billboard Top 20: 3/25/17

Billboard Top 20: Week of March 25

Back to the world of pop music and radio hits this week. I decided to try something "new" and go up all the way to 20 this week because a lot of the songs in the Top 10 are the same songs I've talked about and I don't want to repeat myself too much. Hopefully I can make it through without too many problems, it seems like there's quite a few good songs around, so maybe that will help this be easier. 

1. ED SHEERAN - SHAPE OF YOU

After listening to Sheeran's new album in it's entirety, I think my opinion has changed a bit on this song. I actually really enjoyed all of the songs on the album, it feels a lot more brighter and more energetic compared to his last album "X". The guitar always stands out very nicely in all the songs, and it feels nice and bright, kinda gives me a happy feeling listening to all the songs on the album. There are a few songs on the album that feel very similar in style and lyrics to songs from the previous album. "New Man" reminds me a lot of "Don't", "Perfect" is basically the new "Thinking Out Loud", and "Shape of You" just sounds like a song that was supposed to be on "X" but was saved for the new album. "Shape of You" seems to be the weakest song on the album, minimal guitar and repetitive music are what keep this song down. Maybe this song was just made to go along with current trends and guarantee at least one huge hit from the album, but I don't know. Still it's a decent song, but I kinda wish it wasn't on the new album and was released as a B-side from "X" or a random single. Almost every song in "Division" feel personal to Sheeran in some way, but "Shape of You" seems to be the only one that isn't, at least not in an obvious way. 

2 Migos - Bad and Boujee

Nothing's changed here, i'm already tired of seeing this on the list and I hope it starts losing steam soon. Plenty of good songs that can take this spot, like...

3. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like

The more I listen to "24k Magic" the more I wish it was just a little bit longer. I still find this song very fun to listen to. Great vocals, great music, great listen. 

4. Swift/Zayn - I Don't Want to Live Forever

Not sure if I've ever admitted that I actually liked Swift's last album. It was a great album and I can understand why she is one of the biggest pop starts in the world. The problem I guess is that once an artist has reached the top of the top, it seems every single they release reaches the top of the charts just by name recognition alone. A song like this is just boring and lifeless and has no place on the charts, but with the name "Swift" on it, I guess there was no way it wasn't going to be all the way in the top 10. I guess I just hope that people stop supporting lazy music like this just because it has a popular name attached to it. 

5. Rihanna - Love on the Brain

Still really like this song. The vocals are fantastic and it all feels very emotional and personal, something that a lot of pop music doesn't seem to do nowadays. What I like about artists like Rihanna is that she tried a lot of different things with her music. Lots of times it doesn't work very well and it makes for bad music, but also a lot of the time it works really well like in this case. Any artist that is willing to try different things is worth getting behind. 

6. Kodak Black - Tunnel Vision

Dear God, where to start with this one. The video, let's start with that. It would seem like the video is trying to send some sort of message about Americans and racism, which would be fine and all if the song actually had anything to do with that. The song really just seems to be like any ordinary rap song about sex, drugs, bragging for the most part. There also seems to be a couple of lines about prison, but there's really nothing here that even connects to the video at all. Not really sure what the whole point of it all was, maybe just to get views and stir up some controversy? Anyway it just seems like a cheap way to get attention and seem topical without actually writing a song that challenges people into really thinking about racism and violence and it's affects. Without the video, it's still a weak song that doesn't deserve as much attention as it's getting. If you want some actual challenging material and good songs to go along with it, go listen to Kendrick Lamar.

7. Paris - Chainsmokers

I still don't get all the love for these guys, I just don't. Just last week they were the third artist ever to get three songs in the Top 10 at the same time (though it only last one week), the only other two artists being The Beatles and The Bee Gees (seriously). Out of all the artists that could have done this and it had to go to the most boring ones out there right now. This song is nothing special, it's not bad or good, it's just boring. The worst thing you can be in entertainment is boring as there can be enjoyment in something bad, but with boring you get nothing. 

8. Big Sean - Bounce Back

Meh.

9. Clean Bandit - Rockabye

So apparently Sean Paul is around again? This song has been a pretty big hit in other countries, but it took a while for it to become a hit in the USA. I remember really liking Clean Bandit's first big hit "Rather Be", a very catchy song with cool and memorable music. The lyrics are pretty interesting in this new one... A song about the relationship between a mother and child, and basically how the mom loves her baby and works hard for it. Pretty strange subject for a dance song, but I'll take it. It's a decent song, I can't say I love it but it has a lot of good parts in it. Vocals are done well, even Sean Paul (I can actually understand him in this song, a miracle if I ever saw one). The music is fine, love the strings and the rest is passable. Overall just an enjoyable pop song that's worth a couple listens. Also not sure how a baby could fall asleep to Sean Paul singing but whatever. 

10. Chainsmokers - Closer

While the world falls apart one constant remains. This song in the Top 10. It's already been in the charts for half a year which is crazy enough, but it's been in the Top 10 since I started doing these reviews. If by some miracle it drops out of the Top 10 next week I will never write another of these reviews again. 

11. Chainsmokers/Coldplay - Something Just Like This

Not even Coldplay can make the Chainsmokers sound interesting. Another boring song with a boring drop and boring music and just... sigh. Even a solo at the end couldn't make this interesting. Seems every single that the Chainsmokers release make it to the Top 10 at least for one week, and since they seem to release one every month they are never going to go away from the charts. The Chainsmokers seem like the very definition of what pop music is these days: repetitive, unoriginal, conceited, lifeless and safe. And yet, there's always potential here for something good and it just requires a little more attention to detail and just a little more effort and you could have a fun pop song. The song "Closer" is a good example, it's a pretty good song that I can listen to every now and then and get some enjoyment out of it. That means there's potential for this artists and many other artist to make something that's not only catchy, but also fun and/or meaningful and not boring. 

12. Weeknd - I Feel it Coming

Here's a good example of a song that's fun to listen with some effort behind it. Good music, good vocals and a catchy hook. Of course this song also has the benefit of having some help from Daft Punk to provide the smooth and funky music to back up Weeknd's smooth vocals. I don't always love everything from The Weeknd, but these last couple of singles from him have been interesting and very easy to listen to, it's songs like these that put artists above most in the pop music world. 

13. Katy Perry - Chained to the Rhythm 

Pretty surprising to see this fall off the Top 10 so fast, but of course it's still fairly new so there's always a chance that it can go back up. I'm not sure about this one anymore. In Katy Perry standards it's probably one of the better songs she's made in a pretty long time, and the message seems pretty relevant to the times (even if Katy Perry's performance doesn't live up to the message she's singing about). It basically follows the same formula that a lot of her other hits do which is: [Verse-chorus-verse-chorus-rap guest verse-chorus] from songs like "California Gurls", "E.T.", "Dark Horse", and "Last Friday Night". It's a formula a lot of female pop stars follow, but Katy Perry uses it A LOT. I guess it seems to work for her though, since it always seems to lead to a high charting song. Katy is just another artists that should take more risks, but i'm not sure if she really has the talent to do so. Prove me wrong please.

14. Lil Yachty/Kyle - iSpy

Uhm. This song is actually pretty good? This isn't something I would listen to more than once or twice, but I didn't feel annoyed listening to it. It's actually a fun song that doesn't annoy the crap out of me. The only thing I didn't really enjoy was the chorus because it kind of gets annoying and repetitive in a bad way. Still I can't really hate on this song, it's one of the first songs in this genre that I didn't completely hate from the start. Kinda reminds me of "Broccoli", which also wasn't a a bad song in this genre. I'll never fully be into this specific style of music, but with songs like these I can at least understand the following and I can enjoy it for what is is.

15. Shawn Men....oh God no, please no.... - Mercy

Uhm. This song is actually pretty good? I feel like I could just repeat most of what I said for the last song here, but I'm kind of surprised to hear a Shawn Mendes song that doesn't make me angry. Not that it's anything special here, but this is the best single by Mendes so far. It's nothing spectacular or even that great, but it's passable. The vocals are fine and the lyrics aren't frustrating like the last few singles Mendes released. 

16. Bruno Mars - 24k Magic

Still great. I was expecting to be tired a few weeks after it was released, but here we are months later and it's still just as fun to listen to.

17. Sam Hunt - Body Like a Back Road

Not too often I get to cover country (even though this is barely country) on this list. Country is always very hit or miss for me, it's something I can get behind if the artists is interesting enough, but Sam Hunt just isn't that kind of artist. Seems like the kind of artist that's trying to appeal to everyone by making very safe, almost not country songs like this one. It almost sounds like an Adult Alternative song from an artist like Jason Mraz or something, but it still has that very tiny country influence so it can still be considered country. I get nothing out of a song like this, there's nothing to make it stand out in any way at all. The music is very plain and safe and the vocals and lyrics are just like the music. This song is safe, and while that might be good for mass appeal, it also just makes it easily forgettable since there's no part of this song I will remember after I'm done listening to it. 

18. Kygo/Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me

I've never really heard of Kygo until this song was released, but this song left a good first impression. Pretty much the opposite of what the Chainsmokers because of interesting lyrics, music and changes throughout the verses, chorus and bridge. Selena's vocals work good in the song as her voice seems to work better in softer more chilled out songs like this one. I would like to see more songs like this and less songs like "Paris" and "Something Just Like This". 

19. Lorde - Green Light

Another big powerhouse artist makes a comeback alongside Ed Sheeran and Katy Perry. Kind of an unexpected more pop sounding comeback from Lorde, moving away from her more toned down sound from her last album. I really like the way the song builds up from the softer verses, to the pre-chorus slowly building up just a little more and exploding into the more powerful chorus that seems to keep building as it goes on. It sounds different than anything Lorde has really done before, but it works very well with. Lorde has the kind of voice that can work with a lot of different styles, from this more pop sound to her previous darker sound and even rock. It's good to see how she can use her vocals in many different ways, and this song was another success for her in my opinion. It's great to see amazing vocalists like Lorde come back and add some new life to the pop music world, and I'm excited to see what the new album brings.

20. Maroon 5 - Cold

Sadly this list has to end on a bad note with the newest Maroon 5 single. I thought they had reached a new low with the last single "Don't Wanna Know", but somehow they lowered the bar just a little more with this song. I don't understand what is happening to this "band", the more albums they release the less they sound like an actual band. Then add a rap verse by one of the most boring artists around (Future) and you get another boring, lifeless and depressing song. Effort. All i'm looking for is effort from these artists. They are at the top of the music charts making lots of money, why not use your status and connections to actually make an effort in the music you make. Make music that's more fun, more passionate, more meaningful, more personal, more layered, more unique. I know all of the artist here are capable of making some great songs, just wish they would put some more effort and stop playing it so safe.