fun. - Week of April 7, 2012

And so the One Direction reign comes to a close so we can all get ‘higher than the Empire State’.  Before we get on to this week’s Fresh 45, here’s a list of all the songs we’re saying good-bye to this week.

•          Toby Keith – Red Solo Cup
•          Coldplay Ft. Rihanna – Princess of China

The Countdown: (Source: Wikipedia)

1. fun. feat. Janelle Monáe- We Are Young (#4) [New #1]

2. One Direction- What Makes You Beautiful (#1)

3. Flo Rida feat. Sia- Wild Ones (#6)

4. Kelly Clarkson- Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) (#3)

5. The Wanted- Glad You Came (#8)

6. Katy Perry- Part of Me (#9)

7. David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj- Turn Me On (#2)

8. Train- Drive By (#20)

9. Gym Class Heroes feat. Neon Hitch- Ass Back Home (#10)

10. Skrillex feat. Sirah- Bangarang (#13)

11. Adele- Set Fire to the Rain (#5)

12. Neon Trees- Everybody Talks (#11)

13. Justin Bieber- Boyfriend (#35) [Biggest Jump]

14. Karmin- Brokenhearted (#18)

15. B.o.B- So Good (#16)

16. Gavin DeGraw- Not Over You (#7)

17. Nicki Minaj- Starships (#27)

18. Grouplove- Tongue Tied (#22)

19. K'naan feat. Nelly Furtado- Is Anybody Out There? (#25)

20. M83- Midnight City (#26)

21. Lucas Prata feat. Lenny B- First Night of My Life (#14)

22. The Cab- La La (#15)

23. September- Party in My Head (#21)

24. The All-American Rejects- Beekeeper's Daughter (#17)

25. Calvin Harris- Feel So Close (#41)

26. Gotye feat. Kimbra- Somebody That I Used to Know (#24)

27. Chris Rene- Young Homie (#40)

28. Taylor Swift- Eyes Open (#32)

29. Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull- Dance Again (DEBUT)

30. The Black Keys- Lonely Boy (#30)

31. Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris- We Found Love (#12) [Biggest Drop]

32. Hot Chelle Rae- Honestly (#28)

33. Flo Rida- Good Feeling (#19)

34. Jessie J- Domino (#39)

35. Gym Class Heroes feat. Adam Levine- Stereo Hearts (#33)

36. Andy Grammer- Fine By Me (#36)

37. David Guetta feat. Usher- Without You (#37)

38. Olly Murs- Dance With Me Tonight (DEBUT)

39. Chiddy Bang- Ray Charles (#29)

40. Adele- Someone Like You (#34)

41. Pitbull feat. Chris Brown- International Love (#43)

42. Outasight - Tonight Is the Night (#23)

43. Childish Gambino- Heartbeat (#31)

44. Hot Chelle Rae feat. New Boyz- I Like It Like That (#42)

45. Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa feat. Bruno Mars- Young, Wild & Free (#38)

Biggest DDDDDRRRROOOPPP!!!!.....of the week: Rihanna Ft. Calvin Harris – We Found Love (-19)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Justin Bieber – Boyfriend (+23)

Coupla dancin’ new entrants this week.  Olly Murs – Dance With Me Tonight sounds like it belongs on the soundtrack to Happy Days rather than a pop music countdown in the year 2012.  So I guess it offers a nice compromise when you and your friends are fighting in the car over whether to listen to oldies or Top-40 music.  That said, I like the song a good deal.  It’s uniquely refreshing.  Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull hooked up previously to create On the Floor, a great gift to the world.  However, they couldn’t exactly recreate the magic with Dance Again, which is just decent.

So last week I mentioned that I wouldn’t waste any more text on Justin Bieber – Boyfriend.  I was assuming that it would have the same trajectory as other Justin Bieber songs where it would stagnate somewhere in the 20s and then exit the countdown after a short period of time.  Historically, the countdown voters have not been kind to the Bieb.  Therefore, never did I think Boyfriend was “Biggest Jump of the Week” material.  What is wrong with these voters?  That song sucks!  I’m neither a Bieber-hater nor a “belieber”.  Some of his songs to hit the countdown have been good, and some have been mediocre-at-best.  This one is by far the worst of the bunch, and it’s just flat out bad.

Anyway…..

I feel like it’s pretty inevitable at this point that Flo Rida Ft. Sia – Wild Ones will be #1 in the near future.  I can’t say I’m particularly upset about that, as it’s a good song, but as I’ve mentioned, it’s been overplayed to death on Hits-1.  Train – Drive By made its return to the Top 10 this week, while Skrillex – Bangarang sniffs it for the first time.  After extended stays in the Top 20, Outasight – Tonight is the Night and Childish Gambino – Heartbeat have quietly slipped to the Bottom 5 in a matter of two weeks.  They’ll be missed when they’re gone.

I almost got through this installment without a celebratory note of We Found Love being the Biggest Drop this week.  Almost.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) M83 – Midnight City

2) Taylor Swift – Eyes Open

3) Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa Ft. Bruno Mars – Young, Wild & Free

4) Gotye – Somebody I Used to Know

5) Olly Murs – Dance With Me Tonight