Maroon 5 - Week of March 2, 2013

Heh.  So now Daylight is #1.  I don’t think anyone saw that coming.  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.

• Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe

The Countdown:

1. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#6) [First Week at #1]

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

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

4. Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble (#1)

5. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#14)

6. Pink - Try (#7)

7. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#3)

8. Lumineers - Ho Hey (#12)

9. Ke$ha - C'mon (#15)

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

11. One Direction - Kiss You (#11)

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

13. Skylar Grey Ft. Eminem - C'mon Let Me Ride (#21)

14. Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath (#4)

15. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#20)

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

17. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#22)

18. Cee Lo Green - Only You (#30)

19. fun. - Carry On (#16)

20. Nelly - Hey Porsche (#13)

21. Britt Nicole - Gold (#26)

22. Pitbull Ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment (#25)

23. Maroon 5 - One More Night (#18)

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

25. Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man (#39)

26. Little Mix - Wings (#28)

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

28. Justin Timberlake Ft. Jay-Z - Suit and Tie (#23)

29. Cher Lloyd - With Ur Love (#24)

30. Chiddy Bang - Happening (#34)

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

32. Milan & Phoenix - Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (#40)

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

34. September - Hands Up (#38)

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

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

37. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#9)

38. fun. - Some Nights (#41)

39. Sam and the Womp - Bom Bom (#44)

40. Phil Phillips - Home (#29)

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

42. Ke$ha - Die Young (#43)

43. Alicia Keys - Girl on Fire (#42)

44. Neon Trees Ft. Kaskade - Lessons In Love (RE-ENTRY)

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

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOOPPPP!!!!!.....of the week: Bruno Mars – Locked Out of Heaven (-28)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Bruno Mars – When I Was Your Man (+14)

There’s no new stuff this week because Neon Trees Ft. Kaskade – Lessons In Love was resurrected.

Plastic Blurbgery

- As far as I can recall, this is the first time the same artist was responsible for the week’s Biggest Jump and Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOOPPPP!!!!!

- During at least one iteration of the weekend countdown, there was a DJ mistake in which fun. – Carry On aired at both the #16 and #19 slots, effectively deleting Calvin Harris Ft. Florence Welch – Sweet Nothing from the playlist. 

- Ke$ha – C’mon finally made its much-anticipated Top 10 debut.  Hopefully it’ll stick

- Maybe it’s just because it’s new and different, but Chiddy Bang – Happening has grown on me a little bit since we last met.

- Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks hanging out at #2 last week looks like it might have just been a lightning/bottle situation that won’t repeat itself.

- As you may have gathered, I’m superlatively disappointed by the lack of new stuff.  It’s getting tough to listen to Hits-1 with a playlist this weak.  The only silver lining continues to be that the better songs are concentrated near the top of the countdown.  I like to come into these each week at least a bit interested, but we’re regressing into late-2011 levels of blarghitude here.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Ke$ha – C’mon

2) Passion Pit – Take a Walk

3) Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop

4) Kelly Clarkson – Catch My Breath

5) Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks

Taylor Swift (4) - Week of February 23, 2013

One of the only things mitigating this disappointing week on the countdown is that Spyder Harrison hosted it as opposed to a guest, and it’s appreciated more than usual the week following a guest host.  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.

• Paper Route - You and I
• Neon Trees Ft. Kaskade - Lessons in Love
• One Direction - Live While We're Young (DTHNOBx2)
• Pitbull - Don't Stop the Party
• The Ready Set - Give Me Your Hand
• JTX - Seven Day Weekend

The Countdown:

1. Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble (#1) [Fourth Week at #1]

2. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#15)

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

4. Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath (#11)

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

6. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#29)

7. Pink - Try (#13)

8. The Script Ft. will.i.am - Hall of Fame (#22)

9. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#6)

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

11. One Direction - Kiss You (#16)

12. Lumineers - Ho Hey (#3)

13. Nelly - Hey Porsche (#14)

14. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#12)

15. Ke$ha - C'mon (#19)

16. fun. - Carry On (#26)

17. Calvin Harris Ft. Florence Welch - Sweet Nothing (#23)

18. Maroon 5 - One More Night (#5)

19. will.i.am Ft Britney Spears - Scream and Shout (#10)

20. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#20)

21. Skylar Grey Ft. Eminem - C'mon Let Me Ride (#21)

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

23. Justin Timberlake Ft. Jay-Z - Suit and Tie (#18)

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

25. Pitbull Ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment (DEBUT)

26. Britt Nicole - Gold (#28)

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

28. Little Mix - Wings (#30)

29. Phil Phillips - Home (#7)

30. Cee Lo Green - Only You (DEBUT)

31. Carly Rae Jepsen- Call Me Maybe (#45)

32. Redfoo - Bring Out the Bottles (#27)

33. Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait (DEBUT)

34. Chiddy Bang - Happening (DEBUT)

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

36. Justin Bieber Ft. Nicki Minaj - Beauty and a Beat (#37)

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

38. September - Heads Up (DEBUT)

39. Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man (#34)

40. Milan & Phoenix - Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (DEBUT)

41. fun. - Some Nights (#38)

42. Alicia Keys - Girl on Fire (#39)

43. Ke$ha - Die Young (#8)

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

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

Biggest DDDDDDRRRROOOOOPPPPP!!!!....of the week: Ke$ha – Die Young (-35)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Maroon 5 – Daylight (+23)

Pitbull and Christina Aguilera teamed up for a new debut called Feel This Moment.  By now, I shouldn’t even have to explain to you how that turned out.  There is absolutely no excuse that Hits-1 can give for allowing Mumford & Sons – I Will Wait to debut on the countdown on February 23, 2013.  The song came out in September, was all over the place in October and November, jumped onto HitBound sometime in December I want to say, and then after sitting on HitBound for 2+ months (I think), it finally jumped onto the countdown long after it’s gone stale.  I don’t care if the song is good (it is), there’s no reason to introduce an old song that’s been played like crazy on other Sirius stations for many months as “ear poppin’ new music”.

“Hey, what the world really needs is a remake of Istanbul (Not Constantinople) by They Might Be Giants” ~ Nobody.  Milan & Phoenix did it anyway.  They Might Be Giants, whatever your feelings on the band, is a super-unique group and it’s insane for anyone to think that they could remake one of their weird songs and do it well, let alone better than they did.  Cee Lo Green is back with Only You, and it’s surprisingly not offensive in any way from an auditory perspective.  If the countdown were in better shape right now, I’d be plenty satisfied with this debut, but Only You is just going to be kind of there, more standard filler until something better comes along.

The top new entrant is September – Heads Up, which gives the countdown a much-needed breath of energy.  Long-term it’s going to be stuck in the good-not-great category, but for the time being, I’m happy it’s around.  I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a huge fan of Chiddy Bang, but I thing Happening is a workable countdown song.  I enjoy the upbeat tempo and that they employ the services of someone else’s voice to sing a high-pitched chorus, similar to Mind Your Manners (which I was also OK with).

Best Blurbs in a Supporting Role

- Hits-1 must have gotten the wake-up call that no one knows what the hell Paper Route – You and I is.  That wasn’t a very long tenure.  Decent song, though.

- The biggest news this week is probably that Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks came from kind of out of nowhere to be the latest participant in the “#2 spot carousel”.  This is sort of a silver lining for this week’s countdown, as Little Talks has been one of the best songs around for the past several months.

- Though I am very disappointed by the new entrants, at least I won’t be losing sleep over anything that was kicked off this week.

- Actually, now that I really look at it, the Top 10 is pretty solid in aggregate for a week that I’m deeming a disappointment.  I obviously have harped on my problems with #1 and #9 quite a bit, but other than those two, I’m a fan of all the other songs in the Top 10.  This doesn’t happen too often.

- Pretty concerned that Passion Pit – Take a Walk is going to stagnate and just disappear one of these weeks.  It deserves better than that, especially in this era of not-great music.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Ke$ha – C’mon

2) Passion Pit – Take a Walk

3) Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop

4) Kelly Clarkson – Catch My Breath

5) Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks

Taylor Swift (3) - Week of February 16, 2013

Quite possibly the most bizarre guest-host for the countdown ever this past weekend….Al Roker!  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.

• Flo Rida - I Cry

The Countdown: 

1. Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble (#1) [Third Week at #1]

2. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#12)

3. Lumineers - Ho Hey (#2)

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

5. Maroon 5 - One More Night (#44)

6. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#33)

7. Phil Phillips - Home (#9)

8. Ke$ha - Die Young (#3)

9. Imagine Dragons - It's Time (RE-ENTRY)

10. will.i.am Ft Britney Spears - Scream and Shout (#6)

11. Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath (#7)

12. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#13)

13. Pink - Try (#5)

14. Nelly - Hey Porsche (#10)

15. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#11)

16. One Direction - Kiss You (#19)

17. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#28)

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

19. Ke$ha - C'mon (#24)

20. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#30)

21. Skylar Grey Ft. Eminem - C'mon Let Me Ride (#20)

22. The Script Ft. will.i.am - Hall of Fame (#4)

23. Calvin Harris Ft. Florence Welch - Sweet Nothing (#18)

24. Passion Pit - Take a Walk (#21)

25. Cher Lloyd - With Ur Love (#37)

26. fun. - Carry On (#35)

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

28. Britt Nicole - Gold (#27)

29. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#15)

30. Little Mix - Wings (#39)

31. Paper Route - You and I (#25)

32. Owl City Ft. Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time (#34)

33. Neon Trees Ft. Kaskade - Lessons In Love (#23)

34. Bruno Mars – When I Was Your Man (#42)

35. One Direction - Live While We're Young (#41)

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

37. Justin Bieber Ft. Nicki Minaj - Beauty and a Beat (#26)

38. fun. - Some Nights (#17)

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

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

41. Pitbull - Don't Stop The Party (#31)

42. The Ready Set - Give Me Your Hand (#43)

43. Sam and the Womp - Bom Bom (#22)

44. JTX - Seven Day Weekend (#40)

45. Carly Rae Jepsen- Call Me Maybe (#45)

Biggest DDDDRRRROOOOPPP!!!!!....of the week: Tie between fun. – Some Nights and Sam and the Womp – Bom Bom (-21)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Maroon 5 – One More Night (+39)

There isn’t any new music to discuss this week, but plenty of moving and shaking on our list of familiar 45 songs……

Blurbgistics

- The heavy airplay of Imagine Dragons – It’s Time during the week did not escape my notice following getting kicked off the countdown the previous weekend, and sure enough, it’s back for a 2nd farewell tour…..and it’s all the way up at #9.  Guess it was too soon to let go….

- The biggest story this week is the ascension of Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop to the #2 spot.  Unlike the rest of the random rotating cast of recent #2s, I could actually see this one having a shot at taking over the top spot from Taylor Swift.  Ummm…..now, please.

- Not all the news this week was quite so rosy.  For some reason, Bruno Mars – Locked Out of Heaven and Maroon 5 – One More Night ascended from the dregs of the countdown rankings to the Top 10.  I hope that this technical difficulty is fixed before next week’s countdown.

- Another thing that did not escape my notice is the heavy airplay of Hit-Bound songs over the course of the past week.  There may not have been anything new this week, but I’d expect some turnover a-comin’.

- I want to apologize for something that I mentioned last week, as I was mistaken.  I had declared Little Mix – Wings as the worst new entrant from last week, but it has not yet reached instant-station-change status, whereas Bruno Mars – When I Was Your Man absolutely has, further evidence that catchy-but-potentially-obnoxious should always triumph over boring.  Sorry for the egregious error, everyone.

- I have to confess my disappointment with the countdown thus far in 2013.  There have been very few game changers and a plethora of mediocrity.  I’m really hoping for some out-of-nowhere help to fix things, but it’s been difficult to keep my radio tuned to Hits-1 these past few weeks.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Ke$ha – C’mon

2) Passion Pit – Take a Walk

3) Kelly Clarkson – Catch My Breath

4) Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop

5) I dunno….Imagine Dragons – It’s Time???  Who gives a damn…..

Taylor Swift (2) - Week of February 9, 2013

How ‘bout them Grammys, eh?  Congratulations to fun. and Gotye for taking home some serious hardware.  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.

• Imagine Dragons - It's Time (DTHNOBx2)
• One Direction - Little Things
• OneRepublic - Feel Again
• Conor Maynard Ft. Ne-Yo - Turn Around
• Carly Rae Jepsen - This Kiss
• Josh Baze - She's Gold

The Countdown:

1. Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble (#1) [Second Week at #1]

2. Lumineers - Ho Hey (#4)

3. Ke$ha - Die Young (#5)

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

5. Pink - Try (#3)

6. will.i.am Ft Britney Spears - Scream and Shout (#20)

7. Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath (#13)

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

9. Phil Phillips - Home (#31)

10. Nelly - Hey Porsche (#35)

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

12. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#18)

13. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#11)

14. Justin Timberlake Ft. Jay-Z - Suit and Tie (#9)

15. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#10)

16. Redfoo - Bring Out the Bottles (#24)

17. fun. - Some Nights (#6)

18. Calvin Harris Ft. Florence Welch - Sweet Nothing (#26)

19. One Direction - Kiss You (#21)

20. Skylar Grey Ft. Eminem - C'mon Let Me Ride (#42)

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

22. Sam and the Womp - Bom Bom (#30)

23. Neon Trees Ft. Kaskade - Lessons In Love (#22)

24. Ke$ha - C'mon (#17)

25. Paper Route - You and I (#36)

26. Justin Bieber Ft. Nicki Minaj - Beauty and a Beat (#14)

27. Britt Nicole - Gold (#39)

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

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

30. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (DEBUT)

31. Pitbull - Don't Stop The Party (#7)

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

33. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#6)

34. Owl City Ft. Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time (#23)

35. fun. - Carry On (DEBUT)

36. Flo Rida - I Cry (#37)

37. Cher Lloyd - With Ur Love (DEBUT)

38. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#25)

39. Little Mix - Wings (DEBUT)

40. JTX - Seven Day Weekend (#33)

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

42. Bruno Mars - If I Was Your Man (DEBUT)

43. The Ready Set - Give Me Your Hand (#27)

44. Maroon 5 - One More Night (#29)

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

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOPPPP!!!...of the week: Pitbull – Don’t Stop the Party (-24)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Nelly – Hey Porsche (+25)

Lots of newbies composing the bottom half of this week’s countdown.  I suppose the countdown gods frowned upon my hope that we wouldn’t see another Bruno Mars song in the Top 10 for a long time, because despite the continued plummeting of Locked Out of Heaven, we got a debut from If I Was Your Man.  Basically, he traded in his usual “annoying” for “straight-up boring”, which is laughably a pretty significant upgrade.  It was a long shot, but Bruno Mars managed to come out with only the second worst debut of the week.  Uh…..bravo?

The worst debut of the week?  Little Mix – Wings.  I don’t want to bludgeon it too bad, because initially, it’s reasonably catchy.  Heck, I sort of like it right now, but I can say with 95% certainty that I’m going to be hating this song like mad in 2 weeks.  One of the Hits-1 DJs mentioned that Little Mix was going to be like the next One Direction, which is horrendously offensive to One Direction.  On this week’s edition of “Cher Lloyd makes notably strange music”, we tackle With Ur Love.  I can’t remember if his part is cut out or not in the version Hits-1 plays, but the song features Mike Posner (remember him?) with such interesting lyrics as “First date, first base / Second date, second base”.  With Ur Love doesn’t really change underlying rhythm mid-song, and rhythm is its best asset, similar to Want U Back.  It’s a pleasurable enough listen, but without any high points, it’s an also-ran in the pop music universe.

Someone needs to step in and write Hot Chelle Rae’s music for them (and if someone is already being paid to do this….good lord).  Hung Up is their newest awfully-written song.  Tonight Tonight and especially I Like It Like That had obnoxious tendencies with increased exposures.  Since Hung Up is basically no different, I imagine it’ll go the same route.  After the initial honeymoon period where it gets its due as a catchy, fresh new song, of course.  Unlike Justin Timberlake, the countdown return of ZOMG Fall Out Boy!!!!!!!! was a little bit more deserved.  Debuting with the longest name of any song in recent memory, it’s My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light ‘em Up). Patrick Stump sounds like he hasn’t missed a beat since the old days.

This week’s best new entrant is fun. – Carry On.  My initial reactions to We Are Young, Some Nights, and Carry On were all pretty positive.  Unfortunately, We Are Young and Some Nights were absolutely pulverized to death by Hits-1 to the point where I automatically change the station on both.  One might say this is par for the course for pop music, but that certainly isn’t necessarily the case for the songs I most fondly look back on when they’ve run their course.  Carry On is a very uplifting song, and I’m a huge fan for the moment, but I’m afraid with this track record, any excitement I have over a fun. song is going to be tempered until they put one out that can withstand the test of excessive airplay over a 6-month span.  Or one that gets DTHNOBbed quickly.

Blurbie Dolls

- Rough exit for Imagine Dragons – It’s Time, falling off from all the way up at #15.  I hope this isn’t the end….::sniff::

- will.i.am Ft. Britney Spears – Scream and Shout is now in the Top 10, which marks the official nadir of western civilization.

- Speaking of new entrants to the Top 10.  Nelly – Hey Porsche made it there on just its second countdown week, and Phil Phillips – Home now finds itself up there.  I have a confession to make about Phil Phillips – Home.  I don’t like it.  When it first hopped onto the countdown I thought it was a good song that I didn’t fully appreciate at first glance, but then those feelings deteriorated into “it’s just kinda there”.  And songs that are “just kinda there” are not ones that you want repeated with high frequency on a pop music station.

- I’ll reiterate because I can.  Paper Route – You and I, that song that has a mere 63k hits on YouTube, is the 25^th biggest song in North America according to this countdown.  I don’t forsee “wutchuwants” becoming an official measuring stick utilized by Billboard anytime soon.

Editors Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Ke$ha – C’mon

2) Passion Pit – Take a Walk

3) Kelly Clarkson – Catch My Breath

4) Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop

5) fun. – Carry On

Taylor Swift - Week of February 2, 2013

Thought I forgot about you, huh?  The Weekend Countdown Review never drops the ball!  More on the disappointing result above in the Blurbs.  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.

• Karmin - Brokenhearted
• Bridgit Mendler - Ready or Not
• Ed Sheeran - The A Team (DTHNOBx2)
• Nicki Minaj - Va Va Voom
• Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You

The Countdown:

1. Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble (#3) [New #1]

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

3. Pink - Try (#6)

4. Lumineers - Ho Hey (#2)

5. Ke$ha - Die Young (#1)

6. fun. - Some Nights (#4)

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

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

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

10. Maroon 5 - Daylight (#10)

11. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#13)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

21. One Direction - Kiss You (RE-ENTRY)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

31. Phil Phillips - Home (#19)

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

33. JTX - Seven Day Weekend (#15)

34. One Direction - Little Things (#23)

35. Nelly - Hey Porsche (DEBUT)

36. Paper Route - You and I (DEBUT)

37. Flo Rida - I Cry (#33)

38. OneRepublic - Feel Again (#38)

39. Britt Nicole - Gold (DEBUT)

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

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

42. Skylar Grey Ft. Eminem - C'mon Let Me Ride (DEBUT)

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

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

45. One Direction - Live While We're Young (#44)

Biggest DDDDRRRROOOPPPPP!!!!...of the week: JTX – Seven Day Weekend (-18)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Justin Bieber Ft. Nicki Minaj – Beauty and a Beat (+13)

The Hits-1 Facebook page has somewhat been clamoring for a resurrection of One Direction – Kiss You, so there it is, all the way up at #21.  I guess when you’re ranked #9 and get kicked off the countdown the following week, you can fight back a little bit.  It’s just interesting that it happened a month and a half later.  Nelly is back on the countdown with Hey Porsche, which is about as average-y as they come.  The luster isn’t quite gone yet, but I’d expect something a little better out of Nelly, who delivered the fantastic Just a Dream in 2010.

Paper Route – You and I spent quite a great deal of time on Hit-Bound and it’s finally arrived on the countdown despite infrequent otherwise airplay.  I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised it made it here.  The vocals on the verses are sub-par, but the chorus makes up for it.  Despite allegedly being a part of a countdown of “the 45 most wutchuwanted songs in North America”, I get the feeling that this song isn’t too famous….the music video has fewer than 70k hits on YouTube.  Sometimes I wonder where Hits-1 gets its pool of songs to rotate through Hit-Bound.

Long-time Hit-Bound veteran Britt Nicole – Gold jumped onto the countdown this past weekend, and it’s reasonably decent.  The combination of the pacing and Britt Nicole’s singing voice work pretty well together.  I found it pretty humorous when a clip of a Hits-1 interview with her was played on last weekend’s countdown when this song was introduced….she explained that the song was about telling people how much they’re worth.  Really.  I never could have gathered that from a song that repeats “you’re worth more than gold”.  Who asked that interview question?

Finally, kind of a weird debut from Skylar Grey Ft. Eminem – C’mon Let Me Ride, a bizarre song that ruins Bicycle Race by Queen.  I swear, some of these artists must feel like they’re in a contest to see who can cram the most innuendo into a song.  Far be it from me to badmouth the great Eminem, but his small part in this song just doesn’t fit, and I actually think I’d enjoy the song more if he wasn’t a part of it.

Blurbs of a Feather

- Can someone please explain the allure of this week’s new #1 song?  I want to know what the rest of the world sees in it that I don’t.  It’s not a great vocal performance from Taylor Swift, it gets pretty repetitive, and the synthed repeat of the word “Trouble” during/after the chorus just kills it for me.

- Paper Route – You and I pulled off a rare feat this week.  It was removed from the Hit-Bound lineup a couple weeks ago after being on there for a couple months, then subsequently made it to the countdown.  Typically, being pulled off Hit-Bound for reasons other than getting promoted to the countdown is the say-all, end-all for a song.

- For the second consecutive week, we’ve got a song in the #2 slot that I don’t really think has much of a shot to be #1.  This time around, it’s Swedish House Mafia – Don’t You Worry Child

- There was pretty much no way that Justin Timberlake Ft. Jay-Z – Suit and Tie wasn’t making the Top 10 this week.

- Emeli Sande – Next to Me debuted on October 20^th, and this is the first time it’s risen above #30. 

- I’m hoping this week marks the first week of a long series of weeks in which Bruno Mars is not in the Top 10.  But I have a feeling whoever actually sets the countdown rankings just takes whatever I hope/predict and does the opposite.

- Kind of lost in all of this is Josh Baze slipping through the cracks on the way to a countdown exit.  Farewell in advance, Josh Baze, whoever you are.  For what it’s worth, I liked your song.

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) Paper Route – You and I

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