billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - july 2, 2022

So I’ve realized there’s a whole chunk of my audience who do not care for album bomb weeks on the Hot 100, especially when I’ve already reviewed the album on my main channel - and I honestly can’t blame them for it, it’s a recap of something they’ve already heard, and often feels depressing to boot! But what I find interesting is that even as Drake lands another entire project on the Hot 100 - thirteen songs, my rules are in effect - and a new #1, it has the feel of the moment he was attempting not quite sticking the way he had planned, which is both surprising and interesting to me.

And that conversation starts with our new #1: ‘Jimmy Cooks’ by Drake, featuring 21 Savage. Keep in mind none of Honestly, Nevermind has been shipped to radio so this got here on streaming and a bit of sales - in other words not built to last. And while I’ll get into the irony of this being the song that got the #1 spot, then we have the previous running conflict for the top just below it, with ‘As It Was’ by Harry Styles having the extra edge on sales and streaming at #2, and ‘First Class’ by Jack Harlow steadily widening its advantage on the radio at #3. All of this kind of strands ‘Wait For U’ by Future ft. Drake and Tems at #4 with better streaming and a legit radio run at #4, but again, I think a stronger challenger is ‘About Damn Time’ by Lizzo at #5, with even stronger radio and reinforced streaming. Then we have two more Drake songs you can chalk up to streaming and sales - ‘Sticky’ at #6 and ‘Falling Back’ at #7, the latter this high thanks to the video - and then we got a nice surprise with ‘Glimpse Of Us’ by Joji up to #8 because it actually gained on streams this week despite the album bomb! In contrast, ‘Running Up That Hill’ by Kate Bush took an expected hit to #9 - I’m going to be very curious how this rebounds next week, if it does at all - and finally, somehow still clinging to the top 10, ‘Heat Waves’ by Glass Animals is still goddamn here because while it is fading in all channels, it’s not fading fast enough.

Speaking of which, our losers and dropouts, and in the latter category it’s not really surprising that most of the songs forced off were cuts already on the downswing or that had never taken off properly, like ‘Freaky Deaky’ by Tyga and Doja Cat, although country in particular had a rough week with ‘Slow Down Summer’ by Thomas Rhett, ‘If I Was A Cowboy’ by Miranda Lambert, and ‘Til You Can’t’ by Cody Johnson all exiting, even in the last one handily clinches its year end spot. But for our losers… come on, there’s over forty of them here, really? Fine, let’s start with the debuts from last week, with ‘So Good’ by Halsey at 87, ‘Cash In Cash Out’ by Pharrell, 21 Savage and Tyler The Creator at 73, ‘Yet To Come’ by BTS at 68, and ‘Rock And A Hard Place’ by Bailey Zimmerman at 72 - he also had ‘Fall In Love’ fall to 60, while we’re here. Then there’s the gains from last week losing, like ‘Last Night Lonely’ by Jon Pardi at 85, ‘Te Felicito’ by Shakira and Rauw Alejandro at 81, ‘Ghost Story’ by Carrie Underwood at 80, ‘She Likes It’ by Russell Dickerson and Jake Scott at 77, ‘She Had Me At Heads Carolina’ by Cole Swindell at 76, and ‘Vegas’ by Doja Cat at 67. Then there are the continued losers like ‘Cooped Up’ by Post Malone and Roddy Ricch at 55, ‘Puffin On Zootiez’ by Future at 58, ‘Distraction’ by Polo G at 94 and ‘N95’ by Kendrick Lamar at 96 - might as well throw in ‘Silent Hill’ with Kodak Black at 71 too. Next let’s go through the Bad Bunny losses, notable if only because he still has a considerable chart presence weeks after his album bomb: ‘Moscow Mule’ at 32, ‘Party’ with Rauw Alejandro at 51, ‘Despues de la Playa’ at 53, ‘Ojitos Lindos’ with Bomba Estereo at 57, ‘Tarot’ with Jhay Cortez at 75, and ‘Un Ratito’ at 84. Finally, the rest of them: ‘she’s all i wanna be’ by Tate McRae at 99, ‘Circles Around This Town’ by Maren Morris at 91, ‘Right On’ by Lil Baby at 90, ‘Thought You Should Know’ by Morgan Wallen at 86, ‘Music For A Sushi Restaurant’ by Harry Styles at 83, ‘Flower Shops’ by ERNEST and Morgan Wallen at 79, and ‘To The Moon’ by JNR Choi and Sam Tompkins at 74. Then there’s ‘What Happened To Virgil’ by Lil Durk at 70, ‘When You’re Gone’ by Shawn Mendes at 69, ‘Sleazy Flow’ by SleazyWorld Go and Lil Baby at 65, ‘MAMIII’ by Becky G and Karol G at 64, ‘Damn Strait’ by Scotty McCreery at 59, and ‘Trouble With A Heartbreak’ at 54. Finally ‘AA’ by Walker Hayes at 48, ‘Sweetest Pie’ by Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa at 44, ‘Take My Name’ by Parmalee at 43, ‘Super Gremlin’ by Kodak Black at 38, ‘Bam Bam’ by Camila Cabello and Ed Sheeran at 36 - folks let this become a hit and not ‘psychofreak’, that’s just wrong - ‘Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)’ by Elton John and Dua Lipa at 35, ‘Woman’ by Doja Cat at 34, and ‘Enemy’ by Imagine Dragons and JID at 30.

And with all of that, we only have a single credible gain this week - ‘Sunroof’ by Nicky Youre and dazy up again to 33, because this is picking up traction steadily in all channels, it’s going to be a hit this year, just watch. But of course the larger story is Drake’s album bomb,, and given that it has more than 12 songs, I’m going to be discussing the songs in the top 20 or the best and worst of this week. Outside of that… ‘Tie That Binds’ at 66, ‘Liability’ at 47, ‘Overdrive’ at 42, ‘Flight’s Booked’ at 28, and ‘A Keeper’ at 21.

Now onto a more reasonable matter at hand with our new arrivals…

89. ‘Wild As Her’ by Corey Kent - so here’s the thing: I was sure that Corey Kent was just another relative no-name that Music Row was trying to shovel into Nashville, but I’m not sure that’s entirely true here - Kent has actually been releasing projects since the mid-2010s after getting his career jumpstarted by The Voice, where I actually think the bigger surprise is that he charted at all. Unfortunately the song isn’t interesting - I like the sentiment of some wild girl taking to the road and he’s just hoping to be around to catch the ride, but between the dour acoustics, limp groove, and general feeling we’ve got a Jason Aldean instrumental from the early 2010s, Kent’s vocals are just not potent enough to sell this. Just kind of forgettable at the end of the day, it happens.

62. ‘Down Hill’ by Drake - …you know, I think this might be my favourite song from the album. The spare afrobeat texture behind the spare snap, the inclusion of Beau Nox on the post-chorus to support the ethereal melody, and the fact that for as much as Drake has dropped so much concern trolling all over this damn project, this is the first moment where even if he wants things to continue, this is where he has to accept it. It almost feels like a torch song you might have found with a melody that doesn’t feel far removed from the late 80s or early 90s, and on the surface it’s probably the brightest or goofiest song on the entire album, especially with how the vocals are layered on the final hook… but I dunno, there’s a bit of earnest charm that kind of worked, at least for me. Good song, I’ll take it.

52. ‘U-Digg’ by Lil Baby, 42 Dugg & Veeze - looks like Lil Baby is going to keep on drip-feeding us singles from that upcoming album that apparently is coming in July… and man, I’m still not impressed, even if there are some ideas that could work here? The slightly symphonic keys behind the sharper trap whir isn’t bad for ramping up the bombast, and I’d argue it’s actually decently mastered, leaning pretty hard on an old Jeezy sample and interpolation… and while Lil Baby sounds mostly onpoint with his stock flexing and 42 Dugg is a bit sharper than I expected, Veeze just sounds muted, sloppy, and is a non-presence here, it kills any momentum within the song. Granted, the very staccato ‘ya dig’ tacked on to the end of lines and the run-on sentence rapping isn’t helping this feel as well constructed as it could be, but for another single to not be interesting… that’s a problem, I’ll say it again.

23. ‘Currents’ by Drake - this song has already gotten ripped thanks to social media and the squeaking bed sound, which some might not remember is a sample from ‘Some Cut’ by Trillville, an absolutely awful song that has had entirely too much staying power. But what I think might annoy me more beyond the terrible vocal mixing and cheaply blended percussion or how a melody can’t materialize from the faded burble is how the song just fails in its central premise - for as much as Drake tries to emphasize that he’s struggling to communicate with this girl, when you include that sample as the most obvious part of your mix, you’ve conveyed what you’re trying to do, not sure how you could misinterpret it! But yeah, this feels unfinished more than anything, put on the project maybe because of a meme. Oh, and it’s terrible - next!

20. 'Calling My Name’ by Drake - well, this sounds like a mess. Another burbling fragment of melody without actual percussion or anything for Drake’s sloppy vocals to ride effectively that gets chopped into a low-key beat switch… and then somehow Drake’s vocals get buried even further for him to badly croon ‘your pussy is calling my name’. If you’re going to take songs like this and deliberately underplay them, why go for the most blunt lyrics possible that sound like you’re a drunk frat boy calling out to mildly embarrassed sorority girls fifty yards away? Oh wait, this was also clearly done for the meme - and sucks just about as much, next!

18. ‘The Kind Of Love We Make’ by Luke Combs - not gonna lie, off the first couple of songs Luke Combs had been rolling out for his new album, I had been intrigued - might even review it at some point - and even if this was playing for a neotraditional but minor key bedroom hookup jam, Combs was at least going to keep the textures warmer and pulling on pedal steel to flesh out the sound, it’ll probably work for its target audience. And while it’s alright - that nifty guitar flourish he slips in near the end of the hook is cool - Combs doesn’t exactly deliver much in the way of subtlety or ambiance. Some of it is Combs’ brash delivery, some of it is how the track just feels a bit more upbeat than really fitting the vibe, or how it just feels more broadly sketched than it needs to be, but it’s not quite as potent as it could be, at least to me. Not bad, but I’m not about to call it great either.

15. ‘Break My Soul’ by Beyonce - I’m on the fence about this song: as a lead-off single it’s certainly a choice, likely not indicative of the sound on the entire album but one where Beyonce’s team is certain it’ll do big enough numbers that Drake thought he had to get ahead of it with his house project - probably a mistake, given what we’ve had to get through here! And yet for as much praise as Beyonce was getting for a better brand of house, I think when it comes down to the song itself I’m lukewarm at best. Maybe it’s just being tired of the same Robin S sample that’s just been overexposed the past few years, maybe it’s how Beyonce doesn’t really deliver the song with much flair, seeming a bit tuned out on the hook that doesn’t pay off its crescendo, maybe it’s how between bringing in the Big Freedia chops and the reference to being overworked and quitting jobs it’s trying to place itself closer to house’s queer street level origins that don’t really align with Beyonce’s style of glamour or reality, and it feels off to me; the aspirational ideas of the song feel appropriated where Beyonce has actually gotten criticism before, the framing of revolution that feels toothless. Yes, it’s better mixed and mastered than Drake’s album and she sounds better, but without that contrast or the fact that it’s been a few years since we’ve gotten a proper Beyonce project - or hell, give this to any other modern R&B star - I don’t think this would be getting the same praise. It’s fine for what it is, but I’m not putting this on a pedestal.

14. ‘Massive’ by Drake - okay, some credit to Drake here, I actually don’t mind this - the pianos build to a bit of a vintage house vibe off the crisp drums and vocal samples, there’s a little more pattering groove, the production is actually a little better overall for a pretty good beat… and then you drop Drake on top of it where he croons about being so into this girl and wanting to make some sort of connection and reconcile, because he doesn’t want to go without having done so, even if his funeral will be totally lit given how he’s treated people, and he’s so obviously the worst part of his own music that it’s not even funny anymore. I’m willing to forgive a lot here, but give this to anyone else or even just leave it as an instrumental, this could have been much better.

13. ‘Texts Go Green’ by Drake - god, this song is obnoxious. The sloppy, demo-esque vocal mixing, the concern-trolling where he’s trying to play the bitter ‘no, I’m totally over you, you’re not over me’ card and it’s not remotely believable even there’s more give and take that’s just tired at this point, the fact that we have sit through four verses of this dreck for over five minutes where so much of it is obviously offbeat, borderline freestyled, or how the whole ‘text going green’ sentiment was already used by him on ‘Chicago Freestyle’ so he’s not even hiding that he’s recycling. Yeah, it actually has more of a tune, but given what Drake’s doing with it, I’m not enjoying any of it.

7. ‘Falling Back’ by Drake - someone needs to explain to me why Drake thought this should be the single with the big opulent music video. The fizzy tapping beat, his faded vocals where he’s openly struggling to hit the higher notes even as they drizzle on the pitch correction, the lack of a strong hook as he half-heartedly croons that this girl is treating him like a fallback option after their experiences, which he clearly takes offense given that without him she’s be nothing - yep, he’s going there, charming. It’s just an underwhelming wisp of a song where it’s hard to ignore how his melody lines feel pulled from old The Weeknd demos - just forgettable.

6. ‘Sticky’ by Drake - and here’s where we get the telling side of the story of this Drake album: the two highest charting songs are the ones with the most actual rapping on them, even if the pulsating bass is mixed really clumsily over Drake’s vocals with the spare hi-hat. But hey, Drake’s rapping about how he doesn’t come to the Met Gala because they don’t let him bring more people, how they should free Young Thug, and a bunch of vaguely frustrated flexes because when you’re this successful, this is how complicated it gets… all to support the underlying sentiment that he’s bringing back the late Virgil Abloh in this vibe, because he didn’t change, he millioned. The song ends with a sample that they weren’t supposed to come up with something like this - the feeling is mutual here.

1. ‘Jimmy Cooks’ by Drake ft. 21 Savage - and isn’t this ironic - Drake makes such a big deal about venturing into house music, making an attempt for nebulous reasons where I’m not even sure he’d admit it was an artistic success all the way through… and the song that charted the highest was the tacked on Certified Lover Boy extra that might as well be a weaker b-side of ‘Knife Talk’, a sign that for as much as Drake’s audience has complained about him making the same music over and over, they wind up coming back to the same stock sound. The same clicking trap percussion against the Memphis samples that are not quite as well-blended as they should be where Drake lifelessly rambles through half-formed basketball references and paranoia before the beat switches and 21 Savage runs away with the whole song. And even then, I’m not wowed by his verse - the gunplay and references are more clever in shouting out Nadeska, Rick Ross, the Will Smith slap and more, but again, he did more with ‘Knife Talk’, which is a song that can better manage 21 Savage’s ominous presence; it’s obvious this was tacked on at the end, my guess because Drake didn’t quite have enough faith that the house vibes would land the same level of success on their own… and it turns out he was proven right and we might all be worse off.

Anyway, Drake’s getting both of the worst of the week with ‘Currents’ and then ‘Calling My Name’ as the Dishonourable Mention. Best of the week, though… I can’t give it to Beyonce, the song isn’t doing much for me, so Honourable Mention to Luke Combs for ‘The Kind Of Love We Make’ with best of the week actually going to Drake for ‘Down Hill’ - hey, he caught a deep cut that works, it happens. Next week, the fallout from all of this mess, stay tuned!