NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

While  Jimmy Eat World  purists cite  Clarity   as their favorite and their true breakthrough album, most of us humble music listeners would have never heard of one of the defining bands in the pop-punk/ emo scene if it wasn’t for their 2001 record  Bleed American .  It was specifically their second single from the record, “ The Middle ” which is the band’s most well-known hit. When you’re talking about hits from your childhood and bands you like, many people won’t recognize the name of the band but they know the song. Jimmy Eat World had released two albums on  Capitol Records  when the first wave of emo sparked by bands like  Sunny Day Real Estate  became popular. Jimmy Eat World, though, underperformed and was dropped by Capitol. The band then recorded  Bleed American  independently but signed to  DreamWorks  before releasing the record.   DON’T WRITE YOURSELF OFF YET.    First Jimmy Eat World released the title track “ Bleed American ” to rock radio before releasing “The Middle.” T

  Before his record-setting 333 (and counting) Billboard Hot 100 entries and his record-tying number 13 #1 hits--tied with Michael Jackson --, Drake released his 2016 album Views . First, he scored a number 2 hit in 2015 with “ Hotline Bling ” before the album was released, and then he reached the top position on the chart with the single “ One Dance .” Drake released his first mixtape in 2006, but his 2009 single “ Best I Ever Had ” from his third mixtape was the breakout event for the Canadian rapper. Perceptions about Drake may have changed over the years, particularly earlier this year when he and Kendrick Lamar were involved in a nasty highly-publicized feud. “Hotline Bling” harkens back to a time when the perception of the Canadian rapper was mostly positive, even if the lyrics to the song have been criticized as sexist. EVER SINCE I LEFT THE CITY… The summer vacation sounds of “Hotline Bling” partly come from the song’s sample of Timmy Thomas ’s " Why Can't We Live T

Earlier this year, Teddy Swims scored a Billboard’s Hot 100 number one single with “ Lose Control .” The single was released last year and holds the record for the longest climb to number 1 for a single on Billboard ’s flagship chart. Jaten Dimsdale , better known as Teddy Swims, has been releasing solo music since 2019, starting with covers which he released on YouTube. Before his solo career took off, Dimsdale started as a rock singer, performing with several Atlanta-based bands. He was in the alternative rock band WildHeart , in which he took the fictional surname Swims, an acronym for “Someone who is me sometimes.”Jaten also performed in a post-hardcore band called Eris and a progressive R&B rock band called Elefvnts .   While he has covered many songs from a variety of genres, many songs on his 2023 debut album I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Pt. 1) , sound akin to the influences his father introduced him to: Stevie Wonder , Al Green , and Marvin Gaye . SOMETHING’S GOT A

Last year, it seemed that Billboard’s Hot 100 was gridlocked by legacy acts. Besides K-pop groups, two artists were able to break through last year: David Kushner and Noah Kahan , folksy singer-songwriters known for their hits “ Stick Season ” and “ Daylight .” Pop critics were divided on the singer-songwriter trends. The New York Times Popcast critics complained about the monotony of “Daylight,” especially considering the Indie Pop and Alternative acts on the fringes of the Hot 100. YouTuber Rick Beato , however, praised the “Stick Season,” saying something to the effect that these songs were making music “sound like music again” when he counted them down on one of his countdowns of the most popular song countdowns. A few months later, rock guitars seem to be making a comeback on the pop charts.  BUT I THANK GOD EVERY DAY FOR THE GIRL HE SENT MY WAY. Noah Kahan’s music out-charted David Kushner’s on the Hot 100. Their breakthrough success certainly wasn’t out of nowhere with the ma

In 2005, The Fray scored their first hit with “ Over My Head ” (Cable Car). The song peaked at number 8 on Billboard’ s Hot 100 and topped several radio charts. While that song received critical acclaim from Billboard and Stylus Magazine , the piano-based pop-rock quartet band from Denver, Colorado, would be much less memorable today if it wasn’t for their second hit. After seeing the band live in Los Angeles, the music supervisor for the medical drama Grey’s Anatomy Alexandra Patsavas featured the song “ How to Save a Life ” in an episode in the massively popular ABC show. After the song’s feature in the episode, fans downloaded the ballad on iTunes.   I PRAY TO GOD HE HEARS YOU. The kickstart to the success of “How to Save a Life” has been credited to Grey’s Anatomy. But before the song was a single, it was the title track to The Fray’s debut album . How to Save a Life is peak mid-’00 piano pop rock. Every track is inoffensive and could be played in any coffee shop or grocery sto

In 1988,  Tracy Chapman 's first single " Fast Car " rose to Number 6 on Billboard 's Hot 100 . Her performance at Wembley Stadium in Nelson Mandela's 7oth birthday tribute helped to kick-start the singer's career. At the time Mandela was still serving time in prison, and the tribute concert gave a strong message to world against South African apartheid. Chapman produced a string of hits in the late '80s and early '90s, but she is best known for today's song, "Fast Car." Last year, “Fast Car” took another ride on Billboard’s Hot 100, this time all the way to number 2 . But this time, Luke Combs , a country singer with no previous pop crossover hits was the song’s driver. Combs’ cover of “Fast Car” was just one of the massive country songs of last year. In fact, it was another country hit, Morgan Wallen ’s “ Last Night ,” that kept “Fast Car” from sliding into the top spot. I GOT A JOB THAT PAYS ALL OUR BILLS. Last year, one of the albums

I took a week off from my countdown. I’ve been spending the week planning the direction of my blog for this year, and it always seems like a miracle when I get a chance to write! Today, I’m counting down songs 14 to 11 that were recorded and released in 2023. Not many of these songs were actual hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and all of them were released in 2023. For songs that just missed the top ten, I think that these songs have better lyrics than the top 20, but there is something dynamic missing from making the song a more impactful song on me. Of course, this is completely subjective, and time may prove differently. Still, as of writing this post, I’m going to say that these songs are in the right order.  14. “ Exist ” by Eric Nam . In 2019, Eric Nam began primarily writing songs in English after half a decade in K-pop. But it wasn’t until last year’s House on a Hill that the lyrics and music seemed to sync up. “Exist” is my favorite track from the album. It’s simple but beautif