Imagine Dragons (4) - Week of July 27, 2013

On the plus side I don’t have as much work to do as last week, but on the minus side, this week can’t hold a candle to the awesomesauce that was the previous weekend’s countdown.  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.

• Ariana Grande - The Way
• Michael Buble - It's a Beautiful Day
• Demi Lovato - Heart Attack

The Countdown:

1. Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (#1) [Fourth Week at #1]

2. Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines (#2)

3. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#5)

4. Zedd Ft. Foxes - Clarity (#4)

5. Pink Ft. Nate Reuss - Just Give Me a Reason (#7)

6. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#6)

7. Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (#3)

8. Calvin Harris Ft. Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (#8)

9. Capital Cities - Safe and Sound (#13)

10. Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am - Crazy Kids (#14)

11. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#17)

12. Bruno Mars - Treasure (#15)

13. Paramore - Still Into You (#24)

14. Jason Derulo - The Other Side (#10)

15. Avril Lavigne - Here's to Never Growing Up (#11)

16. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#18)

17. Emblem 3 - Chloe (#16)

18. The 1975 - Chocolate (#28)

19. Cody Simpson - Pretty Brown Eyes (#36)

20. Sammy Adams Ft. Mike Posner - LA Story (#35)

21. Twenty One Pilots - Holding On To You (#33)

22. MKTO - Classic (#38)

23. Nikki Williams - Glowing (#20)

24. Train Ft. Ashley Monroe - Bruises (#40)

25. Selena Gomez - Come & Get It (#9)

26. JTX - Summer Lover (#26)

27. Karmin - Acapella (#31)

28. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#25)

29. The Summer Set - Boomerang (#19)

30. Pink - True Love (DEBUT)

31. Tegan & Sara - Closer (#43)

32. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#32)

33. Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande - Beneath Your Beautiful (#44)

34. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#45)

35. fun. - Some Nights (#42)

36. Ke$ha - Die Young (#27)

37. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#22)

38. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#39)

39. One Direction - Best Song Ever (DEBUT)

40. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#41)

41. Mika Ft. Ariana Grande - Popular Song (DEBUT)

42. Icona Pop - I Love It (#12)

43. Awolnation - Sail (#21)

44. Classified Ft. David Myles - Inner Ninja (#23)

45. Kelsi Luck - That's What I Like (#37)

Biggest DDDDDDRRRROOOOOPPPPP!!!!....of the week: Icona Pop – I Love It (-30)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Cody Simpson – Pretty Brown Eyes (+17)

Time to dive straight in to this decidedly sub-par class of new entrants.  I am not sure what 15-year old girl Pink yanked out of class at the local high school to write the lyrics to True Love, but I am most certainly jealous of that girl.  I can safely say that I never did anything that cool when I was 15.  It could not be any more clear that she had nothing to do with the lyrics to Just Give Me a Reason.  The title to One Direction – Best Song Ever is blatant false advertising and I want my money back.  That’s right, I demand my money back for the percentage of time that Hits-1 is airing that song over the course of my annual subscription.  When I get my check for $0.21 in the mail, I am going to be one happy camper.  Best Song Ever is quite ironically the worst song that One Direction has put on the countdown.  Harsh?  Heh…when you title your song as such, you are quite literally begging for this sort of criticism.

Mika Ft. Ariana Grande – Popular Song is the best new entrant, which is sort of like being the best player on the Charlotte Bobcats.  Popular Song is basically the same as Kemba Walker.  Who knew?  There’s really not all that much to see here, but for the time being, Popular Song’s catchiness will make it quite tolerable.  I expected worse upon seeing Ariana Grande associated with this.

Them’s Fightin’ Blurbs

- Speaking of Ariana Grande, The Way lasted a relatively painless 6 weeks on the countdown and has now taken its exit.  Good riddance to bad music.

- I honestly thought we were in the process of ridding the top of the countdown of May/June’s Holy Triumvirate, but mercy….it’s almost August and there they are at #3, #5, and #6.  Let’s fix this, eh?

- 5 of last weeks 7 new entrants jumped 12 spots or more, and we’ve got a nice clump of all seven of them in a span of 9 songs between #19 and #27.  I hereby declare that cherry-picked cluster the Best Section of the Countdown.  When I am listening to Hits-1 at this point, I’m just holding out hope that they spin one member of the Class of July 20, 2013.  Well okay, Pretty Brown Eyes I can take or leave.

- I know I’m late to the party about mentioning this, but apparently Emblem 3 – Chloe was written about Khloe Kardashian.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Train – Bruises

2) Karmin – Acapella

3) MKTO – Classic

4) JTX – Summer Lover

5) Twenty One Pilots – Holding On To You

Imagine Dragons (3) - Week of July 20, 2013

Here's that all-out purging that we've been waiting for.  The victims include the entire Bottom 5 from last week's countdown, which I believe is the first time that's ever happened.  The other two were the not-particularly-tenured #20 and #22 from last week, which is odd.  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.

• Mariah Carey Ft. Miguel - #Beautiful
• Chris Brown - Fine China
• Drop City Yacht Club - Crickets
• Little Mix - Wings
• Emeli Sande - Next to Me
• MKTO - Thank You
• Jennifer Lopez Ft. Pitbull - Live It Up

I think at this time we must pause for an obituary.

Emeli Sande – Next to Me made its countdown debut on October 20^th, 2012.  It lived a debatably-good 9-month life for some reason.  Never aspiring for greatness, Next to Me became a shining example of “be happy what you have”.  It never ascended higher than the #24 spot on the countdown.  Though it was never loved enough to see the countdown’s top half, it never once complained.  This lends credence to the idea that a positive attitude has a definite impact on longevity.  The Hits-1 voters never over-the-top appreciated it, and quite frankly neither did I, but a very modest number of people apparently consistently loved it for what it was.  Isn’t that all any of us aspire for?  Its lasting presence on the countdown did not go unnoticed, as a certain Hits-1 countdown recapper dedicated some of his precious Blurb space each week to discuss amazement at how it lasted so long.  I won’t go so far as to say Next to Me will be missed.  In fact, it certainly won’t be.  But we now find ourselves in a world in which there’s one fewer thing that doesn’t make any sense and can’t be explained by human logic, and well, that quite frankly ruins some of the magic of being alive.  Good-bye Next to Me.  It’s been real.

The Countdown:

1. Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (#1) [Third Week at #1]

2. Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines (#14)

3. Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (#2)

4. Zedd Ft. Foxes - Clarity (#3)

5. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#30)

6. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#5)

7. Pink Ft. Nate Reuss - Just Give Me a Reason (#19)

8. Calvin Harris Ft. Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (#16)

9. Selena Gomez - Come & Get It (#6)

10. Jason Derulo - The Other Side (#7)

11. Avril Lavigne - Here's to Never Growing Up (#4)

12. Icona Pop - I Love It (#9)

13. Capital Cities - Safe and Sound (#13)

14. Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am - Crazy Kids (#11)

15. Bruno Mars - Treasure (#12)

16. Emblem 3 - Chloe (#18)

17. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#8)

18. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#26)

19. The Summer Set - Boomerang (#25)

20. Nikki Williams - Glowing (#33)

21. Awolnation - Sail (#10)

22. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#15)

23. Classified Ft. David Myles - Inner Ninja (#24)

24. Paramore - Still Into You (#27)

25. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#28)

26. JTX - Summer Lover (DEBUT)

27. Ke$ha - Die Young (#40)

28. The 1975 - Chocolate (#23)

29. Ariana Grande - The Way (#31)

30. Michael Buble - It's a Beautiful Day (#21)

31. Karmin - Acapella (DEBUT)

32. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#37)

33. Twenty One Pilots - Holding On To You (DEBUT)

34. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#35)

35. Sammy Adams Ft. Mike Posner - LA Story (DEBUT)

36. Cody Simpson - Pretty Brown Eyes (DEBUT)

37. Kelsi Luck - That's What I Like (#17)

38. MKTO - Classic (DEBUT)

39. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#36)

40. Train Ft. Ashley Monroe - Bruises (DEBUT)

41. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#39)

42. fun. - Some Nights (#32)

43. Tegan & Sara - Closer (#29)

44. Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande - Beneath Your Beautiful (#34)

45. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#38)

Biggest DDDDDDDRRRRRRRROOOOOOPPPPPPPP!!!!!....of the week: Kelsi Luck – That’s What I Like (-20)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Fall Out Boy – My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light ‘em Up) (+25)

As it turns out, this week was fantastic for reasons besides the end of my obsession with the constant presence of an overly mediocre song and Kelsi Luck’s unspeakably awful song getting slapped straight in the face in the rankings.  We have ourselves the best class of new entrants in quite some time.  So sit back, relax, and enjoy some positivity from yours truly, which has been sorely missing on the whole from these weekly installments lately.

JTX is kind of like what Hot Chelle Rae would be if their music was good.  Neither of those things can write anything worth a damn, but the difference is that JTX produces music that can be fun and addicting, while the descriptive adjectives towards Hot Chelle Rae’s music generally are synonyms of “tired”, “boring”, or “annoying”.  JTX debuted this week with Summer Lover, and while it’s no Love In America, it’s plenty delightful and should run its course as an above-average countdown song. 

Oh my goodness is Karmin – Acapella strange.  This song is going to enrage and annoy many persons with its presence over the next few months, and before I say the sentence-after-next, everyone must understand that I completely get and appreciate that.  Those who find this song bothersome are completely justified and there is nothing wrong with you.  However, I find myself constantly wanting that song to come on the radio.  I could do without the part where Amy Heidemann does it “in falsetta”, as that’s probably the only piece that gives me any shame about liking this song, but besides that, it’s been weirdly infectious.  Don’t look at me like that, I’ve liked songs like this before, and you know it.  However I will note that I’ve listened to this song a good deal over the past 2 weeks and a good amount of what I guess you would call luster has worn off.  It’ll be interesting to see whether it’s an asset or an annoyance in a month.  Karmin is turning out to be far from the Jessie J clone that I thought they were when they released Brokenhearted.

Of all the new entrants, Twenty One Pilots – Holding On To You is probably the one I had the most unfavorable initial reaction to and the one that I’ve probably listened to the most.  Fortunately, that initial reaction was borne more out of my general attitude towards much of 2013’s music and the lack of surface-level catchiness.  This is an all-around solid tune.  Fun tidblurbs: 1) I could see it being used in commercials.  I don’t know why this makes sense to me.  2) The singer sounds like the guy from Paper Tongues, and I had to Wikipedia this to make sure that it wasn’t the same dude.

Mike Posner hasn’t been around in a long time and I find that kind of strange from a guy that had publicly aspired to have Lady Gaga-level fame and popularity in music.  He’s along for the ride in Sammy Adams’s song L.A. Story.  If I had to rank the 7 new entrants, this one would firmly be in 6^th, but fortunately that isn’t much of an insult in this group.  I think the duo work together pretty well in this song, and the net product is something that’s worth having around.  If this were most groups of 7 songs, the modestly catchy Cody Simpson – Pretty Brown Eyes wouldn’t be the least interesting new entrant / bottom song on the totem pole, but this isn’t, and it is.

Oh my, this is already a mile long and I still have two songs to go.  This is not a typical week.  MKTO noticed that Thank You was on the outs in the countdown rankings, so they worked hard to get Classic in there ASAP to replace it.  Classic is the superior song of the two, with an infectious upbeat melody and a solid singing performance.  Call me old fashioned (heh…) but I enjoy the lyrics in this one very much as well.

Finally, we come to Train Ft. Ashley Monroe – Bruises.  This song is pretty fantastic, in no small part due to the performance of the country-singing Monroe, whose voice is a perfect complement to that of Pat Monahan.  You may find better songs that come across the Sirius XM Hits-1 Weekend Countdown, but they don’t come much more melodious than Bruises.  It may be the lowest-ranked new entrant on the countdown, but it’s the top ranked one on my list and the early favorite for next weekend’s Biggest Jump.

Blurbday Wishes

- Unfortunately, the two songs that I know as of right now that are locks to debut next weekend are worse than all 7 of this weekend’s new entrants.  This dims the excitement a little bit, because all indications are that this week isn’t going to spur a long run of success.

- The other big development this week was the ascension of Robin Thicke Ft. Pharrell and T.I. – Blurred Lines to the #2 slot.  It seems like the likely successor to Imagine Dragons – Radioactive.

- Calvin Harris Ft. Ellie Goulding – I Need Your Love is probably second to only That’s What I Like in terms of songs on the countdown that make me change the station fastest.  Its ascension into the Top 10 this week is nothing shy of disturbing.

- All of my Editor’s Picks are from this class of new entrants because it’s about damn time we heard some new stuff that actually works.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Train – Bruises

2) Karmin – Acapella

3) JTX – Summer Lover

4) MKTO – Classic

5) Twenty One Pilots – Holding On To You

Imagine Dragons (2) - Week of July 13, 2013

Time for a 45-song shuffle.  No songs leavin’ the countdown this week.  But at least Spyder Harrison was back on the job.

The Countdown:

1. Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (#1) [Second Week at #1]

2. Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (#3)

3. Zedd Ft. Foxes - Clarity (#6)

4. Avril Lavigne - Here's to Never Growing Up (#5)

5. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#4)

6. Selena Gomez - Come & Get It (#2)

7. Jason Derulo - The Other Side (#13)

8. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#7)

9. Icona Pop - I Love It (#8)

10. Awolnation - Sail (#12)

11. Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am - Crazy Kids (#11)

12. Bruno Mars - Treasure (#16)

13. Capital Cities - Safe and Sound (#9)

14. Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines (#10)

15. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#14)

16. Calvin Harris Ft. Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (#17)

17. Kelsi Luck - That's What I Like (#24)

18. Emblem 3 - Chloe (#18)

19. Pink Ft. Nate Reuss - Just Give Me a Reason (#25)

20. Mariah Carey Ft. Miguel - #Beautiful (#27)

21. Michael Buble - It's a Beautiful Day (#20)

22. Chris Brown - Fine China (#23)

23. The 1975 - Chocolate (#22)

24. Classified Ft. David Myles - Inner Ninja (#21)

25. The Summer Set - Boomerang (#26)

26. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#19)

27. Paramore - Still Into You (#28)

28. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#31)

29. Tegan & Sara - Closer (#38)

30. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#15)

31. Ariana Grande - The Way (#30)

32. fun. - Some Nights (#37)

33. Nikki Williams - Glowing (#32)

34. Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande - Beneath Your Beautiful (#34)

35. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#35)

36. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#36)

37. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#33)

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

39. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#40)

40. Ke$ha - Die Young (#41)

41. Drop City Yacht Club - Crickets (#44)

42. Little Mix - Wings (#45)

43. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#43)

44. MKTO - Thank You (#39)

45. Jennifer Lopez Ft. Pitbull - Live It Up (#42)

Biggest DDDDDDRRRRRROOOOPPPP!!!!!.....of the week: Fall Out Boy – My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light ‘em Up) (-15)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Tegan & Sara – Closer (+9)

Blurberry Hill

- [Yup, uh huh, basically by default this time]

- Spyder Harrison actually quipped about his frequent recent countdown absences at the outset of this past weekend’s show

- Delightful surprise this week as Zedd Ft. Foxes – Clarity acquired the #3 slot.  I severely doubt we’ll be seeing it at #1, but I’ve been wrong before on matters such as these.  I’m pulling for it.

- Jason Derulo – The Other Side makes its first Top 10 appearance.  Nice things are nice.

- I am completely shocked at the trajectory of Daft Punk – Get Lucky on this countdown.  The world is raving about it (and Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines, for that matter) but that has yet to materialize here.

- Speaking of Blurred Lines, I had an initial somewhat negative reaction to it but I’ve enjoyed it a little more lately.  It’s still only worthwhile for the beat though.

- Expect lots of debuts this upcoming weekend.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Zedd Ft. Foxes – Clarity

2) The 1975 – Chocolate

3) Paramore – Still Into You

4) Jason Derulo – The Other Side

5) Avril Lavigne – Here’s to Never Growing Up

Imagine Dragons - Week of July 6, 2013

This was a heck of a week.  The top of the countdown had itself a pretty significant overhaul – and for the better, too.  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.

• Taylor Swift - 22
• Pitbull Ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment (DTHNOBx2)

The Countdown:

1. Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (#2) [First Week at #1]

2. Selena Gomez - Come & Get It (#8)

3. Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (#16)

4. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#1)

5. Avril Lavigne - Here's to Never Growing Up (#4)

6. Zedd Ft. Foxes - Clarity (#11)

7. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#7)

8. Icona Pop - I Love It (#6)

9. Capital Cities - Safe and Sound (#13)

10. Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines (#19)

11. Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am - Crazy Kids (#12)

12. Awolnation - Sail (#27)

13. Jason Derulo - The Other Side (#12)

14. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#20)

15. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#4)

16. Bruno Mars - Treasure (#21)

17. Calvin Harris Ft. Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (#23)

18. Emblem 3 - Chloe (#26)

19. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#9)

20. Michael Buble - It's a Beautiful Day (#18)

21. Classified Ft. David Myles - Inner Ninja (#15)

22. The 1975 - Chocolate (#22)

23. Chris Brown - Fine China (#30)

24. Kelsi Luck - That's What I Like (#24)

25. Pink Ft. Nate Reuss - Just Give Me a Reason (#5)

26. The Summer Set - Boomerang (#43)

27. Mariah Carey Ft. Miguel - #Beautiful (#25)

28. Paramore - Still Into You (DEBUT)

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

30. Ariana Grande - The Way (#28)

31. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#29)

32. Nikki Williams - Glowing (DEBUT)

33. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#3)

34. Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande - Beneath Your Beautiful (#35)

35. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#10)

36. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#38)

37. fun. - Some Nights (#39)

38. Tegan & Sara - Closer (#36)

39. MKTO - Thank You (#42)

40. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#32)

41. Ke$ha - Die Young (#33)

42. Jennifer Lopez Ft. Pitbull - Live It Up (#44)

43. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#45)

44. Drop City Yacht Club - Crickets (#41)

45. Little Mix - Wings (#40)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPPP!!!!!!...of the week: Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up (-30)

Biggest Ju….wait…hold on a sec.

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPPP!!!!!!...of the week: Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up (-30)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPPP!!!!!!...of the week: Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up (-30)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPPP!!!!!!...of the week: Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up (-30)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPPP!!!!!!...of the week: Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up (-30)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPPP!!!!!!...of the week: Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up (-30)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPPP!!!!!!...of the week: Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up (-30)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPPP!!!!!!...of the week: Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up (-30)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPPP!!!!!!...of the week: Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up (-30)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPPP!!!!!!...of the week: Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up (-30)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPPP!!!!!!...of the week: Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up (-30)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPPP!!!!!!...of the week: Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up (-30)

Ahhhhhhhh that felt good.

Biggest Jump of the Week: The Summer Set – Boomerang (+17)

The last time we checked in on Paramore was a few years ago when The Only Exception was parading around the upper ranks of the countdown.  That song was decent, but fairly lifeless and ultimately overplayed.  Fortunately, the word “lifeless” does not apply to the decidedly above-average Still Into You.  I’m not crazy about the melody of the verses, but the initial transition into the chorus, complete with noticeable uptick in pace, is excellent.  Nikki Williams – Glowing is another song with quite the contrast in pace between the chorus and verses, but it’s not quite as effective.  Still, the countdown has seen worse.  The song alternates between dance jam and something that would clear out the dance floor.  I’m guessing it’ll be remixed to no end.

Blurbs & Spices

- [Yup, again]

- Welp, I never tabbed Imagine Dragons – Radioactive as a potential #1 song upon its entry to the countdown, but it’s clearly done a lot better than I had expected.  The countdown could do, and recently has done, a lot worse with its #1 song selections.  This works just fine.

- The #2 slot, however, is more than a little aggravating.  Selena Gomez – Come & Get It is superlatively disinteresting and mediocre, much like most music produced by, well, Selena Gomez.  She may be one of the most overrated artists out there these days. 

- Going right on down the list to #3….apparently the countdown gods were panicked that a Maroon 5 song might not touch the Top 5, so Love Somebody saw itself a nice jump after lurking in the #10 - #20 range for seemingly forever.

- Avril Lavigne – Here’s to Never Growing Up and Capital Cities – Safe and Sound made their Top 10 debuts this week, plus Zedd Ft. Foxes – Clarity found itself a new high-water mark at #6.  All of these things are good.

- In addition to Hung Up, Fall Out Boy – My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark and Pink Ft. Nate Reuss – Just Give Me a Reason took big tumbles.  These things are also good – this countdown desperately needed an infusion of out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-but-mostly-out-with-the-old.

- Speaking of Selena Gomez, she was this weekend’s countdown host (might that have something to do with her song’s promotion to the #2 slot?).  Like Miley Cyrus, she was just awful.  For the millionth time, I don’t want to see an unenthusiastic celebrity do this show.  We also lose a lot of information about jumps/drops, entrants/exits, and recaps of sections of the countdown when Spyder Harrison’s not the DJ.  This is an open plea to fix the overabundance of guest hosts.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) The 1975 – Chocolate

2) Zedd Ft. Foxes – Clarity

3) Paramore – Still Into You

4) Jason Derulo – The Other Side

5) Capital Cities – Safe and Sound

Macklemore (3) - Week of June 29, 2013

Pretty big moment in this blog's history this past week.  On Tuesday, we got our 100,000th pageview.  I am truly delighted that quite literally hundreds of people come to this site each day.  I never imagined this would turn into a thing.  Thanks, readers!  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.

• Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks

The Countdown:

1. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#1) [Third Week at #1]

2. Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (#2)

3. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#3)

4. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#5)

5. Pink Ft. Nate Reuss - Just Give Me a Reason (#4)

6. Icona Pop - I Love It (#6)

7. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#8)

8. Selena Gomez - Come & Get It (#7)

9. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#12)

10. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#9)

11. Zedd Ft. Foxes - Clarity (#10)

12. Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am - Crazy Kids (#11)

13. Capital Cities - Safe and Sound (#14)

14. Avril Lavigne - Here's to Never Growing Up (#13)

15. Classified Ft. David Myles - Inner Ninja (#17)

16. Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (#18)

17. Jason Derulo - The Other Side (#19)

18. Michael Buble - It's a Beautiful Day (#20)

19. Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines (#21)

20. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#16)

21. Bruno Mars - Treasure (#23)

22. The 1975 - Chocolate (#24)

23. Calvin Harris Ft. Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (#25)

24. Kelsi Luck - That's What I Like (#22)

25. Mariah Carey Ft. Miguel - #Beautiful (#27)

26. Emblem 3 - Chloe (#39)

27. Awolnation - Sail (#26)

28. Ariana Grande - The Way (#33)

29. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#28)

30. Chris Brown - Fine China (#40)

31. Taylor Swift - 22 (#36)

32. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#15)

33. Ke$ha - Die Young (#38)

34. Pitbull Ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment (#42)

35. Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande - Beneath Your Beautiful (#30)

36. Tegan & Sara - Closer (#29)

37. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#34)

38. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#37)

39. fun. - Some Nights (#41)

40. Little Mix - Wings (#44)

41. Drop City Yacht Club - Crickets (#35)

42. MKTO - Thank You (#43)

43. The Summer Set - Boomerang (DEBUT)

44. Jennifer Lopez Ft. Pitbull - Live It Up (#31)

45. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#45)

Biggest DDDDDRRROOPPPP!!!!....of the week: Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop (-17)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Emblem 3 – Chloe (+13)

The Summer Set – Boomerang fulfills pretty much every stereotype about pop music.  It’s 1) catchy, 2) has crappy lyrics, and 3) is instrumentally simple.  It’ll fit right in.  Though I am surprised it was this week’s lone new entrant.  Maybe the “inactivity” trend of Spyder Harrison’s weekends off is returning……

St. Blurbtholomew

- [You all know by now what this first blurb is, so I’m not going to repeat myself]

- Miley Cyrus was this weekend’s guest host.  I honestly don’t know whether Hits-1 thinks it’s enjoyable for these random singers that are bland and boring as DJs to “take over” the weekend countdown, but no one does it like Spyder Harrison.  

- There continues to be a lack of movement around the top of the countdown.  This is the most stable things have been in quite some time.

- That having been said, Daft Punk – Get Lucky has leaped into the Top 10, and it’s a pretty strong bet that it’ll ruffle some feathers among the peak countdown songs.

- At a 4^th of July party yesterday, a friend of mine made an all-America playlist.  Jason Derulo – The Other Side made the cut because it mentions the 4^th of July.  Despite its tenuous label as a patriotic song, I did not object because: it’s good.

- My prediction for the size of this upcoming weekend’s class of new entrants: 4

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) The 1975 – Chocolate

2) Zedd Ft. Foxes – Clarity

3) Jason Derulo – The Other Side

4) Capital Cities – Safe and Sound

5) Daft Punk – Get Lucky

Macklemore (2) - Week of June 22, 2013

In which our unholy triumvirate at the top of the countdown is finally broken up…..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.

• Jay Sean - Where You Are
• Krewella - Alive

The Countdown:

1. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#3) [Second Week at #1]

2. Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (#7)

3. Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up (#4)

4. Pink Ft. Nate Reuss - Just Give Me a Reason (#2)

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

6. Icona Pop - I Love It (#6)

7. Selena Gomez - Come & Get It (#12)

8. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#5)

9. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#28)

10. Zedd Ft. Foxes - Clarity (#9)

11. Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am - Crazy Kids (#10)

12. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#25)

13. Avril Lavigne - Here's to Never Growing Up (#14)

14. Capital Cities - Safe and Sound (#16)

15. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#13)

16. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#18)

17. Classified Ft. David Myles - Inner Ninja (#19)

18. Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (#11)

19. Jason Derulo - The Other Side (#21)

20. Michael Buble - It's a Beautiful Day (#20)

21. Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines (#15)

22. Kelsi Luck - That's What I Like (#24)

23. Bruno Mars - Treasure (#17)

24. The 1975 - Chocolate (#22)

25. Calvin Harris Ft. Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (#27)

26. Awolnation - Sail (#26)

27. Mariah Carey Ft. Miguel - #Beautiful (#41)

28. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#8)

29. Tegan & Sara - Closer (#31)

30. Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande - Beneath Your Beautiful (#32)

31. Jennifer Lopez Ft. Pitbull - Live It Up (#23)

32. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#34)

33. Ariana Grande - The Way (#39)

34. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#38)

35. Drop City Yacht Club - Crickets (#33)

36. Taylor Swift - 22 (#30)

37. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#37)

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

39. Emblem 3 - Chloe (DEBUT)

40. Chris Brown - Fine China (DEBUT)

41. fun. - Some Nights (#40)

42. Pitbull Ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment (#35)

43. MKTO - Thank You (#42)

44. Little Mix - Wings (#43)

45. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#44)

Biggest DDDDDRRRROOOOPPP!!!!!....of the week: Olly Murs – Troublemaker (-20)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Demi Lovato – Heart Attack (+19)

I’m a huge fan of Chris Brown’s voice, but his new song Fine China doesn’t initially resonate with me the way She Ain’t You or International Love did (his two most recent countdown contributions).  Nonetheless, it’s a pretty smooth tune and I’m more than willing to give it the benefit of the doubt going forward.  Don’t be surprised to see it in a future Editor’s Picks list.  Emblem 3 – Chloe is your standard run-of-the-mill countdown fodder that’s interesting enough to listen to for a few weeks, but will leave you clamoring for a station change in about a month.  The lyrics are only a slight notch above something that Hot Chelle Rae might produce (for you countdown newbies….that’s bad).  Be VERY surprised to see it in a future Editor’s Picks list.

Blurbfast Club

- Guess I’ll wipe out the obligatory administrative stuffs right off the bat.  Emeli Sande – Next to Me is still here [gets stranger every week folks….can’t stop bringing it up] and Swedish House Mafia – Don’t You Worry Child held onto the #37 spot for a somewhat ridiculous fifth week in a row.

- To elaborate on this week’s introductory line, I am of course speaking about Pink Ft. Nate Reuss – Just Give Me a Reason, Fall Out Boy – My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light ‘em Up) and Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis – Can’t Hold Us.  This is the first week since April 27^th that these three songs have not been the Top 3 on the countdown, in some order.

- Somewhat surprising is the ascension of Imagine Dragons – Radioactive to the #2 spot.  I never really thought of it as a serious contender for #1, but hell, I’d take it over the current #1 song in a heartbeat, and certainly over Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up, which has risen to a dangerous spot at #3.  I can’t recall ever hearing Hung Up outside of Hits-1.

- Come to think of it, outside of Radioactive, I’m not thrilled with any of the top 8 songs right now.  The new blood is long overdue, but Icona Pop – I Love It, Selena Gomez – Come & Get It, and the aforementioned Hung Up really do not live up to their billing.

- Daft Punk – Get Lucky finally made some progress ascending to its eventual #1 spot on the countdown.  Knowing this particular set of rankings, it’s gonna happen months after the world is hooked on it.

- Avril Lavigne – Here’s to Never Growing Up and Michael Buble – It’s a Beautiful Day seem to be played with far lower frequency during regular airplay than their countdown rankings would suggest.  I could see the former taking a big tumble on the countdown pretty soon.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Zedd Ft. Foxes – Clarity

2) The 1975 – Chocolate

3) Jason Derulo – The Other Side

4) Daft Punk – Get Lucky

5) Capital Cities – Safe and Sound

Fall Out Boy (6) - Week of June 15, 2013

Allllluuuuhhhhrrrriiighhhttt!!!!  We’re back for realz this time around.  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.

• will.i.am Ft. Justin Bieber - #thatPOWER
• Muse - Madness (DTHNOBx2)

The Countdown:

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

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

3. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#1)

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

5. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#5)

6. Icona Pop - I Love It (#4)

7. Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (#13)

8. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#6)

9. Zedd Ft. Foxes - Clarity (#14)

10. Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am - Crazy Kids (#20)

11. Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (#11)

12. Selena Gomez - Come & Get It (#12)

13. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#17)

14. Avril Lavigne - Here's to Never Growing Up (#16)

15. Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines (#7)

16. Capital Cities - Safe and Sound (#15)

17. Bruno Mars - Treasure (#9)

18. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#18)

19. Classified Ft. David Myles - Inner Ninja (#25)

20. Michael Buble - It's a Beautiful Day (#28)

21. Jason Derulo - The Other Side (#19)

22. The 1975 - Chocolate (#21)

23. Jennifer Lopez Ft. Pitbull - Live It Up (#33)

24. Kelsi Luck - That's What I Like (#24)

25. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#29)

26. Awolnation - Sail (#26)

27. Calvin Harris Ft. Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (#35)

28. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#10)

29. Jay Sean - Where You Are (#22)

30. Taylor Swift - 22 (#23)

31. Tegan & Sara - Closer (#39)

32. Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande - Beneath Your Beautiful (#34)

33. Drop City Yacht Club - Crickets (#27)

34. Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (#36)

35. Pitbull Ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment (#44)

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

37. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#37)

38. Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (#40)

39. Ariana Grande - The Way (DEBUT)

40. fun. - Some Nights (#30)

41. Mariah Carey - #Beautiful (DEBUT)

42. MKTO - Thank You (#38)

43. Little Mix - Wings (#43)

44. Emeli Sande - Next to Me (#45)

45. Krewella - Alive (#41)

Biggest DDDDRRRROOOOPPPP!!!!....of the week: Demi Lovato – Heart Attack (-18)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Tie between Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am – Crazy Kids and Jennifer Lopez Ft. Pitbull – Live It Up (+10)

Including last week’s debut, we’ve got 3 new songs to talk about, but don’t jump out of your seats; none of them are worth getting super excited over.  If I had to pick a “best of the bunch”, I’d say Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande – Beneath Your Beautiful.  It was the #1 song in the UK earlier this year and has been on HitBound forever (there’s something about Emeli Sande and HitBound).  It finally got its chance to debut on the countdown the weekend of June 8^th.  Lyrically, it’s a cut above your typical Hits-1 song and it’s pretty well-performed.

Holy plagiarism Batman!  Ariana Grande debuted with The Way, and the beat is completely ripped off of Big Pun / Fat Joe (okay, not precisely, but we’re talking Under Pressure / Ice Ice Baby–level similarity).  Make your own damn songs, and if you have to tread on decade-old ground, at least have the decency to make the end product a lot better than The Way.  Not surprisingly, while not credited on Hits-1, Mac Miller had a role to play in this disaster.

In this week’s edition of things that really, really don’t need a hashtag, Mariah Carey debuted with #Beautiful.  For some reason Hits-1 doesn’t credit Miguel with a “featuring”, but he’s pretty good in this song.  This is one of those that’s going to be nice to have around while it’s still a shiny new toy, but I don’t love it, and it’s likely going to cement itself in the ranks of countdown mediocrities.

Blurbday Cake

- Swedish House Mafia – Don’t You Worry Child has been #37 for 4 straight weeks, an oddity in such a volatile part of the countdown.

- Hot Chelle Rae – Hung Up in the Top 5, is, to quote Juno MacGuff, one big, fat sack of NO!

- Imagine Dragons – Radioactive – got to the Top 10 much more quickly than It’s Time.

- Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am – Crazy Kids had the Biggest Jump of the Week two weeks in a row.

- Daft Punk – Get Lucky sure is taking its sweet time ascending to its eventual #1 spot on the countdown.

- [Obligatory comment about how Emeli Sande – Next to Me is still here]

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) The 1975 – Chocolate

2) Zedd Ft. Foxes – Clarity

3) Daft Punk – Get Lucky

4) Jason Derulo – The Other Side

5) Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am – Crazy Kids