Maroon 5 (2) - Week of September 8, 2012

I’m thinking next week is when we’ll finally get some much needed winners in the “DEBUT” department.  However, for now, it is what it is.  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.

• K'Naan - Hurt Me Tomorrow *
• Stefano - I'm On a Roll
• The Wanted - Chasing the Sun
• Grouplove - Tongue Tied
• Usher - Scream

*Spyder Harrison was notably sad at announcing the DTHNOBbing of this song….saying it was his “favorite song” while getting fake-choked-up about it.  He then wished that it would be voted back on next week.  I found this interesting because it was the first time I’ve heard him voice any sort of preference for a given song on the countdown.  Come to think of it, he gets subjected to this stuff probably more than I do.  He must really hate some of these songs without ever being able to say so on the air.

The Countdown:

1. Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa- Payphone (#1) [Second Week at #1]

2. Owl City Ft. Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time (#3)

3. Pink - Blow Me (One Last Kiss) (#2)

4. fun. - Some Nights (#8)

5. Demi Lovato- Give Your Heart a Break (#11)

6. Linkin Park- Burn It Down (#6)

7. Katy Perry- Wide Awake (#7)

8. Flo Rida- Whistle (#12)

9. Kelly Clarkson - Dark Side (#13)

10. Train - 50 Ways to Say Goodbye (#17)

11. Carly Rae Jepsen- Call Me Maybe (#21)

12. Matchbox Twenty - She's So Mean (#15)

13. Cher Lloyd- Want U Back (#9)

14. Nicki Minaj - Pound the Alarm (#18)

15. Ellie Goulding- Lights (#4)

16. Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (#35)

17. Karmin- Brokenhearted (#5)

18. Olly Murs Ft. Chiddy Bang - Heart Skips a Beat (#14)

19. Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (#19)

20. Timomatic - Set It Off (#33)

21. Maroon 5 - One More Night (#22)

22. Cobra Starship - #1Nite (#16)

23. Neon Trees- Everybody Talks (#30)

24. Rudimental Ft. John Newman - Feel the Love (#23)

25. Conor Maynard - Vegas Girl (#29)

26. will.i.am - This Is Love (#43)

27. One Direction- What Makes You Beautiful (#32)

28. We Are the In Crowd feat. Alex Gaskarth- Kiss Me Again (#24)

29. Martin Solveig - The Night Out (#31)

30. Ed Sheeran - The A Team (#26)

31. David Guetta feat. Sia- Titanium (#10)

32. OneRepublic - Feel Again (DEBUT)

33. Marina & the Diamonds - Primadonna (#25)

34. The Cab - Intoxicated (DEBUT)

35. Nicki Minaj- Starships (#39)

36. fun. feat. Janelle Monáe- We Are Young (#36)

37. Karmin - Hello (DEBUT)

38. Gotye feat. Kimbra- Somebody That I Used to Know (#34)

39. Flo Rida feat. Sia- Wild Ones (#41)

40. Allstar Weekend - Life As We Know It (DEBUT)

41. Katy Perry - Part of Me (#38)

42. Jason Mraz - I Won't Give Up (DEBUT)

43. One Direction- One Thing (#44)

44. Alex Clare- Too Close (#42)

45. Gym Class Heroes feat. Ryan Tedder- The Fighter (#28)

Biggest DDDRRRROOOOPPPP!!!!....of the week: David Guetta Ft. Sia – Titanium (-21)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Ne-Yo – Let Me Love You (+19)

Alright, let’s get this over with.  Would it kill OneRepublic to produce something interesting one of these days?  Somebody clearly likes them, because they appear frequently on this countdown, and their songs typically have an extended stay in the Top 5.  I just don’t get what the fuss is about.  While not as typically lethargic as your run-of-the-mill OneRepublic song, Feel Again is pretty disinteresting aside from the more energetic pace.  I don’t mind Ryan Tedder’s voice.  I think he’s downright excellent in Gym Class Heroes – The Fighter and Far East Movement – Rocketeer.  I just don’t care for OneRepublic’s general brand of song production.  Elevator music.

The Cab refused to quit while they were ahead after La La, so they decided to release Intoxicated.  Sometimes when you’re ahead, though, you keep winning, and they did.  My biggest scare upon seeing a song from The Cab on Hit-Bound was that it would emulate the lazy pacing of Bad, but fortunately, it’s energetic, like La La, and the melody works well with the lyrics behind it.  At first I was pretty weirded out by Amy Heidemann’s rapping in Karmin – Hello, but after a couple listens I changed my tune and decided I liked it.  I’ll admit that my desire to listen to Hello far exceeds the song’s quality.

Allstar Weekend – Life As We Know It is one of the most generic, boring songs that I’ve ever had the displeasure of being subjected to.  Melodically, vocally, and lyrically (outside from a few “meh” pop culture references), it’s a pure snoozer.  The only thing that might prevent it from attaining Bottom-5-of-the-Year status is that it’s not particularly offensive in any way aside from being a waste of time.  Given his fame level, it’s a little surprising that this is the first time I’ve seen Jason Mraz on this countdown since I started following it several years ago.  His song, I Won’t Give Up, is a refreshing divergence from your standard countdown song, as it takes up its post as the resident slow song on the countdown.  I think it’s probably the best of the new entrants, though certainly not the catchiest.

fun. – Some Nights appears to be making a play for a future #1 bid, while Kelly Clarkson – Dark Side enters the Top 10 for the first time.  Other than that, not a lot of significant moving and shaking this week.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Owl City Ft. Carly Rae Jepsen – Good Time

2) Ed Sheeran – The A Team

3) Pink – Blow Me (One Last Kiss)

4) Maroon 5 – One More Night

5) Jason Mraz – I Won’t Give Up