Pretty Fly (For 1999): 11th July. Dear God Wait Til I Get Home, Mama.

So let's just dive straight into this week because the biggest story this week is the new number one, shame it's kind of mediocre because it's "If You Had My Love" by Jennifer Lopez, it got there thanks to sales just giving it the edge over last week's number one "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer which fell back to number two.

Rising one spot to number three is "Sometimes" by Britney Spears while "Say It Once" by Ultra rose five slots to number four, I wasn't expecting the latter to rise this far but it's one of the better boyband songs on the chart right now.

"Last Kiss" by Pearl Jam slumped three to number five which does feel a bit unexpected than again...not unsurprising. "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!" by Shania Twain rebounded one slot to number six.

Madonna's "Beautiful Stranger" is in need of a beautiful chart rescue as it slipped two spots to number seven. Former number one "No Sctubs" by TLC dipped back from six to number eight.

The best of the boyband songs on the chart "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys slipped one to number nine. 

Returning to the top ten this week is "Livin' La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin to complete the top ten at number ten. 

Losers

Dru Hill's "How Deep Is Your Love" is on the way out finally after slipping eight slots to fifty, also on the way out is "Touch It" by Monifah down twelve to forry nine...glad to see two awful songs on the cusp of leaving the chart. Thank goodness!

Kind of sad to see "Protect Your Mind (Braveheart)" by DJ Sakin and Friends down seven to thirty eight, the song was pretty good. 

Gains

Biggest gain of the week was sadly rhe pretty poor "Heartbreak Hotel" by Whitney Houstin feat. Faith Evans and Kelly Price, it jumped from thirty eight to twenty this week...ugh.

Also unfortunate is the six place gain to twenty three for "Get Ready" by Ma$e feat. Blackstreet...really, Australia?

"Westside" by TQ's rise continued much to my surprise as it climbed six to number twelve and probably the best of our gains this week..."Canned Heat" by Jamiroquai rebounded six slots to forty three.

Re-Entries

Look, I'll tolerate the return of "Shimmer" by Shawn Mullins at thirty nine but what the hell is "Tarzan & Jane" by Toy-Box doing back at forty one? Come on, we don't need limp Aqua rip offs on the charts.

New Entries

Three new entries this week begining with...

48. "Dear Mama" by 2Pac

Well, it's about time we got a follow up to "Changes" and this latest single is from "Me Against the World", its actually a really sweet tribute to his mother over a really nice piano and guitar groove as 2pac raps about the struggles of single mothers and how he was raised in poverty, his mother's battle with an addiction to cocaine and how the bond he has with his mother endures even though the relationship was not always perfect (no relationship is ever perfect) and how he is learning how to appreiciare his mother for raising him. 

Damn sweet song, check this out!

46. "(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You" by N*SYNC

Third single from N*SYNC's self titled album and this one is the stereotypical boyband ballad only these clowns think its okay to tell this beautiful girl that he has fallen in love with that God must have spent a lottle more time on her than he did anyone else over rather miserable sounding instrumentation that doesn't give the faintest feel of happiness or that "God" or whoever this higher deity is serving up women into the arms of N*Sync.There's no joy or warmth in the band members voices when they are singing that hook either because this girl was not created through immaculate conception, guys!

A deeply stupid song that hopefully will not stick around. Next!

44. "Wait Til I Get Home" by C Note.

Ending the wee with another American r'n'b/pop vocal group that was originally on "Different Kind of Love" and well, this four piece act have decided to be this week's sexy time group because they are urging their girls to wait til they get home for some 'sweet sweet lovin'" over a beat that sounds like it was directly pulled from the 1980s or at least a Hall and Oates song but at least these guys aren't pulling out any cringe lines but rather just pulling straight from the book of song lyric cliches. It's not terrible but I absolutely do not see this sticking around. That's all.

That's our week and oof...worst of the week belongs to N*SYNC for whatever that "(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You". 2Pac easily runs away with the best of the week for "Dear Mama"

ARIA Singles Top 50. July 6th. The One Where Sombr's body isn't ready for Sienna's Material Lover

 Alright so let's get right into this as this one is late enough as it is (my fault, totally procrastinated), straight into the top ten where for yet another week "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley, it's got sales and streaming on it's side and it doesn't look like relinquishing it's hold on number one any time soon.

"Man I Need" by Olivia Dean rebounded up one spot to number two thanks mostly to streaming continuing to keep this song around and "Stupid Song" by Olivia Rodrigo slipping back one to number three because it's lost ground on streaming and is doing nothiing on sales. 

Also rebounding one to number four is 'Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean while "Hate That I Made You Love Me" by Ariana Grande climbed two slots to number five. 

"The Cure" by Olivia Rodrigo held steady at number six,  "Dracula" by Tame Impala leaped three to number seven however there is a culprit for all of this movement with "I Knew It. I Knew You" by Taylor Swift sliding seven spots to number eight.

What kind of mars our top ten this week is the unforrunaate two place return of "Earrings" by Malcolm Todd at number nine. 

Finally, "Drop Dead" by Olivia Rodrigo slipped two spots to number ten. 

Losers

Let's start with the Olivia Rodrigo album cuts that are free falling so "You + Me = <3" down eleven to forty one, "Begged" sliding eighteen to thirty nine, "Less" is doing less down twelve to thirty seven, "My Way" shifts down fourteen to thirty six, "What's Wrong With Me" featuring Robert Smith slumped twelve to thirty five, "Maggots for Brains" down fifteen to thirty one and "Expectations" slid fifteen to thirty 

Drop Outs

One of the big stories this week lies in our drop outs with "Beauty and a Beat" by Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj finally sent to the on replay charts. Good fucking riddance.

Also gone are "Iconic by Mistake" by Le Sserafim, Katseye and Illit, "Freakin' Out" by Dexter and the Moonrocks alongside two Olivia Rodrigo album tracks those being "Purple" and "Cigarette Smoke"

Gains

So something of a reset is continuing to occur as the Olivia Rodrigo songs fall away so the biggest gains this week were nine place gains for "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift to twenty, "Where is My Husband" by Raye at twenty three and "Back to Friends" by Sombr which moved up to twenty five. 

There were also eight place gains for "Nice to Each Other" by Olivia Dean to twenty nine, "Boston" by Stella Lefty to twenty eight and "No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinashe to twenty seven.

Re-Entries

Two returns this week with "American Girls" by Harry Styles at forty eight and "Hit the Wall" by Gracie Abrams at forty two.

New Entries

Three new entries this week, beginning with...

50. "Material Lover" by Sienna Spiro

Well, it's about time this charted, it comes from the soundtrack of the Devil Wears Prada 2 but given it comes from Sienna Spiro and I've been sour on "Die On this Hill" all year, I had no confidence this would be any good and yet...I kind of like this? It's got this old school jazz and soul vibe that Olivia Dean and Raye also do and I don't think this is better than the best songs from either Olivia or Raye but this is still decent enough. 

The content of the song is all about how Spiro prefers actual physical things or as she calls it "material" things in her hands and that she is a lover of those things. It's better than "Die On this Hill" so I'll take it.

47. "Dai Dai" by Shakira feat, Burna Boy

So this song is for the ongoing football World Cup and well...I wish this didn't sound so thin and generic, it sounds like a song straight out of 2017 to 2019 and it comes off so flat sounding that not even the lyrics which is all about fighting through pain and perseverence etc don't really have much of an impact from either Shakira or Burna Boy,

It's a nothing of a pop song that people will forget in a short period of time. "Waka Waka" was better than this. 

46. "My Body Isn't Ready" by Sombr

So I am not going to lie, I have been frustrated by the chart run for "Homewrecker", that song deserved to be a massive number hit and is probably one of my favourite hits of the year so far and this song is not helped by that awkward and even corny song title however the song overall winds up being good even close to great despite the song title where Sombr is dealing with body image issues (possibly body dysmorphia) and self-doubt which prevented him getting too close to people or pursuing closer relationships with people he liked.

I also like the production here because Sombr's voice doesn't sound as death by filters as it has in the past and the instrumention sounds rich, lush and incredibly organic. I'll take this easily! Good song.

Easy best of the week too. Worst of the week goes to "Dai Dai" by Shakira and Burna Boy

Pretty Fly (For 1999) 4th July These Are The Times for a Last Kiss so Get Ready

A pretty stock standard week here, the usual array of new entries including one that's debuted in the top five so lets not delay things any further and dive into the top ten where sitting at number one for another week is "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer, it held up on sales this week but I am not certain for how much longer because the challengers are coming.

One of those could be our new entry at nunmber two, "Last Kiss" by Pearl Jam. Terrific sales numbers put this in a good position to challenge...I'll have more to say about this one in the new entries.

Then we get to this week's bulldozer song because "If You Had My Love" by Jennifer Lopez rising eight slots to number three, it pushed "Sometimes" by Britney Spears back to number four.

Madonna's "Beautiful Stranger" remained glued to number five, just unable to bridge the margins to the songs aboveit. 

The chart scramble above left former chart topper "No Scrubs" by TLC down four to number six while "Man! I Feel Like A Woman" by Shania Twain fell three places to seven and "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys slipped one to number eight.

Into the top ten this week is the breezy pop jam "Say It Once" by Ultra which has been climbing quietly in recent weeks, this week its up from sixteen to nine.

Finally "Look at Me" by Geri Halliwell fell two places to number ten. 

Losers

Beginning with "Right Here, Right Now" by Fatboy Slim which slipped nine spots to fifty. 

Unfortunately "Canned Heat" by Jamiroquai fell twelve to forty nine while 4 The Cause's god awful cover of "Stand By Me" slipped nine to forty eight. 

Britney Spears "Baby, One More Time" slumped ten spots to forty six. "Have You Ever"  by Brandy fell nine to forty four and "How Deep Is Your Love" by Dru Hill skidded from twenty six to forty three (Dru Hill have a song in the new entries this week so we aren't done with them). 

Cher's "Strong Enough" is weak enough to fall eight to twenty seven. 

Gains

What caught me by surprise other than Ultra's rise into the top ten was the twenty place gain to eighteen for "Westside" by TQ...good song but boy does that gain feel random.

"Shimmer" by Fuel is a different story as it has had consistent momentum rising eleven to twenty one

Soulsearcher's "Can't Get Enough" rose twelve spots to thirty six.

New Entries

Six new entries this week beginning with...

47. "Give It To You" by Jordan Knight

Oh god, starting off the week with New Kids On the Block alumni Jordan Knight isn't exactly what I'd consider great and looks like my concerns were well justified because this is some incredibly overproduced shlock that even Usher would say no to because this is just some incredibly unsexy pop shlock where Knight claims that she knows he can give his dick to her and how anything goes when the stuffing of the sausage the marshmallow (my interpretation) is done right and the production doesn't even give anything close to romantic or even remotely convince me that Knight knows how to seduce this girl with the overcooked drum machines and bored backing vocals

There are better sex songs out there than this. Get your freak on to something better.

42. "What's My Age Again?" by Blink 182

So we step away from bad pop/r'n'b and into pop punk with this Blink 182 lead single from their album "Enema of the State" and yeah, this one actually is pretty fun helped by that raucous groove and the song being hilarious as it's all about the dumb things the narrator did when he was in his early twenties because hey. we're all naive and silly in our twenties (also helps the video is completely silly). The only nitpick I have is that the vocals are mixed a bit low but otherwise...yeah, damn good, dumb fun. Check this out,

38. "Heartbreak Hotel" by Whitney Houston feat. Faith Evans and Kelly Price

Look, I am not as hung up on Whitney Houston as others, sure wonderful voice but you all know how I feel about her cover of "I Will Always Love You" (I hate it...it's one of the worst songs of 1992/93) however her pop music in the 80s does appeal for me, songs like "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" and "How Will I Know" are absolutely classic pop songs so I was hoping she'd bring the pop class of the 80s just touched up for the late 90s so how does this work?

Well, I am not sure this works mostly because Whitney isn't quite alble to belt on the hook and it sounds like she is straining her voice at points and when Faith Evans only gets the two lines of the bridge and like Kelly Price backing vocals...yeah, this song is really not adding up to the sum of it's part especially when the synth sounds whiny. This is pretty generic R'n'B and I hate saying that about a legend like Whitney Houstion

34. "These Are The Times" by Dru Hill

Anything has to be better than the last time I talked about this group, right? Well at least the production is a little better this time and Dru Hill aren't sounding like they are singing through a tin can however when your song's opening line is "God knows you're a sexy thang"...yeah...straight out of the Song of Solomon that, Dru Hill? The writing really does bring this song down though, I mean "Tear you up in little pieces" and "swallow you up like Reese's Pieces"...seriously?

Again, production not terrible but wow, there's a long way to go in the writing department.

29. "Get Ready" by Ma$e feat. Blackstreet

The lead and apparently only single from Ma$e's album "Double Up" and apparently it was in part produced by Puff Daddy or P Diddy or abuser but anyway, he brought Blackstreet on board for this song and really...come on...there's nothing all that hard about the production here although that farting synth is doing a lot of trying to lift a song as Ma$e brags about his wealth, luxury and the lifestyle of famous people because that's relatable. Also that sample of Shalamar's 1982 hit "A Night to Remember" really is the most interesting part of this song...next.

2. "Last Kiss" by Pearl Jam

I actually kind of like Pearl Jam to a degree, they have some absolute classic songs in their discography and I'd argue "Ten" is a 90s classic rock album however I was leery woth song and turns out I had every right to be because this really does feel like a song stripped of what made Pearl Jam a force in the nineties not helped by Eddie Vedder howling his lungs out on the hook while nothing else surrounding him has any real punch. Yeah, bit disappointed by this. 

That ends our week, the best of the week falls out easily "What's My Age Again" by Blink 182 is riding the Japanese bullet train away with that.

As for the worst? Well there's two incredibly awful sex songs here, I am going to give it to "Give It To You" by Jordan Knight, at least Dru Hill got the mood in the production somewhat right.

 

ARIA Singles Top 50 Review: 29th June The one where Olivia's album bomb recedes.

 So we got plenty of movement this week as the Olivia Rodrigo album bomb recedes and we do have a returning number one that raises eyebrows for me because it's "I Knew It. I Knew You" by Taylor Swift, this song is not dominant on sales or streaming but somehow took the top spot.

I was expexting a second week at number one for "Stupid Song" by Olivia Rodrigo but that fell back to number two, this is still strong on streaming but sales are lacking. 

Former number one "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley remains steady at number three, this song is doing remarkably well on sales and holding it's own on streaming but for how much longer. 

Rising two to number four is our likely year end number one "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean while her collab with Sam Fender on "Rein Me In" rebounded three to number five.

"The Cure" by Olivia Rodrigo dropped back four spots to number six while Ariana Grande's "Hate That I Made You Love Me" surprisingly slipped two spots to number seven...wasn't expecting this to slip this week at all.

The next two songs are Olivia Rodrigo songs with "Drop Dead" down four to number eight and "honeybee" slipping two to number nine.

Finally returning to the top ten having rebounded eight spots to number ten is "Dracula" by Tame Impala. 

Losers

The losers this week begin with Olivia Rodrigo album cuts so let's blast through these with "Cigarette Smoke" down twenty one to forty three, "Purple" down twenty two to thirty nine. "U + Me = <3"  slumped fourteen to thirty, "Less" skidded ten to twenty five, "What's Wrong With Me" featuring Robert Smith slumped eleven to twenty three, "my way" down nine to twenty two, "Begged" slipped eleven to twenty one and "Maggots for Brains" down seven to sixteen. 

Oh and "Iconic By Mistake" by Le Sserafim, Katseye and Illit fell eight spots to forty seven.

Drop Outs

Just the one drop out this week with "Fever Dream" by Alex Warren gone...I'd say it's made the year end list but we'll see. 

Gains

So the biggest gain/rebound belong to Alex Warren with "Ordinary" up eleven to twelve while  Dave and Tems with "Raindance" rose up ten slots to nineteen.

"IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay rose eight to thirteen. "Cinderella" by Mac Miller and Ty Dolla $ign hit a new peak up seven to eighteen. 

Re-entries

Just the one return with "Orbiter" by Noah Kahan returning at number forty eight.

No new entries this week so that wraps things up for the week. Next week is bound to see Benson Boone (unfortunately) and maybe Sombr so stick around for that!

Pretty Fly (For 1999) 27th June. Tarzan's Bad Girl Jane Does NOT Have My Love

 So no premable just going to dive straight into our top ten where for yet another week, it's "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer at number one, it's got really nothing that's seriously challenging it for the top spot right now so it's looking pretty comfortable.

I say that because the top three is the same as last week with "No Scrubs" by TLC at number two and "Sometimes" by Britney Spears at number three.

"Man! I Feel Like a Woman" by Shania Twain did move up one spot to number four while the other top ten new entry from last week "Beautiful Stranger" by Madonna made some moves up three to number five. 

This leaves "Livin' La Via Loca" by Ricky Martin stuck at number six while "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys slumped three spots to number seven...could potentially be on the way out, we'll have to see. 

"Look at Me" by Geri Halliwell fell back one slot to number eight while "We Like to Party (The Vengabus)" by Vengaboys remains at number nine and "9pm (Til I Come)" by ATB holds steady at number ten. 

Losers

So we start our losers with The Chemical Brothers "Hey Boy, Hey Girl" down nine to forty having not quite been able to get the traction it needs for a chart run. 

Also down nine to thirty seven is "Canned Hear" by Jamiroquai which for me is disappointing as that song is good and deserves better. 

We'll talk about Monifah in the new entries this week but previous hit "Touch It" is on the way out down eight to thirty three. 

Gains

Not much in the way of gains this week but the biggest of the lot are at least Australian with "Time of Our Lives" by Marcia Hines up six to thirty one and "Get Set" by Taxiride up from thirty four to twenty nine.

Re-Entries

Just the one return this week with Westlife's "Swear It Again" back at number forty three.

New Entries

Three new entries this week, we're trepidatiously starting with...

46. "Tarzan & Jane" by Toy-Box

Aqua, you guys have some explaining to do because my god...I am speechless, to explain Toy-Box are a male and female bubblegum pop duo comprising of Amir El-Falaki and Anila Mirza with this being their debut single that was somehow championed by UK's Smash Hits magazine and somehow I think this song missed tbe early 90s big beat era because this is all ridiculous big chunky beats as these two role play Tarzan and Jane to a comedic degree even if comedy wasn't the intention of the song but seriously when El Falaki shouts on the bridge "Go cheetah, get banana. Go monkey, get funky!"...all I could do was laugh.

Meanwhile all Mirza harps on is about Tarzan being handsome and Jane riding an elephant. The whole song feels like a bad "Barbie Girl" by Aqua type pastiche. I'd take Baltimora's 1985 hit "Tarzan Boy" over this, at least Tarzan's jungle call is better incorporated in that song than it is here. Next!

18. "Bad Girl" by Monifah

Alright, round two with Monifah, you all know I absolutely do not like "Touch It" so I had to hope this would be better and sadly no...this is not it. Monifah's in her bad girl bag trying to show us all she's confident and got all the goods, she's got them Gucci shoes only for a hook that reminds me of kindergarten kids being sing songy when they want to pick on another classmate! Seriously, nothing to extend the awful "bad girl" reference anywhere other than lazy flexing. This is fucking shit too...next!

11. "If You Had My Love" by Jennifer Lopez

So it's a bad sign when we're needing American singer and actress Jennifer Lopez to save our week but none the less here we are and I don't know that this gets there, it's definitely better than the other two songs we've dealt with but I wish the song had more going for it instrumentally especially with that programmed drum line that doesn't sound good, live drums for the win!. The acoustic guitar and piano are fine.

As for the content, it's Lopoz laying the ground rules for a relationship with this admirer of hers, she won't tolerate him cheating on her which I thought was a standard rule in a monogamous relationship?  It then goes to him promising her forever together on the bridge which seems like a bridge too far when it's considered she demonstrated on the first verse that she outright doesn't trust him not to cheat.

However in a really terrible week, it's the best of the week because at least that hook is actually decent. 

As for the worst, god...throw a struck match between them and light the fucking bonfire because both are god awful...I'll give it to Toy-Box because "Tarzan & Jane" is an atrocity that makes me realize we had it good in 1997 with Aqua's "Barbie Girl"

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review. 22nd June The One Where Olivia Seems Pretty Sad For Netting A Huge Album Bomb

 I feel like there's not a lot to say in terms of preamble with a week like this because yeah...we got a major album bomb from Olivia Rodrigo for "You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love" and given I think the album is one of the best albums of the year in the mainstream (which granted isn't saying much considering how the mainstream feels like a lottery in terms of album quality), this will be a fun ride to go through.

Let's start with the top ten where we right off the bat need to deal with the album bomb because it's "Stupid Song' by Olivia Rodrigo at number one and it's here thanks mostly to streaming and Youtube. Obviously more about this song later.

It's an Olivia Rodrigo top two with "The Cure" rebounding four to number two while "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley slipped back one to number three,

"Drop Dead" by Olivia Rodrigo bounced back up elevens slots to number four while "Hate that I Made You Love" by Ariana Grande fell back two spots to number five. "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean fell two to number six.

New in at number seven is album cut "Honeybee" by Olivia Rodrigo at number seven. More on this song later.

"Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean skidded down three places to number eight, 

Finally we wrap the top ten with two more songs from Olivia Rodrigo with ?Maggots For Brains" at number nine and "Begged" at number ten.

Losers

I am going to keep this short to save my sanity because over half the chart lost in double digits so I am just going to mention the songs that lost ground in single digits and will probably benefit when the chart resets to equilibrium next week, that said I will mention that last week's number one "I Knew It. I Knew You" by Taylor Swifr slumped ten slots to number eleven. 

Right now to those single digit losers, "Earrings" by Malcolm Todd slipped seven to seventeen...I expect this will be back in the top ten next week unfortunately. 

"Cinderella" by Mac Miller and Ty Dolla $ign remained somewhat steady only falling two spots to number twenty five. 

"Raindance" by Dave feat. Tems fell nine to twenty nine while it was the same size fall for "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift to thirty one.  "Back to Friends" by Sombr fell eight to thirty seven and "Boston" by Stella Lefty refuses to go away despite being a slice of nepo baby junk down eight to forty two. 

Finally Katy Perry drops her new single on Friday but "One That Got Away" fell nine to fifty.

Drop Outs.The drop outs this week are combination of songs that have been bouncing on and of the charts for weeks, album cuts, hits from last year and newer songs.

So let's start with the songs bouncing on and off the chart like "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars (I am ready for this one to be sent to the on replay charts) and "A Couple Minutes" by Olivia Dean (Probably has a slot on this year's year end list locked at this point. 

Drake album cuts "National Treasures" and "Shabang" took their exits after staying around longer than anyone wanted!.

As for the hits from last year that exited, we have "Undressed" by Sombr and "Opalite" by Taylor Swift.

But where Olivia Rodeigo struck hardest is all the newer songs that took their exit like "Edge of the Earth" by The Beaches, "Hit the Wall"  by Gracie Abrams (this song's performance on the chart has been incredibly underwhelming...not good signs for that upcoming album of hers), "American Girls" by Harry Styles, "Bloodstream", "Midnight Sun" by Zara Larsson and "Orbiter" by Noah Kahan.

Gains

So I was going to say that we didn't have any gains tiis week outside of the two Olivia Rodrigo singles in the top ten but we did see "Girls" by The Kid Laroi gain six spots to forty. 

Gains

So we are in album bomb territory for Olivia Rodrigo's "You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love", I am only going to be reviewing the songs in the top ten and best and worst so with that in mind: "What's Wrong With Me?" feat. Robert Smith at number twelve, "My Way" at thirteen, "Expectations" at fourteen, "Less" at fifteen (this was so close to best of the week), "U + Me = <3" at sixteen, "Purple" at nineteen and "Cigarette Smoke" at twenty two (Again...another song that has legit claims to be one of Olivia's best songs from this album. Might be her best closer).

That leaves us with five new entries beginning but we're not starting with Olivia Rodrigo because...

39. "Iconic by Mistake" by Le Sserafim, Katseye and Illit

Well, this is unfortunate, mostly because this K-Pop song is really much less than the sum of it's parts to the point that it feels pretty close to a posse cut with trap beats and the groups bragging about how they engrave hate expressed toward them on tombstones that really doesn't convey anything with that damn cutesy hook. It'll fall off the chart pretty quickly so I think it's best we move on from this pretty forgettable slice of k-pop. 

10. "Begged" by Olivia Rodrigo

So now we get to the first of the Olivia Rodrigo cuts that reached the top ten with this song peformed by Olivia on Saturday Night Live and features Weyes Blood on backing vocals, its not quite the most heartbreaking song on the album but it's one of the saddest on the album as Olivia pleads for a connection with her man and Olivia is exhausted from begging for any kind of moment with this guy, this song is the moment where the relationship is well and truly on the way to crumbling over this sweet guitar and those backing vocals which do such a brilliant job of backing Olivia. Damn good song.

9. "Maggots for Brains" by Olivia Rodrigo

So the rest of the songs new this week come from the front half of the album where Olivia is so in love and this song about being so in love that you become emotionally numb and just obsessed with the person you are in love with especthat you lose focus on everything else in your life. Olivia has drescribed the bridge of this song as a bbit of a homage to Weezer which actually comes through in some of the production and lyrics that are inspired by Sex and the City. Definitely check this song out. 

7. "Honeybee" by Olivia Rodrigo

This is a song from "You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love" that I was initially a bit  cooler on than I'd have liked but thankfully I do absolutely like this a lot after subsequent listens to the album, its that moment where it's all just fear of rejection meshed with hope that the person you atre head over heels for feels the same way about you and Olivia's voice delicately singing over the piano just hits home. It's just really pretty,

1. "Stupid Song" by Olivia Rodrigo

Ending this week with a song that like both other singles from this album builds into something bigger only this builds from Olivia crooning into this loud vibrant if slight shuttering pop rock song where she admits to wanting this guy in her life more than any stupid love song could ever say and she conveys that "more than a stupid song could ever say" line so god damn well, it sticks in your head especially with that galloping production. Again another really good song that I am glad hit number one.

But best of the week is going to "Maggots for Brains" by Olivia Rodrigo. Worst is going to "Iconic By Mistake" by Le Sserafim, Katseye and Illit.

Next week could be a quiet week but we'll have to see, I think all these Olivia Rodrigo songs could stick around a second week.

Pretty Fly (for 1999) 20th June. Man! Sometimes I Feel Like A Beautiful Stranger

 Ahh this week is...insane, not only are there three new entries in the top ten but we also have a new number one so let's start with the top ten where the new number one is one that I have been predicting for the week with it being a first number one for Sixpence None the Richer, "Kiss Me", it finally got to the top thanks to just getting ahead on those sales margins.

This pushed previous number one "No Scrubs" by TLC back to number two as those margins fell against it and it's coming under threat from the new entry at number three "Sometimes" by Britney Spears, we'll talk about this song in the new entries but as the follow to a huge single it did well on sales to secure a high chart position this week. 

"I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys slipped one to number four while we have a second new entry in the top ten in at number five "Man! I Feel Like A Woman" by Shania Twain...again, will talk about this song more later.

Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca" had it's momentum clipped down two to number six while "Look At Me" by Geri Halliwell stalls at number seven.

The third new entry in our top ten comes courtesy of Madonna with "Beautiful Stranger"/ 

The party is coming to an end for "We Like to Party (The Vengabus)" by The Vengaboys down four to number nine while "9pm (Til I Come)" by ATB remained at number ten.

Losers

So we have a slew of songs that lost hard this week starting with "Until The Time Is Thtough" by Five down nine to forty nine as it makes it way out out.

Sliding twelve spots to forty five is "That Don't Impress Me Much" by Shania Twain while "Millennium" by Robbie Williams had one of the biggest shock falls of the week down from twenty four to forty one (really thought his song was going to stick around a bit longer).

Former number one "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears slipped from fourteen to thirty two. "Hey Boy Hey Girl" by The Chemical Brothers fell off their debut of twenty five to thirty one. 

Korn's "Freak On A Lash" stumbled seven to thirty while "Canned Heat" by Jamiroquai unfortunately slumped eight to twenty eight.

People have finally seen sense because "Touch It" by Monifah dropped from eighteen to twenty five.

Gains

Two gains this week worth noting and they are both good songs for a change with "Say It Once" by Ultra up nine to nineteen while Fuel's "Shimmer" rose from thirty six to twenty nine. 

Re-Entries

Soulsearcher's "Can't Get Enough" returned to number fifty this week. 

New Entries

Five new entries this week and we're beginning with a stalwart in rock because...

43. "You'll Be In My Heart" by PhilCollins

We're starting this week off with the first of two movie songs, this one for the Disney film "Tarzan" and they have brought Phil Collins on board for this, now my north star for Disney songs is "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Elton John and this does get close on a purely emotional level with Collins singing about how it doesn't matter how near or far someone is, there'll always be a place for him in his heart which is honestly a sweet sentiment but I am not sure the song has that moment like in "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" where Elton sounds like he is telling a story about this place where love reigns...Ithe don't know...it's cute but there's better songs in the Disney franchise.

38. "One Tony Lockett" by James Freud & The Reserves

Okay, we're diving into AFL with this new entry from a short lived novelty pop project put together by former Models frontman James Freud and yeah, this is pretty footy sounding as you might expect with the central hook basically amounting to reminding everyone that there's "Only one Tony Lockett" and then telling Lockett's life story on the verses. The instrumentation is enough and the hook is as catchy as an a sexually transmitted infection so I guess if you like your footy novelty songs, check it out otherwise I'd probably skip it. 

8. "Beautiful Stranger" by Madonna

The second of our movie songs this week with this coming from the sound track of
"Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" which just...groovy baby given I have never really cared foe that set of films however I was curious about this song given Madonna co-wrote and co-produced this song with William Orbit so I had some hope this was going to be good and...yeah...this is a pretty fun psychedelic pop and disco track that Madonna absolutely sounds awesome on even if I think it's missing a little of that seventies vibe that the Austin Powers movies appear to be all about. 

As for the content...well, it's all about how having an infatuation with a stranger or "devil in disguise" can upend somebody's world which to a degree does make sense for Austin Powers in way seeing as he thinks he is a bit of a ladies man. All in all...fun song...check it out.

5. "Man! I Feel Like A Woman" by Shania Twain

With the impressive top ten run of "That Don't Impress Me Much" and it slowly leaving the chart, I am kind of pleased to see a new Shania Twain song on the chart and whoo boy, this one is a fun one! Shania's taking all the girl power, her own charisma and mixing all together wihh some good old country rock sizzle to make one of the best girls night out songs to date because yeah, she's going out and letting shit hang loose while she's out partying with her best friends because as she reminds everyone on the bridge, the prerogative is for girls to "have a little fun" and you know what? I AM 100% down for that.

This is one insanely fun song that I think will become a hit, don't sleep on this one, ladies! (Also where's the guys version...we need "Woman! I Feel Like A Man")

3. "Sometimes" by Britney Spears

Closing the week out with the follow up to her number one hit "Baby, One More Time" with this being more of a piano led ballad with some strings and Britney's vocals being the star of the show as she admits to being shy and wants her new boyfriend to take it slow with her because she needs time to calm herself down and remove the nerves every time she sees this guy which is why she mentions running and hiding on the hook, it's a pretty good song especially coming from a teenager to wait, take your time and get to know the guy or girl. Good job Britney.

However best of the week is going to Shania Twain for "Man! I Feel Like A Woman", that song was just way too much fun, I can see it being a karoake staple. As for the worst...nothing really hard core deserves but if pushed maybe "One Tony Lockett" by James Freud & The Reserves.