ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review: 24th February: Busy Woman Going 30 for 30 Complains Music Lacks Sexy

 I was dreading this week...really dreading it,  mostly because of one disaster that pops up in our new entries and by now you know what that disaaster is...PartyNextDoor and Drake impacted the ARIA singles top 50 ths week with three songs from "$ome $exy $ongs 4 U" and we'll get into why the album blows in the new entries because it doesn't impact our top ten where to my surprise, "Not Like Us" by Kendrick Lamar remained at number one for a second week, it built up enough for a srreaming lead to hold out Kendrick's "Luther" with SZA at number two, I would favour this song to take number one nexr week as it took the streaming lead.

It did have the effect of pushing "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars down to number three as it is losing on streaming and sales, the same goes for "Messy" by Lola Young down to number four and 'That's So True' by Gracie Abrams down to five.

"Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars holds on at number six mostly because streaming refuses to let this song go. The same could be said for "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish which slipped two spots to number seven, surving basically on the scraps of streaming.

Rising fourteen to the top ten is "All the Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA because I would guess people are looking for more music these two have made together and the fact this was performed at the Superbowl.

All of this unfortunately knocked "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan to number nine. It spent this week losing traction on streaming unfortunately.

Benson Boone's 'Beautiful Things" tumbled one spot to number ten because we can't have a one hundred percent good top ten for a fucking change.

Losses

So some of the big losses were just Luke Combs songs that fell back because the tour has ended with "When It Rains It Pours" down eighteen spots to forty eight and "Where the Wild Things Are" down fourteen spots to forty two.

In other double digit losses, "Dreamin" by Dom Dolla feat. Daya down ten to forty three and "Abracadabra" by Lady Gaga down twelve to twenty four but I figure the latter will rebound when "Mayhem" drops in a few weeks time.

Gains

So the big story this week is that "Please Please Please"  by Sabrina Carpenter thanks to the deluxe edition of her album "Short 'n' Sweet" with a pretty god awful remix of the song with Dolly Parton, it climbed twenty two spots to seventeen. 

Weirdly "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls swung up nine spots to thirty two.

Re Entries

Three re entries this week with "Pink Skies" by Zach Bryan at forty nine, "Bad Dreams" by Teddy Swims at forty six and "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar back nt forty

Drop outs

Eight drop outs and really the only drop out I am sad about is "Born Again" by Lisa, Doja Cat and Raye...it's a great pop song and deserves to be a smash.

"Fast Car" by Luke Combs, "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac and "Hot to Go!" by Chappell Roan have all had great runs but it was beyond time fior them to depart,

Also gone are songs that I am mostly indifferent to like "Cry For Me" by The Weeknd and "Beautiful Crazy" by Luke Comb however I am absolutely delighted that "Kisses" by BL3SS x CamrinWatson feat. bbyclose and "Slow It Down" by Benson Boone are gone, good fucking riddance.

New Entries

Sigh...five new entries this week and unfortunately we have to start with...

44. "Gimme A Hug" by Drake

Let's begin this laborious three track exploration of "$ome $exy $ongs 4 U" with Drake throwing himself a pity party complete with his god damn victim narrative to boot complaining that people wanted to see him dead etc and begging women who he is calling "hoes" and "bitches" to give him a hug and claim that despite everyone apart from 21 Savage, turning on him, he came out of the rap beef unscathed except for you know...suing his own record label and all that jazz...

Yeah the instrumental might be okay but it doesn't make this song any good or sound any less like Drake swallowing large bottles of copium. Next!

39. "30 for 30" by SZA and Kendrick Lamar

Look, when these two have made a song like "Luther", my standards are going to be pretty fucking high and yeah, I do think this song is a bit of a step back from "Luther" but it's still decent, the ionstrumental is at least gentle and kind of pretty as both SZA and Kendrick assert their demand for boundaries and respect and not allowing fake energy to interupt their peace. I do wish there'd been a little more introspection on the track but hey, it's fine enough, I'll take it, it's better than...

38. "CN Tower" by PartyNextDoor and Drake.

So this only charted because it's the first song on the album and the fitst indication that this album has absolutely nothing to offer anyone who tries to listen to it and this dull trap beat where both Drake and PartyNextDoor concern troll this poor woman who has clearly not wanted any contact with either of these two clowns ands then brag about going to Japan of all places and having a load of money. 

Yeah, this song is as worthless as "Gimme A Hug"...Next!

28. "Nokia" by Drake

So this is the best song on the album mostly because it actually has a pulse and Drake actually rapping with some enthusiasm here with a vibrant beat and a pretty inspired sample of the Nokia phone start up music. The content isn't much, it's basically just Drake wanting to hook up with a woman but it's mostly innocuous, I can vibe to this. Not too bad. 

22. "Busy Woman" by Sabrina Carpenter

Ahh...it feels like a treat to get a Sabrina Carpenter song even though I am not Sabrina's biggest fan at all  but despite what I said about the remix of "Please Please Please". I actually like most of the new somgs from the deluxe edition of "Short 'n' Sweet",,,except for this one...it's this pretty little pop song where Sabrina is all prepared to be this perfect woman for this guy if he wants to love her and be loverd in return until the song gets actively where she says "If you don't want me, I'll just deem you gay" which is just downright ugly and toxic in a manner that puts me off this song.

It's not the worst of the week, that's going to "Gimme a Hug" by Drake for being a load of pathetic copium from a man who should know better. Best of the week was going to go to Sabrina but that one line...oof...so "30 for 30" by SZA and Kendrick Lamar gets it, I don't think it's their best but in a week like this...yeah.

Next week...ugh...Tate McRae album bomb seems likely. 

All 4 1994. 20th February. The Power Of My Eyes, It's Alright.

Well...things have slowed a little bit on the chart this week, just the three new entries, the top ten continued to shuffle around with at least one change that wasn't for the better and some old hits have finally started falling away so let's get to that top ten where for another week "Give It Up' by Cut 'N' Move continued to rule the roost at number one and I don't see what is going to stop it. it's got solid sales traction at this point.

Rising two to number two is "Slave to the Music" ny Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance but it just doesn't have the traction on sales to challenge our current number one however it was enough to move past "Asshole" by Denis Leary at number three while "All for Love" by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting slipped back to number four.

Much to my surprise, "Stsy (Faraway So Close!)" by U2 remained at number five but hey I am happy about this, would love to see it become a massive hit. 

M People's "Moving On Up" continues to live up to it's name up one to number six, it moved past "Shoop" by Salt 'N' Pepa which slipped to number seven. 

"Hero" by Mariah Carey climbed one spot to number eight, I guess it's not completely done after all~. Then we get to the first of two new arrivals to our top ten with "Hey Mr. D.J" by Zhane up two number nine this week.

Unfortunately, "Said I Loved You...but I Lied" by Michael Bolton somehow got a seven place boost to number ten as it had a solid sales week. 

Losers

Lets blow through these losers quickly because it looks like the end of Gabrielle's "Dreams" chart run is nigh as it tumbled from thirty six to forty nine this week.

Sadly the great "In Your Room" by Depeche Mode was hit with a seven place drop to forty seven while Jimmy Barnes 1993 hit with The Badloves "The Weight slipped nine to forty six.

A ten place tumble to forty five occured for The Pet Shop Boys single "I wouldn't normally do thing kind of thing" while "Nails in My Feet" fail eight to forty two for Ceowded House.

Peter Andre saw one of the biggest falls of the week as it collapsed from twenty nine to forty one with "Let's Get It On" 

Bit disappointed that Take That's "Relight My Fire" feat. Lulu isn't taking off as trhat slipped six to thirty nine while Janet Jackson's "Again" fell seven to thirty eight

"Creep" by Radiohead" hit a nine place skid to thirty one while "No Rain" by Blind Melon stumbled nine to thirty and "All That She Wants" by Ace of Base" fell from fifteen to twenty one. 

Gains

Our gains this week are a rather rough lot this week, I already mentioned Michael Bolton climbing into the top ten but can anyone explain why "Feelin' Alrught" by EYC is up five to eleven or that "Can We Talk" by Tevin Campbell is up eight places to nineteen? Neither song is all that good.

At least "Spoonman" by Soundgarden got a decent seven place boost to twenty three but it's not exactrly a good sign that the biggest gain of the week was a ten place gain for "Is There Any Love in Your Heart" by Lenny Kravitz to thirty two or that "Tears of a Clown" by Caligula got a five place jump to  thirty four. 

"Green Limousine" by The Badlovrs drove from forty three to thirty six ehile "She Don't Let Nobody"
 by Chaka Demus and Pliers climbed from forty one to thirty seven. 

Re Entries

One re entry this week with "The Power of Love" by Beverly back at number twenty seven.

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New Entries

Just the three new entries this week, lets get this started with...

43. "You Open My Eyes" by Hoodoo Gurus

So we begin this week with the second single from the Hoodoo Gurus album "Crank" and interestingly enough, it's the first song that was not written or co written by frontman Dave Faulkner with Brad Shepherd taking over lead vocal duties on this particular song and while I think the rock instrumentation sounds great...I can't be the only one who thinks the lead vocals are buried way too far back in the mix here? The back vocals have better placement in this song than Shepherd's do which is a shame because it's not a bad song. 

33.  "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion

Another week another cover of Jennifer Rush's 1985 hit "The Power Of Love", this time coming from Celine Dion for her album "Falling into You" and I have to be honest here...I actually really think Celine's version might be the best version of the song, she absolutely owns this song, she MAKES you believe that she believes in the relationship she has and the power of love with HER man and the instrumentation that swells around Celine but still allows her to own the song...yeah, you'll see this on a list at the end of the year, Believe me. 

25. "It's Alright" by East 17

Oh boy, East 17 are back after angering me with their rancid cover of Pet Shop Boys "West End Girls", "It's Alright is the sixth and final I was hoping that this song could make me forgive me.

the 
Well it started off well enough with the gentle piano and the vocals about love shining through and a chorus where the band sing repeatedly "It's alright" but than the beat switch happens and the song turns into this electronic pop song and when the hook is nothing more than the band repeating "Alright" and "Everything's going to be alright"into ad najuseam...yeah...no thanks.

It takes worst of the week too only mostly because there was more to like about the Hoodoo Gurus track.

Celine Dion runs away with best of the week for "The Power of Love"

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review. 17th February : Ordinary Dreamin to be Born Again

 I am going to spare a preamble this week because the NFL's Superbowl half time show caused chaos on the charts this week in the best way possible, the person responsible for that chaos is Kendrick Lamar, he has several songs in the top ten this week and it all begins at number one with "Not Like Us" up twenty six slots to take the top spot and its dominant on sales and streaming but not Youtube.  It also feels like a history correction for last year when it did only peaked at number five.

"APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars remains at number two by virtue of being top of Youtube and having somewbat stronger streaming than that of "Messy" by Lola Young which just had a bad week on sales and streaming thus couldn't compete with the behemoth that was Kendrick Lamar.

The same is true of "That's So True" by Gracie Abrams which slipped one to number four  while "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish climbed one to number five but that may have been on the weaknesses of "Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars which dropped two places to number six, I suspect this will get a boost with Gaga's album next month but we'll see.

Rising fifteen places to number seven is "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan which is riding a streaming and sales wave thanks to Chappell's performance at the Grammys...it's amazing to see this song finally take off in the way it deserves to given it was recorded by Roan six years ago.

Back to Kendrick Lamar because "Luther" feat. SZA climbed eight places to number eight on the back of streaming and being performed at the NFL half time show.

Sadly, nothing budged "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone from number nine while "Good Luck, Babe!" by Chappell Roan fell three places to number ten.

Losers

So let's begin at the bottom of the chart where "Kisses" by BL3SS x CamrimWatson frat.  bbyclose slipped eight spots to fifty while the tour boosts for Luke Combs songs is wearing off as "Beautiful Crazy" slipped fourteen to forty six, "Fast Car" down eight to thirty one and "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" down seven to twenty six

Noah Kahan's "Stick Season" slid eleven places to forty five while "Stargazing" by Myles Smith lost more ground this week down eight to forty three.

The chart appears to be showing the door to Teddy Swims "The Door" as it tumbled thirteen slots to forty two. 

It was a rougb week for The Weeknd as well with "Cry For Me" doen twenty to forty and "Timeless" feat. Playboi Carti down nine to twenty.

Morgan Wallen's noxious "I'm The Problem" mercifully skidded down seventeen to thirty eight while "I Remember Everything" by Zach Bryan feat. Kacey Musgraves fell nine to thirty four.. Finally 'Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez slipped seven spots to twenty one.

Gains

The gains this week can be split into two groups so let's deal with the -nr Kendrick Lamar gain outside the top ten first because "TV Off" with Lefty Gunplay moved up thirty one spots to sixteen, 

However the biggest gainer of the week was for Lady Gaga's "Abracadabra" which climbed a massive thirty eight slots to twelve. 

"Guess" by Charli XCX and Billie Eilish is up fifteen places to twenty off ithe back of residual Grammys streaming. 

One song that I think deserves some attention this week though is "Denial is a River" by Doechii which climbed five to thirteen. This song is going to be a hit, folks, get ready.

Re Entries

Kendrick Lamar is the story of our returns this week where two of the three are Kendrick songs but we start at number forty seven with the return of "Hot To Go!" by Chappell Roan. 

From there, it's Kendrick with "Squabble Up" back at thirty five and "All The Stars" featuring SZA back at twenty two. 

Drop Outs

Six drop outs this week and honestly most of them do not upset me especially as we lost long running hits "Riptide" by Vance Joy and "Something In the Orange" by Zach Bryan. We also lost utter crap like "GBP" by Central Cee and 21 Savage along with "Sao Paulo" by The Weeknd feat. Anitta IWow. A really rough week for The Weeknd here)

But we did also lose "Somedays" by Sonny Fodera, D.O.D and Jazzy and "Bad Dreams" by Teddy Swims which is a shame because I really liked both those songs. 

New Entries

Three new entries this week beginning with...

48. "Born Again" by LISA feat. Doja Cat and Raye

So Lisa of Blackpink is making another attempt at being a solo act with her new album and she actually got both Doja Cat and Raye on this song which actually turns out to be a Raye demo that her old label Polydor rejected and well, how is the song?

Uh...no jokes here but this song is emerging quite quickly to be one of my favourite songs of 2025 over all, it is this slick, glossy yet elegant nu disco song that just screams for a Dua Lipa remix  at some point. The hook is infectious and Doja Cat delivers one of her best performances where she both sings and raps her verse on this song and she sounds incredible. I adore the harmonies  between the three and it feels like there is some genuine chemistry there. 

The song tells of overcoming heartbreak or adversity, finding themselves and becoming a better person or being person again. I wish there was more vocal interplay between the three but that's nit picking because this song is absolutely fantastic. Check it out!

33. "Dreamin" by Dom Dolla feat. Daya

Always nice to see new Dom Dolla on the ARIA singles chart, he always makes a decent electronic banget with interesting artists except this time, he co opted 2016 flashback Daya for this song, if you don't remember who Daya is, she was one of the weakest of the 2010's pop girl set who snagged hits with "Hideaway" and "Sit Still, Look Pretty' so yeah I was wary.

Turns out I had every right to be wary because as it turns out it's not Daya's whispery, somewhat hushed vocals that have improved a lot since 2016, it'sand  the production from Dom Dolla that's the problem here, the song sound very nineties however there are some really srange and honestly the synths might be the most annoying thing I have ever heard in awhile. Mercifully the song is reasonably short but I don't see myself coming back to this one.

27. "Ordinary" by Alex Warren

Alright so "Carry Yoiu Home" barely lasted a couple of weeks on the chart so time for a new single from Alex Warren and I was curious because Warren does seem to have decent song writing chops and this is a pretty simple anthemic love song that reminds me a lot of Hozier but just going for gospel swell rather than the gothic swell and swagger that Hozier has which kind of makes sense as this is a pretty basic love song where Warren is grateful for this girl's love taking him out of the ordinary. 

It's a solid if abbrieviated song (could have afforded a bridge) that's worth checking out if you are curious. 

That wraps up our week, Worst of the week goes to "Dreamin" by Dom Dolla and Daya, I just can't handle the pile up of effects on that song.

Best of the week is going to "Born Again" by Lisa, Doja Cat and Raye because that song is AWESOME.

Next week...unfortunately, Drake and PartyNextDoor album bomb, hopefully something from that Sabrina Carpenter deluxe charts to counteract the Drake and PattyNextDoor

All 4 1994. 13th February. Stay, I'm Looking For Spoonman In Your Room

This week feels bit busier than I expected so no major preamble here especially as I have a lot else going on and straight into the top ten where Cut 'N' Move maintained numnber one for a second week with "Give It Up", it had enough sales to hold up over our new number two this week "Asshole" by Denis Leary which climbed four places to hit the runner up slot. 

It thankfully moved past "All For Love" by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting which slipped back to number three and looks to be on the downswing.

The same cannot be said for "Slave to the Music" by Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance which climbed onne spot to number four. Thinking this could make a play for number one if it gets it's cards right.

A new entry at number five with "Stay (Faraway. So Close)" by U2, it's here becaqse it had a solid sales week. I'll talk about this song when I review all the new entries. 

All of this caused "Shoop" by Salt 'N' Pepa to tumble three places to number six. "Moving On Up" by M People down three to number seven and "Boom! Shake the Room" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince down one to number eight,

The last two are on the way out of the top ten naturally with "Hero" by Mariah Carey down one to number nine and "Please Forgive Me" by Bryan Adams also down one to number ten.

Losers

Unsurprisingly "Time" by INXS fell hard off it's debut last week down from thirty six to forty nine this week. Also hitting the skids is "Estranged" by Guns 'N' Roses down six places to forty six.

Jordy's "Dur dur d'etre bebe!" slipped eight to forty five as it's non starter status continues. "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum ran the wrong way down nine to forty four,

The clown in "Tears of a Clown" by Caligula is crying even harder as the song just utterly collapsed from twenty five to thirty nine this week. 2 Unlimited's underpowered "Maximum Overdrive" slipped six places to thirty eight.

"The Weight" by Jimmy Barnes and The Badloves unfortunately got hit with a ten place drop to thirty seven.

It's bad dreams for Gabrielle as "Dreams" fell eight to thirty six and "The Key. The Secret" by Urban Cookie Collective is on the downswing down from twenty one to thirty two. 

Gains

The gains are a bit of a mixed bag this week with "What's My Name" by Snoop Doggy Dogg getting a welcome ten place boost to nineteen but why is utter junk like "Feelin' Alright" by EYC breaking into the top twenty at sixteen...that's not good.

Or that "Now and Forever" by Richard Marx jumped nine to twenty four or "Can We talk" by Tevin Campbell climbed to twenty seven from thirty one and I'm confused as to how Heart managed to get one of the biggest gains of the week with "Will You Be There (In the Morning)" up from forty three to twenty eight.

At leasr we did get "Relight My Fire" by Take That feat Lulu up to thirty three and "Natils in My Feet" by Crowded House up nine to thirty four.

We also had "She Don't Let Nobody" by Chake Demus and Pliers up eight to forty one because...sigh....

New Entries

Four new entries this week, starting with...

50. "I'm Looking For the One (To Be With Me) by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

We finally get the follow up "Boom! Shake the Room" hitting the chart this week and while this is weaker than the previous single, it doesn't quite have the instant punch that "Boom! Shake the Room" does but Will Smith  brings his usual energy to it. My only concern is that new jack swing that underpins the melody does kind of feel played out by now but still decent song that is worth checking out. 

40. "In Your Room" by Depeche Mode

Ahh the fourth and final single from Depeche Mode's album "Songs of Faith and Devotion" and wow, this is certainly one hell of a dark turn from this UK electronic band, this sounds incredibly sinster with the guitars playing to a darker and more cold vibe and you know what I really dig this a fair bit. worth checking out if you aren't too creeped out  by the lyrics.

30. "Spoonman" by Soundgarden

Lead single from "Superunknown" and I think I dig this as well. Chris Cornell has described this song has been about a paradox of who an artist is and the perceptions people have of him given he is a street musician and automaticaly as a value placed on him and is wrongfully judged by others and yeah this song adds to that street vibe with the production. Definitely an interesting song. 

5. "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)

So we close out this with a far quieter but still incredibly dark song from U2 from their album Zooropa with this song being inspired by both Frank Sinatra and a film called "Faraway So Close!" (about angels who long to be on Earth and be human)  where this ghost basically haunts and follows this woman's every move. Bono sounds incredible here and I actually really love the anthemic instrumentation which gives this song a really spooky vibe. Great song.

No worst of the week this week, none of the songs here deserve that. I am giving best of the week to "In Your Room" by Depeche Mode because that song is bound to stick with me 

ARIA Singles top 50 Chart Review: Abracadabra! I'm The Pink Pony so Cry For Me

 This week felt stranger than it should have because we got a more muted than you might expect with a muted album impact for The Weeknd's "Hurry Up Tomorrow" and Grammys impact for at least one of our other new entries which we'll get to. 

None of that impacts our top ten though where "Messy" by Lola Young maintained the number one spot for a second week mostly thanks to decent enough streaming and sales. Really, the top five was stagnant this week with "That's So True' by Gracie Abrams at number two, "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars at number three, "Die with a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars at number four and "The Days (Notion Remix" by Chrystal and Notion at number five.

Frorm there "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish gained one place to number six moving past "Good Luck Babe!" by Chappell Roan at number seven.

Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" remained stuck at number eight while "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone made it's unfortunate return up four places to nine.

Finally "Sports Car" by Tate McRare remains rooted to the number ten spot. 

Losers

This week was busy in this department!. Let's begin with more recent hits though with "BMF" by SZA which tumbled down fourteen to thirty three, "Bad Dreams" by Teddy Swims fell thirteen spots and hit forty six while "The Door" slammed eight places to twenty nine, "Somedays" by Sonny Fodera, D.O.D and Jazzy slumped twelve spots to thirty eight, "Indigo" by Sam Barber feat. Avery Anna continues to slump down nine to forty one, "Kisses" bv BL3SS x CamrinWatson feat bbbunch yclose slipped eight to forty two, "Stargazing" by Myles Smith slid down eight ton thirty five and "GBP" by Central Cee collapsed down thirteen to forty nine. 

From there, a bunch of older songs lost ground like 'Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac which tumbled fourteen spots to forty four, "Something in the Orange" by Zach Btyan slipped six places to forty eight. , "Stick Season" by Noah Kahan which also suffered a six place drop to thirty four, 'Riptide" by Vance Joy going out with the tide seven places to thirty one. Finally "Too Sweet" by Hozier down ten spots to twenty eight

Gains

So "Timeless" by The Weeknd and Playboi Carti rebounded up six to number eleven thanks to The Weeknd's new album. 

The rest are all big new peaks for songs courtesy of the Grammys with the biggest coming for "Denial Is a River" by Doechii which climbed twenty one slots to number eighteen...I expect this to make a play for the top ten soon.

Kendrick Lamar's " Not Like Us" climbed eighteen to twenty seven thanks to it's award winning performance at the Grammys.

Finally "Wildflower" by Billie Eilish climbed sixteen slots to number twenty five and I am not sure why as she performed "Birds of a Feather" at the Grammys. Might be a fan led push to make it the next single from Hit Me Hard and Soft so we'll have to see. 

Re entries

The one re entry this week was "Sao Paolo"  by The Weeknd feat. Anitta

Drop Outs

The drop outs this week are mosrly characterised by long running hits finally dropping out apart from "Linger (SiriusXM Sessions)" by Royel Otis, the others like "Austin" by Dasha, "Pink Skies" by Zach Bryan, "Cruel Summer" by Taylor Swift and "Mr Brightside" by The Killers are all good to great songs but I am glad to see them having left the charts.

New Entries

Four new entries this week, starting with...

50. "Abracadabra" by Lady Gaga

The second single from the upcoming new Lady Gaga album "Mayhem" and I have some mixed feelings about this song, Lady Gaga is back to spouting nonsense in the hook and she sounds great here. I am just not wild about some of the more industrial elements of the song that can actively distract from the song and I do think that Gaga can afforrd to get weirder, it's not precisely bad but it's not great either. 

22. "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roanbut i

Oh finally, something else crossed over from "The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess" and this is one of my favourite songs from the album as this song is just Chappell Roan using her classical training to create a song where she wants to move to Santa Monica in California from Tennessee much to her mother's unhappiness but Chappell is going to follow what her heart is set on which dancing down at the Pink Pony Club in Santa Monica. it's just queer in the best way possible and that hook is a fucking earworm. Great song!

21. "I'm the Problem" by Morgan Wallen

Unlike this song which is apparently the lead single for that new upcoming album of Morgan Wallen's and this thing is basically the lyrical version of a  relationship nuclear toxic waste dump where Wallen is doing that whole manipulative bullshit of "I am not really the problem" and proceeds to blame it ALL on her, it bares all the hallmarks of "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone...a track he was featured on where Wallen refused to take responsibility for his own damn culpability in the alcohol abuse that was and happening and the same is happening here with this relationship that is now so toiic...it may as well been blown up...the same goes for this song, it can be blown up any time now. 

20. "Cry for Me" by The Weeknd.

So the only new song to chart from "Hurry Up Tomorrow' and it's not one of the better ones unfortunately, the song just doesn't do much for me at all especially as The Weeknd croons through what is a pretty basic chorus that sounds hollow as hell and pretty darn annoying at worst. There's better songs on the album that could have charted over this eg: "Open Hearts"

That wraps this week and the best and worst fell out fast bere with "I'm The Problem" by Morgan Wallen being the worst of our new arrivals....I don't see that one sticking around. Best of the week is going to "Pink Pony Club" bty Chappell Roan because yeah...that song is awesome.

All 4 1994. 6th February. Wouldn't Normally Do This but Time to Relight Nails in Your Open Heart

 This week feels wild in a lot of ways, we got some interesting changes to the top ten and some songs gaining momentum lower down that will be interesting to talk about  but let's not delay things and get to the top ten because we do have a new number one with Cut 'N' Move leaping to the top spot with "Give It Up"...probably the best number one we've had thus far in 1994. 

It wiped "All For Love" by Bryan Adams. Rod Stewart and Sting back to number two as it couldn't match "Give it Up" on sales, the same goes for "Shoop" by Salt 'n' Pepa which slipped back one to number three. 

M People's "Moving On Up" keeps living up to it's name climbing two spots to number four. This song has been reverberating around my head for days now so it is catchy as hell.

"Slave to the Music" by Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance climbed three spots to number five which completes a top five where three songs are definitely big beat songs. 

Also climbing is "Asshole" by Denis Leary up three to number six while "Boom! Shake the Room" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince was the big victim of all the movement in the top ten down three to number seven/

After weeks of being stalled at number seven, "Hero" by Mariah Carey took a step in the wrong direction down to number eight this week.

Former number one "Please Forgive Me" by Bryan Adams dived four places to number nine as it continues to hopefully disappear. 

Up four to number ten is "Feels Like Heaven" by Urban Cookie Collective as their follow up to "The Key. The Secret" continues to do well. 

Losers

So starting at the bottom, we have "Soul to Squeeze" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers down ten to fifty, "Lemon" by U2 down fron thirty three to forty six, 

The Badloves "Green Limousine"  ran out of fuel stalling down from thirty five to forty two while their hit with Jimmy Barnes "The Weight" slipped from eighteen to twenty seven.

1993 hit "Right Here" by SWV down from thirty two to forty one.

Madonna's " Bye Bye Baby" starts to wave bye bye to the top 50 down eight to thirty eight while "\Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum runaway down from twenty four to thirty five. 

The dreams are becoming nightmares for Gabrielle's "Dreams" as it slid seven to twenty eight. 

Gains

Our gains are mostly all new entries from last week with "Daughter" by Pearl Jam up nine places to eighteen and 'What's My Name?" by Snoop Doggy Dogg up from thirty seven to twenty nine. I am thrilled about those.

However I am not thrilled that "Dirty Dawg" by NKOTB rose nine to twenty, "Can We Talk?" by Tevin Campbell climbed eleven places to thirty two and  "Maximum Overdrive" by 2 Unlimited rode a six place gain to thirty two.

Finally Caligula's "Tears of a Clown" climbed from 31 to twenty five.

New Entries

We have seven new entries this week...so again I am going to endeavour to keep each review...

48. "The Power Of Love" by Beverly

So we start off with a dance song that covers Jennifer Rush's "The Power of Love" because that's what we really need...a dance/electronic version of a ballad and I kind of think the lyrics here lose their punch and Beverly doesn't really do much to make this memorable at atll...I'd skip it.

47. "Open Up" by Leftfield/Lydon

So this is from British electronic duo Leftfield who have teamed up with Sex Pistols John Lydon and well I actually don't mind this at all...more because there feels like there is a groove there courtesy of some guitar and keyboard and there's some punch in the vocals...I dig this...check it out if you are curious,

45. "Nails in My Feet" by Crowded House

So we have the second single from Crowded House's "Together Alone" even as the lead single "Distant Sun" is doing well in Canada and yeah, of course this song is great with the guitars and the dramatic piano before the song absolutely soars at the end. Definitely worth checking out.

44. "Is There Any Love In Your Heart" by Lenny Kravitz

So time for new Lenny Kravitz song, the fourth single from "Are You Gonna Go My Way" and I think it might be the weakest to date because apart from the decent instrumentation, I am finding the falsetto that Kravitz sits with on this song to be fucking annoying, the only decent thing about this is that guitar solo before Kravitz wails like somebody on helium...next!

39. "Relight My Fire" by Take That feat, Lulu

So I was all prepared to absolutely tear this song apart because the title and the two acts involved set off alarm bells so colour me surprised when the song turns out to be a rather good pop song, it's not perfect, Take That's harmonies on the hook are little off and Lulu's vocals on the bridge kind of take me out of the song a little but yeah this is better than what I was expecting.

36. "Time" by INXS

Time to rock out to the third single from INXS's ninth album "Full Moon, Dirty Hearts" and wow, I absolutely how this song's instrumention goes off, instrumentally this song is incredible but what on earth happened to the vocal production here. Michael Hutchennce sounds like he is recording his vocals in another room so buried in the mix that he is which is a shame!

34. "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" by Pet Shop Boys

So in recent yrars I have built a liking for the kind of synth pop the Pet Shop Boys make, I hold "West End Girls" as an absolute 80s classic that should be respected as ,much as "It's A Sin"  so I was curious how they would follow up "Go West" and yeah, it's fine... but Pet Shop Boys have made better songs especially with that weird droning hook.

That wraps our week...a long one if I am blunt but worst of the week falls out easily with "Is There Any Love In Your Heart".

For the best...I actually think this was a solid week overall so I am going to go with a tie..."Nails in My Feet" by Crowded House and.,,:"Open Up" by Leftfield/Lydon

ARIA Singles Top 50 Review: 3rd February: New Number One Messy Sports Car

 So this week was a weird one, what I expected to turn up new this week didn't and we only have one new entry this week and yet we have some changes to our top ten this week that pleased me didn't thrill me at all. 

What did please me with our top ten is that we have an excellent new number one, "Messy" by Lola Yojung...now anyone culd have seen this coming for weeks, the song has been gaining rapid momentum on streaming and has been there abouts on sales and Youtube to take the number one spot.

Sliding down one place to number two after an incredible run at number one is "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars, it just no long could match "Messy" on streaming even with the sales it has been racking up. 

The same goes for another former chart topper "That's so True" by Gracie Abrams, its still doing decently on streaming and sales but again not enough to challenge however it does seem like it might just do enough to take number two next week so we'll have to see.

On the downswing is "Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars staying at number four, I don't see this moving up in the weeks ahead while "The Days (Notion Remix)" by Chrystal and Notion remained stuck at number five 

Chappell Roan's Triple J  Hottest 100 win saw "Good Luck Babe!" catapault back up six places to number six this week, I don't expect this to last in the top ten though, it did push past "Birds of a Feather' by Billie Eilish which slipped one place to number seven, "A Bar Song (Tipsy)"  by Shaboozey at number eight and "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen at number nine.

Finally our lone new entry in the top fifty this week debuted in the top ten at number ten courtesy of Tate McRae's new single "Sports Car" 

Gains

Lots of gains that basically continue on from momentum last week, the continuing gains for Luke Combs songs thanks to his tour of Australia with "Fast Car" up six to twenty, "When It Rains It Pours" up eight to twenty two , "Ain't No Love" in Oklahoma" up eleven spots to twenty three, "Where the Wild Things are" up six places twenty nine and "Beautiful Crazy" up seven to thirty nine. 

Both the debuts last week also gained nicely unfortunately that meant "GBP" by Central Cee and 21 Savage gained eleven places off of it's debut to thirty six and "Denial is a River" by Doechii rose five places to thirty nine.

Losers

Lots of older tracks losing traction this week with "Cruel Summer" by Taylor Swift down eight places to forty nine, Zach Bryan's "Pink Skies" and "Something in the Orange" both down six places to forty four and forty two respectively.

"Austin" by Dasha fell six places to thirty eight while "Please Please Please" by Sabrina Carpenter slid eight places to thirty seven and "Kisses" by BL3SS and CamrinWatsin (feat. bbyclose) slipped seven places to thirty foir.

"Indigo" by Sam Barber and Avery Anna seems to have lost all momentum to slide nine places to thirty two while most pleasingly "Slow It Down" by Benson Boone dipped ten places to thirty one...thank god, 

Finally "Stargazing" by Myles Smith slipped seven to twenty seven.

Re-Entries

Two re-entries I am happy about this week with "Guess" by Charli XCX and Billie Eilish back at number forty seven and "Not Li\ke Us" by Kendrick Lamar returning at forty five. Both are back courtesy of the Hottest 100 so not sure if they will stick around. 

Drop Outs

So we lost both "Smile" by Morgan Wallen and "Carry You Home" by Alex Warren. Both pretty much non starters really.

Coldplay's 2000s hit "Yellow" exited the top fifty this week as well.. 

New Entries

Just the one new entry this week so let's just dive straight in...

10. "Sports Car" by Tate McRae

Oh this was never going to go well at all now was it? A brand new Tate McRse song where she tries where too hard to be every late 90s/2000s popstar and only ends up looking the worse for the effort because she cannot concievably pull the sound or the aesthetic off. Well, this time sround McRse continues to try to be 2020s Britney Spears over an interpolation of the Pussycat Dolls "Buttons" (And if its not an interpolation of "Buttons", the verses sound really close to that song) whuile trying to get all hot and steamy for her partner and again, she just can't nail this wantonly sexual atmosphere she is going for here, the hook sounds forced as hell and honestly annoying...I ain't buying this.

 No best or worst of week because with there only being one song, it feels a bit redundant. Next week will probably see an album bomb from The Weeknd but we'll have to see. 

ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart Review. 27th January. GBP is a River

Tbis week was a case of the more things change the more they stay the same on the ARIA singles chart this week and that was especially the case with our top ten where for an eleventh week "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars stayed at number one, it lost a bit of its margin on streaming but has a good lead on sales and streaming which was enough to keep it at the very top of the chart.

It was enough to hold up over "That's So True" by Gracie Abrams which despite closing some of that streaming margin couldn't narrow the gap to "APT so spent a ninth week at number two.

The open question is whether "Messy" by Lola Young holding strong at number three this week can surpass "That's So True' especially as it seems to have so momentum behind it on streaming and on sales so it's going to be one to watch for the number one spot in the weeks ahead.

"Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars appears to be done as it is starting to sputter on sales and streaming, it just appears to be waiting on something stronger to surpass it and that might come in the form of "The Days (Notion Remix)" by Chrystal and Notion which climbed one spot to number five as it leapt past "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish which dipped to number six but it should get a Hottest 100 streaming boost next week.

"A Bar Song (Tipsy)" by Shaboozey held it's place number seven while "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen climbed one place to number eight pushing past "Taste" by Sabrina Carpenter at number nine. 

Unfortunately back in the top ten up two places is the lingering skidmark in the underpants that is "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone at number ten.

Gains

Not too many big gains this week, just "Fast Car" by Luke Combs up seven places to twenty six thanks to Combs being in the country right now, this also explains why "When It Rains, it Puurs" being up ten to thirty.

Speaking of country, "Indigo" by Sam Barber and Avery Anna climbed five places to twenty three.

"Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls climbed five places to forty three.

Re-Entries

 Three songs returned this week and all three are from Luke Combs with "Beautiful Crazy" at forty two, "Where The Wild Things Are" at thirty five and "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" at thirty four.

Losers

Pretty quiet on the losers frontt with the biggest losers this week basically being non starters like "Smile" by Morgan Wallen and "Carry You Home" by Alex W\arren, both down six places to forty eight and forty nine respectively.

Drop Outs

Mixed news on the drop out front because did see "Stumblin' In" by Cyril drop out which was welcome  news. The bad news is that we also lost "Tweaker" by Liangelo Ball/Gelo which is sad considering I actually think the song is good.

Also gone is "Bed Chem" by Sabrina Carpenter, "Love Somebody" by Morgan Wallen and "Take Me to Church" by Hozier'

New Entries

Two new entries this week

47. "GBP"  by Central Cee feat. 21 Savageboth 

So I have absolutely no interest in listening to that Central Cee album that dropped on Friday, I have a bunch of other albums that are just more interesting than a British rapper who alternates between awful and mediocre, sadly this song is pretty much on the mediocre side of the equation with both Central Cee and 21 Savage rapping about the struggles of street life in the UK with all the enthusiasm of damp socks especially as Central Cee interpolates lines from his other songs in order to brag about how he would of had a high powered gun with several rounds of ammunition. I'd say skip it but chances are high that this will be forgotten about in no time. 

44. "Denial is a River" by Doechii

Finally, a proper chart breakthrough for Doechii, I did expect  "What it is (Block Boy)" to be her break through on the ARIA charts especially with the airplay on the radio it got but it somehow didn't but none the less, "Denial is a River' did cross over to the charts so what did we get? A damn good song as it turns out! That piano melody is just hitting for me and Doechii can absolutely flow over this as she reflects on her come up and the things that have happened to her and other people that have been apart of her life. 

Easily best of the week here...no contest.

"GBP" by Central Cee and 21 Savage gets worst of the week because yeah...I'm going to forget that one exists.

All 4 1994. January 23rd. She Feelin' Alright...Asshole, Can We Talk?

Pretty standard week we have at hand here but we do have a new number one...just wish it was better...it's "All For Love" by Bryan Adams, Sting and Rod Stewart claimed top spot with a damn good sales week that gave it a well timed push to get ahead of last week's number one "Boom! Shake The Room" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince at number two.

"Shoop" by Salt 'N' Pepa climbed one place but that might be more because "Please Forgive Me" by Bryan Adams hit the downswing down two to number four.

M People continue to keep their upwards momentum going as they climbed one spot to number five as did Cut 'n' Move's "Give It Up" whichn climbed four places to number six meanwhile the same cannot be said of "Hero" by Mariah Carey which has stalled at number seven.

Ace of Base stumbled four places to number nine as "All That She Wants" continues it's descent out of the top ten. 

There's a new arrival to the top ten this week and one that I saw coming with "Slave to the Music" by Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nane up five spots to number nine this week, I think this could make a play for number one soon.

Rounding out our top ten is "Got to Get to it" by Culture Beat down down one to number ten, it's time in the top ten is done.

Losers.

So not too many major losers this week with one of  the biggest being "True Love" by Elton John and Kiki Dee which slipped eleven places to forty five. 

The other major loser was Johnny Gill with "The Floor" sliding eleven to forty nine.

Efua's "Somewhere" is also headed out as it stumbled six to forty seven. 

Re Entries

We did have one return this week with "Please (You Got That...)"  by INXS returning at number forty three/

Gains

Most of the gains are just small incremental gains as the hits of 1993 slowly start making their way out but we did see "Green Limousine" by The Badloves rise ten spots off the debut to thirty seven and "Maximum Overdrive" by 2 Unlimited rise eight to thirty two this week.

New Entries

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

50. "She Don't Let Nobody" by Chaka Demus & Pliers.

Alright, already got the bad feelings going just by glancing at this and seeing that is a cover of a 1981 Curtis Mayfield song and that Chaka Demus and Pliers are a reggae duo for whom this song is from their fourth album and well it's this smooth r'n'b number about hiw his girlfriend doesn't let other girls other than him have sex with her, it honestly feels like a brag song about how he is the only one she will sleep with and honestly while I think it's cool, that hook is beyond repetitive to the point of annoying and I feel like he is only using this girl's loyalty to him be a reason to brag about how she doesn't sleep with other guys which is a shame because I do like the smoother production here but yeah I don't see myself coming back to this one. 

42. "Feelin' Alright" by EYC

Alright, EYC an American pop and R'n'B group with this song being their big break through and look while I think the hook is a bit noisy, I do kind of get the appeal of this because I can see how this song would go off at parties given how the percussion is going off but I just wish the vocals didn't sound so completely buried because other wise this is a pretty solid party jam.

38. "Can We Talk?" by Tevin Campbell

Time to turn our attention to American singer songwriter Tevin Campbell who first started notching hits in 1991 and appeared on "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" at one point with this song released in September 1993 having been co-produced by Babyface of all people and...this is a bit of a disaster, not only is that clanking noise in the background way too reminiscent of poles being banged together and while the lyrical content of the song doesn't stand out particularly at first, he just wants to talk to this girl but is too shy to do so however he wants to find out her name...at first but then by the end of the song, he gets more insistent she talk to him and give him her name like he is entitled to it! This sucks...next!

30. "Asshole" by Dennis Leary

It's a bad sign that we're relying on an American comedian for a good song this week because my goodness we need something good to close out the week and well...this song is actually fucking hilarious, Leary's verses are full of things he does that would likely piss off everyone else such as piss on the toilet seat etc and it's all because he says that he is an asshole on the hook with the adlibs singing "he's an asshole" and "he's the world's greatest asshole". I loved this. Check it out!

Yeah, "Asshole" by Dennis Leary is the easy best of week, as for the worst..."Can We Talk" by Tevin Campbell for being a beyond pushy slice of incel R'n"B

All 4 1994: January 16th Wishing Green Limousine on Maximum Overdrive

 Week two of 1994 and we have a fairly interestong week in prospect on the ARIA singles chart with plenty of movement in the top ten and outside of it as well however let's begin with the top ten where the big story of the week is our new number one that being "Boom! Shake the Room" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. it got enough sales to just nab the numbher one spot this week thanfully ending the five week reign at number one by "Please Forgive Me" by Bryan Adams which fell back to number two and doesn't look to be a threat to number one anymore

I'd say...unfortunately...the threat to our new number one is coming from "All For Love" by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting which got a two place boost to number three.

"Shoop" by Salt 'N' Pepa is the only song in the top ten that didn't move as it remains glued to the number four spot. "All That She Wants" by Ace of Base slid two places to number five as it looks to be on the downswing now. 

M People's "Moving On Up" lives up to it's name by moving up three places to number six...this has momentum behind it so I can see this climbing higher in the weeks ahead.

Speaking of momentum also up three spots to seven is "Hero" by Mariah Carey...a song that's fine enough but not Mariah's best song however it did move past "Creep" Radiohead at number eight and "Got to Get It" by Culture Beat at number nine.

Finally a new arrival to the top ten, moving up nine places is Cut 'N' Move's cover of KC and the Sunshine Band's "Give It Up"

Losers

Lets rip our way through the biggest losers of the week starting from "Sweat (A La La La La Long)" by Inner Circle finally making it's way out down nine places to 46. 

Efua's "Somewhere" slides from 35 to 41 this week as it hit the downswing. "Go West" by Pet Shop Boys took the wrong direction and went south seven places to 30.

Meatloaf's "Rock and Roll Dreams Comr Through" dipped from 18 to 23 while 'The Weight" by Jimmy Barnes and The Badloves fell out of the top ten down six to number 12.

Re-Entries

Just the one re-entry with "Dur dur d'etre bebe" by Jordy returning at 39

Gains

Not too many major gains outside the top ten this week but the one song that seems to have absolutely jumped up the charts is "Slave to the Music" by Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance which climbed from 28 to 14 this week and looks headed for the top ten at this rate. 

Urban Cookie Collective had a four place gain to 20 with "Feels Like Heaven" while "Hey Mr DJ" by Zhane climbed six places to 21. 

"Where is the Love" by Rick Price and Margaret Urlich rebounded after last week's fall, they are seven to 33. 

New Entries

Four new entries this week, starting with...

49. "Into Your Arms" by The Lemonheads.

So we've got a bunch of bands or groups this week and we start off with an American alternative rock band and I actually like this a fair bit, it's got this solid hooky groove courtesy of those guitars and the drums absolutely kill. I guess the only issue is the vocals, they don't have as much punch or power as I would like but hey, this is still a pretty solid song, hope it sticks around.

47. "Green Limousine" by The Badloves

Fresh off nabbing a top ten hit with Jimmy Barnes in 1993, we've got a new Badloves song and it's pretty mich a blues rock song and look, it's solid but it's not giving me much to say except in terms of the fact it's supposed to be about celebrities who jump aboard any cause's bandwagon if it proves to be fashipnable which is something worth calling out but I reckon the issue deserves a punchier song than this. 

44. "Wishing On the Same Star" by Girlfriend

So Girlfriend's newest effort is a cover of a 1991 song by an American singer songwriter named Keedy with the song written by Diane Warren and honestly I think I like the Gitlfriend version a lot better mostly because they amp up the girls harmonies and Melanie Alexander, who takes the lead vocal on this song can sell this with the sincerity and spirit a song about somebody reminding a loved one that no matter what they are wishing on the star and looking at the same moon and the song has a more lush and warm sound. Definitely dig this, check it out. 

40. "Maximum Overdrive" by 2 Unlimited.

Oh 2 Unlimited again...sigh...I don't have fondness for this group's thumping dance music that's got as much going for it as an empty bucket and yeah...this is just annoying especially with that "woo!" noise punctuating the melody. This is just soulless bleh. Move on.

To no one's surprise, it's the worst of the week. Best of the week is close between The Lemonheads and Girlfriend...I'm going to give it to Girlfriend for "Wishing on the Same Star" but again "Into My Arms" by The Lemonheads is pretty damn good too.

ARIA Singles Top 50 Chart Review: January 13th. Somedays Indigo Push 2 Start a Smile

Well, things have finally started moving on the ARIA singles chart for 2025, we have quite the busy week on hand here so let's get started with the top ten where the top two didn't move with "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars remains at number one for yet another week, it's lost a bit of it's streaming margin but it's still strong on sales and Youtube, it was enough of a margin to hold sway over "That's So True" by Gracie Abrams at number two, it's gained a bit on streaming but hasn't got as strong a sales or Youtube presence to challenge for number one.

A challenger for the top spot is emerging at number three though with "Messy" by Lola Young up two spots to number three as it gained hard on streaming this week and looks like it might make a run for the top spot.

What won't be making a run at the number one spot are "Die  with a Smile" by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga down one place to four, "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish down one to number five and "A Bst Song (Tipsy)" by Shaboozey, all three are just naturally just starting to fall back now to make way for new hits.

Speaking of new hits, it looks like "The Days (NOTION Remix)" by Chrystal and Notion is going to get huge as it climbed a massive eleven places to number seven this week, this has streaming momentum so wouldn't be at all surprised if this broke into the top five in the weeks ahead.

The rest of the top ten are 2024 hits with "Espresso" and "Taste" by Sabrina Carpenter with the former remaining at number eight and the latter up one to number nine.

Finally "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone feat Morgan Wallen down one to number ten as it starts to head out of the top ten.

Losers

Yeah we had some massive losers this week mostly older songs that keep appearing on the chart for some reason like "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls which fell sixteen places to forty seven, "I Remember Everything" by Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves down fifteen to forty three and "Something in the Orange" by Zach Bryan down nine spots to thirty three

However there were also some big falls for some more recent hits like Chappell Roan's "Hot To Go! down twelve to forty five, thankfully "Stumblin' In" by Cyril stumbled down eleven to forty one,"Austin (Boots Stop Working)" by Dasha which slipped eleven to twenty five.

Drop Outs

There were some major drop outs this week with former number ones "Last Night" and "Guess" by Charli XCX feat Billie Eilish both gone. Not complaining though..."Last Night" is still fucking atrocious and "Guess" should make the year end list.

Also gone are "Million Dollar Baby" by Tommy Richman, "I Like the Way You Kiss Me" by Artemas. 
and "Prada" by Casso, Raye and D-Block Europe along with "Scared to Start" by Michael Marcagi and "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" by Luke Combs

Finally the much older song "Take Me to Church" by Hozier also left.

Gains

So I mentioned the nine place gain for Chrystal and Notion's "The Days" but there wete some significant gains on the chart this week especially for new entries from last week with "BMF" by SZA which gained ten places to seventeen while "Linger (Sirius XM Sessions)" by Royrl Otis climbed  nine places to thirty seven.

"The Door" by Teddy Swims climbed five places to twenty four this week, this song doesn't have the traction "Lose Control" did but I am happy to see this song becoming a sleeper hit.

Re Emtries

However when the other two are "Kisses" by BL3SS and CamrinWatsin (feat. bbyclose) at thirty one and "Slow It Down" by Benson Boone at twenty seven... I'd almost want to question the taste of the Australian public, we could have started 2025 on an even better note without "Slow It Down" especially.

New Entries

Four new entries this week, it's and electic mix of songs but we're starting with

44. "Push 2 Start" by Tyla

Oh finally, another Tyla song has crossed over to the charts only it's a song that isn't on the standard the edition of Tyla's self titled album but rather the deluxe edition of the album called "Tyla+" and I got to be honest here, this is a pretty good song rather than it being great mostly because that drum mixing just feels little off but otherwise yeah, I'll take this with its absolutely gorgeous African amapiano vibe and Tyla's smooth sultry vocal delivery. Check this out. 

38. "Indigo" by Sam Barber and Avery Anna

I've been waiting for American country singer/songwriter Sam Barber to break through in Australia. I've just not really ever been a fan of this, Barber has always felt like way too much of a Zach Bryan knock off and why listen to a knock off when I could listen to the real thing? But with Zach having his issues, it's seems people have gone looking for alternatives and landed on Sam Barber and this song with Avery Anna who is an American country singer who released an album that I never around to hearing and well...this is fine enough, it's a song where this couple is on the edge of a break up and there's a lot of wistful regret as they get set to part ways over sparse guitars, I do wish there was more interplay between Barber and Anna which does kind of hurt the song but it's still good. Check it out. 

36. "Smile" by Morgan Wallen

Sigh...I don't enjoy reviewing Morgan Wallen's music in case you cannot tell, I just find it miserable and his nasal drone makes me think he is singing through a cold but anyway we have this new song and while it's nowhere as contemptible as some of his absolute worst songs...this just isn't any good at all, the beat is too stiff and sterile and Morgan Wallen makes the song all about his jealousy that this girl only smiles when she isn't talking to him. There's this weird condescension that makes this song a painful listen. Next.

34. "Somedays" by Sonny Fodera, D.O.D and Jazzy

So Sonny Fodera is a UK based Australian house producer currently living in London, he teamed up with English producer D.O.D and Irish singer Jazzy who has been notching hits in the UK by featuring on some pretty awful songs with Belters Only but unlike the Belters Only, this song is solid, there's enough of a foundation to this song with that gentle keyboard beat and there's enough sense to ensure that the song isn't a dud plus the lyrics encourage people to not get discouraged, keep fighting and eventually your turn to shine will come. Good song.

That wraps the week and honestly...not too bad! "Smile" by Morgan Wallen nets the worst of the week. I think the best of the week will go to "Push 2 Start" by Tyla as I see myself returning to that song more but it was close.

Next week..I am not sure, we'll have to see. 

ARIA Singles Chart Review: 6th January. Don't Stop Believin' just Linger on that Notion and BMF

We're back in action for 2025 and the ARIA chart has reset post Christmas to something that actually kind of shows that not much changed during the week the Christmas music took over the charts because back at number one is "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars granted this is riding the impact of the rerlease of her new album late last year but this still has solid enough sales and streaming to keep the number one spot ahead of the increasingly annoying "That's So True" by Gracie Abrams which has streaming but it's not enough to overtake "APT"

"Die With A Smile" by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga is at number three thanks to having good sales but it's streaming isn't anywhere it needs to be to take the number one, it could start falling with stronger songs behind it.

"Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish hangs in at number four, it's in a pretty similar positon to "Die With a Smile' just with streaming a little steadier than sales. Another former chart topper "A Bar Song (Tipsy) by Shaboozey sits at number five and like other songs above it, looks to be on the downswing.

 

In what is shaping as the first truly big hit of 2025, "Messy" by Lola Young is at number six thanks to streraming and sales being decent, this has radio traction and should continue to stick around which is great to see because I like the song.

Now I would like to attribute the rest of this top ten down to people listen to end of 2024 end of year playlists of their most played songs because explains why "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone continues to plague the top ten like the antibiotic resistant venereal diesease it is at number seven, "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter at number eight, "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen at number nine and "Taste" by Sabrina Carpenter at number ten.

There's literally no point talking about losses and drop outs as there were no losses and all the drop outs were just Christmas music.

Gains

Let's go through the gains because there were songs that did stick around last week outside the current top ten but outside that so "Good Luck Babe!" by Chappell Roan rose from 45 to 11, "Sailor Song"  by Gigi Perez climbed from 42 to 12, "Lose Control" by Teddy Swims continues to not live up to its name on the charts by jumping from 44 to 13.

Re-Entries

The re entries make up over three quarters of the chart this week so I'm only going to cover the re entries of songs from last year not older songs that probably should be rissoled off the chart if ARIA had some actual recurrency rules in place.

Lets start backward with "I like the way you kiss me" by Artemas at 50, "Prada" by Casso, Raye and D-Block Europe at 49, "Scared to Start"  by Michael Marcagi at 45, "Guess" by Charli XCX feat. Billie Eilish at 44, "End of Beginning" by Djo at 43, "Bed Chem" by Sabrina Carpenter at 42 and "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" by Luke Combs at 41

Then there's "Bad Dreams" by Teddy Swims at 39, "Wildflower" by Billie Eilish at 38, "Pink Skies" by Zach Bryan at 37, "Million  Dollar Baby" by Tommy Richman at 35, "Hot to Go!" by Chappell Roan to 33 and "Stumblin' In" by Cyril (really should include Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman...) at 30,

At 29 is "The Door" by Teddy Swims, "I Love You, I'm Sorry" by Gracie Abrams at 22, "Please Please Please" by Sabrina Carpenter at 21, "Stick Season" by Noah Kahan at 20, "Stargazing" by Myles Smith at 19,  "Too Sweet" by Hozier clocked back in at 17, "Timeless" by The Weeknd and Playboi Carti at 16, "Luther" by Kendrick Lamar (and SZA) at 15 and FINALLY "Austin" by Dasha at 14.

New Entries

Four new entries this week and quite unbelievably, we're starting off with...

47. "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey

Yeah, I am floored I am covering this in 2025 but as it turns out that even with this song considered a classic of 80s even with all the overplay, it wasn't a hit in its original run in Australia in 1981/1982, peaking at number 100 on the Kent Music Report charts and since then has been recording increasingly larger peaks outside the top 50 over the years until 2025 was the year it broke into the top 50. 

I am not going to shit on the song because it is an absolute classic that I know a lot of people absolutely adore and it got more fans courtesy of it being covered by ?Glee" and for many the song is a bit of an anthem but its just not a song that I have a personal attachment to as the lyrics strike me as weird anda the hook doesn't do as much for me at all.

46. "Linger (Sirius XM Sessions)" by Royel Otis 

So are we only going to acknowledge Royel Otis exist when they cover somebody else's songs now are we? Come on, they  have "Velvet" and "FOAM" which are two great songs from "Pratts and Pains" which deserve to be hits but okay putting all that aside, how is this cover of The Cranberries hit "Linger"?

It's fine however I don't think it's anything that would make me switch from the wonderful original where Dolores Riordan (may she rest in peace) just delivers an incredible vocal performance where as the vocals on this cover just don't hit the mark for me but again I stress, this cover isn't the worst thing I have ever heard, it just more feels inessential from a duo whose own music is better thsn this cover.

Just saying.

27. "...BMF" by SZA

So this is the only song that charted from the deluxe edition of "SOS" which is a bit of a surprise, would have thought "30 for 30" with Kendrick Lamar would have charted but oh well, we did end up getting one of the better songs from it even as it interpolates "Girl From Ipanema" on the hook (SZA, you aren't being slick with that and you aren't getting away with it!) but it's actually done well, it sounds like a breezy summer pop song, I will say that the interpolation might see some people getting annoyed with it if it sticks around but I like it. Check this out.

18. "The Days (NOTION Remix" by Chrystal, Not

Well, this feels a somewhat random breakthrough. Chrystal is a British singer hailing from Manchester, her song "Waves" attracted attention from BBC 1Xtra which garnered her comparisons to Lily Allen with this remix from UK dance artist Notion and well I really don't care that much for Notion's remix of the song, it just feels too busy and Chrystal vocals already remind me way too much of Bebe Rexha in the most annoying way possible...nasal and all so no, this isn't particularly good.

That's our week and yeah..."BMF" by SZA just runs away with the best of the week. Worst is going to "The Days (Notion Remix" by Chrystal and Notion. 

All 4 1994: January 9th: All For A New Year

 Yes, after two years, the retro charts are back for 2025, this time we're checking out the ARIA singles charts of 1994 and after the mediocrity of 1993, I am looking forward to seeing what 1994 has to offer and for the first chart of the year we have a rather quiet one on hand.

Unfortunately we are not off to a good start in our top ten because "Please Forgive Me" by Bryan Adams maintains number one for another week, it had reasonable sales week to see off the challenge of "Boom! Shake the Room" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince which is a shame because "Please Forgive Me" is putrid shlock (see my worst hit songs of 1993).

The top three wound up fairly stable with former chart topper Ace of Base remaining at number three with "All That She Wants".

Salt 'N' Pepa moved up one place to number four with "Shoop" (a song that is fine but not my thing). At number five is a new entry with Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting collaborating on "All For Love", we'll get to the quality of the song later but it's here thanks to decent sales and this being a reasonably big event collab.

Jimmy Barnes collab with The Badloves "The Weight" remains a signpost of stability at number six while Radiohead's "Creep creeps up one spot to number seven.

"Got to Get It" by Culture Beat slipped back to number eight and looks set to fall further as M People climbed three places to hit the top ten at number nine. Finally Mariah Carey's ballad "Hero stayed steady at number ten.

Losses

 Alright, lets start as usual with our losers and we had two songs that took big tumbles out of the top ten with Urban Cookie Collective's "The Key. The Secret" plunging from number four to number eleven but they have a new single on the rise which we will get to in a moment while "Dreams" by Gabrielle dipped from nine to fifteen.

"Lemon" by U2 slid seven places to twenty and Kim Wilde's cover of "If I Can't have You" dropped nine to thirty

Culture Beat were one of the biggest losers of the week as "Mr. Vain" stumbled from eighteen to thirty one while "Somewhere" by Efua slipped from twenty seven to thirty five.

Rick Price and Margaret Urlich's collab "Where is the Love" seems appropriate hecause it fell nine places to number forty while "If I Had No Loot" by Tony! Toni! Tone! akidded down eight places to number forty three.

Finally the biggest song of 1993 "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meatloaf fell twenty slots to forty four and "Angels" by John Farnham fell from thirty six to forty nine.

Re Entries

Just the one return this week with 4 Non Blondes back at number 46 with "What's Up?". 

Gains

So the underwhelming collab between Elton John and Kiki Dee "True Love" got a solid boost up nine spots to thirty four. Even worse Michael Bolton's "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" got an eight place gain to thirty two

Twenty 4 Seven's "Slave to the Music" feat Stay-C and Nance got one of the biggest gains this week though as it rocketed from forty six to twenty eight while Urban Cookie Collective thundered up twenty places to twenty four with "Feels Like Heaven" and Cut 'N' Move's cover of "Give It Up" sure did a LOT of moving up as it rocketed from forty one to nineteen this week. 

New Entries

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

41. "Been Loving You Too Long" by Diesel

Ahh because 1994 needs to start with a cover of an Otis Redding song somehow, yet, I think Diesel does a good job here? Not saying this is better than the original...nothing tops Otis Redding but I would take this cover over Michael Bolton caterwauling through "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" mostly because gives this song a somewhat understated vibe and I really do like that, it doesn't top the original but I mean we're talking Otis Redding for crying out loud! Diesel still does a good job, this is worth checking out unlike

5. "All For Love" by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting

Well okay. this is a collab that should be really good even with the questionable quality of Bryan Adams current number one hit but it does have Rod Stewart and Sting on it, it being for the "Three Musketeers" movie and all so law of averages says this should be at least good, right? 

Well no, this song is everything I dislike about adult contemporary music where it's just flaccid cliches that are eye roll worthy, you could swear that the earnest version of Bon Jovi wrote this song and what is worse is that nobody on the song sounds remotely good here. At least the instrunental has some redeeming value even if the lyrics are banally vomit inducing.

Yeah it's worst of the week by default as we only have two songs here. Diesel gets best of the week for "Been Loving You Too Long"

ARIA New Singles Entry Review: November/December 2024.

 Hi everyone, final one of these ARIA singles new entry reviews because I am going to go full steam back into the weekly charts and because November was kind of slow, I'm going to combine both November and December as per last year mostly due to neither month being all that busy for new entries so we'll see. 

November

"Noid" by Tyler, The Creator

Ahh, the first taste of Tyler, the Creator's excellent new album "Chromakopia" and while this isn;t the best song from the album, it is still really damn good with that incredible guitar sample and Tyler just owing the story telling with his protagonist St Chroma trapped by persistent feelings of paranoia and being  watched ike he is in the The Truman show. Good song on an even better album, go check out "Chromakopia" if you haven't already

"Disease" by Lady Gaga

So Lady Gaga has apparently begun the roll out for her seventh album with this being the lead off single for her new album in 2025 and I cannot be the only person who at first thought lyrically this was just "The Cure" part 2 except less believeable and with darker instrumentation? Tyhat was the thought that came to my head after several listens. Look, this is fine enough but its not going to stick around and for Lady Gaga, that's a problem.

"Sao Paulo" by The Weeknd feat. Anitta

So I've got some major concerns about this upcoming The Weeknd album, "Dancing in the Flames" was mediocre and "Timeless" feat. Playboi Carti continues to be one of the more pointless songs Abel has released. so what would we get with this third single? Well, we might be about to get one hell of a messy album because this is basically a Brazillian funk song that plays more to the strenghs of Anitta than The Weekndbwho does sound out of his depth here, Decent but not much more than that

"Bed Chem" by Sabrina Carpenter

So I decided to throw this song in as it is one of the songs from the Sabrina Carpenter album that has stuck around and I did want to talk ahout as I really enjoy rhis song! Yeah, it's a goofy sex song which the title barely conceals the sexual innuendo at play here but there's something I like about the way Sabrina delivers her vocals here, she's having fun with this and she's got the personality to sell a rather silly song like this

"2 Hands" by Tate McRae

Ugh, time to talk about the newest Tate McRae song and...I hear the instrumental appeal behind this, it;s got a decent tension to it that I would back somebody like Ariana Grande or somebody else in that lane to sell but Tate McRae just does not have the personality to pull this sort of song where she wants this dude to put his two hands on her. I am going to forget this song exists in record time.

"Bad Dreams" by Teddy Swims

Teddy Swims won me back with :"The Door"...a song that I think is damn great and you know what? This is also pretty damn great! It's got this really good groove that makes his biggest hit "Lose Control" look even more incredibly stiff if that was even possible. I love the near reggae groove this song has as Teddy Swims sings about this love that if he lost her it would be a bad dream for him. This is really cute...hope this winds up a hit.

Worst of the Month: "2 Hands" by Tate McRae

Honourable Mention: "Noid" by Tyler. The Creator

Best of the Month: "Bad Dreams" bv Teddy Swims and 'Bed Chem" by Sabrina Carpenter.

December

"Luther" by Kendrick Lamar feat. SZA

Um, how do I talk about one of my favourite songs of the year? Seriously this song is in contention for my top 50 favourite songs of 2024...that's how much I love this. Kendrick Lamar and SZA are just absolute magic together especially on a flipped sample of a Luther Vandross song. The song seems to be about the affects of untreated trauma and acting in ways that nught give themselves some temporary relief from the feelings of the untreated trauma, it's definitely a song that Kendrick seemed to have needed given it's high placement on the tracklist but it's still a god damn great song on "GNX"...an album that is one of Kendrick's best,

"Defying Gravity" by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande

Kind of surprised we didn't get more songs from "Wicked: The Movie" show up here but I am glad this one did because yeah this is absolutely fantastic..there's not too many who can go toe for toe with Ariana Grande but Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba just absolutely puts in an incredble performance on this song. This song is worth checking out even if you don't care for "Wicked'

"Ma Meilleure Ennemie" by Stromae and Pomme

On the other side of the ledger is this song from the "Arcane" movie coming from Stromae who is apparently bigger in Europe and has better songs than this mess that sounds like it's going to age pretty terribly with that clunky production. Nope, this one is not for me in the slightest. I'll be moving on.

"Messy" by Lola Young. 

So I have known of Lola Young for awhile, she's a British singer/songwriter hailing from South East London who released a pretty good sophomore album this year with this song probably being one of the best songs from that album, it's an indie pop rock song about a relarionship where this guy can't be straight with her and he wants one thing while expecting the other, she's getting frustrated with him and it's making the relationship murky or as she describes messy. All up, I like this and I doubt I need to give much encouragement for this to be a hit because I suspect it's on the way there.

"Toxic Til the End" by Rose

So "APT" has really grown on me and I am loooking forward to writing about that song come list time in January but until then we've got this new one and yeah, I don;'t like this one as much unfortunately, its got all the hallmarks of being a Taylor Swift knock off and we're starting to see a few way too many try to rip off Taylor's sound without writing or even the music too match. I'd skip this one.

Wsorst of the Month: "Ma Meilleure Ennemie" by Stromae and Pomme

Best of the Month: "Luther" by Kendrick Lamar with SZA

ARIA Singles Top 50 Singles: New Entry Review. October

 "Timeless" by The Weeknd feat. Playboi Carti

So here's The Weeknd's follow up to "Dancing in the Flames" and...well, I am genuinely starting to have concerns about this new album of Abel's because this is one heck of a mess and the Playboi Carti feature does not help this song what's so ever although when has a Playboi Carti feature heped any song ever so it shouldn't be a surprised that his feature here is completely useless and adds so very little to the song. as per is Playboi Carti's whole shtick.

Even The Weeknd sounds somewhat flat on this trap rap slog, I am going forget this song in record time because this is not good at all.     

"Baby I'm Back" by The Kid Laroi

It's never a good sign when a song starts with a rather promiment sample of "Baby Come Back" by Player and it's a sample that Kid Laroi just cannot ride the sample even on the hook of this song when he is desperately trying to convince this girl that he is back and will stick around for her.

In short, Anthony Fantano aka The Needledtop on Youtube said it best "Stop remaking classic songs into shit songs" and yeah, he is right because this is fucking unnecessary

"Embrace It" by Ndotz

Oh god. Australia, we are not going to follow the USA's trend of enabling random rappers to chart, right?  Turns out Ndotz is a British rapper with Angolan heritage but Dave or Stormy this guy isn't because yeah, this guy's rapping sounds terrible with an even more annoying beat that's nothing more than a collection of beeping.

Oh and the content is nothing more than vapid rapping about women and vulgar sex references that don't make the song anywhere near close to attractive especially with that awful beat that would any woman off sexy time. In short, this is unnecessary and gross. Next!

"Sympathy Is A Knife" by Charli XCX feat. Ariana Grande

Last song from BRAT that I'll have to cover on the blog and yeah this is one that having heard the original I didn't care for all that much and this renix kind of makes this song worse especially as it becomes about whinging about the media attention Ariana's been getting etc. Not bad but definitely not good either.

"Thick Of It" by KSI feat. Trippie Redd

My time is better served by talking songs that are actually worth something not junk like this. Absolute garbage and Trippie Redd, you should know better.

"APT" by Rose feat. Bruno Mars

Well this is a pairing I wasn't at all expecting, a member of Blackpink teaming up with master of the throwback sound Bruno Mars who is fresh off the back of a collab with Lady Gaga and I have to say I am glad this song has had time to grow on me because when I first heard "APT" I was not a fan at all but it's grown on me in recent weeks mostly because I hear it on the radio A LOT and maybe a case of Stockholm Syndrome, yes the drums sound a little compressed and maybe overmixed but it wouldn't be a crime to deny just how fun and catchy this soug is and just how much a renix with Avril Lavigne would go off but as it is Bruno is just fine and this works as a 2000s throwback..check it out!

"Love Somebody" by Morgan Wallen

So look, I am going to say what I said about Morgan Wallen on Twitter a week or so ago. Wallen is a mediocre to awful artist who piggy backed to fame because people felt sorry for him over the 'n- word' scandal which is how the god awful "Last Night" became a thing and while he has one or two good to great songs, a lot of the singles he has released have absolutely sucked (see my worst hit songs of 2023 list) or been mediocre at best and "Love Somebody" falls into the latter camp of forgettable mediocre shlock to the point where if you had told me it was a Maroon 5 knock off I wouldn't question you! Ity just sounds so hollow and sterile ...blergh.

"That's So True" by Gracie Abrams

Speaking of mediocre, Gracie Abrams new single and I guess it's somewhat tolerable compared to previous efforts but again she isn't a unique voice or presence on the pop landscape and here because happened to get the Taylor Swift endorsement package like Sabrina Carpenter did but eh this song is fine enough, the hook is memorable enough...I guess.

Worst of the Month: "Thick of It" by KSI and Trippie Redd

Dishonourable Mention: "Embrace It" by Ndotz

Honourable MentIon: Nothing good enough to deserve this slot

Best of the Month: "APT" by Rose and Bruno Mars

ARIA New Entry Review: September 2024

 "Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez

So this one is kind of interesting as Gigi Perez is an American singer/songwriter who notched her first ARIA singles charting song courtesy of it going viral and given my history with viral songs being rocky at best...I was concerned about what we'd get from this but as it turns out we got a decent torch song out of it! I don't precisely love it, the details feel a bit too broadly sketched but I won't mind if it sticks around. Good song.

"The Emptiness Machine" by Linkin Park

Oh boy, I was dreading having to review this song because there is no easy way to talk about the return of Linkin Park given the death of lead singer Chester Bennington and now the controversy around new lead singer Emily Armstrong and her contentious religious beliefs because the controversy kind of overshadowed the song a bit however it makes sense because "The Emptiness Machine' is basically a nothing of a song that really takes away from the talents of the band members other than Armstrong, why is Mike Shinoda singing when he is a better rapper than singer? The instrumental also just sounds stale...like the band are trying on a shoe that just doesn't quite fit. I think forgetting this song exists might be the best thing for everyone.

"It's Ok I'm Ok" by Tate McRae

So Tate McRae is clearly trying to fill the hole in 2020s pop music that was left by Britney Spears and yet I am left weirdly annoyed by her newest single which somehow bas less flavour than that of cardboard or dry museli because at least Britney had a deal of charisma but Tate McRae cannot sell this at all and the hook might the most annoying hook on a song I've heard all damn year. Yeah, Tate McRae keeps striking out for me,,,,next!

"Dancing In The Flames" by The Weeknd

The return of The Weeknd fels one of the biggest events of the back of half of this year which is in part why I am tonr on this opening salvo for his upcoming new album and honestly? I am not that impressed, the song sounds like a pale facsimile of songs that The Weeknd has done better in the past, the instrumental doesn't represent what dancing in those flames represent in terms of danger, it almost feels weirdly to fluffy coming from The Weeknd of all people so yeah not a fan of this and I wanted to be.

"Talk Talk" by Charli XCX feat. Troye Sivan

So this is a song for Charli XCX's Brat remix album and given this is actually one of the songs from Brat that I was not a fan of (Yes, I have heard "BRAT"...I get the appeal but it's just not for me) and yeah, this just doesn't work, it just sounds like a pile up of noise that neither Charli or Troye sound good over. Think I'll be moving on from this.

"Diet Pepsi" by Addison Rae

 Oh god. We really are now so bereft of pop stars that we turn to some social media personality turned wannabe singer Addison Rae for a song that tries to evoke diet Lana Del Rey vibes and while this per isn't terrible, it sure does make me want to go back to Lana Del Rey's last album and listen to that instead. 

Worst of the Month: "It's Ok I'm Ok" by Tate McRae 

Best of the Month: "Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez (A rough month overall and this wouldn't get BOTM in an otherwise stronger month but the song is pretty good)

ARIA Singles Chart New Entry Review: August 2024.

 "Guy For That" by Post Malone feat. Luke Combs

Third time's the charm with regard to this country album Post Malone is rolling out, right? "I Had Some Help" feat. Morgan Wallen has only gotten more shrill and insubstantial since it's release and while "Pour Me A Drink" feat. Blake Shelton was marginally better however forgettable it is but again, there's apart of me wondering if Posty is pulling on a few too many old country tropes, well thankfully this song isn't about drinking, it's more about how he has people for fixing things like flat tyres etc but when it comes to fixing a broken heart..there's no one that can do that for this girl. 

Now this song has problems, its too short and could have afforded a third verse and a bridge plus why does Post Malone's vocal pick up sound so choppy and why is Post allowing Luke Combs to just steal the show from him on a song that's for his album? Overall the song isn't terrible but it's by no means good either.

"Guess" by Charli XCX feat. Billie Eilish

2024 is almost certainly the year of being incredibly horny and Brat so when Charli XCX invited Billie Eilish onto a remix of this song which is all about underwear and what Charli has got going on "down there" and yeah...it god damn works better as a duet than it did as a Charli XCX solo song. Billie absolutely nails the incredibly horny vibe of the song with her verse  claiming the underwear being worn is a pair brought in Tokyo...fucking love this. Check it out.                                                                                                                    

"Big Dawgz" by Hunamankind and Kalmi\

So Indian rap has crossed over to the charts with this song from Indian rapper Hunamankind and his producer Kalmi and you know I do hear the appeal with the warping instrumentation courtesy of the production from Kalmi but Hunamankind's vocals just don't do anything for me and when the lyrics don't do any heavy lifting...yeah...I'm going to move on real quick from this. 

"Apple" by Charli XCX

The slow drip of songs charting from "Brat" has been interesting to say to the least especially as this is probably one of the better songs from the album to have charted, probably because it reminds me the most of the early 90s big beat era and Charli XCX is introspectively exploring the relationship between her, parents and the rest of her family. I dig this, check it out even if like me you are having an "Well, there is other music" winter. 

"Backbone" by Chase & Status feat. Stormzy

So Chaase and Status are a UK electronic duo who have gotten a lot of praise from UK critics for their production work and that is certainly true here as the production on this song has a lot of bite and menace to it, it certainly sounds intimidating but then there's the track's guest feature and why this song has gotten so big out of the blue...Stormzy. I am sorry but his vocals do not add to the menacing or intimidating atmosphere set by Chase and Status especially when tbe lyrics are mostly just empty as hell flexing. I'll take the instrumental and move on. 

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"I Love You, I'm Sorry" by Gracie Abrams

Oh yay, another Gracie Abrams track hitting the charts and it's just not very good at all. on between the clingy "I just cannot get over you, I still love you" and yet it comes across as bland and cookie cutter as oatmeal biscuitsand cardboard. It just sounds like bog standard indie nonsense that got cut to ribbons in the 2010s, Pass. 

"Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars

In the early 2010s, this collab probably would have seen erections so big in the music industry, sales of Viagra would have probably taken a dip however in 2024, there's been an oddly sedate reaction to Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars finally getting on a song together and it's hard to gage why especially as Lady Gaga hasn't really been that active in the music scene since Chromatica in 2020, you'd think people would be chomping at the bit for new Lady Gaga music 

All that preamble to say that I absolutely love this song, yeah, the song is a bit too squeaky clean to really pull off the throwback but this harmonies connect even if I think Bruno is a tad too loud in the mix but yeah this works as something of a pop/rock power balla. It's worth giving a chance, check it out.

"Taste" by Sabrina Carpenter

So I haven't heard all of Sabrina Carpenter's new album "Short 'n' Sweet" but I have been able to hear this song on the radio and via streaming and I think this song might be the best of the three singles more because it's got this coursing guitar on the verses that I am actually a sucker for however I will also add that it does sound like a "great value" Olivia Rodrigo song that Olivia would perform vocally with much greater hitting impact than Sabrina does, in any case, it's still good, check it out. 

"Kisses by Bl3ss x CamrinWatson feat. bbyclose"

So I cannot find any information about any of the artists involved in this song. I'm not surprised this is charting either it sounds like something that is pretty Brat by Charli XCX adjacent except without the swagger or punch that puts the aong over the top especially those vocals that sound like they had a child filter put over her voice. Other than that and some pretty generic lyrics that I forgot moments after hearing them, there's just not much to this song, Time to move on.

"The Door" by Teddy Swims

Oh look it's the better of the two Teddy Swims singles, thankfully "The Door" isn't as stiff and as controlled as "Lose Control" and does have a looser vibe to it which Teddy Swims can play into a lot more convincingly The content of this song is incredibly dark with Swims singing about walking out and getting away fron an abusive relationship in order to save his own life and yeah this one does hit hard. Damn good song that deserves to be a bigger hit than "Lose Control" ever was. Please check this out!

Worst of the Month: "I Love you, I'm Sorry" by Gracie Abrams

Honourable Mention: "The Door" by Teddy Swims, "Guess" by Charli XCX and Billie Eilish

Best of the Month: "Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars

ARIA Singles New Entry Review: July 2024. Brat! The Month of the Unwanted Comebacks

"Us" by Grace Abrams feat. Taylor Swift

I have absolutely no interest in checking out that new Gracie Abrams album. I haven't been at all impressed with the singles but maybe there would be something that could make me change my mind and look, it did come with the Taylor Swift feature so maybe I had some hope. Well no,...because this sounds like a song that was scrapped by Swift during the making of "The Tortured Poets Departmeht" and is nowhere near as interesting. Fast forward this one.

"Devil is A Lie" by Tommy Richman

So we are going to make Tommy Richman a thung now, "Million Dollar Baby" is a fine enough song but I was curious as to what Richman would follow it up with and we got "Million Dollar Baby" part 2. Richman has a formula and he is going to stick with it come hell or high water and as a result, I don;'t really care for this as much as "Million Dollar Baby", it's kind of weak.

"Pour Me A Drink" by Post Malone feat. Blake Shelton

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Second go around with "country" Post Malone and this apparent flirt with country, this time trading out Morgan Wallen for Blake Shelton and this is a little better even if Posty and Blake have very little by way of vocal interplay in a song where they are begging for somebody to pour them a drink. Ehh...it's fine enough but nothing to write home about.,..that's all. 

"Nights Like This" by The Kid Laroi

We could have moved on from this Juice WRLD carbon copy with worse vocals, Australia, we really could have but truth be told The Kid Laroi is doing a manful job of being an Aussie on the ARIA singles chart right now but this is still somewhat of a generic Juice WRLD sounding dud. We could have done without a Kid Laroi comeback.

"Girl, So confusing" by Charli XCX feat. Lorde 

So  I haven't listened to "BRAT" apart from the songs that hit the ARIA singles chart, Charli's music just doesn't do much for me generally so I have avoided it so to not rain on the parade of those having a BRAT summer or winter but this charted courtesy of a remix featuring Lorde and yeah, this is actually pretty damn good, mostly because it addresses some issues that had gone on between Charli and Lorde. Check this song out even if you are like me and having a non Brat season

"Girls" by The Kid Laroi

The second Kid Laroi song this month and I'll give it this, that hook is somewhat catchy but that's not saying much when The Kid Laroi has the enthusiasm of stiff cardboard in his vocal delivery. This actually could have been really good but just winds up being thoroughly mediocre so yeah, I am hitting fast forward on this one

"Hot To Go!" by Chappell Roan

Its weird how easily Chappell Roan songs from "The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess" have crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100...seriously both "Red Wine Supernova" and "Pink Pony Club" are flying up the Hot 100 yet "Hot to Go!" is the only song to cross over to the ARIA top 50 in Australia, what gives, Aussies? Anyway, this song is not the best on the album but it's still really damn good and Chappell is just absolutely brilliant on here, it's still worth checking out as is the whole album.

"Misses" by Dominic Fike

Oh speaking of unwanted comebacks...Dominic Fike is back on the charts with this mess that sounds utterly terrible that tries to be sincere in the lyrics but winds up dripping in less sincerity than a damn Donald Trump rally speech. It's also noticeably undercooked in the production. Yeah, this is another fast forward...time to move on from this junk

"Lies Lies Lies" by Morgan Wallen

Sigh...Kind of disappointed that Morgan Wallen didn't release a song called "Chairs Chairs Chairs" given what he is currently confronting in his private life but we get this instead and it's fine...I guess?  Wallen has worse songs out there (*glares at "Thinkin' 'bout Me"*). Its a song about where Wallen is admitting that he is lying about  his drinking habits and behaviour to his partner because addiction is hard to get over. This isn't as bad as it could have been, check it out if you are curious.

"Tobey" by Eminem feat Big Sean and Babytron

So Eminem did indeed get an album bomb for his new album but this will be the only song I am going to be covering from it because yeah...I did not care for the album at all but "Tobey" was one of the better songs from the album and that's literally not because of Eminem himself but because of  both Big Sean and Babytron, both of whom deliver focussed and somewhat punchy verses to the point I am curious for what Big Sean has coming! Overall, this is pretty solid but nothing spectacular.

"Tough" by Quavo feat. Lana Del Rey

This was an unexpected collab and definitely one that gave me "This is going to be a mess" vibes going in and well...it's fine? The song lyrically feels a bit overwritten which kind of makes sense when you realize that a fourteen year old aspiring country singer is one of the co writers but otherwise the instrumentation is kind of pretty and Quavo and Lana have some decent chemistry, it's solid, check it out if you are curious

"Kehlani" by Jordan Adetunji

It kind of sucks a song using Kehlani's name in the title charts but nothing from Kehlani's mostly decent last album hasn't charted especially as I don't think this is anything worth caring about especially as this is just a song where this UK based rapper is trying to hook up with a girl he compares to Kehlani somehow and I don't know, the song just feels overall skeevy, I am going to forget this exists if it doesn't creep me out.

"28" byZach Bryan

Considering that male singer/songwriter types are currently what is appealing to the audience, I am kind of sad that more of "The Great American Bar Scene" didn't cross over especially as the album is pretty damn great with "28" being one of the stand out cuts from the album but it's also the song that sounds really close to Jason Isbell and that is a massive compliment! Zach Bryan reminiscing about loveless birthdays and now finally feeling content with somebody he loves, damn great song. 

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"360" by Charli XCX

Another song from Brat and this one is actually better than "Girl, so confusing", mainly because the song is short and catchy, there's a punch to this that WORKS so damn well and Charli sounds great over this. Ehh...what else can I say, this one works for me. Nice one , Charli.

Worst of the Month: "Nights Like This" by The Kid Laroi

Dishonourable Mention: "Misses" by Dominic Fike

Honourable Mention: "Hot To Go!: by Chappell Roan

Best of the Week: "28" by Zach Bryan