Ke$ha (4) - Week of January 26, 2013

I guess that “get this finished early in the week” initiative of mine kinda crapped out a little bit.  Sorry ‘bout that.  No songs leavin’ the countdown this week.  Sorry ‘bout that too.

The Countdown:

1. Ke$ha - Die Young (#1) [Fourth Week at #1]

2. Lumineers - Ho Hey (#6)

3. Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble (#5)

4. fun. - Some Nights (#2)

5. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#7)

6. Pink - Try (#13)

7. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#9)

8. Imagine Dragons - It's Time (#35)

9. Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath (#3)

10. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#4)

11. Pitbull - Don't Stop The Party (#11)

12. The Script Ft. will.i.am - Hall of Fame (#8)

13. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#10)

14. Justin Timberlake Ft. Jay-Z - Suit and Tie (#36)

15. JTX - Seven Day Weekend (#12)

16. Redfoo - Bring Out the Bottles (#32)

17. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#20)

18. will.i.am Ft Britney Spears - Scream and Shout (#19)

19. Phil Phillips - Home (#26)

20. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#23)

21. Owl City Ft. Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time (#45)

22. Calvin Harris Ft. Florence Welch - Sweet Nothing (#17)

23. One Direction - Little Things (#15)

24. Passion Pit - Take a Walk (#37)

25. Sam and the Womp - Bom Bom (#14)

26. Neon Trees Ft. Kaskade - Lessons In Love (#24)

27. Justin Bieber Ft. Nicki Minaj - Beauty and a Beat (#25)

28. Ke$ha - C'mon (#22)

29. Alicia Keys - Girl on Fire (#28)

30. Maroon 5 - One More Night (#16)

31. Conor Maynard Ft. Ne-Yo - Turn Around (#34)

32. Carly Rae Jepsen- Call Me Maybe (#33)

33. Flo Rida - I Cry (#30)

34. The Ready Set - Give Me Your Hand (#29)

35. Josh Baze - She's Gold (#21)

36. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#39)

37. Karmin- Brokenhearted (#31)

38. OneRepublic - Feel Again (#41)

39. One Direction - Live While We're Young (#40)

40. Bridgit Mendler - Ready or Not (#27)

41. Ed Sheeran - The A Team (#43)

42. Nicki Minaj - Va Va Voom (#42)

43. Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa- Payphone (#38)

44. Carly Rae Jepsen - This Kiss (#18)

45. Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (#44)

Biggest DDDDDDDRRRRROOOPPPP!!!!...of the week: Carly Rae Jepsen – This Kiss (-26)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Imagine Dragons – It’s Time (+27)

It’s always a disappointment when we’ve got nothing new to discuss, isn’t it?

Blurbsauce

- The big story this week is Lumineers – Ho Hey at #2.  Most people I talk to really like this song, and rightfully so.  But LOVE it?  I would have never expected this song to be knocking on the door of #1.  Not that I’m complaining, because I consider it a good thing whenever any good songs are populating the top of the countdown, regardless of whether I think they are worthy of superlative praise.  I’m just a little surprised, that’s all.

- The big resurgence from Imagine Dragons – It’s Time sort of allowed the 22-spot jump of Justin Timberlake Ft. Jay-Z – Suit and Tie to fly under the radar a little bit.  I am really starting to fear that this song is going to become a “thing”.  It’s far from horrible, but it’s pretty disinteresting and I think the only reason it’s getting so much attention is because ZOMG JT!!!!!!!!!!!!  Many songs burn out after the traditional 2^nd week boost, and hopefully that’s the path this song will take.  But I doubt it given all the love it’s getting elsewhere.

- When Pink – Try debuted, I mentioned that I wasn’t really sure what to think about it, but I’ve decided that I like it a good deal.  I think that the few piano notes that intermittently repeat during the song add quite a bit to it.  I don’t want to attribute all that much to Pink’s singing because there’s clearly heavy AutoTune involvement, but regardless, the end product sounds good, even if I don’t buy for a second that she could repeat the performance live.  Then again, this is pop music.  I should be grading on a curve in that department.

- I don’t know what it is about Bruno Mars, but I can’t get on board with Locked Out of Heaven in the Top 5.  I guess most people must like his voice more than I do.  Then again, I shouldn’t complain too much, because far worse songs of his have gotten far more attention on this countdown……so far.

- The whole Kelly Clarkson – Catch My Breath at #3 thing kinda fizzled out quick.

- I’m concerned about Ke$ha – C’mon dropping 6 spots.  I understand that Hits-1 has no intention of putting that song in the Top 10 as long as Die Young is up there, so I’m hoping that they’re just waiting for Die Young to run its course.  It took Die Young a long time to reach #1 after its debut, so maybe patience on this one is the right course.

- People who enjoy Pitbull – Don’t Stop The Party: please identify yourselves.  I understand if you are too embarrassed to come forward.  It has no business hovering in Top-10 territory.  So let’s treat it as such.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Ke$ha – C’mon

2) Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop

3) Kelly Clarkson – Catch My Breath

4) Passion Pit – Take a Walk

5) Pink - Try

Ke$ha (3) - Week of January 19, 2013

This is the beginning of a (hopefully) prolonged effort to get these out earlier in the week so that you all can have the most up-to-date information that you so desperately crave.  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.

• Cher Lloyd Ft. Becky G - Oath
• Rihanna - Diamonds
• Enrique Iglesias Ft. Sammy Adams - Finally Found You
• Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen

Collectively, the loss of these four songs is not a good thing.

The Countdown:

1. Ke$ha - Die Young (#1) [Third Week at #1]

2. fun. - Some Nights (#4)

3. Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath (#8)

4. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#2)

5. Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble (#3)

6. Lumineers - Ho Hey (#6)

7. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#5)

8. The Script Ft. will.i.am - Hall of Fame (#10)

9. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#7)

10. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#11)

11. Pitbull - Don't Stop The Party (#9)

12. JTX - Seven Day Weekend (#12)

13. Pink - Try (#16)

14. Sam and the Womp - Bom Bom (#15)

15. One Direction - Little Things (#18)

16. Maroon 5 - One More Night (#14)

17. Calvin Harris Ft. Florence Welch - Sweet Nothing (#29)

18. Carly Rae Jepsen - This Kiss (#21)

19. will.i.am Ft Britney Spears - Scream and Shout (#17)

20. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#20)

21. Josh Baze - She's Gold (#19)

22. Ke$ha - C'mon (#34)

23. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#33)

24. Neon Trees Ft. Kaskade - Lessons In Love (#28)

25. Justin Bieber Ft. Nicki Minaj - Beauty and a Beat (#36)

26. Phil Phillips - Home (#26)

27. Bridgit Mendler - Ready or Not (#13)

28. Alicia Keys - Girl on Fire (#38)

29. The Ready Set - Give Me Your Hand (#42)

30. Flo Rida - I Cry (#40)

31. Karmin- Brokenhearted (#30)

32. Redfoo - Bring Out the Bottles (DEBUT)

33. Carly Rae Jepsen- Call Me Maybe (#39)

34. Conor Maynard Ft. Ne-Yo - Turn Around (DEBUT)

35. Imagine Dragons - It's Time (#22)

36. Justin Timberlake Ft. Jay-Z - Suit and Tie (DEBUT)

37. Passion Pit - Take a Walk (DEBUT)

38. Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa- Payphone (#37)

39. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#35)

40. One Direction - Live While We're Young (#45)

41. OneRepublic - Feel Again (#24)

42. Nicki Minaj - Va Va Voom (#44)

43. Ed Sheeran - The A Team (#43)

44. Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (#27)

45. Owl City Ft. Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time (#32)

Biggest DDDDDRRRROOOOPPPPP!!!!!....of the week: Tie between OneRepublic – Feel Again and Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (-17)

Biggest Jump of the Week: The Ready Set – Give Me Your Hand (+14)

Considerably fewer turnover than I originally expected this week, but we do still have plenty of new stuff to discuss.  Redfoo (of LMFAO fame….I admittedly like this stage name) is apparently doing stuff on his own now.  Apparently his nephew and musical-duo-mate SkyBlu was holding him back a bit, because Bring Out the Bottles is the best thing I’ve ever heard that family produce.  LMFAO was something of a punching bag for me in 2011 and early 2012, but Bring Out the Bottles does a good enough job with the AutoTune and synth stuff to the point where there’s almost some semblance of a melody here.  It’s far from what you’d call a “good song”, but if we’re grading Redfoo on a curve here, he gets a B+.  He (or should I say the AutoTune machine) even gets a spot on my Editor’s Picks list this week.

Conor Maynard debuted this week featuring Ne-Yo with Turn Around.  This song is 12 kinds of annoying (okay, maybe realistically only one kind).  The YouTube-borne star has little singing ability and it’s painfully on display here, whereas in his previous countdown entry, Vegas Girl, his lack of talent was a little better-hidden.  I can only hope a song this obnoxious and repetitive has a short lifespan here.  Speaking of obnoxious, we were unpleasantly greeted with a debut from Justin Timberlake Ft. Jay-Z – Suit and Tie.  I should probably qualify something here.  I’ve never been a fan of Justin Timberlake’s music as a solo act.  I associate him with the worst era of music history (2004-2008…..I picked a pretty poor time to be in college, kids).  The best thing he’s ever done in my opinion post-‘N Sync is **** in a Box.  However I’ve spoken with a few Timberlake fans since this song actually debuted and there’s widespread agreement that there’s not much here.  I don’t appreciate his take on the age-old art of “singing” that’s used in this song.  It’s too bad we’re likely to be exposed to it for months.

I feel like Hits-1 was really late to the party on this one, but our fourth debut is Passion Pit – Take a Walk.  Refreshingly, this one’s actually good.  It’s a catchy tune about immigration to the US in the 20s and 30s.  It actually reminds me a good deal of Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks for some reason.  I’m not head-over heels in love with Take a Walk yet, but this is one of those “more to it than meets the eye (ear?)” songs, so I figure time will tell.

Sublurbs

- Kelly Clarkson – Catch My Breath shot up to #3 this week….do I sense some #1 potential here?

- It looks like Paper Route – You and I has been removed from the HitBound lineup.  I’m sorry that it couldn’t get more recognition, but as of right now, it gets to be the frontrunner for the 2013 Lights Over Paris HitBound Hero Award.  So that’s something, right?

- I again must comment on how shocking it is that Ed Sheeran – The A Team is still here.  On January 5^th, I would have called you nuts if you would have told me it would survive 11 new debuts.  Maybe they’re letting this one cling to life until the Grammys.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Ke$ha – C’mon

2) Kelly Clarkson – Catch My Breath

3) Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop

4) Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks

5) Redfoo – Bring Out the Bottles

Ke$ha (2) - Week of January 12, 2013

There’s nothing quite like that first fresh batch of new music for the new year, eh?  We’ve got a lot to cover this time around.  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.

• Rolling Stones - Gloom and Doom
• fun. Ft. Janelle Monae - We Are Young
• Alex Clare - Too Close (DTHNOBx3)
• Pink - Blow Me (One Last Kiss)
• Rudimental Ft. John Newman - Feel the Love
• Adele - Skyfall
• Neon Trees - Everybody Talks

The Countdown:

1. Ke$ha - Die Young (#1) [Second Week at #1]

2. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#2)

3. Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble (#3)

4. fun. - Some Nights (#4)

5. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#7)

6. Lumineers - Ho Hey (#6)

7. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#5)

8. Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath (#21)

9. Pitbull - Don't Stop The Party (#9)

10. The Script Ft. will.i.am - Hall of Fame (#10)

11. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#27)

12. JTX - Seven Day Weekend (#15)

13. Bridgit Mendler - Ready or Not (#16)

14. Maroon 5 - One More Night (#12)

15. Sam and the Womp - Bom Bom (#20)

16. Pink - Try (#19)

17. will.i.am Ft Britney Spears - Scream and Shout (#25)

18. One Direction - Little Things (#24)

19. Josh Baze - She's Gold (#22)

20. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#26)

21. Carly Rae Jepsen - This Kiss (#14)

22. Imagine Dragons - It's Time (#8)

23. Cher Lloyd Ft. Becky G - Oath (#31)

24. OneRepublic - Feel Again (#17)

25. Rihanna - Diamonds (#13)

26. Phil Phillips - Home (#28)

27. Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (#11)

28. Neon Trees Ft. Kaskade - Lessons In Love (DEBUT)

29. Calvin Harris Ft. Florence Welch - Sweet Nothing (DEBUT)

30. Karmin- Brokenhearted (#35)

31. Enrique Iglesias Ft. Sammy Adams - Finally Found You (#29)

32. Owl City Ft. Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time (#44)

33. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (DEBUT)

34. Ke$ha - C'mon (DEBUT)

35. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#41)

36. Justin Bieber Ft. Nicki Minaj - Beauty and a Beat (DEBUT)

37. Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa- Payphone (#30)

38. Alicia Keys - Girl on Fire (DEBUT)

39. Carly Rae Jepsen- Call Me Maybe (#33)

40. Flo Rida - I Cry (#18)

41. Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen (#32)

42. The Ready Set - Give Me Your Hand (DEBUT)

43. Ed Sheeran - The A Team (#39)

44. Nicki Minaj - Va Va Voom (#42)

45. One Direction - Live While We're Young (#40)

Biggest DDDRRRRROOOOPPPP!!!!....of the week: Flo Rida – I Cry (-22)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Olly Murs – Troublemaker (+16)

Let’s kick this activity-fest off with this week’s big class of new entrants.  The Neon Trees are back with a little bit of a different sound with the help of Kaskade.  Their song, Lessons In Love, is (stop me if you’ve heard this one before) their best song since Animal.  Inevitably, after each I say that, I wind up very very sick of the song in question after just a few months.  We’ll see if Kaskade changes things.  You’ll have to excuse Calvin Harris if he’s a little nervous, as this is the first time he’s contributed to a countdown song that doesn’t suck, and he tried really, really hard on it.  The song, Sweet Nothing, isn’t great, but it’s a major leap up from We Found Love and Feel So Close.  He brought Florence Welch along for the ride (trading in The Machine for a DJ, I guess), whose voice carries the song.  CAUTION: Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop is highly addicting.  Despite that warning, experts recommend maximum exposure for full enjoyment of the hook and the saxophone.  I wear your granddad’s clothes.  I look in-creh-dah-bulllll.

The greatest cause for excitement this week among the new entrants is Ke$ha – C’mon.  New “fewer AutoTune” Ke$ha is killing it so far on her new album.  With Die Young currently in its countdown prime and C’mon an excellent bet to hit #1 at some point in the future, Ke$ha is the early frontrunner for 2013 countdown MVP.  I may just have “shiny new toy” syndrome at this point regarding C’Mon, but I think it’s her best since Tik Tok, and there’s a chance that I like it even more than Tik Tok when all is said and done.  Stay tuned if you sincerely care about this developing story.

Justin Bieber’s last entry in the countdown history books did not go over well.  Boyfriend earned the #2 slot on the Bottom 5 Songs of 2012.  Seeking to improve upon that, he teamed up with Nicki Minaj to produce Beauty and a Beat, a song that to me defines “dead cat bounce”.  He couldn’t get much worse than Boyfriend, but Beauty and a Beat does not come close to Justin Bieber’s best work.  At the very least he’s gone back to trying to sing with the voice he has, rather than whatever he was trying to do when he produced Boyfriend.  It’s time for Katniss Everdeen fans to perk up here, because Alicia Keys debuted this week with Girl on Fire.  In spite of Alicia Keys’s considerable vocal talent, this song doesn’t do a lot for me.  Not that there was much initial luster to talk about in the first place, but whatever novelty Girl on Fire had is wearing off fast, and it’s hot on its way towards becoming a station-changer.  Back in 2010, I was pretty enamored with Love Like Woe during its HitBound/countdown tenure, but unfortunately, The Ready Set hasn’t come close to repeating that since, and Give Me Your Hand is far from an exception.  I initially found the song annoying, but got exposed to the long-time HitBound veteran enough over time for it to grow on me and become tolerable.  Tolerable.  That’s not a good ceiling when we’re talking about song quality.

Blurbletons

- One of the nighttime hosts (I want to say it was Kid Kelly) pointed out regarding the song I Cry that it was wrong of Flo Rida to not give credit to Alvin from Alvin and the Chipmunks for the song.  Okay, I found that a little funny.  Plus, now Alvin and Ke$ha have something in common.

- You guys got Kelly Clarkson – Catch My Breath in the Top 10 now too?  Awwww…you shouldn’t have!  That was so nice of everyone!

- What did I tell you last week?  That I wouldn’t be shocked if 7 songs got the boot from the countdown this week?  Well here I am.  Not shocked.

- As crazy the turnover was this week, all signs are pointing to turnover at least this heavy this upcoming weekend.  I listened to Hits-1 a lot this week, and they played several songs that I’ve never heard before on the station, even on HitBound.  Plus, they ramped up their spins of a couple songs that were previously on HitBound.  I wouldn’t be shocked if another 7+ songs were kicked off next week.  And unlike this week, the crop of new entrants aren’t going to be quite so friendly to the ears.....

- I have no idea how Ed Sheeran – The A Team is still on the countdown.  Hits-1 literally only plays that song when it takes its turn on the weekend countdown.

- I’m ready for fun. – Some Nights to go away.  It’s a very good song, but I really don’t want to wind up loathing it.

- I don’t have any way of knowing this, because I don’t watch any entertainment TV stations or listen to radio outside of SiriusXM.  Does anyone have any idea who Josh Baze is?  Like, is he famous outside of Hits-1?

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Ke$ha – C’mon
2) Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath

3) Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks

4) Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop

5) The Script Ft. will.i.am – Hall of Fame

Ke$ha - Week of January 5, 2013

I haven’t been looking forward to this since I first heard the opening of the countdown this past weekend, in which Spyder Harrison forwent the part in which he lists all the songs we’re saying good-bye to this week.  No songs leavin’ the countdown this week.

The Countdown: 

1. Ke$ha - Die Young (#2) [First Week at #1]

2. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#17)

3. Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble (#6)

4. fun. - Some Nights (#1)

5. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#14)

6. Lumineers - Ho Hey (#7)

7. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#8)

8. Imagine Dragons - It's Time (#5)

9. Pitbull - Don't Stop The Party (#12)

10. The Script Ft. will.i.am - Hall of Fame (#19)

11. Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (#10)

12. Maroon 5 - One More Night (#3)

13. Rihanna - Diamonds (#16)

14. Carly Rae Jepsen - This Kiss (#9)

15. JTX - Seven Day Weekend (#11)

16. Bridgit Mendler - Ready or Not (#13)

17. OneRepublic - Feel Again (#21)

18. Flo Rida - I Cry (#4)

19. Pink - Try (#15)

20. Sam and the Womp - Bom Bom (#18)

21. Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath (#24)

22. Josh Baze - She's Gold (#22)

23. Rolling Stones - Doom and Gloom (#23)

24. One Direction - Little Things (#26)

25. will.i.am Ft Britney Spears - Scream and Shout (#31)

26. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#25)

27. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#20)

28. Phil Phillips - Home (#29)

29. Enrique Iglesias Ft. Sammy Adams - Finally Found You (#38)

30. Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa- Payphone (#32)

31. Cher Lloyd Ft. Becky G - Oath (#39)

32. Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen (#40)

33. Carly Rae Jepsen- Call Me Maybe (#43)

34. fun. feat. Janelle Monáe- We Are Young (#35)

35. Karmin- Brokenhearted (#28)

36. Alex Clare - Too Close (#33)

37. Pink - Blow Me (One Last Kiss) (#34)

38. Rudimental Ft. John Newman - Feel the Love (#45)

39. Ed Sheeran - The A Team (#42)

40. One Direction - Live While We're Young (#36)

41. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#37)

42. Nicki Minaj - Va Va Voom (#41)

43. Adele - Skyfall (#44)

44. Owl City Ft. Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time (#30)

45. Neon Trees- Everybody Talks (#27)

Biggest DDDDDDRRRRRROOOOPPPP!!!!!....of the week: Neon Trees – Everybody Talks (-18)

Biggest Jump of the week: Maroon 5 – Daylight (+15)

It’s unfortunate, but this is the second straight week that I’ve got no new music to talk about.

Gigablurbs

- This is a true shock that there’s no new songs on the countdown because of how stale some of the Hit-Bound crop is.  I didn’t even hear any changes to the Hit-Bound lineup this past weekend.  I’ll be predicting this basically until it happens, but expect heavy turnover this upcoming weekend.  I wouldn’t be shocked if at least 7 songs get DTHNOBbed, though admittedly that’s north of expectations.  Hits-1 has been steadily increasing spins of various Hit-Bound songs over the past couple of weeks, and I’d be stunned if we didn’t see at least 4 new ones join the countdown ranks.

- Although there’s no in/out movement, at least something interesting happened this week in that Maroon 5 – Daylight jumped up to #2 and we have a new #1 in Ke$ha – Die Young.  Can’t say I’m particularly displeased with either of those developments, but I’d sleep easier if Taylor Swift – I Knew You Were Trouble wasn’t lurking immediately behind.

- Under no circumstance should Neon Trees – Everybody Talks have had the ability to fall 18 spots on the countdown at this point and live to tell the tale.

- Speaking of that jump by Daylight….guess what that meant for Maroon 5 – One More Night!??!!??!?!  That’s right!  Per the countdown’s silly unwritten rule against having songs by the same artist close to one another, One More Night got the boot from the Top 10.

- Also unexpected was that my Top 2 Editor’s Picks from the past couple weeks jumped into the Top 10, including the very unexpected entry of Swedish House Mafia – Don’t You Worry Child into the Top 5.  Thanks for voting, everyone (I know you guys did that for me, right?), and don’t stop now!

- The Top 10 is currently a strange blend of songs that I like very much and 3 songs I greatly dislike (try to guess which are which!?!??!!).

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Kelly Clarkson – Catch My Breath

2) The Script Ft. will.i.am – Hall of Fame

3) Swedish House Mafia – Don’t You Worry Child

4) Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks

5) Maroon 5 - Daylight

fun. (6) - Week of December 29, 2012

To my surprise, Hits-1 didn’t forgo their weekly countdown for the week.  Predictably, not much happened in the midst of their year-end stuff.  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.

• Timomatic - Set It Off

The Countdown:

1. fun. - Some Nights (#3) [Sixth Week at #1]

2. Ke$ha - Die Young (#2)

3. Maroon 5 - One More Night (#1)

4. Flo Rida - I Cry (#8)

5. Imagine Dragons - It's Time (#7)

6. Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble (#6)

7. Lumineers - Ho Hey (#5)

8. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#4)

9. Carly Rae Jepsen - This Kiss (#17)

10. Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (#10)

11. JTX - Seven Day Weekend (#9)

12. Pitbull - Don't Stop The Party (#12)

13. Bridgit Mendler - Ready or Not (#11)

14. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#14)

15. Pink - Try (#22)

16. Rihanna - Diamonds (#18)

17. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#15)

18. Sam and the Womp - Bom Bom (#16)

19. The Script Ft. will.i.am - Hall of Fame (#28)

20. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#19)

21. OneRepublic - Feel Again (#13)

22. Josh Baze - She's Gold (#21)

23. Rolling Stones - Doom and Gloom (#23)

24. Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath (#32)

25. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#27)

26. One Direction - Little Things (#30)

27. Neon Trees- Everybody Talks (#20)

28. Karmin- Brokenhearted (#29)

29. Phil Phillips - Home (#25)

30. Owl City Ft. Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time (#44)

31. will.i.am Ft Britney Spears - Scream and Shout (#31)

32. Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa- Payphone (#37)

33. Alex Clare - Too Close (#33)

34. Pink - Blow Me (One Last Kiss) (#40)

35. fun. feat. Janelle Monáe- We Are Young (#41)

36. One Direction - Live While We're Young (RE-ENTRY)

37. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#38)

38. Enrique Iglesias Ft. Sammy Adams - Finally Found You (#42)

39. Cher Lloyd Ft. Becky G - Oath (#24)

40. Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen (#35)

41. Nicki Minaj - Va Va Voom (#26)

42. Ed Sheeran - The A Team (#43)

43. Carly Rae Jepsen- Call Me Maybe (#34)

44. Adele - Skyfall (#45)

45. Rudimental Ft. John Newman - Feel the Love (#39)

Biggest DDDDRRRRROOOOOPPPPP!!!!....of the week: Tie between Cher Lloyd – Want U Back and Nicki Minaj – Va Va Voom (-15)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Owl City Ft. Carly Rae Jepsen – Good Time (+14)

We had a resurrection this week from One Direction – Live While We’re Young.  I apologize for the abridged nature this week.  The time simply wasn’t there.  Fortunately, not a lot went on this week.  This is the last regular countdown of 2012 and I’m sure that there’s going to be plenty of activity come the following weekend, because we’ve essentially gone a couple weeks without anything new, and there’s some stuff on HitBound that’s been there awhile…..

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) The Script Ft. will.i.am – Hall of Fame

2) Swedish House Mafia – Don’t You Worry Child

3) Kelly Clarkson – Catch My Breath

4) Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks

5) Maroon 5 - Daylight

One Direction - Year of...2012

Hits-1 took a little bit of a different take on their year-end rankings than they did in 2010.  In 2010, they ranked songs based on how many times they played them during calendar 2010, excluding any songs that debuted in 2009.  This was dumb for a couple reasons.  First, Lady Gaga – Bad Romance and Ke$ha – Tik Tok were two of the “biggest” songs during 2010, but they didn’t even grace the rankings because they jumped onto the countdown in late 2009.  Second, songs that debuted in the fall were at a disadvantage, because a lot of their reps came after the end of the year in 2011.  In particular, I remember that Nelly – Just a Dream was #1 5 times during 2010 and was ranked somewhere in the bottom 10-15 on their Top 45 of the year list, simply because it debuted late in the year.

Anyway, this year, Hits-1 only ranked the songs that hit #1 during 2012, which removes the first problem, but not the 2^nd (songs like fun. – Some Nights and Maroon 5 – One More Night are a long way away from going anywhere, so they’re getting dinged a bit relative to songs that got played out during 2012).  When you think of it, the problem is even worse…it’s no coincidence that the bottom 5 songs on this list are the only ones that debuted in 2011.  The rankings were again based on the number of times played on the station during the calendar year.

1. One Direction- What Makes You Beautiful

2. fun. feat. Janelle Monáe- We Are Young

3. Carly Rae Jepsen- Call Me Maybe

4. Maroon 5 - Payphone

5. Owl City Ft. Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time

6. fun. - Some Nights

7. Katy Perry - Wide Awake

8. Maroon 5 - One More Night

9. Kelly Clarkson - Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)

10. Adele - Set Fire to the Rain

11. Flo Rida - Good Feeling

12. Gym Class Heroes Ft. Adam Levine - Stereo Hearts

13. David Guetta Ft. Usher - Without You

14. Selena Gomez & the Scene - Love You Like a Love Song

This isn’t particularly interesting.  It’s just my job to pass it along.