Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 Review: November 2019

Welcome back to another Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 Review where I look at some of the most popular songs in the US according to the Billboard Hot 100. Thanksgiving is around the corner and it’s the sixth anniversary of me doing these Top 40 Reviews. I won’t waste any time with reflections, so let’s get started.

BILLBOARD HOT 100 OF NOVEMBER 16, 2019

#39. Heat-Chris Brown ft Gunna: As we approach the end of the 2010s, I think we’ve all agreed that Chris Brown is one of the worst artists of the decade. Aside from being a piece of shit human being, his music has gotten worse and worse and he’s been part of some godawful atrocities of the past ten years. Anyways, this is his newest hit Heat with Gunnna and heat, this is not. It’s another song about a girl who wants to get into Chris Brown’s pants because of his jewelry and it contains more Auto-Tuned crooning, an oily trap beat, Gunna bringing no style or personality, and, strangely enough, backing vocals from Tank, an R&B singer who’s MILES better than Chris. Throw this shit in the trash. It’s a 1/5.

#37. Follow God-Kanye West: … You know. I once tweeted that I wasn’t going to listen to Jesus Is King. Well, I just listened to it a while ago and… fuck it. Review’s coming this Friday. As for Follow God? Well, I’ll talk about that track in full length in that review, plus more. For now, it’s getting a 2/5.

#34. Roxanne-Arizona Zervas: So I have no idea who this Arizona Zervas is and this song, Roxanne, popped up here because of TikTok because of course. And I’m better off not knowing because this is wack. It’s a dude rapping and singing about a girl he likes over a generic trap beat and some heavy Auto-Tune. It is the most generic thing one could craft and I don’t want to hear it again. I give it a 1/5.

#33. Even Though I’m Leaving-Luke Combs: A new day, a new Luke Combs single in the Top 40 and it’s pretty damn good, great even. The music is warm and textured and the vocals are full of emotion and passion, which makes sense for this song since it’s about the relationship between a father and his son. This is one of Luke Combs’ best songs and it’s always nice to hear a song like this in a sea of country songs that don’t want to be country songs. I give it a perfect 5/5.

#30. Don’t Start Now-Dua Lipa: So Dua Lipa released a new song a while ago that just charted and I, for one, welcome it. While I wouldn’t call Don’t Start Now her best song, I still enjoy it. The disco-esque production has some tight grooves in its choice of bass and synths and Dua Lipa fits this production like a glove. The writing is aimed at an ex who suddenly wants to get back in her life and she’s like “new phone, who dis.” I said that more Dua Lipa on the charts is a good thing and I stand by that statement to this day. I give this a perfect 5/5.

#29. Playing Games-Summer Walker: Another thing that I like to see more of on the charts is R&B with a more organic sound that isn’t just rap music in a different package. Which is why I wanted to like Playing Games by Summer Walker, but I’m left disappointed by it. I do like the production and I’m cool with the interpolation of Say My Name by Destiny’s Child. Speaking of Destiny’s Child, this song also shares the same content where a girl wants her guy to show his affection towards her more openly. The issue I have with this song is Summer Walker herself, who doesn’t really stand out as a vocalist in a world of Jhene Aiko, SZA, and H.E.R. That’s the feeling I get when I listen to her other songs, that there’s much better versions of what she’s doing out there. As for Playing Games, it’s not bad, but it’s nothing to write home to either. I give it a 3/5.

#28. One Man Band-Old Dominion: Well, here’s a group that I haven’t heard from in a long time, Old Dominion. The first song I’ve heard from them was Break Up With Him, which is awful, and the rest of their songs were pretty generic. But I’ve heard that they’ve improved over the years, so I was curious to see how they sound now. This brings us to One Man Band, which is alright. Musically, it’s like a lot of downtempo country love songs and the sentiment of the writing isn’t anything special, a guy’s in love with a girl and he wants her at his side. It’s a 3/5 for me.

#26. Ballin’-Mustard ft Roddy Ricch: Next, we have DJ Mustard and Roddy Ricch with Ballin’. The most interesting things about the song is the 702 sample in the production and Roddy Ricch has a nice flow and melody. Aside from that, there’s not much to the song besides a lot of flexing and basic bars. Not bad, but there’s not much replay value in it as well. It’s a 3/5.

#23. Dance Monkey-Tones And I: Dance Monkey by Australian singer Tones And I is one of those songs that’s huge internationally, topping the charts in multiple countries, and the US is just catching up on it now. And it’s very easy to see why this became such a huge hit because this song is great. The piano chords and bouncy bass makes up the production and Tones And I sings in a high timbre which might turn some people off to the song, but it works for me. It also helps that it’s extremely catchy as hell. I’m glad that this is a hit in the US because it’s amazing. I give it a perfect 5/5.

#17. Bandit-Juice WRLD ft Youngboy Never Broke Again: Now here’s two guys I hoped to never see on the charts again, Juice WLRD and Youngboy Never Broke Again. These two decided to collaborate on Bandit, which isn’t the worst song from both artists, but it’s still pretty bad. Over a lumpy piano-driven trap beat, both rappers talk about drugs, guns, and a bad girl that they like, all delivered with terrible flows that are synonymous with them. It’s an easy 1/5.

#14. Highest In The Room-Travis Scott: When I heard that Travis Scott had a song debut at the top of the Hot 100, I was curious to see how it is and what made people gravitate towards it so much to make it a hit. And I’m not seeing it. This sounds no different from any other Travis Scott song: smokey trap production, heavy Auto-Tune and ad-libs, references to drugs, money, cars, and his girl, etc. He’s clearly running on a formula and that formula can get old real quick if you don’t switch it up every now and then. I’d take Sicko Mode over this any day because that song was at least chaotic madness that was interesting. Highest In The Room, on the other hand, sounds like an album deep cut and it’s getting a 2/5 from me.

#10. 10,000 Hours-Dan+Shay ft Justin Bieber: Here’s a collaboration that I didn’t see coming, but I shouldn’t be surprised by. Dan+Shay have always been on the poppier side of country music and them working with Justin Bieber makes a ton of sense. Because of this, we have 10,000 Hours. From its plastic production to the saccharine lyrics, this sounds like a rejected boy band song and not a good one, either. Justin Bieber is pretty much a non-presence who you could swap out with anyone and there wouldn’t be any notable differences. As you can tell, I’m not a fan of this song. I give it a 2/5.

#5. Lose You To Love Me-Selena Gomez: And we wrap things up with Selena Gomez, who released two singles, one of them is Lose You To Love Me, which became her first number one hit. This is a piano ballad all about her former relationship with Justin Bieber and I give zero fucks about that. Even worse is that it’s written by Julia Michaels and you can tell. Aside from that, the singing is dull and the music is nothing but build-up, but there’s no real payoff. Plus, it doesn’t match the writing, which aim to be more intimate. As a whole, this song doesn’t really work for me, so it’s a 2/5.

BEST

Dance Monkey

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Even Though I’m Leaving, Don’t Start Now

WORST

Bandit

DISHONORABLE MENTION

Heat

And that was another Top 40 Review. Stay tuned next month when I do another one. This week, like I said earlier, I’m reviewing Jesus Is King.

Peace!!