In the previous iterations of this blog, my most active feature was reviewing the top 40 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs chart. Now that I'm relaunching The Gibb, I wanted to continue my tradition of talking about pop radio along with my ramblings about hip-hop, emo, and indie stuff. I didn't just want to review each individual song this time around, so I decided to do a weekly post in the style of Power Rankings. I developed a formula (which I'll probably explain sometime soon) that awards points based on how high a song charted, the quality of each song, and how many songs crack the top 40. Only the top 20 artists by my metric are included in the rankings. Ties are broken by my own personal preference. Posts will come every Thursday with the release of the Hot 100 chart. This week is the exception; some life got in the way of writing.
BILLBOARD POWER RANKINGS: WEEK OF FEBRUARY 21, 2015
1. Taylor Swift (54 Points)
Taylor Swift is probably going to dominate these Power Rankings for the foreseeable future. She greatly benefits from having three songs in the top 20 of the Hot 100. "Blank Space" and "Shake It Off" have been pop radio mainstays for months and sit pretty in the top 10, while her latest single "Style" continues to climb and reaches #18 this week. Not only does Swift benefit from chart success, but the quality of the songs really makes her a dominating force. "Shake It Off" has been played out for me since it debuted (and I was never that big of a fan in the first place), but "Blank Space" and "Style" are phenomenal tracks. I loved how Swift completely embraced her pop sensibilities on her
1989 album and both tracks are wonderfully produced and written. I love the way Swift twists her public reputation on "Blank Space" in particular (she handles her criticisms here SO MUCH BETTER than on "Shake It Off." Max Martin and Shellback create a phenomenal atmosphere, creating memorable backing tracks without ever grating on the listener.
2. Nicki Minaj (35)
Like Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj benefits from having three different songs crack the charts. "Only" and "Truffle Butter" are solid singles from Nicki's
The Pinkprint album (which, it should be noted, is her best effort to date). Both feature Lil Wayne and Drake (with "Only" also getting assistance from Chris Brown). In both cases, Drake and Nicki hold their own but are dragged down by a well-past-his-prime Weezy. Wayne's verse on "Only" is particularly unbearable. Even though both songs aren't
great, they're still significantly better than "Anaconda" and "Pills N Potions," the previous
Pinkprint singles.Meanwhile, her collaboration with Jessie J and Ariana Grande, "Bang Bang" is still going strong. I don't care much for the two singers on that track, but Nicki has a solid verse, at least in comparison to the rest of the song, which is rather one-note.
3. Sam Smith (33)
After dominating the Grammys, Sam Smith lands at #3 of my Power Rankings with strong showings on the charts for both "I'm Not The Only One" and "Stay with Me." I much prefer Sam Smith as a featured artist on tracks like Disclosure's "Latch" and Naughty Boy's "La La La" than his solo work. I wasn't the biggest fan of
In the Lonely Hour as a whole. However, his two singles on the chart are by far the best two tracks from that album, and his vocal talent is undeniable. I wish Smith's music had a
little more variety to it, but you can definitely do yourself worse than his perfectly pleasant pop.
4. Missy Elliott (28)
I'm so happy about this. After stealing the Super Bowl Halftime Show from Katy Perry, Missy Elliott managed to have not one, but
two of her old hits re-enter the Top 40. Both tracks were low charting, but "Work It" and "Get Ur Freak On" are such classic tracks that they boost Missy to the top portion of the Power Rankings.
5. Sia (26)
I'm still trying to comprehend Sia as a pop star. She's been a veteran of the music industry for well over a decade, has released music with trip hop artist as well as mainstream superstars, and continues to add a layer of artsiness to even her most radio-friendly singles. She hides her face during performances, and her videos feature thought-provoking interpretive dances. Sia is one of the best artists at crafting pop hits, while simultaneously seeming like an outsider to the scene.
1000 Forms of Fear was probably her weakest solo record yet, but still ended up being one of the more essential pop albums of last year. She may not embrace her newfound stardom, but her voice was too powerful for it to remain under the radar for much longer.
6. The Weeknd (26)
In 2011, a young, ignorant Christopher Gibbons listened to The Weeknd's incredible
House of Balloons trilogy of mixtapes and bemoaned the state of current pop R&B. "I wish the radio played more stuff like this," Mr. Gibbons said, "The Weeknd just has so much more
soul in his voice than clowns like Jason Derulo and Chris Brown." Never did he expect that only four years later, The Weeknd would be represented twice in the Top 40. He would still prefer The Weeknd's early work compared to his more pop-friendly songs, but he would appreciate an artist like him adding some indie cred to the charts. He wouldn't even mind that The Weeknd's biggest claim to fame as a solo artist is a song from the
Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack. Christopher Gibbons did not even know what
Fifty Shades of Grey was in 2011. He has so much to learn.
7. Meghan Trainor (26)
I enjoyed "All About That Bass" the first few times I heard it. The doo-wop sound was pretty cool and so were the body-positive messages. Then it never went away. Ever. Then I got sick of the song. Then it kept sticking around. It never left. It stayed forever. It's still at #16 after 31 weeks. Then Trainor released "Lips Are Movin" as a follow-up, and it followed roughly the same retro-pop formula as her first single. It also references her first single quite a bit because apparently Ms. Trainor
really really wants to turn calling her butt a "bass" into a thing. Also, please never rap again, Meghan. That would be beneficial to all of us, including yourself.
8. Ne-Yo (23)
I've never been the biggest Ne-Yo fan. He's got some absolutely killer work. "Closer" in particular is a jam. But as an artist I've always felt he was a second-tier R&B singer. He's got two songs that cracked the charts this week, the Pitbull-assisted "Time Of Our Lives" and "She Knows" with Juicy J. Unsurprisingly, I much prefer "She Knows" because Juicy J has at least ten times more charisma as Pitbull.
9. Ariana Grande (22)
Ariana Grande will probably never shake the comparisons to Mariah Carey, and despite five top 10 hits this early in her career, she has yet to chart without the aid of featured guest artists (though Zedd on "Break Free" barely counts as a featured artist). This week she contributes both "Bang Bang" and "Love Me Harder" to the Top 40. "Bang Bang" is just a loud mess that serves as nothing more than a reason for Jessie J and Ariana Grande to go full belt-mode. On the other hand, "Love Me Harder" is a wonderful collaboration with The Weeknd that shows a sexier side that Grande hasn't touched in her other singles. It was my favorite track on her pretty-solid 2014 effort
My Everything and I wouldn't be opposed to hearing more tracks on that side of the spectrum than the belt-tastic Mariah impressions of her other work..
10. Mark Ronson (20)
I can't think of a pop song in recent years that I've loved more than "Uptown Funk." Not "Somebody That I Used to Know," not "Happy," not even "Get Lucky" touches the magic of this song. Mark Ronson (who helped Mars on his previous career high "Locked Out of Heaven") crafts a near-perfect song out of countless great moments: the infectious background bass vocals, the blaring of the horns, and of course the perfect integration of Trinidad Jame$' "Don't believe me just watch" line from "All Gold Everything." It's an obviously manufactured pop song, but never feels soulless. If no song takes "Uptown Funk" off the #1 spot for the entire year, I'm honestly perfectly fine with that.
11. Maroon 5 (20)
Maroon 5 has two songs charted. One of them is in the top 5 while another is in the top 30. Yet somehow the band just misses the top 10 of the Power Rankings. Why? Because since "Moves Like Jagger" got big, Maroon 5 has just been going through the motions. The band barely seems like an actual band at this point, instead feeling like a solo showcase for Adam Levine's grating vocals. "Animals" is a song about preying on a love interest, but lacks any bite whatsoever that it becomes laughable. On the other hand "Sugar" is a safe-as-milk pop-rock track that sounds a little too close to Katy Perry's "Birthday." The Maroon 5 phenomenon has escaped me for years, and these tracks to little to change my mind.
12. Ed Sheeran (14)
I wasn't a big fan of Ed Sheeran until I heard his undeniably catchy "Don't." Unfortunately, though, that track has officially exited the Top 40. The only Sheeran song that remains on the chart is "Thinking Out Loud," a slow ballad that has hit #2 this week. It's the sort of song I'd expect from Ed Sheeran, unlike the upbeat, poppy singles he had with "Sing" and "Don't." I much prefer Pharrell-assisted, pop star Sheeran (even if his experiments in pop don't always hit, like any time he tries to rap) over his sappier folksy stuff. That being said, I still kinda respect Sheeran's rise to success, since the dude is pretty much the absolute opposite of a pop star.
13. Ellie Goulding (13)
Ellie Goulding has become one of my favorites in pop music the past few years with tracks like "Burn" and "Lights" showcasing her incredible voice. This week, she reaches the top 10 of the Hot 100 with her single from
50 Shades of Grey "Love Me Like You Do." This isn't as killer a performance as those previously mentioned songs, but hopefully this helps secure Goulding as a bona fide star.
14. Rihanna, Kanye West & Paul McCartney (13)
Two of the biggest pop stars of our generation collaborated with one of the biggest pop stars of
any generation, and the results are...
so underwhelming. I loved Kanye's previous track with Sir Paul, the beautiful ballad "Only One." "FourFive Seconds" is just so generic though. It's pleasant enough, but it really never goes anywhere or accomplishes anything, which is shocking for something from three giants like this. For a song about being close to wylin' out, it's just too tame.
15. Big Sean (12)
While Big Sean has always been able to flow well, he's ruined that ability with cheesy lyrics throughout his career. DJ Mustard is my least favorite producer in the music world right now. A collaboration between the two should be a disaster. But by the grace of Yeezus himself, "IDFWU" is an absolute jam. Maybe it's because Big Sean turns his ridiculousness up so high on this track that it becomes endearing. Maybe it's Kanye bringing the best out of DJ Mustard. I'm not going to question it too much, though. All I know is that this is the absolute best track on the radio when it comes to rapping along in the car. If you don't yell along with Sean when this comes on, I don't f-well, you know where I'm going with this.
16. Hozier (12)
I've hated "Take Me To Church" since I first heard it. I'm not a big fan of Hozier's voice here and I think there's a little too much doom and gloom in the entire song. But the song is #3 on the charts, so it manages to weasel itself into the Power Rankings. The performance with Annie Lennox at the Grammys was nice, though.
17. Rae Sremmurd (11)
Rae Sremmurd are probably two of the corniest dudes I can think of. Their lyrics are generally terrible and most of their success comes from the incredible instrumentals provided by Mike Will Made It. I don't care though. "No Type" is too much fun.
18. Nick Jonas (11)
Nick Jonas' first big solo hit is definitely an effort to put his days as "the cutest Jonas Brother" behind him. The song is by far the most interesting thing he's done in his career so far, and his voice is pretty nice here. However, the song as a whole rubs me the wrong way. Lines like "It's my right to be hellish" creep me the hell out.
19. Chris Brown (10.5)
Chris Brown just barely manages to crack the lower portion of the Power Rankings because he technically has two songs in the chart. His collaboration with Tyga "Ayo" is generic DJ Mustard-core at its finest, which means it's sure to stick around on the radio for a while, unfortunately. He also provides hook duties on Nicki Minaj's "Only." Even without his less-than-stellar reputation as a person, Chris Brown has never really been an engaging artist. I haven't been able to tell his last like five or so hits apart from each other. But people are still eating up his R&B-by-numbers formula, so good for him, I guess.
20. O.T. Genasis (10)
"CoCo" is a song that at one point was at #20. This amazes me. 2015 is an incredible time to be alive. I love you all.
Missed the Cut:
Vance Joy, Ella Henderson, Fall Out Boy, Usher (10)
ILoveMakonnen, Flo Rida, Beyonce, Pitbull (9)
Selena Gomez (8)
Lilywood (7)
Jessie J (5)
Tyga, Kelly Clarkson (3)
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