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DetailsReleased: 22nd July 2016

Origin: United Kingdom

Label: Sony Music Entertainment / Universal

Format: Double CD, Digital Download

Duration: 2:29:37 (149 minutes 37 seconds)

Tracks: 42

#1’s: 0

Chart Peak: #1 (13 weeks)

Sales: TBC (2x Platinum)

Tracklisting1. Calvin Harris feat. Rihanna – This Is What You Came For 3:44 {2}

2. Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling! (Original Song from DreamWorks Animation "TROLLS") 3:56 {2}

3. Kungs vs. Cookin' On 3 Burners – This Girl 3:16 {2}

4. Sia feat. Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills 3:44 {2}

5. Fifth Harmony feat. Ty Dolla $ign – Work From Home 3:36 {2}

6. DNCE – Cake By The Ocean 3:38 {4}

7. Clean Bandit feat. Louisa Johnson – Tears 3:46 {5}

8. Little Mix feat. Sean Paul – Hair 3:54 {11}

9. The Chainsmokers feat. Daya – Don't Let Me Down 3:27 {2}

10. Justin Bieber – Company 3:29 {25}

11. Calum Scott – Dancing On My Own 4:20 {2}

12. P!nk – Just Like Fire (from the original motion picture "Alice Through The Looking Glass") 3:34 {19}

13. Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman 3:56 {17}

14. Nick Jonas feat. Tove Lo – Close 3:54 {25}

15. Meghan Trainor – NO 3:12 {11}

16. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better 3:08 {6}

17. Years & Years feat. Tove Lo – Desire 3:23 {22}

18. Sigma feat. Take That – Cry 3:18 {21}

19. Bastille – Good Grief 3:30 {13}

20. Viola Beach – Boys That Sing 3:15 {50}

21. Coldplay – Up&Up 4:00 {71}

22. Gnash feat. Olivia O'Brien – i hate u, i love u 3:48 {7}

23. Drake – Hotline Bling 4:26 {3}

24. Galantis – No Money 3:09 {4}

25. DJ Snake feat. Bipolar Sunshine – Middle 3:39 {10}

26. Desiigner – Panda 3:46 {7}

27. Kent Jones – Don’t Mind 3:19 {9}

28. Cheat Codes x Kris Kross Amsterdam – Sex 3:49 {9}

29. Sigala feat. Imani Williams & DJ Fresh – Say You Do 3:23 {5}

30. Blonde & Craig David – Nothing Like This 3:03 {15}

31. Charlie Puth feat. Selena Gomez – We Don't Talk Anymore 3:37 {14}

32. Ariana Grande – Into You 4:05 {14}

33. David Guetta feat. Zara Larsson – This One's For You (Official Song UEFA EURO 2016) 3:28 {16}

34. Jonas Blue feat. JP Cooper – Perfect Strangers 3:15 {2}

35. Dua Lipa – Hotter Than Hell 3:08 {15}

36. Kygo feat. Kodaline – Raging 3:20 {42}

37. Selena Gomez – Kill Em With Kindness 3:36 {35}

38. will.i.am feat. Pia Mia – Boys & Girls 2:49 {21}

39. Reggie 'N' Bollie – New Girl 3:35 {26}

40. Tinie Tempah feat. Wizkid – Mamacita 3:39 {45}

41. Craig David – One More Time 3:14 {30}

42. Sigala feat. John Newman & Nile Rodgers – Give Me Your Love 3:29 {9}

 

Key

Tracks highlighted red were official UK #1’s.

Tracks with an asterisk (*) next to their title have also been included in special releases from the series.

The track duration has been highlighted cyan.

Bracketed numbers refer to highest chart position reached.

Miscellaneous FactsTrack Most Weeks At #1: N/A

Lowest Charting Track: Coldplay – Up&Up {71}

Longest Song: Drake – Hotline Bling 4:26

Shortest Song: will.i.am feat. Pia Mia – Boys & Girls 2:49

Edited Tracks: Unknown

Unedited Tracks: Unknown

Inlay Mistakes: None

Other Facts: This volume became only the second ever in the series to feature no UK #1 singles, the first was Now 16.

On This Day In HistoryNo music news to report for 22nd July 2016.Other ResourcesOfficial Now Music Website

Wikipedia

Polyhex

Brandt Animation Archive

Andrew's ReviewNow That’s What I Call Music! 94 also known as Now 94 was first made available on CD and digital download in the Summer of 2016. Chart music at the time was very stagnant and so due to licensing issues at the time this volume was unable to contain any #1 singles. It did however give us 42 tracks which all charted somewhere in the UK Top 75. It was the first volume so feature the likes of Calum Scott, DJ Snake (as a lead artist), Cheat Codes and Dua Lipa.

 

There was only one song dominating the top spot for a long time, and that was not used for this volume but saved for the next one. Being as there was over 10 minutes of available disc space meant at least one or two additional tracks could have made the cut, and there were available hits from Adele, Beyoncé, Stone Roses, DJ Khaled, The Vamps, OneRepublic and various tracks from Prince that charted following his death.

 

Up until the time of this review, the only artists not to have made another appearance in the series are Kungs, DNCE, Viola Beach, gnash, Desiigner, Kent Jones (as a lead artist) and Reggie ‘N’ Bollie.

 

Artwork Rating: 8/10 Extremely Good

This volumes theme is very unique as no other artwork has explored the ocean world quite like this one. With beautiful corals surrounded by various tropical fish including clownfish, this artwork is rather spectacular. The logo is right on the seabed and the plant life is all around it. I wish more like this could have been seen in other covers in the series.

 

Disc 1 Favourite: Years & Years feat. Tove Lo – Desire

This song is my favourite by Years & Years and I was delighted that it got to be featured in the Now series. Granted, it took a remix featuring Tove Lo to make it happen, but nonetheless it’s great to see this on this volume.

 

Disc 2 Favourite: Drake – Hotline Bling

A very late inclusion to the series, but necessary to offset the lack of Drake’s long lasting UK #1 single of 2016. I don’t often choose R&B songs as my favourites but on this occasion I have done, and it was one of the last singles by Drake that I can say I actually enjoyed.

 

Disc 3 Tracklist:

(A concept of what a third disc might look like if other hits from the era were used)

 

1. Prince & The Revolution – Purple Rain 5:17 {6}

2. Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover) 3:43 {5}

3. The Stone Roses – All For One 3:36 {17}

4. Twenty One Pilots – Ride 3:34 {47}

5. Disturbed – The Sound Of Silence 4:08 {29}

6. Tom Odell – Magnetised 3:57 {40}

7. James Bay – Running (Live from Abbey Road Studios 2016)3:40 {60}

8. The Choir for the Invictus Games & Gareth Malone feat. Laura Wright – Flesh And Blood 3:35 {29}

9. The Neales – I’ll Be There 3:34 {22}

10. ZAYN – Like I Would 3:12 {30}

11. Benny Benassi & Chris Brown – Paradise 3:53 {40}

12. MK & Becky Hill – Piece Of Me 3:08 {37}

13. Dizzee Rascal & Calvin Harris – Hype 3:31 {34}

14. Jason Derulo – If It Ain’t Love 3:23 {49}

15. Jay Sean feat. Sean Paul – Make My Love Go 3:31 {49}

16. Flo Rida – My House 3:12 {59}

17. Kiiara – Gold 3:45 {48}

18. Rihanna – Kiss It Better 4:13 {46}

19. Kanye West – Famous 3:16 {33}

20. DJ Khaled feat. Drake – For Free 3:03 {25}

21. The Vamps feat. OMI – I Found A Girl 2:58 {30}

22. Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – I Know What You Did Last Summer 3:43 {42}

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Total time: 1:19:52

 

Overall Rating: 5/10 Poor

This doesn’t go down as a memorable time for chart music for me. So much lacklustre tracks spread across both discs and just a lack of quality in general. What let’s this volume down first and foremost is of course the lack of any UK #1 single, because there was only one that could have been chosen and it was left off but saved for the next volume. Also the available disc space unused was quite high too, and 42 tracks was a low number to be getting by this point in the series too. Many of the tracks haven’t aged well in just two years and will be well forgotten in another ten years time. I just can’t find much good to say about this volume and it was not an easy task choosing favourites either. I also found it somewhat controversial that music legend David Bowie got a posthumous feature following his death on Now 93 but Prince got nothing.

 

Andrew's Best 5 (as of August 2018)

1. Years & Years feat. Tove Lo – Desire

2. Drake – Hotline Bling

3. Sia feat. Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills

4. Sigala feat. Imani Williams & DJ Fresh – Say You Do

5. The Chainsmokers feat. Daya – Don't Let Me Down

 

Andrew's Worst 5 (as of August 2018)

1. will.i.am feat. Pia Mia – Boys & Girls

2. Gnash feat. Olivia O'Brien – i hate u, i love u

3. Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better

4. Meghan Trainor – NO

5. Justin Bieber – Company

Other OmissionsBeyoncé – Hold Up {11}

Stone Roses – Beautiful Thing {21}

Kevin Simm – All You Good Friends {24}

OneRepublic – Wherever I Go {29}

Drake feat. The Throne – Pop Style {33}

Skepta – Man {34}

Lukas Graham – Mama Said {48}

Fergie – M.I.L.F. $ {56}

Nathan Sykes feat. G-Eazy – Give It Up {56}

Tiësto feat. John Legend – Summer Nights {60}

Frans – If I Were Sorry {61}

Iggy Azalea – Team {62}

Alessia Cara – Wild Things {63}

Mike Will Made-It & Rihanna – Nothing Is Promised {64}

Luvbug – The Best Is Yet To Come {68}

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Dark Necessities {72}

Radiohead – Daydreaming {74}

Birdy – Wild Horses {75}

A pretty good volume to be fair. My biggest gripe is the order of the tracklisting on CD2. It just doesn't flow! Anyhow here's my Top 5:-

 

1) Colsplay - Up & Up

2) Viola Beach - Boys That Sing

3) Sigala feat. John Newman - Give Me Your Love

4) Jonas Blue feat. JP Cooper - Perfect Strangers

5) Kungs vs. Cookin' On 3 Burners – This Girl

Disc One

1. Sia feat. Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills 3:44 {2}

2. Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling! (Original Song from DreamWorks Animation "TROLLS") 3:56 {2}

3. Coldplay – Up&Up 4:00 {71}

4. Bastille – Good Grief 3:30 {13}

5. The Chainsmokers feat. Daya – Don't Let Me Down 3:27 {2}

6. Kungs vs. Cookin' On 3 Burners – This Girl 3:16 {2}

7. Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman 3:56 {17}

8. Calvin Harris feat. Rihanna – This Is What You Came For 3:44 {2}

 

Disc Two

1. Jonas Blue feat. JP Cooper – Perfect Strangers 3:15 {2}

2. Ariana Grande – Into You 4:05 {14}

3. Dua Lipa – Hotter Than Hell 3:08 {15}

4. DJ Snake feat. Bipolar Sunshine – Middle 3:39 {10}

5. Sigala feat. John Newman & Nile Rodgers – Give Me Your Love 3:29 {9}

6. Sigala feat. Imani Williams & DJ Fresh – Say You Do 3:23 {5}

7. Drake – Hotline Bling 4:26 {3}

8. Tinie Tempah feat. Wizkid – Mamacita 3:39 {45}

 

 

Artwork: 8/10

 

 

Overall: 9/10

This Now has a lot of decent songs, there's a fair amount of filler sure but they're mostly songs I enjoy anyway. Even a lot of emissions are songs I enjoy which just goes to show how much into music I was around this time in 2016. Ride, Kiss It Better, Hold Up, and Wild Things have all stood out as some of my favourite songs from the year

 

Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover) 3:43 {5}

The Stone Roses – All For One 3:36 {17}

Twenty One Pilots – Ride 3:34 {47}

Disturbed – The Sound Of Silence 4:08 {29}

Tom Odell – Magnetised 3:57 {40}

Benny Benassi & Chris Brown – Paradise 3:53 {40}

MK & Becky Hill – Piece Of Me 3:08 {37}

Jason Derulo – If It Ain’t Love 3:23 {49}

Jay Sean feat. Sean Paul – Make My Love Go 3:31 {49}

Flo Rida – My House 3:12 {59}

Kiiara – Gold 3:45 {48}

Rihanna – Kiss It Better 4:13 {46}

Kanye West – Famous 3:16 {33}

The Vamps feat. OMI – I Found A Girl 2:58 {30}

Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – I Know What You Did Last Summer 3:43 {42}

Beyoncé – Hold Up {11}

OneRepublic – Wherever I Go {29}

Lukas Graham – Mama Said {48}

Nathan Sykes feat. G-Eazy – Give It Up {56}

Alessia Cara – Wild Things {63}

Luvbug – The Best Is Yet To Come {68}

 

 

 

To me, Now 94 I feel is mostly good actually.

 

I quite enjoy CD1 with some the filler okay to listen to. CD2 as been said already does not flow, it peaks in the middle for me. Whilst there are no proper no.1s there are of course a number of sales number ones , most of which would have topped the chart had it not been for drake's overrated hit (some of these were cruelly denied it). I really like the cover as it something a bit different. When considering other streaming-era NOWs it isn't that bad really.

 

My Top 7:

This Girl (easily)

This Is What You Came For

Can't Stop The Feeling

Perfect Strangers

Don't Let Me Down

Into You

Raging