So this week's New Music Friday saw new music from Selena Gomez teaming up with another EDM producer, Pitbull gets Fifth Harmony on board and Aussie rockers The Rubens return with a new single.
Song: Wolves.
Artists: Selena Gomez, Marshmello
It's not been a great year for Selena Gomez, sure she had success with "It Ain't Me" but it was more Kygo's song than hers and her two solo singles "Bad Liar" and "Fetish" performed badly on the charts so it's back to EDM producers she goes and this time she's teamed up with Marshmello for a song called "Wolves" and while on Twitter, I did say that I was bemused by some of the lyrics in the song after all wolves don't live in jungles but it's the second best thing Selena has done all year musically after the collaboration with Kygo, maybe this could well be a hit, it's okay I guess.
Rating: 6/10
Song: Por Favor
Artists: Pitbull, Fifth Harmony
A collab that I always thought was likely after all Pitbull or "Mr Worldwide" as he seems like to refer to himself as has always struck me as a bit of a ladies man so it seemed a natural fit for him to record a song with Fifth Harmony. "Por Favor" is a Spanglish song that has long as you don't Google translate the Spanish language because they reveal Pitbull to be at his sleazy best.wamting this girl to give him kisses or french kisses while the Fifth Harmony girls play the woman and right at the end mentions rice with fried egg? Huh?
Rating: Like I said, it's alright if you ignore the English translation of the lyrics but I can't. 4.10
Song: Boom Boom
Artists: RedOne, Daddy Yankee, French Montana, Dinah Jane
Lauren's done it, Ally's done it so why not Dinah? She's the latest Fifth Harmony to step into the breech for a song outside of Fifth Harmony (which is odd consdering Fifth Harmony released an album earlier this year) and yeah, the chorus of "Boom Boom" interpolates the chorus of Modjo's hit "Lady" big time and is all about having a good time in the club which isn't as sleazy as some of Daddy Yankee's past work? "Despacito" anyone?
Rating: I'll take this over "Por Favor" even with the obvious Modjo chorus melody rip off. 6/10
Song: Million Man
Artist: The Rubens
So The Rubens are back with their lead off single from their forthcoming third album and the fact that they've been working with Run the Jewels is kind of on show here, "Million Man" is very different in sound to anything on "Hoops", that said it is still a decent song and I would give anything to see this chart highly over some of the rubbish on the ARIA Singles Chart right now. it's got a decent hook, I'll take it.
Rating: 8/10
Best of the week: The Rubens get it for "Million Man"
Worst: "Por Favor". Just not a fan of how sleazy some of the lyrics are. Sorry
Next week
A new Christiaa Aguilera song called "America"
Plenty of rumours about N.E.R.D possibly releasing a song with Rihanna.
Talk of a fourth song from Taylor Swift's new album being released (I hope not)
Thursday, 2 November 2017
Wednesday, 1 November 2017
ARIA Top Ten/Chart review: October 31st
This week was busy...well not in the top 3 really but we'll get to that but down the lower end of the chart, there's one or two songs that look as though they could be bound for the top ten and there was one new entry that quite predictably broke into the top ten.
The only song to have left the top 10 was "What About Us?" by Pink because of course the album boost wore off a little.
As for the top 10, well "Rockstar" by Post Malone and 21 Savage remains at number one for a fifth week because sales have started to catch up to the streams a little bit.
Camila Cabello and Young Thug remain at number 2 for another week with "Havana". Now if stream can pick up a bit, there's a fair chance that this song will challenge for top spot, it looks to be well on the way to number one in the United Kingdom already.
"Perfect" by Ed Sheeran is at number three and remains a fair chance of getting to number one, it's a song that the radio seems to love at the moment for some reason.
Then we have two songs that have broken into the top 5, at number 4 is "Young, Dumb and Broke" by Khalid which climbed three places and "Feel it Still" by Portugal, The Man which rose 1 place to number 5.
Both those songs may well have gotten to the top five on the weaknesses of "Glorious" by Macklemore feat Skylar Grey dropping two places to number 6.
"Dusk til Dawn" by Zayn and Sia continues to hang around the lower half of the top 10 climbing one place to number 7.
"Too Good at Goodbyes" by Sam Smith is proving it's actually bad at saying goodbye to the top ten by jumping one place to number 8.
Which brings us to a new entry at number 9 and predictably, it's "Gorgeous" by Taylor Swift. I expect this to slide badly next week. Just a shame that the song doesn't live up to it's name.
"New Rules" by Dua Lipa continues to dangle precariously at number 10 for a second week.
Biggest gainer of the week was Niall Horan's "Slow Hands" which climbed from 50 to 34 this week off the back of the release of his album "Flicker". Amongst the other big gains was Charlie Puth's "How Long" which climbed from 40 to 27, the success of "Rockstar" has seen Post Malone's "I Fall Apart" climb from 23 to 14.
The biggest loser was Pink's "Beautiful Trauma" which fell from 27 to 40, other big losses came for "Despacito" by Daddy Yankee and Luis Fonsi which fell from 32 to 39.
On the new entry front inside the top 50 beyond Taylor Swift's 'Gorgeous", "Let You Down" by NF was the best entering at number 43, "Stargazing" by Kygo feat. Justin Jesso at 49 and the best song of all the new entries in the top 50 "Lose My Mind" by Dean Lewis at 50.
New entries to the top 100, "Bedroom Floor" by Liam Payne entered at 52 (should probably break into top 50 next week but we'll see), "Bank Account" by 21 Savage enters at 62, Rita Ora's "Anywhere" debuts at number 68, "Bloodstone" by Guy Sebastian at 90, "Kids in Love" by Kygo feat. The Night Game at 94 and "Meant to be by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line at 100.
There were four drop outs with two signifcant, that being "Mama" by Jonas Blue feat. William Singe and "Fallin'" by Jessica Mauboy. "Mama" should make the year end top 100 list.
The other two being "Pray" by Sam Smith and "Let You Down" by Peking Duk and Icona Pop.
So that ends this week's ARIA top ten/chart review and wow, it will be fascinating to see if number one changes hands this week or not but before all that new music review with Selena Gomez teaming up with Marshmello, new stuff from The Rubens and Clean Bandit team up with Julia Michaels.
The only song to have left the top 10 was "What About Us?" by Pink because of course the album boost wore off a little.
As for the top 10, well "Rockstar" by Post Malone and 21 Savage remains at number one for a fifth week because sales have started to catch up to the streams a little bit.
Camila Cabello and Young Thug remain at number 2 for another week with "Havana". Now if stream can pick up a bit, there's a fair chance that this song will challenge for top spot, it looks to be well on the way to number one in the United Kingdom already.
"Perfect" by Ed Sheeran is at number three and remains a fair chance of getting to number one, it's a song that the radio seems to love at the moment for some reason.
Then we have two songs that have broken into the top 5, at number 4 is "Young, Dumb and Broke" by Khalid which climbed three places and "Feel it Still" by Portugal, The Man which rose 1 place to number 5.
Both those songs may well have gotten to the top five on the weaknesses of "Glorious" by Macklemore feat Skylar Grey dropping two places to number 6.
"Dusk til Dawn" by Zayn and Sia continues to hang around the lower half of the top 10 climbing one place to number 7.
"Too Good at Goodbyes" by Sam Smith is proving it's actually bad at saying goodbye to the top ten by jumping one place to number 8.
Which brings us to a new entry at number 9 and predictably, it's "Gorgeous" by Taylor Swift. I expect this to slide badly next week. Just a shame that the song doesn't live up to it's name.
"New Rules" by Dua Lipa continues to dangle precariously at number 10 for a second week.
Biggest gainer of the week was Niall Horan's "Slow Hands" which climbed from 50 to 34 this week off the back of the release of his album "Flicker". Amongst the other big gains was Charlie Puth's "How Long" which climbed from 40 to 27, the success of "Rockstar" has seen Post Malone's "I Fall Apart" climb from 23 to 14.
The biggest loser was Pink's "Beautiful Trauma" which fell from 27 to 40, other big losses came for "Despacito" by Daddy Yankee and Luis Fonsi which fell from 32 to 39.
On the new entry front inside the top 50 beyond Taylor Swift's 'Gorgeous", "Let You Down" by NF was the best entering at number 43, "Stargazing" by Kygo feat. Justin Jesso at 49 and the best song of all the new entries in the top 50 "Lose My Mind" by Dean Lewis at 50.
New entries to the top 100, "Bedroom Floor" by Liam Payne entered at 52 (should probably break into top 50 next week but we'll see), "Bank Account" by 21 Savage enters at 62, Rita Ora's "Anywhere" debuts at number 68, "Bloodstone" by Guy Sebastian at 90, "Kids in Love" by Kygo feat. The Night Game at 94 and "Meant to be by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line at 100.
There were four drop outs with two signifcant, that being "Mama" by Jonas Blue feat. William Singe and "Fallin'" by Jessica Mauboy. "Mama" should make the year end top 100 list.
The other two being "Pray" by Sam Smith and "Let You Down" by Peking Duk and Icona Pop.
So that ends this week's ARIA top ten/chart review and wow, it will be fascinating to see if number one changes hands this week or not but before all that new music review with Selena Gomez teaming up with Marshmello, new stuff from The Rubens and Clean Bandit team up with Julia Michaels.
Tuesday, 24 October 2017
New Music Friday Review: God damn it, Taylor Swift.
It's a busy New Music Friday review because not only is there new music from Rita Ora and Liam Payne but Taylor Swift chose to drop a new song as well plus I may add in some Guy Sebastian but we'll see so let's start with the new single from Rita Ora.
Song: Anywhere
Artist: Rita Ora
Well, we have the follow up to "Your Song" and I don't think it's a stretch to say that "Anywhere" is a 100% improvement over "Your Song" both lyrically and production wise. "Your Song" had a lot of questionable lyrics (having sex on his best friend's couch? When was that a good idea?) where as "Anywhere" seems to be a fair deal better as it being another love song and being committed to someone, it's a nice sentiment I can live by.
Rating: 7/10
Song: Bedroom Floor
Artist: Liam Payne
So we get a tropical sounding R & B track as Liam Payne's latest single and yeah, it's a bit of a shocker I am sorry to say, Liam wails his way through "You said it was over" and in the middle of the bridge sees some kind of attempt at a phone ringing sound effect, it's a bit of a weird song and I have to say I could go with him on "Strip That Down" but not on this mess of a song.
Rating: 4/10
Song: Gorgeous
Artist: Taylor Swift
This blog is rapidly turning into "God damn it, Taylor Swift" so I was hoping that she could produce some quality with "Gorgeous" after the horrors that were both "Look What You Made Me Do" and "Ready For It", only to be disappointed because yet again it's another melody less song with lyrics laden with hypocrisy because the song is about HER cheating on her boyfriend with another 'gorgeous' man and given Taylor's songs in the past berating ex boyfriends for cheating, this really is hard to take coming from her.
Just one question though: what does Taylor have against having any kind of melody in her new songs these days? I miss the days of "Love Story" and even her songs off her debut album,
Rating: 3/10
Song: Bloodstone
Artist: Guy Sebastian
The latest release from Guy Sebastian's upcoming 10th album "Conscious" and while not quite as good as "High On Me" (which should have been a hit, shame on you, Australia!) but still feels every European pop (images of Eurovision spring to mind), it's the kind of song I could see being a hit and deserves to be a hit if I am quite honest, I really like everything about this from the production to the lyrics. Nice one, Guy!
Rating: 8/10
Other songs to check out:
Song: Anywhere
Artist: Rita Ora
Well, we have the follow up to "Your Song" and I don't think it's a stretch to say that "Anywhere" is a 100% improvement over "Your Song" both lyrically and production wise. "Your Song" had a lot of questionable lyrics (having sex on his best friend's couch? When was that a good idea?) where as "Anywhere" seems to be a fair deal better as it being another love song and being committed to someone, it's a nice sentiment I can live by.
Rating: 7/10
Song: Bedroom Floor
Artist: Liam Payne
So we get a tropical sounding R & B track as Liam Payne's latest single and yeah, it's a bit of a shocker I am sorry to say, Liam wails his way through "You said it was over" and in the middle of the bridge sees some kind of attempt at a phone ringing sound effect, it's a bit of a weird song and I have to say I could go with him on "Strip That Down" but not on this mess of a song.
Rating: 4/10
Song: Gorgeous
Artist: Taylor Swift
This blog is rapidly turning into "God damn it, Taylor Swift" so I was hoping that she could produce some quality with "Gorgeous" after the horrors that were both "Look What You Made Me Do" and "Ready For It", only to be disappointed because yet again it's another melody less song with lyrics laden with hypocrisy because the song is about HER cheating on her boyfriend with another 'gorgeous' man and given Taylor's songs in the past berating ex boyfriends for cheating, this really is hard to take coming from her.
Just one question though: what does Taylor have against having any kind of melody in her new songs these days? I miss the days of "Love Story" and even her songs off her debut album,
Rating: 3/10
Song: Bloodstone
Artist: Guy Sebastian
The latest release from Guy Sebastian's upcoming 10th album "Conscious" and while not quite as good as "High On Me" (which should have been a hit, shame on you, Australia!) but still feels every European pop (images of Eurovision spring to mind), it's the kind of song I could see being a hit and deserves to be a hit if I am quite honest, I really like everything about this from the production to the lyrics. Nice one, Guy!
Rating: 8/10
Other songs to check out:
- "Kids in Love" by Kygo feat. The Night Game
- "Seeing Blind" by Niall Horan and Maren Morris (I hope to goodness this song will be a single)
Best of the week: Torn between "Kids in Love" by Kygo feat. The Night Game and "Bloodstone" by Guy Sebastian. I think I am going to give it to "Bloodstone"...just.
Worst: Damn it, I didn't want to do this but I am giving worst to "Gorgeous" by Taylor Swift
New Music on 27th October:\
Expecting "Por Favour" by Pitbull feat. Fifth Harmony to be released on Friday.
Starley drops "Been Meaning to Tell You"
Monday, 23 October 2017
ARIA Chart top ten/chart review: October 23rd. Rockstar's fourth week at number 1
So it seems we have another Taylor Swift single bomb headed the way of the ARIA chart next week (more om that song's quality in New Music Friday review) but this week saw Pink's album drop and have something of muted effect on the chart that strangely saw one of her songs drop out of the top 50 and see another rebound into the top 5.
The only song to drop out of the top 10 was "Good Old Days" by Macklemore feat. Kesha. I expect at least one or two losing momentum next week to fallout with the arrival of Taylor Swift's new single and possibly the new Liam Payne song.
So onto the top 10, "rockstar" by Post Malone and 21 Savage remains at number one for a fourth week at number one. Quite literally the only thing propping up this song is streaming so once the streaming dies off (and hopefully soon), it should fall off number one.
At number 2 is "Havana" by Camila Cabello. Unfortunately while it's had a good run, I don't see this getting to number one especially if Taylor Swift's "Gorgeous" does debut at number 1 but it's not quite doing enough on streaming or on sales to knock over "rockstar" and is getting outsold on iTunes by this week's number 3.
That number 3 being "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran which climbed 1 place to reach it's current peak. Could very well go number 2 should "Havana" wobble.
This all meant a fall back to number 4 for "Glorious" by Macklemore and Skylar Grey. Quite surprised that this song hasn't fallen off the cliff yet to be honest, it's done pretty well to remind in top 5.\
The week's biggest gainer sits at number 5 and unsurprisingly it's Pink's "What About Us?" which got a 7 place boost due to the album dropping and going straight to number one on the ARIA albums chart so not really even a surprise that "What About Us?" returned to the top 10.
"Feel it Still" by Portugal, The Man continues to be the surprise indie rock hit of 2017 with a three place rise to number 6.
At number 7 is "Young, Dumb and Broke" by Khalid, feel like he will win the Grammy for best new artist next year. He has had an absolutely outstanding 2017.
"Dusk til Dawn" by Zayn and Sia slips to number 8 from number 6 last week.
"Too Good at Goodbyes" by Sam Smith dropped 4 places to number 9 and looks a bit precarious as does "New Rules" by Dua Lipa which rounds out the top ten at number 10.
As for the gainers this week, the biggest was "Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)" Cardi B which climbed from 48 last week to 39, I am still bemused as to why this song is a hit in the US but anyway...
I already mentioned Pink's 7 place climb for "What About Us". Charlie Puth's "How Long" climbed 7 places to number 40 off it's debut last week. "Silence" by Marshmello feat. Khalid went to 17 from 21 last week.
On the flipside, the biggest loser was former chart topper "Despacito" which dropped from 25 to 32. Oddly "Pray" by Sam Smith dropped from 45 to 48. Most of the losses to be expected with songs like "Mama" by Jonas Blue feat William Singe headed for the exit.
Only two new entries inside the ARIA top 50 with Pink's collaboration with Eminem "Revenge" entering the chart at 21 to be the highest debut of the week with "Let You Down" by Peking Duk and Icona Pop entering at number 45.
Outside of the top 50, Pink had two songs enter with "Where We go" at 88 and "I am Here" at 97, NF arrived at number 70 with a song called "Let You Down", "Feels Great" by Cheat Codes feat. Fetty Wap and CVBZ at 74 and because people like their pop music bland and stupid "Just Like You" by Louis Tomlinson entered at 99.
The lone re-entry to the top 50 was Niall Horan's "Slow Hands", I wouldn't be surprised if that song returns to a place higher up the chart with his album "Flicker" having dropped.
As for the drop outs, maybe the one of most significance is "Whatever You Want" by Pink as given the album has now dropped, it doesn't make sense that it dropped while everything else Pink related got a jump this week.
The other two to drop out were "Bad at Love" by Halsey and "Would You Ever" by Skrillex and Poo Bear.
So question remains just how long will streaming hold up for Post Malone and 21 Savage to reman at number one, will Taylor Swift get to number one or can Ed Sheeran get his 2nd number one of 2017?
All those questions and more answered next week!
The only song to drop out of the top 10 was "Good Old Days" by Macklemore feat. Kesha. I expect at least one or two losing momentum next week to fallout with the arrival of Taylor Swift's new single and possibly the new Liam Payne song.
So onto the top 10, "rockstar" by Post Malone and 21 Savage remains at number one for a fourth week at number one. Quite literally the only thing propping up this song is streaming so once the streaming dies off (and hopefully soon), it should fall off number one.
At number 2 is "Havana" by Camila Cabello. Unfortunately while it's had a good run, I don't see this getting to number one especially if Taylor Swift's "Gorgeous" does debut at number 1 but it's not quite doing enough on streaming or on sales to knock over "rockstar" and is getting outsold on iTunes by this week's number 3.
That number 3 being "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran which climbed 1 place to reach it's current peak. Could very well go number 2 should "Havana" wobble.
This all meant a fall back to number 4 for "Glorious" by Macklemore and Skylar Grey. Quite surprised that this song hasn't fallen off the cliff yet to be honest, it's done pretty well to remind in top 5.\
The week's biggest gainer sits at number 5 and unsurprisingly it's Pink's "What About Us?" which got a 7 place boost due to the album dropping and going straight to number one on the ARIA albums chart so not really even a surprise that "What About Us?" returned to the top 10.
"Feel it Still" by Portugal, The Man continues to be the surprise indie rock hit of 2017 with a three place rise to number 6.
At number 7 is "Young, Dumb and Broke" by Khalid, feel like he will win the Grammy for best new artist next year. He has had an absolutely outstanding 2017.
"Dusk til Dawn" by Zayn and Sia slips to number 8 from number 6 last week.
"Too Good at Goodbyes" by Sam Smith dropped 4 places to number 9 and looks a bit precarious as does "New Rules" by Dua Lipa which rounds out the top ten at number 10.
As for the gainers this week, the biggest was "Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)" Cardi B which climbed from 48 last week to 39, I am still bemused as to why this song is a hit in the US but anyway...
I already mentioned Pink's 7 place climb for "What About Us". Charlie Puth's "How Long" climbed 7 places to number 40 off it's debut last week. "Silence" by Marshmello feat. Khalid went to 17 from 21 last week.
On the flipside, the biggest loser was former chart topper "Despacito" which dropped from 25 to 32. Oddly "Pray" by Sam Smith dropped from 45 to 48. Most of the losses to be expected with songs like "Mama" by Jonas Blue feat William Singe headed for the exit.
Only two new entries inside the ARIA top 50 with Pink's collaboration with Eminem "Revenge" entering the chart at 21 to be the highest debut of the week with "Let You Down" by Peking Duk and Icona Pop entering at number 45.
Outside of the top 50, Pink had two songs enter with "Where We go" at 88 and "I am Here" at 97, NF arrived at number 70 with a song called "Let You Down", "Feels Great" by Cheat Codes feat. Fetty Wap and CVBZ at 74 and because people like their pop music bland and stupid "Just Like You" by Louis Tomlinson entered at 99.
The lone re-entry to the top 50 was Niall Horan's "Slow Hands", I wouldn't be surprised if that song returns to a place higher up the chart with his album "Flicker" having dropped.
As for the drop outs, maybe the one of most significance is "Whatever You Want" by Pink as given the album has now dropped, it doesn't make sense that it dropped while everything else Pink related got a jump this week.
The other two to drop out were "Bad at Love" by Halsey and "Would You Ever" by Skrillex and Poo Bear.
So question remains just how long will streaming hold up for Post Malone and 21 Savage to reman at number one, will Taylor Swift get to number one or can Ed Sheeran get his 2nd number one of 2017?
All those questions and more answered next week!
Saturday, 21 October 2017
The Saturday Music Review: Charlie Puth, Cardi B, Sam Smith,
So today I am going to review some of the songs that have reached the ARIA charts that I didn't cover while New Music Friday review was on hiatus and cover a song that is a hit already elsewhere in the world but let's begin these reviews with Cardi B.
Song: Bodak Yellow
Artist: Cardi B
So if you aren't aware of who Cardi B is, she is an American hip hop artist who first came to prominence through Instagram before signing her first record deal with Atlantic Records whom released her first commercial single called "Bodak Yellow". "Bodak Yellow" has since spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the US which is kind of a big deal considering that Lauryn Hill was the last solo female rapper to hit number 1 in the US in 1998 before being knocked off by "rockstar" by Post Malone and 21 Savage.
"Bodak Yellow" as a song is of questionable quality if I am being honest though, Cardi B has a similar flow to that of another American rapper Kodak Black and really there's nothing all that interesting in this song. It's just not my cup of tea personally but I can get why this song was a hit in the US.
Rating: 5/10
Song: How Long
Artist: Charlie Puth
It has kind of surprised me just how much of a hit 'Attention" has been this year and while it was a song that I wanted to like, there were things about it that actively annoyed me eg: the lyrics so how is "How Long"
Well, I'd say this "How Long" is better and I am finding it harder to dislike but I wish the build up of bridge didn't reach a dead end once it got to the chorus but otherwise it is pretty tolerable and I wouldn't complain if I heard this song more on the radio than "Attention". It's a decent song, Charlie Puth has definitely improved here.
Rating: 7/10. The momentum kill of the chorus really does dampen the song for me.
Song: Pray
Artist: Sam Smith
So Sam Smith has dropped a promotional single from his forthcoming new album and I really wish I could say I like this but it's all starting to feel a bit predictable from Sam if I am quite honest. This kind of song has been done better by Dan Sultan and others. I like the gospel tinges but otherwise it's just a drab kind of song. Pass.
Rating: 4/10
*** HIT PICK: NZ #13 ***
Song: Don't Give It Up
Artist: Six60
Okay, a little bit of explanation is required here. Six60 are a five piece soul and electronic pop rock band from Dunedin, New Zealand, they have been around since 2008 and are absolutely huge in their home land but that success hasn't translated to having big hits elsewhere in the world like Australia.
So what about their latest charting single "Don't Give It Up"? It's actually a pretty decent pop/R 'n' B song even though I am not overly a fan of the vocal sample that begins the song and hangs around in the back ground but the drums and guitar are tight and it's something of a fun listen especially when the choir kick in at the end of the song.
Rating: 6.5/10
So that wraps up The Saturday Music review, see you all later for this week's ARIA Chart top ten rundown/review
Song: Bodak Yellow
Artist: Cardi B
So if you aren't aware of who Cardi B is, she is an American hip hop artist who first came to prominence through Instagram before signing her first record deal with Atlantic Records whom released her first commercial single called "Bodak Yellow". "Bodak Yellow" has since spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the US which is kind of a big deal considering that Lauryn Hill was the last solo female rapper to hit number 1 in the US in 1998 before being knocked off by "rockstar" by Post Malone and 21 Savage.
"Bodak Yellow" as a song is of questionable quality if I am being honest though, Cardi B has a similar flow to that of another American rapper Kodak Black and really there's nothing all that interesting in this song. It's just not my cup of tea personally but I can get why this song was a hit in the US.
Rating: 5/10
Song: How Long
Artist: Charlie Puth
It has kind of surprised me just how much of a hit 'Attention" has been this year and while it was a song that I wanted to like, there were things about it that actively annoyed me eg: the lyrics so how is "How Long"
Well, I'd say this "How Long" is better and I am finding it harder to dislike but I wish the build up of bridge didn't reach a dead end once it got to the chorus but otherwise it is pretty tolerable and I wouldn't complain if I heard this song more on the radio than "Attention". It's a decent song, Charlie Puth has definitely improved here.
Rating: 7/10. The momentum kill of the chorus really does dampen the song for me.
Song: Pray
Artist: Sam Smith
So Sam Smith has dropped a promotional single from his forthcoming new album and I really wish I could say I like this but it's all starting to feel a bit predictable from Sam if I am quite honest. This kind of song has been done better by Dan Sultan and others. I like the gospel tinges but otherwise it's just a drab kind of song. Pass.
Rating: 4/10
*** HIT PICK: NZ #13 ***
Song: Don't Give It Up
Artist: Six60
Okay, a little bit of explanation is required here. Six60 are a five piece soul and electronic pop rock band from Dunedin, New Zealand, they have been around since 2008 and are absolutely huge in their home land but that success hasn't translated to having big hits elsewhere in the world like Australia.
So what about their latest charting single "Don't Give It Up"? It's actually a pretty decent pop/R 'n' B song even though I am not overly a fan of the vocal sample that begins the song and hangs around in the back ground but the drums and guitar are tight and it's something of a fun listen especially when the choir kick in at the end of the song.
Rating: 6.5/10
So that wraps up The Saturday Music review, see you all later for this week's ARIA Chart top ten rundown/review
Thursday, 19 October 2017
New Music Friday Review: Pink, Daya, Louis Tomlinson
After a long break New Music Friday Review is back this week and while it's not the strongest New Music Friday to come back on, what I am going to do is review some songs from this week and others that are of interest over the next few days but we'll begin with this past week's new releases with a long rumoured yet surprising collaborations this year.
Song: Revenge
Artists: Pink, Eminem
Okay, granted it's not as big a surprise as when Calvin Harris teamed up with Frank Ocean and Migos for "Slide" earlier this year but like "Slide", this is a collab that works pretty damn well better than it should have ever been. Sure, Pink's rapping isn't everything but it's better than efforts I have heard in some hip hop songs this year and Eminem only makes a rather short appearance on the track. I kind of really like it, I don't love it as yet though.
Rating: 7/10
Song: New
Arist: Daya
She's back! Yes, the girl behind the god awful 2016 hit "Hide Away" has returned with a new single called "New" and yeah, while its not as awful as "Hide Away" or even that collab she did with The Chainsmokers, "New" is pretty inoffensively boring and quite honestly I didn't remember much of that song even after I played it three or four times.
Rating 4/10
Song: Just Like You
Artist: Louis Tomlinson
Ever noticed that the guys from One Direction are constantly referencing One Direction in their solo work, Liam Payne mentioned the former band in "Strip That Down" and now Louis Tomlinson mentions the band in his latest song and yeah if I wasn't a Louis fan before, this song reminding everyone that just because he is a celebrity doesn't mean he isn't like the rest of us really does quite enough to get on my nerves. Seriously, this is just awful lyrically and the production isn't much better.
Rating: 2/10.
Best of the Week: Check out Dagny's "Love You Like That"...it's really damn good
Worst: That's going to "Just Like You" by Louis Tomlinson. Bland nonsense is not going to help Louis's solo career.
Next week: New music from Liam Payne, Rita Ora and Kygo. Dua Lipa also drops a cover of Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang" (she did it for an ad by the way)
Song: Revenge
Artists: Pink, Eminem
Okay, granted it's not as big a surprise as when Calvin Harris teamed up with Frank Ocean and Migos for "Slide" earlier this year but like "Slide", this is a collab that works pretty damn well better than it should have ever been. Sure, Pink's rapping isn't everything but it's better than efforts I have heard in some hip hop songs this year and Eminem only makes a rather short appearance on the track. I kind of really like it, I don't love it as yet though.
Rating: 7/10
Song: New
Arist: Daya
She's back! Yes, the girl behind the god awful 2016 hit "Hide Away" has returned with a new single called "New" and yeah, while its not as awful as "Hide Away" or even that collab she did with The Chainsmokers, "New" is pretty inoffensively boring and quite honestly I didn't remember much of that song even after I played it three or four times.
Rating 4/10
Song: Just Like You
Artist: Louis Tomlinson
Ever noticed that the guys from One Direction are constantly referencing One Direction in their solo work, Liam Payne mentioned the former band in "Strip That Down" and now Louis Tomlinson mentions the band in his latest song and yeah if I wasn't a Louis fan before, this song reminding everyone that just because he is a celebrity doesn't mean he isn't like the rest of us really does quite enough to get on my nerves. Seriously, this is just awful lyrically and the production isn't much better.
Rating: 2/10.
Best of the Week: Check out Dagny's "Love You Like That"...it's really damn good
Worst: That's going to "Just Like You" by Louis Tomlinson. Bland nonsense is not going to help Louis's solo career.
Next week: New music from Liam Payne, Rita Ora and Kygo. Dua Lipa also drops a cover of Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang" (she did it for an ad by the way)
Monday, 16 October 2017
ARIA top ten/Chart Review: 16th October: "Havana", "Perfect" emerge as dangers to "rockstar"
This week served up a colossal fall out from the predictable fact that most of the Macklemore and The Killers songs fell out of the chart, it was just matter of what was going to replace them and wow the chart went a little mental.
We lost not only "Same Love" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert which dropped out of the top 50 altogether because the controversy over that died but also "1-800-273-8255" by Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid which dropped from 7 to 11 and "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons which finally dropped out of the top 10 after peaking at number 2 earlier this year.
So what replaced all that inside the top 10? Let's find out.
Of course, there's no change at number 1 with "rockstar" by Post Malone and 21 Savage number 1 for a third week. (It's not the worst song but I am not quite seeing it's appeal).
At number 2 is Camila Cabello with 'Havana" which climbed up six spots to be Cabello's most successful song in Australia to date and outchart 5th Harmony's most successful song in Australia "Work From Home" which peaked at number 3 last year. "Havana" is a halfway decent song, happy to see it in the top 5.
Macklemore and Skylar Gray dropped back to number 3 with "Glorious"
Ed Sheeran has a broken arm after being hit by a car in London while on his bike meanwhile "Perfect" is this week's biggest gainer, it rose from 19 to number 4.
The next two songs "Too Good at Goodbyes" by Sam Smith and "Dusk til Dawn" by Zayn and Sia remain at five and six respectively.
Dua Lipa's "New Rules" bore the brunt of the fall out this week with that song dropping from 3 to 7 this week.
Khalid is an early favourite to snare a Grammy nomination for best new artist which is not surprising considering "Young, Dumb and Broke" continues to climb the chart, it sits at number 8 this week.
Portugal. The Man continue their shock success with "Feel It Still" rising from 15 to number 9. It's predicted it will reach number 6 in the US this week.
Rounding up the top 10 is "Good old days" by Macklemore and Kesha which climbed 6 places to number 10.
So as I mentioned before Ed Sheeran's "Perfect" is the biggest gainer this week but next week I am expecting Pink's "What About Us" to return to the top 10 with the "Beautiful Trauma" album drop, it regained much of it's lost ground to jump from 17 to 12. "What Lovers Do" by Maroon 5 and SZA jumped to 17 from 21 last week. "Too Mjuch to Ask" by Niall Horan to 31 and "Homemade Dynamite" by Lorde, Khalid, SZA and Pos Malone to 32.
The biggest loser this week was Demi Lovato's "Sorry Not sorry" which slipped from 13 to 20, "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar slipped from 30 to 36, "Lay It On Me" by Vance Joy went back to 28 from 24.
As for the new entries, they are interesting, the success of "rockstar" has seen the arrival of "I Fall Apart" by Post Malone at 26 as the chart's highest new entry. Halsey's "Bad at Love" enters at number 42, another Pink album track "Whatever You Want" lands at 44, "Pray' by Sam Smith enters at 45, Charlie Puth's decent "How Long" arrives at number 47 and the last of the new entries in the top 50 is current US number one "Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)" by Cardi B at 48.
New entries to the top 100 include "Mystik" by Tash Sultana at 77 (check that song out, it is brilliant), "Help Me Out" by Maroon 5 and Julia Michaels at 83 and "Gucci Gang" by Lil Pump at 91.
As for the drop outs, apart from the Macklemore and The Killers songs, "...Ready for it?" by Taylor Swift (apparently a new single on the way soon), significantly "Slow Hands" by Niall Horan (done enough to make the year end top 100 so not that worried), "Most Girls" by Hailee Steinfeld and "2U" by David Guetta and Justin Bieber.
Whew, we should get a bit of a comedown week so expecting a fourth week at number one for "rockstar" or can "Havana" challenge it? We'll see on Saturday when ARIA reveal the charts.
We lost not only "Same Love" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert which dropped out of the top 50 altogether because the controversy over that died but also "1-800-273-8255" by Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid which dropped from 7 to 11 and "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons which finally dropped out of the top 10 after peaking at number 2 earlier this year.
So what replaced all that inside the top 10? Let's find out.
Of course, there's no change at number 1 with "rockstar" by Post Malone and 21 Savage number 1 for a third week. (It's not the worst song but I am not quite seeing it's appeal).
At number 2 is Camila Cabello with 'Havana" which climbed up six spots to be Cabello's most successful song in Australia to date and outchart 5th Harmony's most successful song in Australia "Work From Home" which peaked at number 3 last year. "Havana" is a halfway decent song, happy to see it in the top 5.
Macklemore and Skylar Gray dropped back to number 3 with "Glorious"
Ed Sheeran has a broken arm after being hit by a car in London while on his bike meanwhile "Perfect" is this week's biggest gainer, it rose from 19 to number 4.
The next two songs "Too Good at Goodbyes" by Sam Smith and "Dusk til Dawn" by Zayn and Sia remain at five and six respectively.
Dua Lipa's "New Rules" bore the brunt of the fall out this week with that song dropping from 3 to 7 this week.
Khalid is an early favourite to snare a Grammy nomination for best new artist which is not surprising considering "Young, Dumb and Broke" continues to climb the chart, it sits at number 8 this week.
Portugal. The Man continue their shock success with "Feel It Still" rising from 15 to number 9. It's predicted it will reach number 6 in the US this week.
Rounding up the top 10 is "Good old days" by Macklemore and Kesha which climbed 6 places to number 10.
So as I mentioned before Ed Sheeran's "Perfect" is the biggest gainer this week but next week I am expecting Pink's "What About Us" to return to the top 10 with the "Beautiful Trauma" album drop, it regained much of it's lost ground to jump from 17 to 12. "What Lovers Do" by Maroon 5 and SZA jumped to 17 from 21 last week. "Too Mjuch to Ask" by Niall Horan to 31 and "Homemade Dynamite" by Lorde, Khalid, SZA and Pos Malone to 32.
The biggest loser this week was Demi Lovato's "Sorry Not sorry" which slipped from 13 to 20, "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar slipped from 30 to 36, "Lay It On Me" by Vance Joy went back to 28 from 24.
As for the new entries, they are interesting, the success of "rockstar" has seen the arrival of "I Fall Apart" by Post Malone at 26 as the chart's highest new entry. Halsey's "Bad at Love" enters at number 42, another Pink album track "Whatever You Want" lands at 44, "Pray' by Sam Smith enters at 45, Charlie Puth's decent "How Long" arrives at number 47 and the last of the new entries in the top 50 is current US number one "Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)" by Cardi B at 48.
New entries to the top 100 include "Mystik" by Tash Sultana at 77 (check that song out, it is brilliant), "Help Me Out" by Maroon 5 and Julia Michaels at 83 and "Gucci Gang" by Lil Pump at 91.
As for the drop outs, apart from the Macklemore and The Killers songs, "...Ready for it?" by Taylor Swift (apparently a new single on the way soon), significantly "Slow Hands" by Niall Horan (done enough to make the year end top 100 so not that worried), "Most Girls" by Hailee Steinfeld and "2U" by David Guetta and Justin Bieber.
Whew, we should get a bit of a comedown week so expecting a fourth week at number one for "rockstar" or can "Havana" challenge it? We'll see on Saturday when ARIA reveal the charts.
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