Hello and welcome for the rather strong (and timely!) submissions - and we're just in Round 1!
As I mentioned, we will be starting this off with a double elimination. Today, I have selected a top 4 and a bottom 4, with the 2 worst getting the boot and the two best getting the WIN. The placements of course are rather arbitrary... for now ;) BUT, with that said, let me begin by declaring the following people as SAFE in submission order...
J4ckWilko - Faouzia & John Legend - "Minefields" AustinRules6969 - Taylor Swift - "betty" Heavenlee - Royal & the Serpent - "Overwhelmed" beccajo16 - A Day to Remember - "Mindreader" tbrown_47 - Hayley Williams - "Pure Love" FromAWindow - Blair St. Clair - "Empty" Kevin0621 - Jason Derulo x Nuka - "Love Not War" ghrocky100 - AJR - "BANG!" ILoveLarry - Niall Horan - "Heartbreak Weather" iSandeh - IZ*ONE (아이즈원) - "FIESTA"
You 10 are safe - seriously all of these were pretty good submissions, but step it up just a little bit more to move into the top tier next time.
Next, let's reveal the top 4 for the week. Please step up...
I really love this song. Spoiler alert, this song is one of my favorite songs in all of 2020. The melody is catchy and this song just kind of screams BOP. This was a really strong entry this week and a way to start this contest off.
I have to admit that when it comes to current pop trends, Dua Lipa is a huge blindspot for me. I'm aware of "New Rules" and... that's about it. However, after hearing this entry, I think I seriously need to learn some more, as this dark, almost twisted pop bop has been stuck in my head since I first listened to it last night. I'm excited to see what else you can bring to the table in this competition.
I am a sucker for a good ballad or power ballad, and this song took me for a ride. The emotional text of this song paired with the powerful delivery, I can't believe that this is a song I've never heard before. I really connected with Zoe in this song and this is the standout ballad of the group for sure. Keep bringing me dark horse songs like this, and you might be a dark horse yourself.
Goodness I love me some Chloe x Halle and this is a great track. This is one of my favorite songs of the year and I'm really glad someone made sure they were represented on this list. This beat slaps and their vocals over this track are just great.
The two winners of Round 1 are...
Congrats to J2999 and Christian_ for being the winners of Round 1 with very different, but strong submissions! Insanity and turkeylover, you two are safe, but very well done.
So, if I'm being honest, this wasn't a bad submission at all and I enjoyed it, it just wasn't something that I would be living for and eager to listen to again. This felt like a very "safe" submission, and I'm hoping you can hit me back with a stronger entry for Round 2. You are safe and can step back in line.
First things first, unfortunately, Jasoi, XXXTENTACION's "Orlando" was on his 17 album released in 2017. The challenge was to give me a song from 2020, and while I could excuse something released in late 2019, this album is over three years old and doesn't fit the theme. So, you have been eliminated.
Now, down to purplebb4 and christossss, with two very different submissions.
Fiona Apple - "I Want You to Love Me"
This entry was... interesting. Up to the halfway point, this felt like a very "safe" entry, but then the last minute and a half took me on a ride, that I didn't really wanna go on. I'm not quite sure what I just heard or if I wanna hear it again. There's much better songs by Fiona, so I wasn't sure why this was the choice.
J Balvin - "Blanco"
I didn't really like this. I wasn't aware of this song before this, but I'm not going to go back to it. The beat is fine, but it never really picks up or changes anything up, and I'm just kind of bored by the end of it, waiting for something to happen. J Balvin has released better songs this year, and I just don't think this was the best interest.
The person joining Jasoi in exiting this week is...
christossss.
Congratulations on surviving, purplebb4. Get ready to step it up next week!
I'll be posting Round 2 soon and give everyone a similar 24 hour deadline - if I get all of the submissions beforehand, I'll reveal the results early. Congratulations to the 16 left in the running!
Comments
turkeylover and I stay getting HIGHs together in all these song contests
