Saturday, January 2, 2016

Continental Chart: Year of 2015

Hello again! I'm your host, Thatchos, back to give you a very special edition of the Continental Chart!
This is a chart containing songs all throughout the year of 2015. There are many factors that went into play when making this chart. Factors such as:

  • Chart success - how high a song peaked on this chart
  • Airplay - how much the song popped up not only in my head but also in my daily life (i.e. radio, school, even family gatherings)
  • Popularity - overall popularity/success on other charts
  • Structure - how the song is written, performed, produced
  • Distinctness - how the song is different from/better than other songs
  • Meaning - the message the song gives/conveys/alludes to
  • Burning out - whether or not a song "burned out" on me and how quickly it did
  • Personal opinions - my opinions on the song throughout the year compared with my opinions looking back
  • Time of release - songs released earlier in the year have an advantage over songs released later in the year.

Those factors will explain a lot pretty soon. 

Ah, 2015 has been an interesting year for music. We've seen many old and new faces be introduced to the mainstream scene such as Mark Ronson, WALK THE MOON, Shawn Mendes, twenty one pilots, Alessia Cara, X Ambassadors, Silentó, Elle King, OMI, Major Lazer, Fetty Wap, The Weeknd, Charlie Puth, Rachel Platten, Tori Kelly, R. City, Sam Hunt, Vance Joy, George Ezra, Natalie La Rose, and way too many more to list!
We've also seen the revivals of acts from the past such as Nick Jonas, Rihanna, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Nate Ruess, Drake, Selena Gomez, Fall Out Boy, Coldplay, Kelly Clarkson, and of course Justin Bieber and Adele.

And I hope that this chart helps you remember some songs that you forgot you loved . . . rather than songs you forgot you hated. :|

Also, you might need some updating on what's happened chart-wise.
Here are the rough #1's from the first weeks of 2015 that I never made charts for, but if I had to guess the #1's, they would be these:
- 12/27/14: The Script - Superheroes (1)
- 1/3: Sheppard - Geronimo (1)
- 1/10: Ella Henderson - Ghost (1)
- 1/17: Nick Jonas - Jealous (1)
- 1/24: Fall Out Boy - Centuries (1)
- 1/31: Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk! (1)
- 2/7: Nick Jonas - Chains (1)
- 2/14: Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud (1)
- 2/21: WALK THE MOON - Shut Up and Dance (1)
- 2/28: Nate Ruess - Nothing Without Love (1)
- 3/7: Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud (2)
- 3/14: Vance Joy - Riptide (1)
- 3/21: Nate Ruess - Nothing Without Love (2)
- 3/28: Nate Ruess - Nothing Without Love (3) {first published chart}

I haven't written any full charts ever since the week after the last published chart. But, if I had to guess what the #1's from that point would look like, then here they are:
- 10/17: Shawn Mendes - Stitches (1) {last published chart}
- 10/24: Shawn Mendes - Stitches (2) {last written chart}
- 10/31: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis/Eric Nally/Melle Mel/Kool Moe Dee/Grandmaster Caz - Downtown (2)
- 11/7: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis/Eric Nally/Melle Mel/Kool Moe Dee/Grandmaster Caz - Downtown (3)
- 11/14: Adele - Hello (1)
- 11/21: Adele - Hello (2)
- 11/28: Adele - Hello (3)
- 12/5: Coldplay - Adventure of a Lifetime (1)
- 12/12: Coldplay - Adventure of a Lifetime (2)
- 12/19: Coldplay - Adventure of a Lifetime (3)
- 12/26: Adele - Hello (4)
and just as a bonus:
- 1/2/16: Justin Bieber(/Skrillex/Blood) - Sorry (1)

Now that you're filled in, let's look at some very honorable mentions that missed the chart:
  • Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness - Cecilia and the Satellite [peak: #15]
  • Dirty Loops - Hit Me [peak: #5]
  • DJ Snake & AlunaGeorge - You Know You Like It [peak: #4]
  • Jack Ü/Justin Bieber - Where Are Ü Now [peak: #7]
  • MAX/Hoodie Allen - Gibberish [peak: #6]
  • Meghan Trainor/John Legend - Like I'm Gonna Lose You [peak: #5]
  • Olly Murs/Travie McCoy - Wrapped Up [peak: #10]
  • Rob Thomas - Trust You [peak: #30]
  • Sam Smith - I'm Not the Only One [peak: #9]
  • Silentó - Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae) [peak: #12]
  • Tori Kelly - Should've Been Us [peak: #9]


Last Year's Top 3 Songs:
#3. OneRepublic - Love Runs Out {5 Weeks @ #1}
#2. OneRepublic - Counting Stars {6 Weeks @ #1}
#1. Bastille - Pompeii {6 Weeks @ #1}












And now . . . 

the boring introductory stuff is done . . .

so here they are . . . 

THE CONTINENTAL CHART'S 
TOP FIFTY SONGS of 2015!!!

Enjoy.

#50. Shy Carter/Aleon Craft - Bring It Back [peak: #9]
#49. Taylor Swift/Kendrick Lamar - Bad Blood [peak: #9]
#48. Imagine Dragons - Shots [peak: #15]
#47. Carly Rae Jepsen - Run Away With Me [peak: #3]
#46. Sam Smith - Lay Me Down [peak: #4]
#45. Zedd/Jon Bellion - Beautiful Now [peak: #8]
#44. R. City/Adam Levine - Locked Away [peak: #4]
#43. Drake - Hotline Bling [peak: #3]
#42. Adam Lambert - Ghost Town [peak: #4]
#41. Coldplay - Adventure of a Lifetime {3 Weeks @ #1}
#40. One Direction - Drag Me Down [peak: #3]
#39. Andy Grammer - Good to Be Alive (Hallelujah) [peak: #2]
#38. OneRepublic - Love Runs Out {5 Weeks @ #1}
#37. Maroon 5 - Sugar [peak: #5]
#36. American Authors - Go Big or Go Home [peak: #6]
#35. Years & Years - King [peak: #2]
#34. Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk! {1 Week @ #1}
#33. The Script - Superheroes {1 Week @ #1}
#32. OMI/Felix Jaehn - Cheerleader [peak: #2]
#31. Vance Joy - Riptide {1 Week @ #1}
#30. Zedd/Selena Gomez - I Want You to Know [peak: #3]
#29. One Direction - Night Changes [peak: #7]^
(^, Note: this peak is revised from the peak found in the midyear chart.)
#28. The Weeknd - Can't Feel My Face {2 Weeks @ #1}
#27. Adele - Hello {4 Weeks @ #1}
#26. Calvin Harris/Ellie Goulding - Outside [peak: #5]
#25. Major Lazer & DJ Snake/MØ - Lean On {2 Weeks @ #1}
#24. Nick Jonas - Chains {1 Week @ #1}
#23. Fall Out Boy - Centuries {1 Week @ #1}
#22. Shawn Mendes - Stitches* {2 Weeks @ #1}
#21. X Ambassadors - Renegades {2 Weeks @ #1}
#20. Echosmith - Bright [peak: #6]
#19. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis/Eric Nally/Melle Mel/Kool Moe Dee/Grandmaster Caz - Downtown {3 Weeks @ #1}
#18. Rachel Platten - Fight Song {2 Weeks @ #1}
#17. Life of Dillon - Overload {1 Week @ #1}
#16. The Script - No Good in Goodbye {2 Weeks @ #1}
#15. U2 - Song for Someone {1 Week @ #1}
#14. Nick Jonas - Jealous {1 Week @ #1}
#13. David Guetta/Sam Martin - Dangerous {1 Week @ #1}
#12. Sheppard - Geronimo {1 Week @ #1}
#11. Ed Sheeran - Photograph {2 Weeks @ #1}
#10. Nate Ruess - Nothing Without Love {6 Weeks @ #1}
#9. Ella Henderson - Ghost {1 Week @ #1}
#8. OneRepublic - I Lived {1 Week @ #1}
#7. George Ezra - Budapest [peak: #4]
#6. Wiz Khalifa/Charlie Puth - See You Again {1 Week @ #1}











oh no ist the top fiev naow tings are getting intens aughghghghghgh


I would ask if it was too late now to say sorry for that . . .
but it is probably . . . 
too late to apologize.



Okay, I'll stop the jokes, here's the top five.

#5. LunchMoney Lewis - Bills [peak: #3]












#4. Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud {2 Weeks @ #1}











#3. Imagine Dragons - I Bet My Life {1 Week @ #1}











#2. Andy Grammer - Honey, I'm Good. {5 Weeks @ #1}












And NOW...


the Continental Chart's...


NUMBER...
ONE...
SONG...

of 2015...



IS...........






















#1. WALK THE MOON - Shut Up and Dance {4 Weeks @ #1}











Well. There you have it, folks. The Continental Chart's top fifty of 2015.

For those of you who might be surprised about the #1 song, I'll say this: this one ranked high in pretty much every category. It's an insanely well-written song, it exploded in the mainstream scene (I even heard my uncle say "Well, shut up and dance with me!" as a random exclamation), and I still love it now as much as I did before even after it's winded down.
It was pretty close between the top two (gotta love Andy Grammer, am I right?) , but in the end, Shut Up and Dance won out.

With that being said, I would like to thank you all for taking the time to read this even after I "retired." I knew when I made that decision, I wanted to come back for a year-end chart.
But, remember: this doesn't mean I'll be coming back for good. This is a one-off special.
Even so, it was a lot of fun to make and if you're reading this, then you probably still remember that I ever existed, so...


whomever is reading this gets a ShoutOut. :D

Thank you for putting up with my antics over 2015.
And thank YOU, dear reader, for checking the Chart once more!
If there's a next time, I'll see you then! :)

#DeoSitGloria
-Thatchos