Billboard Hot 100 Highlights August 5th, 2017

Oh wow this was a sparse week. Highest debut at 75, four new entries, and mostly returning entries. Though I guess that's to be expected the week after an album bomb. But did we get anything interesting? We'll see. Highlights.

Every Song on Billboard's 2009 Year End List Scored

I put this off for long enough. I don't know why either, it doesn't take that long to whip up. But, it's here. All the scored I gave songs on the 2009 year end list. To tie in with the Worst and Best list videos I made. Click here for the worst list, and here for the best. I'm pretty proud of these videos. Here goes. Each score is out of 5.

Billboard Hot 100 Highlights July 29th, 2017/4:44 Album Review

Jay-Z album bomb! Just my luck. Not to mention Kesha and Macklemore return. And...21 Savage. Groan. It's a busy week, and I had to work this morning. Also just my luck.

Gonna be trying something different with this post. I'm going to be ranking all the non-Jay-Z songs first, then reviewing 4:44 track-by-track at the bottom. Like I used to do. I figure it's better this way because it can be hard for me to rank album tracks, especially compared to other songs that aren't in that album. And I will probably be doing this whenever we get a significant album bomb. Not just a third of an album or something like that. And now...

 Highlights.

Billboard Hot 100 Highlights July 22nd, 2017

Perhaps it's a slow week on the Hot 100 if the highest debut is a Spanish language song? We shall see. Welcome to summer. Highlights.

Billboard Hot 100 Highlights July 15th, 2017

The Fourth of July. A time of freedom, fireworks, and apparently the charts being updated late. Whoops. But better late than never. I was at work so that delayed this even further. Highlights.

Top 20

1. Despacito by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber (1)
2. I'm The One by DJ Khaled ft. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper & Lil Wayne (2)
3. Wild Thoughts by DJ Khaled ft. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller (4)
4. That's What I Like by Bruno Mars (3)
5. Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran (5)
6. Believer by Imagine Dragons (11)
7. Humble. by Kendrick Lamar (6)
8. Congratulations by Post Malone ft. Quavo (8)
9. Mask Off by Future (7)
10. Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers & Coldplay (9)
11. Stay by Alessia Cara (10)
12. Body Like A Back Road by Sam Hunt (13)
13. Unforgettable by French Montana ft. Swae Lee (16)
14. Redbone by Childish Gambino (14)
15. XO TOUR Llif3 by Lil Uzi Vert (12)
16. Issues by Julia Michaels (15)
17. Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur (17)
18. There's Nothing Holding Me Back by Shawn Mendes (19)
19. Now Or Never by Halsey (21)
20. It Ain't Me by Kygo x Selena Gomez (18)

Fell Off Top 20

24. Bad Liar by Selena Gomez (20)

Big Gains (10+)

45. That's My Girl by Dylan Scott (56)
46. The Cure by Lady Gaga (57)
54. Thunder by Imagine Dragons (85)
65. Small Town Boy by Dustin Lynch (75)
72. Do I Make You Wanna by Billy Currington (93)

Moderate Gains (5 - 9)

6. Believer by Imagine Dragons (11)
44. Craving You by Thomas Rhett ft. Maren Morris (53)
60. Loyalty. by Kendrick Lamar ft. Rihanna (69)
73. To The Max by DJ Khaled (78)
74. Love Galore by SZA ft. Travis Scott (81)
76. Yours If You Want It by Rascal Flatts (82)
81. What Ifs by Kane Brown ft. Lauren Alaina (90)
84. Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man (89)
85. Somebody Else Will by Justin Moore (92)
87. Butterfly Effect by Travis Scott (95)

Big Losses (10+)

58. Sign of the Times by Harry Styles (42)
80. How Not To by Dan + Shay (65)
91. Cold by Maroon 5 ft. Future (71)
97. Good Drank by 2 Chainz ft. Gucci Mane & Quavo (70)

Moderate Losses (5 - 9)

38. Swalla by Jason Derulo ft. Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign (31)
41. DNA. by Kendrick Lamar (36)
51. Tunnel Vision by Kodak Black (44)
53. God, Your Mama, And Me by Florida Georgia Line ft. Backstreet Boys (46)
55. Slide by Calvin Harris ft. Frank Ocean & Migos (49)
57. Feels by Calvin Harris ft. Pharell Williams, Katy Perry & Big Sean (51)
63. It's A Vibe by 2 Chainz ft. Ty Dolla $ign, Trey Songz & Jhene Aiko (58)
67. Love. by Kendrick Lamar ft. Zacari (62)
79. Portland by Drake ft. Quavo & Travis Scott (72)
82. No Promises by Cheat Codes ft. Demi Lovato (77)
83. If I Told You by Darius Rucker (76)
86. Down by Fifth Harmony ft. Gucci Mane (79)
90. Swish Swish by Katy Perry ft. Nicki Minaj (84)
92. Losin Control by Russ (86)
93. Reminder by The Weeknd (87)
99. Woke Up Like This by Playboi Carti ft. Lil Uzi Vert (94)

Dropouts

• Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara (45, 8, 43 weeks)
• Look At Me! by XXXTENTACION (60, 34, 20 weeks)
• First Day Out by Kodak Black (61, 61, 1 week)
• Relationship by Young Thug ft. Future (83, 83, 1 week)
• My Old Man by Zac Brown Band (88, 68, 4 weeks)
• Nobody Else But You by Trey Songz (97, 92, 3 weeks)
• Subeme La Radio by Enrique Iglesias ft. Descemer Bueno, Zion & Lennox (98, 81, 6 weeks)
• Real Hitta by Plies ft. Kodak Black (100, 100, 1 week)

Returning Entries

78. Versace On The Floor by Bruno Mars
89. Element. by Kendrick Lamar
98. Shining by DJ Khaled ft. Beyoncé & Jay-Z

New Entries

36. Signs by Drake
68. Don't Quit by DJ Khaled & Calvin Harris ft. Travis Scott & Jeremih
71. No Complaints by Metro Boomin ft. Offset & Drake
88. On Everything by DJ Khaled ft. Travis Scott, Rick Ross & Big Sean
94. Crew by GoldLink ft. Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy

New and Returning Entries Ranked

1. Don't Quit

When I saw the track listing for Grateful, I wondered if this song would also be on Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1. It wasn't, but this would definitely fit on that album. Like most of Harris' recent material, this sounds fantastic. Amazing funk groove thanks to that bass. Travis Scott sounds better than he's ever sounded. And it transitions to Jeremih's part amazingly toward the end. Forget Wild Thoughts. This is the best song I've heard from Grateful so far. Also, fingers crossed for a Calvin Harris album bomb next week.

2. Versace On The Floor

Took it long enough. I thought this was released as a single about a month ago. This is still one of my favorites from 24K Magic for how smooth and exotic is. Though at this point I don't know if I expect it to be a hit. 78 isn't very high and it's been 8 months since the album released. Plus, That's What I Like is still huge.

3. Element.

Ooh, I forgot how cool this song is. Laid back beat but real cool flows. Glad this got a video. Though this wasn't the next single, Loyalty is. That's a good song too.

4. Shining

I haven't relistened to this since it originally charted. Thought it would shrink on me but it's still enjoyable. Mostly for Beyoncé's performance. The beat could be a bit more developed. Also I caught a 21 Savage reference from Jay this time around. C'mon man, you don't have to acknowledge that guy's existence.

5. Crew

Huh. I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised by this. The beat's pretty chill and there's some good rapping on this. Mostly from GoldLink, whose technique is way more impressive than Shy Glizzy's slower cadence. Plus Brent Faiyaz has a nice soulful chorus. I dig it. Apparently there's a remix with Gucci Mane too. Can't imagine he adds much. Maybe there to make Shy Glizzy look better.

6. On Everything

OH GOD DON'T LET TRAVIS SCOTT SING IN HIS UPPER RANGE. Seriously, he sounds identical to Lil Yachty on this song, and that's not a good thing. Especially when he sounds so shrill. But things start to pick up with Rick Ross' verse somehow. Didn't like the beat in the beginning, but it got better when it wasn't so stuttery. Can hear the flutes better, and it sounded epic. Big Sean's verse is pretty good too. Decent, but would be better if the chorus wasn't so godawful. I have no idea what's up with that outro though. It could've ended pretty much immediately after the last chorus.

7. Signs

Drake does his typical low-key tropical shtick to diminishing results. Not much new or interesting here. It's not bad, but I'll just take Passionfruit or Marvins Room, both of which this song reminds me of. Also apparently this was done to promote Luis Vuitton or something? Eh. I actually don't mind this so much but I thought Drake was going to take the rest of the year off?

8. No Complaints

Well actually... In which I continue to wonder why Metro Boomin is such an acclaimed producer. The beat is so dull that it relies almost entirely on Offset to sound menacing. Who, by the way, raps a line unfinished and starts it over the next bar. In the chorus. Yeah it also happened on Slide, I don't care. And Drake's there for name recognition and pretty much nothing else. Wasn't this supposed to be about being a thug? Drake isn't a thug.