week although we did see nine place falls for "Everywhere You Go" by Taxiride totwenty four, "You've Got a Way" by Shania Twain to thirty secen and "Ready 1" by Grinspoon to forty five.

Gains

In good news this week, Human Nature's cover of "Eternal Flame" rose twelve slots to twenty twobut it did bring "Tasty" by Ilanda which rose fourteen to thirty five with it. 

Re-Entries

So it's a mixed bag in the returns because on one hand we got "Passenger" by Powderfinger back at fifty but we also saw "Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me)" by Blessid Union of Souls at forty...not really a win if I am going to be honest.

New Entries

Three new entries this week

48. "Red Sun Rising" by Lost Witness

So Lost Witness is the trance project of British DJ and producer Simon Paul workking in collaboration with songwriter Edward Barton with this song featuring uncredited vocals from Tracey Carmen. This song is also kind of short which seems to be the go for a lot of songs in this genre, it clocks in under three minutes and look this really doesn't leave me a lot to say, its a perfectly serviceable trance song that would work well on the dancefloor of a nightclub.  

47. "There She Goes" by Sixpence None the Richer

Sixpence None the Richer are back with a cover of  The La's 1990 hit "There She Goes" and again I think this perfectly fine. I am not sure that this iis going to stick in the minds of the general public as much as "Kiss Me" did though. Check this out of you are curious though. 

39. "Best Friend" by Toy-Box 

Well her ewe go again...round two with this duo who were insufferable the last time I covered them on this blog but let's giive them another chance because surely "Best Friend" isn't as bad as "Tarzan & Jane", right?.Wrong, this song is AS bad if not worse than "Tarzan and Jane", its possibly the most juvenile song to hit the chart with the kindergarten cadence of "na na na na" and the "hoo haa" lifted straight out of Carl Douglas's "Kung Fu Fighting" because that's what you need in a song called "Best Friend"! The singing also comes off as sounding incredibly juvenuile. Igh, this sucks!

Also the easy worst of the week. As for the best, I'll give it to "There She Goes" by Sixpence None the Richer, it's a decent cover. 

Pretty Fly (For 1999). 31st October Wairing for Ready Venus Baby Tonight

So this is plenty late already, let's dive straight into the top ten where for yet another week, it's "Mambo No. 5" by Lou Bega sitting at number one but for how much longer? It's now got some rather healthy and strong opposition now with "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" by Eiffel 65 climbing six spots to number two and it's looking much healthier than "Mambo No. 5" is right now. 

We'll talk about our new entry at number three "Don't Call Me Baby" by Madison Avenue when we get to our new entries but it's in a strong place for a challenge for number one also.

All this meant that "Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera fell two to number four, it does feel like this song has very peaked and is now on the downswing especially as much to my delight "Smooth" by Santana climbed four to number five.

"Larger Than Life" by Backstreet Boys stumbled back three spots to number six while "2 Times" by Ann Lee remained at number seven. "I Knew I Loved You" by Savage Garden slid four to number eight.

Rising into the top ten is "Sister" by Sister2Sister rose four to arrive in the top ten at number nine. 

While "Unpretty" by TLCis on the way out down five to number ten.

Losers

So "All Star" by Smash Mouth slipped eleven to twenty three while "Boom. Boom, Boom, Boom!" by Vengaboys collapsed thirteen to forty four. "Goin' Down" by Mel C took a major hit down twenty one slots to forty six.

Finally "Sweet Like Chocolate" by Shanks" & Bigfoot fell nine to forty seven

Gains

Not much in the way of gains this week outside of the top ten with "In My Eyes" by Milk Inc being the biggest gain of the week up nine to thirty three.

New Entries

 

Five new entries this week beginning with...

36. "Ready 1" by Grinspoon

So we begin this week with the latest single from Grinspoon with this being the lead single for their second album "Easy". The band described this song as a "call to arms" to get a festival crowd moving and I do hear that in the lyrics. It's a solid slice of alt metal that does work for what it's trying to do. Check it out if you are curious. 

35. "Waiting for Tonight" by Jennifer Lopez\

So it seeems strange that Jennifer Lopez's label have waited so long to follow up "If You Had My Love" given the success that song had, you'd think they would want to strike while the iron is hot but none the less we have this new song and I will say this is a whole lot better than "If You Had My Love" more because it feels like a complete vibe as the 20th century winds down with its somewhat Latin dance vibe and Jennifer Lopez genuinely sounds like she cannot wait for tonight because it will set her free. Good song, check it out/

31. "Satisfy You" by Puff Daddy feat. Mase

I am not touching this song with a ten foot barge pole. Ew.

29. "Venus Or Mars" by Jackson Mendoza 

We have got another Australian sister duo this week, this time via sister duo Jackson Mendoza with this song being their debut single and well...this sounds like an indie pop/rock song with the Mendoza sisters shifting into this kind of annoying bratty vocals that immediately take me out of the song not to mention that "Woo woo hoo!" that drives me crazy on the hook...seriously...this song actually has some really shoddy production. I think I'll skip this more often than not.

3. "Don't Call Me Baby" by Madison Avenue

Ending the week with another newcomer, this time its Madison Avenue. a male and female electronic duo with this song being the first from this pair to hit the chart and wow...this might top the Jackson Menzoza song for being annoying because dear god, the lyrics just sound like her finger wagging right in front of somebody's face just because they called her a name she didn't like complete with a fucking lecture for a hook, Yeah don't call me again, Madison Avenue.

But it's not the worst of the week, that's going to Jackson Mendoza for whatever the hell "Venus or Mars" is. Jennifer Lopez runs away with the best for "Waiting for Tonight"

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 2nd November. The One Where a Babydoll hits the top ten

 Yeah, I think the prediction I made last week \about the previous week being the last of the big charting weeks of the year felt right becuse we got absolutely zero new entries this week. Let's sraer withour top ten where "Housewife" by Tate McRae remains at number one for a second week because it held the lead on streaming this week. 

"Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley rebounded one spot to number two mostly because streaming and sales haven't completely let go of this song yet. .Adela's "Nicole Kidman" climbed three slots to hit a new peak of number three.

"Expectations" by Olivia Rodrigo and the remix featuring Chappell Roan fell back two slots to number four, streaming is losing interest in this fast, expect this to free fall next week.

"Reun Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean held steady at number five while "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean stumbled two sllots to number six. "Stop The Wedding" by Ashe remained locked in at number seven.

Much ro my delight "Lies" by Zach Bryan feat Lana Del Rey climbed four to number eight. Nice to see streaming getting behind this song!.

The biggest gain of rhe week belongs though to "Babydoll" by Jamie Miller which climbed a massive eighteen spots to number nine! Finally "Boston" by Stella Lefty fell one to number ten...hopefully this song leaves the top ten, the sooner the better!.

Losers

Taylor Swift's "Patient Zero" fell eight to sixteen as streaming seems to be done with this song. "A Couple Minutes" by Olivia Dean fell seven to forty.

"Lodi When" by Zach Bryan fell six to forty four. 

Drop Outs

So we did have three drop outs this week beginning with "Flower in a Hurricane" by Justice, Tame Impala, SZA, and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, it took with it "Daisies" by Justin Bieber and "Messy" by Lola Young. 

Gains

So apart from "Babydoll" by Jamie Miller's massive rise. We didn't get too much in the way of gains...at least gains with some decent quality because "No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinashe rebounded seven spots to twenty five while "Movin' to the Sun" by Hugel, Imael Angel and Ultra Nate also rebounded seven to  thirty four.

Re-Entries\

Three returns this week unfortunately "Die on This Hill" by Sienna Spiro is back at forty eight because nobody thought to bburn that song off with a fire hose. "Animal by Katseye returned at forty five while possibly because of our current number one "Sports Car" by Tate McRae is back at thirty six.

With there being no new entries that wraps our week. Next week might well be another quiet one, w'll have to see. 

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review. 26th October The One Where Housewife Sweeps Up the Competition

 This might be one of the last 'big' chart weeks of 2026 some big name drops a major project between now and 2027. We got some impact from Zach Bryan's new EP and we also got a brand new number one that being "Housewife" by Tate McRae, it got there on the strength of really good streaming even if sales aren't quite catching up yet. We'll get to the quality of this song later.

It also wasn't the only new arrival to the top ten because a Chappell Roan remix saw Olivia Rodrigo's "Expectations" jump back into the top fifty at number two, the concern here is whether or not it will stick around in the weeks ahead and I see a bumpy future for this on streaming already...unfortunately as I think the remix is pretty damn great. 

Now "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley rebounded one to number three mostly because streaming and sales haven't completely kicked the bucket for this song yet!

It was a tough week for Olivia Dean as "Man I Need" slipped two to number four and her collab with Sam Fender "Rein Me In" dropped two to number five. Adela's "Nicole Kidman" slipped to number six. 

Rising one spot to nimber seven is "Stop The Wedding" by Ashe as streaming is really pushing this song!.

"Patient Zero" by Taylor Swift slipped seven spots to number eight as streaming decided to dump this song hard...then again there is something of a Taylor Swift backlash going on right now.

Finally "Boston" by Stella Lefty slid two to number nine while "Stupid Song" by Olivia Rodrigo dropped four to number ten because her label is now prioritising "Expectations"

Losers

Most of the losers this week are Olivia Dean songs with "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" down eight to eighteen, "Nice to Each Other" down nine to twenty four, "A Couple Minutes" down eleven to thirty three and "Baby Steps" plummeted fifteen to forty two. 

Oh Noah Kahan's "Willing and Able" slipped nine to forty, "Raindance" by Dave and Tems fell eight to forty four and "Hate That I Made You Love Me" by Ariana Grande fell eight to forty eight.

Drop Outs

So most of these drop outs have been bouncing on and off the charts for weeks. It was a bad week for Sienna Spiro with both "Die on This Hill" and "Material Lover" both taking their exits.

Also gone are "Cinderella" by Mac Miller feat Ty Dolla $ign, "Animal" by Katseye, "Let Alone the One You Love" by Olivia Dean, "That's So True" by Gracie Abrams and "Victory Lap" by Fred Again, SKepta and PlaqueboyMax.

Gains

Not much in the way of big gains this week akough we did see "Babydoll" up eight to twenty seven. 

Re-Entries

 So Lola Young's "Messy" returned at number fifty while back at forty five is "Stateside" by Pink Pantheress and Zara Larsson. 

New Entries

Four new entries this week beginning with...

43. "Flower in a Hurricane" by Justice, Tame Impala, SZA and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

Good lord, this is one of those Calvin Harris circa 2017 songs where the combination of artists is so weird that it makes you double take and wonder how the fuck we ended up here, this song is of course for the Grand Theft Auto VI soundtrack and we got this eighties sounding instrumental from both Justice and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard that has plenty of appeal, it actually sounds really good however I wish both SZA and Tame Impala had more presence and energy on this song, I sadly found both of them pretty easy to ignore here. 

38. "Lodi When" by Zach Bryan

First of two Zach Bryan songs from his latest excellent EP "Young Manhood and Other Donatable Organs" with this being the song a lot of people were proclaiming as one of the best on the EP, now I do think this is pretty damn good but I don't see it as the best song on the EP, for me, the song is probably held back by the introduction. it just sounds so abrasive to my ear but then Zach and the warm  organic guitar kicks in and the song works to a high level, its about being your own saviour and realizing that sometimes you have to save yourself  It's a nice piece of introspection from Zach but if we're looking for the best on the EP....

12. "Lies" by Zach Bryan feat. Lana Del Rey

So I was a little surprised when I first saw Lana Del Rey's name as a feature on this track but then again I shouldn't have been., Lana has been pushing toward a suspected move into country for awhile and maybe a collab with Zach Bryan on a song of his and yeah, this might be the best thing she has  ever done, this song is absolutely beautiful although the content of this is pretty dark where Zach begs Lana to tell him that she still loves him even though it would be a complete lie because he cannot face the truth about the end of the relationship and Lana knows it, eventually Zach r3ealizes that he needs the cold hard truth, its a devastating song lyrically but Zach and Lana have some seriously good chemistry here. This is one of the best songs to hit the chart in months, check it out!

1. "Housewife" by Tate McRae

Honestly, I was dreading a new Tate McRae song so when I heard she was dropping this with that title, my stomache started tying in knots, this generally doesn't lead to good things especially from an artist like Tate McRae so my expectations were at an all time low for this song and yeah...while I actually somewhat think there's elements of this song that work in terms of the instrumental but it's McRae's voice that gives me the impression that she cannot sell this being her own housewife at all, she comes off sounding way too cutesy here and that is quite off putting to me in a song where you are trying to claim being your own "housewife"...this isn't terrible but it sure is forgettably mediocre.

It's also the worst of the week. The best is "Lies" by Zach Bryan feat. Lana Del Rey...that song pretty much runs away with the best this week.

Pretty Fly (For 1999) 24th October. Eternal Learning to Like Me For Me in Ibiza

 A pretty standard week at hand here so let's dive straight into the top ten where of course the lack of competition means that for yet another week it's "Mambo No. 5" at number one ahead of  "Genie in A Bottle" by Christina Aguilera at number two. 

Much to my surprise "Larger Than Life" by the Backstreet Boys rebounded four to number three while "I Knew I Loved You" by Savage Garden also had something of a rebound up two to number four. That was bad news for "Unpretty" by TLC which hit a downswing of two spots to number five while "Last Kiss by Pearl Jam fell back one to number six.

Ann Lee's "Two Times" went down three times to number seven while there's Eiffel 65 have made an eight place leap to number eight with "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" (this song may be the one to challenge "Mambo No. 5"...we'll see). 

"Smooth" by Santana feat. Rob Thomas hit a rut remaining at number nine while "If Ya Gettin' Down" by Five slipped two to number ten.

Losers

So let's begin with "I Love You" by Martina McBride which slipped eleven to be on the precipice of exiting the top fifty altogether at fifty. 

"Sometimes" by Britney Spears slumped seven to forty three while "In My Eyes" by Milk Inc collapsed from twenty nine to forty two. 

"Sweet Like Chocolate" by Shanks & Bigfoot is experiencing a sour moment on the chart down ten to thirty eight while Whitney Houston's underwhelming "My Love is Your Love" slipped nine to thirty six. 

"Boom Boom Boom Boom!" by Vengaboys fell eleven to thirty one, 

Gains

We did see some decent gains this week outside of Eiffel 65 climnbing into the top ten with "Weir" by Killing Heidi moving back into the top twenty up from twenty two to seventeen however it's S Club 7 who look to have had the biggest gain of the week with "Bring It All Back" up eleven to twenty three. 

There was also a seven place rebound for "Have a Look" by Vanessa Amorosi to thirty four while Ilanda's "Tasty" ravenously ate up seven positions to forty one and Powderfinger's "Passenger" recovered eight to forty two. 

Re-Entries

Just one return with "Goin' Down" by Mel C back at twenty five

 New Entries

Four new entries this week beginning with....

49. "Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me)" by Blessid Union of Souls

So we're starting with a rock band that form in Cincinatti, Ohio in 1990 with this being the first song to hit the ARIA singles chart and I have to say I find this song to be pretty god damn insufferable from that god damn harmonica to the yowling vocals that this woman likes him for him...good for you that she doesn't care about the material things you have etc which I also don't buy she doesn't care about for one second. Ugh. Let's move on from this smug disaster. 

44. "We're Going to Ibiza" by Vengaboys

So what's this third single from Vengaboys got to offer? Turns out about as much as one gets when you ask somebody if they have Prince Albert in a can which is not much because wow for a song all about going to Ibiza, one of the biggest party islands in the world, this sounds all very canned and disposable this song sounds in the production and in the vocals...it may as well have been canned Prince Albert! There's nothing loose or playful that gives me the impression they are having fun but rather on a the Vengaplane circling around Spain for hours on end...Next!

40. "Learn to Fly" by Foo Fighters

So lead single from the Foos third studio album "There Is Nothing Left to Lose" and yeah...this is what rock should sound like, the drums pounding and the guitars playing some killer riffs while Dave Grohl sounds absolutely phenomenal here. I don't really have much to say about this song at all...that's how good it is...at least to my ears although we should probably talk about the content although that seems pretty simple here as the song is about Grohl's desitre to learn how to fly an aircraft!

32. "Eternal Flame" by Human Nature

Ending off the week with a cover of The Bangles 1989 hit "Eternal Flame"  from Australia quartet Human Nature and I'll say this straight up, this is one of my favourite covers of any song that I have heard. I love how magical the production in the middle of the song is and the harmonies from Human Nature just give this song something bit fresh, it's not better than the original but sometimes a cover can do a damn great song justice and Human Nature do it well here. 

That ends our week and man...the best of the week is a close go here, I am going to give a tie between "Learning to Fly" by Foo Fighters and "Eternal Flame" by Human Nature. "Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me" by Blessid Union of Souls is getting worst of the week for being completely insufferable. 

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review. 19th October: The One Where We Finally have a Good Song called "Babydoll"

 Alright so we have a bit of a quieter week at hand which I am grateful for as my real life tome to do these blogs is getting shorter so let's dive into this week beginning with our top ten where "Patient Zero" by Taylor Swift retook number one, it's not going to stay there given what's coming next week and this song is taking a huge dive on both sales and streaming right now.

However it did enough to stay ahead of "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean which rebounded to number likewise her hit with Sam Fender "Rein Me In" at number three. 

Former chart topper "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley dipped three spots to number four, I think people are finally done with this song, it took hits on both sales and streaming this week. (I kind of would have preferred this remain at number one, I still like this song a lot). 

Holding steady at number five is "Nicole Kidman" by Adela while "Stupid Song" by Olivia Rodrigo rose two to number six. Stella Lefty's "Boston" held firm at number seven.

Now we finally got a new pretty damn good song in the top ten "Stop the Wedding" by Ashe which climbed two slots to number eight and continues to remind me a lot of BIlly Joel for some inexplicable reason. 

Down three but refusing to leave the top ten is "Ordinary" by Alex Warren at number nine while Olivia Dean has a third song in the top ten this week with the return of "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" rising two to number  ten.

Losers

Noah Kahan was the biggest loser this week with "Orbiter" down ten spots to thirty three and "Willing and Able" down nine to thirty one.

"Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift slumped eight to twenty five as the boost from the encore edition of her last album fades away. 

Drop Outs

Speaking of Taylor Swift, the other three encore tracks fell out of the top fifty this week, those being "Cleveland!", "Pink Clouding" and "Babylon"

Also saw exits for all three new entries last week those being "Draw You Out" by Noah Kahan, "Storm" by Gener8iion and Yung Lean and most pleasingly... "Solar Eclipse" by Drake and Don Toliver...hopefully it's a message to Drake to do better.

Gains

So turns out the gain for "Nice to Each Other" by Olivia Dean last week that I was puzzled was because she was touring, I say that because most of our major gains are for Olivia Dean songs with "A Couple Minutes" up sixteen to twenty two and "Baby Steps" up nineteen to twenty seven

Also we did see "Dracula"  by Tame Impala get an eight place rebound to fourteen but I think that's mostly due to the upcoming Halloween. 

Re Entries

Five returns this week beginning with "Victory Lap" by Fred Again, Skepta and Plaqueboy Max back at fifty, I am not sure that's a win when back at forty nine is "That's So True" by Gracie Abrams however I'm fine with "Weren't For the Wind" by Ella Langley returning at forty eight.

Olivia Dean's "Let Alone The One You Love" makes a reappearance on the chart at forty five and "Cinderella" by Mac Miller featuring Ty Dolla $ign returned at forty two.

New Entries

One new entry this week so let's dive into...

35. "Babydoll" by Jamie Miller

Oh come on...don't look at me like that...this is not a cover of the horrible Dominic Fike song of the same name, I would argue this "Babydoll" is much much better than the Fike song mostly because Welsh singer-songwriter Jamie Miller musically is playing in the more soulful lane of say an Olivia Dean with this and Miller is embracing a positive approach to a possible relationship with this woman he is infatuated with and that it might well be worth the pain and "Babydoll" is only ever used as a term of affection by Miller. I won't say the song is great or anything and Miller does risk getting pigeonholed if he isn't careful but this is a good song that's worth checking out.

That wraps our week. Yeah, bit of a quiet one but wow...it's about to get busy...Tate McRaw, Olivia Rodrigo and Zach Bryan next week.