Showing posts with label 5 seconds of summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 5 seconds of summer. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - june 8, 2019

I think the chaos of 2018 warped how I normally see the Hot 100. Granted, part of this feels driven by the fact that at this point last year we had been hit by multiple album bombs where 2019 feels more quiet in general, but it also feels like projects that would normally hit with greater impact just aren't penetrating as deeply as you'd expect, leading to a more chart. So maybe consistency is our new normal...

Thursday, February 21, 2019

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - february 23, 2019 (VIDEO)


So yeah, I know it's a bit of a wild prediction that thank u, next won't quite last on the Hot 100... but I've seen enough album bombs to see exactly how Ariana Grande will fade, especially in the face of the projects in the wings coming.

Next up, we're talking Avantasia - stay tuned!

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - february 23, 2019

So everyone and their mother was going to predict that Ariana Grande would have an album bomb this week. That's not surprising, and I'm fully aware that me saying it last week was not blowing anyone's mind. I will say I'm a bit surprised that she broke through so high in the top 40, with only one song from the album not placing there. And what I find interesting here is that when you combine a relatively modest track length - we're only talking new songs from Ariana here - and only a few other breakthroughs around it, it leads to a week that didn't quite feel as disrupted as I expected. More just at the top than anything, and that gives me the impression that thank u, next as an album might suffer a steeper dropoff than Ariana's people are prepared to acknowledge. Hey, you make an album custom-built for streaming, you suffer the consequences!

Saturday, June 23, 2018

video review: 'youngblood' by 5 seconds of summer


Okay, lot of updates to post here tonight, so let's start with something I should have posted on Thursday that is quite mediocre - enjoy!

Thursday, June 21, 2018

album review: 'youngblood' by 5 seconds of summer

Oh, this one is going to hurt.

See, I was never one of those who hated 5 Seconds Of Summer right out of the gate, even if 'She Looks So Perfect' was stupid: I reviewed their first EP and their full-length debut in 2014 and Sounds Good, Feels Good a year later and I actually saw a progression for this group: yeah, in terms of mainstream-friendly pop rock they weren't reinventing the wheel or even stepping close to the exploding pop punk underground, but the hooks were catchy, the writing was steadily getting better, and they had songs with genuine crunch and presence that could hit a little harder. And while I never expected them to get that much heavier, in the wake of that pop punk and emo underground picking up steam you'd think the natural choice would be to double down on the instincts that got them writing gems like 'Jet Black Heart' and push even further.

And then you remember that 5 Seconds Of Summer were signed to a major label who were probably paying more attention what Maroon 5 was doing in gutless pop or how Fueled By Ramen has been systemically neutering the rock out of their roster, so gone were producers David Hodges and John Feldmann and in came the pop songwriting machine to churn out desaturated, groove-centric pop... which I'm not against if it feels natural and flatters the group like with The 1975, but when you have a band perfectly primed to take advantage of a rising underground movement and you force them to imitate a sound that's closing in on its last legs, that stinks of artistic mismanagement. So no, I was not looking forward to this release - could 5SOS pull their band from the brink?

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - june 16, 2018 (VIDEO)


Okay, album bomb, but a solid week regardless...

Next up, more Kanye, but with bonus Kid Cudi...

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - june 16, 2018

Kanye album bomb. Yeah, I know there are other things going on right now - a new #1, a sizable amount of activity further down the chart, but the big story is all of Kanye West's 'ye' crashing into the top 40, triggering a shockwave down the Hot 100 that'll likely be a mess to clean up next week... presuming of course Kids See Ghosts doesn't create its own impact!

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - march 10, 2018 (VIDEO)


And here we are - I'm actually a little surprised with as many debuts as we got this is actually out on time.

Okay, Phonte is up next, stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - march 10, 2018

So it's pretty rare I get surprised on the Hot 100 - I've been doing this for three and a half years and I have chart records going back to the 2000s, I generally have an expectation what'll land here and be successful, and I've been long conditioned by disappointment to not expect the best. But it seems like this week we got a few welcome surprises that not only met my low expectations for this week, but might have even exceeded them. I'm not saying it was precisely a great week or that any of these new arrivals will last, but some of these are encouraging.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - august 6, 2016 (VIDEO)


Well, this was an interesting week. I wouldn't quite call it a great one, but overall pretty solid.

Next up, we hit Chicago with Dreezy and Jamila Woods, so stay tuned!

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - august 6, 2016

And just like that, the summer lull gets burst wide open, and there's a part of me that couldn't be happier. Yeah, I could definitely raise questions about why - to say nothing of the viability of both the new songs and the new #1 that did it - but I have to admit, the past few weeks have been so stagnant that there's a part of me that's thrilled there's change at all!

Thursday, October 22, 2015

video review: 'sounds good, feels good' by 5 seconds of summer


Well, this happened. Can't say I dug it all that much, hoped for more artistic progression, but I think they'll get there eventually.

Next up, I think I might as well bang out this Toby Keith review. Stay tuned!

album review: 'sounds good, feels good' by 5 seconds of summer

I almost feel obliged to talk about 5 Seconds Of Summer at this point.

See, the more I hear their singles and look at their cowriters, the more I'm seeing a group that's at least trying to head in a more interesting direction in revitalizing the pop rock and pop punk of the late 90s and early 2000s, which stands in stark contrast to everything else on modern pop radio. When I originally covered their debut EP, I didn't see much beyond a middling act who was playing to younger audiences who didn't otherwise grow up with Sum 41 or Blink-182 or Green Day or The Offspring in the same way, but their self-titled debut album did have some promise. I figured if they went with rougher production, brought some of their real instrumental chops to the forefront, and maybe tightened up the writing a bit, they'd have a shot at some staying power.

And going into this record, I had every reason to believe that was happening. Yeah, the lineage to previous mainstream-accessible pop rock and pop punk bands was pretty obvious and you could definitely argue they weren't reinventing the formula or rising above their forebears, but they weren't bad successors. And to further give them credit, they were working with songwriters from All Time Low and Good Charlotte and even Evanescence, all of which gave me the impression that if the band took the opportunity to get rougher instrumentation, they might pick up some darker subject matter along the way - hell, 'Jet Black Heart' seemed to indicate they were taking some cues from mid-2000s emo, at the very least. In other words, I was hoping this would at least be an improvement on their debut, rock a little harder - was I right?

Thursday, September 10, 2015

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - september 19, 2015 (VIDEO)


I'm fairly certain this might be the longest episode of Billboard BREAKDOWN to date, and that's saying something. Here's betting the next one will be big too as so many of those album tracks from Beauty Behind The Madness drop out.

Next up, let's go metal and talk Iron Maiden - stay tuned!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - september 19, 2015

You know, there are some weeks where I wonder why I even bother doing my album reviews, instead just focusing on Billboard BREAKDOWN, because in the case of certain records, nearly every song from it is going to land on the charts at some point, so why should I bother? And this week, not only do we have one of those cases, we also have a song from a previous case of it returning high to the charts. And yet, none of those have ended up being the biggest story of this week, mostly we have a new #1, the first of his career and one riding the wave of a tearful VMAs performance to take the very top. And folks, time to dust off those old pitchforks: Justin Bieber is back, and he's bigger than ever.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - september 5, 2015 (VIDEO)


Man, the shooting of this episode was absolute hell. Goddamn, I'm amazed it turned out at all.

Next up... well, might as well get The Weeknd out of the way. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - september 5, 2015

You know, I wish the summer months would just make up their damn minds if they were interested in being slow or not, it'd definitely make my scheduling a hell of a lot easier! Because this week, so little happened on the Hot 100 - no recurring entries, barely any shifts in the top 10, five new songs, and only a few changes - that I was seriously considering whether or not I should include the Canadian charts. And you know, it might have been close - we have returning entries from Drake and twenty-one pilots, and a charting hit from the Cold War Kids that was pretty decent - but then I saw we also had a song featuring Chris Brown and I think I filled my quota for that about six months ago.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - august 8, 2015 (VIDEO)


Yeah, a little late, but it uploaded late and I was tired last night. It happens.

Next up, Bea Miller, and then probably LMNO & Mr. Brady, followed by Ashley Monroe and B Dolan. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - august 8, 2015

Well so much for the summer lull. Even as the album release schedule has slowed a bit, it was a reasonably busy week on the charts, thanks to even more change-ups in country, a slice of album tracks from Future, and one of the biggest leaps to the Top 10 I've seen in a while.