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

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

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

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

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

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

Losers

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

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

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

Gains

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

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

New Entries

Three new entries this week. starting with...

49. "Sweets For My Sweet" by CJ Lewis

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

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

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

38. "Shine" by Collective Soul

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

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

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

ARIA Singles top 50 Chart Review: 7th July

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gains

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

Losers

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

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

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

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

New Entries

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

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

44. "Gabriela" by Katseye

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

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

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

8. "Golden" by Cast of Kpop Demon Hunters

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

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

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review. 30th June.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gains

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

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

Losers

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

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

Drop Outs.

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

New Entries

Two new entries this week, beginning with...

43. "Nice to Each Other" by Olivia Dean

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Losers

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

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

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

Gains

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

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

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

New Entries

Three new entries this week starting with...

48. "Only to Be With You" by Roachford

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

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

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

40. "100% Pure Love" by Crystal Waters

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

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

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

ARIA Singles Top 50 Review 23rd June

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gains.

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

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

Re-Entries

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

Losers

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

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

Drop Outs

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

New Entries

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Losers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gains

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

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

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

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

Re-Entries

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

New Entries

Four new entries this week, beginning with...

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

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

45. "4-Letter Word" by Chocolate Starfish

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

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

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

39. "You Gotta Be" by Des'ree

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

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

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

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review. 16th June

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gains

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

Losersther

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

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

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

Drop Outs

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

New Entries

Four new entries this week, beginning with...

43. "One Thing" by Lola Young

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

41. "Sapphire" by Ed Sheeran

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

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

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

2. "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter.

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

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

ARIA Singles top 50 Chart Review: 9th June

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gains

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

Re Entries

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

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

Losers

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

Drop Outs.

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

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

New Entries

Two new entries this week beginning with...

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

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

5. "Just Keep Watching" by Tate McRae.

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

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

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review. 2nd June

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

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

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

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

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

Gains

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

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

Re Entries.

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

Losers

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

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

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

"Stargazing" by Myles Smith stumbled seven to twrnty nine

Drop outs

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

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

New Entries

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

46. "cliche" by MGK

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

16. "Bloodline" by Alex Warren and Jelly Roll

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

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

All 4 1994. 29th May

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Losers

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

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

Gains

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

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

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

Re-Entries

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

New Entries

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

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

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

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

35. "More Wine Waiter Please" by The Poor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Losers

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

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

Gains

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

Re-Entries

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

Drop outs

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

New Entries

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

45. "Just In Case" by Morgan Wallen

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

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

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

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

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

ARIA Singles Chart Top 50. May 19th

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gains

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

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

Losers

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

Drop Outs

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

New Entries

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

46. "Mystical Magical" by Benson Boone

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

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

ARIA Singles Chart Top 50. May 12th.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gains

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

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

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

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

Losers

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

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

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

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

New Entries

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

31. "Blue Strips" by Jessie Murph

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Losers

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

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

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

Gains

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

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

Re - Entries

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

New Entries

50. "Stay" by Eternal

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

49. "Satisfy The Groove" by Culture Shock

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

26. "Less Than A Feeling" by Hoodoo Gurus

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

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

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

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 28th April

 So we have a quiet week in prospect here, one that has absolutely no new entries and some beyond frustrating shifts in our top ten, I got to say Australia, you guys love to cling to songs longer than ever now but let's start with the top ten where for yet another week "Ordinary" by Alex Warren hangs onto the number one spot, it's got sales and streaming margins to hold up ahead of "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan which finally pushed it's way up to number two to become Chappell's highest ever charting single.

It pushed "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars down to number three as it is losing steam big time on streaming, expect some larger falls for this in the weeks ahead if streaming continues to fall off.

Streaming is to blame for the continued rebound of fucking "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone, why are we continuing to entertain this shitstain of a song in the top ten? Regardless, it's up two to number four because people still haven't moved on from this..

"Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars slipped one to number five as it's slowly but finally appearing to look unsteady, same could be said of "That's So True" by Gracie Abrams down one to number six. 

"Messy" by Lola Young rebounded one spot to number seven because it got a little sales boost this week likewise did "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish at number eight. 

Both did enough to push past "Nokia" by Drake down two spots to number nine while back in the top ten this week is "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" by Shaboozey which returned to the top ten at number ten up two spots mostly because people still aren't letting go of songs like this one. 

Gains

Now to the big moves outside the top ten with two of them coming for Sombr with "Undressed" up eleven places to fourteen and "Back to Friends" up eight places to twenty four.

"Love Me Not" by Ravyn Lenae broke into the top twenty at number twenty while Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" rebounded up seven to number twenty eight. 

"Revolving Door" by Tate McRae also up eight to thirty two because we don't know how to make the good Tate McRae songs hits, she had better on that damn album.

On the theme of old songs rising "Something in the Orange" by Zach Bryan jumped eight places to thirty five while the never ending chart run of "Riptide" by Vance Joy continues as it jumped eight to thirty six, "Mr Brightside" by The Killers rebounded eight to forty.

Our lone new entry from last week also climbed eight places this week off it's debut that being "Sorry I'm Here for Someone Else" by Benson Boone up to forty two.

Re-Entries

Three returns with "Where the Wild Things Are" by Luke Combs back at number forty nine while "Stick Season" by Noah Kahan re-emerged at forty eight and "Pink Skies" by Zach Bryan skap back in at number forty five.

Losers

The only major loser this week is Ed Sheeran's "Azizam" which lost all it's streaming traction to plummet to thirty places to fifty. Ouch. 

Also saw "Timeless" by The Weeknd and Playboi Carti down eight to forty one while "Taste" by Sabrina Carpenter also hit an eight place skid to hit twent eight. 

Drop Outs

As for our drop outs this week, I am a little disappointed that we lost "Twilight Zone" by Ariana Grande but when both "Busy Woman" by Sabrina Carpenter and "Dark Thoughts" by Lil Tecca are gone too, I guess I can't complain too hard. 

So with there being no new entries to talk about that wraps up this week, we'll likely see the new single from Lorde debut alongside goodness knows what espercially if we do get that album bomb from Morgan Wallen in a few weeks. 

ARIA Singles Chart top 50. 21st April.

 So this week felt slow as hell not just because we only have one new entry but because it felt slower like the charts are just grinding to a slow crawl akin to holiday traffic in gridlock especially as some older songs are making some seriously frustrating gains however before we get to all that. let's go through the top ten where for yet another week, it's "Ordinary" by Alex Warren at number one, while it's not number one on sales,

It held up ahead of "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars which is slowly fading on streaming and looks no chance of re-taking number one, it's probably more under threat from "Piml Pony Club" by Chappell Roan which spent the week being consistent in all areas to climb one spot to number three. 

Lady Gaga's Australian tour announcement saw "Die With A Smile" rebound five to nuimber four while 'That's So True" by Gracie Abrams slipped one to five thanks to weakness on streaming.

Whar's also rebounding much to my disgust is "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone which climbed two places to number six. Please do NOT let this shit become another fucking "Heatwaves", Australia, I am warning you. 

"Nokia" by Drake slipped two to seven mostly because sales slipped and streaming isn't quite holding it up as much as I had expected.

Also down two to number eight is "Messy" by Lola Young and "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish to number nine. 

Wrapping up the top ten, we have "Luther" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA up two to number ten. 

Gains

:Outside of the top ten, there was a ten place gain to twenty for "Azizam" by Ed Sheeran, this song has hit written all over it. 

"The Door" by Teddy Swims rebounded six places to twenty six while Sombr's "Back to Friends" rose seven to thirty two. 

Older songs also had good sized gains which is frustrating to a degree with "Too Sweet" by Hozier up nine to thirty eight and "Austin" by Dasha up eight to thirty seven.

Re Entries

Just the one return this week with "Abracadabra" by Lady Gaga back in the top fifty after Gaga's Australian tour announcement at twenty eight. 

Losers

The biggest loser this week was unsurprisingly "Twilight Zone" by Ariana Grande which just utterly collapsed twenty five places to forty six while "Dark Thoughts" by Lil Tecca slipped fourteen places to forty seven. 

Drop Outs.

Just the two drop outs with long running hit "Pink Skies" by Zach Bryan and a debutant from last week "Caramel" by Sleep Token exiting the chart.

New Entries

Just the one new entry this week with...

50. "Sorry I'm Here for Someone Else" by Benson Boone

Look, I don't have a lot of time for Benson Boone's whiny gen z music and "Beautiful Things" remains an absolute abomination to this day and I cannot understand why that song is still taking up space in the top ten despite the song still being a caterwauling disaster and "Slow It Down" is also terrible however I will say that this song is slightly better in that Boone doesn't go down the path of obnoxiously caterwauling and this song does have a  nice melody and bassline to it even if Boone still sounds like a smug douche. Ehh, take it or leave.

No best or worst of the week. 

ARIA Singles top 50 Chart Review: 14th April.

 Look. going to skip over any preamble as I do have a fair bit happening in real life right now so let's start with our top ten where for yet another week and it's got challengers coming at it from all angles as it's not really comfortable in any platform, I am actually surprised it's still at number one!

"APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars refuses to go away as it remained at number two. Streaming helped "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan rose one spot to number three as it spent the week gaining on sales and streaming. 

Also not going away is "That's So True" by Gracie Abrams which slipped one to number four because like "APT", it's still got streaming somehow. 

Up five to number five is "Nokia" by Drake, it's got decent sales and streaming, its looking like it could make a surge for number one at some point. 

The next four retained their positions with "Messy" by Lola Young at number six, "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish at number seven, "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone at number eight and "Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars at number nine.

Finally rounding out the top ten is "Anxiety" by Doechii which slipped five places because while it's doing well on sales, it's losing big time on streaming to the songs above it. 

Gains. 

So the Gains this week feel like a smaller lot than last week, we only had a nine place gain for "Undressed" by Sombr to twenty six and "Love Me Not" by Ravyn Lenae up seven to twenty five. 

Re Entries

As for returning songs, we only saw "Stargazing" by Myles Smith back at forty three. 

Losers 

"I Love You, I'm Sorry" by Gracie Abrams slid six places to forty six while "Riptide" by Vance Joy is finally starting to fade away six places to forty two.

Tate McRae's "Revolving Door"  spun down seven places to thirty four while "Dark Thoughts" by Lil Tecca lived up to it's name sliding down nine to thirty three.

Teddy Swims chart run with "The Door" had doors slammed six times down to thirty two. 

Drop Outs

So four drop outs this week with two non starters leaving those being deluxe edition track from Ariana Grande in "Dandelion" and Chappell Roan's "The Giver".

The other exits were longer running hits like "Denial is a River" by Doechii and "TV Off" by Kendrick Lamar. 

New Entries

Three new entries this week, beginning with.

39. "Back to Friends" by Sombr

Ahh so it's time to talk about the Sombr song that gained traction recently that I am a little bit cooler towards mostly due to that weird buzz that seems to cause more of a distraction than anything else on the song which is a shame because Sombr seems to have otherwise good production instincts even if the writing on this song can feel a btt similar in subject matter to "Undressed" and his vocals are allowed to breath in the mix. All in all, not a bad song just one I am unlikely to revisit., 

36. "Caramel" by Sleep Token

Here we go, another run in with Sleep Token and I am a bit more trepidatious about this song especially as I didn't like "Emergence" and unfortunately, it's the same sterile trying to mix heavier metal sounds with pop and r'n'b that just doesn't click with me at all and it just sounds messy at best and weirdly discordant while being sludgy at points, as a result it just winds up not being fun to listen to at all. Next!

30. "Azizam" by Ed Sheeran

We wrap up this week with the lead single from Ed Sheeran's upcoming new album "Play" and well... it is one of Ed's better pop sell out singles with what amounts to a dance pop song with Persian influences. The lyrics are pretty basic love song stuff with Sheeran asking his dear to meet him on the dancefloor if she's interested in playing the romance game but yeah, I dig this a fair bit, definitely better than "Shape of You" and "Eyes Closed" in terms of lead singles.

"Azizam" by Ed Sheeran gets the best of the week. Worst of the week goes to "Caramel" by Sleep Token...that song just does absolutely nothing for me.

ARIA Singles top 50 Chart Review: 7th April

 Let's dive into this week because it sure is an interesting one and it seems we do have a set number one for now so diving into our top ten where "Ordinary" by Alex Warren remains at number one for a second week, it has a lead on streaming but nowhere else which does make it vulnerable to other competitors.

That may not be the case for "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars which held at number two but it's losing ground on streaming 

"That's So True" by Gracie Abrams rose one place to number three on the back of some residual streaming. Also up a spot to number four thanks to streaming is "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan although some of this might also be due to "Anxiety" by Doechii down two to five as it bleeds on streaming despite having a sales lead.

Standing still is "Messy" by Lola Young which is stuck at number six, its not got that much streaming or sales so it's pretty much inertia keeping it in the top ten. 

Speaking of inertia, "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish rebounded three places to number seven while  "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone climbed one spot to number eight, they both took advantage of "Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars falling two spots to number nine.

Finally Drake completes our top ten with "Nokia" up one place to number ten and looks set to hang around in the top ten thanks to having some decent sales and streaming, Great. Not. (Yeah, that song has soured on me a bit, doesn't help it's on an album that is complete ass).

Gains

So not too much in the way of big gains this week but I will express some annoyance at the eight place gain for "Riptide" by Vance Joy to thirty six...so tired of old songs clogging the chart if I am to be blunt. 

I don't mind the five place gains to thirty two for "Love Me Not" by Ravyn Lenae, the same for "Indigo" by Sam Barber and Avery Anna to twenty nine. 

Re-Entries

Two returns this week with "Mr Brightside" by The Killers back at forty nine and "Busy Woman"  by Sabrina Carpenter at forty seveen

Losers 

Lets blow through some of these big losers this week with "TV Off" by Kendrick Lamar down seven to fifty. Unsurprisingly but sadly, "The Giver" by Chappell Roan is down fifteen to forty three. 

"Denial Is A River" by Doechii slumped seven places to thirty seven as it's streaming is surprising slowing down. 

Drop Outs

So apart from the two Playboi Carti left overs that left this week, we also lost longstanding hit in "Stargazing" by Myles Smith and other songs with a shorter run like "Abracadabra" by Lady Gaga, "Like Jennie" by Jennie and "Burning Down" by Alex Warren

New Entries

Four new entries this week, beginning with...

45. "Dandelion" by Ariana Grande

First of two songs from the External Sunshine deluxe album that charted this week and I cannot be the only one who thinks this song is as wonky as hell, right? From the weirdly out of tune trumpet to that weird drum noise and Ariana sounding needlessly thin and compressed on a song where she's telling this guy he can blow her away because she'll be his dandelion and no, Ariana, you've got a beautiful voice and really the production needs to be better. I'm moving on. 

35. "Undressed" by sombr

Breaking on to the charts this week is an American singer songwriter Sombr and right now he has two songs gaining traction with this one being the better one, it sounds like a better version of an indie pop/rock song with the backing vocals and Sombr actually sounding like he has space and room to breathe in the mix surrounded by guitars and a gentle keyboard and especially with lyrics about a relationship on the edge but he isn't quite ready to let go, she still means a lot to him and he isn't ready to move on. Decent song. Worth checking out. 

23. "Mutt" by Leon Thomas

The second of our two debutants on the chart this week is Leon Thomas, a GRAMMY winning singer songwriter and producer with this song being on his sophomore album and well...I am not as much of a fan of this as I would like to be mostly because it just doesn't click in the production especially with some of those choices and while the lyrics play to lack of trust through drug use etc, I just can't get my head around this, check it out if you are curious but I am going move on pretty quickly about this. 

16. "Twilight Zone" by Ariana Grande

So this might surprise some people but I think this song from the deluxe edition of "Eternal Sunshine" is Ariana Grande's best song since "No Tears Left to Cry" back in 2018. I just love the sound and gentle cooing singing from Ariana Grande here even though the production is more compressed and tinny than it needs to be around her vocals which is weird considering she has one of the best voices in pop music today outside of Adele, there's frustration that works well here. This is excellent. Check it out.

Yeah, it also gets best of the week just edging out "Undressed" by Sombr. Worst is also going to Ariana Grande for "Dandelion"...I just cannot stand how wonky that song is. 

All 4 1994: 3rd April. Dry Sign Since I Lost The County

 Let's just jump straight into this week because yeah, it's really not all that interesting apart from a few shifts in the top ten because for yet another week, "It's Alright" by East 17, it's now spent five weeks at the top and doesn't look like slowing down any.

Remaining at number two is "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion because it's just doing steady on sales but will be a decent threat to top spot should "It's Alright' sales start to slow down or stumble.

Also in decent position is Mariah Carey's howling "Without You" up one to number three, it pushed past "Whatta Man" by Salt 'N' Pepa feat. En Vogue which slipped to number four...frankly I am surprised this really isn't making a bigger push for number one, it's got number one hit written all over it. 

Up one to number five is the grading "Sing Halleluljah" by Dr Alban, its just making steady gains and should continue to improve it's position.

The most pleasing news in our top ten this week is that Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia" had an eleven place rise to number six! I know it's because of the movie but I am just thrilled that this song is here. It's a great song. 

Melodie MC's remaining at number seven with "Dum Da Dum" while thankfully Michael Bolton's rising tide of ass "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" fell three to number eight...thank goodness for that!

Finally I have mixed feelings on our two new arrivals to the top ten with "Things Can Only Get Better" by D:Ream up four places to number nine. Fine song so reasonably happy to see it here.

Wish I could say the same for "Loser" by Beck which also rose four places to round out our top ten at number ten. 

Losers

Not as many losers this week and what of our losers, most of them were just continued losses of momentum like "Feels Like Heaven" by Urban Cookie Collective down from thirty eight to forty three while "What is Love" by Haddaway down from thirty seven to forty two. 

"Shoop" by Salt 'n' Pepa just utterly collapsed from twenty five to bit thirty eight...ouch!

Former top ten hit "Stay (Faraway, So Close!" by U2 slipped from twenty eight to thirty four while former number one "All For Love" by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting copped a nine place dump down to thrty. 

"Hey Mr D.J" by Zhane slipped nine places to twenty nine. 

Gains

This week was an incredibly busy one for gains and while I am not thrilled that "Twist and Shout" by Chaka Demus & Pliers with Jack Radics and Taxi Gang got a ten place boost to seventeen, we did see "Cornflake Girl" by Tori Amos jump from twenty six to nineteen and Chocolate Starfish climbed twelve spots to 21 with "Mountain" 

Right behind all of that is "Breathe Again" by Tori Braxton which jumped eight places to twenty two, I can see this breathy r'n'b song being a top ten hit and it's on it's way to becoming one.

Also not thrilled that "Let Me Show You" by K-Klass got a seven place boot to twenty eight however "I Can See Clearly Now" by Jimmy Cliff jumped nine spots to twenty seven which I am absolutely delighted about. 

Finally "Helping Hand" by The Screaming Jets jumped from forty one to thirty six because Aussie pub rock apparently still has a place on the charts.

New Entries

Thankfully a much lighter week in terms of new entries with just three new songs this week starting with

49. "Since i Don't Have You" by Guns 'N' Roses

I think it needs to be said that I have a mixed at best relationship with Guns 'N' Roses music. Sure "Sweet Child of Mine" is great but damn they have some absolute stinkers as well and I wasn't expecting much given they  are covering a 1958 song by The Skyliners that was also covered by Don McLean in 1981 and then by country singer Ronnie Millsap in 1991. Also seems like this ballad about having lost love and trying to move on from a lost relationship is just a good excuse for a guitar solo from Slash and Axl Rose to turn crooner. It's not terrible but this is just a little odd from Guns 'n' Roses.

41. "The Sign" by Ace of Base

So here we have the lead single from Swedish pop group Ace Base, it's from their debut album called "The Sign" and fuck, I don't know if I have heard a catchier pop song in a while! That hook is sticky as hell and combines a lot of sounds from reggae and europop. The song hits on themese of exploring the moment that a couple realizes that this relationship is probably over and yeah it does so maybe the catchiest and kind of fun way yet. Expect this to be heard everywhere!.

39. "Dry County" by Bon Jovi

Sixth and final single from Keep the Faith and it's a long song for sure clocking in at six minutes and thiry seven seconds where over gentle piano, guitar and drums, Bon Jovi laments the then decline of the US oil industry and how the decline affected thoses who relied on the income that the industry provided them in order to support their families. It's certainly an impassioned performance from Jon Bon Jovi. This is good but I am not sure that I will ever come back to it. 

That wraps up the week and I am going to give worst of the week to "Since I Don't Have You" by Guns 'n' Roses as that song probably just doesn't hit me as much as the other two do.

Best of the week is going to "The Sign" by Ace of Base and that's not even a contest. It has the potential to be a massive hit going forward in 1994. We'll see what happens next week and whether East 17 can hang on to the top spot. 

All 4 1994: 27th March Feel Like You Made Me Twist and Shout

 So this week is all change in our top ten and we do have our regular allotment of new entries that somehow don't seem to slow down any however the only thing that hasn't changed is that "It's Alright" by East 17 remains at number one, now it's got good sales but it really is now a matter of how long it can hang on because it's now got a song with genuine momentum behind it. that being "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion which climbed one place to number two.

It moved past "Whatta Man" by Salt-n-Pepa feat. En Vogue down one two number three while 'Without You" by Mariah Carey which climbed two places to number four and looks to have some solid momentum unfortunately, it pushed "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" by Michael Bolton back one place to number five. 

"Sing Hallelujah" by Dr Alban rose three places to number six while "Dum Da Dum" by Melodie MC climbed four places to number seven this week.

All of this saw "Slave to the Music" by Twenty 4 Seven feat Stay-C and Nance slide three spots to number eight while Cut 'N' Move's "Give It Up" continues its graceful exit from the top ten down two to number nine

Also down two places this week is "Feelin' Alright" by EYC to number ten and it's looking like it's time in the top ten is done. 

Losers

Down to forty five from thirty eight last week is "Dirty Dawg" by NKOTB. "Feels Like Heaven" by Urban Cookie Collective continues its slide toward the ecit down eight to thirty eight while "What is Love" is being asked even louder by Haddaway as it tumbled nine to thirty seven.

"Will You Be There (In the Morning)" by Heart took an eight place tumble to thirty two while "Shoop" by Salt 'n' Pepa slipped eight to twenty five. 

Finally "All For Love" by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting slipped seven to twenty one. 

Gains

A lot of big gains were for recent new entries with the first of those being a nine place gain to thirty six fot Jimmy Cliff's "I Can See Clearly Now" while "Let Me Show You" by K-Klass climbed from forty one to thirty five.

"Breathe Again" by Toni Braxton got a seventeen place boost to thirty while "One Night in Heaven" by M People climbed six to twenty three. 

"Mr Jones" saw a ten place gain to twenty two for Counting Crows but in great news this week, Bruce Springsteen's emotional "Streets of Philadelphia" climbed up to seventeen from thirty one. Happy to see it. 

Beck's "Loser" jumped eight places to fourteen while D:Ream's "Things Can Only Get Better" rose six to thirteen. 

New Entries

50. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and RuPaul

No, stop...can we not do this? What the hell? Elton John teaming up with drag artist Ru Paul for a cover of his own song "Don't Go Breaking my Heart" and honestly this seems to have more novelty value on first glance especially with involvement of RuPaul and yeah...this is a novelty version of what was originally a damn great song just messing with the production and instrumentation enough to water it down into this trending chasing Eurodance number that really does not do anything to help Elton John's vocals at all so yeah...skip it.

49. "Feel Like Making Love"  by Pauline Henry

Rough start but let's see if we can do any better with former The Chimes singer Pauline Henry's cover of Bad Company's 1975 song "Feel like Making Love" which surprisingly wasn't a hit here back then even though it did reasonably well in the US, Canada and New Zealand and that surprises me because the Bad Company version gets played a lot on the radio in 2025! Anyway, I dig this version, the more soulful verse delivery by Henry and then drops into this kick ass rock hook with the guitars delivering a hell of a punch, Henry makes this work! Check it out. 

48. "Let the Beat Control Your Body" by 2 Unlimited

Alright, for some more 2 Unlimited, the last couple of run ins I have had with this group haven't gone well so let's see if this newest single is any better and nope...still the same crappy annoyance with doofy euro club beats that don't change up or do anything different complete with nightclub lyrics about letting the beat control the way your body moves. I am done with this shit already.

43. "You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart" by Sinead O'Connor

I was dreading having to review this song mostly because Sinead O'Connor as an artist was really complex and this song that was co written in part by Bono for a film called "In the Name of the Father" which starred Daniel Day-Lewis and it's this murky piano driven ballad about a woman murdering her lover just to keep him with her in the 14th century and yeah...this song is hard to listen to.  It's worth a listen as the song is definitely good but yeah it's definitely not an easy listen.

27. "Twist and Shout" by Chaka Demus & Pliers with Jack Radics & Taxi Gang. 

Oh god,,,no please no...this is a cover of a song that written and recorded in 1961 and wasn't a hit until the Isley Brothers reworked it and made into a hit, it has since been covered by The Beatles (The Beatles version is my absolute favourite) and Salt 'N' Pepa so what the charts did not require was this reggae infused version by Chaka Demus and Pliers where what sounds like yapping dogs feature prominently in the production and everyone sounds jacked up on too much marijuana to care about the music because dear god, at least The Beatles and the Isley Brothers infused their covers with some passion to show they cared, this is just a lazy, phoned in hack job of what is a pretty damn great song.

Yeah, it's the worst of the week by a country mile...I fucking hate it. Best of the week is going to "Feel Like Making Love" by Pauline Henry because at least she makes that song her own and it feels like less of a hack job,