Pretty Fly (For 1999) 28th March: Last to Know Me So Why Don't You Get A Job?

 So this is the kind of week where its just as expected, there's this weird stability about the top four of the top ten and the new arrivals to the chart are more or less what is expected including one new debut in our top ten which we will get too but let's begin at the very top where Britney Spears still reigns courtesy of "Baby, One More Time", it's a comfortable number one at this point ahead of "That Don't Impress Me Much" by Shania Twain stuck at number two, "Anthem for the Year 2000" by Silverchair at number three and "This Kiss" by Faith Hill mercifully remaining glued to number four (frankly if this song climbs any fucking higher the temptation to scream will be too fucking great)

Then we have two songs rebounding after losses last week with "The Animal Song" by Savage Garden up one to number six and "No Matter What" by Boyzone somehow up three spots to number six...yeah, I am getting annoyed with how much the latter is sticking around. 

"Lullaby" by Shawn Mullins continues to be rocked to sleep at number seven while "Have You Ever" by Brandy climbs three places to number eight.

Now we get to our new entry at number nine and one I am going to have something to say about a bit later in this blog, it's "Why Don't You Get a Job" by The Offspring. This song has a huge chance of climbing higher in the weeks ahead so we will have to keep a watch on this song.

Finally in pleasing news. Monifah's "Touch It" slipped five spots to number ten. Good riddance to bad rubbish!

Losers

Nobody's moving to "Body Movin'" by Beastie Boys so that swan dived ten spots to forty eight this week while "Goodbye" by Spice Girls is heading toward the exit down from thirty nine to forty six.

Will Smith's "Miami" slipped eight to forty this week. Kind of sad this song wasn't  bigger...it's actually a pretty good song.

Dru Hill is finding out the public's love of "How Deep is Your Love" is not very deep so it's down twelve to thirty six while Madonna's "Nothing Really Matters" doesn't seem to care it fell ten to thirty two.

Former number one and this year's blog retrospective anthem "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" by The Offspring is on its way out as it tumbled from thirteen to twenty eight but we do have that new Offspring song to talk about. 

Gains

Our small group of gains are actually decent...I guess...Green Day's "Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)" climbed nine spots to thirty nine and apparently people can't get enough of Chef's "Chocolate Salty Balls" so that's up six to thirty.

The one gain that absolutely sucks an unbelieveable amount of ass is "DooDah!" by Cartoons which climbed from it's debut of forty seven last week to number thirty one this week and no, that is not good news. 

Re-Entries

We do have the one re-entry this week courtesy of Jennifer Paige's "Crush" which came back at number fifty. Don't mind because while it was a hit in 1998, it's a damn great song. 

New Entries

Four new entries this week beginning with...

47. "What It's Like" by Everlast

So Whitey Ford aka Everlast is an American, singer, rapper and songwriter, he was also a member of House of Pain but given what this song about, I will not be making comment on House of Pain's "Jump Around" here but focus on what "What It's Like" is about with its strong focus on people having empathy for those doing it tough and to not judge somebody going through a nightmare like being homeless through no fault of their own and I do like the pretty damn solid guitar lick and how the song is able to weave three stories in to send it's message. Good song, check it out if you are curious. 

29. "You Don't Know Me" by Armand Van Helden feat. Duane Harden

So two Americans team up here with pruducer Armand Van Helden teaming up with vocallist Duane Harden for what is actually a pretty good slice of New York house music with a somewhat glossy touch that kind of works in the song's favour in bringing the city club vibe to the song which feels somewhat appropriate given the song is about overcoming others judgements and reminding them the individual is something more than just superficial perceptions by others. Check it out if you are curious.

14. "Last to Know" by Human Nature

So this is the only pop song we're covering this week and it comes from Australia's own Human Nature and it's a cover of a song from 90s r'n'b group Color Me Badd (the band I tore apart for the atrocious "I Adore Mi Amor" back during Good 1992 Vibrations) and while the original felt a little too bare bones, Human Nature amp up the pop with some spare guitar, some keyboards and harmonies to question why they are the last find out why their partner isn't giving them the affection they should because they are giving that affection to another person. It's not better than "Cruel" (that song is a high water mark for Human Nature to me) but its certainly good, give it a spin. 

9. "Why Don't You Get A Job" by The Offspring. 

We run out the week with The Offspring's follow up to "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" and I am going to say this, this song can be a bit obnoxiious thanks to that vocal delivery but again just like with "Pretty Fky (For A White Guy)", "Why Don't You Get A Job?" is a hilarious repudiation of those who sit around at home spending other people's momey without ever actually earning a dollar themselves. One poor dude has to lose his gold digging girlfriend "in the worst kind of way" with the response being that he should stop handing over his hard earned on the hook. Goofy ass song but well worth checking out.

Nothing that really warrants worst of the week so I am nixing that for this week however as for best of the week? Tight go but I think I am going to give to "Last to Know" by Human Nature...yeah it's a cover but I'm a sucker for boyband harmonies. 

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 23rd March

 This is a settle down week as the chart recalibrated following the Harry Styles album bomb last week and with a limited impact likely from BTS next week, we'll see how things play out however nothing is getting in the way of Olviia Dean's "Man I Need" which racked up another week at number one to break the record for the longest running non Australian chart topper and really...it's a margins game given the gap has closed on streaming. 

Which brings us to "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean which remains stalled at number two and is coming under heavy pressure from "IloveitIlloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay up one to number three after having spent the week at number one on Spotify streaming. 

Rising one spot to number four is "Stateside" by Pink Psntheress and Zara Larsson, also up one is "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Oliva Dean, these gains can be explained through "American Girls" by Harry Styles slipping three spots to number six. 

Remaining steady at number seven is "Ordinary" by Alex Warren because this song just clings on and on like an unremovable stain. 

For the first time since 2024, there's an Australian song in the top ten...shame it's "Dracula" by Tame Impala, it climbed seven points to hit the top ten for the first time in it's chart run.

"Raindance" by Dave and Tems is back in the top ten rebounding two spots to number nine while Raye 's "Where is My Husband" slumped two to number ten but should rebound soon courtesy of the release of her upcoming album. 

Losers

ALL the big losers are from the Harry Styles album bomb so let's blast through these quickly "Carla's Song" down nineteen to fifty, "Dance No More" has started grooving spots fifteen spots to forty four, people continue to not listen to "Are You Listening Yet?" as it's stumbled seventeen to thirty nine while "Pop" has well and truly popped down fourteen to thirty six, "Coming Up Roses" actually wilted eleven spots to thirty two, "Ready, Steady, Go" false started down eighteen to thirty one, "Taste Back" lost it's taste so down nine to twenty three while "Aperture" slumped twelve being out of focus to twenty two. 

Drop Outs

the rest of the Harry Styles album account for the drop outs this week with "The Waiting Game", "Season 2 Weight Loss" and "Paint by Numbers" departing the chart. 

Gains

Given everything else that wasn't Harry Styles moved up, I am going to focus only on those songs that had double digit gains this week, we start with Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" which finally got a good boost this week up ten slots to number sixteen as Australia finally decide to make this song a hit which is fine by me.

What I am not fine with are the continued gains for "White Keys" by Dominic Fike which climbed another ten places tp twenty and looks to have streaming traction...geezus...I know we're short of guys doing nicely in the pop mainstream but we do not need this!

"Fever Dream" by Alex Warren rebounded eleven spots to twenty four while Milky and Mallgrab's "Just the Way You Are" jumped ten spots to thirty.

Re-Entries

So we have two re entries this week with the first of those being "Die With A Smike" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars at number forty seven and the other being "Midnight Sun" by Zara Larsson back at number thirty four.

New Entries

Just the one new entry this week so let's talk about...

29. "Porch Light" by Noah Kahan

I have been so disappointed in the performance of the lead single "The Great Divide" mostly because that song really grew on me something insane but anyway we have the follow up single with it almost completely along the same lines as the previous single with this person Kahan is talking too having gossip about their health spreading all over the internet and how this person is tearing thier life apart even if Kahan's vocals are not at all impressive on this song. It's fine enough but he has done better. Meh.

That wraps our week, likely a bunch of BTS and maybe Luke Combs next week but we'll have to see. 

Pretty Fly (For 1999) 21st March. Every Morning As a DooDah Doodah

 So I am going to skip the preamble again this week mostly because I do have a bit to do in real life and I still have three year ebd lists that I need to write and get out however it's also a good thing that the top ten didn't change all that much with "...Baby, One More Time" by Britney Spears remaining a dominant number one.

"That Don't Impress Me Much" by Shania Twain just cannot bridge the gap and remains at number two, similar applies for the next four songs, those being "Anthem for the Year 2000" by Silverchair, "This Kiss" by Faith Hill at number four. "Touch It" by Monifah at number five and "The Animal Song" by Savage Garden at number six. 

The movement happens in the lower half of the top ren with "Lullaby" by Shawn Mullins up two slots to seven, it helped push "Jackie" by BZ and Joanne back one slot to number eight.

"No Matter What" by Boyzone rebounded done spot to number nine while "Doo Wop (Dat Thing" by Lauryn Hill slipped two places to number ten. 

Losers

"Tender" by Blur is feeling a bit tender this week after getting bashed ten slots to forty two. 

People have stopped sticking Chef's "Chocolate Salty Balls" in their mouthes and sucking them so it's down from twenty nine to thirty six. 

Emilia's "Big Big World" is actually becoming smaller, smaller as it shrunk eight to thirty one/

Five's "Got the Feelin'" has lost some feeling down ten slots to twenty nine. 

Gains

Thrilled to see "Changes" by 2Pac up eight slots to twelve this week. The party is kicking into gear for The Vengaboys as 'We Like to Party (The Vengabus)" climbed twenty two spots to fourteen.

"Fly Away" is unfortunately taking off for Lenny Kravitz up eight to eighteen while Dru Hill's "How Deep is Your Love" is realizing the love for that song is truly deep up ten to twenty four. 

The New Radicals are getting what they give with "Get What You Give" rising from forty one to twenty e

Finally Propellerheads "Crash!" jumped from forty nine to forty one. 

New Entries

Three new entries this week beginning withh...

47. "DooDah!" by Caetoons

First up is a Danish band called Cartoons and...oh dear god... this is basically a dance version of "Campdown Races" just with vocals going "Everybody sung this song, doo dah doo dah". Its Eurodance trash that is the epitome of annoying and obnoxious as hell, it's even missing the fiddle or banjo that could have given this song some country vibes, instead it's just chintzy and somewhat crappy attempt at Eurodance. Skip it!.

45. "As" by George Michael and Mary J. Blige

So this is a collaboration that I was not expecting on any kind of level, ome of the biggest pop acts of the 80s and 90s collaborating with American r'n'b star Mary J. Blige, I was interested in how this would turn out and rurns out its a smoother r'n'b love song with prominent finger snaps with George and Mary trading verses on the song, I actually really like this as they both sound awesome and there's some decent chemistry here. My only nitpick is the lack of harmonies on the hook and it can feel like it's being shouted at me which is not something I tend to like in music but otherwise good song!

43. 'Every Morning" by Sugar Ray

Third single from the album "14:59" and this on the surface sounds like some of the most breezy pop rock ever with that guitar riff that is at least memorable and the vocal delivery sounds light almost to a level comedic but these lyrics are dark, it's about this girl cheating on him and all that happens when somebody commits infidelity and when there is a temptation to cheat. I actually don't mind this, I do like the guitar lick and the vocal delivery here. I've heard worse in this vein

So that means best of the week is awkward but Ill give the edge to "Every Morning" by Sugar Ray. Worst of the week is not so hard...that's going to "Doo Dah!" by Cartoons...I hope that song does not become a thing because geezus fucking christ. 

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 16th Match The one where I'd rather be listening to anything else...

So yeah, the Harry Styles album bomb for "Kiss All the time. Disco Occasionally" did happen and honestly while I do not like the album I am grateful for the disruption it caused on the chart even if it didn't get as far as disrupting our current runaway number one which yet for another week is "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean, now it just absolutely rules streaming to a ridiculous degree at this point, it really doesn't even need sales or Youtube to keep the number one.

It held up over "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean which remained at number two, mostly because streaming and sales took a bit of a dip this week and it just didn't have enough to compete with "Man I Need". 

The first sign of Harry Styles impact is at number three with "American Girls" entering the chart. More on this song later but this song is here thanks to decent rather than outright impressive streaming.

Rising three spots to number four is "IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay, this song is getting some serious streaming traction now, whether or not it challenges 'Man I Need" remains to be seen. 

All of this pusbed the next four songs down two places, those being "Stateside" by PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson at number five, "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean at number six, "Ordinary" by Alex Warren at number seven and "Where is My Husband" by Raye at number eight,

Rising three spots to return to the top ten is "12 to 12" by Sombr at number nine and finally rising twenty eight spots to number ten on the back of the album bomb is "Aperture" by Harry Styles (I still fundamentally hate this song).

Losers

So we had a whole raft of double digit losers this week beginning with the ten place slide to forty seven for "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter...I cannot wait to see this song gone permanently from the chart.

I also don't mind that "I Run" by HVN and Kaitlyn Aragon slipped eleven spots to forty six...I can live with this song disappearing too...just quietly.

Justin Bieber's "Daisies" took a thirteen place wilting to forty four while "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish lost ten places to forty three like wise for "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" by Shaboozey which slumped ten to forty two,, 

"Baby Steps" by Olivia Dean got sat on it's bum down thirteen to forty one while "Just the Way You":by Milky and Mallgrab got a thirteen spot disfiguring to forty. 

Sombr's "Undressed" is nearly naked down thirteen to thirty nine while "DTMF" by Bad Bunny slumped nineteen to thirty seven (it's done well to be on the chart this long). 

Sieena Spiro's "Die On this Hill" hopefully will die off the charts as it slumped eleven to thirty six and "Fever Dream" by Alex Warren got a cold wet wipe to the face as it suffered a fifteen place drop to thirty five.

A rough week for Olivia Dean continued as "A Couple Minutes" dipped eleven to thirty four while "Opalite' by Taylor Swift got booted eleven to thirty three.

"Homewrecker" by Sombr got wrecked eleven spots to twenty.  

Drop Outs

So I am going to do the drop outs this way:

Gone and not coming back are "Deadline" by Blackpinkm "4 Raws" by EsdeeKid and "Be By You" by Luke Combs

Might come back with album release: "The Great Divide" by Noah Kahan

Might return should streaming return for them: "Nuevayol" and "Baile Involidable" both by Bad Bunny, "Midnight Sun" by Zara Larsson. "Let Alone the One You Love" by Olivia Dean. 

Long running hits that should have been gone ages ago but will probably return: "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen, "Sports Car' by Tate McRae and "Die with a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.

Gains

Outside of "Aperture" returning to the top ten thanks to the album dropping. The only other gain was for "Dracula" by Tame Impala up two to fifteen.

New entries

We are in album bomb territory for Harry Styles so I am only covering the best, worst and what made the top twenty this album is not interesting enough to cover the whole damn thing) so "Paint By Numbers" painted itsself in at thirty eight, "Carla's Song" is being sung at thirty one, "Dance No More" stalled at twenty nine, "The Waiting Game' waits to plunge next week at twenty seven,  "Pop" at twenty four and "Coming Up Roses" sprouting at twenty one. 

So that still leaves us with a meaty porton of this Harry Styles album to cover..unfortunately beginning with...

22. "Are You Listening Yet?" by Harry Styles

These reviews are going to be quite short because there's only so much you can say about an album that gives you very little to say except to call out the "Harry only wishes he could make music as good as LCD system and this one might be the worst example of this yet with the badly blended instrumentation not fitting in with anything on the album including the random guitar and hand claps while Harry sings "Are You Listening Yet?" repeatedly because he thinks that is what passes for a hook these days. Blergh. Never want to hear this again. 

13. Ready, Steady, Go" by Harry Styles

At least this song has a pulse and a bit of energy that doesn't make me want to turn it off and actually listen to LCD Soundsystem and Harry Styles actually seems to have an energy to his voals that is barely present on most of these songs and there's a nice guitar lick that really works at least until the sound effect on the song annoy me enough. Look, there are elements of the production that annoy me but I'll take this...its one of the better specimens on this album. 

12. "Taste Back" by Harry Styles 

The problem with this album is that it's more an LCD Soundsystem worship album that feels very devoid of any actual personality from Harry Styles if you cna hear him at all over the the production because half the time he sounds like he recorded the vocals in a nearby council toilet as the production reminds me a lot of one of the more dramataic Sega Megadrive games made for 2026. The song goes on about somebody reappearing in Harry's life and I am sorry but this isn't interesting or justifiies the annoyingly bad production on the vocals. Next. 

3.  "American Girls" by Harry Styles.

We bring this exploration of Harry Styles new album to a close with the second single and really, almost got to ask why because this really isn't anything other than LCD Soundsystem worship again complete with garbage vocal production, seriously..whoever was responsible for Harry recording thi song from possibly his toilet  or the bathroom should be fired immediately then again maybe when the song revolves around his friends dating American girls, it's probably better to ignore how banal the lyrics or bettter yet? Go and actually listen to some fucking LCD Soundsystem instead.

That was our week and boy that sucked,worst of the week is going to "Are You Listening Yet?" becaus I just cannot stand that song. "Ready, Steady. Go" gets the best of the week for being somewhat decent rather than just boring. 

Next week,, probably Noah Kahan. 

Pretty Fly (For 1999): March 14th. Enjoy Tender Shazam Changes

Let's not waste any time here and jump straight into things beginning wth our top ten and nothing really changed with our top two with "...Baby, One More Time" by Britney Spears holding station at number one ahead of "That Don't Impress Me Much" by Shania Twain holding steady ar number two,

Rebounding two positions is Silverchair's "Anthem for the year 2000" to number three while "This Kiss" continues it's inexecrable run up three to number four. 

Speaking up inexecrable runs, Monifah's "Touch It" climbed twelve spots this week to number five because that's what the charts need...not. 

All this caused "The Animal Song" by Savage Garden to slide three to number six while "Jackie" by BZ and Joanne recovered one spot to number seven. 

"Doo Wop (Dat Thing)" by Lauryn Hill jumped two places to number eight. Finally, 'Lullaby" by Shawn Mullins stumbled three spots to number nine and "No Matter What" by Botzone fell one to number ten. 

Losers

The hits of 1998 are making their way out slowly but surely with "Hands" by Jewel losing it's grip down nine to fifty.

"Finally Found" by Honeyz is slowly finding it's way to the exit down eight spots to forty seven while "Time Of Your Life (Good Riddance" by Green Day has had the time of it's life on the chart but it fell ten spots to forty four.

"Slide" by Goo Goo Dolls lived up to its name sliding nine to thirty eight while "Body Movin'" by Beastie Boys slipped seven to thirty seven. Meanwhile Spice Girls continue their "Goodbye" tour down ten to thirty five. 

The biggest story though is that Cher's "Believe" collapsed out of the top ten down seven to eleven this week. 

Gains

So I already mentioned the big gain for "Touch it" by Monifah and outside that we only saw one or two other big gains...just a shame most of them aren't on the good side, "Fly Away" by Lenny Kravitz flew smoothly from forty three to twenty six. 

I guess points to "We Like to Party (The Vengabus)" by The Vengaboys which climbed nine to thiry six. 

New Entries

Five new entries this week, beginning with...

46. "Shazam!" by Spiderbait

Always nice to start the week's reviews with an Aussie act, this is the lead single from Spiderbait's lead single from their fourth album "Grand Slam" and its a fucking slapping banger of a song that doesn't let up from start to finish with it's fuzzy guitars, drums and handclaps which makes senses when it's considered that the song is about smiling and breaking free of feelings of being overwhelmed by dancing and smiling. Damn good song, nice to kick things off on a positive note. 

32. "Tender" by Blur

Another lead single this time from British band Blur, I was curious given how abrasive yet catchy "Song 2" was but turns out that this song is about the break up of Damn Albarn's relationship and all ip is a pretty vulnerable song that really hits some bittersweet notes especiallt with the gospel touches aroound the song and the interplay between Albarna dn Graham Coxon, Again, this is another pretty good song that is worth your time. 

31. "Enjoy Yourself" by A+

Switching from rock to hip hop for these next two songs and the first song we're dealing with is from American rapper going by the name A+ and this song sampling "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy which was a prettry sizeable Billboard Hot 100 hit in 1976 with the content of the song being about having fun and living it up while they are young...its fine enough if you want some dumb party music. Check it out. 

20. "Changes" by 2Pac

So this might be bit a more complex but bare with me here, this song was recorded in 1992 before being remixed and released for 2pace's Greatest hits record in 1998 with the remix including a US r&b group called Talent who somehow don't get a featuring vredit on this but anyway I do love the cleverly flipped sample of 1986 hit "The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby and The Range as 2pac raps about the struggles of African American communities where police brutality, racism, poverty etc are prevalent and 2pac urges unty and personal responsibility while urging change in how black communities in the USA view and treat each other. It's an incredibly emotional song and my god it hits hardl. Check this out!

15. "Nothing Really Matters" by Madonna

The final single from Madonna's successful "Ray of Light" album and I have to be honest here I am not really all that impressed with Madonna's vocals fighting through layers of effects but she does sound good here, strident as she sings about finding fufillment and joy in motherhood and love rather than in her fame and public image. If it weren't for some of the more more egregious effects, this is also pretty good,

That was our week and wow, I am nixing worst of the week here because nothing here is worthy of that slot however "Changes" by 2pac is getting best of the week because yeah that song hitsin a way nothing else here does, 

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: 9th March

 I am a bit torn about whether to say this is a good or bad week because what does it truly matter with a likely Harry Styles album bomb (and given how forgettable the album is, I am not looking forward to covering that in any case) on the way but we do have a reasonable week here so let's start with the top ten where for yet another week "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean keeps the number one spot, it's just a monster on streaming tight now that not even Harry Styles can get near at this point. 

It held up over "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia which held on to number two but with it's streaming already seemingly on the downward slide, its going to come under some pressure from "Stateside" by Pink Pantherress feat. Zara Larsson which climbed a massive eight spots to number three this week but Harry Styles next week might curb some of that momentum for this song. 

So as a result we saw "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean fall back one to number four, "Ordinary" by Alex Warren back one to number five and "Where is My Husband" by Raye slipped one spot to number six.

The second big arrival to our top ten is "IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay which raced up thirteen places to number seven, this song has some momentum behind it, it will be interesting to see what happens to this in the weeks ahead post Harry Styles bomb.

An album boost saw "I Just Might" by Bruno Mars rise six spots to number eight,

All of this saw Sombr's "Homewrecker" slide three spots to number nine and "Raindance" by Dave and Tems down two to number ten, 

 Losers

So we do have a chunk of songs that lost hard this week like "Let Alone the One You Love" by Olivia Dean which slipped eight to forty eight and "4 Raws" by EsDeeKid which tumbled twelve spots to forty seven. 

Sadly, "The Great Divide" by Noah Kahan had one of the biggest losses of the week down fourteen places to forty four, sad about that one because it's a really damn good song and deserves better. 

We also had some losses for songs that are country or country adjacent with "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen down seven to forty three and "Be by You" by Luke Combs down eight to forty two. I wouldn't mind if the Post Malone and Morgan Wallen song left already...it's had a great run and really is just clogging room on the charts at this point.

Closing in on the end of it's lap is "Victory Lap" by Fred Again, Skepta and Plaque Boy Max down seven to thirty six and while "I Run" is running in the run direction for HVN and Kaitlyn Aragon down seven to thirty five,

Drop Outs

Four songs dropped out this week and I am not really complaining about any of thhese to a degree with "Tit For Tat" by Tate McRae, "Sapphire" by Ed Sheeran, "I've Seen It" by Olivia Dean and...yet again.."Good Luck, Babe1' by Chappell Roan. 

Gains

Not much in the way of big gains outside our top ten although "Neuvayol" by Bad  Bunny up twelve spots to thirty four.

What I was disappointed with is the nineteen place gain for "White Keys" by Dominic Fike to twenty nine. Australia, seriously, we can do better than this nasal discharge.

Re-Entries

Just the one return this week with "Baile Involidable" by Bad Bunny back at forty nine. 

New Entries

Three new entries, starting with...

30. "Go" by Blackpink

Look, be glad that nothng else from Blackpink's recent EP broke through this week because it could have been so much worse than this and even then, "Go" isn't exactly anything to write home about, "Go" still features unnecessary noise that takes away from the song and it's not helped that Blackpink just sound incredibly nasal and like they have colds or something. As i said, it's probably one of the better songs on "Deadline" but that is about it. 

20. "Fever Dream"  by Alex Warren

My views on Alex Warren are mixed while I don't hate "Ordinary" with anywhere near the energy others have reserved for the song but its definitely become a song I have grown sick of and if "Eternity" had of made the year end list for 2025 than that would have made my worst hit songs list however I do like "Bloodline" with Jelly Roll so I was hoping this song was more "Bloodline" than "Eternity" and yeah...I think we got there! 

There's a bounce to the production on this song that makes it feel summery even though we're now past summer in Australia even if the lyrics are a bit naff, he is having this fever dream where he is seeing this girl everywhere  and knows he is damned if she loves him and damned if she doesn't, it plays a bit in dicey territory but I'll take it, it's one of his better efforts.

13. "Risk It All" by Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars just releasing his latest wedding song from his new album and I do find it interesting that this is the only new song from this album to hit the singles chart this week but we did get this pretty sweet piano ballad that throws in a latin flair (inspired by Bad Bunny, Bruno) thanks to the horns as Bruno declares he'd risk everything for this woman in his life with a sincerity that seems genuine enough. I like it. Check it out if you are curious,

That's our week. Best and worst fall out easily enough, I am going to give worst of the week to "Go" by Blackpink and the best of the week to "Risk It All" by Bruno Mars, it's just slightly better than "Fever Dream" by Alex Warren. 

Next week...yeah...Harry Styles album bomb...yay?

Pretty Fly (for 1999): How Deep is Your Vengabus, Animal?

 So we have a relatively busy week at hand here with changes in our top ten including a new entry breaking through rather high and another that song unfortunately broke into the top ten (much to my annoyance). but anyway let's jump straight into the top ten where "...Baby, One More Time" by Britney Spears remains solid at number one for another week thanks to another excellent week on sales.

The sales were good enough to hold off something of a charge from "That Don't Impress Me Much" by Shania Twain which jumped two spots to number two this week on the back of sales. 

New entry at number three from Savage Garden courtesy of "The Animal Song" which I will talk about the quality of the song later but this did some nice numbers which dod help to push "Believe" by Cher back two spots to number four and "Anthem for the Year 2000" by Silverchait back two spots to number five. 

Shawn Mullins saw "Lullaby" fall back one spot to number six and howled "Eveeerrryything's gonna be alright"

Now I am less than thrilled about the four place gain for "This Kiss" by Faith Hill.to number seven...come on, we can do better but it saw the rest of our top ten fall with "Jackie" by BZ and Joanne down two spots to number eight, "No Matter What" by Boyzone down two to number nine and "Doo Woop (Dat Thing)" by Lauryn Hill down one to number ten. 

Losers

It was a pretty soul crushing week for a lot of older songs with the lack of faith hitting Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston's "When You Believe:" ten spots to fifty. 

The night is proving not to be so everlasting for Danni Minogue on the charts as "Everlasting Night" slumped six spots to forty eight.

B*Witched stumbled from thirty three to forty six as its chart run is seemingly being cut short. 

Former chart topper "Crush" by Jennifer Paige is finally being crushed down eight to forty two while "Finally Found" by Honeyz slipped from thirty two to thirty nine. 

*NSYNC want their place in the top twenty back as "I Want You Back' tumbled ten spots to twenty six. 

Gains

Our gains are a mixed bag because on one hand I am thrilled tnat "Get What You Give" by New Radicals got a nice eleven place boost to thirty five however we unfortunately saw the creepiness that is "Touch It" by Monifah jump from twenty four to seventeen. 

New Entries

Five new entries beginning with....

49. "Crash" by Propellerheads.

Propellerheads are an English electronic duo who first firmed in 1995 with this song coming from an EP called "Extended Play" (imaginative naming...not) and really this is just an instrumental reworking of "At the Sign of the Swinging Cymbal"  but hey, it's pretty good., worth checking out if you are curious.

45. "We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)" by The Vengaboys

Time to turn our attention to Dutch Eurodance mixed group The Vengaboys who are making their debubt on the Australian charts with this song and honestly this song is hilarious in some ways especially with that horn that does sound like a bus on the way and is about to reach the station but come 0n the voice ad nauseum saying "We like to party" is kind of forced at this point however I do like the vocals on the verses and the song does make use of it's goofiness in a way that's endearing. Cute wau to introduce the group. 

32. "How Deep Is Your Love" by Dru Hill

So I was getting ready for this to be a god awful cover of the Bee Gees song of the same name but turns out American r'n'b group Dru Hill pulled out a pretty decent r'n'b song if the song didn't place the damn percussion at the front of the mix and bury the vocals to the point they are barely audible The content of this song is this guy is messing with a woman who also has other men on the side and she's left him questioning how deep her love is for him...it's pretty generic and when the the mixing is this ass, I think we can skip this safely.

14. "Whiskey in the Jar" by Metallica

So Metallica have tjurned to covering Thin Lizzy's "Whiskey in the Jar" which tells the story of an outlaw robbing a government or military official only for his wife to go behind his back to report him to authorities and take the money for herself. Now this cover is done well by Metallica, the band sounds great and James Hetfield certainly tells the story with a lot of fire in his belly, I like this. Check it out. 

3. "The Animal Song" by Savage Garden

So the latest single for Savage Garden's latest album "Affirmation" and a song that was written for the soundtrack of film called "The Other Sister" and honestly this is a song that doesn't leave me with much to say because yeah, there's some nice harmonies here and Darren Hayes mostly sounds really good. it's a song that delves into how someone with mental health and how someone dealing with depression etc finds it difficult tp express emotions and how to deal with a colourful and confusing rules with rules that stifle a person's personality. I get what this song is going for but I do think this song is somewhat forgettable even with the subject matter, it just doesn't quite hit hard enough for me. 

That leaves us with a weird week as a wbole. Worst of the week is going to "How Deep Is Your Love" by Dru Hill for that botch job on the mixing. Best of the week is tougher because there weren't that many stand outs...I'll give it to "Whiskey in the Jar" by Metallica but The Vengaboys in their Vengabus were close.