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.

Top Ten Best HIt Songs of 1994

So as I said on the worst list...1994 was a damn great year for the charts if you didn't look at the very top and that remains true. I had a hell of a time putting together this list in that there were so many damn great songs that deserved recognition such was the strength of pop, rock and even r'n'b and hip hop, Even more importantly it felt like the 90s in terms of the music finally woke up and finally found some sounds that didn't feel dated to the eighties and that can only be a good thing. 

Now just a reminder that "Zombie" by The Cranberries charted higher on the 1995 year end so I'll talk about that song when I get around to making a 1995 best hit songs list, now that I've cleared that up...let's get stuck into the ten best hit songs of 1994.

Number Ten

In 1993, this band released a cover of Carly Simon's 'You're So Vain" that really isn't all that good so imagine my shock and delight that they released this song...and it was better than I could have ever expected...

"Mountain" by Chocolate Starfish

For awhile this was my number one favourite hit of the year but ultimately that weird beeping noise in the back of the mix pushed this back to here for me but god, this song still hits like a hammer with the instrumentation feeling rugged yet comforting and the content hits hard too all about a relationship where one person wants the other to be their mountain and settle down but the other person isn't ready and really just wants to spend more time flowing like that river doing whatever it is they have a passion for rather than settling down and getting that sensible steady job like the partner asked them to get. I get the pathos...great song!

Number Nine.

Sp we're staying Australian and dealing with the first of two Aussie pop divas to make this list and maan...what a delight this song is...

"Chains" by Tina Arena

If you are looking for a powerhouse vocal performance from a woman in 1994 than look no further than this song from Tina Arena, this is an incredibly impassioned love song where Tina realizes that she is so in love with this guy that she is in metaphorical chains for him and this song makes use of it's dramatic swell so well that I almost felt like I was also tied in chains to this dude and Tina sells this song so well its convincing. 

Number Eight

Sometimes there's no denying that a pop song is this good....

"The Sign" by Ace of Base

I don't know what you want me to say about this song when the song's broad appeal is so dang obvious, that catchy hook that will be left stuck in your head for days on end especially given the hook is that ridiculously catchy and earwormy, it's pretty much what good pop music especially out of Sweden (one of the homes of great pop music) should be.

This song deals with someone that is seeing the sign that their relationship is finally done and it's time to find the strength inside to move on to hopefully something better and happier, I love the messaging of this song and it deserves its place as one of the best pop songs of the 90s

Number Seven

You all know I rather harsh on terrible cover versions of songs...well, this time around, here's a cover song that gets things right for a change.

"Ain't Nobody" by Jaki Graham

This is a cover that took the original by Chaka Khan (that was already great) and decided not to mess with it too much but added sosme more 90s big beat bounce and groove that Jaki Graham is effortlessly able to play to in order to sell this song to a newer generation. Now Jaki is definitely over singing on the hook a little but I kind of pin that down to selling the idea that nobody other than her lover could make her feel so good and happy. It's a cute song that I was happy to place on this list.

Number Six

Then there's the alternative, a relationship on the brink and one pushes the other out the door and the regret hits almost immediately...well we got a song about that in 1994...

"Stay (I Missed You)" by Lisa Loeb & Nine Tales

There's something about this jittery emotional song that hits all the right notes with me, Lisa Loeb delivers this song as though she's nervously trying to convince this person she knows she pushed away to come back into her orbit and she regrets what she did to push this person who was genuinely in with her away even though this lover had issues with her talking too much etc. I also love the simplicity of the production here, it's just a spare guitar, Loeb's voice and some restrained backing vocals, it's only not higher because...

Nnumber Five

I like hip hop when it's breezy, the samples are bright and colourfjul, having fun and laying down some bars, Trap drudge does nothing for me so when this song turned up on the year end list...I was thrilled

"Hip Hop Holiday" by 3 The Hard Way

The minute that flip of "Dreadlock Holiday" by 10cc gets going where they rap "We don't like hip hop...we love it!" just makes me smile combine that with that reggae breakdown that reminds me suspiciously of "Inoformer" by Snow and this might well be more of the more infectious hits of 1994. The group get verses off bragging about the rhymes and swagger they bring to their music. This is fun, funky and sure does feel like one hell of a breezy hip hop holiday. 

Number Four

I know people are going to be shocked that more of the "Seattle Sound" aka grunge is not featured more prominently on this list and I there's a part of me that wishes I did find room for Soundgarden amd others but if there was a song from the Seattle scene that hit...it was this one...

"Daughter" by Pearl Jam

I don't know what it is about this song that just works for me, is it Eddie's more restrained vocal delivery that just hits like a train when he does let loose into the middle eight of the song, the instrumentation especially that damn guitar riff that kicks so much arse but somehow I think it all boils down to the content of the song...it's about this poor child who has a learning disability and because not much was known about learning difficulties at the time...the kids that struggled at school due to ADHD were always pinned as the ones misbehaving so got 'beaten"

What is chilling about the ending of this song is the line "the shades go fown" and it's never expressly said what happened to the girl at the centre of this song although you can guess from what I said earlier. 

Number Three

I asked social media if this song was this artist's best work...the overwhelming response was yes.

Not like I am about to disagree.

"Confide in Me" by Kylie Minogue

There's not too many songs like "Confide In Me" that blend elements of western and eastern pop music so damn well like this, it just blows my mind how absolutely flawless this production is that swells and ebbs with Kylie's voice so damn well but let's not mince words here...Kylie is the star of the show here, it's her vocals that make this song the absolute power house it is as she urges this other person to share the problem they are facing with her reminding them that a problem is meant to be shared so others can help and support the person to fix it. This is just a great pop song and could have been my number one in a weaker year. 

Number Two

I am not shocked this is so high, the artist behind this song has a habit of making songs that get to the core of the matter in question and this song was no different...

"Streets Of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen

This song can be summed up in one word: devastating, it comes from the first major film at the time called "Philadelphia" which was the first film to seriously tackle the AIDS issue on the silver screen and this song from Bruce Springsteen realizes the seriousness and really underlines the impact that the AIDs crisis had on people who had the virus at the time, citing the loneliness and social isolation of a man who is dying of AIDS face and the desperate search for connection with others.

Bruce just nails the complexity here, it's not even just social connection, it's the loss of identity and that production also provides that haunting atmosphere that just broke me. It's a haunting song that emotionally hits all the right notes...it's not number one though...what could that be?

Number One

Nothing else was ever going to be number one on this list, this number one pick was fate...it was meant to be. This song is special in ways that take my breath away and thus...

"Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" by Elton John

Nothing else felt right at number one...nothing...this song hits so hard and powerfully I just break down and sob like a baby to the point I couldn't imagine anything else topping this list, there's a magic to "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" that I don't think anything else from 1994 can match from Elton's vocal delivery that's just warm and comforting and that orchestral in instrumentation that just sounds so full its overwhelming and maybe it just hits even harder given we are years removed from 1994 and the world hasn't exactly gotten better. 

It's the perfect song for one of the best Disney movies ever "The Lion King" (nothing beats it...outside of maybe Peter Pan) and maybe the perfect song that provides an escape from the troubles of the world as Elton sings to open the song "There's a calm surrender to the rush of dayWhen the heat of the rolling world can be turned away". Maybe it's just the ultimate comfort song for me alongside "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House.but whatever the case it's the number one best hit song of 1994.

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: March 2nd.

 This feels like a really quiet week which I will take considering that Bruno Mars and Blackpink are likely to both make an impact on the chart in a big way next week however let's dive into this week's top ten where for a fifteenth week, it's "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean, it's dominant on sales and streaming but not yet on Youtube. 

What did shock and thrill me is the four place gain to number two for "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean thanks to major streaming gains but it was enough for "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean to be pushed back to number three, "Ordinary" by Alex Warren back to number four and "Where is My Husband" by Raye back to number five.

Sombr's katest top ten hit "Homewrecker" climbed  two places to number six thanks to streaming.  Taylor Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia" held steady at number seven which is interesting for reasons you'll see why later. 

"Raindance" by Dave and Tems rebounded one spot to number eight and Sombr's '12 to 12" returned to the top ten up two spots to number nine while "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters also returned to the top ten up two spots to number ten. 

Losers

"Good Luck, Babe" bv Chappell Rean is  back on the cusp of leaving the chart (again) down fourteen spots to fifty. 

Bad Bunny's "Nuevayol" tumbled twenty places to forty six (Frankly I am surprised this song is still on the charts at all)

It will rebound in a couple of weeks time but "Aperture" by Harry Styles continues to fall in the mean time down ten places to thirty seven. 

Finally "Opalite" by Taylor Swift collapsed twelve places because an artificial boost via gaming the charts only nets rewards for so long and when there are other songs that do what this song is trying to do better,...yeah...

Drop Outs

Djo's "Back to beginning" returned to the On Replay Singles chart after it's ten week stint on the chaet thanks to virality. 

Long running hit "Yukon" by Justin Bieber took it's exit this week along with "Baile Involidable" by Bad Bunny ad "Sally, When the Wine Runs Out" by Role Model. 

Gains

So I am going to get to the big gain of the week in a moment but I do want to mention "Stateside" by Pink Pantheress which jumped six places to number eleven and looks likely to climb even higher in the weeks ahead thanks to the song being used by American ice skater Alysa Liu during her gold medal winning skate at the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina.

However the biggest gain of the week is "IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay up a massive twenty two spots to twenty,

"4 Raws" by EsDeeKid rebounded eight spots to thirty five and "I've Seen It" by Olivia Dean up eight to forty one. 

Re-Entries

Three returns this week with "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae back at forty four and "I Had some Help" by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen returning at thirty nine.

Finally back at number twenty seven is a 2002 song from Italian house music group Milky that originally peaked forty seven at the time, this time a remix with Mallgrab ensuring it returned to the chart,,,I don't see this lasting long on the chart but we'll have to see.

New Entries

Just the one new entry this week...

47. "White Keys" by Dominic Fike

Oh god, we're not giving Dominic Fike another hit again, are we? We've been lucky in that the new rules kept the terrible "Baby Doll" off the charts but we did get this and so I guess I do need to talk about in some capacity...and it meets my very low expectations of being alternative shlock that pop radio would accept as transgressive, who told Fike that his vocal delivery needed to be so inexecrably annoying to the point I had to turn the song off at multiple points? Also this bare bones production is unmitigated amounts of ass as that guitar sounds like it was in the middle of being fucking neutered. 

As for the content, its about a failed relationship and Fike musing on his early years geowing up in Florida and given how obnoxious he sounds on this sound, I don't blame the girl for leaving him because nooo, this song is not worth it. 

That was our week and geezus, I hope Bruno strikes in a big way to get ass like "White Keys" off the charts.

Pretty Fly (For 1999) February 28th Get What You Give Away in an Anthem for 2000

 So we have on the surface a pretty standard week here if you can call it that, three new entries and plenty of movement but remember last week that the showdown for the number one spot was on? That happened and we wound up with a brand new chart topper because Britney Spears did it as sales pushed "Baby, One More Time" to the top, this song has legs right now to be a long term chart topper. 

It pushed "Believe" by Cher back to number two as the numbers weighing in Britney's favour meant it couldn't hang on much longer. 

There's a new entry at number three coming from Silverchair with "Anthem for the Year 2000" having an impressive sales week to lodge itself this high although I would argue Silverchair arguably have the profile to do that. 

Rising on spot off the debut is "That Don't Impress Me Much" by Shania Twain at number four likewise for "Lullaby" by Shawn Mullins which jumped one to five although both those gains could be on the back of increasing weakness for the fading "Jackie" by BZ and Joanne.

What's not going away like an extremely virulent case chlamydia is "No Matter What" by Boyzone which remains stubbornly at number seven no matter how much spray and wipe I use to try to remove this godawful song from the chart.

That cannot be said for The Offspring's "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy" which slipped four places to number eight, its fading gracefully now. 

I am happy to see a one place gain for "Doo Wop (Dat Thing)" by Lauryn Hill to numner nine. I just wish itb wasn't at the expense of "How do I Deal" by Jennifer Love Hewitt down one to number ten. 

Losers

Celine Dion and R. Kelly need three busloads of angels to save "I'm Your Angel" exiting the chart, this week it slipped from forty two to forty nine.

Grinspoon are pushing all the wrong buttons as their EP "Pushing Buttons" slumped from thirty six to forty one. 

"Finally Found" by Honeyz is on its way out as it slipped ten spots to number thirty two while "From this Moment On" by Shania Twain slumped from twenty four to thirty one. 

Gains

We don't have that much in the way of big gains, unfortunately it seems more than enough people do want to touch Monifah's "Touch It" so that got an eight place boost to twenty four off of it's debut last week.

However it looks like some people want to go a long way together with "Praise You" by Fatboy Slim rising from it's debut of forty one to thirty five.

Will Smith's "Miami" is up eight to thirty six which is nice to see. I still like that song. 

New Entries

Three new entries and all some variation of rock this weekbeginning with....

46. "Get What You Give" by New Radicals

So New Radicals are an American pop/rock act with with song being their first to hit the ARIA singles chart and you know what? I actually really love this! It's a song about finding hope  and connection in a world that has become cold, cynical and corporate with the song reminding everyone that you only get back as much as you put into life. Throw in that guitar, the rather passionate delivery of the lyrics and you have a pretty damn great song, Check it out

44. "Fly Away" by Lenny Kravitz

The fourth single from Lenny Kravitz album "5" and boy, I wish I liked this more than I do especially as this song really is limited in soaring to any kind of great height by that production where thr guitars are choked that they cannot soar or fly away like Lenny Ktavitz wants to do and honestly, I'm not buying Kravitz's performance on the hook either, this song just isn't doing anything for me so I'm going to skop it more often than not. 

3. "Anthem for the Year 2000" by Silverchair

Lead single from "Neon Ballroom" and again, I am not feeling this song as much as I probably should, this has a pretty damn good hook and the instrumentation and production feel so by the numbers for a song that's aimed at rebelling against authority or even vaguely speaking truth to power (even if meant to be taken sarcastically) even Daniel Johns sounds less punchy and the song just lacks that punch that the best anthemic rock songs have. 

Best and worst fall out easily this week with "Get What You Give" by New Radicals the best this week. The worst going to "Fly Away" by Lenny Kravitz.

"Pop" Country Gone Haywire: Lee Brice's "Country Nowadays" is the height of entitled, privileged whining

There are moments where country music just nails the mood and strikes the right tone, I have examples of how great the genre can be on my best of 2026 playlist already (See Carter Faith and William Beckmann's collab from earlier this year and Emily Scott Robinson's beautiful new album "Appalachia" but every so often the genre hits a turd like in 2017 with "Body Like a Backroad" by Sam Hunt which unfortunately became a staple of the genre that year and this year it's Lee Brice's "Country Nowadays"

Firstly, let's do a little background on Lee Brice, he originally worked behind the scenes as a songwriter for Jason Aldean and even co wrote Garth Brooks song "More than a Memory" amd from there was signed to Curb Records in 2007 and has since released several albums and even collaborated with Carly Pearce on "Hope You're Happy Now".so yes, you can absolutely say that Brice was apart of the instigation of the worst period for mainstream country in years where all the male artists wanted to do was drink beer off the back of tailgates and leer at women although Brice was on the decidedly more tasteful side of the nonsense, he did have one or two songs I liked. '

All that brings me to his new song enttled "Country Nowadays" that he performed at the "alternate" Superbowl half time show much to the amusement of the internet, there already several Youtube Poops mocking this song and honestly I am not sure they go far enough to underline just how extraordinarily privileged this song comes across so I am going to breakdown the fundamentals of this song's lyrics (I am not going to discuss the actual music because I am not giving this song a click)

"I just wanna catch my fish, drive my truck, drink my beer
And not wake up to all this stuff I don't want to hear
Like the same kind of gun I hunt with, just killed another man
When the only thing mine ever shot was a deer from my deer stand"\

You can go catch your fish, drive your truck and drink beer, Lee, NOBODY is stopping you. Also if you don't want to wake up to the news of another school shooting in America, you can just not turn the TV on in the morning and avoid social media but the real reason you don't want to wake up to the news of another school shooting or another innocent person being murdered is that you don't want your thoughts on gun ownership and putting bullets through an animal challenged by people who actually want gun reform.

"I just want to grow my corn, feed my dogs, wear my boots

Not turn the TV on, sit and watch the evenin' news
And be told if I tell my own daughter that little boys ain't little girls
I'll be up the creek in hot water in this "cancel your ass" world"

Trans people simply existing do not stop Lee from growing vegetables and feeding his dog nor are anyone else's private parts or lack there of anyone's concern and shouldn't be in the news anyway...who cares if somebody wants a penis instead of a vagina..how does their decision affect Lee Brice or Fox News?.

As for complaining about "cancel culture" since when was Lee ever cancelled? Again, two of his biggest hits have been fairly  recent with "One of them Girls" and the collab with Carly Pearce that I mentioned earlier. Also if cancel culture was actually a fucking thing, Chris Brown wouldn't still be gaining hits and relevance on the charts to this fucking day. It looks pretty myopic and incredibly privileged for somebody like Lee Brice who has had a modicum of success on the charts to be whining about cancel culture.

" It ain't easy being country in this country nowadaysThe direction the fingers point when everything goes up in flames
Sayin' I'm some right-wing devil 'cause I was small town, Jеsus raised
It ain't easy being country in this country nowadays"

Oh wow, whining it's hard to be country nowadays when the genre is actually having the biggest boom in terms of success on the Hot 100 and around the world, there's actually never been a better time to be an artist making real country music eg: Ella Langley, Luke Combs etc not that Lee would know what actual drums are that aren't borrowed from a drum machine are. 

As for the religious implications here, can I suggest Lee go spend some more time with his bible and learn how to be humble because this entitled privileged whining in song form does not imply that he understands what God and Jesus meant by modesty and humility...yes, modesty is not just dress standards for women, they apply in terms of behaviour for everyone.

"I just wanna cut my grass, watch my gamе, say my prayers
Not get a picture of a flag up in flames as people cheer
Yeah, the same one my grandaddy fought for being stepped on like it's trash
And I'm a downright hateful monster if I back the blue and badge"

Okay, I do agree flag burning is not a good thing and it's something that peaceful protest should not resort to but again...nobody is stopping Lee Brice from praying, watching football or mowing his overgrown lawn that probably has more weeds than any actual realisation from Lee Brice that this privileged whining is just not going to cut it, he is free to do all that shit he names in this song but the real world is going to keep being the real fucking world..is Lee Brice even cognisant of the fact that ICE have murdered innocent people, that his president Donald Trump is in the Epstein files and as a result Trump is threatening to start a WAR with Iran...where's the song talking about the actual real shit that is happening, Lee?

As for support the police, he is free support whoever he wants just as long he is aware that people are allowed to disagree. We all face consequences for things we say and do, we are not free from the consequences of our free speech like so many entitled and privileged people seem to believe they are.

Final part of this shit show of a song is this:

"All I do is mind my business, live my life the best I can
Try to be a real good husband, a real good daddy, a real good man
But because I have my morals and a small town point of view
You assume that you don't like me means that I don't like you, too"

Minding his own business when he was complaining about trans people earlier in his own song? I would suggest none of that was minding his own business. Now I am not going to judge him as a husband or as a parent however morals do come into question when you sign up to perform as part of what is fairly blatantly a Donald Trump and Republican suppprting grift like Turning Point USA while Trump is still in the Epstein Files and may possibly  be deeply involved, eyeing bombing other countries and pushing US democracy to the brink of extinction, Lee may well have bigger issues to worry about that trans kids and school shootings in the news on his small town home TV. 

This isn't escapism from Lee Brice, this is just privileged shitlord material that doesn't have the good sense to have some balance and acknowledge that there are real problems in the US and the world that need to be dealt with such as the pedophiles in positions of power (which is wild Lee doesn't acknowledge that given he has kids) and when we have this sort of worthless art in country, it actually hurts the genre and those artists in country trying to speak truth to power.

Fuck this song.