Ken A.

Track list is out for the latest US release, NOW That's What I Call Music! Vol. 70, which will be out on Friday, 03 May 2019. Side comment: The track list reveal three weeks before the album's release is kinda late, given that they usually do this a month prior. Here it is, with the track lengths as provided by iTunes/Apple Music: 01. Ariana Grande - "thank u, next" (3:24) 02. J. Cole - "MIDDLE CHILD" (3:30) 03. P!nk - "Walk Me Home" (2:52) 04. The Chainsmokers & 5 Seconds of Summer - "Who Do You Love?" (3:45) 05. Zedd & Katy Perry - "365" (2:59) 06. Sam Smith & Normani - "Dancing with a Stranger" (2:50) 07. Dua Lipa - "Swan Song (from Alita: Battle Angel)" (2:58) 08. FLETCHER - "Undrunk" (3:01) 09. Calvin Harris & Rag'n'Bone Man - "Giant" (3:48) 10. Lil Peep & iLoveMakonnen feat. Fall Out Boy - "I've Been Waiting" (3:50) 11. Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" (3:34) 12. Bebe Rexha - "Last Hurrah" (2:28) 13. Imagine Dragons - "Bad Liar" (4:18) 14. Billie Eilish - "when the party's over" (3:09) 15. Kacey Musgraves - "Rainbow" (3:27) 16. Luke Combs - "Beautiful Crazy" (3:13) NOW What's Next Bonus Tracks 17. The Unlikely Candidates - "Novocaine" (4:03) 18. Grey & León - "Want You Back" (2:56) 19. YK Osiris - "Worth It" (3:07) 20. Jarami - "No Chance" (3:42) 21. Willa Amai - "Trampled Flowers" (3:20) Total running time: 1:10:14 So, it's back to 5 bonus tracks this time, for a total of 21 songs, although they would've added more if they wished (not! lol), considering the 9-minute empty disc space. Very good and summery track list, in my opinion. I'd say it fits the poolside cover art, which I also love. 7 songs here also appear on UK's NOW 102. It's also the second consecutive album where Ariana Grande leads the pack, after doing so in the preceding NOW 69 with "breathin'". #YoungArianaRunPop Currently, my fave track among the bunch is "Who Do You Love?", which I think should've been considered as well on NOW 102. And hey, Billie Eilish is here as one of the main 16 tracks (she appeared on the What's Next section on 2017's NOW 64), as well as the Grammy award-winning US country singer Kacey Musgraves! Lil Peep, the rapper who died in 2017, makes a posthumous appearance here. YK Osiris is in his second NOW What's Next appearance here, after he was featured on last year's NOW 67. What do you guys think? For those interested, here is the track list for NOW That's What I Call Hits & Remixes 2019, also out on the same day as NOW 70: 01. Taylor Swift - "...Ready for It? (BloodPop® remix)" 02. 5 Seconds of Summer - "Youngblood (R3HAB remix)" 03. Selena Gomex & Marshmello - "Wolves (MOTi remix)" 04. Shawn Mendes - "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (NOTD remix)" 05. Zedd, Marren Morris & Grey - "The Middle (Marc Benjamin remix)" 06. Imagine Dragons - "Whatever It Takes (Miss Congeniality remix)" 07. Maroon 5 - "Wait (Chromeo remix)" 08. Tiësto & Dzeko feat. Preme & Post Malone - "Jackie Chan (Tiësto Big Room remix)" 09. Martin Garrix & Khalid - "Ocean (DubVision remix)" 10. Jonas Blue feat. Jack & Jack - "Rise (RetroVision remix)" 11. Alessia Cara - "Growing Pains (Toby Green remix)" 12. The Chainsmokers feat. Emily Warren - "Side Effects (Fedde Le Grand remix)" 13. Kygo & Miguel - "Remind Me to Forget (Syn Cole remix)" 14. Lauv & Julia Michaels - "There's No Way (Alle Farben remix)" 15. LSD - "Thunderclouds (Lost Frequencies remix)" 16. lovelytheband - "broken (Cash remix)" 17. Dynoro & Gigi D'Agostino - "In My Mind" 18. Jason Derulo, David Guetta, Nicki Minaj & Willy William - "Goodbye" Four of the songs here - "Ocean", "Rise", "In My Mind" and "Goodbye", haven't appeared on a numbered US NOW album yet. -Ken ^_^

I agree with most of you guys that the track list from NOW 102 is quite good, despite being quite bizarre at the same time. Fun fact: Yes, as Hadji pointed out, Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax", one of the bonus tracks, appears on its third (!) numbered NOW album, the first of course being NOW 2 (1984) and then NOW 26 (1993). Some misses on the inclusion that I can immediately name: Ari's "break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored" which I assume they'll save for NOW 103 as it's a no. 1 hit, as well as Lauv & Troye Sivan's "i'm so tired..." and Post Malone & Swae Lee's "Sunflower" from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack. I've compiled all the tracks into a Spotify playlist for later listening, and noticed that there are many tracks that are below three minutes, especially on the first half that will comprise CD 1. This may just be a wild guess from me, but my prediction is that CD 1 will contain 25 tracks (!), potentially the first for a numbered NOW. Yes, that means it will start and end with an Ari Grande song (sorry gavindeejay!). I added the song times using an online time calculator, and it clocks in just above 79 minutes (79:29 to be exact), a few seconds shy of the CD capacity (approx. 80 minutes). That also means CD 2 will only have 21 tracks, and that accounts for the longer tracks that go 4 minutes and longer, including "It's Not Living (If It's Not with You)" (4:08), "Look in Her Eyes" (4:11), "The Greatest Show (soundtrack version)" (5:02), "Wouldn't It Be Good" (4:32), and "Hold Me Now" (4:46). It also accounts for the single edit of Jack Savoretti's "Candlelight" that is only 3:36 long compared to its album version (4:31). Its total disc time would be just above 79 minutes as well (79:33). I know what you are thinking, the 25-21 distribution is quite unconventional. I am thinking of it that way, too. (Think NOW 95's 21-24, everyone! ;) ) But again, this is just a prediction, as the tracks are being slowly revealed on NOWMusic's Twitter account as of this typing, but does not say the CD and track numbers like they did before. If that won't be the case, and "thank u, next" starts off CD 2, then some songs from it will have to be edited out as it's already over capacity. We'll just have to wait and see when they become posted on online retailers (Amazon, iTunes, HMV, etc.). And that, friends, is my first impression with the NOW 102 track list. Have a good day, everyone! :D PS. Over this past quarter, I got my hands on a copy of NOW 101 (UK) and NOW 69 (US). They're both good in their own right. ^_^

"I Want It That Way" may not have appeared in a numbered US NOW, but it was eventually included in the spin-off title, The Best of NOW That's What I Call Music! 10th Anniversary, released in 2008. They got "Shake It Off" this time as the "exclusive" track for NOW 20th Anniversary Vol. 2. While it's a great and catchy song, it's a shame they didn't include "Closer" by The Chainsmokers & Halsey, which failed to appear on 2016's NOW 60 or even its follow-up, 2017's NOW 61. Otherwise, a very good track list. As for which Ariana Grande track is to appear on the upcoming NOW 102 in the UK, I am confident that "thank u, next" will make it, considering that it lasted 6 weeks in a row at the top of the UK Singles Chart in November - December 2018. I think it might even be the album opener (i.e. CD 1 Track 1)! If they choose to include two Ari songs, well, let's see what happens, seeing that there are a few of her hits around too - "Imagine" (promo only track), the new track "7 Rings", and yes, "breathin" that appeared on NOW 69 US.

Amazon.com has just revealed the track list for the next numbered NOW album in the US, NOW That's What I Call Music! Vol. 69, set to be released on Friday, 01 February 2019. Here it is: 01. Ariana Grande - breathin' (3:13) 02. Marshmello feat. Bastille - Happier (3:31) 03. DJ Snake feat. Ozuna, Cardi B & Selena Gomez - Taki Taki (3:30) 04. The Chainsmokers feat. Kelsea Ballerini - This Feeling (3:15) 05. Silk City (Diplo & Mark Ronson) feat. Dua Lipa - Electricity [radio edit] (3:39) 06. Calvin Harris & Sam Smith - Promises (3:32) 07. Loud Luxury feat. brando - Body (2:42) 08. Ellie Goulding, Diplo & Swae Lee - Close to Me (2:59) 09. LSD (Labrinth, Sia & Diplo) - Thunderclouds (3:04) 10. Shawn Mendes & Zedd - Lost in Japan [remix] (3:15) 11. Khalid - Better (3:44) 12. Camila Cabello - Consequences (2:53) 13. Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - Shallow [radio edit] (3:32) 14. Dan + Shay - Tequila (3:13) 15. Lauv feat. Julia Michaels - There's No Way (2:52) 16. lovelytheband - broken (3:24) NOW What's Next! Bonus Tracks 17. George Ezra - Shotgun (3:17) 18. Jack Samson - Slow 3 (3:58) 19. The Accidentals - Heavy Flag (3:53) 20. Sasha Sloan - Older (3:08) Total running time: 1:06:34 They're back to 20 tracks, reducing the NOW What's Next bonus tracks down to four, just like in NOW 34 (2010) through NOW 48 (2013). That being said, there is a 13-minute space left in the disc! As you can see here, nine songs - almost half of the 20-track album - also appear on UK's NOW 101, in addition to George Ezra's "Shotgun" which appeared on the milestone NOW 100. :blink: , they have "Shallow" from the "A Star is Born" soundtrack - hope the UK NOW team can also manage this, albeit quite late, for inclusion on NOW 102 this coming March/April, since it is a UK No. 1 single. NOW That's What I Call Music! 20th Anniversary Volume 2 will also be released on 01 February, but I wasn't able to find its track list yet. What do you guys think of NOW 69's tracklist? I'd say it's fine, especially with its very attractive and glittery cover that bears some similarity to UK's NOW 96 (2017) - its lettering, specifically, since the numbers were just swapped lol :lol: It's just the fact that it's very similar to NOW 101 that turned me off a little bit, but I guess the US also gets what the UK has. ^_^

So, the NOW Music team just released this advert for the UK-exclusive NOW Music App. LV9R00NX94w Featured in this 30-second ad are a handful of tracks from NOW 100, including "One Kiss", "Rise", "Shotgun", and "Familiar", as well as... wait for it... Drake's "In My Feelings" ("Kiki, do you love me~"). It got me thinking, is this a sign that "In My Feelings" might be included on NOW 101? :o Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.

Meanwhile, over to the US NOWs, they have just released the tracklist for NOW That's What I Call Music! Vol. 68, to be released on Friday, 26th October 2018, which is the same release date for NOW 20th Anniversary Vol. 1 and a re-release of NOW That's What I Call Merry Christmas. Here is NOW 68's tracklist: 01. Post Malone - "Better Now" 02. Marshmello & Anne-Marie - "FRIENDS (Official Friendzone Anthem)" 03. Ariana Grande - "God is a Woman" 04. Tyga feat. Offset - "Taste" 05. NF - "Lie" 06. DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper & Quavo - "No Brainer" 07. Calvin Harris feat. Dua Lipa - "One Kiss" 08. Tiësto & Dzeko feat. Preme & Post Malone - "Jackie Chan" 09. The Chainsmokers feat. Emily Warren - "Side Effects" 10. Zedd feat. Elley Duhé - "Happy Now" 11. Kygo & Miguel - "Remind Me to Forget" 12. Imagine Dragons - "Natural" 13. Bryce Vine - "Drew Barrymore" 14. Bebe Rexha - "I'm a Mess" 15. Ella Mai - "Trip" 16. Lauren Daigle - "You Say" NOW What's Next Bonus Tracks 17. Vintage Trouble - "Can't Stop Rollin'" 18. Shaylen - "El Dorado" 19. Johnny Orlando - "Last Summer" 20. Flora Cash - "You're Somebody Else" 21. Lennon Stella - "Like Everybody Else (Acoustic)"

Very nice tracklist to cover the 20 years of NOW in the US, as well as the inclusion of Queen B's "Single Ladies". At the time of promoting her 2008 album "I Am... Sasha Fierce", they weren't able to get that track, as well as the album's lead single "If I Were a Boy", for the main NOW albums (both US and UK) - but they did get "Halo" (for UK vol. 73 and US vol. 31) and "Sweet Dreams" (for UK vol. 74). The songs "Get the Party Started", "SexyBack" and "American Woman" were also featured on their previous anniversary album "The Best of NOW That's What I Call Music! 10th Anniversary", released in ... well, 2008. Amazon.com lists NOW 20th Anniversary Vol. 1's release date on Friday, 26th October 2018, the same day as NOW Vol. 68. This was also the scenario for NOW 10th Anniversary; it was released alongside NOW Vol. 29.

As I am subscribed to NOW Music on Facebook using the "see first" option, I was quite surprised when they already released the track list for NOW That's What I Call NOW, 7 weeks ahead of its release (if the 9th November release date stays). In fact, I was just about to make a second track list prediction, under the impression that it is going to be an expanded version of NOW 100's second disc - which seems not to be the case, save for one track, Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" (NOW 55, 2003). So, out of the 100 tracks in that album, I got 18 of them correct based on the prediction that I made a few months ago. It's the tracks that represent the NOW volumes 09, 12, 26, 33, 34, 38, 39, 45, 54, 57, 59, 62, 68, 73, 84, 86, 96, and 98. Yes, Robert Miles' "Children" representing NOW 34 (1996)! Or maybe because it was also featured on the recently-released NOW Ibiza spinoff, so it's an easy inclusion. Like some of us here, I was also surprised by the inclusion of Paloma Faith's "Only Love Can Hurt Like This" (NOW 88, 2014), in addition to Little Mix's "Shout Out to My Ex" (NOW 95, 2016). The Paloma Faith track was my jam when it was released, and a total tearjerker, too. :cry: As for "Shout Out to My Ex", I remember someone here in this forum who also predicted that track to represent NOW 95 in order to "sell [the album] to the preteens", but if they had their way, they would've wanted The Chainsmokers' "Closer" or Clean Bandit's "Rockabye". Nice of the compilers to include Avicii's "Wake Me Up" to represent NOW 86 (2013) - I chose that one too as a form of tribute to the late Swedish DJ, who passed away in April of this year. And last, but not least, random fact: two different songs with the same name of "Human" made it in the tracklist, the one by The Killers ("are we human, or are we dancer?") representing NOW 72 (2009), and the one by Rag'n'Bone Man ("I'm only human after all, don't put the blame on me") representing NOW 96 (2017), the latter I predicted correctly. Looking forward to that album!

Oops, I accidentally posted a duplicate of my post above (#437). My sincere apologies.

Hi Dexton! Thanks for your honest reply, especially the nightmare one. I understand where you're coming from, owing from our different tastes in music, the apparent licensing issues for certain songs, and of course, the UK charts where the NOW team (i.e. Jenny Fisher et al) base their track list for every album they put out. :) As for Queen (i.e. Freddie Mercury and company), I thought there was this thing going on that they should be CD 1 Track 1 if they were to appear on compilation albums, although I observed this isn't the case in some of the NOW albums they appeared in. If I were to pick a Queen track, though... well, I am actually torn between Radio Ga Ga (NOW 2, 1984), Bohemian Rhapsody (NOW 21, 1992) [mama, ooh...], and Too Much Love Will Kill You (NOW 33, 1996). You are actually correct when you said that the NOW Music forum here is the reason why I entered here. :dance: Here's part of what I said in the new members forum:

Hi there, Let me just clarify, the ones you mentioned are indeed the winners. The ones I mentioned in my post are the ones that I have voted for. :D I believe I have casted my vote a day before the poll has closed. Thanks for the warm welcome, btw.

Hi everyone! New member here. :) Kudos to NOW for reaching the milestone 100th numbered album! Its tracklist looks fine. In fact, I was surprised when one of the classic tracks on CD 2 is S Club 7's Reach (NOW 46, 2000) - that is one of my favourite S Club songs, and even one of the songs that defined my younger years. I remember the first NOW album that I owned. And no, it's not a numbered one. It's a spin-off release - NOW That's What I Call Music! 25 Years, a 3-disc special they released back in 2008; I owned a copy of it the following year. I love most of its songs, and I even had CD 3 on heavy rotation! Ah, those were the days... :rolleyes: Now, here are my predictions for the upcoming NOW That's What I Call NOW album. Along the way, I will also reveal my personal votes for the recently-concluded NOW 100 Awards; these tracks are marked in underline. The tracks in bold text are CD 1 Track 1 of their respective NOW albums. CD 1 (NOW 1 - 20) 01. Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart [voted Best Song of the 80s] 02. Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun 03. Tina Turner - What's Love Got to Do with It 04. Pointer Sisters - Jump (for My Love) 05. Harold Faltermeyer - Axel F 06. Nik Kershaw - When a Heart Beats 07. Chris de Burgh - The Lady in Red 08. Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died in Your Arms 09. Europe - The Final Countdown 10. Heart - Alone 11. Pet Shop Boys - Always on My Mind 12. Tiffany - I Think We're Alone Now 13. The Hollies - He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother 14. Sam Brown - Stop 15. Natalie Cole - Miss You Like Crazy 16. Richard Marx - Right Here Waiting 17. Adamski - Killer 18. DNA & Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner 19. Oleta Adams - Get Here 20. Salt N Pepa - Let's Talk About Sex CD 2 (NOW 21 - 40) 21. Simply Red - Stars 22. CeCe Peniston - Finally 23. Billy Ray Cyrus - Achy Breaky Heart 24. Snow - Informer 25. 4 Non Blondes - What's Up 26. Haddaway - What is Love 27. Ace of Base - The Sign 28. All-4-One - I Swear 29. The Cranberries - Zombie 30. Boyzone - Love Me for a Reason 31. Seal - Kiss from a Rose 32. Shaggy - Boombastic 33. Oasis - Don't Look Back in Anger 34. Robert Miles - Children 35. Sheryl Crow - If It Makes You Happy 36. No Doubt - Don't Speak 37. The Cardigans - Lovefool 38. Spice Girls - Spice Up Your Life 39. Natalie Imbruglia - Torn [voted Best Song of 90s and NOW Years] 40. Badiel, Skinner & Lightning Seeds - Three Lions '98 (aka Football's Coming Home) [yes everyone, kindly check your NOW collections, apparently England's favourite track during the recently-concluded World Cup is on a NOW album!] CD 3 (NOW 41 - 60) 41. Robbie Williams - Millennium 42. Lenny Kravitz - Fly Away 43. Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way 44. Steps - Tragedy 45. Craig David - Fill Me In 46. Samantha Mumba - Gotta Tell You 47. NSYNC - It's Gonna Be Me 48. S Club 7 - Never Had a Dream Come True 49. Atomic Kitten - Eternal Flame 50. Westlife - Uptown Girl 51. Nickelback - How You Remind Me 52. Kylie Minogue - Love at First Sight 53. Blue - One Love 54. t.A.T.u. - All the Things She Said 55. R. Kelly - Ignition (remix) 56. The Black Eyed Peas - Where is the Love 57. Britney Spears - Toxic 58. Keane - Everybody's Changing 59. Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved 60. Nelly feat. Tim McGraw - Over and Over CD 4 (NOW 61 - 80) 61. Rob Thomas - Lonely No More 62. Sugababes - Push the Button 63. Kelly Clarkson - Because of You 64. Lily Allen - Smile 65. Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars 66. The Fray - How to Save a Life 67. Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend 68. Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love 69. Girls Aloud - Call the Shots 70. Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me 71. The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Moved [voted Favourite NOW Album; my first numbered NOW! :D ] 72. James Morrison & Nelly Furtado - Broken Strings 73. Lady Gaga - Poker Face 74. La Roux - Bulletproof 75. Owl City - Fireflies 76. Diana Vickers - Once 77. Katy Perry - Firework 78. Bruno Mars - Grenade [voted NOW Best Male] 79. Adele - Someone Like You 80. Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris - We Found Love CD 5 (NOW 81 - 100) 81. David Guetta feat. Sia - Titanium 82. DJ Fresh feat. Rita Ora - Hot Right Now 83. Little Mix - Wings [voted NOW Best Group] 84. Bastille - Pompeii 85. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack 86. Avicii - Wake Me Up 87. 5 Seconds of Summer - She Looks So Perfect 88. Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne - Rather Be 89. Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj - Bang Bang 90. Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud 91. Aston Merrygold - Get Stupid 92. Sam Smith - Writing's on the Wall 93. Coldplay - Hymn for the Weekend 94. Calum Scott - Dancing on My Own 95. James Arthur - Say You Won't Let Go 96. Rag'n'Bone Man - Human 97. Jonas Blue feat. William Singe - Mama 98. Camila Cabello feat. Young Thug - Havana 99. Taylor Swift - ...Ready for It? [voted NOW Best Female] 100. Anne-Marie - 2002 Other NOW 100 Awards votes Best song of the 00s: Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse - Valerie (NOW 68, 2007) Best song of the 10s: Katy Perry - Roar (NOW 86, 2013) Best collaboration: Sugababes v Girls Aloud - Walk This Way (NOW 66, 2007) Constructive criticisms of my prediction list are very welcome. Cheers, everyone! Ken