Billboard Hot 100 Highlights September 16th, 2017/17 Album Review/Luv Is Rage 2 Album Review

We uh...we've got a problem here. An easily predicted problem, but a problem nonetheless. Double album bomb from artists I don't like and Despacito having its shot at beating the number 1 record taken away from it. Joy. But let's see if there's something to salvage from this anyway. 

I'll be giving 17 and Luv Is Rage 2 reviews at the bottom. My song rankings will only include the returns and new entries not from these albums.

Top 20

1. Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift (77)

2. Despacito by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber (1)

3. Bodak Yellow by Cardi B (3)

4. Wild Thoughts by DJ Khaled ft. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller (2)

5. Attention by Charlie Puth (5)

6. Believer by Imagine Dragons (4)

7. Unforgettable by French Montana ft. Swae Lee (6)

8. There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back by Shawn Mendes (7)

9. 1-800-273-8255 by Logic ft. Alessia Cara & Khalid (29)

10. Strip That Down by Liam Payne ft. Quavo (11)

11. Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran (9)

12. Bank Account by 21 Savage (12)

13. Rake It Up by Yo Gotti ft. Nicki Minaj (10)

14. Humble. by Kendrick Lamar (19)

15. Slow Hands by Niall Horan (14)

16. XO TOUR Llif3 by Lil Uzi Vert (25)

17. That's What I Like by Bruno Mars (8)

18. Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato (18)

19. Body Like A Back Road by Sam Hunt (13)

20. Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man (23)

Fell Off Top 20

21. Congratulations by Post Malone ft. Quavo (15)

24. I'm The One by DJ Khaled ft. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper & Lil Wayne (16)

25. Redbone by Childish Gambino (17)

33. Friends by Justin Bieber + BloodPop (20)

Big Gains (10+)

1. Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift (77)

9. 1-800-273-8255 by Logic ft. Alessia Cara & Khalid (29)

45. Thunder by Imagine Dragons (59)

55. Transportin' by Kodak Black (82)

Moderate Gains (5 - 9)

14. Humble. by Kendrick Lamar (19)

16. XO TOUR Llif3 by Lil Uzi Vert (25)

28. What About Us by Pink (35)

32. Young Dumb & Broke by Khalid (41)

67. New Rules by Dua Lipa (74)

83. Havana by Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug (94)

Big Losses (10+)

33. Friends by Justin Bieber + BloodPop (20)

64. The Race by Tay-K (49)

66. Drinkin' Problem by Midland (45)

71. Versace On The Floor by Bruno Mars (42)

74. Whatever You Need by Meek Mill ft. Chris Brown & Ty Dolla $ign (64)

78. Do I Make You Wanna by Billy Currington (66)

85. Love. by Kendrick Lamar ft. Zacari (71)

86. B.E.D. by Jacquees (75)

87. Most Girls by Hailee Steinfeld (70)

88. My Girl by Dylan Scott (78)

96. Wish I Knew You by The Revivalists (85)

100. It Ain't My Fault by Brothers Osborne (83)

Moderate Losses (5 - 9)

17. That's What I Like by Bruno Mars (8)

19. Body Like A Back Road by Sam Hunt (13)

21. Congratulations by Post Malone ft. Quavo (15)

24. I'm The One by DJ Khaled ft. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper & Lil Wayne (16)

25. Redbone by Childish Gambino (17)

26. Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers & Coldplay (26)

37. Mask Off by Future (30)

42. I Get The Bag by Gucci Mane ft. Migos (34)

44. It Ain't Me by Kygo x Selena Gomez (37)

53. Magnolia by Playboi Carti (47)

61. Roll In Peace by Kodak Black ft. XXXTENTACION (53)

70. Felices Los 4 by Maluma (61)

72. Escapate Conmigo by Wisin ft. Ozuna (63)

93. Every Little Thing by Carly Pearce (84)

98. More Girls Like You by Kip Moore (89)

Dropouts

• Now Or Never by Halsey (40, 17, 20 weeks)
• Everyday We Lit by YFN Lucci ft. PnB Rock (43, 33, 20 weeks)
• Drowning by A Boogie Wit da Hoodie ft. Kodak Black (46, 38, 21 weeks)
• Castle On The Hill by Ed Sheeran (48, 6, 33 weeks)
• You Look Good by Lady Antebellum (62, 59, 20 week)
• Somebody Else Will by Justin Moore (69, 59, 12 weeks)
• 2U by David Guetta ft. Justin Bieber (73, 16, 11 weeks)
• Younger Now by Miley Cyrus (79, 79, 1 week)
• It's EveryNight Sis by RiceGum ft. Alissa Violet (80, 80, 1 week)
• Honest by The Chainsmokers (81, 77, 4 weeks)
• Reminder by The Weeknd (76, 31, 16 weeks)
• Flatliner by Cole Swindell ft. Dierks Bentley (88, 56, 18 weeks)
• Questions by Chris Brown (90, 90, 1 week)
• Perplexing Pegasus by Rae Sremmurd (91, 84, 3 weeks)
• For Her by Chris Lane (92, 92, 4 weeks)
• Patty Cake by Kodak Black (93, 76, 3 weeks)
• 4 AM by 2 Chainz ft. Travis Scott (95, 55, 12 weeks)
• Untouchable by YoungBoy Never Broke Again (96, 95, 2 weeks)
• Privacy by Chris Brown (97, 62, 17 weeks)
• Relationship by Young Thug ft. Future (98, 83, 2 weeks)
• Know No Better by Major Lazer ft. Travis Scott, Camila Cabello & Quavo (99, 87, 3 weeks)
• I Could Use A Love Song by Maren Morris (100, 97, 2 weeks)

Returning Entries

47. Swish Swish by Katy Perry ft. Nicki Minaj

99. Down by Fifth Harmony ft. Nicki Minaj

New Entries

31. Jocelyn Flores by XXXTENTACION

39. The Way Life Goes by Lil Uzi Vert

41. F**k Love by XXXTENTACION ft. Trippie Redd

49. Sauce It Up by Lil Uzi Vert 

54. Everybody Dies In Their Nightmares by XXXTENTACION

60. 444+222 by Lil Uzi Vert 

73. What Lovers Do by Maroon 5 ft. SZA

76. Light It Up by Luke Bryan

77. Revenge by XXXTENTACION

79. Neon Guts by Lil Uzi Vert ft. Pharrell

80. Two by Lil Uzi Vert

81. X by Lil Uzi Vert

82. For Real by Lil Uzi Vert

84. UnFazed by Lil Uzi Vert ft. The Weeknd

90. No Sleep Leak by Lil Uzi Vert

91. Depression & Obsession by XXXTENTACION

92. Dark Queen by Lil Uzi Vert

94. Save Me by XXXTENTACION

95. Carry On by XXXTENTACION

97. Tell Me You Love Me by Demi Lovato

Non-Album Bomb New and Returning Entries Ranked

1. Tell Me You Love Me

So looks like Demi's sticking with the gospel direction that Sorry Not Sorry hinted at. Little blusey, kinda Adele-esque. I dig it. The production's a bit cluttered though, which is a problem I also have with Sorry Not Sorry. I'm also surprised this was released as a single, because it doesn't exactly feel like one. Ah well. Still excited to see how this album will go.

2. What Lovers Do

So...more Maroon 5. It starts out pretty boring, but the bassline does come in to salvage things a bit. It's mildly catchy and SZA's alright on it. Nothing special or all that memorable, but by modern Maroon 5's standards, I'll take it.

3. Down

With how little attention this album got (the new Queens Of The Stone Age album even debuted higher than it on the Billboard 200), I'm surprised this came back at all. Of course it's a drop in the bucket but still. Still just very ambivalent on this song. Weak album opener, but nowhere near the group's worst. Cheap sounding but not awful.

4. Swish Swish

Back because of the video. The song's one of the better singles from Witness (haven't heard the full album), but still something I don't care about. So let's talk about the video. It's supposed to be bad on purpose and somehow they got wrong. Like it was directed by the makers of the "Movie" movies, you know the ones. Random memes and fumbling around. The song gets interrupted for another song at one point, I don't know the name of it. I don't like basketball.

5. Light It Up

So uh...this is a song where Luke Bryan is scared his girlfriend is cheating on him because she ignores his texts. Not the worst topic he's ever sung about, but it still makes my stomach churn. It's kinda petty, and not something I wanna hear coming from someone Luke Bryan's age. As usual the instrumentation's not too bad I guess. Eh. He's done much worse, but this still isn't very good.

17 Review

1. The Explanation

Didn't chart. Shouldn't have, since it's just a spoken word bit where X warns the listener of the dark themes on the album. I mean, at least he's upfront with what he's delivering.

2. Jocelyn Flores

I was shocked that this became the biggest song from the album. Even outpeaking Look At Me. But it's pretty good. The guitars and vocal samples are smooth and somber, easing the listener into the album, especially if they were expecting yelling. It's too short, though, and that's a problem throughout most of this album.

3. Depression & Obsession

Another pretty good song. More barebones, but catchy and sad nonetheless. It's black guy with acoustic guitar music. It's the future. Mansionz was ahead of its time.

4. Everybody Dies In Their Nightmares

More rap heavy than the previous tracks. X takes on a fast flow and the guitar is less pronounced. Also the beat is more hip hop with the percussion and vocal samples. It's an entertaining listen. 

5. Revenge

Wasn't one of X's other projects called Revenge? This one's got a cowboy flavor. It's actually pretty nice, though I don't know what cowboys have to do with depression.

6. Save Me

This song's a bit like Pink Floyd. Makes sense for the subject matter, but it doesn't really go anywhere. Again, it's too short to really do anything with itself. X says he's influenced by alternative rock, right? I would've liked to see him do more in that lane with this song in particular. Pump it up, you know? 

7. Dead Inside (Interlude)

Didn't chart. Because interlude. X kinda drones while playing some piano chords. I'm glad it didn't chart, it's just bleh.

8. F**k Love

Okay I don't really like this. It's kinda atonal. The production doesn't do much and the vocal effects and melodies clash with the main melody of the beat. I called this my worst song when I first heard the album and I think it still stands.

9. Carry On

The album really runs on fumes at this point. The beat feels like it could've been better developed. Though lyrically it's alright, but again, kinda underdeveloped. It is the kind of song you'd talk about pain on, but you gotta give something more to really stick. That's what separates this from Mike Posner.

10. Orlando

Didn't chart. And I can see why. It's just not interesting enough to keep my interest. I can tell X is trying to be emotional, but he's just a little too sleepy-sounding to pull that off to its fullest. And the instrumental is the same three piano chords over and over again with nothing else. It's also the longest song on the album at 2:44. Yes, the songs really are that short.

11. Ayala (Outro)

Again, didn't chart because outro. It sounds okay with a little electric guitar presence as well as some acoustic guitar flourishes. However, this is the part of the album where X blames his suicidal thoughts on his girlfriend, which comes out of left field. Ruined the entire album for a friend. Not for me though.

Verdict: It's okay. It's frontloaded as hell, with the first half being more worth listening than the back half. Lyrical ideas are promising but not fully developed, since it's an 11 track album that barely clocks in at 22 minutes. It was surprising to see a more vulnerable X, one who wasn't screaming so much, and I'm glad I listened to it. But as far as albums about depression go, I think I'll stick with At Night, Alone.

Rating: Light 6/10

Best: Jocelyn Flows, Revenge

Worst: Orlando, F**k Love

Luv Is Rage 2 Review

1. Two

How do I make that R symbol that appears on the track listing? Anyway, this is how the album starts? Some sort of autotune/reverb nightmare with accordions? It's a vibe track, I guess, but it's a bit too messy to be effective at that. Not a promising start.

2. 444+222

People said this was supposed to be one of the best tracks on the album. I'm not sure why. Most of this thing just sounds like one long intro with nothing of substance really being said. It all just runs together and feels like ad libs. Also high pitched beeping in the background. That's fun. 

3. Sauce It Up

You know, Fifth Harmony had a song with a similar name on their self titled album that released on the same day as this. Anyway, thin beat with static bass and clicking percussion. Not my thing. And Uzi's performance is too choppy to have any real presence.

4. No Sleep Leak

Annoying voices. That's something I've always hated about Lil Uzi Vert. It doesn't do anything for me or make anything more meaningful, it just annoys me. Typical spacey beat. The perfect mix of irritating and boring.

5. The Way Life Goes

I think I like the beat for this. It's mostly just an ascending scale, but it sticks out. Also Uzi takes a moment to give a more somber performance, and it's not bad. Especially with the pianos. You know...it took a while, but I think I finally found a Lil Uzi Vert song I like. Glad this was the highest debut from this album. It's easily the strongest song so far.

6. For Real

Oh, that is not the beat. No. After easily the best beat on the album, you come with this squeaking nonsense that can't even be bothered to exist the whole time? And this embarrassing display of synth farting is you presenting yourself as real. I guess because it's minimalist, but...god this is gross. 

7. Feelings Mutual

Didn't chart. This seems to want to follow in the same lyrical step as XO TOUR Llif3. And it has an upbeat beat in what I think is a major key. Bad idea. Mostly it reminds me of SNES music if it was glitching out. It's not pleasant Though Uzi does diss his own verse on Bad and Boujee, so at least it does have some redeeming value. 

8. Neon Guts

This seems to be a fan favorite I guess. I mean...it's okay, I guess? I assumed people just found someone who wasn't Uzi on this album refreshing. And the beat's more refined, that's a plus I guess. But it's honestly not all that engaging anyway. But at one point Uzi says he fell in love with his tutor when he was in 6th grade? That's super creepy. 

9. Early 20 Rager

Didn't chart, and thank god. This is more autotune/reverb nonsense, this time with gunshots in the beginning! It's really hard to care about someone bragging about their riches, doubly so when they're trying to make you feel like you're in an echoey arena. Feels like nonsense. 

10. UnFazed

I was hoping The Weeknd would save this. Instead he kinda just imitates what Uzi usually does. Though since his voice is naturally smoother he's not terrible at it. Though when you just have him repeat the phrase "I'm UnFazed" over and over again, you kinda wonder what the point of this is. Talk about lackluster. 

11. Pretty Mami

Didn't chart. Can't say we really lost anything from that fact. It's more reverb nonsense with I guess a somewhat tropical yet still mechanical beat. It's just annoying and nondescript. And people didn't even care about it that much compared to the other songs on the album so that tells you all you need to know.

12. How To Talk

Also didn't chart. Though this is one of the better songs on this album, because of how chipper the beat it. It's catchy enough and kinda matches the autotune on Uzi's vocals. So yeah, decent song. Kind of a shame this one didn't chart.

13. X

I was hoping the beat wouldn't be as boring as the 21 Savage song of the same name. Though it is marginally better because Uzi's more energetic and interesting than 21. Still, it's a song where Uzi smacktalks his ex. It's about as petty as I can expect when it comes to that. Also Leonardo DiCaprio? Okay?

14. Malfunction

The last of the songs that didn't chart. Fine by me, this doesn't really do anything the previous songs didn't do. It relies on its spaciness. It doesn't engage me, it more bores me.

15. Dark Queen

The reverb and general spacey vibe of this song is more toned back than in other songs on this album. Still there, but more pushed to the background, or only used a little bit on Uzi's verse. As such, it's middling. The beat feels underdeveloped, relying on these flute-like vocal samples that just aren't interesting enough. Kinda boring.

16. XO TOUR Llif3

I know it was already charting but screw it, I listened to the rest of the album I might as well. I still hate this. I don't like the beat, I don't like, Uzi's performance, and I don't like how unfocused the lyrical content is. Sorry. 

Verdict: This was about what I expected it to be. It's obviously not for me. I find a majority of the songs very annoying and/or boring. Too much reverb and ultimately not a lot of focus. And above all, I just don't like Uzi's voice. Though I did find a few things to like about this album, so it wasn't a total loss. I've heard worse.

Rating: Solid 3/10

Best: The Way Life Goes, How To Talk, Neon Guts

Worst: For Real, Early 20 Rager, 444+222