Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 2021.

Another year over, another year full of the ARIA singles chart and the hits and misses of the year, time to do a little summer cleaning and pore over the best and worst of the year. Now while 2021 was still a good year, ir was a step down from 2020 in terms of quality and it wasn't all that hard finding stuff that outright sucked that made ARIA's year end list for 2021 be it slog in pop rap, indie pop, pop country and even a couple of arists I like actually disappointing me this year however I will also say that the bad stuff sticks out in amongst all the good so let's get in, pick up the trash and dispose of it.

However before we go any further, a song can only make this list if it debuted on the year end chart for 2021 or peaked on the year end higher in 2021 than it did in 2020 so older songs like "Someone you Loved" by Lewis Capaldi and "Shape Of You" by Ed Sheeran that made year end lists in previous years are not eligible. Also I'll never put a song on a list like this for being boring...boring can be a factor but there's got to be something wrong with the song to make this list. Finally, this is my list, my opinion so please don't abuse me over what essentially is just my opinion.

Now all that is clear, let's get this shit show on the road starting with only four dishonourable mentions...

Dishonourable Mentions

"Rasputin" by Majestic x Boney M

The original wasn't good to begin with and this remix makes this song so much worse with the screeching of "Ra ra Rasputin"...ugh...next

"No Role Modelz" by J Cole

So apparently this qualified for the Australian year end for the first time in 2021 and my god, this leaves me with the feeling that J Cole is vastly over rated as a rapper because this song is ASININE and is only not making the top because of a rule where I don't put older songs in the top ten of a list of my best or worst hit songs however the lyrics are embarrassing....Martin Luther King would have been on Dreamville...geeez...I got better things to do with my time because this is not it.

"Traitor" by Olivia Rodrigo

Of the four songs Olivia Rodrigo lodged on the year end for 2021, this was the one I liked the least mostly because it felt like this childish jabbing in the tummy of her ex rather than her ahowing that she's not stooping down to his level and moving on with her life, sometimes the best revenge on an asshole is to move on and move forward, be better and don't lower yourself to that level which Olivia doesn't do here.

“The Business” by Tiesto

I get the appeal of the song, but I am sorry, the vocals here don’t make this song anything close to attractive…I get that it’s meant to be a song about getting down to business and getting serious but it’s the sort of song that sounds completely miserable and feels like it belongs in a sewer drain or worse. It’s probably one of the songs that just felt unpleasant to listen to every time I tried to get into and enjoy it…it never happened. 

Number Ten

So in 2017, Travis Scott had a sizeable hit with :Goosebumps" taking an uncredited Kendrick Lamar along for the ride...now i don't mind the original...just a shame I can't say the same of the house remix that came this year...

“Goosebumps” by HVME feat. Travis Scott

Welcome to the most unnecessary Spanish house remix of a song to somehow become a hit in years, there was no need for this. Travis Scott’s 2017 hit “Goosebumps” is a 2010s trap gem so what does producer HVME do to it? Pitches Travis Scott down, percussion that makes the song sound like a raging headache wrapped in a heroin wrap except only less deadly. All the elements that made the original work are not here either, there’s no uncredited Kendrick verse, nor is there the atmosphere or that guitar, it’s just a gutless pointless remix that should have never even charted in the first place and the fact this remix outcharted the original performed by Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar on the ARIA singles chart is just fucking depressing with the original only peaking at 45, HVME’s version with Travis Scott on board got to number 5…ugh.

Number Nine

Speaking of pointless remixes that become very disappointing when you see the names attached to them...

“Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)” by Elton John and Dua Lipa

I really didn’t want to do this…I didn’t want to put two acts I absolutely love on worst hit songs of 2021 list. Dua Lipa had one of the best and most iconic pop albums of 2020, she has still been riding residual success on the singles chart thanks to “Levitating”, she didn’t have to do this however “Cold Heart” got enough overt radio play to make the song start to sour on me and here it is. For one thing Dua Lipa supplies these thin, frail sounding vocals singing a section of “Rocket Man (I think it’s Going to be a Long Long Time)” and doesn’t sound like herself in between Elton John singing a section of “Sacrifice” on a new song. PNAU’s production doesn’t help thanks to the pile up of near constant strange noises, the only thing that works is the groove, there’s just too much going on for the song to flow both in the production and lyrically. It’s just a disjointed mess that hopefully will be forgotten about long term

Number Eight

You know, if there was one artist who had a really good 2021, it would have to be Doja Cat...she was pretty much the dominant force on the charts for women in hip hop, it's just a shame that not every song released from Planet Her was good because in 2021, Doja Cat gave us this...

“Need To Know” by Doja Cat

Doja, you’ve done this sort of song before...it was one of the biggest hits of 2020 and called “Say So” and even if the beat Dr Luke provided for that song was washed out and not great however it was better than this trap clunker. While I have gotten to a point where I can handle Doja’s harsher vocal delivery, she just doesn’t sound good here at all where she’s wanting to know if this guy will fuck her already. This is a sex song that’s not as sexy as Doja Cat or anyone else involved with this song thinks it is, thankfully she did better in 2021 but this headache and a half wasn't it.

Number Seven

Speaking of headaches...it's time to talk about the winners of 2021's Eurovision Song Contest...

“Beggin’” by Maneskin

The first thing that should be stressed is that this is not a cover of the original performed by Frankie Valli but rather a cover of the version Madcon recorded in 2007 and in a year where Italian Eurovision winners Maneskin burst onto the scene following their Eurovision win earlier this year thanks to “ZItti e Buoni” but somehow instead of that song getting big, we got this cover that become big and at first I was okay with the song but as time went on, “Beggin’” just got worse thanks to one pivotal factor that being the lead vocals which can best be described as a mix of crooner who forgot that warming the throat up is an important part of being able to sing well and the sound of somebody who is recovering from a serious bout of laryngitis and discovered he can talk again, it isn’t tolerable. At least on songs like “Zitti e Buoni”, the vocals sound pleasant enough but I just can’t with “Beggin’”...I’m sorry...the radio gets turned every time the song comes on.

Number Six

So what cha all know about rolling down in the deep...not like this next bloke has much of a clue

“Astronaut in the Ocean” by Masked Wolf

Well, this is 2021’s obvious worst list target more because the song tries to send a message about depression and anxiety but doesn’t tell a story to make me feel anything for him and the fact he is talking down to the audience on the hook where he manages to piss me off further by referencing Adele’s incredible 2011 hit “Rolling in the Deep” whiile talking down to his audience and the verses read more like him being the quintessential ‘nice guy’ and later brags about his prowess in rap...I mean sure he has a decent flow but that’s about it, he certainly doesn’t have the wordplay or charisma of others. Oh yeah, the song wastes a pretty good guitar that introduced the song...NEXT.

Number Five

Lewis Capaldi took a break in 2021...thank goodness...but that didn't mean we weren't spared of British solo acts howling like banshees...here's proof of that...

“Little Bit of Love” by Tom Grennan

I have been aware of UK singer songwriter Tom Grennan for a while and while there are songs from him I don’t mind like “Run in the Rain” or “Barbed Wire” however “Little Bit of Love” is a pretty awful crossover into commercial pop especially as Tom Grennan feels he has to haltingly shout the hook in the most over the top manner that comes across as really unnecessary  and unfortunately it's one where the Lewis Capaldi reference I made in introducing this song to the list because like on "Someone You Loved", the sentiments are so oversold and yowling they become distracting. Throw in the production that just feels like its compromising Tom Grennan’s overall sound just to get him a cross over pop hit and yeah...this was a dud the charts could have done without.

Number Four

Yeah, we were going to hit this point eventually but it's time to talk about The Kid Laroi on this list...

“Stay” by The Kid Laroi feat. Justin Bieber

The longer this stayed at number one on the ARIA singles chart, the more it soured for me especially as I realized that ‘Stay” is basically just Kid Laroi’s predecessor single (we’ll get to it) part two as the Kid Laroi bleats that he wants this girl to stay even though she’s fed up with his nonsense of getting drunk and wasted despite promising he’ll change which triggers an inert Bieber verse although I will say he sounds better crooning over the beat than The Kid Laroi does, Bieber basically sucks up to this poor fed up woman about her being the reason he believes in love blah blah even though it doesn’t even fit with the sentiment The Kid Laroi is expressing, it’s just totally pathetic from the pair of them, why would she want to stay when all The Kid Laroi seems to do is bleat, guilt trip and act like a baby? No woman who knows her value would stay with a guy like this. As for the instrumentation…well yeah…it sounds like an instrumental that can be inserted into most eighties leaning modern pop songs, it's not all that special. 

Number Three

You might be surprised as to how this song is so high on this list...well one of the artists on this song happens to be an artst I like and given most of what she has released this year was 'easy listening, fit for radio' junk, this one hurts to put here and I thought putting Dua Lipa and Elton John on this list hurt...

"One Too Many" by Keith Urban and Pink

Having heard a lot of Pink's past work for reasons that I can't go into right now but you'll see on the blog soon, I just couldn't reconcile the fact that the very same Pink who recorded songs like "Get the Party Started", "U + Ur Hand" and "So What" was now recording material for the easy listening meat grinder to gobble up and spit out the other side like this song with Keith Urban where Pink sounds like she has been stripped of all her personality next to country singer Keith Urban who also has about as much personality on this song as grandma's beige curtains from the 50s. is just devastating.

Yeah, you can argue that Pink is older and her earlier material isn't representative of who she is now but come on, she's better than this turgid pop slurry off a song that made nobody other than radio programmers happy that they had something to fit in between The Kid Laroi and Jason DeRulo.

Number Two

Well...it's time to cool these heat waves down to a sudden cold snap...

“Heat Waves” by Glass Animals

This is one of those songs where the awful is obvious, the whole song sounds like a god damn mosquito or bee buzzing in your ear until you flick it away or do what I did every time this song come on the radio...turn it off. It’s not pleasant at all even the vocal delivery sounds like they are being put to sleep by having sand thrown in their eyes by the Sandman in children’s stories, it sounds so incredibly lethargic and drowsy sounding, it’s literally the last song I would want to hear on the radio as I am starting my day because of just how unpleasant it sounds, I am honestly surprised that it somehow got Tik Tok virality causing it to become one of the biggest hits of the year because of the mosquito buzzing in the ear sound it has.

It’s just one of those songs that has absolutely no use regardless of the situation, the sound of the sound makes it hard for chilling and the groove is too lethargic and slow to dance to, Almsot like they wanted the song to be a trap song but didn’t have the tools to get it there. 

So before we get to our rightful number one worst hit song of the year, let's blow through a few terrible songs that hit year ends overseas...let's call this segment...

Overseas Charting Noise Pollution

From the Billboard Hot 100...

"Fancy Like" by Walker Hayes.

I am not going to rant at length about how absolutely fucking terrible this song is and by now every critic has hauled this song over the coals for how absolutely rancid it is even if I get the gut feeling, it's the boost Walker Hayes flagging career needed to chart more dross on the Hot 100...just fuck everything....

"Good Time" by Niko Moon

At least Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen didn't have to try to and have a good time when they recorded their ode to partying where as Niko Moon sounds like he is at the flattest party possible where the only beer left to drink is half a can that's been sittting in the all god damn day. What a limp and lethargic song this is.

From the UK Official Charts

"Black Magic" by Jonasu

I've heard this song on the radio once...that's the last time I want to hear this miserable turd again because geezus this is just a repetitive song that makes me want to throw my radio down the toilet.

"Out Out" by Joel Corry, Jax Jones and Charli XCX feat. Saweetie

Oh wow....this was a disappointing collab...too many people on the damn song for it to work well and as somebody who is looking forward to that Charli XCX album...the fact she was involved with this was the biggest disappointment of all.

From the Austrian charts

"Iko Iko" by Justin Wellington

A song that by now has been repeatedly covered and this newest version sounds like wallpaper and Justin Wellington's voice can't sell shit on a stick. Heard this song more than enough on the radio this year.

Well that takes care of that and now for the number one worst hit song of the year...

Number One

Yeah, there's no getting around this one, this song makes me angry much like "Intentions" by Justin Bieber feat. Quavo did and like that song, this one has been a consistent thorn in my side since it became a thing on the ARIA singles chart...and by now, given I have no interest in trolling those who read my cavalcades of nonsense, you should all know what the song is....

"Without You" by The Kid Laroi

Honestly, I don’t want to even put The Kid Laroi here but he keeps making gummy guitar based songs like this where not even he sounds good on it then it leaves me with no choice but to put ‘Without You” here however it’s not even the production that’s the worst part of the song where Kid Laroi himself sounds like he swallowed three packets of razor blades trying to sing the hook before trying to howl his lungs out, to the point it makes Lewis Capaldi on "Someone You Loved" sound tolerable, the worst part of “Without You” is the writing where apparently you can’t make a wife out of a hoe (what a way to talk about women, dude...not) and how the song lacks so little context and feels like Kid Laroi is guilt tripping this girl, it’s just an icky song that deserves the status of being the worst hit song of 2021. 

ARIA Singles Top 50 Top Ten/Chart Review. 10th January 2022: The Motto Don't Talk About Bruno Down Under

Welcome back for another year of chart insanity and this week to a degree does feel like it especially with all the Christmas music gone and everything that came in to fill in space for this week only and with The Weeknd likely to get an album bomb next week, I am not placing too much stock in this week.

Let's begin with the top ten where for another week "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa keeps hold of the number one spot for a sixth week but it's not exactly dominant on either streaming or sales, let's just say it's vulnerable should The Weeknd manage to blow in and dominate streaming with his new album.

The same goes for "Stay" by The Kid Laroi featuring Justin Bieber at number two where it's doing decently on streaming but sales kept it at number two this week. 

"abcdefu" by Gayle would be a contender but it's streaming feels like it might well be stalling at the worst possible time...and I am kind of okay with that, this song has only gotten worse for me over the Christmas/ New Year period.

"Heat Waves" by Glass Animals is at number four thanks to a third wind on streaming. Seriously, aren't people sick of this song yet?

Then there's "Bad Habits" at number five and "Shivers" at number six both for Ed Sheeran. I kind of expect "Bad Habits" to slowly fall away pretty soon.

"Easy On Me" by Adele hangs on to number seven then there's "Do It to It" by Acraze up to number eight because for some reason, we need a shitty remix of a bad song from the 2000s.

"Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X feat Jack Harlow remains at number nine while climbing into the top ten for it's first week is "Where Are You Now" by Lost Frequencies feat. Calum Scott...the less said about that one the better.

Gains

We've got a lot of them this week...mostly songs just filling gaps left by Christmas music so let's begin with "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo ip 22 spots to number 11, "Levitating" by Dua Lipa lived up to it's name as it is levitated 29 spots to number 12, "Kiss Me More" by Doja Cat feat. SZA got kissed up 30 places to 13, "Ghost" by Justin Bieber up 17 to 14, "Enemy" by Imagine Dragons feat. JID up 24 to 15, and "That's What I Want" by Lil Nas X up 29 to 16

Then there's "One Right Now" by Post Malone and The Weeknd rising 29 to 18, "Save Your Tears" by The Weeknd up 31 to 19, "All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" by Taylor Swift climbing 25 to 24. 

Re Entries

Alright, there's TWENTY SEVEN songs that returned this week so I am going to start from the bottom and work my way through them all.

"Without You" by The Kid Laroi feat. Miley Cyrus returned at 50, "Sunflower" by Post Malone and Swae Lee made a surprise and unexplained return at 49, "Mood" by 24kGoldn and Iann Dior is back at 47, "The Business" by Tiesto got back to business on the chart at 46, "Oh My God" by Adele is back at 45 (seems like this song is going to be the next single from '30'), "Overpass Graffiti" by Ed Sheeran graffitied itself back on to the chart at 43, "Moth to a Flame" by Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd at 42, "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles at 41 and "Friday" by Riton and Nightcrawlers feat. Mufasa and Hyperman at 40,

Then there's "Dreams" by Jolyon Petch dreaming it's return at 39, the other big surprise return of the perpetual annoyance that is Havana Brown's "We Run the Night" at 38, Billie Eilish is back at 36 with '"Happier Than Ever", "love nwantiti (ah ah ah)" by Ckay back at 35, "I Am Woman" by Emmy Meli jumps back in at 34, "Acapulco" by Jason Derulo flies back in at 33, "Meet Me At Our Spot" by The Anxiety meets it's chart spot at 32, "I Hate U' by SZA returns at 31 and "My Universe" by Coldplay feat. BTS  at number 30.

We're not done yet because "Beggin'" by Maneskin is back at 29, "Woman" by Doja Cat at 28, "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac at 27, "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" at 26, "Missing Piece" by Vance Joy at 25, "Mr Btightside" by The Killers at 23 (You know, you can make "West Hills" a hit any time you like...), "Love Tonight" by Shouse at 22, "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd at 21 and finally "Better Days" by NEIKED and Mae Muller feat. Polo G at 17.

Losers

There are none...

Drop outs

It was basically a mass exodus of Christmas music this week including over half of last week's top ten and is an argument as to why ARIA should consider putting the singles chart on hiatus over the holiday period..

New Entries

Four new entries this week beginning with...

48. "Down Under" by Luude (feat. Colin Hay.

So this comes from Australian electronic producer called Luude and it's a cover of Men At Work's early 80s hit and bonafide Australian classic "Down Under" and well...this just isn't good...at all. It pitches out the window the entire melody of the original except for a fragment of flute (that melody is what makes the song fantastic) replacing them with darker electronic sounds and it just doesn't work especially when you are going to pitch down Colin Hay's voice and fill the chorus with unnecessary electronic effects...this is pretty terrible...NEXT...

44. "Surface Pressure" by Jessica Darrow

This is the first of two songs from the Disney musical "Encanto" to appear new on the chart and well this one comes from Cuban American actress Jessica Darrow who plays Luisa and according to reports Luisa is said to possess superhuman powers which means she gets called on a lot to help out which she finds the constant need for her help by others to be stressful and dehumanising which is may not look like on the surface but under it, Luisa is struggling with the weight of others expectations but in spite of all this she isn't going to stop helping people but this really does feel like a self empowerment song where the actual music can't match the lyrical sentiments...this could have been better.

37. "The Motto" by Tiesto and Ava Max

So of course, "The Business" was huge last year and off the back of that Tiesto follows it up with a new song bringing Ava Max on board and I mean really this feels like "The Business Part 3" only slightly less miserable and Ava Max has all her personality which makes her interesting as a pop singer sucked out of her by the production which feels only slightly less miserable than "The Business" in terms of its sound and the song lyrically just does nothing for me... not feeling this at all. 

20. "We Don't Talk About Bruno" by The Cast of Encanto

We're relying on the second song from Encanto, this time a song about the titular character of the song, Bruno who has by this stage of the movie been cast out of the family and everyone is under orders to not talk about him because of the bad things that he has been predicting to happen and do end up happening....the song has catchy enough hook but it does feel kind of messy and weird...it's not bad but it's not really my thing.

However in a rough week, "We Don't Talk About Bruno" is the best of the week here, as for the worst, yeah that falls out easily too. because that's going to the mess that is the cover of "Down Under" by Luude feat. Colin Hay. 

Next week, likely to be dominated by The Weeknd but we'll find out when the chart updates at 5pm on Friday.

Song of the Australian Summer

Song of the Summer competition is underway for the summer of 2021 to 22. Now to explain how this works, it's limited to songs that hit inside the top ten and gain an inverse number of points according to their chart position so number one gets ten points, number two gets nine points etc every week. Now leading that competition is "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" by Elton John feat. Dua Lipa. The competition runs until the last chart week of February. 

Lookin' Fine '89. 8th January. Two Hearts of Every Rose Imagine Especially You for A Cuppla Days

Brand new year and it's now time to see how the first chart of 1989 is shaping up after the hiatus over Christmas and New Year and we are starting 1989 with a new number one that being "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys...just a shame that the song itself is pretty damn terrible, it's got none of the driving energy past great Beach Boys songs have and just ends up falling flat..

However it does have competition coming from a new entry this week that being "Especially For You" by Kylie & Jason. I'll talk more about the song's quality later but it's here through strong sales...probably from people who are looking at this song through a Scott and Charlene from Neighbours lens. 

All this saw the final number one of 1988  "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin slip two places to number three...I don't have an opinion either way about this one...I guess I tolerate it to a degree?

Stuck at number four is 1927's "If I Could", a song that I actually really like and happy to see it doing well! 

Slipping two places to number five is the bland "Groovy Kind of Love" by Phil Collins. We've got more Phil Collins to get to later in the new entries. 

In better news, 'Handle With Care" by supergroup The Traveling Wilbury climbed two places to number six. Yeah, this song is great so nice to see it in the top ten. 

It pushed past "The Only Way is Up" by Yazz and The Plastic Population which slipped two places to number seven because yeah...about time...

There's another new arrival in the top ten this time thanks to Womack & Womack with "Teardrops" rising five places to number eight.

Transvision Vamp stay steady this week with "I Want Your Love" at number nine while rounding out the top ten is the second top ten entry for Jason Donovan with "Nothing Can Divide Us" down three places to number ten.

Gains

"She Makes My Day" by Robert Palmer rose six places to break into the top twenty at number 20 while "Put A little Love In Your Heart" by Annie Lennox and Al Green climbed from 22 to 19. 

"Stand Up for Your Love Rights" by Yazz looks to be following in the steps of  "Only Way is Up" as it rose from 29 to 22 this week while "Love Bites" by Def Leppard climbed ten places to 23 and "Angel of Harlem" by U2 got a major boost from 42 to 25. 

Rick Astley's "She Wants to Dance With Me" jumped from 41 to 36.

Losers

So it's been a busy week on the losers as former hits of 1988 start making their way out, let's begin with "Let's Stick Together (Westside '88 Remix)" by Bryan Ferry which tumbled eleven places to 49 (I'm fine with this as I really cannot stand the original at all). 

"Domino Dancing" by Pet Shop Boys is finally showing some signs of exhaustion down from 39 to 46 while "Love, Truth and honesty' by Bananarama got hit with a twelve place drop to number 44. 

The Angels have their "Finger on the Trigger" of a chart exit as their single tumbled from 34 to 41. 

"Two Strong Hearts" by John Farnham might be starting to experience heart failure as it tumbled eleven places to 39 while "All I Do" by Daryl Braithwaite slipped from 23 to 37. "Stop Your Fussin'" by Toni Childs fussed down fifteen places to 35, it wasn't a good week for Toni as her other hit "Don't Walk Away" slipped from 17 to 29

Robert Palmer's massive hit in 1988,  "Simply Irresistible" took a ten place hit to 34 while "Desire" by U2 suffered the biggest fall of the week down from 16 to 33.

New Entries

So we're starting 1989 off with eight new entries to the singles chart so let's begin our look at these with...oh good lord....

48. "A Cuppla Days" by Con The Fruiterer

So we're starting off on a weird note and I get the feeling that this song was inspired in part thanks to Comedy Company cast mate Kylie Mole having traction on the chart in 1988 that we get this from Company's fruit and vege shop owner Con Dickaletus aka Con the Fruiterer. The music certainly fits for the song and the lyrics are all about managing a fruit and vege shop and are pretty dang funny, look, it's a silly comedy novelty song that got here by the fact that the Comedy Company is popular and even if I don't see sticking around, I can't hate it, it's good fun. 

43. "Two Hearts" by Phil Collins

Okay so after a novelty song...we get a new single from an artist who solo is utterly mediocre...I'm sorry but I've just never ever cared for a Phil Collins song outside of Genesis and "Groovy Kind of Love" is the sort of song I'd expect from a guy whose hits include "Against All Odds" and "In the Air Tonight" so anyway how's his latest single from his 1988 album "Buster"? Well I'll say this...it's nice to hear a more upbeat song than the maudlin "Groovy Kind of Love", it's got a bit of a soul vibe that kind of works in the song's favour in terms of giving it some groove and even if the handclaps can get annoying...I'm fine with this right now. 

42. "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers

A Scottish duo for whom this song is their lead single from their 1988 album "Sunshine on Leith", the song was apparently written while waiting to attend a Sottish football game in Aberdeen but you know what? This song winds up being fantastic...that hook is enough to get stuck in your head for days on end as The Proclaimers say they will always be there for their significant other and walk to the ends of the earth even if they have to go 500 miles or more to do anything for their partners...definitely a lot of fun. Check this out.

38. "Smooth Criminal' by Michael Jackson

Okay, so the new single from Michael Jackson with it being the seventh for his 1987 album "Bad" and well yeah, this is awesome even if I don't think it's the best single from "Bad', MJ's charisma still shines here over that memorable riff as the lyrics tell the story of a woman who was attacked by a man labelled as a 'smooth criminal and the chorus making sure this woman named Annie (apparently inspired by the name of the CPR mannequin at the time) and the screams from Michael fit here too and he knows enough to play up the suspense so yeah...this is a really damn good song!

28. "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison

So now we've got American band Poison dipping into power ballad mode and while the instrumentation does feel powerful even i a little overwrought, the lyrics just feel really flat. The song was inspired by lead singer Bret Michaels ringing his girlfriend from a laundromat only to find out his girlfriend was cheating on him which only makes this song feel even weirder, this just doesn't resonate for me at all...there's no anger or rage here. This doesn't do a thing for me at all, I'm moving on from this.

21. "Imagine" by John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band

Okay this song is from John's 1971 album of the same name, a kind of bare bones piano ballad where John Lennon asks for people to imagine the world without particular things and I have to be honest here, the song just feels like an empty vessel...yes, it might want to preach the ideal of peace but it's got this weirdly empty way of doing so and I'm not sure that lyrically the song achieves what it sets out to do, it's not precisely bad but it's a song that's strong enough to make me care either way.

 

16. "Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi" by Kylie Minogue

       (I Do Not Know Why)

So here's the fourth single from Kylie Minogue's debut album "Kylie" and well, I kind of like this one? Yeah it's got drum machines, synthesisers and some minor guitar riffs and Kylie sounds the best she has on any of the singles here than she has on any of the previous three singles however it's the content of this song that does a lot of the heavy lifting where Kylie wonders why she still loves and wants this asshole given he is never with her and off doing something else without calling her to let her know and leaving her feeling stood up and let down...I'll take this unlike...

2. "Especially for You" by Kylie & Jason

Well this collab between Kylie Minogue and Jason Donavan seemed inevitable considering that their characters Charlene Mitchell and Scott Robinson got married on Neighbours in 1987 and honestly this song has got to be the most awkward duet I've ever heard especially as it''s the pair of them crooning back and forth about how they've missed each other while they've been apart and with these two, it can tend to come across as kind of weirdly saccharine or really uncomfortably awkward and to a degree corny....it's not my thing.

Howver it's not the worst of the week with that going to "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" by Poison. I'm going to give dishonourable mention to "Imagine" by John Lennon...sorry...I'm just not a huge fan of how empty that song is.

As for the best...we do have some options here. I'm giving best of the week to "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson with "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers just edging out "Two Hearts" by Phil Collins for the honourable mention.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Top Ten Best Hit Songs of 1992

It’s time to flip the script and talk about the songs that made 1992 somewhat tolerable to a large degree. I wasn’t lying when I said that 1992 was a rough year for the ARIA singles chart with rock having an incredible year with quality everywhere, pop also had its moments of quality as did hip hop and R’n’B but overall the year trended toward dull and sappy ballads especially in pop and the New Jack Swing sound is starting to sound really washed out however I did manage to piece together a top ten best hit songs along with five honourable mentions but before we get started, let’s go over the rules…

1.       For a song to make this list, it must have made the ARIA Year End top 100 for 1992… a song from 1991 is eligible if it peaked higher on the 1992 year end than it did in 1991.

2.       This isn’t a definitive list of the best songs of 1992; this list is my opinion only. Not that of any music historian or what any outlet would choose to canonise from a specific year (I am certain a few choices here would have me thrown out anyway).

Now that’s clear, let’s get the show on the road with a song that I’m certain will be one of the most contentious picks of this list but the more I heard this song the more it made me love it so thus…

 

10. “I Love Your Smile” by Shanice

I think I seem to spare my number ten pick on the best list for any given year for a guilty pleasure song, songs that I love but know they would never be canonised by the critical set and “I Love Your Smile” by Shanice is one of those kind of songs..hell, I’ve seen it on worst lists for 1992 however I could never bring myself to hate this song, it’s a pop/r’n’b song where she’s in love with this guy’s smile and wants to be a better person because of this guy, it’s kind of cute…even if I am not sure Shanice should be sitting in class daydreaming and staring out the window…

Also, Shanice’s inflection on the line “I love your smile” makes the song feel incredibly genuine and the production even with the whistling (doesn’t help the song at all and put a couple of slots lower than I would have placed it) gives the song an infectious spirit that makes me want to tap my toes, it’s that bright, warm sunny song that makes my day every time I hear it…makes me feel better on a bad day, it’s not perfect but yeah sometimes it’s that song I need to hear.

 

So we’re going straight from a bright sunny pop/r’n’b song where the song is just scratching the surface to a song that is dealing with a considerably darker subject matter…

 

9. “Tennessee” by Arrested Development

Yeah, this is a tough song to write about but it deserved it’s place here, it’s a song inspired by Arrested Development’s frontman Speech meeting up with his brother at their grandmother’s funeral only for his brother to die in the same week as their grandmother’s funeral due to a severe asthma attack and as a way of coping and sorting through the trauma, Speech wrote “Tennessee” and asking whoever is up there to look after him in life and guide him knowing the last place he saw the people he loves alive was in Tennessee.

It’s this slice of catchy hip hop riding a sample of Prince’s 1988 song “Alphabet Street” with the production being upbeat which makes sense given that Speech is healing and trying to find his way in the world and honestly, I think I love it for the reason that it’s a song about finding hope even when those you love pass on, it works for that reason. I’m only sad it took me until 2021 to find it, great song!

 

You might remember that I said 1992 was a great year for rock music, well here’s the first proof of that…

 

8. “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica

That haunting guitar in the beginning that introduces the song and gives the song the lonely vibe before the drums kick in precisely before James Hetfield starts singing about the constant touring the band was doing at the time and missing somebody who is at home but more importantly the song never actually defines who that person is that Hetfield is missing (he has said in interviews it was a song for his girlfriend at the time) which allows for that more personal connection for the listener and really just makes the song hit even harder and even more powerfully especially as the orchestra kicks in.

To those of you who have only heard the Miley Cyrus cover of the song, I really recommend going back and listening to the original because yeah while Miley’s cover is damn good, the gut punch in the original is even more powerful and stronger.

 

Well, this was a rough pick, two songs by the same artist fought over this spot hard but in the end I ended up going with…

 

7. “Not a Day Goes By” by Rick Price

I agonised over this slot so much because “Heaven Knows” is a beautiful piano ballad that I wish I could have found room for in the top ten on this list however I gave it to “Not a Day Goes By” because Rick Price sells the frustration with himself here damn well, he is wondering what he did to drive this girl away and wonders how he got to being this person that so badly needs somebody he can cuddle at night and feels lost without her and the hook sounds so genuinely sweet and sincere in telling her, he is constantly thinking of her. Throw in the keyboards and guitars supporting Price’s vocals and I was sold…this is a great Aussie pop/rock song.

 

Originally, I was planning to leave this song off the list altogether not even an honourable mention but when I relistened to it to be sure of my feelings about it…the more I realized the song deserved to be on the list and well…

 

6. “Djapana (Sunset Dreaming)” by Yothu Yindi

I was shocked this made the year end for 1992, sure, Yothu Yindi had a massive year in 1991 thanks to “Treaty” but “Djapana (Sunset Dreaming)” didn’t even feel like a hit and I am also surprised just how much of a forgotten gem of a song it is in Australian music especially when you consider just how well traditional Aboriginal instrumentation like the didgeridoo and clapsticks blend in with the more European style electronic elements with the lyrics taken directly from age old ceremonial repertoires  that belonged to Gumatj and Rirratjingu clans, musing on that red sun sinking in the sky taking the vocalist back in his mind to memories of home as he battles homesickness and worry, something that in the end even as a white person even with my worries being very different than those of those missing their mobs in Arnhem Land, this song resonated for me at the end of things and I am so glad it made my list.

 

Well, I don’t think I need to even introduce this song…

 

5. “Under the Bridge’ by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Let’s not mince words here, “Under the Bridge” is the sort of rock behemoth that is unmatched even by the Red Hot Chili Peppers themselves, it’s the sort of killer rock song that blows the listener away and remains a rock classic to this day. Lead vocalist Anthony Kiedis wrote the song to vent his feelings of despondency, loneliness and just how much narcotics had impacted his life to the point he was recording “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” with the rest of Red Hot Chili Peppers and right from the outside you can feel the loneliness in Kiedis vocal delivery. So glad that the Peppers producer Rick Rubin encouraged Kiedis to share the lyrics because otherwise we might not have gotten absolute rock classic.

 

I don’t know what it says about me that this next song flung itself so high up this list but yeah, this song got here by breaking my heart…

 

4. “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” by Patty Smyth and Don Henley

I am going to keep this one brief because I’m not sure how I can explain how or why this song hits me the way it does, it’s the moment where a relationship is on the verge of breaking down because not working how they want it to and they realize they’ve been blind to it because they still love each other but love isn’t enough to justify staying in a crumbling relationship. It’s a song that just gets way too real and honest and sometimes a song like this is what is needed…I’ll leave it right there…

 

Well, that got dark and too real for moment there…so let’s brighten this list up for moment, shall we?

3. “Jump” by Kriss Kross

I don’t know how anyone can listen to “Jump!” and not at least nod their head with it, it’s this 3 minute 15 second lightning in a bottle of a debut single which samples artists ranging from Jackson 5 to Naughty by Nature, it should have been a mess of a song but no, thanks to the production team, it works better than it has any right to. The lyrics written by producer Jermaine Dupri after he observed people jumping at a concert and performed by two twelve year olds from Atlanta manage to have more charisma and energy than most of the trap scene in 2021. We don’t get these sort energetic rap songs with a damn good groove and magic choice of sampling in 2021 but we got it in 1992, I guess that’s something to be grateful to 1992 for? Right?

This song was all set to be my number one pick, hell, this is a song I’ve LOVED for years, it’s an instant thing for me to sing along to it on the radio but something has to finish second thus…

 

2. “Tip of My Tongue” by Diesel

Yeah, that guitar line gets me every god damn time and Diesel expressing that frustration of knowing what he wants to say to this girl to the point the words are right there and he is about to say but he gets nervous when she gets close, he forgets and she walks away with Diesel begging her not to walk away. It’s the sort of song that is just an easy sing along every time which is something Diesel is so good at especially on his “Hepfidelity” even with the hook being more repetitive than I would like, it’s still one of the best hit songs of 1992. Great song

 

So before we get to our number one, how about five honourable mentions

 

HM 1: “Take It From Me” by Girlfriend

Of all the songs from girl groups to hit the chart in 1992, Girlfriend’s ‘Take It From Me” was the best of them especially as Girlfriend and “Take It from Me” becoming a hit were probably responsible for the start of the girl power trend that would become big in music in the mid 90s however what I like about “Take It From Me” is that it’s just a simple pop song about this girl reassuring a boy that he doesn’t need to cry or carry on anymore as he can trust her and she’ll be good to him. I enjoyed Girlfriend way more than I probably should!

 

HM 2: “That Word (L.O.V.E)” by The Rockmelons feat. Cutty Ranks, Nardo Ranks and Deni Hines

Speaking of simple pop songs…this one hit the joy receptors like nothing else. Every time I heard this song it made me smile and that hook is an absolute monster. Damn good song

 

HM 3: “Remember the Time” by Michael Jackson

This is not the best Michael Jackson single in 1992 but of anything of Michael’s to make the year end for 1992, I’d take “Remember the Time” over anything else especially with that new jack swing style that was common this year and often misused. The song inspired by Michael describing how he fell in love; the song was dedicated to Jackson’s friend Diana Ross. Pop music misses you, Michael.

 

HM 4: “Justified & Ancient” by The KLF

Yeah, time didn’t do this song any favours unfortunately, the song is still good though and still worth being among the best of 1992 as it takes country singer Tammy Wynette’s vocals and actually references her signature hit “Stand by Your Man” thanks  to the ever so subtle steel guitar, it was the oddest pairing of 1992 but sometimes an odd pairing makes a good hit together and that was the case here!

 

HM 5: “Heaven Knows” by Rick Price

This was so close to making the top ten so much so I couldn’t justify not giving it an honourable mention, it’s a beautiful piano ballad where Rick Price is missing this girl since she left but knows he can’t chase her forever and leaves it all up to the heavens above hoping that heaven knows that he will see her again someday. It’s a song that just got to me the moment I heard so I guess consider this my official number 11.

 

Well now to our number one and yeah, this is a cover but my god, this is a cover that improves on the original and rips you apart at the same time….

1. “The Day You Went Away” by Wendy Matthews

Until now, I had never come to terms with how I felt about “The Day You Went Away” since I first heard it some years ago, it was a fine song that didn’t resonate with me as per a lot of songs filled with more adult concepts did when I was a kid growing up in the 90s however having gone back to listen to it for covering 1992’s popular music, this song just became that proverbial gut punch ins the stomach over a spare piano and Wendy Matthews selling the anger and bitterness that comes sometimes with relationship break up for me and my god it did so much more effectively than that of the original by Soul Family Sensation. It’s a powerful song that just does everything well which for a ballad in 1992 is something worth recognising as most ballads in 1992 sunk into nonsense or were weepy and overwrought but “The Day You Went Away” isn’t overwrought or weepy, it got the mix right and for that, it’s the best hit song of 1992.

Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 1992.

 We’ve reached the end of another year and it’s time to sift through the ARIA year end for 1992 looking for the absolute best and worst music the year had to offer so today we’ll be discussing the absolute worst songs of the year.

How was the music of 1992? Unfortunately, 1992 won’t go down as an all time great year for the ARIA singles chart with really only rock having an outstanding year, pop had its moments sure as did hip hop and R’n’B but there was a LOT of bland, sappy and really generic music hitting the charts this year that were really obnoxious with just how bland, boring and sappy some of them were so I really just want to get through this list so I can talk about the stuff that actually stood out as being good to great.

Before we do get to the list, I will go over the rules for any newcomers:

1.       A song qualifies if it debuted on the ARIA year end list for 1992, there are exceptions for 1991 songs IF they made the year end list for 1992 and peaked higher on the 1992 list than they did in 1991 so yes, “Cream” by Prince & the New Power Generation is eligible. Mercifully “Addams Groove” by Hammer did not make the year end list…THANK FUCKING CHRIST.

2.       This is my list, my opinion. Please do not take my opinion as fact or abuse me in the comments.

Now we’ve got that straight let’s toss some garbage music into the rubbish bin permanently.

 

So as I said, rock had a fantastic year in 1992 so this particular song leaves me asking the question: What’s the excuse for this song sucking so god damn much?

10. “To be With You” by Mr Big.

In a year where rock from Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers and even Guns ‘N’ Roses attained chart success and managed to also be excellent, I am not sure just how and why this brand of lazy gooey shlock dressed as rock music managed to get to number one and stay there for THREE weeks. What is worse is that the lyrics seem like the early prototype that Shawn Mendes built his 2016 (terrible) hit “Treat You Better:” around, this guy just seems like the archetypal ‘nice guy’ who is telling this girl that her relationship will soon be over and when that relationship is done, she can be with him because why be with a bad boy rather than the nice guy?

Maybe this girl might be happier on her than with either of these two guys and given the production on offer here with the vocal delivery so loud that you can barely hear the actual music. Ugh, fate might have twisted the guy’s relationship, but this was always destined to wind up on the worst list for being one of the worst kinds of ‘nice guy’ bullying.

 

There are two covers that are going to make this list, the first of which is from the soundtrack of a movie and gave this artist yet another hit…just a shame it sucks…

 

9. “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston

Ooh boy this is going to get me into some trouble however I get irrationally angry when I hear people say that this overwrought train wreck cover of Dolly Parton’s 1974 hit for the soundtrack of the movie ‘The Bodyguard’ is one of the great movie songs mostly because Whitney’s over the top vocals on the chorus just feel so insincere and lacking, it feels forced especially when you consider that the original version has Dolly deliver the chorus in an incredibly understated manner without the theatrics.  We know Whitney can belt but there really was not a need here for the belting so yeah, I have no time for this cover or the vocal gymnastics that make it complete overkill. Thank goodness we will always have Dolly’s original. Whitney did so much better in the 80s.

 

So while Whitney Houston was belting her lungs out in 1992, in the same year, Madonna was changing things up again…kind of wish she rethought this song though…

 

8. “This Used to be my Playground’ by Madonna

This song was used at the end credits of a COMEDY film called “A League of Their Own” which during my research for this list shocked me because this song doesn’t sound like anything close to being appropriate for a movie designated for a comedy film because this just sounds like it might do of two things to somebody who, for some insane reason, chose to listen to it, those being cry or they are suffering from insomnia and this song provides a good sleeping soundtrack  because unlike most playgrounds which are bright, colourful and full of noise, this song is shades of black, white and grey is possibly the most dreary song Madonna has ever decided to record.

Seriously, there’s no conceivable way for somebody to enjoy this song, it‘s too dull to really dance too and so slow and boring that if you try to relax to it, you’d end up falling asleep. Madonna, I say this unequivocally, you are so much better than THIS.

 

Say what you like about Madonna exploring being miserable, at least it’s marginally better than whatever the hell this was…

 

7. “Sesame’s Treet” by Smart Es.

I am going to keep this short but if you must include the theme song to a beloved children’s TV show in your noisy torturous sorry excuse of a dance song that sounds like a gurgling drain half the time than you can probably expect to land on lists like this one. Not to mention it sounds like the children singing the Sesame Street theme sound incredibly pitched up and kind of annoying to the point it’s headache inducing. Not the first song to do that but this is the remix of children’s TV show theme that felt incredibly unnecessary…NEXT!

 

Well, that was annoying but then again it could be worse, take a song about that’s clearly about sex and inflate it with going to heaven and you get this…

 

6. ‘Thought I’d Died and Gone to Heaven” by Bryan Adams

This wasn’t even the worst song Bryan Adams released in 1992 that thankfully didn’t make the year end list but my god does “Thought I’d Died and Gone to Heaven’ earn it’s spot on this list with the levels of cringe not seen since Adams inflicted his simp anthem “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)” on the world in 1991 but at least that song had a weird veneer of sincerity to it because “Thought I’d Died and Gone to Heaven” is basically about Bryan Adams having sex with this girl and this girl being so good in the sack, he has nutted or to coin him the song, he thinks he has died and gone to heaven yet the instrumentation doesn’t match with the vibe the song is going for unless it’s the loudest possible sex that wakes neighbours and triggers dogs to bark three doors down with shrill guitars, the weird production on Adams vocals that leave him down too low in the mix and those shouted “Whoa ohs” on the hook which I guess is supposed to be for “I’M NUTTING!”

This song is just all kinds of…no…if this song helps you to get off than good luck to you but this isn’t going to be any sort of go to for sexy time in my household any time soon…NEXT!

 

Well at least when the relationship falls over, I wouldn’t go asking for advice from this next song…

 

5. “Achy Breaky Heart” by Billy Ray Cyrus

This ode to crappy relationship break ups and ‘nice guy’ guilt tripping was the biggest song of 1992 yet somehow nobody has called Billy Ray out for this absolute piece of shit of song because this song is a pointer of how immature this whole thing really is, he tells her she can do whatever she wants as long as she doesn’t tell his ‘achy breaky heart’ because his pathetically weak heart might blow up and kill him which just makes him sound like a guilt tripping asshole because he is too weak to handle a woman breaking up with him and Billy Ray doesn’t even realize just how much of an asshole he is being here. Oh and that “woooo” at the end of the chorus sounds like sleazy men at a strip club ogling the first dancer on stage which is just gross.

Anyway, Billy Ray Cyrus is now known for the much better feature on a Lil Nas X song which is probably a good thing going forward…

 

You all know by now having seen my past worst hit songs lists that bad cover songs grind my gears…well in 1992, there were plenty of them and a lot of them were bad that I almost could have done a list of worst hit cover songs for 1992 but then I remembered that one Australian trio had cornered the market in shitty cover songs that deserved to be here so let’s deal with that group shall we..

 

4, “Be My Baby” by Teen Queens

Okay really I could have thrown ‘Love How You Love Me” in this slot here too because yeah, the songs are basically the same, take a hit song from the 60s, slap a generic 90s dance groove over the top and include vocals that are beyond over processed which is exactly what occurred to this disastrous cover of The Ronettes “Be My Baby”, at least that group had passion for wanting this guy to be theirs but Teen Queens make it sound like it’s a chore or something to sing while busking out the front of a supermarket or even worse cruise ship lounge singers that come on when every one is either drunk or asleep and that’s when you can even hear them singing because the production mostly comes in over the top of them. I may not like the original much, but I’ll sure take it over what Teen Queens offer up here.

 

Oh wait...we’re not done with bad covers because…

 

3.       3. "Please Don't Go" by K.W.S

Probably the most predictable pick here but when you strip out the warmth and sincerity of KC and the Sunshine Band’s original which was a hit in 1980 and replace it with synthetic and sterile production and vocallists who sound like they need having passion in their delivery explained to them because they deliver the line “please don’t go” with the same intensity as a two year who proudly shows everyone that he get his fingers up his nose which is fine if we’re talking about a two year old digging for snotty gold in his nose but it’s not fine in a song about a guy begging a woman to not leave him!

Throw in the usual 90s dance production and it just doesn’t feel at all human or sincere, it feels like it’s just this computer programmed mess which makes the song feel unpleasant and not something I want to ever return to…

 

Well say what you like about the insincerity of K.W.S’s cover of “Please Don’t Go”, sometimes it can dip way too far in the opposite direction where the song just drips with so much sincerity that the song can become unnervingly saccharine and nonsensical…

 

2. “Save The Best for Last” by Vanessa Williams.

Ordinarily a song that’s somehow both saccharine sweet but incredibly dull wouldn’t snare a spot on a list like this especially as you can tell this was an attempt to cash in on the Mariah Carey type of artist, I’d generally look upon it as bland and move on even though I actually think the production here is pretty nice but what tossed this song so god damn high on the list was the asinine lyrics that much like Whitney Houston’s belting on the hook of “I Will Always Love You” are just cringey and overwrought eg: “Sometimes the snow comes down in June, sometimes the sun goes round the moon” on the hook is enough to make anyone roll their eyes…the weather has nothing to do with this guy saving the best for last? There’s no connectivity to make the writing to work here.

Also trashing the guy’s previous girlfriend makes you look incredibly trashy here, Vanessa, and no, you and this guy standing face to face does not make the world crazy. Ugh…time to move on …

 

So before we get to the number one, let’s talk about our dishonourable mentions…

 

DHM1: “Pride in the Name of Love” by Clivilles and Cole

Yeah, wasn’t going to not put this song on a list like this. You don’t take a great U2 song and turn it into a messy Eurodance song. U2 deserve more respect than this.

DHM2: “Everything About You (“As Ugly As They Wanna Be” EP)" by Ugly Kid Joe

As I pointed out with “To Be With You” by Mr Big, in a year that was absolutely huge for rock music as a whole, there’s no excuse for this crap excuse of a thing to exist. It’s lazy and by the numbers rock, disappointing it was even a hit considering that in rock in 1992, you could do so much better.

 

DHM3: “Love You Right’ by Euphoria

This could have escaped this list but the vocals on the hook are just obnoxious, you try listening to somebody screaming ‘I WANNA I WANNA LOVE YOU RIGHT!” over and and over again, you’ll find yourself reaching for the earplugs eventually.

 

DHM4: “Something Good” by Utah Saints

Maaan, what was wrong with Eurodance and techno in 1992 that we got messes like this becoming hits, words repeated into shrill incoherence to the point of being annoying. We get it, your group name is Utah Saints, no need to repeat it ad fucking nauseum

 

DHM5: “Beauty & The Beast” by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson

While there were worse bland ballads in 1992, this one got to the point of being irritating in record time. Celine Dion is a better vocalist than this song allows her to be, it’s an absolute dirge of a song.

 

So with the riff raff taken care of, lets get to the absolute worst song 1992 had to offer and well…it wasn’t going to be anything else…

 

1.  1. “James Brown Is Dead” by L.A. Style

This song is unlistenable, I can’t even get past the first 30 seconds of this piece of junk called “music” and farted out to the masses as a form of audio torture with its painfully obnoxious noise made even worse by the desecration of one of the great names of soul and funk music in James Brown.  There’s nothing in this song that adds value to the conversation around music other than the fact it’s completely disrespectful to James Brown, there’s just nothing to be gotten from listening to it other than complete frustration, it’s what I imagine gets played on loop by prison wardens when they try to garner information from prisoners…that’s how unpleasant listening to this train wreck of a song is and it’s the worst hit song of 1992 easily.

Stayed tune to find out what I thought were the best hit songs of 1992 and find out the year I'm going to be covering in 2022!

Good 1992 Vibrations. 20th December. Gimme A Little Bad Attitude Sign.

The final chart week of 1992 before the ARIA charts go into hiatus over the Christmas/New Year period but for the final week of the chart year? It was absolute chaos even with just the two new entries, you want evidence of it? Well the proof is right in the top ten where to my shock, there's a new number one and honestly I am not impressed, the number one spot is now held by "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston because like I said last week, this song was gathering strength on sales, I'm only surprised it got to number one this quick.

It pushed "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men back to number two as yeah, there's no way it was going to match the momentum of "I Will Always Love You", the same might go for "Would I Lie to You" by Charles & Eddie stuck at number three and "Accidently Kelly Street" by Frente remaining at number four, their momentum has been stalled here.

"Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus rebounded to number five although that's probably more on the weaknesses of "The Day You Went Away" by Wendy Matthews which saw it's sales slow to the point it tumbled four places to number six 

"November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses yet steady at number seven likewise for "The Best Things in Life are Free' by Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson at number eight. 

Then we have two songs spending their first week in the top ten those being "Whose Going to Ride Your Wild Horses" by U2 which climbed five places this week to number nine and the really rather goofy "Tequila" by ALT & The Lost Civilization up two places to round out the top ten at number ten.

Gains

Sonia Dada will likely hit the top ten on the first chart of 1993 as "You Don't Treat Me No Good" jumped nine spots to number nine, this has some growing momentum behind it, watch for it in 1993.

Also continuing it's momentum is "In Your Room" by Toni Pearen up six to number 14 while "December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)" by The Four Seasons reached into the top twenty up from 23 to 18.

"I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" by Divinyls rebounded five places to 25 while House of Pain found some solid footing on the chart with their appropriately titled song "Jump Around" jumping around from 40 to 26!.

Also having a solid gain is Kylie Minogue's version of "Celebration" which rose from 49 to 34 this week....I'm kind of fine with that to be honest, I still don't mind it, best thing Kylie has done in 1992.

Losers

"My Name is Prince" by Prince and the New Power Generation slipped nine places to 50 as it continues to make its way out of the chart while "Taste It" by INXS can't get a foothold as it slipped from 37 to 44 this week. 

Continuing cases of lost momentum for "Love How You You Love Me" by Teen Queens which tumbled from 33 to 40 while "Erotica" by Madonna fell six places to 37. 

"Too Much Love Will Kill You" by Brian May fell from 24 to 32 while "White Men Can't Jump" by Riff slumped from 16 to 24.

After weeks of hanging on at number ten, "Something Good" by Utah Saints fell seven to 17 while "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" by Patty Smyth and Don Henley fell from number nine to 13.

New Entries

So as I said, just the two new entries to finish the chart year, let's start with...

45. “Gimme A Little Sign” by Peter Andre

Well we couldn’t escape the final week of the charting year for 1998 without another cover song this  time it’s coming from Australian singer Peter Andre covering the classic soul song “Gimme A Little Sign” that was originally performed and released by Brenton Wood in 1967 and I mean, the production on the Peter Andre version is cleaner as he begs this girl for a sign that she belongs to him however there’s something about the Andre version that doesn’t work for me as much as I would like it too even if I do like it a little more than Wood’s original. Ehh, check it out if you are curious.

 

36. “Bad Attitude” by Girlfriend

Taking us out for 1992 is the new single from Girlfriend’s album “Make It Come True”. A song that tries for a darker vibe to match the lyrics where Robyn Loau admitting that she’s drawn to the guys with bad attitude and the rest of the group reminding her that she should have known better to fall for the guy with a bad attitude but in the hook the girls decide to give up on him because he has too much of a bad attitude and is too tough. I like the flashes of rock instrumental that slide into the song which makes me think the band could work a good rock song even with that stupid breakdown in the middle of the song (so unnecessary). Look, it’s not the best thing Girlfriend have made in 1992 but it’s not that bad.

 

No worst of the week this as both songs aren’t that bad but Peter Andre’s cover of “Gimme A Little Sign” wins best of the week just nudging out ‘Bad Attitude” by Girlfriend.

That’s a wrap on the chart year, see you all for the worst and best hit songs of 1992 lists.

ARIA Singles Top 50 Top Ten/Chart Review: 20th December. Wandered To the Jingle Bell Rock To Do It to the Top Ten

 Welp, the Christmas slow down has started because this week was kind of slow with just one new entry but we'll get to all that after we deal with the top ten where "Cold Heart (PNAU remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa kept the number one for a fourth week but its most likely going to lose the number one next week.

The challenge probably won't come from "abcdefu" by GAYLE despite it climbing two places to number two...it's challenge for number one might come in the new year.

"Stay" by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber remained steady at number three despite a solid presence still on streaming. 

Meanwhile "Easy on Me" by Adele slipped back two places to number four as the song starts fading on streaming. 'Heat Waves' by Glass Animals held steady at number five (can this song just...fuck off already? Geezus)

"Bad Habits" remains at six and "Shivers" stuck at seven both for Ed Sheeran while "All I Want For Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey stuck at number eight (This will go to number one either next week or the week after, it's just taking it's sweet time).

Spending it's first week inside the top ten is "Do It To It" by Acraze feat. Cherish climbing to two places to hit number nine. 

Clinging onto it's place in the top ten is 'Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow remaining at number ten. 

Gains

Christmas music continued it's big gains this week with 'Last Christmas" by Wham up six places to number 12, "Santa Tell Me" by Ariana Grande jumped ten to 21 and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee rocked up the chart fifteen to 34.

SZA's "I Hate You" climbed three places to number 16 while "Where Are You Now" by Lost Frequencies and Calum Scot climbed nine spots to break into the top twenty at 17.

Unforunately "Enemy" by Imagine Dragons feat. J.I.D also broke into the top twenty jumping four spots to 18. 

"I Am Woman' by Emmy Meli got a fifteen place boost to 28. 

Christmas Re Entries

:"Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms returns at number 39

Losers

"Drivers License" by Olivia Rodrigo slipped eight places  to 45 while "Without You" by The Kid Laroi feat. Miley Cyrus slipped ten places to 43. 

"Smokin' Out the Window" by Silk Sonic fell six places to 38 while "Oh My God" by Adele fell ten spots to 31. 

"One Right Now" by Post Malone and The Weeknd tumbled six spots to 23 (Kind of wondering if this song is kind of forgettable for the general public tbh)

Drop Outs

Both drop outs are safe on the year end for 2021 with "The Business" by Tiesto and "Astronaut in the Ocean" by Masked Wolf.

New Entries

Just the one new entry this week and unfortunately we have to deal with...

44. "Wandered to LA" by Juice WRLD feat. Justin Bieber

I am going to keep this short and sweet..this is just really medicre cut that was originally created in 2018 and I doubt that Juice WRLD would have wanted to work with Justin Bieber and yet another sign that people are more than willing to suck whatever money they can out of Juice WRLD's grave. Bieber is too loud in the mix in contrast to Juice WRLD who is weirdly pushed back in the mix. Yeah, somebody's wanting coin out of this crap. It's not good.

That wraps up the week. Just two weeks remaining in the chart year, don't forget final episode of Good 1992 Vibrations coming up on Monday and the week after year end best and worst hit songs lists for 1992, the best and worst list hit songs lists for 2021 will be coming some time in the new year, don't worry. 

ARIA chart updates at 5pm AEDT on Friday.