Thursday, 30 October 2025

All 4 1994: 30th October. Sooner or Later, All Come Together for You

 Well, wasn't expecting a new number one this week but that's what we have because we have a trio of teenagers at the top of the chart, that's right, Silverchair's "Tomorrow" has climbed two spots to take the number one. 

It mercifully moved past "Always" by Bon Jovi which remains at number two. Former chart topper "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men fell two places to number three.

The big surprise other than our new number one was the nine place gain for "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails to number four. I wasn't expecting this song to get here.

Tina Arena keeps chaining herself to new chart positions each week as "Chains" climbs two to number five, it pushed past "Secret" by Madonna which slipped one to number six,  "Confide in Me" by Kylie Minogue which fell three spots to number seven and "Endless Love" by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey which slipped two spots to number eight.

Finally two songs remain where they are those being "Swamp Thing" by The Grid and "7 Seconds" by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry at number ten. 


Losers

Def FX slipped seven places to fifty with "Post Moronic" while JX's "Son of a Gun" slipped fourteen spots to forty four. 

Also suffering a massive collapse is former top five hit "100% Pure Love" by Crystal Waters as it tumbled from twenty eight to forty one. "Red Light Avenue" by James Reyne is going the wrong way but can't seem to find a way to go back down eight to forty. 

Not going to complain that "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" by R.E.M slipped nine to thirty eight while "Do You Wanna Get Funky?" by C&C Music Factory stumbled seven spots to thirty. 

Unfortunately "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" by Elton John crashed from sixteen to twenty two.


Re-Entries

Just the one return with "Love Ain't Here Anymore" by Take That back at forty seven. 


Gains

I am reasonably happy that "(I Could Only) Whisper Your Name" by Harry Connick Jr jumped twelve spots to thirty seven and 'Eighteen Strings" by Tinnan got a sizeable boost from forty six to twenty seven.

However why is "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" by Pet Shop Boys up from forty seven to twenty six and "Gimme" by Boom Crash Opera up eight to fourteen? Ugh. 



 New Entries

Five new entries this week, beginning with...

34. “The Strangest Part (These are the Times)” by INXS

New INXS single from the band's greatest hits album and this one is actually better than a lot of their recent output, it has a groove thanks to the drums plus Michael Hutchence has enough charisma that I'm fairly certain he could convince somebody to buy a bridge. As for the content of the song, it appears to be a commentary on the band's lifestyle. It's a little safe for INXS but considering I haven't likeed any of their singles in 1994, I'll take this one. 

33. “Sooner or Later” by GF4

The brand new single from Girlfriend or as they are now known GF4 following the departure of Robyn Loau and yeah, this is not great, sure the harmonies here are really good but it's the weird ass dance electronic instrumentation that doesn't blend well with the girls voices and leaves them sounding insubstantial and wispy in the mix and as for the rap verse...it's find but wow it shows just how much the departure of Robyn has hurt this group. Not good but not terrible either. 

31. “Nothing But You” by Cold Chisel

So this is another song of those songs that really does feel like a Cold Chisel demo. Ian Moss taking the lead on the song and it doesn't quite have the same stick or hit the landing as good as some of Cold Chisel's other songs with Moss as lead such as "My Baby" (a song I think is one of Chisel's best), I don't think it's a bad song but when the instrumentation doesn't feel like it's on all cylinders than yeah I am going to pass on it more often tthan not. 

24. “All Come Together” by Diesel

I think by now most people know that I am a sucker for Diesel's music and yeah this one is no different because this is pretty damn good almost great even if I think the chorus don't quite come together the way it should. The song hits on everyone working together to reach a common cause or purpose and the connection of people in overcoming diversity to find love. Definitely a damn good song that I think might get a little underrated, check this out. 

16. “All I Wanna Do” by Sheryl Crow

We end of this week's new entry reviews with a song from American singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow and well, this song is certainly an interesting pop/rock song because the opening line of the song "All I wanna do is have a little fun before I die" comes from the opening line of a poem by Wyn Cooper and the song has this really interesting downbeat vibe where this man is sitting at a bar just watching the world go by and everyone else hustling to clean cars in work clothes all while he feels like he is wasting his life. It's a dark song but a good one check it out

That wraps up our week, I am going to give worst of the week to "Sooner or Later" by GF4...a return that fell flat for me. Best of the week is going to Diesel for "All Come Together" 

Saturday, 25 October 2025

Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 2024

There have been a lot of very different opinions on how 2024 was for the popular music landscape, many are saying that 2024 was one of the best years for pop music in the 2020s so far which I do get if you enjoyed the break throughs of Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Gracie Abrams or the "rap beef of the decade" between Kendrick Lamar and Drake while others pointed out that many of the hits from the breakthrough artists were at best mediocre and many of the songs that became big were absolutely awful.

For me though in terms of the hits, 2024 was decent...not great...I did manage find more songs for my best list than I did for my worst list so that was a win but the best stuff doesn't quite hit the same note as the best of 2021 or even 2022 however we are not dealing with the best today, we are dealing with the rotten garbage that has been allowed to fester in some cases on the charts for way too long.

But before we get to all of that, lets go through the rules. 

1. A song can appear on this list if it debuted on the 2024 ARIA top 100 singles year end or it's peak was higher on the 2024 year end than in 2023

2. A song will not appear on this list if I didn't review it during the year eg: if you are wondering why "Carnival" by Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign is not on the list proper. I feel like even giving this amount of attention to a clown like Kanye is not not worth it so why bother putting him on the list proper when it's just more worthwhile doing what I have done since the song was released in February in ignoring it's unwelcome existence. 

3. This is my list so my opinion. Music is subjective so try not to get too mad over these picks.

4. This is going to be just a top ten list. No dishonourable/honourable mentions this year given I've only got a small list of songs to choose from for these lists. Thanks for tbat ARIA.

Alright, now that's out of the way...let's jump into this dumpster of rotting brain worms and start with...


Number Ten

You know...I came to not mind a lot of Sabrina Carpenter's hits this year, she has something of a personality which is more than can be said for a few other wannabe main stream pop girls right now that I tried to get this song of hers to grow on me but I'm sorry...this one just does not satisfy me in any shape or form.

"Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter

Alright, I get it, this one is an out of nowhere pick for a worst list considering that it does seem like most people like it however "Espresso" is one of those songs that no matter how hard I try to like, it just gives me a whole load of slightly less than frothy nothing with none of the energy boost that caffeine is supposed to provide you with and that is frustrating because you can tell Sabrina wants it to be this frothy song about this guy she has wrapped around her finger snd the hook just sounds like somebody grinding their treeth to me which is not a pleasant sound to my ear. 

This song is just cringe overall and while I get while people like it, I think I'll be staying away from it for good.

Number Nine

Sigh...you know when I said "wannabe main pop girls"?. Let's get an easy target out of the way.

"That's So True" by Gracie Abrams

So I am going to say right off the bat that the least impressive of the break out female pop acts in 2024 was Gracie Abrams who got her big break through like Sabrina touring with Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour, her weirdly cloying song writing that felt very early Taylor Swift did nothing for me generally and this song soured me on her hard, there's just something infuriating where she sings in the most juvenile way possible "You're an idiot, now I'm sure of it", she sounds like a five year old chanting "I'm rubber, your glue, whatever bounces off me sticks to you" in the nost agonising and painful way imaginable and it makes listening to this song quite the aggravating experience. 

Throw in that weurd ass hook and yeah...I am done with absolute nightmare of a song. 


Number Eight

I'd really love for soul music to make a return to the charts in some way...turns out in 2024...it kind of it did...too bad it sucked.

"Lose Control" by Teddy Swims

I am going to keep this short, Teddy Swims has a couple of songs like "The Door" and "Bad Dreams" that I actually really damn like and think are close to great, especially "The Door", but the fact that "Lose Control" which for a song about a man losing control when the woman he loves is not with him is stiffer than cardboard or a freshly ironed shirt should be considered criminal especially for this brand of pop soul that Teddy Swims is going for here and when the second verse sounds like Swims is trying to impersonate Post Malone...yeah, that's when I stopped caring...next!


Number Seven

So we're going hip hop for the next couple of songs and this one is probably one that people could make justified arguments for this being higher on the list but regardless, it wouldn't be here if it didn't belong on a list like this and thus...

"Lovin' On Me" by Jack Harlow

I fear Jack Harlow hit his peak on his feature on Lil Nas X's "Industry Baby" because his output since that song has been embarrassingly mediocre to awful and this song might be one of Harlow's worst efforts to date with his efforts to compare himself to Rico Suave and that how he is kinky in bed but doesn't like whips and chains, he choke her but of course he ain't no killer, lyrically this song is just a walking bucket of cringe with some sloppy and lethargic production to boot. In short this song is gross. now let's move the fuck on before I fucking throw up. 

                                      

Number Six

If you want a song that sounds like complete diarrhea than it's a fine time to introduce you all to...

"Fein" by Travis Scott and Playboi Caeti. 

Another one, I'll keep short and sweet because what is there to say about a song that just sounds like a complete nightmare especially when you have Travis Scott repeating "Fein" across the song like its going out of fashion or something while simultaneously sounding like a dog's squeaky toy. Playboi Carti proves himself to be as useless as usual which could also be said about the limp beat that sounds cheap as cordial cans at a return and earn! Throw in the usual pathetic bars about women and you have one of the most bog standard, boring and crappy mainstream rap songs in modern memory.


Number Five

So this was the biggest hit by Australian artist in 2024...shame it sucks!


"Stumblin' In" by Cyril

This song being as big as it was is the biggest screaming indictment on the Australilan music scene in the 2020s after all this is just taking a classic 70s love song by Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman, stripping out the old instrumnental and replacing it with a crappy new instrumental that added this weird sterile texture rather than anything that feels lived in or like there is anything resembling live while the production makes Chris Norman sound rough, like he is singing his verse half asleep. This isn't Cyril's worst effort in 2024, his version of Crowded House's "Fall At Your Feet" feat Dean Lewis would have been a contender for number one on this list had it been a hit.

Number Four

2024 was this next guy's year, after all he had the biggest song of the year (we'll get to that song) which enabled him to release this crooning atrocity and thus...

"Slow It Down"  by Benson Boone.

There are worse songs on Benson Boone's atrocity of an album namely "Cry" and a certain other song but dear god does this one deserve to be here with Boone switching his vocals between this odd crooning to somewhere near scteeching throughout the song, it just sounds painful to the point where I'm checking my hearing is still in tack during the song. It's just a thoroughly painful song to have to listen to to the point it's not good as a laid back chill song or does really get anyone moving to the dancefloor so its fucking useless...NEXT! 


Number Three

This one feels like I am punching down on a legend of hip hop. Em, you are so much better than this. 

"Houdini" by Eminem

This is the song that convinced me that Eminem needs to consider the idea that he might be done because this song is just not it, grabbing up chunks of 1982 hit "Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller Bamd (a song that I cannot stand and apparently plenty of Steve Miller Band fans hate it as well) while Eminem makes some painfully lame jokes about drugs and collaborating with Megan Thee Stallion (I think Megan has better things to do with her time to be fair here, Em) and complain about cancel culture, you'd honestly think he was a Donald Trump fan if you didn't know any better. This song is embarrassing. Let's stick to "Without Me" the song referenced at the beginning of this shitpile of a song because it's the length of the M1 motorway better than this. 


Number Two

I spent a chunk of my 2023 list talking about this guy, his big hit song "Last Night" topped that list but this year he is just falling short but oh dear god, it was close...

"Thinkin' About Me" by Morgan Wallen

I've really run out of things to say about the music of Morgan Wallen's music, the production is often drippy and more often than not the writing comes across as projecting and doing little more than upholding something of a victim complex which is a perfect place to start when describing this disastrous dipshit of a song. 

Seriously, the lyrics in this song would make milk curdle and go sour all on it's own without anyone leaving it out in the sun or hitting the fucking expiry date. Wallen is obsessed with this girl who has presumably moved on from him to be with another guy but Wallen is still chasing her even though he claims the relationship turned bad and now he is projecting asking if she's obsessed with him like he is her and I make that assumption because the lyrics make it increidbly easy to see that Wallen is the obsessed one...like dude, she's done with your ass, move the fuck on and get over her. 

All that over this drippy, miserable sounding mix and Wallen's nasal drone sounding possibly worse than it did on "Last Night", the only reason it's not number one is because none of it feels like a complete violation of my ear drums.


Number One

On the other hand, THIS is what complete and utter violation of the ear drums sounds like. 

"Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone.

It's an indictment on the charts that this song was allowed to go to number one for as long as it did and hung around like somebody hasn't washed a pair of particularly egregious smelling underpants. Every time I hear that opening guitar line and Bennson Boone start crooning, I roll my eyes so hard that I have to make sure my eyes don't fall out of my head because dear god, the lyrics on this song are just....really? He has met a young woman that his parents like, his mental health is doing better and life is looking up for him but than he dips into religious pandering by claiming he believes that God will take this girl and everything that is good in his life away...like seriously? The only one who can throw anything good in your lfie away is YOU making bad choices. The lyrics read like a really clingy Jason Mraz song. 

It's then we must get into the other part of the equation as to why this song is at the top spot on the worst list because religious pandering wasn't quite enough to push this song to the top on it's own, it's the ear drum violations that are Benson Boone's vocals on the hook where it splits the line between shrieking and insanity and underscore just how utterly asinine this song is where he throws himself at this higher power begging them not take his "beautiful things" away (Okay, I absolutely abject to calling a woman a thing by the way) in the most dramatic and cartoonish way possible like his Sylvester throwing a tantrum because Tweety won't make it easy for him to catch him after five hundred failed attempts and it's just obnoxious.

Throw in the "WAAAAHHHH AHHH OOOHH OH OH" and you have a song that really rams home feeling like your ears have been utterly violated and some higher power is going to reek vengenance on all of us because of this song, although maybe the release of this song is the karma we got...ugh.

Anyway "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone is the worst hit song of 2024.


Friday, 24 October 2025

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review. 27th October.

 So bit of a quiet week here and honestly sometimes that's not the worst thing and with the chart still readjusting arfter the Taylor Swift album bomb that's going to take it's sweet damn time leaving than we're probably going to see more weeks like it so lets get to the top ten where Taylor Swift holds on to the top spot with "The Fate of Ophelia" thanks to streaming, sales and even some Youtube.

However "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean has climbed one spot to number two and looks to be the obvious challenger should "The Fate of Ophelia" wobble in any way. 

Former chart topper "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters is still a threat as it hangs around at number three for another week however while it's still good on sales, it's starting to lose some streaming margin with the top two. 

"Opalite" by Taylor Swift slipped two places to four because it's not getting a single push right now and that's going to be a problem because right behind it surging back into the top ten up six to number five is "Ordinary"  by Alex Warren and "No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinashe which also climbed six places to number six, 

 Both "Elizabeth Taylo" and "Father Figure" fell two places to seven and eight respectively for Taylor Swift as again the focus of streaming is turning to "Fate of Ophelia".

I couldn't be happier to see Sombr's "12 to 12" rebound seven spots to number nine...thank god. It's a damn great song. 

Finally completing the top ten this week and becoming Olivia Dean's second song in the top ten "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" rising twelve places to number ten and being our biggest gainer of the week!


Gains

The gains continued for Olivia Dean otuside the top ten with "Nice to Each Other" up seven to sixteen.

A lot of previous top ten hits are also rebounding with "Soda Pop" from K-Pop Demon Hunters hitting up six places to twelve, Sombr's "Back to Friends" recharging six spots to fourteen. 

"Where is My Husband" by Raye climbed six to eighteen this week proving this song is a hit in the making and we need to hurry up to make it happen. 


Re-Entries

 Mixed news on the returns front with the re-entry of "That's So True" by Gracie Abrams at number forty nine being the bad news however in good news "Folded" by Kehlani is back at fifty is excellent news as that song is great. 

Losers

The losers are all Taylor Swift "The Life of a Showigrl" album tracks so let's go through these beginning with "Honey" dripping slowly down eleven to twenty eight, "Eldest Daughter" slumped eight to twenty three "Ruin the Friendship" had it's chart position ruined eight to twenty two, "CANCELLED!" is in the process of being cancelled for being one of Taylor's worst songs of her career as it plummeted eight to twenty one, "Actually Romantic" isn't breaking up with the chart fast enough for my liking but it is down seven to seven while the ode to Travis Kelce's dick "Wood" slipped seven to fifteen. 


Drop Outs

Sad that we did lose "Let Alone the One You Love" by Olivia Dean from the chart this week, it took "Eyes Closed" by Jisoo and Zayn and "Takedown" bv Twice with it so I guess it's not all bad?

New Entries

Just the one new entry this week, time to dive into...

40. "Dracula" by Tame Impala

In the wake of the utterly disappointing new album "Deadbeat", this single crossed over to the charts and I honestly don't have much to say about it other than noting it seems to be all to keenly aware of what the zeirgeist is currently enjoying whch is the lead up to Halloween next week and this is given enough spooky oomph to give those who like spooks and things a reason to add this song to their Halloween playlists but other than that there's not much to this, it feels a lot like Kevin Parker maybe out of ideas, 

Yeah, worst of the week. No best of the week because there's no other new entries....duh. Next week...we'll have to see. 

Thursday, 23 October 2025

All 4 1994: 23rd October. Closer Secrets and Compliments Whisper Your Name on Eighteen Strings

 Holy shit, this week is probably one of the last nuts weeks of 1994 that we'll get, a complete avalanche of new entries that we'll get to later but that didn't touch our number one so let's dive into the top ten where for a second week "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men kept hold of the number one spot, it kept a safe margin ahead of "Always" by Bon Jovi which jumped two spots to number two and seems to be the song that looks most likely to take the top spot next.

Then rising three places to number three for Silverchair is "Tomorrow", this song has momentum, I hope it can surpass "Always" but we'll have to see. 

All of this pushed "Confide in Me" by Kylie Minogue down to number four and it could be vulnerable to the new entry at number five from Madonna called "Secret", this song has good sales and could possibly move above Kylie next week.

The big loser out of all this was ?Endless Love" by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey as it slipped three spots to number six however on the rise is "Chains" by Tina Arena which climbed two places to number seven. 

From there, the last three are songs on their way out with former chart topper "I Swear" by All-4-One slipped three to number eight, 'Swamp Thing" by The Grid also tumbled three to nine and "7 Seconds" by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry collapsed three spots to round out the top ten at number ten. 

Losers

"No Matter What You Do" by Olivia Newton-John slipped eight to number forty eight while it was similar for Cold Chisel's "Hands Out of My PocKet" which fell to forty two but that eally is it for the big losers.

Gains

No major gains either given all the new entries on the chart this week.  The biggest gain his week is "Voodoo People" by The Prodigy up four to twenty five.

Re-Entries

Culture Shock's "My Enemy" is unfortunately back at number forty one. 


New Entries

A ridiculous EIGHT new entries so I am going to endeavour to keep these reviiews short, let's begin with...

50. “Walkaway Lover” by Toni Pearen

So Toni Pearen is back on the charts after her breakthrough in 1993 with "In Your Room" and I have to be honest here, I do not like this, it sounds like generic eurodamce just with something of an Australian flavour and the production around Toni's vocals are a complete wash, "In Your Room" this ain't. I don't see this sticking around...Next. 

49. “(I Could Only) Whisper Your Name” by Harry Connick Jr

So American entertainer (best way to cover everything this guy does) is back with a brand new song and this one has a decent swagger to it thanks to those horns and this song has some insane change ups especially with that solo that wasn't great...bit ear piercing for my tastes but I do like that the song revolves around protecting this girl from rumour and innuendo while emphasising others will have their own opinions. Good song. 

47. “Yesterday, When I Was Mad” by Pet Shop Boys

So I haven't really liked any of the Pet Shop Boys singles so far in 1994 including the song from "Absolutely Fabulous" and yeah this song is actually decent, it's got the feel of the sort of sound I like coming from the Pet Shop Boys. There's more of a groove and texture to this that makes the song overall work better for me. Not going to be my favourite this week but it's fine. 

46. “Eighteen Strings” by Tinman

I wasn't sure what to expect coming into this song from English House producer Tinman and so I guess what we got did surprise me a little with that every nice electric guitar opening before making way for something that seems a little more standard house. The lyrics are definitely standard club and partying songs but I definitely do not hate this. Check it out if you are curious. 

45. “Compliments on Your Kiss’ by Red Dragon with Brian & Tony Gold

So we have another reggae song on the chart and this one mght be one of the worst I've heard yet with it's weirdly chipper and none too romantic beat as these guys mumble "Compliments girl on our kiss" like who even says that to a person they are in love with?. They then go on about this girl's body and done to death lyrics about how his heart skips a beat every time he sees her with the hook and verses repeated. Yeah this sucks...NEXT

44. “I Miss You” by Haddaway

So Haddaway return and I actually really like this a lot, this song is so much better than "What is Love?", a's a bit more somber and there's genuine warmth as the content focuses on an ended relationship where the narrator is realizing they are on their own now and life feels a lot harder without that other person in his or her life and they miss them enough to the point they want back into a relationship with that other person. Yeah, I'm taking this, it's good. Check it out. 

13. “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails

The second single from Nine Inch Nails album "The Downward Spiral" and this might be one of more unnerving songs I have covered this series, a song all about self loathing and obsession although I kind of get why some think it's a sex song...the lyrics do open the way for that kind of misinterpretation. The production relies on elements of funk and industrial rock but all up this song inbetween the vocal delivery where he sounds like he singing through clenched teeth the loathing and hatred is that bad...it's an unsettling song but still one that is really damn good. 

5. “Secret” by Madonna

Finally the biggest new entry of the week courtesy of Madonna, taken from her album "Bedtime Stories" and I will say I do like this one. Madonna sounds great here, low and deliberately confessional delivery that works great for her and the production playing up the mystery of this secret that's been hidden. Yeah, you know what? I'll take this too. 

That ends an honestly beyond long week and I am buggered but the worst of the week falls out easily "Compliments on Your Kiss" by Red Dragon, Brian and Toni Gold is awful and nets the weeks lowest honour.

As for the best, we have some contenders but I think this belongs to Haddaway for "I Miss You". 

Saturday, 18 October 2025

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 20th October

 So the recedation of the Taylor Swift album bomb dominates the news on the AEIA singles chart this week, we got two new entries including another new song from that Olivia Dean album however before we get to that, let's dive into the top ten which is dominated by Taylor Swift still but to a lesser extent, of course "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift kept the number one spot, it's safe for now if that streaming doesn't continue to slide and it finally got sales to boost it's margin. 

"Opalite" remains at number two but it's facing an even tougher predicament as it doesn't have sales but streaming is starting to slide and could face threats to it's position from two songs that both rose ten spots this week to retake their positions in the top ten with "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean at nnumber three and "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters at number four, both songs look strong right now and with the surge for Olivia Dean lately...I am certain "Man I Need" will get a good push soon to take number one.

The rest of the top ten are Taylor Swift album cuts with "Elizabeth Taylor" down two to number five likewise for "Father Figure" to number six, "The Life of a Showgirl" featuring Sabrina Carpenter slipped one to number seven, the ode to Travis Kelce's penis "Wood" has started to go flaccid with the public down three to number eight, surprising "Wi$h Li$t" remained steady at nnumber nine amd "Actually Romantic" slipped two to number ten.


Gains'

Honestly the gains outside the top ten are generally just one to six place gains however we did see continued traction for Olivia Dean songs with "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" up seven to twenty two and "Baby Steps" up five to forty one


Losers

So we'll begin with the Taylor Swift album cuts that fell back..."Honey" fell five to seventeen, "Eldest Daughter" stumbled five to fifteen, "Ruin the Friendship" is ruined three spots to fourteen and "CANCELLED!" was the biggest faller of the lot down six to thirteen. 

Other than that K-Pop Demon Hunters also saw a six place loss to twenty eight for "How it's Done"


Drop outs

Two songs fell off this week with 'The Days (Notion Remix)" by Chrystal and Notion and the big drop out this week is "That's So True" by Gracie Abrams...honestly good riddance to both as I really do not like either song. 


New Entries

Two new entries this week, let's begin with...

49. "Let Alone the One You Love" by Olivia Dean

It really is beginning to feel like a slow album bomb with one or two songs from "The Art of Loving" debuting each week and honestly given the album is pretty good I am okay with that and yeah agaun, this one feels like pure warm neo soul that makes "Lose Control" look liike unbreakably stiff cardboard. this is such a warm, cosy neo soul song that Olvia Dean just sounds incredible over, it reminds me a lot of Etta James although Olvia's vocals aren't quite as strong as that. The content here though isn't as cosy and warm, its about an abusive relationship where he is trying to keep her small and under his thumb and she doesn't understand why he is treating somebody he is supposed to love like this and wants to end the relationship understandably. Altogether great song but if you are triggered by talk of an abusive power struggle situation than tread carefully.

47. "Eyes Closed" by Jisoo & Zayn

I was dreading this...Jisoo is the member of Blackpink whose solo work has impressed me the least and Zayn continues to be the guy most known for quitting One Direction and not doing anything all that remarkable musically since leaving said band so these two collaborating was something that didn't raise a lot of interest but we did get this as a result of their collaboration and wow...this song is not only musically underweight but the overprocessing on the vocals over some of the most sterile production I've heard on a song this year. This is just generic and really bland nothingness.

Worst of the week easily Best of the week goes to Olivia Dean (again) for "Let Alone the One You Love"

Friday, 17 October 2025

All 4 1994: October 16th. Love, Steam and Standing Strong Ain't Here Anymore

 Ahh,1994 continues to be a wild and fascinating year especially with the shifts in the top ten because we do have a new number one with "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men taking the top spot, this song has some insane momentum behind it, it crushed it's opposition on sales.

Former number one "Confide In Me" by Kylie Minogue slipped back to number two as it couldn't match Boyz II Men on sheer weight of numbers.

"Endless Love" by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey remained at number three while much to my annoyance "Always" by Bon Jovi climbed four spots to number four. this song has legs unfortunately so look for another ridiculously sappy song to get to number one. 

All-4 -One slipped one spot to number five with "I Swear", I am not sure why this song is sticking around so much...utterly sick of it at this point. Anyway, "Swamp Thing" by The Grid remains stuck at number six. 

Sliding two places to number seven is "7 Seconds" by Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry. this song has peaked and now appears to be on the downswing so it should continue to fall gracefully. 

Silverchair's "Tomorrow" climbed one spot to number eight and "Chains" by Tina Arena climbed one to number nine in good news for Australian music. 

Finally wrapping up the top ten is "Love is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet down three to number ten. 


Losers

The losers this week are songs pretty much on the downswing anyway with "Heaven 'n' Hell" by Salt 'n' Pepa down eleven to forty seven while "Absolutely Fabulous" by Absolutely Fabulous.

"Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden sld further toward the back hole on the charts as it tumbled from twenty four to thirty one while "Baby, I Love Your Way" by Big Mountain slipped seven to thirty and "100% Pure Love" by Crystal Waters fell from fifteen to twenty one.

Gains

"Come Out and Play" by The Offspring really is coming out to play on the chart as it tagged it's way up from twenty one to sixteen. 

Not happy that the pretty ordinary "Gimme" by Boom Crash Opera which climbed ten places to twenty two while "Voodoo People" by The Prodigy climbed from forty one to twenty nine. 

"Red Light Avenue" by James Reyne was green lighted to climb eight spots to thirty five while Roachford's "Lay Your Love on Me" climbed from forty two to thirty seven. 

Unfortunately "Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better)" by K.W.S and Gwen Dickey rose six places to forty three. 


Re Entries

Just one return this week with Kulcha's "Don't Be Shy" back at forty nine. 


New Entries

Three new songs this week beginning with...

41. “Standing Strong” by Wendy Matthews

Starting with some new Wendy Matthews music is always a good start to the week's new entry reviews and yeah, this song is the lead single from the album "The Witness Tree" and yeah, this song is excellent, the gentle piano and guitar build up and Wendy's vocals are impressive here. The song's lyrics are somewhat interesting too, a promise made by one lover to another about lifting them up and putting them on more solid footing, tack on one hell of a hook and you have a great song. Check this out!

38. “Love Ain’t Here Anymore” by Take That

So I have become somewhat a defender of Take That, I still think "Pray" is a really damn good pop song and this one is also decent except it's not as upbeat here, it's a song about a couple realizing that there's just no love in the relationship anymore and communication is breaking down. It's got this really nice gentle swell and those vocal harmonies on the hook are a excellent touch. Nice song, definitely well worth a listen.

19. “Steam” by East 17

East 17's latest single winds up the week and honestly...I don't care for this much, sure the production has a bit of fite and spark to it but dear god why do the members of East 17 sound like THAT in the mix? Like come on when you have production that's selling attitude and you are giving it the "Oooh steam!"...it gets a bit deflating to listen to and the rapping isn't anything all that impressive. Yeah, I'll stick to Take That.

It's easily the worst of the week with best of the week going to "Standing Strong" by Wendy Matthews

Wednesday, 15 October 2025

All 4 1994: October 9th Goodnight Voodoo Girl (Ain't Nobody Loves People Better)

So a reasonable week at hand here. Some new entries and some interesting moves within the top ten too so let's get to that where for another week "Confide In Me" by Kylie Minogue remains at number one for another week but it's now got a challenger right behind it courtesy of the four place rise to number two for "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men, it's got traction and it's comng for that number one spot. 

'Down one to number three is "Endless Love" by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey while "I Swear" by All-4-One rebounded one to number four and "7 Seconds" by Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry slipped two spots to number five. 

"Swamp Thing" by The Grid also rebounded one to number six while "Love is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet slipped three to number seven.

Now we have three new songs into our top ten for the first time this week beginning with "Always" by Bon Jovi climbing eight spots to number eight while "Tomorrow" by Silverchair bounced up from twenty six to number nine and finally. "Chains" by Tina Arena is up three spots to number ten. 

Losers

So "Shine" by Collective Soul slipped eight spots to forty eight while "I Like to Move It" by Reel 2 Real feat. The Mad Stuntman skidded down eleven places to forty seven and "Disarm" by The Smashing Pumpkins slipped eight to forty five, 

"American Life in the Summertime" by Francis Dunnery fell seven to thirty nine while "Dreams" by The Cranberries slumped eight to thirty eight. 

"Hands Out of My Pocket" by Cold Chisel tumbled eight spots to twenty nine, "Baby, I Love Your Way" by Big Mountain slid eight to twenty three. 

Gains

Most of the big gains this week are in the top ten but we did see an eight place gain for "Fantastic Voyage" by Coolio to thirty seven while "No Matter What You Do" by Olivia Newton-John up seven to thirty five. 

Up seven to twenty seven to twenty seven is "Fly Girl" by Kulcha.


New Entries

Four new entries this week, beginning with...

50. "Post Moronic" by Def FX

So I literally cannot find any info about what Def FX song charted so I am going to leave this open for now. 

49. "Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better)" by K.W.S and Gwen Dickey

Okay...no...we have Jaki Graham's cover of this Chaka Khan song as the definitive cover of this song, we don't need a version from the group that made that god awful cover of KC and the Sunshine Band's "Please Don't Go" in 1992 but at least unlike that god awful cover this one does seem to actually have a pulse and a a decent melody even if Gwen Dickey sounds absolutely smothered in the mix, I'll be sticking with the Jaki Graham cover. 

41. "Voodoo People" by The Prodigy 

I really don't know what to say about this one, it comes from The Prodigy's second album "Music For the Jilted Generation" and well, I like the production, the groove there is awesome but those vocals are incredibly difficult to adjust to. This song is fine but I am not sure I am ever going to come back to it. That's all. 

30. "Goodnight Girl '94" by Wet Wet Wet

This was a song released in 1991 and of course Wet Wet Wet are trying to take advantage of the success of "Love is All Around" and honestly, this is a whole lot of sappy nothing lyrically over sparse piano anf guitar with some percussion thrown in. It's a pretty vague nothing of a love song with this dude saying he won't tell anyone about his goodnight girl. I'll forget this in no timee.

Yeah, bit of a rough week but I guess "Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better" by K.W.S and Gwen Dickey gets worst of the week with "Voodoo People" by The Prodigy getting best of the week.


Monday, 13 October 2025

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: 13th October. :

 Well...here we go, time for the Taylor Swift show this week and trust me, it's going to be more of a show here on the blog than any kind of show that was actually on Taylor's album"The Life of a Showgirl" but we'll get to that. Let's start with the top ten where to nobody's surprise...it's all Taylor Swift with "The Fate of Ophelia" at number one, it's pretty much the same across the top ten with enormous streaming.

"Opalite" at number two, "Elizabeth Taylor" debuts at number three, "Father Figure" jumps in at number four, "Wood" knocks at number five, the title track "The Life of a Showgirl" featuring Sabrina Carpenter dances in at number six, "CANCELLED!" stamps itself at number seven, "Actually Romantic" irritates at number eight (more on this song in the new entries but safe to say it being this high is infuriating), "Wi$h Li$t" cashes in at number nine and "Eldest Daughter" at number ten. 

Taylor actually has the top twelve with "Ruin the Friendship' at eleven and "Honey" at number twelve. 

Gains

There are no gains to be spoken of this week, thanks Taylor.

Re-Entries

One return this week surrpisingly enough with Teddy Swims at forty five with "Bad Dreams" thanks to his performance at the NRL Grand Final giving this song a sales push.


Losers

Nearly everything that's not Taylor Swift lost in the double digits this apart from from one song that only lost two places so I am going to focus on that one song instead of killing my hands by going through the entire chart so that one song is "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean which slipped two to twenty nine...this song would have hit the top twenty this week if not for the Taylor Swift album bomb. Sigh, 

Drop outs

There were thirteen drop outs this week and most of these will return as the Taylor Swift album bomb dies off over the weeks ahead. 

Well, I don't expect "Nobody's Son" and "House Tour" both by Sabrina Carpenter to return but I'd like to see 'Folded" by Kehlani and "Lady Lady" by Olivia Dean come back, both are good songs.

'Jealous Type" by Doja Cat just continues to suffer from Doja's album and itself just having no traction whatsoever. 

We also lost long running hits like "Mystical Magical" by Benson Boone, "Eternity" by Alex Warren, "Messy" by Lola oung, "Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez, "What I Want" by Morgan Wallen and Tate McRae, "Sapphire" by Ed Sheeran (this song still weirds me out with that eyes exploding line) and "Yukon" by Justin Bieber,

Also gone is "Strategy" by Twice because I am surprised anyone remembers that song.

New Entries

So I am not left pulling my hair out by saying the same things about the Taylor Swift songs, I am only going to review rhe songs from the album that wind up being the best and the worst but I will give some general thoughts on 'The Life of A Showgirl" just quickly, fair to say as somebody who liked her last couple of studio albums spanning back to 2019's "Lover", this album left me feeling flat, disappointed and just tired, previous albums saw Taylor's songwriting mature and take on an understanding of why she is the way she is and she got out of her own way with the songwriting instead on "The Life of a Showgirl", Taylor cannot stop spewing immature, cloistered in her own shell garbage and including a song about her boyfriend's privates just adds to the cringe factor that makes returning to this album in any compacity impossible because the immaturity on display is not the kind that makes the album fun at all. 

Anyway let's dive into the new entries we will be discussing as we have already gone through where the Taylor Swift songs landed on the chart but we aren't starting with Taylor Swift because...

46. "Baby Steps" by Olivia Dean

There is a part of me glad we got this song from Olivia Dean this week so it wasn't all just Taylor Swift in the new entries because this song is one of my favourites from "The Art of Loving" where Olivia is taking the first slow "baby" steps out of a broken relationship and learning how to live independent of anyone else including a man and while I am not a huge fan of the stuttered chorus but I do love how 70s soul this sould with it's gentle guitar and piano. I dig this and if you haven't checked out Olivia's album you really should.

8. "CANCELLED!" by Taylor Swift

The rest from here is all Taylor Swift and I wanted to write about the two tracks I feel are symbolic of the problems with this album which are of coursr Taylor's own song writing to the complete mess that the production is thus proving conclusively that Jack Antonoff was never the problem because this album produced by Max Martin and Shellback and it's some of the limpest production to date where the build up on this song amounts to nothing all while Taylor is singing some of her most childish lyrics of her career about how she likes all her friends cancelled and cloaked in gucci and scandal. It's juvenile, immature and you cannot have any fun to this because of the limp ass production. Next!


7. "Actually Romantic" by Taylor Swift

Or perhaps I shouldn't have said "Next' because this is the song where Taylor spectacularly misses the point of  Charli XCX's "Sympathy is a Knife" and comes out looking absolutely insane. "Sympathy is a Knife" is about Charli's own insecurities and anxieties yet here's Taylor going "Ooh aren't you obsessed with me...well that's all a bit romantic to me really" like way to absolutely miss the point of the song you are pissed at, Taylor! Throw in the bland production from Max Martin and Shellback and this song is one of the worst on the worst album of Taylor Swift's illustrious career.

1. "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift

So this is the best song on "The Life of a Showgirl" and it's honestly by some margin to me because this is where Taylor actually does show her song writing chops when she's writing about her own issues but rather other people whose lives aren't interconnected with hers and she isn't eating her own tail, this time exploring Ophelia, a tragic figure from Shakespeare's Hamlet and how she lost her agency and pledging herself to an honest and loyal soul mate, its a bit of a twee track but on the trainwreck that is "The Life of a Showgirl", it's one of the better songs...go figure.

However best of tthe week goes to "Baby Steps" by Olivia Dean, as for the worst...ughh...honestly,. "Actually Romantic" by Taylor Swift gets it because it beyond missed the point. 

Friday, 10 October 2025

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: October 6th

 So I am going to enjoy this week as much as I can because yeah...next week is the Taylor Swift album bomb and it's not going to be pretty at all (nor are my thoughts on that particular album but that can wait) and it none the less will cut a swathe through the top ten next week however we do have this week's top ten to dive into first so let's do that, shall we?

For yet another week "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters remains at number one probably for it's final week as it lost ground on sales and streaming, it will obviously get wiped from number one next week but it's still decently strong.

It held up over "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean at number two which seems the most likely to take number one post Taylor Swift album bomb. The rest of the top five held steady as well with "Ordinary' by Alex Warren at number three, "No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinashe at number four and "Soda Pop" from K-Pop Demon Hunters at number five.

New entry at number six wth "Tit For Tat" by Tate McRae, now we'll talk about this song's quality later but it's here thanks to some terrific streaming through the week, I am not sure this is going to stick around so high though however it did push "12 to 12" by Sombr back one to seven, "Your Idol" from K-Pop Demon Hunters down one to nunmber eight and "Back to Friends" by Sombr to number nine.

Completing the top ten rising six places to number ten off the back of a boost thanks to the release of the album is "Nice to Each Other" by Olivia Dean...we have more Olivia Dean to talk about later.

Gains

As far as gains go outside the top ten, we did see a huge fifteen place come for "Where is My Husband?" by RAYE to sxteen this week. This song has hit written all over it but other than that no other major gains. 

Losers.

It was a rough week for Sabrina Carpenter with "House Tour" down sixteen to forty six while "Tears" is proving to be something of a disappointment as it slipped nine to twenty one. 

"Sapphire" by Ed Sheeran slumped nine to forty eight.


Drop Outs.

Three drop outs this week with Chappell Roan seeing the exits of both "Good Luck Babe!" and "The Subway" while Sabrina Carpenter's "Go Go Juice' also took it's exit.


New Entries

Three new entries this week. 

41. "Lady Lady" by Olivia Dean

I guess I didn't realize that Olivia Dean had gotten this big, she has four songs on the chart right now including two new songs from her new album "The Art of Loving" and Olivia has been a breath of fresh air on the charts in 2025. This song being the first of two new Olivia Dean songs on the chart and well...this is probably the weaker of the two songs, it's still damn good...it's just the instrument feels kind of oily and the lyrics play to Olivia getting used to changes in her life. It's fine but when the next song exists, it's definitely a weaker cut from the album.

27. "So Easy (To Fall In Love)" by Olivia Dean

Now this is more like it! A smoother jazzy cut where Olivia Dean muses on how easy it is to fall in love and be attracted to somebody and how happy she'd be walking with a man she loves through Central Park, it's a blissful. cozy song that makes me want to curl up by a warm fire with this on repeat. This will play well for Valentines Day and even over the Christmas period. Gorgeous song, check it out!

6. "Tit for Tat" by Tate McRae

I don't think it's any secret that I am not a fan of Tate McRae, her voice generally does nothing for me at all and I still have a pretty big intolerance for "You Broke Me First" but I was curious about this song as I am about most songs that debut in the top ten as top ten debuts have been rare this year and well...this isn't as bad as McRae's previous hits mostly because of that cool, watery production that better supports Tate's voice, it sounds nice even though Tate is telling a guy she is done with him after seeing the way he behaved but she doesn't really go into a lot of detail other than hinting at cheating which makes the song lose some of its pathos for me. Decent song.

No worst of the week again this week because I actually don't mind all three of them however the best of thr week is easy with "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean.


Next week...we have to deal with Taylor Swift and The Life of a Showgirl album bomb...it's about to get very messy. 


Thursday, 2 October 2025

All 4 1994: 2nd October Always Lay Your Fantastic Voyage On Me

 We have one hell of a fascinating  week at hand here mostly because the top spot isn't one percent certain for next week but anyway lets get to the top ten where "Confide in Me" by Kylie Minogue spent a third week at number one...again, it's future at number one is looking shaky as it lost its sales margin. 

Right behind it, up four places to number two is "Endless Love" by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey, this song has a head of steam going and looks set to make a play for the top spot next week. The same could be true of "7 Seconds" by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry up one spot to number three while "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet got something of a second wind up one to number four. 

All-4-One slumped two places to number five with "I Swear" as it begins its graceful descent while "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men climbed one spot to number six.

"Swamp Thing" by The Grid had the biggest fall inside the top ten down four places to number seven while "Stay (I Missed You)" by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories  remained at number eight. 

Returning to the top ten is "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Elton John rising three places to number nine..YAY! 

Finally "Rockin' For Myself" by Motiv 8 feat. Angie Brown slipped back one spot to number ten. 


Losers

Some long term songs that have stuck around longer than you might expect are finally getting the death rattle with "Hey D.J" by Lighter Shade of Brown down fifteen to fifty this week and "Don't Turn Around" by Ace of Base down eleven spots to forty nine. 

Similar case for "Letitgo" by Prince which tumbled eleven to forty eight and "Shine' by Collective  Soul which skidded from twenty seven all the way down to forty (it does have a year end spot wrapped up though)

Francis Dunnery's "American Life In the Summertime" slipped seven to thirty two while "Hands Out of My Pocket" by Cold Chisel is seeing it's hands sliding back into a pocket as it slumped eight places to twenty one. 


Gains

Some decent sized gains this week, let's start with the unchained seven place movement to number thirteen for "Chains" by Tina Arena, this song is potentially heading for a stint in the top ten which I wouldn't nind. 

However I do mind that "Gimme" by Boom Crash Opera got a huge boost up from forty two to twenty nine...why? 

At least Babyface's "When I Can See You" got a good ten place boost to thirty nine. 




New Entries

Six new entries this week beginning with....

46. "Lay Your Love on Me" by Roachford

So Roachford is back wtth yet another single straight out of his own somewhat acoustic r'n'b and you know what? I might like this song even more than "Only to Be With You"! This song seems to have this nervy tension about it with Roachford urging this girl to lay all her love on him especially as it's hit a point in their relationship where the talking isn't enough anymore and he wants something more from the relationship only she isn't sure. The only issue I have is were the handclaps really necessary? Otherwise great song!. 

45. "Fantastic Voyage" by Coolio

Third single from Coolio with thhis one sampling 1980s "Fantastic Voyage" by Lakeside and yeah, this groove goes off! I love it however that sumptuous groove and melody belies tbat this song is actually about the dream of escaping urban black poverty and dreaming of a place where his kids can play without the fear of a drive by shooting. All up it's actually a pretty sad song but yeah, I think this one is worth a listen, check it out. 

43. "Red Light Avenue" by James Reyne

The lead single from James Reyne's album "The Whiff of Bedlam" and another pretty damn good song this week although I will say this ballad is a strange choice of lead single as this song's content is dark, this is about somebody doing anything they can to make ends eg: selling out be it through prostitution, drugs or even a child selling candy...yeah this is a sad one but ultimately  I think it's one of James Reyne's best, check it out. 

42. "No Matter What You Do" by Olivia Newton-John

Ahh the return of Olivia Newton-John to the charts with this pretty standard "I love you and will stand by you no matter what you do" track because that's just pretty much what this sosng is and that weirdly trying to be hip for 1994 production is doing nothing for me whatsoever. Pass. 

26. "Tomorrow" by Silverchair

Now we have a debut from three Newcastle teenagers courtesy of this song from the EP also titled "Tomorrow" and well...this is as grungey as anything you'll hear out of Seattle from Soundgarden or Nirvana especially wirh the vocals from Silverchair's frontman Daniel Johns but those guitars just help drive the song home, as for the content, it appears to be a conversation between a very wealthy man and a man who is doing it tough, Damn good song but I think it's going to have a fight to be the best of the week. 

16. "Always" by Bon Jovi

Ending this week with more rock, this time from American band Bon Jovi except this is more of a piano ballad with some of the most dramatic and ridiculous language I have ever heard from this band. "This Romeo was bleeding but you can't see his blood"...what the hell is that even supposed to mean? That's all before we get to the hook where Jon Bon Jovi shrieks in the most nasal tone possible "Annndddd IIIII WILL LOVE YOU BAYBEEE FOR ALLLLWAAAYS", talk about clingy and over dramatic! 

That ends the week on a bit of a sour note but yes "Always" by Bon Jovi is getting worst of the week. Best however is tougher because wow, four of the six are damn great songs, I am going to give it to "Red Light Avenue" by James Reyne...just ahead of Silverchair and Coolio


Monday, 29 September 2025

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: 29th September

So very little changed this week that I almost wondered whether it was worth doing this episode but turns out we got two pretty good brand new entries so I guess that makes this worth doing but let's get through this top ten quickly because there really isn't a lot to say. 

"Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters remains at number one for yet another week as it as strength on sales, Youtube and even still some strength on streamng although that has ebbed a little bit courtesy of "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean at number two which with the album release on Friday could make a strong play for the number one spot. 

These top two don't look like being knocked off at this point right now, there's a healthy gap back to "Ordinary" by Alex Warren which held steady at number three, it was a similar case for "No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinashe at number four, "Soda Pop" from K-Pop Demon Hunters at number five and "12 to 12" by sombr at number six. 

Then we get to the little bit of movement in the top ten with "You Idol" from K-Pop Demon Hunters up one to number seven, it pushed back "Back to Friends" by sombr to number eight. 

:How It's Done" from K-Pop Demon Hunter jumped three places to numnber nine while "Daisies" by Justin Bieber remained at number ten for another week (go figure, it's one of the better songs in the top ten). 


Losers 

Not too much in the way of losers this week although we did see a twelve place slide for album cut "Go Go Juice" by Sabrina Carpenter to forty eight and a seven place dip for "Jealous Type" by Doja Cat to forty seven (this should get something of a rebound next week thanks to the album dropping on Friday)

"House Tour" by Sabrina Carpenter slipped seven to thirty. 


Gains

The biggest gain of the week belonged to "Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez which got an eight place rebound to forty one but that's the one major gain this week.

Re-Entries

Three re-entries this week with "Good Luck, Babe!" back at forty two and "The Subvway" at fifty both for Chappell Roan.

While "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter returned at forty eight.

Drop Outs

Five drop outs this week headlined by "The Door" by Teddy Swims taking its exit to the on replay singles chart. 

Also gone is "The Dead Dance" by Lady Gaga and three Sabrina Carpenter album cuts with "My Man on Willpower", "Sugar Talking" and "Goodbye"/


New Entries

Two new entries this week, starting with...

45. "Folded" by Kehlani

About time this turned up on the Australian charts,  this song is becoming a sleeper hit in the US and I got to be honest, I am glad it is because I think this is Kehlani's best song to date with swell of the multi tracked vocals doing a masterful job with the gentle guitar touches and Kehlani actually sounding fantastic  The content of this song is pretty much Kehlani telling this guy that she has his clothes folded and they are ready for him to come over and collect if he is ready but there's this undercurrent of sexual tension that serves this song well...I dig it either way...good song.

31. "Where Is My Husband?" by RAYE

So I am going to bust out some disappointment that "Suzanne" with Mark Ronson wasn't the hit it should have been earlier this year, come on folks, that song is great and deserved all the acclaim...ugh...moving on because we have Raye's new single here and man, I have never seen a song that feels like it's equipped to be absolutely huge as the year winds down especially with that monster hook and how the song feels like a throwback to the soul of the 60s just given a new lick of paint from Raye to make it fresh and modern, it's a fascinating song even with her singing verses quick in parts that I am not always convinced works but when the song is this infectious,,,who cares.


Raye is getting best of the week for "Where is My Husband?"/ No worst of the week because I don't think "Folded' by Kehlani deserves that, that song is good too!



Saturday, 20 September 2025

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 22nd September

 A slow week on the chart with no new entries this week and for as much as ARIA brought in these changes I do have to wonder how much these changes have fixed anything. No new entries and the very top of the charts haven't changed so let's get stuck into the top ten where for yet another week "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters remained at number one but streaming is starting to slip so a lot is on that sales margin. 

Remaining at number two is "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean which took the lead on Spotify streaming through the week but does need to start closing that sales margin. Also holding steady at number three is "Ordinary" by Alex Warren and "No Broke Boys" by Disco Linea and Tinashe at number four. 

Also sready this week is"Soda Pop" from K-Pop Demon Hunters, there's questions around the use of AI around the writing of this song which is pretty disappointing to say the least.

Rising seven places to number six is "12 to 12" by Sombr...so glad the public have realized that this song is absolutely fantastic, hope it goes higher. Sombr also saw "Back to Friends" rebounded four places to number seven. 

"Your Idol' from K-Pop Demon Hunters slipped one spot to number eight while "Tears" by Sabrina Carpenter slumped three places to number nine (this song definitely will fall faster than a lot of people expect).

Dropping two places to number ten is "Daisies" by Justin Bieber which is on the down swing.


Gains

So outside of the gains for Sombr in the top ten, we saw a six place gain to twenty for "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae while "The Door" rebounded eight spots to thirty for Teddy Swims while "Gabriela" by Katseye got a nine place boost to thirty one.

"Sapphire" by Ed Sheeran rode a twelve place album boost to thirty four for Ed Sheeran and that was about it for our big gains this week. 

Re-Entries

Three retirrns this week, just a shame that none of them are precisely good, "Mystical Magical" by Benson Boone is back at fifty, "What I Want" by Morgan Wallen and Tate McRae at forty eight and "Sports Car" by Tate McRae returned at twenty seven. 


Losers

Most of the big losers are Sabrina Carpenter "Man's Best Friend" cuts so lets start with "Sugar Talking" which fell eleven to forty five, "My Man On Will Power" lost all it's will power this week tumbling seventeen spota to forty four, "Goodbye" waved down eight spots to thirty nine and "Go Gio Juice" lost it's mojo down twelve to thirty six,


Drop Outs

So we lost "The Subway" by Chappell Roan which I think is a fucking travesty for the charts in a lot of ways.

Also gone are two Sabrina Carpenter album tracks, those being "Never Getting Laid Again" and "We Almost Broke Up Again Last night".


And with there being no new entries this week that will wrap things up, lets hope we get some new songs injected into chart.



Thursday, 18 September 2025

All 4 1994. 18th September Black Book of Endless Love Chains Selling Drama Out of My Pocket

 Well, things just got interesting...it's been a duopoly at the rop for the past couple of weeks and now that duopoly is out on its ear because we do have a new number one, rising a massive thirty places to hit the top spot...it's "Confide In Me" by Kylie Minogue at number one and it got there on those massive sales numbers in a surge so big that previous number one "I Swear" by All-4-One was never going to match as it slipped back to number two. 

The same happened for "Love is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet at number three and "Swamp Thing" by The Grid at number four. 

"7 Seconds" by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry remained at number five and "Stay (I Missed You)" by Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories followed suit at number six. 

The big victim in all of this is "100% Pure Love" by Crystal Waters which slumped three places to number seven while "Rhythm of the Night" by Corona climbed two spots to number eight. 

Finally we have two new entries to wrap up the top ten for this week with "Hands Out of My Pocket" by Cold Chisel entering at number nine as our biggest debut of thr week while Luther Vandross has teamed up with Mariah Carey for "Endless Love" which enters the chart at number ten. We'll talk about both songs later.

Losers

Stone Temple Pilots are on the precipice of slipping out of the top fifty this week with "Vasoline" sliding from thirty seven to fifty. 

Green Day's "Long View" fell ten to forty eight (this song really just hasn't gotten going at all). Kulcha's "Don't Be Shy" slumped seven spots to forty seven while "The Ballad of Oz" by Daddy Cool tumbled eleven slots to forty six. 

"Wild Night" isn't going to last much longer for John Mellencamp and Me'shell N'degeocello as it folded fifteen spots to hit forty five. It was also a rough week for "That's The Thing About Football" by Greg Champion as it fell eleven to hit forty four (then again I don't expect this song to stick around).

The hardest fall of the week belonged to Des'ree as "You Gotta Be" utterly fell into a hole down from twenty six to forty two. Roachford was hit with a ten place fall to thirty nine for "Only to Be With You".

Ten place slide for "Absolutely Fabulous" by Absolutely Fabulous as it hit twenty nine while "I Like to Move It" by Reel 2 Real Stuntman probably hated to move it down nine to twenty three. 

We did have three songs fall out of the top ten with "Baby, I Love Your Way" by Big Mountain falling five spots to number twelve, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Elton John slumping from nine to thirteen and " Son of a Gun" by JX crumbled eight spots to fourteen. 

Gains

We had some decent sized gains this week starting with the huge boost for "I Like the Nightlife (Disco Round)" by Alicia Bridges which boogied all the way up from it's debut of forty one up to twenty thanks to the impact of "Priscilla: Queen of the Desetrt"

Another noted boost off the debut was for Jaki Graham's great cover of "Ain't Nobody" wbich got a well deserved bump up from forty three to twenty eight while "Dreams" by The Cranberries also had a decent boost off it's debut as it climbed from fotty two to thirty six.

"Wild Flowers" by Things of Stone and Wood jumped from from forty nine to forty one.

Sadly not all the last week debuts having gains this week are good with "My Enemy" by Culture Shock getting a seven place gain to forty three,


 New Entries.

Six new entries this week, let's get the show rolling with...

49. "Selling the Drama" by Live

We're leading off with Live's lead single from "Throwing Copper" and my god this song is way too on the nose for it to be a 1994 song with lyrics ained at how political and religious leaders try to control the public and yeah, I get it especially if we're looking at the political scene in Australia and around the world. I guess my criticism would come in on the production where sometimes the vocals can get a bit smothered by the guitar riffs etc but still damn good song.

35. "One Night A Day" by Garth Brooks

Like, I said last time when "Stnading Outside the Fire" charted, it's impossible to get a decent quality version of a Garth Brooks song and this one is no different so unfortunately I am not able to review this particular song. 

30. "Black Book" by E.Y.C

So lets go another round with E.Y.C and I guess this is fine if you can ignore how lethargic the production and instrumentation is forcing you to pay attention to the lyrics which are just...wow...toxic much" You tell this girl she can open up to you and tell you whats going because she can trust you then on the hook say "Well girl, I'm taking you out of my black book". Toxic and manipulative garbage..,next!

21. "Chains" by Tina Arena

So the next two songs are ballads and we begin with the lead single from "Don't Ask" and my god, we have a powerhouse of a love song here that just builds and builds into that crescendo at the end. Tina sells the pure joy of being in love with this guy and  being spellbound by being in chains or in love with the incredible backing harmonies that join in on the verses and choruses plus the instrumentation is just perfect here. Phenomenal song.

10. "Endless Love" by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey

Genuine question here: Who was asking for this cover of Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross's sappy 1981 ballad? Mariah's got a good song on the charts right now so this cover feels a little unnecessary but I will give Luther Vandross this, he can sell this even if he is going to get outsung by Mariah Carey...I wish they'd learnt how to harmonise properly on this. At the end of the day, it's just two people declaring their endless love for each other, nothing more nothing less, now can we move on from the sappy please?


9. "Hand Out of My Pocket" by Cold Chisel

Oh here we go...this is more like it, time for some Cold Chisel even if this song doesn't sound like a typical Cold Chisel rocker and  Barnesy isn't screaming his lungs out. It's claimed by Australian music historian Glenn A. Baker that the song was inspired by a horrible incident on Christmas Day where a ousin of Jimmy Barnes who is Hare Krishna decided to hold a self immolation rite in a bathtub...yowsers. Either way while this is good, this really does sound like the band are indifferent to the song, there's not quite the same energy that typically gets Chisel going. That's all I'll say,

As a result, best and worst of the week fall out quite easily. Worst is going to "Black Book" by E.Y.C and best of the week to "Chains" by Tina Arena

Monday, 15 September 2025

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review. 15th September. The Sabrina Fallout of Dead Dance

 A much more muted week than I'd expected even the recedation of the Sabrina Carpenter album bomb to be slower than normal for most album bombs but also the mere fact Spotify charts were down for a large chunk of the week which meant that we were spared any impact from Justin Bieber's "Swag II" but anyway enough horsing around, lets jump into the top ten where for yet another week "Golden" from K-:Pop Demon Hunters remains at number one much to my frustration, this song has only gotten actively worse over the last couple of weeks especially with that god awful shrill hook.

However we do have an emerging contender to possibly take over the number one spot, it's "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean which climbed four spots to number two thanks gains on streaming and sales. 

It pushed past former number one "Ordinary" by Alex Warren which fell back one place to number three. "No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinash held steady at number four while the same is true of "Soda Pop" from K-Pop Demon Hunters at number five.

Sabrina Carpenter's "Tears" fell back three spots to number six after it's debut last week. Kind of curious to see how this song holds up in  the weeks ahead.

"Your Idol" from K-Pop Demon Hunters climbed one spot to number seven whole "Daisies" by Justin Bieber returned to the top ten climbing three places to number eight.

The last two spots in the top ten are songs from K-Pop Demon Hunters holding their places in the top ten with "How it's Done" at nnumber nine and "what It Sounds Like" at number ten. 


Losers

Alright let's blow thtough the songs from the Sabrina Carpenter album bomb that lost big this week as they really were the only songs to lose big  "Manchild" dropped five spots to number twelve, "My Man On Will Power" by Sabrina Carpenter slipped twelve spots to twenty seven, "Goodbye" collapsed five spots to number thirty one, "Sugar Talking" lost fourteen spots to thirty four, "Never Getting Laid" slumped thirteen to forty one and thankfully the biggest loss of the week belonged to "We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night" which utterly went into a twenty place frree fall to number forty seven. 

Aside from that the continued heart breaking losses for "The Subway" by Chappell Roan this week down another six places to forty four.


Gains

So in a way the chart did reset a bit but I am not overall happy with a few of these gains especially for "Gabriela" by Katseye whicb climbed seven places to forty. Teddy Swims celebrated the news he will headline the NRL's Grand Final pre game entertainment by "The Door" rising seven spots to thirty eight. 

What did surprise me is the twelve place rebound for "Die With a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars to twenty eight, might have to do with the new entry that we will get to but still. pretty weird to me. 

"Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae climbed seven spots to twenty six while "Nice to Each Other" by Olivia Dean jumped nine to twenty one. 

Re-Entries

Just one return this week with"Messy" by Lola Young back at forty nine.


Drop Outs

Only two songs left this week with "What I Want" by Morgan Wallen and Tate McRae gone and likely locked on the year end list unfortunately.

The other to go is "Don't Worry, I'll Make You Worry" by Sabrina Carpenter. 


New Entries

Just one new entry this week so lets dive into...

50. "The Dead Dance" by Lady Gaga

The only new entry comes from the soundtrack of the season 2 Netflix show "Wednesday" and if there was somebody who could pull off a somewhat scary song for a show based off the Addams family than it is going to be Lady Gaga, right? Well, yes and no, this song has some seriously tight grooves and is a bunch of fun to dance to but it doesn't quite pull off the spooky aspect as well as it could  so much so it comes across as more campy and maybe too close to the sound that pervaded Gaga's last album "Mayhem". Overall, I don't hate it but I do get the feeling it should be better. 

Thursday, 11 September 2025

All 4 1994. 11th September. My Wild Flowers Dreams Confide In Me: I Love Football and Nightlife

A busy as hell week here and I have to say, things look like they may be headed for a bit of a shake up as we got the return of Kylie Minogue to deal with but she isn't a player in our top ten so let's get to that where for another week "I Swear" by All-4-One ruled the roost but the question is for how much longer. 

"Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet continues to be a like a pimple on a backside remaining at number two, can people please just be done with this gooey nonsense clogging the charts?

"Swamp Thing" by The Grid climbed one spot to number three, it ultimately pushed back "100% Pure Love" bv Crystal Waters back to nunber four

"7 Seconds" by Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry moved up two spots to number five which was nice to see while "Stay (I Missed You)" by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories lived up to it's name and remained at number six and "Baby, I Love Your Way" by Big Mountain slumped two spots to number seven.

Rest of our top ten are gains with "Son of a Gun" by JX u[ one to number eight, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" by Elton John up one to number nine and finally "Rhythm of the Night" by Corona climbed one to number ten.

Losers

"Snake Skinned Shoes" by The Black Sorrows as done well to stick around for as long as it has but it's down sevcn place to forty seven and appears to be headed on it's way out likewise for "Alone Like Me" by The Sharp which collapsed ten spots to number forty four.

"Don't Turn Around" by Ace of Base suffered a six place fall down to twenty seven while "Hey D.J" by Lighter Shade of Brown is shouting for the D.J a little less loudly as it slipped eight to twenty four.


Gains

Not much in the way of gains this week with "Regulate" by Warren G and Nate Dogg up eleven spots to twenty but other than that...pretty quiet, most movement stymied by the new entries this week so let's get to that, shall we?


New Entries

A whopping seven new entries this week, let's begin with...


50. "My Enemy" by Culture Shock

Starting off with a weekly dose of Eurodance and its already a bad sign when I am greeted what sounds like a casio keyboard playing a painfully gerneric melody along with vocals that are absolutely buried in the mix and sounds terrible. I won't be revisiting this song anytime soon. Can we do better please?


49. "Wild Flowers" by Things of Stone and Wood

Well this is better.. a piano led song from Things of Stone and Wood that's actually pleasant with the drums really doing a lot of heavy work with the song's content appearing to be a running commentary on how we as humans always seem doomed to repeat past mistakes and the rise of racism with the line that hits asnd resonates the hardest being "Why do Nazis seem to grow like wild flowers?", a troubling question in 1994 and probably even more timely in 2025! Good song all up. 


43. "Ain't Nobody" by Jaki Graham

Now for our regularly scheduled cover of the week, this time this cover is of Rufus and Chaka 1983 song "Ain't Nobody" which went on to become something of a medium hit in the US on the Billboard Hot 100 but didn't cross over to Australia so now we've got a version released by British singer/songwriter Jaki Graham hittinng the charts and I will say I like this a fair bit more because Graham has some real distinctive power and presence on the microphone, she sounds phenomenal here and I love how fresh it sounds, the original does hasn't aged as well as some might hope it as especially sound wise. I'll take this though!

42. "Dreams" by The Cranberries

So The Cranberries are an Irish rock act that apparently released this song in late 1992 and went on to appear on the band's debut album "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We" and yeah, this song is legitimately great, I love how distinctive in sound to the point the melody washes over you and then there's frontwoman Dolores O'Riordan who vocally just makes her presence on the mic known, she sounds so good here and given the song is about her first love back in Ireland it makes sense that she sounds lovestruck and to a point giddy. Yeah, check this out!

41. "I Love the Nightlife (Disco Round)" by Alicia Bridges

Well here we go, this is here because of the movie "The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert", this song originally was a decent sized hit in 1979 saw the song reach number nine on the Kent Music Report chart and reach number forty six on the year end chart for the same year now it's being re released in line with the release of "The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert"...I got to say it's a song that's very much of it's time and does feel out of place on a chart that's smothered in euro-dance, pop and grunge rock with hints of r'n'b and hip hop given this is a disco song and Alicia Bridges does have a terrific voice even if she sounds way too casual about loving the nightlife and wanting to boogie, it's good fun but I don't see this disco revival lasting.

33. "That's The Thing About Football" by Greg Champion

Oh this is timely especially with the AFL finals underway, Greg Champion is from ABC's Coodabeen Champions and is also a songwriter and guitarist, he co wrote this song with Mike Brady (the man behind "Up There Cazaly") and Paul Kelly...now that's some serious pedigree of Australian music talent there so what about the song? Well it's definitely written to be an anthem for going to the footy and it does have one killer hook even if it takes a bit to get there. It's definitely a novelty track but one that I can respect the hell out of. Nice.

31. "Confide In Me" by Kylie Minogue

And the biggest new song of the week is the lead single from Kylie Minogue's fifth studio album and I have to say this is a pretty daring choice of lead single mostly because this is a move away from the clean cut pop sound from the Stock Aitken and Waterman era and into something darker and dare I say edgier thanks to her signing with dance label Deconstruction records , there's elements of eastern music, indie music and even trip hop and Kylie's vocals on this are just...wow...she sounds absolutely incredible on the hook

That vocal delivery from Minogue makes sense for the content of the song to where she seduces and tries to manipulate people to confude in her, she can manipulate a situation between her and another person and that she holds the power. Yeah, this song is one of Kylie's best. Check this out,

However it's not the best of the week, that's going to "Dreams" by The Cranberries...it was a close run thing. 

However worst falls out easily...that's going to Culture Shock for whatever the hell "My Enemy" is.


Saturday, 6 September 2025

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review. 8th September

 What do you get when you combine ARIA's brand new rules and a Sabrina Carpenter album bomb? The short answer is an absolute mess and one that doesn't actually answer as to whether ARIA's changes have worked and I suspect we're not going to find out next week because Justin Bieber decided to drop a whole second album/deluxe edition of "SWAG" that will inevitably mean further album bomb chaos on the chart next week. Ugh.

However we'll get to Justin Bieber next week, we've still got the matter of this week's chart to get through so let's get to our top ten where for yet another week, "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters continues to rule the roost at number one and it is a dominant number one across the board here, nothing is touching this song right now.

Former number one "Ordinary" by Alex Warren remains at number two as a result but it's not matching the dominance of "Golden" and really is starting to look a weak number two at this point.

We hit our first sign of the Sabrina Carpenter album bomb at number three with "Tears" arrival, now I don't think this song has the streaming traction it needs to challenge "Golden",  I will have more to say about this song later.

It did push "No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tiaashe back one spot to number four as while it has streaming on board, it's just not getting anywhere near the traction in other channels, the same applies for "Soda Pop" from K-Pop Demon Hunters as it slipped one to number five, 

Rising six places to number six and one of the biggest gainers of the week is "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean, I am happy about this one, glad to see the better song becoming a hit. 

The biggest gainer of the week though is "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter which climbed thirteen places to number seven off the back of the album dropping...wish the song was better. 

The rest of the top ten are all from K-Pop Demon Hunters with "Your Idol" down three to eight, "How It's Done" down two to nine and "What It Sounds Like" slipping two spots to number ten. 


Gains

So apart from "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter rising thirteen to return to the top ten and "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean up six to number six, there was not a lot in the way of gains thanks to the Sabrina Carpenter album bomb.

Re-Entries

So we did get one return this week with "Gabriela" by Katseye back at number forty seven. 


Losers

Given most of the chart lost hard this week, I am going to limit this to double digit losses this week. We begin with "Die With a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars which slumped thirteen to forty while former number one hit "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish slipped ten spots to thirty nine.

What worries me is the sevcenteen place collapse to thirty seven of "The Subway" by Chappell Roan..now I know it's triggered by the Sabrina Carpenter album bomb but this song has been going in the wrong direction for weeks now, we need to correct that, Australia...and urgently.

At least "Yukon" by Justin Bieber slumped sixteen to thirty four and "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone got slapped down twelve to twenty nine. 


Drop Outs

So given "Man's Best Friend" by Sabrina Carpenter entered the chart in its entirety. we have a sizeable list of drop outs and with the new rules in mind, I am going to start with the songs that dropped out and could return next week, let's begin with Alex Warren with both "Bloodline" feat Jelly Roll and "Carry You Home"  making their exits alongside "Mystical Magical" by Benson Boone and "Azizam" by Ed Sheeran.

Taking their exits and definitely won't be back though and we got major ones here in namely "Lose Control" by Teddy Swims and "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan, they are gone from the top 50 and are now on the new "On Replay" chart.

Joining both those songs on the new replay singles chart are the songs that I have been touting would like "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls, "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, "Something in the Orange" by Zach Bryan, "All The Stars" by Kendrick Lamar & SZA, "Breakin' Dishes" by Rihanna and finally..."Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House. 


New Entries

We have a lot of Sabrina Carpenter to talk about so I will endeavour to keep this pretty short overall so not making the top twenty and are neither best or worst of the week..."Don't Worry I'll Make You Worry" at number thihrty two (this song was close to worst of the week), "Never Getting Laid" at number twenty eight, "We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night" at twenty seven, "Goodbye" at number twenty six, "House Tour" at twenty three and "Go Go Juice" at twenty one.

That still leaves us with a meaty chunk of "Man's Best Friend to talk about so let's dive in and get started with...

20. "Sugar Talking" by Sabrina Carpenter

So expect to hear me talk a lot about innuendo but here it's Sabrina getting fed up with men not speaking her love language to her and still trying to slide into her bed through charisma and look, I get it, I hate having guys get in my face and want love when it's not earned or I don't feel the same way about them but I don't know the instrumental just does nothing for me at all here, it just feels so downtuned and doesn't do much. Not bad but not good either...something I expect to be saying a lot lately. 

19. "Nobody's Son" by Sabrina Carpenter

So this song has caused a lot of anger with critics naming this as the worst song on "Man's Best Friend" so let's see if a pair of fresh ears can find something out of the song that's...uhhh, no...I cannot...this song is one of the worst songs I've ever heard from Sabrina Carpenter, it's actually as toxic as anything I heard put across on that godawful Jessie Murph album from earlier this year yet Sabrina Carpenter sells mens mental health and guy who needs space away from his girlfriend as him "crying in bed" with a chrous that sounds straight from a British comedy sitcom with instrumentation playing off very real toxicity in a relationship like its fucking camp...no...just no. Sabrina, you are better than this. 

15. "My Man on Willpower" by Sabrina Carpenter

So this is the song from the album that I mostly dislike because of how muddy and one note the production feels here all while Sabrina complains about this guy in her life having found some self control and disicipline to not go to water every time she wears "slutty pyjamas and that he isn't fawning over her anymore. Look, maybe it's part of the wider joke on the album but maybe dude has had enough of the toxicity and is just ready to move on because yeah, given how painfully dull this song is...I don't blame him

13. "When Did You Get Hot?" by Sabrina Carpenter

So this is one of the songs that goes vaguely close to working where Sabrina goes to a convention with her friends and meets up with a guy she's known for awhile and she realizes that this guy is actually now good looking instead of what he used to be. I think it's nice that a lot of the toxic dynamics that appeared in a few of the songs we discussed previously don't appear here and the line about naked twister back at his place was genuinely funny. Cool song.

3. "Tears" by Sabrina Carpenter. 

Now we finish the week off with a glossy retro disco song from Sabrina Carpenter where she admits to being horny by a guy doing the most basic of house duties to the point 'tears' run down her thigh. I do think its funny but I also wonder how the hell this song is getting radio airplay considering kids are going to ask how on earth tears can fall down thighs. It is the correct choice of single from "Man's Best Friend"

That was the week and yeah, "Tears" gets best of the week here, really didn't have that much competition. Worst is going to "Nobody's Son" even though "My Man on Willpower" is eye roll worthy. 




Thursday, 4 September 2025

All 4 1994: 4th September. You Mean Standing Outside the World, Enough is Enough

Alright, no mucking around, let's drive straight into things with the top ten this week because the top three didn't change at all, mostly down to margins being too big to close so "I Swear" by All-4-One at number one, "Love is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet at number two and "100% Pure Love" by Crystal Waters at number three.

"Swamp Thing" by The Grid climbed one spot to number four, its got decent momentum, it's just a question if that momentum can get bigger to catch the top three but for now, it was big enough to push past Big Mountain's "Baby, I Love Your Way" by Big Mountain down one to number five.

Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories are starting to push for a spit in the top fove as "Stay (I Missed You)" climbed one to number six while "7 Seconds" by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry moved up three to number seven.

Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" remains in the number eight hole this week while "Son of a Gun" by JX slipped three places to number nine.

In the best and possibly best news on the charts for 1994, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Elton John got a six place boost to join the top ten at number ten! So so happy to see it here. Let's hope it can rise higher in the weeks ahead. 


Losers

Not really that much in terms of big losers this week although we did see Kulcha's "Don't Be Shy" slide from twenty seven to thirty eight and former number one "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies slip ten to thirty.

"Only to Be With You" by Roachford slumped from twenty one to twenry nine...bit of a shame this song is on the downswing, it's not bad. 

Gains

Ir's on the gains front that things are interesting because rhere was an eleven place gain for Joshua Kadison's "Jessie" to number seventeen while "Rockin' For Myself" by Motiv 8 feat. Angie Brown rocketed with bullet points from forty one to eighteen,

Up seven splots to thirty is "American Life in the Summertime" by Francis Dunnery while "Regulate" by Warren G & Nate Dogg climbed nine to thirty one. 

Most annoyingly "Afternoons and Coffeespoons" by Crash Test Dummies climbed six places to forty two. 

New Entries

49. "You Mean the World To Me" by Toni Braxton

Surprised we didn't get an immediate follow up single to "Breathe Again" (a song that is good but has become kind of forgettable) and I got to admit I was curious what we'd get going in and yeah, we got a pretty sweet love song combining both piano and guitar but allowing Toni Braxton's vocals to shine and shine they do, there's a passion in the vocals from Toni that really make the song believeable. I dig it. 


48. "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)" by Kym Mazelle & Jocelyn Brown

Ahh, it's been awhile since we dealt with a cover version on in one of these retro episodes but today we get to deal with Kym Mamzelle and Jocelyn Brown's take on the hit duet between Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer, the original hitting number 8 on the Kent Music Report charts in 1979,  

Now it starts out well enough, it starts out favouring soft but strong vocals then dives into this weird Eurodance/disco vibe that really doesn't work especially when in comparision the production helped both Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand but on this cover, it feels like both Kym Mamzelle and Jocelyn Brown are having to sing shout to be heard over the noisy production. 

I'll stick to the original...next!

47. Standing Outside the Fire" by Garth Brooks

So Garth Brooks on the charts and briefly stepping away from being in 1994 mode, I'm going to confess that I cannot find a decent enough version of the song to be able to review this properly. I may also have to do this with any future Garth Brooks songs that chart. Sorry.

43. "Alrabaiye (Take Me Up)" by Amadin feat. Swing

And we end the week with more eurodance because that's the way we want to finish with one of the more screechy and annoying songs I've heard in quite some time and when I say screechy I am talking about the vocals that get increasingly more annoying as the beat that never changes so yeah... this isn't good. Next!


That was our week and the best and worst fall out easily, for the first "Alrabbiaye (Take Me Up" by Amadin feat. Swing...obviously. Best of the week is going to "You Mean the World to Me" by Toni Braxton.