One Direction (2) - Week of March 24, 2012

This first part of this week’s installment is almost too painful for me to type, but I suppose I’m grateful it didn’t happen weeks ago, as it easily could have.  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.

• Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa Ft. Bruno Mars – Young, Wild & Free

The Countdown: (Source: Wikipedia)

1. One Direction- What Makes You Beautiful (#1) [Second Week at #1]

2. Flo Rida- Good Feeling (#6)

3. Kelly Clarkson- Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) (#3)

4. Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris- We Found Love (#9)

5. Adele- Set Fire to the Rain (#5)

6. fun. feat. Janelle Monáe- We Are Young (#10)

7. Katy Perry- Part of Me (#8)

8. Gavin DeGraw- Not Over You (#7)

9. The Wanted- Glad You Came (#4)

10. Outasight- Tonight Is the Night (#12)

11. David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj- Turn Me On (#2)

12. The Cab- La La (#17)

13. Gym Class Heroes feat. Neon Hitch- Ass Back Home (#11)

14. Grouplove- Tongue Tied (#23)

15. Flo Rida feat. Sia- Wild Ones (#18)

16. Neon Trees- Everybody Talks (#29)

17. Calvin Harris- Feel So Close (#22)

18. The Black Keys- Lonely Boy (#19)

19. Childish Gambino- Heartbeat (#16)

20. Skrillex feat. Sirah- Bangarang (#27)

21. Nicki Minaj- Starships (#30)

22. Gotye feat. Kimbra- Somebody That I Used to Know (#21)

23. Lucas Prata feat. Lenny B- First Night of My Life (#20)

24. The All-American Rejects- Beekeeper's Daughter (#14)

25. Karmin- Brokenhearted (#43) 

26. M83- Midnight City (#37)

27. Chiddy Bang- Ray Charles (#26)

28. Hot Chelle Rae- Honestly (#32)

29. B.o.B- So Good (#36)

30. Train- Drive By (#25)

31. K'naan feat. Nelly Furtado- Is Anybody Out There? (#24)

32. Bruno Mars- It Will Rain (#34)

33. Coldplay & Rihanna- Princess of China (#33)

34. Katy Perry- The One That Got Away (#31)

35. David Guetta feat. Usher- Without You (#13)

36. Selena Gomez & the Scene- Love You Like a Love Song (#28)

37. Pitbull feat. Chris Brown- International Love (#42)

38. Adele- Someone Like You (#15) 

39. Gym Class Heroes feat. Adam Levine- Stereo Hearts (#35)

40. Foster the People- Don't Stop (Color on the Walls) (#39)

41. September- Party in My Head (DEBUT)

42. Hot Chelle Rae feat. New Boyz- I Like It Like That (#45)

43. Mac Miller- Knock Knock (#40)

44. Toby Keith- Red Solo Cup (#41)

45. LMFAO- Sorry for Party Rocking (#38)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRRROOOOOOPPPPPP!!!!!!.....of the week: Adele – Someone Like You (-23)

Biggest Jump of the week: Karmin – Brokenhearted (+18)

One new song to speak of.  Going straight from high school to the NBA this week was September – Party In My Head.  I am definitely liking this one so far.  Good beat, good energy.  I like the odds of it remaining an above-average mainstay on the countdown for months to come.

Unfortunate return of Flo Rida – Good Feeling and Rihanna Ft. Calvin Harris – We Found Love to the Top 5 this week.  We’ll try to get this corrected by next week.  Sorry everyone.

After another week of spins, I think I jumped to conclusions a little too quickly on B.O.B. – So Good.  It’s definitely better than I initially gave it credit for.  Similarly, I was a little too quick to judge K’Naan Ft. Nelly Furtado – Is Anybody Out There.  Initially I liked it, but soon after discovered that it wears on your ears pretty quickly.

All in all, not a ton going on this week.  We’re probably only a few weeks away from being done with the whole LMFAO-having-a-song-on-the-countdown thing.  Until then, I’ll just sit and hope….

Editor’s Picks: Top 5 Songs

1) M83 – Midnight City

2) Gotye – Somebody That I Used to Know

3) Pitbull Ft. Chris Brown – International Love

4) September – Party In My Head

5) Train – Drive By

One Direction - Week of March 17, 2012

Spyder Harrison was in an unfortunate motorcycle accident, so there was another guest host on the countdown this week, the guys from One Direction.  Maybe this had something to do with the #1-ness of their song this week?  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:

•  Jessie J – Domino
•  Big Time Rush Ft. Mann – Music Sounds Better With U
•  Maroon 5 Ft. Christina Aguilera – Moves Like Jagger (Former #1)

The Countdown: (Source: Wikipedia)

1. One Direction- What Makes You Beautiful (#13) [New #1]

2. David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj- Turn Me On (#2)

3. Kelly Clarkson- Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) (#1)

4. The Wanted- Glad You Came (#26)

5. Adele- Set Fire to the Rain (#3)

6. Flo Rida- Good Feeling (#6)

7. Gavin DeGraw- Not Over You (#5)

8. Katy Perry- Part of Me (#10)

9. Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris- We Found Love (#4)

10. fun. feat. Janelle Monáe- We Are Young (#7)

11. Gym Class Heroes feat. Neon Hitch- Ass Back Home (#24)

12. Outasight- Tonight Is the Night (#8)

13. David Guetta feat. Usher- Without You (#14)

14. The All-American Rejects- Beekeeper's Daughter (#15)

15. Adele- Someone Like You (#17)

16. Childish Gambino- Heartbeat (#16)

17. The Cab- La La (#29)

18. Flo Rida feat. Sia- Wild Ones (#18)

19. The Black Keys- Lonely Boy (#23)

20. Lucas Prata feat. Lenny B- First Night of My Life (#20)

21. Gotye feat. Kimbra- Somebody That I Used to Know (#27)

22. Calvin Harris- Feel So Close (#36)

23. Grouplove- Tongue Tied (#31)

24. K'naan feat. Nelly Furtado- Is Anybody Out There? (#19)

25. Train- Drive By (#9)

26. Chiddy Bang- Ray Charles (#22)

27. Skrillex feat. Sirah- Bangarang (#21)

28. Selena Gomez & the Scene- Love You Like a Love Song (#33)

29. Neon Trees- Everybody Talks (#19)

30. Nicki Minaj- Starships (#43)

31. Katy Perry- The One That Got Away (#40)

32. Hot Chelle Rae- Honestly (DEBUT)

33. Coldplay & Rihanna- Princess of China (#32)

34. Bruno Mars- It Will Rain (#37)

35. Gym Class Heroes feat. Adam Levine- Stereo Hearts (#12)

36. B.o.B- So Good (DEBUT)

37. M83- Midnight City (#25)

38. LMFAO- Sorry for Party Rocking (#38)

39. Foster the People- Don't Stop (Color on the Walls) (#35)

40. Mac Miller- Knock Knock (#41)

41. Toby Keith- Red Solo Cup (#39)

42. Pitbull feat. Chris Brown- International Love (#45)

43. Karmin- Brokenhearted (DEBUT)

44. Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa feat. Bruno Mars- Young, Wild & Free (#34)

45. Hot Chelle Rae feat. New Boyz- I LIke It Like That (#11)

Biggest DDDDRRRROOOOPPPP!!!!!!......of the week: Hot Chelle Rae – I Like It Like That (-34)

Biggest Jump of the week: The Wanted – Glad You Came (+22)

Guess that having a guest host didn’t prevent a little volatility this week.  That’s three quality songs exiting the countdown, so the new entrants have their work cut out for them.  Even though we’re losing Domino, the news isn’t all bad because we’re gaining an eerily similar song in Karmin – Brokenhearted.  Next up is B.O.B. Ft. (nobody) with So – Good.  Wait a minute…..”Ft. (nobody)”???

..

……

Everyone knows the rule…..all of B.O.B.’s famous songs need to be featuring someone way more talented than him.  Hayley Williams.  Rivers Cuomo.  Yes, even freakin’ Bruno Mars.  He was in Price Tag too, but we can cut him a break because that’s actually Jessie J’s song, not his.  So this is 100% B.O.B.????  I mean…wow.  He made a song all by himself!  I’d give him props except that without someone else to sing all the good parts, the song falls kind of flat.  The weird thing is that I don’t dislike it that much.  I actually kind of like it enough to make me worry that I just have anti-B.O.B. prejudice.  Nonetheless, it does seem like a song that I’m going to be done with a week or two from now.

Hot Chelle Rae – Honestly is the final new entrant.  I’ve thought quite a lot about my opinion on Hot Chelle Rae.  I liked Tonight Tonight a good deal at first, but man, talk about an easy song to get sick of.  Then they came out with I Like It Like That, and it was so similar to Tonight Tonight, only with (somehow) even dumber lyrics that I couldn’t stand it after a week of airtime on Hits-1.  At that point I wrote them off as pretty uncreative/talentless/bad.  Their new song, Honestly, at least at this point, has me reconsidering.  The song has by far the best vocal performance of the three and has some back-up singing that adds a fresh new dimension.  The lyrics are still pretty dumb though, but hey, at least they’ve got a niche, right?

The big story this week, of course, is the random (controversial?) jump of One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful to #1, all the way up from #13.  I’ve been a pretty vocal supporter of the song since its debut on the countdown and am happy to see them defy expectations and hit the top spot.  In doesn’t-make-much-sense land, The Wanted – Glad You Came jumped all the way to #4.  It’s been steadily climbing Ryan Seacrest’s list too, and I really don’t understand the infatuation with this bland, average-y song.  But in any case, it’s still the best “worst” song of the Top 5 in a long time, so I guess that’s progress.  The top of the countdown is certainly tolerable again.

Two of my top 3 “Editor’s Picks” took significant dips while the other one jumped a bit, so despite One Direction’s coup, it’s kind of a bittersweet week.  I checked the Billboard Hot 100 this morning and f.u.n. Ft. Janelle Monae – We Are Young was #1.  So I guess we’ve got another song with #1 potential floating around up there. 

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) M83 – Midnight City

2) Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa Ft. Bruno Mars – Young, Wild & Free

3) Gotye – Somebody That I Used to Know

4) Pitbull Ft. Chris Brown – International Love

5) Karmin - Brokenhearted

Kelly Clarkson (2) - Week of March 10, 2012

Demi Lovato was this week’s guest host on the countdown, and per usual on Spyder Harrison’s weekends off, we’ve got our usual dose of low turnover and low volatility.  To wit, the biggest jump of the week was a tie between this week’s #34 and #35 songs.  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 – Mr. Know It All (DTHNOBx2)
• Cobra Starship – You Make Me Feel (Former #1, Most Tenured Song)

The Countdown: (Source: Wikipedia)

1. Kelly Clarkson- Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) (#1) [Second Week at #1]

2. David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj- Turn Me On (#6)

3. Adele- Set Fire to the Rain (#3)

4. Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris- We Found Love (#2)

5. Gavin DeGraw- Not Over You (#11)

6. Flo Rida- Good Feeling (#8)

7. fun. feat. Janelle Monáe- We Are Young (#9)

8. Outasight- Tonight Is the Night (#10)

9. Train- Drive By (#16)

10. Katy Perry- Part of Me (#7)

11. Hot Chelle Rae feat. New Boyz- I Like It Like That (#5)

12. Gym Class Heroes feat. Adam Levine- Stereo Hearts (#4)

13. One Direction- What Makes You Beautiful (#12)

14. David Guetta feat. Usher- Without You (#17)

15. The All-American Rejects- Beekeeper's Daughter (#20)

16. Childish Gambino- Heartbeat (#15)

17. Adele- Someone Like You (#14)

18. Flo Rida feat. Sia- Wild Ones (#21)

19. Neon Trees- Everybody Talks (#24)

20. Lucas Prata feat. Lenny B- First Night of My Life (#23)

21. Skrillex feat. Sirah- Bangarang (#13)

22. Chiddy Bang- Ray Charles (#27)

23. The Black Keys- Lonely Boy (#18)

24. Gym Class Heroes feat. Neon Hitch- Ass Back Home (#19)

25. M83- Midnight City (#30)

26. The Wanted- Glad You Came (#32)

27. Gotye feat. Kimbra- Somebody That I Used to Know (#33)

28. K'naan feat. Nelly Furtado- Is Anybody Out There? (#25)

29. The Cab- La La (#26)

30. Jessie J- Domino (#22)

31. Grouplove- Tongue Tied (#28)

32. Coldplay & Rihanna- Princess of China (#36)

33. Selena Gomez & the Scene- Love You Like a Love Song (#35)

34. Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa feat. Bruno Mars- Young, Wild & Free (#44)

35. Foster the People- Don't Stop (Color on the Walls) (#45)

36. Calvin Harris- Feel So Close (DEBUT)

37. Bruno Mars- It Will Rain (#37)

38. LMFAO- Sorry for Party Rocking (#42)

39. Toby Keith- Red Solo Cup (#43)

40. Katy Perry- The One That Got Away (#39)

41. Mac Miller- Knock Knock (#38)

42. Big Time Rush feat. Mann- Music Sounds Better With U (#29)

43. Nicki Minaj- Starships (DEBUT)

44. Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera- Moves Like Jagger (#41)

45. Pitbull feat. Chris Brown- International Love (#34)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOPPPPP!!!!!!!......of the Week: Big Time Rush Ft. Mann – Music Sounds Better With U (-13)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Tie between Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa Ft. Bruno Mars – Young, Wild & Free and Foster the People – Don’t Stop (Color on the Walls) (+10)

Two new entrants this week.  The first is Calvin Harris – Feel So Close.  I honestly don’t think Calvin Harris had much of a chance in my eyes after collaborating with Rihanna on the mindlessly repetitive and indisputably awful We Found Love.  But I honestly don’t think first impressions would have mattered much here.  It’s a better song than We Found Love on pretty much every level, but mostly that just means it falls into the class of repetitively bland, rather than repetitively annoying.  The other new entrant, Nicki Minaj – Starships had so much potential.  Most of the song is pretty excellent, but it gets spoiled a bit by the weird and out-of-place techno-trance interlude between the verses.  The end product is still something that’s pretty good, but man, what it could have been.

I think I might have to bite the bullet on Pitbull Ft. Chris Brown – International Love.  I thought it had a great shot at a #1 bid, but dropping all the way to #45 this past weekend and being infrequently played during the week on Hits-1 is pretty much a death sentence.  The upside is that we resumed the de-terriblizing of the top 10 this week, with Gym Class Heroes Ft. Adam Levine – Stereo Hearts (clarification: not terrible, just old) and Hot Chelle Rae – I Like It Like That (clarification: terrible) dropping out.  David Guetta Ft. Nicki Minaj – Turn Me On jumped to #2, possibly set to fulfill that #1 potential that I saw in it long ago when it debuted on the countdown.  Gavin DeGraw – Not Over You made a big jump into the Top 5, while almost out of nowhere and after toiling in the 20’s for quite some time, Train – Drive By made its move as well.

Young, Wild & Free has been one of the bottom eight songs on the countdown since January 14^th, so maybe this week signaled a possible return to relevance.  I’m not holding my breath given its infrequent play on the station, but I honestly thought there was little chance it would still be here this week, so I’ll take it.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) M83 – Midnight City

2) Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa Ft. Bruno Mars – Young, Wild & Free

3) Gotye – Somebody That I Used to Know

4) Pitbull Ft. Chris Brown – International Love

5) Childish Gambino - Heartbeat

Kelly Clarkson - Week of March 3, 2012

This is not progress.  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.

•          LMFAO – Sexy and I Know It (!!!!!!!!!)
•          Matt & Kim Ft. Soulja Boy – I’m a Goner
•          The Fray – Heartbeat

The Countdown (Source: Wikipedia)

1. Kelly Clarkson- Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) (#5) [New #1]

2. Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris- We Found Love (#2)

3. Adele- Set Fire to the Rain (#1)

4. Gym Class Heroes feat. Adam Levine- Stereo Hearts (#4)

5. Hot Chelle Rae - I Like It Like That (#22)

6. David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj- Turn Me On (#6)

7. Katy Perry- Part of Me (#12)

8. Flo Rida feat. David Guetta and Adele - Good Feeling (#9)

9. fun. feat. Janelle Monáe- We Are Young (#13)

10. Outasight- Tonight Is the Night (#10)

11. Gavin DeGraw- Not Over You (#8)

12. One Direction- What Makes You Beautiful (#3)

13. Skrillex feat. Sirah- Bangarang (#16)

14. Adele- Someone Like You (#32)

15. Childish Gambino- Heartbeat (#17)

16. Train- Drive By (#24)

17. David Guetta feat. Usher- Without You (#38) 

18. The Black Keys- Lonely Boy (#20)

19. Gym Class Heroes feat. Neon Hitch- Ass Back Home (#31)

20. The All-American Rejects- Beekeeper's Daughter (#18)

21. Flo Rida feat. Sia- Wild Ones (#21)

22. Jessie J- Domino (#7)

23. Lucas Prata feat. Lenny B- First Night of My Life (#19)

24. Neon Trees- Everybody Talks (#37)

25. K'naan feat. Nelly Furtado- Is Anybody Out There? (#42)

26. The Cab- La La (#28)

27. Chiddy Bang- Ray Charles (#27)

28. Grouplove- Tongue Tied (#34)

29. Big Time Rush - Music Sounds Better With U (#14)

30. M83- Midnight City (#39)

31. Kelly Clarkson- Mr. Know It All (RE-ENTRY)

32. The Wanted- Glad You Came (#25)

33. Gotye feat. Kimbra- Somebody That I Used to Know (#26)

34. Pitbull feat. Chris Brown- International Love (#11)

35. Selena Gomez & the Scene- Love You Like a Love Song (#30)

36. Coldplay & Rihanna- Princess of China (#29)

37. Bruno Mars- It Will Rain (RE-ENTRY)

38. Mac Miller- Knock Knock (#23)

39. Katy Perry- The One That Got Away (#36)

40. Cobra Starship feat. Sabi- You Make Me Feel... (#35)

41. Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera- Moves Like Jagger (#40)

42. LMFAO- Sorry for Party Rocking (#33)

43. Toby Keith- Red Solo Cup (#43)

44. Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa feat. Bruno Mars- Young, Wild & Free (#44)

45. Foster the People feat. Cee Lo Green - Don't Stop (Color on the Walls) (RE-ENTRY)

Biggest DDDDDRRRRROOOOOPPP!!!!!!.....of the week: Pitbull Ft. Chris Brown – International Love (-23)

Biggest Jump of the Week: David Guetta Ft. Usher – Without You (+21)

#1 song, one year ago this week: Ke$ha – We R Who We R

Alright then, checking out the new entrants……wait….what?  There aren’t any?  Oh right, because the countdown decided to set a record for most resurrections in a week.  So we’ve got no new music.  I guess it was too good to be true last week when Bruno Mars – It Will Rain got knocked off, but I checked the Hits-1 page and it was lurking at #46, so I guess the re-entry is little surprise.  This is not progress.  But hey, the “loss” of Sexy and I Know It basically cancels out this re-entry.  Kelly Clarkson – Mr. Know It All is decisively a mediocrity (or worse) and doesn’t have much business being brought back from the land of DTHNOB.  This is not progress.  And finally, returning for a second farewell tour is Foster the People – Don’t Stop (Color on the Walls), a resurrection I couldn’t possibly have less strong feelings about in either direction.

As predicted 4 weeks prior when it debuted, Kelly Clarkson – Stronger inevitably rose to the #1 spot.  I just had no idea it would happen so fast.  Hitting the #1 spot on a song’s 5^th week on the countdown is possibly unheard of (will have to check that out sometime).  However, what happened with the rest of the top 10?  Katy Perry – Part of Me was both a welcome and inevitable addition, but were the demotions of Jessie J – Domino, Gavin DeGraw – Not Over You, and Pitbull Ft. Chris Brown – International Love really all that necessary?  This is not progress.  The countdown voters have historically had a serious crush on Pitbull, so Chris Brown must be dragging down the popularity….or something?  It’s not like he’s committed any violent crimes or anything…..  In any case, the biggest drop of the week is a little harsh.

In addition, why are Gym Class Heroes Ft. Adam Levine – Stereo Hearts and especially Hot Chelle Rae – I Like It Like That still top-5 songs?  This is not progress.  My feelings on Rihanna Ft. Calvin Harris – We Found Love are well-documented, so you can understand why I’m disappointed, collectively, by the Top 5.  This is not progress.  Here’s hoping for turnover amongst that group next week.

Two more blurbs:

1) Outasight – Tonight is the Night has occupied the #10 spot on the countdown for 5 straight weeks.  Fittingly, it is a pretty good, but not great, song that (relatively) isn’t all that easy to get sick of.  Props to the countdown voters for handling a song correctly for a change.

2) Adele – Rumour Has It is on Hit-Bound.  This is significant because it’s the first song ever to enter Hit-Bound after having a prior stint on the countdown.  Generally, songs can come back onto the countdown after getting DTHNOBbed (as was overly evident this week), but it’s never happened before via the Hit-Bound route. 

This is not progress.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) M83 – Midnight City

2) Snoop Dogg Ft. Wiz Khalifa & Bruno Mars – Young, Wild & Free

3) Gotye – Somebody I Used to Know

4) Pitbull Ft. Chris Brown – International Love

5) Childish Gambino - Heartbeat

Adele - Week of February 25, 2012

This is probably the most excited I’ve ever been to recap a week on the countdown, as the de-terriblizing of the top 10 continues.  We also got a very shocking and incredibly pleasant DTHNOBbing of one of the previous regime’s chief offenders.  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.

• Bruno Mars – It Will Rain (!!!!)
• Foster the People – Don’t Stop (Color on the Walls) (DTHNOBx2)
• Breathe Carolina – Blackout
• Sean Kingston – Party All Night

The Countdown: (Source: Wikipedia)


1. Adele- Set Fire to the Rain (#2) [New #1]
2. Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris- We Found Love (#5)
3. One Direction- What Makes You Beautiful (#12)
4. Gym Class Heroes feat. Adam Levine- Stereo Hearts (#9)
5. Kelly Clarkson- Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) (#16)
6. David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj- Turn Me On (#7)
7. Jessie J- Domino (#4)
8. Gavin DeGraw- Not Over You (#11)
9. Flo Rida- Good Feeling (#1)
10. Outasight- Tonight Is the Night (#10)
11. Pitbull feat. Chris Brown- International Love (#21)
12. Katy Perry- Part of Me (#32) 
13. fun. feat. Janelle Monáe- We Are Young (#18)
14. Big Time Rush feat. Mann- Music Sounds Better With U (#14)
15. LMFAO- Sexy and I Know It (#3)
16. Skrillex feat. Sirah- Bangarang (#28)
17. Childish Gambino- Heartbeat (#15)
18. The All-American Rejects- Beekeeper's Daughter (#26)
19. Lucas Prata feat. Lenny B- First Night of My Life (#36)
20. The Black Keys- Lonely Boy (#13)
21. Flo Rida feat. Sia- Wild Ones (#31)
22. Hot Chelle Rae feat. New Boyz- I Like It Like That (#6)
23. Mac Miller- Knock Knock (#25)
24. Train- Drive By (#24)
25. The Wanted- Glad You Came (#17)
26. Gotye feat. Kimbra- Somebody That I Used to Know (#39)
27. Chiddy Bang- Ray Charles (#19)
28. The Cab- La La (#30)
29. Coldplay & Rihanna- Princess of China (#27)
30. Selena Gomez & the Scene- Love You Like a Love Song (#38)
31. Gym Class Heroes feat. Neon Hitch- Ass Back Home (#40)
32. Adele- Someone Like You (#37)
33. LMFAO- Sorry for Party Rocking (#34)
34. Grouplove- Tongue Tied (DEBUT)
35. Cobra Starship feat. Sabi- You Make Me Feel... (#29)
36. Katy Perry- The One That Got Away (#8)
37. Neon Trees- Everybody Talks (DEBUT)
38. David Guetta feat. Usher- Without You (#23)
39. M83- Midnight City (DEBUT)
40. Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera- Moves Like Jagger (#20)
41. Matt & Kim feat. Soulja Boy & Andrew W.K.- I'm a Goner (#43)
42. K'naan feat. Nelly Furtado- Is Anybody Out There? (DEBUT)
43. Toby Keith- Red Solo Cup (#33)
44. Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa feat. Bruno Mars- Young, Wild & Free (#44)
45. The Fray- Heartbeat (#45)



Biggest DDDDRRRRROOOOPPP!!!!!!!!!......of the week: Katy Perry – The One That Got Away (-28)
Biggest Jump of the Week: Katy Perry – Part of Me (+20)

I will gladly stomach the (admittedly, overdue) loss of dearly beloved Blackout to get rid of It Will Rain and make room for this week’s class of new entrants, which marks the 4th consecutive week that no bad songs have entered the countdown.  That’s how you get improvement, baby.  To wit, long-time Hit-Bound veteran Grouplove – Tongue Tied, better known as “that song from the iPod Touch commercial” is probably the worst song to enter the countdown during February, and it’s actually decent-ish.  Going straight from high school to the NBA this week is Neon Trees – Everybody Talks, their best entry since Animal.  K’Naan Ft. Nelly Furtado – Is Anybody Out There features a pretty solid performance from Nelly Furtado.  The verses done by K’Naan are less good, but not bad.  From that song pattern/quality perspective, it kind of reminds me a lot of Gym Class Heroes Ft. Neon Hitch – Ass Back Home.  And finally, the big victory this week is the debut of M83 – Midnight City, which is probably the best song to debut so far this year.  It definitely doesn’t project as a #1, but I urge anyone who hasn’t heard this song before to give it a spin.

As alluded to above, the Top 10 got a bit of a welcome makeover this week.  Gone are losers Hot Chelle Rae - I Like It Like That and LMFAO - Sexy And I Know It along with overrated mediocrity Katy Perry - The One That Got Away.  Enter Gavin DeGraw - Not Over You, Kelly Clarkson – Stronger, and most delightfully and surprisingly of all, One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful.  I never pegged this for being a Top-5 song, as it’s floated around in the low teens for awhile.  It possibly got a boost from finally making itself available on iTunes in the past couple of weeks.

It’s no secret that I’ve been very dissatisfied by the pretty bad (by comparison) rotating cast of #1s that have inherited the top spot on the countdown lately.  The fact that Stereo Hearts was somehow able to top the countdown a record-tying 7 times is pretty indicative of the weakness of the competition.  True, Flo Rida – Good Feeling, Rihanna Ft. Calvin Harris – We Found Love, David Guetta Ft. Usher – Turn Me On, Katy Perry – The One That Got Away, Selena Gomez – Love You Like a Love Song and Adele – Someone Like You aren’t all bad songs, and a couple of them are downright decent.  But none of them hold a candle to songs like Tik Tok, Dynamite, Break Your Heart, Last Friday Night, Firework, Rolling in the Deep, Love the Way You Lie, etc, which not only held on to the top spot for at least about a month or so, but are all pretty damned good.  At the very least, the next class of #1s (Kelly Clarkson – Stronger, Katy Perry – Part of Me, Pitbull Ft. Chris Brown – International Love, and possibly David Guetta Ft. Nicki Minaj – Turn Me On [I might have to back off my prior prediction on that one simply because better competition has emerged in recent weeks]) should be an upgrade, and hopefully a sign of better things to come.

I used to have to struggle to find 5 songs that I like enough to put in my “Editor’s Picks”, but I’m happy to say that the new problem is narrowing it down.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs
M83 – Midnight City
Gotye – Somebody I Used to Know
Snoop Dogg Ft. Wiz Khalifa & Bruno Mars – Young Wild & Free
Pitbull Ft. Chris Brown – International Love
One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful

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Flo Rida (2) - Week of February 18, 2012

Just two weeks after I was starting to completely lose all hope in this countdown, we're looking like we might be on the verge of another golden age.  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:

• Lady Gaga - You and I (DTHNOBx2)
• Kdrew - Body and Soul
• Kelly Clarkson - Mr. Know It All

The Countdown: (Source: Wikipedia)


1. Flo Rida- Good Feeling (#1) [Second Week at #1]
2. Adele- Set Fire to the Rain (#2)
3. LMFAO- Sexy and I Know It (#3)
4. Jessie J- Domino (#8)
5. Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris- We Found Love (#5)
6. Hot Chelle Rae feat. New Boyz- I Like It Like That (#9)
7. David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj- Turn Me On (#7)
8. Katy Perry- The One That Got Away (#4)
9. Gym Class Heroes feat. Adam Levine- Stereo Hearts (#15)
10. Outasight- Tonight Is the Night (#10)
11. Gavin DeGraw- Not Over You (#13)
12. One Direction- What Makes You Beautiful (#14)
13. The Black Keys- Lonely Boy (#20)
14. Big Time Rush feat. Mann- Music Sounds Better With U (#16)
15. Childish Gambino- Heartbeat (#19)
16. Kelly Clarkson- Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) (#22)
17. The Wanted- Glad You Came (#21)
18. fun. feat. Janelle Monáe- We Are Young (#38)
19. Chiddy Bang- Ray Charles (#25)
20. Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera- Moves Like Jagger (#6)
21. Pitbull feat. Chris Brown- International Love (#33)
22. Bruno Mars- It Will Rain (#12)
23. David Guetta feat. Usher- Without You (#17)
24. Train- Drive By (#26)
25. Mac Miller- Knock Knock (#39)
26. All-American Rejects- Beekeeper's Daughter (#42)
27. Coldplay & Rihanna- Princess of China (#31)
28. Skrillex feat. Sirah- Bangarang (#37)
29. Cobra Starship feat. Sabi- You Make Me Feel... (#11)
30. The Cab- La La (#44)
31. Flo Rida feat. Sia- Wild Ones (#29)
32. Katy Perry- Part of Me (DEBUT)
33. Toby Keith- Red Solo Cup (#28)
34. LMFAO- Sorry for Party Rocking (#35)
35. Foster the People- Don't Stop (Color on the Walls) (#32)
36. Lucas Prata feat. Lenny B- First Night of My Life (DEBUT)
37. Adele- Someone Like You (#18)
38. Selena Gomez & the Scene- Love You Like a Love Song (#34)
39. Gotye feat. Kimbra- Somebody That I Used to Know (DEBUT)
40. Gym Class Heroes feat. Neon Hitch- Ass Back Home (#27)
41. Breathe Carolina- Blackout (#36)
42. Sean Kingston- Party All Night (Sleep All Day) (#23)
43. Matt & Kim feat. Soulja Boy & Andrew W.K.- I'm a Goner (#30)
44. Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa feat. Bruno Mars- Young, Wild & Free (#43)
45. The Fray- Heartbeat (#24)


Biggest DDDDRRRRRROOOOOOPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!........of the week: The Fray - Heartbeat (-21)
Biggest Jump of the Week: f.u.n. Ft. Janelle Monae - We Are Young (+20)

Totally undeservedly, we see Body and Soul tie the record for most hysterically short tenure on the countdown, at one week.  That was worth the eight or so weeks that it occupied a coveted spot on Hit-Bound, right?  We'll see if it never comes back, a la Kid Cudi - Erase Me, or has an extended-stay resurrection similar to Foster the People - Don't Stop.  

Checking out the new entrants, starting with the most ubiquitous.  Katy Perry's fairly uncomfortable-to-watch revenge on Russell Brand at the Grammys in the form of Part of Me had about as much subtlety to it as the Emergency Alert System siren.  Since it's a Katy Perry song, I'm obligated to inform you that the song definitely has #1 potential, whether it's #1 quality or not.  Meh.  At least it's better than The One That Got Away.  Lucas Prata - First Night of My Life is an energetic, decent song that fits in nicely with the solid debuts we've had lately, not really in a standout fashion in any way.  Finally, Gotye - Somebody That I Used to Know jumped on, and it's a real winner in my book.  Kind of an unconventional, weirdly catchy tune, a la Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks.  The trippy music video has become quite popular on YouTube.

So Flo Rida was able to hold off Adele - Set Fire to the Rain for another week.  Nothing outstandingly interesting really went on besides our entrants and exits.  The most notable development was Jessie J - Domino leaping into the top 5 for the first time, and deservedly so.  With the exception of the dearly departed Body and Soul most of last week's new entrants got the traditional second-week boost and had solid jumps.  Here's hoping their predecessors are ushered out quickly and the solid talents lurking on Hit-Bound join them soon.

I've been a little too upbeat lately, so here are names of songs that suck, in no particular order:
1) Rihanna Ft. Calvin Harris - We Found Love
2) LMFAO - Sexy and I Know It
3) Bruno Mars - It Will Rain
4) Mac Miller - Knock Knock
5) LMFAO - Sorry for Party Rocking

Ahhhhhhhhhh that felt good.


Editor's Picks: Top 5 Songs
Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa Ft. Bruno Mars - Young, Wild & Free
Gotye - Somebody That I Used to Know
Skrillex - Bangarang
Pitbull Ft. Chris Brown - International Love
Flo Rida Ft. Sia - Wild Ones

Flo Rida - Week of February 11, 2012

Purge time!  A few of these were overdue for a swift DTHNOB to the face, so let's clean some house.  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.

• Nicki Minaj - Super Bass
• Cobra Starship - Fool Like Me
• Young the Giant - Cough Syrup
• Nicole Scherzinger - Don't Hold Your Breath (DTHNOBx2)
• The Downtown Fiction - Thanks for Nothing
• The Cab - Bad
• Kelly Rowland Ft. Big Sean - Lay It on Me

The Countdown: (Source: Wikipedia)

1. Flo Rida- Good Feeling (#7) [New #1] 

2. Adele- Set Fire to the Rain (#20) 

3. LMFAO- Sexy and I Know It (#3) 

4. Katy Perry- The One That Got Away (#12) 

5. Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris- We Found Love (#9) 

6. Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera- Moves Like Jagger (#2) 

7. David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj- Turn Me On (#21) 

8. Jessie J- Domino (#8) 

9. Hot Chelle Rae feat. New Boyz- I Like It Like That (#13) 

10. Outasight- Tonight Is the Night (#10) 

11. Cobra Starship feat. Sabi- You Make Me Feel... (#5) 

12. Bruno Mars- It Will Rain (#6) 

13. Gavin DeGraw- Not Over You (#17) 

14. One Direction- What Makes You Beautiful (#15) 

15. Gym Class Heroes feat. Adam Levine- Stereo Hearts (#14) 

16. Big Time Rush feat. Mann- Music Sounds Better With U (#32) 

17. David Guetta feat. Usher- Without You (#1) 

18. Adele- Someone Like You (#4) 

19. Childish Gambino- Heartbeat (#23) 

20. The Black Keys- Lonely Boy (#22) 

21. The Wanted- Glad You Came (#18) 

22. Kelly Clarkson- Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) (#25) 

23. Sean Kingston- Party All Night (Sleep All Day) (#16) 

24. The Fray- Heartbeat (#28) 

25. Chiddy Bang- Ray Charles (#27) 

26. Train- Drive By (#33) 

27. Gym Class Heroes feat. Neon Hitch- Ass Back Home (#42) 

28. Toby Keith- Red Solo Cup (#30) 

29. Flo Rida feat. Sia- Wild Ones (DEBUT) 

30. Matt & Kim feat. Soulja Boy & Andrew W.K.- I'm a Goner (#24) 

31. Coldplay & Rihanna- Princess of China (#31) 

32. Foster the People- Don't Stop (Color on the Walls) (#26) 

33. Pitbull feat. Chris Brown- International Love (DEBUT) 

34. Selena Gomez & the Scene- Love You Like a Love Song (#19) 

35. LMFAO- Sorry for Party Rocking (#36) 

36. Breathe Carolina- Blackout (#11)

37. Skrillex feat. Sirah- Bangarang (DEBUT) 

38. fun. feat. Janelle Monáe- We Are Young (DEBUT) 

39. Mac Miller- Knock Knock (#34) 

40. Lady Gaga- You and I (#40) 

41. KDrew- Body & Soul (She Got Control) (DEBUT) 

42. All-American Rejects- Beekeeper's Daughter (DEBUT) 

43. Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa feat. Bruno Mars- Young, Wild & Free (#43) 

44. The Cab- La La (DEBUT) 

45. Kelly Clarkson- Mr. Know It All (#44) 

Biggest DDDDDRRRROOOOOPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!..........of the week: Breathe Carolina - Blackout (-25)

Biggest Jump of the week: Adele - Set Fire to the Rain (+18)

I haven't done an "obituaries" section in awhile, but I have some parting words for these songs.  Super Bass, you were awesome.  I have no idea how you found yourself in this position when you were #3 just two weeks ago.  Fool Like Me, you never got your due, and you are doomed to forever be lost in the shuffle of significantly inferior Cobra Starship songs.  Bad, you should have had a bullet point next to your name two months ago instead of a single digit.  And finally, Lay It on Me, you were every bit as unworthy of a spot on the countdown as this quick exit suggests.  

With 7 debuts this week, I'm a busy man.  Let's get started with the rundown.  The highest debut was Flo Rida Ft. Sia - Wild Ones, clocking in at #29.  Personally I think this song trumps Good Feeling in pretty much every respect, but I'm probably not going to be in the majority there.  Sia is pretty good in this song, and Flo Rida turns in his best performance since Club Can't Handle Me.  Pitbull Ft. Chris Brown - International Love is the second song to enter the countdown in 2 weeks with strong #1 potential, and is the more deserving of the two.  Pitbull is a little better than his usual self, while Chris Brown steals the show and makes the song really worth listening to.

Pete Wentz declared Skrillex to be the breakthrough artist of 2011.  I'm not sure about that, and I'm sure there's going to be some seriously polarized opinions of his debuting countdown song, Bangarang.  I don't think I could compare it to any song I've ever heard before.  I'm in the camp that likes it a good deal, but man, is it weird.  Guess this is the new direction of electronic dance music.  f.u.n. Ft. Janelle Monae - We Are Young is a nice song with a particularly good chorus.  Been on Hit-Bound for a little while, and happy to see it finally made the jump.  Longtime Hit-Bound veteran KDrew - Body and Soul finally debuted this week.  At first I wasn't the biggest fan of this song, but it's definitely grown on me.  KDrew sounds a bit like a Michael Jackson wannabe more than once.  Despite overall being a fan of the All-American Rejects, I have to rank Beekeeper's Daughter last in this class of new entrants.  However it's a surprisingly strong class, so that's not really much of an insult.  The final new entrant is The Cab - La La.  I was definitely turned off by Bad, but this song has much better pacing and energy, and it works.

Whew.

This week Flo Rida - Good Feeling continued the trend of a rotating cast of not-really-deserving #1 songs simply because there's not a great alternative out there.  As I predicted/alluded to last week, Adele - Set Fire to the Rain made the big jump to the top 5 this week, and that's my pick for next week's likely #1 song.  Also, my prediction regarding David Guetta Ft. Nicki Minaj - Turn Me On as a potential #1 gained a lot of momentum this week, as it jumped 14 spots to #7.

A couple of decent talents waiting in the wings on Hit-Bound, most notably M83 - Midnight City and second-most-notably Demi Lovato - Give Your Heart a Break.  I'm pulling very hard for Midnight City to make the countdown just so it becomes eligible for my Top 45 of 2012, because if it does, it already has a pretty good spot locked up on that list.

Based on listening during the week, I expect a decent amount of turnover on next week's countdown.  Look for Katy Perry - Part of Me to go straight from high school to the NBA next week, while Lucas Prada - First Night of My Life and Andy Grammer - Fine By Me are likely Hit-Bound graduates.  Those three songs are listed in order of debut likelihood, with the first being a lock.

Editor's Picks - Top 5 Songs

Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa Ft. Bruno Mars - Young, Wild & Free

Skrillex - Bangarang

Jessie J - Domino

Pitbull Ft. Chris Brown - International Love

One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful