Billboard Hot 100 Top 10:
1- "Shape of You" - Ed Sheeran (=) -- It's week No. 6 for Ed Sheeran at No. 1. And as if Ed needed even more of a boost to keep his lead even bigger, his new album has officially been released. I gave it a listen and enjoyed it. I didn't find myself madly in love with the album, but I thought it was good and it has a good selection of solid songs for Ed and his team to pick as future singles. We'll see which songs show up next week on the charts off the album's debut and which songs eventually get chosen as singles.
2- "Bad and Boujee" - Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert (=) -- There's been movement outside out top four and a wide range of new songs on the charts within the last month or so, but this top four is now stuck. I would like something to break it up. I'm especially waiting for this song to finally fall. That would be nice.
3- "I Don't Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)" - Zayn & Taylor Swift (=) -- It's only been a few weeks, but I'm already getting bored of this song being here. "Fifty Shades Darker" is now gone, so let's send its song away as well.
4- "That's What I Like" - Bruno Mars (=) -- I'm waiting for this song to break up our top three, but right now it's staying put at No. 4. It's having a pretty good week of sales right now, though, so it could jump up to No. 2 or No. 3 next week. Not that I really want it to do that, but it's not any worse than the current two songs right ahead of it, so it's whatever.
5- "Something Just Like This" - The Chainsmokers & Coldplay (+51) -- Ha! You thought "Paris" was going to be the song to replace "Closer" in the top five, did you? Here's a big surprise as this jumps 51 spots to become The Chainsmokers' next top five hit. I'm certainly happy. This is a great song by The Chainsmokers! Although I don't think it's staying in the top five next week as its sales are dropping quite a bit after a huge second week of sales. But it would be nice if this could eventually stabilize and do well on the charts.
6- "Love on the Brain" - Rihanna (+1) -- Despite still no music video or real push, Rihanna slowly climbs up the top 10, close to being Rihanna's next top five hit. And I think it has a great chance of doing so next week. Now if Rihanna's team is smart, they'll take advantage of this and start promoting the song.
7- "Paris" - The Chainsmokers (-1) -- This seems like the more stable Chainsmokers song right now, so I think it'll hang around for a while in the top 10. But with this, "Something Just Like This" and "Closer" all in the top 10, Billboard.com reports that The Chainsmokers are only the third group or duo to have three consecutive top 10 hits in the same week, the other two being The Beatles and The Bee Gees. Although that becomes a little less impressive when you realize that a large handful of solo artists have also accomplished this, so it's not that unique. But still impressive.
8- "Tunnel Vision" - Kodak Black (+19) -- This surprised me most this week. It debuted at No. 27 last week, so I was prepared for it to eventually hit top 10 if it caught on, but I wasn't expecting it to go top 10 in its second week on the charts. Out of all the rap songs to hit the charts lately, this is better than most and it's the best of Kodak Black's three songs to hit the charts this year, but I would still prefer if its stay in the top 10 was more of a brief stay than a permanent one, if you know what I mean.
9- "Bounce Back" - Big Sean (=) -- No bouncing back for Big Sean this week. Just stubbornly sticking around in the bottom of the top 10. It seems like its gained a bit of consistency, so I could see it hanging around for a bit. But I don't think it gets too much higher if it does stick around.
10- "Closer" - The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (-5) -- Is "Closer" finally done? It looks like it's all-time record of weeks in the top five finishes with 27 weeks. It's now at 31 weeks in the top 10, which is one away from LeAnn Rimes' record of 32 weeks that she set with "How Do I Live" in the late 90's. All records were meant to be broken, especially with songs staying in the top 10 for longer these days, but it appears that LeAnn Rimes just might live to see another day with her record. Unless "Closer" can impress us again by staying in the top 10 for one more week. It would tie the record if it does so.
Rising on the Hot 100:
13- "Can't Stop the Feeling!" - Justin Timberlake (+16) -- Fresh off his performance at the Oscars after being nominated for best original song, an honor that I don't think this song really deserved, JT takes one final leap with this song, almost sending it back into the top 10. It's been a really impressive run on the charts after debuting on top several months ago. But now it will be be laid to rest soon.
14- "iSpy" - KYLE featuring Lil Yachty (+6) -- "iSpy" got stuck for a while on the charts and I was beginning to hope that it wouldn't go top 10 after all. There's still a chance it gets stuck right under, but now it looks like it is close to finally showing up. But let's hope it doesn't.
20- "Body Like a Back Road" - Sam Hunt (+2) -- How and why did this song wind up in the top 20? I don't understand at all.
27- "Issues" - Julia Michaels (+6) -- Julia Michaels has now broke top 30 with "Issues." It's a song that has been catching on with the radio based on my casual observations, so its future prospects are good. I hope it can go top 20 next!
58- "Everyday" - Ariana Grande featuring Future (+20) -- No! Go away! The world doesn't need anymore future and Ariana needs to be encouraged to write good songs without horrible rappers attached to it.
72- "Cash Me Outside (#CashMeOutside)" - DJ Suede the Remix God (+24) -- I learned where this song came from. An annoying 13-year-old girl came on Dr. Phil and said some really stupid things that made no sense. Then someone took those audio bites and remixed it into a song. And now its catching on. Ummm... guys? We've hit a new on the Billboard charts if things like this go viral. For the sake of my sanity, as well as the rest of the world's, let's hope this dies fast.
80- "How Far I'll Go" - Alessia Cara (+14) -- Auli'i Cravalho's performance of this song at the Oscars, which was phenomenal by the way, caused it to re-enter in the 50's and sent the forgettable pop version by Alessia up 14 spots. I don't cover re-entries, so this is where I talk about both versions as Alessia's version ended up lasting longer on the charts. As a reminder, I thought "Moana" was just OK and I thought this song was trying to hard to be the next "Let it Go," so I was never a huge fan. I especially didn't care for the pop version by Alessia. But I absolutely love Auli'i. I think she's adorable and talented and I wish her a long, successful career in either acting, singing or whatever she wants to do and I thought she killed it at the Oscars. So I'm happy for the re-entry even though I don't care for the Alessia version that we're actually talking about right now. It's been an impressive run for the "Moana" soundtrack.
New Arrivals:
28- "Stay" - Zedd & Alessia Cara -- I saw that Zedd and Alessia Cara had a collaboration and I was immediately in love. I think Alessia is a great pop singer and DJ Snake is one of my favorite DJ's. It seemed like a match made in heaven. Then I listened to the song. Honestly I'm disappointed. The lyrics are fairly run of the mill. They're in a relationship that just ended and Alessia is begging the guy to stay because she doesn't want to be alone. That's it. But OK. Sometimes EDM songs can have basic lyrics and still be a lot of fun. In fact, sometimes they don't even need lyrics. But Zedd's part of the song is completely empty and lifeless. There's not much of a drop and the chorus seems like it's purposely choppy, but it doesn't work for me. This may be the laziest effort that I've heard from Zedd.
34- "Slide" - Calvin Harris featuring Frank Ocean & Migos -- On the flip side of things, when I saw Calvin Harris was collaborating with Frank Ocean and Migos, I prepared for disaster. Not that I have a problem with Frank Ocean, but Calvin Harris is usually good at bringing us generic EDM and pairing him with Migos scared me. Surprisingly, though, I kinda dig this song. Funny how that worked out this week. I'm not quite sure what the song is getting at lyrically outside Frank Ocean saying he might go buy a Picasso painting that sold for a whole heck of a ton of money, giving me the idea that they might be talking about wanting to live above their means, wondering how that would be like. Nothing special there. But Frank Ocean begins this song and ends the song and his part is fairly smooth and relaxing. Quavo and Offset from Migos come in for the middle section and I was bracing for their typical annoying banter and I didn't really get it. They actually rapped without being weird and annoying. Their rap wasn't that great when I listened to and read the lyrics, but it wasn't bad. It was a good change of pace from Frank Ocean. Calvin Harris doesn't add any drops in the song. It's not your typical Calvin Harris dance song. But it's kind of a tropical house song that works a lot better than I thought it would. Not bad.
37- "Selfish" - Future featuring Rihanna -- On last week's analysis, I mentioned that Future decided to release two albums within a week, which seemed like a weird choice. So last week I covered the first album. This week I cover the second album. Which is the album that actually includes featured artists, which the first album didn't have. Surprisingly, though, we only have two Future songs, which made me happy. I was bracing for five or six. And out of the two songs, "Selfish" isn't as bad as Future usually. We start and end with Rihanna and Future singing together before getting solo Future in the middle. And if you completely ignore the lyrics, the stuff with Rihanna isn't that bad. It's a decent ballad that I can get behind. The problem comes when you do look at the lyrics. They don't want to be alone, so they decide they're going to selfishly sleep together that night. The problem there is that relationships should be purely selfish. They should be unselfish. That's how they last. The song did need a rap verse in the middle or it would be completely void of substance. The problem is the rap verse is pretty awful. So no this is not good, but based on Future standards, there's been a lot worse.
48- "Comin Out Strong" - Future featuring The Weeknd -- And our second Future song does dip down to normal Future standards. I still think I prefer this over much of the stuff that came out last week, but that's not saying much. I actually liked a bit of what The Weeknd released on his recent album, but this outing for him goes back to the stuff from him that I don't care for. His chorus is boring and his verses have no interesting substance. When Future jumps in, he goes back to his mumbling things that I mostly don't understand. What I do pick up is pretty tasteless as usual. And with that I'm glad that I'm now done with Future for this week.
78- "Make Love" - Gucci Mane & Nicki Minaj -- After covering two Future songs, we unfortunately have to deal with something worse. If you thought Gucci Mane and Nicki Minaj rapping a song called "Make Love" sounded like it was going to be awful, you were right. Gucci Mane is just rapping about how he wants to make money and make love. Then Nicki comes in and is her annoying, dirty self and turns the song from bad to worse. And unfortunately she keeps going and going with a super long verse that is beyond awful. Nothing redeemable here. It's as awful as it seems like it would be.
89- "Losin Control" - Russ -- Now we get a song that was released a year ago. February 2016. I don't know who Russ is or why this song is charting right now, so long after his release. The only other song that Russ has charted is one called "What They Want," which isn't very good. This song, though, is less rap and more R&B. It's a slow, smooth song where Russ is apologizing to his ex-girlfriend. She's trying to start a new relationship, but is struggling because her experience with him was so bad. He treated her poorly and didn't respect her. And now he feels bad because this new guy loves her and is trying his best, but Russ may have ruined it for him. This song is simple, but it has a lot of emotion and honesty to it that I wasn't expecting. I kinda like it.
92- "God, Your Mama, and Me" - Florida Georgia Line featuring Backstreet Boys -- Yeah you read that right. Florida Georgia Line featuring Backstreet Boys. A collaboration you probably never thought you were going to get. Backstreet Boys haven't charted in the US since 2007 and haven't hit the top 20 since 2005. I don't know if this song is going to change the latter streak. It has a long way to go from No. 92. But this is a collaboration that surprisingly works. Florida Georgia Line is a country duo that I don't mind, partially because they are kind of a country pop duo, which is why a collaboration with an old boy band works as well as it does. The lyrics are basic country. He's telling the girl that no one is going to love her more than God, her mama and him. The music is basic Florida Georgia Line. But then Nick Carter and AJ McLean come and provide some interesting balance to the song. And, I don't know, it's kinda fun having the Backstreet Boys back on the charts.
96- "Hometown Girl" - Josh Turner -- "Hometown Girl" is from Josh Turner, a country singer I don't know much about, from his album called "Deep South," an album that I've not listened to. But I listened to this song in preparation for this and it's exactly what it sounds like when you see a country song called "Hometown Girl" from an album called "Deep South." Josh Turner has a very deep southern voice and he's singing about wanting to find a hometown girl like her. She left off to New York, but she couldn't even hide her beauty when she was wearing a baseball cap. Basic country, but not boring or bad country. Sounds like something they would enjoy in the deep south.
100- "Green Light" - Lorde -- For the longest time now I have been wondering where in the heck Lorde disappeared to. The 16-year-old New Zealand girl named Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Conner -- better known by Lorde for reasons that you can imagine -- released her debut album "Pure Heroine" (heroine as in the female hero, not the drug -- the drug is spelled with no "e") shortly before turning 17. This included songs such as "Royals," "Tennis Court" and "Team," which I really grew to love. In fact, I love that whole album. She brought a unique voice and style to the table that I really appreciated. I've been waiting for a follow-up album for a long time now and wondering when it would come. Well, now Lorde is 20 years old, turning 21 later in the year, and the album is finally arriving. And the lead-off single is "Green Light," which dropped without me even knowing it was coming. And I really enjoy it. The song starts slow and simple, with the typical Lorde style. But then she starts to add a lot of personality and when we get to the chorus the tempo picks up and we transition into a solid pop song. It's good to finally have Lorde back and I look forward to her upcoming album. This made it to No. 100 with only a day or two of sales, so look for it to take a big jump next week.
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