Steel's 2016 Entertainment Mid-Year Review

[Steel Sponge]

Guess what, people? It's almost July. I don't know if this is a thing for most critics, but when July rolls over, I'm going to be writing a mid-year retrospective on well....just mainly Billboard and animation. It will give you guys more of an idea on what my end-of-year lists would partly look like near the end of 2016, but I really feel like being open on most of the things I've seen so far this year. It's not technically going to be a couple lists, it's just going to be my own review on the two subjects, and how they have performed for the first six months of 2016. Not much else to say except that I'll start this up sometime during the first week of July.

[Steel Sponge]

(This is being separated into two parts, since this review turned out to be a lot more insightful than I imagined.)

Well, we’re halfway into the year of 2016, and it’s already turned out to be a miserable year in general. 2016 was out for blood when big name musicians like Prince, David Bowie, and Maurice White passed away, as well as other big name personalities such as Alan Rickman, Muhammad Ali, and Abe Vigoda. The future of America is now currently dependent on either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, both of which being the most polarizing and controversial candidates in recent memory. The Orlando nightclub mass-murder occurred just last month, being the most violent mass-shooting in U.S. history. And there’s just so much more I could talk about, like the Kesha and Dr. Luke trial, the Istanbul airport attacks, or all the YouTube drama that’s been coming around, but I’m not going to get into detail on some of the biggest issues. The first thing I’m going to discuss for the mid-year retrospective is 2016 in popular music, and it’s already bad enough that 2016 has been giving us a lot less to offer compared to the overwhelmingly good pop music we had from yesteryear.

 

And as some would think, it was very much weird for me to take up interest in reviewing pop music, or even music in general by late 2013. This is pretty much because…well, I’m a nerd. By that standard, I have preferred more than just to cling unto animation and take interest in other forms of media, whether it’d be anime/manga, movies, and of course, music. By late 2013, I realized that I really liked talking about music, let alone popular music. I’ll admit it, I’ve had a very shoddy start as a music reviewer, with my Bottom 20 songs list and my sampled songs reviews thread being too embarrassing for me to look back into, because I wasn’t at the point of completely understanding pop music. Late last year was where I was felt I could really understand pop music and be able to analyze it better than I did before. And so here I am taking a look at the Billboard Hot 100’s biggest hits of 2016, as of the first 30 weeks of this current tracking period. What do I think of this year in pop so far? As you guys can already tell, I’m definitely not enjoying this. Likewise with the year-end charts of 2010, 1991, and 1997, 2016 is turning out to be one of those utterly void years in terms of popular music. I’m not going to straight-up say it’s the worst year for pop music, but right now, it’s starting to peak below 2014 in terms of quality. What I’m going to do is that I’m going to cover all the top 10 singles we’d had during 2016 so far during the first 30 weeks, including select picks of other charting songs that I want to discuss.

 

Let’s start it all off with….

 

 

The Flops

 

Instead of going through the current, highest performing songs of this year first thing, I’m going to start this review by acknowledging some of the songs that, have not only reached the top 10, but underperformed on the charts regardless.

 

“Summer Sixteen” – Drake (#6)

 

Released as hype for the album formerly known as “Views from the 6,” this song debuted in the top 10 (coincidentally at #6) and fell off after 14 weeks. There isn’t really so much for me to talk about for “Summer Sixteen,” but I kinda like the production change-up and the bit about Drake comparing his pool to Kanye’s, which were two of the most memorable things about this track. Otherwise, “Summer Sixteen” doesn’t really do so much for me. Considering that this song wasn’t part of the final product, “Views,” it didn’t hold on for long on the charts, but it would be lucky if it actually made the year-end Hot 100.

 

“Focus” – Ariana Grande (#7, 2015) (#14, 2016)

 

Without a doubt, this was the biggest misfire that Ariana has ever released, and I can pretty much see why. At most, it’s an inferior rehash to “Problem,” and not even the incredibly hammy-sounding Jamie Foxx could save this from falling down the charts. It fell off after 13 weeks on the charts, while spending 9 weeks on the top 40. In my views, this was definitely a dud for Ariana Grande, and she can do so much better….

 

And all is forgiven because she did recover and released two of her greatest singles since “Love Me Harder.”

 

“Piece by Piece” – Kelly Clarkson (#8)

 

I was honestly surprised that Kelly Clarkson was able to land another hit on the charts. As I figured, its top 10 debut happened because of her performance on American Idol, and it fell off the top 40 after two weeks. So what happened? Well, the song only translated so well with the audience for that one performance, but it didn’t have the power to be a true pop hit. As a big contender for Kelly Clarkson, it’s no surprise that I have some things to say about this. In my opinion, I can’t really say this is anywhere near as a spectacular song, but it has Kelly’s voice and her narrative of her husband restoring some faith for her after her past relationship with her former father in order to be something that’s at least good.

“Formation” – Beyonce (#10)

 

Let me say it first that Beyonce’s album Lemonade is not a flop by any means. However, this single off of the album has spent one week on the top 10 based on its sales and streaming from Tidal alone when the album was released, while it spent 7 weeks altogether on the charts. The first time we were introduced to this, it sat on a fence, being held below the Hot 100 with gains from airplay, and wasn’t released for digital download. (Alongside the fact that the official video is unlisted on YouTube) Then came the surprise album release, and it topped the iTunes chart. But with streaming for the video being only available on Tidal, and yet being strong on single sales, I guess you could say that it didn’t….”Hold Up” so well! Joke aside, it was also because another song from the album, “Sorry,” caught the most attention. I’d prefer that this song would perform better because between “Formation,” and “Sorry,” the former is much better and grabs me a little more. Simply put, it’s a bouncy, innovative-sounding sound, while Beyonce backs it up with as much swagger she can use. Most of all, being an ode to black power, it has an anthemic sound. I haven’t listened to all of Lemonade, so I can’t say this track is my highest recommendation, but it’s definitely worth a listen.


“Team” – Iggy Azalea

 

Nah, I’m kidding about this song being anywhere on the top 10. It debuted at #42 and reached no higher than that, and well….when it comes to the fact that Iggy has had another flop since “Pretty Girls,” it speaks to me that most people are already getting sick of Iggy Azalea, and it’s pleasant enough that we didn’t allow this song to become a thing. Also, it’s a mock-up, but I’m making this count because it is a flop after all. What do I have to say about this? It lacks charisma, it’s not fun, or anywhere remotely interesting. Songs like “Fancy” and “Black Widow” had hooks from Charli XCX and Rita Ora respectively to make something worth, but “Team” has a lot less to offer, which must be why its been ignored as a possible hit.

[Steel Sponge]

Now for the main event….:

 

The Hits

 

“Hello” – Adele (#1)

 

With Adele’s massive star power, it was no wonder that this would be a #1 hit. It already peaked in the top 40 of 2015’s year-end Hot 100, making it backwash for this year, but I figure this song is mostly represented for being one of the biggest hits of 2016. For a song and album that broke any record imaginable, I’ll admit loving this song, but it’s not without the one flaw of sounding rather more of the same as her output from 21. If there’s anything difference, however, I find “Hello” a little more raw and chilling compared to the biggest hits from 21. With Adele’s sincerity and effortlessly talented voice, it’s an easy favorite for 2016. Although, due to the song being backwash from the year-end charts of 2015, I can’t have it considered for the top 10.


“What Do You Mean?” – Justin Bieber (#1, 2015) (#4, 2016)

 

So, um….this song actually grew on me after I put this up as one of my dishonorable mentions for the worst hit songs of 2015. Point is, there are a few rankings I would’ve rescinded if I have the time, or already have rescinded. To name one example, it took me a while to realize “Leave the Night On” was the best song from one of the worst country artists [Sam Hunt] as of recent, and I didn’t get that impression until hearing “Break Up in A Small Town” and samples from the rest of Montevallo. Continuing on with the backwash, here’s Justin Bieber’s first #1 hit and it details his first foray into R&B. After finding myself a good enough impression from “Sorry” and “Love Yourself,” I had myself believe that Justin Bieber has the chops to being a very decent R&B singer. Looking back into this, there almost isn’t really anything to complain about this song, and while I’ve said this grew on me, I also mean I like it than love it. Anyways, my biggest compliment is basically the tropical house styled production. Justin Bieber also proves that he can sing, but for reasons I’m unsure of, I’m not completely invested into this.


“Sorry” – Justin Bieber (#1)

 

I really like the production that Skrillex offers here. I do have a liking for this, but I can’t really get myself to “love” this song. Do I have any reasons for it? “Sorry” isn’t so strong for its songwriting, and most of the lyrics are pretty clumsy and kinda thin. There’s also Justin’s pleading tone, and it kinda sounds watered down.

 

“Love Yourself” – Justin Bieber (#1)

 

And now, here’s the third and last Bieber song I’m going to cover. Strangely enough, I’ve become more favorable towards this one. Certainly, it sounds more like an Ed Sheeran song (it’s even co-written by him!) with a familiar Sam Smith melody in the chorus, but it shows me that Bieber is mostly capable in R&B singing when using a smooth-sounding texture. I also realized it’s got a pretty inescapable guitar groove once I re-listened to this. The lyrics are also fairly decent and the tone personifies the song as an ex-lover send-off, where it sounds like a mix between being cynical and yet understanding without sounding painful. It could’ve gone with more of a sincere tone, but it’s not so bad. On a lighter note, the saxophone solo also gives it a pretty nice touch. I don’t have a lock on this for being on the top 10, but maybe it will make it on there if it grows on me more enough.


“Here” – Alessia Cara (#5)

 

Moving on to some more backwash singles, here is one that made it pretty close to my honorable mentions list from yesteryear. I really enjoy the whole anti-partying tone as it is illustrated towards people who hate being at a certain party and feel introverted from the rest of the crowd. I can’t completely associate myself with this background, but for being an introvert anthem of some sorts (as I’m introverted, myself), it’s certainly another reason why I consider this as a favorite, along with the tone, and the instrumental, which works so well within the flow of Cara’s songwriting.


“The Hills” – The Weeknd (#1, 2015) (#5, 2016)

 

Before I express my thoughts on this, I’ll admit this: one reason why I’ve neglected into putting “Can’t Feel My Face” on my top 10 hits of 2015 list is because I’ve had this mindset where I felt it was the type of Weeknd song that is either too easy to love or the only Weeknd song people would buy into. Perhaps it’s too much of an easy favorite, but I was wrong about the latter. I do love the song myself, it’s groovy, it’s an undeniably accessible pop song, but I feel like The Weeknd is better defined for going into his usual, dark-pop/R&B territory. For example, when I watched Todd’s review for “The Hills,” I had myself thinking that Todd hates The Weeknd just because his voice prevents him from enjoying and buying into whatever makes him salvageable, and that when he makes a song like “Can’t Feel My Face,” that’s where he could only buy him. So yeah, back when I found myself adoring The Weeknd sometime after the release of his most recent album, I cared a little too much about what people thought of him once as he crossed over to the top 40, so I kinda regret not putting CFMF on my top 10. The Weeknd’s voice is not perfect, but in my book, it’s not so insufferable to listen to. The Hills is a sheer example of The Weeknd creating songs with a dark tone, and when I realized that’s the main establishment of the song’s charm, I given myself a little more appreciation towards it, besides the production work. The songwriting is shabby at times, but I’m just fine with everything else. However, if neither “The Hills” nor CFMF is my biggest contender for the best single off of Beauty Behind the Madness, then that title would go to “In the Night.” (It reached #12 this year, which is good because it also has a lock on reaching the year-end Hot 100) Go and check it out, it’s an excellent blend between dark-toned R&B and accessible pop.


“Stitches” – Shawn Mendes (#4, 2015) (#6, 2016)

 

I didn’t put this on my dishonorable mentions list, let alone the bottom 10, because there was one thing I could salvage from this. I liked the folk-driven instrumental, and it made the song quite catchy enough to dodge the bottom 10….but since I am aware of the songwriting being weak and clichéd, as well as Shawn Mendes himself being such an unimpressive artist, it took me a while for me to make me feel that “Stitches” was an awful song, and at least deserved a dishonorable mentions spot, and it will pretty much end up there for this year.


“Hotline Bling” – Drake (#2, 2015) (#3, 2016)

 

The production is still infectious and shows some parts of Drake’s emotional depth, but I’ve gotten a little sick of this, honestly. At this point, it’s somewhere between “Hello” and “Lean On” in terms of greatness. (If you guys have seen my full rankings for 2015’s top 100, then you’ll know where I’d rank this now)


“Like I’m Gonna Lose You” – Meghan Trainor featuring John Legend (#7, 2015) (#8, 2016)

 

I’ve attained a little more appreciation for this song, for not only having someone as talented as John Legend to back things up, but for generally being Meghan Trainor’s best, and most salvageable, song to date. Most importantly, it shows that Meghan Trainor can turn up with something pleasant when she’s not so busy feeling so self-righteous or trying to convey a message that would backfire.


“Same Old Love” – Selena Gomez (#5)

 

I can’t say this will end up somewhere on the top 10 as of now, but I honestly adore this, even more than “Good for You.” Some consensuses say that the song has little to offer or it would’ve been executed better if Charli XCX was at the helm, but this song works for me because “Same Old Love” manages to grab me back for more, and I also think it’s worth delving into and has a strong meaning behind it. I can even handle the singing during most parts because I can understand that Selena is carrying a very moody tone to showcase her emotions. Most of all, she illustrates a sense of vulnerability and sincerity. While I’m aware that “The Heart Wants What It Wants” is mostly build around vulnerability (and I’d also have the song switch spots with “Bang Bang” in my full rankings list, if I could change it), there’s some things about “Same Old Love” that really grabs me. Accordingly, the song is about trying to be able to overcome all the negative things in a relationship within people’s lives, which is the subtext of Selena’s moodiness and intends to delve into something that comes off as relatable. And I can totally buy myself into this message that Selena Gomez not only conveys for anyone, but also for her own matters. Now, my biggest compliment with the song is the production, most notably the instrumental, driven by an old-school, 60s jazz style. And it works the best when it gets to this part:

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/8155650

It has a share of some small flaws, like the weird-sounding opening synth before the hook, but overall, I see a lot in “Same Old Love,” and it’s enough for me to adore it.


“Stressed Out” – twenty one pilots (#2)

 

It’s safe to say this one of the most interesting things we’ve had on the radio this year. I’m not a big fan of twenty one pilots, but I really like the whole subject matter of being stressed about growing older, alongside the song having an unusual, yet catchy hip hop sound.


“Roses” – The Chainsmokers featuring Rozes (#6)

 

Remember when The Chainsmokers released that incredulously awful “#Selfie” song that reached the top 20 back in 2014? They landed another hit this year, and if making an unusual and beautiful sound dance track is their way of convincing us that they’re more than just a novelty, then color me impressed.


“My House” – Flo Rida (#4)

 

Sometimes it’s kinda fun to listen to, but then again, I don’t find Flo Rida himself as interesting, so it also wears pretty thin.


“Hands to Myself” – Selena Gomez (#7)

 

This is pretty much the only underwhelming single from Revival I’ve heard as of current, and it’s strange that I feel this way towards a song that has UNANIMOUS PRAISE. Seriously, just look at the praise it’s gotten, whether you’re looking at the Wikipedia article for the song, or in any critic circle that has reviewed Revival and talked about the track, it is considered to be the one of the best pop songs of 2015, and I beg to differ. Critics have lauded this song for Selena proving it to be her official step into adulthood, for being sultry, sexually-charged, and straight-up fun. I’ll admit the production is fun to listen to, but the sexy undertones aren’t as subtle people make it out to be. It has that playful tone, yet the fact that Selena clearly states that she can’t keep her hands to herself and describes the subject as “metaphorical gin and juice” is just something I can’t buy or find sexually appealing. The undertones of Selena not keeping her hands to herself also rather implicates that she begs to have sex, and it’s kinda disturbing than what the reviews suggest as ‘sultry.’ I dislike this song, but when it gets backed up with an admittedly catchy melody and synths, it doesn’t get low enough to be a contender for my bottom 10.


“Work” – Rihanna featuring Drake (#1)

 

As it seems, this was one song that was really meant for her album, Anti. I like the tropical dancehall/reggae styled production work, but I can’t seem to get behind Rihanna’s vocal style. I can’t get anything out of the consistent warbling for the hook, but some critics seem some sort of subtext from it. It sounds more obnoxious to me. And what about Drake, what does he bring to the table? Ehhh….he does alright, but the chorus still comes off as distracting regardless. It’s like I’ve said before, it’s mediocre.

“PILLOWTALK” – ZAYN (#1)

 

It took a little while for me to get invested with this song, and now that I’ve said that, it’s unpopular opinion time. ZAYN (with all caps!) is not trying too hard to be mature and edgy. I see this as an attempt for him to evolve as more than just a now-former member of One Direction, and as a legitimate R&B star. I gotta say, he’s got me convinced that he’s evolving. The illustration of having pain in pleasure is clumsy, and the message isn’t so insightful. While I admitted all that, how does this song still work for me? After a while, the song became more interesting when I tried to delve into this. So, after a while, I found the production and sound pretty unique, I found the raw power from Zayn’s voice to be compelling, and he also conveys a sexually-charged tone that I found myself buying into. He doesn’t pull off these kinda vibes as well as say, George Michael or Justin Timberlake, but he can still make it work. I’ve already said the songwriting is sloppy at times, but there’s some lines I find strangely poetic:

Climb on board
We'll go slow and high tempo
Light and dark
Hold me hard and mellow

Pillow talk
My enemy, my ally
Prisoners
Then we're free, it's a thriller

A place that is so pure, so dirty and raw

 

It tries to be more than just a straight-up sex song, but as weak as it is with explaining the good and bad in a relationship, it benefits from being raw and sexually-charged.

EDIT: While there's still some talk amongst this, including whether or not it should even be defined as a "song," I might as add some clarity into what good I see in "Pillowtalk." "But Steel, how would anybody enjoy the white noise that is the production? Oh, and it's a song about f--king, obviously, but it's not about anything else." Well, the unusual vocal and production work is subjective. Now, I don't have to enjoy it, but I could at least appreciate it, and that's I've done. Whatever the heck "song" is, that's alternative R&B for ya'. It has that ambient, electronic chill sound, and I appreciate it for sounding fairly innovative. I don't even think of it as a song that's about straight-up sex, it's a chill sex song about feeling the pleasure while embracing a painful side of a relationship, or at least that's what Zayn is trying to convey. As a pop song, I don't like it as much, but as an alternative R&B song, I appreciate it. So yeah, I actually do wish Zayn didn't use "Pillowtalk" as his first impression, and if I can't enjoy it as a "pop song," then I would recommend listening to "Like I Would" and/or "Befour," if you're looking for something that defines him as a pop artist, they're both really good.


“Me, Myself, and I” – G-Eazy & Bebe Rexha (#7)

 

 I’ve talked about this twice, and I’ll say this again: it’s a mindless fun song where it benefits from Bebe Rexha’s hook and vocals. It even works well when it comes to G-Eazy himself, who shares the celebratory good-feeling vibes. G-Eazy is not a good rapper, but compared to most of his work, this is salvageable.

“Cake by the Ocean” – DNCE (#9)

 

It’s really dumb in terms of songwriting, but for the rest of the way, it’s dumb fun. The melody is pretty catchy and it’s got a nice bassline groove. Also, from what I just realized, DNCE gets easily compared to Maroon 5. “Cake by the Ocean” is pretty close to that Maroon 5 sound, but it feels a lot more different to me. However, if you want a DNCE song that sounds more shamelessly like M5, then you should listen to their follow-up: “Toothbrush.”

With a pick-up line like “You could leave a toothbrush at my place,” I can’t see this anywhere near as good.

 “7 Years” – Lukas Graham (#2)

 

I was wondering why this song made my skin crawl, and I realized why. It doesn’t tell a good enough story for me to care, and halfway after he clearly states that he doesn’t care for glory at 11, he fails to mask up his further arrogance after saying that he and his band have travelling around the world and have sold their songs at 30. Other than that, I can’t stand the singer’s voice, especially when he goes into the final stretch. I could say more about the lyrics, but this all sums up my thoughts on this narrative.

“I Took a Pill in Ibiza” – Mike Posner (#4)

 

It’s insightful and shows some of Mike Posner’s emotional depth. It’s arguably the best single Posner has ever released. With the production work from the remix, I can see why it’s become a hit. Although, I can’t say that I’m completely sucked into this.


“Dangerous Woman” – Ariana Grande (#8)

 

It’s no secret now that this is my frontrunner for the best hit song of 2016. And what can I say? Ariana Grande is one of few of the big name artist here that’s making excellent pop music. Being a major improvement to “Focus,” Ariana proves that she’s not fooling around. It’s sultry, it’s sincere, it showcases the dangerous side of Ariana herself, and it straight-up rocks. This song is so amazing, that the #1 spot is no contest, judging the quality of almost every other hit song this year.

“No” – Meghan Trainor (#3)

 

Accordingly, this song is about women standing up to reject men who can’t “take a hint.” Either this is targeted towards creeps who “ain’t givin’ up,” or it’s just targeted towards men who don’t understand sex. Whatever this song may be, Meghan still sounds pretty obnoxious. The change-up from doo-wop to 2000s pop weirds me out, but I do think the production is just fine. It could’ve been so much better of a female empowerment anthem, but it just doesn’t work well enough for me. It doesn’t show any signs of improvement from the singer, but the song isn’t like “All About That Bass” or “Dear Future Husband” levels of awful, it’s rather just mediocre. I didn’t call this a flop, but I’d like to point out that it fell off the top 40 after 12 weeks. Also, if you look at the ratings and reviews for her most recent album on iTunes, it shows that Meghan Trainor’s losing momentum and she may not have much of a lasting effect as a pop star. ….But here we are now, with her follow-up “Me Too” climbing on the charts, currently at #18, which is a lot worse than “No.” There’s no telling when the M-Train will run out of steam.


“Work from Home” – Fifth Harmony featuring Ty Dolla Sign (#4)

 

This song doesn’t sound as lazy and uninspired as “Worth It,” but the chorus on here sounds unenthusiastic. The song is worse when it comes to the lyrical content, which details the singer(s) trying to get a man fired from their job so he can “work from home,” or in other words, have sex at home so he wouldn’t have to work at his job. As some critics have pointed out, the songwriters all composed of all men, including guest rapper Ty Dolla Sign. I’ve seen better output from the guy, but Ty Dolla Sign doesn’t offer anything special with his verse, and he definitely doesn’t help prevent this song from being sexually unappealing. Aside from all that, I’ll be honest and say that the synths are extremely infectious, as the production work might save this song from being on my bottom 10. I don’t have anything else to say except a couple of nitpicks, like Camila Cabello’s grating voice:
 

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/8225018

Last of all, is it just me or am I hearing meows during Ally Brooke’s verse? The placement of it is just so awkward, just listen to it:

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/8155669


“Panda” – Desiigner (#1)

 

It’s alright, it’s too familiar with Future’s sound, but I can take it. There’s nothing else about the song for me to write home about, except Desiigner’s random, exotic yelps, for most of the song, which adds up as flavor to the track.

“One Dance” – Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyla (#1)

 

This song feels like listening to a 1:30 sample on iTunes…..actually no, I never even found myself liking this upon first listen of the sample, and when I listen to this on full. It sounds more like hearing the two same melodies on loop. The chorus is fairly catchy, but regardless, Drake sounds pretty monotonous. I can’t forget to mention Wizkid and Kyla’s presence on the song, but they don’t really add as much, likewise with Drake. This song is just really boring and has nothing else to offer, especially for Drake’s first solo #1 hit.

 

 
“Don’t Let Me Down” – The Chainsmokers featuring Daya (#4)

 

And once again, The Chainsmokers come out with another pop hit, and they got Daya to tag along on this. I’ve said that I’ve liked Roses, but I’m more impressed with this one. I didn’t like Daya and her voice when I heard “Hide Away,” but on here, she really delivers. The guitar tones are very nice as well. I’ll admit it, 17-year old Daya is an odd choice for a song about not being let down, but besides that, I have no complaints about this.


“This is What You Came For” – Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna (#5)

 

When I started out reviewing pop music, I was trying too hard to make Calvin Harris one of my biggest targets. He’s made a few songs I despise, but he’s got a few good ones as well. “This is What You Came For,” however, is just middle-of-the-road mediocrity. Calvin Harris’ production work and Rihanna have the potential to make this good, but the song leaves me with nothing much to talk about.


“CAN’T STOP THE FEELING!” – Justin Timberlake (#1)

 

The comparisons to “Happy” and perhaps also “Can’t Feel My Face” are really close, and listening to the song kinda feels like it’s trying to compete with the likes of “Happy.” As familiar this may be, it’s still mindless fun and it puts in a good mood. I’m also glad enough we got another single from Justin Timberlake to hang around here.


“Needed Me” – Rihanna (#7)

 

“Work” at least had some energy, but this song leaves with almost absolutely nothing to say. There’s the rare DJ Mustard presence, though. His production work is fine, but it’s not enough to pique my interests.


“Just Like Fire” – P!nk (#10)

 

Alright, last one before I move onto some other songs. Needless to say, this is the most disappointing I’ve heard from P!nk since “Blow Me (One Last Kiss).” It had the potential to be fairly decent, with the anthemic chorus and the “Run it!” bridge, but there’s one big problem surrounding this. It tries to be an empowerment anthem, but the lyrics are just so thin and uninteresting that it fails to make a statement of some sort. Also, what do any of the lyrics have to do with the movie (Alice Through the Looking Glass) it’s associated with? There’s also the random rap verse, and it just doesn’t make any matters better:

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/8155677

Overall, it’s a really bland empowerment song.

 

 

That’s all the top 10 hits here that I need to cover. There are some currently on the top 10 that I haven’t covered, but remember that my thoughts are limited to the first 7 months of 2016’s tracking period. However, since I’ve said that there are other songs that I wanted to discuss. I’m going to cover a handful of non-top ten hits next, and that’ll be it.

 

Other Observations:

“One Call Away” – Charlie Puth (#12)

 

One problem I have with the 2016 charts is that ballads are becoming more prevalent. I’ve gotten a soft spot for one of them, but some I can’t stand listening to. First, I’m going to acknowledge the fact that I’ve considered Charlie Puth as one of the worst pop artists as of recent (while Meghan Trainor has now gotten into the same level as him). To me, Puth is more than just bland. My biggest gripe with his music is that he tries to come off as this charmer type of guy, and fails miserably with his weak romantic undertones and horrid pick-up lines. On top of that, he classifies himself as a 60s soul throwback artist that would be comparable to the likes of say, The Temptations, Al Green, and of course, Marvin Gaye. He could’ve pulled that off, but he doesn’t. Take a look at Mark Ronson for example, his musical style is built from old-school Motown soul and funk, and has had artists like Amy Winehouse, Bruno Mars, and even Stevie Wonder to back it up, and you can tell by his production work that he’s done his research. Besides “Some Type of Love” and his guest write for “Slow Motion,” I can never buy Puth’s attempts to come off as romantic. Instead, he comes off as unconvincing as a charmer, that it’s not even funny to me. “One Call Away” is Puth’s follow-up to the absolutely awful “Marvin Gaye.” I’ve said it before that I despised “One Call Away,” but now….it’s just mediocre than awful. It’s unconvincing and trite, but some of the lyrics are even a little too ridiculous to hate, really, to exemplify:

 

Superman got nothing on me

And when you’re weak, I’ll be strong

 

Also, as long as Puth isn’t releasing his worst tracks off of Nine Track Mind as his singles (“Suffer,” “Dangerously,” “My Gospel,” “Losing My Mind.”), he’s apparently safe from my bottom 10. (On a side-note, “We Don’t Talk Anymore” is okay.) So overall, it’s really mediocre, but not bad enough for the bottom 10.

“Lost Boy” – Ruth B (#24)

 

I’m bringing this up, because I had myself defending this when I saw Clappy’s review for it, so the fact that I can salvage this song is worthy of an explanation. I was surprised that this song would crossover into a big hit, and when it became big, I’d figure people would only find this too boring for their interests, but I’d never imagine some would rank this as “worst hit song of 2016” material. My appreciation for this song is based on its biggest undertone: beauty. “Lost Boy” may not be so deep, and some of the lyrics describing the key points of the story of Peter Pan can be clumsy at times, but that doesn’t stop the song from being beautifully sound. I like this song as a little tribute to Peter Pan, and I feel like “Lost Boy” is trying to explain something for what it’s worth. I kinda how like the song’s subject inserts itself into the story as one of the ‘lost boys’ and connects him/herself to the story of Peter Pan to feel less lonely. You can hate this song as you’d please, but I’d hold my breath on this being the worst hit song this year. It’s not a very passionate or grabbing contemporary piano ballad, but I’ve at least gotten something out of it, and it’s at least pleasant on the ears.

 

So, allow me a better question. What defines as a bad-sounding pop ballad to me? Certainly, a ballad has to have nothing to obtain from, to the point where it would frustrate me for being so hollow. It also has to be ugly or otherwise strip away the romantic, sad, or sincere undertones in order to be bad.

“H.O.L.Y.” – Florida Georgia Line (#17)

 

Like this one, just like this one. You know, it’s a real shame that the only two crossover country hits that are highly likely to reach the year-end Hot 100 consist of this and Thomas Rhett making a bad Ed Sheeran impression. Clappy is very much right with the comparisons to the usual hair metal ballad. What’s really trite about this song is that they’re not only comparing being in love to having grace in religion, they’re also comparing it to being on ecstasy or a certain type of high. I mean, seriously that’s what “H.O.L.Y.” stands for, “high on loving you,” and they already failed to make it sound appealing. They did a similar approach with “Dirt,” which was basically an ode to the exact subject matter, but that song was charming while there’s little to none of it in “H.O.L.Y.,” or otherwise, “High On Loving You.”

“Treat You Better” – Shawn Mendes (#34)

 

And while I’m still on the topic of ballads, I got some news to share. Shawn Mendes is back and he’s going to steal your girlfriend! Seriously….that’s what the song is about. After listening to this song, I felt like I had a good reason for not putting “Stitches” anywhere near my bottom 10, because this is even worse for something he just released. Maybe it would’ve been alright if Mendes lists some reasons why he’ll treat her better than her own man, but no. The lyrics already indicate that he wants to steal her as his lover. He even tries to play off as a charming gentleman. He’s so unbelievable it’s not even funny. What also makes the song as bad is that it is written by the same guy who wrote “Stitches,” Teddy Geiger. The song even relies on having the same folky rhythms as “Stitches.” This is just unbelievable. On top of that, while there isn’t an official video for this yet, it’s climbing on the charts as we speak through gains in sales and airplay.

“Into You” – Ariana Grande (#44)

 

Now to take a break from two of the worst songs, so I can talk briefly about what is possibly Ariana’s best single to date, where it even rivals with “Dangerous Woman” in terms of greatness. While “Dangerous Woman” rocked, “Into You” is as perfect as an Ariana pop song can get. So please, Billboard and pop consumers alike, PLEASE make this a big hit. It started making gains in airplay, so that should be good, but it would mean a lot for it to rise in digital sales and least take up a spot on the year-end Hot 100.


"Perfect" - One Direction (#10, 2015) (#26, 2016)

 

Here's an example of a song that hit the top ten only once, but managed to hold up within the top 100 for 20 weeks. This may or may not squeeze into the year-end hot 100, but this shows that the four-piece 1D can make a better song than what Zayn had to offer for his first impression. It's a got a catchy melody and some great vocal delivery. I don't have a lot to say for this, but I really enjoy this song.

 

And that’s all the time I have for the discussing the pop hits of 2016. Soon, I’ll be then talking about the animated television and movies we’ve had for the first six months of 2016.

Edited July 31, 2016 by Steel Sponge

[Steel Sponge]

We've already passed the third quarter and I still haven't gotten out my animation review yet. So what's a better time to continue this than now?

For those who haven't caught eye of this thread, this is where I review a couple forms of media from the first and second quarter of 2016. And yes, I am aware that we're in the middle of October right now, but I'm still going to be limited to talking about my experiences with animated films and shows as of the mid-year. No need to explain things any further, so let's get this started with:

The Good:

 

Steven Universe
 

Very much one of the best animated televisions that's still running for this year. I loved it since its first season, and I still love it enough to consider it as a huge contender for the best animated series this year even before the most recent....can I say "Steven-Nuke?" I would talk more about its recent episodes, but I'll save it for later and talk some of the episodes that lead up to the end of the cluster storyline. It was nice getting to see Peridot's character development, I enjoyed the Ruby/Sapphire backstory episode, and I've enjoyed the In Too Deep event, which wrapped things up with the cluster and introduced some backstory and development for Lapis Lazuli. And yeah, "Barn Mates" wasn't as good, but it was an alright episode in the end. ....And that's all I have to say, really, but just wait until you guys see what I have to praise from the episodes that aired after the end of the second quarter of 2016.

 

Wander Over Yonder

I've been meaning to discuss the second season of this show, let alone the series in general, for such a long time now. And I gotta say, it's a total bummer for the show to go out with a bang because...."80 episodes were enough." So, anyways I'd like to talk about my history with getting into the show first, as I got hooked into this series almost immediately, like with Phineas & Ferb and Gravity Falls. However, I didn't feel impressed until halfway through, where Craig McCracken's thought and creativity really shines through. The characters are incredibly likeable, the one-off characters are memorable, a lot of the storylines are intriguing and memorable, and a lot of the jokes really work. Then came Season 2, but don't give me the wrong idea, since I already have put this on the "Good" tier. After watching the rest of Season 2, I can very much say that it's an impressive season, but with the first season being slightly better. So, what were my highlights for the episodes that aired this year from the second and final season of this series? There's the musical episode that's for sure, with some great musical numbers, and some development on Lord Dominator's character. The finale has also shown some more insight on Dominator's character as well as a major development on Hater's character to boot. There's also a fair amount of impressive episodes as well, whether or not they are part of the Dominator storyline, like where we learn about the origins of Wander's hat in the "Mad Hatter," where we got the hilarious "The Bad Neighbors," the emotional episode that was "The Bot," and as well as the typical heartwarming Wander/Sylvia friendship episodes, namely "The Waste of Time," "The Heebie Jeebies," and "The Flower." It was a great season overall, spite one visible flaw. So there's still one thing to point out though....

What made this season flawed in some sense? I can at least name one, which was what I've had with the main storyline, and that's none other than.....Lord Dominator herself. No, seriously. I'm not saying that she was an awful character, but she wasn't that great to me. She was a good villain and served as a huge threat, but she had this gimmick of being more powerful than everyone, and it just annoyed me. The first episode, otherwise her introduction, basically showed that she can raise an army, take down her enemies, and destroy planets no problem, and already the term "Villain Sue" started to roll on my tongue, but I had to keep my foot in my mouth since I know that it takes time for most characters to develop. But then we get an arc dedicated to Hater being lovesick over Dominator, and that's where I found it harder to appreciate Dominator as a character. I mean, Hater's character is practically the opposite whereas he always fails to destroy Wander and conquer planets because of his obsession to destroy Wander, but at the very least, he can prove to make himself out as a threat when he takes things seriously, especially when you consider his character in the finale. However, like I've said, I wouldn't consider Dominator an awful character, since it's already implied that she's evil for a reason, and the episodes "The End of Galaxy" indicates that she has some shades of loneliness and "The Night Out" shows that she can have some enjoy within being in the galaxy she roams around in. But now WOY is cancelled with an unfinished story that would detail Dominator's backstory and why she's evil, and it's a such a shame, really.

So, in short, WOY continues to be a really great show.

 

SpongeBob SquarePants

Well, isn't this a surprise. This season's episodes that have aired for the first six months of 2016 have proven to be good enough to make this show a hopeful for my next top 10 animations list. With a new set of writers and Hillenburg being more involved, it's no wonder that SpongeBob is really starting to improve. The characters are acting a little more pleasant, the mean-spiritedness has absolutely toned down, and a lot of the jokes so far have worked.

 

The Loud House

And here’s a special shout-out to Nick’s best animated series since….well, Legend of Korra. Okay, even modern Nick at least has some good cartoons under their belt, even if they’ve been brought down to infamy. So yeah, for every Legend of Korra, we will have a Fanboy and Chum Chum. And while I haven’t been intrigued as much by Harvey Beaks to follow it (maybe someday I’ll continue to watch this show), one most recent Nicktoon that caught my attention was The Loud House. Based on my first impressions, this is a really good cartoon. The characters are colorful and charming, some of the jokes get a kick out of me, and the characters develop really well. It’s very good so far for a first season.

 

Zootopia

Now we can take a break from the television shows so I can start discussing the animated films the first 6 months of 2016 had to offer. While Disney has been on a real streak with their animated films, Zootopia was the one movie that was a real surprise for me, and for several reasons, it is my favorite Walt Disney Animation Studios film in most recent memory, and it was too amazing for words. The biggest highlight of this movie is the storytelling, where it becomes more than just the buddy cop/crime scene investigation type of movie and goes as far as to tackle prejudice for its central message. And sure, some of you folks can call it preachy if you will, but in my perspective, the movie illustrates the message in a very subtle matter, making it pretty hard-hitting. I can’t even forget about the characters either. They are just so well-developed and full of thought. Judy Hopps, one the main characters, proves to be a very well-written female lead, as well as a pretty solid role model. Nick also proves to be an entertaining and interesting character, whilst being quite as relatable as Judy through his character development. There’s also some very important scenes to note, and don’t worry, the rest of this review is spoiler tabbed.

Spoiler

Anyways, it’s not easy to choose which one hits me hard the most and it’s between Nick’s backstory of when he was bullied by non-predators, or when Judy returns to apologize to Nick for a big mistake she’s made. If there’s one certain flaw that’s at the tip of my tongue, there’s the reveal of Bellwether as the mastermind of the night howlers serum plot. I mean, she has a reason for wanting to dart every predator in Zootopia, with her relationship with Lionheart indicating some foreshadowing, so I wouldn’t say that the reveal was forced, but I think there would’ve been a little more time to illustrate Bellwether’s character.

On an end note, it’s one of the best Disney animated movies right now, and it is holding steady for my best animation of the year spot. Keep up the good work, Walt Disney Animation Studios.

 

Finding Dory

I was really anticipating this movie since Finding Nemo was one of my absolute favorite movies during my youth. While the first movie will always be king IMO, Finding Dory didn’t fail to impress at all. I felt some of the older characters could’ve had some more screentime (preferably the Tank Gang), but it’s not a big issue since the new characters that the movie introduced are really good. I especially love the interactions between Dory and Hank. It’s just really entertaining to see them both on-screen. Destiny and Bailey also served some really good moments. Marlin and Nemo also play a smaller role, but it’s understandable since Dory is the main focus after all, and while there isn’t so much to see from Marlin and Nemo, they at least serve some interesting scenes. While there’s the storytelling to compliment, one factor of the story that really strikes a chord on me is the fact the movie treats a bigger focus on disability, and I’m not talking about Dory’s short term memory loss alone, but how the newly introduced characters are established among having a certain disability, and that disability plays a central role through her journey into finding her parents, most usually with scenes where Dory’s memories of her parents start coming back to her. So yeah, in the end, it’s a really charming movie. Once again, Pixar doesn’t fail to impress.

 

The Bad:

And it looks like we’re now exiting out of the greatness territory and moving onto the bad eggs in animation this year has given us so far, starting with….

 

The Powerpuff Girls (2016)

After months of desiring to review this newest installment of the PPG, I’ve found the opportunity to do so, after watching a handful of episodes, in which would be enough for me to share my current thoughts on what is being hailed as one of “the worst reboots ever created.” I disliked it, but why? Is it because it’s inferior to the original source? Is it because it doesn’t meet all the expectations of what would’ve made it faithful to the original? Is it because I’m the type of guy who completely writes it off for using references to pop/internet culture? For me, the major underlying problem with this reboot is its identity. I would tear apart the references to memes and twerking, but everyone else has already criticized the reboot for that. In fact, there’s more than just the feeling I get from watching this reboot. So, let’s break things down, starting with the style and format of this reboot, as the biggest problem lies under the emphasis of humor and lack of crime-fighting, the latter in which is basically the sheer focus of the original Powerpuff Girls. While the original actually balances both action and humor, PPG 2016 shows a denser and more comedic approach – and I’m only scratching the surface here. There has also been some discussion that the Powerpuff Girls barely do any sort of crime-fighting against the villains, and I think I’ve been starting to notice this. Then you got the characters, rather the original, primary characters. While characters like Professor Utonium, Him, and the Mayor are all just fine, there’s a bit of a problem I see in the three main characters. It’s definitely not Teen Titans Go bad, but their traits feel pretty exaggerated sometimes, like with Buttercup’s cynicism, Blossom’s neat freak tendencies, and Bubbles’ naiveness. Now this is where I start talking about the controversial factors of the show….because another problem I have with the show is the management of this reboot in general, and I can’t help but blame Cartoon Network Animation Studios for some examples of poor execution, but don’t get me wrong, for some of the writing and animation issues I see in the series, I turn to the ones who work on it (I never tend to have any sort of ill-will towards anyone working on a cartoon, but still). To exemplify, the idea for the reboot was commissioned by the network, it was their idea of recasting the three main characters, they made a fabrication of “Horn Sweet Horn” having a social commentary on an LGBT-related subject, and when it comes right down to it, a TTG/PPG crossover was probably also enforced by the executives, because….”the characters are superheroes SOOOOO,” that’s at least what I think. And when it really comes right down to it, the certain feeling I get about this reboot is that it feels like an attempt to link up with the TTG style of humor, but a lot of the jokes I’ve come across have missed. However, with all these glaring flaws I’ve acknowledged based on my experience, I wouldn’t say that this reboot isn’t even at the standards of being TTG bad, because this installment has some nice touches. While I’ve already mentioned that there’s a huge focus on the humor, the series also makes room for moralities, and…that’s not so much of a bad thing. Heck, compared to TTG, PPG 2016 at least has a fair share of heartwarming moments. Some of the newly introduced villains are also fairly decent, but the one that stands out as the most interesting is Silico. Anyways, this reboot has been looking pretty bad for a first impression, and while this show keeps on running, I have some hopes that the general quality improves by Season 2….but if that doesn’t happen though, then I may despise this show more.

 

Teen Titans Go!

Well, after name-dropping TTG several times, it was a matter of time before I would go ahead and tackle this. Surprisingly enough, I haven’t expressed my own thoughts on “our new favorite show,” up until now. While I haven’t really watched a handful of episodes of 2016, I’ve sat through the show enough to sum up my general thoughts: Is it bad? You bet it’s bad, and it’s more than bad, it’s so….humorless. Yeah, for starters, a lot of the jokes in the show just miss, but that’s not limited to how the characters act. I can understand why the Teen Titans in this incarnation act so naïve or unlikeable, given the whole “It’s satire!” excuse, but that doesn’t make my experience in watching the show worthwhile. I think the most surprising thing about the show’s quality is that is that the co-creators are completely aware that TTG sucks, and that becomes quite a dead giveaway for the current nature of this cartoon: while I can see that the writers do as they please with the show, it accomplishes absolutely nothing besides trolling the fans of the original Teen Titans cartoon when the staff take the opportunity to do so, as if they’re the only kind of people who are condemning the show, and that the creators would continue to make this show look as bad and charmless as the critics say it is. So yeah, it’s detestable, but it’s too ridiculous for me to hate with a burning passion.

 

The Fairly OddParents

I still haven’t seen more than two episodes of the newest season, and after thinking about the state of the show for a while, I’ve been reconsidering giving some faith for Season 10. First off, I like to apologize in behalf of Butch Hartman, when I compared to him to George Lucas at one point and pointing the blame of the show’s quality towards him, since it’s practically the fault of Butch’s current writing team for some of the grueling issues I have with the newer episodes. Then again, I could only wonder why Timmy becoming a full-fledged fairy in Fairly Odd Summer, and removing Sparky and Poof from Season 10 is absolutely okay with him. First off, for some ungodly reason, Poof and Sparky do not show up in this season at all. Sparky, I can see why, as Maddie Taylor confirmed it herself (Sparky’s voice over artist came out as transgender in January of this year), that the Nickelodeon executives realized that everyone mutually hated the character, and so that it was decided that he shouldn’t stick around anymore. ….But why take Poof out of the picture as well? I mean, I’m aware he has his haters too, and it’s not even completely confirmed that he’ll stop appearing in the show, but he’s as important to the show as Timmy and his fairies, and it doesn’t make enough sense that Foop, his anti-fairy counterpart, would be kept in. That’s strange to me, because I’ve always thought Foop was 100x worse than Poof for how incompetent and annoying I found him to be. And most of all….WHY TRADE IN THESE TWO CHARACTERS IN FAVOR OF INTRODUCING ANOTHER NEW CHARACTER THAT’S NOT GOING TO FARE WELL WITH EVERYONE? I’ve already expected Chloe to receive as much hate as the latter two, and if Sparky gets ousted for negative reactions, then what sense does it make now that Chloe’s getting negative response just the same, so her character’s going to pretty much wasted if Nick realize the type of responses from her!? Okay, mind healing time….now that I got that out of the way, how about I talk about some of the other pitfalls of Season 10 upon its introduction? The new theme song is the most obvious, glaring issue, which only adds insult to injury. Chloe’s personality achieves Mary Sue traits upon her introduction. Now, I’ve said it before that Chloe is an interesting character, and she at least faces some moments where she ends up being a stick in the mud, but I can’t really say that she’s an amazing character, especially with that confusing transition from being little miss perfect to being the type of character who would make similar mistakes as Timmy does. However, the worst thing about Chloe is that she isn’t even all that miserable, and if she had more of a backstory, then things would make better sense – and this otherwise my biggest problem with the show: almost everything doesn’t make sense! If Chloe’s miserable, then why is she so happy? If she has a friendless background, the primary reason why she needs fairies, then what sense does that make when everyone in Timmy’s school and neighborhood adore her? Where is Poof if Foop still shows up on-screen? Does Chloe even know that Timmy has a fairy god-brother? It was only the first few episodes and I already had myself asking these types of questions. Also, paste in my complaint about how the writer’s don’t care about the cheap humor and cheap pacing, and you got my thoughts on the new season as of mid-year 2016. And since more new episodes of this season have popped up recently, I should be able to have more of an open mind of Season 10 in general. It’s still best that I avoid it, but with the current change of direction, it’s just begging me to continue watching to see where it’s going. So yeah, maybe I’ll resume watching S10 when I catch it on Nick/Nicktoons or do it the cheap way and watch the newer episodes online if I could find them. Final thoughts, it’s just painful to see this new direction from a cartoon series that was a huge favorite from my childhood.

 

 

Other observations:

 

And after going through all that, I’m going to talk about everything else in animation of Q1/Q2 2016 that I’ve come to know.

 

Norm of the North

Isn’t it funny that I can practically judge this movie by the trailer alone? The reason why I didn’t put this in the “Bad” category is because I didn’t watch the movie myself. It should also be a given that I never usually muster up the time to watch bad animated movies without seeing myself in a scenario where I’m buying a DVD and I’m getting shifty looks from a store clerk, questioning me why I’m buying a crappy movie. Anyways, judging the movie trailer alone, it speaks to me as a straight-up example of how not to make an animated movie: Clumsy pop culture references, trying too hard to be hip, an uninteresting or unlikeable protagonist, a cookie cutter “save the earth” storyline, Rob Schneider, etc. etc.

 

The Angry Birds Movie

I’m not going to lie: I actually saw this in theaters. It ended up here since I can’t decide on ranking it on the good or bad spectrum. It was a pretty decent movie, the characters aren’t spectacular, but they’re pretty likeable, especially Red. The storyline is above average as well. One thing I can’t help but notice though his the implied message about immigrants and how immigrants, portrayed as a group of green pigs, are going to come and steal or commit crime in someone else’s territory….and I don’t even know what I should say about it. I can’t even tell if the movie was striving to spread a message like that, while a fair amount of people have complained about this message about being an anti-immigration moral. A part of me feels like I shouldn’t take this piece of the story of where the pigs steal the bird’s eggs as an anti-immigration message, because…let’s face it: it’s an animated movie about the life, times, and troubles among multicolored birds and green pigs. *shrug* If this movie really means anything, it’s the closest to being the best video game movie released in theaters.

 

 

….And I’m going to wrap it all up here. While there is much more I want to talk about for the last two quarters of 2016 in animation, I’m afraid I can’t muster up the time to make an end-of-year review before I write up my Top 10 lists. And speaking of my end-of-year countdowns, expect me to start them a little later than I would tend to do, because I’m planning on covering animation first, then the year-end Hot 100 of 2016.

Edited October 31, 2016 by Steel Sponge

[WhoBibbles]

I shall start telling my opinions on thia.

- Honestly I just don't see why everyone thinks The Loud House is such an amazing show. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good show. It's fairly enjoyable and It can be sweet but I still feel like the characters use more work. Aside from Lincoln, all sisters have one personality and that is basicly their interests. Granted a few episodes did show more side of their characters but I still think it's not enough or maybe I should have watched more from the show. My another complaint is that some jokes are either toilet humor or modern culture references. I seriously don't see how The Loud House can be up there with such an awesome show as Korra. While Harvey Beaks is more of a story based show, I think Harvey Beaks has better comedy, stories, more heartwarming scenes and more characters with interesting persinalities.

- I can't describe so well that how much I adored season 2 of Wander. I think it did almost everything right. It stayed as episodic, while it had reallt good story arc. My only issue is that some of latter episodes drag the story arc and have "lets find a way to stop Dominator" but they all seemed pointless to me, except of course the morality of these episodes but still most of them weren't too great by this show's standarts imo but still I think season 2's best episodes are tad better than first; whereas season 1 had more good episodes to me. Still I enjoyed hell out of Wander this year and finale was good. I also agree on Dominator, I could have used more characterization from her but still she was just a fun villain.

- I still wanna see Kubo and Dory but Zootopia is already so amazing imo. I think imo I didn't find the movie to be as funny as everyone said but I loved the story and characters; they kept me interested. I also loved how they handled huge topics like stereotyping and prejudge. So far my fav animated movie of this year.

- TTG, ehhhhh. I just don't wanna care about this show. It's bad but It wants me to get angry, so i won't fall in same situation like I did in 2014-15.

- SpongeBob is still doing well but these hiatuses bother me so much and I just want season 9 to be over and season 10 episodes to air more.

- Steven Universe is still doing amazing to me, despite these fucking hiatuses continue to annoy me but hey, at least we had whole season 3 in Summer

I enjoyed this list a lot.