Well, never would I have ever imagined that Paramore would have a #1 song on my weekly top 30 chart, but their single “This Is Why” has made its way to the top this week. Though the Nashville trio, consisting of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro, have been around since 2004, I’ve never much cared for their music. But “This Is Why” really resonates with me, both musically and lyrically, and is now my current favorite song. Their first new single in four years, the defiantly honest song is the lead single from their forthcoming sixth album, also to be titled This Is Why.

About the single, Williams told NME “‘This Is Why” was the very last song we wrote for the album. To be honest, I was so tired of writing lyrics but Taylor convinced Zac and I both that we should work on this last idea. What came out of it was the title track for the whole album. It summarizes the plethora of ridiculous emotions, the roller-coaster of being alive in 2022, having survived even just the last three or four years. You’d think after a global pandemic of fucking biblical proportions and the impending doom of a dying planet, that humans would have found it deep within themselves to be kinder or more empathetic or something.”

Moving into the top 10 this week are “Out of My System” by British singer-songwriter and One Direction alumnus Louis Tomlinson and “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” by Australian band Crystal Cities. There are no new debuts this week.

1. THIS IS WHY – Paramore (3)
2. TONIGHT – Phoenix featuring Ezra Koenig (1)
3. SHADOWS IN THE DARK – The Star Crumbles (4)
4. I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU – The 1975 (2)
5. ANTI-HERO – Taylor Swift (7)
6. OFFCUTS – Mount Famine (6)
7. SAIL AWAY – lovelytheband (8)
8. WHITE HORSES – Art Block (5)
9. OUT OF MY SYSTEM – Louis Tomlinson (11)
10. LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE – Crystal Cities (12)
11. NIGHT BUS – Caitlin Lavagna (13)
12. TROUBLE WITH THIS BED – Beach Weather (14)
13. DANCE FOR ME – Sam Rappaport (15)
14. SNAP – Rosa Linn (9)
15. THE LONELIEST – Måneskin (17)
16. DISORDER – Columbia (16)
17. WEIRD GOODBYES – The National featuring Bon Iver (10)
18. BACKPATTERS AND SHOOTERS – The Zangwills (21)
19. SEX, DRUGS, ETC. – Beach Weather (20) 20th week on chart
20. THEN IT ALL GOES AWAY – Dayglow (23)
21. WILD AS THE WIND – HULLAH (24)
22. MAYFLY – Callum Pitt (25)
23. PAGES – White Reaper (26)
24. UNHOLY – Sam Smith featuring Kim Petras (22)
25. KILL BILL – SZA (27)
26. STICK SEASON – Noah Kahan (28)
27. SPIT OF YOU – Sam Fender (18)
28. CREST OF THE WAVE – Foals (19)
29. LUX ÆTERNA – Metallica (29)
30. EVERYTHING I OWN – Dom Thomas (30)

The ebullient earworm “Tonight” by French pop-rock band Phoenix featuring Vampire Weekend front man Ezra Koenig, holds at #1 for a second week. Sliding into the #2 spot is “I’m In Love With You” by The 1975, becoming their highest-charting song ever on my Weekly Top 30. “This Is Why” by Paramore moves up to #3, also making it their best-performing song ever on my chart. The haunting new wave gem “Shadows in the Dark” by The Star Crumbles moves up three spots to #4. Three songs make their debut this week: “Stick Season” by Vermont singer-songwriter Noah Kahan, “Lux Æterna” by metal rock veterans Metallica, and “Everything I Own” by Welsh singer-songwriter Dom Thomas, which I reviewed this past November.

Fun fact: Once again this week, there are three songs on this list by guys named ‘Sam’.

1. TONIGHT – Phoenix featuring Ezra Koenig (1)
2. I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU – The 1975 (4)
3. THIS IS WHY – Paramore (5)
4. SHADOWS IN THE DARK – The Star Crumbles (7)
5. WHITE HORSES – Art Block (2)
6. OFFCUTS – Mount Famine (8)
7. ANTI-HERO – Taylor Swift (9)
8. SAIL AWAY – lovelytheband (10)
9. SNAP – Rosa Linn (3)
10. WEIRD GOODBYES – The National featuring Bon Iver (6)
11. OUT OF MY SYSTEM – Louis Tomlinson (14)
12. LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE – Crystal Cities (16)
13. NIGHT BUS – Caitlin Lavagna (17)
14. TROUBLE WITH THIS BED – Beach Weather (18)
15. DANCE FOR ME – Sam Rappaport (19)
16. DISORDER – Columbia (20)
17. THE LONELIEST – Måneskin (21)
18. SPIT OF YOU – Sam Fender (11)
19. CREST OF THE WAVE – Foals (12)
20. SEX, DRUGS, ETC. – Beach Weather (13)
21. BACKPATTERS AND SHOOTERS – The Zangwills (24)
22. UNHOLY – Sam Smith featuring Kim Petras (15)
23. THEN IT ALL GOES AWAY – Dayglow (26)
24. WILD AS THE WIND – HULLAH (27)
25. MAYFLY – Callum Pitt (28)
26. PAGES – White Reaper (29)
27. KILL BILL – SZA (30)
28. STICK SEASON – Noah Kahan (N)
29. LUX ÆTERNA – Metallica (N)
30. EVERYTHING I OWN – Dom Thomas (N)