OKAY, before I start this off, I just want to apologize for the delay!! I’ve had the craziest month and I really wanted to make sure I had time to write out all my thoughts and give the amazing final 2 the evaluation they deserve. So, here it is!
TO RECAP: For the final round, I asked RiskyBusinessxoxo and Becksta20 to guess my favorite songs by three of my favorite artists. I’m ranking each song on my usual 1-10 scale, and then rewarding 1 bonus point for picking a song from the same album as my favorite song and 2 bonus points for getting both the song and album correct.
1. I Write Sins Not Tragedies by Panic! At the Disco: 10 +0 = 10/10
THIS. THIS IS A PERFECT SONG. Although it's not my absolute favorite, it will never ever fail to get me hyped up. If this song comes on at a (pre- or post-covid, of course!) party, you know I am absolutely going to lose my mind over it. Like, I am going to force my grandkids to listen to this one day so they can learn what real music is. 10/10, but unfortunately no bonus points since it's not my #1 fave or from my favorite Panic! album.
2. Motion Sickness by Phoebe Bridgers: 7 +0 = 7/10
I actually submitted this to a music game not too long ago and ended up looking into the inspiration behind it, which is super interesting and makes the song all the more powerful to listen to. An artist's most popular song isn't always the best representation of who they are as an artist (SEE WATERMELON SUGAR BY HARRY STYLES, GOD, I AM SO SICK OF THAT SONG, WHERE IS THE HYPE FOR LITERALLY ANY OTHER SONG), but in this case I'm very glad this song has had as much success as it has! If I were judging this purely objectively I think I would rank it a bit higher, but this ranks as a 7/10 for me, especially when compared to the rest of Phoebe's discography.
3. Never Grow Up by Taylor Swift: 9 +1 = 10/10
Bonus point for picking a song from Speak Now! I do absolutely love this song, and I'm pretty sure I did consider it my favorite at some point. I’m also not ashamed to admit that this song makes me cry more often than not when I listen to it! :’) Never Grow Up really reminds me of seven (my favorite song from folklore), and I'm such a sucker for Taylor singing about youth and nostalgia...which is why Long Live is actually my favorite Taylor song! But you were quite close with this one :)
1. Hallelujah by Panic! At the Disco: 10 + 0.5 = 10.5/10
I'm awarding half a bonus point (breaking my own rules, sorry!) because this is actually my second-favorite Panic! song, so it deserves a little extra love. This tune takes me riiiiight back to my high school days. I'm not sure if that's a good thing necessarily, but this song is definitely a very good thing!
*NOTE: Neither of you guessed my favorite song or album right - my favorite is Northern Downpour from Pretty. Odd. Highly recommend giving it a listen! :)
2. Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers (technically the Copycat Killer version, but I’m going to consider this as being from Punisher so you can get your bonus point lol): 7 + 1 = 8/10
1 bonus point for picking a song from my favorite Phoebe album, but my favorite song of hers is actually Savior Complex. Punisher (the song) is very slept-on though! And I love this stripped-down version of it. This is probably the song from this album that gets randomly stuck in my head the most--in fact, I realized that I was JUST singing it to myself earlier today, lol! Great tune, but not as much of a standout as some others on the album.
3. the 1 by Taylor Swift: 6 + 0 = 6/10
So folklore is right up there with my favorite Taylor albums (definitely top 3), but I would say this falls right around the middle of the pack in my current ranking of the album. That being said, it is a really strong album opener, and it really captures what Taylor has been going for lately with complex lyrics and simple musical accompaniment. It's just not as much of a personal favorite!
Total: 24.5/30
WOW, so I really did not think this was going to be so close, but I guess it makes sense because y’all were already close to begin with and because I knew these songs would all score high! I scored before tallying everything up, and I was truly shook at just how close it was. So I just want to commend you both again for your amazing taste!!
NOW FOR THE FINAL REVEAL….
So, Becksta has won this challenge, but you might remember that Risky was ahead before this final round! Will Risky hang onto her lead? Will this final round be enough to put Becksta ahead? Let’s find out!
AND THE WINNER IS….
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....with a total of 135.5 points….
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. Becksta20 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS <3 As promised, you have won the prize of me declaring your music taste *elite* :)))
RiskyBusinessxoxo takes second place with 134 points - so close, it’s practically a tie! ;)
I just want to thank EVERYONE who participated for sharing your favorite songs with me, for playing along with all my weird themes, and for putting up with my wildly inconsistent posting schedule! I was introduced to some amazing new songs along the way that I still listen to (special shoutout to turkeylover for submitting Pink Pony Club in the country round, because that song still lives rent-free on my Spotify On Repeat playlist). I’m very grateful to you all for participating!
Oh and super big thanks to how much effort you always put in to giving your thoughts about our submissions! It’s a lot of work and you always delivered! 😊
