Hot 100 Top 20 Ranked 7/20/19

So everyone seems to really hate 2019 in music so far. And while there's a lot of not good stuff, there's also some really good stuff. And at the end of the day, I would say this has been a pretty decent year overall.

Alright here we go.

Negative Tier (-1/5):

20. Halsey - Without Me

Peak: #1 (2 Weeks), Current: #20 (-1)

Just go away already god damn.

Awful Tier (0/5):

19. Chris Brown/Drake - No Guidance

Peak: #9, Current: #12 (-3)

The one good thing about this song is that it seems to be falling away fairly quickly. But for real, this song is so worthless. Drake sounds bored out of his mind, and Chris Brown just Chris Browns all over the song. This is basically the definition of a song being big only due to the artists involved. Even in a time where the charts are dominated by Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish and Lizzo, apparently Chris Brown can still get a top 10 hit with Drake and a #1 album. I wish I was surprised.

Bad Tier (1/5):

18. Blake Shelton - God's Country

Peak: #17, Current: #17 (=)

My problem with this song is that there is nothing good about it, but there's also nothing I hate enough to write something interesting about it. It's about how like small town America is the place that God loves most, which is an obviously shitty message, but at the end of the day it's problem not even in the bottom 5 Blake Shelton songs lyrically. Hell, even his last single, "Turnin Me On" was wayyyy worse lyrically. Aside from the lyrics, it just feels like a failed attempt at making a bombastic country song. Yeah, it's a bad song, but it's more uninteresting than it is awful honestly. Still, should not be as big as it is.

17. Ed Sheeran/Justin Bieber - I Don't Care

Peak: #2, Current: #6 (-2)

I've spent about five minutes trying to figure out how to start my blurb here. Why has it taken me so long? Because there is nothing to this song. It's boring mid tempo radio filler only big due to the names attached. It shows how Ed Sheeran (and his label) have decided getting radio play takes priority over artistic creativity or, ya know, being good.

Mediocre Tier (2/5):

16. Panic! At The Disco - Hey Look Ma, I Made It

Peak: #18, Current: #18 (=)

It makes a lot of sense that this was the song chosen to follow up the massive success of High Hopes. Because its the same fucking song. Both have sloppy horn melodies with Brendon Urie, despite being a technically good singer, over singing about how he's so awesome and successful. And literally the last thing I wanted was another High Hopes. High Hopes was a good song that was brutally murdered by radio to the point where I just can't enjoy it anymore. So having two High Hopes on the radio just makes the problem worse for both songs. All I can ask is that Dancing's Not A Crime doesn't become a full single, because holy shit that song is the worst.

15. DaBaby - Suge

Peak: #7, Current: #10 (=)

Slaps in the right situations, but is overall a pretty boring trap song. DaBaby's voice is kinda cool though.

Decent Tier (3/5):

14. Drake/Rick Ross - Money In The Grave

Peak: #7, Current: #11 (=)

Drake is quite possibly the biggest artist of the decade. Basically anything he drops will go top 40, and he gets like at least one top 10 hit per year. So why does his top 10 comeback single after his massive 2018 feel so uneventful. I kinda assumed this would flop when it first dropped due to how little buzz there was around it. But no, it's still #11. I mean at least it's not Omertà that got big? If this is still around in like 3 months I will be shocked.

13. Lil Nas X/Billy Ray Cyrus - Old Town Road (Remix)

Peak: #1 (15 Weeks), Current: #1 (=)

I remember when I first heard that Billy Ray Cyrus was gonna be on an Old Town Road remix, I thought it was a joke because I didn't something that ridiculous would happen. Now it's about to become the longest running #1 song ever.

and yet people still call 2019 a boring year for the charts.

12. Blanco Brown - The Git Up

Peak: #16, Current: #19 (-3)

On the one hand, this is a super refreshing classic country dance track, something we haven't heard in a while. It's honestly really cool to see this getting so big, even if it is mostly from memes. On the other hand, it's musically not that great. I find the chorus pretty catchy, but the verses are decent at best. And that outro is just a no. Still, I am rooting for this to become a big hit for the reasons I initially listed. Hopefully it'll grow on me before the year ends.

11. Sam Smith/Normani - Dancing With A Stranger

Peak: #7, Current: #15 (=)

This is a great song that I am extremely burned out on at the moment. So it gets to be in the decent tier. But like don't get me wrong, basically everything about the song works. Atmospheric beat and two artists that have great chemistry. The never ending radio run was just really, really unnecessary.

10. Post Malone - Wow.

Peak: #2, Current: #13 (-1)

I keep expecting this song to grow on me and it just keeps not happening. Also when's that album announcement coming Post?

9. Billie Eilish - bad guy

Peak: #2, Current: #2 (=)

There was a point in time when I really liked this song. It was new, fresh, and pretty unique.

Then the radio latched onto it and decided to play it every five minutes. The post-chorus has started to seriously grate on me, and the outro is as awful as always. The lyrics are also.... interesting?

eek.

Good Tier (4/5):

8. Jonas Brothers - Sucker
Peak: #1 (1 Week), Current: #8 (-1)

Hey remember when this debuted at #1?

yeah neither do I

7. Khalid - Talk

Peak: #3, Current: #4 (-1)

Can I like be honest for a second? I much prefer this to Better. Khalid sounded like he was falling asleep on Better, where as here he sounds like he's having a blast. And with the current music scene being really depressing a lot of the time, hearing that is just really refreshing. But at the same time, this is his highest peaking hit, so I feel like this could define the rest of his career. And don't get me wrong, I like Talk. However, I don't want the rest of his career to just be Talk again and again. 

Great Tier (5/5):

6. Shawn Mendes/Camila Cabello - Señorita

Peak: #2, Current: #5 (=)

This is just a meaningless hook up jam. But god damn its a good meaningless hook up jam. Shawn and Camila both just sound good, both while singing solo and together. The whole latin theme fits the two surprisingly well, so thats nice. I don't really see this lasting with me in the long run, but for right now it's very enjoyable and a breath of fresh air on pop radio.

5. Taylor Swift - You Need To Calm Down

Peak: #2, Current: #16 (-3)

I've seen the lyrics of this song getting a lot of hate for...having multiple points? I don't adore the lyrics, but they aren't worthy of all the scorn they've received. Taylor also just like sounds great here, which is a treat. The beat is also very nice, if a little generic. But overall, this is a very good song that isn't worthy of all the hate it's received.

4. Post Malone/Young Thug - Goodbyes

Peak: #3, Current: #3 (new)

This is "I Fall Apart" done right. The song conveys Post Malone's sadness without unnecessarily and constantly insulting the woman in the relationship. Instead of saying that she's being totally crazy, he says "we're both actin' insane but too stubborn to change". It's a nice little detail that shows how he's at least kinda grown as an artist. Also that hook is just so good. The only part of the song I don't love is Young Thug's verse, and even at that he's not bad, he's just there.

3. Lizzo - Truth Hurts

Peak: #6, Current: #7 (-1)

Slaps.

2. Shawn Mendes - If I Can't Have You

Peak: #2, Current: #14 (=)

This song is just like the perfect pop song. It has nicely detailed but not overly so lyrics. The verses flow well and lead into a big soaring chorus. And Shawn Mendes is just a great singer. This song, and Señorita to a less extent, both show how an artist can get a big hit by without constant over promotion and a million remixes: by making quality music. Nicki, Katy and even Taylor have tried desperately before they release a song to hype it up as much as possible. And then Shawn drops a song with minimal promotion and it out peaks or ties what their song did. So yeah, go Shawn.

1. Post Malone/Swae Lee - Sunflower

Peak: #1 (1 Week), Current: #9 (-1)

I have almost nothing new to say about this song at this point so I guess I'll just save it for the year-end. #StreamSunflowerSoItBreaksTheTop10Record

Final Score

Negative Tier: 1 Song, (1 x -1) = -1

Awful Tier: 1 Song, (1 x 0) = 0

Bad Tier: 2 Songs, (2 x 1) = 2

Mediocre Tier: 2 Songs, (2 x 2) = 4

Decent Tier: 6 Songs, (6 x 3) = 18

Good Tier: 2 Songs, (2 x 4) = 8

Great Tier: 6 Songs, (6 x 5) = 30

Overall: 61/100