We got the biggest disruption to the singles chart this year courtesy of Kendrick Lamar's final album for TDE called "Mr Morale & The Big Steppers", 14 songs from the album entered the ARIA top 50 this week including three in our top ten so let's start there where for another week "As It Was" by Harry Styles kept the number one spot, it's got a lock on number one thanks to excellent streaming and sales with Youtube also kicking in, its postion at the top will only be strengthened next week thanks to the album release.
That meant "First Class" by Jack Harlow stuck at number two. Now it's still reasonably strong on sales and streaming and also has some youtube but have to wonder if it's going to come under some pressure in the weeks ahead.
That brings us to the first of three new arrivals to the top ten...all of them are from Kendrick Lamar with "N95" debuting at number three and really that's all on streaming, I don't see this being in the top ten next week, it shifted "About Damn Time" by Lizzo back one to number four but this song should rebound, it's still reasonably strong on streaming.
The second of the new entries from Kendrck Lamar in the top ten is "Die Hard" feat. Bixst and Amanda Reifer debuting at number five.
All of this pushed "Heat Waves" back two places to number six for Glass Animals (I am ready for this song to go the hell away if I am to be hobest)
The laat of Kendrick Lamar new entries is in at number seven with the album opener "United in Grief"...again no expectation that it will stick around.
"Big Energy" by Latoo feat. Mariah Carey and DJ Khaled slipped back two to number eight while "Thousand Miles' by The Kid Laroi slumped four places to number nine while The Kid Laroi's biggest hit to date "Stay" feat Justin Bieber slipped three places to number ten.
For those wondering how the top ten would look without the Kendrick album bomb...
1. As It Was
2. First Class
3. About Damn Time
4. Heat Waves
5. Big Energy
6. Thousand Miles
7. Stay
8. Bad Habits
9. Where Are You Now
10. Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)
Gains
There are none. Every single song that's not from Kendrick lost hard this week.
Losses
So not to make this blog post a really long one, I am only going to cover the double digit losses which begins with the thirty place loss for "Churchill Downs" by Jack Harlow feat. Drake...ouch.
"Hurtless" by Dean Lewis suffered an eleven place fall while "Starlight" by Dave collapsed seventeen places to 42 and "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo tumbled eleven to 39.
The momentum has been zapped out of Leah Kate's "10 Things I Hate About You" as it fell 14 to 37 while Adele's "Easy On Me" took a 15 place fall to 34.
Jack Harlow's "Dua Lipa" got unceremoniously dumped 18 places to 31 while "Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X feat. Harlow took an eleven place slide to 26.
Drop Outs
There's fifteen drop outs and with Harry Styles album bomb next week, some of these likely have ghad their chart runs ended permanently.
New entries from last week like "This Love (Taylor's Version)" by Taylor Swift, "The Heart Part 5" by Kendrick Lamar (weird, would thave thought name recognition alone would have kept the song in the top 50) and "Hold My Hand" by Lady Gaga.
The long running hits that took their exits this week like "Kiss Me More" by Doja Cat and SZA, "Happier Than Ever" by Billie Eilishm "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd and "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles,
Older songs that got viralitylike "Lost" by Frank Ocean and "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls.
Newer songs that definitely won't qualify for the year end with "Flowers" by Lauren Spencer-Smith.
Songs that are question marks for the year end like "Tom's Diner" by AnnenMayKentereit & Giant Rooks, "Nail Tech" by Jack Harlow
Definitely making the year end is "Down Under" by Luude feat. Colin Hay
New Entries
So we are in an album bomb situation so here's the Kendrick Lamar songs that charted that didn't qualify for best nor worst of the week.
48. "Auntie Diaries", 44. "Crown", 45. "Mr Morale" feat Tanna Leone, 30. "Savior" feat. Baby Keem and Sam Dew, 22. "Purple Hearts" feat. Ghostface Killah & Summer Walker, 21. "Silent Hill" feat. Kodak Black, 20. "Count Me Out", 17. "Worldwide Steppers", 16. "Rich Spirit", 12. "Father Time" feat. Sampha
So that leaves us with five new entries to talk about here however we aren't starting with Kendrick somehow because...
27. "Cooped Up" by Post Malone feat. Roddy Ricch
So did you know that Post Malone is literally dropping an album called "Twelve Carat Toothache" in June? Yeah given Post Malone was literally one of the biggest artists in the world around 2018/19, it is kind of amazing how under the radar Post Malone has managed to go however considering both "Motley Crue' and "One Right Now" weren't exactly the kind of hits that Post Malone would have expected in the lead of to the album I guess it's not that much of a surprise this upcoming album feels really low key so how is "Cooped Up"?
Like I was with "Motley Crue", I am really disappointed by this, feels like Post Malone is stepping back toward a trap comfort zone that doesn't even begin to make sense after the best album of his career in 2020, yeah the piano sounds good but Post Malone sounds like he is singing in pain over this trap beat that doesn't do much and couple that with Roddy Ricch dropping his most disappointing verse to date? Yeah I'm skipping this one.
TW: Mentions of abuse.
19. "We Cry Together" by Kendrick Lamar and Taylour Paige
This is my favourite song on "Mr Morale & The Big Steppers" and I don't say that lightly. More for the very real depiction by Kendrick Lamar and Taylour Paige of an ugly abusive abusive relationship where both Kendrick and Taylour say some terrible things to each other before Taylour Paige delivers a verse while she's in tears and the anger and frustratio felt by both is palpable before it culminates in the pair having sex. The song is set over this ska jazz groove which gives the song a lot more power and adds to the bitter darkness and rage that swells in the song.
Probably not a song to listen to if you have been in an abusive relationship and find this sort of song triggering.
7. "United in Grief" by Kendrick Lamar
This is one of those songs where we discover that Kendrick Lamar is revealing his own fallibility as a human being questioning his own attitudes to women, in that he cheated on his partner while he was on tour and the pain that this brief hook up caused her, reflections on his long career in the music industry, he knows and chooses the need to stay humble and all those accolades he has recieved won't last when he does die and how he has entered therapy to deal with his own mental health. If anything this might be the song where Kendrick is at his absolute best on the album in terms of being able to switch up his flow but it's also a painful reminder that like all of us, Kendrick is not perfect, he is also human...something that become more abundantly clear on the album.
5. "Die Hard" by Kendrick Lamar feat Blxst and Amanda Reifer
So this song is a slice of R & B that brings Blxst and Amanda Reifer on board as Kendrick begs for his partner to be patient with him as he is very much in a vulnerable place right now and pleading her to remain loyal to him and that in the hook delivered by Blxst that she can love him despite all his flaws and all that she has had to put up with from him. Kendrick knows that when he falls in love he falls in love hard which for him means a lot of emotion. Its definitely an intertesting song even though the instrumention is more upbeat and less dark than it is on other songs on the album.
3. "N95" by Kendrick Lamar
Okay so the album opener charts the highest and is a reference to a particular type of mask used during lockdowns etc in 2020 and 2021 but it's Kendrick lashing out at the state of society in 2022 and with particular refernce to Afican-American culture, he warns against chasing material wealth and possessions amid the troubling economic circumstances of so many post COVID lockdowns. Kendrick also spends a bit of the song calling out the criminals who are on the end of attention of the feds. Not really the best song from the album but ehh, I'll take it.
And that wraps up the week, a week that really was tough to get through but best and worst fell out easily with worst going to "Cooped Up" by Post Malone feat. Roddy Rich. Best of the week going to "We Cry Together" by Kendrick Lamar and Taylour Paige.
Next week, Harry Styles album bomb but we'll find out when the charts update at 5pm AEST on Friday.
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