ARIA New Singles Entry Review: November/December 2024.

 Hi everyone, final one of these ARIA singles new entry reviews because I am going to go full steam back into the weekly charts and because November was kind of slow, I'm going to combine both November and December as per last year mostly due to neither month being all that busy for new entries so we'll see. 

November

"Noid" by Tyler, The Creator

Ahh, the first taste of Tyler, the Creator's excellent new album "Chromakopia" and while this isn;t the best song from the album, it is still really damn good with that incredible guitar sample and Tyler just owing the story telling with his protagonist St Chroma trapped by persistent feelings of paranoia and being  watched ike he is in the The Truman show. Good song on an even better album, go check out "Chromakopia" if you haven't already

"Disease" by Lady Gaga

So Lady Gaga has apparently begun the roll out for her seventh album with this being the lead off single for her new album in 2025 and I cannot be the only person who at first thought lyrically this was just "The Cure" part 2 except less believeable and with darker instrumentation? Tyhat was the thought that came to my head after several listens. Look, this is fine enough but its not going to stick around and for Lady Gaga, that's a problem.

"Sao Paulo" by The Weeknd feat. Anitta

So I've got some major concerns about this upcoming The Weeknd album, "Dancing in the Flames" was mediocre and "Timeless" feat. Playboi Carti continues to be one of the more pointless songs Abel has released. so what would we get with this third single? Well, we might be about to get one hell of a messy album because this is basically a Brazillian funk song that plays more to the strenghs of Anitta than The Weekndbwho does sound out of his depth here, Decent but not much more than that

"Bed Chem" by Sabrina Carpenter

So I decided to throw this song in as it is one of the songs from the Sabrina Carpenter album that has stuck around and I did want to talk ahout as I really enjoy rhis song! Yeah, it's a goofy sex song which the title barely conceals the sexual innuendo at play here but there's something I like about the way Sabrina delivers her vocals here, she's having fun with this and she's got the personality to sell a rather silly song like this

"2 Hands" by Tate McRae

Ugh, time to talk about the newest Tate McRae song and...I hear the instrumental appeal behind this, it;s got a decent tension to it that I would back somebody like Ariana Grande or somebody else in that lane to sell but Tate McRae just does not have the personality to pull this sort of song where she wants this dude to put his two hands on her. I am going to forget this song exists in record time.

"Bad Dreams" by Teddy Swims

Teddy Swims won me back with :"The Door"...a song that I think is damn great and you know what? This is also pretty damn great! It's got this really good groove that makes his biggest hit "Lose Control" look even more incredibly stiff if that was even possible. I love the near reggae groove this song has as Teddy Swims sings about this love that if he lost her it would be a bad dream for him. This is really cute...hope this winds up a hit.

Worst of the Month: "2 Hands" by Tate McRae

Honourable Mention: "Noid" by Tyler. The Creator

Best of the Month: "Bad Dreams" bv Teddy Swims and 'Bed Chem" by Sabrina Carpenter.

December

"Luther" by Kendrick Lamar feat. SZA

Um, how do I talk about one of my favourite songs of the year? Seriously this song is in contention for my top 50 favourite songs of 2024...that's how much I love this. Kendrick Lamar and SZA are just absolute magic together especially on a flipped sample of a Luther Vandross song. The song seems to be about the affects of untreated trauma and acting in ways that nught give themselves some temporary relief from the feelings of the untreated trauma, it's definitely a song that Kendrick seemed to have needed given it's high placement on the tracklist but it's still a god damn great song on "GNX"...an album that is one of Kendrick's best,

"Defying Gravity" by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande

Kind of surprised we didn't get more songs from "Wicked: The Movie" show up here but I am glad this one did because yeah this is absolutely fantastic..there's not too many who can go toe for toe with Ariana Grande but Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba just absolutely puts in an incredble performance on this song. This song is worth checking out even if you don't care for "Wicked'

"Ma Meilleure Ennemie" by Stromae and Pomme

On the other side of the ledger is this song from the "Arcane" movie coming from Stromae who is apparently bigger in Europe and has better songs than this mess that sounds like it's going to age pretty terribly with that clunky production. Nope, this one is not for me in the slightest. I'll be moving on.

"Messy" by Lola Young. 

So I have known of Lola Young for awhile, she's a British singer/songwriter hailing from South East London who released a pretty good sophomore album this year with this song probably being one of the best songs from that album, it's an indie pop rock song about a relarionship where this guy can't be straight with her and he wants one thing while expecting the other, she's getting frustrated with him and it's making the relationship murky or as she describes messy. All up, I like this and I doubt I need to give much encouragement for this to be a hit because I suspect it's on the way there.

"Toxic Til the End" by Rose

So "APT" has really grown on me and I am loooking forward to writing about that song come list time in January but until then we've got this new one and yeah, I don;'t like this one as much unfortunately, its got all the hallmarks of being a Taylor Swift knock off and we're starting to see a few way too many try to rip off Taylor's sound without writing or even the music too match. I'd skip this one.

Wsorst of the Month: "Ma Meilleure Ennemie" by Stromae and Pomme

Best of the Month: "Luther" by Kendrick Lamar with SZA

ARIA Singles Top 50 Singles: New Entry Review. October

 "Timeless" by The Weeknd feat. Playboi Carti

So here's The Weeknd's follow up to "Dancing in the Flames" and...well, I am genuinely starting to have concerns about this new album of Abel's because this is one heck of a mess and the Playboi Carti feature does not help this song what's so ever although when has a Playboi Carti feature heped any song ever so it shouldn't be a surprised that his feature here is completely useless and adds so very little to the song. as per is Playboi Carti's whole shtick.

Even The Weeknd sounds somewhat flat on this trap rap slog, I am going forget this song in record time because this is not good at all.     

"Baby I'm Back" by The Kid Laroi

It's never a good sign when a song starts with a rather promiment sample of "Baby Come Back" by Player and it's a sample that Kid Laroi just cannot ride the sample even on the hook of this song when he is desperately trying to convince this girl that he is back and will stick around for her.

In short, Anthony Fantano aka The Needledtop on Youtube said it best "Stop remaking classic songs into shit songs" and yeah, he is right because this is fucking unnecessary

"Embrace It" by Ndotz

Oh god. Australia, we are not going to follow the USA's trend of enabling random rappers to chart, right?  Turns out Ndotz is a British rapper with Angolan heritage but Dave or Stormy this guy isn't because yeah, this guy's rapping sounds terrible with an even more annoying beat that's nothing more than a collection of beeping.

Oh and the content is nothing more than vapid rapping about women and vulgar sex references that don't make the song anywhere near close to attractive especially with that awful beat that would any woman off sexy time. In short, this is unnecessary and gross. Next!

"Sympathy Is A Knife" by Charli XCX feat. Ariana Grande

Last song from BRAT that I'll have to cover on the blog and yeah this is one that having heard the original I didn't care for all that much and this renix kind of makes this song worse especially as it becomes about whinging about the media attention Ariana's been getting etc. Not bad but definitely not good either.

"Thick Of It" by KSI feat. Trippie Redd

My time is better served by talking songs that are actually worth something not junk like this. Absolute garbage and Trippie Redd, you should know better.

"APT" by Rose feat. Bruno Mars

Well this is a pairing I wasn't at all expecting, a member of Blackpink teaming up with master of the throwback sound Bruno Mars who is fresh off the back of a collab with Lady Gaga and I have to say I am glad this song has had time to grow on me because when I first heard "APT" I was not a fan at all but it's grown on me in recent weeks mostly because I hear it on the radio A LOT and maybe a case of Stockholm Syndrome, yes the drums sound a little compressed and maybe overmixed but it wouldn't be a crime to deny just how fun and catchy this soug is and just how much a renix with Avril Lavigne would go off but as it is Bruno is just fine and this works as a 2000s throwback..check it out!

"Love Somebody" by Morgan Wallen

So look, I am going to say what I said about Morgan Wallen on Twitter a week or so ago. Wallen is a mediocre to awful artist who piggy backed to fame because people felt sorry for him over the 'n- word' scandal which is how the god awful "Last Night" became a thing and while he has one or two good to great songs, a lot of the singles he has released have absolutely sucked (see my worst hit songs of 2023 list) or been mediocre at best and "Love Somebody" falls into the latter camp of forgettable mediocre shlock to the point where if you had told me it was a Maroon 5 knock off I wouldn't question you! Ity just sounds so hollow and sterile ...blergh.

"That's So True" by Gracie Abrams

Speaking of mediocre, Gracie Abrams new single and I guess it's somewhat tolerable compared to previous efforts but again she isn't a unique voice or presence on the pop landscape and here because happened to get the Taylor Swift endorsement package like Sabrina Carpenter did but eh this song is fine enough, the hook is memorable enough...I guess.

Worst of the Month: "Thick of It" by KSI and Trippie Redd

Dishonourable Mention: "Embrace It" by Ndotz

Honourable MentIon: Nothing good enough to deserve this slot

Best of the Month: "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars