First time reviewing Hits 1 in this format - Hitbound 1/18/25

Hi! As you probably saw in my last countdown post and/or on my updated posting schedule page, I have a new format for reviewing Hits 1. Instead of having one big post for Hits 1 every week, I will post a review of the Weekend Countdown on Sunday, and then a separate Hitbound overview on Monday. Anyway, let's get into it!

Hitbound:

Tyla - Push 2 Start (Debut)

Hayes Warner - Oh! (Debut)

Morgan Wallen - Smile

Vella - All My Love (Debut)

Sza - Drive

Crash Adams - Optimist

Griff - Last Night's Mascara

Marshmello & Jonas Brothers - Slow Motion (Debut)

Dasha - Bye Bye Bye

Alessi Rose - IKYK (Debut)

Teddy Swims & Giveon - Are You Even Real

Kesha - Delusional

Rose - Toxic Till The End (Reentry)

Willow Avalon - Baby Blue (Debut)

Twice & Megan Thee Stallion - Strategy

Nessa Barrett - Pins And Needles

Alright, this week's debuts were mostly pretty good. Let's get my "least favorites" out of the way first. Tyla returns with Push 2 Start. This is alright. It's got nice-sounding production but it feels a bit overproduced at times. The lyrics are also fine but not the best.

Next, we have Marshmello and the Jonas Brothers with a song called Slow Motion. This is actually better than most Jonas Brothers songs I've heard, but it's still not that great. The production is very generic and boring and the lyrics aren't very well-written. I have to say, not only is it funny that there's already been two songs on Hitbound this year called Slow Motion, but it's even funnier to me that Marshmello's last song was Miles On It, a song about wanting to go fast... and this song is literally the polar opposite.

We have a few newcomers this week, including Vella with her new song All My Love. This is okay. The production here is kinda catchy and I like some of the lyrics, but overall it's not a super memorable song.

Then, there's IKYK from Alessi Rose. This song kind of feels like it's trying to sound like Sabrina Carpenter or Chappell Roan, mostly in a good way, but the production can be slightly over-the-top at times, and the lyrics are okay but forgettable.

Hayes Warner brings us another song one week early, this is called Oh! which might be the shortest song title I've seen ever since Me! by Taylor Swift. Anyway, this is actually a really good song. This reminds me of Sabrina in a great way. The rock production is amazing and I love the lyrics here.

You may remember former H1TW Willow Avalon from her 2023 song Stranger, which basically just rotted at the bottom of the countdown. I actually sorta enjoyed that song more than others, but I hated her other Hits 1 song, Honey Ain't No Sweeter, which spent a few weeks on Hitbound about a year ago during one of my absences from blogging. But her new song, Baby Blue, was a pleasant surprise. The main guitar riff is similar to that of HANS, but it sounds so much better here, and the instrumentation feels more full and evolving. The lyrics are also a massive step up, actually being quite well-written.

Finally, Rose's former Hitbound song Toxic Till The End reentered Hitbound this week. This is so nice to see, I actually like this song better than Drinks Or Coffee, as the lyrics are so well-written here and it has really well-made catchy production. Let's hope this does well.

Dropouts:

Balu Brigada - So Cold

Almost Monday - Can't Slow Down

Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo - What Is This Feeling?

Rose - Drinks Or Coffee

Twenty One Pilots - The Line

Raye - Oscar Winning Tears

The Marias - No One Noticed

Good riddance to So Cold, which lasted as long on Hitbound as Hot To Go & Antihero lasted on the countdown and absolutely did not need to. Can't Slow Down was also on for a bit too long and didn't need to. What Is This Feeling is alright but doesn't feel like a radio song. Drinks Or Coffee is great but TTTE is better. The Line will be missed. And luckily Oscar Winning Tears & No One Noticed are currently in the abyss so it would be amazing to see them debut.

Abyss:

Harry Styles - Daylight

Akon - Akon's Beautiful Day

Megan Moroney - Am I Okay?

Myles Smith - Nice To Meet You

Lady Gaga - Disease

Jennie - Mantra

Raye - Oscar Winning Tears

The Marias - No One Noticed

Other than Oscar Winning Tears, No One Noticed, Am I Okay, and maybe Nice To Meet You, I don't see any of the others climbing out of the abyss anytime soon. Mantra, Disease, and Beautiful Day have been off the countdown for a while, and I have absolutely no clue why Daylight is still recurrent on Hits 1 as if it was ever a big hit, even though it's a random non-single from 2022 and never made the countdown or even Hitbound. It would be hilarious if Daylight ever decided to randomly enter the countdown after four years in the abyss. I know this is probably hard to track since the abyss didn't become a "thing" until 2020 when the countdown was shortened, but Daylight is definitely setting a record for the longest time spent in the abyss, right?

That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!