Christina Perri - "A Thousand Years" & Scotty McCreery - "Five More Minutes"
Christina Perri is such an interesting artist because I love her simply arrangements and her vocals are on point. This was the song that put her into the minds of many (probably credited to its use in the Twilight series). This is a really pretty song that has a very sweet message. You've done a great job of subverting expectations in previous rounds, so I was almost hoping to see the Part 2 version of this, or the even better (and extremely underrated) lullaby version she released on her wonderful "carmella" album. This may be a basic choice, but it's a "basic" choice for a reason. Good job.
Looking into the second song, which I'm not familiar with, the opening instrumentation is so beautiful. But then he starts singing... Very unpopular opinion, but I'm not a fan of Scotty's voice. I think there's much better country singers that could have pulled this off. His voice just never sounds authentic and genuine. I believe you when you talk about the emotion of this song, but I think another singer could deliver the emotions better. The lyrics do a great job of selling nostalgia, and I love the guitar solo that happens in the middle of it and just wish there was as much emotion coming from the singer as there is the instrumentation and songwriters.
I love this first choice for the romantic love song. Like, I can't even hold it back, this was a fantastic choice. The vocal delivery and instrumentation pair with the lyrics beautifully to drive home the emotions of this song. And when the very dramatic guitar comes in, it's just the perfect cherry on top. This song is PEAK Steve Perry. This was a near-perfect selection for this round, very well done.
So, this next choice. I'll have to be honest, I don't think I've once in my life listened to a 2Pac song. First thoughts are about the authentic production here that has been lost in more modern rap music, I really enjoy that the rawness in the instrumentation and vocals is here, especially in a more emotionally-driven song like this. 2Pac's open delivery here about his life and his relationships is really solid and made me emotional. I think that this really hit the nail on the head with this category. This was an extremely strong round for you, and thank you for sharing this with me.
Carly Rae Jepsen - "Run Away With Me" & Beyonce - "Blue"
Okay first CRJ in this competition! And... it's the meme song! Okay, it's actually way more than a meme, but I did have to listen to it a couple of times to try to think of it outside of Vine (because I've never listened to this song outside of its appearances on Vine). I think this was really a fun romantic love song that never really took itself too seriously. I enjoyed this song and thought that it really did stay stuck in my head. This isn't anything revolutionary, but a fun song that I will continue to jam to.
Moving onto the Beyonce song, I was glad to see this relationship highlighted here. "Blue" is kind of a deepcut from the self-titled album (the whole album basically went mainstream, so "deepcut" is relative), but it's one of my personal faves from the album. I love the syncopation from the piano that comes in after the first chorus, and I do just love listening to her vocals in this song. I think this is one of my favorite songs by Beyonce, and the way she describes her love for her daughter only adds to it for me.
So, as I think I discussed in Round 1, Dua Lipa is a huge blindspot in my pop culture knowledge, but I LOVED "Physical" when you sent it in and it's been on repeat since. So, having another song by Dua got me excited - and this song did not disappoint! I really thought this was catchy, but as you described, did have some raw vocals with emotionally delivery that really tied this song together as a great romantic love song.
Not to sound basic, but I really enjoyed Lizzo's album, and this was a great track from it. Her self-acceptance and the way she loves herself is so positive and is a great inspiration. Also, your inclusion of self-love as the other selection was such a great choice that I didn't even think of as something that would be submitted. The thinking outside the box was so creative here, especially since it was followed up with this banger. Very well done here.
Once again, you managed to clean up. The inclusion of a true classic and a song that I wasn't familiar with really knocked this one out of the park for me. This was a great round for you, and with two wins in a row, gives you great momentum heading into the finale.
I'm really sad to see you go here, Noelle! You had the most wins up to this point, but all of the other selections this round were just really strong, and there was only one song out of 8 that I didn't enjoy, and unfortunately, that's what did you in here. Great job and thank you so much for your participation in this!
Congratulations to #tbrown_47, #purplebb4, and #Insanity for comprising our F3! The last blog will be posted shortly, and results possibly tonight if we get all submissions in :)
