Billboard Hot 100 Top 10:
1- "God's Plan" - Drake (=) -- The bump from the music video debut has ended, meaning "God's Plan" drops from 101.7 million U.S. streams... to 92.8 million U.S. streams. So, you know, super harsh drop. The updated list of the highest number of individual U.S. streams in a week has "God's Plan" occupying six of the top nine spots. Now typically I'm in favor of people sharing the love at the top, regardless of how much I love the song. I'd almost want to go back to the 50's and 60's way of doing things where there was often a new No. 1 song each week. But in this case, let's just keep Drake at the top for the time being. And I say that because I would love it if Drake is able to prevent Post Malone's new song "Psycho" from going No. 1. That aside, I'm honestly curious as to how long this song is going to last. It just tallied over 90 million U.S. streams in its sixth week at No. 1. Even if it dropped 10 million each week, which I'm not convinced it'll do, that'll guarantee it at least 5-6 more weeks at No. 1, regardless of what happens below it. And that's not even taking radio into account, which continues to rise. I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if this stays here for another 2-3 months considering how insanely massive this streaming continues to be.
2- "Psycho" - Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign (new) -- It really upsets me that the second "rockstar" starts to go away, we get ANOTHER dumb song from Post Malone debuting in the top five. Do I have to suffer through 20+ weeks of this song in the top five as well? Because I really don't want to. And I'm as confused as heck as to how and why the music gods have knighted such an untalented, lazy punk as Post Malone a superstar. At least we dodged a bullet with this song being unable to debut at No. 1, which is usually a done deal when a song debuts with 54.9 million U.S. streams, which is 10 million higher than when "rockstar" debuted with 44 million last year, also at No. 2. This time around, 54 million U.S. streams is not even close to good enough when Drake still has nearly double that. I just hope that the world somehow realizes how untalented Post Malone is and allows this song to be extremely front-loaded. But I'm not betting on that. I'll dive into more of my opinion on this down below.
3- "Perfect" - Ed Sheeran (-1) -- The next four songs are all the exact same as last week, just pushed down one spot each. That means the only thing that changed in the top five was Post Malone's debut. It would really be nice if we got some new life here, but I'm still fine with Ed Sheeran being here. Rumor has it that "Supermarket Flowers" is his next single, which has me beyond ecstatic! "Perfect" remains No. 1 again on radio with 133 million in audience, down just 4 percent from last week. NF remains No. 1 on pop radio with "Let You Down," but can't seem to break into the top 10.
4- "Finesse" - Bruno Mars & Cardi B (-1) -- It looks like Bruno won't get back to No. 2 after all? That amuses me. Although I would prefer he did if it meant knocking Post Malone down. At this point, though, I'm wondering if Bruno will be able to switch spots with Ed Sheeran. I keep expecting it to happen. But it keeps not happening.
5- "Havana" - Camila Cabello (-1) -- Camila hanging on for dear life in the top five as her follow-up single, "Never Be the Same" struggles to gain enough traction to make it to the top 10. This is still the No. 2 song of the year at the moment, though. So Camila is in great shape as she's had a fantastic run with this song.
6- "Look Alive" - BlocBoy JB featuring Drake (-1) -- At least this song didn't jump ahead of the songs in front of it thanks to sales and radio being nonexistent. But streaming somehow kept climbing as it's up to 39.6 million U.S. streams. That baffles me. Why do dumb songs like this get so much streaming? Are people's ears broken.
7- "Meant to Be" - Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line (+1) -- Hey look what rebounded this week! But will it be able to get enough momentum to jump ahead of "Look Alive"? With Ed, Bruno and Camila continuing to fall in overall points each week, something is going to default ahead of them, but I have no idea what it is.
8- "rockstar" - Post Malone (-2) -- It finally looks like "rockstar" is dying. But I don't feel very happy due to "Psycho" debuting at No. 2. I want Post Malone gone.
9- "Pray for Me" - The Weeknd & Kendrick Lamar (=) -- "Black Panther" is not fading away at the box office, but the soundtrack had its momentum stopped. Which is sad, because if we're going to stream rap songs to death, why not this one?
10- "All the Stars" - Kendrick Lamar & SZA (-3) -- I would love this song to stick around and take up some of the obligatory streaming numbers, but a sharp drop this week doesn't look good for it. I just hope it can rebound in future weeks.
Rising on the Hot 100:
11- "The Middle" - Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey (+2) -- I feel that next week is going to be the week where this breaks into the top 10. Although I thought the same would happen for "Let You Down" by NF, yet that got stuck and falls down to No. 13, with "Stir Fry" taking No. 12 after dropping out of the top 10 this week. I would actually like "Pray for Me" and "All the Stars" to rebound and go up the charts. So if that means this song gets stuck at 11 for another week in favor of that, I'd be fine with that. In a perfect world, this would replace "rockstar" in the top 10. Let's hope that happens!
16- "Gummo" - 6ix9ine (+9) -- Thankfully this song never hit top 10 and, despite a good boost this week, it's not going to. This is up nine spots because 6ix9ine dropped an album that impacted the charts this week. Luckily only two new songs from that album actually debuted. But they'll all die next week. Hopefully, anyways.
43- "Whatever It Takes" - Imagine Dragons (+17) -- We jump from No. 16 to No. 43 on this list. That's because most of the songs in the 20's and 30's got stuck this week with only minimal gains or losses. And I would really love it if this song would join that club and get stuck before going too much higher. The world really doesn't need another boring, dull Imagine Dragons song played to death on the radio.
44- "Heaven" - Kane Brown (+10) -- Kane Brown breaks into the top 50. And I couldn't really care less. A song called "Heaven" should really be good. But it's totally not.
50- "Dura" - Daddy Yankee (+7) -- I'm counting the weeks until it's announced this song gets a remix with an English-speaking pop star. With it getting top 50 on its own, that's more of when, not if, right? This is about the general area that "Despacito" peaked at before adding Justin Bieber. And hey, if that makes this a major hit, giving life to the very dead top 10, I'd be totally fine with that because this is a fun Latino dance song.
55- "Plug Walk" - Rich the Kid (+14) -- Can we somehow stop Rich the Kid from being a thing? Luckily "New Freezer" stalled out a bit this week, but I would really like it if this song stalled as well. Let's send both songs away as soon as possible.
62- "Nowadays" - Lil Skies featuring Landon Cube (+11) -- I forgot this song existed until I saw it rise up this week. And it debuted less than two months ago. That should tell you something about how I feel.
71- "Candy Paint" - Post Malone (+13) -- This song confuses the heck out of me. Since "rockstar" and now "Psycho" have been huge hits now, I keep expecting this song to gain momentum, but it's instead kinda just hanging out below the top 50, which I'm totally fine with. I'd probably prefer this over both of those two songs, but the better option is to have all three of them go away.
78- "IDGAF" - Dua Lipa (+18) -- I want Dua Lipa to continue being a thing. A follow-up hit would solidify that for her after "New Rules." But I don't really want IDGAF to be that hit. So I'd be fine if this stalled out and she released something else that got big.
85- "Rubbin off the Paint" - YBN Nahmir (+12) -- I also don't care about this song. Or hardly even remember it. As it is just in the 80's, no need to remind myself of specifics just yet. I just remember not liking it, so let's not let it get higher.
New Arrivals:
2- "Psycho" - Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign -- A song called "Psycho" should be interesting, right? Singing about mental instability is at least more interesting than a rap star pretending he's now a rock star with rap being the new rock. But no, this song has nothing to do with mental instability. He just says his AP's gone psycho. AP meaning Audemars Pigeuet, a fancy brand of wristwatch. Then in that first line he makes some sort of potential double reference to Michael Myers and Michael Jackson by saying "lil' mama bad like Michael." You can guess where this is going from that. Yes, Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign spend the rest of the song rapping about jewelry and money. That's it. Musically, the wrote one bar of music, then copied and pasted it for the whole song. While not as annoying and unintelligent as "rockstar," this song has zero ounces of creativity. I mean, who the frack cares about Post Malone bragging about his jewelry? Apparently a lot of people because this is No. 2 on the charts right now. But I have no idea why. I would think rappers rapping about fame and riches would get old because that's literally all many of them do. It's stupid.
22- "44 More" - Logic -- I really liked Logic's suicide prevention song. He did a great thing with that! So what's he going to follow that up with? Uh, well, nothing apparently. This is a song that's a follow-up to his song "44 Bars," from his 2016 mixtape "Bobby Tarantino." That song was exactly 44 bars long. And so is "44 More." Apparently. I didn't care enough to actually count. But if true, it's 44 bars of him just rambling on about various aspects of his life without much focus. I will give him credit in that he actually is good at rapping. As in he goes super fast with his rap, which shows he has talent. I just wish there was actually substance here. Because there's not.
60- "Billy" - 6ix9ine -- 6ix9ine dropped his album "DAY69," which impacted the charts this week. Luckily I only have to cover two of the songs from it. Not that it would've taken that long to cover the whole thing as it's 11 songs that total up to be a whopping 27 minutes. But the less 6ix9ine, the better. Now I just had one qualification for 6ix9ine. Don't brag about rape and murder in your songs and I'll do my best to just forget you existed and move on with life. Does he meet these qualifications? Nope. Not on this song anyways. This whole song is about him killing people, with lots of gun shot sound effects included. Why is he able to get away with this? Might I remind you that the guy is also a pedophile? So why are we making him a thing? And why are we letting him get away with using the n-word so often? Now, I hate it when black people use that word as if it's a synonym for human being. But 6ix9ine is NOT black. He was born in Brooklyn to a Mexican mother and a Puerto Rican father. So him using the n-word 19-times in this song, especially in context of him shooting these people, is EXTREMELY racist and despicable. So why are we letting him have a career? He should be rotting in prison, not enjoying a successful rapping career.
61- "Want You Back" - 5 Seconds of Summer -- Wait, these guys are still a thing? I haven't heard much from them since their one music video where everyone, young and old, stripped down into their underwear. Which was disturbing on many levels. I suppose they have done some things since "Looks So Perfect," but nothing memorable. They're just the 1D wannabees that also tried to be super hip and cool. And in typical 1D fashion, this comeback single is a generic love song where Luke Hemmings, the only vocalist on this song, is sad because he's always going to want this girl back, but she left him because he's been a horrible boyfriend. And that's it. Apparently she left him because he wouldn't change, but when she broke up with him, he decided not to say anything. So, you know, it's hard to feel bad for him. Thus it's hard to care. I suppose when sandwiched between two 6ix9ine songs, this sounds like a masterpiece. But if this went away, I'd probably have a hard time remembering that it existed.
73- "Rondo" - 6ix9ine featuring Tory Lanez & Young Thug-- Try two for 6ix9ine. Can he behave himself? Well, no. But this isn't quite as bad as "Billy," mostly because 6ix9ine is barely in this song. Most of it Tory Lanez and Young Thug bragging about being rich and spending time with this prostitute. I think. 6ix9ine drops in for just a verse and manages to ramble off the n-word another seven times in a matter of 30 seconds or less. It's funny, Genius claims this is a devastating song about a drug-addicted prostitute that slowly loses touch with reality. I don't know which random person wrote that or how they got that out of this song, but I didn't get that at all. In fact, I don't know what I got out of this song as none of these three shows any ability to stay focused on anything. Which I suppose an unfocused song about nothing is better than another song where 6ix9ine brags about killing people. But that doesn't mean I'm giving this a pass. It's just really stupid instead of being really offensive.
81- "Booty" - Blac Youngsta -- I wonder if Sammie Benson, aka Blac Youngsta, knows that the word black has a "k" on the end of it. He probably does. But you know, it's cool and hip to misspell things. Anyways, Blac Youngsta is a rapper signed onto Yo Gotti's label. This song comes from his 2017 album "I'm Innocent," which was released a few weeks after he was arrested, and shortly released, along with a few associates, being charged with six counts of discharging a weapon into a moving vehicle and felony conspiracy after an instance where fellow rapper Young Dolph's SUV was fired on around 100 times. Young Dolph was unhurt because his windows were bulletproof. Despite being on the album, this song has nothing to do with that instance. But that's who we're dealing with here. And this is a song where Blac Youngsta spends nearly three minutes asking this girl to shake her booty. We've seen lots of songs like this and I don't really like any of them. But at least songs like "Get Busy" by Sean Paul and "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot are catchy. This is like a boring, dull, unintelligent version of those two songs that just comes off as lazy and perverted.
96- "She's with Me" - High Valley -- Canadian country duo High Valley get their first ever entry on the U.S. Hot 100 this week after eight years of pretty good success over in their home country of Canada. And they get that with a song that was initially written for their fourth studio album back in 2014? Yeah, true story. This song has had several releases, including being released in April of last year in the U.S. and finally crossing over to the charts. That's quite the longevity. And I can totally see why it's had such a long life. This is an upbeat, country pop song with a touch of bluegrass or even folk with it's banjos and hand claps that make you want to get up, clap your hands and swing your partner round and round, if you know what I mean. Like in one of those old-fashioned folk dancing parties. This even reminds me a bit of Mumford and Sons. Lyrically this is nothing to write home about. This guy is just on could nine because he's amazed that this girl, who he feels is out of his league, is actually with him. But hey, in a week full of a bunch of other nonsense, this is definitely a refreshing surprise. I'm glad I found something worth getting up and dancing to.
98- "Break up in the End" - Cole Swindell -- We go from fun, upbeat folky country to, well, not bad country, actually. I was expecting this to be boring a dull, but it's actually quite reflective and sorrowful. Like 5SOS's song this week, he's reflecting over a recent breakup. But unlike that song, it looks like Cole put a bit of thought into this song as he rather sorrowfully states that he would still go back and do it all over again, even knowing they would break up in the end. Because the memories he made with this girl are still ones that he cherishes. The slow pianos and stripped down guitars build into this, making it a rather sweet song that actually makes you feel bad for Cole. Well done.
99- "Make Me Feel" - Janelle Monáe -- Here's a good face to see on the charts. Janelle Monáe has made quite the name for herself recently after starring roles in two 2016 best picture nominees, "Moonlight" and "Hidden Figures," the former winning best picture at last year's Academy Awards. Personally I think she did great in both, but she was especially great in "Hidden Figures." As far as her music career, she's been a bit absent from the charts lately. Her first two studio albums sold pretty well, but were released in 2010 and 2013 respectively. And outside one small hit in 2015 that peaked at No. 79, the only other time she's appeared on the Hot 100 was in 2011 as featured on fun.'s chart-topping smash "We Are Young." But now she has her third studio album, "Dirty Computer," coming out next month and this is the lead-off single to that. I will admit that I haven't explored her solo stuff too much, but I do really enjoy this song. This is a very groovy song with some attitude and personality from Janelle. It's set up with some clicks and snaps before slowly building throughout the song as she honestly describes the way that this individual makes her feel. It has quite the powerful conclusion with about a minute left before slowly closing out the way it started. It kinda reminded me of a song by Rihanna or Beyonce when they're on their game. This is the type of sound the that charts could really use, so I hope this becomes a hit.
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