Macklemore - Week of March 9, 2013

Poppin’ tags, yo.  The return of premium quality to the #1 spot on the countdown has rejuvenated my interest, despite the ongoing weak playlist.  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.

• Neon Trees Ft. Kaskade - Lessons In Love (DTHNOBx2)
• Owl City Ft. Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time

The Countdown:

1. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#7) [First Week at #1]

2. Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath (#14)

3. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#2)

4. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#12)

5. Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble (#4)

6. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#1)

7. One Direction - Kiss You (#11)

8. The Script Ft. will.i.am - Hall of Fame (#3)

9. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#5)

10. Lumineers - Ho Hey (#8)

11. Pitbull Ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment (#22)

12. Imagine Dragons - It's Time (#10)

13. Cee Lo Green - Only You (#18)

14. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#15)

15. Skylar Grey Ft. Eminem - C'mon Let Me Ride (#13)

16. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#17)

17. Nelly - Hey Porsche (#20)

18. Pink - Try (#6)

19. Calvin Harris Ft. Florence Welch - Sweet Nothing (#16)

20. fun. - Carry On (#19)

21. Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man (#25)

22. Ke$ha - C'mon (#9)

23. Milan & Phoenix - Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (#32)

24. Britt Nicole - Gold (#21)

25. Chiddy Bang - Happening (#30)

26. Cher Lloyd - With Ur Love (#29)

27. Justin Timberlake Ft. Jay-Z - Suit and Tie (#28)

28. Maroon 5 - One More Night (#23)

29. Little Mix - Wings (#26)

30. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#33)

31. September - Hands Up (#34)

32. Passion Pit - Take a Walk (#31)

33. will.i.am Ft Britney Spears - Scream and Shout (#24)

34. fun. - Some Nights (#38)

35. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#37)

36. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (DEBUT)

37. Icona Pop - I Love It (DEBUT)

38. Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa- Payphone (#35)

39. Redfoo - Bring Out the Bottles (#41)

40. Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait (#27)

41. Alicia Keys - Girl on Fire (#43)

42. Phil Phillips - Home (#40)

43. Sam and the Womp - Bom Bom (#39)

44. Ke$ha - Die Young (#42)

45. Justin Bieber Ft. Nicki Minaj - Beauty and a Beat (#45)

Biggest DDDDRRRROOOPPPPPPP!!!!.....of the week: Tie between Ke$ha – C’mon and Mumford & Sons – I Will Wait (-13)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Kelly Clarkson – Catch My Breath (+12)

This week, we have a debut from the theme song to the critically acclaimed* reality series Snooki & Jwowww, Icona Pop – I Love It.  That it’s the theme song for a television show in the middle of its second season should give you an idea of how “new” it is, and the lack of freshness combined with the lack of awesomeness makes this a debut that’s met with a resounding “meh”.  The other debut, Demi Lovato – Heart Attack, is far from the best that we’ve heard from Demi Lovato, so it fits right in with the rest of the recent debuts.  I give it a little bit of an extra boost though, because as pop singers go, Demi Lovato has pretty excellent range when it comes to hitting high notes, and that aspect of her signing is front and center in Heart Attack.

* shut up

Blurb Your Enthusiasm

- How about that Top 4, huh?  For all the complaining I’ve done lately about this countdown, that’s pretty awesome.

- Kelly Clarkson – Catch My Breath is the latest horse on the #2 carousel.  The turnover in that slot of the countdown lately is pretty unprecedented.

- After this week’s drop, perhaps Mumford & Sons – I Will Wait will have a short tenure, which is only desirable in the sense that that song should have debuted months ago.

- I’ll drop a plug here for a song that I’d really like to do a tour on Hit-Bound, M83 – Steve McQueen.  I thought it was really obscure until I heard it played at a breakfast place I was eating at, so maybe it’s got the pull needed to air on Hits-1, especially given that M83 has precedent in the form of Midnight City (precedent seems to be a big deal in getting Hits-1 to give new music a shot).  I’d recommend going over to the Hits-1 homepage and requesting this.  I’m afraid to do it on the Hits-1 Facebook page for fear of being informed that “that song does not count”.

- In the absence of new, impact talent, my Editor’s Picks are going to continue to be largely unchanged.  Sorry.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Ke$ha – C’mon

2) Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop

3) Passion Pit – Take a Walk

4) Kelly Clarkson – Catch My Breath

5) Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks