Let's not waste any time this week and get straight into the top ten where for a second week "Sunflower" by Post Malone and Swae Lee blooms at number one and honestly, I don't see this song going anywhere for the time being at least while the soundtrack for the new Spiderman movie is doing well and it is dominating on streaming right now.
Ava Max remains at number two this week with "Sweet but Psycho" but this song and "Without Me" by Halsey at number three are facing a threat from a song below.
A song that I think can leap to number two is "Wow" by Post Malone, it is behind "Sunflower" on streaming and with a good sales week, it is a contender for number one as well. It might be a really dumb song but hell, there's plenty of groove behind it.
The rise of "Without Me" and "Wow" meant "Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande suffered a two place drop back to number 5 and "Shotgun" by George Ezra also stumbled two places to number six
What isn't going anywhere is "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper as it remains steady at number seven. Honestly don't see this song leaving the charts any time soon,
"Eastside" by Benny Blanco feat. Halsey and Khalid switched with "Nothing Breaks like a Heart" by Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus to take number 8 and push "Nothing Breaks Like A Heart" back to number 9.
Finally also remaining steady at number ten is "Sicko Mode" by Travis Scott and Drake. Ugghh. Maybe the onslaught of new music might see it gone.
Gains
The biggest gainer this week is "Close to Me" by Ellie Goulding feat. Diplo and Swae Lee which jumped from 32 to 26. "Love Someone" by Lukas Graham jumped five places to 21 for no explainable reason (that song is horrid).
Best of the gains this week is "Saturday Nights" by Khalid which got a boost up to 32 from 37 this week but there's a remix with Kane Brown doing the rounds. Ugh, Why, Khalid?
Re-Entries
Speaking of Khalid, he has the highest placed return with "Lovely' with Billie Eilish back at 48 while the less welcome "Psycho" by Post Malone feat. Ty Dolla $ign is back at 50 because the charts fucking hate me.
Losses.
There were scant big drops this week so the biggest fall went to a 2018 left over "God's Plan" which fell to 49. (Honestly, there's a big argument as to why the ARIA Charts need to introduce recurring rules)
Drop outs
All four drop outs are songs that returned last week so "I Like It" by Cardi B feat. Bad Bunny and J Balvin, "In My Feelings" by Drake, 2017 left over "Shape Of You" by Ed Sheeran and "I Love It" by Kanye West and Lil Pump (Hopefully we can consign all of them to history, okay)
New Entries
We have two new entries with Guy Sebastian finally breaking into the top 50 with "Before I Go" at number 43. It's a terrific song and we need to make it a hit.
Finally NOTD have teamed up with Felix Jaehn, Captain Cuts and Georgia Ku for the new entry at 45 called "So Close"
Next week shapes as an interesting one especially with the new releases such as Sam Smith working with Normani but we'll find out on Saturday at 5pm AEDT when the chart updates.
Wednesday 16 January 2019
Monday 14 January 2019
Top Ten Best Hit Songs of 2018
It's now time to flip the script and talk about the top ten best songs of the year and while there were some good songs this year they don't really beat out the best of 2017's hits, my 2018 number one best hit doesn't hold a candle to 2017's number one which was "Castle on the Hill" by Ed Sheeran (a pick that I still stand by for the record)
So without further adieu is here my list of the top ten best hit songs of 2018 and we begin with a song that spent eight weeks at number one because hey, this band actually had a good song after all.
10. "Youngblood" by 5 Seconds of Summer
Look, I have never liked a lot of 5 Seconds of Summer's music so when this song came along I was pleasantly surprised. Yeah the song could have had more roaring guitars through the chorus but come on the content is downright catchy and its hard not to find yourself singing along due to the propulsive momentum from the bridge and chorus. Put it this way, this song won song of the year at the ARIAs for damn good reason.
In 2018, rock was pretty much dead on the charts unless you consider "High Hopes" by Panic! At the Disco rock music and this was the closest to a rock song we got on the ARIA charts and for once, it was pretty darn good.
9. "In My Blood" by Shawn Mendes
I so badly wanted to put "Youth" with Khalid as my pick here but as it wasn't a hit like it SHOULD have been I have gone for "In My Blood" a song that could be mistaken for a Kings of Leon "Use Somebody" especially in the production but hell, it suits the almost raw nature of the song where Shawn Mendes is desperate for help as he experiences feelings of anxiety and how it's cause him to want to give up, it shows with the tension in Shawn's voice, that tension matching in the production and finally causing the explosive yell of "It's in my blood" which releases the tension a little and then is allowed to build up again, its a good song and deserves its place here.
Calvin Harris had a good 2018 with two pretty good to excellent songs being top ten hits this year, the excellent making this list.
8. "Promises" by Calvin Harris and Sam Smith
Now look, like with the previous two other songs, this one has it's flaws. Jessie Reyez saying "Tonight" is pretty damn annoying and that giggle is obnoxious but there are elements within this song that work so well and a lot of it is down to Sam Smith's vocals where he uses a lot of his lower register which prove incredibly effective against the melody Calvin Harris supplies that is just infectious and while I am disappointed Harris went away from his funk sound that was fantastic in 2017, he did provide an awesome song that I just couldn't leave off this list because of it's unfiltered awesome.
Speaking of awesome, this woman had quite the 2018...
7. "I Said Hi" by Amy Shark
It's the second time Amy Shark has made my best list two years in a row and this song is probably better than "Adore". "Adore" has suffered a bit for me in recent months due to overplay but "I Said Hi" hit all the right buttons for me in terms of its 'fuck you' to the record label executives who thought Amy wasn't good enough over guitars and percussion that really amplify Amy's vocals and her success in the last two years is also a good middle finger to the record companies that wanted nothing of her, reckon most of them should be eating humble pie right now.
If you were wondering what happened George Ezra when he kind of disappeared for a couple of years following his last smash hit "Budapest"...well in 2018, he was back with a new album and his first number one single and welll....
6. "Shotgun" by George Ezra
I just couldn't deny this slice of infectious pop that just got stuck iny head most days especially after listening to his album 'Staying at Tamara's", :a song about slowing down and figuring out where you are at wbich is what Ezra did while on holidays, he went to Barcelona and sat in this garden and sorted out how he was feeling which is sometimes what we all to do is find a quiet place to sit down and reflect for awhile. I adore this song and it deserves to be on this list.
2018 was the year I understood this guy's appeal and hell, I even came to like what he was doing with his more moody R 'n' B so when he teamed up with a former member of a girl band who I consider to have released some of the worst songs from a girl group this decade, we got...this....
5. "Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani
So it's the second of the collaborations to make this list and honestly, it's actually surprising how much I fell in love with it as 2018 went on even despite an apparent lack of chemistry between Khalid and Normani as both ask their partners to choose who they want to be with over a kind of sleazy and a little creepy in a good way guitar line (heck, I wish guitar was used more in modern pop music). This song really became my jam during 2018.
4. "IDGAF" by Dua Lipa
So this is another of those "fuck you" songs that made this list (hmmm) and yeah it does sound like a top tier Pink song and much like most great Pink song, Dua Lipa knows how to restrain the swearing so that her point is made loud and clear, this guy isn't apart of her life anymore and she doesn't care about or need him anymore no matter how hard he tries to worm his way back into her heart and while "New Rules" was okay, "IDGAF" was soo much better.
So this year, this young lady got big, she even had her first and second number one singles in Australia, she even got her very first US number one but its her first Australian number one that's landing on this list and for good reason...
3. "No Tears Left to Cry" by Ariana Grande
2018 was a pretty awful year in Ariana Grande's personal life but for a couple of sweet months this song was something of a catharsis not only for her but for me as well off the back of dealing a lot of issues in recent years, this song came along and really made me smile reminiscent of Janet Jackson's early nineties work, "No Tears Left to cry" sees Grande declaring she hasn't got any more tears left to cry so instead she is going to pick her life up and move on as best she can without letting those internal or external problems bother her. It's a fantastic pop R 'n' B song that deserved more than just a week at number one.
So we're down to the final two songs on this list and for the longest time, I couldn't decide between two songs, one song that had made me cry and the other that made me smile. I re-listened to both songs and well.
2. "Healing Hands" by Conrad Sewell
It's been a couple of lean years for Conrad Sewell given he had been battling health issues in recent years but "Healing Hands" was a way to return to form with it's organ and piano as Conrad Sewell sings about those that were there for him when he was at his lowest/worst and vowing he will never try to push those who love him away again. "Healing Hands" was the song that broke my heart and brought me to tears quite often in 2018 such as how much it connected for me and deserves to be this high on this list.
So 2018 was a year that felt as though music had lost its sense of fun or at least helping people escape their own troubles in attempts to "relate" to the audience.but when Bruno Mars teamed up with the new Queen of Rap for a song that had a old but welcome sound.
1, "Finesse (Remix)" by Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B
Combine the king of retro music stylings, Bruno Mars with the newly crowned Queen of female rap, Cardi B and you get this slice of delicious revisit back to the late 80s, early 90s when New Jack Swing was everywhere in the top 40. Cardi B hops on an old school 80s flow for her verse that while does feel a bit tacked on works and Bruno Mars works the song with so much charisma that it's just a lot of fun that really makes me forget that the lyrics don't make sense. I cannot wait to see what both these two do next.
"Finesse" the best hit song of 2018.
So without further adieu is here my list of the top ten best hit songs of 2018 and we begin with a song that spent eight weeks at number one because hey, this band actually had a good song after all.
10. "Youngblood" by 5 Seconds of Summer
Look, I have never liked a lot of 5 Seconds of Summer's music so when this song came along I was pleasantly surprised. Yeah the song could have had more roaring guitars through the chorus but come on the content is downright catchy and its hard not to find yourself singing along due to the propulsive momentum from the bridge and chorus. Put it this way, this song won song of the year at the ARIAs for damn good reason.
In 2018, rock was pretty much dead on the charts unless you consider "High Hopes" by Panic! At the Disco rock music and this was the closest to a rock song we got on the ARIA charts and for once, it was pretty darn good.
9. "In My Blood" by Shawn Mendes
I so badly wanted to put "Youth" with Khalid as my pick here but as it wasn't a hit like it SHOULD have been I have gone for "In My Blood" a song that could be mistaken for a Kings of Leon "Use Somebody" especially in the production but hell, it suits the almost raw nature of the song where Shawn Mendes is desperate for help as he experiences feelings of anxiety and how it's cause him to want to give up, it shows with the tension in Shawn's voice, that tension matching in the production and finally causing the explosive yell of "It's in my blood" which releases the tension a little and then is allowed to build up again, its a good song and deserves its place here.
Calvin Harris had a good 2018 with two pretty good to excellent songs being top ten hits this year, the excellent making this list.
8. "Promises" by Calvin Harris and Sam Smith
Now look, like with the previous two other songs, this one has it's flaws. Jessie Reyez saying "Tonight" is pretty damn annoying and that giggle is obnoxious but there are elements within this song that work so well and a lot of it is down to Sam Smith's vocals where he uses a lot of his lower register which prove incredibly effective against the melody Calvin Harris supplies that is just infectious and while I am disappointed Harris went away from his funk sound that was fantastic in 2017, he did provide an awesome song that I just couldn't leave off this list because of it's unfiltered awesome.
Speaking of awesome, this woman had quite the 2018...
7. "I Said Hi" by Amy Shark
It's the second time Amy Shark has made my best list two years in a row and this song is probably better than "Adore". "Adore" has suffered a bit for me in recent months due to overplay but "I Said Hi" hit all the right buttons for me in terms of its 'fuck you' to the record label executives who thought Amy wasn't good enough over guitars and percussion that really amplify Amy's vocals and her success in the last two years is also a good middle finger to the record companies that wanted nothing of her, reckon most of them should be eating humble pie right now.
If you were wondering what happened George Ezra when he kind of disappeared for a couple of years following his last smash hit "Budapest"...well in 2018, he was back with a new album and his first number one single and welll....
6. "Shotgun" by George Ezra
I just couldn't deny this slice of infectious pop that just got stuck iny head most days especially after listening to his album 'Staying at Tamara's", :a song about slowing down and figuring out where you are at wbich is what Ezra did while on holidays, he went to Barcelona and sat in this garden and sorted out how he was feeling which is sometimes what we all to do is find a quiet place to sit down and reflect for awhile. I adore this song and it deserves to be on this list.
2018 was the year I understood this guy's appeal and hell, I even came to like what he was doing with his more moody R 'n' B so when he teamed up with a former member of a girl band who I consider to have released some of the worst songs from a girl group this decade, we got...this....
5. "Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani
So it's the second of the collaborations to make this list and honestly, it's actually surprising how much I fell in love with it as 2018 went on even despite an apparent lack of chemistry between Khalid and Normani as both ask their partners to choose who they want to be with over a kind of sleazy and a little creepy in a good way guitar line (heck, I wish guitar was used more in modern pop music). This song really became my jam during 2018.
4. "IDGAF" by Dua Lipa
So this is another of those "fuck you" songs that made this list (hmmm) and yeah it does sound like a top tier Pink song and much like most great Pink song, Dua Lipa knows how to restrain the swearing so that her point is made loud and clear, this guy isn't apart of her life anymore and she doesn't care about or need him anymore no matter how hard he tries to worm his way back into her heart and while "New Rules" was okay, "IDGAF" was soo much better.
So this year, this young lady got big, she even had her first and second number one singles in Australia, she even got her very first US number one but its her first Australian number one that's landing on this list and for good reason...
3. "No Tears Left to Cry" by Ariana Grande
2018 was a pretty awful year in Ariana Grande's personal life but for a couple of sweet months this song was something of a catharsis not only for her but for me as well off the back of dealing a lot of issues in recent years, this song came along and really made me smile reminiscent of Janet Jackson's early nineties work, "No Tears Left to cry" sees Grande declaring she hasn't got any more tears left to cry so instead she is going to pick her life up and move on as best she can without letting those internal or external problems bother her. It's a fantastic pop R 'n' B song that deserved more than just a week at number one.
So we're down to the final two songs on this list and for the longest time, I couldn't decide between two songs, one song that had made me cry and the other that made me smile. I re-listened to both songs and well.
2. "Healing Hands" by Conrad Sewell
It's been a couple of lean years for Conrad Sewell given he had been battling health issues in recent years but "Healing Hands" was a way to return to form with it's organ and piano as Conrad Sewell sings about those that were there for him when he was at his lowest/worst and vowing he will never try to push those who love him away again. "Healing Hands" was the song that broke my heart and brought me to tears quite often in 2018 such as how much it connected for me and deserves to be this high on this list.
So 2018 was a year that felt as though music had lost its sense of fun or at least helping people escape their own troubles in attempts to "relate" to the audience.but when Bruno Mars teamed up with the new Queen of Rap for a song that had a old but welcome sound.
1, "Finesse (Remix)" by Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B
Combine the king of retro music stylings, Bruno Mars with the newly crowned Queen of female rap, Cardi B and you get this slice of delicious revisit back to the late 80s, early 90s when New Jack Swing was everywhere in the top 40. Cardi B hops on an old school 80s flow for her verse that while does feel a bit tacked on works and Bruno Mars works the song with so much charisma that it's just a lot of fun that really makes me forget that the lyrics don't make sense. I cannot wait to see what both these two do next.
"Finesse" the best hit song of 2018.
Charting 1996: January 14th, 1996.HAPPY NEW CHART YEAR!
So here we are at the beginning of 1996.. ARIA took a break over the Christmas/New Year period which meant no charts so when things paused on Christmas Eve, the biggest hit song in Australia for 1995, "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio feat. I.V. was spending its tenth week at number one so have things really changed?
Well no...
For an eleventh week, "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio feat. I.V. remains at number one. A song that I respect more than actually like but hey, it was better than a large portion of the number ones in 1995 so eh.
Outhere Brothers jump one place to number 2 with "Boom Boom Boom" dislodging CDB's "Let's Groove" back to number 3.
The record breaker in the US, "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men remains at number 4. Don't see it getting to number one though as it seems to have already peaked and looks like being on it's way out.
One of the biggest gainers of the week is La Bouche's "Be My Lover" which jumped an extraordinary 12 places to reach number 5 and appears to be some chance of reaching number one.
Pearl Jam's "Merkinball" EP drops one place to number six but it took Deni Hines "It's Alright" down to number 7 and N-Trance feat. Ricardo Da Force's atrocious cover of the Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive" down to number 8.
Miss Sarajevo's "Passenger" also dropped one place to number 9.
Finally the biggest gainer of the week lies at number ten, that being.."Wonderwall" by Oasis which jumped 16 places to number 10.
Gainers
So outside the top ten? Groove Theory's "Tell Me" has people rushing to buy it as it surged to number 18 from 42 and Dreamworld (SE)'s "Movin' Up" jumped from 32 to 19.
Alanis Morissette continues get chart success with "Hand In My Pocket" up to 22 from 28. and "In the Summertime" by Shaggy feat. Rayvon leaping from 38 to 24.
Re Entries
Just the one re-entry with "Morning Glory" by Oasis back at number 46.
Losers.
Janet Jackson's "Runaway" began to run down the charts as it slipped twelve spots down to 37 while Sophie B. Hawkins song "As I Lay Me Down" stumbled eight places to 19.
The Beatles "Free as A Bird" suffered serious wing damage in it's plummet from 29 to 12.
Drop Outs
So the drop outs include "Joy to the World" by Mariah Carey, "Power of One" by Merril Bainbridge, "Mr. Milk" by You Am I and former chart topper in 1995 "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal
New Entries
Three new entries this week with the highest new entry being from M.C. Sar and The Real McCoy's "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)" at number 35, Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet" number 39 and number 50 'The Original's "I Luv U Baby"\
So that's it for the first chart round up of 1996, see you next week to find out if Coolio can remain at number one.
Well no...
For an eleventh week, "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio feat. I.V. remains at number one. A song that I respect more than actually like but hey, it was better than a large portion of the number ones in 1995 so eh.
Outhere Brothers jump one place to number 2 with "Boom Boom Boom" dislodging CDB's "Let's Groove" back to number 3.
The record breaker in the US, "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men remains at number 4. Don't see it getting to number one though as it seems to have already peaked and looks like being on it's way out.
One of the biggest gainers of the week is La Bouche's "Be My Lover" which jumped an extraordinary 12 places to reach number 5 and appears to be some chance of reaching number one.
Pearl Jam's "Merkinball" EP drops one place to number six but it took Deni Hines "It's Alright" down to number 7 and N-Trance feat. Ricardo Da Force's atrocious cover of the Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive" down to number 8.
Miss Sarajevo's "Passenger" also dropped one place to number 9.
Finally the biggest gainer of the week lies at number ten, that being.."Wonderwall" by Oasis which jumped 16 places to number 10.
Gainers
So outside the top ten? Groove Theory's "Tell Me" has people rushing to buy it as it surged to number 18 from 42 and Dreamworld (SE)'s "Movin' Up" jumped from 32 to 19.
Alanis Morissette continues get chart success with "Hand In My Pocket" up to 22 from 28. and "In the Summertime" by Shaggy feat. Rayvon leaping from 38 to 24.
Re Entries
Just the one re-entry with "Morning Glory" by Oasis back at number 46.
Losers.
Janet Jackson's "Runaway" began to run down the charts as it slipped twelve spots down to 37 while Sophie B. Hawkins song "As I Lay Me Down" stumbled eight places to 19.
The Beatles "Free as A Bird" suffered serious wing damage in it's plummet from 29 to 12.
Drop Outs
So the drop outs include "Joy to the World" by Mariah Carey, "Power of One" by Merril Bainbridge, "Mr. Milk" by You Am I and former chart topper in 1995 "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal
New Entries
Three new entries this week with the highest new entry being from M.C. Sar and The Real McCoy's "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)" at number 35, Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet" number 39 and number 50 'The Original's "I Luv U Baby"\
So that's it for the first chart round up of 1996, see you next week to find out if Coolio can remain at number one.
Thursday 10 January 2019
ARIA singles top ten/Chart Review: 7th January 2019: Christmas songs disappear as there's a new number one
So this week feels more transitional, we lost the Christmas songs replaced by drips and drops of whatever happened to drop out in previous weeks and in amidst all of that, we have a new number one.
That new number one is as I predicted last week that being. "Sunflower" by Post Malone feat. Swae Lee, it's Post Malone's third number one in Australia and Swae-Lee's first. Interesting, Post has yet to go number one on a song by himself (the closest he got was in 2017 with "I Fall Apart" reaching number 2 in January last year, blocked by Ed Sheeran's "Perfect") and it's not the last we'll hear of Post Malone in this top ten either.
Ava Max is our new number two with "Sweet But Psycho" jumping one place and is looking the main threat to the new number one at the moment
All this leaves "Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande in an awkward spot as its sales and streaming drop off until Ariana releases this new album of hers.
"Shotgun" by George Ezra continues to be wildly popular as it jumped two places to number four..
The new US number one "Without Me" by Halsey also jumped two places to number five. Mercifully I don't expect this song to go number one in Australia.
We have a new entry at number six...a song so blissfully stupid but yet pulls off a decent melody and beat, "Wow" by Post Malone at number six.
"Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper won big at the Golden Globes and continues to hang around in the top ten jumping two places to number seven.
Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus are back in the top ten with "Nothing Breaks like a Heart" up three places to number eight.
"Eastside" by Benny Blanco feat. Halsey and Khalid also continued to be a top ten mainstay by jumping from 13 to number 9.
Finally "Sicko Mode" by Travis Scott rounds up the top ten by jumping two places to number ten.
Gains
I'm going to rattle through the biggest gainers because there were plenty this week with all the Christmas songs gone, the biggest of those was "Ruin My Life" by Zara Larsson ( a song that is utterly forgettable) jumped back up from 50 to 34.
"Promises" by Calvin Harris and Sam Smith broke back into the top 20 jumping ten places from 27 to 17. "1999" by Charli XCX and Troye Sivan finally broke into the the top twenty by jumping ten places to number 18.
Unfortunately the exit of the Christmas songs meant the bro country stylings of Morgan Evans went up nine places to 27.
"Rise" by Jack and Jack also went up nine spots to 30.
Re-entries
Rightio, there's plenty of these this week beginning at number 32 with "Close to Me" by Ellie Goulding feat. Diplo and Swae Lee back at 32.
"Saturday Nights" by Khalid returns at 37 bringing with it "Lost in Japan" by Shawn Mendes.
Not welcome but back anyway is "Mo Bamba" by Sheck Wes at 40, I cannot believe people like nonsense that is out of tune....GET IT OUT OF THE CHARTS!'.
Also back are left overs from last year including "God's Plan" by Drake at 41 "In My Feelings" by Drake at 48, "2002" by Anne-Marie at 42, "I Like it" by Cardi B feat. Bad Bunny and J Balvin at number 44, "Lucid Dreams" by Juice WRLD (he features on a remix of Halsey's "Without Me"....sigh), "This Feeling" by The Chainsmokers feat. Kelsea Ballerini at 47 and "I Love It' by Kanye West and Lil Pump. Most of these songs I had hoped to leave behind in 2018.
Finally and more strangely are two 2017 left overs that I don't think willl stay around but you never know with "Rockstar by Post Malone feat. 21 Savage at 45 and "Shape Of You" by Ed Sheeran at 49.
Losers
The only major loser was Ariana Grande's "Imagine" which fell six places to 28.
Drop Outs
Not really much to say here other than that ALL the drop outs were Christmas songs.
New Entries
Just the one new entry that I've already mentioned, "Wow" by Post Malone at number six.
Have a feeling "Sunflower" will spend a second week at number one but we'll find out when the chart updates on Saturday at 5pm AEDT
That new number one is as I predicted last week that being. "Sunflower" by Post Malone feat. Swae Lee, it's Post Malone's third number one in Australia and Swae-Lee's first. Interesting, Post has yet to go number one on a song by himself (the closest he got was in 2017 with "I Fall Apart" reaching number 2 in January last year, blocked by Ed Sheeran's "Perfect") and it's not the last we'll hear of Post Malone in this top ten either.
Ava Max is our new number two with "Sweet But Psycho" jumping one place and is looking the main threat to the new number one at the moment
All this leaves "Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande in an awkward spot as its sales and streaming drop off until Ariana releases this new album of hers.
"Shotgun" by George Ezra continues to be wildly popular as it jumped two places to number four..
The new US number one "Without Me" by Halsey also jumped two places to number five. Mercifully I don't expect this song to go number one in Australia.
We have a new entry at number six...a song so blissfully stupid but yet pulls off a decent melody and beat, "Wow" by Post Malone at number six.
"Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper won big at the Golden Globes and continues to hang around in the top ten jumping two places to number seven.
Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus are back in the top ten with "Nothing Breaks like a Heart" up three places to number eight.
"Eastside" by Benny Blanco feat. Halsey and Khalid also continued to be a top ten mainstay by jumping from 13 to number 9.
Finally "Sicko Mode" by Travis Scott rounds up the top ten by jumping two places to number ten.
Gains
I'm going to rattle through the biggest gainers because there were plenty this week with all the Christmas songs gone, the biggest of those was "Ruin My Life" by Zara Larsson ( a song that is utterly forgettable) jumped back up from 50 to 34.
"Promises" by Calvin Harris and Sam Smith broke back into the top 20 jumping ten places from 27 to 17. "1999" by Charli XCX and Troye Sivan finally broke into the the top twenty by jumping ten places to number 18.
Unfortunately the exit of the Christmas songs meant the bro country stylings of Morgan Evans went up nine places to 27.
"Rise" by Jack and Jack also went up nine spots to 30.
Re-entries
Rightio, there's plenty of these this week beginning at number 32 with "Close to Me" by Ellie Goulding feat. Diplo and Swae Lee back at 32.
"Saturday Nights" by Khalid returns at 37 bringing with it "Lost in Japan" by Shawn Mendes.
Not welcome but back anyway is "Mo Bamba" by Sheck Wes at 40, I cannot believe people like nonsense that is out of tune....GET IT OUT OF THE CHARTS!'.
Also back are left overs from last year including "God's Plan" by Drake at 41 "In My Feelings" by Drake at 48, "2002" by Anne-Marie at 42, "I Like it" by Cardi B feat. Bad Bunny and J Balvin at number 44, "Lucid Dreams" by Juice WRLD (he features on a remix of Halsey's "Without Me"....sigh), "This Feeling" by The Chainsmokers feat. Kelsea Ballerini at 47 and "I Love It' by Kanye West and Lil Pump. Most of these songs I had hoped to leave behind in 2018.
Finally and more strangely are two 2017 left overs that I don't think willl stay around but you never know with "Rockstar by Post Malone feat. 21 Savage at 45 and "Shape Of You" by Ed Sheeran at 49.
Losers
The only major loser was Ariana Grande's "Imagine" which fell six places to 28.
Drop Outs
Not really much to say here other than that ALL the drop outs were Christmas songs.
New Entries
Just the one new entry that I've already mentioned, "Wow" by Post Malone at number six.
Have a feeling "Sunflower" will spend a second week at number one but we'll find out when the chart updates on Saturday at 5pm AEDT
Friday 4 January 2019
ARIA SIngles top ten: December 31st 2018: Christmas songs invade the top ten
So this is going to be a shortened edition of the usual chart review as most of the chart was invaded by Christmas songs - thanks streaming...not and it meant a new number one.
So yeah, streaming pretty much got "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey to number one. I am expecting it and the two other Christmas songs in the top ten to be gone next week.
What takes over at number one is an open question though, the favourite is likely to be "Sunflower" by Post Malone feat. Swae Lee which spent another week at number two. It is doing well on streamin and looking very likely to take over number one.\\
Ava Max is also a contender for number one as "Sweet But Psycho" stayed at number three this week.
"Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande might have dropped to number four but there's still a chance of it returning to number one especially with rumours of an album dropping soon.
Bulleting from 18 to 5 is Wham's "Last Christmas" but I don't tbink it will stick around however it forced down "Shotgun" by George Ezra one place to number six and Halsey's "Without Me" down three to number seven,
Band Aid 30 was the biggest gainer of the week up to number 8 from 37.
"Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper slipped two places to nunmber 9 and "Happier" by Marshmello and Bastille dropped one place to number ten.
Full top ten/chart review back next week. Fully expect the new Post Malone song to debut in the top ten this week given streaming numbers. The chart updates at 5pm on Saturdcay
So yeah, streaming pretty much got "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey to number one. I am expecting it and the two other Christmas songs in the top ten to be gone next week.
What takes over at number one is an open question though, the favourite is likely to be "Sunflower" by Post Malone feat. Swae Lee which spent another week at number two. It is doing well on streamin and looking very likely to take over number one.\\
Ava Max is also a contender for number one as "Sweet But Psycho" stayed at number three this week.
"Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande might have dropped to number four but there's still a chance of it returning to number one especially with rumours of an album dropping soon.
Bulleting from 18 to 5 is Wham's "Last Christmas" but I don't tbink it will stick around however it forced down "Shotgun" by George Ezra one place to number six and Halsey's "Without Me" down three to number seven,
Band Aid 30 was the biggest gainer of the week up to number 8 from 37.
"Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper slipped two places to nunmber 9 and "Happier" by Marshmello and Bastille dropped one place to number ten.
Full top ten/chart review back next week. Fully expect the new Post Malone song to debut in the top ten this week given streaming numbers. The chart updates at 5pm on Saturdcay
Sunday 30 December 2018
Top ten worst hit songs of 2018
We’ve reached the end of 2018 which means it’s time to sort
out the crap from the great so let’s begin with handing the crap what they
deserve…the top ten worst hit songs of 2018, now unlike last year where I had
five dishonourable mentions, I won’t be doing that this year with the reason
being most people move on and mostly forget the terrible stuff, heck I haven’t
thought about the majority of my worst hits of 2017 list apart from the top 3.
Now for the most part I didn’t mind a lot of the songs that
became hits this year on the ARIA charts however many disturbing trends showed
up this year including the music industry reducing itself to grave robbery to
ensure hits on the chart, some incredible laziness across rap and hip hop and
pop songs that exacerbated a lot of pop music’s issues…all of which will be
discussed here.
Here’s a reminder of the rules.
1.
Must have made ARIA’s end of year list.
Must have made ARIA’s end of year list.
2.
For a song to make this list, the song must have elements that are deeply annoying or even infuriating to land on this list. Being dull or overplayed on the radio is not enough to piss me off.
For a song to make this list, the song must have elements that are deeply annoying or even infuriating to land on this list. Being dull or overplayed on the radio is not enough to piss me off.
3.
No XXXtentacion or 6ix9ine will appear here because it’s just a given that both would appear here otherwise, yes, both made some pretty awful music but it’s not worth giving XXXtentacion’s music any attention given it’s now purely the music going down the path of grave robbery plus both are going to make everyone’s worst lists – after all “FEFE” by 6ix9ine and Nicki Minaj is a partial birth abortion masquerading as a song but these lists can get boring if we all put the same songs on them.
No XXXtentacion or 6ix9ine will appear here because it’s just a given that both would appear here otherwise, yes, both made some pretty awful music but it’s not worth giving XXXtentacion’s music any attention given it’s now purely the music going down the path of grave robbery plus both are going to make everyone’s worst lists – after all “FEFE” by 6ix9ine and Nicki Minaj is a partial birth abortion masquerading as a song but these lists can get boring if we all put the same songs on them.
4.
This is my opinion only. My opinion shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the songs I write about here today.
This is my opinion only. My opinion shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the songs I write about here today.
Let’s get the show on the road with making something
obvious, this song is crap. C-R-A-P, am I making myself cleafr
10. “Friends” by Marshmello and Anne Marie
We’re starting this list with a song that I admit to
somewhat liking on first listen but after repeated listens soured on me quickly
because I realized that this song was talking down to me as though I am some
dumbarse who is expected to take this bottom feeding nonsense without
questioning it. Anne-Marie has had enough of a guy trying to force a romantic
relationship that she doesn’t want, and she lets him know by giving us all a
lesson on how to spell the word ‘friends’. Geezus christ.
The song just comes across as incredibly juvenile and given
it’s possible that the guy just isn’t over her yet it’s not the most mature way
to tell him that she isn’t interested and only wants to friends. I nearly
scream GROW UP at the radio when this song comes on, it’s that juvenile and
petty, it’s ridiculous.
So while Anne-Marie and Marshmello were giving out spelling
lessons, we were dealing with Post Malone’s brand of trap music.
9. “Psycho” by Post Malone feat. Ty Dolla $ign
It feels like there has been an influx of songs this year
using the word “Psycho’ and unfortunately, we’re here to discuss a song that is
pretty god damn awful. Post Malone’s whining vocals over a beat that doesn’t
change or do anything apart from drone on and on. The lyrics are just about the
usual things in trap music like cars, girls, his immense wealth and a
ridiculous list of brand names that it would be considered farcical if he
wasn’t getting paid for the endorsements during his songs and oh there’s a
reference to domestic violence where Ty Dolla $ign mentions hitting a woman who
wants to have his children…just charming.
This song was a NUMBER ONE hit for some ungodly reason.
So moving on from this mess of a song, we run straight into
somebody who was ubiquitous in 2018, as if it wasn’t predictable, hello Drake.
8. “In My Feelings” by Drake
Ugh, in a year that featured entirely way too much bad Drake
at number one than what is healthy with “God’s plan” being a nothing of a song,
“I’m Upset” being terrible (it missed the list because I forgot about it until
now) and “Nice for What” being saved by that Lauryn Hill sample , this was a
sign that Drake had run out of ideas and boy, it showed here on this fragment
of a song which features terrible production and only became a hit because of
some ridiculous dance meme that was popular for a couple of weeks before
sputtering out and this song collapsed like the dead weight it is and I want a
long break from anything Drake related although with a Drake-Migos mixtape and
another Drake album both apparently coming next year, I don’t hold hope that
that break is coming any time soon.
You might remember that I mentioned Post Malone earlier,
well in 2018, he became big enough to see wannabes arrive on the charts with
the first being this painful imposter.
7. “Lucid Dreams” by Juice WRLD
I know people were more pissed off by “All Girls Are the
Same” (quite rightly) for being an absolute turd of a song but this one was the
one that became a hit for some unknown reason because this song is just a pure
disgusting blame it on the woman bitchfest, JuiceWRLD complains that he can’t
change the world he is with so he is going to have to replace her and also
seems keen on not letting the girl move on with her life because he comes
across like an obsessed stalker like manic.
His obsessive stalker type behaviour is over a beat that
makes Post Malone’s music sound like what Britney Spears was singing in the
late 90s. Ugh.
2018 was the year of pop artists going country and of the
two, one of those songs got extremely popular for no good reason.
6. “The Middle” by Zedd feat. Maren Morris and Grey
I adore Maren Morris which makes it painful for me to put her
on this list but I can’t lie, this song drove me up the wall with its mediocre
production that it may as well have been a “Stay” rip off (I didn’t like Zedd’s
“Stay” feat. Alessia Cara either by the way) with the ticking clock noise that
permeates that song like it does this one. Also the lyrics don’t really even
tell a story where Morris wants this guy to meet her in the middle but for some
reason the guy wants no part of it, maybe in this case, it might be better for
Morris to leave the guy the hell alone.
Speaking of alone…. There was a song doing it solo and doing
it badly too.
5.“Solo” by Clean Bandit feat. Demi Lovato
I feel terrible putting Demi Lovato as she really isn’t the
reason why this song is an awful slice of EDM pop, its actually the most
juvenile song about sex that was released this year with it’s incredibly annoying
“whoop whoop whoop1” to cover up swear words in the chorus underlining the
issues that have been around in pop music for the last couple of years, not to
mention the fact Demi has to sing through a ton of annoying chipmunk like sound
effects that make the song. The entire production is extremely juvenile. Clean
Bandit, you are so much better than this song.
For the mess of noise this song was, at least it didn’t
suffer from laziness unlike….
4. “No Brainer” by DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber, Chance the
Rapper and Quavo
Believe me, this isn’t the last example of laziness that
we’ll get to but in 2018, DJ Khaled got to the point of self parody when he
decided to go down the path of lazily reproducing “I’m the One” for 2018 by
bringing back Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper and Quavo, the only one missing
from “I’m the One” part 1 is Lil Wayne because Lil Wayne completely lost the
plot on part 1. Bieber may well be the best part in handling the hook but
that’s not saying much when he delivers a completely unenthusiastic effort, Quavo
drops a verse that can be heard on most Migos tracks on Culture II while Chance
the Rapper delivers a verse that isn’t at all interesting, this song just reeks
of non effort and laziness.
So after all that, what could possibly be worse?
3. “In My Mind” by Dynoro feat. Gigi D’Agostino
Oh god, I would love to know who the hell thought this
drippy miserable song which features Gigi D’Agostino repetitively singing the
same things repeatedly over this absolutely horrible beat beat that is
impossible to dance to or even remotely groove to. Seriously, this song makes
me question what happened to the fun in music because it’s not there in this
song that’s for sure. Hopefully songs like this don’t chart in 2019 and what’s
in my mind and in my head ain’t this song.
My number two pick won’t surprise anyone…well it shouldn’t
as it will be on plenty of people’s worst hits lists…for good reason.
2. “Meant to Be” by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line
First question, what’s is the point of accrediting Bebe
Rexha as the lead artist on this faux-country pop song (anyone who says its
country should be handed the last Kacey Musgraves album so they can find out
what real country music is) especially Florida Georgia Line sing on most of the
song leaving Bebe Rexha to just one verse and chorus. Enough can be said about
Bebe Rexha’s pathetic little girlish sounding
voice complaining that she has had enough of guys not treating her right placing
her at the cross roads with the duo Florida Georgia Line, she’s giving them the
signal to back off and leave her alone but Florida Georgiia Line want her to
give into them, it’s just icky from a content standpoint when the Me Too
movement is around…yeah,…yuck.
So that leaves just one song and I must say I changed my mind
a zillion times over it but when I listened to this song again and yeah it had
to land at the top of this list for good reason.
1 1. “I Love It” by Lil Pump and Kanye West
If you looked up the word ‘lazy’ in the dictionary this song
would be the musical definition of the word, a song with half assed production
involving trap and lyrics that alternate from being stupid to outright gross. Kanye’s
verse is the most basic rap verse I have heard, it’s almost like he is trying hard
to lower himself to Lil Pump’s level and as for Lil Pump, he handles the hook
which basically insults the young woman and her boyfriend and repeating the line
“I love It”
None of this song is remotely funny and it shows that Kanye
really did do his best to lose any respect he did have. This song and a couple
of others on this lit is music for those who appreciate music that appeases the
lowest common denominator, it’s a whole new level of lazy garbage that I
thought at least Kanye wasn’t capable of.
Let’s hope for better next year.
Friday 28 December 2018
ARIA Singles Top Ten/ Chart Review: 24th December:Ariana holds number 1 as challengers rise.
So this week was a bit of chaos especially with Christmas music and a whole slew of returns and new entries to the chart, it felt a bit crazy but none the less, let's start where we always do and that is with the top ten and no surprise that it's a sixth week at the top for "Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande but I am not certain that she will get a seventh week at number one especially as she has been overtaken on streaming and the song has fallen back on sales.
The first of those challengers appears to be "Sunflower" by Post Malone feat. Swae Lee has the song jumped four places to number 2 this week on the back of strong streaming and with sales starting to back it up, there are signs that this could be a challenger for number one.
Also emerging as a strong challenger is Ava Max's European smash "Sweet but Psycho" which jumped two places to number 3.
What aren't challengers are "Without Me" by Halsey which dropped two places to number four and "Shotgun" by George Ezra which also fell two places to number 5.
"Nothing Breaks Like A Heart" by Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus continues to climb, this week it's up two places to number six.
Former number one "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper slipped three places to number four as it gradually falls away.
Unfortunately "Sicko Mode" by Travis Scott feat. Drake is up one to number eight because anhything involving Drake has to be a thing apparently.
In much better news, the mediocre "Happier" by Marshmello and Bastille slipped two places to number 9 while "All I want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey rose 5 places to number 10.
Gains
Christmas meant big gains for Wham's "Last Christmas" which jumped to 18 from 34. Kian's "Waiting" jumped 5 places to 30 bit apart from those there wasn't much in the gains department.
Re-Entries
Three re-entries this week with the highest of those being "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid 80 at number 37.
"Close to Me" by Ellie Goulding feat. Diplo and Swae Lee returns at 49 and strangely enough "I Said Hi" by Amy Shark at 50.
Losers
The biggest loser was unfortunately "Leave A Light on" by Tom Walker which had its lights turned off and sent tumbling down to 48 from 36.
"Arms around You" by XXXtentacion feat. Lil Pump, Maluma and Swae Lee fell eight places to 33...Good.
Also good that "Zeze" by Kodak Black feat. Travis Scott and Offset fell to 28 from 22.
Sadly "Bohemaian Rhapsody" by Queen also took a hit down to 34 from 27.
Drop outs
Not that unhappy about the drop outs although said to see both "Come out and Play" by Billie Eilish and "Always Remember Us This way" by Lady Gaga gone but when they are taking the underwhelming "Woman Like Me" by Little Mix feat. Nicki Minaj and outright awful like "Bad" by XXXtentacion, "Mama" by 6ix9ine feat. Nicki Minaj and Kanye West and "In my Feelings" by Drake...I ain't complaining.
New entries
The biggest new arrival this week was of course Ariana Grande's "Imagine" at 15 and because it's Christmas, Ariana's pretty cheesy "Santa Tell Me" enters at 40 (should be gone next week) while "Saturday Nights" by Khalid is the final new entry at 41.
So it remains to be seen if "Thank u Next" can get a 7th week at number one or not but the challengers are coming, we'll find who gets the final number one for 2018 on Saturday.
The first of those challengers appears to be "Sunflower" by Post Malone feat. Swae Lee has the song jumped four places to number 2 this week on the back of strong streaming and with sales starting to back it up, there are signs that this could be a challenger for number one.
Also emerging as a strong challenger is Ava Max's European smash "Sweet but Psycho" which jumped two places to number 3.
What aren't challengers are "Without Me" by Halsey which dropped two places to number four and "Shotgun" by George Ezra which also fell two places to number 5.
"Nothing Breaks Like A Heart" by Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus continues to climb, this week it's up two places to number six.
Former number one "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper slipped three places to number four as it gradually falls away.
Unfortunately "Sicko Mode" by Travis Scott feat. Drake is up one to number eight because anhything involving Drake has to be a thing apparently.
In much better news, the mediocre "Happier" by Marshmello and Bastille slipped two places to number 9 while "All I want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey rose 5 places to number 10.
Gains
Christmas meant big gains for Wham's "Last Christmas" which jumped to 18 from 34. Kian's "Waiting" jumped 5 places to 30 bit apart from those there wasn't much in the gains department.
Re-Entries
Three re-entries this week with the highest of those being "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid 80 at number 37.
"Close to Me" by Ellie Goulding feat. Diplo and Swae Lee returns at 49 and strangely enough "I Said Hi" by Amy Shark at 50.
Losers
The biggest loser was unfortunately "Leave A Light on" by Tom Walker which had its lights turned off and sent tumbling down to 48 from 36.
"Arms around You" by XXXtentacion feat. Lil Pump, Maluma and Swae Lee fell eight places to 33...Good.
Also good that "Zeze" by Kodak Black feat. Travis Scott and Offset fell to 28 from 22.
Sadly "Bohemaian Rhapsody" by Queen also took a hit down to 34 from 27.
Drop outs
Not that unhappy about the drop outs although said to see both "Come out and Play" by Billie Eilish and "Always Remember Us This way" by Lady Gaga gone but when they are taking the underwhelming "Woman Like Me" by Little Mix feat. Nicki Minaj and outright awful like "Bad" by XXXtentacion, "Mama" by 6ix9ine feat. Nicki Minaj and Kanye West and "In my Feelings" by Drake...I ain't complaining.
New entries
The biggest new arrival this week was of course Ariana Grande's "Imagine" at 15 and because it's Christmas, Ariana's pretty cheesy "Santa Tell Me" enters at 40 (should be gone next week) while "Saturday Nights" by Khalid is the final new entry at 41.
So it remains to be seen if "Thank u Next" can get a 7th week at number one or not but the challengers are coming, we'll find who gets the final number one for 2018 on Saturday.
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