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