ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review. 3rd August. The One Where Forgettable Is the Word

 So this week is a stagnant sludge pool, the top ten barely moved at all apart from the new entry with some questionable quality that entered in the lowe half of the top ten that forced some change but anyway let's dive into it because for yet another week, it's "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley at number one and again, it's still dominant on sales and streaming that nothing is getting close to it. 

"Man I Need" by Olivia Dean remains at number two because it's on the downswing on streaming, "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender glued to number three, "Ordinary" by Alex Warren at number four, "Stupid Song" by Olivia Rodrigo at number five, "Hate that I Made You Love Me" by Ariana Grande and "Earrings" by Malcolm Todd remained all remained in the same positions as last week.

The new entry at number eight this week is "Animal" by Katseye, we'll get to the dubious quality of this song later but it's here because of some tremendous streaming so much so it pushed "The Cure" by Olivia Rodrigo back to number ninne. 

Finally into the top ten is "Dai Dai" by Shakira and Burna Boy at number ten, I don't expect this song to last in the top ten.

Losers

"Freaked Out' by Fat Papi and Prodshushy slipped seven spots off its debut to forty nine. 

A whole slew of songs slipped six spots this week including "Kingdom of Fear" by Cameron Whitcomb to forty six, "Honeybee" by Olivia Rodrigo to forty (this is likely the next single that Olivia recorded a video for IMO), "I Knew It/ I Knew You" by Taylor Swift dropped to twenty eight and "Daisies" by Justin Bieber to twenty four

Drop Outs

Four songs dropped out this week with three of them being Gracie Abrams songs in "Hit the Wall", "Good Reason" and "Look At My Life". 

The only other drop out is unfortunately "My Body Isn't Ready" by Sombr, would have liked to have seen this stick around and become a hit. 

Gains

So I am not wild about "Great Expectation" by Sienna Spiro being the biggest gainer of the week up nine to thirty nine bit "Material Lover" did go up six to forty one.

Heck, I am also happy that "Broken Window Serenade" by Whiskey Myers climbed six to forty four.

Re Entries

Two returns this week with "Undressed" by Sombr back at forty seven while "I Just Might" by Bruno Mars returns at forty five

New Entries

Two new entries this week beginning with...

33. "Been By Now" by Morgan Wallen

It;'s probably well worth noting before going any further that I do  not expect either of this week's new entries to stick around much beyond this week and given this Morgan Wallen song debuted low, I do wonder if Australian audiences have moved on from him or maybe its because this song is pretty damn forgettablesludge that doesn't even bother to try to be a country song, it's a pop song and one that doesn't even flatter Morgan Wallen's vocals which sound rougher than they should over the muddy as hell mix. 

As for the content, it's yet aoother sour as hell break up song except the relationship appears to be stuck in some limbo where Wallen realizes that if this girl had of wanted to be with him, they'd be together by now, it just comes across as whiny and when the production is not all interesting...yeah, I'd hope this doesn't stick around.

8. "Animal" by Katseye.

Oh god...I was hoping for something other than Katseye being the other new entry this week, this group's music is just banal noise to me half the time especially this year where they released god damn "Internet Girl" which sounded like Onision's leftovers where he moved on from bananas to zucchini howver much to my surprise, "Animal" is actually fine? It's an Ed Sheeran penned song that I guess he felt weird about recording given the content of the song being what it is and the fact that he is a married father of two, a song about being an animal in the bedroom probably wouldn't go down well given how the general republic reacted to "Shape of You" in 2017 so he handed this song to Katseye.

It turned out to be a good decision for both Katseye and Sheeran, Katseye are definitely more suited to conventional pop music rather than their brand of somewhat chaotic k-pop that doesn't flatter the girls voices whatsoever,,,now Katseye still doesn't know how to harmonise properly but this is a decent improvement on their past efforts, check this out.

"Animal" by Katseye gets best of the week while "Been By Now" by Morgan Wallen gets worst of the week because that song is just forgettable and honestly worthless.

Next week...Ariana Grande album bomb and the discourse surrounding Ariana.

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review 27th July. The One With Gracie's "Impact" and World Cup spawns Dai Dai return

 Alright, no time to waste as I am getting this out considerably late this week (thanks procrastinaton and Commonwealth Games) so let's jump straight into the top ten where for yet another week, it's "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley at number one and look, it might take a song from Ariana Grande's new album to dislodge this song because it's still insanely strong across the board on sales and streaming. 

Nothing behind it is even remotely capable of challenging with "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean remaining at number two and "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean steady at number three.

Continuing it's unfortunate rebound is "Ordinary" by Alex Warren up two slots to number four pushing "Stupid Song" by Olivia Rodrigo back to number five. 

"Hate That I Made You Love Me" by Ariana Grande slipped one spot back to number six but again, it's probably going to be the song that likely challenges our current number one next week. 

Rebounding one slot to number seven is "Earrings" by Malcolm Todd although it would be nice if this song disappeared off the face of the earth, easily one of the worst songs of the year thus far.

Makes it worse when "Earrings" pushes "The Cure" by Olivia Rodrigo back to number eight.  "The Cure" deserves better, Australia...come on.

Holding at number nine is "Dracula" by Tame Impala while Bella Kay returns to the top ten up two slots to number ten with "IloveitIloveitIloveit" 

Losers

"Honeybee" by Olivia Rodrigo slipped seven to thirty four, it's the last of the album tracks on the chart although that wasn't the biggest loser of the week that title belongs to Sombr with "My Body Isn't Ready" sliding thirteen to  number forty three. 

"Midnight Sun" by Zara Larsson fell seven to forty five and "Great Expectations" by Sienna Spiro also thankfully slipping seven to forty eight.

Drop Outs

So seven songs took exits this week with Olivia Rodrigo album tracks "expectations" and "maggots for btains" taking their exits alongside "Undressed" by Sombr, "I Just Might" by Bruno Mars, "American Girls" by Harry Styles, "Opalite" by Taylor Swift and "Fever Dream" by Alex Warren. 

Gains

Not much in the way of gains this week but we did see a nice seven place gain for "Kingdom of Fear" by Cameron Whitcomb to forty which I am reasonably happy about.

Although I am less thrilled that "Bloodstream" by Alyssa Grace which jumped six spots to thirty but oh well swings, roundabouts and all that jazz.

Re-Entries

Three returns this week with "Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez back at forty nine. album release saw "Hit the Wall" by Gracie Abrams back at twenty eight while the recent football World Cup saw "Dai Dai" by Shakira and Burna Boy back at nnumber twelve.

New Entries

Four new entries this week beginning with..

50. "Broken Window Serenade" by Whiskey Myers

So this finally broke through...it's been hanging around on the Spotify chart long enough and frankly I am surprised it's here given Whiskey Myers is an American southern rock and country act with this song released in 2011 from their album "Firewater" and it went viral so how is this song? Well turns out that this is pretty darn great! I love the harmonica and the gentle knock of the percussion over the guitar and while the vocals take some getting used to, they don't take me out of the song especially as this song in it's content is extremely dark detailing this woman who dreamt of life as a Hollywood star but instead sunk into abuse, addiction and depression, addiction would ultimately end this woman's life early and the narrator would wind up placing flowers on her grave...incredibly sad and it hits hard. Damn great song, glad it's here, check it out!

46. "Good Reason" by Gracie Abrams

So I have heard Gracie Abrams new album "Daughter from Hell" and in all honesty, it's probably one of the most forgettable, milquetoast pop albums of 2026, Gracie Abrams struggles to distinguish herself from the rest of the women vying for the public's attention in ther world of pop music and yeah, I would say that it's the case with this song as she continues to wander into the Taylor Swift lane here and remind me that I would really be rather listening to any song from "Midnights" or "Evermore" compared to this song but it's not really a song worth hating, the content is pretty good where Gracie admits she has no good reason for breaking her partner's heart via ending the relationship so yeah, this isn't really all that terrible but it's not great either.

42. "Freaked Out" by Fat Papi, prodshushy

Oh boy, how to explain this one...so Fat Papi is a Kurdish-New Zealand rapper and producer with this song somehow going viral hence it winding up on the singles chart this week and look, I think the instrrumental is pretty solid and the hook absolutely goes off and is quite catchy even if the content really isn't all that interesting, all about this attractive confident woman who moves in an impressive and confident manner and can handle her own money and success. Either way, I am not sure the song is going to stick around long term because it does feel like a bit of a fart in the wind song but I wouldn't mind for now. 

32. "Look At My Life" by Gracie Abrams

Finally wrapping the week with the second of the two Gracie Abrams songs to debut new this week and again, I am not wowed by this and not even the content can save this song because again Gracie Abrams has all the personality of a fucking pumpkin seed when she's singing about her life as a "famous" person that said she isn't helped by the production from Aaron Dessner here because the verses don't lead to a satisfying build into the chorus and again this song really can't escape being a Taylor Swift lesser cut that would have been left on the cutting room floor for Taylor but wound up on a Gracie Abrams album out of sheer indifference, we can do so much better for female pop music.

That was our week and Gracie Abrams gets the worst of the week for "Look at My Life". Whiskey Myers easily runs away with the best of the week for "Broken Window Serenade"

Next week could be pretty damn terrible...Katseye and Morgan Wallen...brace yourselves.

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review. 13th July. The one where it's pretty quiet.

 So this week was pretty quiet all things considered which I can be grareful for considering the US Billboard Hot 100 is probably going to get a Ken Carson album bomb so I am relieved that's not happening here in Australia, let's start with the top ten where for a fifth week, it's "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley at number one, it's a monster on both sales and streaming right now, it would take something huge to knock this song off the number one spot

"Man I Need" by Olivia Dean held it's place at number two mostly because streaming is still holding this song up, the same can be said for "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olviia Dean which moved up one to number three pushing past "Stupid Song" by Olivia Rodrigo which slipped to number four.

Ariana Grande holds on at number five with "Hate That I Made You Love Me", I expect this song to make a major push for number one post the album release while back in the top ten up five places to number is "Ordinary" by Alex Warren because we can't all be that fortunate to be rid of this song.

Spraking of songs that will not fuck off "Earrings" by Malcolm Todd rose two spots to number seven because streaming has gotten hold of this song...lovely...not..although that could also be because of the weaknesses of "The Cure" by Olivia Rodrigo which fell two spots to number eight and "Dracula" by Tame Impala down two to number nine.

Finally holding on to number ten is "Drop Dead" by Olivia Rodrigo. 

Losers

"What's Wrong With Me?" by Olivia Rodrigo feat. Robert Smith fell ten slots to number forty five while "Expectations" fell six to number six. Overall the falls for tbe remaining Olivia Rodrigo songs still on the charts weren't that bad.

"Be Her" by Ella Langley slipped nine to forty one. 

Drop Outs

The drop outs this week casting aside the four Olivia Rodrigo album tracks that dropped out, those being "Less", "My Way", "Begged" and "U + Me = <3".

The other two were "Hit the Wall" by Gracie Abrams (Although that song will probably return after her new album is released) and "Material Lover" by Sienna Spiro.

Gains

So we did have a couple of major gains this week starting with songs that debuted last week like "Dai Dai" by Shakira and Burna Boy which jumped fifteen places to thirty two  while "My Body Isn't Ready" by Sombr rose nineteen to twenty nine. 

Bizarrely Stella Lefty's "Boston" climbed thirteen to fufteen this week because that's all we need.  Ugh.

Re-Entries

In lieu of any new entries we got a bunch of songs returning to the chart beginning with "Fever Dream" by Alex Warren at fifty, "Opalite" by Taylor Swift at forty seven, "Midnight Sun" by Zara Larsson at forty four, "I Just Might" by Bruno Mars at forty three, "Undressed" by Sombr at forty and "Weren't For the Wind" by Ella Langley at thirty seven.

That wraps up the week, might be in for another quiet week next week but we'll have to see. 

ARIA Singles Top 50. July 6th. The One Where Sombr's body isn't ready for Sienna's Material Lover

 Alright so let's get right into this as this one is late enough as it is (my fault, totally procrastinated), straight into the top ten where for yet another week "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley, it's got sales and streaming on it's side and it doesn't look like relinquishing it's hold on number one any time soon.

"Man I Need" by Olivia Dean rebounded up one spot to number two thanks mostly to streaming continuing to keep this song around and "Stupid Song" by Olivia Rodrigo slipping back one to number three because it's lost ground on streaming and is doing nothiing on sales. 

Also rebounding one to number four is 'Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean while "Hate That I Made You Love Me" by Ariana Grande climbed two slots to number five. 

"The Cure" by Olivia Rodrigo held steady at number six,  "Dracula" by Tame Impala leaped three to number seven however there is a culprit for all of this movement with "I Knew It. I Knew You" by Taylor Swift sliding seven spots to number eight.

What kind of mars our top ten this week is the unforrunaate two place return of "Earrings" by Malcolm Todd at number nine. 

Finally, "Drop Dead" by Olivia Rodrigo slipped two spots to number ten. 

Losers

Let's start with the Olivia Rodrigo album cuts that are free falling so "You + Me = <3" down eleven to forty one, "Begged" sliding eighteen to thirty nine, "Less" is doing less down twelve to thirty seven, "My Way" shifts down fourteen to thirty six, "What's Wrong With Me" featuring Robert Smith slumped twelve to thirty five, "Maggots for Brains" down fifteen to thirty one and "Expectations" slid fifteen to thirty 

Drop Outs

One of the big stories this week lies in our drop outs with "Beauty and a Beat" by Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj finally sent to the on replay charts. Good fucking riddance.

Also gone are "Iconic by Mistake" by Le Sserafim, Katseye and Illit, "Freakin' Out" by Dexter and the Moonrocks alongside two Olivia Rodrigo album tracks those being "Purple" and "Cigarette Smoke"

Gains

So something of a reset is continuing to occur as the Olivia Rodrigo songs fall away so the biggest gains this week were nine place gains for "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift to twenty, "Where is My Husband" by Raye at twenty three and "Back to Friends" by Sombr which moved up to twenty five. 

There were also eight place gains for "Nice to Each Other" by Olivia Dean to twenty nine, "Boston" by Stella Lefty to twenty eight and "No Broke Boys" by Disco Lines and Tinashe to twenty seven.

Re-Entries

Two returns this week with "American Girls" by Harry Styles at forty eight and "Hit the Wall" by Gracie Abrams at forty two.

New Entries

Three new entries this week, beginning with...

50. "Material Lover" by Sienna Spiro

Well, it's about time this charted, it comes from the soundtrack of the Devil Wears Prada 2 but given it comes from Sienna Spiro and I've been sour on "Die On this Hill" all year, I had no confidence this would be any good and yet...I kind of like this? It's got this old school jazz and soul vibe that Olivia Dean and Raye also do and I don't think this is better than the best songs from either Olivia or Raye but this is still decent enough. 

The content of the song is all about how Spiro prefers actual physical things or as she calls it "material" things in her hands and that she is a lover of those things. It's better than "Die On this Hill" so I'll take it.

47. "Dai Dai" by Shakira feat, Burna Boy

So this song is for the ongoing football World Cup and well...I wish this didn't sound so thin and generic, it sounds like a song straight out of 2017 to 2019 and it comes off so flat sounding that not even the lyrics which is all about fighting through pain and perseverence etc don't really have much of an impact from either Shakira or Burna Boy,

It's a nothing of a pop song that people will forget in a short period of time. "Waka Waka" was better than this. 

46. "My Body Isn't Ready" by Sombr

So I am not going to lie, I have been frustrated by the chart run for "Homewrecker", that song deserved to be a massive number hit and is probably one of my favourite hits of the year so far and this song is not helped by that awkward and even corny song title however the song overall winds up being good even close to great despite the song title where Sombr is dealing with body image issues (possibly body dysmorphia) and self-doubt which prevented him getting too close to people or pursuing closer relationships with people he liked.

I also like the production here because Sombr's voice doesn't sound as death by filters as it has in the past and the instrumention sounds rich, lush and incredibly organic. I'll take this easily! Good song.

Easy best of the week too. Worst of the week goes to "Dai Dai" by Shakira and Burna Boy

ARIA Singles Top 50 Review: 29th June The one where Olivia's album bomb recedes.

 So we got plenty of movement this week as the Olivia Rodrigo album bomb recedes and we do have a returning number one that raises eyebrows for me because it's "I Knew It. I Knew You" by Taylor Swift, this song is not dominant on sales or streaming but somehow took the top spot.

I was expexting a second week at number one for "Stupid Song" by Olivia Rodrigo but that fell back to number two, this is still strong on streaming but sales are lacking. 

Former number one "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley remains steady at number three, this song is doing remarkably well on sales and holding it's own on streaming but for how much longer. 

Rising two to number four is our likely year end number one "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean while her collab with Sam Fender on "Rein Me In" rebounded three to number five.

"The Cure" by Olivia Rodrigo dropped back four spots to number six while Ariana Grande's "Hate That I Made You Love Me" surprisingly slipped two spots to number seven...wasn't expecting this to slip this week at all.

The next two songs are Olivia Rodrigo songs with "Drop Dead" down four to number eight and "honeybee" slipping two to number nine.

Finally returning to the top ten having rebounded eight spots to number ten is "Dracula" by Tame Impala. 

Losers

The losers this week begin with Olivia Rodrigo album cuts so let's blast through these with "Cigarette Smoke" down twenty one to forty three, "Purple" down twenty two to thirty nine. "U + Me = <3"  slumped fourteen to thirty, "Less" skidded ten to twenty five, "What's Wrong With Me" featuring Robert Smith slumped eleven to twenty three, "my way" down nine to twenty two, "Begged" slipped eleven to twenty one and "Maggots for Brains" down seven to sixteen. 

Oh and "Iconic By Mistake" by Le Sserafim, Katseye and Illit fell eight spots to forty seven.

Drop Outs

Just the one drop out this week with "Fever Dream" by Alex Warren gone...I'd say it's made the year end list but we'll see. 

Gains

So the biggest gain/rebound belong to Alex Warren with "Ordinary" up eleven to twelve while  Dave and Tems with "Raindance" rose up ten slots to nineteen.

"IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay rose eight to thirteen. "Cinderella" by Mac Miller and Ty Dolla $ign hit a new peak up seven to eighteen. 

Re-entries

Just the one return with "Orbiter" by Noah Kahan returning at number forty eight.

No new entries this week so that wraps things up for the week. Next week is bound to see Benson Boone (unfortunately) and maybe Sombr so stick around for that!

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review. 22nd June The One Where Olivia Seems Pretty Sad For Netting A Huge Album Bomb

 I feel like there's not a lot to say in terms of preamble with a week like this because yeah...we got a major album bomb from Olivia Rodrigo for "You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love" and given I think the album is one of the best albums of the year in the mainstream (which granted isn't saying much considering how the mainstream feels like a lottery in terms of album quality), this will be a fun ride to go through.

Let's start with the top ten where we right off the bat need to deal with the album bomb because it's "Stupid Song' by Olivia Rodrigo at number one and it's here thanks mostly to streaming and Youtube. Obviously more about this song later.

It's an Olivia Rodrigo top two with "The Cure" rebounding four to number two while "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley slipped back one to number three,

"Drop Dead" by Olivia Rodrigo bounced back up elevens slots to number four while "Hate that I Made You Love" by Ariana Grande fell back two spots to number five. "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean fell two to number six.

New in at number seven is album cut "Honeybee" by Olivia Rodrigo at number seven. More on this song later.

"Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean skidded down three places to number eight, 

Finally we wrap the top ten with two more songs from Olivia Rodrigo with ?Maggots For Brains" at number nine and "Begged" at number ten.

Losers

I am going to keep this short to save my sanity because over half the chart lost in double digits so I am just going to mention the songs that lost ground in single digits and will probably benefit when the chart resets to equilibrium next week, that said I will mention that last week's number one "I Knew It. I Knew You" by Taylor Swifr slumped ten slots to number eleven. 

Right now to those single digit losers, "Earrings" by Malcolm Todd slipped seven to seventeen...I expect this will be back in the top ten next week unfortunately. 

"Cinderella" by Mac Miller and Ty Dolla $ign remained somewhat steady only falling two spots to number twenty five. 

"Raindance" by Dave feat. Tems fell nine to twenty nine while it was the same size fall for "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift to thirty one.  "Back to Friends" by Sombr fell eight to thirty seven and "Boston" by Stella Lefty refuses to go away despite being a slice of nepo baby junk down eight to forty two. 

Finally Katy Perry drops her new single on Friday but "One That Got Away" fell nine to fifty.

Drop Outs.The drop outs this week are combination of songs that have been bouncing on and of the charts for weeks, album cuts, hits from last year and newer songs.

So let's start with the songs bouncing on and off the chart like "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars (I am ready for this one to be sent to the on replay charts) and "A Couple Minutes" by Olivia Dean (Probably has a slot on this year's year end list locked at this point. 

Drake album cuts "National Treasures" and "Shabang" took their exits after staying around longer than anyone wanted!.

As for the hits from last year that exited, we have "Undressed" by Sombr and "Opalite" by Taylor Swift.

But where Olivia Rodeigo struck hardest is all the newer songs that took their exit like "Edge of the Earth" by The Beaches, "Hit the Wall"  by Gracie Abrams (this song's performance on the chart has been incredibly underwhelming...not good signs for that upcoming album of hers), "American Girls" by Harry Styles, "Bloodstream", "Midnight Sun" by Zara Larsson and "Orbiter" by Noah Kahan.

Gains

So I was going to say that we didn't have any gains tiis week outside of the two Olivia Rodrigo singles in the top ten but we did see "Girls" by The Kid Laroi gain six spots to forty. 

Gains

So we are in album bomb territory for Olivia Rodrigo's "You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love", I am only going to be reviewing the songs in the top ten and best and worst so with that in mind: "What's Wrong With Me?" feat. Robert Smith at number twelve, "My Way" at thirteen, "Expectations" at fourteen, "Less" at fifteen (this was so close to best of the week), "U + Me = <3" at sixteen, "Purple" at nineteen and "Cigarette Smoke" at twenty two (Again...another song that has legit claims to be one of Olivia's best songs from this album. Might be her best closer).

That leaves us with five new entries beginning but we're not starting with Olivia Rodrigo because...

39. "Iconic by Mistake" by Le Sserafim, Katseye and Illit

Well, this is unfortunate, mostly because this K-Pop song is really much less than the sum of it's parts to the point that it feels pretty close to a posse cut with trap beats and the groups bragging about how they engrave hate expressed toward them on tombstones that really doesn't convey anything with that damn cutesy hook. It'll fall off the chart pretty quickly so I think it's best we move on from this pretty forgettable slice of k-pop. 

10. "Begged" by Olivia Rodrigo

So now we get to the first of the Olivia Rodrigo cuts that reached the top ten with this song peformed by Olivia on Saturday Night Live and features Weyes Blood on backing vocals, its not quite the most heartbreaking song on the album but it's one of the saddest on the album as Olivia pleads for a connection with her man and Olivia is exhausted from begging for any kind of moment with this guy, this song is the moment where the relationship is well and truly on the way to crumbling over this sweet guitar and those backing vocals which do such a brilliant job of backing Olivia. Damn good song.

9. "Maggots for Brains" by Olivia Rodrigo

So the rest of the songs new this week come from the front half of the album where Olivia is so in love and this song about being so in love that you become emotionally numb and just obsessed with the person you are in love with especthat you lose focus on everything else in your life. Olivia has drescribed the bridge of this song as a bbit of a homage to Weezer which actually comes through in some of the production and lyrics that are inspired by Sex and the City. Definitely check this song out. 

7. "Honeybee" by Olivia Rodrigo

This is a song from "You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love" that I was initially a bit  cooler on than I'd have liked but thankfully I do absolutely like this a lot after subsequent listens to the album, its that moment where it's all just fear of rejection meshed with hope that the person you atre head over heels for feels the same way about you and Olivia's voice delicately singing over the piano just hits home. It's just really pretty,

1. "Stupid Song" by Olivia Rodrigo

Ending this week with a song that like both other singles from this album builds into something bigger only this builds from Olivia crooning into this loud vibrant if slight shuttering pop rock song where she admits to wanting this guy in her life more than any stupid love song could ever say and she conveys that "more than a stupid song could ever say" line so god damn well, it sticks in your head especially with that galloping production. Again another really good song that I am glad hit number one.

But best of the week is going to "Maggots for Brains" by Olivia Rodrigo. Worst is going to "Iconic By Mistake" by Le Sserafim, Katseye and Illit.

Next week could be a quiet week but we'll have to see, I think all these Olivia Rodrigo songs could stick around a second week.

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart: 15th June. The one where Taylor's number one the week before Olivia blows everything up

 So this week feels irrelevant especially with Olivia Rodrigo likely netting one of the biggest album bombs since Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" last year next week so anything here but we do have a week here and a busy one at that so let's dive into the top where for a second week we do have a new number one with "I Knew It. I Knew You" by Taylor Swift and it was a dominant number one on sales, streaming and even Youtube but with Olivia Rodrigo coming next week, I'm not certain it's going to keep up the momentum.

Of course, Olivia's arrival next week makes life difficult for former chart topper "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley which dipped backed to number two, it's still got strength on streaming and sales but will it have enough strength to go back to the top when the Olivia Rodrigo album bomb recedes.

Ariana Grande's "Hate That I Made You Love Me" dipped back one to number three...heck it was pretty much the same for the next six songs, they all stumbled back one with "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean at number four, "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean at number five, "The Cure" by Olivia Rodrigo at number six, "Janice STFU" by Drake at number seven, "Dracula" by Tame Impala at number eight and "IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay at number nine.

Finally like a bad venereal disease, "Earrings" by Malcolm Todd remains at number ten, hopefully Olivia Rodrigo wipes this skidmark of a song out of the top ten. 

Losers

So a good chunk of these losers are probably going form part of the drop outs next week starting with "American Girls" by Harry Styles down seven to forty two. "National Treasures" by Drake slipped eight to thirty five.

"Noble" by F3mii lost its gains from last week down seven to thirty while the virality has disappeared for "Go" by The Chemical Brothers down ten to twenty five. 

Drop Outs

We basically lost two more Drake album tracks like "2 Hard for the Radio", "Ran to Atlanta" feat. Molly Santana and Future and  "Whisper My Name". 

The rest of these are just songs that keep bouncing on and off the charts eg: "Risk It All" and "I Just Might" both by Bruno Mars, "Yukon" by Justin Bieber and "Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez.

Gains

Not too many major gains this week. Maybe "Bed on Fire" by G Flip which rose five slots to twenty eight and "Love Me Not" by Ravyn Lenae which rebounded seven slots to twenty one which is wild. 

Re-Entries

So we did get a bunch of returns with "APT" by Roxe and Bruno Mars back at fifty, "Girls" by The Kid Laroi at forty six (that got a remix with Kehlani for some wild inexplicable reason) and finally "The One that Got Away" by Katy Perry as it's going viral back at fotty one.

New Entries

Four new entries beginning with...

48. "Edge of the Earth" by The Beaches

I am shocked and impressed a The Beaches song from Canadian band The Beaches 2023 album "Blame My Ex" entered the ARIA singles chart but it's here thanks to being used as a pivotal soundtrack moment on Amazon show "Off Campus" and yeah, this is actually a song from the album that I liked a lot back in 2023, with that drum patter that I absolutely have a soft spot for alongside that guitar rollick. As for the content, it's a relationship song where things are pushing and pulling apart yet she seems to always find a way back to them which honestly doesn't feel that healthy but still it's a good song, check it out.

39. "Bloodstream" by Alyssa Grace

Talk about a surprise, this one was a surprise when it turned up on the Australian top 50 chart on Spotify, shame the song is not that good, it's this piano dirge where Alyssa Grace sounds like she's sing crying and god damn it's uncomfortable to listen to. I don't really have much else to say about this song other than it really being quite the miserable listen. Nect!

23. "Cinderella" by Mac Miller feat. Ty Dolla $ign

I feel a bit weird talking about music that charts from an artist that is dead but it seems like those connected with the late Mac Miller are handling the release of his music respectfully and aren't looking to farm his fragments for money unlike those connected with JuiceWRLD and this song is fine enough, it's not perfect, I think it could have done without the Ty Dolla $ign feature but overall it's fine...enough said.

1. "I Knew It. I Knew It" by Taylor Swift

So the discourse around this song has been weird especially for a song for the new Toy Story 5 movie that it's a return to form after a bad album except I'd argue that a return to form for Taylor would be a good to great album but anyway we get this song which was apparently around in some form before "The Tortured Poets Department" and yeah, it's fine even if the production does make it feel like a weaker cut on say "Fearless" or "Speak Now" but I'm just glad we didn't get another "Actually Romantic" or "Cancelled" from Taylor.

That's our week and best of the week is going to "Edge of the Eatth" by The Beaches. Worst of the week for "Bloodstream" by Alyssa Grace.

Next week, Olivia Rodrigo album bomb!

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review. 8th June. The one where Ariana Hates She Can't Stop "Choosin' Texas" Return

 So this week is pretty quiet which I am grateful for given the impending Olivia Rodrigo album bomb in a few weeks but before all that let's dive into this week's top ten where "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley retook the number one spot this week thanks to strength on streaming but it will face a challenge for a fourth week at number one courtesy of Taylor Swift. 

"Choosin' Texas" faced down a challenge from new entry "Hate That I Made You Love Me" by Ariana Grande entering at number two thanks to good streaming even if sales haven't gotten on board yet. 

This left both "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean and "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender which both held their positions at three and four respectively. 

"The Cure" by Olivia Rodrigo slipped off the number one down four to number five, that's mostly because this song lost sales and it's streaming wavered hard. 

"Janice STFU" by Drake slipped back one to number six, frankly the sooner this song is gone from the top ten the better, its an awful awful song.

"Dracula" by Tame Impala slipped back one to number seven while "IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay dropped one to number eight, "Ordnary" by Alex Warren continues to refuse to go away even as it's down one to number nine.

Sadly the worst song to hit the top ten in sometime sits at number ten..."Earrings" by Malcolm Todd which jumped two slots this week. Gross gross gross.

Losers

Drake album tracks falling away continue to be the story in our losers beginning with "2 Hard 4 for the Radio" down thirteen to number forty nine, "Run to Atlanta" featuring Future and Molly Santana is running out of the chart like hot a hot curry through intestines, its down twelve to forty seven. "Whisper My Name" slumped sixteen to thirty seven, "Shabang" got dumped nine to thirty six and is probably going to be out with a whimper rather than a shabang either next week or the week after. Finally "National Treasures" slipped seventeen to twenty seven.

Drop Outs

Drake saw both "Plot Twist" and "Dust" leave alongside "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars for the eightieth time and "Doors" by Noah Kahan. 

Gains

So we did get some nice chunky gains this week beginning with "Bed on Fire" by G Flip which rose fifteen slots to number thirty three while "Noble" by F3mii climbed fourteen to number twenty three. 

Re Entries

Two re entries this week with "Risk It All" by Bruno Mars back at fifty and "Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez making another return at number forty eight.

New Entries

Two new entries this week, starting with...

45. "Orbiter" by Noah Kahan

Okay, instead of making any song from The Great Divide a hit proper, we get a song that was basically added to a deluxe version of the album and you can tell instantly why the song was cut from the original album, its this weird song that sounds like Kahan is playing a guitar with a string broken, it's a distracting noise that really does take away from the song and it's incredibly unflattering...next.

2. "Hate That I Made You Love Me" by Ariana Grande.

Look, I am not going to dive into Ariana Grande's private life, it's none of my business unless it starts creeping into her music and so here we have the lead single for her upcoming 8th album "Petal" and I guess it's not really good sign thar the song feels like a merger of  "7 Rings" and "We Can't Be Friends" (the former made my worst list, the latter I am mostly ambivalent on) with that watery bubbling noise and tinkling keys as Ariana vocally sings about dealing with people idolising her or worse..engaging in parasocial relationships with her which where my frustration with the song is...the lack of actual punch in Ariana's vocals or in the production, something to give note to the frustration of it all. 

But it is good so I'll give it best of the week. Worst of the weeks goes to "Orbiter" by Noah Kahan. Next week, Taylor Swift's song for Toy Story 5. 

ARIA SIngles Top 50 Chart Review: 1st June The One Where Olivia's The Cure Brings Greatness to The Charts

This week felt...weird...the fall out of the Drake album bomb was always going to be a thing but we also got two new entries, one of which I am very excited to talk about because folks, we might have one of the best songs of the year on or off the charts at hand here but anyway let's jump into the top ten where we have a new number one "The Cure" by Olivia Rodrigo which got to number one purely on some early sales, excellent streaming and a little Youtube. 

However it is a margins game with "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley right behind it down one to number two, this song is still doing EXTREMELY well on sales and streaming and is in a good position to retake the number one should "The Cure" wobble. 

Not so much the case for our next two songs with "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean pushed down one to number three and "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean which both just do not have the sales or streaming to match the top two. 

Sadly holding steady at number five is "Janice STFU" by Drake, it's holding steady on streaming sadly. more is the pity given the song sucks. 

Rebounding one spot to number six is "Dracula" by Tame Impala while "ILoveItILoveItILoveIt" by Bella Kay also rebounded one to number seven.  The receding of the Drake album bomb meant the return of "Ordinary" by Alex Warremat  number eight...dang it...come on...it's time for this song to free fall.

Rebounding a massive fourteen spots to number nine (I think the new number one had something to do with this) is "Drop Dead" by Olivia Rodrigo. 

Finally the second Drake song to remain in the top ten is "National Treasures" but it is down six slots to number ten.

Losers

All of our big losers were Drake album tracks with "Dust" down thirty three to forty three. "Plot Twist" down twenty three to forty one, "2 Hard 4 THe Radio" lost it's tuning down twenty one to thirty six,, "Shabang" down seventeen to twenty seven and "Whisper My Name" down fifteen to twenty one.

The only non Drake faller was "Hit the Wall" by Gracie Abrams down nine to thirty one.

Drop Outs

The drop outs are mostly Drake album tracks so gone and won't be back are "Make Them Cry", "What Did I Miss?", "Make Them Pay", "B's On the Table" feat. 21 Savage, "Burning Bridges", "Make Them Know" and "Make Them Remember".

However we also saw one big exit with "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish finally leaving the chart to join the On Replay chart.

Gains

Everything that's not Drake rebounded hard this week so I am going to go through the double digit gains only beginning with "Self Aqare" by Temper City which somehow climbed sixteen to twenty five...people really care about that song? Really?

Ravyn Lenae dropped a new single "Handle" on Friday but her big smash "Love Me Not" continues to hang onto the chart up eleven to twenty four.

Sombr's "12 to 12" rebounded ten to twenty, 

Re-Entries

Our returns are where we saw the most activity other than Drake songs losing or dropping out so what filled the slots left?

I am not sure why "Yukon" by Justin Bieber or "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars are back but they returned at fifty and forty nine respectively. 

"I Just Might" by Bruno Mars is back at forty seven while Taylor Swift's "Opalite" is back at forty six  (Taylor has a new single for the Toy Story 5 soundtrack coming on Friday).

Olivia Dean's excellent "A Couple Minutes" is also making its return at forty four and Sombr's "Undressed" climbed back in at forty.

New Entries

Two new entries this week, we're beginning with...

48. "Bed on Fire" by G Flip

So we finally got a second Australian song to chart in the singles top 50 behind "Dracula" by Tame Impala albeit it's from G Flip's album last year however the reason it's here is because the song was used in a sex scene on Netflix drama "Off Campus" so how is the song?

It's good? Feels very reminiscent of a Florence and the Machine cut except Florence Welch could absolutely go hell for leather on the vocals which is not really in G Flip's wheel house vocally and they do a fine enough  job here with a song all about exploring a prohibited attraction and embracing it anyway despite those around them saying "No, don't think about it, don't go there".

Good but just short of great song, check it out. 

1. "The Cure" by Olivia Rodrigo 

The second single from Olivia Rodrigo's third album "You Seem Pretty Sad for A Girl So In Love" and and I was curious what we would get with this song...well, I am happy to say that we got something that is absolutely without qualification GREAT, there's something so incredibly transcendent about this song and I think it lies in Dan Nigro's production where finally a song is allowed to have a build and this incredibly satisfying cresecendo that's built up with the vocals and the guitar and just the song taking on layers to reach that point where Olivia just yells "I'm unravelled"

The content is just as good with Olivia using the metaphor of love as a drug but only it's not working, the love her lover is giving is not enough to assuage Olivia's own self doubt and negative self talk that could see her push this lover away because she knows that it does matter how good the love is or how much love he gives that it'll never fix the raging insecurities that Olivia has and she needs to put in the work on herself to fix all that. 

"The Cure" is already oen of my favourite songs of 2026 even just outside the charts alone and I am so glad that Australia has given this a week at number one, damn great song and is absolutely worth your time, check this song out!

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: 25th May, The one where the Drakenami hits.

 We got the Drake album bomb for "Iceman" this week and I am grumpier than even a cat at the vet who is about to have a thermometer shoved up it's anal cavity by the vet, anyway let's get into the top ten because it's not Drake at number one, it's Ella Langley at number one for another week with "Choosing Texas", it was a dominant week on sales, streaming and even on Youtube for this song but the challenge might well come next week from Olivia Rodrigo, we'll have to see. 

It held up comfortably over "Man I Need" by Olivia which held firm at number two, I don't see this going back to number one despite it still being decently strong on streaming but the sales have fallen off a cliff. 

"Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean also held at number three despite it doing better on sales than "Man I Need" but it lost it's advantage on streaming. 

Then we run into a cluster of Drake songs with "National Treasures" at four, "Janice STFU" at five and "Whisper My Name" at six.

The Drake songs pushed "Dracula" by Tame Impala back three spots to number seven and "IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella back three to number eight.

Then we have two more Drake songs from "Iceman" to round out the top ten with "Make Them Cry" at number nine and "Dust" at number ten. 

Losers

A good half of the chart lost ground massively so I am going to focus on the songs outside of the top ten that only lost ground in the single figures this week with "Ordinary" by Alex Warren down six to number twelve, "Daisies" by Justin Bieber down nine to sixteen and "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean down seven to seventeen. 

"Homewrecker" by Sombr slipped nine to twenty and maybe in a truly bad sign, our least bad loser was "Earrings" by Malcolm Todd down four to twenty one. 

Then there's "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters down nine to thirteen.

Drop Outs

So this week did see two songs have their time on the chart ended permanently and are off to the on replay singles chart, those being "Stargazing" by Myles Smith and "I Had Some Help" by Morgan Wallen.

As for the rest of these, I am going to group these up:

2025 hits that should have left awhiile ago: "Undressed" by Sombr, "Opalite" by Taylor Swift, "Yukon" by Justin Bieber, 

2026 songs that will likely make the year end: "A Couple Minutes" and "Baby Steps" for Olivia Dean, "I Just Might" and "Risk it All" both by Bruno Mars, 

2026 songs that might return (although in a couple of cases I hope they don't): 'The Great Divide" by Noah Kahan, "Pop Dat Thang" by Dababy, "Pinky Up" by Katseye

Finally...the what the fuck were these songs still doing on the chart: "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter, "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars, "Die with a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars and "Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez, 

Gains

There were no gains this week. 

Re-Entries

The one return was for Drake's "What Did I Miss?" at twenty four.

New Entries

So because we do have an album bomb for 'Iceman" I am going to only cover the five songs from the album that make the top ten so outside of that we have "Ran to Atlanta" with Future and Molly Santana (Future is absolutely useless here) at eleven, "Shabang" at thirteen, "2 Hard 4 The Radio" at fifteen, "Plot Twist" at eighteen, "Make Them Pay" at thirty one, "B's on the Table" feat. 21 Savage (Another useless feature), "Burning Bridges" at thirty eight, " Make Them Know" at forty two and "Make Them Remember" at fotty four.

That leaves us with seven new entries to cover but we aren't going to be starting with Drake because we have...

22. "Hit the Wall" by Gracie Abrams

Alright the lead single from Gracie Abrams new album "Daughter from Hell" out in the middle of July and dear god, this is just a bland nothing of a song that just builds and builds but does nothing with that crescendo or anything imaginative with the words 'hit the wall' and Gracie conveys all the emotion of a fucking Psyduck...Next!

14. "Go" by The Chemical Brothers

My last hope for anyting of good quality before we hit the run of Drake songs is a 2015 song from The Chemical Brothers album "Born in the Echoes", it went viral thanks to a chaotic dance scene in Netflix film "Apex" starring Taron Edgerton and Charlize Theron, TikTok users recreated the dance scene and boom, the latest viral older song is born so how is "Go"? Its actually really damn good, the instrumental sticks in your head and I like the vocals havr some bite and menace about them. Check this out if you are curious.

10. "Dust" by Drake

We begin our laborious exploration of the five pack of Drake songs from Iceman with the second song from the album being first up and it's where Drake is focussed on his longevity in the rap game and taking potshots at Kendrick Lamar and Joe Budden although I do think the shots at Kendrick are really kind of lame, has Drake forgotten that "Not Like Us" was THE song of the summer of 2024 that everyone including the women Drake concern trolls and claims if they are from Atlanta they call him Santa were dancing to "Not Like Us"

Yeah, that production and constant beat switches, this song is not going to stick in my memory much, its forgettable at best. Move on.

9. "Make Them Cry" by Drake

So I actually don't ,mind the album opener, Drake sounds intense and actually sounds reflective when talking about his family members and for once the beat switch sounds better infused or mixed into the song for a change although the usual pot shots at Kendrick Lamar included annd a dig at J Cole for running away from the rap beef in 2024 which is weird coming from Drake of al people for some obvious reasons...

6. "Whisper My Name" by Drake

The protruding theme of ICEMAN comes through so much on this song because this is another track where Drake airs out his grievances with people who sided with Kendrick Lamar during the beef and throwing around threats against people who speak his name too loudly or else they might cop a violent revenge and throwing subliminal shots at J Cole over his failure to participate in the beef and bragging about money being spent on those who presumably stood by him during the beef with Kendrick.

He just will not let shit that happened in 2024 die even though the world has moved on from the beef. The other problem with this song is that considering that Drake is laying out the threats of retribution where's the damn menace in the production? Percussion also sounds way too low here. Not good. 

5. "Janice STFU" by Drake

We get to the song that looks like it might be the song from "Iceman" to stick around long term on the charts and again like the other songs that I have already talked about where Drake is getting aggressive and slamming not only his haters but the industry like the industry has actually failed him when it's been the industry that's helped him be as big as he has been through the 2010s into the 2020s even with the Kendrick Lamar beef and the other times he seems to shoot himself in the foot and just maybe clipping the indistry machine that has helped you to the top isn't the way to do it, Drake!

It also wouldn't be a Drake song where he isn't concern trolling women over a skin crawling repulsive beat with gang vocals that sound straight out of the 2010s. I hope this doesn't stick around...it sucks!

4. "National Treasures" by Drake

Sigh. Another song, anorther round of Drake taking potshots at Kendrick Lamar like the beef hasn't been over for awhile however I do like the basketball references and how cleverly they are woven into the bars and I do like production here with the sample blended well for a change until the beat switch up that dives head first into being incredibly irritating That said...Drake bragging about being untouchable in Toronto sure is interesting...

That's our week and worst of the week is a tie between "Janice STFU" by Drake and "Hit the Wall" by Gracie Abrams. As for the best...The Chemical Brothers run away with that one for "Go". Mext week...the second single from Olivia Rodrigo so get ready for that and the fall out of all of this. 

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: 18th May. The one where the new number one is not by an artist named Olivia

 There's no point to me even posting this this week...seriously...there's none...none of this is relevant when we're in the impending death spiral of a triple Drake album bomb (which based on what I am seeing numbers wise, we might get eight or nine cuts from "Iceman" and nothing from "Maid of Honour" or "Habibti"...anyway, that's all next week becausxe it's a bit disrespectful of the fact that we do have a new number one this week whose name is not Olivia with "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley now at the top thanks to margins on sales and streaming that fell this song's way.

 Now this feels historic as "Choosin' Texas" becomes the first country song since the ten minute version of "All Too Well" by Taylor Swift in 2021 but it's probably the first neo traditional country song since Slim Dusty's "Duncan" in 1981 to take the top spot on the Australian all genre singles top 50 chart and says a lot that the appetite for a good country song if it's quality can still do big things on the charts. 

All of this saw "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean and "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean both slide back one spot to numbers two and three respectively. The former having gains on streaming but it lost hard on sales while the latter is steady on both if not losing on streaming to the former. 

Rebounding one slot is "Dracula" by Tame Impala because we aren't that lucky to be done with this song yet...ugh, it did move past "ILoveitILoveILoveit" by Bella Kay which slipped one spot to number five.

Rising three slots to number six is "Ordinary" by Alex Warren because this song refuses to die much like Chris Brown's career, it pushed "Daisies" by Justin Bieber back one to number seven while Bieber's "Beauty and a Beat" with Nicki Minaj holding steady at number eight.

Down two to number nine is "drop dead" by Olivia Rodrigo, this song will get a bounce with the release of "The Cure" tomorrow and the new album that is being released on June 12th. 

Finally holding station at number ten is "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean. 

Losers.

"The Great Divide" by Noah Kahan fell eight places to number thirty seven and "Yukon" by Justin Bieber slipped six to number thirty three.

Drop Outs.

In news that doesn't shock me, the drop outs this week are Noah Kahan album tracks like "Dashboard", "End of August", "American Cars", "Willing and Able" and "Staying Still" alongside single "Porchlight"

Also gone is "I Can't Love You Anymore" by Ella Langley and Morgan Wallen which was a pretty forgettable song in the first place but also not helped by some of the social media chatter about the song. 

Gains

Alright...enough of this shit, why is "Earrings" by Malcolm Todd up seven places to seventeen? You guys realize he is the diet version of what you all think Sombr sounds like, right and he doesn't even do Sombr's sound all that well to begin with? Blergh.

The gains don't really get much better from there because "Self Aware" by Temper city is up six to twenty seven and "Freakin' Out" by Dexter and the Moon Rocks is up ten to thirty. 

Sombr's "Undressed" is the relief bringer this week up six to thirty one while "Noble" by F3mii scored an eight place boost to thirty nine. 

Re-Entries

So with all the  Noah Kahan drop outs, we got a flood of old songs back at the tail end of the chart so let's begin at fifty with "Die With A Smile"  by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. 

At forty nine, it's "Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez. "That's So True" by Gracie Abrams slides back in at forty eight, 

"APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars gets another ride of the chart rodeo at forty seven.

For some inexplicable reason people are clinging to "Pop Dat Thang" by DaBaby so that's back at forty six. 

"Stargazing" by Myles Smith navel gazes at his impendng re exit from the chart next week at forty five.

Finally "Baby Steps" by Olivia Dean toddler walks back onto the chart at forty four. 

No new entries this week so that winds up our week. Next week could be absolute hell given it's Drake album bomb and that new Gracie Abrams song arriving.

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 11th May. The one where the man Olivia needs retakes number one

 So this week is pretty busy week by 2026 chart standards so let's dive straight into the top ten where we have a familiar song back at number one for a twenty first week, "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean, it's back at the top thanks a decent margin on streaming.

All of that pushed "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean back to number two, it's starting to come under pressure from 'Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley which remains at number three, this song is quietly gathering momentum for a challenge for number one which will be interesting to see.. 

Bella Kay's "IloveitIloveitIloveit" rebounded two slots to number four, "Dracula" by Tame Impala at number five. 

Justin BIeber's "Daisies" fell back one to number six as did "Drop Dead" by Olivia Rodrigo to number seven. 

Justin Bieber's "Beauty and a Beat" with Nicki Minaj held steady at number eigiht as did "Ordinary" by Alex Warren at number nine and " So Easy (To Fall in Love" by Olivia Dean at number ten.

Losers

Let's blow through all the big Noah Kahan album bomb losses this week starting with "American Cars" which wrecked fourteen slots to forty  five, "End of August" down fourteen to forty four, "Porch Light" down twelve to thiry nine, "Dashboard" wiped nine spots to thirty eight, "The Great Divide" down nine to twenty nine and finally "Doors" downh seven to twenty three. 

Drop Outs.

So we do have five drop outs this week with four of those being Noah Kahan album tracks, those being "Downfall", "Haircut", "Paid Time Off" and "Deny Deny Deny". 

The only other drop out was the conpletely forgettable "Speed Demon" by Justin Bieber.

Gains

So there is one small gain that I am really pissed about this week that being 'Earrings" by Malcolm Todd which climbed four spots to twenty four.

"American Girls" by Harry Styles rebounded eight slots to twenty five...seriously, I don't know how people can listen to the bass thuds on that song and not think of flatulence...but anyway...

One of the biggest gains of the week is "Boston" by Stella Lefty rose twenty two slots to twenty six while "Be Her" by Ella Langley climbed ten to thirty.

"Midnight Sun" by Zara Larsson jumped eleven to thirty two,

Re-Entries

Just the one new entry with "Freakin' Out" by Dester and the Moon Rocks back at number forty. 

New Entries

Four new entries this week, beginning with...

49, "Staying Still" by Noah Kahan

So I thought we'd get more songs from the expanded edition of that new Noah Kahan album with this song being one of the songs added to the album and you can kind of tell that this song was added to boost streaming because while this is fine, it's not at the same level as the title track, "Doors", Dashboard" or "Haircut", its a song where Kahan doesn't want this person to live and is hoping an unlikely tornado hits the airport to prevent this person from leaving.  It's got some nice sounding guitar and is a bit more stripped back but this feels somewhat forgettable than anything else, it's fine btu but I am not going to come back to it compared to the great songs on the album proper. 

48. 'I Can't Love You Anymore" by Ella Langley and Morgan Wallen

So I had mixed feelings going into this song mostly that I am nnot a fan of Morgan Wallen at all (as my worst list of 2023 and 2024 showed) and honestly while I actually think the production is pretty good and that Wallen sounds less nasal than he does on his own songs, I cannot get the idea out of my head that this song is a potato in a song form, seriously, there are songs that talk about falling out of love with somebody and doing complete with emotion and actual connection to the subject matter of the song giving it flavour and meaning which doesn't happen here, this is just bland and somewhat forgettable when you realize the potatos with salt and pepper or a bit of butter on them are waiting for you. 

47. "Noble" by F3miii

So the first of our debutants on the char  athis week is a Nigerian-Irish rapper and producer who released this song on Boxing Day 2025 with this song going viral and I have to say I kind of like it" Mostly because the production has this cool, sultry vibe with that knock of the percussion as well, I wish F3miii had more of a presence behind the microphone but I do like how the song ramps into the hook for a more 2000s r'n'b sound, as for the content, it's all about this girl who has style, class and substance and he is hoping that she doesn't change for anyone because she's fine just the way she is an he feels lucky to even know her. I dig it, it's cute.

33. "Self Aware" by Temper City.

So apparently indie rock is magically back in a big way with this song coming from Temper City, a  band hailing from Israel, this song managed to go viral and chart somehow howeverI hate saying this but this song is just completely forgettable in every single wway that actually matters. The lyrics are just cliches that spill over like a broken damn complete with the horrible production and the squawking and pretentious frontman who claims he is so self aware that this relationship isn't working to the point it's insufferable...I'm going to skip this. 

Yeah, "Self Aware" is getting worst of the week here mostly due to the fact I find the song to be rather flaccid. I cannot believe I am doing this but best of the week is going to F3miii for "Noble" because that production hits and the sentiment of the song is absolutely adorable. 

Next week...it could be pretty quiet, we'll have to see. 

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: 4th May. The one with a whole lot of Noah's Great Divide

 Before we start this week...MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU...now that that is out of the way lets dive into the week here because we did get an album bomb for "The Great Divide" by Noah Kahan however none of that affects the top ten where for a third week "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean returned to number one thanks mostly to sales.

"Man I Need" by Olivia Dean remains at number two as it lost a lot on its sales while streaming is still surprisingly holding up pretty well. 

The biggest gain in the top ten this week belonged to "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley which is gaining ground on both sales, streaming and surprisingly Youtube. 

Olivia Rodrigo's "drop dead" fell off the nunmber one three spots to number four thanks to major fall offs on both streaming and sales. 

"Daisies" by Justin Bieber slipped back one spot to number five because the Coachella discussion is dying off while "IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay held firm at number six, the same going for "Dracula" by Tame Impala stalling at number seven.

"Beauty and A Beat" by Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj tumbled three slots to number eight. while "Ordinary" by Alex Warren and "So Easy (To Fall In Love" by Olivia Dean remained where they are at nine and ten respectively.

Losers

Oh dear god, we have a mess of a week here but let's run through some of these double digit losers here (Only doing the double digit losers so to stop this from running too long). "Speed Demon" by Justin Bieber slowed down eleven places to fifty. 

"Risk it All" by Bruno Mars slumped fourteen to forty seven while  the public said pinky down to Katseye's "Pinky Up" so that fell a merciful seventeen slots to forty two. 

Drop Outs

As for the drop nuts, let's start with the established hits that should have exited months ago like "Die with a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, "Vitory Lap" by Fred Again, Skepta and PlaqueBoyMax, "Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez and "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae.

Songs released this year that were on the way out anyway like "Swim" by BTS, 

Songs that got their momentum curtailed and I am not unhappy about it "Pop Dat Thing" by Dababy, "Freakin' Out" by Dexter & The Moon Rocks, "Be By You" by Luke Combs and "Die on this Hill" by Sienna Spiro. 

The rest including "House Tour" by Sabrina Carpenter and "Baby Steps" by Olivia Dean.

Gains and Re-Entries

I am combining the two this week because both are to do with Noah Kahan with the one big gain being "Porch Light" by Noah Kahan rising nineteen to twenty seven while "The Great Divide" by Noah Kahan returned at number twenty. 

New Entries

 So we have ten new entries this week but because nine of those come from Noah Kahan, I am going to limit myself to reviewing what made the top twenty and the best and worst in his case so "Deny Deny  Deny" at forty nine (desperately close to the best of the week), "Paid Time Off" at forty five, "Haircut" at number forty four (another great song), "Willing and Able" at number forty one, "Downfall"at number thirty four, "American Cars" parked at number thirty one and "Dashboard" at twenty nine. 

All that leaves us with three other new entries to talk about just we're not starting with Noah Kahan though...

46. "Boston" by Stella Lefty

Yeah before we get to the Noah Kahan, we have to deal with this song from an m, terican indie country singer songwriter Stella Lefkofsky who goes by the name Stella Lefty, she signed to country and Americana Atlantic Record imprint Atlantic Outpost and  is the daughter of the owner and founder of health technology conpany Tempus AI, Eric Lefkofsky which may well be the only memorable thing about Stella Lefty because this song is pretty darn well forgettable.

The problem here isn't really rhe content where its all about falling head over heels in love when you are desperately trying to stay single for the time being but I am not loving Stella Lefty's vocal delivery here which can come off as pitchy and really somewhat unpleasant to listen to, throw in the bland nothing of a melody and it just is not worth coming back to at all...NEXT!

30. "End of August" by Noah Kahan

"The Great Divide" is actually a really good but not quite great Noah Kahan album, it's an album that can absolutely feel it's run time at points however I absolutely adore this opening track where Noah Kahan explores nihilism and season depression as the seasons change and he can feel time slipping away as he anticipates the summer ending and the weather getting closer and that's met by the production as well with its gentle pianos and strings that give the song this lived in vibe. I will say I am not a massive fan of the filter over Kahan's voice but otherwise this might well be one of my favourite songs to chart to datre. Check this out.

16. "Doors" by Noah Kahan

Ending the week with the song getting the singe push from the album and yeah, I get why because this is actually not bad either, ot's a step away from stomp clap territory and closer to an indie rock sound that I actually appreciate a fair bit. The subject matter of the song is also pretty good too with Kahan exploring trauma sustained during childhood, the feeling of wanting to be loved but pushing that love away when somebody tries to give him the love he yearns for so badly. All up a pretty good song.

That completes the week and yeah, "Boston" by Stella Ledty is getting the worst of the week with "End of August" by Noah Kahan getting the best of the week. 

Next week should be pretty quiet but  we'll have to see. 

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: April 27th: The One Where Olivias Dominate and Bieber's Beauty Has A Renaissance

So this week was something...the re-emergenece of Justin Bieber's career post Coachella and a top three that is dominated by Olivias so let's just right into the top ten where Olivia.....Rodrigo claimed the number one spot with "drop dead", it's second new number one of 2026 (yes, the year has been utterly dominated by "Man I Need") and Olivia's fourth number one in Australia following on from "Drivers License", "Good 4 U" (both in 2021) and "Vampire" (2023)

"Man I Need" by Olivia Dean remains at number two while last week's number one "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean slipped off the top spot back to number three...I get the feeling that this song has peaked but fuck am I happy that it got two weeks at number one.

"Daisies" by Justin Bieber continued to benefit from Bieber's moment at Coachella jumping six spots to number four and we continue with Bieber because his 2012  song with Nicki Minaj "Beauty and a Beat" is back on the chart under the ARIA rules around viral songs at number five, this song is so stupid that it's hilarious...it feels like a novelty song to some degree.

The fall out of all of this is that "IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay slumped three to number six, I am not sure about this song's future in the top ten while "Dracula" by Tame Impala slipped back two to number seven.

Also falling back two slots to number eight is "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley, I am mostly just shocked this song made the top ten at all!. "Ordinary" by Alex Warren slipped two slots back to number nine and finally "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean fell four to number ten.

Losers

"Swim" by BTS might be having it's last week on the chart unless something miraculous happens, it dropped another ten slots to fifty.

The only other major loser was "Pinky Up" by Katseye down six to twenty five.

Drop Outs

We saw four songs depart this week with three being sent to the On Replay singles chart with "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter, "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" by Shaboozey and "Just the way You are" by Milky x Mallgrab. 

The other drop out being "That's So True" by Grace Abrams.

Gains

So sadly we did see two of last week's new entries gain decently off their debuts with "Earrings" by Malcolm Todd up six to twenty eight and "Freakin' Out" by Dexter and the Moon Rocks up six to forty three.

"Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae continues to be a pain in my buttcrack by climbing seven to forty one. 

Re-Entries

Apart from "Beauty and A Beat" by Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj being back at number fve, "Be By You" by Luke Combs continues sto bounce on and off the charts but it's back this week at forty nine. 

New Entry

Two new entries this week, beginning with...

39. "SPEED DEMON" by Justin Bieber

So we're getting this cut from "SWAG II" and unfortunately it's not one of the better songs on that album, Bieber's vocals sound processed to hell and back and there's nothing all that impressive about what is on offer with the production here especially with a guitar line that is painfully reedy, weak and rerally doesn't sound good as Bieber croons about overcoming negativity and personal growth blah blah. Justin, the poor production and vocal performance isn't helping your case here, let's move on. 

1. "drop dead" by Olivia Rodrigo

We end the week with the number one song everyone saw coming from a mile away and likely the opening song of Olivia's upcoming album "you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love" because this is a song about having a really intense and passionate crush on somebody and the euphoria and headiness that comes with feeling that sort of infatuation with another person. It actually feels like head cannon from Olivia to some degree even though she has described the song has being about a "perfect first date" she went on.

As for the production? Well, it's a lot of warping synths, a little guitar and strings that give the song this uncanny Chappell Roan vibe that I actually like a lot and also makes sense when Dan Nigro does the production for both Olivia and Chappell and the pair have been on tour together so Olivia would probably consider somebody calling this a "Chappell Roan song" a compliment. In short, this is a good song, it's probably the best of any of the new entries we've had in the past month.

Yeah, "drop dead" by Olivia Rodrigo  is the best of the week here, it's not really a contest. Worst of the week goes to "SPEED DEMON" by Justin Bieber. 

Pretty Fly (For 1999): 25th April Protect Angel Bee of Mine and Thank 9pm

This week is going to be a long especially in terms of the new entries...there's seven of those this week however let's start with the top ten where "Baby, One More Time" by Britney Spears remains at number one but its sales are starting to slow a bit and it could find itself vulnerable. 

The challengers are beckoning too with "Why Don't You Get a Job?" by The Offspring which climbed one spot to number two, "We Like to Party (The Vengabus)" by The Vengaboys jumped three spots to number three and "No Scrubs" by TLC  which looks to have the better momentum of the three challengers as it skidattled up four spots to number four.

Of course all this could be because "That Don't Impress Me Much" by Shania Twain crashed three spots to number five and "The Animal Song" by Savage Garden down two to number sx. 

"Touch It" by Monifah remained unmoved by the chaos above it stuck at nnumber seven. "Anthem for the Year 2000" by Silverchair down thre to number eight.

What I was surprised to see was "Until the Time is Through" by Five up two into the top ten at number nine. "This Kiss" by Faith Hill slid one to number ten and thankfully looks to be done in the top ten.

Losers

So as you can imagine this week is messy so lets begin with "Heartbeat/Tragedy" by Steps which just utterly collapsed from nineteen to forty five. Former top ten hit "Jackie" by BZ and Joanne slumped from thirty to forty four.

"Last to Know" by Human Nature slipped eight to forty two while Pandora's "A Little Bit" slipped eleven to forty. 

Sadly Jennifer Love Hewitt's "How Do I Deal?" is not getting all the answers down from twenty two to thirty six. and in the loss I am surprised by,.."Changes" by 2pac lost all it's momentum to slide from number twelve to thirty five. 

"Doo Wop (That Thing)" by Lauryn Hill slumped ten slots to thirty four.

Gains

We did get some gains this week with the biggest gain of the week belonging to Eminem's "Hi! My Name Is" climing twenty spots to twenty one. "Every Morning" by Sugar Ray jumped eight to twenty three. 

Korn's "Freak On A Leash" found some more freak to gain eight spots to twenty three while The Living End are tearing up the charts with "All Torn Down" up ten to twenty six.  

New Entries

A nassuve seven new entries this week, beginning with...

50. "Put Your Hands Up" by The Black  and White Brothers

So the Black and White Brothers are an electronic duo hailing from Switzerland with this being the first snng to hit the ARIA singles chart and I'm sorry, I fucking hate this, the vocals are just nasal with nothing more than the lame "Put your hands up in the air" refrain that gets incrementally more annoying every time it is said by that neutered dog whistle of a voice over that bassline, 

We can do better than THIS! Come on..

48. "9pm (Til I Come)" by ATB

So we head to Germany for this song from DJ and producer ATB and mercifully this one doesn't hit the infernal annoyance the previous song does by actually having a dang solid guitar loop that winds up pretty catchy and the female vocals actually fit the song nicely, throw in the bassline and the song is actually pretty dang good for what is an electronic song with not much in the way of lyrics. 

Yeah, check this out, this is pretty good. 

37. "Stand by Me" by 4 the Cause

So we go from dance to r'n'b with 4 The Caause, an Illinois group that later moved to Germany and well this is exactly what you are thinking this is...a cover of Ben E. King's "Stand by Me" amd well. this is something of a mess, the hook is singing with other members repeating by rapping which hits the right point of being annoying and taking the emotion out of the song that King so carefully crafted, it sounds like a Glee performance...oh wait...Glee did this song somewhat better.  This is obnoxious...next!

33. "Honey to the Bee" by Billie Piper

Stepping back into the UK pop scene with this new song from Billie Piper who is actually involved with the next two new entries however "Honey to the Bee" is the latest single from Piper's album entitiled "Honey to the B" and you know what" If there's anything to be said about this song is that Billie does have some pipes, she sounds better on this song than she did on "Because I Want To" (that song is still incredibly obnoxious) but especially on softer songs like this one she sounds really good.

Also this song overall this song is a pretty damn good pop song even if the chorus doesn't quite pop in the way the bridge build suggest its going to and it helps that Piper is a commanding presence. The content is your standard pining love song where she's trying to convince this guy that he is meant for her that she's his honey to his bee. It's cute. Don't mind this overall. 

29. "Thank ABBA For The Music" by Steps, Tina Cousins, Cleopatra, B*Witched and Billie Piper

So this is a strange one, a bunch of established artists and groups like Steps, Tina Cousins and Cleopatra got together at rhe Brit Awards in February to perform a medley of ABBA songs beginning with "Take a Chance on Me", "Dancing Queen", "Mamma Mia" and "Thank You for the Music", now I will say they did stick wth melodies and there were no hackneyed changes apart from changing "you" to "ABBA" in "Tbank You for the Music".

However the issue with this song is the balance here, eleven women to two guys (Lee and H from Steps) and the lack of baritone that the guys could have provided is missing in the medley here. Don't get me wrong, the ladies all sound amazing and the harmonies on point. It's fine enough...nice tribute that just misses in one spot.

28. "Angel of Mine" by Monica

Swinging back to R'n'B with this song from Monica which was recorded by Eternal in 1997 and then re recorded by Monica for her second album "The Boy is Mine" and really, there's not much to say about this song. it's a pretty standard love song where Monica has found her soulmate and describes that meeting that soul mate ande' that instant pyrrhic feeling of an instant connection with that someone special over piano anf strings. Its sweet and cloying but I am not going to remember this song long term. 

27. "Protect Your Mind (Braveheart)" by DJ Sakin & Friends

We're ending the week with a song from a Turkish-German trance project DJ Sakin and friends. It's pretty much a love song that's centre focussed onsomeone who has found their "Braveheart", a warrior, who is willing able to fight for love, truth and justice and that this guy is her one true brave heart but I will say that I do like this form of trance where it blends in instrumentation from other countries like the Scotland's bagpipes and a bit of pan flute to make the song sound really evocative and majestic, it sounds almost unique!. Nice song, check it out if you are curious. 

That was our week, a long one but the worst of the week falls out easily...whatever the hell "Put Your Hands Up" by The Black and White Brothers was. I have no desire to hear that song again.

best of the week is a little harder but I am going to give it to ATB for "9pm (Til I Come)"

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: April 20th. The one where the new entries are a cavalcade of...something...

 So the battle for the number one spot continued this week and it's about to become a three way go with the arrival of "drop dead" by Olivia Rodrigo next week and just glancing at this week's new entries...we are in for a trainwreck of a week in that regard but let's get back to the top ten where "Rein Me" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean returned to number one basically on the margins in terms of sales and a little streaming. 

It sent "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean back to number two, it still remains a threat for the top spot but a lot is going to depend on those streaming margins against "drop dead".

All of this leaves "IloveitIloveitIloveit" by Bella Kay in a strange post as it almost feels like this song has peaked in some way given it's not makng gains on streaming anymore. 

What was surprisingly was that "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley did not make the ground I thought it would, the album boost really only helped this song maintain its postion. 

Speaking holding position that is the case for "Dracula" by Tame Impala at number five. "So Easy (Too Fall in Love" by Olivia Dean at number six, "Ordinary" by Alex Warren stubbornly clinging on at number seven and "Stateside" by Pink Pantheress and Zara Larsson at number eight.

Raye's "Where is My Husband" rebounded to number nine while thanks to Coachella performance and subsequent discourse "Daisies" by Justin Bieber climbed twenty six spots to number ten. 

Losers

"Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez fell nine spots to number forty seven while "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae turned off seven spots to forty eight.  

Olivia Dean's "Baby Steps" slipped nine to forty one while "Swim" by BTS continues to struggle to remain afloat on the chart down eleven to forty.

Drop Outs

So we have a slew of drop outs this week, let's begin with the long running songs like "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars, "Pink Skies" by Zach Bryan and "Carry You Home" by Alex Warren.

Then there's country singles like "Be By You" by Luke Combs and "Weren't for the Wind" by Ella Langley. 

Then there's the songs that really didn't quite get going like "I Run" by HVN and Kaitlyn Aragon and "Aperture" by Harry Styles. 

Finally there's "Father" by Kanye West and Andre Troutman which will be mothballed and forgotten. 

Gains

So outside of that massive gain for "Daisies" by Justin Bieber, there was only one other major gain this week with "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter rising nine places to twenty six.

Re-Entries

Three new entries this beginning with "Porch Light" by Noah Kahan is back at fifty (I'd expect this to get a bigger boost with the album being released this Friday).

"House Tour" by Sabrina Carpenter is back at number forty three because of a combination of Coachella and likely because it got a video.

"Yukon" by Justin Bieber also returned at twenty three due to Coachella and the subsequent discourse around his performance.

New Entries

Five new entries this week...let's just get this over with because this is gonna fucking suck..

49. "Freakin' Out" by Dexter and the Moon Rocks

Wow, so this is a weird one this week, Desternd the Moon Rocks are a country rock act hailing from Texas, USA, yet this song in particular feels more like a weaker grunge song that could have come out in 1994/95 only this feels like a cheap Soundgarden rip off, its okay in terms of the lyrics and it might well be one of the better songs new this week.

As for the content of the song, it really doesn't dig deeper than surface level of being alone and wanting somebody to come warm them up and not freak out. Its fine but that's all it will be at best. 

46. "Pop Dat Thing" by DaBaby

Oh I see the Da Baby redemption arc has well and truly begun in the US so Australia just had to get in on the redemption arc train which gives us this pile of nonsense which amounts to DaBaby begging this girl to "Pop Dat Thing" with the thing DaBaby is referencing being his god damn dick, he isn't being shy about what he wants this girl to do which involves a combination of sitting in his lap and eventually blowing and sucking on his 'D'

Throw in the god awful canned production complete with a tinny voice going "Pop Dat Thing" and you have one of the most disposable and utterly useless rap songs of 2026...NEXT!

34. "Earrings" by Malcolm Todd

It's never a good sign when the artist involved is signed to a recording deal on basis of going viral on Tik Tok which is the story of American musician and singer/songwriter Malcolm Todd and with this being his first single to hit the ARIA singles chart I was wary especially as I had heard this song wasn't particularly good and in a week like this one...I was hoping that the horror stories weren't true and so how was it?

Uh yeah, the horror stories checked out because this is the rancid sort of song that sets the industry back twenty years because dear god what even is that arse backward production that doesn't allow anything including Todd's vocals to breathe? Or how the song is just a bunch of choruses and refrains about how earrings got lost in some girl's bed.and Todd is accusing him of being scared to tell this girl that he lost the lyrics because he isn't talking to her before finishing the "song" with "I hope you like my mixtape".

I hope this song dies a very fast death on the charts because this sucks royally/

33.  "Be Her" by Ella Langley

Of all the new songs from "Dandelion", Australia had to go and pick the worst song of the bunch to chart...yeah, I said it, this is the worst song from that album and I am absolutely stunned that it was picked to be a single because threads like a song that GirlDefined would love for what it preaches within the lyrics of the song, its basically "Dear Future Husband" except in this czse this woman has found herself a husband and is now aspiring to be the ultimate Christian tradwife who cooks, cleans, takes care of the kids and wirships Jesus just like 'her'. It's just got this icky overtly conservative vibe that makes milk curdle in my intestines every time I hear it.  I hope this doesn't stick around.

19. "Pinky Up" by Katseye

My last hope for something that might be good...oh wait, it's new song from Katseye, the female group version of Onision releasing pop atrocities and yeah, this one is no different... this is a disaster of obnoxious production that's all centred around the hook that got no chance of actually being a thing..."Pinky Up" (Talk about trying to make fetch happen). I won't say it's worse than a previous single of theirs but it's definitely the sort of song that makes your ears lose hope that they may not hear good music ever again.

That winds up our week...I am nixing best of the week this week...NONE of this crap deserves the title of "best" at all so instead I am giving out a tie for worst of the week which is going to "Pinky Up" by Katseye, "Earring" by Malcolm Todd and "Be Her" by Ella Langley...yeah a three way tie for worst...that's how bad this week was. 

At least next week brings Olivia Rodrigo...it's only up from here...we can hope.

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart. 13th April. The one where Australia continues "Choosin' Texas" in the top ten

So I am grateful that this week's chart is a bit slower,n no new entries and a bunch of songs re-entering this week mostly because this week's "Pretty Fly (for 1999)" is A LOT this week (seven new entries) and this week is a bit of a slow down with Ella Langley likely to have some impact next week however lets get straight to our top ten where "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean returned to number onem ow this is absolutely on its incredible streaming strength because the bottom has gone out of sales for this song, it's losing ground there fast.

Which might well open the way for Sam Fender and Olivia Dean to return to number one with "Rein Me In" which slipped back to number two, it's doing better on sales and if it can bridge that streaming margin than it can make a play for number one.

It seems like "IloveitILoveitIloveit" by Bella Kay has stalled out at number three, this is it's fourth consecutive week at number three and it's not really looking like making a push for higher spots which leaves it vulnerable to our big top ten gainer this week "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley which climbed six places to number four, this song is killing it on sales and just needs a good streaming uplift and this can absolutely make a play for number one. Hey Twitter stans, looks like the song you dismissed as a "local" hit is now a global hit. 

From there 'Dracula" by Tame Impala slipped one back to number five, the same goes for "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean to number six.

Unfortunately "Ordinary" by Alex Warren held firm at number six, that was not the case for " Stateside" by Pink Pantheress and Zara Larsson which slipped two spots to number eight. 

Finally both "Raindance" by Dave and Tems and "Where is My Husband" by Raye both fell one spot to numbers nine and ten respectively.

Losers

We did see some big losers this week with "Aperture" by Harry Styles down ten slots to forty nine, it could be out nex week.

"Father" by Ye and Travis Scott down twelve to forty two while "Swim" by BTS continues to fall away down ten to twenty nine.

Drop Outs

No real surprises with the drop outs this week with "All the Love" by Ye and Andre Troutman, "Potch Light" by Noah Kahan, "Click Clack Symphony" by Raye and Hans Zimmer ad "Body to Body" by BTS all gone.

Gains

"Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez got a ten place boost to number thirty eight while "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen climbed eight to thirty three.

Those two were the only big gains this week.

Re-Entries

Four returns this week and they are all older songs with "Carry You Home" back at fifty for Alex Warren. "Pink Skies" came over at number forty seven for Zach Bryan. 

Sadly "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter back at forty six and "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars returning at number forty two.

That wraps our week with there being no new entries. Next week is probably going to be Ella Langley and Katseye...sadly.

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review. 6th April. The one where we no talk about THAT guy.

 So this week surprised me in some ways, we got a new number one that I am incredibly excited to write about and we have a litany of movement to deal with so let's dive into the top ten where we have our first new number of 2026 and it's a first for the lead artist and the second for the featured artist...it's "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean, now make no mistake here, this is was absolutely won on the margins here because this sure as hell is not dominating in any of the sectors be it sales, streaming or Youtube but it did just enough to take the number one however this is not a strong chart topper by any matter of means.

It does leave the door open for "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean, which slipped back to number two this week, to return to number one considering it's strength on streaming. It did stay ahead of "ILoveitILoveitIloveit" by Bella Kay which remained at number three week despite a good week on streaming this week. 

Up three to number four is "Dracula" by Tame Impalawhile "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" by Olivia Dean remains at number five and "Stateside" by Pink Pantheress and Zara Larsson is on hold at number six. 

"Ordinary" by Alex Warren rebounded one slot to number seven because this song refuses to go away. "Raindance" by Dave and Tems climbed one spot to number eight.

An album boost saw Raye's "Where Is My Husband" climb two places to number nine while rising five places to be our sole new arrival to the top ten it's "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley at number ten. 

Losers

" Body to Body" by BTS slipped twenty slots this week to forty six while "Swim" sank fifteen places to nineteen. 

"Porchlight" by Noah Kahan saw it's light dimmed eight places to forty while "Aperture" by Harry Styles also did an eight place skid to thirty nine.

Drop Outs

None of the drop outs are that surprising with BTS and Harry Styles album tracks gone alongside "The Visitor" by Sienna Spiro and"Sleepless in a Hotel Room" by Luke Combs

Maybe the only song of this departing crew that might make the year end is "DTMF"  by Bad Bunny.

Gains

No real major gains this week, combination of new entries and returns keeping this at a minimum with the gains. I guess the biggest would be that gain for "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley into the top ten that I have already mentioned.

Re-Entries

Two returns this week witb "I Run" by HVN and Kaitlyn Aragon at fifty and "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae back at number forty five.

New Entries

So this week means I have to deal with the Kanye West conundrum because of our four new enties, two come from West's new album, I instigated a policy when West released the two previous albums that I would not cover any track that charted because of the way Kanye has behaved and that policy going to remind in place, yes, I am aware he has apologised but proof will be in his actions not in the words he says. I am also not obliged to give Kanye any kind of platforn,

So the two songs that did chart from Kanye are "Father" with Travis Scott at thirty two and "All The Love" feat. Andre Troutman at thirty three.

Moving on the other two new arrivals, he start with...

49. "Ween't For the Wind" by Ella Langley

Si I have been expecting more Ella Langley songs to show up given the success of "Choosin' Texas" so I am not surprised to see this song here and I think I'd be fine wth this song picking up even more traction bbecause this is really a damn solid song even though...yeah it's a bit compressed (it's Music Row production...what do you expect?) but there's something about this song that feels really homespun and like this is something that is coming from Ella's heart. 

It;s a sibg about somebody who isn't able to stay in the one place for too long and this is that person reflecting on that journey and just floating wherever the wind takes them. Damn good song, check it out if you are curious

42. "Click Clack Symphony" by RAYE feat. Hans Zimmer.

The only song from RAYE's new album "This Music May Contain Hope" to hit the chart this week and I am kind of sad about that given I think Raye deserves better than the crumbs she is being handed and this song really isn't one of the best cuts from the album...although its still decent, I just wish the song settled down a groove and melody because it just swerves from right to left and every which way with it's sound which I guess could be a part of the part. It's fine enough but I'd rather see "I Know You're Hurting On" on the chart over this.

That was our week wth "Weren't for the Wind" by Ella Langley taking best of the week. Worst of the week is between the two Kanye songs,,,you can choose which one as I have no desire to listen to unfinished music from a man who doesn't deserve anymore real attention.

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 30th March. The one where it's a mess.

So I apologise if I come off as grumpy this edition of the ARIA Singles Chart Review, some if it is due to in real life stuff and some of it is due to the sudden turn to...well...you'll see it was something of a rough week...we got a mini album bomb from the new BTS album "Arirang" which I do have opinions on which we'll get to but lets deal with the rest of the chart first where for yet amother week "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean continues to hold sway at the top, this song is still a titan on streaming and it's not going to be pushed off the top spot easily.


As I said last week, I don't think the compettion is going to come from "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean which remains glued to number two however "IloveitIloveitILoveit" by Bella Kay, which remained at number three, is fighting "Man I Need" for dominance on streaming right now and I can see it pushing it's way past "Rein Me In" in the weeks ahead.


There;s a new entry at number four courtesy of "Swim" by BTS in the first sign of "Arirang" having some impaxt on the chart even if it's not going to last which probably means there's a chance for "So Easy (To Fall in Love" by Olivia Dean holding steady at number five and "Stateside" by Pink Pantheress and Zara Larsson down two to number six to rebound next week...we'll see.


Tame Impala's "Dracula" rose one to number sevn this week while "Ordinary" by Alex Warren slipped one back to number eight and "Raindance" by Dave and Tems" held firm at number nine.


finally returninig to the top ten is "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters up two slots, this will not hang around, it's more likely an Oscars boost.


Losers


The continued losses for the Harry Styles album continued as "Taste Back" dropped fourteen slots to number thirty seven, "Aperture" down nine to thirty one and "American Girls" fell six out of the top ten to number twelve. '


Outside of that "DTMF" by Bad Bunny fell seven to forty.


Drop Outs

So if you are wondering where the rest of the Harry Styles songs that didn't drop out last week are, they are here alongside "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae and "I Run" by HVN and Kaitlyn Aragon.


Gains

Not much in the way of big gains this week with "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish up six to tirty four and "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter also up six to thirty six.

Re-Entries

So this where the impact of Luke Combs album "The Way I Am" comes into play because he has two of the three new entries courtesy of "Sleepless in a Hotel Room" at forty seven and "Be By You" at number thirty nine. 

The third return is the now habitual return of "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen at nnumber forty four. 

New Entries

We have five new entries total this week but because we're somewhat in album bomb territory for BTS, I will only cover the songs in the top twenty so with that..."FYA" at forty eight, "Hooligan" at forty six and 'Body to Body" at twenty six.

This means we're starting our new arrivals with...

41. "The Visitor" by Sienna Spiro

Time fot another piano led ballad from Sienna Spiro and yeah, it's another boring as hell dirge that sounds like ass where she's bitching that she's just some temporary thing everytime in a relationship with a man. This isn't as bad as "Die On a Hill" but this sure as hell is basic and honestly, I really struggle to care at all about this.

4. "Swim" by BTS

So the biggest problem with BTS's new album is the production just how much it just sounds like it was done on the cheap given how thin a lot of it sounds but that isn't even the biggest problem with this song which is the actual single from the album, the biggest issue with this song is that it feels derivative of The Kid Laroi circa 2021 complete with the same sort of vocal delivery as Laroi, this is just completely forgettable rather than outright bad. BTS are capable of much better than this. 

No best of the week, I am giving worst of the week to "The Visitor" by Sienna Spiro for being uninspired dirge.