Billboard Hot 100 Highlights May 19th, 2018

Okay it's Childish Gambino, and I have a number 1 hit now. Holy crap This Is America was popular. But did it deserve it? We'll find out later. Highlights.

Top 20

1. This Is America by Childish Gambino (New)
2. Nice For What by Drake (1)
3. God's Plan by Drake (3)
4. Psycho by Post Malone ft. Ty Dolla $ign (2)
5. Meant To Be by Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line (4)
6. The Middle by Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey (5)
7. Look Alive by BlocBoy JB ft. Drake (9)
8. Never Be The Same by Camila Cabello (6)
9. Perfect by Ed Sheeran (12)
10. No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande (10)
11. Freaky Friday by Lil Dicky ft. Chris Brown (13)
12. Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons (21)
13. Rockstar by Post Malone ft. 21 Savage (8)
14. Walk It Talk It by Migos ft. Drake (18)
15. Mine by Bazzi (19)
16. Watch by Travis Scott ft. Lil Uzi Vert & Kanye West (New)
17. Boo'd Up by Ella Mai (37)
18. I Like It by Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin (22)
19. Chun-Li by Nicki Minaj (50)
20. Heaven by Kane Brown (28)

Fell Off Top 20

23. Better Now by Post Malone (7)
38. Paranoid by Post Malone (11)
39. Rich & Sad by Post Malone (14)
40. Ball For Me by Post Malone ft. Nicki Minaj (16)
45. Stay by Post Malone (17)
51. Spoil My Night by Post Malone ft. Swae Lee (15)
66. Same Bitches by Post Malone ft. G-Eazy & YG (20)

Big Gains (10+)

17. Boo'd Up by Ella Mai (37)
19. Chun-Li by Nicki Minaj (50)
28. Powerglide by Rae Sremmurd ft. Juicy J (39)
34. Sad! by XXXTENTACION (60)
35. All The Stars by Kendrick Lamar & SZA (49)
41. Te Boté (Remix) by Casper Magico, Nio Garcia, Darell, Nicky Jam, Ozuna & Bad Bunny (64)
42. X by Nicky Jam x J Balvin (52)
43. Dura by Daddy Yankee (54)
44. One Number Away by Luke Combs (65)
46. Delicate by Taylor Swift (56)
47. Overdose by YoungBoy Never Broke Again (77)
49. One Kiss by Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa (61)
55. Tequila by Dan + Shay (67)
70. Get Along by Kenny Chesney (84)
71. Up Down by Morgan Wallen ft. Florida Georgia Line (83)
76. For The First Time by Darius Rucker (90)
87. Everything's Gonna Be Alright by David Lee Murphy & Kenny Chesney (97)

Moderate Gains (5 - 9)

12. Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons (21)
20. Heaven by Kane Brown (28)
22. Pray For Me by The Weeknd & Kendrick Lamar (30)
26. Plug Wank by Rich The Kid (31)
27. In My Blood by Shawn Mendes (36)
30. Wait by Maroon 5 (38)
33. You Make It Easy by Jason Aldean (41)
36. Dame Tu Cosita by El Chombo (43)
37. Ric Flair Drip by Offset & Metro Boomin (45)
48. Japan by Famous Dex (55)
54. Love Lies by Khalid & Normani (63)
60. King's Dead by Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future & James Blake (66)
61. IDGAF by Dua Lipa (69)
72. I Like Me Better by Lauv (81)
79. Zombie by Bad Wolves (88)
85. I Lived It by Blake Shelton (91)
86. Woman, Amen by Dierks Bentley (92)
90. Alone (Remix) by Halsey ft. Big Sean & Stefflon Don (99)

Big Losses (10+)

23. Better Now by Post Malone (7)
38. Paranoid by Post Malone (11)
39. Rich & Sad by Post Malone (14)
40. Ball For Me by Post Malone ft. Nicki Minaj (16)
51. Spoil My Night by Post Malone ft. Swae Lee (15)
52. KOD by J Cole (44)
56. ATM by J Cole (42)
63. Zack And Codeine by Post Malone (23)
64. Over Now by Post Malone (24)
66. Same Bitches by Post Malone ft. G-Eazy & YG (20)
67. Takin' Shots by Post Malone (29)
69. 92 Explorer by Post Malone (40)
88. Say Something by Justin Timberlake ft. Chris Stapleton (78)
89. Otherside by Post Malone (46)
93. Blame it On Me by Post Malone (47)
95. Famous by Mason Ramsey (62)

Moderate Losses (5 - 9)

13. Rockstar by Post Malone ft. 21 Savage (8)
57. Kevin's Heart by J Cole (48)
75. Everyday by Logic & Marshmello (70)
78. Outside Today by YoungBoy Never Broke Again (72)
81. Bartier Cardi by Cardi B ft. 21 Savage (75)
96. I Do by Cardi B ft. SZA (89)

Dropouts

• Candy Paint by Post Malone (34, 34, 21 weeks)
• Sugar Wraith by Post Malone (57, 57, 1 week)
• Motiv8 by J. Cole (71, 15, 2 weeks)
• Jonestown (Interlude) by Post Malone (73, 73, 1 week)
• 1985 (Intro To The Fall Off) by J. Cole (79, 20, 2 weeks)
• Photograph by J. Cole (80, 14, 2 weeks)
• Ye vs The People by Kanye West ft. T.I. (85, 85, 1 week)
• Ring by Cardi B ft. Kehlani (86, 28, 4 weeks)
• Changes by XXXTENTACION (96, 37, 9 weeks)

Returning Entries

84. Barbie Tingz by Nicki Minaj

New Entries

1. This Is America by Childish Gambino
16. Watch by Travis Scott ft. Lil Uzi Vert & Kanye West
58. Beautiful Crazy by Luke Combs
65. Youth by Shawn Mendes ft. Khalid
74. Done For Me by Charlie Puth ft. Kehlani
80. Gucci Flip Flops by Bhad Bhabie ft. Lil Yachty
97. Mercy by Brett Young
98. Preach by YoungBoy Never Broke Again

New and Returning Entries Ranked

1. Done For Me

About time this got here. Plus it should get another boost next week thanks to Voicenotes finally dropping. And I'm glad it's finally here, because this is the best song from that album. It uses the same song structure as Attention, but with a little more restraint and cooing. And exotic synths. Charlie and Kehlani play off each other phenomenally as they point the finger at each other for cheating and not being there for the other. It's oddly cathartic, and endlessly groovy. Seriously, this is the kind of thing I live for. Can we please make this a hit? That would mean the world to me, because it's one of the best songs of the year.

2. Youth

I can't believe I slept on this one. Seriously, Shawn Mendes with Khalid? That sounds like a match made in Heaven. And it was. The guitars are calm and soothing, Shawn's performance is controlled unlike in In My Blood, and Khalid is a fantastic addition that elevates the song even further. It's kinda euphoric and sounds absolutely incredible. Easily the best song I've heard leading up to Mendes' self-titled album.

3. This Is America

I am the wrong person entirely to try to dissect this song. I'm not particularly well-versed in politics or what Gambino's talking about. All I know is I dig it. I love the African-style rhythm and chanting, which is a natural fit for Young Thug's solo at the end. I love the way the upbeat dance chanting is juxtaposed against the more menacing, fuzzed out bass when Gambino starts rapping. And the ad libs from the various cameos of Quavo, 21 Savage, BlocBoy JB, etc. are the icing on the cake. Though at times this song feels less like a song and more like an event. Definitely a piece that works much better with the video than it does as just a song. But there's nothing wrong with that. Definitely got enough people's attention to be meme'd to hell and back. And of course, break Gambino's previous Hot 100 record. Plus, it's refreshing to have a number 1 that feels culturally relevant. I haven't felt that way about a number 1 in quite some time. Even as someone who is generally optimistic about the charts.

4. Mercy

The previews for this song didn't really impress me. And then I heard the full song. Yeah, this is really heartbreaking. Wanting to get the heartbreak over as a form of mercy rather than keep a loveless relationship going as the girl seems to want to do. Brett's performance is fragile and layered well. And the instrumentation is gorgeous. Definitely a great recovery after the decision to release Like I Loved You as a single.

5. Barbie Tingz

I guess this kinda grew on me. The beat clicked with me better and Nicki's intensity came through a lot better this time around. That part where she rhymes "bitch" with itself repeatedly is still lazy though.

6. Beautiful Crazy

I feel like it's incredibly uncommon to have two country songs from the same lead artist on the Hot 100 at once. Anyway, I think I much prefer this to One Number Away. It's sweeter and slower-paced, and acts as a simple tribute to the girl Luke loves. It's nothing particularly special or super memorable, but it gets the job done. It feels good and heartwarming, so that's fine by me.

7. Watch

People seem to have a problem with this song and I don't really see it? Sure, it's not great, thanks to the beat feeling a little unfinished at times. But as a hype up track, it's bouncy and does what it sets out to do. Surprisingly I don't mind Uzi on this, even as he talks about boning a girl in a hallway for some reason. Though Travis also says that. And Kanye's verse is fun too, honestly. Apparently Pierre made this, and I think I see that. Er...don't know what else to say. I guess it's not particularly memorable, but I don't particularly understand the discourse.

8. Preach

Oh thank god, this song sucks. I was starting to worry I had lost my standards when it came to this guy. The beat to this isn't as menacing as Overdose or Diamond Teeth Samurai, which makes the lyrics about drug dealing and feeling scared for your life fall completely flat. And YoungBoy sounds nasal and overall unpleasant on this beat. Also it feels like it goes on for too long. It felt like the song could've ended a minute sooner than it did and nothing would be lost. Bleh. Stop listening to him. He's apparently an abuser too, so that's something I have on my conscience.

9. Gucci Flip Flops

Just...just no. I was done with this girl a long time ago. I'll concede that Danielle's flows have gotten better as she can slip effortlessly into faster flows on her verse. But that doesn't mean anything when your bars are the same mindless flexing everyone else is doing. And Lil Yachty doesn't impress me much either. But the real killer for this song is that grating beat. It's anchored in some bad-sounding high tones and ends every 8 measures with a borderline dog-whistle sound. It sucks. Bhad Bhabie sucks.