Imagine Dragons (7) - Week of August 24, 2013

Though the top of the countdown largely remained intact, there was quite a bit of moving and shaking this week, in addition to a reasonably interesting crop of new music.  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:

• Nikki Williams - Glowing
• Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child
• Avril Lavigne - Here's to Never Growing Up
• Hot Chelle Rae - Hung Up

The Countdown:

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

2. Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines (#5)

3. Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (#1)

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

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

6. Calvin Harris Ft. Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (#7)

7. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#6)

8. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#9)

9. Katy Perry - Roar (#17)

10. Capital Cities - Safe and Sound (#12)

11. Lady Gaga - Applause (#25)

12. Paramore - Still Into You (#10)

13. Karmin - Acapella (#13)

14. Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande - Beneath Your Beautiful (#14)

15. One Direction - Best Song Ever (#26)

16. The 1975 - Chocolate (#16)

17. Taylor Swift Ft. Ed Sheeran - Everything Has Changed (DEBUT)

18. Icona Pop - All Night (#33)

19. MKTO - Classic (#32)

20. Twenty One Pilots - Holding On To You (#24)

21. Mika Ft. Ariana Grande - Popular Song (#21)

22. Train Ft. Ashley Monroe - Bruises (#22)

23. Sammy Adams Ft. Mike Posner - LA Story (#11)

24. Pink - True Love (#19)

25. John Newman - Love Me Again (#41)

26. Cody Simpson - Pretty Brown Eyes (#34)

27. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Same Love (DEBUT)

28. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#36)

29. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#31)

30. Emblem 3 - Chloe (#15)

31. Krewella - Live for the Night (#39)

32. JTX - Summer Lover (#18)

33. Tegan & Sara - Closer (#35)

34. fun. - Some Nights (#43)

35. Selena Gomez - Come & Get It (#42)

36. Avicii Ft. Aloe Blacc - Wake Me Up (DEBUT)

37. Bonnie McKee - American Girl (DEBUT)

38. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#37)

39. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#45)

40. Icona Pop - I Love It (#44)

41. Awolnation - Sail (#40)

42. Ke$ha Ft. will.i.am - Crazy Kids (#28)

43. Bruno Mars - Treasure (#27)

44. Pink Ft. Nate Reuss - Just Give Me a Reason (#8)

45. Jason Derulo - The Other Side (#20)

Biggest DDDRRROOOPPPPPP!!!!!!....of the week: Pink Ft. Nate Reuss – Just Give Me a Reason (-36)

Biggest Jump of the Week: John Newman – Love Me Again (+16)

When we last encountered Aloe Blacc, he was having some financial problems.  Apparently that’s all behind him now and he’s teamed up with Avicii to produce Wake Me Up, a very interesting song that blends a folksy melody with the electronica stylings of Avicii.  Both elements are very catchy.  All in all, this is a well-constructed piece of music that I’m hoping makes some noise on the countdown in the coming months.  In the department of “songs making their countdown debut that have been around for awhile”, Same Love, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s song about the DOMA ruling, joined the countdown ranks this week.  Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran have supposedly been romantically involved in the past year, thus ensuring a future breakup anthem being written in Ed’s honor.  For the time being, the two are collaborating, but if Everything Has Changed is any indication, they’re not creating anything particularly interesting.  The song is pretty dull from pretty much from pretty much every perspective, including lyrically, which is shocking considering Sheeran’s involvement.  Bonnie McKee – American Girl is somewhat trashy if you are trying to evaluate it from a serious perspective, but I do not care one bit about that because it’s tons of fun.  Great energy, great hook.  I’ve never heard of Bonnie McKee before now, but this song makes me think that she’s the female equivalent of JTX.

Blurbs are Thicker Than Water

- There were a lot of big demotions this week.  The Bottom 4 songs on the countdown each fell from no lower than #28.  The last two weeks have been pretty fruitful in terms of turning over the countdown for new music.

- Spyder Harrison made a point to note that Roar was the high-water mark for a Katy Perry debut last week at #17.  It’s already in the Top 10.  The other songs might be looking up at it sooner than I thought.

- There has been quite a bit of turnover on HitBound lately, both due to graduations and removal of songs from the rotation.  There’s plenty of interesting ones floating around on HitBound that could keep the countdown’s recent resurgence going.

- I am happy to say that I once again will have difficult choices on my Editor’s Picks list over the next few weeks.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Train Ft. Ashley Monroe – Bruises

2) Avicii Ft. Aloe Blacc – Wake Me Up

3) MKTO – Classic

4) Bonnie McKee – American Girl

5) Twenty One Pilots – Holding On to You

Maroon 5 - Week of August 17, 2013

Macklemore was this weekend’s guest host.  So many guest hosts.  Too many guest hosts.  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.

• Olly Murs - Troublemaker
• Rihanna Ft. David Guetta - Right Now
• Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven
• The Summer Set - Boomerang
• Classified Ft. David Myles - Inner Ninja

The Countdown:

1. Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (#2) [First Week at #1]

2. Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (#1)

3. Zedd Ft. Foxes - Clarity (#5)

4. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'em Up) (#6)

5. Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell and T.I. - Blurred Lines (#3)

6. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#10)

7. Calvin Harris Ft. Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (#9)

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

9. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (#7)

10. Paramore - Still Into You (#13)

11. Sammy Adams Ft. Mike Posner - LA Story (#29)

12. Capital Cities - Safe and Sound (#18)

13. Karmin - Acapella (#19)

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

15. Emblem 3 - Chloe (#15)

16. The 1975 - Chocolate (#33)

17. Katy Perry - Roar (DEBUT)

18. JTX - Summer Lover (#16)

19. Pink - True Love (#20)

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

21. Mika Ft. Ariana Grande - Popular Song (#17)

22. Train Ft. Ashley Monroe - Bruises (#22)

23. Nikki Williams - Glowing (#23)

24. Twenty One Pilots - Holding On To You (#25)

25. Lady Gaga - Applause (DEBUT)

26. One Direction - Best Song Ever (#26)

27. Bruno Mars - Treasure (#14)

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

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

30. Avril Lavigne - Here's to Never Growing Up (#8)

31. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#21)

32. MKTO - Classic (#24)

33. Icona Pop - All Night (DEBUT)

34. Cody Simpson - Pretty Brown Eyes (#28)

35. Tegan & Sara - Closer (#27)

36. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#36)

37. Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (#42)

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

39. Krewella - Live for the Night (DEBUT)

40. Awolnation - Sail (#45)

41. John Newman - Love Me Again (DEBUT)

42. Selena Gomez - Come & Get It (#34)

43. fun. - Some Nights (#39)

44. Icona Pop - I Love It (#40)

45. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#41)

Biggest DDDDRRRROOOOOPPPP!!!!....of the week: Avril Lavigne – Here’s to Never Growing Up (-22)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande – Beneath Your Beautiful

Five much needed new songs this week, and we’re going to kick it off with two ladies that are making a return to the countdown after an extended hiatus.  They’re no strangers to the #1 slot on this countdown and have been capable of greatness in the past.  Ladies and gentlemen….give it up for Lady Gaga and Katy Perry!  Well….dampen your Applause just a little bit actually, because Lady Gaga’s new tune won’t exactly light your world on fire.  Her most recent album prior to this one failed to produce any spectacular songs, and this new one isn’t off to the best start in that department.  Applause has a solid chorus but leaves much to be desired elsewhere, particularly on the “instrumental” side.  That isn’t to say that Applause isn’t enjoyable; it is.  It’s just that we’re in a year that’s been somewhat devoid of top-of-the-line pop music, and Lady Gaga’s return presented some hope that really wasn’t fulfilled.

Katy Perry’s new song, Roar, is just as disappointing at first glance, but in the end does things just a little bit better than Applause.  The verses are on the sing-songy side, but I’m able to get over that.  I think the underlying guitar on the chorus, albeit simple, is what makes me like this one….it’s similar to why I think I liked Cher Lloyd Ft. Becky G – Oath so much last year, though nowhere near to that extent.  Neither of these will be a player for the #1 song of the year, or close to it.  For countdown purposes, however, I think it goes without saying that both are legitimate threats to hit #1 at some point.

Alright, who’s sick of Icona Pop!?!?!?!  Welp, looks like they’re not going anywhere soon.  All Night debuted this week and it’s pretty much better than I Love It in every respect.  There’s more melodious singing and better accompanying music.  It seems doubtful that this one will be quite so bothersome.  Krewella – Live For The Night is kind of a bummer, especially when compared to the far superior Alive from earlier this year.  Not worth more words.  John Newman – Love Me Again is interesting and despite repeated listens, I am not sure I am ready to pass judgment on it.  It certainly has the best instrumentals of any of this week’s debuts, with excellent piano work…and I think that’s a tuba???  Whatever, I’m not good at discerning musical instruments.  Maybe you should all read the other blog that recaps the Sirius XM Hits 1 Weekend Countdown instead.  In any case, time will tell on this one.

Moody Blurbs

- So the trend of odd HitBound songs continues.  For those of you that have been around since early 2012, you may remember a 50’sesque song by Olly Murs called Dance With Me Tonight.  It currently is tied for the record of Most Hysterically Short Tenure on the countdown….at 1 week (obviously).  Nonetheless, it was ranked 21^st on the Top 45Songs of 2012.  And yeah…that’s on HitBound now, probably riding the coattails of the more successful Troublemaker.  No complaints here.

- Speaking of that record….Rihanna Ft. David Guetta – Right Now made a serious run at that, lasting only two weeks.

- Nikki Williams – Glowing has locked down #23 for the fourth straight week.  Atta girl.

- I thought Labrinth Ft. Emeli Sande – Beneath Your Beautiful was going to be another Emeli Sande thing in that it hangs around forever without actually ascending very far on the countdown.  It’s been on the countdown for 2½ months now, and this is the first time it’s been any higher than #30.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Train Ft. Ashley Monroe – Bruises

2) Karmin – Acapella

3) MKTO – Classic

4) Twenty One Pilots – Holding On to You

5) Katy Perry - Roar

Imagine Dragons (6) - Week of August 10, 2013

"If by some modern miracle of science you missed any part of the countdown” this past weekend, you didn’t miss much.  No songs leavin’ the countdown this week.

The Countdown:

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

2. Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (#3)

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

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

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

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

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

8. Avril Lavigne - Here's to Never Growing Up (#12)

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

10. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#9)

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

12. Jason Derulo - The Other Side (#11)

13. Paramore - Still Into You (#15)

14. Bruno Mars - Treasure (#14)

15. Emblem 3 - Chloe (#16)

16. JTX - Summer Lover (#17)

17. Mika Ft. Ariana Grande - Popular Song (#20)

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

19. Karmin - Acapella (#18)

20. Pink - True Love (#22)

21. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#21)

22. Train Ft. Ashley Monroe - Bruises (#19)

23. Nikki Williams - Glowing (#23)

24. MKTO - Classic (#26)

25. Twenty One Pilots - Holding On To You (#27)

26. One Direction - Best Song Ever (#24)

27. Tegan & Sara - Closer (#29)

28. Cody Simpson - Pretty Brown Eyes (#28)

29. Sammy Adams Ft. Mike Posner - LA Story (#25)

30. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#30)

31. Rihanna Ft. David Guetta - Right Now (#42)

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

33. The 1975 - Chocolate (#37)

34. Selena Gomez - Come & Get It (#34)

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

36. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (#38)

37. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child (#31)

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

39. fun. - Some Nights (#35)

40. Icona Pop - I Love It (#36)

41. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#45)

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

43. The Summer Set - Boomerang (#41)

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

45. Awolnation - Sail (#43)

Biggest DDDDDDRRRRRROOOOOPPPPP!!!!....of the week: Swedish House Mafia – Don’t You Worry Child (-6)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Rihanna Ft. David Guetta – Right Now (+11)

That’s Show Blurbness

- I suppose it goes without saying that this is the smallest Biggest DDDDDDRRRRRROOOOOPPPPP!!!!....of the week that we’ve seen on this countdown.  So there’s that.

- In the absence of quite literally anything interesting happening on the countdown, I suppose we can talk about HitBound for a bit.  It appears that Rudimental Ft. John Newman – Feel the Love has disappeared from Hit-Bound, no doubt due to my scathing criticism from last week.

- Youngblood Hawke – We Come Running has also disappeared from the HitBound rotation.  I was starting to like this one a good amount a month ago but then it sort of just vanished from airplay.  Unfortunate.

- There is a song by Cher on Hit-Bound.  That is a current thing that is happening.

- Miley Cyrus – We Can’t Stop: still considered a “future” hit by Hits-1.

- Macklemore is hosting this upcoming weekend’s countdown.  I would like a written explanation from Hits-1 of what benefit there is to getting celebrities to do this countdown.  Maybe other people are much more interested in this sort of thing than I am.  Whatever.

- Apologies for the lack of substance.  Slow news week.

Editor’s Picks – Top 5 Songs

1) Train – Bruises

2) Karmin – Acapella

3) MKTO – Classic

4) Twenty One Pilots – Holding On to You

5) JTX – Summer Lover

Imagine Dragons (5) - Week of August 3, 2013

Two weeks after a big shake-up, it appears a new status quo has emerged on the 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.

• Ke$ha - Die Young
• Kelsi Luck - That's What I Like

The Countdown:

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

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

3. Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (#7)

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

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

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

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

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

9. Florida Georgia Line - Cruise (#11)

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

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

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

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

14. Bruno Mars - Treasure (#12)

15. Paramore - Still Into You (#13)

16. Emblem 3 - Chloe (#17)

17. JTX - Summer Lover (#26)

18. Karmin - Acapella (#27)

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

20. Mika Ft. Ariana Grande - Popular Song (#41)

21. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (#16)

22. Pink - True Love (#30)

23. Nikki Williams - Glowing (#23)

24. One Direction - Best Song Ever (#39)

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

26. MKTO - Classic (#22)

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

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

29. Tegan & Sara - Closer (#31)

30. Olly Murs - Troublemaker (#28)

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

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

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

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

35. fun. - Some Nights (#35)

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

37. The 1975 - Chocolate (#18)

38. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack (RE-ENTRY)

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

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

41. The Summer Set - Boomerang (#29)

42. Rihanna Ft. David Guetta - Right Now (DEBUT)

43. Awolnation - Sail (#43)

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

45. Anna Kendrick - Cups (#37)

Biggest DDDDDRRROOOPPPP!!!!....of the week: The 1975 – Chocolate (-19)

Biggest Jump of the Week: Mika Ft. Ariana Grande – Popular Song (+21)

Only one new entrant to speak of, as we got a resurrection of Demi Lovato – Heart Attack.  Rihanna Ft. David Guetta – Right Now is another item from one of my least favorite artists out there.  David Guetta has shown an ability in the past to make Rihanna more tolerable (Who’s That Chick), but he doesn’t quite succeed to that degree in the super-repetitive Right Now, which has a decent beat but not much else to speak of.  It’s ultimately forgettable, and here’s hoping that the powers that be in charge of the countdown (I’m told it’s the voters!) feel the same so that we don’t get an overexposure of this.

Blurbal Essences

- So my wife took one listen of this week’s Biggest Jump, Popular Song, and immediately identified the melody / key repeated word (“popular”) as “borrowed” from a song in the musical Wicked.  I, having not seen that show (yet), completely whiffed on that reference when introducing the song last week.  Let me express my complete and utter shock that Ariana Grande was involved with something that was not original.

- A pretty surprising 10 songs held their rank from the previous week.

- Seems like The 1975 – Chocolate won’t be long for this countdown anymore.  Oh well…it won’t be the first to be underappreciated.

- Another song that I am getting completely and totally sick of is Florida Georgia Line – Cruise.  I cannot hear that song again.  DTHNOB, please.

- During regular Hits-1 airplay, I heard Rudimental Ft. John Newman – Feel The Love.  I thought this was odd, because occasionally Hits-1 plays music that has long since disappeared from the countdown, but typically the songs that receive these spins are former #1’s or songs that had an extended run near the top of the countdown.  Then, we get to the weekend and I discover it’s now on Hit-Bound.  This song was kicked off the countdown on January 12^th after a roughly 4½ month stay.  Now it is August 3rd and it is “bound” to be a “hit”.  Isn’t logic great?

- Speaking of odd Hit-Bound songs, I’m pretty sure that Hits-1 is the only pop station on the continent that considers Miley Cyrus – We Can’t Stop a “future” hit.  That song is everywhere.

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 (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