Well we got change right at the very top of the ARIA chart this week...well the song at the top changed..oh you'll see what I am getting so let's not muck around and go straight to the top ten.
Drake keeps his slot at number one but with "Nice For What" replacing "God's Plan" at number one, the last one to do it as the main artist on a song was Macklemore and Ryan Lewis back in 2013 with "Thrift Shop" and "Same Love". Justin Bieber did it last year as the featured act on DJ Khaled's "I'm the One" and Luis Fonsi's and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito".
However despite the new number one "Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign at number 2. I still think with Post Malone's album "Beerbongs and Bentleys" to be released this week to push this to very close to number one in the next few weeks.
All this pushed "God's Plan" by Drake to number 3 after eleven weeks or so at number one (I'd lost count) and "Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani to number 4.
The Weeknd's "Call Out My Name" regains some momentum by jumping 1 place to number 5
"Freaky Friday" by Lil Dicky and Chris Brown is continuing to thoroughly run out its welcome by not falling from the chart quick enough by only dropping two places to number 6.
Speaking of out staying it's welcome "Friends" by Marshmello and Anne-Marie falls from 5 to 7 while "The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey rose 1 spot to 8 basically because "IDGAF" by Dua Lipa collapsed to 11.
While we're on Dua Lipa, one of the biggest movers of the week belongs to "One Kiss" by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa because it stormed up the chart from 17 to 9, it's number one in the UK and stands a chance of maybe knocking Drake off.
Somehow "These Days' by Rudimental, Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen remains at number 10 for a second week.
Gains
The biggest gainer of the week was "Zombie" by Bad Wolves which climbed 10 places to 26, "Nothing to Regret" by Robinson jumping from 31 to 27 while "Remind Me to Forget" by Kygo and Miguel jumped from 43 to 37 (YES!).
"Hurt Somebody" by Noah Kahan and Julia Michaels jumped from 22 to 16.
Returns
No returns this week.
Losses
The biggest loss was for The Weeknd with "Wasted Times" falling from 30 to 49 while his hit with Kendrick Lamar "Pray for Me" fell to 33 from 26.
"Finesse" by Bruno Mars and Cardi B is on the way out falling from 27 to 31 (that song should probably squeak into the year end list)
Drop Outs
The only song that could potentially make the year end list that left the chart this week is "Candy Paint' by Post Malone which reached a peak of 19.
Also gone are "Capital Letters" by Hailee Steinfeld and Bloodpop (bit of a pity as that song is pretty good), "For You" by Liam Payne (he just dropped a new song with J Balvin) and Rita Ora, "Think About You" by Delta Goodrem (I've soured on this song a bit lately) and unfortunately "Lost in Japan" by Shawn Mendes.
New Entries
So what replaced the songs we lost? Well, Cardi B brought a new song with J Balvin and Bad Bunny called "I Like It" in at number 25 (that song is going to be HUGE!), Zayn's "Let Me" debuts at number 29 (which is okay...it's a sex jam but it's alright), Amy Shark debuts at 38 with "I Said Hi", Nicki Minaj debuts at 41 with "Barbie Tingz" (meh) and 5 Seconds of Summer's album title track "Youngblood" debuting at 46,
That wraps up the week and it's looking like heating up at the top with the impending arrival of Ariana Grande with her new single and hopefully Drake getting knocked off number 1 by Ariana or ANYONE.
Monday 23 April 2018
Saturday 21 April 2018
New Music Friday Review: Returns aplenty with Zayn, Amy Shark and more
Let's not muck around because it was a busy, busy week.
Song: Ferrari
Artist Bebe Rexha
I have to be honest here, I have never been impressed by Bebe Rexha as a vocalist, her vocals don't grab my attention instantly like Lorde or even Adele do and her hit with Florida Georgia Line "Meant To Be" is just one of those songs that really is just mediocre at best so can her new single from forthcoming album "Expectations" change my mind.
Honestly, this isn't all that bad but I am not sure it's something that I'll remember with Rexha's vocals almost straining on the chorus. The instrumentation is closer to rock than anything else, still I doubt I am going to remember it in the long term.
Rating: 6/10
Song: Let Me
Artist: Zayn
The lead single from Zayn's forthcoming second album (reportedly will be released in June) and it's a straight up sex jam right from the opening line "Sweet baby, our sex has meaning / Know this time you'll stay 'til the morning" and I have to say that for once the instrumentation is actually really kind of sexy and fits the mood of the song which is surprising given there's a long list of supposed 'sex songs' that miss the mark for being actually sexy in terms of the instrumentation. It's decent. Nice one, Zayn.
Rating: 7/10
Song: Sky Full of Song
Artist: Florence and the Machine
Here's another return and a much welcome one at that with Florence and the Machine dropping a new single and yet again this song is pretty darn great mainly because it's a little more understated than a lot of Florence and the Machine's work in the past because Florence Welch really doesn't belt like she has in the past, her voice is strident but it comes across so beautifully here in a song dealing with a questionable relationship and it's effects on others. Good job!
Rating: 8/10
Song: Cry Pretty
Artist:Carrie Underwood
So Carrie Underwood is back with her first single from her sixth album of the same name and "Cry Pretty" is something of a country rock epic with Underwood really showing her ability to let loose when the opportunity calls in a song about how we can all fake certain things in life, we can't fake feeling vulnerable and that it is okay to cry. It's not going to chart on the ARIA Singles chart unfortunately because for some reason only bro country and faux country seem to be hits but PLEASE check this song out!
Song: I Said Hi
Artist: Amy Shark
I have to admit I have been pretty excited all year about potential new music from Amy Shark and I am delighted to say "I Said Hi" is a fantastic song, a kiss off song to those that ignored her talent (their loss quite honestly) and yet again Amy is brutally honest in her lyrics and the guitars and other instrumentation sound stunning, this is actually better than "Adore" if you ask me.
Rating: 9/10
Best: Only giving out best of the week because there's no real bad songs. "I Said Hi" by Amy Shark gets the honours.
Next week: New music from Ariana Grande, Liam Payne teams up with Latin music star J Balvin and Khalid teams up with rising star Billie Eilish
Song: Ferrari
Artist Bebe Rexha
I have to be honest here, I have never been impressed by Bebe Rexha as a vocalist, her vocals don't grab my attention instantly like Lorde or even Adele do and her hit with Florida Georgia Line "Meant To Be" is just one of those songs that really is just mediocre at best so can her new single from forthcoming album "Expectations" change my mind.
Honestly, this isn't all that bad but I am not sure it's something that I'll remember with Rexha's vocals almost straining on the chorus. The instrumentation is closer to rock than anything else, still I doubt I am going to remember it in the long term.
Rating: 6/10
Song: Let Me
Artist: Zayn
The lead single from Zayn's forthcoming second album (reportedly will be released in June) and it's a straight up sex jam right from the opening line "Sweet baby, our sex has meaning / Know this time you'll stay 'til the morning" and I have to say that for once the instrumentation is actually really kind of sexy and fits the mood of the song which is surprising given there's a long list of supposed 'sex songs' that miss the mark for being actually sexy in terms of the instrumentation. It's decent. Nice one, Zayn.
Rating: 7/10
Song: Sky Full of Song
Artist: Florence and the Machine
Here's another return and a much welcome one at that with Florence and the Machine dropping a new single and yet again this song is pretty darn great mainly because it's a little more understated than a lot of Florence and the Machine's work in the past because Florence Welch really doesn't belt like she has in the past, her voice is strident but it comes across so beautifully here in a song dealing with a questionable relationship and it's effects on others. Good job!
Rating: 8/10
Song: Cry Pretty
Artist:Carrie Underwood
So Carrie Underwood is back with her first single from her sixth album of the same name and "Cry Pretty" is something of a country rock epic with Underwood really showing her ability to let loose when the opportunity calls in a song about how we can all fake certain things in life, we can't fake feeling vulnerable and that it is okay to cry. It's not going to chart on the ARIA Singles chart unfortunately because for some reason only bro country and faux country seem to be hits but PLEASE check this song out!
Song: I Said Hi
Artist: Amy Shark
I have to admit I have been pretty excited all year about potential new music from Amy Shark and I am delighted to say "I Said Hi" is a fantastic song, a kiss off song to those that ignored her talent (their loss quite honestly) and yet again Amy is brutally honest in her lyrics and the guitars and other instrumentation sound stunning, this is actually better than "Adore" if you ask me.
Rating: 9/10
Best: Only giving out best of the week because there's no real bad songs. "I Said Hi" by Amy Shark gets the honours.
Next week: New music from Ariana Grande, Liam Payne teams up with Latin music star J Balvin and Khalid teams up with rising star Billie Eilish
Wednesday 18 April 2018
ARIA top ten/chart review: 16th April: Drake stays number one as Khalid and Normani reach top 3.
It was a mixed week on the chart, sure there was plenty of movement on the charts including within the top ten, a couple of new arrivals and even a couple of returns
But where things didn't change was at the very top of the ARIA singles chart where for an 11th week, Drake is at number 1 with "God's Plan"
That meant "Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign remains at number 2 although with Post Malone set to finally drop that album of his, this song could make a play for number one.
"Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani jumped 5 places to number 3 this week which is great news because I really do love that song.
What's not so great is "Freaky Friday" by Lil Dicky and Chris Brown remaining steady at number 4. I want this song gone ASAP!.
What's only marginally better than "Freaky Friday" is "Friends" by Marshmello and Anne Marie remaining steady at number 5.
The Weeknd's "Call Out My Name" dropped 3 places to number 6 as people forget that he released "My Dear Melancholy"
Drake has the highest new entry of the week with "Nice for What?" debuting at number 7, I really don't like that song if I am being honest, it's saved by the Lauryn Hill sample.
Dua Lipa's "IDGAF" looks to be exiting the top ten with a two place fall to number 8.
"The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey remains steady at number 9.
Also headed out of the top ten is "These Days" by Rudimental featuring Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen falling 3 places to round out the top ten this week at number ten.
So what might replace it?
Gains
The biggest gain this week is "Nothing to Regret" by Robinson ( a song that while I still like it, there's a part me of thinking it sounds like something Lorde would have done better) rose from 48 to 31 as it has gotten some serious radio traction.
"Hurt Somebody" by Noah Kahan and Julia Michaels also had a big climb up to 22 from 38.
Re- Entries
Delta Goodrem's "Think About You" has returned at number 19 (obviously because she's a judge on The Voice Australia and that show has returned). Not all that happy about it, I've gone cold on it a bit and I am not sure why.
What I haven't gotten tired of however is the other return "Remind Me to Forget" by Kygo and Miguel back at 43. It's a great song and I want it to become a big hit.
Losses
With the 50 Shades of Grey hype fading, it's not a surprise that Liam Payne and Rita Ora's "For You" slipped from 30 to 47...that song really hasn't caught on at all.
Also not catching on is "Lost in Japan" by Shawn Mendes which slipped from 41 to 49. "New Rules" by Dua Lipa slid from 33 to 40 (although that song is on the way out anyway)
"Wasted Times" was the only other The Weeknd song from "My Dear Melancholy" to survive but it slipped from 30 to 23.
Drop Outs.
Most of the songs that dropped out were tracks from The Weeknd's "My Dear Melancholy" with "Try Me" and "Privilege" gone as are the two songs with Gesaffelstein in "I was Never There" and "Hurt You"
Also gone are "Stir Fry" by Migo, "Him & I" by G-Eazy and Halsey and unfortunately "My My My" by Troye Sivan (its an okay song, chorus saves it a bit),
New Entries
I mentioned Drake's "Nice For What" being the highest new entry of the week at number 7, this week also saw "One Kiss" by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa arrive 17.
Bad Wolves cover of The Cranberries "Zombie" finally make it's top 50 debut at 36.
King Princess's debut single "1950" has given her first first top 50 debut at number 44 while unfortunately Rich the Kid has also arrived at number 50 with "Plug Walk" (sigh).
Anyway can Drake get a twelfth week at number one or can Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign finally knock Drake off number 1?
That question and more will be answered when ARIA releases the chart for the week of April 23rd on Saturday at 5pm.
But where things didn't change was at the very top of the ARIA singles chart where for an 11th week, Drake is at number 1 with "God's Plan"
That meant "Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign remains at number 2 although with Post Malone set to finally drop that album of his, this song could make a play for number one.
"Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani jumped 5 places to number 3 this week which is great news because I really do love that song.
What's not so great is "Freaky Friday" by Lil Dicky and Chris Brown remaining steady at number 4. I want this song gone ASAP!.
What's only marginally better than "Freaky Friday" is "Friends" by Marshmello and Anne Marie remaining steady at number 5.
The Weeknd's "Call Out My Name" dropped 3 places to number 6 as people forget that he released "My Dear Melancholy"
Drake has the highest new entry of the week with "Nice for What?" debuting at number 7, I really don't like that song if I am being honest, it's saved by the Lauryn Hill sample.
Dua Lipa's "IDGAF" looks to be exiting the top ten with a two place fall to number 8.
"The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey remains steady at number 9.
Also headed out of the top ten is "These Days" by Rudimental featuring Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen falling 3 places to round out the top ten this week at number ten.
So what might replace it?
Gains
The biggest gain this week is "Nothing to Regret" by Robinson ( a song that while I still like it, there's a part me of thinking it sounds like something Lorde would have done better) rose from 48 to 31 as it has gotten some serious radio traction.
"Hurt Somebody" by Noah Kahan and Julia Michaels also had a big climb up to 22 from 38.
Re- Entries
Delta Goodrem's "Think About You" has returned at number 19 (obviously because she's a judge on The Voice Australia and that show has returned). Not all that happy about it, I've gone cold on it a bit and I am not sure why.
What I haven't gotten tired of however is the other return "Remind Me to Forget" by Kygo and Miguel back at 43. It's a great song and I want it to become a big hit.
Losses
With the 50 Shades of Grey hype fading, it's not a surprise that Liam Payne and Rita Ora's "For You" slipped from 30 to 47...that song really hasn't caught on at all.
Also not catching on is "Lost in Japan" by Shawn Mendes which slipped from 41 to 49. "New Rules" by Dua Lipa slid from 33 to 40 (although that song is on the way out anyway)
"Wasted Times" was the only other The Weeknd song from "My Dear Melancholy" to survive but it slipped from 30 to 23.
Drop Outs.
Most of the songs that dropped out were tracks from The Weeknd's "My Dear Melancholy" with "Try Me" and "Privilege" gone as are the two songs with Gesaffelstein in "I was Never There" and "Hurt You"
Also gone are "Stir Fry" by Migo, "Him & I" by G-Eazy and Halsey and unfortunately "My My My" by Troye Sivan (its an okay song, chorus saves it a bit),
New Entries
I mentioned Drake's "Nice For What" being the highest new entry of the week at number 7, this week also saw "One Kiss" by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa arrive 17.
Bad Wolves cover of The Cranberries "Zombie" finally make it's top 50 debut at 36.
King Princess's debut single "1950" has given her first first top 50 debut at number 44 while unfortunately Rich the Kid has also arrived at number 50 with "Plug Walk" (sigh).
Anyway can Drake get a twelfth week at number one or can Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign finally knock Drake off number 1?
That question and more will be answered when ARIA releases the chart for the week of April 23rd on Saturday at 5pm.
Friday 13 April 2018
ARIA Singles top ten/Chart Review: 9th April: The week of The Weeknd
It's rare 'album bombs' happen on the Australian charts, sure, we got it with Ed Sheeran last year and probably should have with Taylor Swift's album but she prioritised sales over streaming which of course saw a limited impact of "Reputation".
The reason I am talking about album bombs is because the ARIA singles chart was hit by a mini album bomb courtesy of The Weeknd's new EP "My Dear Melancholy" and it's impact was felt in the top 10...just not right at the very top unfortunately.
Yep, for another week, Drake holds down number one with "God's Plan" and at this point, it might well be Drake's awful new song "Nice For What" that knocks "God's Plan" off number one.
"Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign remains at number two because we can't have nice things doing well right now.
The Weeknd's "Call Out My Name" debuts at number 3 but I can see this song's impact being very limited.
Lil Dicky and Chris Brown continue their terrible rise up the ARIA chart with "Freaky Friday" rising 1 to number 4
"Friends" by Marshmello and Anne Marie swapped with "Freaky Friday" to slip to number 5.
"IDGAF" by Dua Lipa fell 3 places to number 6. Damn. Would have liked the song to go number one but that seems unlikely now.
Slipping to number 7 was "These Days" by Rudimental featuring Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen.
But in good news...at least to me, "Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani rose 2 places to number 8 and "The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey is on the way out of the top 10 falling two places to number 9 (thank goodness, that song really sucks)
"All the Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA is also on the way out as it fell two places to number 10.
Gains
Given The Weekend smashed everything, there wasn't a lot that gained apart from Taylor Swift's "Delicate" rising 7 places to number 31 and be the biggest gainer of the week while "Hurt Somebody" by Noah Kahan and Julia Michaels rose from 43 to 38.
Losses
It was a massive week for losses. Shawn Mendes suffered big losses for both his songs. "Lost in Japan" was the biggest loser falling from 27 to 41 while "In My Blood" dropped from 9 to 14, "Candy Paint" by Post Malone fell from 36 to 46, "For You" by Liam Payne and Rita Ora fell from 22 to 30 and finally of the big drops "My My My!" by Troye Sivan dropped from 41 to 50 (that song has not performed at all well quite honestly)
Drop Outs
Given there were six songs by The Weeknd to arrive on the chart, six made way and lets start with the crap that's gone like "Lemon" by N*E*R*D and Rihanna and "Changes" by XXXTentacion are both *thankfully) gone.
As is "Everybody" by Logic, "Let Me Go" by Hailee Steinfeld featuring, Alesso, Watt and Florida Georgia Line and "Everybody" by Logic and Marshmello.
The one song I am disappointed to see go is "Remind Me to Forget" by Kygo and Miguel...that song is pretty damn awesome.
New Entries
The Weeknd has all the new entries, already mentioned "Call Out My Name" at number 3 but "Wasted Times" debuted at 23, "Try Me" at 24, "Hurt You" with Gesaffelstein at 37, "I Was Never There" at 40 and finally "Privilege" at 45.
How much of "My Dear Melancholy" sticks around is anyone's guess but with what is set to debut this week, things could get interesting.
The reason I am talking about album bombs is because the ARIA singles chart was hit by a mini album bomb courtesy of The Weeknd's new EP "My Dear Melancholy" and it's impact was felt in the top 10...just not right at the very top unfortunately.
Yep, for another week, Drake holds down number one with "God's Plan" and at this point, it might well be Drake's awful new song "Nice For What" that knocks "God's Plan" off number one.
"Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign remains at number two because we can't have nice things doing well right now.
The Weeknd's "Call Out My Name" debuts at number 3 but I can see this song's impact being very limited.
Lil Dicky and Chris Brown continue their terrible rise up the ARIA chart with "Freaky Friday" rising 1 to number 4
"Friends" by Marshmello and Anne Marie swapped with "Freaky Friday" to slip to number 5.
"IDGAF" by Dua Lipa fell 3 places to number 6. Damn. Would have liked the song to go number one but that seems unlikely now.
Slipping to number 7 was "These Days" by Rudimental featuring Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen.
But in good news...at least to me, "Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani rose 2 places to number 8 and "The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey is on the way out of the top 10 falling two places to number 9 (thank goodness, that song really sucks)
"All the Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA is also on the way out as it fell two places to number 10.
Gains
Given The Weekend smashed everything, there wasn't a lot that gained apart from Taylor Swift's "Delicate" rising 7 places to number 31 and be the biggest gainer of the week while "Hurt Somebody" by Noah Kahan and Julia Michaels rose from 43 to 38.
Losses
It was a massive week for losses. Shawn Mendes suffered big losses for both his songs. "Lost in Japan" was the biggest loser falling from 27 to 41 while "In My Blood" dropped from 9 to 14, "Candy Paint" by Post Malone fell from 36 to 46, "For You" by Liam Payne and Rita Ora fell from 22 to 30 and finally of the big drops "My My My!" by Troye Sivan dropped from 41 to 50 (that song has not performed at all well quite honestly)
Drop Outs
Given there were six songs by The Weeknd to arrive on the chart, six made way and lets start with the crap that's gone like "Lemon" by N*E*R*D and Rihanna and "Changes" by XXXTentacion are both *thankfully) gone.
As is "Everybody" by Logic, "Let Me Go" by Hailee Steinfeld featuring, Alesso, Watt and Florida Georgia Line and "Everybody" by Logic and Marshmello.
The one song I am disappointed to see go is "Remind Me to Forget" by Kygo and Miguel...that song is pretty damn awesome.
New Entries
The Weeknd has all the new entries, already mentioned "Call Out My Name" at number 3 but "Wasted Times" debuted at 23, "Try Me" at 24, "Hurt You" with Gesaffelstein at 37, "I Was Never There" at 40 and finally "Privilege" at 45.
How much of "My Dear Melancholy" sticks around is anyone's guess but with what is set to debut this week, things could get interesting.
Thursday 12 April 2018
New Music Friday Review: Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa disappoint.
So I am going to combine the last two weeks of New Music Friday into the one blog entry because the 30th April New Music Friday contained little that was likely to going to break into the charts so I am going to combine the big releases from that week with some of the big releases from the past week which include new music from Cavin Harris feat. Dua Lipa and Sabrina Claudo working with Khalid.
Let's begin though with the return of The Weeknd
Song: Call Out My Name
Artist: The Weeknd
Ugh. The Weeknd at his most turgid and...well kind of boring...in a song allegedly aimed at Selena Gomez with instrumentation sounding like previous Weeknd songs that being "The Hills". Put it this way this isn't all that bad but it's not all that good either and judging by the fact that its already falling away on streaming and sales, people have already begun to forget this song exists.
Rating: 5/10
Song: One Kiss
Artists: Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa
Calvin Harris made some of the best music in 2017 with his funk stylings but unfortunately with "Nuh Ready, Nuh Ready" with PARTYNEXTDOOR was generic EDM song that sucked and I feared that Harris had slipped back to generic EDM banger mode so were my fears founded when he teamed up with one of the leading young female artists in the world, Dua :Lipa?
Unfortunately I think so, One Kiss is not at all a good song and it could have been so much better. Dua Lipa's voice sounds so thin as she's trying to sing against all the production, it's just not at all befitting a combination where the song should have been a whole lot better than this. I'm hitting fast forward on this.
Rating: 4/10
Song: Don't Let Me Down
Artists: Sabrina Claudio, Khalid
Finally getting to a song with a bit of quality but before I go into the song, if you don't know who Sabrina Claudio is an American singer/songwriter who was first discovered on Soundcloud and has been on the scene since 2016 but hasn't really had any notable success in Australia however that might all be about to change because Khalid is on fire with having hit songs right (just look at "Love Lies" with Normani), this song is really quite good.
Yeah, there's a really nice chemistry between Khalid and Claudio which given the song's content needs to be there, it's a passionate love song laden with synths and a dancehall chorus but you know what? For what it is, it's a pretty great song.
Rating: 8/10
Song: Be Careful
Artist: Cardi B
Cardi B is probably one of the biggest break out stars of the US rap scene in the last year or so, that said her highest charting hit in Australia has been with Bruno Mars on his song "Finesse" and "Bodak Yellow" charted in the high 30s for a few weeks but success for Cardi has been limited however "Be Careful" is the latest single from her recently released album "Invasion of Privacy" and honestly it's not a good song for one thing the instrumentation doesn't suit the song at all and she doesn't sound good trying to be more melodic.
Rating: 5/10
Best: "Don't Let Me Down" by Sabrina Claudio feat. Khalid
Worst: "One Kiss" by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa
Next week:
"I Said Hi" by Amy Shark
"Let Me" by Zayn
Two new songs from Bebe Rexha
Nicki Minaj drops two new singles
Carrie Underwood drops new single "Cry Pretty"
Let's begin though with the return of The Weeknd
Song: Call Out My Name
Artist: The Weeknd
Ugh. The Weeknd at his most turgid and...well kind of boring...in a song allegedly aimed at Selena Gomez with instrumentation sounding like previous Weeknd songs that being "The Hills". Put it this way this isn't all that bad but it's not all that good either and judging by the fact that its already falling away on streaming and sales, people have already begun to forget this song exists.
Rating: 5/10
Song: One Kiss
Artists: Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa
Calvin Harris made some of the best music in 2017 with his funk stylings but unfortunately with "Nuh Ready, Nuh Ready" with PARTYNEXTDOOR was generic EDM song that sucked and I feared that Harris had slipped back to generic EDM banger mode so were my fears founded when he teamed up with one of the leading young female artists in the world, Dua :Lipa?
Unfortunately I think so, One Kiss is not at all a good song and it could have been so much better. Dua Lipa's voice sounds so thin as she's trying to sing against all the production, it's just not at all befitting a combination where the song should have been a whole lot better than this. I'm hitting fast forward on this.
Rating: 4/10
Song: Don't Let Me Down
Artists: Sabrina Claudio, Khalid
Finally getting to a song with a bit of quality but before I go into the song, if you don't know who Sabrina Claudio is an American singer/songwriter who was first discovered on Soundcloud and has been on the scene since 2016 but hasn't really had any notable success in Australia however that might all be about to change because Khalid is on fire with having hit songs right (just look at "Love Lies" with Normani), this song is really quite good.
Yeah, there's a really nice chemistry between Khalid and Claudio which given the song's content needs to be there, it's a passionate love song laden with synths and a dancehall chorus but you know what? For what it is, it's a pretty great song.
Rating: 8/10
Song: Be Careful
Artist: Cardi B
Cardi B is probably one of the biggest break out stars of the US rap scene in the last year or so, that said her highest charting hit in Australia has been with Bruno Mars on his song "Finesse" and "Bodak Yellow" charted in the high 30s for a few weeks but success for Cardi has been limited however "Be Careful" is the latest single from her recently released album "Invasion of Privacy" and honestly it's not a good song for one thing the instrumentation doesn't suit the song at all and she doesn't sound good trying to be more melodic.
Rating: 5/10
Best: "Don't Let Me Down" by Sabrina Claudio feat. Khalid
Worst: "One Kiss" by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa
Next week:
"I Said Hi" by Amy Shark
"Let Me" by Zayn
Two new songs from Bebe Rexha
Nicki Minaj drops two new singles
Carrie Underwood drops new single "Cry Pretty"
Saturday 7 April 2018
ARIA Singles Chart top ten/chart review April 2: The new entries are good as Lil Dicky breaks into top 5
Shortened one this week, am only going to focus on the top 50 from now on rather looking at the top 100. Things actually took a positive upswing for once, although I don't expect it to last long.
Indeed, the bad news was the empty vessel that is "God's Plan" by Drake remains at number one yet again but with The Weeknd on the horizon...it could get interesting as this song has definitely slipped a little on streaming and sales have dropped off.
Whether or not it opens the way for "Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign which remains at number 2 is another story entirely as The Weeknd will most likely push this song back which is a good thing. I'll take The Weeknd at not quite his best over "Psycho" that's for sure.
At number 3 is the biggest mover inside the top ten..."IDGAF" by Dua Lipa climbed 5 places to number 3...I am so happy to see this song become almost as big a hit as "New Rules" (Australia did Dua a dirty by not getting "New Rules" to number one) and it's a good song.
However I can't say the same for ever increasingly juvenile "Friends" by Marshmello and Annie Marie which climbed 2 spots to number 4.
Also I have no idea why anyone would care for "Freaky Friday" by Lil Dicky and Chris Brown which managed to be the biggest mover of the week, climbing from 18 to sit at number 5.
All this meant "These Days" by Rudimental featuring Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen slipped to number 6 from 4 last week.
Remaining steady at number 7 is "The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey.
Dropping three places is 'All the Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA as the Black Panther hype continues to fade away.
We have a new entry at number 9, Shawn Mendes with "In My Blood" - the highest new entry of 5 songs to debut this.
Finally I am also happy to see "Love lies" by Khalid and Normani arrive in the top ten at number ten, its a good song and if it means the irritating 'Meant to Be" is out of the top ten then I am very happy with that!
Gains
Well as I said before "Freaky Friday" was the biggest gainer of the week but there was also a good four place gain for "Capital Letters" by Hailee Steinfeld and Bloodpop (it's not a bad song) to 32 especially in a week that saw plenty of losers but we'll get to some of the bigger losers in a second.
Re-Entries
There was one re-entry this week with a Drake remix sparking the return of "Lemon" by N*E*R*D and Rihanna at 44.
Falls
Troye Sivan fell hard with "My My My!" as it dropped 10 places to 31, "Wolves" by Marshmello and Selena Gomez is also on the way out falling six places to 40 (should make the year end list for 2018 though), "Everyday" by Logic and Marshmello fell nine to 49.
The hype from the Ed Sheeran tour has begun to fade with "erfect" falling from 3 to 12 and "Shape of You" from 19 to 25 (when on earth is that song going to leave? Seriously) also "River" with Eminem fell 5 to 18.
Drop outs
Both Ed Sheeran's big hits "Castle on the Hill" and "Galway Girl" fell out along with "Anywhere" by Rita Ora and "Young, Dumb and Broke" by Khalid (there's a new collab that he has done that is absolutely excellent, might well mention it in the New Music Friday review).
Sadly "Coming Home" by Sheppard also left meaning I am doubtful that it will make the year end list but most pleasingly they also took "Everybody Hates Me" by The Chainsmokers with them showing time on the fame clock may well be up for The Chainsmokers and thank goodness for that!
New Entries
So as I said there were 5 new entries to the chart and all of them are awesome to good. Shawn Mendes new single "In My Blood" debuted at number 9 (a well timed video will push it even higher) and Mendes other song "Lost in Japan" debuted at number 27.
One of the very few good songs of Taylor Swift's album "Reputation, "Delicate" debuted at 38.
The awesome comes in the final two new entries with 21 year old singer Anna Robinson or aka Robinson debuted in the top 50 with "Nothing to Regret" at number 46...that song is awesome and deserves to be a hit.
Speaking of awesome so is Kygo's new single with Miguel called "Remind me to Forget" which arrived at number 48. Yet, please Australia make this song a HIT.
So we await the chaos The Weeknd's "My Dear Melancholy" EP will reap on the charts and man alive I am expecting to see some change in that top 2!
Indeed, the bad news was the empty vessel that is "God's Plan" by Drake remains at number one yet again but with The Weeknd on the horizon...it could get interesting as this song has definitely slipped a little on streaming and sales have dropped off.
Whether or not it opens the way for "Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign which remains at number 2 is another story entirely as The Weeknd will most likely push this song back which is a good thing. I'll take The Weeknd at not quite his best over "Psycho" that's for sure.
At number 3 is the biggest mover inside the top ten..."IDGAF" by Dua Lipa climbed 5 places to number 3...I am so happy to see this song become almost as big a hit as "New Rules" (Australia did Dua a dirty by not getting "New Rules" to number one) and it's a good song.
However I can't say the same for ever increasingly juvenile "Friends" by Marshmello and Annie Marie which climbed 2 spots to number 4.
Also I have no idea why anyone would care for "Freaky Friday" by Lil Dicky and Chris Brown which managed to be the biggest mover of the week, climbing from 18 to sit at number 5.
All this meant "These Days" by Rudimental featuring Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen slipped to number 6 from 4 last week.
Remaining steady at number 7 is "The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey.
Dropping three places is 'All the Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA as the Black Panther hype continues to fade away.
We have a new entry at number 9, Shawn Mendes with "In My Blood" - the highest new entry of 5 songs to debut this.
Finally I am also happy to see "Love lies" by Khalid and Normani arrive in the top ten at number ten, its a good song and if it means the irritating 'Meant to Be" is out of the top ten then I am very happy with that!
Gains
Well as I said before "Freaky Friday" was the biggest gainer of the week but there was also a good four place gain for "Capital Letters" by Hailee Steinfeld and Bloodpop (it's not a bad song) to 32 especially in a week that saw plenty of losers but we'll get to some of the bigger losers in a second.
Re-Entries
There was one re-entry this week with a Drake remix sparking the return of "Lemon" by N*E*R*D and Rihanna at 44.
Falls
Troye Sivan fell hard with "My My My!" as it dropped 10 places to 31, "Wolves" by Marshmello and Selena Gomez is also on the way out falling six places to 40 (should make the year end list for 2018 though), "Everyday" by Logic and Marshmello fell nine to 49.
The hype from the Ed Sheeran tour has begun to fade with "erfect" falling from 3 to 12 and "Shape of You" from 19 to 25 (when on earth is that song going to leave? Seriously) also "River" with Eminem fell 5 to 18.
Drop outs
Both Ed Sheeran's big hits "Castle on the Hill" and "Galway Girl" fell out along with "Anywhere" by Rita Ora and "Young, Dumb and Broke" by Khalid (there's a new collab that he has done that is absolutely excellent, might well mention it in the New Music Friday review).
Sadly "Coming Home" by Sheppard also left meaning I am doubtful that it will make the year end list but most pleasingly they also took "Everybody Hates Me" by The Chainsmokers with them showing time on the fame clock may well be up for The Chainsmokers and thank goodness for that!
New Entries
So as I said there were 5 new entries to the chart and all of them are awesome to good. Shawn Mendes new single "In My Blood" debuted at number 9 (a well timed video will push it even higher) and Mendes other song "Lost in Japan" debuted at number 27.
One of the very few good songs of Taylor Swift's album "Reputation, "Delicate" debuted at 38.
The awesome comes in the final two new entries with 21 year old singer Anna Robinson or aka Robinson debuted in the top 50 with "Nothing to Regret" at number 46...that song is awesome and deserves to be a hit.
Speaking of awesome so is Kygo's new single with Miguel called "Remind me to Forget" which arrived at number 48. Yet, please Australia make this song a HIT.
So we await the chaos The Weeknd's "My Dear Melancholy" EP will reap on the charts and man alive I am expecting to see some change in that top 2!
Tuesday 3 April 2018
Toxic Pop Music 'Stans' are a disgrace for body shaming.
It's no secret at least to anyone that knows me that I adore music, hell, I wouldn't have started this blog if I didn't love music and for the most part it's been reasonably good to me...well okay, years like 2009 and 2016 sucked but hey, there's also a lot of memorable chart years like 1988 and 2015 which had some incredible music in the year end lists however what I want to write about is the dark side of music and the disgusting behaviour of people who label themselves "stans" and are apart of certain fan groups.
These 'stans' are as TOXIC as all hell and the culture that is stemming from it is an ugly mess of body shaming and bullying aimed at mostly female artists, acts like Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato and the large reason I am writing about this is because it absolutely infuriates me that these so called lovers of popular music use social media to spurt bile about Grande, Gomez and Lovato.
Perfect example of toxic stan culture is today when one account tweeted something in relation to what occurred at a pop concert involving one of the young women involved, a quarter of all responses to the tweet were 'body shaming one of the performers..everything from "She's an obese whale' to 'She's suffocating 'insert name'). Yep, BODY SHAMING/BULLYING an artist over their weight, something that these 'stans' would not like if it happened to them personally. I won't even mention the fan groups that these people belong to because it's not fair on the artist themselves that these idiots represent their favourite artists so horrifically on social media.
Now the artist that was body shamed is more than capable of looking after herself as are all these pop artists are but the fact is that these 'stans' are sucking the enjoyment out of music with their behaviour. Body shaming ANYONE is despicable, you can dislike an female artist's music based on the music itself without having to sink as low as making comments about their body shape or weight and if you are doing that on social media then you should hang your heads in shame and hopefully realize that you bring no credit on yourself or on your favourite artist.
Heck, some of these idiotic bullies probably also struggled with their own body image issues so I cannot understand why they'd launch disgusting bile on social media at female pop acts.
Monday 2 April 2018
New Music Friday Review: It's All in Shawn Mendes
New Music Friday was dominated by the return of Shawn Mendes and I did briefly consider the idea that I would do what I did for Taylor Swift's lead off single from "Reputation" but I decided against doing that and I'll explain why when I talk about one of the two new songs Mendes released.
Anyway other than Shawn Mendes,we've also got a David Guetta collaboration with Sia (Yes, ANOTHER one), the return of Jesse McCartney and the return of Snow Patrol.
Song: Flames
Artists; David Guetta, Sia
It's not really a surprise that Sia is collaborating with David Guetta, they have now collaborated SEVEN times in the past couple of years and I have to be honest, I have never really cared for any of their collaborations, "Titanium" might be about the best of them...I guess. There's now a new collaboration called "Flames" and I am sorry this is just drab, it's not anything all that special. This partnership needs some new ideas if you ask me cause YAWN!.
Rating: 4/10
Song: Better with You
Artist: Jesse McCartney
The heartthrob every teenage girl back in the late 2000s was gushing over before Justin Bieber came along, you might remember "Beautiful Soul", that song spent 4 weeks at number 1 in 2005 and I absolutely couldn't stand that song but this time McCartney is back with an acoustic guitar song called "Better With You" that has some electronica elements to the chorus and to honest I like of like it, it suits McCartney's vocal tone and he sounds really genuine. It's alright.
Rating: 7/10
Song: Don't Give in
Artist: Snow Patrol
I have never really been strongly into Snow Patrol but I did like their past number 1 hit "Chasing Cars" and "Hands Open" was a really catchy song so I thought I'd check out the lead off single from the new album Wildness and it turns out "Don't Give In" is a kind of choppy pop rock song. It's not bad actually, it was originally supposed to be for a friend of lead singer's Gary Lightbody who was going through a hard time but it turned to be about writing Snow Patrol's fifth album! It's not a bad song at all. Nice work.
Rating: 8/10
And now we come to the big one...
Song: In My Blood
Artist: Shawn Mendes
So Shawn Mendes is back with two new songs but I am only going to review in "In My Blood" here.
So "In My Blood" is the lead single from Shaun's upcoming third album and I have to say its very much leaning close to Kings of Leon with the guitars and Mendes attempts to put a growl into his voice in a song all about anxiety and you know what? Lyrically I get that as well, there are times I want to give up and throw something at the wall but can't for whatever reason. I like this song a lot for the sentiment. I think the biggest issue is that I don't really have a lot to say about it hence I held off on doing the blog entry for the one song.
Rating: 8/10
Best of the week: Probably "In My Blood" by Shawn Mendes
Worst of the week: "Flames" by David Guetta and Sia
Next week: The Weeknd and Cardi B.
Song: Flames
Artists; David Guetta, Sia
It's not really a surprise that Sia is collaborating with David Guetta, they have now collaborated SEVEN times in the past couple of years and I have to be honest, I have never really cared for any of their collaborations, "Titanium" might be about the best of them...I guess. There's now a new collaboration called "Flames" and I am sorry this is just drab, it's not anything all that special. This partnership needs some new ideas if you ask me cause YAWN!.
Rating: 4/10
Song: Better with You
Artist: Jesse McCartney
The heartthrob every teenage girl back in the late 2000s was gushing over before Justin Bieber came along, you might remember "Beautiful Soul", that song spent 4 weeks at number 1 in 2005 and I absolutely couldn't stand that song but this time McCartney is back with an acoustic guitar song called "Better With You" that has some electronica elements to the chorus and to honest I like of like it, it suits McCartney's vocal tone and he sounds really genuine. It's alright.
Rating: 7/10
Song: Don't Give in
Artist: Snow Patrol
I have never really been strongly into Snow Patrol but I did like their past number 1 hit "Chasing Cars" and "Hands Open" was a really catchy song so I thought I'd check out the lead off single from the new album Wildness and it turns out "Don't Give In" is a kind of choppy pop rock song. It's not bad actually, it was originally supposed to be for a friend of lead singer's Gary Lightbody who was going through a hard time but it turned to be about writing Snow Patrol's fifth album! It's not a bad song at all. Nice work.
Rating: 8/10
And now we come to the big one...
Song: In My Blood
Artist: Shawn Mendes
So Shawn Mendes is back with two new songs but I am only going to review in "In My Blood" here.
So "In My Blood" is the lead single from Shaun's upcoming third album and I have to say its very much leaning close to Kings of Leon with the guitars and Mendes attempts to put a growl into his voice in a song all about anxiety and you know what? Lyrically I get that as well, there are times I want to give up and throw something at the wall but can't for whatever reason. I like this song a lot for the sentiment. I think the biggest issue is that I don't really have a lot to say about it hence I held off on doing the blog entry for the one song.
Rating: 8/10
Best of the week: Probably "In My Blood" by Shawn Mendes
Worst of the week: "Flames" by David Guetta and Sia
Next week: The Weeknd and Cardi B.
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