Since 1958, the Billboard Hot 100 has been the definitive chart gauging the biggest singles in the United States, with particular attention to the top 40 positions. Top 40 is so ingrained in music culture that an entire radio format and music market sprung up around it, sometime in the early 1960s. Even in the age of streaming and YouTube, this top 40 still serves its purpose as the list of the most popular songs in the country.
For this new feature, Gaby, Melody, Kevin, Lucy and I reviewed every song from this week’s Top 40. Some of these are well known to us, and others were songs that only got this far up the charts because of airplay on a radio format chart or a viral video. This might become a semi-recurring feature for us, depending on how long it takes for there to be enough new songs for us to comment on.
The Top 40 we reviewed is from the Hot 100 published at Billboard.com on Mar. 5, 2014 and dated Mar. 14 (there’s a whole explanation about the two-date thing and we’re not going to get into it here).
Without further adieu, let’s dive in starting with the number one song in the country for the past nine weeks.
1. Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!
Ryan Gibbs: Yup, this is still the best song on this entire chart. Probably the best #1 since Mars’ own “Locked Out of Heaven” (although much love to “Blank Space”, which this dethroned from the top). Unorthodox Jukebox proved that Bruno is at his best when he emulates earlier music styles. Here, his and Ronson’s take on ’80s funk (e.g. Morris Day, Zapp, Cameo) is spot on and spellbinding. Every part of this fantastic and I doubt i’ll ever tired of it. A #1 for the ages. A+
Advertisement
Gabrielle Bondi: Best Song of Century (So Far) ((Okay, it might be too early to make that judgment, but it’s rare when we get a song this good.)) A++
Luciana Villalba: I wonder if Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars knew when they were doing the song that it would be a hit for the ages? A+
Melody Rice: “Happy” done right, or at least “Happy” without a year’s worth of being overplayed. I’m not close to sick of it yet, which is a good sign. I’m also ready for another song to take the #1 spot, which isn’t. A
2. Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud
Gabrielle Bondi: Does anyone think this song sounds too much like a Jason Mraz song? I feel like it would be playing during someone’s wedding photo slideshow. “Thinking Out Loud” may be showing a softer side of Ed, compared to his past two singles “Don’t” and “Sing,” but it doesn’t showcase the edge I love from Ed. C+
Advertisement
Ryan Gibbs: An incredibly boring throwback to when Ed Sheeran wasn’t cool. This is going to be his biggest hit by chart peak, but will anyone remember it in five years? D+
3. Maroon 5 – Sugar
Ryan Gibbs: For the first time in years, the erstwhile Kara’s Flowers actually sound like a real band instead of Adam Levine and a synthesizer. As retro-soul pop goes, this is okay, I guess? Wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to it, but i’m glad to see that they’re putting actual effort in their stuff again. C+
Melody Rice: The best single they’ve released since their peak with It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, mainly because they sound more like an actual band and Adam Levine is a lot closer to sounding human. I’m still not sure I want them crashing my wedding, though. B
4. Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do
Gabrielle Bondi: It kind of bugs me that Ellie’s best songs never reach this high on the list. “Love Me Like You Do” is getting huge help for being one of the singles from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack. It’s definitely not her strongest track, but it’s a pretty and sexy pop song. B
Advertisement
5. Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney – FourFiveSeconds
Ryan Gibbs: This is surprisingly meh for such an “event” record. Like, it’s cool to see Macca back in the Top 10, but I think this would have been a little better if he actually sang on the thing. Kanye is fine, Rihanna is also fine, but it feels like it could use something more. The stripped back style of the song certainly isn’t helping things. Kind of goes in one ear and out the other, and considering that this was basically engineered to be one of the biggest records of 2015, that’s not a good thing. Dave Longstreth of the Dirty Projectors had a hand in the songwriting, but you really can’t tell. The chord progression reminds me a lot of Ash’s “Shining Light,” though. C+
Kevin Montes: Musically, Kanye can do no wrong (Yeezus only works as work out album for me). And this song just adds upon that list of perfectly made music. Some of the verses are very generic but fit the mood. It has simple pop instrumental finalized with a soulful voice harmonized on top, as a guitar plays some rhythmic patterns as well. At first, I didn’t know how to describe this, still don’t but the track is absolutely great. Hell, so far, I can put this on one of my favorite tracks of 2015 thus far. A
6. Hozier – Take Me to Church
Ryan Gibbs: Despite its emotion and interesting subject matter (the Catholic church’s stance on homosexuality), this kind of does nothing for me musically. Don’t understand how this is an “alternative” song, since it’s more of a proggy soul thing. Only part I really like is right before the chorus where it briefly sounds like Pink Floyd’s “Hey You.” C-
Melody Rice: “Is it even possible to be more f*cking boring than Sam Smith?” Joey asked during the Grammys. “Maybe if you’re Hozier,” I replied. D
7. Taylor Swift – Style
Gabrielle Bondi: “Style” is nowhere near as brilliant as her previous single, “Blank Space,” but it’s a fun and catchy pop tune, even if there’s nothing very distinctive about it. B-
Melody Rice: This was one of two 1989 tracks that made my top 100 songs of 2014, the other being “Blank Space.” I’m partly happy about it making the top 10, and partly not, considering how little I want to hear “Blank Space” these days. “Style” is so upbeat it might be less susceptible to this, but I’m a little worried. A-
8. Taylor Swift – Blank Space
Ryan Gibbs: Genuinely terrific. I love pop-crossover Taylor Swift, and this is probably her best single yet. Although, that “all the lonely Starbucks lovers” mondegreen that I keep hearing without fail, even though I know the actual lyrics, is a bit maddening. A
Melody Rice: Great single, but I’ve gotten sick of it a lot faster than the best singles from Swift’s previous albums. A-
9.The Weeknd – Earned It
Luciana Villalba: To me, the best song of the Fifty Shades soundtrack, but at the same time, I kind of wish that The Weeknd’s first single to reach the top of the charts was “Wicked Games”, “The Zone”, or any other of his singles. Then again, Fifty Shades marketing is a force to be reckoned with, at least I’m glad this song will open more doors for him. A
10. Pitbull & Ne-Yo – Time Of Our Lives
Luciana Villalba: This sounds way too similar to “Give Me Everything” and I’m sure that was their goal with this song. Worked once, let’s try that again, right? But I think this song falls behind “Give Me Everything” and any other Pitbull party song. C-
Melody Rice: This is bad, even by Pitbull standards, with that phony, “Every day above ground is a great day” bullsh*t making an already awful song even worse. I could easily avoid this song if it weren’t on Ne-Yo’s otherwise very good album. Why, Ne-Yo? D-
11. Meghan Trainor – Lips Are Movin’
Luciana Villalba: I can’t help but think that from now until her career runs its course, all of her songs will sound the same. Don’t even get me started on the videos. It seems like this is working in her favor to climb the pop charts with catchy songs, and “Lips Are Movin'” is just another win for her. C
12. Usher feat. Juicy J – I Don’t Mind
Kevin Montes: This is one of the simplest tracks Usher has made. But the track is catchy, smooth, and Juicy J isn’t as rambunctious in delivery. The instrumental is a major selling point. It gives off a nice R&B vibe rather than having overlapping hip-hop kicks. It’s use of a piano with the claps during the first half of the hook; and the transitions come with ease. This isn’t something I don’t usually say about new Usher, but this song has merritt for laxin with the homies type of track. B
13. Sam Smith – I’m Not the Only One
Ryan Gibbs: Still boring, but significantly less so than “Stay With Me.” The jazzy tone is a good fit for Smith, and it wouldn’t be a bad direction for them to bring his career in. Begging for a remix. C
14. Nicki Minaj feat. Drake and Lil’ Wayne – Truffle Butter
Ryan Gibbs: Beat seems like DJ Mustard with the serial numbers filed off, but everyone on this track actually puts in a great verse. Significantly better than “Only”, and not just because Lil’ Wayne doesn’t sleepwalk through his verse and Chris Brown is nowhere to be seen. B+
15. Fall Out Boy – Centuries
Ryan Gibbs: Fall Out Boy, I love you, but you’re bringing me down. They’re one of the best singles acts of the new millennium and it pains me to say that this is probably my least favorite single of theirs since “Saturday” off Take This to Your Grave (That “Beat It” cover never happened, you cannot convince me otherwise). I was really into this for a few weeks, and then it started to just do nothing for me. And I finally figured out why: what makes this song fall short for me is the production. J.R. Rotem was a terrible choice for the producer of a rock song and everything here kind of forms into a shapeless mash. Still, there’s a lot to love here if you’re a FOB diehard. The interpolation of Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” is neat and well utilized and Patrick Stump’s vocal performance is top notch. The other singles from American Beauty/American Psycho have been so much better than this. It’s interesting to note that this has become one of the band’s biggest hits in their career. I guess the public really loves their electro arena rock bangers. C+
Melody Rice: I’m astounded that the worst song from their album (and easily one of their worst ever) is charting so high. How does anyone like this? F
16. Fetty Wap – Trap Queen
Ryan Gibbs: There’s so much deliriously giddy energy in Fetty Wap’s delivery that it threatens to overtake the beat, and I mean that as a compliment. To me at least, the song comes off as the hip hop equivalent of The 1975’s “Chocolate”. It’s solid and unusual, and definitely doesn’t come off as your average Top 20 rising hip hop act crossover B+
17. Zedd feat. Selena Gomez – I Want You To Know
Gabrielle Bondi: I’ve listened to this song once–just ONCE–and it’s been in my head for two days. It’s definitely catchy, but it sounds just like Zedd’s other songs. It also doesn’t help that I’ve never been a fan of Selena Gomez’s vocals. D
18. Nicki Minaj feat. Drake, Lil’ Wayne & Chris Brown – Only
Melody Rice: Decent Nicki verse and weak Lil Wayne verse, with the best thing Drake has ever done sandwiched in between. And if Chris Brown can’t be banished, turning him into an adequate hook singer on songs this memorable is a better option than most. B+
Kevin Montes: I take back everything I say about Rae Sremmurd. Nicki, you had good verses before, what happened? Drake, I’ve heard better on If you’re reading this, it’s too late, and I didn’t like that album… Lil Wayne, was Carter III the last you time you tried? This is so conceited and really bad. The worse thing is that these rappers can flow, but the flow here is worse then Earl Sweatshirt’s (I love his music, but his flow is very bland). Is there a grade worse than F? F-
19. Ne-Yo feat. Juicy J – She Knows
Ryan Gibbs: The trap beat doesn’t mix well with Ne-Yo’s vocal style. There’s a decent showing from 2006 Academy Award winner Juicy J, but his guest verse is incredibly brief. Don’t know this managed to get into the Top 20. D
20. Nick Jonas – Jealous
Ryan Gibbs: Aw, that’s cute. He wants to be Usher now. D
Luciana Villalba: Aw, that’s cute. He wants to be Justin Timberlake now. Either way, I admire the fact that he moved from pop-ish J-Bro thing into a sexier, edgier tune with Jealous. C+
Melody Rice: His album is better than this would lead you to believe, with “Chains” and the Angel Haze feature “Numb” tearing this to shreds. The main problem isn’t the songwriting, which is solid, but his voice, which sounds strained and unfit for these notes. And before you criticize him for trying to be Justin Timberlake, remember that Timberlake was once the guy from ‘NSYNC who everyone thought was trying to be Michael Jackson. B
21. Taylor Swift – Shake It Off
Ryan Gibbs: This has been eating at me for months, guys: That beat isn’t very sick. Song is solid, though (except for that entire middle bit with the P!nk monologue and the “Mickey” cheer). It certainly does for Swift’s career what “Physical” did for Olivia Newton-John; It completely secures her transformation from a country crossover act to a pop singer (although much of Red did the same thing, but I digress). I take it this is going to be one of those songs that sticks around the Top 40 for the better part year. However, I think “Blank Space” will have better staying power over time. B-
Melody Rice: A little embarrassing that her anti-hater song is one of her weakest singles, but hardly surprising. Better on the radio than on her album, where it feels completely out of place. C+
22. Big Sean feat. E-40 – I Don’t F*ck With You
Ryan Gibbs: I don’t f*ck with you either, Big Sean. E-40, you’re cool though. Wish you had more hits of your own (“Tell Me When To Go” is still boss, 1000 times better than this). C-
23. Flo Rida feat. Sage the Gemini and Lookas – GDFR
Ryan Gibbs: ESPN is trying so hard to turn this into a ’90s jock jam, but it’s way too stiff to be one. Flo Rida, one of the most baffling success stories in modern hip hop, is not a good fit for a trap song. Pass. D+
24. Natalie La Rose feat. Jeremih – Somebody
Luciana Villalba: Was this song intentionally trying to be similar to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”? Or what exactly is the point? I can’t really seem to like this song just because it bothers me that the chorus is basically the same as Whitney’s and besides the beat and all, I can’t seem to get past that. C
25. Chris Brown & Tyga – Ayo
Ryan Gibbs: I’m not going to rate this because I’m not giving a Chris Brown single the time of day in 2015, but I will use this space to tell you a personal anecdote about Tyga. Back in 2013, fellow TYF staffer Augie King (then the entertainment editor of my college newspaper; I would eventually replace him when he graduated) assigned me to cover a Tyga concert. He was terrible and the place was basically empty. At one point, he performed a medley of his guest verses. His set was over in 30 minutes. His opening act? The then-rising buzz rapper YG, who put on one of the best opening slots I’ve ever seen at that venue (I didn’t think much of it then, but I kept coming back to how memorable it was in the months following). So yeah, Tyga is so uninteresting that he’s not even the main attraction at his own concerts. He certainly isn’t memorable here, either. Whither “Coconut Juice”? No rating
26. Sam Smith – Stay With Me
Ryan Gibbs: I appreciate how emotional this is, and it’s very rare to hear a song about someone pleading for their one-night stand to stick around. The problem is that it gets very weepy very quickly. At points, it seems as if Smith is about to burst into tears. Maybe that emphasizes the emotions of the song, but to me, it doesn’t really work. C
Melody Rice: I wish this song would leave the pop charts, but they just won’t back down. C-
27. Lilywood & Robin Schulz – Prayer in C
Ryan Gibbs: This week in surprising international hits: A four-year-old song by the French folk duo Lily Wood & The Prick (since rechristened “Lilywood,” because duh) becomes a worldwide smash after being remixed by German knobturner Robin Schulz. Schulz impressed me with his remix of Mr. Probz’ “Waves,” which turned an unimpressively sleepy song into a hooky deep house banger. This isn’t nearly as good, but it’s decent slice of unobtrusive world-pop. Doubt this will have a particularly long shelf life. C+
28. Meghan Trainor – All About That Bass
Gabrielle Bondi: Why? D
29. Ella Henderson – Ghost
Ryan Gibbs: A superb British “X-Factor” crossover with a very catchy chorus. She’s been getting a lot of comparisons to Leona Lewis, but this is much better than anything Leona ever did. Instead, the danceable soul of “Ghost” reminds me a lot more of Sugababes or Girls Aloud and serves to remind you how insane it is that neither of those groups ever had a hit in America. You can tell from the percussion that Ryan Tedder produced this without even looking it up. This sounds like something that could potentially hit number 1 in the next few months. Watch this closely. B
30. Ariana Grande – One Last Time
Ryan Gibbs: Ariana has a great voice, but she has the tendency to oversing. Here, she’s actually on point and she never goes into melismatics. Very noticeable that this is the first solo Grande song since the summer of 2013, and it’s very surprising that she rarely has a track to herself. Some of her best songs have been short-changed by their guests, and really uses the space to her advantage here. A good showing. B-
31. Beyonce – 7/11
Gabrielle Bondi: I love this song. The infectious beat and funky vocals make this hip-hop track interesting and just so much fun. I love that it’s quintessential Beyonce, while being fresh and different. A-
Melody Rice: Remember: this was one that she kept off her album. B+
32. Sam Hunt – Take Your Time
Ryan Gibbs: It’s always interesting to see what pure country songs tumble into the bottom of the Top 40 based on sales and genre radio airplay. This song basically runs off a near-rapped spoken word gimmick that doesn’t really work. Like, it feels very Shawn Mullins to me. Not interested in hearing this a second time. C-
33. Vance Joy – Riptide
Ryan Gibbs: Snoozy and unremarkable post-Mumford ukulele folk stomper. I thought were past this stuff. D-
34. Nick Jonas – Chains
Melody Rice: Oh hey, look at that. A-
35. Maroon 5 – Animals
Ryan Gibbs: In the video for “Animals,” Adam Levine hangs around a meat locker and is drenched in blood. I have no idea if this was intended to be a joke or not. It’s funny either way, though. In conjunction with the ridiculous lyrics (do you really buy Levine sincerely singing that he’s going to “hunt you down and eat you alive”?), the whole thing strikes me as absurd. “Animals mals”? There’s no way he recorded this with a straight face. I wasn’t planning on rating this because it’s a novelty song, but Shellback’s production isn’t great and I don’t know where the other five people (yes, they’re a six-piece now, but can you really tell?) in Maroon 5 factor in here. D+
36. Big Sean feat. Drake – Blessings
Kevin Montes: Out of all of Big Sean’s albums, not mixtapes, I tend to only like one or two songs out of the bunch. It goes “High” on Finally Famous, “First Chain” on Hall of Fame, and now with Dark Sky Paradise the singular track to blow-up (for me), is this song. The instrumental is ominous as well incorporating some hard-hitting drums. Drake adds a hypnotic hook, but the song does feel very generic. Haven’t rappers obviously thanked people for their luxury before? I mean this just sounds like a dark version of any Big Sean verse. Despite this setback the track is still fire in it’s own way. B-
37. Kelly Clarkson – Heartbeat Song
Gabrielle Bondi: I was excited for Kelly Clarkson’s new album until I heard this song. “Heartbeat Song” is underwhelming work from the person who gave us some great pop-rock moments. C-
38. Sia – Chandelier
Gabrielle Bondi: I’m always down for a pop ballad, and Sia’s “Chandelier” is one of my recent favorites. The fact that it’s still on this list says a lot about the power and popularity of this song. It’s a good one that we’re not ready to let go of just yet. A
Melody Rice: I’m usually not big on bombast, so it took me most of last year to finally get this. Once I did, it seemed spectacular. The lyricism, which present a sad story of excess and self-destruction, sold me on it more than anything, and the huge sound offers a musical equivalent to the lyrics. So maybe I don’t hate bombast, I just prefer it to have a purpose. A-
39. Rae Sremmurd – No Type
Kev: Umm…what? All this has going for it is the beat. And even that is a slightly uneven. They sound like children going through puberty, badly. I’m sorry, I can bump to “No Flex Zone” with ease. That’s a banger, but this is just bad. F+
Melody Rice: Prediction: Kev is going to hate “Throw Sum Mo.” This isn’t one of their best songs, nor one of their worst, but plenty likable. B-
40. Drake – Energy
Kevin Montes: One thing I have yet to do is fully express my thoughts on the most recent Drake album, an album I thought was intentionally bad. Unless you are a d*ck rider, you can really see how his album is just a loop instrumentally. They all sound the same (but not actually 100% true, just not much for variety), but out of all the tracks I do f*ck wit’ Energy. Drake is also on some IDGF ignant sh*t. He raps about how many enemies he has made but compared to him, they are some broke ass haters. Drake has some gravitas in flow and the beat is probably one of the better ones on the album. It has variety and doesn’t retain a constant loop. Lyrically he is very mundane but he’s very blunt so at least he doesn’t mirror his mentor Lil Wayne. B-
DROP-OFFS
These are the songs that have left the the Top 40 since last week’s chart. In parenthesis is their last chart position before they dropped out.
41. Ariana Grande feat. The Weeknd – Love Me Harder (from #33)
Gabrielle Bondi: “Love Me Harder” is the first Ariana Grande song that I outright love. It’s a sexy, light R&B ballad, and bringing in The Weeknd takes this track to the next level. A-
Melody Rice: I underappreciated this one last year, and I’m now convinced it might be one of 2014’s best pop songs. At least close to being as wonderful as “Problem.” In other news, I need to relisten to her album. A-
45. O.T. Genasis – CoCo (from #36)
Kevin Montes: Duuuuuuuuuudeeeeeee. O.T. Genasis is a G. And I mean both, gangster and a genius. Even though I can’t call him a genius for his wordplay and his rhymes, he flips the cocaine game on it’s head in the music world. I’m used to listening to heavy ignorant hip-hop tracks in regards to the two most popular subject, women and money. Cocaine is something hip-hop takes in small doses by expressing the bad habits coming from it, or so I’ve gathered from tracks that talk about cocaine, like “Everyday Struggle” by Notorious B.I.G. or Pusha T’s “Nosestalgia.” O.T. delivers the opposite, an ignorant track about making that dough off the cocaine he loves. I see no gratification in this, but his mafioso-esque delivery is top notch. A+
47. Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life (from #28)
Ryan Gibbs: Among my circle of friends, my dislike of Imagine Dragons has become nearly legendary. Maybe I overreact at times, but my main issue with them is pretty simple. I think they’re a garbage band whose singles consistently borrow from the worst major trends in guitar music from the past decade (the campfire stomp folk song? They have “It’s Time”. The bland, neverending rawk dirge? That’s “Radioactive”. The hollow adult contemporary chance? Hi, “Demons”!). And yet, for some reason, I always thought they were above the relentless kumbaya bullsh*t that plagues “I Bet My Life.” If these guys are supposed to be our new REO Speedwagon, they could at least do something better than just photocopying Vance Joy and making it louder, right? This is substandard, even for a band I thought lacked standards. F
50. Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj – Bang Bang (from #40)
Gabrielle Bondi: Jessie J is too talented for this sh*t. I liked this song for about two seconds when it first released, but it loses luster quickly. D
Melody Rice: Jessie J is too talented for this? She’s the least talented person here, but she still sounds better than usual. Overall, not as good when I first heard it, but that Nicki verse still slays. B
Ryan Gibbs: Starring Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj as Itchy & Scratchy, with Jessie J as Poochie the Rockin’ Dog. Only Nicki gets to the fireworks factory. C-
Advertisement