Lookin' Fine '89. 30th April Compulsory Hero Only Wanna Sleep in Shame

 Ahh...the battle for number one rages on as the rest of the chart watches in bewilderment, we've got a fair bit to discuss this week so let's get on with the top ten because re taking the top spot is "Like A Prayer" by Madonna, the question is whether or not it can get a decent margin on sales and keep the number one spot next week.

Right behind it is "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals down to number two but it's still holding it's ground and could return to number one again next week such is the competition. 

Remaining an interested spectator is "The Living years" by Mike + The Mechanics stuck at number three, it's just biding it's time now and could make a play for number one soon. Not sure if that;s the case for "I'm On My Way" by The Proclaimers which remains at number four, I feel like this has peaked somehow but we'll see.

But it also means "Stop" by Sam Brown is now a threat to move higher as it rose one place to number five and I am really not that mad about this song's climb this week only because rising six places to number six is the atrocious "Ring My Bell" by Collette....geezus, Australia.

All this meant "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers slumped two places to number seven as it fadess out naturally which could be good news for "Lost In Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson which moved up two places to number eight. 

One Summer" by Daryl Braithwaite fell back one to number nine while in news that made me smile, "Chained To The Wheel" by The Black Sorrows rose place to join the top ten and I am so happy to see it here.

Gains

The Bangles "Eternal Flame" continues to burn up the charts this week up six to number 12...this is heading for the top ten, guys.

What is interesting is the gains in the twenties especially for "Twist In My Sobriety" by Tanita Tikaram which rose seven places to 23...honestly while I am still not a fan, I find it a interesting song and "Young Years" by Dragon rising off it's debut of 39 to 24 this week which is excllent.

Also excllent is the nine place gain for "Veronica" by Elvis Costello to 28...another pretty good song getting a decent gain is nice to see. Heck, I'll also take the twenty place gain to 30 for Paula Abdul's "Straight Up"/

Not sure how I feel about "Fire Woman" going up seven to 31 for The Cult though.

Gains

Looks we're tossing some junk...or at least the junk is on the way out, a nice example of that is Will to Power's "Baby I Love Your Way - Free Bird" which got dumped ten places to 50...good, it also took "Kiss" by Art Of Noise feat Tom Jones which plummeted from 28 to 49.

I am disappointed "Real Gone Kid" by Deacon Blue never really caught on as it slipped from 32 to 48 while "If I Could" by 1927 slimped from 31 to 45.

"What I Am" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians skidded from 35 to 42 while Melissa Etheridge's "Like The Way I Do" fell from 33 to 41.

Also on it's way to sailing away out of the top 50 is "Orinoco Flow" which collapsed from 22 to 40...thank god...it's safe on the year end though.

The increasingly twee "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" by Marc Almond and Gene Pitney which slipped nine to 33 and the garbage "Where Did I Go Wrong" by UB40 slimped six to 29. 

Entries

44. "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown

So this is the second single from Bobby Brown, taken from his second studio album "Don't Be Cruel" and was writtten after people openly criticised his decision to leave popular American R'n'B boyband New Edition and how it was about not caring what anyone else thinks of his decisions and making tough decisions regardless of what others think. The song is definitely one of the most catchy to hit the chart but Bobby comes across as a bit whiny rather than the strident and forceful if he is trying to defend himself against people talking smack about him. I don't precisely hate this but I don't love it either...which is weird to say the least.

39. "Cry In Shame" by Johnny Diesel & The Injectors

Ahh some good old Aussie pop/rock courtesy of the third single from Johnny Diesel & The Injectors debut album and yeah I love this kind of pop/rock song where Johnny Diesel is just getting blunt about fighting with this significant other and when everything is said and done the partner left crying in shame at what they've lost as a result of the fighting. The lyrics are a bit lame but they are catchy and that sax solo is awesome, I'm taking this!

35. "How'm I Gonna Sleep" by Tim Finn

So bit of a confession...for as much as I am a fan of Split Enz, it's Neil Finn's side of Split Enz that I find myself going back to just that bit more...for as much as Tim is really good so I was curious about this song being the lead single from Tim's self titled third studio album and yeah, it's a smooth pop/rock power ballad with Tim wondering how he is going to get to sleep without this girl around and how he'd rather not be lonely. It's actually a really smooth song even if that breakdown in the middle eight doesn't serve the song all that well with the backing vocals....I'll take it.

34. "Compulsory Hero" by 1927

Alright let's move onto what is the fourth single from 1927 and is an interesting move away from the sound of their previous singles with this one taking more lead from the piano whichmakes sense when you realize the lyrics are taking about a dad's experiences of fighting in the Vietnam War and if you know your history than you'd know that Australian men were conscripted to fight in Vietnam and you had to have a pretty damn excuse to get out of it hence the title "Compulsroy Hero" and this man's family saying "Go and fight in the war but whatever you do please just try to come home and for me that sentiment makes the song hit home a far bit effectively. Good song.

32. "I Only Wanna Be With You" by Samantha Fox

Sigh...I knew there'd come a point where I'd have to talk about British model and singer Samantha Fox, she had a hit earlier in the eighties with the pretty mediocre to awful "Touch Me (I wanna Feel Your body)" and now we get a cover of Dusty Springfield's "I Only Want to Be With You". so with much trepidation I checked the song out and holy shit, who borrowed the synths from fucking Pseudo Echo and made a sweet Dusty Springfield song into a raging headache inducing nightmare where the song's main melody songs like it's being played by god damn Alvin and the Chipmunks and when Samantha Fox sounds like she is punching time on the track...that says it all.

It's easily the worst of the week this week because nothing else sinks to that level of awful.

I'm going to give best of the week to "Compulsory Hero" by 1927 for being such a dark song and it's brave to release a song like that in 1989/

ARIA Singles Top Fifty Top Ten/Chart Review. 25th April. Stagnant Chart Flowers

 So this might be the shortest ever ARIA chart upfate in this blog's short history, I have not ever seen a week like this were it wasn't just the top ten ten that didn't move AT ALL but the entire top fifteen of the chart...now that will change next week when that new Kid Laroi song turns up but wow...if there was enough evidence we need recurrency rules on the Australian charts this week was it because it was dire.

Anyway let's go through the top ten and do it quickly, for a second week, it's "First Class" by Jack Harlow that holds the number one but wow those margins on streaming are looking shaky, it is close which bringas us to his closest competitor "As It Was" by Harry Styles at number two, it's the sales leader and Coachella performance seems to have really boosted the song on streaming as a whole.

"Heat Waves" by Glass Animals at number three, "Stay" by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber glued to number four, "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran remains at number five, "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa at number six and "Where You Now" by Lost Frequencies and Calum Scott.

Then completing the top ten we have "Shivers" by Ed Sheeran at number eight, "abcdefu" by Gayle at number nine and "Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow at number ten.

Gains

 "Following The Sun" by Super-Hi and Neeka broke into the top twenty rising to 18 while Lil Tjay's "In My Head" rebounded eight to 31 bur all the other gains are all older songs like "Kiss Me More" by Doja Cat feat SZA up three to 22.  "Middle of the Night" by Elley Duhe up five to 27, "Mr Brightside" by The Killers up six to 28 and "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac up thirteen to 30 and "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles up eight to 37.

Re-Entries

"Dance Monkey" by Tones and I back at 49

Losses

"Nail Tech" by Jack Harlow slides 19 to 45,  "Let's Trot!" by Brothers feat Joel Fletcher down seven to 38 and "We Don't Talk About Bruno" by The Cast Of Encanto down five to 23.

Drop Outs

"Perfect" by Ed Sheeran and "Better Days" by NEIKED and Mae Muller feat Polo G

New Entries.

Just the one new entry this week so let's look at...

47. "Flowers" by Lauren Spencer-Smith

I am kind of surprised this turned up after "Fingers Crossed" hype faded out really damn quickly..."Drivers License" it's not but regardless here's hjer latest single that caught attention on Tik Tok and it's a piano ballad where Lauren bemoans her past relationships and how she was treated after she discovered that it wasn't like that with her new boyfriend. I get the lyrical context of the song, it sucks to be treated badly by somebody you love but why is the production completely unsupportive here, where's the dramatic angry swell to really emphasis the song? Also why does it sound like Lauren is way too close to the microphone? Really not feeling this at all.

That wraps up a rather abortive week. As I mentioned, there's that new Kid Laroi song coming so we'll have to see when the chart updates at 5pm on Friday 

Lookin' Fine '89. 23rd April. Young Years of Fire Woman Beneath My Wings.

 So 1989 has been thus far a really competitive and interesting year at the top of the charts apart from the run of "kokomo" having its run at the top and that's typified because returning to number one is "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals, it's strong right now but it will interesting to see if it can hold on to the top spot for more than a week because right behind it at number two is last week's number one "Like A Prayer" by Madonna, believe it or not, this could still return to number one next week! It's just as strong as "She Drives Me Crazy"

Interested onlooker is "The Living Years" by Mike + The Mechanics..now this is a player for the top having rebounded one spot to number three as it could take the number one if the top two show any signs of weakness, it muscled past "I'm On My Way" by Yhe Proclaimers which fell back to number four (I'd be fine if this song left).

Staying at number five is "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers, it's starting to weaken and should be on the way out soon especially "Stop!" by Sam Brown continues its rise up the chart this week up two to number six leaving me confused and kind of bewildered that a milquetoast ballad is getting this much traction.

However it did force "Tucker's Daughter" by Ian Moss back one to number seven, it's peaked and pretty much on its way out anyway. 

Then we have the first of two new arrivals to the top ten with "One Summer" by Daryl Braithwaite rising from 11 to number eight. Makes sense for a song reminiscing about summer to be doing well in autumn...

"Too Many Broken Hearts" by Jason Donovan suffered two broken hearts down to number nine. 

Finally the second of the new arrivals to the top ten is "Lost in Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson up seven to number ten. Good for Debbie, I guess.

Gains

So I already mentioned "Lost in Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson rising seven to the top ten so let's look outside the top ten and it looks like "Chained to the Wheel" by The Black Sorrows  is headed for the top ten after it rose five to be on the cusp at number eleven and yes, it's great news!

I'll also happily take "Stuck on You" by Paul Norton up seven to number 13 and "Now You're in Heaven" by Julian Lennon climbing from 29 to 15...that's fine.

Also fine is "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles got one of the biggest gains of the week as it broke into the top twenty rising from 30 to 18. 

However I Do have to question why "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart" by Marc Almond feat. Gene Pitney got a nine place boost to 24 or why "Wild Thing" by Sam Kinison jumped from 39 to 25 all of a sudden...neither are all that good.

"Wild Thing" by Tone Loc rose thirteen places off it's debut to 27 and "Twist in My Sobriety" by Tanita Tikaram climbed five places to 30

Losers

We've got almost just as many losers this week with former top ten hits headlining those moving down with "Especially for You" by Kylie Minogue falling from 42 to 49  and former number one hit "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys headed for the exit sliding nine places to 43 (thank goodness)

Unfortunately "Celebrate The World" by Womack & Womack slipped from 37 to 44 while their chart topper "Teardrops" fell away from 19 to 34 however in the best news of the week "Baby I Love Your Way - Free Bird" by Will to Power utterly collapsed sliumping from 24 to 40...thank goodness.. I really do not want that song to be a hit.

"Real Gone Kid" by Deacon Blue is kind of looking gone at this point as it tumbled from 26 to 32 while also in unfortunate news is the eight place drop of "Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry (Come on the song is awesome, Australia!)

"Orinoco Flow" by Enya is thankfully sailing down the charts eight spots to 22...YAY! 

Down six to 16 is "Soul Revival" by Johnny Diesel & The Injectors while  "You Got It" by Roy Orbison fell five to 14. 

New Entries

50. "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul

Well this is a nice easy way to start the new entries...this is the third single from American singer and dancer Paula Abdul, taken from her debut album "Forever Your Girl" with the first two singles "Knocked Out" and "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me)" failing to impact the ARIA top 50 so how is "Straight Up" Well it's the sort of song that's bound to be a pop guilty pleasure in a couple of yeaes with it's new jack swing merged with dance pop sound and that chorus is catchy enough to get stuck in your head. Abdul wants this guy to be honest with her and tell her his intentions. Fun song...check it out.

47. "Hurricane" by James Freud

Lead single from former Models frontman James Freud's album "Step Into The Heat" and unfortunately I am more ehh on this song than I wasnt to be and it mostly comes down to the vocal production...I have no idea by Freud is byrued behind the guitars and drums in the mix and mixed so low even the backing vocals are louder than him! It's a shame because the instrumentation is pretty damn great but yeah just a shame that the one element here that doesn't work...

41. "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler

I am going to state this because it needs to be said, Bette Midler has a wonderful voice but frequently suffers from some of the most milquetoast material ever recorded..."The Rose" is possibly one of the dullest songs I've ever heard and so with this song originally recorded by Kamahl in 1982 with Midler recording it for the soundtrack of the awful film Beaches so how is the song?

Ugh. Lyrically its pretty generic, cliched and really damn corny not helped by the way Midler delivers the chorus and then proceeds to sound like a cat needing some barbed dick or a bunch of cats in a bag being strangled. I loathe this overwrought mess of a song....NEXT!

39. "Young Years" by Dragon

Well I got hopes for this one, the second single from Dragon's ninth album "Bondi Road". I am kind of surprised it's here as the previous"River" only peaked at number 81 so I was curious with what they'd do with this single and turns out this is pretty great! Yeah, it's a song reminiscing about the past and the stuff they used to do growing up together. I also love that saxophone that plays the lead melody in the opening part of the song. Yeah, I'll take this...Great stuff.

38. 'Fire Woman" by The Cult

Last song of this week comes from British band The Cult and is the first single from their fourth album "Sonic Temple" and while I get what they are trying to do with the roaring guitars and everything, I am not sure I am going to remember this all that much especially with the lack there of a hook which given it's a rock song, I love rock songs that leave me singing it after the song has finished so yeah while it's from an instrumental standpoint fine, it's not my thing.

So that leaves me with a pretty easy week as far as best and worst of the week goes...worst is going to "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler. Best falls the way of "Young Years" by Dragon ahead of "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul. 

ARIA Singles Top 50 Top Ten/ Chart Review: 18th April Wait A First Class Minute

 Well if this week proved anything it proved 2022 on the charts is finally underway. We got some movement in the top ten again so let's go straight to that where for a second week in a row, we have a new number one that being "First Class" by Jack Harlow, I'll have more to say later but it got here on the back of some insane strength on strength across the board to the point it was impressive even if the charts are in a weak spot.

It pushed easily past last week's number one "As It Was" by Harry Styles, now this song has a lock on the number two position at least right now with solid sales and streaming in its second week, this should hold up for awhile given how weak the rest of the top ten is right now.

"Heat Waves" by Glass Animals fell back to number three mostly because it's no longer at the point of being able to match the top two anymore. "Stay" by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber which remains steady at number four.

"Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran fell two places to number five as streaming fades away and that's all it's got.

"Cold Heart (PNAU Remix" by Elton John and Dua Lipa slipped one to number six while "Where Are you Now" by Lost Frequencies and Calum Scott also dipped one place to number seven. The second of the two Ed Sheeran songs in top ten "Shivers" tumbled one to number eight while "abcdefu" by Gayle slid one to nnumber nine

Finally hanging on to the top ten (just) is "Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow at number ten.

Gains

No big gains this week with "Bam Bam" by Camila Cabello feat. Ed Sheeran getting the album boost up three to number eleven. 

Re-Entries

Two returns this week with "Better Days" by Neiked and Mae Muller feat. Polo G at 50 and "Nail Tech" by Jack Harlow at 26

Losers

Just the one big loser this week with "In My Head" by Lil Tjay falling twelve places to 39. 

Drop Outs

So not really all that upset about the drop outs with "Everlong" by the Foo Fighters leaving taking with it "Sweetest Pie" by Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa. "One Right Now" by Post Malone and The Weeknd and "Freaky Deaky" by Tyga feat. Doja Cat. (I've not thought about the latter three in a while)

New Entries

Two new entries this week beginning with...

47. "Wait A Minute" by Willow

So turns out this isn't a new song from Willow, this is a 2015 cut that was on Willow's debut album Ardipthecus, saw Tik Tok virality in 2019 and a couple of years later wound up on the ARIA singles chart so how is the song?  Well it sounds like a 2015/2016 pop cut in that it's somewhat desaturated and yet again Willow's vocals do nothing for me here in that it does feel like she's shouting in places and she's singing quickly just to make all the words fit in somehow, it just feels like a really cluttered song. Not feeling this at all...NEXT.

1. "First Class" by Jack Harlow

I am kind of conflicted on Jack Harlow...more than I want to be...the dude was fantastic on  Lil Nas X's "Industry Baby" but he has never really shown that kind of personality on tracks where he is the lead. so I was worried about this song and well it's pretty obvious that the sample of Fergies 2000s hit "Glamorous" does a LOT of the heavy lifting here along with that sparse piano with the content basically being Jack Harlow reflecting on his rise to the top and living a gangster lifestyle (which I actually don't believe for one second). Look, it's mostly memorable for that Fergie sample and Jack Harlow has done much better,.

However, "First Class" is getting the best of the week even if it's not all that special or good. "Wait A Minute" by Willow gets the worst of the week.

Lookin' Fine '89. April 16th. Wild Hallelulah Man's Blvd Dirty Thing

So a little bit of a cool down week but it actually didn't stop the chart from being really interesting again, there's more shifts in the top ten and we'll get to those, we've got three new entries to also have a look at but let's get to that top ten were much to nobody's surprise, "Like A Prayer" by Madonna returned to number one as it remains really strong overall which is really damn impressive.

It pushed "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals back to number two as sales fell off a bit, it's now also facing a fight to hold onto number two as "I'm On My Way" by The Proclaimers got a spurt on to rise two places to number three causing "The Living Years" by Mike + TThe Mechanics which slipped one place to number four and "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers which stumbled down one to number five.

Steady at number six is "Tucker's Daughter" by Ian Moss while "Too Many Broken Hearts" by Jason Donovan also remained steady at number seven.

Gaining two places to number eight is Sam Brown's "Stop!" even though I kind of wish it would live up to it's name already and stop...kind of tired of this song however it did cause both "You Got It" by Roy Orbison and "Soul Revival" by Johnny Diesel & The Injectors to slide back one place to nine and ten respectively.

Gains

So I am not thrilled that "Ring My Bell" by Collette jumped into the top twenty by climbing twelve places to 15, the same goes for the increadingly bland "Lost in your Eyes' by Debbie Gibson which climbed from 30 to 17 this week.

However there is some good news with "She's a Mystery to Me" by Roy Orbison climbing from 33 to 18 and "Stuck on You" by Paul Norton rising from 49 all the way up to 20.

:"Your Mama Don't Dance" by Poison climbed six places to 23 while "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles jumped nine off it's debut last week to 30.

Also rising off it's debut is "Twist In My Sobriety" by Tanita Tikaram which rose eleven places to 35 while "Veronica" by Elvis Costello rose nine to 41.

Re-Entries

Two returns this week with "Celebrate The World" by Womack & Womack back at 37 and "So Good" by Wa Wa Nee back at number 36

Losses

"She Makes My Day" by Robert Palmer is on the way out as slipped six to 50 while it's the same for "Love Bites" by Def Leppard sd it fell six to 49.

"Rock and Roll Music" by Mental As Anything tumbled eleven places to 48 in one of the biggest falls of the week while "It's Only Love" by Simply Red skidded ten places to 46.

"Especially For You" by Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan tumbled from 31 to 42 as it's run on the charts looks to be coming to an end and I am also not complaining that "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys collapsed down from 21 to 34.

"Like The Way I Do" suffered a shock collapse from 19 to 32 for Melissa Etheridge...the song isn't good so I am fine with this one leaving. "What I Am" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians tumbled eleven places to 31.

"Where Did I Go Wrong" by UB40 slipped ten places to 27...thank goodness.

New Entries

Three new entries this week, beginning with...

47. "Hallelulah Man" by Love and Money

We're leading off with the lead single from Scottish band Love and Money's second studio album "Strange Kind of Love" with this song having been released last year and only just now hitting the charts and well...I don't know...I like some of the production and the vocals remind me a lot of INXS but I feel like this is really missing something to push it over the top for me in the instrumentation like a bass guitar. The song is pleasant enough but I am sure as hell going to forget it exists beyond this week.

45. "Dirty Blvd." by Lou Reed

Oh boy, Lou Reed has never really done much for me at all. "Walk on the Wild Side" is one of those songs I consider to be absolute garbage even though it's considered to be a classic song of the time so what do we get from :"Dirty Blvd" taken from his album "New York"...well we get a nice sounding guitar but again the issue that kills "Walk on the Wild Side" For me is what kills this song is Lou Reed's vocal delivery, it's just him talking over the music comparing the poor and the rich of New York City. Not feeling this one at all.

40. "Wild Thing" by Tone Loc

So this is the lead single from American rapper Tone Loc taken from the album "Loc-ed After Dark" and samples Van Halen's "Jamie's Cryin'" with "Wild Thing" apparently short for "doing the wild thing" which a euphemism for sex and yeah its definitely a sex song on the lyrics alont him hooking up with this girl, taking her back to a hotel where he says to her "Be my queen if you know what I mean and let us do the wild thing"...the lyrics are pretty goofy and the production really does much it with just how catchy and punchy it is even if the beginning does remind me a lot of "Push It" by Salt n Pepa however I can't fault this...it's fun. Check it out.

And yeah, it's the best of the week, as for the worsr of the week that's going to "Dirty Blvd" by Lou Reed.

ARIA Top 50 Top Ten/Chart Review. 11th April: As It Was In My Hurtless Head When You're Gone

 So this week feels pretty significant mostly and it all comes back to our new number one, our first 2022 song to go to number one in fact so let's jump right into the top ten because our new number one is "As It Was" by Harry Styles, now this song was dominant on sales and streaming, it also did well on Youtube...it completely outstreamed all of it's closest rivals.

All it did was push the next eight songs down one so "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals back to number two, "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran to number three, "Stay" by Justin Bieber and Justin Bieber back to number four, "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa to number five, "Where Are You Now" by Lost Frequencies and Calum Scott to number six, "Shivers" by Ed Sheeran at number seven, "Abcdefu" by Gayle at number eight and "Starlight" by Dave to number nine.

Finally "Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow rebounded two places to number ten.

Gains

The remix featuring Mariah Carey and DJ Khaled saw "Big Enetgy" by Latto gain a massive 22 places to 13 (unfortunately)

"Bam Bam" by Camila Cabello feat. Ed Sheeran rose two places to number 14. (I expect this song to get a boost into the top ten thanks to the release of Camila's new album "Familia"

Billie Eilish's "Happier Than Ever" got a three place boost to 40 likely to due to that incredible performance at the Grammys.

Re-Entries

Two returns this week with "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles back at 44 and "Drivers License" by Olivia Rodrigo at 43, the former likely off the back of people hearing the current number one while the latter probably returned on the back of being performed at the Grammys.

   

Losers. 

"Freaky Deaky" by Tyga and Doja Cat slipped nine places to 50 while "Sweetest Pie" by Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa collapsed thirteen places to 49 (Would have thought this one would have more staying power)

Not surprisingly "Everlong" by Foo Fighters tumbled eleven spots to 39...should leave the chart next week but we'll see. 

The virality is wearing off for "Lost" by Frank Ocean as it slipped six places to 35 but the loss that did surprise me was for "The Motto" by Tiesto and Ava Max which got hit with a nine place plunge to 32...again, like "Sweetest Pie", I thought this was going to have staying power and be a hit for awhile.

What I am actually thrilled about is the ten place fall for "Down Under" by Luude feat. Colin Hay...this remix of a classic song sucks and I am glad to see it going away...just a shame it's probably made the year end with how slow the year has been.

The hype around Encanto seems to be falling away hard because "We Don't Talk About Bruno" by The Cast of Encanto fell six places to 15.

Drop Outs

Six drop outs this week with none that I am overly surprised about with Jack Harlow's "Nail Tech" not really having a great run despite it's big debut. "Surface Pressure" by Jessica Darrow will likely make the year end though.

Then we have "Maybe" by Machine Gun Kelly and Bring Me The Horizon,  "Chaotic" by Tate McRae and "Something in the Way" by Nirvana leaving along with "Say Nothing" by Flume feat. MAY-A.

New Entries

Four new entries this week, beginning with...

29. "Hurtless" by Dean Lewis 

Starting off with the lead single from Dean Lewis's sophomore album, I wasn't looking forward to this song as "Be Alright" has only soured on me over time and yet... am I the only getting "Be Alright" part 2 vibes from this? Dean Lewis sounds less like a teenage simp whining petualantly about what his friends say about letting his ex go on "Hurtless" but this song seems like the moment where he finds out she is cheating on him after they had a fight and the chorus just seems really needlessly bitter...I do think it's better than "Be Alright" but runs the risk of souring on me hard if it sticks around.

27. "In My Head" by Lil Tjay

New single from Lil Tjay that samples Iyaz's 2008 hit "Replay" with some sparse piano and trap production with Lil Tjay rapping about being in love and his feelings for this young lady which I thought was pretty sweet until I realized that the song doesn't really have much actual groove behind it and the Iyaz sample of a more memorable song does a lot of heavy lifting. It's fine but I don't see this sticking around.

22. "When You're Gone" by Shawn Mendes

I am going to be honest here, I am shocked Shawn Mendes is actually back on the charts after "Wonder" was a complete disaster for him but anyway he is back with a new song all about his break up with Camila Cabello and colour me shocked, it's a more upbeat synthpop song  that kind of reminds me of late 80s Richard Marx somehow. Now I do think this is a good pop song but not great, the verses are a little too short and there's really not much depth in the writing but it's probably one of the better singles Shawn Mendes has released. Check it out.

1. "As It Was" by Harry Styles

So finally we're talking about the big lead single from Harry Styles from his upcoming album called "Harry's House" and well...seems Harry has turned toward the kind of pop that Niall Horan made on "Heartbreak Weather" except with a indie edge to it and you know what? It's pretty damn great as Harry reflects on his relationship and how nothing feels the same as it did in the past eg: when the relationship first began. Also I will also say the production on this song is absolutely gorgeous especially when the bells kick in. I thought this song was merely good a few days ago but now I am starting to think this might be great,

"As It Was" is also the obvious best of the week. As for the worst of the week...nothing to egregious for once this week but it is going to "Hurtless" by Dean Lewis only because I think that song has the potential to really sour on me in the weeks and months ahead.

Next week, we may well get a new number one for the second week in a round when Jack Harlow turns up but we'll find out next week when the chart updates at 5pm AEST on Friday

Lookin' Fine '89/ 9th April. Wild Flame Veronica Stuck in Paradise City A Mystery To Me

 Oh boy, another busy week with a tonne of new arrivals but let's deal with what is not openly insane this week and that's the the top ten where "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals remains at number one for a second week mostly through having a better sales week than it's closest rival.

That closest rival being "Like a Prayer" by Madonna which remained at two this week but it still stands a good chance of taking the number one should "She Drives Me Crazy" show any kind of weakness. 

All that comes with another song chasing the top spot that being "The Living Years" by Mike + The Mechanics up two places to number three...I am delighted about this surge personally.

Former number one "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers got pushed back one place to number four but their most recent single "I'm On My Way" is up one to number five.

All of this meant "Tucker's Daughter" by Ian Moss slipped two places to number six while "Too Many broken Hearts" by Jason Donovan climbed one place to number seven because apparently we've decided this clingy sort of pop nonsense is okay,.

"You Got It" by Roy Orbison fell one place to number eight as its run seems to be coming to a graceful end.

"Soul Revival" by Jjohnny Diesel & The Injectors remain glued to number nine whle "Stop!" by Sam Brown lived up to it's name stopping at number ten.

Gains.

In good news, "Chained to the Wheel" by The Black Sorrows broke into the top twenty by rising nine places to number 16 but it dragrged "Where Did I Go Wrong" by UB40 with it up from 24 to 17...WHY?

The sme could be asked of why "Like The Way I Do" by Melissa Etheridge broke into the top twenty up from 25 to 19. Ugh.

I'm mostly fine with "Now You're in Heaven" by Julian Lennon having a monster gain from 43 to 26...hit in the making

What also might be a hit in the making unfortunately is "Ring My Bell" by Collette which jumped ten places to 27.

"Lost In Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson jumped ten places to 30 this week. 

Losers

So I am a bit disappointed that "Waiting for a Star to Fall" by Boy Meets Girl slipped from 38 to 45 this week. It's a genuinely sweet song that I wanted to see do well.

"She Makes My Day" by Robert Palmer fell ten places to 44 while "Don't Need love" by Johnny Diesel & The Injectors fell twelve places to 42.

"Rock and Roll Music" by Mental As Anything got rocked down ten places to 37 while "Real Gone Kid" by Deacon Blue is real gone slipping six places to 28.

Finally former top ten hit "Kiss" by The Art of Noise feat. Tom Jones got ejected ten places to number 25.

New Entries

Seven new entries this week beginning with...

50. "Veronica" by Elvis Costello

So we are leading off this week's new entries with a song from Elvis Costello's album "Spike" and was co-written with Sir Paul McCartney so I was curious as to what they come up with here and yeah this is actually a really pretty soft rock song with lyrics focusing on an elderly woman suffering from memory loss which is said to have been inspired by Costello's grandmother. I really like how the song ebbs and flows telling the story of this woman, it's got this timeless feel to it and doesn't feel as washed out as many other songs do. Nice!

49. "Stuck On You" by Paul Norton

So here we have the frontman of the band Runners launching his solo career with "Stuck on You" being the lead single for an album to be released next year and well it's interesting that this song seems like an amalgamation of Bruce Springsteen's heartland rock and the sing along of INXS which maybe why I like this a far bit as the hook is really catchy and that melody does tend to get stuck in my head a far bit. This is pretty good, check it out!.

48. "Paradise City" by Guns 'n' Roses

Well we're now out and out jamming with the latest single from Guns 'n' Roses from their 1987 album "Appetite For Destruction" even if Axl Rose's verses are somewhat unintelligible, the guitars and that god damn hook are the stars of the show here, I love how the song supports the weaker sides of Axl Rose's vocals, this is one monster rock song to end the 80s with. Again another really damn good song. 

45. "Twist In My Sobriety" by Tanita Tikaram

Oof, here's a bit of tonal whiplash because from Axl Rose, we go to British singer/songwriter Tanita Tikaram with "Twist In My Sobriety" being the second single from her album "Ancient Heart" and well...I think I respect what this song is trying to do rather than outright liking or loving it. Sure it's nice to hear a change from the outdated synth inflected sound that has been absolutely cut to ribbons in the latter half of the 80s with the oboe being a prominent feature but I don't know there's something so cold and distant about the song that just doesn't quite work for me...although maybe that is the whole point of the song where Tikaram indicates the song is about teenagers hitting adulthood and the world suddently feeling cold and distant. Objectively it's a good song but not one I'm eager to revisit...that's all

39. "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles

The Bangles return to the charts with their latest single from "Everything" and it's a ballad which was written by lead vocallist Susanna Hoffs, Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg (Steinberg was apart writing some of the biggest hits of the 80s including "Like A Virgin" for Madonna, "True Colours" by Cyndi Lauper, "Alone" for Heart and "So Emotional" for Whitney Houston) so this could well and yeah, this is a really pretty ballad with Hoffs taking the lead vocals and the rest providing backing vocals with some pretty strings and a nice guitar in there. Pretty sweet but intense for a love song where she's wanting to know if this guy understands the depth of the feelings she has for him. Great song!

38. "Wild Thing" by Sam Kinison

So far so good with the great to good as far as the quality of the entries go but then we get to this...a cover of The Troggs memorable 1966 smash hit and wow, this is the kind of headache inducing novelty  cover that gives me a headache, for one thing The Troggs made the song sound reasonably sexy but Kinison is screaming the lyrics to the point where if I did the same, I'd have no voice at all by bed time, it's genuinely hard to listen to so yeah I am not ever revisiting this again. 

33. "She's A Mystery To Me" by Roy Orbison

Well this is a nice way to end things off with a nice jangling posthumous single from Roy Orbison that was written by U2's Bono and this one doesn't leave me with much to say except that it's gorgeously produced and Roy Orbison sounds absolutely wonderful and it captures this love affair really well where the narrator is caught up in the mystique of this mystery girl who is the target of his affections even he does feel enclosed with this girl cold and brooding during the day but a warm lover at night. Really nice song. Well worth checking it out.

That ends a week where best of the week is tough! I'm going to give a tie..."Eternal Flame" by The Bangles and "She's A Mystery to Me" by Roy Orbison share it. 

As for the worst...yeah...that's going to "Wild Thing" by Sam Kinison.

ARIA Top 50 Singles Top Ten/Chart Review. 4th April. Tom's Chaotic Big Energy Role Modelz

 I really don't know what to say when I open up to write about the ARIA singles chart in 2022 anymore, this week is one of the worst on the ARIA sSingles chart since I began the blog...yes, even worse than the entirety of 2018 because not only is the top ten stagnant but we've got some abssolute garbage in the new enttries.

Let's blow through the top ten which barely changed at all, "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals spent another week at number one mostly because it's still leading on streaming (I expect that to change next week...I hope)

It held up somehow over "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran somehow still at number two ahead of "Stay" by The Kid Laroi feat. Justin Bieber stuck at number three and "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa glued to number four.

The lone move in the top ten this week sees :"Where Are You Now" by Lost Frequencies feat Calum Scott up one place to number five, it caused "Shivers" by Ed Sheeran to move down one place to number six.

"abcdefu" by Gayle remains at number seven (honestly I am glad this didn't get to number one.. Still not a fan of the song at all)

Dave remains at number eight with "Starlight" despite strong streaming through the week...mostly because sales have really not done much for this song.

"We Don't Talk About Bruno" by The Cast of Enacanto remains at number nine and "That's What I Want" by Lil Nas X is stuck at number ten.

Gains

Not much in the way of gains this week with the biggest being for "Let's Trot!" by Brothers feat. Joel Fletcher which rose fourteen places to 26 while "She's All I Wanna Be" by Tate McRae up four spots to 27.

Re- Entries

Following the awful death of drummer Taylor Hawkins, the chart saw the return of Foo Fighters hit "Everlong" at number 28.

Losses

It was a busy week here with the biggest loser this week being "Say Nothing" by Flume feat MAY-A to 44. "Nail tech" by Jack Harlow is a bit of a non entity down twelve spots to 48. 

"Surface Pressure" By Jessica Darrow dow eight to 47 as the Encanto hype wears off. 

Unsurprisingly "Something in the Way" by Nirvana fell twelve spots to 42.and "Freaky Deaky" by Doja Cat slipped seven spots to 41 and also down twelve is "Sweetest Pie" by Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa to 36

Drop outs

"My Universe" by Coldplay feat. BTS dropped out taking with it "Infinity" by Jaymes Young, "Without Me" by Eminem, "Better Days" by NEIKED and Mae Muller (feat. Polo G) and "Love Tonight" by Shouse.

New Entries

Four new entries this week, brace yourselves because this is going to get ugly amd mpt just because we're starting with...

50. "No Role Modelz" by J Cole

Ughh. I am going to keep this short. The fact this is a new entry this week kind of grosses me out because this song is plain awful, okay, the instrumental is fine but J Cole disrespect of Martin Luther King is infuriating...dude, Martin Luther King had more important things to do, like fighting for black Americans rights, also J Cole , your claim is pretty damn shallow which is ironic considering you spend parts of the song bitching about how shallow women are...this song sucks...next!

39. "Chaotic" by Tate McRae

It's kind of surprising to me that Tate McRae is now lodging singles regularly on the singles chart with this one being a piano ballad about how this person grew up and is now wanting to make changes in their life for the better  after being hit with some worries about the future and how they'd rather not cut the problematic people out of their life because the loneliness of losing the friends as awful as they are would be a much worse feeling than continuing to keep those friends. It's a sad and really reflective song that probably could have done without the voice mods at the end of the hook and Tate McRae's vocals still don't impress me but on a week like this one...I'll take it.

35. "Big Energy" by Latto

Life, death, taxes and another female rapper trying to knock off Doja Cat.which isn't a surprise when you realize both Latto and Doja Cat are connected via being produced bgy Dr Luke with this song sampling Tom Tom Club's 1981 song "Genius of Love" along with an interpolation of Mariah Carey's 1995 smash "Fantasy" and really this doesn't impress me at all especially when this song just feels like another generic song in the same vein as others that do this sort of pop/rap sound better. Also I'm not buying the lyrics at all which make this song sound like a stereotypical sex rap that isn't anywhere near as sexy as it thinks it is so yeah not a fan.

18. "Tom's Diner" by AnnenMayKantereut & Giant Rooks

Ugh..feels like I am doing an upside of "Lookin' fine '89" (granted that has been a lot more interesting than the current charts lately) amd for our final new entry of the week, we have two German groups atttempting to cover a classic Suzanne Vega song that was released as a sinlg in 1987 before before becoming a wider hit in 1990 thanks to a remix by DNA which brings us to this cover and dear god this not good the 'do do dos" sound like drunk frat guys who are struggling to remember to anything other than that and the singing on the rest of the song makes :Beggin'" by Maneskin sound like a flock of angels descended from heaven so yeah this is absolute garbage as well.

It's also the worst of the week just edging out "no Role Modelz" by J Cole. "Chaotic" by Tate McRae while flawed takes the best of the week easily.

Next week, likely Harry Styles will make a big play for the number one and we'll probably get new entries from Shawn Mendes, Lil Tjay and Dean Lewis...surely some of those have to better than the crap we got this week, find out on Friday at 5pm when ARIA updates the charts.

Lookin' Fine '89. 2nd April. Now She Drives Me Crazy at number one In Heaven

 Well this is an interesting development because it now has emerged we have got a serious battle for number one on the chart and it's the most interesting thing on an otherwise pretty quiet week so let's start with the top ten where "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals has taken the number one thanks to outrageous sales momentum that it's pretty much carried for most of it's run on the chart so far.

This meant "Like A Prayer" by Madonna got pushed back to number two but remains a strong player to re take the number one sspot which "She Drives Me Crazy" show any kind of weakness at all.

Then there's "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers sticks around at number three and "Tuckers Daughter" by Ian Moss hangs on for another week at number four.

Rising one place to number five is "The Living Years" by Mike + The Mechanics....nice to see however up two places to number six is "I'm On My Way" by The Proclaimers which I am not so thrilled about but anyway...

All of this caused 'You Got It" by Roy Orbison to slide down two places to number seven while "Too Many Broken Hearts" by Jason Donovan fell one place to number eight.

"Soul Revival" by Johnny Diesel & The Injectors climbed one to number nine on the back of a sales boost while making it's first appearance in the top ten this week is "Stop" by Sam Brown which jumped seven places to get here.

Gains

So let's look outside the top ten, there was a five place gain for Daryl Braithwate's "One Summer" to 18 and a seven place gain to 21 for "Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry. Both of which I am pretty happy about.

But I would question why "So Good" by Wa Wa Nee got a five place push to 29...it's not a particularly good song. 

The sappy "Lost In Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson is up seven to 40. I kind of expect this song to be a hit here for some reason.

Re Entries 

Two returns this week with "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" by Poison back at 42 and "Love Bites" by Def Leppard returning at 44.

Losses

"The Music Goes Round My Head" by The Saints fell ten to 50 while "Fine Time" by New Order slipped from 41 to 49. 

"Two Hearts" by Phil Collins is experiencing heartbreak as it tumbled from 33 to 41.

New Entries

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

43. "Now You're In Heaven" by Julian Lennon

The lead single from Julian Lennon's third album "Mr. Jordan" and well, this actually a really fun song! I love how the drums get the song before the guitars make their way in and yeah it sounds like a song INXS could have made. As for the lyrics, it's basically Julian Lennon wanting to hook up with this girl and make her happy, it definitely makes ful use of it's run time and doesn't feel like a slog to listen to. Good job from Julian Lennon.