Olly Murs - Week of April 20, 2013

Oops.  I guess whoever sets the countdown each week caught wind of me saying that Olly Murs – Troublemaker had almost no shot at hitting #1 and decided to teach me a thing or three.  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.

• Lumineers - Ho Hey
• Passion Pit - Take a Walk
• One Direction - Kiss You (DTHNOBx2)

The Countdown:

1. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#2) [New #1]

2. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#1)

3. Pink Ft. Nate Reuss - Just Give Me a Reason (#13)

4. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#4)

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

6. Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man (#5)

7. Taylor Swift - 22 (#7)

8. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#10)

9. Little Mix - Wings (#14)

10. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#8)

11. DJ Pauly D Ft. Jay Sean - Back to Love (#22)

12. fun. - Carry On (#3)

13. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#11)

14. Pitbull Ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment (#12)

15. Muse - Madness (#15)

16. Icona Pop - I Love It (#20)

17. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#21)

18. Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines (#36)

19. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#23)

20. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#6)

21. MKTO - Thank You (#18)

22. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#32)

23. Cher Lloyd - With Ur Love (#16)

24. Lupe Fiasco Ft. Guy Sebastian - Battle Scars (#24)

25. Ke$ha - Die Young (#37)

26. Awolnation - Sail (#25)

27. Jake Miller - A Million Lives (#26)

28. The Script Ft. will.i.am - Hall of Fame (#27)

29. Zedd Ft. Foxes - Clarity (#38)

30. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#19)

31. Tegan & Sara - Closer (#30)

32. Imagine Dragons - It's Time (#17)

33. Krewella - Alive (#28)

34. Capital Cities - Safe and Sound (DEBUT)

35. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#29)

36. Kelsi Luck - That's What I Like (DEBUT)

37. Chiddy Bang - Happening (#34)

38. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#31)

39. Calvin Harris Ft. Florence Welch - Sweet Nothing (#42)

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

41. The 1975 - Chocolate (DEBUT)

42. Cee Lo Green - Only You (#40)

43. Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait (#33)

44. will.i.am Ft Britney Spears - Scream and Shout (#44)

45. Phil Phillips - Home (#41)

Biggest DDDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPP!!!!....of the week: Imagine Dragons – It’s Time (-15)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Robin Thicke Ft. Pharrell and T.I. – Blurred Lines (+18)

In an apparent attempt to reduce the average quality of music not only on Hits-1, but airing on Sirius/XM as a whole, the countdown gatekeeper allowed Kelsi Luck – That’s What I Like to cross the threshold.  I don’t want to go so far as to say her voice is jarring and annoying, but the way she sings this song in particular is obnoxious, and not in the oh-wait-that’s-kind-of-addictive-yet-terrible-so-I’m-going-to-like-this-and-just-not-tell-anyone way.  Kelsi Luck is the latest of a recent string of artists to appear on the countdown despite lacking a Wikipedia entry, thus reducing the plausibility of the “45 Most Wutchuwanted Songs in North America” claim.

Capital Cities – Safe and Sound is a new toy, and it is indeed shiny.  The rhythm and melody are mostly excellent, and I would be head-over-heels in love if it weren’t for that damn trumpet.  The trumpet absolutely does not fit with the rest of the song.  I’ll say that I don’t hate it during the interlude in which it plays along with the faster underlying beat, but aside from that part, the trumpet murders the song’s rhythm and interrupts an otherwise pleasing melody.  The net product is something I very much enjoy, but it seems like they could have perfected this using a little addition by subtraction or at least choosing a more appropriate instrument.

Fortunately, there are no such glaring flaws in The 1975 – Chocolate, the best song to hit the countdown in quite some time.  The heavy British accent makes it a little tough to understand the words in places, but if you can get past that, it’s a great song with probably the most addicting underlying melody the countdown has seen since M83 – Midnight City.  Hopefully it’s around awhile…this week has been another encouraging step towards demolishing the mediocrity of this playlist.

Blurblemaker*

- This is the first week since November 26^th, 2011, in which a song by One Direction does not appear on the countdown

- The countdown career of Passion Pit – Take a Walk ends with a whimper

- Another thing I apparently whiffed on….I thought fun. – Carry On was shaping up to be a #1, but it has been demoted out of the Top 10.

- Since I’m a glutton for punishment, I’ll try this again.  Ahem….it certainly seems like Pink Ft. Nate Reuss – Just Give Me a Reason is a likely #1 in the near future, especially given the way it has rocketed up the countdown.  The fastest-ever ascender to the #1 spot, Kelly Clarkson – Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) hit #1 in just its 5^th week on the countdown.  Next week will be the 5^th on the countdown for Just Give Me a Reason.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) The 1975 – Chocolate

2) Zedd Ft. Foxes – Clarity

3) Demi Lovato – Heart Attack

4) Capital Cities – Safe and Sound

5) Krewella - Alive

* In honor of this week’s #1, I guess

Fall Out Boy (2) - Week of April 13, 2013

Given that My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light ‘Em Up) was last week’s #1 song and Fall Out Boy was the guest host of this weekend’s countdown, it was rather axiomatic that it would be #1 for the second week in a row.  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.

• Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath
• fun. - Some Nights
• September - Hands Up

The Countdown:

1. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#1) [Second Week at #1]

2. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#4)

3. fun. - Carry On (#3)

4. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#2)

5. Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man (#5)

6. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#6)

7. Taylor Swift - 22 (#13)

8. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#12)

9. Ke$ha - C'mon (#8)

10. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#19)

11. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#10)

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

13. Pink Ft. Nate Reuss - Just Give Me a Reason (#28)

14. Little Mix - Wings (#15)

15. Muse - Madness (#14)

16. Cher Lloyd - With Ur Love (#20)

17. Imagine Dragons - It's Time (#9)

18. MKTO - Thank You (#16)

19. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#7)

20. Icona Pop - I Love It (#25)

21. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#17)

22. DJ Pauly D Ft. Jay Sean - Back to Love (#18)

23. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#22)

24. Lupe Fiasco Ft. Guy Sebastian - Battle Scars (#31)

25. Awolnation - Sail (#24)

26. Jake Miller - A Million Lives (#35)

27. The Script Ft. will.i.am - Hall of Fame (#30)

28. Krewella - Alive (#23)

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

30. Tegan & Sara - Closer (#41)

31. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#40)

32. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#29)

33. Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait (#26)

34. Chiddy Bang - Happening (#27)

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

36. Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines (DEBUT)

37. Ke$ha - Die Young (#34)

38. Zedd Ft. Foxes - Clarity (DEBUT)

39. Lumineers - Ho Hey (#42)

40. Cee Lo Green - Only You (#21)

41. Phil Phillips - Home (RE-ENTRY)

42. Calvin Harris Ft. Florence Welch - Sweet Nothing (#33)

43. Passion Pit - Take a Walk (#44)

44. will.i.am Ft Britney Spears - Scream and Shout (#45)

45. One Direction - Kiss You (#43)

Biggest DDDDRRRRROOOOPPPP!!!!...of the week: Cee Lo Green – Only You (-19)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Pink Ft. Nate Reuss – Just Give Me a Reason (+15)

With a resurrection from Phil Phillips – Home, we’re looking at just the two new entrants this week.  Robin Thicke Ft. Pharrell and T.I. – Blurred Lines succeeds at having a catchy beat / rhythm, but that’s all I can find about it that’s remotely interesting.  What about you????? 

Zedd Ft. Foxes – Clarity, by contrast, is far better.  The song is beautifully sung by Foxes, who, based on a cursory Google/Wikipedia search, is largely unknown at this point.  This is also Zedd’s first entry into the countdown as well.  It’s an excellent combination of energetic and soothing.  In my opinion, the best part of the song is the first minute, before the dance beat really begins to kick in.

Ba-ba-ba-Blurb-Blurb-Blurb….The Blurb is the Word

- #2 Carousel Update: Olly Murs – Troublemaker becomes the latest horse on the #2 carousel.  Putting myself on the line here, I’m going to go ahead and say it has close to no chance of hitting #1.

- It was pretty clear that September – Hands Up was never destined for a long tenure on this countdown.

- Guess what???  Maroon 5 – Payphone survived!  This makes it the first song to last a full year on the Hits-1 Weekend Countdown.  Fun fact: it debuted the same week as Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe last year.

- The Hits-1 homepage has the bottom three songs on the countdown in an incorrect order.

- I'm considering doing a post here where I explain a lot of the various memes I use, including the unwritten rules of the countdown rankings, etc.

- My Editor’s Picks consist of 5 female singers.  Coincidence?  Or did I rig it just so I could make this bullet point???  How will you all sleep at night???

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Zedd Ft. Foxes – Clarity (shiny new toy!!!)

2) Krewella – Alive

3) Demi Lovato – Heart Attack

4) Taylor Swift – 22

5) Ke$ha – C’mon

Fall Out Boy - Week of April 6, 2013

It’s safe to say that I didn’t see this #1 coming upon its debut, but I guess people really do love their Fall Out Boy.  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.

• Pink - Try
• Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble
• Nelly - Hey Porsche

The Countdown:

1. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#2) [First Week at #1]

2. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#1)

3. fun. - Carry On (#7)

4. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#6)

5. Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man (#3)

6. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#8)

7. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#11)

8. Ke$ha - C'mon (#4)

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

10. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#15)

11. Pitbull Ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment (#14)

12. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#9)

13. Taylor Swift - 22 (#10)

14. Muse - Madness (#20)

15. Little Mix - Wings (#17)

16. MKTO - Thank You (#18)

17. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#43)

18. DJ Pauly D Ft. Jay Sean - Back to Love (#21)

19. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#5)

20. Cher Lloyd - With Ur Love (#28)

21. Cee Lo Green - Only You (#40)

22. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#29)

23. Krewella - Alive (#19)

24. Awolnation - Sail (#23)

25. Icona Pop - I Love It (#25)

26. Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait (#13)

27. Chiddy Bang - Happening (#38)

28. Pink Ft. Nate Reuss - Just Give Me a Reason (#39)

29. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#30)

30. The Script Ft. will.i.am - Hall of Fame (#16)

31. Lupe Fiasco Ft. Guy Sebastian - Battle Scars (DEBUT)

32. Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa- Payphone (#33)

33. Calvin Harris Ft. Florence Welch - Sweet Nothing (#12)

34. Ke$ha - Die Young (#32)

35. Jake Miller - A Million Lives (DEBUT)

36. Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath (#22)

37. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#24)

38. fun. - Some Nights (#31)

39. September - Hands Up (#34)

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

41. Tegan & Sara - Closer (DEBUT)

42. Lumineers - Ho Hey (#45)

43. One Direction - Kiss You (#41)

44. Passion Pit - Take a Walk (#27)

45. will.i.am Ft Britney Spears - Scream and Shout (#42)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPP!!!!....of the week: Calvin Harris Ft. Florence Welch – Sweet Nothing (-21)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Tie between Imagine Dragons – It’s Time and Anna Kendrick – Cups (+26)

Jake Miller – A Million Lives is largely self-serving (at least until the last verse), but it’s a melodious tune with some solid rhymes.  I could see this one doing pretty well on the countdown over the next few months.  Tegan & Sara – Closer is the classic “average” countdown song.  It sat on Hit-Bound for an extended period of time, has a hook that’s far superior to the rest of the song, and will probably be on the countdown for an average period of time, likely floating between the #15 and #35 slots.  It’s neither strong enough to do better, nor repulsive/forgettable enough to do worse.  Lupe Fiasco Ft. Guy Sebastian – Battle Scars has the “epic note” feel when Guy Sebastian sings the titular words, but there isn’t much else about the song I’m particularly enamored with.  That isn’t going to be a popular opinion, I’m sure, because the world seems to love Lupe Fiasco.  I’m sure I’m underselling it.

Blurble Rain

- Quite the random renaissance for Imagine Dragons – It’s Time.  I’ve touched on Maroon 5 – Payphone being close to having survived on the countdown a full year, but It’s Time is only about a month away itself.  Or would be, had it not been for that 2-week interlude between its DTHNOBbing and subsequent resurrection.

- Speaking of that impressive streak by Maroon 5 – Payphone, if it survives and makes this weekend’s countdown, it will have lasted a full 52 weeks on the countdown.  It’s already the most tenured song ever, but a full year would really be something.

- Demi Lovato – Heart Attack’s trajectory on this countdown mirrors my feelings on the song since its debut.  It’s now the newest Top 10 song.

- Passion Pit – Take a Walk appears to be on its way to a far-too-early exit.

- You may have noticed that DJ Pauly D Ft. Jay Sean – Back to Love was eliminated rather quickly from my Editor’s Picks last week.  While I maintain my initial stance on the song, it turned out to be something that’s pretty easy to get sick of.

- Speaking of my Editor’s Picks….I’m having plenty of trouble with the rankings, as no single song is really jumping out at me as the one I most want to hear played.  These are technically ranked, but the significance level of the #1 vs #5 this week is minimal.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Krewella – Alive

2) Demi Lovato – Heart Attack

3) Muse – Madness

4) Taylor Swift – 22

5) Jake Miller – A Million Lives

Macklemore (4) - Week of March 30, 2013

Sorry I’m late with this again.  The week does tend to get away from me.  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.

• Milan & Phoenix - Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
• Britt Nicole - Gold
• Phil Phillips - Home

The Countdown:

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

2. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#7)

3. Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man (#16)

4. Ke$ha - C'mon (#2)

5. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#3)

6. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#6)

7. fun. - Carry On (#9)

8. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#4)

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

10. Taylor Swift - 22 (#18)

11. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#13)

12. Calvin Harris Ft. Florence Welch - Sweet Nothing (#8)

13. Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait (#24)

14. Pitbull Ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment (#10)

15. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#12)

16. The Script Ft. will.i.am - Hall of Fame (#5)

17. Little Mix - Wings (#23)

18. MKTO - Thank You (#32)

19. Krewella - Alive (#40)

20. Muse - Madness (#43)

21. DJ Pauly D Ft. Jay Sean - Back to Love (#37)

22. Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath (#22)

23. Awolnation - Sail (#35)

24. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#30)

25. Icona Pop - I Love It (#21)

26. Pink - Try (#20)

27. Passion Pit - Take a Walk (#19)

28. Cher Lloyd - With Ur Love (#25)

29. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (DEBUT)

30. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#14)

31. fun. - Some Nights (#33)

32. Ke$ha - Die Young (#36)

33. Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa- Payphone (#41)

34. September - Hands Up (#44)

35. Imagine Dragons - It's Time (#27)

36. Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble (#39)

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

38. Chiddy Bang - Happening (#28)

39. Pink Ft. Nate Reuss - Just Give Me a Reason (DEBUT)

40. Cee Lo Green - Only You (#26)

41. One Direction - Kiss You (#31)

42. will.i.am Ft Britney Spears - Scream and Shout (#34)

43. Anna Kendrick - Cups (DEBUT)

44. Nelly - Hey Porsche (#42)

45. Lumineers - Ho Hey (#11)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPPPP!!!!.....of the week: Lumineers – Ho Hey (-34)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Muse – Madness – (+23)

Three newbies this week.  Anna Kendrick – Cups is reasonably catchy, but only 2:15 in length, making me wonder what the Hits-1 Weekend Countdown is going to do with that extra minute-and-a-quarter (at least) of programming each week that it now has to spare with this song in tow.  In the world of songs of more legitimate length, Florida Georgia Line makes its first entry into the Hits-1 Weekend Countdown with Cruise.  I am typically excited when a country song makes it to the countdown because only the cream-of-the-crop of country music tends to be good enough to be noticed by the mainstream.  Cruise falls short of the lofty expectations set by previous countdown country songs, such as Zac Brown Band – Toes, Blake Shelton – Honey Bee and Lady Antebellum – Need You Now.  That said, it’s still decent.  There’s just nothing all that notable about it.

Finally, we come to Pink Ft. Nate Reuss – Just Give Me a Reason.  Officially, the song was “co-written” by the two, but Nate Reuss’s (that guy from fun...c’mon people) fingerprints are all over this one, as it’s lyrically completely out of line with anything Pink has come up with on her own.  It’s certainly the best of this week’s new entrants.  Time will tell where it stacks up against the better songs of 2013, but the fact that it’s in that conversation initially is a reasonably good sign.

Blurbs With Friends*

- The large jump by Muse – Madness makes me wonder why it took so long to make the countdown in the first place, with that kind of support.

- #2 Carousel Weekly Update: Fall Out Boy – My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light ‘em Up) has become the latest horse, and it looks like there’s some momentum for it to succeed Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop atop the countdown.

- I don’t think I need to explain to anyone my feelings about what happened regarding the #3 spot on the countdown this week.

- Mumford & Sons – I Will Wait, after weeks of stagnating, has ascended to the #13 spot on the countdown.  November 2012 called, it wants its thing-that-would-have-made-sense-at-that-point-in-time back.

- 5 of last week’s debuts clustered between #19 and #23.

- That’s quite the ::SPLAT:: for Lumineers – Ho Hey.  #45?  Mercy.

*Thanks to reader Alex for this one 

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Muse – Madness

2) Krewella – Alive

3) Demi Lovato – Heart Attack

4) Taylor Swift – 22

5) Pink Ft. Nate Reuss – Just Give Me a Reason