The Top Ten Best Hit Songs of 2019

I always like making best hit songs lists of any given year, it’s fun to remember the songs you loved during a year and know that so many other people were also loving the same songs hence making them massive hits and honestly while 2019 did have some pretty dire stuff that I’ve already discussed in the Worst Hit Songs of 2019, it also had Taylor Swift making a solid to good album, the breakout success stories of Billie Eilish, Tones and I, Lil Nas X and rather belatedly Lizzo and you know what? All four artists produced some quality, hell three of the four artists I mentioned made this list.

A reminder that the songs on this list must have made the ARIA year end list for 2019 and 2018 and other past hit songs don’t count unless they ended up higher on the 2019 list than they did in 2018 or previously which rules out a song like "Bohemian Rhapsody"

First though a couple of shoutouts to songs that missed out so consider these my honourable mentions

•          “Choir” by Guy Sebastian
•          “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish
•          “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I
•          “Never Seen the Rain” by Tones and I
•          “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper
•          “Wow” by Post Malone
•          “Sunflower” by Post Malone feat. Swae Lee
•          “Woke Up Late” by Drax Project feat. Hailee Steinfeld
•          “If I Can’t Have You” by Shawn Mendes
•          “Mess Her Up” by Amy Shark 
•      "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X

• 
  

All good to great songs but just missed out because I simply couldn’t find room in my top ten for them so let’s get on with the list proper.

There’s a deep part of me frustrated that this song wasn’t the breakout global smash like it deserved to be for Tones and I but hey it made the year end of 2019 still so it is making this list.

10. “Johnny Run Away” by Tones and I

For as much as I liked “Dance Monkey”, it won’t be making the list proper as ridiculously catchy as it is, “Johnny Run Away” just connects for me so much better. The story of a young man opening up about his sexuality to his father at a young age and his father not being at all accepting of it and how the young man deals with being judged and the pain of being rejected by his father, his wider family and a world that while is growing to be more accepting of homosexuality, there’s still many that reject it for whatever reason, it’s actually heart breaking to listen to

This song is just a well crafted pop gem that tells a story very effectively and while it wasn’t the smash Tones and I’s next single was, this song deserves your attention all the same, check it out.

This next artist is making two appearances on this list and while this song has appeared at number one on several other best hits of 2019 lists, it’s only appearing at number nine here but it’s place on this list is so richly deserved.

9. “When the Party’s over” by Billie Eilish

You know, there hasn’t been an artist with this much intrigue over her music career as Billie Eilish in a while and this haunting sparse piano ballad about a toxic relationship that’s at the breaking point turned a lot of heads when it was released in 2018 as it should because “When the Party’s Over” is the sort of song with a self-aware framing where Billie knows she’s not good for this other person and often that loneliness that she’s feeling is better than being around that other person even if it blows to get to that point and she just wants the other person to let the relationship end and both move on with their lives.

It’s a bitter track but framed in a way that shows both Billie and this other person have done wrong and it’s time for both to part and move on with their lives. Great song.

I never imagined I’d be putting this next act on my best hits list of ANY YEAR but in 2019, he really improved to a point where four of his songs ended up on my most played of 2019 playlist on Spotify and while this wasn’t his big number one hit of 2019, this was the song that saw him get even bigger if that was possible...

8. “Circles” by Post Malone

2019 was the year I made an about face on Post Malone, I like “Sunflower” with Swae Lee, Young Thug’s verse on “Goodbyes” is the worst part of that song and “Wow” is so incredibly stupid it comes together well but “Circles” is the song of his hits this year that blew me away, mainly because it was a step away from the trap sound into a more chill brand of pop rock music that instrumentally was so chill yet Post Malone is frustrated that he and this girl are still doing the same thing over and over again and he wants her to make up her mind and make a decision instead of sending them both around in circles, it’s a good song and the fact it’s still in the top ten at the end of February is testament to that.

Speaking of artists who in the recent past probably would have been more likely to make my worst list…come on down, Taylor Swift.

7. “Lover” by Taylor Swift

The title track from Taylor Swift’s surprisingly good album “Lover” is not the best song from it, hell, “The Archer” and “Paper Rings” are better but given Taylor chose “Me!” with Brendon Urie and “You Need to Calm Down” (the latter would have  been a dishonourable mention on my worst list if I’d done dishonourable mentions) as singles and make “The Archer” a promotional single, “Lover” was the song that stood out mostly because it’s a very intimate song where Taylor is deeply in love wanting to go wherever her new beau goes, its actually a sweet love song and I am glad it made the ARIA Year end list,

Empowerment songs are generally mediocre, they tend to only work if the person singing as a powerful and passionate voice and genuinely believes what they are attempting to sell to the public, when they don’t work, they sound tinny, whiny and kind of conceited. Not the case for this though…

6. “Good as Hell” by Lizzo

So 2019 saw me come to grips with the fact that try as I might, Lizzo is not my cup of tea, “Truth Hurts” frequently reminds me of Khalid’s “Young, Dumb and Broke” and really its not a great song and  Lizzo is an artist really does give a LOT of personality in her songs and she can be very in your face however I think that kind of confident persona is something that works so well on “Good As Hell”, she’s this breezy, confident person who can sell this sort of self-empowerment song.

The song’s message pretty boils down to not letting the world’s or your own problems get you down and trying, it’s quite the fitting song for Lizzo given she has been recording and releasing albums for years but older songs like “Truth Hurts” and now “Good as Hell” and the remix with Ariana Grande is probably better than the original given it gives us a brief break from the very in your face personality of Lizzo. Great song!

So the top five on this list are unchanged from the mid year list although I may have changed the ranking, this song nearly fell out of my top five owing to how shallow it is but…

5. “Sweet But Psycho” by Ava Max

Honestly, this song is your definition of shallow pop music but there’s a place in pop for this kind of song and Ava Max does it well, The framing is about both people involved are completely into it, they both want it especially as he is just as crazy as she is. Granted I am not sure how much of a good thing sampling “Down” by Jay Sean will do for Ava Max’s career, she’s not really had a second hit despite releasing multiple singles.

Also to those trying to take “Sweet But Psycho” seriously, stop, take a cold shower and move on, it’s not designed to be even vaguely serious, it’s just an absurd, ridiculously fun pop song, remember when pop music was FUN? ‘Sweet But Psycho” gets sillier the more you think about it and you know what? That’s okay.

This was Miley’s best performance in 2019…

4. “Nothing Breaks Like A Heart” by Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus

2019 was a weird one for Miley, she released an EP which everybody forgot about a good two months after, a stand alone single called “Slide Away” which while not being bad, it wasn’t great and she also collaborated with Mark Ronson for “Nothing Breaks Like A Heart” a wonderful tasteful slice of EDM crossed with pop and country that, unlike Marshmello’s horrendous “One Thing Right” with Kane Brown, nailed this song damn near perfectly.

For one thing, Miley sounds so damn good on this song, the day she wakes up and realizes her voice is perfect for country or country adjacent music is going to be a wonderful day and Mark Ronson knows how to put together production that suits the vocalist involved, its genuinely impressive, in terms of EDM, Ronson is definitely out in front. Great job!

This is the second and last time she will appear on this list, if anything was clear from music in 2019, Billie Eilish is here to stay.

3. “Bury A friend” by Billie Eilish

It’s amazing this song was even a hit to begin with it’s industrial sound, it’s not anything close to being your conventional pop song yet in 2019, “Bury A friend” was a hit signifying that the Australian public has a whole are ready for songs that sink into a darker and more twisted subject matter, Billie is able to warp and twist the subject matter of this monster talking to her from underneath her bed as she seems more scared of real life terrors rather than whatever is lurking beneath her bed. It’s an incredibly catchy but low key song that emphasises how well Billie can capture an audience. If anything, “Bury A Friend” is the song that made it clear that Billie Eilish is a star and she is sticking around and for mainstream music, that’s a good thing.

So in an era where hip hop has mostly seemed bland and lifeless, this song particularly in early 2019 provided a reminder of how much fun hip hop can be,

2. “Leave Mr Lonely” by Hilltop Hoods.

Yes, this is my favourite Australian hit of the year, a song with a sublime guitar sample to start the song. MC Suffa told Triple J the song is about the struggle of being cornered into a conversation with a close talker who is talking a lot of rubbish and being just tired enough of it to snap hence the line lines “Loser, I won’t dress it up. Me and my friends, we are not here for your BS” which is a line that should be engraved into Australian culture already.

It’s just a fun song that should have been huge around the world given it completely steers away from the dreary trap slog that the US hip hop scene finds itself in and I find incredibly monotonous so yeah “Leave Me Lonely” is a slice of Aussie hip hop that the rest of the world should have cottoned onto in 2019 but hey given its success in Australia, I’m happy and deserves to be this high on this list.

I think my number one pick was almost set in stone by March 2019, I was deeply in love with this smooth coolness of this song and it struck a chord for me that no other song in 2019 matched because for as much as I love “Leave Me Lonely” and “Bury A Friend”, neither quite hit for me like this did…

1.       1. "Dancing with A Stranger” by Sam Smith and Normani

So yeah I know, this song is light weight Emotional Oranges and its easy to see the parallels between this song and Normani’s hit with Khalid “Love Lies’ from 2018 but unlike “Love Lies”, “Dancing with a Stranger” is a melancholy song where Sam Smith and Normani are seeking to move on from a past relationship and find some relief from their melancholy with a dance.

Musically, “Dancing With a Stranger” owes a lot of it’s sound to 80s R’n’B but my god it does it well especially at achieving the cool not wanting to be lonely sound that the song’s subject matter deals with and hell the watery textures work better here than they did on “Without Me” by Halsey plus Sam Smith sounds great over a song like this, I can only hope his upcoming album has more tracks like this one and Normani is the perfect choice for the collab as they work so damn well together.

“Dancing With A Stranger” the best hit song of 2019.

The Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 2019

We have reached the end of 2019, so it is time to discuss the hit songs that actively pissed me off during this year. 2019 is a difficult year to find the absolute worst in popular music mostly because a lot of it while not great was pretty good and others relatively inoffensive that I was just ambivalent toward, I really enjoyed this year music wise, however it also meant the absolutely terrible hit songs stuck out like sore thumbs and need to their rotting fleshy carcasses dealt with however I will say I am not as angry toward some of these as they aren’t worth the hatred as there was MUCH worse that didn’t chart (looking at you Liam Payne, Zac Brown Band and AJR)

My rules for this list are simple, the songs must have made their debut on the year end list for 2019 to be considered, overplayed on the radio cannot be a factor for making this list, a song has to actively piss me off with its content or the actual music to make it

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Also I have decided to introduce a new rule, if a song that made the 2018 year end list hits the 2019 year end list higher then that’s eligible for this list too.

Let’s get this show started with a song I am certain I am the only person that changed the station when it came on the radio because I was so tired of it

10. I’m So Tired” by Lauv and Troye Sivan

I loved Troye Sivan’s 2018 album “Bloom” however this song just drives me up the wall every single god damn time I hear it, it’s a song where Lauv and Sivan complain that they are “so tired of love songs” that they just want to go home and how sick they are of people falling in love to their song. Seriously? If a song makes that connection for somebody to falling in love that’s honestly a great thing. The second verse goes through how clingy this guy is, there’s a vague element of creepy here and that shines through in the production with its minimalist and uninteresting close to trap music sound that by the way is so played out in modern music.

If you can get past how creepy the vocals and the production is on this song than good for you…I guess but I can’t…this song blows…time to move on…

This next song is from a group that really disappointed me in 2019, this band released a song earlier in the decade that might just make my top ten best hit songs of the decade, but I can’t lie when they disappointed me, they disappointed me hard and boy did they disappoint in 2019

9. “Rescue Me” by OneRepublic

It’s hard to believe OneRepublic have gone from pop rock anthems like “Counting Stars” and “Love Runs Out” to “Rescue Me” mostly because both “Counting Stars” and “Love Runs Out” sees OneRepublic front man Ryan Tedder exude some charisma and genuine personality on both songs that make them infectious and danceable however “Rescue Me”  can’t enter the pantheon  Tedder sounds monotonous and lacking any sort of fire or passion on the hook and as for the production, the instrumentation sounds like its trying to connect three or four different songs, it just doesn’t work at all and this was another instant radio station changer when this come on, it’s a painfully tired song and OneRepublic are capable of so much better.

Speaking of capable of so much better, two genuine pop music popstars get together for a collaboration and come up with this?

8. “I Don’t Care” by Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber

It ought to be a crime to have Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber on a song together and neither of them show more personality or charisma than a cake of soap and much like Ryan Tedder on “Rescue Me”, they sound like they would rather be anywhere else than dancing with their baby, these two sound like they are having as much fun as a couple of kids in detention writing “I must not sing “Yummy” during maths”

Also not helping is the production lacking any kind of groove or energy. The only energy about this song is what sounds like a monkey jacked up on sleeping pills and Red Bull.

Given what Justin Bieber has released this year so far, its safe to say he will be on this list again not that he’d care all that much.

So after “Meant to Be” in 2018, country and pop combining continued to be a thing with Dan and Shay’s “10,000 Hours” feat. Justin Bieber which while boringly nauseating didn’t make my blood run cold however I can’t say the same for this EDM-country mess, Marshmello, PLEASE EXPLAIN?

7. “One Thing Right” by Marshmello feat. Kane Brown

After the “Meant to Be” clusterfuck of 2018, I would have thought pop and country would have learned that this kind of thing has more chance of sounding terrible than any good but EDM producer Marshmello not getting the message with this attempt at EDM country ‘rock’ with that awful squealing guitar during the breakdown that just sends a cold chill down my back and my teeth on edge every time I hear it.

The production means Kane Brown has to deliver the lyrics in this flat monotone not that it really matters because the lyrics are the 2019 version of Hoobastank’s “The Reason” with all the sickening subtext as well, if you’ve cheated on and lied to her, Kane, why the hell is she sticking around? She should have packed up and left you ages ago.

This song got played over any number of women in country and independent artists on US country radio and added to the unnecessary maligning of country music as a whole.

Marshmello can go away any time he likes as far as I am concerned.

So my thoughts on this band in recent days have been overwhelmingly positive in light of the release of their most recent single on Thursday so in order to figure out why they are making this list, you have to go back to the first single from this upcoming album…

6. “Easier” by 5 Seconds of Summer

My anger at this song is kind of diluted by the fact that “Teeth” was pretty good and their new single “No Shame” is excellent however it makes “Easier” a massive disappointment because there was so much potential to this song instead the production sounds like the three producers on this track Louis Bell, Andrew Watt, andCharlie Puth intermixed four sounds into one and it sounds TERRIBLE.

Luke’s falsetto on this song is ear grating, granted it’s much better on “No Shame” but that doesn’t excuse how awful “Easier” is on the ear which draws attention to the lyrics which draw into this toxic relationship where he doesn’t want to find out the answer if its easier to stay or go because this girl is beautiful…a girl being beautiful is NOT a good enough reason to stay in a bad relationship, this is the sort of relationship that sinks toward being in emotionally abusive territory. Definitely not a good song,

Look, this next guy has been a plague on the music scene for the entirety of the 2010s and what is worse some people want to crown this person as a king of R’n’B despite many of his albums during the past decade being bloated atrocities yet somehow this over rated and overtly decorated clown still somehow has a music career,

5. “No Guidance” by Chris Brown and Drake

So somehow everyone, who in recent days has been lining up to give Justin Bieber a pass for a generic plague dispenser of a lazy, slapdash album which they shouldn’t. has declared Chris Brown a legend and wanting to bestow some kind of “king of ‘r’n’b’ crown, two titles that he does not deserve as his songs are mostly drizzled with autotune or absolutely gross eg: 2017 single “No Privacy” or his 2018 hit with “rapper” Lil Dicky “Freaky Friday” (which should have made my worst list in 2018). This song is an absolute slog to sit through with its bland beat as Brown continues to show his terrible attitude toward women by gaslighting young women into having sex with him. Ew.

What is not much better is there’s no chemistry or interesting word play by either Drake or Brown has they sloppily try to hook up with a girl through layers of autotune. Chris Brown is no king of R’n’B and Drake will most likely continue to be the most over exposed music star in the world next to Ariana Grande (we’ll get to her) while inspiring Justin Bieber to shit out mediocrity

Oh boy…this song has been piled on by plenty of people and originally, I wasn’t one of them however with the passing of time I have realized my mistake and that Lewis Capaldi was committing crimes against good music.

4. “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi

Here we have the most overwrought song to become a hit since Whitney Houston’s ghastly cover of “I Will Always Love You” (have to slaughter one sacred cow) but unlike Whitney Houston, Lewis Capaldi sounds like he is just perpetually in pain after one too many kicks to the scrotum while on a bender which makes “Somebody Like You” intolerable at least from a vocal standpoint, the only saving grace for Capaldi is that at least he has more charisma than Justin Bieber.

This song is toxic in the worst way possible, it only reinforces what this girl did without any balance to indicate why she maybe did what she did to end the relationship and the song just comes off sounding like Capaldi whining over this really dreary piano. Yeah, I might have liked this song when it first came out but yeah repeated listens to it on the radio soured me on this toxic, whiny mess in no time at all and if “Before You Go” makes the year end for 2020, we might well be talking about Capaldi again. Joy.

So let’s get to a regular on a year-end worst list…Halsey. Now much like 5 Seconds of Summer, she has released a decent song off her new album “Manic” as her new single and it is currently sitting in the top 5 but if you all remember, in 2019, she released this…

3. “Without Me” by Halsey

This song was never going to top this list but oh boy, this song has so many issues, it’s hard to know where to begin, the production is this watery mess that’s not got enough gravitas to carry any of the melodrama that Halsey is trying to sell with all the enthusiasm of a seven year old child trying to avoid hugging that uncle who smells of cigarettes and stale farts.

The content of the song though is the reason that this song is so high up on this list where Halsey claims she was the one who carried presumably G-Eazy to the top which I doubt considering he was doing well on the charts before those two started dating, it’s got this veneer of ego and lack of self-awareness that makes this song frankly really toxic and paints Halsey in a pretty ordinary light. I have no use for this song.

Now we get to somebody I never imagined I would be putting on a year end worst list but it was the first song of 2019 that I took an instant dislike too and well…

2. “7 Rings” by Ariana Grande

Man, I was really starting to like Ariana Grande and she goes and releases this awful trap ridden garbage that her cooing sounds terrible over which features an interpolation of “My Favourite Things” from Sound of Music? I mean come on Ariana, you are better than this especially when “Into You”, “Love Me Harder”, “No Tears Left to Cry” and even “Dangerous Woman” exist!

Also the message of the song is a horrific one, if you feel sad, go out and spend a tonne of money because Ariana’s fans all have parents who are loaded with money and can afford to let their kids splash out on a new doll or whatever because they are feeling sad. Capitalism isn’t something we can revert to whenever we are feeling miserable, Ariana, that isn’t healthy for anyone.

This is a gross and frankly awful song that hopefully will be forgotten about but its not my number one so what could possibly be worse than what I’ve already spoken about?

My number one song reflects how toxic the world is right now in all kinds of ways, this guy should never had a top ten hit with this nor should this have been excused by so many people.

1.       1. "Hot Girl Bummer” by Blackbear

This song just shouldn’t exist, it just shouldn’t and the fact this song became a bigger hit in Australia than the song it rode the magic carpet off that being “Hot Girl Summer” by Megan Thee Stallion feat. Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign is a crime worthy of having somebody locked in Long Bay jail for and the fact he dropped this cheap crappy synth and trap slog makes me question whether hip hop and popular music have any god damn standards anymore.

The implication that all these girls that Blackbear is meeting with at this party are stupid and cheat every Thursday unlike him, the stench of rising crappy misogyny rising from this stinky turd is actually intolerable especially as Blackbear is the one painting himself as somebody who would never cheat and oh he is too big to fit in a condom. I mean please that is gross.

At the end of the day, this song is the pissy, disgusting kind of garbage the charts can ill afford, worst hit song of 2019 and if we’re lucky, Blackbear will fade into relative obscurity.

ARIA Singles Chart top ten/ Chart Review: 23rd December. Harry's Mini Fine Line album bomb

So my intention is to breeze through this pretty quickly because honestly I do want to get back to work on my Best hit songs of 1996 list as this week really wasn't that interesting but I guess it's good enough before all the Christmas songs inevitably swamp the chart next week.
For a 21st week, it's "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I at number one, it's a bit of a dicey battle as to whether it will get a 22nd week at number one especially as Mariah's streaming numbers are strong.

"Don't Start Now" by Dua Lipa holds on to number two. I really would like to see this song be the next number one song but its been swallowed up by Christmas music on streaming while sales are doing well, I doubt this is going to go number one.

The rest of the top six is pretty much the same with "Roxanne" by Arizona Zervas at number three, "Memories" by Maron 5 at number four (can we fuck this garbage off the charts NOW please), "Circles" by Post Malone at number 5 and "Ride It" by Regard at number six.

Riding the wave off the release of his album "Fine Line", Harry Styles single "Adore You" climbed 7 places to number seven, it pushed "Never Seen the Rain" by Tones and I back to number eight. I don't expect "Adore You" to stick around in the top ten tbh.

Breaking into the top ten is "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd rising five places to number nine. Excellent news because the song is fucking fantastic

Finally, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey has finally hit the top ten rising one place to number ten.

Gains

We have a lot of Harry Styles to talk about and he is the leading big gainer this week with "Watermelon Sugar" jumping twenty places to number 12.

"Before You Go" by Lewis Capaldi rose nine places to break into the top 20 at number seventeen because of course we need more dull sappiness on the chart.

Then we have Wham's "Last Christmas" up seven to twenty three and "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" by Michael Buble rose six places to number thirty two.

Re-Entries

Just the one re-entry with Harry Styles "Lights Up" back at 34

Losers
Taylor Swift's "Lover" hit 50 (this song should still make year end list I hope) while "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X down to 27 from 18. Those were the only really significant losses this week.

Dropouts

Some significant ones here although they were all returns a few weeks ago with "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, "Wow" by Post Malone, "How Do you Sleep?" by Sam Smith and "Rans$om" by Lil Tecca gone. All will comfortably make year end chart.

They also took with them "Robbery" by Juice WRLD and "Up All Night" by Khalid,

New Entries

I wish Tik Tok would go the hell away because the highest debuting single belongs to Trevor Daniel's "Falling" at number 14...it's not a good song.

Harry Styles saw two album tracks hit the chart with "Falling" debuting at 35 and "Golden" at number 46

Forgettable at best, terrible at worst is the debut at number 36 which is "My Oh My" by Camila Cabello feat. Dababy..

A massive hit in the UK right now is "Owned it" by Stormzy feat. Ed Sheeran and Burna Boy, it's debuted on the ARIA singles chart at number 40.

Not sure I am going to cover next week's chart as it is likely to be swamped with Christmas music...joy....may just do the top ten and move on. Best hit songs of 1996 is coming soon. Don't forget the ARIA Chart updates at 5pm AEDT on Saturday.

ARIA Singles Chart top ten/ Chart Review: 16th December. 2019 hits rise again.

This week is a weird one and it’s mostly weird when we get to our gains and what re-entered the chart this week, we also saw some shifts within the top ten including one shift in the top ten that caught me by surprise.

What wasn’t a surprise is a twentieth week at number one for “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I, I don’t see this song going anywhere as its somehow still ruling sales and streaming.

What was a welcome surprise was Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now” moving to number 2 and becoming Dua’s highest charting hit in Australia as it is pretty consistent on both sales and streaming, sales is what moved it past “Roxanne” by Arizona Zervas at number three which  hasn’t quite had the sales to match it’s consistent streaming.

“Memories” by Maroon 5 regained ground to number four pushing “Circles” by Post Malone back to number five.

“Ride It” by Regard stays steady at number six while “Never Seen the Rain” by Tones and I moved up one place to number seven and “Good as Hell” by Lizzo up to number eight.

“Everything I Wanted” by Billie Eilish drops two places to number nine. Sadly, back for what I hope is a final week in the top ten is “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi which rose seven places.

Gains

The gains were mostly for 2019 hits that got boosts on the back of people listening to their year end Spotify playlists etc so songs like “Sunflower” by Post Malone and Swae Lee which went from 36 to 21 and “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X which jumped from 29 to 18, “Senorita” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello to 17.

Long running 2018 hit “Eastside” by Benny Blanco feat. Halsey and Khalid jumped from 45 to 34.

Also gaining big was Christmas music with “All I Want For Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey up to 11 and “Last Christmas” by Wham to 30

Re Entries

We have a whole slew of re-entries this week. Juice WRLD’s untimely death saw “Lucid Dreams”  back at 16, “Bandit” feat. Youngboy Never Broke Again at 45, and “Robbery” at 49.

Also back this week were “Ran$om” by Lil Tecca at 42, “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper at 43 and “Wow” by Post Malone at 47.

Losers

Some big losers this week with the biggest being “Lover” by Taylor Swift which fell hard to 39 from 23 unfortunately…it should make the year end list…just.

“Highest in the Room” by Travis Scott slipped to 33 from 21, “Up All Night” by Khalid dropped from 37 to 50. Sadly, “Castles” by Freya Ridings fell from 26 to 35.'

“Trampoline” by Shaed fell ten places to 44 while former US number ones also had big tumbles with “Heartless” by The Weeknd stumbling from 10 to 24, “Lose You to Love me” by Selena Gomez hit 25 proving how forgettable that song is.

Finally, ‘Rushing Back” by Flume feat. Vera Blue hit 29 down from 18.

Dropouts

“Lights Up” by Harry Styles exited this week but should be back on the chart next week after the release of Harry’s second album “Fine Line”. Also gone are “Teeth” by 5 Seconds of Summer, “Yellow Hearts” by Ant Saunders, “Catching Feelings” by Drax Project feat. Six60, “Only Human” by Jonas Brothers (Good fucking riddance), “Follow God” by Kanye West and “Used to Love” by Martin Garrix feat. Dean Lewis

New Entries

Just the one new entry this week with “Adore You” by Harry Styles in at number 14, I can see this song reaching the top ten following the album release next week.

The questions are will Mariah Carey can crack the top ten and will we get an album bomb from Harry Styles? Those questions and more will be answered when ARIA updates their charts at 5pm AEDT on Saturday.

ARIA top ten singles/ Chart Review: 9th December. Christmas music returns

So it was coming for awhile now but this week saw the arrival of Christmas music on the chart, whether or not we wanted it to or not, we also got the expected chart entries for The Weeknd but we’ll get to all of that in a second but first our top ten where for a NINETEENTH week “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I continues its remarkable run at the top and again I am not seeing what is going to topple it just yet especially as it still as streaming and sales on lock.

“Roxanne” by Arizona Zervas spends another week at number two, it’s got good streaming and there’s signs that the sales might be catching up but is it all too little too late.

The week’s biggest gainer came from Dua Lipa with “Don’t Start Now” up four places to number three off the back of streaming and sales.

Post Malone regained some lost ground as “Circles” moved back up to number four off some solid streaming numbers, it thankfully moved past “Memories” by Maroon 5 which went down to number five this week (frankly, the sooner that song is gone the better)

“Ride It” by Regard slipped three places to number six as its streaming isn’t holding it up and sales can’t cover while “Everything I Wanted” by Billie Eilish slipped back one place to number seven, there’s signs of life for this song yet as streaming looks to be recovering.

Tones and I’s second song inside the top ten “Never Seen the Rain” jumped one place up to number eight thanks to a solid sales week, it pushed past “Good as Hell” by Lizzo at number nine.

Finally, The Weeknd’s big return is at number ten with “Heartless”, we’ve still got some more The Weeknd to talk about in the new entries.

Gains.

Not much to talk about here. “Lose Control” by Meduza feat. Becky Hill and Goodboys up two places to 15.

Re-Entries

The returns are both Christmas songs with Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas is You” in at number 20 and Wham’s “Last Christmas” back at 38.

Losers

“Follow God” by Kanye West continued its plunge down nine places to 49. Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” slid painfully from 39 to 46.

It wasn’t a good week for Harry Styles as “Lights Up” went from 33 to 41 and “Watermelon Sugar” got too sweet for some as it dropped eight to 28.

Drop Outs

Couple of songs likely to have snagged a spot on the year end list went this week with “It’s You” by Ali Gatie and “Higher Love” by Kygo and Whitney Houston.

Songs that might just make year end, but it will be tight are “Slide Away” by Miley Cyrus and “Liar” by Camila Cabello (that song might return with her album released last week)

Also gone is “Mean It” by Lauv feat. LANY.

New Entries

I did mention we have more The Weeknd to talk about, well, at 16 is the second song he dropped called “Blinding Lights”, a song I consider to be awesome and should be a massive hit.

Finally, the Christmas impact is also felt in the new arrivals with Michael Buble’s “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas” in at 42.

Next week, the likely return of several Juice WRLD songs following the rapper’s death in Chicago during the past week and the continued infiltration of Christmas music on the charts. ARIA will update the chart at 5pm AEDT on Saturday.

ARIA singles top ten/Chart Review: 2nd December. Watermelon Sugar gets a big sugar rush

So this week was strange just a few changes within the top ten and a couple of new entries lower down the chart, it was a rather slow week overall.

No change at the top for the eighteenth week where unbelievably "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I remains dominate. Sure its lost a little bit of streaming but the song is ruling sales and right now I don't see what's taking number one.

"Roxanne" by Arizona Zervas continues to be a streaming darling and would a number one contender if its sales weren't so sluggish.

I would say "Ride It" by Regard is a chance but it spent the week bleeding on streaming and sales aren't really matching it anymore.

"Memories" by Maroon 5 continues it's bland and really pointless presence at number four. I am always surprised that ARIA remembered to include this song on the chart but no it's steady across the board so it's not going anywhere. Yikes.

"Circles" by Post Malone got a one place rebound to number 5 but like with "Ride It", it's bleeding on streaming too.

Then there's the expected four place drop for "Everything I wanted" by Billie Eilish. Not surprising as she keeps strangely promoting songs from her first album with "Xanny" set to get a video. Streaming for "Everything I wanted" has taken a dive, I expect to see this gone from the top ten next week.

What could make a play for number one in the weeks ahead is "Don't Start Now" by Dua Lipa which rebounded one place to number 7. This song is doing well on streaming and on sales, expect to see this in the top 5 next week, hell, it pushed Lizzo's "Good as Hell" back one place to number 8 which might have happened anyway.

"Never Seen the Rain" by Tones and I rose one place to number nine off the back of a good sales week and finally "Lose You to Love Me" by Selena Gomez seems set to leave the top ten dropping one place to number ten.

Gains

It was good news for Harry Styles ahead of the release of his sophomore album "Fine Line" with "Watermelon Sugar" the biggest climber this week up eighteen places to 20 other than that not too many major gains although 'Total Control" by Meduza feat. Becky Hill and Goodboys rose four places to 15.

Re-Entries

One return this week with the surprise winner of ARIA song of the year "Choir" by Guy Sebastian back at 45.

Losers
Kanye West's "Follow God" was the biggest loser again this week as it fell nine places to 40 as did "Slide Away" by Miley Cyrus which dropped from 40 to 49.

Drop Outs

The only song I am somewhat sad to see gone is "Motivation" by Normani, it had a really strange chart run, I'd be very pleasantly surprised if it makes the year end list.

"Panini" by Lil Nas X is more of a chance of making the year end list after it's exit this week while Post Malone's "Goodbyes" feat. Young Thug definitely will make the year end list.

Also gone is Onefour's "In The Beginning" after all the controversy faded.

New Entries

Lewis Capaldi's dull new single 'Before You Go" is the biggest new entry of the week at number 24.

The best of the three new arrivals is in at 35 with Khalid's "Up All Night" while finally Ant Saunders has his first single on the ARIA singles chart with "Yellow Hearts" new in at 37.

So that ends this week, expecting the start of the onslaught of Christmas music this week plus the two new singles from The Weeknd and maybe a re-entry for Mental as Anything following the death of Andrew "Greedy" Smith.

ARIA singles top ten/Chart Review: 25th November. Billie's "Everything I Wanted" debuts at two

So yet again another pretty quiet week apart from the new entries most of which I doubt will stick around and were mostly low enough to not really have much impact except for one song which we'll get to in our top ten where for a seventeenth week, "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I stays at number one and yet again I have no idea what the hell is going to top it unless Adele finally comes the hell out of nowhere in the last few weeks of 2019.

"Dance Monkey" did enough on streaming and sales to ensure that "Everything I Wanted" by Billie Eilish debuted at number two but I don't see this sticking around as it's leaking on streaming and sales, Billie's song unfortunately tend to debut high but don't stay high.

I also don't see "Roxanne" by Arizona Zevas back to number three getting close to number one because while streaming is excellent, sales are atrocious and there's only so much time that streaming will hang around especially when the next idiotic trap song comes along.

Billie Eilish's arrival also pushed "Memories" by Maroon 5 back two places to number four, thank you so much, Billie!. Probably means this song will not make a play for number one now.

In fact most of the rest of the top ten were also pushed back by "Everything I Wanted" with "Ride It" by Regard dropping two places to number five and "Circles" by Post Malone back two to number six,

Lizzo's "Good As Hell" clung on to number seven while Dua Lipa dropped two places to number eight with "Don't Start Now" but I expect this song to get an ARIA awards performance based boost this week.

Selena Gomez is in the firing line over her American Music Awards performance as the mediocre "Lose You to Love Me" dropped one place to number 9.

Finally, Tones and I's second song in the top ten "Never Seen the Rain" remains stuck at number ten mostly because streaming is letting it down.

Gains

The biggest gain of the week belongs to Taylor Swift's "Lover" rose from 43 to 13 thanks to the Shawn Mendes remix but beyond that? "Lights Up" by Harry Styles moved up from 31 to 27 mostly because of something in our new entries that we'll get to.

Losers
'
Kanye West had a bad week as "Follow God" was the biggest loser of the week as it tumbled hard to 31, he has unfortunately made his love song to controversial American fast food chain Chick-Fil-A the next single and the video is pretty terrible.

What is also unfortunate is that "Motivation" by Normani is down to 41...this song just hasn't taken off the way it should have and I am not sure why. Lil Nas X's "Panini" fell to 48.


Drop Outs

Look I am not really complaining too much here especially when we've lost shitty TikTok crap "Ran$om" by Lil Tecca (will make the year end list sadly), the horrendous "Look at Her Now" by Selena Gomez which may as well have been made on TikTok and Diplo's continued failure at ripping off country with "Lonely" feat. the Jonas Brothers ( who have spent 2019 being mediocre to awful)

Really only said to see "Trigger" by Major Lazer featuring Khalid and :"Choir" by Guy Seastian gone but with the latter's song of the year win at the ARIAs, I expect to see it's return next week.

New Entries

So apart from "Everything I wanted" by Billie Eilish at number two, we got Harry Styles promo single "Watermelon Sugar" at number 38.

Controversial Western Sydney Youtube rap group OneFour land "In the Beginning at number 39.

Lauv returns with LANY in tow for the underwhelming "Mean It" which debuts at 42 and finally Martin Garrix has collaborated with Dean Lewis for "Used to Love" debuting at 46.

So that's the week, I am not sure what to expect with boosts for artists who performed at the ARIAs, we'll have to wait and see. The chart updates at 5pm on Saturday

ARIA Singles top ten/Chart Review: 18th November. Dance Monkey shatters the record

So on an otherwise pretty quiet week overall on the ARIA singles chart however the quiet was obscured by history being made at the very top of the chart with "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I becoming the longest running number one in ARIA Chart history, it's now spent sixteen consecutive weeks at number one usurping the fifteen non consecutive weeks spent at number one by Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" in 2017. I've said for a few weeks it looks like the steam is running out but its still doing okay on streaming and on digital sales.

My opinion on "Dance Monkey"? I do like the song a fair bit. It's definitely unique, catchy and a bit of fun. Yes, Tones and I's voice can be a bit hit and miss but I would challenge anyone to come up with somebody who could do bring the same vocal intensity to "Dance Monkey" that Tones and I does

We got a new number two this week courtesy of "Memories" by Maroon 5 jumping two places to number four. Less said the better but it's matching "Dance Monkey" on sales but streams aren't even close right now/

"Ride It" by Regard remains stuck at number three. If other songs leap past this as expected, it's chances at number one are pretty much done unfortunately which is a shame because the song is actually decent.

What looks to be definitely done is "Circles" by Post Malone which dropped two places to number four after weeks of being stuck at number two behind "Dance Monkey", It's bleeding on digital sales and on streaming. 

The lone new entry this week has debuted in the top ten at number five that being the viral streaming sensation "Roxanne" by Arizona Zervas, its doing well on streaming and if it catches up in terms of sales, it could well be a number one hit. Keep an eye on this one.

"Don't Start Now" by Dua Lipa got a two place boost to number six. I expect this song to stay in the top ten as its doing pretty well across the board but needs its streaming numbers to improve to rise higher however it was enough to push Lizzo's "Good As Hell" back to number seven but much like Dua Lipa.

All this pushed "Lose You to Love Me' by Selena Gomez back three places to number five. Honestly, this song is so forgettable I am always surprised ARIA remembered to ut it on the chart.

Speaking of forgettable, "10,000 Hours" by Dan and Shay feat. Justin Bieber which dropped two places to number nine.

Finally, Tones and I remains at number ten for a second consecutive week with "Never Seen the Rain". A song that I expect will rise in the weeks ahead.

Gains
Honestly not too many big gains this week with the biggest being an eight place gain for "Lose Control" by Meduza feat. Becky Hill and Goodboys but apart from that, it's pretty quiet.

Re-entries

Just the one re-entry coming from Taylor Swift with "Lover" back at number 43 thanks mostly to the release of a remix of the song featuring Shawn Mendes...that I think is kind of pointless because it really doesn't add anything to an already good song but if the song becomes a hit because of it I guess I'll take it.

Losers
Biggest loser this week is "How Do You Sleep?" by Sam Smith which fell nine places to 32 in the only sizeable drop this week. "Choir" by Guy Sebastian tumbled six places to 49. I'd mention Kanye but prosperity gospel dressed up as Christianity shouldn't be on the charts.

Drop Outs

Not complaining about our two drop outs this week with both "Bandit" by Juice WRLD and Young Boy Never Broke Again and "Hot" by Young Thug and Gunna both gone. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

New Entries
As I mentioned there was only one new entry inside the top 50 and that was "Roxanne" by Arizona Zervas at number five,

So yeah a really quiet week but with Billie Eilish likely to cause a major disturbance to the top ten next week, things are about to get interesting. The chart updates on Saturday at 5pm.

ARIA Singles top ten/Chart Review: 11th November. Another record for Dance Monkey

So this week turned out pretty interesting as the week after an album bomb turns out be especially when the album bomb is as disinteresting and terrible as the Kanye West "Jesus is King" album bomb which we'll discuss a bit later because it wasn't a good week for Kanye but first we have to get the biggest story of the week which lies at number one where "Dance Monkey" spends a fifteenth week at number one equalling the record set by Ed Sheeran's 2017 smash "Shape of You", now whether it actually breaks the record is an open question because it lost the sales lead and streaming is starting to finally waver.

The threat to "Dance Monkey" won't be coming from our returning number two "Circles" by Post Malone, as it spent the week losing ground on both sales and streaming. Same could be said for "Ride it" by Regard back up to number three, a possible challenger for number one could well be "Memories" by Maroon 5 up one place to number four as it took the digital sales lead but I guess it will be a wait and see with this one because it's streaming isn't matching the sales.

Selena Gomez drops three places to number five with "Lose You to Love Me" and again I don't see this song as a serious player for number one right even if it's streaming is still good but it's digital sales are falling away.

Lizzo's "Good as Hell" remains steady at number six mostly due to the remix with Ariana Grande that ARIA aren't giving Ariana credit for.

"10,000 Hours" by Dan and Shay feat. Justin Bieber continues its rather nauseating presence in the top ten up one place to number seven.

Now we get to the highest charting new entry this week and it comes from Dua Lipa, her new single "Don't Start Now" has arrived at number eight and making prediction of replacing Kanye in the top ten correct.

"Hot Girl Bummer" by Blackbear continues to be a toxic and unwelcome presence in the top ten as it rose one place to number nine.

Tones and I has a second appearance in the top ten this week as "Never Seen The Rain" jumps two places to return to number ten.

Gains

Almost everything gained this week with Kanye West's album bomb dying in the arse as it deserved to so I am going to cover the massive gains only, the biggest gain was for Meduza's "Total Control" feat. Becky Hill and Goodboys as it climbed from forty two to twenty eight. This song is quietly gaining momen

As is "Trampoline" by Shaed thanks to an unaccredited remix from Zayn Malik, it jumped thirteen places to number thirty.

"Panini" by Lil Nas X jumped from forty eight to thirty four.

Finally, Miley Cyrus single "Slide Away" rose ten places to thirty nine.

Re-entries

We got a slew of re entries this week and honestly, I wish they were better. The best of them is "Eastside" by Benny Blanco feat. Halsey and Khalid back at 45 but really it is time that song left the chart for good.

The rest are pretty damn terrible with the biggest return coming from Diplo and Jonas Brother's 'faux ccountry' collaboration "Lonely" back at 41 while the  terrible "Only Human" by Jonas Brothers is back at 44...seriously?

"Post Malone" by Sam Feldt and Rani returns at 42 (a song I just don't care about),

The worst of the returns is probably "Bandit" by Juice WRLD and Youngboy Never Broke Again which returned at 47.

Losses

So not many big losses this week with the biggest fall coming for Selena Gomez song "Look at Her Now" falling from 29 to 37 which I am fine with as the song blows arse and oh "Follow God" by Kanye West dropped seven places to 14.

Drop Outs

Every single song  from Jesus is King other than "Follow God" that charted last week dropped out this week...Good fucking riddance.



New Entries

So apart from "Don't Start Now" by Dua Lipa at number eight, what else new did we get this week?

At number 46 is the new Death stranding collaboration from Major Lazer and Khalid called 'Trigger"...its not bad at all check it out.

However the best of the new entries comes from two New Zealand acts collaborating with "Catching Feelings" by Drax Project and Six60 new in at 48,

Sadly, the worst of the new entries is from rappers Young Thug and Gunna with "Hot" arriving at number 49.

That wraps up the week, I think the biggest new arrival might be from Arizona Zervas with "Roxanne", the numbers I'm seeing has it on track for a top five debut possibly, we'll have to see when ARIA releases the updated chart on Saturday at 5pm AEDT

ARIA Singles Chart Top Ten/ Chart Review: 4th November

I am switching things this week, normally I do Charting 1996 first but because I want to get in and deal with this pain in the neck of a crappy Jesus is King album bomb from Kanye West, I wanted to get this week's ARIA chart wrap up done first and Kanye isn't even the only one with a new arrival in the top ten so speaking of the top ten, let's start at the very top where for a fourteenth week, "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I reigns supreme at number one making it the longest number one of the year surpassing Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" and leaving it a week away from equalling Ed Sheeran's 2017 smash "Shape Of You" for the record of longest number one of the decade.

I would normally say the closest challenger is at number two but that isn't the case with that number two being a new entry from Selena Gomez called "Lose You to Love Me" and the reason I say I don't believe the song can challenge for number one, it's already losing ground to other songs on both streaming and sales. I'm not even sure anyone will remember this song in a week or two, it's that bland and boring.

It's in a vulnerable position to Post Malone's "Circles" which got pushed back to number three this week but it's still very strong on sales and streaming and will possibly return to number two next week.

"Ride It' by Regard remains at number four this week and I actually see this song making a run for number two soon as it's got strength across the board.

"Memories" by Maroon 5 dropped two places to number five but I suspect that may have been due to the strength of above songs rather than any weakness so this song ain't going away any time soon.

What was a nice surprise was the arrival of Lizzo's "Good As Hell" to the top ten as the biggest gainer of the week up from 15 to 6 following the release of a remix with Ariana Grande however Ariana is not credited on the song by ARIA this week.

We've reached the second of the new entries to the top ten and the first of ten new Kanye West songs debuting in the ARIA top 50 this week, "Follow God" at number seven and really I'd be surprised if this song stayed in the top ten, I expect it to be replaced by Dua Lipa's new single "Don't Start Now" when that song arrives on the chart next week. Hey, it'd be a great song replacing a god damn shit one.

"10,000 Hours" by Dan and Shay feat. Justin Bieber drops three places to number eight (I hope people are growing tired of that nauseating load of trash. Dan and Shay are capable of so much better. I've given up on expecting better from Bieber)

Travis Scott also suffered a three place fall to number nine with "Highest in the Room" mostly due to the song being underwhelming in the first place.

Finally "Hot Girl Bummer" by Blackbear fell two places to number ten but because it's holding steady on streaming, this junk won't be leaving the top ten any time soon. Ewww.

Gains

Apart from Lizzo's "Good As Hell" jumping into the top ten, there were very little in the way of gains this week which is the norm in an album bomb week.

Losers

While not many gains there were some massive losers with the biggest being "Goodbyes" by Post Malone and Young Thug which plunged from 31 to 47 while "Panini" by Lil Nas X stumbled hard from 33 to 48. "Slide Away" by Miley Cyrus lived up to its name by sliding from 35 to 49 and Kygo and Whitney Houston's "Higher Love" just went lower as it hit 50 from 34.

However there were more big losers with "Motivation" by Normani dropping from 28 to 41...ouch.

"Sunflower" by Post Malone and Young Thug finally dropped off the Billboard Hot 100 in the US this week after a full year on the American charts, it's still hanging on in Australia despite falling 11 places to 38.
Finally "It's You" by Ali Gatie dropped ten places to 35.

Drop outs

So while Kanye in flicked a lot of crummy music on the chart this week he also did a good job cleaning out crap that won't make year end list like "Harleys in Hawaii" by Katy Perry, "Takeaway" by The Chainsmokers feat. Illennium and Lennon Stella, "F*** I'm Lonely" by Lauv and Anne-Marie,  "Only Human" by Jonas Brothers and "Bandit by Juice WRLD and Young Boy Never Broke Again (although "Bandit" could return but I sure as hell hope not)

Also utter crap but will make the year end list and most likely my worst hits of the year list "No Guidance" by Chris Brown and Drake and "Lalala" by Y2K and bbno$

Songs gone that I really don't care about or are underwhelming: "Don't Call Me Angel" by Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey and "Post Malone" by Sam Feldt and Rani

Long time hits that finally took their exit but will make year end: "Eastside" by Benny Blanco feat. Halsey and Khalid, "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.

Finally the only song that I am sad to see gone is "Lover" by Taylor Swift, its genuinely a good song, who knows, it might make the year end list.

Keep in mind some of these drop outs will likely be back next week.

New Entries

Let's blow through the other nine Kanye West songs to hit the chart this week beginning with "Selah" at 19, "Closed on Sunday" (his garbage dedication to Chick Fil A) at 19, "On God" at 21, "Everything We Need" at 26,  "Every Hour" at 33, "Use This Gospel" at 36, "Water" at 37, "God Is" at 39 and finally, "Hands On" at 46. I expect most of this to be gone next week and good riddance to all of it.

Kanye wasn't the only one with new music on the chart this week with Selena Gomez second release in this cycle "Look At Her Now" debuting at 29 (that song isn't good at all).

It's saying something that "Total Control" by Meduza feat. Becky Hill and Goodboys is the best of the new entries at number 42.

That wraps up a pretty crummy album bomb week, hopefully not much of this Kanye mess sticks around and we see Dua Lipa land a top ten debut for "Don't Start Now" next week. ARIA will update the chart at 5pm on Saturday

ARIA Singles chart review: October 28th. Top ten turns to pot.

So for the last couple of weeks I have been ignoring the signs that the top ten is starting to look really awful especially as what has been arriving in the top ten has been...yikes...the issues aren't at number one where "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I spends a thirteenth week at number one however there's signs that this song's time at number one might soon be over as it wavered on digital sales this week and that gap on streaming is closing that said it did equal "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X for most weeks spent at number one this year.

"Circles" by Post Malone is that song closing the gap on streaming as it remained at number two this week. I wouldn't mind if this song went to number one...just a pity the digital sales aren't better.

"Memories" by Maroon 5 keeps its bland and boring presence at number three, we really want a "Girls Like You" retread in the top 5, Australia?

"Ride It" by Regard, a song I think could be a future number one, rose two places to number four this week as it got boosts on streaming, it pushed "10,000 Hours" by Dan and Shay feat. Justin Bieber back to number five (Such a shame this nauseating mess of a song is Dan and Shay's breakthrough hit in Australia), I suspect given Selena Gomez looks on track for at least a top five debut and is likely to bring Kanye with her that this song will fall out of the top five which given what Selena and Kanye are bringing, I'll take the nauseating over the plain bad.

Speaking of plain bad and awful we have a trifecta of absolute garbage infectng positions seven through nine with "One Thing Right" by Marshmello and Kane Brown one place to seven, "Hot Girl Bummer" by Blackbear up two to number eight and "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi returning to the top ten at number nine.

Our biggest gainer of the week is the new arrival tno the top ten that being "Never Seen The Rain" by Tones and I which jumped from twenty one to ten most likely on the back of "Dance Monkey" being number one and people curious about what other music Tones and I has released.

Gains

Already mentioned our biggest gainer so what else gained big? Well, "Castles" by Freya Ridings jumped from thirty six to twenty nine as that song seems to have plenty of traction right now but that's about it for the big gains.

Losers 

So the Charlie's Angels movie soundtrack got released today which means "Don't Call Me Angel" by Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey should get a boost soon and boy it needs that boost because it fell ten places to forty nine although I do suspect people feel Ariana is a little over exposed this year.

Also joining the crap that lost hard this week is "F*** I'm Lonely" by Lauv and Anne-Marie which feel from thirty five to forty four.

The big news in terms of losses was that former chart topper "Senorita" by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello finally fell out of the top ten to number fourteen.  "Lights Up" by Harry Styles which fell from seven to fifteen (not surprising, Songs from One Direction members don't stay high post debut)

Drop Outs

Four drop outs and honestly I am really only sad to lose "Johnny Run Away" by Tones and I, it might ust snare a place on the year end list and maybe a place on my best hits of the year list.

The rest gone are probably no chance of year end with "Boyfriend" by Social House and Ariana Grande, "Writing on the Wall" by French Montana feat. Post Malone and Cardi B and "Saint-tropez" by Post Malone all gone...thank goodness.

New Entries

So the highest debut of the week belongs to Katy Perry's "Harleys in Hawaii" - a song I expect to be gone next week when Kanye West's likely but unfortunate album bomb swings in next week, but anyway it debuted at thirty six.

A song that has been huge in Europe but took it's sweet damn time in reaching the Australian charts has finally entered the ARIA singles chart at forty five that being "Post Malone" by Sam Feldt and Rani

Shaed's "Trampoline" is new in at 47 after becoming the surprise indie pop hit in the US.

Finally, the worst of the new debuts is "Bandit" by Juice WRLD and Young Boy Never Broke Again at number forty eight. Kanye will likely sweep this shit off the chart and while Kanye's album isn't good, getting rid of this crap can only be a good thing.

The chart updates at 5pm AEDT on Saturday, I am expecting a "Jesus is King" album bomb and at least one new song from Selena Gomez.
















Travis Scott's "HIghest in the Room" fell back to number six as people forget this song exists.

ARIA Singles top ten/Chart Review: 21st October. Short week as Harry Styles lights up the top ten

Really not sure what to say about this week, there was plenty of movement across the chart but only the one new entry this weerk which we will get to because it comes in the top ten speaking of which let's start right at the top where for a twelfth week, it's "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I riding in at number one and only has to spend one more week at number one to equal the 13 weeks spent at number one by "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X and unless Adele or Drake drop their lead singles, I can see this song going seriously close to challenging Ed Sheeran's 15 weeks at number one in 2017 with "Shape of You" because there is nothing challenging it right now.

In fact, "Circles" by Post Malone rebounded back to number two but it's got some competition coming in the form of "Memories" by Maroon 5 which got a four place jump to number three, yeah, no, I have no idea why this bland nonsense is at number three...seriously. Australia?

"Memories" might be boring but at least it isn't nauseating which is where we find "10,000 Hours" by Dan and Shay feat. Justin Bieber spending another week at number four.

Travis Scott's "Highest In the Room" dropped back two places to number five this week which isn't surprising.

Regard has ridden up five places to enter the top ten with "Ride It' at number six, I think there's potential for this song to be a number one hit.

We get to our one new entry at number seven with Harry Styles and his new single "Lights Up", now I don't expect this song to remain in the top ten, generally songs by the guys from One Direction while they debut high, they usually fall off pretty hard which is not good news because despite a three place fall this week, there's opportunity for "One Thing Right" by Marshmello and Kane Brown  at number eight to regain ground.

Same can't be said of "Senorita" by Shawn Mwndes and Camila Cabello as the streaming titan of a song starts to fall away gracefully, I expect this song will be in the top ten come year end list time.

Most regrettably, "Hot Girl Bummer" by Blackbear rounds out the top ten at number ten this week after a seven place gain...thanks to people streaming this misogynist garbage on Apple Music and Spotify. JUST DANDY.

Gains

The biggest gain this week belongs to United Kingdom songstress Freya Ridings with "Castles" up nine places to thirty six.

We've already talked about the seven place gain for Blackbear but speaking of utter rap regaining ground "Ran$om" by :Lil Tecca jumped from thirty four to twenty seven while "Graveyard" by Halsey jumped from thirty one to twenty six, I expect to see this get even higher given Halsey's ARIA Awards performance.

Oh and also gaining seven places to forty three is "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper which along with "Eastside" by Benny Blanco feat. Khalid and Halsey remain the only 2018 songs on the chart in OCTOBER 2019.


Losers

The biggest losing song this week was Tones and I's "Johnny Run Away" which fell ten places to fifty.

"Don't Call Me Angel' by Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey continued it's slow exit from the chart as it tumbled to thirty nine.

There was an eight place loss for "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X which dropped eight places to eighteen. Speaking of Lil Nas X, "Panini" fell to thirty two.

Drop Outs

So with just the one new entry, there's only the one drop out with that being "You Need to Calm Down" by Taylor Swift which will likely end up making the year end list.

New Entries

We only have the one new entry this week and I mentioned it earlier in the top ten with Harry Styles at number seven with "Lights Up"

Pretty short week this one, the top ten seems fairly turbulent apart from number one right now so will be interesting to see what unfolds, the chart updates on Saturday at 5pm AEDT

ARIA Singles top ten/ Chart Review: October 14. Rough week with bad new entries

This week saw the chart get hit by a shake up with two new songs debuting inside the top ten but whether or not any of it is for the better is an open question but all of that didn't affect our number one which is "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I for an eleventh week and yet again, nothing is getting near this song on streaming and digital sales right now.

'Circles' by Post Malone remains at number two because it's not bridging the gap on streaming to "Dance Monkey" and there's a sizeable gap on sales between the two songs.

We get to the first of the two new entries in the top ten at number three that being the new US number one "Highest in the Room" by Travis Scott, this isn't Travis Scott's best work by far but hey in a week like this I'll take it.

Especially when you glance at what is at number four, the second of the new entries this week, the so saccharine its actually nauseating "10,000 Hours" by American country duo Dan and Shay feat. Justin Bieber, it's Dan and Shay's first song to reach the ARIA charts but let's face it, it only charted so high because Justin Bieber is on the track.

The only good thing is that it pushed "One Thing Right" by Marshmello feat. Kane Brown back to number five, the soon this song is gone the better, the new arrivals also caused "Senorita" by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello to drop three places to number six although that might have happened anyway.

Maroon 5 have yet another top ten hit with "Memories" rising five places to number seven. As if we needed anymore boring turgid sludge in the top ten especially with "10,000 Hours" in it.

"The Git Up" by Blanco Brown dropped three places to number eight as did "Beautiful People" by Ed Sheeran and Khalid to number nine.

Finally "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X looks to be on it's way out of the top ten dropping three places to number ten.

Gains

The biggest gain this week belonged to "Ride It' by Regard which jumped from twenty eight to eleven this week, will likely rise to the top ten next week whch is cool as I actually don't mind that song. 

What I do mind though is "Hot Girl Bummer' by Blackbear rising from thirty three to seventeen. Seriously, what the hell, Australia? We can't even make the song that this rips off a hit yet we make the rip off which is a misogynist piece of crap a hit. Ugh.

"Graveyard" by Halsey may not be good but I'll take it over Blackbear as it went up six places to thirty one.

Losers

Thankfully the biggest loser is also the turd that is "Ran$om" by Lil Tecca which feel from eighteen to thirty four. 

Another big loser was "Goodbyes" by Post Malone featuring Young Thug which dropped from thirteen to twenty eight...yikes.

Unfortunately though "Lover" by Taylor Swift dropped nine places to thirty nine and "Choir" by Guy ebastian dropped ten places to thirty seven.

"Don't Call Me Angel" by Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey slumped nine places to thirrty...I am amazed they remembered to place this song on the chart with how forgettable it is.

Drop Outs

The drop outs are sadly all good songs with 2018 hit and re-entry last week "Youngblood" by 5 Seconds of Summer gone (probably clinched a place on this year's year end list though)

Clinching year end spots are "Wow" by Post Malone and "Money in the Grave" by Drake and Rick Ross. In the former's case, I like it but given "Circles" is better while in the latter's, it's decent.

Sadly "Little Things" by Jessica Mauboy also dropped off, it would be surprising if that somehow made the year end list.

New Entries

So we have four new entries this week, two I have already mentioned that being 'Highest In the Room" by Travis Scott at number three and "10,000 Hours" by Dan and Shay feat Justin Bieber at number four.

The other two new entries are much lower down the chart with the first of them being "Writing on the Wall" by French Montana feat. Post Malone and Cardi B...a song that effectively wastes both Post Malone and Cardi B.

Finally the last of the new entries comes from Diplo who has teamed up with the Jonas Brothers for "Lonely" which debuts at forty eight...a bad attempted country song. Seriously Diplo, if you are going to make a country album, actually get country artists onto these songs.

Anyway hopefully we get a better week next week, the chart updates at 5pm AEDT on Saturday. 

ARIA singles chart top ten/Chart Review: 7th October

So uh...the top ten stalled this week, we have a really stagnant top ten that I am predicting will change given some of the new releases set to impact the chart but that's next week so let's begin at the very ttop where "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I spends a tenth week at number one which broke the record for the most weeks spent at number one by any Australian artist which is huge and yet again I don't see what is going to knock it off number one.

I'd say "Circles" by Post Malone at number two is a chance but it just couldn't bridge the gap to "Dance Monkey", although the same could be said for "Senorita" by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello at number three, "One Thing Right" by Marshmello and Kane Brown at nnumber four, "The Git Up" by Blanco Brown at number five, "Beautiful People" by Ed Sheeran and Khalid at number six, "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X (still good on digital sales right now) at number seven, "Piece of Your Heart" by Meduza and Goodboys at number eight and "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi at number nine.

The only change to the top ten this week came at number ten with "How Do You Sleep?" by Sam Smith finally showing up in the top ten by climbing one place to number ten.

Gains

The biggest gainer this week is Maroon 5's bland but radio friendly song "Memories" which jumped 20 places to number 12 this week.

Lizzo's "Good As Hell" jumped from 23 to 16 while "Choir" by Guy Sebastian rebounded from 21 to 17.

"South of the Border" by Ed Sheeran feat. Camila Cabello and Cardi B has finally found some consistent momentum by leaping 12 place to to 24.

"Ride It' by Regard is up to 28 off it's debut last week;

Finally because we apparently need fuckboy rap on the charts "Hot Girl Bummer" by Blackbear is up to 33. Gross.

Re-Entries

So we have one song return this week and bizarrely it's "Youngblood" by 5 Seconds of Summer which is just plain unexplainable...maybe because of the Masked Singer program?

Losers

Biggest loser this week is Post Malone's "Saint-tropez" which fell from 26 to 41 from 26 while Camila Cabello's "Liar" fell seven places to 40.

Halsey's "Graveyard" buries itself six down to 37 while "Lover" by Taylor Swift went down eight places to 30.

"Sunflower' by Post Malone and Swae Lee appears to finally be on its way out as it fell to 26 while "Slide Away" by Miley Cyrus lived up to it's name by falling from 17 to 25

However the most unsurprising loss of the week belongs to "Don't Call Me Angel" which fell from 10 to 21.

Drop outs

The drop outs this week are all Post Malone album tracks as the album bomb recedes, all three sticking around longer than I would have expected so gone are "Take What You Want" featng. Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott, "Enemies" feat. DaBaby and the album title track "Hollywood's Bleeding"

New Entries

Just the two new entries this week with the highest debut coming from Flume's "Rushing Back" feat. Vera Blue which debuted at number twenty this week. There's definitely hit potential in this song...just wish I liked it more.

Radio is in love with "Castles" by Freya Ridings which debuted at number 48 and much like "Rushing Back", I expect this to stick around even if she does sound a lot like Florence Welch.

That wraps up a quieter week than I expected but with at least two new entries to the top ten next week, things are about to get wild. The chart updates on Saturday at 5pm AEDT.

ARIA Singles Chart top ten/ Chart Review 30th September: Top Ten switches obscure quiet week

So this week pretty much panned out the way I thought it would with the top ten really just switching places among themslves that said it's not the case at the very top where Tones and I spends a ninth week equalling the Australian record for the most weeks at number one by an Australian artist, Tones oins Justice Crew who spent nine weeks at number one in 2014 with "Que Sera", here's the thing though, Tones and I will likely break the record next week with nothing really challenging it in terms of what's below "Dance and Monkey" or arriving new to the charts.

"Circles" by Post Malone remains a solid number two for another week thanks to good streaming and the weakness of "Senorita" by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello which remains at number three but is losing ground on digital sales and streaming which means it's unfortunately vulnerable to "One Thing Right" by Marshmello and Kane Brown which rose two places to number four because we need trash in this vein doing well on the charts (Seriously if you want country music, The Highwomen album is waiting for a song to get the right kind of push!)

Blanco Brown's "The Git Up" rose two places to number five this week after a good week on streaming. It went past "Beautiful People" by Ed Sheeran and Khalid which dropped one place to number six.

A boost on digital sales saw "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X regain some ground to number seven while Meduza's "Piece of Your Heart" featuring Goodboys also regained ground up two places to number eight.

Unfortunately "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi refuses to go away by being stuck at number nine

Rounding up the top ten is the biggest fall within the top ten that being for "Don't Call Me Angel" by Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Ray which plunged six places to number ten. Seriously gien how unmemorable that song is, it's not a surprise.

Gains

The biggest gain of the week is for Ed Sheeran's "South of the Border" featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B which rose 12 places to 36, this song has had one of the strangest chart runs I can recall. 

:Lizzo's "Good As Hell" continues it's pretty impressive rise from 31 to 23 this week. Unfortunately also having a good gain is "Only Human" by the Jonas Brothers...seriously? This song BLOWS, I want it gone sooner rather than later.

Speaking of bad songs rising "Hot Girl Bummer" by Blackbear rose nine places to 38. Gross.

Losers

The big losers were for Post Malone album tracks with the biggest being for "Hollywood's Bleeding" to 45, "Enemies" feat. DaBaby to 47, "Wow" dropping to 50, "Saint-Tropez" to 28.  

Also suffering a fall was "Boyfriend" by Ariana Grande feat. Social House from 28 to 35.

Drop Outs

Both the drop outs also come from Post Malone with "On the Road" feat. Meek Mill and Lil Baby ad "Die For Me" feat. Future and Halsey both gone. 

New Entries

Only two new entries with Maron 5 landing the biggest new entry of the week with "Memories " at number 32...an absoluter snoozer of a song unfortunately.

Finally the more interesting of the new enterestings comes from a Kosovo D called Regard who got hold of Jay Sean's 2008 hit "Ride It" and remixed the song courtesy of Tik Tok. The song isn't bad either!.

So that wraps up a pretty quiet week all things considered. Chart updates on Saturday at 5pm as usual. 

ARIA Singles Chart Top Ten/Chart Review September 23rd. Tones and I breaks Kylie's record

This week feels significant mostly because of the domination of not just the ARIA charts but of European music charts by our current number one but I can't see things changing for the time being especially as "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I held number one for an eighth week breaking Kylie Minogue's record for longest time at no 1 by an Australian female artist, Minogue spent sven weeks at number one in 1987 with "Locomotion". "Dance Monkey' could potentially equal the record of weeks spent at number one by any Australian artist which is held by Justice Crew when "Que Sera" spent nine weeks at number one in 2014, it's that dominant across the board on streaming and on digital sales.

I would say "Circles" by Post Malone which remained at number two this week could challenge but its bleeding on digital sales and it's not really closing the gap to "Dance Monkey" to prevent "Dance Monkey" from getting a ninth week at the top.

Same could be said for former chart topper "Senorita" by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello as this song is not the powerhouse it once was on streaming and it's sales have dropped away so I can see this being vulnerable in the weeks ahead.

That said when I see what the number four is, I am not so sure, it's the highest new entry of the week coming from Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey who have teamed up for the theme song for the new Charlie's Angels movie called "Don't Call Me Angel" and honestly I find this song to be pretty forgettable so really don't see this song staying in the top ten for long but it pushed "Beautiful People" by Ed Sheeran and Khalid back one place to number five (the fact this song is still in the top five is pretty impressive)

What also isn't going away is Marshmello's "One Thing Right" feat. Kane Brown which rose one place to number six because we need bland EDM-pop country on the charts.

Speaking country except country rap, "The Git Up" by Blanco Brown jumped one place to number seven while the leader of the tik tok country rap song trend Lil Nas X falls two places to eight with "Old Town Road"

Back in the top ten this week because we had to find a song that is insufferable to replace just absolute shit in the top ten, "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi returned from 13 to 9 because somebody out there thinks that this song is worth anyrhing.

Finally "Piece of Your Heart" by Meduza and Goodboys remains at number ten.

Gains

Biggest gains of the week came for Lil Nas X's "Panini" which got a boost from a DaBaby remix of all things to be the biggest gainer of the week up from 41 to 26

"Liar" by Camila Cabelo jumped from 42 to 33 this week while Lizzo's "Good As Hell" rose from 36 to 31.

Re-Entries

The receding Post Malone album bomb saw "Only Human" by Jonas Brothers back at 49 and "Takeaway" by The Chainsmokers feat. Illennium and Lennon Stella at number 50

Losses

Most of the big losses came for Post Malone album tracks like "Die for Me" with Future and Halsey which dropped from 35 to 45, "On The Road" with Meek Mill and Lil Baby to 43,"Hollywood's Bleeding" bleeds out to 32, "Goodbyes" with Young Thug dropped out of the top 10 to 11.

Drop outs

So two non Post Malone songs dropped out this week those being "Right Back" by Khalid and "Then What" by Illy.

The others are Post Malone songs from "Hollywood's Bleeding" with "A Thousand Bad Times", "Allergic" and the collab with SZA "Staring at the Sun" gone.

New Entries

So apart from "Don't Call Me Angel" by Ariana, Miley and Lana at number four, we also got your stock standard garden variety Halsey new song "Graveyard" new in at number 34.

While Blackbear's lame "Hot Girl Bummer" enters at 47...the new entries this week are NOT good.


Anyway the chart updates on Saturday at 5pm,