Billboard Hot 100 Top 10:
1- "rockstar" - Post Malone featuring 21 Savage (=) -- These are dark times on the Billboard Hot 100 with Post Malone and 21 Savage leading the charts. I'm really hoping this will just go away because just about every song on this chart is more deserving of this spot than this one is. I honestly don't know how long this will last. There's eight weeks left of Billboard's weird calendar year before the 2018 charts start showing up and I highly doubt that this will ride us through to 2018 because sales and radio, although rising, really aren't that impressive. But by dangit streaming won't let this song go as it got 52 million U.S. streams this week. I just hope another streaming monster comes around soon so we can get rid of this.
2- "Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)" - Cardi B (=) -- Again, I would gladly let "Bodak Yellow" back to the top of the charts instead of "rockstar." But "Bodak Yellow" is falling in all categories and it's only a matter of time before something else jumps up to No. 2.
3- "1-800-273-8255" - Logic featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid (=) -- With Cardi B falling, can Logic sneak up to No. 2? I'd be down for that. This song has stuck around a lot longer than I thought it would, but I'm happy about that. Streaming is stagnant and sales have never been great, but this continues to rise on radio, so it might stick around for a while. Although I'm not confident that it will actually pass Cardi. Not in the next few weeks, anyways. Cardi is still way too high on streaming at the moment.
4- "Feel it Still" - Portugal. The Man (+1) -- Guess what? There are two separate rock bands in the top five this week. That hasn't happened in 10 years. That's exciting. And I'd be more happy about that if Imagine Dragons weren't the other band in the equation, but I'm certainly ecstatic that Portugal. The Man seems like they're here to stay. I don't know when the last time of rock song was No. 1 on the Hot 100. When they get this high, they usually get stuck right around this spot. Give or take a spot. So I'm expecting history to repeat itself here, especially since streaming and sales just aren't happening. But this is the top song on the radio for the second straight week, so I'm super happy that the radio is eating this up. At least one chart knows what's going on.
5- "Thunder" - Imagine Dragons (+3) -- Last week I was celebrating the fact that this song lost a spot and I was hoping that it would at least fail to make the top five. Well, turns out that Dan Reynolds and company get the last laugh. For what it's worth, though, this is still miles better than "rockstar" and "Bodak Yellow," so it would certainly be the lesser of the evils if it broke up those two. But again. Rock songs in the top 10 usually get stuck in the bottom half of the top five. So don't get too happy.
6- "Mi Gente" - J Balvin & Willy William featuring Beyonce (=) -- I was wondering what this song was going to do this week. Nothing is the answer. In other words, it stayed put. Which means it could gain traction and hang around, but don't cross your fingers on this being the next "Despacito."
7- "Sorry Not Sorry" - Demi Lovato (+2) -- After a drop last week, Demi is back up with yet another career high. The big question will be can she get her very first top five hit? Considering most of the stuff ahead of Demi, I'd be down.
8- "Too Good at Goodbyes" - Sam Smith (-1) -- Oh sad. This isn't supposed to drop a spot. It's supposed to carry all of its momentum into the top five. Let's hope it recovers next week.
9- "Unforgettable" - French Montana featuring Swae Lee (+1) -- Another week, another steady performance from "Unforgettable." If this can hang on in the top 10 for a few more weeks, it has the chance of sneaking into my list of the top 10 most popular songs of 2017. It's only a few points away from the No. 10 spot on that list.
10- "Look What You Made Me Do" - Taylor Swift (-6) -- Whoa! This was a huge shock this week. I wouldn't have been surprised to see this drop a spot or two, but to completely bottom out like this is something I did not see coming. You still can't call this a flop since it did spend three weeks at No. 1. But at the same time, this is probably not the traction Taylor was hoping for with her lead single. But she has a backup plan. "...Ready for It?" has officially been released as the second single and "Gorgeous" has also been released as the third promotional single. The latter is set to debut with 61,000 first week sales, which should be good enough to land it somewhere in the top 20. We'll see if either one of these songs can gain more traction than "Look What You Made Me Do."
Rising on the Hot 100:
11- "I Get the Bag" - Gucci Mane featuring Migos (+13) -- Excuse me while I throw up. I hated seeing this song rise. It makes me miserable thinking of this as a top 10 hit. What is our world coming to when THIS piece of awful trash is threatening to enter the top 10 during the same week that "rockstar" repeats at the top?
13- "What About Us" - P!nk (+10) -- On a happier note, it's great seeing Gucci being counterbalanced by P!nk's song that I actually consider as music. I think this got a huge boost because of the album release, but I would love it if it stuck around.
18- "Perfect" - Ed Sheeran (+4) -- I also think it's essentially predetermined that "Perfect" is heading to the top 10 sooner rather than later. I would be shocked if this stalled out in the teens. And I would be saddened, too, because this is an excellent romance song from the king of love ballads.
20- "Havana" - Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug (+6) -- I'm less confident about what this is going to do heading forward, but I'd be fine if this gets Camila a top 10 hit. I'm just not too stoked about her taking Young Thug with her.
27- "Gucci Gang" - Lil Pump (+5) -- Well... at least this didn't jump as high this week as it did the last few weeks. I'm still extremely nervous about what the future holds for this. I want it to go away because this is one of the few songs on the charts that's actually WORSE than our top song.
32- "Bad at Love" - Halsey (+8) -- It's a good week for the ladies in this rising songs section. P!nk, Camila and now Halsey getting good rises. Although I'm not too excited about this song. Let's bring some of our other ladies on who actually know how to do this thing called pop music.
33- "When it Rains it Pours" - Luke Combs (+6) -- This is heading for the top country spot? Well, it could be worse. But let's bring some better country songs to the top.
38- "New Rules" - Dua Lipa (+6) -- Dua Lipa adding her name to the list of female pop singers having good weeks. This is actually Dua Lipa's first ever trip to the top 40. For her, this is a milestone I can be happy about. I hope her future holds many more milestones! The world could use more good female pop singers.
40- "do re mi" - blackbear (+5) -- I'm also fine with blackbear getting his first top 40 hit. If it's mandatory to always have rap songs killing it on the streaming services, I'd be ecstatic if this was a placeholder there. But someone really needs to go help him with his shift key on his keyboard because all lower case is really not that cool.
42- "No Limit" - G-Eazy featuring A$AP Rocky & Cardi B (+9) -- On the flip side, does anyone want these three enjoying continued success? If you answered yes, go slap yourself in the face real quick.
44- "Silence" - Marshmello featuring Khalid (+10) -- I had thought this song had gone stagnant. After a great 2016, EDM has been MIA for most of the year. Thus I didn't think this was going to have any staying power, but I'm happy it has now broken top 50.
50- "Every Little Thing" - Carly Pearce (+15) -- This is definitely a country song I can get behind. Move over Luke Combs. Be a gentleman and let Carly Pearce have her way!
59- "Love So Soft" - Kelly Clarkson (+11) -- I was pleasantly surprised to this song sputter out. Nothing against Kelly, but she's lost her mojo for me. I'd be down for her getting it back, but this is not the song that does it for me. Her new album just now got released and I haven't listened to it. But I do hope that it has something on it that I like because I want to root for Kelly.
61- "Plain Jane" - A$AP Ferg (+25) -- Meh. Get this song out of here. There's worse rap songs here, I suppose. But I don't like 25 spot jumps from bad rap songs. Let's hope it slows down after this.
66- "More Girls Like You" - Kip Moore (+11) -- A second straight home run for country risers this week! One of my coworkers was playing country radio in the truck for a few moments this week. This came on and it made me really happy. I hope for continued success for Kip and Carly.
70- "I'll Name the Dogs" - Blake Shelton (+12) -- And we now average things out. Can't win them all on country radio. They'll probably blast anything and everything Blake Shelton does, which is a shame because he doesn't deserve it this time around.
74- "Let Me Go" - Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line & Watt (+11) -- I used to be a Hailee fan when it came to her music. Now I just want her to leave and go back to acting where she belongs. And take this song with her because all of these acts are capable of so much more.
76- "Go Flex" - Post Malone (+12) -- Go jump off a cliff, Post Malone. A short cliff, mind you. I don't wish harm on people. I just want Post Malone out of my life right now. Perhaps he should get a job flipping burgers at McDonald's so the rest of us don't have to be punished by his awful music.
80- "Losing Sleep" - Chris Young (+12) --Sad day. I guess we're below average this week with our country songs as a third bland country song finds success. But hey, at least Kip and Carly did well.
New Arrivals:
82- "High End" - Chris Brown featuring Future & Young Thug -- Another song released from Chris Brown's upcoming 45 track, 158 minute long album that will be released on Halloween. In other words, he didn't even try this time around. Just quickly threw together a whole crap ton of songs and put it on an album, so I'm not going to put much effort talking about this. It sucks. Future is mumbling through some nonsense and Chris Brown comes in talking about nonsense. And both of them are doing the Migos thing. Lovely. And the fact that this is called "High End" tells you everything you need to know about these bland, awful lyrics. I really hope I don't have to cover much of this punk's new album. The fact that this only debuted at No. 82 gives me hope.
84- "Yours" - Russell Dickerson -- This week had a few surprises as to songs that actually debuted on the charts and this is one of them. I saw that Russell Dickerson debuted a song on the charts and I was like... who? Apparently Russell is a country pop singer who has released two EP's in 2011 and 2016 that had no impact on the mainstream Billboard charts. But this song, initially released in 2015, became a sleeper hit in country and wedding crowds, so he finally released it to country radio back in April of this year and included it on his debut studio album earlier this month. And it's given him his first hit on the Hot 100. And do you know what? I'm happy about it. I have a bit of a soft spot for heartfelt, sincere wedding ballads. This song is simple, but it works. Russell sings about being lost in a crowd before he met this girl and was upset that everyone seemed to be shining except for him. But then he met this girl and everything changed. Now he's his best self and is happy that this girl is his. It's a genuinely romantic song. The perfect song to play at a wedding.
87- "Let You Down" - NF -- Again, NF debuted on the charts and I had no idea who this guy was. So I looked him up. NF is his initials. Stands for Nate Feuerstein. And he's a... Christian rapper? WHOA!!! Slam on the brakes! A Christian rapper has crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100? Am I living in 2017? We actually let a rap song on the charts that's NOT about sex, drugs, fame or money? Wow! I'm shocked. Extremely pleasantly shocked, that is. I don't know how Christian this specific song is, even though it did hit No. 1 on the U.S. Christian Songs chart. But I am so pleased that this is here. NF is rapping about his relationship with his biological father, which, based on this song, hasn't been a super happy relationship. Thus we have a lot of depth and emotion to this song. It actually feels like it means something to NF. As much as I hate on rap, it's mostly because of how awful the lyrical content is or how untalented and unlistenable many rappers are. But rap done right is phenomenal. You can add a lot of power to the music, which is exactly what this guy does. His talent-level is through the roof, too. I can understand everything he's saying, but he's also rapping super fast in a way that makes me appreciate his abilities. We could really use more rap like this.
95- "Stunting Ain't Nuthin" - Gucci Mane featuring Slim Jxmmi & Young Dolph -- OK, now we've come back down to earth with the type of rap music I expect in 2017. You know, the awful crap from untalented rappers singing about garbage in a way that makes me want to punch them in the face. Even though this is Gucci's song, most of it is Slim Jxmmi with a quick verse from both Gucci and Young Dolph. Because we totally needed more of Slim Jxmmi, the horrendous half of the brother rapping duo Rae Sremmurd, who for some reason thinks it's cool to put an "x" in place of an "i." No, Slim Jxmmi. It's not cool. It just makes you look like a complete fool who should go back to first grade and re-learn the alphabet. And this song is crap, too. I mean, what did you expect from these three? Do I really need to elaborate beyond this?
96- "You Broke Up With Me" - Walker Hayes -- We're on a roll here with the unknown artists. As a recap, Russell Dickerson, NF and now Walker Hayes get their very first charted songs of the Billboard Hot 100. The internet won't tell me much about Walker Hayes outside the fact that he is a 37-year-old country singer who lives in Nashville with his wife and six children. No relation to Hunter Hayes, apparently. Though after listening to whatever this is, I would prefer Hunter. And remember how I said this guy has a wife and six kids? Yeah. So what is he doing writing a song about a breakup with a former girlfriend who wants him back now that she sees him having success? Does the song mean anything to him? Oh but apparently the girl in the song is representative of the fair weather friends of his who wanted nothing to do with him when his record deal was dropped, but suddenly want back on board when he finds success. The latter I can respect, but I totally wouldn't have picked up on it if I hadn't read his commentary on the song. He could've done a much better job of making that connection clear. Even with that context, I'm still not impressed. Perhaps Walker Hayes is a dude that should go back into obscurity.
97- "Mayores" - Becky G featuring Bad Bunny -- Another surprise entry. This time I know who Becky G is. She's the girl who gained popularity with her song "Shower" back in 2014. She hasn't done much since, though, and I almost forgot she existed. Although she was in the new "Power Rangers" movie as the yellow ranger Trini, so there's that. Music-wise, though, she's been absent and I wasn't expecting a new song from her. But she's back! And she's gone back to her Mexican heritage with this song. Even though she was born in the United States, all of her grandparents are from Mexico, so "Mayores" is a song completely in Spanish, which I'm totally fine with. As a Latino dance song, this works quite well. Her and Bad Bunny play off each other fairly effectively. I believe she is talking about how she likes dating older guys, which isn't saying much since she's only 20 years old. Bad Bunny, who is a Puerto Rican rapper, comes in and plays the voice of the older male. By older male, I imagine mid- to late-20's is what she is going for. Nothing creepy. Just someone who knows how to treat her well due to him being a little more experienced with romance. This song went No. 1 in several Spanish and Latino countries. I'm not sure what it's crossover potential is like since Becky G isn't the biggest household name here, but we shall see.
98- "Ask Me How I Know" - Garth Brooks -- And finally on the charts this week... we have the return of Garth Brooks? Now don't hurt me, but I don't know much about Garth's music. The man is a country legend who dominated the country charts throughout the 90's and early 2000's, even though he didn't have much mainstream crossover. Thus I feel unworthy of covering a Garth song because I've never dove into his music. I do know that I want to because early this year Lauren Duski covered "The Dance" by Garth Brooks on The Voice. So when I covered that song, I listened to the original and was floored by how perfect and emotional it was. That certainly made me want to listen to more of his music. The problem is that it's a chore to figure out HOW to listen to his music. I was almost forced to skip this song because I couldn't find it. By a stroke of pure luck, I discovered he's on Amazon Prime Music. Good thing I have an account there. If you do too, head over there and listen to this song because it's fantastic. Garth is sitting there as a wise man giving me some powerful dating advice. He's telling me that one day I'll find the girl that I never thought I'd find. Then he tells me to make sure I don't push her away because that's all I know how to do. And he's saying this due to his experience of having been there and done that. Powerful. If all country were like this, I would be a proud country boy. But unfortunately it's not.
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