The Top Twenty Best Hit Songs of 2020 Part 2 (10 to 1)

Before reading on, please check out part one: Click here for 20 to 11

AND NOW FOR THE THRILLING CONCLUSION….


 You might be surprised to know that Billie Eilish was reasonably quiet in 2020 apart from the release of some scattered singles including a James Bond Theme but it was the first of the scattered singles post the album that got my attention.

10. “Everything I Wanted” by Billie Eilish

My god, this song breaks my heart, Billie sings about this nightmare she had where she commits suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge yet none of her friends or fans watching cared or even tried to stop her committing suicide, the nightmare sees Billie seek comfort from her brother Finneas reassures her that he’ll always be there to support her and deal with the feelings associated with the nightmare, the pair of them will okay as they have each other. It’s a gorgeous song that I am not sure got all the attention it deserved.

 

This next song is the only Australian entry on this list although there were one or two songs from Aussies that were close to making the list (“Bad Child” by Tones and I and “This City” by Sam Fischer) and it’s by a band that I have had quite a weird relationship with but yet…

 

9. “Live In Life” by The Rubens

There’s an inherent sleek pop sensibility to this song that ruminates over the breakdown of a relationship and all the second guessing that happens as the individual at first feels fine with it and then realizes “Well no…this is not okay, I need to do something to stop this break up from happening” but by the time that realization has dawned and goes about trying to fix things, the partner or person involved has upped and gone, it’s a devastating moment, it’s a rather dark and almost bitter song that wonders what could have been.

It’s not quite The Rubens best but my god, it’s a catchy song that I am glad I grew to like a lot, this is good stuff, am looking forward to that new Rubens album in February 2021.

We finally got the world’s busiest boyband on the ARIA singles chart…thank goodness…they have got a hit…

8. “Sugar” by Brockhampton

I was never going to leave this song off the best list, hell, this might just be the only time Brockhampton have chart success (thanks Tik Tok) in Australia and while I’ve not had time to fully dive into Brockhampton’s discography (still trying to figure out a starting point and I am also fully aware how my previous statements show a lack of faith in the Australian public) but “Sugar” is a concentrated piece of wonderful, I love the intricate melodies and how the lyrics talk about a relationship facing uncertainty and wanting to figure out why so the couple can move forward and move ahead together and the production plays up to the questions being asked about the relationship.

Hope to see a lot more of Brockhampton on the ARIA singles chart especially if it is more songs like this.



This song took a while to grow on me, I wasn’t even sure I liked it all that much when I first heard it however, I eventually realized the critics weren’t joking, this is Lady Gaga’s best pop song in years…

7. “Rain On Me” by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande

Let’s not mince words with this one, this is Lady Gaga’s best pop song since “Alejandro’ in 2010 with it’s splashy keys and production that supports both Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande perfectly, “Rain On Me” is almost the sort of pop song I would have expected to hear during the club boom in the early 2010s but unlike a lot of music from the club boom, it doesn’t feel like it’s going to get annoying and or old quick, the only reason I wasn’t the biggest fan of it was Lady Gaga say “Rain…On….Me” however I can see that it does work within in the song.

The lyrics play to pent up frustration about their lives and tears shed over situations they might be in and boy that sounds familiar in 2020 in a lot of ways with regard everything that has happened in this shitty year. ‘Rain On Me” is one of the best pop songs of the year”. I highly recommend you check it out.



For all the garbage that Tik Tok has enabled to chart this year, 2020 showed that there was openings for older songs that didn’t make their year end in their respective year and by openings I mean becoming a meme on Tik Tok thanks to a guy riding a skateboard and drinking cranberry juice while this next song was playing in the background…

…



6. “Midnight Sky” by Miley Cyrus

This year was the year Miley Cyrus finally found the lane that her voice is suited too: pop/rock and boy it paid dividends to the point where “Plastic Hearts” is the best album of her career to date. “Midnight Sky” was the lead single from the album and was the song on this list that grew on me the fastest (the songs above it I liked from the jump), I thought this was merely good without really being great but subsequent listens to the song since it’s release earlier in the year have me convinced that this is Miley’s best song since “Nothing Breaks Like A Heart” with Mark Ronson, its not better than that song but it’s damn close.

The interpolation of “Edge of Seventeen” by Stevie Nicks just works so god damn well so much so they basically mashed up Miley’s “Midnight Sky” with Nick “Edge of Seventeen” for one of the best remixes/mash ups of 2020 and seriously, Miley sounds stunning here.

Miley just needs to keep making pop/rock because while it’s not the best song on the album, its still AWESOME.



The UK is still the home of producing EDM/house bangers like this one…



5. “Head & Heart” by Joel Corry and MNEK

This song was one that I was reluctant to like at first, it felt like another EDM/house song but the more I heard it the more I liked it. Sound wise it reminded me of the early nineties dance music that dominated the charts with MNEK providing the vocals about how he has met this attractive girl who has his head saying “Uh oh, she’s trouble, it’s just a crush…stay away from her” but his heart wants something more than it just being a crush, it wants him to hook up with her, it’s actually framed a lot better than other songs in a similar lane like Taylor Swift’s “I knew You were trouble” in that Joel Corry and MNEK don’t frame themselves or this girl as caricatures in cartoons like Taylor did but as humans with very real feelings which is what I appreciate about “Head & Heart”. Good job!







Imagine if all music that came from the trap sound was like this:

4. “Mood” by 24kGoldn feat. Iann Dior

I was stunned when I heard this song for the first time, a trap song that was tight, catchy and had a rock leaning with guitars that were bright, colourful and had a tonne of flavour…I thought this couldn’t be a real song coming from a sound that had been done to death to the point of being boring, derivative and generic but no, “Mood” was a real song and my god, its now one of my most played songs of the year because of its production and the fact both 24kGoldn and Iann Dior sound enthusiastic and deliver that ridiculously catchy hook with so much energy and passion that I get caught up in it.

Imagine if trap music leaned more into the rock/emo sound in 2017/18 rather than the ultimately way too dark to make their songs fun…trap music could have been awesome and honestly when rock music does finally find its way back on the charts in full, it might just have this unexpected gem among others to thank for it.

I also suspect that 24KGoldn might not be able to recreate this lightning in a bottle on his next release but hey at least I’m always in the mood for this song.

I really advise you all not to take my top three ranking all that seriously, at some point all three have been number one and I have had a nightmare of a time trying to figure out which song I loved the most but anyway here is the final Dua Lipa song to have made the list…



3. “Physical” by Dua Lipaspec

So I thought “Levitating” was going to be the Dua Lipa song that wound up fighting for the top spot on my best hit songs list when I set out to make it but I just couldn’t deny “Physical” after three or four more listens and it only got better every single time I heard it and yeah it is just so much better than Olivia Newton John’s “Physical” (I have NEVER liked that song, the beat and instrumentation doesn’t match the lyrics/sentiment of that song) that it interpolates on the hook in nearly every single possible way, it’s the sort of synth pop/power pop song that gets everyone on their bedroom dancefloors almost immediately that gorgeous persian flute sample that opens the song plays.

Unlike the lead single “Don’t Start Now”, “Physical” celebrates meeting somebody special and getting ‘physical’ with that person, it’s a song that is just out to have a good time and drag you along for the ride which happened every time I heard this song on the radio.

Also, this wasn’t a massive hit in the USA for some ungodly reason so yeah, I am delighted I can name it one of the best hit songs of the year in Australia.



There are four guarantees in our existence on earth: Life, death, taxes, and this song making a year end best hit songs list for 2020.



2. “Blinding Lights’ by The Weeknd

It kind of goes without saying or even needing to be said: “Blinding Lights” will go down as a classic song of the decade and maybe for years beyond this current decade and while it’s a brave prediction to make now, I can see it ending up getting the same classic treatment as the song “Blinding Lights” interpolates and deservedly so because it’s one of the best synthpop verging on new wave and dark wave songs I have heard in some time.

Every single element of this song works perfectly with The Weeknd delivering one of his best vocal performances since…I don’t know…possibly “Starboy” or “I Feel It Coming”, ‘Blinding Lights” just feels like an event in itself with just how huge and immense the production is unlike other songs where the release of the song is the event, “Blinding Lights” is a massive event of a song itself which of course helped to make the song absolutely huge around the world this year unlike a few songs last year which got labelled events more for the hype surrounding the release however “Blinding Lights” is still a damn great song and if it does become a classic…it will be richly deserved.



So even with all that “Blinding Lights” is not my best hit song of 2020 because given how terrible and miserable this year has been, there was one song that got me through the horror and sadness of the year and made me smile so if a song can do that in a year like this, it deserves top spot (Granted most of my top ten make me smile) so what song could it be…



1. “Adore You” by Harry Styles

Yeah, Harry finally did it and with a song that has its own share of flaws in that the multi tracked vocals sound a little wonky but honestly, I think that kind of adds to the charm of the song? Seriously, that “Ahhh” sounds exactly like what a person would do when adoring another and Harry’s vocal delivery just makes the song even better, he sounds like he is happy and also helps that his delivery reminds me a lot of Neil Finn’s vocal delivery of the verses on the Crowded House song “World Where You Live” which probably forms part of the reason that I think “Adore You” is a damn great song.

Hell, “Adore You” is just three and almost a half minutes of pure escapism and in a year like 2020 escaping on that fluffy white cloud with Harry Styles crooning about adoring somebody was enough to make me smile this year in amidst lockdowns, politics and a pandemic that refuses to just go away.

I adore this song and it’s the best hit song of 2020.

The Top 20 Best Hit Songs of 2020 Part 1 (20 to 11)

As I said in the preamble on my worst hit songs of 2020 list, this year was a pretty damn good one for popular music in spite of the world being a pandoras box of suck all year (seriously 2020 was just one big “open the box and find the next shitty thing to happen”) so I honestly have to say thank goodness the music on the charts this year mostly delivered, sure there were bad songs but they were more the outliers as the good to great songs exceeded the bad songs popularity so much so I have almost too much material for this list to just be a top ten with honourable mentions so this year, it’s a top twenty best hit songs of 2020.

The other reason for that is that there were some genuinely good songs that I loved this year that if I was doing a normal top ten list with five honourable mentions that I might not have gotten the opportunity to write about

All twenty songs must have made ARIA’s Year end singles chart for 2020 and a 2019 hit song is eligible for this list if it appears higher on the 2020 list than it did in 2019. Also I’d encourage you to not worry about the ranking so much because it’s been a nightmare to slot all this great music into placings for this list and no doubt I am going to regret a few of these rankings in the days ahead…lord knows I already have changed the placings several times.

 

Let us begin this adventure with a break out act from New Zealand...

20. "Glitter" by BENEE

So while Australia and the rest of the world fawned over "Supalonely" (feat Gus Dapperton like many grown adults cooing over a baby, I've felt like "Glitter" is the toddler who is crying out for love attention but is being ignored in favour of the baby and that is frustrating because "Glitter" is so much better than "Supalonely" with its bright guitars and BENEE just wanting somebody to hang out with her and burn the midnight oil together, it's a well crafted pop gem...it might have been a song that got big via tik tok but it still one I appreciate....it might have been neglected by way too many especially in the US but this didn't escape my attention...

Well there's at least four artists with multiple entries on this list...here's one of them...

19. "In Your Eyes" by The Weeknd

2020 was the year I finally completely got behind The Weeknd, "After Hours" is just such fantastic album and honestly I'd be hard pressed to pick just one highlight but yeah "In Your Eyes" is just killer 80s worship in the best way and with a fantastic saxophone solo to boot (there's nowhere near enough sax solos in popular music this year. 

Its a song where The Weeknd is longing to find a deeper connection with this girl that he has feelings for and sees that same longing in her eyes, he wants her to commit to him. Its actually the moment both Abel and the girl find that moment of happiness together, it's not quite my favourite song from "After Hours" but its still damn good...we'll get to more The Weeknd later.

So this pop act improved by leaps and bounds in 2020

 

18. “You Should Be Sad” by Halsey

There’s a lot of promise in Halsey’s album “Manic” that was released all the way back in January this year and this song was one of the reasons why, its about as close to country as the year end list gets this year as Halsey tears apart an ex (said to be G Eazy) who she doesn’t realize has issues because she’s completely in love with this guy so when she does realize he has some pretty serious issues going on so tries to help him only he can’t or doesn’t love anything or anyone including Halsey unless there’s something in it for him….it’s a bruising, heartbreaking song that is so much better than “Without Me”.

Thank goodness, Halsey improved and gave us some better music in 2020.

 

 

Sex as a food metaphor was a thing in 2020...we had "Yummy" which was unfortunate but at least there was this...

17. “Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles

This not the first song that references vaginas on this list...in fact...I am now slightly worried that you will think that I have some bizarre form of mentions or references to vagina in music addiction but yeah, this song is just the sort of chill summer song where Harry Styles voice albeit singing about the sugar from a watermelon giving him a high (aka: eating pussy is giving him a high)  may as well feel like the sun touching your skin when you first step outside and the production makes you wish you were at the beach rather than locked down inside...I guess we can pretend we are at the beach, right?

It's not better than another song which I will talk about later but it's a song that I return to a lot and over time it just kept getting better this year. I am so glad this became a hit because this just rules.

So this is one of four songs from its parent album making this list…yeah we’ve hit the first of the Dua Lipa songs.

16. “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa

So yeah, this song has suffered from overplay a little bit given it come out in the last few months of 2019 and there are better songs on Future Nostalgia as we will get to but it doesn’t change that the song is Dua Lipa telling a guy where to get off and that she’s ready to move on over a pop melody that’s just so perfectly retro and really awesome and the live performances of this song kicked all sorts of butt. It’s not Dua Lipa’s best song but it is still good.

 

Let us get to the other Halsey song that’s on this list….

15. ‘Be Kind” by Marshmello feat. Halsey

When I first heard that Marshmello and Halsey were releasing a song together, I groaned and thought ‘Well here goes another instant for my worst list alongside ‘Yummy’ and co” but then I gave the song a chance and…oh my goodness, this song was the best surprise in 2020, Halsey sounds good over Marshmello’s slightly over compressed production and she sells the song well. Marshmello’s drop isn’t even as annoying as the lyrics delve into a person who needs reassurance that it is okay to be vulnerable and scared around the person, he or she loves rather than hiding behind veneers of bravado that just don’t add up to much, its honestly pretty powerful stuff. Good job!

 

I am becoming a bit of a fan of this rapper, she can be a bit hot and cold but when she’s on like she was in 2020, there’s no stopping her…

14. “Savage” by Megan Thee Stallion

So let’s get something straight here, Megan thee Stallion is absolutely the next best female rapper on the charts behind Cardi B and “Savage” is all the more evidence of that with Megan out celebrating her complexity as a human being and as a rapper and she’s got the kind of attitude to carry it however I think Beyonce makes the song even better on the remix, the song is just a sassy load of fun and is the perfect entrée to discussing the other song Megan Thee Stallion was involved with but “Savage” just kicks all sorts of butt!.

 

If there was an award for ridiculous over reaction that helped a song to become a massive hit (okay without the over reaction from some, it still would have been a hit) however the controversy has always felt overblown and honestly, I’d just rather grab a bucket and a mop for that…

 

13. “WAP” by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion.

First things first, Ben Shapiro and the others who complained about the overtly sexual nature of the song, what’s so different about Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion rapping about their vaginas to a male rapper flexing about his scrotum or how he is going to take YOUR girl and get her all slippery between the legs and regardless all the critics of “WAP” did were acting as Cardi B’s promotional team, she didn’t have a to do a thing to promote this song.

I liked “WAP pretty much from the jump mostly because there’s just so many quotable lines, the song is just way too much fun and absolutely hilarious to be hated plus it helps that Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion have bucket loads of charisma and personality; they work well together here. Yeah, the sample was a bit grating at first but the more I got used to it. Looking forward to the sophomore album, Cardi B.

 

Combine pop disco with a familiar bassline…sounds like a best list certainty to me!

 

12. “Break My Heart” by Dua Lipa

There’s a part of me sad that I couldn’t find room for this song in my top ten mostly because of that rhythm guitar that samples 80s classic “Need You Tonight” by INXS and that funk guitar that comes in during the chorus is fantastic along with the hints of violin and handclaps that don’t ever get annoying. The song’s lyrics play to the moment when finding the person who is “The One” making Dua happy than it occurs to her that this guy could very well end the relationship and break her heart, its a moment of vulnerability from Dua Lipa that really captures the self-doubt experienced in a relationship.

 

I have seen this next song on a few worst lists which I find pretty strange because it’s one of the better songs from the parent album….

 

11. “Rockstar” by DaBaby feat. Roddy Ricch

 

This is where this list takes a turn for the dark because this song is surprisingly dark as DaBaby and Roddy Ricch draw comparisons between rappers’ gangster lifestyle and rockstars. DaBaby using his second verse to recount an incident in 2018 when he and his family were at the centre of an attempted robbery while in Walmart and talks about the moment, he shot the person responsible and warns the same will happen to anyone that threatens his family, it’s a dark moment on song with that trap beat driven by a guitar. It is an honest song from DaBaby and got to me a fair bit this year.

 

Stay tuned for part two

Top Ten WORST Hit Songs of 2020

 We have finally reached the end of this wretched, disgusting and frankly tiresome year however also means looking back on the year in popular music to find the absolute best and absolute worst 2020 had to offer on the ARIA singles chart and honestly…this year on the ARIA singles chart somehow defied the terribleness of the year, there’s not nearly as many bad or outright garbage songs as there were in 2018 or even last year however it does mean that the truly awful hits this year stuck out a lot more especially from one particular artist who spent 2020 infuriating me but we’ll get to that. 

Also it’s worth pointing out that a lot of the worst elements of pop music in 2020 came from things beyond the control of popular music like stan culture and all of the ugly offshoots that come from that on social media eg: doxxing of chart accounts (Let’s not forget that 2020 was the year that ChartData got doxxed by a certain fanbase over the number one position on the US Billboard Hot 100) and the bullying that I see so often in the comments under ChartData’s tweets and the songs trying to cash in on people’s emotions due to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns that occurred worldwide.

There was also the coronavirus pandemic and the music that was aiming to hit on people’s emotions. Unfortunately a lot of the good songs about the pandemic were kept off the charts and well…you’ll see…

However, we are going to talking about the music that got popular in Australia so before we get stuck into the list, it is time to go through the rules.

1. A song can only make this unfortunate list if it reached the ARIA year end singles chart so while "Hard to Forget" by Sam Hunt is absolutely disgusting, it didn't make the ARIA year end list (honestly, thank goodness for that because I really would have started questioning the intelligence of the Australian public

2. A song that made the 2019 year end list is also eligible but only if it peaked higher on the 2020 year end list 

3. No abuse, this list is my opinion and reflects the feelings I have had about the charting music this year, if you disagree with me than provide valid argument why a song doesn’t deserve to be on my worst hit songs list minus using stan lingo…stan lingo will earn you a patented laugh and a ‘the song still sucks’ reply.

Now that I have made that clear, let us get on with the list.

So in the past two years, Billie Eilish has become one of the biggest names in pop music but in 2020, she was pretty quiet apart from releasing a few scattered singles however Eilish being pretty quiet so set the stage for this travesty to happen… 

10. “You Broke Me First” by Tate McRae

I am convinced record labels watched as Billie Eilish set the world alight in 2019 with a sound that was very different from what others within pop music were doing at the time and pontificated on how they can get in on what Billie Eilish is doing and given Billie has had a reasonably quiet year, they turned to Tate McRae for this turgid slog of a song that tries to sell her scorn at this ex wanting her back after an ugly break up and honestly, McRae’s anger here is unconvincing and the production sounds washed out and lacks the kind menace and anger you’d think you would need for a song about a break up where the title is accusing the other person of breaking her first.

The song is also bland, derivative junk that Billie Eilish did better on “When the Party’s Over” in 2018/19…next!

As I said in the introduction, the world is in the midst of a pandemic which meant of course lockdowns and people staying home so of course the popular music tried to reflect on what people were going through which meant everyone from Twenty One Pilots to Luke Combs had to release their quarantine songs and for the most part. Some of them were good eg “Six Feet Apart” by Luke Combs and “Level of Concern” by Twenty One Pilots neither of which somehow became hits but we did get one quarantine song that became a hit courtesy of both these artists being managed by Scooter Braun…pity it sucks.

9. “Stuck with You” by Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber

This song represents the absolute worst of the songs that pandered toward people’s feelings toward the pandemic and what is unsettling about this song is that it’s Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, two superstars in the world of popular music who are capable of so much better. Can we start with the fact that Ariana’s crooning fails to harmonise with Justin Bieber who sounds completely bored and like he would rather be doing anything else than singing about being in lockdown? Ariana just overwhelms Bieber vocally and the lack of harmonising does bother me. 

Oh and the production sounds slapdash as well, four or five different sounds just slapped together in a slog sandwich…granted I do like the more rock production on the final bridge and what’s more Ariana sounds unsupported over it, she sounds better on the production given to Lady Gaga’s “Rain On Me”. All in all the production just sounds really flat and dare I say it…cheap which is not exactly a good thing given the two people on the god damn song!

As for the lyric “I could stay here forever”, NOBODY wants to be stuck in god damn quarantine forever, Ariana and Bieber and the more I look at the lyrics of this song, it’s less about being in quarantine and more about Bieber and Ariana being confused over their feelings and just wanting to hook up

At the end of the day, it’s a token charity song that’s not really worth much of anything and will more than likely be forgotten…except I am not done with Bieber yet…ugh…

In 2017/18, Camila Cabello had a massive hit with “Havana’ from her debut album, now “Havana” was an honourable mention on my best hit songs list for 2017…that song is still good to almost great and there are days where I wish I could find room to put it in the top ten for that year however in late 2019 she released a song that was nowhere near close to being in the same football stadium as “Havana”…

8. “My Oh My” by Camila Cabello feat. DaBaby

It is telling how much “My Oh My” cribs from “Havana” from the production to even Camila Cabello’s vocal delivery and swapping out Young Thug for DaBaby with the shocking part being just how wonky and awful “My Oh My” sounds, its tinny and doesn’t flatter Camila’s vocals at all, she sounds absolutely horrendous here.

The lyrics play to this hook up where this man only comes out at midnight and he is after one thing yet so is Camila…the writing on this song is more basic than the writing on fucking “Yummy”…Camila then swears she’s been a ‘good girl’ yet she doesn’t flesh out the details of what this other person wants her to do.

DaBaby’s verse contains some terrible lines like “She say I make her wet whenever my face pop up on TV” and “Pop star, I'm fresh up out the trap and I'm goin' Bieber”…given the year Justin Bieber has just had in terms of the music…it’s probably not the smartest flex ever,  Dababy!

This song is worthless and the fact this as so desperately shoved onto that last Camila Cabello album says A LOT.

This year, there was the good, bad and whatever the fact Justin Bieber shovelled out this year…here’s the first bit of evidence of that…

7. “Holy” by Justin Bieber frat. Chance the Rapper

So this is either another song for Justin Bieber’s wife or for Jesus…one or the other…it’s honestly hard to tell as the whole song is this turgid cornball nonsense perhaps exemplified by the chorus with the line “On God, running to the altar like a track star” which is right up there with the absolute worst lyrics Pat Monahan of Train has ever written! I know Evangelical Christians like to have their flock marry young and pump out the children but come on Justin, you aren’t Usain Bolt or any other fucking track star.

Then there’s Chance the Rapper whose verse pretty much locks this song into the worst list especially with lines like “I'm a believer, my heart is fleshy. Life is short with a temper like Joe Pesci” and “When they get messy, go lefty, like Lionel Messi”

In short this song is terrible especially in the song writing but the production has no power or bombast to it that you would think you’d need for a song that’s supposed to be religious, Bieber’s trying to add power to a song that is making me feel nothing but wanting to laugh at the stupid lyrics and no it doesn’t help that the song seems to have similar sentiments to a Florida Georgia Line song from a few years ago.

We will get to more of Bieber and stupid lyrics later….

Well here is an easy target…

6. “Sunday Best” by Surfaces

This is a song where the lyrics/vocal delivery and the production do not match, you would think that for a song where he is going on about ‘he is feeling good like he should’ that he would sound happy and energetic (although I’d take issue with that awfully chipper lyric given the year that 2020 has been) yet at best he sounds fucking constipated like he ate too much fibre and is now sitting on the toilet trying to pass this turd of a song out of his bowels.

What is with all the god damn empty platitudes about leaving a day better than you found it? I mean come on…1. There is only so much that people can do while they are in quarantine/lockdown 2. Saying whatever is not going to fix an issue, it’s how you deal with the issue.

The production on this song is a wash, for a song that is trying to be this perky number, the music sounds like it was written for a death march rather than actually sounding bright and happy so yeah if I wanted to be cheered up this year…this was the sound I kept out of my ears. Ugh!

This next song would not be here, let alone this high on the worst list if it weren’t for just one element of the song that just does not work at all and annoys me…

5, “Death Bed” by Powfu feat. Beabadoobee

This one is going to be reasonably short, “Death Bed” was a song that I liked originally, the content of the song is about a young man who is slowly dying and is talking to his partner about doing things with this partner and potentially meeting up with the person in whatever comes next after they die, it’s a lo fi hip hop song that at first was one that I was ambivalent on and willing to give a pass to when it first hit the ARIA singles chart.

However it took hearing this song one too many times on the radio to realize that there was one misconceived element of the song that was getting really distracting and really annoying…that element being Beabadoobee’s crooning behind Powfu’s verses which really took me out of the song and didn’t match at all with Powfu’s rather bleak verses. 

Ordinarily a song where there is just one element that does not work would not normally throw a song this high on a worst list but the crooning that ruins what could have potentially been a great song is disappointing.

There is an open question about whether external factors behind this next song are fuelling my hatred of it but yeah there is enough to the song that fuels the hatred So therefore…

4. “Say So” by Doja Cat

I didn’t want to put this song here…really…but I’ve never ever come to the conclusion that Doja Cat sounds good over that washed out and rather cheap sounding 80s style production that Daft Punk could do better with, she sounds harsh especially over that final verse, it’s not pleasant to listen to and given I think Doja Cat has a fair bit of talent, the production here is a shame.

As for the lyrics…they are your standard friend who is in love with Doja Cat and Doja wants this friend to tell her how he really feels rather than wasting time by beating around the bush which is fine but maybe this friend isn’t ready to admit he is in love with her, feels like she is trying to force it out of him rather than letting it be a natural moment when the other person is ready as well.

Then there are the external factors that push this song so high up on this list, the man who ruined Kesha’s career produced this song and the fact he can get a song with this limp beat that apparently pleased everyone this year makes me angry especially in light of the Me Too movement which somehow hasn’t taken a broad swipe at the music industry yet apart from ending the career of R. Kelly. Dr L*** career revival also saw him produce a song on that last posthumous Juice WRLD album which also become a hit. 

Fuck Dr L***.

Right foot up, left foot slide into the fucking bin, Drake.

3, “Toosie Slide” by Drake

There was absolutely no reason for Drake to make this song. None. He had his trap dance hits with both “Nice For What” and “In My Feelings” in 2018, there was no need for him to try to capitalise on people being at home bored during the pandemic but we got this fart of a song instead. Let us begin with the fact that this song is really only worth the 30 second Tik Tok meme where Drake sings “Left foot up, right foot slide. Right foot up, left foot slide. Basically, I am saying either way we ‘bout to slide, ayy”. That’s it… there is nothing else to it.” Nutbush City Limits” and “YMCA”, this is not.

At least both “Nutbush City Limits” and “YMCA” have a groove and energy to them that make doing the dances associated with those two songs fun, “Toosie Slide” has this monotonous trap beat that sounds so lethargic and tired which I find absolutely bizarre as in 2020, popular music is moving away from the tired and stale trap sound and really just showed that Drake wanted to show that there was still room in the marketplace for lame songs that could have been Vine videos in 2015/16. 

NEXT…

In my past top ten worst hit songs of a given year you might have noticed that I have a distaste for shitty cover songs….well 2020 did have one song that somehow become a hit much to my horror…

2. “Put Your Records On” by Ritt Momney

I am not a fan of the original “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae…just too cloying and sweet for me but at no stage did anyone ask for a guy with the worst stage name since Lil Dicky to cover “Put Your Records On” and sap the warmth and sunshine out of the song with the trap percussion, it’s clunky, ugly and Ritt Momney having a voice that sits somewhere between having a head cold and a broken cassette tape that’s somehow still playing but break the damn tape deck.

Also the fact that Momney turned this song that was originally smooth and breezy empowerment song  into a choppy hook up song from a male perspective that comes across as completely awkward and comes nowhere near close to being smooth enough to fit the mood he is going for. 

This song is a clattering wall of noise that is not only uncomfortable to listen to but gets rather god damn unpleasant however it’s not the worst hit song of the year but before we find out what is…let’s go through some obligatory dishonourable mentions, shall we?

DHM1: “Yummy” by Justin Bieber

Yeeahhh, “Yummy” is still a bad song, it’s dated, lazy and shows that Justin Bieber hasn’t evolved or changed as an artist by dipping into dated trends from 2016/17 to sing about how yummy his wife’s vagina is. Somehow after hearing this song a few times, I do not blame DJ Khaled for refusing to eat pussy because there’s nothing here that makes the idea even vaguely attractive and Bieber’s squawking delivery just sets my teeth on edge and the fact that this crap got nominated for a Grammy says a lot about the joke the Grammys are.

Also, Justin…not signing a prenup is a silly idea…just saying…

DHM 2: “Falling” by Trevor Daniel

Yeah of the newcomers to hit the charts, Trevor Daniel is the least impressive of the lot and this song is just a trap clunker that Trevor Daniel just sounds off key on. Enough said. Next!

DHM 3: “Party Girl” by StaySolidRocky

Well this guy can be placed in the hall of one hit wonders because after this trap garbage, his career has gone nowhere…for good reason. “Party Girl” is your typically independent girl at the party who likes drugs and guns and apparently does not need anyone. Looks like everyone else decided that they did not need StaySolidRocky beyond this song as he has released other songs, but they’ve not hit the charts. Good riddance.

DHM 4: “Life is Good” by Future and Drake

Well this is a mess that only got worse as the year went on. Future has never been good in his lane of mumble rap under a thick smear of autotune. This song diverts into Drake’s usual playground of concern trolling women and complaining he can’t do his taxes because he is too turnt up. Geez. Let’s hope for better from both but especially Drake given his glorified simp album is coming in January..

DHM 5: “What’s a Man Gotta Do?” by the Jonas Brothers

Yeah this one has one of the most annoying hooks I’ve heard on a pop song in ages and the writing is so fucking corny, it makes my skin crawl, its like they glanced through other songs grabbed at lyrics and mashed them into this one pulsing headache of a song. Sorry guys, I won’t be grabbing you by the collar any time soon

Back to the list and the number one, I think I’ve signalled my pick for top spot enough in 2020, a song that makes me quiver with rage at how ugly the lyrics are and how lazy the production is…”Yummy” wasn’t the worst song that Justin Bieber released in 2020, guys…fight the real enemy…

1. “Intentions” by Justin Bieber feat. Quavo

This song underlines and underpins the ugly and regressive themes and attitudes about women on Justin Bieber’s abortion of an album “Changes” that he released in February and the fact that this became a hit is infuriating but not surprising that Bieber would turn to writing a song aimed at making Evangelical Christian style gender roles/stereotypes seem attractive to young women (alarming when you consider how much of his fanbase is young women).

Let’s start with the lyrics that border on being close to Train at their absolute worst to absolutely asinine, for a start “Heart full of equity, you’re an asset” is nowhere near close to being as sexy as Bieber thinks it is and only served to remind me that I needed to file my taxes and yet Bieber put it on the hook of a love song for his WIFE.

There is also ‘Stay in the kitchen cookin' up, got your own bread” Bieber intends his wife to be a 1950s housewife the typically demure way of staying home and cooking her own bread. Now it’s fine if she WANTS to stay home but what if that isn’t what she wants for her life and that’s before we get to the first verse where Bieber shouts out her parents for having sex and conceiving her which is just all sorts of ick…imagine going up to your partner’s parents and saying “Oh congratulations on making your son/daughter, he or she is a beauty”? Ewww.

What is more Bieber wants to give his girl’s parents a standing ovation for the way they raised her. Who the hell are you to judge on parenting, Bieber?

The line that says everything I need to know about how overwhelmingly shitty the lyrics are is this line in the second verse where he sings that she doesn’t need no sponsor because she’s the brand now like his wife is just some inanimate object with logos all over, she isn’t a fucking trophy!

Quavo comes in with this nothing of a verse where even he sounds like he would rather be eating tacos or doing anything other than appearing on this gutless turd of a song where the production is this spluttering mess with hi hats and percussion that doesn’t much the frankly icky vibe of the song and says a lot about the mess that was Justin Bieber’s “music” in 2020 so for all that “Intentions” by Justin Bieber feat. Quavo is the worst hit song of 2020.

ARIA SIngles Chart Top Ten: 28th December: Mariah takes number one in the final chart week of 2020.

So this week is the final chart week of 2020 and is going to just be the top ten with no full on chart review like normal...hopefully back to normal for the first chart week of 2021 next week so let's get through this shall we?

"All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey took the number thanks to the Christmas streaming avalanche and it had some sales to help it rise four places to the top, the Christmas streaming avalanche also helped "Last Christmas" by Wham rise thirteen places to number two. 

If the Christmas music wasn't a thing on the chart,"Mood' by 24kGoldn and Iann Dior would have returned to number one this week and spent a 10th week there but as it is it slipped one spot to number three and looks the most likely to go back to number one when the charts is restored to equilibrium. 

Also slipping a spot is"Without You" by The Kid Laroi down to number four, it's also a threat for number one but all it's really got is Spotify streaming and I am not sure how much longer that is going to hold up.

Back to Christmas music because rising from 26 to number 5 is "It's Beginning to look a Lot like Christmas" by Michael Buble while the biggest gainer of the week is Ariana Grande's honestly pretty funny Christmas sex song "Santa Tell Me" which jumped from 28 to number six.

Falling three places to number seven is "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry and MNEK. This still has a surprising amount of streaming, might well be a dark horse for the top spot...

Holding into it's traction despite dropping to number eight is "Levitating" by Dua Lipa feat. DaBaby....good to see. 

The second Ariana Grande song in the top ten is "positions" which stumbled three places to number nine. I wonder if anyone will remember this song by this time next year...just saying.

Finally, Taylor Swift had the biggest fall of the week with "Willow" plunging nine places to number 10.

Here's what the top ten would look like minus the Christmas songs

1/ Mood by 24kGoldn and Iann Dior

2. Without You by The Kid Laroi

3. Head & Heart by Joel Corry feat. MNEK

4. Levitating by Dua Lipa feat. DaBaby

5. Positions by Ariana Grande

6. Willow by Taylor Swift

7. So Done by The Kid Laroi

8. Fly Away by Tones and I

9. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

10. You Broke Me First" by Tate McRae

The only other bit of news from this week is that in terms of the new entries, there were three of those but the only one that might well stick around and become a hit is "Afterglow" by Ed Sheeran in at 47 (pretty impressive given it was released on Monday last week).

Next week: The chart eitther resets to equilibrium or we have more Christmas chaos. Stay tuned. The chart updates at 5pm AEDT on Saturday. 

Don't forget we wrap up 2000 Sound with the year end worst and best lists for 2000. "Good 1992 Vibrations" starts on 11th January.. The best and worst lists for 2020 are written and will be released in from the 12th January.

ARIA Singles Top Ten/ Chart Review: 7th December. The Running of the Christmas Music Begins

So this week is a pretty easy one to get through...mostly because this week signified the onslaught of Christmas music hitting the ARIA top 50 beginning and one really bad sign for the charts going forward.

Anyway let's get to the top ten where, for now, Christmas music doesn't impact at all. "Mood" by 24kGoldn feat. Iann Dior spends an eighth week at number one. All it's got is streaming right now as sales have fallen off but there's no challenge coming for it within the top ten right now.

"Positions" by Ariana Grande held onto number two again thanks to streaming while "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry and MNEK climbed one place to number three as it still has some sales and decent streamining.

"Therefore I Am" by Billie Eilish looks to be in danger of free falling down the chart, sales have died and streaming is starting to show signs of bleeding early. Not good.

"Levitating" by Dua Lipa and DaBaby remains at number five but it looks to have peaked now as streaming is starting to shrink and while sales might prop this up a little longer....

"So Done" by The Kid Laroi rebounded two places to number six because for some reason this thing has traction on streaming right now...lovely...

Breaking into the top ten is "Midnight Sky" by Miley Cyrus which thanks to the release of the album saw "Midnight Sky" climb six places to number seven. Good. Happy it's now safe on the year end list.

"You Broke Me First" by Tate McRae" climbed one place to number eight swapping with "Monster" by Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber who slipped to number nine however I do expect "Monster" to rebound thanks to the rather messy album that was released on Friday by Mendes.

Finally in the most pleasing bit of news in the top ten, "Holy" by Justin Bieber feat. Chance The Rapper fell four places to number ten.

Gains

"Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd rebounded six places to 14 as people check out their Spotify Wrapped top 100 songs playlist and revisit the songs they loved in 2020.

However that isn't the gain that bothered me this week, the worrisome gain is for "Whoopty" by CJ which jumped from 32 to 21 and given it's got streaming momentum, this could become a top ten hit. Australia, we're better than this, stop!

Meanwhile "34+35" by Ariana Grande rose from 22 to 18,  "Fly Away" by Tones and I climbed from 24 to 19

Re Entries

The big story of the week is right here because all three returns this week are Christmas songs with Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" back at 14 and likely in the top five next week...you watch.

"Last Christmas" by Wham at 40 and "It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas" by Michael Buble back at 41.

Losses

The biggest loser this week was "Lonely" by Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco which fell nine places to 28...this looks like it might have a year end spot shored up so we'll see. Meaniwhile "Laugh Now, Cry Later" by Drake feat. Lil Durk plunged six to 49, "Come & Go" by Juice WRLD and Marshmello down 5 to 46, "pov" by Ariana Grande dropped from 35 to 43 because Ariana isn't making the song a single.

Drop Outs 

The drop outs aren't surprising "Mood Swings" by Pop Smoke being the biggest and most likely safe on the year end list, also gone after longer than expect runs are "Ain't It Different" by Headie One feat AJ Tracey and Stormzy and "Forever After All" while unsurprisingly "Life Goes On" by BTS also left the charts (bit of a shame tbh...the song isn't bad)

New Entries

Just the one new entry with a charity song called "Light a Candle" by Mountain Jam Music at 32 being the lone new entry...the song aims to raise money to help support children in Australia who are victims of abuse/neglect.

Next week: What impact comes off the release of that Shawn Mendes album (the album is apparently a bit of a mess) and the likely continued rise of Christmas music...the year is finally beginning to slow down. 

Year end lists aren't far away, The worst and best lists for 2000 are due out after Christmas, the worst and best lists for 2020 will be likely out in January at least after ARIA release their year end list.

ARIA Singles Top Ten/Chart Review: 30th November. Monster hit Mood in Seventh Week Heaven

 Well this week was always going to be a busy one but it was busy in a way I didn't expect, I thought we'd get an album bomb from BTS but that didn't happen instead we got a pretty wild collection of five new arrivals with one in the top ten and with Christmas music coming to make the charts irrelevant for the next month or so (seen the Australia Spotify top 50 lately?), this could be one of the last weeks of the year that the chart is unaffected by Christmas songs

Anyway for a seventh week, "Mood" by 24kGoldn feat. Iann Dior remains at number one, its mostly thanks to the kind consistent streaming that songs below it would kill for right now, that streaming kept it ahead of "Positions" by Ariana Grande which remained at number in spite of decent streaming, it's just not doing the sort of numbers to stop "Mood".

The same goes for both "Therefore I Am" by Billie Eilish and "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry feat. MNEK  which remained at numbers three and four respectively in spite of solid streaming and in the case of the latter has sales.

What does have solid sales and streaming is "Levitating" by Dua Lipa feat. DaBaby climbing three places to hit number five, this song probably needs better streaming and sales for it to climb however it knocked "Holy" by Justin Bieber feat. Chance the Rapper back one place to number six...this song is starting to suffer on sales and on streaming.

Speaking of Bieber, he is the featured guest on the new entry at number seven from Shawn Mendes called "Monster"...it's the highest new entry of the five this week. "Monster" is the new single from Shawn Mendes forthcoming new album "Wonder" which is out on Friday.

All this meant "So Done" by The Kid Laroi got pushed back two places to number eight likewise for "You Broke Me First" by Tate McRae to number nine as both start to suffer on streaming. 

Finally "What You Know Bout Love" by Pop Smoke dropped back one place to number ten.

Gains

"Dynamite" by BTS jumped eight places to 16 following the release of "Be" ( the impact of that mini album was kind of muted in Australia with only "Dynamite" gaining" and just one new entry from it), "Whoopty" by CJ rose from 41 to 32.

Losers

Most of the big losers were past hits like "For the Night" by Pop Smoke which was the biggest loser of the week down eight places to 33 and "Breaking Me" by Topic feat. A7S down six to 28/Also losses for songs I am shocked have stuck around this long like  "Ain't it Different" by Headie One feat. AJ Tracey and Stormzy down seven places to 47  and "Forever After All" by Luke Combs dropped from 42 to 49 while "Lonely" by Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco fell five places to 19.

Drop Outs

The five drop outs are mostly ones I am not complaining about. "Before You Go" by Lewis Capaldi, "Go Crazy" by Young Thug and Chris Brown, "My City" by OneFour Feat. The Kid Laroi, "Train Wreck" by James Arthur and "Diamonds" by Sam Smith.

Okay,., I am disappointed that people don't seem ready to make "Diamonds" a hit especially as it is Sam Smith's best song since "Dancing With a Stranger" feat. Normani.

new Entries 

So there were four other new entries besides "Monster" by Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber this week with the first of those being the second single from Miley Cyrus new album "Plastic Hearts" called "Prisoner", featuring Dua Lipa in at number 14.

The only new entry for BTS inside the top 50 is the single called "Life Goes On", I'll be curious to see if this one sticks around especially as "Dynamite" has hung around a lot longer than I thought it would.

Hooligan Hefs hit the singles chart at number 40 with "Send It!" while Meduza has teamed up with singer/songwriter Dermot Kennedy for "Paradise" at number 48.

Nrxt week will likely see gains for both Miley Cyrus songs on the chart thanks to the release of the album and the yearly invasion of Christmas music begins but we'll have to see when the chart updates on Saturday at 5pm AEDT.

 

ARIA Singles Top Ten/Chart Review: November 16th: The Kid Laroi rides into the top ten.

 So this week was a cool down week and it somewhat played out exactly the way I thought it would a few weeks ago, we have a returning number one and a few easily explained shifts up and down the chart so let's get stuck into it where as I said we have a returning number one in the form of "Mood" by 24k Goldn feat. Iann Dior, it's the song's fifth week at number one and honestly it's an open question as to whether it will get a sixth week at the top because right behind it is last week's number one "positions" by Ariana Grande, it's still got some traction on streaming but I am not certain that it can make a play to return to number one given the new releases coming to the chart next week....oof.

I would say "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry and MNEK is in perfect position to snatch the top spot as it is doing better on digital sales than both songs above it but again with the new releases especially one that's probably going to debut at least top five

That's not the case for "Holy" by Justin Bieber feat Chance The Rapper remaining at number four, its steady on sales but it's not making up ground on the songs ahead of it.

The late Pop Smoke has his first top five hit with "What You Know Bout Love" rising two places to number five thanks to good streaming in the most part because it doesn't have sales traction, it moved past "Lemonade" by Internet Money feat. Gunna, NAV and Don Toliver down one to number six as streaming slowly starts to fade for this song.

We have the first of two new arrivals to the top ten at number seven with "So Done" by The Kid Laroi which off the back of streaming gains and an EP release rose nine places to give The Kid Laroi his first Australian top ten hit...wish the song was actually good though...just saying;

"You Broke Me First" by Tate McRae remains steady at number eight. Kind of annoyed this song is hanging around now but it's safe from "WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion as it fell away naturally down three to number nine, likely gone from top ten next week.

Finally rising one place to join the top ten for the first time is "Levitating" by Dua Lipa feat. DaBaby at number ten. This song will likely make the year end which I am fine with because the original version of this song is one of my favourite songs from "Future Nostalgia"

Gains

The biggest gain of the week belonged to Miley Cyrus with "Midnight Sky" rising from 25 to 12 mostly thanks to the insanely good mash up of it with the song that inspires the melody namely 'Edge of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks...you can argue the mash up is actually pretty damn great to be honest.

There were a lot of gains this week as the Ariana Grande album bomb receded so I am just going to go through a few of the other big gains like for the long running 2019 hits that won't go away like "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi up six places to 32 and "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I up from 43 to 36,

"Rain on Me" by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande jumped from 44 to 38 while "This City" by Sam Fischer rose seven places to 40. 

"What's Poppin'" by Jack Harlow rose from 49 to 43,

Re-Entries

Lewis Capaldi is back at number 50 with "Before You Go" but surprisingly that was it.

Losers

Ariana Grande album tracks form the majority of our big losers with "Motive" feat. Doja Cat demotivating down from 19 to 45, "Pov" POQed down from 39 to 47 (this song has some groundswell behind so wouldn't be surprised to see it rise while "34+35" slipped out of the top 10 to 18. 

The one non Ariana loser was "My City" by Onefour feat. The Kid Laroi which slipped twenty places to number 48.

Drop Outs

The drop outs are all Ariana Grande album tracks with "Off The table" feat. The Weeknd, "Safety Net" feat. Ty Dolla $ign, "Just Like Magic" and "Shut Up" all gone and probably won't be back.

New Entries

Three new entries with two of them being from The Kid Laroi thanks to the EP with "Always Do" at 37 and "Tragic" at 41 while "Lasting Lover" by Sigala and James Arthur turns up at 46 (a song I actually don't mind).

Next week is huge, Billie Eilish's new song debuts likely top five at this point rather than number one, Tones and I flies in with her latest single and Onefour will likely get a song on the chart as well. Not sure about whether or not Lil Nas X will chart as "Holiday" doesn't seem to have any kind of streaming whatsoever right now but we'll find out on Saturday at 5pm AEDT when ARIA update the chart.

ARIA Singles Top Ten/Chart Review: 9th November. Positions lands album bomb for Ariana Grande

 I was tempted to just ignore this week and not worry about covering it mostly because everyone is busy watching the US Presidential election play out as though it's an episode of "Days Of Our Lives" or one of those stupid American soaps, nobody really gives a shit about the pop charts right now especially when it's not particularly an interesting week, right?

Well okay...we may as well deal with the charts because we did get an album bomb from Ariana Grande who got seven new songs from her album "positions" onto the top fifty on the singles chart while the album debuted at number two on the ARIA top 50 albums behind Midnight Oil's "The Makarrata Project" however "oositions" album release was enough to keep the title track at number one for a second week however it's dying in slow motion on sales with streaming propping it up for now.

It held on ahead of "Mood" by 24k Goldn and Iann Dior which spent another week at number two as it also is leaking on sales but like "positions" is holding its place on streaming however it does also hve a remix feat. Justin Bieber and J Balvin that might just see it nab another week at number one.

A song that could make a play for number one is "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry feat. MNEK which is doing well on sales and finally picking up some traction on streaming again, it held up over "Holy" by Justin Bieber feat. Chance the Rapper which again remained at number four.

"Lemonade" by Internet Money and Gunna feat. NAV and Don Toliver up one place to five, it's got consistent streaming that's keeping it afloat in the top ten as it flew past "WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion as it is beginning to fade naturally down place to number six.

"What You Know Bout Love" by the late Pop Smoke rose one place to number seven as it continues to look like it might have a run in the top ten, following it up is unfortunately "You Broke Me First" by Tate McRae up one to number eight, we don't need bland derivative Billie Eilish rip offs on the chart, people!

Now we hit the first evidence of the Ariana Grande album bomb with "34+35" debuting at number nine, not surprising as it is being touted as the next single from the album.

Finally "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac is down three places to number ten as the virality wears off but I suspect it should still make the year end list.

Gains

Not too many big gains given it is an album bomb week but we did get "Diamonds" by Sam Smith having the biggest gain of the week up  ten places to 33 thanks to the release of Sam's album "Love Goes"

"So Done" by The Kid Laroi up four places to 16, this song looks like blowing up in the USA somehow which is unfortunate because it's not that good.

Re Entries

Just the one return this week with "Golden" by Harry Styles back at number 41.

Losers

We have a slew of losers this week and most of them are set to make the year regardless, well, maybe apart from the week's biggest loser "Forever After All" by Luke Combs which slipped 20 spots to 34 unfortunately (this should hopefully rebound as the Ariana album tracks leave the chart)

The rest of these are pretty much locked on the year end list like "Don't Start Now" by Dua Lipa down ten places to 50 or "What's Poppin'" by Jack Harlow also down ten to 49, "Go Crazy" by Chris Brown and Young Thug down 12 places to 48, "Rain on Me" by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande down nine places to 44 (bit of a surprise, would have thought this song would get a rebound considering Ariana is involved with it) and "Mood Swings" by Pop Smoke down from 34 to 46 this week.

"Dance Monkey" by Tones and I slipped from 37 to 43 while "This City" by Sam Fischer dropped nine places to 47, "My Ex's Best Friend" by Machine Gun Kelly feat. Blackbear dropped six places to 36.

Some of these will likely rebound next week so we'll have to see.

Drop Outs

Nine drop outs and there are some massive ones here like "Circles" by Post Malone which leaves after 60 weeks on the ARIA singles chart (it's also left the Billboard Hot 100)

Also gone are songs likely to make year end list like "Before You Go" by Lewis Capaldi,  "Popstar" by DJ Khaled and Drake and possibly "Heather" by Conan Gray.

The Ariana Grande album bomb also saw "Kings & Queens" by Ava Max, "Everybody Rise" by Amy Shark, "Secrets' by Regard, "Train Wreck" by James Arthur and "Together" by Sia

New Entries

So the only non Ariana Grande new entry came from Onefour who teamed up with The Kid Laroi for "My City" which is in at number 28.

As for the Ariana Grande songs, I already mentioned "34+35" in at number 9 but beyond that? Well, "Motive" feat. Doja Cat slots in at 19, "Off the Table" feat. The Weeknd is in at number 32, "Pov" checks in at 39 (the best song from the album), "Just Like Magic" waves its wand at 40, "Safety Net"
feat. Ty Dolla Sign makes it's landing at 42 and somewhat appropriately "Shut Up" zips in at 45.

That wraps up a busy week, shaping like we're going to be seeing some more new The Kid Laroi on the chart next week. Hopefully one or two songs from that new Kylie Minogue album cross over but we'll find out when ARIA updates their charts at 5pm on Saturday.

ARIA Singles Top Ten/Chart Review: 2nd November. Ariana Grande positions herself at number one.

So this week was probably a bit busier than I would have liked given there's likely an Ariana Grande album bomb coming next week (despite the album being fine but pretty underwhelming) because we've got four new entries and some big moves in the top twenty but let's start with the biggest story of the week, our new number one which is "positions" by Ariana Grande, it got there through solid sales and streaming and should hold onto number one for a couple of weeks post the album release and while the song is not bad, it's like the album...underwhelming that said I think my opinion on the song is somewhat soured by the behaviour of some of Ariana's fanbase during the week however I will save my bake of stan Twitter for the year end worst list though.

Anyway all that was enough to push "Mood" by 24k Goldn and Iann Dior down to number two...I would have liked to have seen this remain number one as I think it is the better song, the same can be said for "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry and MNEK which slipped to number three.

"Holy" by Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper continues to linger like herpes on the genitals by remaining at number four.

"WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion is finally on it's way out as it bled on streaming and on sales to drop two places to number five.

Also remaining steady this week is "Lemonade" by Internet Money & Gunna feat. Don Toliver and NAV at number six.

The virality slipping away has seen "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac fall two spots to number seven...honestly this should be enough to seal a year end spot but we'll have to see in January. Pop Smoke's "What You Know Bout Love" dropped one place to number eight.

Staying at number nine is "You Broke Me First" by Tate McRae....hopefully Ariana's album bomb knocks this out of the top ten and stalls it's momentum.

Speaking of  momentum that's dying off, "Savage Love" by Jawsh 685 and Jason DeRulo slipped down two places to number ten.

Gains

Pretty quiet on the gains front with the biggest gain being for "Levitating (remix)" by Dua Lipa feat DaBaby which rose nine places to 13 while "Diamonds" by Sam Smith rose four to 43 this week ("Diamonds" should get a boost  off the back of the album release next week)

Losers

The biggest loser this week is "Kings & Queens" by Ava Max which got dethroned from 42 to 48 this week while "Everybody Rise" is doing the opposite of the songs title in collapsing down from 43 to 49.

Drop Outs

So there are four drop outs this week with "Wishing Well" by Juice WRLD, "Adore You" by Harry Styles, "Be Kind" by Marshmello and Halsey and "Look Into My Eyes" by Brando all gone

New Entries

So beyond Ariana Grande's "positions" debuting at number one, we did have three other new entries with American country star Luke Combs achieving his highest ever singles chart position in Australia thanks to the deluxe release of his album thanks to the song "Forever After All" debuting at number 14, I am all for this happening, it's the best country song to hit the ARIA top 50 in such a long time.

The Kid LAROI's "So Done" arrives at number 20 while James Arthur's "Train Wreck" turns up at number 45 thanks to virality on TikTok.

So next week, we should see what carnage Ariana Grande can create with the "positions" album bomb when the chart updates at 5pm AEDT on Saturday. 

ARIA Singles Top Ten/Chart Review: 26th October. Lonely Levitating Proves it CAN levitate

 So here we have another quiet week on the ARIA singles chart which I am grateful for considering the album bomb that is coming from Ariana Grande in two weeks time...not to mention the impact she might well make next week with her new single but that's all ahead of us next week, let's stick to this week and the current top ten where right at the very top is "Mood" by24k Goldn and Ian Diorr which spends a fourth week at number one and really while it's dependent on the numbers "positions" by Ariana Grande does this week, I'm confident "Mood" will get another week at the top given "positions" really has underwhelmed on both streaming and sales in it's first full days since it's release on Friday afternoon...got to wonder if people are feeling the burnout with Ariana Grande...

Anyway, we finally saw change at number two with "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry and MNEK which gained on both sales and streaming to climb to number two, it pushed past "WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion which has just lost sales in a big way and finally started to bleed on streaming to slip to number three.

Its coming under threat unfortunately from "Holy" by Justin Bieber feat. Chance The Rapper which climbed one spot to number four, it took advantage of "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac starting to show signs of losing some of that virality as it slipped one place to number five.

All that saw "Lemonade" by Internet Money and Gunna feat. NAV and Don Toliver remain steady at uumber six as all this song has is streaming.

Speaking of just having streaming its pretty much the same for Pop Smoke's "What You Know Bout Love" which rose one place to number seven, it did push back "Savage Love" by Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo to number eight as it is fading naturally. 

Tate McRae remains at number nine with "You Broke Me First" while spending it's first week inside the top ten unfortunately is "Put Your Records On" by Ritt Momney and most likely ensuring it's a candidate for my worst list.

Gains

So there really only is one gain worth talking about here and fortunately it's on the good side with "Levitating" by Dua Lipa feat DaBaby which went up from 35 to 22 this week. ARIA corrected the error from last week and credited the DaBaby remix thank goodness but this looks like being a hit as it has solid momentum on both streaming and sales which for me is a nightmare as there are already three other Dua Lipa songs in contention for best list.

Re-Entries

We got two really damn good songs back in the top 50, "Adore You" by Harry Stylrs at 48 and "Be Kind" by Marshmello feat. Halsey at 49

Losers

Like the gains, here's not much worth mentioning here with the biggest loser being "Together" by Sia down five to 41.

Drop Outs

Three songs gone are "Mr Right Now" by 21 Savage and Metro Boomin feat. Drake, "Franchise" by Travis Scott feat. Young Thug and Drake and "Ride It" by Regard.

New Entry

Just the one new entry courtesy of Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco who have teamed up for "Lonely" at number 14, it's legit the best song Justin Bieber has done in awhile in that's just decent rather than mediocre or terrible.

So that wraps up a pretty quiet week...next week, Ariana Grande arrives with "positions" and honestly I am not sure it's in the fight for the number one spot based on the numbers so we'll see what happens when the chart updates at 5pm on Saturday. 

ARIA Singles Top Ten/Chart Review: 19th October. Dreams of top five for Fleetwood Mac has me Levitating

 We got a pretty quiet week here, folks, yes, we got some expected shifts in the top ten but we only got the one new entry (considering New Music Friday was quiet for this chart week...not overly surprising) but let's get stuck into the top ten where I'm happy to say "Mood" by 24kGoldn feat. Iann Diorr spends a third week at number one and right now it's dominating on streaming and while it's not dominant on sales, it looks comfortable at number one for now.

This leaves "WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion stuck at number two, it's sales are dying in slow motion and it just hasn't got the streaming to match "Mood" anymore however it was enough to keep it ahead of "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry and MNEK at number three which yes is doing much better than the top two on sales, it just doesn't quite have the streaming to challenge either right now which is a shame because I think the song deserves a week or two at number one.

This takes us to..."Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac rising ten places to NUMBER FOUR, this song is not done yet either, it's got decent sales and a surge on streaming, this is staying in the top ten for at least another couple of week.s

It caused both "Holy" by Justin Bieber feat. Chance the Rapper to stay at number five and "Lemonade" by Internet Money and Gunna feat. Don Toliver and NAV to remain glued at number six.

"Savage Love" by Jawsh 685 feat. Jason DeRulo fell three places to number seven, hopefully this song is allowed to now go away...the discourse around this song is getting uglier than the discourse over "WAP"

Breaking into the top ten is "What You Know Bout Love" by Pop Smoke up three spots to number eight, streaming lovers this song so expect this to stick around in the top ten for a bit.

Tate McRae's "You Broke Me First" dropped one place to number nine, this song has streaming so this won't be leaving the top ten while "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles looks to finally be set to leave the top ten down three places to number ten.

Gains

I already mentioned the big gain for "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac up ten spots to number four but what also gained well this week is Ritt Momney's cover of "Put Your Records On" up six to number 12...this is probably going to replace "Watermelon Sugar" in the top ten next week and no, that is not a win.

"This City" by Sam Fischer recovered up from 45 to 38 this week but apart from those the gains were mostly one or two place gains.

Re-Entries

Good news on return front with "Diamonds" by Sam Smith back at number 48, it brought "Ride It" by Regard back at number 50 with it which is kind of odd...

Losers

Much like our gains, there just isn't much in the way of big losers. "Mr Right Now" by 21 Savage and Metro Boomin' feat Drake slipped from 39 to 44 while 'Roses" by Saint Jhn dropped five places to 17

Drop Outs

All three drop outs this week are from Blackpink with "Lovesick Girls", "Bet You Wanna" feat. Cardi B (actually thought that one had a chance of sticking around given Cardi B's success with "WAP" this year) and "Ice Cream" feat. Selena Gomez all gone.

New Entry

Our one new entry is from Dua Lipa with "Levitating" at number 35 however it seems like ARIA have accredited Blessed Madonna remix feat. Madonna and Missy Elliott as the reason for the song charting when it probably should have been the remix with Dababy that got the credit. I'm fine with the song being here though as the album version is fantastic. 

Next week...another new song from Justin Bieber this time with Benny Blanco and maybe a return for a Guy Sebastian song or two off the back of the release of his album but it could be the last pretty quiet week for awhile rumours of Drake, Ariana Grande (Ariana's confirmed to drop her album on October 30th) and even Adele dropping new albums in the next weeks so things are about to get wild. We'll find out if Fleetwood Mac can go any higher when the chart updates on Saturday at 5pm

ARIA Singles Top Ten Chart Review: 12th October. Bet You Wanna Be having Dreams

Well this week...happened, we got a slew of new entries and a return not to mention the big gain outside the top ten that everybody is watching.rise but let's start with the top ten where for a second week, "Mood" by 24k Goldn and Iann Dior remains at number one pretty much down to streaming and some sales. The top three really haven't changed at all with "WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion remaining at number two and "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry and MNEK at number three.

Meanwhile an unaccredited remix with BTS saw "Savage Love" by Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo rebound one place to number four. I'd like to see the song gone soon, I am pretty darn tired of it now however it went past the much worse "Holy" by Justin Bieber and Chance the Rapper down one to number five.

"Lemonade" by Internet Money and Gunna feat. Don Toliver and NAV remained steady at number six but I expect this song to stick around and climb higher in the weeks ahead unfortunately however the at isn't the case with "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles which remained steady at number seven thanks to decent streaming that hasn't died yet somehow.

Then there's "You Broke Me First" by Tate McRae which got a boost off the back of streaming to jump two places to number eight because we need a third rate Billie Eilish knock off in the top ten right now...

Down one to number nine is "Breaking Me" by Topic feat. A7S because this song is bleeding on streaming right now. I can see this leaving the top ten next week.

Finally up four places to number ten is Jason Derulo's "Take You Dancing"...so Jawsh 685 has revived Jason Derulo's music career...great...

Gains

So there was one major gain this week that being for "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac which rose from 39 to a new peak of 14, it has now out peaked its original 1977 run on the charts, it's also a fair chance to go top ten next week which would be fantastic however it's rise also meant that combined with the new entries mostly everything else got pushed back.

Re-Entries

Just one return this week with "Ice Cream" by Blackpink feat Selena Gomez returning at number 49 off the back of the debut album from Blackpink debuting at number two.

Losers

The biggest fall this week belong unsurprisingly to 'Franchise" by Travis Scott feat. Young Thug and M.I.A as it tumbled from 31 to 44 this week. 

"Heather" by Conan Gray got the skids down from 33 to 40 while "Wishing Well" by Juice WRLD dropped six places to 50.

"Popstar" by DJ Khaled and Drake slipped nine places to 35 this week as did "Mood Swings" by Pop Smoke to 28.

"Rockstar" by Dababy feat. Roddy Ricch wen down six places to 17.

Drop Outs

Some massive hits this year like "Don't Start Now" by Dua Lipa, "Adore You" by Harry Styles, "Rover" S1mba feat. DTG and "Stuck with U" by Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber are all gone and all guaranteed of making the year end list for 2020

Unfortunately "Diamonds by Smith is also gone but it took "Mad at Disney" by Salem Ilese with it. Disappointed for Sam as "Diamonds" is one of their best songs to date.

New Entries

So the biggest new arrival of the week is from Pop Smoke who has entered the chart at number eleven with "What You Know Bout Love"...this song is likely battling with "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac for a place in the top ten next week. 

Shawn Mendes album title track "Wonder" is in at number 13. This song looks like it might quietly get big so we'll have to see. 

Now let's deal with the two Blackpink songs that entered the chart this week off the back of the album with "Lovesick Girls" at number 27 and "Bet You Wanna" feat. Cardi B at number 42. I doubt either will stick around but we'll find out in the weeks ahead.

Finally 21 Savage and Metro Boomin's collaboration with Drake called "Mr. Right Now" entered at number 37 and was the only song from "Savage Mode 2" to reach the top 50.

That wraps up a pretty busy week. Next week, all eyes on the top ten to see what could make a move in given the weakness around the lower half of the top ten right now, new entries possibly from Bebe Rexha working with Doja Cat and maybe a new entry from AC/DC...we'll find out on Saturday at 5pm AEDT

ARIA Singles Top Ten/ Chart Review: 5th October. Australia always in a Mood for a new number one but thunder only happens when it's raining

 This week is a remarkable one, we have a week where there several stories worth attention here, one being the return to the top 50 of an iconic 70s classic, a new talent rising to the top ten and a new number one so there is plenty to get to here so first up let's tackle the matter of our top ten and the new number one that being "Mood" by 24k Goldn and Iann Dior, it got to number one thanks mostly to streaming and a sales advantage of it's closest competitor. I for one couldn't be happier this has finally got to the top of the singles chart, it's a damn great song.

Former chart topper "WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion fell back to number two as it just couldn't go with "Mood" on streaming, it also lost a lot of traction on sales as well which didn't help it's cause but it remained comfortably ahead of "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry feat MNEK which while it's doing better than the top two on sales but it just doesn't quite have the streaming to match the top two just yet.

Consistent streaming and sales kept "Holy" by Justin Bieber feat. Chance the Rapper at number four somehow. I really want to see this song gone sooner rather than later.

Now what might stick around bit longer is "Savage Love" by Jawsh 685 and Jason DeRulo, which remained at number five however a remix with BTS was released on Friday which means this song could rebound. The remix isn't great at all either. 

Then we have a slew of songs that benefitted from the collapse of "One Too Many" by Keith Urban and Pink to number 19 like "Lemonade" by Internet Money and Gunna feat. Don Toliver and NAV up one place to number six, "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles up one to number seven and "Breaking Me" by Topic feat. A7S also up one to number eight.

Saint Jhn returns to the top ten up three places to number 9 with "Roses". Seriously, I thought we were done with this whiff of a song.

Finally in a first Australian top ten for this artist, "You Broke Me First" by Tate McRae is at number ten having rose four places, this song has traction is probably going to stay in the top ten even if it's just really pale attempted imitation of sound that Billie Eilish has done better.

Gains 

So the gains are a bit all over the place here but "Ain't It Different" by Headie One feat. AJ Tracey and Stormzy continues to be a hit in the making as rose from 29 to 16 this week. (I wish it didn't sample "Butterfly" by Crazy Town but that's another story entirely);

Ritt Momney's "Put Your Records On" continues to be a thing by climbing fourteen places to number 20. This song is going to stick around and be a hit for some bizarre reason, I don't like the production on this thing.

Machine Gun Kelly's "My Ex's Best Friend" feat. Blackbear rose from 35 to 22 following the release of MGK's album "Tickets to My Downfall", an album that has surprisingly divided opinion. I actually think the album is a lot of fun and worth checking out.

Re Entries

Here's the other big story for this week, thanks to a Tik Tok meme going viral, Fleetwood Mac's 1977 single "Dreams" is on the ARIA singles chart at number 39. It peaked at number 19 on the Kent Music Report chart during it's original chart run back in 1977 and didn't make the year end list for that year so yeah it would be awesome if we did make this song a hit in 2020 and give Fleetwood Mac the hit they kind of never really had in Australia apart from "Tusk"

Losers

So I already mentioned the unsurprising fall of "One Too Many" by Keith Urban and Pink to 19 so outside of that "Popstar" by DJ Khaled and Drake fell five places to 26 while "Rain On Me" by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande also fell five to 29 and "Heather" by Conan Gray dropped from 27 to 33 this week.

A little disappointing was the five place fall of "Kings & Queens" by Ava Max to 37  as the hype dies for that album of hers.

Drop Outs

Two reasonably big drop outs with "The Woo" by Pop Smoke and "Smile" by Juice WRLD and The Weeknd both gone, they took "OK not be OK" by Marshmello and Demi Lovato and "Ice Cream" by Blackpink and Selena Gomez with them, although the latter is likely to be back next week given the release of that Blackpink album on Friday.

New Entries

Three new entries this week with Travis Scott teaming up with Young Thug and M.I.A for the highest new entry of the week with "Franchise" at number 31. I am not sure about the longevity of this one just yet.

Same could could said for Sam Smith's 'Diamonds" in at number 46. Would love to see this become a hit because it is the best new song of the week.

Salem Ilese has her first charting hit with "Mad At Disney" debuting at 50, I expect this one to stick around unfortunately.

That ends quite the bizarre and actually...kind of good week. Next week probably will see some Blackpink with the return of "Ice Cream" and How You Like That" along with the collab with Cardi B, hopefully one or two songs off that shockingly really good "Savage Mode 2" by 21 Savage and Metro Boomin'. Shawn Mendes also returned with a new single which is likely also chart. We'll find out on Saturday at 5pm AEDT

ARIA Top Ten Singles/Chart Review: 28th September. Is the race for number one on?

 So this week was finally interesting in terms of the number one spot and the top ten because we got some movement and some interesting shifts that I have no idea will end up sticking around long term but let's start with what is starting to brew at the very top where "WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion remains at number one for a sixth week but the song is starting to show signs of weakness as it started slipping on sales and even more crucially on streaming especially on Spotify.

All that makes "WAP" vulnerable to "Mood" by 24kGoldn and Iann Dior which is getting plenty of streaming traction...just needs to get some consistent momentum on streaming and it could well surpass "WAP" for number one.

It pretty much leaves "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry feat. MNEK a bystander watching as two heavyweights duke it out, its got great sales but only solid streaming but it's not quite as competitive with the two songs above it

We have the first two new entries in the top ten (three overall in the top 50) with "Holy" by Justin Bieber feat. Chance the Rapper in at number four, Now I won't talk too much about the song's quality of the song here because I am planning to do a top 20 ranked on this week but it debuted this high thanks to a combination of good sales and streaming which means it could be here awhile.,,yay (sarcasm).

It was enough to push "Savage Love" by Jawsh 685 feat. Jason DeRulo down one place to number five as it list ground on streaming with sales really keeping it in the top five.

Next up we have a new entry that shocked plenty of people, "One Too Many" by Keith Urban feat. Pink in at number six! It's Urban's first top ten hit on the all genre ARIA singles chart and it got there purely on sales, it's had enormous sales through out the past week. 

"Lemonade" by Internet Money and Gunna frat. Don Toliver and Nav is into the top ten up six places to number sevem....thanks to streaming because of course streaming would love the most basic of hip hop songs.

The rest of the top ten are the songs that have probably overstayed their welcome in the top ten with "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles which slipped two to number eight, "Breaking Me" by Topic feat. A7S down four places to number nine and finally "Rockstar" by DaBaby feat. Roddy Ricch which dropped three to number ten.

Gains

The gains this week are mostly muted with the biggest gain of the week was for Machine Gun Kelly's "My Ex's Best Friend" feat. Blackbear to 35 (I expect another rise for this next week given MGK released his album yesterday and it's actually not bad),

"Popstar" by DJ Khaled and Drake gained 4 places to 21. "Kings & Queens" by Ava Max only managed a two place rise off the back of the album release to 31.

 

Losers

So some really big losers this week including "Ice Cream" by Blackpink and Selena Gomez down ten to 50...this has stuck around longer than I had hoped...oh well it will be gone next week hopefully.

"Smile" by Juice WRLD frat. The Weeknd down from 32 to 45 while "Wishing Well" also by Juice WRLD slipped from 38 to 42 and "Come & Go" frat. Marshmello down six to 20.

"Secrets" by Regard and Raye down eight places from 29 to 37 while much to my relier "Together" by Sia slipped from  27 to 32. 

Finally "Heather" by Conan Gray down six to 21.

Drop outs

None of three drop outs are all that surprising with "Be Kind" by Marshmello and Halsey, "Tap In" by Saweetie and "Over Now" by Calvin Harris and The Weeknd all gone and most likely won't be back.

New Entries

So apart from the two new entries in the top ten, there was one other new entry this week with a cover of Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On" by American singer Ritt Momney aka Jake Butler at number 34.

So that wraps up the week..not sure what will hit the chart in terms of new releases...maybe that new Travis Scott song, we'll have to see when the ARIA singles chart updates on Saturday at 5pm

ARIA Top Ten Singles/Chart Review: 21st September.

 Ever get the feeling that the top ten has gotten a bit stodgy in recent times? Well yeah, that's feeling I've had for awhile because really only things shifted a little inside the top ten with older songs moving back up, it feels like the top ten just switches positions occasionally...just not at the top where "WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion spends a fifith week at number one, it's still dominant on streaming but those sales are starting to bleed in its first real sign it's grip on number one might be loosening. 

It's closest competition comes from "Mood" by 24kGoldn and Iann Dior which remains at number two this week, its still a huge chance at number one as its streaming has been reasonably competitive with "WAP" on streaming and is starting to do better than "WAP" on digital sales.

Joel Corry's "Head & Heart" feat MNEK rose one place to number three this week as its streaming gained quite impressively and sales are doing better than both "WAP" and "Mood", heck, it moved past "Savage Love" by Jawsh 685 and Jason DeRulo to number four which is starting to bleed on streaming and sales however it was was enough to remain ahead of "Breaking Me" by Topic feat. A7S at number five which still somehow has consistent streaming.

Speaking of streaming, rebounds in streaming saw "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles rebound to six, "Rockstar" by DaBaby and Roddy Ricch return to number seven and "Laugh Now, Cry Later" by Drake feat. Lil Durk to number eight.

All of this saw "Mood Swings" by Pop Smoke slip back three to number nine while "Roses" by Saint Jhn returns to the top ten up one to number ten.

Gains

The biggest gain this week belongs to Internet Money and Gunna after "Lemonade" feat. NAV and Don Toliver jumped from 47 to 13. Looks like it could be a player for the top ten next week which is a pity because the song is not good. 

The not good gains continued with the very annoying "Take You Dancing" by Jason DeRulo up to 15 from 22.

Only real decent gain from song quality perspective is "Kings & Queens" by Ava Max up ten spots to 33 and Brando up five to 34 with "Look Into My Eyes"

Losers

"Tap In" by Saweetie fell ten places to 47 this week while Blackpink continued to see diminishing returns for "Ice Cream" featuring Selena Gomez as it plummeted from 26 to 40 (Probably a good thing this song won't be sticking around, its not good).

"Over Now" by Calvin Harris and The Weeknd fell seven to 50...bit of a shame that this isn't sticking around, it's a good song.

"Be Kind" by Marshmello and Halsey unfortunately slipped from 38 to 43 while oddly "Heather" by Conan Gray fell eight to 21...thought the latter was going to hit the top ten but seems not.now

Drop Outs

We had two drop outs this week with "Death bed" by Powfu feat. Beabadoobee gone, it's got its year end slot all shored up regardless.

The other is "Lose Somebody" by Kygo and OneRepublic...yeah I forgot this song existed til now.

New Entries

Just the two new entries this week with Machine Gun Kelly hitting the chart with the highest debut of the week, he has teamed up with Blackbear for a stab at punk rock with "My Ex's Best Friend' at 41.

Marshmello returns to the ARIA singles chart, this time teaming up with Demi Lovato for "It's OK Not to be OK" at number 48.

Anyway that wraps up the week on the singles chart, expecting Justin Bieber's collab with Chance the Rapper to hit high on the chart (unfortunately), maybe that new Keith Urban and Pink song plus Internet Money maybe breaking into the top 10 so yeah next week could be rough but we'll find out when ARIA updates the chart at 5pm AEST on Saturday.

ARIA Singles top Ten/Chart Review: 14th September. Big rise for Ain't It Different.

 This week is a fairly quiet one so I am going to rip through this one quickly as the top four didn't change. "WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion remaining at number one for a fourth week, it is still a dominant presence on streaming and while sales aren't quite as strong as they have been previously...it's still got enough streaming to stay at number one.

"Mood" by 24kGoldn and Iann Dior remains at number two for a second week and much like "WAP", streaming is ensuring this is a dominant number two despite only just decent sales, "Savage Love" by Jawsh 685 and Jason DeRulo remaining at number three as it slowly starts to leak sales and streams which makes it vulnerable to "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry feat MNEK at number four, this song is still gaining on streaming and looks set to surpass "Savage Love" in the weeks ahead.

A good streaming week saw "Breaking Me" by Topic feat. A7S rebound four places to number...this isn't going to last..I expect this song to fall back a bit next week but regardless it was enough to knock "Mood Swings" by Pop Smoke back one spot to number six, it's really just got streaming right now..there's no sales for this song.

Same could be said for "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles as it rose on the back of streaming to number seven although that might be because of the weaknesses of both "Rockstar" by Dababy feat. Roddy Ricch down two places to number eight and "Laugh Now, Cry Later" by Drake feat. Lil Durk down two to number nine, the latter not having as much staying power inside the top ten as I thought.

"Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd extends its stay in the top ten for another week by remaining at number ten and likely ensuring it's number one spot on the ARIA chart's year end top 100 singles for 2020.

Gains

The biggest gain this week was for "Ain't It Different" by Headie One feat. AJ Tracey and Stormzy rising from 45 last week to 31, got a funny feeling this song is going to be big in a few weeks time.

There were also gains for "Heather" by Conan Gray which climbed seven places to 13, Tate McRae's Billie Eilish rip off "You Broke Me First" climbs from 22 to 15 while "Midnight Sky" by Miley Cyrus is up five places to 16, "For the Night" by Pop Smoke rose four places to 20.

Finally "Take You Dancing" by Jason DeRulo continues to surge up five spots to 22.

Re-Entries

Just the one return this week with "Popstar" by DJ Khaled feat. Drake returning at 28, mostly due to the hype off the music video which replaced Drake with Justin Bieber.

Losers

The biggest fall came for "Over Now" by Calvin Harris and The Weeknd which almost lived up to it's own title by falling from 17 to 43. I hope it can recover because it's a solid song. 

What I am hoping doesn't recover it's the brain freeze inducing "Ice Cream" by Blackpink and Selena Gomez which melted down ten spots to 26. 

"The Woo" by Pop Smoke couldn't be wooed higher so fell eight to 41. 

Drop outs

Pretty clear cut list of drop outs, a little disappointed to see "Standing With You" by Guy Sebastian gone but it's taking "Party Girl" by Stay Solid Rocky so not really complaining all that much, happy that "Party Girl" is gone.

Also gone is "Ride It" by Regard...that song has been jumping in and out of the top 50 a lot of late.

New Entries

Two new entries this week...neither of which are all that good with "Tap In" by Saweetie arriving at 37 and "Lemonade" by Internet Money feat. Gunna and Don Toliver entering at 41...got a feeling the latter of the two is going to be a hit and no, that is not a good thing..

That wraps up the week, possibly new entries from Marshmello feat. Demi Lovato and maybe Sia working with David Guetta but we'll have wait until 5pm AEST Saturday when ARIA updates the official top 50 singles.