Billboard Hot 100 Highlights September 9th, 2017

So uh...this was a weird week. Wanna talk about? I don't...

Billboard Hot 100 Highlights September 2nd, 2017

Sparse week? Works for me. Still getting used to my new daily work schedule but the highlights shall live on! HIGHLIGHTS!

Billboard Hot 100 Highlights August 26th, 2017

Drake is off the Hot 100 for the first time in 8 years. And what did we get in its place? A song that supports the release of a murderer. Well, let's see what else happened. Highlights.

Billboard Hot 100 Highlights August 19th, 2017

The end of Closer and the end of Meek Mill. For the most part. We got a surprising amount of new songs sweeping in to take their places. Also pretty good week for country. This is gonna be a weird week. Highlights.

Top 20

1. Despacito by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber (1)
2. Wild Thoughts by DJ Khaled ft. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller (2)
3. Unforgettable by French Montana ft. Swae Lee (6)
4. That's What I Like by Bruno Mars (3)
5. Believer by Imagine Dragons (5)
6. I'm The One by DJ Khaled ft. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper & Lil Wayne (4)
7. Attention by Charlie Puth (9)
8. There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back by Shawn Mendes (8)
9. Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran (7)
10. Body Like A Back Road by Sam Hunt (10)
11. Congratulations by Post Malone ft. Quavo (11)
12. Redbone by Childish Gambino (13)
13. Humble. by Kendrick Lamar (12)
14. Bodak Yellow by Cardi B (28)
15. Slow Hands by Niall Horan (18)
16. Strip That Down by Liam Payne ft. Quavo (16)
17. Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers & Coldplay (15)
18. Bank Account by 21 Savage (21)
19. Stay by Zedd & Alessia Cara (14)
20. XO TOUR Llif3 by Lil Uzi Vert (17)

Fell Off Top 20

22. Now Or Never by Halsey (19)
23. Mask Off by Future (20)

Big Gains (10+)

14. Bodak Yellow by Cardi B (28)
31. Loyalty. by Kendrick Lamar (64)
34. Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man (55)
47. Do I Make You Wanna by Billy Currington (58)
48. What Ifs by Kane Brown ft. Lauren Alaina (63)
50. Drinkin' Problem by Midland (60)
51. No Promises by Cheat Codes ft. Demi Lovato (68)
54. Thunder by Imagine Dragons (69)
56. Flatliner by Cole Swindell (67)
63. Heartache On The Dance Floor by Jon Pardi (73)
64. Young Dumb & Broke by Khalid (82)
73. Reminder by The Weeknd (100)
80. Down by Fifth Harmony ft. Gucci Mane (90)

Moderate Gains (5 - 9)

26. Rake It Up by Yo Gotti ft. Nicki Minaj (32)
32. Praying by Kesha (38)
37. Love Galore by SZA ft. Travis Scott (46)
42. Small Town Boy by Dustin Lynch (49)
46. Versace On The Floor by Bruno Mars (53)
52. 1-800-273-8255 by Logic ft. Alessia Cara & Khalid (57)
53. It's A Vibe by 2 Chainz ft. Ty Dolla $ign, Trey Songz & Jhene Aiko (62)
59. No Such Thing As A Broken Heart by Old Dominion (66)
65. Most Girls by Hailee Steinfeld (72)
66. Crew by GoldLink ft. Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy (74)
69. Somebody Else Will by Justin Moore (76)
76. Glorious by Macklemore ft. Skylar Grey (85)
79. First Day Out by Tee Grizzley (84)
83. 4 AM by 2 Chainz ft. Travis Scott (88)
86. It Ain't My Fault by Brothers Osborne (93)

Big Losses (10+)

44. 2U by David Guetta ft. Justin Bieber (29)
55. Malibu by Miley Cryus (42)
62. Whatever You Need by Meek Mill ft. Chris Brown & Ty Dolla $ign (51)
67. Bad Liar by Selena Gomez (54)
74. Back To You by Louis Tomlinson ft. Bebe Rexha (40)
84. What's My Name by China Anne McClain (61)
96. Heavy by Linkin Park ft. Kiiara (45)

Moderate Losses (5 - 9)

19. Stay by Zedd & Alessia Cara (14)
57. My Girl by Dylan Scott (52)
95. God, Your Mama, And Me by Florida Georgia Line ft. Backstreet Boys (89)

Dropouts

• Numb by Linkin Park (34, 11, 33 weeks)
• In The End by Linkin Park (37, 2, 39 weeks)
• Closer by The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey (39, 1, 52 weeks)
• The Fighter by Keith Urban ft. Carrie Underwood (47, 38, 23 weeks)
• Issues by Meek Mill (77, 77, 1 week)
• Wins & Losses by Meek Mill (79, 79, 1 week)
• 1942 Flows by Meek Mill (83, 83, 1 week)
• Yours If You Want It by Rascal Flatts (87, 71, 10 weeks)
• Imitadora by Romeo Santos (91, 91, 1 week)
• The Story Of O.J. by Jay-Z (95, 23, 3 weeks)
• We Ball by Meek Mill ft. Young Thug (96, 96, 1 week)
• F**k That Check Up by Meek Mill ft. Lil Uzi Vert (97, 97, 1 week)
• Heavy Heart by Meek Mill (99, 99, 1 week)

Returning Entries

75. do re mi by blackbear

New Entries

38. You Da Baddest by Future ft. Nicki Minaj
68. Unforgettable by Thomas Rhett
85. When It Rains It Pours by Luke Combs
87. They Don't Know by Jason Aldean
88. Honest by The Chainsmokers
89. The Weekend by SZA
90. New Rules by Dua Lipa
93. Wish I Knew You by The Revivalists
94. Every Little Thing by Carly Pearce
97. Learn To Let Go by Kesha
98. All The Pretty Girls by Kenny Chesney
99. For Her by Chris Lane

New and Returning Entries

1. Wish I Knew You

This is the kind of indie rock that I live for. Pretty heavy blues influences and a singer with a somewhat high but heavy vocal style. Also a bit of retro throwback in there, what with the saxophones and the music video taking place at a dance. School dance? This has been bubbling under forever, and now that it's on I don't want it to go. 2017 could be kind to us with another indie fluke hit. Also, the singer looks like Danny Sexbang. So there's that.

2. Learn To Let Go

Ooh, nice. I am more than okay with Kesha getting her rock on. I hear some Paramore influences in the production choices and guitar melodies, even in Kesha's delivery and vocal effects. And she pulls it off surprisingly well. It's energetic and sounds pretty awesome. This might be my favorite of the Rainbow singles even. I wanna hear that album.

3. New Rules

I was trying to figure out the name of this song last night! I thought I heard it at work! But no, it's because I listened to Dua Lipa's self titled album a couple weeks ago. Whatever. This is great. Energetic tropical house with a weird but sticky drop for a chorus. It's a force to be reckoned with, and it's great. Please make Dua Lipa a thing.

4. They Don't Know

I guess I like Jason Aldean more when he gets rougher. And this is no exception. Lyrically it's about people who have to work hard to get by, which I guess isn't out of the ordinary for country. But it seems alright to me. And the instrumentation is great. Got a cool guitar solo too. Not as good as Lights Come On, but it's up there.

5. Honest

I actually listened to Memories...Do Not Open again yesterday while driving to important job like stuff. Actually took longer to hit the Hot 100 than I expected. I would've chosen It Won't Kill Ya or Young as the next single from the album, but I still like this. And I get what there is to hate about this. The lyrics are dickish in the name of being "honest" and they imply that there's cheating going on. But that doesn't bother me. The lyrics aren't that bad. They really do feel honest to me. I also like the instrumentation a lot, especially with that little guitar bit on the chorus and the chanting choirs in the bridge. It's somber and effective. But Young is better.

6. Every Little Thing

It's a country ballad. You usually get what you see with those, and this is no different. Slow methodical progression with neo-traditional guitars and pianos. Carly Pearce is also a pretty good singer so I can feel the emotion. Doesn't feel that special, but I wouldn't mind it sticking around.

7. do re mi

So I guess this returned because of a Gucci Mane remix? Plus I did hear it on the radio the other day so I guess it's got a second wind. Gucci's verse is filler, making direct reference to Black Beatles because desperate. The song itself has grown on me though. I dig the atmosphere and melodies, even if it's really dickish. Though I would probably enjoy this more as a Mansionz track.

8. The Weekend

Another song that's been bubbling forever. Like Love Galore, this honestly doesn't do much for me. I can see the appeal with its sensual atmosphere and SZA's performance (she's honestly a pretty decent performer), but again, it's just too sloppy for me to really connect with. It feels like a slog, and again, doesn't make me wanna check out her album. Not for me, but not terrible.

9. For Her

I was wondering when this was gonna chart. I didn't really like Fix, and I don't feel much differently about this. Like Fix, it's pretty synthetic and meatheaded, which I can't get into when it comes to country. Also he talks about the girl in the third person, which makes it much less romantic than it wants to be. Anyway, this has been bubbling under for forever so who knows if it's gonna stick around. I hope not.

10. You Da Baddest

He added yet another song to HNDRXX. Ugh. I've since listened to not just all of that album, but the entirety of Future's self titled album too. And to be honest, this is one of the better tracks between those two. Still bad. It's really sloppy and generic, but Future's guest stars kinda help him stay on track and make his songs feel like actual songs instead of fever dreams. Still, this isn't one of Nicki's better performances, as she repeats "hold up" repeatedly toward the beginning of her verse. Plus the whole thing is just more empty luxury and sex rap that I'm already sick of in 2017. Future already got one big hit this year, please don't give him another.

11. Unforgettable

Can't believe I'm saying this, but the best song with this name on the Hot 100 is performed by a member of Rae Sremmurd. This is just gross. A thorough description of a romantic night with a girl. He even admits it's weird he remembers it as well as he does, so why do it? Also, what Coldplay song are you singing? Something Just Like This? I guess it's more country than Craving You, but...Craving You is frankly better. This I do not like.

12. When It Rains It Pours

Wow Luke Combs is a dick. Although the instrumentation and production isn't bad, the writing really brings it down hardcore. It is a very descriptive, passive-aggressive description of how Luke Combs' life got better after his fiancé dumped him. He gets money, beach vacations, girls are flirting with him. And he's certain it's because he doesn't have to see his ex-future mother in law anymore. Actual lyrics from the song. Ugh. I liked Hurricane, but this just makes me feel dirty. But not as dirty as...

13. All The Pretty Girls

I was not looking forward to this. Kenny Chesney gets more and more unbearable the more I hear about him. The title alone makes me feel sick, and the lyrics only add to that. Not to mention the overproduction. I pray this follows the path of the last Kenny Chesney song and falls off immediately.

Billboard Hot 100 Highlights August 12th, 2017

Late edition of Highlights! Because the charts were late due to errors. Annoying but glad it got updated sooner rather than later. Looks like we've got some returning Linkin Park song (RIP Chester), as well as a Meek Mill album bomb. Highlights.