Hey guys, welcome back to Musical McCool!
So for the first time in a LONG time, we have a bit of a quieter week. Thank the gods, I've been using every spare moment I have to edit that new long-form video (coming soon)! Only 5 new entries and some relative stability forming... and that's saying something because we had 2 new Top 5 debuts!
The Top 10
So I'm a little shocked by this.
1. Miracle - Calvin Harris (Ft. Ellie Goulding) [LW: #1 / WOC: 6]
3. Daylight - David Kushner [LW: - / WOC: 1]
3. Giving Me - Jazzy [LW: #3 / WOC: 5]
4. Kill Bill (Remix) - SZA (Ft. Doja Cat) [LW: #15 / WOC: 19]
5. Wish You The Best - Lewis Capaldi [LW: - / WOC: 1]
6. People (Check On Me) - Libianca [LW: #2 / WOC: 15]
7. Eyes Closed - Ed Sheeran [LW: #4 / WOC: 4]
8. Last Night - Morgan Wallen [LW: #8 / WOC: 11]
9. Heaven - Niall Horan [LW: #7 / WOC: 9]
10. Flowers - Miley Cyrus [LW: #5 / WOC: 14]
Yeah, David Kushner's Daylight debuted at number 2! We'll get to why that's a big deal later, but for now, it's keeping Giving Me at bay, and that's only a good thing. And hot on its heels is Lewis Capaldi's Wish you The Best, the new song which has been getting... mixed reviews from critics. Again, we'll talk about it more later, but with the new album dropping in about a month, I could see this one sticking around for a while.
Furthermore, the new Doja Cat remix of Kill Bill vaulted it back up to number 5; awesome, even if I don't think the remix is nearly as good as the original. All of the above forced People by Libianca back down to number 6, not to be confused with Flowers, which I now feel comfortable saying is on ACR. I hedged my bets last week, but now I'm pretty certain.
The Punished and the New
On that note, it was our only ACR victim this week:
Glad we got that established, really shouldn't have second-guessed myself last week.
The charts weren't fully quiet though; Search and Rescue by Drake collapsed to 14, proving we refuse to limit ourselves to US trends! Although, with Strandz's Us Against The World falling to 40, maybe we could take some cues from the UK? Otherwise... ugh, I wish I was more excited by Peaches by Jack Black rising to 41, but I'm really not. I'm weirdly much happier about Waffle House by Jonas Brothers reaching 46! Oh, and Heat Waves by Glass Animals returned at number 16... please, let's not do this again.
And now, keeping things short and sweet, let's dive straight into the new entries, starting with:
Title: Daylight by David Kushner
Position: #2
Okay, I'm definitely not the only one to think that this is a little strange. Tik Tok star David Kushner is debuting number two, rivaling some of the biggest pop stars in the world with his new single Daylight, a song which has been absolutely blowing up over the past week, making it his official top 10 debut!
Most of you will probably vaguely remember David Kushner from his 2 pseudo-hits last year Mr Forgettable and Miserable Man. And cards on the table: Miserable Man was one of my favourite songs of last year as a whole. I know a lot of people quickly got tired of it, but it fucking wrecked me on repeated listens, coming very close to making my top 50 songs of 2022. But I haven't been too impressed by anything else I've heard from him and sadly, Daylight is no exception.
Now, it's not bad, it's actually quite good in some ways. The piano and percussion both sound very raw, the vocals are grandiose and gothic, and the hook is decently catchy. The problem is that all that serious bombast is supporting a pretty flimsy set of lyrics. To me, it sounds like Arcade, only if Duncan Laurence were a halfway competent singer, a lot of over-the-top platitudes and vague metaphors about overcoming darkness and fighting your way back into the daylight, but it feels intentionally vague. Which, sure, makes it so you can project your own meaning on the song, but to me, it sounds like too much of a blank slate; tell me you don't hear this over some car advertisement in the near future!
Again, I don't dislike it, and I do think it's DAMN impressive that a 22-year-old has this level of vocal chops, he sounds like the next Matt Berninger in spots! But the overly serious tone and sombre lyrics make it feel longer than it is, and I've heard this type of song done way too many times from the likes of Dermot Kennedy. Sorry man, I genuinely hope this isn't your final time in the spotlight.
Title: Wish You The Best by Lewis Capaldi
Position: #5
So after last week, in the wake of the Lewis Capaldi documentary, the hype train continues, with his latest single debuting in the top 5! And based on most of the singles to far - with the exception of Pointless - I'm actually inclined to look forward to that upcoming album. But based on the mixed reviews from critics, which side does Wish You The Best fall on?
Well, it's a piano ballad (shocker), where Lewis Capaldi is singing across the ocean to an ex-lover in L.A., whom he's left behind to return to Glasgow. It's clear he regrets how their relationship ended, as he keeps getting updates about her new relationship. It's the kind of song that we've heard a million times, about the jealous ex-boyfriend, but I like the details he adds. I like the fact that he admits that she seems happier without him, eventually realising that he was likely the problem, which is quite mature. I also appreciate that he doesn't actually tell her any of this, stifling all of those emotions and simply wishing her the best. It's clear he's hurting and has a ways to go to fix himself of, but he's at least decent enough to suck it up and leave her to her happiness, I commend that!
Honestly, I would be calling this song fucking great if it weren't for the fact that I think Lewis Capaldi's voice is possibly at the most grating it's ever been in certain spots. His belting has always been a real acquired taste among music critics, and while I don't hate it as much as some do (I still don't hate Someone You Loved), it does get a little bit torturous around the bridge, where it feels like my eardrums are going to burst. But despite that and the painfully basic piano melody, I'm still inclined to call this a good song! Maybe not quite as good as How I'm Feeling Now or Forget Me, but still, not a bad job.
Title: Chemical by Post Malone
Position: #13
So Post Malone just released a compilation mix called The Diamond Collection, a short collage of his greatest hits, from Congratulations to I Fall Apart to Circles. Honestly, it made me realise how few hits he's actually had, as the project is only 9 tracks long, he could have added a few more to fill up space, But anyway, this is the one original song, Chemical, a song all about a toxic relationship where the chemistry between them it's chemical.
It's clearly a metaphor for drugs or alcohol, where the "girl" keeps getting him into trouble, struggling to find a way out, but she's always tripping him up and dragging him back. And just like Waffe House last week, I was initially turned off by the production. Post Malone is singing very differently than he normally does, and the gleaming production felt a bit too polished, reminding me of Mimi Webb's House On Fire. Hell, he even stole the "last night was the last night" double-entendre from Morgan Wallen, only switching out 1 word, I SHOULD really hate this!
And yet... my GOD that hook is catchy! Post Malone at his best has made some unbelievable choruses, and this is easily his best one since Goodbyes or Circles. The expert multitracking, the genuinely engaging and tragic lyrics, and the tone of the mix which doesn't feel too upbeat for the subject matter, while also being anything but a drag! Even the piano towards the end is really tasteful and minimal. In other words, time will tell, but I could see this growing on me a LOT over the coming months. Can we keep this around and find out? It's just upbeat enough to be a Summer anthem, let's give it a chance!
Title: Princess Diana (Remix) by Ice Spice (Ft. Nicki Minaj)
Position: #29
To be honest, I completely forgot that I had already heard the original song until I put it on and realised "oh yeah, one of the more forgettable tracks on that Ice Spice EP" and THAT is saying something! It's incredibly dull, the hook is BLATANTLY recycled from the previous track In Ha Mood, which I reviewed before and didn't like much either, but at least it's an undeniable earworm. This is just Ice Spice comparing herself to Princess Diana to show that she too, is a boss bitch. ... Don't know how my UK friends feel about this, but here in Ireland, she's lucky she debuted this high!
Gotta be honest though, this remix is an improvement. Ice Spice's consistently dead-eyed delivery still does little to nothing for me, as it blends her verse and hook into a meaningless slurry, but her monotone is placed into sharp contrast with Nicki's more animated delivery! I don't even think the verse is that good - the "gamers" line springs to mind, and I could die a happy man if she would stop referencing that rapist husband of hers - but her performance is engaged and fun, even all the adlibs are SUCH a breath of fresh air.
The original song was painfully bland lyrically, with zero melody and overwhelming bass. This remix elevates it to being passable... that's it. Nowhere near worth the hype either way.
Title: live more & love more by Cat Burns
Position: #85
You know what, I kind of needed this song this week. Cat Burns seems to be settling quite comfortably in the niche of music that your mum will enjoy listening to. And you know what, in a genre predominantly dominated by white males, I'm happy to see a bit of diversity on the adult alternative stations.
And yeah, this is almost cookie-cutter in how pure it is; a song all about how the world would be a much better place if we all loved each other a bit more, and lived our lives as opposed to waiting for them to start. It's actually a very positive message and while I do think the lyrics are incredibly generic - she even says "I know it sounds clichéed" at one point, I just want to give her a big hug! - I can tell Cat Burns is coming from a real place. She just seems like a really nice person and I honestly wish that I liked her music a bit more.
But again, even if this song barely bothers to rhyme half the time, her dogged positivity is starting to rub off on me. Because the older I get, the more I seem to appreciate something like this at the end of the week, the kind of song that displays such an innocent sweetness that it makes me smile.
That being said, though, it's not quite enough to win Best of the week against all odds, I'm giving it to Chemicals by Post Malone! I genuinely thought I'd be giving it the worst of the week when I first heard it, no joke! Speaking of which, I didn't hate any of these and giving Worst of the week to Princess Diana (Remix) feels unkind... so fuck it, for now, nobody gets it, my treat.
National Treasures
On the homegrown front, things have thankfully remained quiet... in fact, the Top 7 didn't move at all!
1. Giving Me - Jazzy [LW: #1 / WOC: 6]
2. Heaven - Niall Horan [LW: #2 / WOC: 9]
3. Eat Your Young - Hozier [LW: #3 / WOC: 5]
4. Part Of Me - Cian Ducrot [LW: #4 / WOC: 3]
5. Song To Myself - Picture This [LW: #5 / WOC: 5]
6. My Mind - Belters Only [LW: #6 / WOC: 7]
7. Innocence And Sadness - Dermot Kennedy [LW: #7 / WOC: 7]
8. Full of The Blade - Marty Mone [LW: #9 / WOC: 7]
9. YOU - LYRA [LW: #10 / WOC: 6]
10. What Am I Here For - Moncrieff [LW: - / WOC: 1]
Yeah, literally all that happened was that Moncrieff's song from last week was replaced by this new one. And the bottom half of the Homegrown Top 20 just got a ton of returning entries.
For my thoughts on the new Moncrieff song , check out my video series National Treasures over on Instagram, go follow me there @thesocialtune to hear my full thoughts. And if you want a sneak peek:
Title: What Am I Here For by Moncrieff
Position: #10
Again, for my thoughts on these songs and more, simply head over to my Instagram @thesocialtune, where I will be reviewing EVERY SONG that hits the Homegrown Top 20 over the course of 2023! I did a couple last week, the bigger video has just been taking up most of my resources, I'm sure you understand.
As always, let me know in the Comments what you thought of the songs covered this week, and leave a Like if you enjoyed! Please make sure to follow me everywhere so you don't miss a thing, and Subscribe to the blog to keep up with my weekly chart reflections. Stay safe and happy everyone and until the next time, I'm Fionn and this is The Social Tune signing off!
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