2000 Sound: 16th July. Vengaboys sing Shalala Lala from the lofty heights of the top ten.

This week is mixed, sure the current number one is still terrible but we got a fairly slow week overall so I ain't complaining, yes, "Freestyler" by Bomfunk MCs remains at number one because sales remain consistent at least ahead of "I'm Outta Love" by Anastacia steady at number two as this song has got radio on board so I wouldn't be surprised if it does go number one in the next few weeks.

"Thong Song" by Sisqo isn't a player though remains at number three, same for "Who the Hell Are You" by Madison Avenue stuck at number four.

Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" went up one place this week to number five, am surprised at how well this song is doing on the chart, seems people like this defiant rock song, it passed "Spinning Around" by Kylie Minogue which just doesn't have the sales to stick around anymore

The big surprise is from Vengaboys with "Shalala Lala" jumping seven spots to number seven his week. Not sure how or why as the song isn't all that good...slightly over produced if anything.

"Toca's Miracle" by Fragma remains at number eight while "Day & Night" by Billie Piper is sticking to number nine.

Finally "Shine" by Vanessa Amorosi returns to the top ten at number ten this week which is good to see!

Gains

So apart from Vengaboys big move into the top ten, what else rose this week? Well, "I Should've Never Let You Go" by Bardot rose from 23 to break into the top twenty at 17 this week while Killing Heidi also broke into the top twenty, rising five to 20 with "Live Without It".

The biggest gain though comes from The Corrs with "Breathless" rising from 42 to 27 this week! This song looks set to be a hit.

Lo-tel's "Teenager of the Year" rose five places to 34 while Faith Hill's "Breathe" recovered from 43 to 38.

Re-Entries

Three returns this week with the biggest coming Real Blondes with "I Won't Let Go" at number 39, Savage Garden's "Crash and Burn" is back at 44 and finally and maybe most surprisingly "Move Your Body" by Eiffel 65 returned at 45..that last one is a bit of a strange one.

Losers

So we had a couple of top ten hits take major plunges this week with "He Wasn't Man Enough" by Toni Braxton collapsing from 10 to 21 while "Oops!...I Did It Again" by Britney Spears dropped from 19 to 32,  "What's A Girl to Do" by Sister2Sister dropped from 28 to 36 and "Don't Give Up" by Chicane feat. Bryan Adams dived from 34 to 48 this week...ouch.

"The Call" bv Backstreet Boys is getting hung up on as it fell nine places to 50, "Why Does It Always Rain On me" by Travis dried up from 35 to 41 and "Mambo Italiano" by Shaft hit 33 down from 26.

New Entries

So only two new entries this week with the highest of them being from American R'n'B superstar Aaliyah with her new single "Try Again" debuting at number 15 on the ARIA singles chart, this song is pretty damn good, it's set to be a smash hit in the US.

The only other new entry is from American rock band Vertical Horizon with a song called "Everything You Want" at number 46. Again, this is also a pretty good song, hope it becomes a hit for them.

ARIA Top Ten/ Chart Review: 13th July. Static week for the Top Ten as Pop Smoke charts posthumously

This could well be a very short blog entry this week which is good considering the almighty JuiceWRLD album bomb that will hit next week...Seriously...seen Spotify's Australian chart and the Australian chart on Apple Music? It's going to be a mother of an album bomb but anyway all of that is for next week, in the mean time we have a rather static top ten where "Savage Love" by Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo remains at number one, it took the lead on sales and streaming is still goof.

It held off "Rockstar" by DaBaby feat. Roddy Ricch which stayed at number two this week because basically it's not closing the margins and its starting to show signs of bleeding on streaming. The same could be said of "Roses" by Saint Jhn which remained at number three, "Breaking Me" by Topic feat. A7S and "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles which were stuck at four and five respectively just couldn't close the margins enough even though both "Rockstar" and "Roses" are starting to show signs of wavering on streaming.

"Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd continues to hang on remaining at number six this week while "Rain On Me" by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande continues to remained glued to the number seven position

The only change of position within the top ten came through "What's Poppin'" by Jack Harlow rising one place to number eight as streaming continues to be surprisingly good for this song and completely goes against everything I said about it last week.

It moved past "Rover" by S1mba feat. DTG which fell to number nine and finally "Go Crazy" by Chris Brown and Young Thug remains at number ten...hopefully a Juice WRLD album bomb will see this gone from the top ten next week.

Gains

The biggest gain this week was for top ten hit in waiting "Some Say" by Nea which rose 13 places to break into the top twenty at number 19. 

"Dance Monkey" by Tones and I continues to be a presence by rising five places to number 19 this week.

Losers

As I said last week, Korean pop music tends not to stick around and that was the case with "How You LIke That" by Blackpink which plunged from 12 to 40 this week and will likely be gone next week as a result of the Juice WRLD album bomb. 

Also taking a hit was "Standing With You" by Guy Sebastian which fell off its debut of 25 to 32 this week, this song needs some strong promotion and a push on streaming from Guy's label.

"Ride It" by Regard dropped from 34 to 42 this week, it's place on the year end list is sealed which is a good thing considering it's probably one of the songs in danger when Juice WRLD does sweep in.

Drop Outs

Two significant drop outs this week with one being 2019 hit "Memories" by Maroon 5 finally making its exit and will be forgotten about almost immediately while the other is "The Box" by Roddy Ricch, it's sealed its place on the year end list so not too worried about that one being gone.

Also taking their exits this week are "Boss Bitch" by Doja Cat (Would not shock me if she isn't able to follow up the success of "Say So" in Australia) and "July" by Noah Cyrus however what did please me was "Gooba" by 6ix9ine also exited after seven weeks too long on the chart.

New Entries

Pop Smoke's posthumous new album debuted at number one on the ARIA albums chart so we did get three songs from the album with "The Woo" being the highest charting new entry at number 25, "For the Night" at number 32 and his US hit "Dior" in at 48. 

The other two debuts this week are "Wash Us in the Blood" by Kanye West feat. Travis Scott at 31 probably due to a streaming boost following Kanye's US presidency run publicity stunt (if you think he is legit going to run for president than I have a vial of legally sourced moondust I'd like to sell you) and in good news for Australian music, Amy Shark enters at 49 with "Everybody Rise" (probably the best of the five new arrivals this week)

Anyway that wraps up this week. Next week...yeah...the carnage a posthumous Juice WRLD album bomb will create...oh well, hopefully it cleans out a few older songs that are still on the chart somehow. we'll find out next week on Saturday at 5pm AEST. 

2000 Sound. 9th July. "Freestyler" boms up at number one. Eminem asks for The Real Slim Shady in the new entries

Ugh, this week was a wild one, we have moves all over the place, the top ten is ever changing and unstable right now in an otherwise pretty normal week but lets get to our top ten where we have a new number one in the form of...sigh..."Freestyler" by Bomfunk MCs, it got there because sales were pretty solid right across the board.

It held off "I'm Outta Love" by Anastacia rose 3 places to number two and looks like massive threat for the number one song which I don't mind as the song is pretty damn good...certainly take it over "Thong Song" by Sisqo which refuses to go away by regaining one spot to number three this week. Gross.

Former number one "Who the Hell Are You" by Madison Avenue dropped two places this week to number four as people get tired of it pretty damn quickly. "Spinning Around" by Kyle Minogue collapsed on sales which resulted in it falling from number one to number five. Ouch.

Not so for "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi which regained one place to number six. This song is sticking around rather impressively right now, the same can't be said of "There You Go" by Pink which slipped one to number seven but it's on its way out naturally and will make the year end list.

Now we get to the first of two songs new to the top ten this week with "Toca's Miracle" by Fragma rising six places to number eight, this is looking like being a surprise hit folks.

Finally reaching the top ten is Billie Piper's "Day & Night" which climbed two places to number nine this week. Good. I actually like this song more than most of the songs Billie has released previously.

Rounding out the top ten is "He Wasn't Man Enough" by Toni Braxton which is clinging to number ten down one place from last week. This should be gone soon.

Gains

Continuing it's unfortunate rise is "I think I'm in Love with You" by Jessica Simpson which rose five places to number 20. Eww.

"Live Without It" by Killing Heidi also climbed five places to 25. I hope this isn't a hit, it isn't a good song. 

The biggest gainer of the week though was "It Feels So Good" by Sonique which climbed nine places to 32 off it's debut last week. Looks like this song has struck a chord out there.

"Breathless" by The Corrs went up six places to 42.

Losers

Not too many big losers worth noting this week but No Doubt's "Ex-Girlfriend" falling ten places to 48 while "Breathe" by Faith Hill hasn't caught on in Australia as it did in the US as it fell eleven places to 43.

Sister2Sister "What's a Girl to Do?" fell seven to 28.

New Entries

So the highrst new entry of the week belongs to American rapper Eminem whose controversial new single "The Real Slim Shady" enters the chart at 27, the song features potshots at Britney Spears amongst others.

Italian electronic producers Mario Piu and Mauro Picotto land at 36 with "Arabian Pleasure" while Australian DJ Friendly hits the chart at 44 with "I Love You But...".

Finally Lock 'n' Load hit the chart at 45 with "Blow Ya Mind"

Rating the Number One songs on the week of my birthday part 2: 2000 to 2020

If you missed part 1, click here to read part 1 which was 1987 to 1999.

Here's part two starting with a rock banger from 2000

2000: “Mascara” by Killing Heidi

I still like this song a lot, Ella Hooper is an amazing rock vocalist. Killing Heidi were definitely on a winner with this song and the chorus is quite hard to get out of your head once you hear it. 8/10

2001: “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” by LeAnn Rimes

I will guarantee most people forget that this song was a number one hit for LeAnn Rimes, the song coming from the soundtrack for the movie “Coyote Ugly” but it signified a move toward a pop direction for Rimes which didn’t suit her at all and yeah, the production here isn’t great. 6/10

2002: “Whenever, Wherever” by Shakira

“Lucky that my breasts are small and humble so you don’t confuse them with mountains” should have been a meme already and really showcased the incredible charisma of Shakira. Pity, she hasn’t had more hits in the 2010s in Australia, could have done with her on the charts here. 8/10

2003: “Lose Yourself” by Eminem

Look, this song from “8 Mile” Is a classic and if I said anything negative about it, I’d be hung, drawn and quartered. I miss this Eminem right now. Enough said. 9/10

2004: “What About Me” by Shannon Noll

Another cover, this time Shannon Noll’s debut hit is a cover of Moving Pictures 1982 hit “What About Me?” and while I think “Learn to Fly” and even “Drive”, the latter of which has meme possibilities, are better of the singles from “That’s What I’m Talking About”, his cover does the original justice which is all you can ask for, right? 7/10

2005: “Over and Over” by Nelly feat. Tim McGraw.

I don’t really feel much of anything toward this song tbh, it’s a pleasant R’n’b crossed with country song, it just feels meh to me. 5/10

2006: “Run It!” by Chris Brown feat. Juelz Santana

This was annoying in 2006 when it was a hit and Chris Brown’s star was on the rise and the production does not help. Fuck this. 3/10

2007: “Lips of an Angel” by Hinder.

Why the hell was this garbage a hit? Were we really that desperate for Nickelback knock offs that we had to send this piece of shit to number one? The vocals suck and the lyrics are  just whining that this girl’s ability to give great blow jobs is making is difficult to be faithful to his girlfriend who is in the next room with nothing to sell any kind of danger at all. Fuck this trash off! Worst number one of the 2000s! 1/10

2008: Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis

Oh a pleasant change, Leona Lewis’s “Bleeding Love”, a song that I loved back in 2008 but yeah I can’t lie…it hasn’t aged all that well in terms of the production. 7/10

2009: “You Found Me” by The Fray

I have never liked The Fray and this song is just cut price Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I just don’t like the vocals on this song at all. 4/10

2010: “Replay” by Iyaz

I guess the record industry were really desperate to keep the cocaine pile going after they all blackballed Chris Brown, that said, this song sounds more like an Akon rip off and not a pleasant one at that. Annoying to say the least 3/10

2011: “S&M” by Rihanna

A song that makes bondage sound less sexy than catching gonorrhoea. Yuck 3/10

2012: “Wild Ones” by Flo Rida feat. Sia

Well at least this has a decent hook but otherwise pass. 5/10

2013: “Same Old Love” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis feat. Mary Lambert

I miss this Macklemore and this song sends an incredibly important message…Love is love. 8/10

2014: “Say Something” by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera

I respect this song more than I like it tbh, it does paint the picture of a painful break up well but I am not sure that without Christina Aguilera the song would hold up as well. 6/10

2015: “FourFIve Seconds” by Rihanna, Kanye West and Sir Paul McCartney

This is much better. I really like this song, Rihanna’s hook reminding me a lot of the Golden Girls theme and Kanye is good. I just wish they had given Sir Paul McCartney more to do on the song other than play the guitar. 7/10

2016: “Never Be Like You” by Flume feat. Kai

I honestly wish I liked this more than I do. It’s fine enough. Bit strange that Flume isn’t having consistent success though 6/10

2017: “Shape Of You” by Ed Sheeran

Yes, this song was overplayed on the radio, but you know what? I do like it. Ed Sheeran’s best songs know their way around a hook and it’s not designed to be a romantic song, this relationship for both Ed and the girl is disposable, it’s just for the hook up. Its sleazy and for me it works. 8/10

2018: “God’s Plan” by Drake

Oh come on Australia, you know you don’t have to send every piece of background noise filler Drake releases to number one right. BORING! 4/10

2019: “7 Rings” by Ariana Grande

I have already expressed my feelings about this song enough. It’s one of Ariana Grande’s worst songs of her career. 3/10

2020: “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd

I am going to save my comments about this song for year end. All you need to know that you need to hear this. 9.5/10

ARIA Singles Top Ten/Chart Review: 6th July. Jason Derulo gives out some "Savage Love" to go number one

So I guess I kind of expected this week to be busier than it actually was, mainly due to all the new releases for New Music Friday last week but that wasn't to be however it was busy in our top ten this week so let's go straight to that where after six weeks, we have a new number one that being "Savage Love" by Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo, it's Jawsh 685's first number one hit in Australia and Jason DeRulo's third (Yes, I am a little blown away by that fact to be quite honest), it got to number one mostly because of sales and streaming.

"Savage Love" rising to the top pushed "Rockstar" by DaBaby feat. Roddy Ricch down to number two as it lost out on sales and on Apple Music to "Savage Love". Whether or not it can get back to number one is an open question.

Which is not the case for the rest of the top ten which begins at number three with "Roses" by Saint Jhn which fell one place to number three mostly because it's finally losing ground on sales and streaming.

"Breaking Me" by Topic and A7S remains stuck at number four mostly because while it's stable on both sales and streaming, it's not doing enough to surpass the songs in front of it.

"Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles continue to claw its way up the charts up one place to number five, it's getting sales on board and streaming is not that far behind, it could climb further if songs ahead of it start weakening, it blew past "Blind Lights" by The Weeknd which is bleeding on streaming and once sales really start falling away, this song will be gone.

"Rain on Me" by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande remains at number seven mostly because streaming is still hanging on for this song, likewise sales. It's a similar case for "Rover" by S1mba feat. DTG remaining at number eight.

The big story within the top ten though outside of the new number one which is the rise of "What's Poppin'" by Jack Harlow which rose to number nine from 38 due to a remix feat. DaBaby, Tory Lanez and Lil Wayne, I don't see this sticking around in the top ten as it's not the most sustainable gain and there are some people who are unhappy ARIA haven't credited the remix on the chart this week...here's the thing with that, ARIA didn't credit Nicki Minaj when the remix helped Doja Cat's "Say So" get a boost or Beyonce on "Savage" by Megan Thee Stallion so not sure why this should be any different.

Finally dropping one place to number ten is "Go Crazy" by Chris Brown and Young Thug which will benefit if "What's Poppin'" does fall off unfortunately.

Gains

So I have already talked about the massive gains for "What's Poppin'" by Jack Harlow to number nine. Nea's "Some Say" got a big boost to 33 up from 50 last week as it looks set to become a hit even if sampling "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" by Eiffel 65 is not the most ideal way to a long term music career.

Losers

Most pleasingly the biggest loser this week was Soundcloud Waifu's "Gooba" which fell from 31 to 43...good....the sooner it's gone the better the charts will be for this song's disappearance from it.

"Go" by The Kid Laroi feat. Juice WRLD got hit hard down from 24 to 32 this week while "Ily" by Surf Mesa feat. Emilee collapsed six places to 29 and the utter boring crap that is "Toosie Slide" by Drake fell from 17 to 22...good.

Also taking a hit is "Ur So Effing Cool" by Tones and I down five to 49, "In Your Eyes" by THe Weekend also plunged five to 40 while "Say So" by Doja Cat dropped five to 25.

Drop Outs

So we had two drop outs this week with both maybe a chance of year end list with "The Scotts" by The Scotts and "Bad Child" by Tones and I gone. Fine with that, don't really care for "The Scotts" and "Bad Child is fine enough but it wasn't going to be a massive hit.

New Entries

So we have two new entries this week with Blackpink's disappointing new single "How You Like That" the highest new entry at number 12. Like with BTS, this song is going to fall off hard next week either down to the 40s or out of the top 50 altogether, that just seems to be what happens with k-pop on the Australian singles chart.

The song that has the better chance of sticking around is "Standing with You" by Guy Sebastian at number 23 thanks to sales, just wish Australian music knew how to get on the streaming train and actively promoted Aussie music on Spotify and Apple Music because streaming is what really stopped this song from being a top ten debut and I fear that will be the same for The Veronicas new single.

Anyway that wraps up the week, next week may see a posthumous mini album bomb from Pop Smoke and from what I have heard, the album is not good, also maybe The Veronicas new single but we'll find out at 5pm on Saturday when ARIA updates the chart.

Rating the number ones on my birthday Part 1: 1987 to 1999

So I thought this would be fun to do, I trawled back through to the day I was born which was 16th February 1987 and listed the songs that were at the top of the Australian singles chart the week of my birthday from 1987 to now and because it is so long, I do need to do this in parts so 1987 to 1999 is up first before we hit up 2000 through to 2020. Most of the comments are kept short so this isn't too long.

So let's keep it moving and dig into 1987 first...!

1987: “You keep Me Hangin’ on” by Kim Wilde

The production has aged badly on this one but hey it is still a solid cover of the Supremes song, one of several covers that Kim Wilde has done in her music career. 7/10.

1988: “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes

Another song where the production hasn’t aged well but this one has become a classic thanks to the movie “Dirty Dancing”. I don’t really love it but I don’t hate it either. 6/10

1989: “Teardrops” by Womack and Womack

This year had two number ones on my birthday, mainly because the Australian Music Report and ARIA were both publishing charts at the time but I elected to talk about this one because this is probably the best of the three songs from the 80s, I love the groove and this feels like it hasn’t aged as badly as “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”. 8/10

1990: “Love Shack” by The B-52s

A BONAFIDE PARTY CLASSIC AND I WILL HEAR NO SLANDER OF THIS SONG! Although the female vocals can get a little annoying but damn this song is a party and a half. 9/10

1991: “I’ve Been Thinking about You” by Londonbeat

Oof. Early nineties R ‘n’ B and an early hint of the R ‘n’ B explosion of the mid-nineties, that said “I’ve Been Thinking About You” is the sort of song with groove and spark that most songs today can only dream of and I do love the vocal harmonies 8/10

1992: “Let’s Talk about Sex” Salt-n-Pepa

A song that probably got common use in classrooms as an inroad to sex education with teenagers. Again…this song is a load of fun but sends an important message to have that conversation about the birds and the bees…7/10

1993: “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston

A cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” that rips away the understated nature of the original to instead come across as incredibly cheesy and overwrought. I know they wanted to show off Whitney’s powerful vocals but come on there was no need to turn a Dolly Parton song into making me want to vomit. 3/10

1994: “Give It Up” by Cut ‘n’ Move

I think I prefer the KC and the Sunshine band original and can somebody answer the phone that’s ringing in the back of the mix on the chorus? Pass. 5/10

1995: “Another Night” by The Real McCoy

Ooh a dance song from the big beat era that is not completely annoying. I like this a lot. Just wish I could understand what the man is singing about, he is a way too low in the mix or trying to impersonate the lead vocalist from Right Said Fred but yeah this song has a groove and energy that is a lot of fun  7/10

1996: “Wonderwall” by Oasis

I honestly always have mixed feelings about this one. Yeah, the Gallagher brothers were dicks around that time, but “Wonderwall” is nigh on a 90s classic. 8/10

1997: “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt

While still good, this wasn’t No Doubt’s best song from the Tragic Kingdom album,” Sunday Morning” was much better but “Don’t Speak” is still a good song and Gwen Stefani proved a really good front woman for the band. 7/10

1998: “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion

This song from the overdramatised James Cameron movie “Titanic” is in the same category as “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston and the fact I heard it at year end school assembly two years running is enough to make me want to never hear this song again while actively vomiting into a toilet. 3/10

1999: “Believe” by Cher

We finally come across a song where the cover done in 2017 by Australian group The DMAs is much better than the original. The production on the original by Cher has not aged well and Cher shrieking “Do you believe in life after love” gets stale damn fast. 4/10

New Music Friday review: Boys don't cry so stick that in your country song, Girlfriend!

I am reviving New Music Friday review because the past week has delivered so much damn great new music that deserves attention and I do not want to see get lost between the cracks. Spanning Eric Church to Megan Thee Stallion to Dan Owen, we got some amazing music so let’s start with…Charlie Puth?

 

“Girlfriend” by Charlie Puth

So Charlie Puth was busy releasing music last year which, for most part, people ignored, it wasn’t good and felt like most of the songs were at least two steps down in quality from the best songs on “Voicenotes” but his new single “Girlfriend” could be considered right up there with “Done for Me” (feat Kehlani) or “If You Leave Me Now” (feat. Boyz II Men), this song has slick pop grooves that go on for miles and features some of the best hooks that Puth has written in ages, if you are looking to satisfy that sweet tooth, there’s no better place to start then with this song.

Rating: 9/10

 

“Boys Don’t Cry” by Dan Owen

UK singer-songwriter Dan Own is an artist I have been following for awhile now, his 2018 album “Stay Awake With Me” is one of my favourite albums for that year, since then he has released a folk EP and collaborated with UK country act Ward Thomas however “Boys Don’t Cry” is the lead single from a new album and well…if this is a sign of things to come…well I am looking forward to that sophomore album because for one thing “Boys Don’t Cry” still is signature Dan Owen in sound but the lyrics delve into mental health stereotypes/stupid belief that boys/men don’t cry because men crying is seen as weak and Owen acknowledges that hiding raw emotion and tears is hard to hide so wouldn’t it be easier to let that emotion out with the support of others there.

Rating: 8/10

 

“Stick That In Your Country Song” by Eric Church

Going from Dan Owen to the new leadoff single for American country rock singer Eric Church might seem like whiplash but it kind of feels natural to talk about “Stick That In Your Country Song” next mainly because it feels like Eric Church is making a statement with this song in terms of challenging the rest of mainstream country who right now aren’t releasing the most challenging material rather sticking to songs about beer, bars, girls, trucks and tailgates rather than singing about anything of substance like teachers doing it tough with very little funding or issues facing rural America. Church wants more substance to country music than the stock standard clichés typical of the mid 2010s bro country movement and stopped doing what country is so good at which was telling those stories of rural America. This song is quickly becoming one of my favourites of 2020, check it out!

Rating: 9/10

 

“Girls In the Hood” by Megan Thee Stallion

So quite honestly if I am looking for female rap, I don’t look to Nicki Minaj anymore, Nicki’s music has become more about advertising than anything that is actually music so more often than not I have looked toward Meghan Thee Stallion because yeah, I still think “Savage” is a pretty damn good song and as for her new single “Girls in the Hood”? Well it’s certainly braggadocious with Megan rapping about her lavish lifestyle, clapping back at her haters and challenging the somewhat patriarchal cannon that is rap music (could argue in music across the board honestly) all while flipping Eazy-E’s “Boys in the Hood”. Its not anything revolutionary but it’s still a great song. Hope this is a hit for her.

Rating: 7/10

 

“How You Like That” by Blackpink

If you ever want to hear a case of a song having blown it’s potential, it’s right here with Blackpink’s new single, there’s a lot to like about the verses and the bridge, there’s promise there but that chorus has to be one of the more poorly produced choruses of the year with it’s rattling electronics etc, it just doesn’t work at all. Again, before the stans get upset with me, it’s not Blackpink themselves that are the problem, it’s the production they are put over that is the issue.

Rating: 5/10

 

“Standing with You” by Guy Sebastian

So no, I am not going to discuss Guy Sebastian being apart of Prime Minister Scott Morrison or the most recent issues involving his manager, I am going to write about his new single “Standing With You”, a song that is getting traction  on iTunes right now and in the realm of Guy Sebastian songs its not quite as catchy as “Choir” or even “Before I Go”, it’s a ballad that while is growing on me, I’m not sure this is going to have any real staying power on the charts, that said given how well “Choir” did last year, that remains to be seen. Objectively the song is fine, if you like a good empowering ballad than this would be the song to go for.

Rating: 6/10

So that wraps up the new music reviews in full other songs to check out include:

• "Team" by Rory Noble
• "Greed" by Tash Sultana
•  "I Miss You. I'm Sorry" by Kita Alexander
• "Overkill" by Holly Humberstone
• "I Cry" by Usher
• "Say Something" by Eskimo Joe.

Few week updates: Trying to find time to work on my best hit songs of 1998 list, obviously with coming out of COVID lockdown has meant that there's less time to work on pet projects etc.