billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - february 25, 2017 (VIDEO)

This was certainly a less excruciating week than last time - more diversity here, for one - and I'm fascinated to see how the Grammys impact things going forward. Until then, back to my schedule and... hmm, P.O.S.. Well, this could be fun, so stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - february 25, 2017

So folks, did you have enough of me talking about Big Sean when the review dropped last night? Well, it's not over - because to replace Migos and as a lead-in to the expected chaos that'll come with the Grammys, Big Sean brought in six new songs to the Hot 100 to an already busy week. Yeah, believe it or not, I'm not sure he's the biggest story here, from some major shifts in our top ten to a swathe of new arrivals peppering the rest of the Hot 100.

video review: 'i decided.' by big sean

So I got a little nasty in this review... and yeah, I don't regret it for a second. This was mediocre and forgettable, plain and simple, and I had no patience for it. Thank god I've got P.O.S. next, get some good hip-hop in my system.

But first, Billboard BREAKDOWN, so stay tuned!

album review: 'i decided.' by big sean

I struggle to comprehend why people are fans of Big Sean.

That's not saying he doesn't have a few good songs - he does - or that he can't pull together a decent flow, because over the past two years he's proven he actually can. But if you're going to throw your weight and critical attention as a fan behind any rapper, I simply don't understand why you'd pick Big Sean over literally anyone else. Sure, a flow matters, but an excess of corny punchlines, his choice of beats that often are way heavier than he can convincingly back up, and he's been frequently outshone in personality and content by his guest stars. But it's not just that he's frequently a mediocre artist: he's an inessential artist. More often than not, even when he's at his best it's music that's passable and fills time, not that anyone is going to remember or care about or sing at karaoke in five years. Hell, even when I reviewed his big collaboration EP with Jhene Aiko TWENTY88 I got the impression that she'd rather be singing opposite Drake than him.

And so I couldn't help but feel a certain amount of poetic irony that the buzz going into this record was that Big Sean was looking to mimic the sound and style of Drake, specifically off of the project If You're Reading This It's Too Late back in 2015. Now I didn't really like that project - it wasn't really in Drake's wheelhouse as a performer, the style and flows never seemed to fit him comfortable - but hey, maybe Big Sean would be able to make something out of it, right?

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - january 14, 2017 (VIDEO)

So yeah, this is the one I shot from vacation. Overall, decent enough week, but kind of all over the place. Eh, it happens. Enjoy!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - november 26, 2016 (VIDEO)

And that's two years of Billboard BREAKDOWN... and we end with a Rae Sremmurd song at #1. Oh... oh boy.

Now odds are I'll continue this series - I'd be a fool not to - but I've got some plans over the course of the next week that'll play out, so we'll see where this goes next. Until then, though, I've got Saor and Kungs coming up soon, so stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - november 26, 2016

Seems like the end of a Billboard year can still surprise you, eh? If you had asked me six months or a year ago if I had wanted 2016's godawful year on the Hot 100 to end like this, I would have justifiably called you crazy. But here we are... seems like a lot of things have changed in this past week, and this Hot 100 is a prime example - the sort of week with a lot of change, including a new #1... and yet we had more returning entries than new arrivals. The more things change, the more they stay the same...

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - august 20, 2016 (VIDEO)

Bit of an odd, unstable week here. Guarantee it's going to be rough in upcoming weeks - I have that odd feeling we're on the precipice of a major shift, just watch.

Anyway, next up is Dinosaur Jr., so stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - august 20, 2016

So I can't be the only one who thinks that the charts are a little unstable right now, am I? Now that the summer lull has faded for good, we might not have gotten many new songs this week but it doesn't shake the feeling it's only a matter of time before everything is thrown into chaos. Keep in mind that we still have a solid fourteen weeks left - there are songs that could debut in the next few weeks that'll make the year end list, and if they debut higher they'll need even less time.

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - july 2, 2016 (VIDEO)

So this week sucked on the Hot 100... thank god the album release schedule has improved and I've got YG and Swans next, or I'd just be flat-out miserable.

And speaking of which...

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - july 2, 2016

So a week or so back I might have said that I was gearing up for one of the worst upcoming album release dates in recent memory... and yet just days after I said that, all of my concerns seemed to drop away. Both Iggy Azalea and Rae Sremmurd pushed back their albums and that just leaves me with Riff Raff, and I can handle him. But apparently the universe was unwilling to let me get off that easy, because from a quick look through the charts, we've got a really bad week ahead of us, folks.

video review: 'TWENTY88' by big sean & jhene aiko

Man, my promotional efforts have been absolute crap these days. Anyway, this record turned out better than expected - not precisely good, but still interesting enough.

Next up... well, you'll see. Stay tuned!

album review: 'twenty88' by big sean & jhene aiko

When I first heard about this project, I thought it was a joke.

And by now you all should know how I feel about these two acts, but in case you don't, Jhene Aiko is probably the one with whom you're a little less familiar. If you do remember her, it's probably for being the best part of that godawful Omarion and Chris Brown track 'Post To Be', although that really isn't saying much given that track landed on my top ten worst hit songs of 2015. And what made it so much worse is that just a year earlier, Jhene Aiko was an R&B star was entirely behind, riding a few pretty songs and EPs to her debut Souled Out, which is one of my favourite R&B albums of the 2010s! Smart, beautifully performed and produced, it had so much goddamn promise - and it did precisely nothing on the charts in terms of singles, even though the record did sell well.

So I understand if Jhene Aiko wanted to network and get a boost for her career... but did it have to be Big Sean of all people? Those of you who saw my Dark Sky Paradise review know that I'm no fan of this guy, who somehow manages to squander the backing and production of Kanye West with some of the corniest and sloppily written bars you'll find in mainstream hip-hop. I'm not going to deny he's made a few songs I like, but the songs I don't like, to quote my buddy Anthony Fantano... (stream of inarticulate 'nos').

So on that note, I shouldn't even be surprised that Jhene Aiko and Big Sean were apparently long time friends, even if it does kind of depress me. It's like remembering that Ariana Grande used to date Big Sean, and that he also dated Naya Rivera from Glee, it just makes me so sad for every woman involved, they can do so much better. But enough tabloid nonsense, apparently they put together a project. And I debated even covering it, given that it was technically considered an EP. But then again, it's a half hour long, Jhene Aiko clearly saw something in this project that's worth while, and Big Sean has been slowly becoming a better rapper, so I decided to check out TWENTY88 - how did it go?

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - december 12, 2015 (VIDEO)

Well, that took longer than I wanted it to... eh, I'm still getting used to the new format (that's why I made that stupid Cole Swindell mistake... gah, two weeks in a row, get your game together, dude).

Next up, need to tackle some old business before dealing with Coldplay, so stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - december 12, 2015

It's the calm after the storm, the time of year where everything seems to fall back into place after frantic reshuffling to make it appear that the onslaught never really happened and all is right with the world.

Why, yes, I'm talking about Adele taking back chunks of the chart from Justin Bieber, why do you ask? Okay, snark aside, while everyone predicted there'd be chunks of Adele's new album breaking onto the Hot 100, it's not as pervasive as you'd expect, and along with plenty of returning entries and chart shuffling, it's more indicative that Bieber and to a lesser extent One Direction didn't have the same staying power.

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

Well, this took way too long to finish.

So, now for a complete change of pace, that black metal that I said I was going to be talking about - stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - december 5, 2015

We are now beginning the second year of chronicling the Hot 100 charts in detail - starting in December because Billboard is weird like that. And even though this is the week I was prepared to unveil some new changes to the format, we also have to deal with one of the largest ever lists of new songs - because for some godawful choice to split their bases, One Direction and Justin Bieber released their new albums in the same damn week. Now sure enough a whole slew of these songs will be gone next week, but for now, given Bieber's shrewd promotional strategy to jack up streaming, we have a full list of twenty new songs. Now given that I already reviewed both new albums from Bieber and One Direction, I'll endeavour to keep these short unless it's a bonus track I hadn't otherwise covered, but strap in, folks, this'll probably be a long one.

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - october 24, 2015 (VIDEO)

Well, that was easier than usual! It's nice being able to complete an episode without completely losing your entire project.

But moving on from that, I've got another review coming tonight, so stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - october 24, 2015

Don't be deceived by this week. Those were the words that were running through my head across this week as the initial sense of relief flooded through me. Yes, no more Drake and Future songs to cover, yes, we actually got more returning songs than new tracks on a reasonably short week, and hell, a song from one of your favourite albums of 2015 came back to the charts. But the more I pored over the charts, the more I got the feeling that the current rising 'stars' aren't exactly on the good side, and we could be in for a world of problems across the rest of the fall.

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - august 1, 2015 (VIDEO)

So, that week was pretty lightweight. No complaints, especially considering the rest of things look a little crazy.

Next up... hmm, I'll decide in the morning, I've got a good three or four reviews nearly ready. Stay tuned!