ARIA Singles Top 50 Top Ten/ Chart Review: 7th June. Little bit of love for Olivia's SOUR continues

 Well this week was definitely a cool down week but we got plenty of movement as well which might say something about what has staying power with the eyes of the public and right now it seems like all anyone wants to do is listen to "Sour" by Olivia Rodrigo because her album bomb receded marginally if that, we even had an album track or two rise which in it's second week is really extraordinary but none the less for a second week, "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo maintains the top spot as it has a ridiculous margin on streaming that unless streaming for this song completely collapses, this song is assured of number one for a couple of weeks which for a pop/rock song on the charts these days is wild.

That kind of leaves "Kiss Me More" by Doja Cat & SZA in an awkward spot because while streaming still loves it, its sales have been wobbling so we'll have to see what happens with this song, I'm not sure it's going to be the one to catch "Good 4 U"

That challenge won't come from "Deja Vu" by Olivia Rodrigo which remained at number three and is holding onto it's gains rather impressively and could challenge for number two even if it's not really gaining on "Good 4 U"

What won't be challenging is "Body" by Russ Millions and Tion Wayne which slipped two places to number four. 

Rising two places to number five is "Traitor" by Olivia Rodrigo...mostly due to solid as hell streaming while The Weeknd rebounded ten places to number six with "Save Your Tears" thanks to a small boost on streaming.

All this pushed "Drivers License" by Olivia Rodrigo back two places to number seven and "Heat Waves"  by Glass Animals back one place to number eight. 

"Astronaut In the Ocean" by Masked Wolf slipped one place back to number nine as streaming finally starts to ebb away ( thank fucking god) while "Levitating" by Dua Lipa feat. DaBaby returns to the top ten up one to number ten

Gains

Unfortunately our big gains came from two of the worst tracks that debuted last week that being "Rasputin" by Majestic and Boney M up ten places to 37 and "Build a Bitch" by Bella Poarch up eight to 28 because somehow this song has viral momentum...lovely...not.

The other debut from last week to gain was "Missing Piece" by Vance Joy up four places to 44.

Re Entries

So there are two returns this week with the first of them being for Juice WRLD with "Lucid Dreams" because the song got a remix courtesy of Lil Uzi Vert for Juice's recently released anniversary edition of "Goodbye & Good Riddance"

The only other return was "Watermelon  Sugar" by Harry Styles at number 50.

Losers

J Cole's "My Life" feat. 21 Savage and Morray slipped 12 places to 45 while "Pride is the Devil" feat. Lil Baby tumbled eight to 36.

Pink's "All I Know So Far" stumbled 10 places to number 49.

"Butter"  by BTS slipped eight places to 14 because sales died and it didn't have the streaming to support it staying in the top ten so it got muscled out however we will see if it returns to the top ten with the release of these remixes.

As for the Olivia Rodrigo album bomb? It didn't really recede with "Hope Ur Ok" only slipping two places to 25,  "1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back" down three spots to 21, "Enough for You" sliding two to 16, "Brutal" down one to 1. "Jealousy Jealousy" and "Happier" held their ground. at 22 and 15 respectively/

Drop Outs

The drop outs aren't a surprise with "Amari" by J Cole gone following the receding of the "The Off Season" album bomb but it took two rather big hits with it in "So Done" by The Kid Laroi and "Fly Away" by Tones and I.

New Entries

Just the one new entry this week and unfortunately it's...

47. "Little Bit of Love" by Tom Grennan.

2021 appears to be the year of the break through of Tom Grennan, I've been aware of this guy for a few years now, he is a British singer/songwriter who has been around the British music scene for awhile with this song breaching the top ten in the UK before it hit the ARIA singles chart courtesy of digital sales and wow this song sounds overproduced to the point it feels like Grennan is shouting at you and what's worse here is the production sounds confused because on the hook it sounds like its going for a spiritual anthemic vibe that it just can't quite reach to lift the song from being mediocre at best. Pass!

That wraps up the week. Next week, Billie Eilish and maybe something from that Lil Durk and Lil Baby collab..find out at 5pm AEST on Friday when ARIA updates the singles chart.

Revisiting Favourite Albums of My Youth: S01E01: "Follow Your Heart"

 So as I've mentioned previously on here, I was a top 40 snob when I was a teenager in that the music I preferred was only the stuff that was charting and it's a mentality that I have struggled to rid myself of so what I thought would be fun is to see if albums I listened to as a teenager still hold up for me to this day and I decided to start with "Follow Your Heart" by Nikki Webster (mostly because kind of follows on from last year's 2000 Sound episodes.

Now "Follow Your Heart" was Nikki Webster's debut album and featured the singles "Strawberry Kisses" and "Depend on Me"...two songs I will confess that I don't really revisit all that often but why not revisit them today however we're going to go track by track and begin with...

Strawberry Kisses

Well it makes sense to start the album with your big hit and yeah there's no doubting "Strawberry Kisses" is cute and rather catchy even if the production has not aged as well as you'd remember it and Nikki's "I'll be missing, wishing your strawberry kisses" is kind of creepy now however what redeems the song is that it's ridiculously catchy however there's definitely a reason that I don't revisit this song a lot.

Depend On Me 

So when "Follow Your Heart' came out, I liked this song more than "Strawberry Kisses" basically because this song connect for me more than "Strawberry Kisses" ever did and that keyboard and guitar sound good and the lyrics paint Nikki as a shoulder for an upset best friend to cry on but that last line on the hook "Can't you see that's the way best friends should be" kind of doesn't sit well with me for some reason now...ehh...the song is still pretty good.

Mirror Mirror

So this song sonically sounds darker than both the two previous songs but it definitely also sounds like a turn of the millennium pop song. It's also a pretty innocuous song about growing up, learning right from wrong and believing in yourself. It's very typically what's you'd expect from Nikki given when she recorded this she was a pre teen. Again it's fine even if I am not sure if the production works as well as I remembered it when I first the album.

The Best Days

Oh here's the third single from the album and funnily enough it reminds me a lot of Kylie Minogue's "On a Night Like This" with that guitar and much like "Mirror Mirror", its about growing up and being around another person and spending 'the best days' of their lives together. It's a bit corny but I guess kind of have to expect that given on reflection this album is feeling a bit like I am eating large lumps of unrefined sugar.

Boy Inside My Heart

Oof wow...this sounds like a 2000s version of "Wishing on the Same Star" that was recorded by Girlfriend in 1993 and much like that song, this is a piano ballad except written for a schoolgirl as Nikki Webster was at the time and the lyrics are about this boy that Nikki has inside her heart and hoping that he will speak to her or spend time with her because he is that special boy inside Nikki's heart. It's cute but that Girlfriend link isn't going to leave any time soon

Heavenly

A much more upbeat pop song where Nikki sings about everyone being in love and angels teaching Nikki to fly....this was one of those songs that I actually didn't like when I first heard the album as a kid and as an adult I'm reminded of why, the writing never quite connected for me. Pass.

Friends 4 Ever

So this might be the most typically teenage girl song on the album...all about boys, having crushes and spilling other people's secrets to friends but doesn't matter if a guy breaks Nikki's heart because she has her friends 4 ever...given my experience of high school if you go spilling others secrets it can result in some pretty bad fights...Also Nikki is being quite the sweetpea on the second verse by telling this friend that she can have first dibs on the new guy in the school and Nikki won't get in the way. Also hanging out with a 'real bad guy' is probably not a good idea regardless of having your friends or not, Nikki.

Individuality

This was my favourite song on the album when I was twelve so I'm kind of devastated that the production hasn't aged so well with that noise that's kind of shrill and flat. Again it's another aspirational song about being 'true to yourself' and being "who you wanna be and not what the crowd wants you to be'. Kind of a weird song to sing when a record company kind of packages you as something they want to you to be rather than yourself. Also the backing vocals sometimes can be heard of over the top of Nikki at points. Also can that awful flat noise that guides the melody just stop already.

All Come Back

Ahh we're back to that turn of the millennium song about giving and receiving love, the production sounds like something Liberty X or one of those bands might have used. Really it's a pretty standard pop song about it not mattering what you do as long as 'your heart' is true, just give love and you'll get love back. It's still decent.

Red Light, Green Light.

Whoa! This might be the closest to the absolute hormone charged song we get on the album...Nikki sees this guy glancing at her over the shoulder and knows he fancies her, it's a shame she's got to turn his interest in her into a game of "Red Light, Green Light"...red light as in he shouldn't cross her boundaries but when she gives him the green light, he is welcome to kiss her and take it slow. Yeah this hasn't aged as well as I remembered it.

I Will be Your Friend

The second last song on the album is another friendship song and really kind of is a much slower version of "Depend On Me" just with different lyrics and a vow by Nikki that she will be your friend. Then again it probably is one of the better songs on the album but one thing I will stress here: there's no such thing as forever ending unless it was just a creative way to say 'until the world ends' and you didn't want to scare the target audience.

Follow Your Heart

The album closer where Nikki sends out the message over keyboards and drums to everyone everywhere to follow their heart and follow their dreams. It's kind of cute but in that same way that eating way too much sweet stuff can make you feel. "Fairytales come true" sings Nikki (the irony being that there's a song called "Fairytale Believer" on her next album "Bliss"). Look if you like a sugar overdose, this is a song for you...I guess.

Final Thoughts

So yeah that was pretty sugary and I do feel now what my parents must have felt when I listened to the album an awful lot...like I've had a sugar overdose and feel sick...it's definitely an album aimed at pre teens...granted there are songs that still work for me.

Best

Depend on Me, Mirror Mirror, All Come Back

Worst

Individuality, Heavenly

Good 1992 Vibrations. May 31st. I Can Feel Friday Innocence and Cry I'm in Love

Brace yourselves for a pretty busy chart week this week because we got some pretty significant changes in our top ten and seven new entries including several that I think might just stay long term on the chart but anyway let's start with the top ten where right at the very top, "To Be With You" by Mr Big continues to squat at number one...now it's hold on number one might be coming under pressure from our new number two that being "One in a Million" by Euphoria as it jumped an incredible thirteen slots this week which is just wild, it could be the group's second number one after "Love You Right".

It pushed "Under the Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers down to number three as it couldn't match the sales of "One in a Million" and it's now facing a considerable challenge to stay there from "Take It From Me" by Girlfriend which rose ten places to number four and is also looking like being a contender for number one in a few weeks.

The two big new arrivals in the top ten caused a large majority of the rest of the top ten to take hits as "Stay" by Shakespears Sister slipped two to number five and "In the Closet" by Michael Jackaon dropped one spot to number six.

The damage impacted "Way Out West"  by James Blundell and James Reyne as that slid three places to number seven while the still atrocious "James Brown is Dead" by L.A. Style slipped one place to number eight and isn't leaving quick enough.

Staying steady at number nine is "That Word (L.O.V.E)" by The Rockmelons feat. Cutty Rabks, Nardo Ranks and Deni Hines while Teen Queens fell four places to number ten with "Be My Baby"

Gains

So let's start with "Mistadobolina" by Del Tha Funkee Homosapien is up from 22 to break into the top twenty at number 18....I think this might be headed for the top ten but we'll see. 

Happy that "Man Alive" by Diesel jumped eleven places to 27 this week while "Hazard" by Richard Marx jumped from 43 to 29 this week as Aussies continue to appreciate story songs somehow.

Not so thrilling is the seven place gain for "Save the Best for Last" by Vanessa Williams to 30...come on folks, 1992 has had enough bland sappiness on the charts without making this a hit...Radio already has enough songs for 'Love Songs and Dedications" as it is. 

"Help Yourself" by Julian Lennon got a sudden ten place boost to 35 while Soul II Soul jumped six places to 42 with "Joy" as did Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven" to 44.

Re Entries

Just one return this week from R Kelly and Public Announcement with "She's Got that Vibe" back at 46...I'm okay with that.

Losers

Lets start at the bottom and work our way up because "Sister's Crazy" by Candy Harlots spun down eight places to 49 while the pretty terrible "Thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven" by Bryan Adams is finally on its way to dying as it toppled from 31 to 48 this week. 

Unfortunately "Father's Day" by Wedddings Parties Anything fell ten places off its debut to 39 this week which is a shame because its a really damn good song. In better news "Goodnight Girl" by Wet Wet Wet fell eight to 38, a song that can leave any time now as it has overstayed it's welcome on the chart.

Indecent Obsession can't find anyone else who wants to kiss them so "Kiss Me" plunged ten places to 37 while it's a good thing that "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" for Prince and the New Power Generation because it's down ten to 34. 

Rick Price's "Not A Day Goes By" slipped eleven places to 21 this week and 2 Unlimited's "Get Ready for this" dropped from 17 to 22.

New Entries

Seven new entries this week so let's begin with...

50. “Cry” by Lisa Edwards

So Lisa Edwards, primarily a backing vocalist for artists like Kylie Minogue and John Farnham, is stepping out in front of the mic with a cover of Godley & Crème’s 1985 song “Cry” and wow, the production here really lets this cover down because while I like the pianos and the swell that comes in under Edwards vocals, there’s a weird fart like noise that never ever goes away and it just become really distracting which is disappointing because Edwards is throwing herself into the emotion of this song. It by no means is the worst cover this year, but it could have been so much better.

 

45. “Even Flow” by Pearl Jam

Ahh a new single from Pearl Jam and given I still like “Alive” a lot I was looking forward to hearing this and yeah…I like this because for one thing, the production and mixing allows Eddie Vedder’s vocals to shine, and the guitars still shred on this. The lyrics tell the story of a homeless man who sleeps on concrete and asks passers-by for money, but he is also illiterate and maybe suffering from mental illness hence struggles to keep his thoughts coherent which shows Pearl Jam aren’t afraid to approach some really said and really dark material. I like this a fair bit…

 

43. “Remedy” by Black Crows

So here is the first single from the Black Crows second album “The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion” and here’s the weird thing, why is apart of this song reminding me of “It Must have been love” by Roxette and why am I not impressed, the vocals have no grunt to them the same way that Eddie Vedder or even Kurt Cobain would while the lyrics ramble on about a remedy of some kind…yeah nah…let’s move on…this is not impressive at all.

 

41. “Friday, I’m in Love” by The Cure

The Cure’s second single from “Wish” has been described by the band’s lead songwriter Robert Smith a ‘naïve, happy pop song’ and yeah, he is right. The song is a blissfully happy little song about not caring if the world is blue on Monday because it’s on Friday that he is in love because of course he has the “Friday Feeling” we all get at the end of a long week and boy it resonates pretty damn well and that production also expresses the relief of it being Friday with that keyboard and guitar. Nice job!

 

31. “Innocence” by Deborah Blando

So this is a song from an Italian born Brazilian singer and composer and I am sorry but this is bland as all hell and reminds me A LOT of Bette Midler’s “From A Distance” but instead this song’s hook asks some empty rhetoric questions about who is going to fight for innocence and who is going to fight for justice and the truth without really having her own answers to any of her questions….yes, the piano and guitars give the song a prettiness but that only takes it so far when Blando doesn’t seem to want to engage with the questions it’s asking. Next!

 

 

25. “I Can Feel It” by Radio Freedom

So Radio Freedom are an Australian dance group trio with this song being their first ARIA charting single and oh dear…this is another song diving head first into pop Eurodance territory and mostly really just being a harmless love song even if the lyrics are a little on the skeezy side and the chorus can feel like it’s being shouted at you and does leave you asking what it is they are feeling. Ehh, it’s fine…check it out if you are curious.

 

20. “Jump” by Kriss Kross

Well okay…this is a surprise, Kriss Kross are a duo comprised of Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly and Chris Daddy Mac” Smith, both aged around 12 and 13 which is just wild considering that this song is the highest new debut of the week and “Jump” samples everything from “I Want You Back” to “Impeach The President” by the Honey Drippers yet still works so incredibly well because both kids can just flow against this beat quite impressively. The song was written after the group’s producer Jermaine Dupri observed a crowd jumping at a concert he was attending….this song is also a bit fun…really enjoyed this. 

“Jump” by Kriss Kross is best of the week just shading out “Friday, I’m In Love” by The Cure and “Even Flow” by Pearl Jam. Worst of the week goes to “Innocence” by Deborah Blando for asking rhetorical questions and failing to engage with what she is asking.

ARIA Singles top 50 Top Ten/ Chart Review. 31st May. Missing Piece of a Brutal Bitch's Sour Butter.

And I thought last week was wild, this week was even wilder, granted most of the shifts are pretty easy to explain...we got an Olivia Rodrigo album bomb with there being ten of the eleven songs from "Sour" on the chart (the only song not to chart for some bizarre reason was "Favourite Crime"...bit of a shame given its one of the best songs on the album) and what makes things even wilder is that it wasn't just her racking up the new entries, there are several new entries from other assorted artists that we'll get to but first to the top ten where the first of the major stories and resultant impacts of the album bomb occurs where "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo swept to number one, okay, it's a bit unfair to say it got to number one because of the album bomb, this song is a streaming behemoth and nothing is getting near it.

Which meant "Body" by Russ Millions and Tion Wayne got pushed back to number two as it couldn't possibly match the ridiculous streaming of "Good 4 U" and its not really got sales however it held up over "Deja Vu" by Olivia Rodrigo returning to the top ten at number three up ten places thanks to growth on streaming...the fact that "Deja Vu" is doing better on streaming is interesting.

Hell, it blew past "Kiss Me More" by Doja Cat feat. SZA mostly because this song just doesn't have the strength to combat the songs above it, it'll rebound thanks to the Olivia Rodrigo album bomb dropping traction but it's got no chance of going number one.

Rising fourteen places to return to the top ten at number five is former number one and the third of four Olivia Rodrigo songs in the top ten this week is "Drivers License"....I am kind of hoping it can stick around in the top ten beyond this week.

Then we have the first of two new songs in the top ten with "Butter" by BTS, it's the highest new entry of the week, I'll have more to say about this song later but it had insane sales which has actually fallen off in the last few days and decent streaming...it's going to want streaming to pick up if it's to challenge for number one

The second new entry in the top ten this week is the last of the Olivia Rodrigo songs in the top ten that being "Traitor"...now this could likely be the final single from "SOUR" as it was the best performing non single song on streaming through the week. 

The rest of the top ten all fell four places this week but should all rebound next week or not beginning with "Without You" by The Kid Laroi feat. Miley Cyrus down to number eight, "Heat Waves"  by Glass Animals down to number nine and "Astronaut in the Ocean" by Masked Wolf down to number ten.

Gains

The biggest gainer of the week was Olivia Rodrigo's "Driver License" to number five but other than that..nothing else gained.

Losers

So let's get through the J Cole songs first, "Pride is the Devil" feat. Lil Baby tumbled 13 places to 28, "Amari" down 19 to 33 and "My Life" feat. 21 Savage and Morray down 18 to 29. 

Then there's songs on their last legs taking another hit like "Up" by Cardi B (a new single soon might be necessary tbh) failed to live up to it's name as it's down eleven places to 46 then there's "Fly Away" by Tones and I flying down seven to 49, Giveon's "Heartbreak Anniversary" experiencing more heartbreak as it slipped eight to 37 and "Your Power" by Billie Eilish continues to short circuit down eight to 31.

"Rapstar" by Polo G skidded down seven to 24 while Tiesto's "The Business" lost some business this week as it lost nine spots to 21 this week. "Peaches" is going moldy for Justin Bieber feat. Daniel Caesar and Giveon as it plummeted down eight spots to 17 while "Save Your Tears" by The Weeknd slipped six spots to 16.

Drop Outs

The rest of J Cole's album "The Off Season" left the chart taking "Runaway" by Aurora and "Calling my Phone" by Lil Tjay and 6lack with it.

New Entries

So because we got an album bomb from Olivia Rodrigo, album bomb rules are in force this week so the songs from "Sour" that charted new this week but don't fall into my best or worst of the week categories are "Happier" at 15, "1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back" at 18, "Jealousy Jealousy" at 22 and "Hope Ur OK" at 23 but we're still left with seven new entries to cover starting with...

48. "Missing Piece" by Vance Joy

I am kind of surprised this charted mostly because Aussie music in the time of streaming seems to struggle constantly chart unless it goes viral or gets massive radio airplay to push sales and streaming. Normally it's iTunes pushing Australian songs onto the charts but anyway here's his new lead off single and...it's fine? It's not that much of a shift in sound from Vance Joy with the chugging guitars and the orchestral swell under the drums, it's a song about being away from somebody you love which would connect well given quarantine and families being separated due to closed borders etc however the line "I see you darling but you pixelate" might be one of the worst lines of the year even with regard to the fact he is probably only referencing talking to her on Skype via a bad connection. Overall, it's not bad but far from great, though it's miles better then....

47. 'Rasputin' by Majestic and Boney M

I knew the sudden disco revival on the charts courtesy of Dua Lipa would spark stuff like this! So for explanation, the original version by Boney M was released in August 1978 and became a smash hit in Australia and Europe, it would go number one on the Kent Music Report charts in Australia and become the twenty fifth biggest song of 1978 so of course as disco experiences a mini revival the song gets viral somehow on TikTok, English DJ and producer known as Majestic hears it and decides that what the global general public needs is a house, nu disco remix of what was already a kind of bad song not quite similar to that of "Roses" by Saint Jhn or "Ride It" by Regard last year... the difference being that we did not need this jaunty remix with the original vocals buried behind the instrumentation...this sucks...NEXT!

36. "Build a Bitch" by Bella Poarch

Oh here we go again that said I thought this would be the easy worst song I would have to talk about until "Rasputin" turned up, I already reviewed this nonsense for New Music Friday Review ...this is yet another song out of Tik Tok that literally doesn't have any reason to exist at all, the lyrics are asinine and the vocal delivery is just pathetic and when you consider the production especially on the verses is a pile of noises...this song ain't worth caring about.

14. "Enough for You" by Olivia Rodrigo

So the next three entries are all from Olivia Rodrigo and this might be the weakest of the three. It's a sparse acoustic guitar and piano ballad where Olivia is questioning whether or not she was ever enough for him despite her doing every she could to be that enough for him by doing everything she thought he wanted from her but I just feel like there's not enough in the instrumentation to anchor the kind of drama that she is trying to sell. It's not bad but it's definitely not the best song on the album....just saying...for one of the better songs on the album, we have to look to...

12. "Brutal" by Olivia Rodrigo

The album opener that begins with a quiet piece of orchestral music before it jumps into loud guitars and drums...its kind of awesome. Olivia Rodrigo sing talks about her life as a teenage girl asking "where's her fucking teenage dream' and ending the chorus with the perfectly memeable "It's brutal out here", the song reminds me a lot of Courtney Barnett's style and that's not a bad thing because yeah...this song is pretty damn good, lyrically it almost sounds like its coming straight from Olivia's diary. It's a brutal opener out here.

7. "Traitor" by Olivia Rodrigo

In a way this song feels like Olivia Rodrigo letting out the rest of her anger at the man who broke her heart, she still sees him as a traitor for breaking her heart, this guy is full on lying to Olivia while falling in love with another girl hence the feelings of betrayl. It's probably one of the darkest songs on the album that I can honestly see sticking around long after the album bomb due to it connecting with a lot of people. I like this. Check it out.

6. "Butter" by BTS

Here's the second English language single from BTS following the success of "Dynamite" last year and while "Dynamite" is fine, I will admit that song shrunk on me a lot...I got pretty sick of it but none the less I still was curious about this song even though a song called "Butter" left me with a sinking feeling but regardless what did we get? Well we got a song that crosses between recent Jason DeRulo songs and 2018 Charlie Puth (the production verses remind me of "Attention) but the chorus is what sells the song mostly because the group have enough charisma to sell the hook...the only thing I am not wild about is the third verse but yeah the song is pretty good. Check it out.

However both best of the week is going to Olivia Rodrigo for "Traitor. Worst of the week is going to the mess that is the remix of "Rasputin" by Majestic and Boney M...it shouldn't exist.

Next week is set to be a cool down week and boy I'd welcome that right now, we'll find out on Friday when ARIA updates the chart at 5pm

New Music Friday Review. 21st May Broken Humans watch as Sun Goes Down on Blue Banisters while singing a Heartbreak Anthem

 So before I start, this week was overloaded with new releases to the point of it being fucking insane so I'm going to endeavour to do my best to cover what I can so therefore I am going to endeavour to keep the reviews pretty short and keep in mind that I won't be covering anything likely to hit the ARIA singles chart so no BTS here...see the ARIA chart update for my thoughts on "Butter" on Saturday. 

So let's start with...

"Sun Goes Down" by Lil Nas X

So this new single from Lil Nas X hasn't attracted the same amount of controversy as "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" and yet I kind of like this more than "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" mainly because this is Lil Nas X being honest about the bullying he confronted and coming to grips with his homosexuality, its a dark song where the production reminds me a little of Post Malone to a degree. Definitely check this out if you get the chance.

Rating 8/10

"Our Song" by Anne Marie and Niall Horan

So of the guys from One Direction, Niall is the guy whose solo music is the one I like the most, mostly because he has been consistently good to great, his album last year "Heartbreak Weather" was up there as one of the best of 2020 so I was a bit disappointed to see him collaborate with Anne Marie, an artist who I just think makes the most basic pop music ever...there's a reason I was worried about this collab...turns out the end result is the song is fine? Its a song where both Anne Marie and Niall are talking about break ups with their previous partners...it's mostly harmless if a little forgettable.

Rating: 6/10

"Broken Humans" by Human Nature and Guy Sebastian

I'm absolutely delighted we're getting more original music from Human Nature (Not going to lie, I've always liked their original music more than their covers) however this time they are teaming up with Guy Sebastian and honestly shouldn't be surprised by how well this collaboration actually works, Guy's vocals slot so well in here that you'd be forgiven for thinking that Human Nature had a fifth member! That said Human Nature's harmonies are generally on point like they are with this song. I just wish the subject matter didn't feel kind of generic, it's along the line about how humans are broken and have imperfections etc. 

Rating: 7/10

"Heartbreak Anthem" by Galantis, Little Mix and David Guetta.

Little Mix return as a trio collaborating with Galantis and David Guetta for this song, it's a very 90s dance sounding song as Little Mix sing over the top of production that sounds like it's on the verge of overwhelming the girls vocals but never does, the lyrics are what you'd almost expect for a song called "Heartbreak Anthem", it's a song about how the girls aren't going to allow themselves to dwell on heartbreak and try to move on with their lives etc...kind of reminds me of "Shoutout to My Ex" in a weird way.

Rating: 7/10

"Blue Banisters" by Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey released three songs last week and I feel like that she got absolutely buried and forgotten about in amidst all the major new releases, she might have been better to delay the release a week given this week doesn't appear to be as stacked with new releases as last week and the week before was but anyway "Blue Banisters" is probably the best of the three songs she released, its a decent folk sounding song and Lana sounds less pretentious than she normally does musing on how finding men are not unnerved by her success (I would ask why men's egos are always so damaged by a successful woman?) and this guy whom she's painting a picture of. It's decent, check it out if you are curious.

Rating: 7/10

The Top Ten Best Hit Songs of 1980

So 1980, a tumultuous year in many respects not least of all for music where AC/DC's lead vocalist Bon Scott would be found having passed out in a car and later pronounced dead on arrival at hospital which later saw the band bring in Brian Johnston, John Lennon was shot dead by an obsessed fan outside his apartment building in New York but beyond the world of music...there was a federal election, whatever the hell happened to baby Azaria Chamberlain on that fateful night at Uluru and the controversial Olympics in Moscow. 

So anyway let's get back to the matter at hand because we're here to talk about the best of the popular music in 1980 and in 1980, pop music was in transition moving away from its obsession with disco and into the new wave sound that had planted it's seeds the year before and was beginning to become dominant, disco was still notching success but not quite to the same degree as it had in the years previous while soul and funk had a small amount of success but I still managed to find plenty of fantastic songs for this list (the top five of the year end is stunning)

Rules are this.

1. A song is eligible for this list if it appears on the Kent Music Report's year end list for 1980 or debuted on the 1979 year end list but is higher on the 1980 year end.

2. This list is my opinion so no abuse please!

So without further delays, lets get this top ten best hit songs of 1980 underway!

So there is not going to be too many Australian songs on this list...mostly because a lot of the music the Australian acts were releasing covers like John Farnham with "Help", cliched ballads like Colleen Hewitt's "Dreaming My Dreams With You" or the song is good but stiff competition ultimately meant they missed out but thankfully I did find an ballad from an Australian band I actually liked and it's this...

10. "Downhearted" by Australian Crawl

Full confession...I've never been 100% into Australian Crawl, "Boys Light Up" drives me up the wall and "Reckless" does nothing for me but "Downhearted" is the sort of song I can get behind, it's a song about heartbreak and everything that comes with it. James Reyne frets about the fact love is getting him down because there's no end to his own heartbreak in sight because this girl has stolen his heart...in a way it's a song that's got this kind of 'nice guys' vibe to it (if you've seen the nice guys sub reddit on Reddit, you'll know what I'm talking about) and while that kind of did mean I couldn't put the song any higher on the list, I definitely get what it's trying to do and respect it all the more for it. Good song.

I have a weird relationship with this artist, I don't really particularly care for his music for the most part but there's something about this song I find utterly charming...

9. "More Than I Can Say" by Leo Sayer

If there's anything that could make me lose all credibility...it's admitting that I find this cover of the original The Crickets 1959 version to be utterly charming, yeah it's a cloying and kind of obsessive pop song but there's a sincerity to Leo Sayer's vocals that sells the song for me, he doesn't quite have the words to explain just how much he loves and misses this girl when she's away and questions if she's feeling the same about him. Throw in that guitar and you have me hooked. While I've never really cared for Sayer's other songs, this one will always have a place in my heart, glad it was a number one hit in Australia more than I can say,

Meanwhile there was one band who were more upfront about it and had all the words for love...

8. "What I Like About You" by The Romantics

I got to be honest here, the reason why this song is in the top ten is because of that ridiculously catchy hook coupled with guitars and that handclap as the lyrics rattle off everything he likes about this girl including her dancing and keeping him warm at night. It's just this fun bouncy song that demands your attention and even if you don't mean to, you can find yourself singing along with it. Hey, The Romantics can keep on whispering the things I wanna hear in my ear because yeah ain't going to stop it. It's way too much fun and an easy contender to be on a list like this. Remember when rock music was fun? Can we get back to this because I miss songs like this.

Speaking of having fun, you thought there wouldn't be any disco on this list...wellll...

7. "Blame It On the Boogie" by Jackson 5

Look, this song has a lot in common with The Romantics "What I Like About You", it's catchy and Michael Jackson's energy in his vocal delivery here is as infectious as anything he released solo (I still hare "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough") and the song just has this easy get up and dance energy to it that make the lyrics "I just can't control my feet" ring true  given its a song with an infectious spirit that does make me want to dance also Michael taking lead vocals is inspired because his charisma sells this song so damn well and its part of the reason Michael had a pretty great 1980 within the Jackson 5 and solo.

So I wasn't about to leave Debbie Harry and her cohorts off this list now was I....

6. "Call Me" by Blondie

So this song is probably one of the catchiest pop/rock songs of the 80s, Debbie Harry is killing it at the front of Blondie acting as this prostitute calling on guys to call her any time for love...yes it might surprise you to know that "Call Me" is a song about a prostitute in 1980 film American Gigolo. "Call Me" much like "Blame It On the Boogie" doesn't give you much of a reason to not be on your feet dancing and jumping around to it, with "Call Me" having punchy grooves and that killer middle eight back into the final chorus. Debbie Harry is one hell of a front woman though.

So one of the biggest groups to emerge from the 1970s was UK act Queen following the massive success of "Bohemian Rhapsody", 1980 would turn out to be another fantastic year for them as "Another One Bites the Dust" was huge but there was another Queen song that was even bigger in 1980 and it's on this list...

5. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen

Look, it was a tough choice between this one and "Another One Bites the Dust" (that riff is fucking ICONIC!) but in the end "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" won out because...Freddie Mercury's charisma and personality just shines through so much more here and sure the guitar work here is sensational and of the standard you would expect from an act like Queen who by that point had almost perfected their sound, throw in the handclaps and you have the sort of perfect love song that isn't too saccharine and knows when to show off it's cool to the point its effortless especially as Freddie is describing what this crazy emotion called love is doing to him. Great song. 

However if you want the complete opposite of a love song, here's a surprisingly dark song from one of the world's most popular pop acts that in 1980 were falling apart in their private lives and boy, if ever there was a gut punch in 1980, it was this song.

4. "The Winner Takes It All" by ABBA

The first time I heard this piano ballad, I was shocked, people just don't write mature songs about divorce/break ups this way anymore, this is mature and a rather adult way of looking at things, it's a song written by Bjorn Ulvaeus about his break up fellow band member Agnetha but also included a mix of emotions from what Benny and Frida had gone through with their separation, the lyrics are brutally stoic and honest about the end of the relationship and when you realize that there's not really any winners in divorce (according to Bjorn, there were no winners in his divorce from Agnetha) and the fact that proceedings have come to an end and the moment of moving on faced without complaint and not wanting to go back over old ground other than to wish the ex well. Heartbreaking stuff but it's the best song ABBA ever wrote.

Earlier on I mentioned Freddie Mercury as being incredibly charismatic, in 1980, there was a woman in rock music who was more than capable of letting her charisma shine through her vocals and this song was the breakout hit for the band she was in so who needs a little brass and bottle in pocket, right now?

3. "Brass in Pocket" by The Pretenders.

Yes, we can't go without talking about the sensational Chrissie Hynde here because my god she is selling this song with everything and it's kind of what a song like this needs (the irony being that Chrissie actually didn't like the song and hated that it was a number one hit in the UK) and why I cannot stand that Teddy Geiger cover that was done for Spotify, its a song about having the money and courage enough to go out and wanting to be accepted but it just being a front he/she is putting up. I just connect so much with this song and love just how the confidence radiates from Hynde's vocals, I know she doesn't like "Brass in Pocket" but it's a song I just can't get enough of. 

Well... it was the biggest hit song of 1980 and for damn good reason...

2. "I Got You" by Split Enz

Split Enz snuck onto the 1979 year end with "I See Red" but 1980 would see the Tim Finn led band have the biggest song in Australia for 1980 with Tim's brother Neil penning the new wave sounding "I Got You" in 1979, the song spent eight weeks at the top of the Kent Music Report charts in 1980 and what a delight this song is as the narrator ponders how having this significant other with him keeps anxiety and fear at bay but when she isn't around anymore, the anxiety and fear return causing the narrator to retreat back to his room...this song was the moment that new wave really showed that it was ready to dominate the early part of the 80s and this one is still a new wave classic to this day.

Before we get to our number one how about some honourable mentions?

HM1: "Rock With You" by Michael Jackson

For me, 1980 was an off year for Michael Jackson and of his solo songs that made the 1980 year end...this was the song from the lot that got to me the most and connected in a few ways for me (Not like I was ever going to pick "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough"...its the one MJ song I cannot stand). Like most songs on this list, it's a love song that yeah is a bit gooey but it still works 

HM2: "Another One Bites The Dust" by Queen

Iconic guitar riff and Freddie Mercury throwing himself around vocally...what more could you want? There's a reason that this song is a god damn classic...just missed out because well...there was a better Queen song in 1980 that made the list.

HM3: "Working My Way Back to You" by The Spinners

So this one is a bit of a surprise...I wasn't expecting to like this, what would have sounded very much like a pastiche to the early 70s with it's Motown sounding grooves for what is a pretty simple love song and while I am nota fan of some of the spoken word parts, this still works for me. Good song.

HM4: "Romeo's Tune" by Steve Forbert

This song is one of those they play on the radio and they never tell you the name of it when the DJ is on the air but despite some production problems, this song is still pretty cute. Just couldn't justify putting this in the top ten because of the production problems

HM5: "The Wanderer" by Donna Summer

So this grew on me a far bit to the point I nearly replaced "Downhearted" with this song, it's was a sound shift for Donna Summer at the time as she transitioned from disco to a pretty neat pop/r'n'b act and this song does it pretty well...consider it my number eleven.

Back to the list proper, it's time to get to the number one and I will say, it was close between my number one pick, I Got You and Brass in Pocket...all three were number one at some point during the list drafting process but you know....it's all still rock and roll to me...

1. "It's Still Rock 'n' Roll to Me" by Billy Joel

It might surprise you but I dig Billy Joel's music...he'd probably have at least one song on a couple of year end lists for certain years if I really wanted to get down to making those lists for those years (granted I am not a fan of "Uptown Girl"..not a fan of the cover Westlife did either) but "It's Still Rock 'n' Roll to Me" is a damn great song, for one thing Joel is making comment that at the time the new wave sound was arriving thanks to The Police and The Cars however to Joel, it sounded like power pop which to him was nothing new as power pop had been around since the 60s, he didn't like the way the sound had been categorised hence it's all still rock and roll to him and yeah, this song is kind of forward in it's discussion of genre and the blurring of the lines when it comes to genre and look, I just love how catchy and honestly how challenging the song is, does it really matter what genre the song is, as long as you enjoy, the genre shouldn't matter.

"It's Still Rock 'n' Roll to Me" by Billy Joel is the best hit song of 1980. 

Good 1992 Vibrations. 24th May. Man Alive, Fathers Day was Simply The Best.

 So this week feels weird mostly because it doesn't feel like a lot happened but yet there's still a lot to talk about mostly because there's SEVEN new entries to deal with this week but let's begin with the top ten where for yet another depressing week "To Be With You" by Mr Big holds onto the the number one and right now I don't see what is going to challenge for that number one spot.

It's not going to be "Under the Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers which remained at number two but its sales are slowing down which means it's facing a threat from "Stay" by Shakespears Sister up one to number three as it's starting to do better on sales. 

It pushed past "Way Out West" by James Blundell and James Reyne which slipped back to number four, again this is weakening on sales but it still held on over "In the Closet" by Michael Jackson stuck at number five because it couldn't close the margin which was the same case for "Be My Baby" by Teen Queens at number six.

We have the first of three new arrivals to the top ten at number seven and this is the one I'm not happy about..."James Brown is Dead" by L.A. Style which climbed four places to do so...yikes...I'll save my thoughts for the year end worst list with regard to this song but when you see what left the top ten just so this piece of garbage could worm it's way in is all the more infuriating.

Luckily the other two are infinitely more palatable with "Suck My Kiss" by Red Hot Chili Peppers up from 25 to number eight this week..this could be a player for number one if it keeps this momentum up and "That Word (L.O.V.E)" by The Rockmelons feat Cutty Ranks, Nardo Ranks and Demi Hines which climbed five places to number nine this week..I'm very happy about this. 

All of this pushed "Not a Day Goes" by Rick Price down three to number ten as it's on its way out naturally.

Gains

I already mentioned the major gains for "Suck My Kiss" by Red Hot Chili Peppers as it scaled its way up from 25 to 8 but there were a few other scattered major gains like "Clunk (EP)" by Frente as it rose from 23 to break into the top twenty at 19.

Del Tha Funkee Homosapien climbed ten places to 22 with "Mistadobolina'  while 2 Unlimited climbed five places to 25 with "Twilight Zone" 

Indecent Obsession continued its climb as "Kiss Me" bounded from 33 to 27 however the weird run of "Dream Alone" by Killing Time continued as it jumped suddenly from 41 to 32 this week, this song has seen some spikes and troughs lately!

Finally, I'm happy to see "Make It Happen" by Mariah Carey climb eleven places to number 35. 

Losers

So let's start with "Baby Love" by Dannii Minogue which isn't getting a lot of love as it fell from 42 to 49 this week while "I Can't Dance" by Genesis continues to be all out of rhythm down six to 40 and Julian Lennon's "Help Yourself" can't help falling from 38 to 45.

One of the larger tumbles this week was for Voice of The Beehive's cover of "I Think I Love You" which collapsed down from 26 to 44 this week...ouch.

"Sister's Crazy" by Candy Harlots slipped from it's debut of 37 to number 41 while "Insanity" by Oceanic tumbled nine places to 40.  "Dizzy" by Vic Reeves & The Wonder Stuff is spinning out of control as its down eleven to 39. 

What's not so "Marvellous" is The 12th Man feat. MCG Hammer's nine place decline to 33 (probably blame that on the Cricket World Cup having long since finished) however in better news " Thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven" by Bryan Adams is down nine to 31...good, the sooner it's gone the better for the charts.

Prince & The New Power Generation slipped six with "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" to 24 while "Lets Get Rocked" by Def Leppard got pummelled back from 17 to 21.

"Get Ready for This" by 2 Unlimited was ready to free fall seven places to number 17. 

New Entries

There's seven new entries this week beginning with...

48. "Joy" by Soul II Soul

So this is the latest single from Soul II Soul, a group that I've honestly never really cared for all that much, but none the less this song is the first single from the group's new album Volume III Just Right and well this kind isn't anything out of the ordinary or doing much to impress me, it feels like your standard by the numbers R'n'B song with standard inspirational/empowerment lyrics about joy and spreading it around the world except that melody and beat do nothing to be as joyful as the lyrics suggest. It's fine...there's nothing aggressively wrong with it...it's just not for me.

47. "As Ugly as They Wanna Be" by Ugly Kid Joe

So this is an EP from an American metal band called Ugly Kid Joe, the title of their debut EP is a play on 2 Live Crew's album name "As Nasty As They Wanna be" and my god this is some of the lamest so called metal I've ever heard, "Everything About You" is just literal whinging over a limp guitar that wouldn't even knock the milk out of your tea when it played, really most of this EP is pretty mediocre to down right bad. NEXT please.

43. "Hazard" by Richard Marx

Ahh Richard Marx is back with the second single from his third studio album "Rush Street" and for a single this song is pretty dark, for one thing the song tells the story of the relationship between the narrator and a woman named Mary. Mary disappeared in suspicious circumstances which resulted in the narrator being shunned in the village since he was a small boy at the age of seven and is now the main suspect in the disappearance of Mary and narrator continues to plead his innocence through out the song, it's got all the similar hallmarks to Bobbie Gentry's 1967 hit 'Ode to Billie Joe" where the answers are left open to interpretation by the listener but "Hazard" isn't better than "Ode to Billie Joe" and there's certainly others that are better in this lane but if this works for you, it'll do the job.

38. "Man Alive" by Diesel

Well its about time we got a new single from Diesel and it comes in the form of this barn burner of a catchy song.There's not much that can be said here, it's really a pretty simple love song with guitars all doing their thing and Diesel has all the charm to try to rope this girl to be with him because he wants to be her lover. I enjoyed this a fair bit. Check it out if you are curious. 

37. "Save The Best for Last" by Vanessa Williams

Well 1992's charts always seem to have room for one complete snoozer of a song on the chart and here we have this week's piece of blandness, this time from American singer Vanessa Williams, "Save the Best for Last" is the third single from her second album and look, there's always room on the charts for songs about being in love and how this guy is saving his absolute best for last for her but I mean come on when your song is so overloaded with cliches, it becomes a bit laughable eg: "Sometimes the sun goes round the moon" and "Just when I thought our chance had passed..." I mean even the title is a fucking cliche. It's not even like the music here is interesting either with the piano and organ...this song is for late night Love Songs and Dedications somewhere between Foreigner and Meatloaf, they would mostly play Meatloaf after playing this boring cliched slog of a song!

29. "Fathers Day" by Weddings Parties Anything

Oh thank god...a song that is good and to boot INTERESTING anyway believe it or not, this is my first time hearing Weddings, Parties, Anything and holy shit, this song does tug at the heartstrings a bit with this song inspired by one of the band's roadies and this really is an ode to being a dad in spite of frontman Mick Thomas not being a dad at the time but my god he nails the emotion of this song, he delivers the lyrics with a passion and intensity of somebody who is a dad and how you don't need one day of the year celebrate being dad, every day can be a Fathers Day. I love the sentiment here...great song.

18. "Simply The Best" by Tina Turner and Jimmy Barnes

Okay so this is an odd case, this was a song that was a hit in 1988 for Bonnie Tyler in Norway and the UK (if you've heard it, you can understand why it wasn't a hit in Australia) before Tina Turner would get hold of the song and released it as a single in 1989 where it would peak at number four and now the New South Wales Rugby League have brought in Jimmy Barnes and the song is now a duet, Jimmy and Tina are a good match too vocally, they can go toe for toe and have some really good chemistry here. Oh and the song is still the best anthem that rugby league has had.

So yet worst of the week is that Ugly Kid Joe EP...we don't need any more lame shit on the charts. As for the best, "Fathers Day" by Weddings Parties Anything just nudges out Diesel's "Man Alive" and Tina and Jimmy's "Simply The Best" collab.