We had a doozy of a week, folks. We've got a new number one, some re-entries and a major album bomb so let's get straight into this without delay.
As I mentioned we do have a new number one with Ariana Grande landing her first Australian singles number 1 with "No Tears Left To Cry" on the song's debut on the chart however I fear with what's oncoming soon, her stay at number one could be rather short lived...I'll explain when we get to it.
Ariana going straight in at number one meant the previous number one "Nice for What" by Drake got pushed back to number 2 and "Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign back to number 3 but I think "Psycho" holds a chance to make a play for number one following the release of Post Malone's album "Beerbongs and Bentleys" on Friday...an album getting mixed reviews apparently.
Khalid and Normani remained at number 4 with "Love Lies" as did The Weekend at number 5 with "Call Out my Name"
"One Kiss" by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa (I still can't bring myself to like this song at all) jumped 3 places to number 6.
"Freaky Friday" by Lil Dicky and Chris Brown jumped 1 place to number 7 but this was all because of the sudden collapse for Drake's "God's Plan" to number 9... a drop of 5 places. Ouch1
"Friends" by Marshmello and Anne-Marie dropped two places to number 9 although with Anne Marie releasing her album on Friday, this song could well see a boost.
Rounding out the top 10 is "The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey which fell two places to number 10.
Now let's look at the rest of the chart
Gains
With there being an album bomb from J Cole, big gains are hard to find but 5 Seconds of Summer managed to achieve the biggest gain of the week with "Youngblood up 20 places to 26.
In further good news, "I Said Hi" by Amy Shark rose 4 places to 34 (Please let it be a hit. PLEASE)
"I Like it' by Cardi B feat. Bad Bunny and J Balvin arrived at number 16.
Re-Entries
The tragic and sad death of Avicii saw "Wake Me Up" with Aloe Blacc return at 14, "Levels" at 24, "Without You" with Sandro Cavazza at 36 and "Hey Brother" at 38
Losers
The most substantial loser this week was Bad Wolves with their cover of The Cranberries "Zombie" falling to 42 from 26
"This is Me" by Keala Settle and The Greatest Showman Ensemble fell hard to 50 from 36
"Delicate" by Taylor Swift took a hit as well as it fell 7 places to 37.
Pnau's "Go Bang" remains the only Australian song to crack the top ten but it fell hard to 49 from 35.
"River" by Eminem and Ed Sheeran fell from 22 to 28 while "Never Be The Same" by Camila Cabello fell 9 places to 30. Post Malone's "Rockstar" with 21 Savage fell ten places to 33 (should get a boost from the release of the album).
Drop Outs
As you would expect in a week with plenty of new entries, there is a LOT of songs that dropped out, let's start with the 2017 songs that got forced off like "Feel It Still" by Portugal, The Man, "Silence" by Marshmello and Khalid (that may very well make the year end list for this year), "Wolves" by Marshmello and Selena Gomez, "New Rules" by Dua Lipa and "Let You Down" by NF.
Also gone are songs released this year that may make the year end list like "Pray for Me" by The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar, "I Miss You" by Clean Bandit and Julia Michaels, "Finesse" by Bruno Mars and Cardi B and "We're Going Home" by Vance Joy.
Nicki Minaj's underwhelming "Barbie Tingz" is gone taking with it "Plug Walk" by Rich The Kid (thank goodness), "Wasted Times" by The Weeknd and "You Are the Reason" by Calum Scott
New Entries
Already mentioned Ariana Grande's "No Tears Left to Cry" being the highest debut at number one so let's deal with the J Cole songs that turned up first of all beginning with "Kod" at 20, "ATM" at 32. "Photograph" at 41, "Kevin's Heart" at 46 and finally "Motiv8" at 47.
Of the other new songs that aren't J Cole's? Well there's "2002" by Anne-Marie at 27, Dennis Lloyd has his first ARIA singles chart hit with "Nevermind" at 42, "OTW" by Khalid feat. Ty Dolla $ign and 6lack at 44.
I expect most of the J Cole to be gone next week replaced by Post Malone. Joy. Anway, the race for the top is gonna get interesting as to whether "Psycho" can knock "No Tears left to Cry" off number one.
Just a reminder, no New Music Friday Review, might have my top 10 best hit songs from 2003 up next week some time so we'll see.
Wednesday, 2 May 2018
Tuesday, 1 May 2018
New Music Friday Review; Liam Payne and J Balvin try to create the 2018 "Despacito" and new Ariana Grande
Song: Familiar
Artists: Liam Payne, J Balvin
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I truly believe that "Despacito" has begun a serious trend of English/American artists teaming up with Latin music stars to attempt to find a hit given Liam's last single with Zedd "Bedroom Floor" really did tank hard and well, I am not sure that "Familiar" is the hit that Liam wants or needs, oh sure its catchy and the lyrics aren't THAT bad, they are all about getting to 'know' that hot girl's body with the typical latin pop instrumentation and production, I can't say I am overtly crazy about the song though.
However this trend of people trying to create the 2018 "Despacito" needs to stop and soon.
Rating: 6/10
Song: Babe
Artists: Sugarland, Taylor Swift
American country act Sugarland are back and this time they have released a song that was an off cut from Taylor Swift's album "Red" and yeah you can kind of tell the song is an off cut for Taylor Swift with the lyrics (kind of a step back from '1989' given that she was young at the time) but given Jennifer Nettles really is an impressive vocallist, this song does sound better than it had any right to be especially with Taylor only singing backing vocals. Not expecting this to be a hit but would welcome it if it does happen. Decent song.
Rating: 7/10
Song: 2002
Artist: Anne-Marie
Just me or is Anne-Marie becoming one of those frustrating artists who you know is capable of better than what she releases and her new single '2002' is a case in point an instantly dated song making references to songs that don't come from the year 2002 eg: Britney Spears 1999 hit "Baby, One More Time" and its all set to the same guitar riff that doesn't change or do anything different, it's all very clunky so I'll pass on this and hope it doesn't become a hit.
Rating 4/10
Song: No Tears Left to Cry
Artist: Ariana Grande
I am not going to go into the whole thing to do with the awful events in Manchester and how this song deals with it and the whole debate over whether or not it should have been a ballad because I'd rather talk about how much fun this song is and it's about freaking time we got a song that was pure fun on the charts, heck, "No Tears Left to Cry" is a jam in many ways that is reminiscent of late 80s early 90s Janet Jackson (Look up "Runaway" and you'll get what I am talking about). I really enjoyed this and hope it's a mega hit for her.
Rating: 9/10
Best of the Week: "No Tears Left to Cry" by Ariana Grande
Worst: "2002" by Anne-Marie
No New Music Friday review for releases on Friday 25th April, not all that interesting a week. Check out "Time" by Gretta Ray amd "Brooklyn in Summer" by Aloe Blacc.
Next week:
"The Way I Am" by Charlie Puth (he has released pretty much half of his album "VoiceNotes" now)
"Bloom" by Troye Sivan (Out May 3)
"Hunger" by Florence and The Machine (Out May 3)
"You Can Cry" by Marshmello, Juicy J feat. James Arthur
"Jump" by Julia Michaels
"Accelerate" by Christina Aguilera
Beyond that who knows!
Monday, 23 April 2018
ARIA top ten/ Chart Review: 23rd April: Drake replaces himself at number one as Calvin and Dua break into top 10
Well we got change right at the very top of the ARIA chart this week...well the song at the top changed..oh you'll see what I am getting so let's not muck around and go straight to the top ten.
Drake keeps his slot at number one but with "Nice For What" replacing "God's Plan" at number one, the last one to do it as the main artist on a song was Macklemore and Ryan Lewis back in 2013 with "Thrift Shop" and "Same Love". Justin Bieber did it last year as the featured act on DJ Khaled's "I'm the One" and Luis Fonsi's and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito".
However despite the new number one "Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign at number 2. I still think with Post Malone's album "Beerbongs and Bentleys" to be released this week to push this to very close to number one in the next few weeks.
All this pushed "God's Plan" by Drake to number 3 after eleven weeks or so at number one (I'd lost count) and "Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani to number 4.
The Weeknd's "Call Out My Name" regains some momentum by jumping 1 place to number 5
"Freaky Friday" by Lil Dicky and Chris Brown is continuing to thoroughly run out its welcome by not falling from the chart quick enough by only dropping two places to number 6.
Speaking of out staying it's welcome "Friends" by Marshmello and Anne-Marie falls from 5 to 7 while "The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey rose 1 spot to 8 basically because "IDGAF" by Dua Lipa collapsed to 11.
While we're on Dua Lipa, one of the biggest movers of the week belongs to "One Kiss" by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa because it stormed up the chart from 17 to 9, it's number one in the UK and stands a chance of maybe knocking Drake off.
Somehow "These Days' by Rudimental, Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen remains at number 10 for a second week.
Gains
The biggest gainer of the week was "Zombie" by Bad Wolves which climbed 10 places to 26, "Nothing to Regret" by Robinson jumping from 31 to 27 while "Remind Me to Forget" by Kygo and Miguel jumped from 43 to 37 (YES!).
"Hurt Somebody" by Noah Kahan and Julia Michaels jumped from 22 to 16.
Returns
No returns this week.
Losses
The biggest loss was for The Weeknd with "Wasted Times" falling from 30 to 49 while his hit with Kendrick Lamar "Pray for Me" fell to 33 from 26.
"Finesse" by Bruno Mars and Cardi B is on the way out falling from 27 to 31 (that song should probably squeak into the year end list)
Drop Outs
The only song that could potentially make the year end list that left the chart this week is "Candy Paint' by Post Malone which reached a peak of 19.
Also gone are "Capital Letters" by Hailee Steinfeld and Bloodpop (bit of a pity as that song is pretty good), "For You" by Liam Payne (he just dropped a new song with J Balvin) and Rita Ora, "Think About You" by Delta Goodrem (I've soured on this song a bit lately) and unfortunately "Lost in Japan" by Shawn Mendes.
New Entries
So what replaced the songs we lost? Well, Cardi B brought a new song with J Balvin and Bad Bunny called "I Like It" in at number 25 (that song is going to be HUGE!), Zayn's "Let Me" debuts at number 29 (which is okay...it's a sex jam but it's alright), Amy Shark debuts at 38 with "I Said Hi", Nicki Minaj debuts at 41 with "Barbie Tingz" (meh) and 5 Seconds of Summer's album title track "Youngblood" debuting at 46,
That wraps up the week and it's looking like heating up at the top with the impending arrival of Ariana Grande with her new single and hopefully Drake getting knocked off number 1 by Ariana or ANYONE.
Drake keeps his slot at number one but with "Nice For What" replacing "God's Plan" at number one, the last one to do it as the main artist on a song was Macklemore and Ryan Lewis back in 2013 with "Thrift Shop" and "Same Love". Justin Bieber did it last year as the featured act on DJ Khaled's "I'm the One" and Luis Fonsi's and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito".
However despite the new number one "Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign at number 2. I still think with Post Malone's album "Beerbongs and Bentleys" to be released this week to push this to very close to number one in the next few weeks.
All this pushed "God's Plan" by Drake to number 3 after eleven weeks or so at number one (I'd lost count) and "Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani to number 4.
The Weeknd's "Call Out My Name" regains some momentum by jumping 1 place to number 5
"Freaky Friday" by Lil Dicky and Chris Brown is continuing to thoroughly run out its welcome by not falling from the chart quick enough by only dropping two places to number 6.
Speaking of out staying it's welcome "Friends" by Marshmello and Anne-Marie falls from 5 to 7 while "The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey rose 1 spot to 8 basically because "IDGAF" by Dua Lipa collapsed to 11.
While we're on Dua Lipa, one of the biggest movers of the week belongs to "One Kiss" by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa because it stormed up the chart from 17 to 9, it's number one in the UK and stands a chance of maybe knocking Drake off.
Somehow "These Days' by Rudimental, Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen remains at number 10 for a second week.
Gains
The biggest gainer of the week was "Zombie" by Bad Wolves which climbed 10 places to 26, "Nothing to Regret" by Robinson jumping from 31 to 27 while "Remind Me to Forget" by Kygo and Miguel jumped from 43 to 37 (YES!).
"Hurt Somebody" by Noah Kahan and Julia Michaels jumped from 22 to 16.
Returns
No returns this week.
Losses
The biggest loss was for The Weeknd with "Wasted Times" falling from 30 to 49 while his hit with Kendrick Lamar "Pray for Me" fell to 33 from 26.
"Finesse" by Bruno Mars and Cardi B is on the way out falling from 27 to 31 (that song should probably squeak into the year end list)
Drop Outs
The only song that could potentially make the year end list that left the chart this week is "Candy Paint' by Post Malone which reached a peak of 19.
Also gone are "Capital Letters" by Hailee Steinfeld and Bloodpop (bit of a pity as that song is pretty good), "For You" by Liam Payne (he just dropped a new song with J Balvin) and Rita Ora, "Think About You" by Delta Goodrem (I've soured on this song a bit lately) and unfortunately "Lost in Japan" by Shawn Mendes.
New Entries
So what replaced the songs we lost? Well, Cardi B brought a new song with J Balvin and Bad Bunny called "I Like It" in at number 25 (that song is going to be HUGE!), Zayn's "Let Me" debuts at number 29 (which is okay...it's a sex jam but it's alright), Amy Shark debuts at 38 with "I Said Hi", Nicki Minaj debuts at 41 with "Barbie Tingz" (meh) and 5 Seconds of Summer's album title track "Youngblood" debuting at 46,
That wraps up the week and it's looking like heating up at the top with the impending arrival of Ariana Grande with her new single and hopefully Drake getting knocked off number 1 by Ariana or ANYONE.
Saturday, 21 April 2018
New Music Friday Review: Returns aplenty with Zayn, Amy Shark and more
Let's not muck around because it was a busy, busy week.
Song: Ferrari
Artist Bebe Rexha
I have to be honest here, I have never been impressed by Bebe Rexha as a vocalist, her vocals don't grab my attention instantly like Lorde or even Adele do and her hit with Florida Georgia Line "Meant To Be" is just one of those songs that really is just mediocre at best so can her new single from forthcoming album "Expectations" change my mind.
Honestly, this isn't all that bad but I am not sure it's something that I'll remember with Rexha's vocals almost straining on the chorus. The instrumentation is closer to rock than anything else, still I doubt I am going to remember it in the long term.
Rating: 6/10
Song: Let Me
Artist: Zayn
The lead single from Zayn's forthcoming second album (reportedly will be released in June) and it's a straight up sex jam right from the opening line "Sweet baby, our sex has meaning / Know this time you'll stay 'til the morning" and I have to say that for once the instrumentation is actually really kind of sexy and fits the mood of the song which is surprising given there's a long list of supposed 'sex songs' that miss the mark for being actually sexy in terms of the instrumentation. It's decent. Nice one, Zayn.
Rating: 7/10
Song: Sky Full of Song
Artist: Florence and the Machine
Here's another return and a much welcome one at that with Florence and the Machine dropping a new single and yet again this song is pretty darn great mainly because it's a little more understated than a lot of Florence and the Machine's work in the past because Florence Welch really doesn't belt like she has in the past, her voice is strident but it comes across so beautifully here in a song dealing with a questionable relationship and it's effects on others. Good job!
Rating: 8/10
Song: Cry Pretty
Artist:Carrie Underwood
So Carrie Underwood is back with her first single from her sixth album of the same name and "Cry Pretty" is something of a country rock epic with Underwood really showing her ability to let loose when the opportunity calls in a song about how we can all fake certain things in life, we can't fake feeling vulnerable and that it is okay to cry. It's not going to chart on the ARIA Singles chart unfortunately because for some reason only bro country and faux country seem to be hits but PLEASE check this song out!
Song: I Said Hi
Artist: Amy Shark
I have to admit I have been pretty excited all year about potential new music from Amy Shark and I am delighted to say "I Said Hi" is a fantastic song, a kiss off song to those that ignored her talent (their loss quite honestly) and yet again Amy is brutally honest in her lyrics and the guitars and other instrumentation sound stunning, this is actually better than "Adore" if you ask me.
Rating: 9/10
Best: Only giving out best of the week because there's no real bad songs. "I Said Hi" by Amy Shark gets the honours.
Next week: New music from Ariana Grande, Liam Payne teams up with Latin music star J Balvin and Khalid teams up with rising star Billie Eilish
Song: Ferrari
Artist Bebe Rexha
I have to be honest here, I have never been impressed by Bebe Rexha as a vocalist, her vocals don't grab my attention instantly like Lorde or even Adele do and her hit with Florida Georgia Line "Meant To Be" is just one of those songs that really is just mediocre at best so can her new single from forthcoming album "Expectations" change my mind.
Honestly, this isn't all that bad but I am not sure it's something that I'll remember with Rexha's vocals almost straining on the chorus. The instrumentation is closer to rock than anything else, still I doubt I am going to remember it in the long term.
Rating: 6/10
Song: Let Me
Artist: Zayn
The lead single from Zayn's forthcoming second album (reportedly will be released in June) and it's a straight up sex jam right from the opening line "Sweet baby, our sex has meaning / Know this time you'll stay 'til the morning" and I have to say that for once the instrumentation is actually really kind of sexy and fits the mood of the song which is surprising given there's a long list of supposed 'sex songs' that miss the mark for being actually sexy in terms of the instrumentation. It's decent. Nice one, Zayn.
Rating: 7/10
Song: Sky Full of Song
Artist: Florence and the Machine
Here's another return and a much welcome one at that with Florence and the Machine dropping a new single and yet again this song is pretty darn great mainly because it's a little more understated than a lot of Florence and the Machine's work in the past because Florence Welch really doesn't belt like she has in the past, her voice is strident but it comes across so beautifully here in a song dealing with a questionable relationship and it's effects on others. Good job!
Rating: 8/10
Song: Cry Pretty
Artist:Carrie Underwood
So Carrie Underwood is back with her first single from her sixth album of the same name and "Cry Pretty" is something of a country rock epic with Underwood really showing her ability to let loose when the opportunity calls in a song about how we can all fake certain things in life, we can't fake feeling vulnerable and that it is okay to cry. It's not going to chart on the ARIA Singles chart unfortunately because for some reason only bro country and faux country seem to be hits but PLEASE check this song out!
Song: I Said Hi
Artist: Amy Shark
I have to admit I have been pretty excited all year about potential new music from Amy Shark and I am delighted to say "I Said Hi" is a fantastic song, a kiss off song to those that ignored her talent (their loss quite honestly) and yet again Amy is brutally honest in her lyrics and the guitars and other instrumentation sound stunning, this is actually better than "Adore" if you ask me.
Rating: 9/10
Best: Only giving out best of the week because there's no real bad songs. "I Said Hi" by Amy Shark gets the honours.
Next week: New music from Ariana Grande, Liam Payne teams up with Latin music star J Balvin and Khalid teams up with rising star Billie Eilish
Wednesday, 18 April 2018
ARIA top ten/chart review: 16th April: Drake stays number one as Khalid and Normani reach top 3.
It was a mixed week on the chart, sure there was plenty of movement on the charts including within the top ten, a couple of new arrivals and even a couple of returns
But where things didn't change was at the very top of the ARIA singles chart where for an 11th week, Drake is at number 1 with "God's Plan"
That meant "Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign remains at number 2 although with Post Malone set to finally drop that album of his, this song could make a play for number one.
"Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani jumped 5 places to number 3 this week which is great news because I really do love that song.
What's not so great is "Freaky Friday" by Lil Dicky and Chris Brown remaining steady at number 4. I want this song gone ASAP!.
What's only marginally better than "Freaky Friday" is "Friends" by Marshmello and Anne Marie remaining steady at number 5.
The Weeknd's "Call Out My Name" dropped 3 places to number 6 as people forget that he released "My Dear Melancholy"
Drake has the highest new entry of the week with "Nice for What?" debuting at number 7, I really don't like that song if I am being honest, it's saved by the Lauryn Hill sample.
Dua Lipa's "IDGAF" looks to be exiting the top ten with a two place fall to number 8.
"The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey remains steady at number 9.
Also headed out of the top ten is "These Days" by Rudimental featuring Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen falling 3 places to round out the top ten this week at number ten.
So what might replace it?
Gains
The biggest gain this week is "Nothing to Regret" by Robinson ( a song that while I still like it, there's a part me of thinking it sounds like something Lorde would have done better) rose from 48 to 31 as it has gotten some serious radio traction.
"Hurt Somebody" by Noah Kahan and Julia Michaels also had a big climb up to 22 from 38.
Re- Entries
Delta Goodrem's "Think About You" has returned at number 19 (obviously because she's a judge on The Voice Australia and that show has returned). Not all that happy about it, I've gone cold on it a bit and I am not sure why.
What I haven't gotten tired of however is the other return "Remind Me to Forget" by Kygo and Miguel back at 43. It's a great song and I want it to become a big hit.
Losses
With the 50 Shades of Grey hype fading, it's not a surprise that Liam Payne and Rita Ora's "For You" slipped from 30 to 47...that song really hasn't caught on at all.
Also not catching on is "Lost in Japan" by Shawn Mendes which slipped from 41 to 49. "New Rules" by Dua Lipa slid from 33 to 40 (although that song is on the way out anyway)
"Wasted Times" was the only other The Weeknd song from "My Dear Melancholy" to survive but it slipped from 30 to 23.
Drop Outs.
Most of the songs that dropped out were tracks from The Weeknd's "My Dear Melancholy" with "Try Me" and "Privilege" gone as are the two songs with Gesaffelstein in "I was Never There" and "Hurt You"
Also gone are "Stir Fry" by Migo, "Him & I" by G-Eazy and Halsey and unfortunately "My My My" by Troye Sivan (its an okay song, chorus saves it a bit),
New Entries
I mentioned Drake's "Nice For What" being the highest new entry of the week at number 7, this week also saw "One Kiss" by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa arrive 17.
Bad Wolves cover of The Cranberries "Zombie" finally make it's top 50 debut at 36.
King Princess's debut single "1950" has given her first first top 50 debut at number 44 while unfortunately Rich the Kid has also arrived at number 50 with "Plug Walk" (sigh).
Anyway can Drake get a twelfth week at number one or can Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign finally knock Drake off number 1?
That question and more will be answered when ARIA releases the chart for the week of April 23rd on Saturday at 5pm.
But where things didn't change was at the very top of the ARIA singles chart where for an 11th week, Drake is at number 1 with "God's Plan"
That meant "Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign remains at number 2 although with Post Malone set to finally drop that album of his, this song could make a play for number one.
"Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani jumped 5 places to number 3 this week which is great news because I really do love that song.
What's not so great is "Freaky Friday" by Lil Dicky and Chris Brown remaining steady at number 4. I want this song gone ASAP!.
What's only marginally better than "Freaky Friday" is "Friends" by Marshmello and Anne Marie remaining steady at number 5.
The Weeknd's "Call Out My Name" dropped 3 places to number 6 as people forget that he released "My Dear Melancholy"
Drake has the highest new entry of the week with "Nice for What?" debuting at number 7, I really don't like that song if I am being honest, it's saved by the Lauryn Hill sample.
Dua Lipa's "IDGAF" looks to be exiting the top ten with a two place fall to number 8.
"The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey remains steady at number 9.
Also headed out of the top ten is "These Days" by Rudimental featuring Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen falling 3 places to round out the top ten this week at number ten.
So what might replace it?
Gains
The biggest gain this week is "Nothing to Regret" by Robinson ( a song that while I still like it, there's a part me of thinking it sounds like something Lorde would have done better) rose from 48 to 31 as it has gotten some serious radio traction.
"Hurt Somebody" by Noah Kahan and Julia Michaels also had a big climb up to 22 from 38.
Re- Entries
Delta Goodrem's "Think About You" has returned at number 19 (obviously because she's a judge on The Voice Australia and that show has returned). Not all that happy about it, I've gone cold on it a bit and I am not sure why.
What I haven't gotten tired of however is the other return "Remind Me to Forget" by Kygo and Miguel back at 43. It's a great song and I want it to become a big hit.
Losses
With the 50 Shades of Grey hype fading, it's not a surprise that Liam Payne and Rita Ora's "For You" slipped from 30 to 47...that song really hasn't caught on at all.
Also not catching on is "Lost in Japan" by Shawn Mendes which slipped from 41 to 49. "New Rules" by Dua Lipa slid from 33 to 40 (although that song is on the way out anyway)
"Wasted Times" was the only other The Weeknd song from "My Dear Melancholy" to survive but it slipped from 30 to 23.
Drop Outs.
Most of the songs that dropped out were tracks from The Weeknd's "My Dear Melancholy" with "Try Me" and "Privilege" gone as are the two songs with Gesaffelstein in "I was Never There" and "Hurt You"
Also gone are "Stir Fry" by Migo, "Him & I" by G-Eazy and Halsey and unfortunately "My My My" by Troye Sivan (its an okay song, chorus saves it a bit),
New Entries
I mentioned Drake's "Nice For What" being the highest new entry of the week at number 7, this week also saw "One Kiss" by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa arrive 17.
Bad Wolves cover of The Cranberries "Zombie" finally make it's top 50 debut at 36.
King Princess's debut single "1950" has given her first first top 50 debut at number 44 while unfortunately Rich the Kid has also arrived at number 50 with "Plug Walk" (sigh).
Anyway can Drake get a twelfth week at number one or can Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign finally knock Drake off number 1?
That question and more will be answered when ARIA releases the chart for the week of April 23rd on Saturday at 5pm.
Friday, 13 April 2018
ARIA Singles top ten/Chart Review: 9th April: The week of The Weeknd
It's rare 'album bombs' happen on the Australian charts, sure, we got it with Ed Sheeran last year and probably should have with Taylor Swift's album but she prioritised sales over streaming which of course saw a limited impact of "Reputation".
The reason I am talking about album bombs is because the ARIA singles chart was hit by a mini album bomb courtesy of The Weeknd's new EP "My Dear Melancholy" and it's impact was felt in the top 10...just not right at the very top unfortunately.
Yep, for another week, Drake holds down number one with "God's Plan" and at this point, it might well be Drake's awful new song "Nice For What" that knocks "God's Plan" off number one.
"Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign remains at number two because we can't have nice things doing well right now.
The Weeknd's "Call Out My Name" debuts at number 3 but I can see this song's impact being very limited.
Lil Dicky and Chris Brown continue their terrible rise up the ARIA chart with "Freaky Friday" rising 1 to number 4
"Friends" by Marshmello and Anne Marie swapped with "Freaky Friday" to slip to number 5.
"IDGAF" by Dua Lipa fell 3 places to number 6. Damn. Would have liked the song to go number one but that seems unlikely now.
Slipping to number 7 was "These Days" by Rudimental featuring Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen.
But in good news...at least to me, "Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani rose 2 places to number 8 and "The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey is on the way out of the top 10 falling two places to number 9 (thank goodness, that song really sucks)
"All the Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA is also on the way out as it fell two places to number 10.
Gains
Given The Weekend smashed everything, there wasn't a lot that gained apart from Taylor Swift's "Delicate" rising 7 places to number 31 and be the biggest gainer of the week while "Hurt Somebody" by Noah Kahan and Julia Michaels rose from 43 to 38.
Losses
It was a massive week for losses. Shawn Mendes suffered big losses for both his songs. "Lost in Japan" was the biggest loser falling from 27 to 41 while "In My Blood" dropped from 9 to 14, "Candy Paint" by Post Malone fell from 36 to 46, "For You" by Liam Payne and Rita Ora fell from 22 to 30 and finally of the big drops "My My My!" by Troye Sivan dropped from 41 to 50 (that song has not performed at all well quite honestly)
Drop Outs
Given there were six songs by The Weeknd to arrive on the chart, six made way and lets start with the crap that's gone like "Lemon" by N*E*R*D and Rihanna and "Changes" by XXXTentacion are both *thankfully) gone.
As is "Everybody" by Logic, "Let Me Go" by Hailee Steinfeld featuring, Alesso, Watt and Florida Georgia Line and "Everybody" by Logic and Marshmello.
The one song I am disappointed to see go is "Remind Me to Forget" by Kygo and Miguel...that song is pretty damn awesome.
New Entries
The Weeknd has all the new entries, already mentioned "Call Out My Name" at number 3 but "Wasted Times" debuted at 23, "Try Me" at 24, "Hurt You" with Gesaffelstein at 37, "I Was Never There" at 40 and finally "Privilege" at 45.
How much of "My Dear Melancholy" sticks around is anyone's guess but with what is set to debut this week, things could get interesting.
The reason I am talking about album bombs is because the ARIA singles chart was hit by a mini album bomb courtesy of The Weeknd's new EP "My Dear Melancholy" and it's impact was felt in the top 10...just not right at the very top unfortunately.
Yep, for another week, Drake holds down number one with "God's Plan" and at this point, it might well be Drake's awful new song "Nice For What" that knocks "God's Plan" off number one.
"Psycho" by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign remains at number two because we can't have nice things doing well right now.
The Weeknd's "Call Out My Name" debuts at number 3 but I can see this song's impact being very limited.
Lil Dicky and Chris Brown continue their terrible rise up the ARIA chart with "Freaky Friday" rising 1 to number 4
"Friends" by Marshmello and Anne Marie swapped with "Freaky Friday" to slip to number 5.
"IDGAF" by Dua Lipa fell 3 places to number 6. Damn. Would have liked the song to go number one but that seems unlikely now.
Slipping to number 7 was "These Days" by Rudimental featuring Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen.
But in good news...at least to me, "Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani rose 2 places to number 8 and "The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey is on the way out of the top 10 falling two places to number 9 (thank goodness, that song really sucks)
"All the Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA is also on the way out as it fell two places to number 10.
Gains
Given The Weekend smashed everything, there wasn't a lot that gained apart from Taylor Swift's "Delicate" rising 7 places to number 31 and be the biggest gainer of the week while "Hurt Somebody" by Noah Kahan and Julia Michaels rose from 43 to 38.
Losses
It was a massive week for losses. Shawn Mendes suffered big losses for both his songs. "Lost in Japan" was the biggest loser falling from 27 to 41 while "In My Blood" dropped from 9 to 14, "Candy Paint" by Post Malone fell from 36 to 46, "For You" by Liam Payne and Rita Ora fell from 22 to 30 and finally of the big drops "My My My!" by Troye Sivan dropped from 41 to 50 (that song has not performed at all well quite honestly)
Drop Outs
Given there were six songs by The Weeknd to arrive on the chart, six made way and lets start with the crap that's gone like "Lemon" by N*E*R*D and Rihanna and "Changes" by XXXTentacion are both *thankfully) gone.
As is "Everybody" by Logic, "Let Me Go" by Hailee Steinfeld featuring, Alesso, Watt and Florida Georgia Line and "Everybody" by Logic and Marshmello.
The one song I am disappointed to see go is "Remind Me to Forget" by Kygo and Miguel...that song is pretty damn awesome.
New Entries
The Weeknd has all the new entries, already mentioned "Call Out My Name" at number 3 but "Wasted Times" debuted at 23, "Try Me" at 24, "Hurt You" with Gesaffelstein at 37, "I Was Never There" at 40 and finally "Privilege" at 45.
How much of "My Dear Melancholy" sticks around is anyone's guess but with what is set to debut this week, things could get interesting.
Thursday, 12 April 2018
New Music Friday Review: Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa disappoint.
So I am going to combine the last two weeks of New Music Friday into the one blog entry because the 30th April New Music Friday contained little that was likely to going to break into the charts so I am going to combine the big releases from that week with some of the big releases from the past week which include new music from Cavin Harris feat. Dua Lipa and Sabrina Claudo working with Khalid.
Let's begin though with the return of The Weeknd
Song: Call Out My Name
Artist: The Weeknd
Ugh. The Weeknd at his most turgid and...well kind of boring...in a song allegedly aimed at Selena Gomez with instrumentation sounding like previous Weeknd songs that being "The Hills". Put it this way this isn't all that bad but it's not all that good either and judging by the fact that its already falling away on streaming and sales, people have already begun to forget this song exists.
Rating: 5/10
Song: One Kiss
Artists: Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa
Calvin Harris made some of the best music in 2017 with his funk stylings but unfortunately with "Nuh Ready, Nuh Ready" with PARTYNEXTDOOR was generic EDM song that sucked and I feared that Harris had slipped back to generic EDM banger mode so were my fears founded when he teamed up with one of the leading young female artists in the world, Dua :Lipa?
Unfortunately I think so, One Kiss is not at all a good song and it could have been so much better. Dua Lipa's voice sounds so thin as she's trying to sing against all the production, it's just not at all befitting a combination where the song should have been a whole lot better than this. I'm hitting fast forward on this.
Rating: 4/10
Song: Don't Let Me Down
Artists: Sabrina Claudio, Khalid
Finally getting to a song with a bit of quality but before I go into the song, if you don't know who Sabrina Claudio is an American singer/songwriter who was first discovered on Soundcloud and has been on the scene since 2016 but hasn't really had any notable success in Australia however that might all be about to change because Khalid is on fire with having hit songs right (just look at "Love Lies" with Normani), this song is really quite good.
Yeah, there's a really nice chemistry between Khalid and Claudio which given the song's content needs to be there, it's a passionate love song laden with synths and a dancehall chorus but you know what? For what it is, it's a pretty great song.
Rating: 8/10
Song: Be Careful
Artist: Cardi B
Cardi B is probably one of the biggest break out stars of the US rap scene in the last year or so, that said her highest charting hit in Australia has been with Bruno Mars on his song "Finesse" and "Bodak Yellow" charted in the high 30s for a few weeks but success for Cardi has been limited however "Be Careful" is the latest single from her recently released album "Invasion of Privacy" and honestly it's not a good song for one thing the instrumentation doesn't suit the song at all and she doesn't sound good trying to be more melodic.
Rating: 5/10
Best: "Don't Let Me Down" by Sabrina Claudio feat. Khalid
Worst: "One Kiss" by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa
Next week:
"I Said Hi" by Amy Shark
"Let Me" by Zayn
Two new songs from Bebe Rexha
Nicki Minaj drops two new singles
Carrie Underwood drops new single "Cry Pretty"
Let's begin though with the return of The Weeknd
Song: Call Out My Name
Artist: The Weeknd
Ugh. The Weeknd at his most turgid and...well kind of boring...in a song allegedly aimed at Selena Gomez with instrumentation sounding like previous Weeknd songs that being "The Hills". Put it this way this isn't all that bad but it's not all that good either and judging by the fact that its already falling away on streaming and sales, people have already begun to forget this song exists.
Rating: 5/10
Song: One Kiss
Artists: Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa
Calvin Harris made some of the best music in 2017 with his funk stylings but unfortunately with "Nuh Ready, Nuh Ready" with PARTYNEXTDOOR was generic EDM song that sucked and I feared that Harris had slipped back to generic EDM banger mode so were my fears founded when he teamed up with one of the leading young female artists in the world, Dua :Lipa?
Unfortunately I think so, One Kiss is not at all a good song and it could have been so much better. Dua Lipa's voice sounds so thin as she's trying to sing against all the production, it's just not at all befitting a combination where the song should have been a whole lot better than this. I'm hitting fast forward on this.
Rating: 4/10
Song: Don't Let Me Down
Artists: Sabrina Claudio, Khalid
Finally getting to a song with a bit of quality but before I go into the song, if you don't know who Sabrina Claudio is an American singer/songwriter who was first discovered on Soundcloud and has been on the scene since 2016 but hasn't really had any notable success in Australia however that might all be about to change because Khalid is on fire with having hit songs right (just look at "Love Lies" with Normani), this song is really quite good.
Yeah, there's a really nice chemistry between Khalid and Claudio which given the song's content needs to be there, it's a passionate love song laden with synths and a dancehall chorus but you know what? For what it is, it's a pretty great song.
Rating: 8/10
Song: Be Careful
Artist: Cardi B
Cardi B is probably one of the biggest break out stars of the US rap scene in the last year or so, that said her highest charting hit in Australia has been with Bruno Mars on his song "Finesse" and "Bodak Yellow" charted in the high 30s for a few weeks but success for Cardi has been limited however "Be Careful" is the latest single from her recently released album "Invasion of Privacy" and honestly it's not a good song for one thing the instrumentation doesn't suit the song at all and she doesn't sound good trying to be more melodic.
Rating: 5/10
Best: "Don't Let Me Down" by Sabrina Claudio feat. Khalid
Worst: "One Kiss" by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa
Next week:
"I Said Hi" by Amy Shark
"Let Me" by Zayn
Two new songs from Bebe Rexha
Nicki Minaj drops two new singles
Carrie Underwood drops new single "Cry Pretty"
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