2nd to last post of 2025 (and 2nd to last as Hippo) (Week of 12/20/2025)

 

So I think you saw the title of this post and are wondering what is going on. So at the beginning of 2026, I will be dropping the Hippo moniker and instead reverting to using my IRL DJ name SLOTHBEAR for this blog and for the Discord. The change will go into effect on January 3rd, 2026, as I will be in Memphis with the UC Band on New Year's Day for the Liberty Bowl the following day, and January 3rd is when I will be getting back home. Additionally, I will be changing the font and colors I use. All this is to keep this blog fresh and increase my chances of getting posts out on time. Anyways, on to this week, pretty standard for this time of year. Let's just get into it, here is our one exit:

Leon Thomas- Mutt (#25 last week)

Countdown:
30. Justin Bieber- Yukon (-2)

29. Jessie Murph- I'm Not There For You (-2)

28. Tyla- Chanel (+2)

27. Role Model- Writing's On The Wall (Debut)

26. Meghan Trainor- Still Don't Care (=)

25. Madison Beer- Bittersweet (-3)

24. Tate McRae- Tit For Tat (=)

23. Sienna Spiro- Die On This Hill (+6)

22. Charlie Puth- Changes (-3)

21. Sophia James- So Unfair (-1)

20. Kevin Jonas- Changing (+1)

19. Laufey- Lover Girl (-1)

18. Benson Boone- Mr Electric Blue (+5)

17. Alessi Rose- First Original Thought (-1)

16. 5 Seconds Of Summer- Not Ok (-5)

15. Katseye- Gabriela (-1)

14. David Guetta/ Teddy Swims/ Tones And I- Gone Gone Gone (+1)

13. Sombr- 12 To 12 (=)

12. Lady Gaga- The Dead Dance (=)

11. Sabrina Carpenter- Tears (-1)

10. Alex Warren/ Jelly Roll- Bloodline (-1)

9. Chappell Roan- The Subway (-1)

8. Ed Sheeran- Camera (+9)

7. Kpop Demon Hunters- Golden (-3)

6. Conan Gray- Vodka Cranberry (+1)

5. Olivia Dean- Man I Need (=)

4. Sombr- Back To Friends (-1)

3. Taylor Swift- Opalite (+3)

2. Raye- Where Is My Husband (=)

1. Taylor Swift- The Fate Of Ophelia (=)

Countdown Extra: Tame Impala- Dracula

Last Year's #1: Sabrina Carpenter- Taste

#1 Two Years Ago: Olivia Rodrigo- Get Him Back

My Favorite Song Last Year: Morgan Wallen- Love Somebody

My Favorite Song Two Years Ago: Thirty Seconds To Mars- Seasons

#1 Recommendation For Hits 1: Becky G- Hablamos Manana

We have one new song this week, it's Writings On The Wall by Role Model. This is quite good. It has a solid beat and Role Model sounds good here. It also seems to be about the inability to let a hot but sort of toxic girl go. So yeah, Role Model made another banger.

Hitbound:

Olivia Dean- So Easy (To Fall In Love)

Girlset- Litte Miss (Debut)

Jessie Murph- I Stay I Leave I Love I Lose

JYT- What U Want (Debut)

NF- Fear (Debut)

Alessi Rose- Get Around

Emei- Ginger Tea (Debut)

Tate McRae- Nobody's Girl

Max/ Andy Grammer- The Thing I Love

Freya Skye- Silent Treatment

In Color- Lighter (Debut)

Charli XCX- Chains Of Love

Alex Warren/ Gigi Perez- Eternity

5 Seconds Of Summer- I'm Scared I'll Never Sleep Again (Debut)

The Kid Laroi- A Perfect World

Tame Impala- Dracula

So first up, we have a new girl group called Girlset with their song Little Miss. I think this one is pretty good. The beat here is rather cool and all four of them sound pretty good. I'm glad I heard of this group.

And next up is a new boy band... and no, this isn't that one group December 10th that Simon Cowell recently formed on his Netflix show The Next Act, though I feel like I might be talking about them sometime soon. This group is called JYT, and their song is called What U Want. I also vibe with this. It also has a solid beat to it and all five of them sound pretty good here. This is another group I may have to continue checking out.

I've been aware of this next song for a hot minute, Daniel even had it on HOF at one point, but it's just now making its way over to Hits 1. It's NF's first appearance on Hits 1 since Happy almost three years ago, this is called Fear. And yes, I quite like this. If you guys are new here or weren't here in 2023, I liked Happy, and this new song actually sounds like that song, and that is obviously a compliment. It also has similar lyrical content to Happy, so that all makes it a good song. NF also sounds quite good here. Good to see him back. 

Oh boy... Emei is back with new music, this is called Ginger Tea. There was actually a song on Brakence's 2020 album Punk2 with that title, and while I never listened to it, I'm sure it is a lot better than the new song from Emei with the title. This is rather mediocre. There is not a whole lot of production on this, and then we have the lyrics. Apparently this is about her grandmother, who passed away last year. And having lost my own grandmother earlier this year, I find the lyrics to be way too relatable in the wrong way to find the song good. Emei sounds fine enough to make the song not completely bad, though. I'd really prefer to not hear this next week.

Our last two debuts are from artists who replace themselves this week. In Color is the first group on that list, their new song is called Lighter. I like this one more than I do Headlights. It's in a key that makes more sense, in has a solid beat, and the lead vocalist of the band sounds pretty good here, plus, this seems like it is about a girl that completely changed his life and he wants to do everything right for her. Yeah, much better song from them than what I previously heard. 

And lastly, we have another song off 5 Seconds Of Summer's latest album, this is called I'm Scared I'll Never Sleep Again. This is solid. It has an interesting enough beat and Luke Hemmings sounds pretty good on this. So I'll take it.

We lost Jackie O, Headlights (as previously mentioned), Everyone's A Star (as previously implied), Bandaids, and The Day That I Die. I'm pretty sure Jackie O is in the abyss, so hopefully it debuts. Headlights was replaced by a better In Color song, Everyone's A Star was replaced by a not as good 5SOS song, and the other two I'm fine with leaving, Bandaids was honestly rather forgettable.

Blurbs:
Our only exit was Mutt. As good as this was it was here for a long time and was mostly in the bottom 5, so I'm fine with it leaving.

Umm... why did Die On This Hill jump six spots?

Mr Electric Blue jumping 5 spots off the debut is more tolerable.

It looks like Not Ok might be on its way out. All right then, I guess it had a good run on here.

Good to see Camera rebounding.

Golden is starting to make its way out. It feels like it might be time for that.

And of course, Opalite is #3 while The Fate Of Ophelia is still #1. I swear to god, there better be another #1 in between these two songs or else I will have some words to say.

I guess that does it for me in this post, see you guys in my next one.