Wednesday, January 25, 2017

DrogeMiester's Billboard Analysis - February 4, 2017

It's that time of week again for me to give you my thoughts on the new Billboard charts! In this weekly post, I cover three sections. First, I give my thoughts on the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. Second, I give my thoughts on the songs that experienced significant gains below the top 10. Third, I give my initial thoughts on our new arrivals this week. I reserve the right to mix things up in the future and do different things here, but for now this is what I've decided to stick to. I've followed the Billboard charts for a long time now and this is a great way for me to express my thoughts to the world. I hope you enjoy!


Billboard Hot 100 Top 10:




1- "Bad and Boujee" - Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert (+1) -- I'm not surprised that this goes back to No. 1. But I'm not happy about it. Songs that have huge debuts always have huge drops in week two. Last year, Justin Timberlake debuted No. 1 with "Can't Stop the Feeling!," but only stayed there for a week and never returned to No. 1. Also, we're five weeks into the Billboard year and we still haven't had a No. 1 hit stay No. 1 for two consecutive weeks. That's kinda crazy. Let's hope that continues because I don't want "Bad and Boujee" at No. 1 anymore. I didn't want in there in the first place, but hey. Let's get a worthy No. 1, please?

2- "Shape of You" - Ed Sheeran (-1) -- Can Ed gain enough on streaming and radio to go back to No. 1? "Bad and Boujee" has no sales and no radio, but is killing it on streaming. A music video to boost this song's streaming would help. Get on that Ed and company!

3- "Black Beatles" - Rae Sremmurd featuring Gucci Mane (=) -- Can this please fall? Seven weeks at No. 1, then stagnant at No. 3. Let's get some movement here in the top five!

4- "Closer" - The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (+1) -- Ha ha! This song refuses to die. Instead of falling out of the top five, it rises one spot. And for those keeping track, this has now hit 23 weeks in the top five and 25 weeks in the top 10. The record for most weeks in the top five is Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars with "Uptown Funk" at 25 weeks and the record for most weeks in the top 10 is LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live" at 32 weeks from 1997-98, a record which "Uptown Funk" came one week short of tying. Obviously LeAnn's record is more impressive since songs stay in the top 10 longer today than they did in the 90's and LeAnn went 32 weeks without getting to No. 1. But it'll still be interesting to see how "close" The Chainsmokers can get.

5- "Starboy" - The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (-1) -- I imagine "Closer" jumping a spot has more to do with "Starboy" slipping. I wish this would've held onto that top spot for longer than a week. But I'm happy it got there and if this is the song's last week in the top five, it's certainly been a good run.

6- "Bad Things" - Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello (+4) -- I say this might be the last week for "Starboy" in the top five because this song got a huge surge this week from No. 10 to No. 6. Is it top five bound next week?

7- "Paris" - The Chainsmokers (new) -- Opinions of this song down below. But speaking of The Chainsmokers, "Closer" debuted at No. 9, making this a new high debut for the duo. Is this going to be the next "Closer"? Or will this slip and die like their last few songs following "Closer"? If I'm making a prediction, I don't think this will get anywhere near the success of "Closer," but it's worth noting that this is the song they are actually promoting as a single, so it might manage to stick around for a while, even if it drops out of the top 10 next week.

8- "I Don't Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)" - Zayn & Taylor Swift (+4) -- And Zayn and Taylor are back after debuting in the top 10 in the last of December. Taylor Swift just teased a music video for this song earlier today, saying that it's coming tomorrow night at midnight. I'm not a huge fan of this song, but if this means it can gain enough momentum to eventually dethrone "Bad and Boujee" (if "Shape of You" can't), then I'm totally game for that.

9- "Don't Wanna Know" - Maroon 5 featuring Kendrick Lamar (-1) -- This leads the radio charts again for a sixth or seventh week. I have no idea why. Hopefully something below the top 10 can get enough momentum to kick this song out.

10- "24K Magic" - Bruno Mars (-3) -- And it's probably time for Bruno to go as well. With "24K Magic" bleeding pretty bad, I imagine it's only a matter of time. This might be its last week.


Rising on the Hot 100:





17- "Love on the Brain" - Rihanna (+2) -- As far as what is going to jump into the top 10? Well, we have "Scars to Your Beautiful" stagnant at 13. "Caroline" and "Bounce Back" only moved up one spot to 14 and 15 respectively. "Fake Love" is sitting there at 11. Let's hope that doesn't return. "Love on the Brain" is the only one that moved more than one spot, but it only moved two spots. We'll see which song in the next week or two wants this most.

19- "I Feel it Coming" - The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (+3) -- Entering the 20 for the first time is The Weeknd and Daft Punk again! As "Starboy" begins to slide, I'm guessing this is set to be the eventual replacement. And I'd be totally happy if this is the song that jumps into the top 10 next.

32- "iSpy" - KYLE featuring Lil Yachty (+10) -- I imagine this is heading for the top 10 as well as it's done nothing but soar up the charts since it's debut three weeks ago. I would like it to slow down it's charge a bit, but I will admit it's better than both "Bad and Boujee" and "Black Beatles." So I guess it can't get any worse than it is right now.

36- "Party Monster" - The Weeknd (+11) -- And "I Feel it Coming" isn't the only song by The Weeknd to make a good jump. "Party Monster" is the lesser of the three songs on the charts right now and I would really like it if "False Alarm" became a single. But I'm fine with this.

38- "Rockabye" - Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul & Anne-Marie (+13) -- Keep rising! Let's prove that America can accept Clean Bandit like the rest of the world did a long time ago! "Rather Be" hit the top 10 for a week here. It would be nice if "Rockabye" at the very least did the same.

53- "I Got You" - Bebe Rexha (+10) -- Two straight big jumps for Bebe Rexha. I'm a little surprised, but I am happy for her!

68- "Fresh Eyes" - Andy Grammer (+16) -- I like Andy Grammer. He's made a lot of great songs. "Fresh Eyes" is not one of them. I'm a little surprised by the sudden jump as this has been on the charts for 16 weeks and hasn't gotten higher than No. 59. But I'm fine if this week is just a fluke and this song dies in future weeks. Let's encourage Andy to write better music next time.

79- "Call on Me" - Starley (+15) -- This was a welcome return last week after charting for a week back in December. Now it's jumped up 15 spots. Let's make this a hit! It also has a whole bunch of different remixes to go along with it. I'll have to go through those and decide which one I like most.

New Arrivals:




7- "Paris" - The Chainsmokers -- I've loved The Chainsmokers since they released "#Selfie." Say what you want about that song, it has a sick bass line and if you listen to instrumental mix, it's pretty great. Then they did several other smaller songs that are great and got mainstream success with "Roses" and "Don't Let Me Down," two songs I loved. I'm lukewarm on "Closer." I don't love it, but I don't hate it as much as many do. But I will say that since "Closer" has turned The Chainsmokers into superstars, they've been really lazy with the songs they've released. "Setting Fires" and "All We Know" were essentially "Closer" rip-offs and so is "Paris." And it's by far the worst song they've done. There's no drop in the song. It's not catchy. The lyrics are lazy. It's essentially them saying they want to get away, but can't as Paris is used as a metaphorical place that is impossible for them to go to. Alex Taggart's vocals are worse than in "Closer" and Emily Warren is shoehorned in and not even given credit in the song. I actually hate this song and I'm angry at The Chainsmokers for being so lazy. Let's take the spotlight off of them and force them to write good music again.

43- "T-Shirt" - Migos -- Did you know Migos is actually a trio of rappers? They consist of Quavo, Takeoff and Offset. Three really lame rap names and three untalented rappers. They currently hold the top spot with "Bad and Boujee" and if this follows suit, I'm going to throw a fit. Their lyrics from "Bad and Boujee" became a meme that sent them to No. 1 and it sounds like they are trying to do the same here. Or maybe. It's just. Their style. To only. Sing two. Words at. A time. I find. That really. Annoying. I don't understand any of this song and I think it's awful. Which probably means this is the next big thing.

77- "Not Afraid Anymore" - Halsey -- Not only do The Chainsmokers debut a new song on the charts, but so does Halsey. I do like Halsey's voice as a pop singer and I'm cheering her on. The vocals in this song are good, but this is the second single for the upcoming "Fifty Shades Darker" movie. And yeah, you can tell. "I am not ashamed anymore. I want something so impure. You better impress now, watching my dress fall to the floor. Crawling under my skin, sweet talk with a hint of sin." That's part of the second verse right there. Yeah, I'm taking a pass on this.

88- "Despacito" - Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee -- Hey look! Daddy Yankee is back! Because he's the singer we all wanted back after "Shaky Shaky." Luckily that song didn't survive long enough for me to start getting super annoyed, but it was heading that way. This song by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee is a lot less annoying. But I don't really care to translate the lyrics to learn what it means. Lyrics aside, it's a fun, catchy Latin pop song.

95- "Not Nice" - PARTYNEXTDOOR -- As if the world needed another Drake wannabe. That's all PARTYNEXTDOOR is. A slightly less annoying Drake wannabe, but still. This is a boring song with no substance and no heartbeat. Let's please let this die and not encourage PARTYNEXTDOOR to make more music.

98- "Black" - Dierks Bentley -- I don't feel anything with this song. The beat is fine and less annoying than many country songs. But the lyrics have no substance to them. Chop this up as another useless country song that doesn't really sound much like a country song.

99- "Down" - Marian Hill -- Last the best this week. Marian Hill is an electronic duo consisting of production artist Jeremy Lloyd and singer Samantha Gongol. "Down" is the first track off of their debut album "Act One," which debuted last year. I discovered it just now as this song "Down" had me super curious. It is a very simple track and I kinda love it because of that. It essentially starts with her and a piano and builds to something for a moment then ends very simple. A perfect way to start the album, which does a lot of interesting things. Go check it out!

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