This week is interesting, there's a potential challenger for number one and a new song in the top 5 (pity it isn't all that good but we'll get to that), the song that (unfortunately) left the top ten was "Finesse" by Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B which slipped from 9 to 11 but I am confident it will rebound following the performance at rhe Grammys this week.
Now to the actual top ten where "Perfect" and various remixes by Ed Sheeran feat. Beyonce/Andrea Boccelli spends an eighth week at number one but I have a feeling this song may well be vulnerable.
And I say this because the song ruling the iTunes chart in Australia, "Meant To Be" by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line which jumped from 4 to number 2 and looks to be a very real chance of replacing Ed Sheeran at number one.
This meant "I Fall Apart" by Post Malone and "River" by Eminem feat. Ed Sheeran both slipped one place. "I Fall Apart" back to number 3 and "River back to number 4/
New at number 5 is the US and UK number one "God's Plan" by Drake from his "Scary Hours" EP, it's streaming numbers have been extraordinary, time will tell if it can make a play for number one in spite of what I think of the song.
Former chart topper "Havana' by Camila Cabello feat. Young Thug slipped out of the top 5, dropping two places to number 6. Not really a surprise, this song has had a fantastic run. Don't worry Camilizers, there's more Camila to talk about shortly.
Beyond that, "Let You Down" by NF and "Silence" by Marshmello feat. Khalid remain static at 7 and 8 respectively.
"Rockstar" by Post Malone and 21 Savage looks to finally be exiting the top 10 after dropping three places to number 9.
Rounding out the top ten is "This Is Me" by Keala Settle and The Greatest Showman Ensemble for another week. Expecting to see this song climb into the top 10.
As for the biggest gainers this week, well the biggest gainer of the week was Zac Efron and Zendaya with "Rewrite the Stars" from The Greatest Showman musical which climbed 6 places to 24.
I mentioned there was more Camila news and this time it's good news with "Never Be The Same" jumping 5 places to number 12, wouldn't surprise me if it spent a week or two inside the top ten even though it's not the best song from the album..."Something's Gotta Give" should have been the next single.
"Go Bang" by PNAU climbed two places to 14 and with a certain boost ahead courtesy of the Triple J Hottest 100 on the weekend, it might well break the top 10.
What won't be breaking the top 10 is our biggest loser this week which was unfortunately "My My My!" by Troye Sivan which dropped from 14 to 27 which is disappointing. Come on Australia, get behind Australian music or do you only do that when it comes voting for the Hottest 100?
Rita Ora's "Anywhere" dropped 5 places to 28, "New Rules" by Dua Lipa dropped from 24 to 32, "Filthy" by Justin Timberlake dropped from 27 to 33 and "Good Old Days" by Macklemore and Kesha dropped from 33 to 40.
As for what dropped out? All the songs that fell were hits of 2017 with "Unforgettable" by French Montana feat. Swae Lee gone after 32 weeks and "Glorious" by Macklemore feat. Skylar Grey (Although could get a return because of the Hottest 100), "Lay It On Me" by Vance Joy (a pity because I really like that song), "Beautiful Trauma" by Pink, "Feels Great" by Cheat Codes featuring Fetty Wap and DVBZ and finally "Whatever It Takes" by Imagine Dragons.
Drake's "God's Plan" was the highest new entry at number 5. Rudimental, Jess Glynne and Macklemore arrived at 18 with "These Days", Dua Lipa turned up inside the top 50 at number 23 with "IDGAF", The Chainsmokers self aggrandising "Sick Boy enters at 42.
Kylie Minogue's "Dancing" is getting plenty of airplay on the radio which is fantastic as it entered at 46 and finally Keith Urban's "Parallel Lines" enters at 47.
Outside of the top 50? Drake's second song from "Scary Hours" EP, "Diplomatic Immunity was the best of those entering at 54, "Miss You" by Cashmere Cat, Major Lazer and Tory Lanez at 91 and Kesha's version of "This is Me" at number 93.
That completes this week's look at the ARIA Chart, with the Grammys and Hottest 100 this week, it could be a full meltdown on the chart, will "Perfect" retain number one for a ninth week? We'll wait and see.
The ARIA singles chart is released at 5pm AEDT on Saturday.
Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Friday, 26 January 2018
New Music Friday Review: 19th January. Kylie's BACK!
Another week, another New Music Friday but this week, it's got a bit of an Australian edge with new Kylie Minogue and Shannon Noll. Plus new music from The Chainsmokers and Drake (unfortunately) and this week I am going back to using Youtube because Spotify has effectively shat the bed tonight.
Let's get the garbage out of the way first.
Song: God's Plan
Artist: Drake
So this is apparently Drake's feel good track about his future and how apparently people want him to fail but God won't let him fail all set to a beat that isn't even remotely interesting or changes at all while Drake drones on and on about not a heck of a lot, there's not enough detail in this song that makes it all that compelling or even makes me want to give it repeated listens, that said it's probably bound to be a hit unfortunately.
Rating: 4/10.
Song: Sick Boy
Artust: The Chainsmokers
The self aggrandising and annoying duo are back with a brand new song that is pretty much a sloppy rip off of 21 Pilots, Jon Bellion and AJR but with a ironic political bent aimed at the United States and quite honestly I don't see this being a hit because I largely do not see what they are getting at and it would be oh so easy to claim this song is about US President Donald Trump but that would be easy and also a lot of past Chainsmokers songs have come across as pretty narcissistic so let's leave it that shall we?
Ratings: 2/10
Now onto the better stuff....
Song: Land of Mine
Artist: Shannon Noll
Now let's talk about somebody I rarely have a chance to mention, I am disappointed "Southern Sky" wasn't the Australian smash it deserved to be but Nollsy is back with a single off his new album "Unbroken" and he is going country which is not surprising given the heel turn "Southern Sky" took in terms of an apparent country undertone and quite honestly it's not a bad fit for Shannon's voice. The instrumentation reminds me of an old Bruce Springsteen track and I am loving REAL guitars and drums in this song. GO NOLLSY!
Rating: 8/10
Song: Dancing
Artist: Kylie Minogue
I haven't had much of an opportunity to talk about Kylie Minogue here so I was looking forward to talking about "Dancing" but when I heard that Kylie was embracing country music, I got worried. Would Kylie lose her pop vibes to be this country artist? As it turned out, I didn't need to be worried because "Dancing" is an oddball country/electronic banger that works and I love that the song is about going out dancing, I love that line in a pop song. Only thing is I am not convinced it's that good it's a lead off single.
Rating: 7/10
Best of the week: Shannon Noll for "Land Of Mine"
Worst of the week: The Chainsmokers for "Sick Boy" for basically being a confused mess of a song
Next week: Lady Gaga, Maren Morris teaming up with Zedd and Grey, Justin Timberlake's collaboration with Chris Stapleton and Camp Cope.
Let's get the garbage out of the way first.
Song: God's Plan
Artist: Drake
So this is apparently Drake's feel good track about his future and how apparently people want him to fail but God won't let him fail all set to a beat that isn't even remotely interesting or changes at all while Drake drones on and on about not a heck of a lot, there's not enough detail in this song that makes it all that compelling or even makes me want to give it repeated listens, that said it's probably bound to be a hit unfortunately.
Rating: 4/10.
Song: Sick Boy
Artust: The Chainsmokers
The self aggrandising and annoying duo are back with a brand new song that is pretty much a sloppy rip off of 21 Pilots, Jon Bellion and AJR but with a ironic political bent aimed at the United States and quite honestly I don't see this being a hit because I largely do not see what they are getting at and it would be oh so easy to claim this song is about US President Donald Trump but that would be easy and also a lot of past Chainsmokers songs have come across as pretty narcissistic so let's leave it that shall we?
Ratings: 2/10
Now onto the better stuff....
Song: Land of Mine
Artist: Shannon Noll
Now let's talk about somebody I rarely have a chance to mention, I am disappointed "Southern Sky" wasn't the Australian smash it deserved to be but Nollsy is back with a single off his new album "Unbroken" and he is going country which is not surprising given the heel turn "Southern Sky" took in terms of an apparent country undertone and quite honestly it's not a bad fit for Shannon's voice. The instrumentation reminds me of an old Bruce Springsteen track and I am loving REAL guitars and drums in this song. GO NOLLSY!
Rating: 8/10
Song: Dancing
Artist: Kylie Minogue
I haven't had much of an opportunity to talk about Kylie Minogue here so I was looking forward to talking about "Dancing" but when I heard that Kylie was embracing country music, I got worried. Would Kylie lose her pop vibes to be this country artist? As it turned out, I didn't need to be worried because "Dancing" is an oddball country/electronic banger that works and I love that the song is about going out dancing, I love that line in a pop song. Only thing is I am not convinced it's that good it's a lead off single.
Rating: 7/10
Best of the week: Shannon Noll for "Land Of Mine"
Worst of the week: The Chainsmokers for "Sick Boy" for basically being a confused mess of a song
Next week: Lady Gaga, Maren Morris teaming up with Zedd and Grey, Justin Timberlake's collaboration with Chris Stapleton and Camp Cope.
Sunday, 21 January 2018
ARIA Top Ten/ Chart Review: January 22. A Perfect Seven at number one for Ed Sheeran
On first glance, this week's ARIA chart looks run of the mill boring, the top couple didn't change and the number one doesn't look like being removed from it's place for awhile but if you go beyond the top 5, wow, it was a busy week.
We lost two songs from the top 10 this week with "Wolves" by Marshmello and Selena Gomez slipping from 9 to 11 and "Him & I" by G-Eazy and Halsey slipping from 10 to 13.
Now on to the top 10 where for a 7th week, "Perfect" and its various remixes by Ed Sheeran feat. Beyonce and Andrea Boccelli remains at number 1 and like I said it's hard to see when or how it's going to be knocked off the top spot.
"I Fall Apart" by Post Malone remains at number 2 for a second week which isn't a surprise as it is ruling streaming services right now.
"River" by Eminem feat. Ed Sheeran has gone number one in the UK this week but it sits at number 3 in Australia this week.
The boost of the back of the release of the album helped "Havana" by Camila Cabello feat. Young Thug recoup some of it's previous week's losses back up to number 4.
That meant "Meant To Be" by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line fell back to number 5.
Post Malone's second top 10 hit and former number 1 'Rockstar" featuring 21 Savage remains at number 6 and refuses to go away
NF's "Let You Down" switched with Marshmello and Khalid's "Silence". "Let You Down" moving up to number 7, "Silence" down to number 8.
Then you have the first of two new entries to the top ten, Bruno Mars scores his tenth Australian top ten and Cardi B her first with "Finesse (remix)" entering the top 10 at 9 having moved up six places.
Also moving up nine places this week to round out the top ten and be the second new top top ten entry is "This Is Me" by Keala Settle and The Greatest Showman Ensemble at number 10.
As for the big movers up the chart outside of, there weren't many of those this week with "Candy Paint" by Post Malone breaking into the top 20 at number 19 and the bland "I Miss You" by Clean Bandit feat. Julia Michaels also breaking into the top 20 at number 20 but the biggest move of the week went to a song from The Biggest Showman soundtrack with "Re-write the Stars" by Zac Efron and Zendaya moving up from 42 to number 30.
"All The Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA moved up from 34 to 31,
As for the major losers, Pink's "Beautiful Trauma" continues to be a non starter falling from 36 to 47. Drops also came for Rita Ora's "Anywhere" which fell from 17 to 23, Charlie Puth's "How Long" which fell from 25 to 32 (not going to be as big as "Attention" was which is unfortunate because's it's an okay song), "I Like Me Better" by Lauv falls from 31 to 36 (Looks like finally breaking into the Billboard Hot 100 in the upcoming week). "New Rules" by Dua Lipa fell from 16 to 24 and finally "Whatever It Takes" by Imagine Dragons fell from 38 to 46.
There are five new entries to the top 50 with week with the highest new entry being an Aussie (YAY!), Troye Sivan new single "My My My!" has entered the chart at number 14 to be the highest new entry for this week, Camila Cabello's "Never Be The Same" rode the album release hype to enter the ARIA chart at number 17 then we have to go all the way down to number 38 to find the new entry for Taylor Swift feat. Future and Ed Sheeran entitled "End Game" (A desaturated mess of a song that Ed Sheeran doesn't fit on at all).
"The Greatest Show" from The Greatest Showman soundtrack by the cast and ensemble of same musical arrived at number 42 and finally "Chateau" by Angus and Julia Stone finally arrived in top 50 at 49.
As for new entries in the top 100: the best of those is "IDGAF" by Dua Lipa at number 53, "We're Going Home" by Vance Joy at 57 (really would like to see this song and Dua Lipa's "IDGAF" break into the top 50), "Real Friends" by Camila Cabello at 86 and "One Last Song" by Sam Smith at number 98.
There were three re-entries this week courtesy of The Cranberries after the untimely death of Dolores O'Riordan with former ARIA chart number 1 "Zombie" at number 58, "Linger" at number 59 and "Dreams" at number 78.
So with the five new entries to the top 50, what dropped out? Mostly 2017 hits like "Friends" by Justin Bieber and Bloodpop, "1-800-273-82455" by Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid, "Man's Not Hot" by Big Shaq and "Sorry Not Sorry" by Demi Lovato. The other song to drop out was a debut last week in "The Weekend" by SZA.
Next week should be interesting as to whether Kylie Minogue can still land charting hits with "Dancing", it's doing pretty damn well on iTunes so we'll see what happens and whether or not anyone or anything can challenge for "Perfect" for number one.
We lost two songs from the top 10 this week with "Wolves" by Marshmello and Selena Gomez slipping from 9 to 11 and "Him & I" by G-Eazy and Halsey slipping from 10 to 13.
Now on to the top 10 where for a 7th week, "Perfect" and its various remixes by Ed Sheeran feat. Beyonce and Andrea Boccelli remains at number 1 and like I said it's hard to see when or how it's going to be knocked off the top spot.
"I Fall Apart" by Post Malone remains at number 2 for a second week which isn't a surprise as it is ruling streaming services right now.
"River" by Eminem feat. Ed Sheeran has gone number one in the UK this week but it sits at number 3 in Australia this week.
The boost of the back of the release of the album helped "Havana" by Camila Cabello feat. Young Thug recoup some of it's previous week's losses back up to number 4.
That meant "Meant To Be" by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line fell back to number 5.
Post Malone's second top 10 hit and former number 1 'Rockstar" featuring 21 Savage remains at number 6 and refuses to go away
NF's "Let You Down" switched with Marshmello and Khalid's "Silence". "Let You Down" moving up to number 7, "Silence" down to number 8.
Then you have the first of two new entries to the top ten, Bruno Mars scores his tenth Australian top ten and Cardi B her first with "Finesse (remix)" entering the top 10 at 9 having moved up six places.
Also moving up nine places this week to round out the top ten and be the second new top top ten entry is "This Is Me" by Keala Settle and The Greatest Showman Ensemble at number 10.
As for the big movers up the chart outside of, there weren't many of those this week with "Candy Paint" by Post Malone breaking into the top 20 at number 19 and the bland "I Miss You" by Clean Bandit feat. Julia Michaels also breaking into the top 20 at number 20 but the biggest move of the week went to a song from The Biggest Showman soundtrack with "Re-write the Stars" by Zac Efron and Zendaya moving up from 42 to number 30.
"All The Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA moved up from 34 to 31,
As for the major losers, Pink's "Beautiful Trauma" continues to be a non starter falling from 36 to 47. Drops also came for Rita Ora's "Anywhere" which fell from 17 to 23, Charlie Puth's "How Long" which fell from 25 to 32 (not going to be as big as "Attention" was which is unfortunate because's it's an okay song), "I Like Me Better" by Lauv falls from 31 to 36 (Looks like finally breaking into the Billboard Hot 100 in the upcoming week). "New Rules" by Dua Lipa fell from 16 to 24 and finally "Whatever It Takes" by Imagine Dragons fell from 38 to 46.
There are five new entries to the top 50 with week with the highest new entry being an Aussie (YAY!), Troye Sivan new single "My My My!" has entered the chart at number 14 to be the highest new entry for this week, Camila Cabello's "Never Be The Same" rode the album release hype to enter the ARIA chart at number 17 then we have to go all the way down to number 38 to find the new entry for Taylor Swift feat. Future and Ed Sheeran entitled "End Game" (A desaturated mess of a song that Ed Sheeran doesn't fit on at all).
"The Greatest Show" from The Greatest Showman soundtrack by the cast and ensemble of same musical arrived at number 42 and finally "Chateau" by Angus and Julia Stone finally arrived in top 50 at 49.
As for new entries in the top 100: the best of those is "IDGAF" by Dua Lipa at number 53, "We're Going Home" by Vance Joy at 57 (really would like to see this song and Dua Lipa's "IDGAF" break into the top 50), "Real Friends" by Camila Cabello at 86 and "One Last Song" by Sam Smith at number 98.
There were three re-entries this week courtesy of The Cranberries after the untimely death of Dolores O'Riordan with former ARIA chart number 1 "Zombie" at number 58, "Linger" at number 59 and "Dreams" at number 78.
So with the five new entries to the top 50, what dropped out? Mostly 2017 hits like "Friends" by Justin Bieber and Bloodpop, "1-800-273-82455" by Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid, "Man's Not Hot" by Big Shaq and "Sorry Not Sorry" by Demi Lovato. The other song to drop out was a debut last week in "The Weekend" by SZA.
Next week should be interesting as to whether Kylie Minogue can still land charting hits with "Dancing", it's doing pretty damn well on iTunes so we'll see what happens and whether or not anyone or anything can challenge for "Perfect" for number one.
Thursday, 18 January 2018
New Music Friday Review: Troye Sivan, Another 50 Shades Freed soundtrack song
So this week was weird, we got some new Troye Sivan, another song from the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack and a song for the NFL Superbowl.
Song: The Champion
Artists: Carrie Underwood, Ludacris
So this is the song being used by the TV networks for the Superbowl and by NBC for the upcoming Winter Olympics. Here's the thing, if you like Jessica Simpson's "Irresistible' meets Katy Perry's "Roar", its another cliched empowerment pop song about an athlete getting up again after they've been 'beaten' etc. In context for what it is, I guess it's okay if it's just for TV networks to use for their sports coverage. Carrie sounds fine, Ludacris guest verse is decent but both have done better but any other purpose? I can't say I'd want to hear these cliches from a pop song. Carrie, you are better than this.
Rating: 4/10
Song: My My My!
Artist: Troye Sivan
Troye Sivan is back with a new single and look, this song has some good moments, the verses and the pre chorus are pretty darn great and even the chorus is good even though it does feel like that Troye's voice is lost in the back of the mix somewhere however what kills me about this song is that introduction, it's sounds like a cassette tape running on it's last legs and really considering the rest of the song, it should have been better but definitely potential there.
Rating: 6/10
Song: Capital Letters
Artists: Hailee Steinfeld, Bloodpop
So the latest song released from the 50 Shades Freed soundtrack and I have got to say this probably the best Hailee Steinfeld has sounded on a song and really this isn't all that bad even if the meaning of the song does come across as a little pretentious (honestly) 'a metaphor for the power of love, then compared to the strong emphasis on capital letters" Ugh.
Even with this song continuing modern music's frustrating obsession with beats over any discernible melody, I actually don't mind this at all.
Rating: 7/10
Song: We're Going Home
Artist: Vance Joy
I was hoping that "We're Going Home" would be better than the painfully dull "Like Gold" however "We're Going Home" is pretty darn excellent. A quite rambling song that Vance Joy wrote while touring with Taylor Swift about stepping into the unknown and finding out what you as a person are made of inside and man, that chorus just springs a lot to my mind right now. I really enjoyed this song a lot largely because of the melody that is allowed to shine through.
Rating: 8/10
Best of the week: "We're Going Home" by Vance Joy
Worst: "The Champion" by Carrie Underwood feat. Ludacris
New Music Friday next week
- "Dancing" by Kylie Minogue
- "Sick Boy" by The Chainsmokers.
Song: The Champion
Artists: Carrie Underwood, Ludacris
So this is the song being used by the TV networks for the Superbowl and by NBC for the upcoming Winter Olympics. Here's the thing, if you like Jessica Simpson's "Irresistible' meets Katy Perry's "Roar", its another cliched empowerment pop song about an athlete getting up again after they've been 'beaten' etc. In context for what it is, I guess it's okay if it's just for TV networks to use for their sports coverage. Carrie sounds fine, Ludacris guest verse is decent but both have done better but any other purpose? I can't say I'd want to hear these cliches from a pop song. Carrie, you are better than this.
Rating: 4/10
Song: My My My!
Artist: Troye Sivan
Troye Sivan is back with a new single and look, this song has some good moments, the verses and the pre chorus are pretty darn great and even the chorus is good even though it does feel like that Troye's voice is lost in the back of the mix somewhere however what kills me about this song is that introduction, it's sounds like a cassette tape running on it's last legs and really considering the rest of the song, it should have been better but definitely potential there.
Rating: 6/10
Song: Capital Letters
Artists: Hailee Steinfeld, Bloodpop
So the latest song released from the 50 Shades Freed soundtrack and I have got to say this probably the best Hailee Steinfeld has sounded on a song and really this isn't all that bad even if the meaning of the song does come across as a little pretentious (honestly) 'a metaphor for the power of love, then compared to the strong emphasis on capital letters" Ugh.
Even with this song continuing modern music's frustrating obsession with beats over any discernible melody, I actually don't mind this at all.
Rating: 7/10
Song: We're Going Home
Artist: Vance Joy
I was hoping that "We're Going Home" would be better than the painfully dull "Like Gold" however "We're Going Home" is pretty darn excellent. A quite rambling song that Vance Joy wrote while touring with Taylor Swift about stepping into the unknown and finding out what you as a person are made of inside and man, that chorus just springs a lot to my mind right now. I really enjoyed this song a lot largely because of the melody that is allowed to shine through.
Rating: 8/10
Best of the week: "We're Going Home" by Vance Joy
Worst: "The Champion" by Carrie Underwood feat. Ludacris
New Music Friday next week
- "Dancing" by Kylie Minogue
- "Sick Boy" by The Chainsmokers.
Sunday, 14 January 2018
ARIA top ten/chart review: January 15 2018. Influx of new entries leaves a shake up
So we got some major action on the charts this week, some major shifts up and down the chart and influx of new entries to the chart and even a new entry to the top ten (just a pity it's not all that good) but we'll get to that.
The lone song to fall out of the top ten was "Feel It Still" by Portugal, the Man which dropped to number 11 which was no surprise.
However it's a sixth week at number one for "Perfect" and various remixes by Ed Sheeran featuring Beyonce and Andrea Boccelli but I am not certain how much longer this song has left number one with a huge push likely for "Havana" by Camila Cabello following the release of her album this week and momentum for a couple of new songs outside the top ten.
What was a surprise was the sudden jump from 4 to 2 for Post Malone's "I Fall Apart", really came out of nowhere until it's seen that the song actually had a pretty good week on iTunes and has been getting plenty of radio airplay.
"River" by Eminem feat. Ed Sheeran remains at number three, I am not sure where this song is going to get it's push from to go higher as it doesn't seem like it's going to be a single from "Revival"
The big non surprise of the week was the jump from 7 to 4 for "Meant to Be" by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia and it could go higher with the song absolutely ruling iTunes in the past week.
What all this meant was that "Havana" by Camila Cabello and Young Thug dropped from number 2 to number 5 but with the album getting rave reviews and to number 1 on iTunes, I can see this getting a boost...maybe not back to number 1 but a boost back to maybe 2 or 3.
"Rockstar" by Post Malone and 21 Savage remains at number 6 but time in the top 10 may well almost be up with stronger songs down further.
"Silence" by Marshmello and Khalid fell from 5 to 7 while NF remained steady at number 8 with "Let You Down", "Wolves" by Marshmello and Selena Gomez also remained where it was at number 9.
Now for the new entry to the top 10 which was "Him & I" by G-Eazy featuring Halsey which jumped six places to reach the top ten. I'll bite my tongue on the sarcasm. not thrilled at all to see this in the top ten.
As for outside of the top ten in the gains department, "This is me" by Keala Settle and the Greatest Showman Ensemble claimed biggest gainer of the week with a move from 34 to 19. The only decent song to have any kind of significant gain was Sheppard's "Coming Home" which jumped from 28 to 22 this week and oh, "Candy Paint" by Post Malone is okay, it went from 26 to 20 but the rest? "Cola" by Camelphat and Elderbook jumped from 48 to 40 off it's debut last week, "Congratulations" by Post Malone and Quavo continues to hang around like a bad smell by jumping from 38 to 33.
As for the losers, well, the biggest loser was "Man's Not Hot" by Big Shaq which fell from 30 to 44, most of the losers are really 2017 songs on the way out again this week with "Sorry not Sorry" by Demi Lovato falling to 50 from 43, "1-800-273-8255" by Logic, Alessia Cara and Khalid falling to 48 from 42. Also on way out because they are hits from 2017 are "Too Good at Goodbyes" by Sam Smith which fell to 32 from 24 and "Glorious" by Macklemore feat. Skylar Gray which dropped from 27 to 35.
We did indeed get a whole slew of new entries and most of these are pretty excellent, the highest new entry of the week went to "Finesse (remix)" by Bruno Mars and Cardi B at number 15 (this might just be the song that launches Cardi B in Australia) but that's not the only new entry that involves Cardi B because "No Limit" by G-Eazy featuring A$AP Rocky and Cardi B entered at number 43.
Justin Timberlake's "Filthy" entered at 28 which is a bit lower than I would have thought for a Justin Timberlake song but then again the song is fairly polarising, a lot love it, a lot hate it.
"The Greatest Showman" continues to lodge songs in the chart with "Re-Write the Stars" by Zac Efron and Zendaya entering at 42.
The upcoming "Black Panther" movie has seen Kendrick Lamar return to the charts with SZA for a song I don't mind at all even if SZA just OWNS the track completely. "All the Stars entering at 34.
Speaking of SZA, "The Weekend", a song that was a reasonable sized hit for her in the US last year. has finally arrived in Australia at number 49.
There was two new entries to the top 100 with the arrival of the increasingly bad "End Game" by Taylor Swift feat. Future and Ed Sheeran (I manage to find something new that pisses me off about that song every time I hear it) and the unsexy "For You" by Liam Payne and Rita Ora from the 50 Shades Freed soundtrack
The one re-entry this week saw was "Came here for Love" by Sigala and Ella Eyre at number 100.
As for the drop outs, I ain't complaining about any of these being gone... well okay, "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee plus the remix with Justin Bieber, the original of that song wasn't at all bad but I am happy to see the remix gone. Lil Pump's "Gucci Gang", Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road" and "What about Us?" by Pink are also gone after all having better than expected or should have chart runs.
The other two exits are no surprise given they were re-entries last week with "Mi Gente" by J Balvin and Willy William and "Stargazing" by Kygo feat. Justin Jesso exiting.
The lone song to fall out of the top ten was "Feel It Still" by Portugal, the Man which dropped to number 11 which was no surprise.
However it's a sixth week at number one for "Perfect" and various remixes by Ed Sheeran featuring Beyonce and Andrea Boccelli but I am not certain how much longer this song has left number one with a huge push likely for "Havana" by Camila Cabello following the release of her album this week and momentum for a couple of new songs outside the top ten.
What was a surprise was the sudden jump from 4 to 2 for Post Malone's "I Fall Apart", really came out of nowhere until it's seen that the song actually had a pretty good week on iTunes and has been getting plenty of radio airplay.
"River" by Eminem feat. Ed Sheeran remains at number three, I am not sure where this song is going to get it's push from to go higher as it doesn't seem like it's going to be a single from "Revival"
The big non surprise of the week was the jump from 7 to 4 for "Meant to Be" by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia and it could go higher with the song absolutely ruling iTunes in the past week.
What all this meant was that "Havana" by Camila Cabello and Young Thug dropped from number 2 to number 5 but with the album getting rave reviews and to number 1 on iTunes, I can see this getting a boost...maybe not back to number 1 but a boost back to maybe 2 or 3.
"Rockstar" by Post Malone and 21 Savage remains at number 6 but time in the top 10 may well almost be up with stronger songs down further.
"Silence" by Marshmello and Khalid fell from 5 to 7 while NF remained steady at number 8 with "Let You Down", "Wolves" by Marshmello and Selena Gomez also remained where it was at number 9.
Now for the new entry to the top 10 which was "Him & I" by G-Eazy featuring Halsey which jumped six places to reach the top ten. I'll bite my tongue on the sarcasm. not thrilled at all to see this in the top ten.
As for outside of the top ten in the gains department, "This is me" by Keala Settle and the Greatest Showman Ensemble claimed biggest gainer of the week with a move from 34 to 19. The only decent song to have any kind of significant gain was Sheppard's "Coming Home" which jumped from 28 to 22 this week and oh, "Candy Paint" by Post Malone is okay, it went from 26 to 20 but the rest? "Cola" by Camelphat and Elderbook jumped from 48 to 40 off it's debut last week, "Congratulations" by Post Malone and Quavo continues to hang around like a bad smell by jumping from 38 to 33.
As for the losers, well, the biggest loser was "Man's Not Hot" by Big Shaq which fell from 30 to 44, most of the losers are really 2017 songs on the way out again this week with "Sorry not Sorry" by Demi Lovato falling to 50 from 43, "1-800-273-8255" by Logic, Alessia Cara and Khalid falling to 48 from 42. Also on way out because they are hits from 2017 are "Too Good at Goodbyes" by Sam Smith which fell to 32 from 24 and "Glorious" by Macklemore feat. Skylar Gray which dropped from 27 to 35.
We did indeed get a whole slew of new entries and most of these are pretty excellent, the highest new entry of the week went to "Finesse (remix)" by Bruno Mars and Cardi B at number 15 (this might just be the song that launches Cardi B in Australia) but that's not the only new entry that involves Cardi B because "No Limit" by G-Eazy featuring A$AP Rocky and Cardi B entered at number 43.
Justin Timberlake's "Filthy" entered at 28 which is a bit lower than I would have thought for a Justin Timberlake song but then again the song is fairly polarising, a lot love it, a lot hate it.
"The Greatest Showman" continues to lodge songs in the chart with "Re-Write the Stars" by Zac Efron and Zendaya entering at 42.
The upcoming "Black Panther" movie has seen Kendrick Lamar return to the charts with SZA for a song I don't mind at all even if SZA just OWNS the track completely. "All the Stars entering at 34.
Speaking of SZA, "The Weekend", a song that was a reasonable sized hit for her in the US last year. has finally arrived in Australia at number 49.
There was two new entries to the top 100 with the arrival of the increasingly bad "End Game" by Taylor Swift feat. Future and Ed Sheeran (I manage to find something new that pisses me off about that song every time I hear it) and the unsexy "For You" by Liam Payne and Rita Ora from the 50 Shades Freed soundtrack
The one re-entry this week saw was "Came here for Love" by Sigala and Ella Eyre at number 100.
As for the drop outs, I ain't complaining about any of these being gone... well okay, "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee plus the remix with Justin Bieber, the original of that song wasn't at all bad but I am happy to see the remix gone. Lil Pump's "Gucci Gang", Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road" and "What about Us?" by Pink are also gone after all having better than expected or should have chart runs.
The other two exits are no surprise given they were re-entries last week with "Mi Gente" by J Balvin and Willy William and "Stargazing" by Kygo feat. Justin Jesso exiting.
Thursday, 11 January 2018
New Music Friday Review: It's back for 2018!
New Music Friday Review is back for the new year, ladies and gentlemen! Boy, we have a loaded line up of new songs to talk about including collabs by Bruno Mars and Cardi B, Kendrick Lamar and SZA team up as do Liam Payne and Rita Ora plus Justin Timberlake just happened to casually drop a new single so let's get started with...
So this is the lead off single from the 50 Shades Freed soundtrack, now the problem with most songs from the 50 Shades soundtracks is that they are incredibly unsexy just look at "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" by Zayn and Taylor Swift which got a Dishnourable mention from me last year and as hard as Liam Payne tries to stretch it into be sexy, this song just doesn't do it for me, Rita Ora just sounds so incredibly pitchy on that first verse, that said the chorus is pretty damn good in amongst the messy production that doesn't match what is supposed to be a sexy song for what amounts to a porn film!
Bruno Mars got Cardi B on a song from 24k Magic for a remixed version that is a throwback to the late 80s/early 90s and Cardi B fits right in with an 80s type flow that seems so effortless for her, she sounds awesome here meanwhile Bruno Mars sounds like he just having fun with plenty of charisma that you almost don't care that the song lyrically in some places doesn't make a great deal of sense. This song is blowing up huge in the US right now debuting at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 and early predictions for next week have it leaping to number 3 and you know what? It deserves to be huge, this is a FANTASTIC song.
So two of the most successful artists who broke into the mainstream last year have teamed up for a song for the upcoming Marvel film Black Panther and well, it's really quite the excellent song. SZA is just killing it with her vocals, she really does do a good job with this song and Kendrick is on point with a voice about how he doesn't want other people's expectations or congratulations. Really only some of the production is my only objection with an annoying beeping type noise playing intermittently through the track, otherwise decent song.
Best song: Easily "Finesse (remix)" by Bruno Mars and Cardi B
Worst: Not really anything that awful, I'm going to give it to "Filthy" by Justin Timberlake. That vocal delivery is not great.
New Music Friday Review next week:
- Troye Sivan's "My My My!" (Is released today at 4pm AEDT!)
- Vance Joy's "We're Going Home"
- "Capital Letters" by Hailee Steinfeld and Bloodpop (Another song from the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack)
- "The Champion" by Carrie Underwood and Ludacris (WTF, such a strange pairing that. One's a pop country music darling, the other is a rapper popular in the 2000s)
- Dua Lipa dropping yet another new single from her album, this one is "IDGAF" (video tomorrow)
- Camila Cabello releases her debut album and given the reviews for it so far, it could do pretty well and give "Havana" a boost toward a return to number one on the singles chart.
Song: For You
Artists: Liam Payne and Rita Ora
So this is the lead off single from the 50 Shades Freed soundtrack, now the problem with most songs from the 50 Shades soundtracks is that they are incredibly unsexy just look at "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" by Zayn and Taylor Swift which got a Dishnourable mention from me last year and as hard as Liam Payne tries to stretch it into be sexy, this song just doesn't do it for me, Rita Ora just sounds so incredibly pitchy on that first verse, that said the chorus is pretty damn good in amongst the messy production that doesn't match what is supposed to be a sexy song for what amounts to a porn film!
Rating: 5/10. The chorus saves it from a lower rating
Song: Finesse (Remix)
Artists: Bruno Mars, Cardi B
Bruno Mars got Cardi B on a song from 24k Magic for a remixed version that is a throwback to the late 80s/early 90s and Cardi B fits right in with an 80s type flow that seems so effortless for her, she sounds awesome here meanwhile Bruno Mars sounds like he just having fun with plenty of charisma that you almost don't care that the song lyrically in some places doesn't make a great deal of sense. This song is blowing up huge in the US right now debuting at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 and early predictions for next week have it leaping to number 3 and you know what? It deserves to be huge, this is a FANTASTIC song.
Rating: 9/10
Song: Filthy
Artist: Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake's lead off single from his upcoming new album "Man of the Woods" and it plays out like something from a dramatic action film soundtrack, the production on this song is EPIC to say the least and it might just be the best thing about this song because I am not a fan of Justin's vocal delivery at all which sounds very similar to Kelly Clarkson's delivery on "Love So Soft" which tired on me in short time, it just doesn't work for me at all.
Rating: 5/10
Song: All The Stars
Artists: Kendrick Lamar, SZA
So two of the most successful artists who broke into the mainstream last year have teamed up for a song for the upcoming Marvel film Black Panther and well, it's really quite the excellent song. SZA is just killing it with her vocals, she really does do a good job with this song and Kendrick is on point with a voice about how he doesn't want other people's expectations or congratulations. Really only some of the production is my only objection with an annoying beeping type noise playing intermittently through the track, otherwise decent song.
Rating; 8/10
Song: If You Leave Me Now
Artists: Charlie Puth, Boyz II Men
So if there was one artist who showed signs that his music was improving in 2017, it was Charlie Puth. "Attention" and "How Long" stuck around for a surprisingly long amount of time but the latest song from his delayed second album "VoiceNotes" sees him team up with R&B legends Boyz II Men for an acapella song that is basically Puth urging his partner not to walk out on him, the harmonies are great and Boyz II Men bring a lot of emotion to this song however there really isn't enough detail to the song, what is triggering this girl to consider walking on the relationship?
Rating: 7/10
Best song: Easily "Finesse (remix)" by Bruno Mars and Cardi B
Worst: Not really anything that awful, I'm going to give it to "Filthy" by Justin Timberlake. That vocal delivery is not great.
New Music Friday Review next week:
- Troye Sivan's "My My My!" (Is released today at 4pm AEDT!)
- Vance Joy's "We're Going Home"
- "Capital Letters" by Hailee Steinfeld and Bloodpop (Another song from the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack)
- "The Champion" by Carrie Underwood and Ludacris (WTF, such a strange pairing that. One's a pop country music darling, the other is a rapper popular in the 2000s)
- Dua Lipa dropping yet another new single from her album, this one is "IDGAF" (video tomorrow)
- Camila Cabello releases her debut album and given the reviews for it so far, it could do pretty well and give "Havana" a boost toward a return to number one on the singles chart.
Tuesday, 9 January 2018
The BEST Hit Songs of 2017
So it's finally time to flip the coin and discuss the best songs that became big this year but also were awesome in terms of their quality...yes, it's time to discuss the GOOD songs of which I am happy to say there were plenty of in 2017.
It was a good year for the charts, 2017 produced some outstanding songs so much like the worst list, let's begin with giving out those 5 Honourable mentions, shall we?
Honourable Mention 5: "Falling" by Jessica Mauboy
It was a toss up between this and "Waves by Dean Lewis for this spot but Jessica won me over because I love a song encapsulates the feeling of being in love and being annoyed by the person but you can't help falling in love with them, "Falling" is also free of a lot of the trap synthesisers but has a gorgeous acoustic guitar, piano texture and melody that just work. A positively dreamy song, well done Jessica!
Speaking of falling...there was one artist who improved markedly last year and yep...he along with his guest stars is getting an honourable mention.
Honourable mention 4: "Feels" by Calvin Harris feat. Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and Big Sean
2017 was the year Calvin Harris improved markedly...seriously, Harris stopped his habit of making generic EDM bangers for a funkier sound and boy what came as a result of that shift was "Feels"m a funky song that ended up being a top 10 smash in Australia (probably unlucky not to go number 1) and was the BEST thing that Katy Perry did for all of 2017 given the blandness of "Witness". In fact the song seems to lift the performances of all the artists with Big Sean at his best.
Honourable Mention 3: "There's Nothing Holding Me Back" by Shawn Mendes
2017 marked something of a return to form for Shawn Mendes after 2016 saw him release the torturous "Treat You Better" so in 2017 we got the rock pop leaning "There's Nothing Holding Me Back" which should have been on the standard edition of Mendes album "Illuminate" but was instead found on the dueluxe edition of the same album.
It's a pity that this song wasn't on the standard edition of "Illuminate" because it's one of the better songs that Mendes has released to date with it's guitar rollick and Mendes at least trying to put some growl into his vocals which he doesn't get there but all the same this was a good song for 2017 that lacked some decent rock songs on the ARIA singles chart.
Honourable Mention 2: "New Rules" by Dua Lipa
A song I am surprised wasn't bigger in Australia in 2017 however this song is still all kinds of awesome, its about how she's still in love with an ex and she knows getting back with him will more than likely be really dangerous so she is setting up some rules to protect her heart but knows she'll never get over him if she does get back with him and knows she needs to stay away.
Honestly the only reason this song missed the top 10 is that breakdown which is the weak point of an otherwise excellent song.
Honourable Mention 1: "Havana" by Camila Cabello
I wasn't expecting this song to grow so much on me after all Camila Cabello was apart of a pop act that had done nothing but land on songs on my end of year worst list and I wasn't really digging a lot of her solo stuff until "Havana" dropped, a latin tilted song with sunken pianos that don't push too much on Camila's voice or require her to reach notes that are impossible for her so yeah this song was good fun to dance to even though Young Thug sounds like he was phoning it in, he still works within the framing of the song. Just couldn't find a way to get "Havana" into my top 10 unfortunately
So now onto the top 10 and a song that I cannot believe was a hit
10. "Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man
This really did feel like "Shut up and Dance" by Walk the Moon a few years ago, how this song ended up becoming a hit by an obscure indie act is something that defies understanding but it's oh so justifiable with the production being the best thing,,,that beat at the start still gives me chills. The only thing that does unnerve me a little is that it sounds like a sped up version of "Dear Mr Postman" by the Carpenters but that's a very small thing in my mind because this song is great. Hope to see more Portugal, the Man on the charts in 2018.
I mentioned "Havana" grew on me quite a bit so did a certain other song that includes a female artist that I really haven't bothered with a great deal teaming up with a promising EDM producer.
9. "It Ain't Me" by Kygo and Selena Gomez
I am bemused as to why Selena doesn't make more EDM music rather than the pop R 'n' B lane she chose to go down with "Bad Liar" and "Fetish" because she proved in 2017 that her voice is perfect for songs that don't overly stress her vocals like "It Ain't Me" which some of that comes down to Kygo's ability to ensure the layering of the instrumention is done in such a way that it really suits Selena with guitars and the wistful lyrics recalling the end of a relationship.
Nice job by both!
Speaking of nice jobs, somebody we should certainly see more of on the Australian charts in 2018 is this lady because I adore her break out single.
8. "Adore" by Amy Shark
Bit lower down the list than I had originally thought but no less deserves to be here. Amy Shark's brutally honest lyrics about finding that confidence to be with the person you are in love with in order to make a move and yeah it definitely connects in all the right ways. Should have been a hit in the US but hey I am happy it was a hit in Australia because it means I can put a great song like this from an Australian artist on this list.
Now we've hit a song that was a ton of fun from three artists I didn't know where capable of this kind of fun.
7. "Slide" by Calvin Harris, Frank Ocean and Migos
So this is Calvin Harris second song on this list which is testament to how much he improved in 2017, Frank Ocean was an artist I'd never really found fascinating and Migos had been apart of the abomination that was "Bad and Boujee" amongst other generic hip hop mess so this song could have been a mess of epic proportions but what we got instead was a bright, colourful fun 80s retro funk song placing lasting connections between people under the spotlight with Migos doing a great job of coasting on the groove and Frank Ocean's vocal delivery being quite a lovely counterpoint even if it does at points feel like he is droning but who cares when the song is so much fun!
A song about being home on time from a night out partying would become a major hit this year and my god, it was good.\
6. "Mama" by Jonas Blue feat. William Singe
Who'd have thought a song all about getting home from a big party to mum so she doesn't stress would become a hit? Well, in 2017, "Mama" by Jonas Blue featuring Australian singer William Singe did become that hit. The multitracking of William Singe's vocals to the point where the vocals are literally a one person boy band and a clearly defined melody (something that has seemed to become an optinal extra in mainstream music in the last year or so). Songs like "Mama" and Calvin Harris's "Slide" are examples of when EDM can be absolutely great, hope it continues into 2018
2017 was the year female pop stars struggled, Katy Perry made one of the worst albums of her career while Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato also experienced limited success with their efforts however there were two female pop stars who returned, the first of which is a comeback that I am so glad actually happened, welcome back Kesha.
5. "Praying" by Kesha
This song is a healing one at least for me and I would hope in part that Kesha found some healing in terms of writing this song after the horror she experienced for five years. "Praying" provees beyond a shadow of a doubt that Kesha has an amazing voice without abusing auto tune, she comes across as extremely raw especially in that opening verse which for me is something that really does connect on an emotional scale. "Praying" also really did go close to be something fitting of the indie singer/songwriter scene.
The Weeknd had a weird 2017, he only had one hit for the year off Starboy and man, it was GOOD.
4. "I Feel It Coming" by The Weeknd and Daft Punk
This song was my most listened to song on Spotify for the whole year that's how much I love it with The Weeknd singing about wanting more from his relationship with a girl. Yes, it does feel very Michael Jackson esque in its vibe but as The Weeknd has pointed out he was inspired by Michael and a lot of artists do seem to hold their inspirations for their music through their music eg: Harry Styles and Niall Horan's debut albums.
Daft Punk do a great job at anchoring the song in 80s soul and R 'n' B which supports The Weeknd's vocals but "I Feel It Coming" wasn't in my top 3 songs of the year...somehow...
So I said there were two female pop stars who didn't mess up their returns in 2017, one was Kesha, the other? Lorde, you didn't get the hits that an album like Melodrama richly deserved!
3. "Green Light" by Lorde
So yet another song that just does the job. Lorde singing about her first heartbreak as the lead off single for "Melodrama" and its just the most blatantly pop as you can possibly get courtesy of Jack Antonoff's production with blend of piano and bass as Lorde seeks that green light from her heart so she can go out and find a new love after an ex dumped her and a chorus that just rings in your head. Come on, if you haven't shouted at a traffic light "That green light! I want it!" you haven't lived. In all seriousness though, how "Green Light" didn't make number one is a mystery I'll never understand.
When it comes to charismatic performers, I think this guy comes pretty close to the top of that charismatic list but he is also on this list.
2. "That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars
Don't get me wrong, I know "That's What I Like" isn't the best song from the way too short 24k Magic but this song does a heck of a lot right in terms of the late 70s early 80s throwback soul r'n'b, Mars just brings a whole load of charisma to his music that is impossible to deny which makes this song impossible to deny given his vocal delivery especially on the verses. Yes, it's a song about Bruno's incredible wealth that his love interest can share in but it's just so much fun that yeah I had no choice but to put it high on this list.
However Bruno was just pipped by a man who had a mega 2017 on the charts and yeah he is going to top this list...
1. "Castle on the Hill" by Ed Sheeran
I find this song hard to listen to sometimes because it resonates so deeply with me and on occasions has teared me thinking about it. Growing up, making those friends then one day becoming an adult resulting in being thrown into a world where some people lose those connections and sometimes going home to catch up with those friends you made in your childhood to restore those connections and catch up with what they have been doing with themselves since, something Ed Sheeran has captured so well in an almost U2 esque pop rock song.
Ed, please forget the romantic gunk of "Perfect" and do a rough edged rock album. "Castle on the Hill" the best hit song of 2017.
It was a good year for the charts, 2017 produced some outstanding songs so much like the worst list, let's begin with giving out those 5 Honourable mentions, shall we?
Honourable Mention 5: "Falling" by Jessica Mauboy
It was a toss up between this and "Waves by Dean Lewis for this spot but Jessica won me over because I love a song encapsulates the feeling of being in love and being annoyed by the person but you can't help falling in love with them, "Falling" is also free of a lot of the trap synthesisers but has a gorgeous acoustic guitar, piano texture and melody that just work. A positively dreamy song, well done Jessica!
Speaking of falling...there was one artist who improved markedly last year and yep...he along with his guest stars is getting an honourable mention.
Honourable mention 4: "Feels" by Calvin Harris feat. Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and Big Sean
2017 was the year Calvin Harris improved markedly...seriously, Harris stopped his habit of making generic EDM bangers for a funkier sound and boy what came as a result of that shift was "Feels"m a funky song that ended up being a top 10 smash in Australia (probably unlucky not to go number 1) and was the BEST thing that Katy Perry did for all of 2017 given the blandness of "Witness". In fact the song seems to lift the performances of all the artists with Big Sean at his best.
Honourable Mention 3: "There's Nothing Holding Me Back" by Shawn Mendes
2017 marked something of a return to form for Shawn Mendes after 2016 saw him release the torturous "Treat You Better" so in 2017 we got the rock pop leaning "There's Nothing Holding Me Back" which should have been on the standard edition of Mendes album "Illuminate" but was instead found on the dueluxe edition of the same album.
It's a pity that this song wasn't on the standard edition of "Illuminate" because it's one of the better songs that Mendes has released to date with it's guitar rollick and Mendes at least trying to put some growl into his vocals which he doesn't get there but all the same this was a good song for 2017 that lacked some decent rock songs on the ARIA singles chart.
Honourable Mention 2: "New Rules" by Dua Lipa
A song I am surprised wasn't bigger in Australia in 2017 however this song is still all kinds of awesome, its about how she's still in love with an ex and she knows getting back with him will more than likely be really dangerous so she is setting up some rules to protect her heart but knows she'll never get over him if she does get back with him and knows she needs to stay away.
Honestly the only reason this song missed the top 10 is that breakdown which is the weak point of an otherwise excellent song.
Honourable Mention 1: "Havana" by Camila Cabello
I wasn't expecting this song to grow so much on me after all Camila Cabello was apart of a pop act that had done nothing but land on songs on my end of year worst list and I wasn't really digging a lot of her solo stuff until "Havana" dropped, a latin tilted song with sunken pianos that don't push too much on Camila's voice or require her to reach notes that are impossible for her so yeah this song was good fun to dance to even though Young Thug sounds like he was phoning it in, he still works within the framing of the song. Just couldn't find a way to get "Havana" into my top 10 unfortunately
So now onto the top 10 and a song that I cannot believe was a hit
10. "Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man
This really did feel like "Shut up and Dance" by Walk the Moon a few years ago, how this song ended up becoming a hit by an obscure indie act is something that defies understanding but it's oh so justifiable with the production being the best thing,,,that beat at the start still gives me chills. The only thing that does unnerve me a little is that it sounds like a sped up version of "Dear Mr Postman" by the Carpenters but that's a very small thing in my mind because this song is great. Hope to see more Portugal, the Man on the charts in 2018.
I mentioned "Havana" grew on me quite a bit so did a certain other song that includes a female artist that I really haven't bothered with a great deal teaming up with a promising EDM producer.
9. "It Ain't Me" by Kygo and Selena Gomez
I am bemused as to why Selena doesn't make more EDM music rather than the pop R 'n' B lane she chose to go down with "Bad Liar" and "Fetish" because she proved in 2017 that her voice is perfect for songs that don't overly stress her vocals like "It Ain't Me" which some of that comes down to Kygo's ability to ensure the layering of the instrumention is done in such a way that it really suits Selena with guitars and the wistful lyrics recalling the end of a relationship.
Nice job by both!
Speaking of nice jobs, somebody we should certainly see more of on the Australian charts in 2018 is this lady because I adore her break out single.
8. "Adore" by Amy Shark
Bit lower down the list than I had originally thought but no less deserves to be here. Amy Shark's brutally honest lyrics about finding that confidence to be with the person you are in love with in order to make a move and yeah it definitely connects in all the right ways. Should have been a hit in the US but hey I am happy it was a hit in Australia because it means I can put a great song like this from an Australian artist on this list.
Now we've hit a song that was a ton of fun from three artists I didn't know where capable of this kind of fun.
7. "Slide" by Calvin Harris, Frank Ocean and Migos
So this is Calvin Harris second song on this list which is testament to how much he improved in 2017, Frank Ocean was an artist I'd never really found fascinating and Migos had been apart of the abomination that was "Bad and Boujee" amongst other generic hip hop mess so this song could have been a mess of epic proportions but what we got instead was a bright, colourful fun 80s retro funk song placing lasting connections between people under the spotlight with Migos doing a great job of coasting on the groove and Frank Ocean's vocal delivery being quite a lovely counterpoint even if it does at points feel like he is droning but who cares when the song is so much fun!
A song about being home on time from a night out partying would become a major hit this year and my god, it was good.\
6. "Mama" by Jonas Blue feat. William Singe
Who'd have thought a song all about getting home from a big party to mum so she doesn't stress would become a hit? Well, in 2017, "Mama" by Jonas Blue featuring Australian singer William Singe did become that hit. The multitracking of William Singe's vocals to the point where the vocals are literally a one person boy band and a clearly defined melody (something that has seemed to become an optinal extra in mainstream music in the last year or so). Songs like "Mama" and Calvin Harris's "Slide" are examples of when EDM can be absolutely great, hope it continues into 2018
2017 was the year female pop stars struggled, Katy Perry made one of the worst albums of her career while Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato also experienced limited success with their efforts however there were two female pop stars who returned, the first of which is a comeback that I am so glad actually happened, welcome back Kesha.
5. "Praying" by Kesha
This song is a healing one at least for me and I would hope in part that Kesha found some healing in terms of writing this song after the horror she experienced for five years. "Praying" provees beyond a shadow of a doubt that Kesha has an amazing voice without abusing auto tune, she comes across as extremely raw especially in that opening verse which for me is something that really does connect on an emotional scale. "Praying" also really did go close to be something fitting of the indie singer/songwriter scene.
The Weeknd had a weird 2017, he only had one hit for the year off Starboy and man, it was GOOD.
4. "I Feel It Coming" by The Weeknd and Daft Punk
This song was my most listened to song on Spotify for the whole year that's how much I love it with The Weeknd singing about wanting more from his relationship with a girl. Yes, it does feel very Michael Jackson esque in its vibe but as The Weeknd has pointed out he was inspired by Michael and a lot of artists do seem to hold their inspirations for their music through their music eg: Harry Styles and Niall Horan's debut albums.
Daft Punk do a great job at anchoring the song in 80s soul and R 'n' B which supports The Weeknd's vocals but "I Feel It Coming" wasn't in my top 3 songs of the year...somehow...
So I said there were two female pop stars who didn't mess up their returns in 2017, one was Kesha, the other? Lorde, you didn't get the hits that an album like Melodrama richly deserved!
3. "Green Light" by Lorde
So yet another song that just does the job. Lorde singing about her first heartbreak as the lead off single for "Melodrama" and its just the most blatantly pop as you can possibly get courtesy of Jack Antonoff's production with blend of piano and bass as Lorde seeks that green light from her heart so she can go out and find a new love after an ex dumped her and a chorus that just rings in your head. Come on, if you haven't shouted at a traffic light "That green light! I want it!" you haven't lived. In all seriousness though, how "Green Light" didn't make number one is a mystery I'll never understand.
When it comes to charismatic performers, I think this guy comes pretty close to the top of that charismatic list but he is also on this list.
2. "That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars
Don't get me wrong, I know "That's What I Like" isn't the best song from the way too short 24k Magic but this song does a heck of a lot right in terms of the late 70s early 80s throwback soul r'n'b, Mars just brings a whole load of charisma to his music that is impossible to deny which makes this song impossible to deny given his vocal delivery especially on the verses. Yes, it's a song about Bruno's incredible wealth that his love interest can share in but it's just so much fun that yeah I had no choice but to put it high on this list.
However Bruno was just pipped by a man who had a mega 2017 on the charts and yeah he is going to top this list...
1. "Castle on the Hill" by Ed Sheeran
I find this song hard to listen to sometimes because it resonates so deeply with me and on occasions has teared me thinking about it. Growing up, making those friends then one day becoming an adult resulting in being thrown into a world where some people lose those connections and sometimes going home to catch up with those friends you made in your childhood to restore those connections and catch up with what they have been doing with themselves since, something Ed Sheeran has captured so well in an almost U2 esque pop rock song.
Ed, please forget the romantic gunk of "Perfect" and do a rough edged rock album. "Castle on the Hill" the best hit song of 2017.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)