ARIA Singles Chart top ten/ Chart review: 26th March: XXXtentacion breaks into the top 10

This year is looking pretty ordinary for the music charts, there was some really bad news that came in the charts somehow and that bad news begins with the top ten.

Yes, Drake remains at number one for another week with "God's Plan" but I suspect things are starting to look shaky for this song, it's sales on iTunes slipped so it's really a question of how long streaming and Youtube can keep it at number one.

Unfortunately it's closest competitor is a song I consider to be as bad..."Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign remains at number 2.

"Perfect" by Ed Sheeran continues to hang around by remaining at number 3. I don't like the song but wow, I'd take it over Drake and Post Malone.

One of the few pieces of good news this week was "These Days" by Rudimental, Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen rose one spot to number 4. I don't see it going number one but I still think it's a pretty terrific song.

"All The Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA basically switched with "These Days" as it dropped from 4 to 5. (Again, only some of the production lets this song down, it's not that bad)

Then there's more bad news as the increasingly juvenile "Friends" by Marshmello and Anne-Marie climbs two places to number 6. 

Then there's "The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey remaining at number 7. I am a fan of Maren Morris but why this song which was the song for an ad for Target in the US.

"IDGAF" by Dua Lipa (another song) which is really great unfortunately dropped two places to number 8.

Now we get to one of the biggest pieces of shit news the Australian charts have seen in awhile, "SAD!" by XXXtentacion rose from 22 to 9 to be the biggest mover of the week, yes a half finished, whiny load of crap can still make the top ten, albeit off the back of the album which dropped but even so that is no excuse.

Finally it seems there is one bad pop song on the way out with "Meant to Be" by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line dropping from 9 to 10 this week. Good, the sooner that song is gone the better.

Gains

Well beyond XXXtentacion's "SAD!" making the top ten, it looks as though Khalid and Normani might break into the top ten next week with "Love Lies", it gained three places to number 11 (I hope it happens, I really like "Love Lies). 

"Look Alive" by BlocBoy JB and Drake climbed four to 25, "My My My!" by Troye Sivan rebounded to 31 from 36 last week and most surprisingly "Galway Girl" by Ed Sheeran went to 43 from 49 last week.

Returning Entries

No major returning entries in the top 50 or even the top 100 this week. 

Losers

The biggest loser was "I Fall Apart" by Post Malone falling from 11 to 16. "For You" by Liam Payne and Rita Ora fell from 17 to 21 (that song hasn't caught on in Australia the wayI would have liked it to quite honestly, it's grown on me a fair bit), the awful "Him & I" by G-Eazy and Halsey fell from 33 to 37 (thank goodness) and unfortunately "Coming Home" by by Sheppard fell from 44 to 49 (a new single would be great, Sheppard!)

Drop Outs

We had two pretty significant drop outs this week and I have to say I am not sorry to see either "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons gone after 43 weeks or Lauv's "I Like Me Better' gone after 33 weeks, both aren't good songs ("Thunder" is actually god damn awful if I am being honest)

There were two other not quite so significant drop outs "Dirty Sexy Money" by David Guetta feat. Charli XCX, Afrojack and French Montana (Guetta released a new song with Sia which is expected to chart next week) and "We Got Love" by Jessica Mauboy (hardly surprising given Eurovision songs don't seem to catch on chart wise anymore)

New Entries

We got four new entries to the chart but let's begin with the awful, shall we?.

For a start, the highest charting debut this week was "Freaky Friday" by Lil Dicky (a rapper with the worst rap name I have ever heard) and Chris Brown at number 18. 

XXXtentacion's album drop ensured "Changes" arrived in the top 50 at number 48 while The Chainsmokers cling on to whatever relevance they have left with "Everybody Hates Me" debuting at number 50.

The best of the debuts in the top 50 is "Hurt Somebody" by Noah Kahan and Julia Michaels which is NOT saying a lot that is positive.

Outside the top 50, the debutants got better with Kygo and Miguel's lovely "Remind Me to Forget" debuting at 52, Taylor Swift's passable "Delicate" at 56, and "Done for Me" by Charlie Puth and Kehlani at 97

But we also got "Lemon (Drake Remix)" by N*E*R*D and Rihanna at 63 and "Like I Do" by David Guetta, Martin Garrix and Brooks at 93.

Hopefully the charts will improve because this week sucked, although with Shawn Mendes having a sizeable impact this week could well be interesting.

ARIA Top Ten/Chart Review: 19th March

So this week saw a lot of movement…most of it up for Ed Sheeran and the very top of the chart stay the same, you’ll see what I mean.

Remaining at number one for another week is “God’s Plan” by Drake and at this point, his streaming means he probably will keep number one for another week or so.

“Psycho” by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign remains at number 2. I still don’t see the appeal of this song at all.

Rebounding from 6 to number 3 is former number 1 “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran because he has been on tour in Australia during the week which pushed “All The Stars” by Kendrick Lamar and SZA back to number 4 and “These Days” by Rudimental, Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen down to number 5.

Dua Lipa who is in Australia as the support act for Bruno Mars 24k Magic tour gave a boost to “IDGAF” which climbed one place to number 6.

“The Middle” by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey jumped one spot to number 7 and ‘Friends” by Marshmello and Anne Marie jumped from 9 to 8…unfortunately (I’vr gone cold on that song hard in the last few weeks).

All the above songs rose because of the sudden drop for “Meant to be” by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line which fell from 5 to 9. Good.

 “River” by Eminem and Ed Sheeran returned to the top 10 at number because…. Ed Sheeran.

Gains

The biggest gainer this week was sadly XXXtentacion with “Sad!” gaining ten places to 22, quite why I don’t know because the song is TERRIBLE.

Ed Sheeran’s tour sent “Shape of You” back into the top 20 at number 20 climbing 5 places. Also climbing 5 places is “Look Alive’ by JB Blocboy featuring Drake to 29 because people want more Drake for some reason.

Returns

The two returns inside the top 50 this week were Ed Sheeran songs (surprise, surprise), “Castle on the Hill” returned at number 41 and “Galway Gal” at number 49.

Outside the top 50 though, the Ed Sheeran shlw continued with “The A-Team” back at 91.

Calum Scot also got a re-entry with “Dancing On My Own” returning at 77.

Losses

The biggest loss of the week was a 5 place drop for “Let Me Go” by Hailee Steinfeld,  Alesso and Watt to 39, other than that nothing too substantial.

Drop Outs

The drop outs aren’t too shocking this week, pretty much all four were expected with “Rewrite The Stars” by Zac Efron and Zendaya, “Cola” by Camelphat and Elderbrook, “Good Old Days” by Macklemore and Kesha and “Humble” by Kendrick Lamar all gone.

New entries

Two new entries this week with “Everyday” by Logic entering at 38 being the highest new debut this week and “We Got Love” by Jessica Mauboy entering at 47.

Outside the top 50, the best of the new entries was “Church” by Alison Wonderland at 89 while Bad Wolves cover of The Cranberries “Zombie” entered at 93 and “Nothing to Regret”  by Robinson entered at 100.

New Music Friday Review: 9th and 16th March.

Two New Music Fridays to do because I missed the one for the 9th March so we're going to begin with four songs from the 9th March New Music Friday playlist including Australia's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest (I cannot believe we haven't worn out our welcome in that competition yet) and the latest from Kylie Minogue.

Let's begin with our Eurovision Song Contest entry, shall we?

Song: We Got Love
Artist: Jessica Mauboy





She was the interval act at Eurovision a couple of years ago and now Jessica Mauboy will again participate at Eurovision this time as a contestant with the song "We Got Love" - a pop song pretty much tailor made and targeted for Eurovision, seriously, it's like they looked like at the formula for Dami Im's success with "Sound of Silence" and went "EUREKA" because "We Got Love" plays directly from a formula and yeah I do like it in the sense that will be a better live song than the recording.


Rating: 7/10


Song; Stop Me From Falling
Artist: Kylie Minogue



The latest single from Kylie Minogue's upcoming album "Golden" and we get a more blatantly country song that is more than reminiscent of Dolly Parton and recent Miley Cyrus but like with "Dancing", "Stop Me from Falling" retains a lot of that Kylie sparkle which makes this song a pretty damn good to sing and dance along to. Hopefully radio falls in love with the song because yeah, it's pretty darn great.


Rating; 8/10


Song: Sanctify
Artist: Years and Years




You may remember Years and Years for their 2015 top ten smash "King" which peaked at number 9 on the ARIA singles chart, a song that really wasn't a fan of myself but their new single "Sanctify" is a massive improvement on "King" with it sounding very influenced by India or at least sections of Bollywood. I enjoyed it quite honestly. Good job.


Rating: 8/10


Song: There's A Reason
Artist: Wet



Wet are a two member indie pop group based in Brooklyn New York with "There's a Reason" being the lead off single from their second album and quite honestly, this a nice straight forward pop song but I cannot help thinking that the song could have done with a change up but otherwise it's a nice easy to listen to song.

Rating: 7/10



Best of the week (March 9th): "Sanctify" by Years and Years.
Worst: Not sure there was anything egregiously bad to give out a worst of the week


Now onto March 16th and we begin with the return of Kygo,

Song: Remind Me to Forget
Artists: Kygo, Miguel



It's not often I am reminded of Sam Smith but Miguel's really soulful delivery especially on the verses, it's one of the things I admire about Kygo's production on his songs, he knows how to use the instrumentation to best suit the vocalist be it Miguel or Selena Gomez. Only thing that I am finding a bit off about this song is that breakdown which kind of sucks.

Rating: 7/10



Song: Done for Me
Artists: Charlie Puth, Kehlani



The latest single from Charlie Puth's delayed second album VoiceNotes with Puth turning up a modern disco with the help of Kehlani (an artist who I have never been a strong fan of) for a song that is about a relationship where Puth question what his partner has done for him when he is giving everything for her and Kehlani plays the part of the girlfriend. Honestly the groove here is pretty tight and would be fun to dance to. I kind of like it.


Rating: 8/10



Song: Everybody Hates Me
Artist: The Chainsmokers



I am convinced that every single song by The Chainsmokers is beginning to sound alike in some ways eg: the drop on this song and their single with Coldplay "Something Just Like This" sound very similar. This song is apparently about Andrew Taggart's feelings of loneliess and self criticism. Look to be blunt this song sucks and judging by the diminishing returns The Chainsmokers have seen this year, the public have finally woken up.


Rating: 3/10


Song: Alien
Artists: Sabrina Carpenter, Jonas Blue


So Sabrina Carpenter is back and this time she has teamed up with Jonas Blue for a new single and I have to be honest here, I am not convinced that this is the best work either artist has done. Sabrina sounds kind of checked out on the song but it's still good...it's better than that dreck from The Chainsmokers.


Rating 6/10


Best: "Remnd Me to Forget" by Kygo and Miguel
Worst: "Everybody Hates Me" by The Chainsmokers.

New Music Friday March 23rd:

Snow Patrol, Shawn Mendes and more

ARIA Singles top Ten/ Chart Review: March 12. Chart gets yucky

Fair too say that this is late because I was dreading having to parse my way through this week's chart which at the moment is anything less than good, seriously... you'll see what I mean.

At number one for yet another week is "God's Plan" by Drake even though the video is absolutely wonderful, I fail to remember anything Drake said in the actual song. I assume

Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign remain at number 2 with the underwhelming "Psycho" (I expect this song to fall hard soon)

"All the Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA remains stuck at number 3 as does "These Days" by Rudimental, Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen at number 4 and "Meant to be" by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line at number 5

Ed Sheeran on tour in Australia gave a number of Sheeran's songs from "Divide" boosts including "Perfect" which jumped four places to number 6.

That pushed "IDGAF" by Dua Lipa down to number 7.

Now we reach the first of two new entries to the top 10 "The Middle" by Zedd at number 7, Maren Morris and Gray's first top ten hit in Australia. Makes sense given that it's really "Stay. Part 2"

At nine is the second of the new arrivals to the top 10, "Friends" by Marshmello and Anne Marie...a song that has become increasingly juvenile...but it climbed 5 places to reach it's new peak this week.

A song headed out of the top 10 is "I Fall Apart" by Post Malone which fell 3 spots to number 10.


Gainers

The biggest gainer of the week was somehow "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran which climbed 11 places to 25 and has now been on the chart 61 weeks however the song should start to fade away now that Ed Sheeran has left the country. "Divide" also returns to number one on the album chart.

Apart from that there was no real major gainers this week apart from the two songs that broke into the top ten.

Returns

Two returns  to the top 50 was "Good Ol' Days" by Macklemore and Kesha at 49 and Calum Scott's "You Are the Reason" at number 40.

Outside of the top 50: it was pretty much the Ed Sheeran show with "Happier" at 82, "Dive" at 98 and even "Photograph" returned at 97. Calum Scott's 'Dancing On My Own" returned at 77.

Losers

The biggest loser of the week was "Rewrite the Stars" by Zac Efron and Zendaya which fell from 37 to 44. "We're Going Home"  by Vance Joy dropped from 16 to 20. Both because the hype is fading away.

Other than that, there wasn't any real big losers.

Drop Outs

Three drop outs this week with "Want You Back" by 5 Seconds of Summer, "What Lovers Do" by Maroon 5 and SZA and "Lay It On Me"  by Vance Joy all dropping out. Not fussed on any of those leaving really. "Want You Back" is terrible, "What Lovers Do" and "Lay It On Me" have had their time on the chart.

New Entries


One new entry to the top 50 which was (unfortunately) "SAD!" by XXXentacion at number 33.

Outside of the top 50, Meghan Trainor's new single "No Excuses" entered at 60 (wonder how much probability there is of it making the top 50), "Everyday" by Logic and Marshmello at 61, "Ric Flair Drip" by Metro Boomin' and Offset at 66, "Changes" by XXXentacion at 87, "Need You" by Flight Facilities feat. Nika at 96 and "Stranger Things" by Joyner Lucas and Chris Brown at 100.

Let's hope the chart improves because this week sucked like the proverbial butthole.

New Music Friday: Meghan Trainor is back

Look, let's just get stuck into this week's New Music Friday Review without going through a whole preamble cause I got to be honest, it was a tough week for new music last week which saw the returns of Meghan Trainor and DJ Khaled, Khaled bringing along three big name stars in the world of hip hop and R 'n' B along for the ride so I suspect I might well either be pleasantly surprised or getting on board the conga line of suck.

Song: No Excuses 

Artist: Meghan Trainor

So the woman, who many put at the top of their worst hit songs of 2016 lists for "Me Too" and quite rightly so that song was insufferable each and every way you looked at it, is back with a brand new single called "No Excuses" and I have to say the song is growing on me in terms of the instrumentation, it's definitely got that instrumental appeal about it but the lyrics are the problem with this song as per usual with a Meghan Trainor song which are nauseatingly repetitive especially into the chorus until Meghan sings "Your mama raised you better than that, huh!" and the verses really don't tell a story of how this guy is 'disrespecting' her and the "huh!" noise is not at all flattering.

So really it's an instrumental improvement overall. 

Rating: 5/10. I'm sticking with Aretha when I want a 'respect anthem'

Song: Top Off 

Artists: DJ Khaled, Future, Jay Z, Beyonce

Oh boy, I wasn't at all looking forward to writing about this song because it the simple and purest language, I can effectively say this is the WORST song DJ Khaled has ever released. Future sounds like he was having an off day so phoned it in while Beyonce strangely tries rap comes off sounding worse for the effort, Jay Z maybe fares the best but when the most interesting take aways from this song are Beyonce calling out Tiffany Haddish and Kim Kardashian and joining Jay Z in calling for the release of Meek Mill from jail in amidst bragging over their immense wealth, it's really not much of a song at all.

Rating: 2/10

Song: Golden Age

Artist: Fergus James

This song was an oasis in a desert of crap and any wonder it's so good when Mark Lizzotte was one of the co-writers on 'Golden Age" but firstly to explain who Fergus James is, he is an 18 year old from Sydney who is currently getting plenty of attention courtesy of Triple J's Unearthed and cites Vance Joy as one of his influences.

Well I'll say this for Fergus, this song is better than a large majority of Vance Joy's last album, "Golden Age" on piano, synths and percussion but it's done really well and has this absolutely anthemic chorus. This should be a hit but knowing how Australia has kind of rejected music by Aussie artists in recent years I don't hold out much hope

Rating: 9/10

Song: Ballroom

Artist: Jack River

Look, I really don't have much to say about this song except that it is fantastic and that Jack River needs a lot more mainstream recognition. Please give this woman a chance.


Rating: 8/10


Best of the week: In a terrible week for new music, "Golden Age" by Fergus James gets the best

Worst of the week: "Top Off" by DJ Khaled featuring Jay Z, Beyonce and Future


Next  New Music Friday Review:

Jessica Mauboy's song that she will be taking to Lisbon for Eurovision

ARIA Top 10/Chart Review: 5th March. Post Malone racks up another hit

So this week was a pretty normal one by the standard of the ARIA chart, sure we got a new entry debuting rather high in the top ten and some movement up and down the chart but nothing greatly unusual. 

Of course we start with the top ten and there's no change at the top with "God's Plan" by Drake at number one for a fifth week and I don't see anything knocking it off at the moment

Then we get to the new entry at number 2, "Psycho" by Post Malone feat. Ty Dolla $ign. Post Malone's third top 10 hit in Australia and Ty Dolla $ign's 2nd (he was on the horrid Fifth Harmony song "Work from Home" in 2016). 

The arrival of "Psycho" pushed "All The Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA back to number 3 and "These Days" by Rudimental, Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen back to number 4.

"Meant to Be" by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line slipped one back to number 5.

A song that is actually climbing the chart though is Dua Lipa's "IDGAF" which climbed one place to number 6 and with Dua in Australia at the moment, I suspect that this song might well be propelled into the top 5 which I wouldn't mind at all because it's a good song.

Post Malone's other top ten hit "I Fall Apart" finally fell out of the top 5 to number 7 while "River" by Eminem feat. Ed Sheeran fell two places to number 8. 

"Pray for Me" by The Weekend and Kendrick Lamar pushed further into the top 10 jumping one place to number 9.

"Perfect" by Ed Sheeran fell two places to number 10 and looks likely to be gone from the top ten soon. Good.

Gains

The arrival of Vance Joy's "Nation of Two" album saw "We're Going Home" jump from 31 to 16 (just a pity the album is getting critically panned and sadly I kind have to agree...it's not a good album at all) in what was the biggest move of the week.

"Friends" by Marshmello and Anne Marie jumped from 22 to 13. "Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani went to 19 from 29. 

Possibly because Ed Sheeran is in Australia, "Shape Of You" continues to hang around, it jumped 4 places to 34. It has now spent 60 weeks on the Australian chart. LONGEVITY, MAN!

"Capital Letters" by Hailee Steinfeld and Bloodpop also jumped off the back of it's debut last week, it went to 39.

Re- Entries

There was one re-entry to the top 50 with Vance Joy's "Lay It On Me" returning off the back of the release of the new album. 

As for the top 100? Well, "Supermarket Flowers" by Ed Sheeran returned at 77 because it looks like being Ed's new single from "Divide"

Losses

Biggest loser of the week was "Silence" by Marshmello and Khalid which fell 10 places to 27, Others that are losing ground include "Havana" by Camila Cabello feat. Sex formerly known as Young Thug fell to 26, "Go Bang" by Pnau" 23 and "Let Me Go" by Hailee Steinfeld feat. Alesso and Watt which fell to 33.

What was surprising was the sudden big drop to 18 for "Finesse by Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B. 

Also falling are "What Lovers Do" by Maroon 5 feat. SZA from 33 to 40, "Young, Dumb and Broke" by Khalid to 44 from 36 and "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons from 39 to 46.

Drop Outs

The drop outs are a little surprising this week and when I say surprising I mean "Think About You" by Delta Goodrem is gone after just one week, the song isn't all that bad so am rather surprised it didn't stick around.

Of the others to go the only significant one is "Good Old days" by Macklemore and Kesha which peaked at number 8 and remained on the chart for 22 weeks. It's the only song that could potentially make the year end list of this lot of drop outs

The Chainsmokers "Sick Boy" exits after 5 weeks on the charts after really being a complete non starter of the song.

The final drop out is "Numb" by Hayden James and Graace which exited after 4 weeks. 

New Entries

There were two other new entries to the top 50 besides "Psycho", both being pretty damn awful. "Want You Back" by 5 Seconds of Summer arrives at 32 and "Look Alive" by BlocBoy JB and Drake at number 36.

Outside the top 50? The highest of the new entries is Logic's "44 More" at number 85, Maroon 5's sterile "Wait" arrives at number 91 (I hope to god that it doesn't become a hit) and Imagine Dragons reasonably good "Next to Me" at 96.

So that wraps up the ARIA Singles chart review for this week and my god I am not looking forward to next week's chart, the arrivals of both Meghan Trainor and DJ Khaled's new songs, you will find out what I think of both"No Excuses" and "Top Off" in New Music Friday Review.

New Music Friday: 23rd February: 5SOS become The New Chainsmokers, Janelle Monae kicks butt

So this week was strange...there was plenty of quality though! Just we got plenty of crap as well. 5 Seconds of Summer are back with a change of direction, Janelle Monae returns and Post Malone teams up with Ty Dollar $ign for "Psycho"


Song: Want You Back
Artists: 5 Seconds of Summer







It's been awhile between releases for 5 Seconds of Summer with "Want You Back" being the lead off single from their as yet untitled third album and they've elected to go down more of a pop route instead of sticking to their pop/punk roots which in a sense is fine because pop/punk isn't where the money is plus if you saw the playlist they put together citing their influences for their new album (yikes) then I suspect you would realize that this change has been coming.

So what did we get with "Want You Back"? A quite unremarkable song bearing a mix of all the hallmarks of The Chainsmokers at their self aggrandising worst and Maroon 5 at their most sterile which is is odd for a song about unrequited love and how he is struggling to get over this girl who he has made clear he wants back with the all basic as hell lyrics. I suspect even 5 Seconds of Summer fans were disappointed that this load of nonsense is the lead off single.


Rating; 4/10



Title: Psycho
Artists: Post Malone,Ty Dolla $ign






Post Malone had a fantastic 2017 which came as a shock to many people, he had his first major hit with "Rockstar" and with the streaming numbers that "Psycho" is accruing, this looks like doing better than "Rockstar"...just a pity that in terms of quality "Psycho" isn't all that good, the same now extremely done to death by the numbers trap beat with your standard luxury rap bring about women, cars and jewellery that has been done to death since 2014. Pass


Rating: 4.5/10


Song: Make Me Feel
Artist: Janelle Monae




So much like CHVRCHES, I have pretty much slept on Janelle Monae and it turns out I slept on something pretty special because "Make Me Feel" is a groove infected R 'n' B funk song that harks back to the 80s and Janelle is just owning it. Makes it all the more special that late Prince assisted in the writing of this song because you can hear the Prince influence all over this song. I love it and I hope it becomes a smash hit.



Rating: 9/10


Song: White Flag
Artist: Bishop Briggs



Another artist who I wish I'd listened to before I came across "White Flag" is Bishop Briggs because this song is a dark anthemic rock song with verses that build into this absolutely crushing chorus. This song comes from her forthcoming album 'Church of Scars" and after listening to this song, I am kind of keen on hearing that album cause this song kicks arse.

Rating: 8/10



Song: Next to Me
Artist: Imagine Dragons





So I really didn't like either single from Evolve, "Believer" wore my patience in record time and "Thunder" wound up pretty high on my worst songs of 2017 list as it turns out "Next To Me" isn't on the standard edition of Evolve and it's no wonder because this song is substantially better than a lot of that album but it is a slow burn sort of song and I can imagine that not everyone is going to love it instantly.

Rating: 7/10


Best of the Week: "Make Me Feel" by Janelle Monae.

Worst: "Want You Back" by 5 Seconds of Summer


Coming up in the next edition of New Music Friday Review

Oh lordy, Meghan Trainor is back with "No Excuses", DJ Khaled also returns teaming with Jay Z, Beyonce and Future for "Top Off"