All 4 1994. 17th July: Can You Feel Black Hole Love? Don't Be Shy and Turn Around, I Swear.

 We have quite the busy week at hand here, numerous new entries along with some movement in our top ten as per usual howver the only thing that didn't change was our number one which is "Love is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet and honestly I don't see what's beating it right now as it has a comfortable lead on sales. 

It certainly won't be former number one "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by the Crash Test Dummies which remains at number two this week having not been able to bridge the margin to "Love Is All Around" and is probably a chance of sliding in the weeks ahead. 

This leaves things open for "100% Pure Love" by Crystal Waters which jumped a massive twelve spots to number three, it's not quite telling if it could threaten Wet Wet Wet's stranglehold on number one but it could very well climb to number two at least.

It did push "Stay" by Eternal down to number four this week as it's sales dipped and it's not quite as competitive as it once was. 

Big Mountain had a nine place gain to number five with their cover of "Baby, I Love Your Way"..I guess I am fine with this.

"I Like to Move It" by Reel 2 Reel feat. The Mad Stuntman remained locked in at number six thanks moderately steady sales.fourte

More Kulcha in our new entries but tbey saw "Shaka Jam" rise two number seven while Jam & Spoon's "Right in the Night" featuring Plavka slipped three to number eight, 

Our last and rather unfortunate arrival to our top ten up fourteen places to number nine is "The Winner Is..." by Southend feat. Nik Fish...why are we dignifying this shit?

The biggest loser in the top ten this week is East 17's "Around the World" down six to number ten this week. 

Losers

"Is It Love?" by Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance slipped fourteen places to fifty this week as its time on the charts looks to be sputtering out. Also on the way out is "Satisfy the Groove" by Culture Shock down nine spots to forty nine. 

Down ten to forty four is "Helping Hand" by The Scresming Jets who look like they could use a helping hand to stay in the top fifty

"I'll Remember"  by Madonna slipped eight to thirty eight while D:Ream's "Things Can Only Get Better"  slumped ten as it fell back to thirty six. 

Metallica's live version of "One" skidattled down from nineteen to thirty one. "Doop" by Doop slipped eight to thirty, Former chart topper "The Sign" by Ace of Base saw a sign and tripped eleven places to twenty nine. 

Gains

So outside of the major gains in our top ten, we saw "You Gotta Be" by Des'ree up from twenty seven to number twelve this week while "Anytime You Need A Friend" by Mariah Carey climbed six to number eighteen. 

Collective Soul jumped up hard off their debut at thirty eight last week to hit twenty six while Lighter Shade of Brown bounced up nine to twenty seven with "Hey DJ"

Re-Entries 

Two returns this week with "Only to Be With You" by Roachford at number forty and 'Flashdance...What a Feeling" by Bjorn Again at forty eight.

New Entries

Six new entries this week, beginning with...

47. "Love Is Strong" by The Rolling Stones

So we have got the lead single from the Stones album "Voodoo Lounge" and well, this is about what you would expect the Stones to sound like in the 90s and while I like the driving guitar melodies, there's something really kind of creepy about the vocal delivery here that makes my skin ctawl, it might work coming from Michael Hutchence or another frontman with more charisma but coming from the Rolling Stones, it's just weird on a love or lust at first sight song...yeah not a fan of this,,,next!

45. "Don't Turn Around" by Ace of Base

The follow up to "The Sign" which is a minor key cover of an 80s Tina Turner song and I have to be honest here, thos really does feel like a lesser cut than "The Sign", sure its got the same pop flourishes as "The Sign" but it's not gripping me in the way I think it wants me to given the hook feels really kind of weak. I don't know, I don't think it's a bad song but it's not one that I'll remember compared to "The Sign"

41. "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" by Elton John

So now we finally get this song on the charts, it's from the Lion King movie soundtrack and composed by Elton John with the lyrics written by Tim Rice and yeah, the result is a wonderful, magical masterclass in pop music, there's something about this song that makes you feel warm and fuzzy as Elton's voice just carries this song with just enough orchestral swell that it's a warmth that just lingers. I absolutely adore this song.

28. "I Swear" by All-4-One

This song was originally a country song penned for John Michael Montgomery in 1993 with American R'n'B group All-4-One covering it this year and here is the cover on the chart and I have to say almost immediately I prefer the John Michael Montgomery version especially as it seems more sincere in its vocal delivery and the instrumentation sounds less gummy and overproduced than on the All-4-One version,

Even so the song is still a cloying, clingy thing no matter the version so most days, it would be a skip for me. 

24. "Don't Be Shy" by Kulcha

Ahh, time for the follow up to "Shaka Jam" and I think it's an improvement? It's got a nice swagger to it which would make the whole "girl, don't be shy" aesthetic work however I am going to complain about how the vocals on the hook are lower than on the verses which feels like a mistake in the production and mixing of this song, otherwise this is a solid song, check it out if curious. 

14. "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden

Guess I shouldn't be surprised that this is the highest debuting song of the week, this song is the third single from Soundgarden's album "Superunknown" and was inspired by Chris Cornell mishearing something a news anchor said on his drive home from the recotding studio and wow, does this song hit a a really strong chord especially the line "times are gone for honest men" and wow, that resonates hard in 2025. I love that everything on the song including the guitars and drums are given their moment to shine but Cornell is the star here, the guy just commands your attention the minute he starts singing. Great song.!

However best of the week is going to "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Elton John, it was really close there though.

As for thr worst, nothing outright terrible but "Love Is Strong" by the Rolling Stones gets it mostly for being weird and creepy. 

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review. July 14th. Did I Miss The Illegal Chain Takedown?

 So this week feels oddly normal in that we have a bunch of new entries and with a Justin Bieber album bomb on the way next week, things could finally be starting to get interesting, sadly it's not about getting interesting for the number one spot any time soon with "Ordinary" by Alex Warren remains at the top for yet another week and again, I don't see it changing with this song still incredibly dominant on both streaming and sales. 

Its safe for a bit at least given that "Golden"  by the Cast of Kpop Demon Hunters which climbed six places to number two thanks to massive gains on streaming and on sales, it pushed "Love Me Not" by Ravyn Lenae back one to number three as this song has now peaked and is probably going to be one of the songs to take a direct hit from the Bieber album bomb.

Remaining at number four is "Victory Lap" by Fred Again,,,,feat. Skepta and Plaqueboy Max, it's streaming is solid if unremarkable at this point. 

Rebounding up one to number five is Sombr's "Back to Friends" which actually surpassed his other top ten hit "Undressed' which slipped back to number six.

One of the bigger losers this week is "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter which fell four spots to number seven while rising into the top ten is "Your Idol" by the Cast of Kpop Demon Hunters up four to number eight.

"No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinashe fell back two places to number while "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae fell back one spot to number ten.

Gains

Most of the big gains are from the Kpop Demon Hunters soundtrack so lets go through these quickly with "How It's Done" up ten to eleven, "Soda Pop" up fifteen to number twelve, "What It Sounds Like" up niue to sixteen and "Free" up thirteen to twenty.

Outside of that "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac rises eleven to nineteen and "Something in the Orange" by Zach Bryan up eight to thirty

Losers

A good chunk of the chart lost this week but the biggest loser this week was "Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez which slipped eleven to forty eight while the losses continued for "Sapphire" by Ed Sheeran which tumbled ten places to forty nine. 

Former chart topper "Messy" by Lola Young fell seven places to twemty six while "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish also fell seven to twenty. 

Drop Outs

Delighted to see some pretty terrible songs drop out this week with "Gabriela" by Katseye and "Blue Strips" by Jessie Murph gone taking with them "Nokia" by Drake and "Sports Car" by Tate McRae. 

New Entries

Four new entries this week, starting with...

46. "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac

Oh god, we're starting off with a god damn classic, this song is from Fleetwood Mac's classic 1977 album "Rumours" and yeah, this song is a masterclass in song writing with the harmonies of the group and just how perfect and well put together this is to the point it sounds fresh when listening to it in 2025! 

Lyrically the song deals with the tension within a telationship thats falling apart with both sides realizing that if they can't love each other now than at this point the relationship is done and there is no coming back from it. I love how Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks build the tension too. Great song! If you haven't heard this song and it's parent album yet, I highly recommend you do so. 

43. "What Did I Miss" by Drake

So after dealing with a high like "The Chain", we're on the letdown in that we're getting ready for another Drake album in 2025 at some point with this song being the lead single and I have to say at furst glance, I actually don't mind that beat with that piano and trap skitter, it's got some menace however the problem with this song is Drake himself where he whines about unnamed friends in the music industry betraying him during the rap beef last year.

This song is just Drake chucking a pity party for himself on record and honestly out of sheer embarrassment for the guy, I am going to move on because yeah,..this is not a good sign fpr that album. 

42. "Illegal" by Pink Pantheress

Oh finally, Pink Pantheress is back on the charts, I've been worried that she has never really been able to follow up the success she had with "Boy's A Liar Part 2" but regardless she is here with a song from her most recent mix tape "Fancy That" and it's decent at best...I've never really been that much of a fan of Pink Pantheress's vocal delivery or the production she uses for her 2000s throw back breakbeat pop but this works for what it is even if I do think the production is a bit too busy and does at points feel like it;s swallowing her whole in the mix but I'll take this...I guess.

27. "Takedown" by Cast of Kpop Demon Hunters feat. members of TWICE

So another song from the Kpop Demon Hunters soundtrack that reportedly has members of the Kpop act Twice on it and yeah, their voices are better miced in order to try and sell what is an oddly slapdash trap/kpop song that also winds up being pretty grating to sit through all things considered so yeah I'm going to keep this short and skip it,

So I'm going to disqualify "The Chain" from best of the week mostly because it's an older song and will be gone in September when the chart rules change so I am going to give it "Classic of the week" which makes best of the week an even more frustrating task because there are no stand outs, I'll give it to "Illegal" by Pink Pantheress as it was the most tolerable song here.

Worst of the week goes to "What Did I Miss?" by Drake for being a slice of miserable whining that nobody asked for. 

All 4 1994: 10th July. Wild Night For My Sweet Shine

 So we have a reasonably interesting week at hand here, sure our top three didn't change but we do have some changes to our top ten and up and down the chart this week but speaking of our top ten, let's dive into that where for a second week "Love is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet remains at number one, its just got nobody able to compete with it at the moment so therefore it holds the top spot comfortably.

The same goes for "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies except at number two and for "Stay" by Eternal at number three. 

East 17 climb one spot to number four with "Around the World", it pushed "Right in the Night" by Jam & Spoon feat. Plavka back to number five, both these songs are facing some stiff competition from "I Like to Move It" by Reel 2 Reel feat. The Mad Stuntman up eight to number six and looks to have all the momentum to rise higher in the weeks ahead.

"Lonely"  by Frente remains a lonely figure at number seven while "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" by The Symbol slipped two to number eight. 

The next two songs in the top ten are joining it for the first time with "Shaka Jam" by Kulcha up three to number nine and "Ptay" by Take That also up three to number ten.

Losers

Not too mamy major losers this week although we did see "Satisfy the Groove" by Culture Shock take a seven place dip to forty one, I hardly know what to make of this song's chart run to be quite honest, it's a bit all over the shop.

"The Beauitful Experience (EP)" by The Symbol slipped six to thirty nine while Madonna's "I'll Remember" stumbled ten places to thirty. 

"Doop" by Doop slipped seven spots to twenty two while "I Berlieve" by Marcella Detroit slumped six to sixteen this week. 

Gains

Only two big gains outside the top ten this week with "Baby, I Love Your Way" by Big Mountain getting a massive boost off it's debut of twenty seven up to fourteen this week, This looks headed for the top ten. 

Also likely bound for the top ten is "100% Pure Love" by Crystal Waters rising nine to fifteen.

New Entries

Three new entries this week. starting with...

49. "Sweets For My Sweet" by CJ Lewis

Your regularly scheduled cover version of the week comes from British reggae singer CJ Lewis who decided to a reggae version of The Drifters 1961 hit "Sweets for My Sweet" and it pretty much sounds as you would expect...like if Glee was a thing in 1994...like come on, what the hell is this cloying disaster of a cover? Apart from the fact Lewis sounds like he is mumbling his way through his verses and the chorus sounds like the cast of Young Talent Time pitched up. Yeah no, let's move on fast. 

47. "Wild Night" by John Mellencamp feat. Me'Shell N'degeocello

Well we can only go up from here...you may not know that I do actually like a lot of John Mellencamp's music, "Jack & Diane" is a staple song for me so I was kind of curious to check out a cover of a Van Morrison 1971 song in which he brought on board American singer/songwriter Me'Shell N'degeocello for a collab and it turns out what we got is pretty good! It's funky, Mellencamp and N'degeocello have a tonne of vocal chemistry and the song really does benefit from the guitars playing off each other...I enjoyed this quite a bit...check it out!

38. "Shine" by Collective Soul

Ending this week with a song from an American alternative band called Collective Soul and in a year where grunge has pretty well dominated the rock and alternative scenes, this is actually a really bright, kind of sweet song where Collective Soul are asking for heaven to shine a light down just to find love or something tangible. The song is a bit of a prayer, regardless with the repetitive riffs that definitely work to this song's advantage, I can see this becoming a hit. 

However it's not the best of the week that's going to "Wild Night" by John Mellencamp and Me'Shell N'degeocello. 

Worst is easy with that going to "Sweets for My Sweet" by CJ Lewis. Seriously we can do better than this. 

ARIA Singles top 50 Chart Review: 7th July

 So much like in 2022 when the movie Encanto ruled on slow and stagnant charts, similar is happening in 2025, the charts are slow and stagnant hence we've got a Netflix K-Pop series music breaking onto the charts and it does affect the top ten so let's dive in where for a fifteenth week "Ordinary" by Alex Warren remains at number one and again, it's dominant on sales and streaming, it doesn't look like it's going to be knocked off any time soon.

The big surprise was the two place move up for "Love Me Not" by Ravyn Lenae to number two, mostly becvause it's streaming has lagged a bit so to see this move up was something of a surprise.

Then again "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter doesn't look to be strong overall as it slipped back one to number three, yeah, I don't see this song sticking around. Also down one to number four is "Victory Lap" by Fred Again..., Skepta and Plaqueboy Max as streaming is consistent but not challenging those above it just yet, 

"Undressed" by Sombr remained steady at number five while his other hit "Back to Friends" also remained where it is at number six. 

"No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinashe climbed two places to number seven thanks to streaming. 

Now we get to the new entry at number eight from the cast of kpop Demon Hunters called "Golden", I'll talk about this song's quality in more detail later but this song is steady on streaming right now and could make a play for the top five in the weeks ahead.

Rebounding into the top ten up seven is "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae at niumber nine but I think it's because the F1 movie soundtrack was finally released. 

Still clinging to the top ten down two is "Beautiful Tungs" by Benson Boone...the sooner this song goes away the better. 

Gains

So because of all the new entries this week there were no gains apart from the already aforementioned seven place gain for "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae in the top ten, 

Losers

So we have a bunch of double digit losers and I am not complaining about most of these, I mean "Good Luck Babe!" by Chappell Roan has had a great run but it is about time for it to go as it tumbled twelve to forty eight. 

I am delighted that  "Blue Strips" by Jessie Murph stumbled sixteen places to forty seven and "Nokia" by Drake down fourteen to forty six (new Drake song will probably chart next week unfortunately).

Maybe the one I am a little sad about is "Sapphire" by Ed Sheeran which slipped thirteen to thirty nine. 

"Sports Car" by Tate McRae fell eight to forty nine, "Espresso"  by Sabrina Carpenter tumbled eight to thirty five and "Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars also slumped eight to twenty.

New Entries

We do have six new entries but we do have somewhat of an album bomb so here's the Kpop Demon Hunters songs that qualify for neither best nor worst of the week..."Free" at 33, "Soda Pop" at twenty seven, "What It Sounds Like" at twernty five and "How It's Done" at twenry one.

So let's get this show on the road with...

44. "Gabriela" by Katseye

So all three of our new entries are some form of K-Pop with Katseye being a much talked about all female group from South Korea. Tbankfully we avoided the pretty atrocious "Gnarly" with the group reverting to bland latin infused pop/r'n'b with trap touches that sounds about as flavourful and energetic as dry stale cornflakes and the consistency of mush which is weird cobnsidering the cobtent basically runs the same throughline as that of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" except the lack of intensity or anger Dolly was able to impart on "Jolene when she was warning this other woman to stay away where as Katseye tell "Gabriela" to stay away with all the intensity and anger of a baby farting. Not a good song. 

12. " Your Idol" by Cast of Kpop Demon Hunters.

I don't have Netflix so I am going in blind with these songs from "K-Pop Demon Hunters and I kind of dig this? There's something of a boy band vibe that reminds me a lot of BTS with the harmonies and rap verse plus I like how it's got a bit of dramatic swell to pay off the whole Idol thing. I think it works for what's trying to do, I'll take it. Good song. 

8. "Golden" by Cast of Kpop Demon Hunters

Biggest debut of the week and it's one that I am only luke warm on at best, sure, it's got some nice bass behind it however the vocals on this song leave a lot to be desired, it feels like they being smothered in the mix which is either too loud or the vocals have put closer to the back which is an asinine thing to do. Either way, I am hoping that this song doesn't stick around. 

That ends our week and the best and worst fall out easily. K-Pop Demon Hunters Cast get best of thr week for "Your Idol", the worst is going to "Gabriela" by Katseye because that song is just full of nothing worth anything. 

All 4 1994: 3rd July Baby, I Love Your Son of A Real Thing..What A Feeling

 Sigh...yeah...let's get on with this, starting with the top ten where we do have a new number one that being "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet and yeah, its at the top thanks to sales to whom I'd have to assume are people planning weddings and want this song to be the music for their wedding...yikes.

It did push "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies back to number two as it just couldn't compete with "Love Is All Around" and is facing some real competition from "Stay" by Eternal up two spots to number three, it's got some decent momentum right now which probably helped it move past "Right in the Night" by Jam & Spoon feat. Plavka which slipped ne to number four.

"All Around the World" by East 17 climbed one spot to number five which was mostly on the weakness of "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World' by The Symbol down two to number six.

"Lonely" by Frente! climbed two spots to number seven while "I'll Stand by You" by The Pretenders reamains standing stuck at number eight.

"U R The Best Thing" by D:Ream climbed from thirteen to number nine to give D:Ream another hit for 1994. 

Finally joining the top ten this week is "I Believe" by Marcella Detroit which climbed two places to number ten.

Losers

Pearl Jam's "Animals" tumbled eleven to fifty this week while former chsrt topper "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion fell ten to fotty seven. ile 

Also down ten is "Light My Fure" by Club House feat. Carl to thirty nine while "Is It Love?" by Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance slid nine spots to thirty six. 

"The Beautiful Experience (EP)" by The Symbol crashed twelve to thirty three and "Breathe Again" by Toni Braxton slipped eleven to twenty nine.

Finally down nine this week is former number one "The Sign" by Ace of Base to sixteen.

Gains

So up sixteen spots to twenty four off it's debut is "100% Pure Love" by Crystal Waters. This has all the makings of becoming a hit so we'll have to see. 

Also up solidly is "You Gotta Be" by Des'ree which bounced up from thirty two to twenty five.

Sadly not all the gains were good this week with "I Like to Move It" by Reel 2 Reel feat. The Mad Stuntman up ten to fourteen

New Entries

Six new entries this week beginning with...

49. "Flashdance...What a Feeling" by Bjorn Again

ABBA tribute band Bjorn Again have turned to covering Irene Cara's massively successful 1983 hit "Flashdance..What A Feeling" and I have to be honest, there's just something magic about the original that Bjorn Again even with the somewhat trying to imagine ABBA covering the song just don't quite get, the ladies atre more nasal than needed. Yeah, I'lll stick to the Irene Cara original.

48. "Alone Like Me" by The Sharp

Our weekly Australian rock entry comes from Melbourne band The Sharp and honestly I kind of like this? Sure that scream of "OOOOHHH" on the hook could have been left out and the lead vocals a bit louder in the mix but song reminds me a lot of if Midnight Oil and R.E.M collaborated. This isn't too bad...I'll take this. 

46. "Son Of A Gun" by JX

The debut single of British DJ Jake Williams otherwise known as JX with this song featuring a sample of 1976 song "Touch and Go" by Ecstasy, Passion & Pain feat Barbara Roy and you know what? This song isn't as bad as some of the other dance cuts that have charted. For once the sample is used effectively and the vocals are clear and crisp. I like this a lot, check it out. 

44. "The Real Thing" by 2 Unlimited

Okay, another song with 2 Unlimited and I'll be fair here, this one is better than their previous efforts. The rap verses are pretty generic dancefloor hype up but after all that's really what this song is aiming to do and the harmonies on the hook are nice. I'll take this as I've heard much worse from this group previously. 

43. "Ease My Mind" by Arrested Development

So this is the new single from Arrested Development's new album called "Zingalamaduni" and I don't  know...I think the song is fine but given what this group have released previously, I kind of expected a little better, its still distinctly Arrested Development but that hook is more repetitive than I would like it to be. This song just doesn't do it for me. Sorry. 

27. "Baby, I Love Your Way" by Big Mountain

Sigh, another cover of Peter Frampton's 1975 classic song as if we didn't already have enough of that god awful cover of the song in 1989 from Will to Power and now American reggae/pop act Big Mountain are giving it a go for the soundtrack of the movie "Reality Bites" and look, this is merely decent as at least this version looks to have a bit of a groove thanks to the drums and percussion, the harmonies on the hook, not terrible for a change I guess.

Which leaves me in quandry as there are no real contenders for worst of the week here, I guess I'll go with Bjorn Again's cover of "Flashdance...What A Feeling" because that just felt off. 

Best of the week though...I'm giving that to JX for "Son of a Gun. 

 

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review. 30th June.

 Really, what's even the point anymore? The chaerts have become so boring and stagnant, its hardly worth caring but oh well, let's dive straight in where "Ordinary" by Alex Warren spends a fourteenth week at number one and again I don't see wherre the challenge is coming from as this song is still incredibly strong on both streaming and sales. 

I am not sure it's coming from "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter which holds steady at number two but it's actually losing streaming and sales aren't as strong as it should be, this might open the way for a new entry at number three "Victory Lap" by Fred Again..., Skepta and PlaqueBoy Max, more on this song later but it got some incredible streaming but doesn't have much else to go with it. 

Remaining stalled at number four is "Love Me Not" by Ravyn Lenae, mostly because it's not much in the way of sales but is holding up nicely on streaming. 

Dropping two places is "Undressed" by Sombr at number five, streaming just falling away for this song. Same goes for "Back to Friends" by Sombr down one to number six. 

Also down one just to number seven is "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan while "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone continues to be that stinky bum in the top ten but down one to number eight, 

Rising eleven places to number nine is "No Broke Boys" by Disco-Lines and Tinashe because this song got streaming on board...yay...not.,

Finally down two to number ten is "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish. 

Gains

So outside the big boost for "No Broke Boys" into th withe top ten, there were some other scattered gains up and down the chart and honestly we need an intervention if "Rock That Body" by The Black Eyed Peas got a twenty three place boost to twenty four (it'll be gone in September when those new chart rules come into play).

"Mystical Magical" by Benson Boone unfortunately up eight to twenty two but I'll pin that to the album release.

Losers

It was a rough week for Tate McRae songs with "Sports Car" down seven to forty one and her song with Morgan Wallen "What I Want" down nine to twenty five. 

While "Bloodline" by Alex Warren and Jelly Roll unfortunately down ten to thirty four while in some good news "Blue Strips" by Jessie Murph slipped eight to thirty one...thank god.

Drop Outs.

Two songs dropped out this week with "WildFlower" by Billie Eilish and "Shake It To the Max" by MOLIY, Skillbeng and Shenseea both taking their exits this week.bo

New Entries

Two new entries this week, beginning with...

43. "Nice to Each Other" by Olivia Dean

So the ARIA Chart breakthrough of English neo soul singer Olivia Dean and boy, do I wish there was more to this half baked song that really goes skin deep relationship melodrama. There is something incredibly toxic about this song in a way that makes me want to throw something out a window screaming irrationally. Gross. 

3. "Victory Lap" by Fred again..., Skepta and Plaqueboy Max

Well this might be Fred Agsin's catchiest beat in awhile because this goes hard and both Skepta and Plaqueboy Max ride this beat incredibly well. It reminds me of a lot of those club dance big beat bangers in the 90s except this one is tighter and goes off harder. Good song. Check this one out.

Yeah best of the week to "Victory Lap". Worst of the week is obviously "Nice to Each other"

All 4 1994 26th June 100% Pure DJ Only With You, Love.

A slow week with a small amount of new entries, let's dive straight into this, shall we? "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies spent yet another week at number one but it's a weak number one and it'll face a challenge to hold on in the face of opposition from "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet which rose five places to number two and looks set to hit number one soon which means more sloppy mush at number one..yay.

It did have the affect of pushing "Right in the Night" by Jam & Spoon feat. Plavka back to number three, "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" by The Symbol to number four, "Stay" by Eternal to number five, "Ariound the World" by East 17 to number six and "The Sign" by Ace of Base back to number seven.

The Pretenders with "Stand by You" buck that trend as they climb one to number eight likewise Frente! with "Lonely" up one to number nine, 

Finally a bit of a surprise at number ten with "More Wine Waiter Please" into the top ten having gained two spots to hit number ten. 

Losers

After an incredibly impressive run, "Dum Da Dum" by Melodie MC is on the way out down ten to fifty. likewise for "Mr Jones" by Counting Crows down six to forty nine.

"Return to Innocence" by Enigma got smacked down seventeen spots to fotty seven while "Without You" by Mariah Carey slumped ten spots to forty three.

Former number one "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion continues to fall, this week its down nine to thirty seven. A fall of nine occured for "Feel Like Making Love" by Pauline Henry, it's now at thirty six.

Gains

The gains are a mixed bunch this week especially as I am not thrilled that the biggest gain of the week belonged to "The Winner Is..." by Southend with Nik Fish up off it's debut at forty two to twenty eight somehow...folks there are better ways to relive the announcement Sydney is hosting the 2000 Olympics, come on!. 

Also "Light My Fire" by Clubhouse feat. Carl up from thirty six to twenty nine is somewhat questionable...sigh. However I am not going to complain that "Anytime You Need A Friend" by Mariah Carey is up eight spots to thirty this week...nice to see. 

Also pretty happy with "You Gotta Be" by Des'ree up from thirty two to thirty nine and "Laid" by James up nine to forty one.

New Entries

Three new entries this week starting with...

48. "Only to Be With You" by Roachford

We start off this week with an English band fronted by a guy named Andrew Roachford and yeah, this is a pretty sharp pop/rock song purpose fit for the radio with the content about how this guy lived his single life fast and free but is now craving something more with another person in his life because they make him want to stay unlike no else has made him want to do. Cool song, definitely check it out. 

44. "Hey! D.J" by Lighter Shade of Brown

Time to talk about an American hip hop duo that had a big hit in the US in 1990 with "On A Sunday Afternoon" a cover of a 1984 song by The World's Most Famous Supreme Team and well, I am definitely not a huge fan of those oddly chipmunked samples that gets pretty dang annoying which is a shame because I do like the beat and groove underneath it especially that drum groove tbat gives the song a great start, it sounds so good if those god damned chipmunked vocals disappeared!

40. "100% Pure Love" by Crystal Waters

Ending off with this interesting song from American singer/songwriter Crystal Waters and I say it's interesting in that it seems to combine elements of a lot of the trends we've seen in terms of big electronic beats, r'n'b and some pop touches which makes this song something of an infectious powerhouse because yeah even though I am not wild about the more nasal vocal delivery from Waters herself, she does sell this song about going all the way for a partner in a show of being committed to this relationship she is in and it's certainly catchy enough...yeah I dig it. Check it out.

You know what, it's getting best of thr week. 

The worst goes to "Hey! DJ" by Lighter Shade of Brown, just one element threw me out of that song

ARIA Singles Top 50 Review 23rd June

 No preamble this week mostly because there's just not a lot to say. "Ordinary" by Alex Warren spends a fourteenth week at number one thanks to it's ridiculous lead on sales and streaming, nothing is stopping this song right now.

That includes "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter which just isn't doing enough to cut into the margins that "Ordinary" has but enough to keep it ahead of it's opposition so it remained at number two.

"Undressed" by Sombr holds steady at number three while "Love Me Not" by Ravyn Lenae rebounded one to number four, it pushed "Back to Friends" by Sombr back to number five. 

"Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan rebounded one spot to number six, it at least stayed ahead of the interminal "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone which climbed one spot to number seven.

Also on the rebound is "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish up one to number eight while frustratingkly "Lose Control" by Teddy Swims got a streaming boost to move back into the top ten up three to number nine. 

Finally "Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars clings to number ten. 

Gains.

So the major gain this week came for "Sapphire" by Ed Sheeran (feat. Arjit Singh) up twenty to twenty one. 

"Mystical Magical" by Benson Boone unfortunately up four to thirty and will probably get another big gain given the album drop last week.

Re-Entries

So I am not particularly thrilled about the two returns this week...points to "Mutt" by Leon Thomas back at forty five. However, what the fuck is the absolutely godawful "Rock That Body" by The Black Eyed Peas doing back at forty seven? Do better, Australia?

Losers

The only big loser of any consequence is Addison Rae's "Fame is a Gun" down thirteen to forty nine. 

I guess I should also mention "Something in the Orange" by Zach Bryan is down twelve spots to thirty nine and "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac down thirteen places to thirty three

Drop Outs

:Three drop outs and the only one of the three I am sad to see gone is "One Thing" by Lola Young...that song is great and deserved better, The other two are "Revolving Door" by Tate McRae and "Anxiety" by Doechii

New Entries

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

20. "No Broke Boys:" by Disco Lines feat Tinashe.

Oh it's nice to have Tinashe on the charts. I just wish it wasn't like this though as this really isn't showing off Tinashe at her best, this song is pulled from her 2024 album "Quantum Baby" and given this oddly weird disco beat that doesn't at all match the energy that the song is shooting for especially when Tinashe declares that this guy is just another groupie of hers which is just ew and that she's got standards now and she doesn't give a fuck about how these guys feel.

Yeah not a good song that's just toxic from start to finish. 

All 4 1994. June 19th You Gotta Be Four Letter Word Friend and Winner

 Alright so no preamble this week, I have things I need to be doing, let's just dive right in and begin with our top ten where for second week we have Crash Test Dummies at number one for a second week with "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" and it's got a solid margin right now.

Granted, I don't think the threat is going to come from "Right in the Night" by Jam & Spoon feat. Plavka which climbed to number two purely on weaknesses for "The Most Beautiful Girl In the World' by The Symbol which fell back to number three.

Moving up one is Eternal's "Stay" to number four, it looks locked and loaded for a good run in the top five while "Around the World" by East 17 climbed two places to number five. 

"The Sign" by Ace of Base is showing signs of moving gracefully down as it dropped two spots to number six. 

What blew my mind though is the big gain for the incredibly saccharine "Love is all Around" by Wet Wet Wet up from it's debut of twenty three to number seven. What the hell?

At least it did help to push "Doop" by Doop down two number eight while The Pretenders got a nice two place boost into the top ten at number nine with "I'll Stand by You"

Also into the top ten this week is "Lonely" by Frente! which climbed five places to number ten. 

Losers

Unfortunately "Laid" by James slumped seven to fifty while "Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen suffered an eight place fall to forty seven.

Chocolate Starfish are coming down the other side down nine to forty four while "Mr Jones" by Counting Crows slid from twenty nine to forty three. 

The downward progression for Melodie MC continues with "Dum Da Dum" down seven to number forty

"Without You" by Mariah Carey slumped hard from sixteen last week to thirty three this week. Don't stress though, there's more Mariah in our new entries. 

"Helping Hand" by The Screaming Jets needs a steadying hand down seven to thirty one. "Return to Innocence" by Enigma fell nine to thirty

Looks like the decent run for "Is It Love" by Twenty-4-Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance is over as it stumbled from twenty two to twenty nine while former number one "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion fell eleven to twenty eight. 

"Feel Like Making Love" by Pauline Henry slipped seven to twenty seven. 

Gains

A number of big gains this week with "Pray" by Take That riding a nineteen place boost to fifteen. 3 the Hard Way continue to climb with "Hip Hop Holiday" climbing from twenty six to nineteen this week.

"Shaka Jam" by Kulcha continues gaining as it jumped from thirty seven to twenty one for some inexplicable reason, the same goes for "Whoomp (There It  Is)" by Tag Team up five to twenty two. 

Annoyingly "I LIke to Move It" by Reel 2 Real feat. The Mad Stuntmen got a huge boost off of it's debut as it jumped from thirty eight to twenty three. Also climbing hard off of it's debut is "Girls and Boys" by Blur up from forty to twenty five. 

"I Wanna Dance" by Melodie MC rocketed up eight places to twenty four while "Light My Fire" by Club House feat. Carl climbed from fotty four to thirty six and "Satisfy the Groove" by Culture Shock continues to yo yo as it rebounded from forty six to thirty seven. 

Re-Entries

Just one return with Pearl Jam's "Daughter" back at 41

New Entries

Four new entries this week, beginning with...

48. "Anytime You Need A Friend" by Mariah Carey

Well, it could only be better than that overwrought cover of "Without You"...right? Well yeah this is better because this feels a bit less and this comes across as a more genuine song with gospel backing and Mariah offering her hand of friendship any time someone needs it. It's a nice ballad and likely will connect with a lot of people. 

45. "4-Letter Word" by Chocolate Starfish

Given "Mountain" was a surprising medium sized hit, Chocolate Starfish are back with their new single and this one just doesn't quite hit with the some intensity as "Mountain" does, the chorus doesn't quite explode after the more whispered verses that sound pretty good. I don't know...bit disappointed by this one. 

42. "The Winner Is..." by Southend with Nik Fish

Oh god so Southend are a band that have remixed TV coverage of the 1993 2000 Olympics and bits and pieces of IOC speech announcing "Sydenee" as the winner over annoying dance music with the feral sound of somebody laughing..it's actually one of the worst pieces of music I have heard in some time. Straight audio torture.

39. "You Gotta Be" by Des'ree

So we're rounding off this week with an empowerment song from British pop and soul singer Des'ree and look, I don't mind this, Des'ree's voice is calm, warm and definitely inviting and reminding the person that love will save the day but in the mean time stay cool, calm, together and strong. the music does hold up with gentle piano and drums. Nice song!

You know what? "You Gotta Be" by Des'ree just nudges out Mariah for best of the week. 

Worst of the week falls out easily with that going to "The Winner Is..." by Southend feat. Nick Fish because that shit was just audio torture

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review. 16th June

 At this point I am not even surprised but considering we did get four new entries that look decently interesting to talk about let's dive into the top ten where for a twelfth week "Ordinary" by Alex Warren reigns supreme at number one, its still got streaming and sales, it's still incredibly comfortable. 

It well and truly survived the debut of "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter at number two, now it's doing fine on streaming but remains behind on sales, it'll need to pick up if it's going to challenge for number one.

"Manchild" did have the impact of pushing back most of the rest of the top ten with "Undressed" back to number thtee and "Back to Friends" back at number four both for Sombr.

"Love Me Not" by Ravyn Lenae fell back one to number five with the same happening for the continually underwhelming "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae at number six. "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan slipped back to number seven.

Unfortunately bucking the trend of songs losing ground this week is "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone at number eight, 

"Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish slipped two spots to number nine as streaming looks to be finally done with this song. 

Down one to number is "Die With a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.

Gains

"Something in the Orange" by Zach Bryan climbed seven spaces to rebound to twenty seven while his song with Kacey Musgraves "I Remember Everything" got a six spot rebound to thirty eight. "Mystical Magical" by Benson Boone got a six place boost to thirty four...now that's neither mystical or magical...that's just fucking shit, this song is complete ass. 

Losersther

So let's run through a few of these losers because rhere are a few of them with "Wildflower" by Billie Eilish down nine to forty eight. "Revolving Door" by Tate McRae devolved nine spots to forty six. 

"Stargazing" by Myles Smith turned to navel gazing down eight to thirty seven.

"Sports Car" by Tate McRae is in reverse down seven to thirty two. Finally, "Bloodline" by Alex Warren and Jelly Roll went cold down ten to twenty two. 

Drop Outs

Absolutely fine with what dropped out this week with "Pink Skies" by Zach Bryan, "Timeless" by The Weeknd feat. Playboi Carti, "cliche" by MGK and finally "Mutt" by Leon Thomas all gone..am betting some of these will return though. 

New Entries

Four new entries this week, beginning with...

43. "One Thing" by Lola Young

About damn time this song hit the charts! Been surprised how long its taken considering how big "Messy" was so I am quite excited to be able to write about this one especially as I think the song is pretty good! It's a song where Lola is horny and she wants to do all this stuff with her partner and she'll give him that one thing he or she wants from her and the production plays into that whole sexual vibe. I like it, it may not be as instant as "Messy' was but this is still worth your time.

41. "Sapphire" by Ed Sheeran

So "Azizam" was alright, "Old Phone" is a decent song that didn't chart for whatever reason and now we have "Sapphire" and it's catchy helped by the prominence of Indian music and the uncredited appearance by Indian star Arjit Singh. All up, it does remind me a lot of "Azizam" especially in terms of both songs really lacking in content or substance to really cling on to, that's all

36. "Fame is a Gun" by Addison Rae.

Look, Addison Rae is an act that leaves me with not a lot to say about her music, she's one of those acts who leans a lot on her influences without doing anything to make herself a distinct presence within pop music and this song is no different...it reminds me a lot of Charli XCX rather than Sheila E's "The Glamourous Life" of which this was supposed to be an interpolation of except with Addison Rae's breathy cooing which honestly does nothing for me especially when the lyrics are mixed barrel of confusing messages, she's getting love from a guy who isn't her type? What? Ugh...at least it's not as bad as...

2. "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter.

Brand new single from Sabrina Carpenter for her upcoming new album rather cringely titled "Man's Best Friend" and unfortunately I really do not like this song at all, it's too breezy, cutesy and cheery to be anything other than a sickeningly sugar pop song with some forced country touches thanks to the weird half assed twang Jack Antonoff slides in. Manchildren are some of the most annoying and exhausting people to deal with, they are just utterly tiresome yet there's no tired frustration or sad exhaustion that the relationship fell apart, it's just Sabrina playing it off with all the sadness of a Full House episode where Michelle Tanner gets her sisters DJ and Stephanie in trouble because Danny thinks Michelle is too little to make trouble...ugh.

Yeah..."Manchild" is the worst of the week. Best of the week also falls out easy...that's going to "One Thing" by Lola Young.

All 4 1994: June 12th Love Laid Around the World, Girls and Boys so Light the Fire

 Ugh. This is one of those sorts of weeks where things feel wrong in the kind of way that leaves a sick feeling in the pit of my stomache and some of that is in our top ten because we do have a brand new number one, that being "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies and look, it's number one because it's got strength in sales, it was easily able to move past "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" by The Synbol down to number two and "Right In the Night" by Jam & Spoon feat. Plavka down to number three.

Former number one "The Sign" by Ace of Base remained at number four while "Stay" by Eternal continues its rise up the charts up four to number five which is some good news I guess, it did push past "Doop" by Doop which slipped down to number six.

East 17 have our new entry in the top ten this week with "Around the World" at number seven. I'll talk more about the quality of this song later.

Metallica's live version of "One" slipped two spots to number eight while "I'll Remember" by Madonna slumped one to number nine and former number two hit "Breathe Again" by Toni Braxton fell three to  number ten. 

Losers

 After a run in the top ten "Whatta Man" by Salt 'N' Pepa feat. En Vogue is on it's way out of the top 50 altogether down seven to fifty.

"I Can See Clearly Now" by Jimmy Cliff is also on the precipice of a chart exit down nine to forty nine. 

Sliding eight to forty six is Cullture Shock's "Satisfy the Groove" while Roxette is doing some sleeping on the chart because "Sleeping In  My Car" is down twelve to foty two.

As I said we'll talk about East 17 again later in the new entries but their former number one "It's Alright" is down from thirty four to forty one this week. 

Chocolate Starfish are on the decline with "Mountain' on the tumble from twenty two thirty five. Prayer doesn't seem to be working for Take That as "Pray" stumbled from it's debut of twenty eight to thirty four.

"Dum Da Dum" by Melodie DC is on the down da down as it collapsed from seventeen to thirty three while Zhane's "Groove Thang" fell seven spots to twenty eight.

Wrapping up our losers is former number one hit "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion down six to seventeen and former top ten hit "Without You" by Mariah Carey down six to sixteen.

Gains

We've got a few gains this week with the biggest coming for The Poor with "More Wine Waiter Please" up ten to thirteen. Am surprised this song is catching on!.

D:Ream broke into the top twenty again with "U R The Best Thing" climbing from twenty six to nineteen. 

I'm pleased that "Hip Hop Holiday" by 3 The Hard Way is up nicely from thirty one to twenty six but not thrilled it took "Whoomp (There It is)" by Tag Team up from thirty three to twenty seven...bitch please.

Also what's the go with Electric Hippies getting a six place gain to thirty with "Greedy People"? Come on now. Kulcha's "Shaka Jam" climbed to thirty seven from forty one.

Re Entries

One re entry before the new songs with "It's My Life" by Dr Alban back at forty eight...why?

New Entries

44. "Light My Fire" by Club House feat. Carl

So when I saw the name of this song, I got terrified, I thought it was going to be a cover of The Doors classic song (a song I don't care for) but as it turns out we got an electronic house song from Italian group Club House who brought Italian American singer Carl on board for this song and...I don't really think it's per se bad but there's just not a lot to it with the lyrics adding up to two sentences "Baby, come light my fire" and "burn baby burn" over this decently mixed groove. It's definitely not terrible but more for the clubs than anything else. 

43. "Laid" by James

So James, a British rock band hailing from Manchester, debut in the top half of the charts and I got to be honest I was a bit leery of this song but as it turns out..."Laid" just might be one of the best rock songs of 1994 so far and yes that does include "Mountain" by Chocolate Starfish...that's how good I think it is!. I love the vocals that tell the story of a loud couple having sex but she can only cum when she is on top and from there it's violence and him realizing she's so dominant that he can't live without her and wnats her to comeback home. The instrumentation just gives this song an added power with the gentle swell that always supports the vocals but never overpowering them. Great song!

40. "Girls and Boys" by Blur

Looks like this week is the week of British rock music becaiuse we have another rock band out of Britain here, this time Blur and I have to be honest I am not as bigger fan of all the electronic touches around this song and that chorus is just fucking annoying at the end of the day, it's just disconnected chanting. Yeesh...skip it.

23. "Love is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet

Okay so the pop act responsible from some pretty intensely gooey music in the late eighties is back (Don't deny, you remember the cringe fest that was "Sweet Surrender" back in 1989) and given the title I had my expectations really low (keeping in mind it's cover of a The Troggs 1967 song) and yeah, those low expectations were thoroughly met!. Folks, if you like music that is more mushy than that cereal covered in milk in the morning and possibly even more mushy and unflattering than Bryan Adam's number one hit "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" than you have found your ideal song and probably a song that will get overused as brides nervously walk down the aisle silently hoping they don't trip over the hem over their overlong wedding dresses (the song was recorded for the "4 Friends and a Wedding movie)

The most i can be nice about this song is at least it has some nice instrumention and swell that makes the song feel bigger than the slog it really is. The lyrics make the song incredibly unrealistic, it's written on the wind? Really? Didn't know we could now send messages of sexual harassment via a gentle breeze! 

Anyway. I cannot stand this song, it's too gooey and cutesy for it's own damn good. 

7. "Around the World" by East 17

And we end the week on a British note because we have the new song from East 17 and to their credit, this song is gentler and not as migraine inducing as "It's Alright". I still don't think the rapping is anything to write home about and I do wish that the vocals were a bit louder in the mix but overall there's something nice about this ballad that relies more on harmonies, piano and percussion to get the song across. Could be better but could be a lot worse.

That was our week and honestly, "Laid" by James just runs away with the best of the week. Close go for the worst of the week but I think considering how annoying the hook is on "Boys and Girls" by Blur...it gets it ahead of "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet which really is just mush with the consistency of diarrhoea.

ARIA Singles top 50 Chart Review: 9th June

 Look, I know change is finally on the horizon but my god even if I have mixed opinions on the new Sabrina Carpenter song, the arrival of "Manchild" will be very welcome next week even though we do have a new entry to our top ten this week so let's get to the top ten where for an eleventh week "Ordinary" by Alex Warren remains at number one and honestly, it just looks a comfortable number one right now, the numbers indicate it will keep number one when "Manchild" debuts on the chart on Friday. 

The open question is of how "Manchild" will affect Sombr's "Undressed" at number two and "Back to Friends" at number three for another week. All indications are there could be some swings and roundabouts there.

"Love Me Not" by Ravyn Lenae remains stranded at number four and I am getting the feeling that this song has peaked but it did hold up over the new entry from Tate McRae at number five called "Just Keep Watching", more thoughts on this song later but I wouldn't be surprised if this is settling in for a decent run in the top ten. 

It pushed "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan down one to number six as it's streaming looks to have peaked at least on Spotify.  "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish also got pushed down one to number seven. 

Sadly "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone did rebound one to number eight because we still cannot get rid of this song. geezus, I am sick of Benson Boone and especially this song.

"Die with a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars slumped two places to number nine while Bruno's song with Rose "APT" remained at number ten. 

Gains

Biggest gain of the week belongs to "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac which climbed thirteen places to twenty two while "Revolving Door" by Tate McRae jumped six to thirty seven and "Something in the Orange" by Zach Bryan got a seven place gain to thirty four. 

Re Entries

Look, I was hoping to be done with "Mystical Magical" by Benson Boone and its stanky ass but of course, it's back at number forty.

At least in better news, we got "Azizam" by Ed Sheeran back at forty seven.

Losers

Not too many big losers this week with the biggest being "Party 4 U" by Charli XCX down six places to thirty one. 

Drop Outs.

Four songs dropped out this week with the biggest of those being "Not Like Us" by Kendrick Lamar. 

The other three songs gone are "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" by Luke Combs,  "I Love You, I'm Sorry" by Gracie Abrams and "I'm the Problem" by Morgan Wallen. 

New Entries

Two new entries this week beginning with...

50. "Shake It to the Max (Fly) (Remix)" by Moliy, Silent Addy, Skillbeng and Shenseea

Yeah, this one is messy and it's probably about as messy as the song  if I am quite honest. Sure. there is a nice afrobeat sound to this but I just find this song way too busy in the production that it makes it hard to come back too but I guess it's at least memorable to some degree, 

5. "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae.

So the first of the songs released from the F1 movie soundtrack and like all the songs I've heard from this soundtrack, this fails to match the energy, thrill and excitement that comes with Formula One and motor racing and it's the case with this song, it's bland and Tate McRae does her best with her limited vocal range but dear god, it's mediocre altogether and that might be a problem

I'm not giving out best nor worst this week as I'd struggle to call either song good or bad...just mediocre

All 4 1994. 5th June Pray and Disarm Beautiful Lonely Dance Experience

 Look, I am definitely not thrilled about some shifts in the top ten this week. Geezus christ, Australia, what the fuck? Anyway, enough preamble, let's dive into the top ten before we get to the rest of the chart so you can see what I am grumbling about. I am not unhappy that "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" by The Symbol aka Prince remains at number one but one wonders for how much longer.

Especially as we do have "Right in the Night" by Jam & Spoon feat. Plavka jumped one spot to number two and here's where my complaints begin because up four places to number three is "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies...like come on...there's so much better in the top 50 this week that deserve this slot

Worst part is it pushed former chart topper "The Sign" by Ace of Base down two spots to number four. 

Even more depressingly "Doop" by Doop continues it's run up one to number five. it did move ahead of the live version of Metallica's "One" which slipped to number six. 

Toni Braxton's "Breathe Again" looks to be on the way out of the top ten down three to number seven while "I'll Remember" by Madonna remains rooted to the number eight space.

In better news, Eternal's "Stay" has arrived in the top ten up two to number nine, it actually pushed "Without You" by Mariah Carey down one to number ten.

Losers

Speaking of losers, "Loser" by Beck sits on the cusp of leaving the top fifty down fourteen to fifty. "Animal" by Pearl Jam skidded twelve spots to forty five while "I'm Ready" by Tevivn Campbell also got hit with a twelve place fall to forty four.

Salt 'n' Pepa's "Whatta Man" feat. En Vogue slumped twelve spots to forty three whiile Jimmy Cliff's "I Can See Clearly  Now" slid eleven to forty 

Former number one "It's Alright" by East 17 slumped from twenty seven to thirty four while "Twist and Shout" by Chaka Demus & Pliers featuring Jack Radics and Taxi Gang got kicked down eight to thirty two (I like to this its because the song blows)

"Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen slumped from sixteen to twenty seven.

Gains

"Satisfy The Groove" by Culture Shock rebounded up eight to thirty eight while the only other major gain came for The Poor with "More Wine Waiter Please" up twelve to twenty three. 

New Entries

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

48. "Disarm" by Smashing Pumpkins

Ahh time to talk about Billy Corgan and co with the third single from Smash Pumpkins second album "Siamese Dream", the dramatic instrumentation here gives way to some rather confronting and gritty lyrics about Corgan's toxic relationship with his parents with the production lending weight to that toxic dynamic that was going on in Corgan's childhood. In short, I do wish Corgan was a bit louder in the mix but this song get's point across well. Check it out. 

37. "I Wanna Dance" by Melodie MC

As somebody who was very surprised at how much I liked "Dum Da Dum", I had some hope for this and well...I am not a fan of this as much as I would like to be, the beat is just not even that good here and feels like it curdles a bit while the female vocals are turned down in the mix which feels like an odd choice...yeah not a song I am keen to revisit...that's all. 

28. "Pray" by Take That.

Ahh, I was wondering when we'd get new music from Take That and yeah, this is actually pretty good! I like the harmonies that are through out the song even if the song is a bit cliched all about wanting to be apart of this girl's life at some point again but the instrumentation matches that hope, it's bright and doesn't overpower any of the group's voices. It might be cliched to hell and back but I dig this song. Definitely worth checking out.

18. "Lonely" by Frente

The band behind "Accidentally Kelly Street" are back and with a change of sound, this one is a bit darker and more eclectic sounding (although Frente have always been a bit eclectic with their sound) and I don't know why I don't like this as much as I probably should, it just doesn't click for me especially if the song is trying sound alone or as lonely as Angie Hart makes it come across. I don't think it's bad...just not for me

16. 'The Beautiful Experience (EP)" by The Symbol

Yeah, ya all know I like our current number one, nothing more to reiterate here, if you like "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" than this is definitely worth checking out. 

That's our week and worst of the week is going to "I Wanna Dance" by Melodie MC. Best...yeah, you know what? "Pray" by Take That is getting it but it was close...Smashing Pumpkins have a good song in "Disarm" 

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review. 2nd June

 Sigh...it's just getting harder to write about the ARIA singles  chart right now mostly because it's not that interesting. Frankly, All 4 1994 is more interesting than whatever is going on with the top 50 right now and the top ten is the proof of that because the top four held their positions with "Ordinary" by Alex Warren at number one for a tenth week and not looking like losing the top spot any time soon.

Then it's Sombr at number two with "Undressed" and "Back at Friends" at number three while "Love Me Not" by Ravyn Lenae holds steady at number four.

"Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan rebounds one two number five, "Birds of A Feather" by Billie Eilish continues hang around up one to number six, it pushed past "Die With a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars down one to number seven. 

Then again the rises could be blamed on "That's So True" by Gracie Abrams falling three to number eight, I cannot wait for this song to be out of the top ten...that's how much I hate it, and am utterly sick of it, the same goes for "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone up one to number nine because nobody with actual taste in music has decided to declare this song's run in the top ten done yet and I wish they would!

Finally "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars slipped one to number ten. 

Gains

So unfortunately "What I Want" by Morgan Wallen feat. Tate McRae looks like being a thing in our top ten soon as it rose four places to thirteen while Benson Boone's Walk the Moon knock off "Sorry I'm Here For Someone Else" is up eight to thirty four. 

"Mr Brightside" by The Killers climbed seven spots to forty

Re Entries.

Just the one return this week with "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" by Luke Combs back at 50. 

Losers

A rough week continues for Gracie Abrams because "I Love You, I'm Sorry" slipped twelve places to forty eight. 

"Mutt" by Leon Thomas continues to not catch on as it slipped seven to forty five (given how slow the year has been, I'd wager this will make the year end anyway)

Morgan Wallen's "I'm The Problem" is thankfully fading away as it slips eight to forty two. 

"Stargazing" by Myles Smith stumbled seven to twrnty nine

Drop outs

Three songs dropped out this week and again I have no issue with any of them being gone. "Just In Case" by Morgan Wallen and "Mystical Magical" by Benson Boone are both gone because they both SUCK.

"Austin" by Dasha exited again and will likely be back anyway. 

New Entries

Two new entries this week, lets begin with...

46. "cliche" by MGK

So as Machine Gun Kelly traverses the music genre universe, his latest single lands on some of the most generic pop music imaginable that he just doesn't sound good on and the lyrics are literally just lazily endless cliches to the point I realized it's obvious why this song is called cliche because of the putrid writing that doesn't put any effort in whatsoever and shows just how out of ideas MGK really is...next.

16. "Bloodline" by Alex Warren and Jelly Roll

At this point, you can probably almost make a Billy Joel "We Didn't Start the Fire" style song listing off every single artist that Jelly Roll has collabed with in the past two years and so of course, it's not a surprise that here he is on a song with the artist of the current biggest song in the world right now and much to my surprise, the song is actually pretty decent, it reminds me a lot of Shaboozey's effort in stomp clap combined with touches of Avici but the best part of this song is that Warren and Jelly Roll are just bystanders as they encourage young people to get out of what is likely a toxic dynamic be it a relationship with family, I think it does the sentiment well. Good song. 

Also easy best of the week for "Bloodline" by Alex Warren and Jelly Roll. MGK takes worst of the week for the embarrassment that is "Cliche"

All 4 1994. 29th May

 New week and we have some changes at the top and while the new entries seem a bit lean, I'll take quieter week on that front but let's get straight to the top ten where the big story is that we have a brand new number one with The Symbol aka Prince riding to the top with "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" and it might not even last long at the top given what appears to be rising. 

It did however push "The Sign" by Ace of Base back to number two as sales finally slowed down and it couldn't match the momentum of "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World".

Proving a memorable hook will get you high on the charts is "Right in the Night" by Jam & Spoon feat. Plavka which jumped one spot to number four as it moved past "Breathe Again" by Toni Braxton at number four.

Much to my surprise the live version of "One" by Metallica remained at number five while "Doop" by Doop also stayed at number six.

Climbing three places to number seven is the utterly annoying now "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies. We do not need to make this a hit, people. 

Down one to number eight is "I'll Remember" by Madonna as it seems to be losing stream early while "Without You" by Mariah Carey remains at number nine.

Finally, down two to number ten is former chart topper "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion.

Losers

So let's rip through our big losers this week with "Cornflake Girl" by Tori Amos on the way out likely having secured her place on the year end list down fourteen to forty eight. 

"Down nine to forty five is "Let Me Show You" by K-Klass while former chart topper "It's Alright" by East 17 slipped nine to twenty seven.

Gains

Lets dive into the big gains and my god we had some climbers up stream this week, let's start with "I Believe" by Marcella Detroit which still sounds way too much like an ad for nappies but it's up eleven places to fifteen. 

Breaking into the top twenty is  "Groove Thang" by Zhane which climbed from twenty three to seventeen. 

I am thrilled to see "Hip Hop Holiday" by 3 the Hard Way up ten to number thirty, unfortunately Electric Hippies got an eleven place boost for "Greedy People" to thirty seven but at least "Hey Jealousy" by Gin Blossoms got a boost from forty six to thirty nine.

Re-Entries

One re entry with "To The Top" by Peter Andre back at forty nine

New Entries

47. "When The Shit Goes Down" by Cypress Hill

Another song from Cypress Hill and honestly while I like the production, there's a groove and melody there that does work but dear god does that stuffy nosed and nasal vocal delivery do nothing for me especially when it's a song about being tough and ready for things to go down. Think I'll skip this. 

40. "I LIke To Move It" Reel 2 Reel feat. The Mad Stuntman

Ughh. This is the one I was dreading this one so this comes from an American solo project from Edrick Morillo who is known as Reel 2 Reel, he has teamed up with Trindad and Tobago rapper The Mad Stuntman for this song and yeah again, it's a more North American take on Eurodance especially as this song does feel somewhat more obnoxious especially as it's hook is literally just "I like to move it move it". Empty party hype song is what this is but I guess if it gets the job done for you than you'll like it better than I do. 

35. "More Wine Waiter Please" by The Poor

Ending off this week on some Australian hard rock from out of the Northern Territory and yeah this song goes rather hard, the guitars shred and honestly reminds me a lot of Rose Tatttoo. I am definitely on board with the sound here and while I am not overly wild about the vocals, I think this more than not so yeah check this out.

It's the best of the week easily. Worst of the week goes to "When Shit Goes Down" by Cypress Hill

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review. 26th May. It's The Morgan Wallen Show...

 I have been trying to put this off and off for a couple of days mostly because I do not want to talk about Morgan Wallen who had a muted impact on the chart this week and the chart has been as stale and as boring as it is but anyway let's get on with the top ten where for yet another week, "Ordinary" by Alex Warren remains at number one and again I don't see what is going to beat it anytime soon as it is dominant on streaming and sales.

Sombr remains at number two with "Undressed" but its really only got streaming traction driving it forward while Sombr's other top ten hit "Back to Friends" climbed seven spots to number three and again...this is purely because of streaming. 

Same goes for Ravyn Lenae's "Love Me Not" which climbed one to number four however it did push 
"That's So True" by Gracie Abrams back to number five while "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan fell back two to number six. 

"Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish seems to finally be falling apart as it slipped one to number seven while "Die With a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars rose one spot to number eight.

The final two songs in the top ten both fell two places with "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars down to nine and "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone down to number ten. 

Losers

"Not Like Us" by Kendrick Lamar slipped eight to forty eight while "Indigo" by Sam Barber and Avery Anna plunged seven to forty three.

"I Love You, I'm Sorry" by Gracie Abrams took a fourteen place hit to stumble to number thirty six. Doechii's "Anxiety" down seven to twenty five. 44

Gains

So outside of Sombr's "Back to Friends" rising seven places to number three, the only other major gain we had was for "Party 4 U" by Charli XCX which rose eleven places to number twenty seven.

Re-Entries

Shame the one return this week isn't any good with "I'm The Problem" by Morgan Wallen benefiting from the album release to return at number thirty four.

Drop outs

Three drop outs with Lady Gaga's "Abracadabra", Lorde's "What Was That?" and Luke Combs "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" all leaving this week 

New Entries

Two new entries, both of them by Morgan Wallen, beginning with...

45. "Just In Case" by Morgan Wallen

Let's begin our laborious exploration of the two new Morgan Wallen songs to hit the charts courtesy of the album dropping with this being one of the pre album release singles and honestly compared to the absolute worst on the album, this is fine if not forgettable...it's a song where Wallen is saying he is keeping other women at bay just in case the woman he wants comes back to him and honestly there's just not a lot of charm to this, it just feels gross especially when the cardboard production can barely sell miuch of anything but at least it's better than.///

17. "What I Want" by Morgan Wallen feat. Tate McRae.

So I have a couple of problems with this song, namely the use of trap sounds in Wallen's music, a sound that he said he was going to be steering away from on this album yet it's used in a way here that's not flattering and doesn't help the overall sound especially when that trap percussion comes in...yikes. 

Also Morgan, could you really have not gotten a rising female star in country music to feature on this limp song but had to go for the nearest popstar instead? Could have afforded to help women in country music over a person who is cashing in off being a limp Billie Eilish knock off...ugh.

Anyway, disposing of best of the week this week because neither song is vaguely good enough for that but I am going to give worst of the week to "What I Want" for being a boring husk of a song.

All 4 1994. 22nd May. One Shaka Jam Hip Hop Holiday Mama Said

 So we got a return to the busy and insane chart turnover with multiple new entries and business up and down the chart but let's start as per normal with our top ten where as it as been for the last few weeks. "The Sign" by Ace of Base remains at number one but it's got a new challenger as it's sales slowed down.

Who is that challenger? It's Prince aka The Symbol with "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" rising one to number two, it's gaining momentum and is definitely forming the foundations of being a chance fot the top spot.

It moved past "Breathe Again" by Toni Braxton which moved down one spot to number three as it's sales are no longer all that competitive and it looks to have peaked across the board, this paves the way for stronger songs to move up in the weeks ahead like "Right in the Night" by Jam & Spoon feat Plavka which moved up four spots to number four, this definitely has the base move higher in the weeks ahead.

Then we have a new entry in at number five with the live version of "One" by Metallica.I'll talk about this song later in the new entries but this is here because Metallica do tend to debut high thanks to strong sales.

Up three spots to number six unfortunately is "Doop" by Doop...sigh...sales are strong and this looks to be going nowhere else but up over the next few weeks.

Remaining steady at number seven is "I'll Remember" by Madonna which just couldn't make up ground on the songs above it but it's not under threat from "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion which slipped three places to number eight this week. 

Mariah Carey's "Without You" is also on the downswing as it slipped four places to number nine. 

Finally completing our top ten is...unfortunately is "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies which got a massive sales boost this week to jumped fourteen places to number ten. 

Losers

Culture Beat's "Anything" slipped from thirty seven to fifty while K-Klass's "Let Me Show You" slumped from twenty nine to thirty six

"Can We Talk?" by Tevin Campbell fell eight to thirty five, Jimmy Cliff's "I Can See Clearly Now" collapsed eleven places to thirty two. 

"Loser' by Beck also got hit with a eight place drop to thirty one, "Whatta Man" by Salta 'n' Pepa feat. En Vogue fell nine to twenty eight. 

Gains

So we had a couple of big gains this week outside the top ten, lets start with the continued impressive gains for "Stay" by Eternal as it jumped from thirty one to sixteen. I am pretty happy about that!. 

"I'll Stand by You" by The Pretenders got a good jump from thirty four to nineteen, it's not a surprise as it's the sort of ballad that does well. 

"I Believe" by Marcella Detroit climbed from thirty three to twenty six, I still can't get past this song potentially being in a nappy ad. 

New Entries

48. "Greedy People" by Electric Hippies

So Greedy Hippies are an Australian psychedelic rock group with this song being the second single from their self titled debut album. I will say straight off that the cover art for this song made me laugh but it doesn't raise much hope of the song being good so what did we get with this? 

Well its probably more straight forward pop rock song with a lot of the psychedelic edges taken away as the song goes on about how rich and those power and wealth hungry will likely end up lonely as their greed upsets those who love them and,,,it's fine enough for what it is but the lack of anger at the greed especially when we're talking about capitalism is a little concerning here. Decent song but just lacks a little punch...that's all. 

46. "Hey Jealousy"  by Gin Blossoms

More rock now courtesy of American rockers Gin Blossoms with song from their 1989 album "Dusted" but ended up being re recorded for their 1992 album "New Miserable Experience", it was written by the band's ex guitarist Doug Hopkins and describes his attempts to get back with his ex because she was the best thing he ever had and he regrets hurting her with his cheating and drinking.

The song is a bit too self aware for it's own dang good but god damn, if ever there was a song that knows it screwed up and does it well enough, it's this one, check it out if you are curious. 

43. "Shaka Jam" by Kulcha

So some Australian R'n'B courtesy of group Kulcha with this song being the lead single coming from their self titled debut album and honestly while it's a pretty cute hype track, this sounds like a very early nineties r'n'b jam that is still hanging on to the new jack swing sound a little too hard especially when it's trying so hard to be this sexual party song but shouting "Boom Shaka Shaka jam" is beyohd distracting. Cute song that just doesn't quite click. 

40. "Hip Hop Holiday" by 3 The Hard Way

So from that we swerve iuto New Zealand hip hop from Kiwi trio 3 the Hard Way with this song being their debut release and I do like that they twisted the hook of 10cc's "Dreadlock Holiday to "We don't like hip hop (yeah no)...We love it (yeaaahhh) and honestly it's just a song pumping up hip hop and you know what? I love it even with what sounds like an interpolation of "Informer" by Snow on the second verse. I'll take this. Fun stuff. 

38. "Mama Said Knock You Out" by Defryme

Back to Australian rock we go and this time, it's a harder closer to metal sound from Victorian group Defryme and good lord this is bad, not only is the vocal delivery cartoonishly forced in the rap forces to the shrieks of "Mama said knock you out" on the hook over instrumentation that really doesn't fit the vibe the vocals are going for. It's just juvenile and not in a good way...next!

5. "One (Live)" by Metallica

So because I have already reviewed this song, I am going to keep it pretty short by repeating my thoughts from "Lookin' Fine 89". It's a dark, sad song that really does paint war and the impacts of it it on individual human beings in a dark but extremely powerful light, it's almost as though the song was designed for the music and the lyrics to take a backseat to the recordings that are played through out the song. May we never forget the horroes that war brings with it and is never the answer. Great song by Metallica, check it out. 

Howver it's not the best of the week...that's going to "Hip Hop Holiday" by 3 The Hard Way. Worst of the week goes to Defryme for "Mama Said Knock You Out"

ARIA Singles Chart Top 50. May 19th

 Anaother slow week on the chart but considering something of a Morgan Wallen mini album bomb is expected next week, I'll take a slow week where i can get it at the moment so let's not waste any more time and get stuck into the top ten where for yet another week "Ordinary" by Alex Warren remains at number one for yet another week and really when it's dominant across both sales and streaming.

"Undressed" by Sombr remains steady at number two because it's strong on streaming but not quite the same level as "Ordinary" on sales. 

The rest of the top five also held steady with "That's So True" by Gracie Abrams at number three, "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan at number four and "Love Me Not" by Raven Lenae at number five.

"Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish rebounded one place to number six, it effectively pushed past "Apt" by Rose and Bruno Mars which slipped one spot to number seven.

A source of clear frustration is "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone continued to bounce around up two places to number eight although I think that is due to our lone new entry this week, it did push "Die With a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars slipped one place to number nine.

Sombr's second song on the chart "Back to Friends" spends it's first week inside the top ten up two spots to number ten. 

Gains

The unfortunate big gain of the week is "Blue Strips" by Jessie Murph is up fourteen places to seventeen for some unknown reason...the song is fucking terrible.

"Stargazing" by Myles Smith rebounded eight slots to twenty one while "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls climbed seven spots to twenty six. "Timeless" by The Weeknd feat. Playboi Carti got a remix with Doechii so that's up twenty to twenty nine for some inexplicable reason.

Losers

The only major loser this week was unsurprisingly "What Was That?" by Lorde which utterly collapsed twenty four spots to forty five. 

Drop Outs

"Azizam" bv Ed Sheeran is our only exit this week. 

New Entries

Just the one new entry this week, let's dive into...

46. "Mystical Magical" by Benson Boone

Look I was charitable to Benson Boone's latt single mostly for the fact that it does sound like a Walk The Moon knock off especially on the verses but I cannot excuse this mess of a song because my god, Benson Boone is at his most screechy here to the point it's just actively irritating for me especially as the song gravitates toward squealing irritation which sits closer to Jessie Murph on "Blue Strips". Blergh...skip it.

So that wraps this week. Hopefully we get some good songs debuting soon because I am a bit tired of being negative but yeah it's Morgan Wallen next week so...ughh...

All 4 1994: 15th May

 So we got something of a slowdown this week where for once we have a sparse new entry list but there's still plenty of movement on the chart but just not at the top where for yet another week, it's "The Sign" by Ace of Base remaining at number one, now this isn't a surprise...it's got plenty of sales to handily stick around at the top for a week for two more. 

Also with breathing room at number two is "Breathe Again" by Toni Braxton at number but I"d argue, it's not really a threat for the number one spot, it's sales are looking a tad bit shaky which leaves room for "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" by The Symbol up four places to number three to make a run for possibly the number one spot in the weeks ahead. 

"Without You" by Mariah Carey holds on at number four while "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion tumbled two spots to number five. Both these songs look to be done with their chart runs in the top ten so I expect to see them both fall away gradually over the next few weeks. 

"Right In the Night" by Jam & Spoon feat. Plavka continues to hang around at number six, it seems to be wavering on whether it moves higher or not. 

The big surprise this week was "I'll Remember" by Madonna moving up two to number seven...I thought this song was too weirdly produced for it to do any damage in the top ten however it's move "Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen might have happened anyway as it collapsed three spots to number eight.

The unwelcome surprise in the top ten is "Doop" by Doop climbed eight places to number nine because the world hates me or something. Why is this becoming a hit? Seriously?

Finally in better news "Things Can Only Get Better" by D:Ream rebounded one to number ten and honestly I hope this does rise in the top ten for a change. 

Losers

"Hush Sweet Lover" by K.D Lang tumbled from thirty six to forty nine this week while "Easy" by Hunters & Collectors slipped six spots to forty six. 

Hoodoo Gurus felt a ten place plunge with "Less Than A Feeling" down to thirty six and "Cornflake Girl" by Tori Amos slipped from twenty seven to thirty two. 

Gains

So :Steppin' On Remix" by Sexing The Cherry climbed six places to forty two off their re-entry while Satisfy The Groove" by Culture Shock shocked it's way up from forty nine to forty one.  The big gain this week came for Eternal's "Stay" which climbed nineteen spots to thirty one this week which is good to see considering that song is pretty dang good. 

Sadly also having a good sized gain is "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies which crashed up from thirty eight to twenty four...ugh.,..

"Is It Love" by Twenty 4 Seven feat, Stay-C and Nance up eight to twenty two.

Re Entries

"To The Top" by Peter Andre is somehow back at number forty eight.

New Entries

Just the two new entries this week, starting with...

50. "I'm Broken" by Pantera.

Well, never expected that I'd have the chance to talk about a song from American heavy metal legends Pantera but here we are, this song comes from their album "Far Beyond Driven" and is apparently about the back pain that the lead singer Phil Anselmo was experiencing and how vulnerable he felt while needing others to help him while he was in pain. 

This is also where I admit that heavy metal is not a subgenre that I tend to enjoy that much but with a new Dr Alban song on the list, I guess this is the one hope I had so how is it? Yeah, this is definitely a Pantera song with screams and the guitars, the vocals do get across the pain and vulnerability and that guilty solo in the middle was nice...I guess I was hoping for something a tad darker in sound though? 

45. "It's My Life" by Dr Alban

So with "Sing Hallelujah" experiencing a modicum of success, I am not surprised we are getting a follow up single and yeah, I am not a fan of this either especially the forced rapping that has very little in the way of personality and production that sounds like a collection of train noises over a thumping dance beat.Skip this song.

Easy worst of the week with the best of the week going to Pantera for "I'm Broken"...hopefully next week will be more interesting. 

ARIA Singles Chart Top 50. May 12th.

 We finally got some change to our top ten this week! Just a shame that this week also brought one of the worst songs to debut on the chart in recent memory but we'll get to that because let's get to the top ten where of course for yet another week "Ordinary" by Alex Warren remains at number one and really at this point, it's so strong on sales and streaming and while that is the case, I don't see anything getting near it. 

However there is a new number two this week with "Undressed" by Sombr climbing nine places as it also has strong streaming, it's just a question of if it's sales can catch up to it's streaming. It did help push "That's So True" by Gracie Abrams back one to number three and "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan to number four.

"Love Me Not"  by Ravyn Lenae climbed up seven places to number five and seems to have some decent momentum behind it which I am absolutely delighted about. I still like this song a lot. 

All that was enough to  see "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars slide two places to number six while "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish held steady at number seven. 

Finally looking to be on the way out of the top ten is "Die With a Smile' by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars which stumbled two places to numnber eight while former number one "Messy" by Lola Young fell back one place to number nine.

"Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone continues to cling to the top ten like a poo on a string refusing to fall into the toilet but it did fall five places to number ten.

Gains

Sombr's gains continued outside the top ten as "Back to Friends" climbed seven places to number twelve. 

Gracie Abrams tour of Australia sees continued gains for "I Love You, I'm Sorry", this time up fifteen places to eighteen.

Alex Warren's "Carry You Home" climbed eight places to twenty four which makes sense as people are looking to hear other songs from the artist currently at number one. 

I don't really have an explanation for why "Stargazing" by Myles Smith is up twenty places to twenty nine or "Too Sweet"by Hozier is up sixteen to thirty two.

Losers

It would seem the public are finally done with Dasha's "Austin" so that's down eight to number 50. 

Tate McRae's "Revolving Door" collapsed ten spots to forty. I am surprised this has stuck around this long considering how uninterested people have been in 2025 music. 

"Sorry I'm here for Someone Else" by Benson Boone slumped seven to forty one while "Abracadabra" by Lady Gaga also slid ten places to thirty eight. "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls fell nine to thirty three.

Finally and most unsurprisingly, "What Was That?" by Lorde tumbled twelve spots to twenty one. 

New Entries

One new entry this week...shame it's...

31. "Blue Strips" by Jessie Murph

I was dreading this song turning up on the chart having heard what a few critics have had to say about it and yeah, let me add this blog to those critics because this song absolutely blows blue strips and blue whatever else...that's how miuch this song absolutely sucks, Jessie Murph sounds nasal as hell and that multi tracking tacked to her vocals isn't improving her "singing" in this revenge fantasy where she's wanting to get  back at somebody and the instrumentation cannot sell any of it convincingly. This is one of the worst songs of the year to chart thus far. Please do not let this crap become a hit.

Yeah obvious worst of the week here. There's so much better music that could  be charting instead of this like Tyne-James Organ's "One Way Ticket"

All 4 1994. 8th May. Mmm I'll Stand and Stay By You

So things have slowed down ever so slightly...seriously...half of the top ten didn't move at all this week while we did get our regularly scheduled slew of new entries however before we get to our new debuts, lets talk about that aforementioned top ten where for a second week "The Sign" by Ace of Base remains at number and it just doesn't look like being toppled right now. 

It held up over "Breathe Again" by Toni Braxton which held strong at number two as did "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion at number three, "Without You" by Mariah Carey and "Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen at number five.

Where the changes do kick is at number six because "Right in the Night" by Jam & Spoon feat. Plavka climbed ten places to reach the top ten, this song definitely has some good momentum behind it and that hook only helps its caused. 

Happy to see "The Most Beautiful Girl in The World" by The Symbol up five to nuimber seven. The song is still absolutely excellent and I am thrilled to see it here. 

All of this saw "Dum Da Dum" by Melodie MC down one spot to number eight however weirdly Madonna's badly produced "I'll Remember" is up two to number nine.

"It's Alright" by East 17 rounds out the top ten down four places to number ten. It's fading naturally now...thank goodness. 

Losers

On that note, let's go through these losers because we do have a few this week, let's start with M People's "One Night in Heaven" which looks like a complete non starter down seven to forty seven while former top five hit "Slave to the Music" by Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance tumbled six places to forty six. 

Down eight to forty five is "Feelin' Alright" by EYC while "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" by Michael Bolton slipped seven to thirty five and "Cornflake Girl" by Tori Amos stumbled six places to twenty seven (this song has hung around longer than I thought it would).

Beck's "Loser lived up to it's name this week by sliding seven places to twenty while "Whatta Man" by Salt 'N' Pepa fell five to fourteen and "Sing Hallelujah" by Dr. Alban down five to thirteen.

Gains

Not too much  in the way of major gains this week but some of the other debutants from last week got gains like "I Believe" by Marcella Detroit climbed nine places to thirty three and of course the horrible "Doop" by Doop jumped from twenty three to seventeen because of course it did. 

Unfortunately there was a decent six place gain to twenty five for "I'm Ready" by Tevin Campbell 

Re - Entries

Sexing The Cherry is back on the singles chart with "Stepping On Remix" back at number forty eight 

New Entries

50. "Stay" by Eternal

So this is a song that was originally recorded in 1990 by American singer Glenn Jones before British trio Eternal decided to record the song in 1993 and you know what? I do like this, the harmonies really kick this track a level higher, its  sounds just like a great song to just vibe to and these ladies certainly have some kick ass confidence. I dig it, definitely check this one out!

49. "Satisfy The Groove" by Culture Shock

Culture Shock are an Australian dance trio whose first studio album was released in 1993 with this song being released a single and I will say this group remind me a lot of a combination of Euphoria and a bunch of other acts who have gone the dance rap sound, this song isn't terrible but when Melodie MC and others have done this sound better, I won't be coming back to it. 

39. "U R The Best Thing" by D:Ream

So we've already got a follow up to "Things Can Only Get Better" and I'll be honest here, I am not liking this one as much as I liked the previous song and it's hard to pinpoint why, maybe it's just the lack of organic swell in this song that made "Things Can |Only Get Better" so positive and infectious or it's quite possibly sounding like most of the other eurodance junk out there...next!

38. "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies

Okay, so we're dealing here with a Canadian rock band and is the lead single from their second album "God Shuffled His Feet", it's a song about three different children who have some kind of physical "abnormality", a boy who was in a car accident missing school for an extended period of time and when he returned his hair was white instead of black, a girl refused to changed clothes in front of her classmates because of birthmarks on her body while the third child is a boy whose parents demand he come straight home from school. Now I think thiat while the intent of the song is to be applauded, that hook is annoying as all hell and dear god could someone teach the lead vocallist to sing with some fucking passion instead of sounding like he is having dental surgery...this isn't good...skip it!

31. "I'll Stand by You" by The Pretenders.

Our last two new entries are carry overs from the 80s with one of those being British rock band The Pretenders who had one of my favourite hits of 1980 with "Brass in Pocket" so cue my surprise with this song being a ballad about standing by someone going through a dark time in their lives regardless of whatever is happening and not letting anyone else or anything else get to them. It is pretty powerful and resonant especially when the choir kicks in on the last part of the song. It's a good song, hope it sticks around. 

26. "Less Than A Feeling" by Hoodoo Gurus

Finally wrapping up the week with the new one from Hoodoo Gurus with this song coming from the album "Crank" and again it's that vocal production that stops me from liking this song more than I do, the lead vocals just feel too buried in the mix that it makes it hard to understand what's being said which is a shame because I do like a lot else around the song especially the guitars and drums which give this song a really damn solid groove to work off. Oh well...it happens.

However it's not the worst of the week that dubious honour is going to "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies, just no.

Best of the week is harder, I think "Stay" by Eternal just nudges out "I'll Stand by You" by The Pretenders but it's really damn close.