Billboard Hot 100 Top 10:
1- "thank u, next" - Ariana Grande (=) -- After an absolute monster week last week for Ariana wherein she set the record for the highest weekly streaming total for a female artist (93.8 million U.S. streams), those numbers came crashing down, nearly in half, to 50.7 million U.S. streams this week. Her sales also crashed 41 percent to 25,000 downloads sold. Luckily for her, though, said numbers were still high enough for her to hold onto that top spot as she's No. 1 on streaming and No. 2 on sales. The other positive note for her is that the song had great radio traction this week, up 36 percent to 77.6 million audience impressions, which vaulted her from No. 11 to No. 5. If she can stop the bleeding in sales and streaming, the song has the potential to stick around for a while, especially with that radio traction. Even if she doesn't maintain her lead at the top, the lucky thing for me personally is that our new runner-up is not very scary.
2- "Without Me" - Halsey (+1) -- Because, yes, I was really nervous that Ariana would crash hard enough that it would cause "SICKO MODE" to go back to No. 1, which is the one thing I didn't want. But now we have Halsey at No. 2 instead, thanks to continued momentum on the radio with 82.4 million audience impressions, good for No. 4 this week; good consistency on streaming with another 32.1 million U.S. streams, down only 1 percent; and her continued dominance on top of the sales chart with 37,000 downloads sold, albeit down 26 percent from last week. I'm not sure if Halsey is going to take over next week or not. That depends on how strong Ariana's streaming numbers are. But if it happens, I'll certainly be grateful that it's Halsey on top and not Travis Scott. Also, this is the first time this year where two women have controlled the top two spots. It's kinda sad that this didn't happen earlier.
3- "SICKO MODE" - Travis Scott (-1) -- I can breathe a good sigh of relief because it appears that Travis Scott won't go back to No. 1. I still have no idea why this song is so popular, but it's good to see that it appears to be finally declining in overall chart points. Now if it could fall a bit faster, that would be nice.
4- "Happier" - Marshmello & Bastille (=) -- "Happier" appears stuck here at No. 4, which is alright. Although I would be happy if it traded places with "SICKO MODE."
5- "High Hopes" - Panic! At the Disco (=) -- It kinda makes me sad that Panic! doesn't seem to be able to get any higher at the moment. It has great radio, but not enough streaming or sales to help it take over. I had visions of this being a chart-topping song, yet sadly it doesn't appear that'll happen. But hey, at least it got to the top five. And at least the radio has good taste for what songs deserve to be played more.
6- "All I Want for Christmas is You" - Mariah Carey (+1) -- I'm not going to lie, I am a bit disappointed that Mariah was only able to jump up one spot this week. But hey, at least we can celebrate the fact that this is now the highest charting holiday song since "The Chipmunk Song" by David Seville & The Chipmunks hit No. 1 in 1958. Last week the song entered a tie with "Auld Lang Syne" by Kenny G (2000) and "This One's for the Children" by New Kids on the Block (1990). Now Mariah stands by herself as the second highest charting holiday song. So that's something to celebrate. I have a feeling that next week is the final week for the Christmas songs on the charts, so let's hope that it can have a good jump. Can it get to the top three?
7- "Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)" - Post Malone & Swae Lee (+10) -- I'm not surprised to see this song here. I saw the movie "Into the Spider-Verse" this past weekend and got my review up on my main blog yesterday. It was an excellent movie. My second favorite Spider-Man movie behind only "Spider-Man 2," which is one of my all-time favorite superhero movies. As far as this song goes in "Spider-Verse," it doesn't really have much of an impact. It plays in the background as soundtrack at one point in the movie and if you're not looking for it, you're going to completely miss it. I think that's kinda what I expected, so I suppose it doesn't matter that the song has nothing to do with the movie. It's just noise. That's also how I see it in context of the Hot 100. It's not an awful song by any means, like the current two songs below it, but it's also not that memorable. If it sticks around, I'll be fine with that.
8- "Drip Too Hard" - Lil Baby & Gunna (+1) -- I'm really annoyed as to why this song and "ZEZE" are still here. They take turns flip-flopping spots on the charts, but neither song will go away. What's the appeal here? Especially with this one. I kinda get how people are obsessed with Kodak Black, Travis Scott and Offset, but is there one person on Earth who really loves Lil Baby and Gunna?
9- "ZEZE" - Kodak Black featuring Travis Scott & Offset (-1) -- See previous comment. I'm mad that this song won't go away.
10- "Girls Like You" - Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B (+1) -- A definite facepalm here. I'm not surprised that "Mo Bamba" fell out or that the Meek Mill song dropped out following its debut last week. But I was hoping for a second Christmas song to take this spot.
Rising on the Hot 100:
11- "Wake up in the Sky" - Gucci Mane, Bruno Mars & Kodak Black (+8) -- We have one more week of Christmas songs after this week. If this song enters the top 10 next week instead of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" or "Jingle Bell Rock," I will be rather upset. Because the only thing that this song has going for it are the names of the artists involved. None of them put any effort into recording this track, but apparently they didn't need to because the sheer sight of a Kodak Black, Bruno Mars and Gucci Mane collaboration is enough for people to drool all over themselves in 2018.
13- "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" - Andy Williams (+3) -- A three spot jump this week. Next week will be the strongest week for the Christmas songs, so I'm really crossing my fingers that this song can make it into the top 10.
15- "Jingle Bell Rock" - Bobby Helms (+11) -- Here's a bit of a surprise. "Jingle Bell Rock" leapfrogs past "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" to be the third highest Christmas song. Both songs are a whole lot of fun, so I'm happy either way. Now if we can just get one of these Christmas songs to enter the top 10 next week along with Mariah.
16- "Eastside" - Benny Blanco, Halsey & Khalid (+2) -- Halsey seems primed to hit No. 1 in the next week or two. And that's totally fine, I suppose. But this duet with Khalid is the more deserving song if I were to pick a Halsey song to explode.
18- "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" - Brenda Lee (+3) -- It's been an excellent year for our Christmas songs. Seeing this song in the top 20 yet again is another huge win. Although it's worth noting that this song previously peaked at No. 14, making it the only one of our main Christmas songs to not hit a new peak yet this season. But there's still a chance for it to do so next week.
21- "A Holly Jolly Christmas" - Burl Ives (+1) -- Burl Ives stalled out just a tad bit this week, but he has a chance to go top 20 next week. Even if we don't get a second Christmas song into the top 10 next week, if "A Holly Jolly Christmas" jumps at least one more spot, that'll make five Christmas songs in the top 20, which is a huge win.
24- "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" - Nat King Cole (+5) -- Nat King Cole was the artist to get the biggest Christmas jump last week and he gets another five spots this week, which is an excellent sign. If both this and "A Holly Jolly Christmas" go top 20, that'll make six Christmas songs in the top 20!
27- "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" - Gene Autry (+9) -- I'll also be cheering for Rudolph to do well in this song's first ever appearance on the Hot 100. It's not the song I expected to hit the Hot 100, but that's what has made this year so fun for our Christmas. There's been a lot of surprises and I'm looking forward to at least one more week of surprises next week.
31- "Last Christmas" - Wham! (+3) -- We now have seven Christmas songs to enter the top 30 this year and if "Last Christmas" gets just one more spot up, which seems very likely at this point, that'll make for eight Christmas songs in the top 30!
32- "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" - Dean Martin (+9) -- Can we even go for nine Christmas songs in the top 30 next week? Last week Dean Martin charted for the first time in nearly 50 years, making this song a welcome addition to our annual Christmas tradition. Next week Dean Martin has a chance to get a second Christmas song on the Hot 100 as his version of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is gaining a lot of momentum following the song's dumb controversy, rising from No. 31 to No. 17 on the Holiday 100. Even if the song doesn't chart on the Hot 100, I'm happy that the attempted ban of the song has seemingly backfired and I'll be excited to talk about it if it does chart next week. If not, that was my quick plug right there.
33- "BAD!" - XXXTENTACION (+42) -- It's boycott XXXTENTACION week on the Hot 100 for me. People are still taking advantage of his death to earn some quick cash as a new posthumous album has been released this week, which I think is disgusting.
34- "Speechless" - Dan + Shay (+6) -- Here's our new top country song. I'm alright with that. It's a nice, little wedding song from Dan + Shay. Not a song I'd put on my own wedding playlist, but it's fine.
42- "Feliz Navidad" - Jose Feliciano (re-entry) -- I was waiting for this song to re-enter! It officially debuted on the Hot 100 last Christmas season, spending two weeks on the charts. This year I was hoping that we could include it in our annual Christmas Hot 100 tradition. It took a few weeks longer than some of the other Christmas songs, but it made it! Now this might be the most simple Christmas song out there, in terms of the lyrics, but it's also one of the most infectious with some absolutely fantastic instrumentation. Those two elements combine together to make a song that everyone on Earth will immediately sing along with, regardless of what language you speak. It's easy to memorize and it's an absolute joy to sing along with. In fact, I can guarantee you that this song's re-entry on the charts this week will cause it to get stuck in my head for the remainder of the holiday season, which I'm fine with.
44- "Uproar" - Lil Wayne (+6) -- This is the one surviving song from Lil Wayne's album from this year that I already almost forgot about. According to my notes, I actually thought it was one of his more tolerable songs on the album, but I don't feel like giving it a re-listen at this moment. I'm too busy listening to "Feliz Navidad" on repeat.
53- "Calling My Spirit" - Kodak Black (+11) -- This debuted last week and I boycotted it because there were 9,000 rap songs that debuted thanks to two album bombs hitting at the same time and I just got in a mood to avoid them all. If this continues to rise, I suppose I'll give it a listen so I can officially tell you how awful it is.
56- "Lost in Japan" - Shawn Mendes & Zedd (+15) -- Speaking of the two album bombs from last week, the section of the Hot 100 that was most affected was the bottom half. So there's a lot of songs that showed up this week due to the charts resetting itself. This is one that I'm happy got a boost. Zedd adds some good spice to a surprisingly decent Shawn Mendes song in this remix. I'd be happy if it got more of a mainstream push.
57- "Arms Around You" - XXXTENTACION & Lil Pump featuring Maluma & Swae Lee (+17) -- I still refuse to listen to this song. The only reason why it got a boost this week was because of the XXXTENTACION album that I will be boycotting. Artists need to stop taking advantage of the death of X in order to get them some quick money.
58- "You Say" - Lauren Daigle (+11) -- This song has had an extremely confusing run. I've been waiting for it to become a mainstream hit because I love the song, but I'm kinda sad that it hasn't been able to get over the hump. However, at the same time this has managed to stick around on the bottom half of the charts for quite a long time that it almost makes up for it, so overall I'm impressed with its run. But seriously. If it can somehow get higher, that would be fantastic.
59- "Close to Me" - Ellie Goulding & Diplo featuring Swae Lee (+34) -- Here's a big surprise. I wasn't sure what Ellie's song would do on the charts. It took several weeks to show up in the first place, then it camped out at the very bottom, making me wonder if it was going to fizzle out. But now it jumped 34 spots this week, meaning this might actually be gaining traction. I'm totally fine with that. It's still not as good as classic Ellie from her second album, but it's a perfectly tolerable Ellie song that I'm content with.
63- "Be Alright" - Dean Lewis (+16) -- The Australian Ed Sheeran slowly gains more attention here in the United States after already being a huge sensation everywhere else. Perhaps this will become a big thing in 2019. That'll be great because I genuinely love this song, as I do with a lot of Ed Sheeran's songs. I guess that style just gets to me.
66- "Backin' it Up" - Pardison Fontaine featuring Cardi B (+20) -- I still don't think the world has any idea who Pardison Fontaine is. This song has only gained traction because of Cardi B. But hey, it debuted back in October and still has yet to hit top 50, so maybe there's a chance that it never goes anywhere.
71- "This Feeling" - The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini (+16) -- Are we going to make this song a thing or not? I'm fine with it. I like Kelsea Ballerini and I think she certainly outshines the Chainsmokers on the song. I've been upset with that duo ever since their mainstream success caused them to be extremely lazy, but this is a decent effort from them, so I'd be fine if it became a success.
72- "Consequences" - Camila Cabello (+22) -- OK, we really need to make this song a thing in 2019. I still maintain my stance that it's one of the best songs from Camila's album, an album that she herself seemed to forget about. But I'm glad she's pushing another single from the album and I'm glad it's this one. It's a perfectly selection and one that deserves to at least get a good radio push.
73- "Burning Man" - Dierks Bentley featuring Brothers Osborne (+17) -- Not quite as solid as "It Ain't My Fault" from Brothers Osborne last year, but this is a great effort from the brothers and Dierks. This is a country song that I can legitimately get behind, so I hope it becomes a huge hit.
76- "Sixteen" - Thomas Rhett (+23) -- Speaking of country, we got a couple more of them here. I wanted a bit more from Thomas Rhett on this song, but as I'm usually pretty harsh with his music, this is another one that I'll give a pass to. His songs usually become huge, so I won't be complaining if this follows suit.
81- "Good Girl" - Dustin Lynch (+15) -- Well, out of our trio of country songs on this section of the charts this week, this is most certainly the lesser of the bunch. I guess that means I'm glad that it's also the lowest one.
83- "You" - Jacquees (+17) -- I don't really care much about this song. I'm not super offended by it, either. But I'll give it more attention if it actually goes anywhere.
85- "No Stylist" - French Montana featuring Drake (+10) -- Sneaking onto this list is French Montana and Drake. Because more Drake is definitely what the world needs. And yes, that is sarcasm. This song sucks.
New Arrivals:
37- "whoa (mind in awe)" - XXXTENTACION -- There's only three new songs that I'm going to be talking about this week. The two new Christmas songs and the Scotty McCreery song on the bottom of the list. I've said this a couple of times now in the new arrivals section, but I'm really upset that we're STILL taking advantage of XXXTENTACION's death to earn money. That's the only reason this new album is here. It's almost like the record label and the other artists are the ones who conspired to get him killed so they could squeeze all that they could out of a dead artist. It's disgusting. I never liked the dude's music anyways, even though I am sad a human being lost his life, so there's no reason for me to give this project any attention.
40- "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" - Gene Autry -- After Gene Autry surprised me by getting his version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" to chart last, he's back again this week for another surprise. I mean, out of all the Christmas songs that could've charted this week, how many of you would've picked this song to chart? Yeah, sure, I would call it a Christmas classic, but it's one of the slightly lesser known Christmas classics. I feel everyone could sing the main line, but people might get lost when the verses start and resort to humming the tune because I don't think the lyrics are that well known. However, despite this, I was glad that I was given the chance to give it a closer look this week because this is one of the rare Christmas songs that combines the mainstream element of Christmas with the religious part of Christmas that the holiday is meant for. In verse three, the song reads as follows, "Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus lane; he doesn't care if you're rich or you're poor, he loves you just the same; Santa Claus knows we're all God's children, that makes everything right; So fill your hearts with Christmas cheer because Santa Claus comes tonight." Then in the fourth verse, there is a line that reads, "Peace on Earth will come to all if we just follow the light; so let's give thanks to the Lord above 'cause Santa Claus comes tonight." That right there is a solid message to teach kids that makes this song more than just another fun, mainstream Christmas song like all the other Christmas songs on the charts right now.
41- "Sleigh Ride" - The Ronettes -- My history with this song is a rich one. Outside of being a very beloved Christmas classic, performing "Sleigh Ride" was a Christmas tradition for Mr. King's Millcreek Junior High School ninth grade band. And Mr. King wasn't a band director who messed around. His bands always sounded great, so by the time you got to ninth grade, being able to play this song was quite the honor and I had a lot of fun doing so when it was my turn to play. For a bit of history, "Sleigh Ride" was composed by Leroy Anderson in 1948 and was originally purely instrumental. The first recording of it was by Arthur Fielder and the Boston Pops Orchestra in 1949. After listening to several versions of the song, that original recording is the version that we played and thus the version that I know best. Lyrics to the song were written by Mitchell Parish in 1950 and the first vocal performance was recorded by the Andrews Sisters. It has since been recorded by, well, everyone, but the most popular version was this one that is charting, The Ronettes in 1963. Produced by Phil Spector, it turns the song from an orchestral piece to a fun poppy Christmas song with a horse sound at the beginning and end with the added touch of "ring-a-ling-a-ling, ding-dong-ding" as background vocals. The song works perfectly as an instrumental piece. The orchestra is composed in such a way that you imagine a sleigh ride, especially with the clap of the blocks imitating hitting the reigns of the horse. But the lyrics are rather inspired as they beautifully bring to life this sleigh ride. The vocals from The Ronettes are a perfect addition. It has a classic 60's feel to it that makes one feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And seeing it on the charts brings me so much joy. Let's please bring this back every year.
48- "Guardian Angel" - XXXTENTACION -- I'm boycotting this album. Read my previous comments to learn why.
51- "I Don't Let Go" - XXXTENTACION -- I'm boycotting this album. Read my previous comments to learn why.
62- "One Minute" - XXXTENTACION featuring Kanye West & Travis Barker -- I'm boycotting this album. Read my previous comments to learn why.
64- "Train Food" - XXXTENTACION -- I'm boycotting this album. Read my previous comments to learn why.
65- "What Are You so Afraid Of" - XXXTENTACION -- I'm boycotting this album. Read my previous comments to learn why.
68- "Staring at the Sky" - XXXTENTACION -- I'm boycotting this album. Read my previous comments to learn why.
84- "Difference (Interlude)" - XXXTENTACION -- I'm boycotting this album. Read my previous comments to learn why.
95- "Look Back at It" - A Boogie wit da Hoodie -- Don't care. I also don't know why we're still giving this thug a career, especially since he has one of the worst rap names.
96- "This is It" - Scotty McCreery -- Our American Idol boy is last on this list this week. I've never been a huge fan of his. He's a deep voice that people fell in love with even though he doesn't have a whole lot of talent. Here we have another generically written country song about a guy in love with a girl. In this version of the country love song, Scotty takes the girl to a point in the mountains where they can feel on top of the world. And then he finishes off by talking about her walking down the isle on their wedding day. And I suppose it's fine. The song actually starts pretty nice with the first verse before it then disappears into generic country with its sound on the chorus. I won't hate life if it does well, but I won't ever remember it in the future, just like I can't even name any Scotty McCreery song for you off the top of my head. I think if I even looked at his discography I'd have a hard time remembering what his songs sounded like. They just all blend together into one giant bunch of country nothingness. But if you like Scotty's voice and style, then of course you'll love this song.
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