Welcome contestants to week 4 of Insanity’s Song Contest! This week, you were asked to submit a song that discusses drugs and alcohol. Some of you got HIGH, while others gave me withdrawals.
You are all…
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SAFE! Congratulations, you have all advanced into the next week. Turkeylover, you were nearly in the bottom this week because you did not submit a song about drugs. Your song may have had the word “drug” in the title, but the lyrics were all about love, and didn’t really talk about drugs at all. Please consider submitting songs that fit better with the theme. You are all dismissed.
Your songs impressed me the least, and someone will be going home this week. We will start with the best songs critiques this week in order of submission
Olympia - “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse
When I thought of this category, this was one of the very first songs I thought of. I’ll admit that while this is a pretty obvious choice, it’s still a wonderful song. Amy had such distinct vocals, like I don’t really think anyone else that was as big as her at the time really sounded like this. The instrumentation gives this song a very retro feel that I’ve been absolutely enjoying from you thus far in the competition. I’m glad you gave us a more modern song this week even though this song is from 2006. Although I’m not necessarily grading you all on the messages of your song, I’ve always loved how honest this song was. The unfortunate truth is that rehab is not an end all solution, and fighting an addiction is much more nuanced than going to a facility for a certain amount of time. Anyways great song this week pooh.
MichelleObama - “Bottoms Up” by Trey Songz ft. Nicki Minaj
I’m not gonna lie, when I first saw this song getting submitted I didn’t think it was going to be a song that was going to be in the top, but after relistening I forgot how extremely fun this song was. The chorus itself is way catchier than I would like to admit, and this song actually has a lot of great moments. My favorite part though is EASILY Nicki Minaj’s verse. This verse is so manic, but it matches the vibe of the song so well. Like I really don’t think enough people give Nicki Minaj enough credit, this woman had BARS and TALENT. This choice really surprised me in the best way imaginable great job here!
Irelia - “Habits (Stay High)” by Tove Lo
Olympia’s song and yours were the very two songs I thought of when making this category, and I was worried that this round wasn’t going to have enough creative submissions when you each posted your songs first and third respectively. First of all I’m gonna start with this, I absolutely LOVE Tove Lo. After Talking Body I think a lot of people really wrote her off, but she has consistently made great music throughout her career. This song definitely addresses the prompt, and obviously I have a sweet spot for this song since this was probably the first song of hers a lot of people heard, but I gotta say I don’t care for this song as much as I used to. This is still a wonderful song though, the lyrics in the verses are so cheeky, and the chorus really showcases her wonderful vocal talents. Solid pick!
Letal - “Novacane” by Frank Ocean
I think this song was a bit of a risk considering it’s five minutes long and I thought it was going to play out more as a storytelling song (which usually don’t appeal to me). In the beginning, I thought this was just another one of those typical laid back songs that a certain demographic (AKA not me) would listen to while smoking a blunt, but as it went on I really got invested into the song, and I ended up really enjoying it. Towards the end I really was enjoying the heavy bass that was added to the beat, it enhanced the song and sounded great when listening with headphones. This one really grew on me towards the end, great job.
I have made my decision. Runner up for best song of the week goes to…
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MichelleObama! I really thought your song was gonna age like milk, but Nicki’s verse gave me so much life. Congratulations, you are safe.
Letal, although I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to search and listen to your song, yours was another one that surprised me. You are…
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SAFE! Congratulations, you have moved on to the next round.
Olympia and Irelia, you two had two very obvious yet effective choices. I really wish I could have awarded something this week that wasn’t one of the first three songs I could think of when writing this category, but it is what it is. The winner of this week’s challenge is…
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OLYMPIA! Congratulations, you are the winner this week! Such a gorgeous song, truly one of Amy’s best. Not only are you the winner, but you will also receive IMMUNITY this week. Irelia, a good song by an artist I love. Great work this week as well. You have both advanced into the next round.
Unfortunately, this is my least favorite part of the competition where I have to send someone home. Let’s roll out the bottom players critiques in order of submission.
Rodrigueseve - “Drunk (Shot of Tequila)” by Jeanette Akua
I did not like this song at ALL when I first heard it in TSC, and guess what? I still don’t like it. I think this sound is pretty dated, it feels like the first hit a former Disney actress when they want to show the world their ~*~aDuLt~*~ side. Her delivery is pretty annoying, and the beat is pretty basic. Another issue I have with this song is I don’t really think this song fully addresses the theme. Like obviously the chorus is all about drinking, but the verses and bridge is pretty much just talking about how this boy makes her feel. You could argue that other songs that were submitted aren’t always explicitly talking about drugs or alcohol, but I felt that this song was one of the ones that disconnected from the theme the most. I did not like this one bit.
NicoleF - “Sober” by Demi Lovato
Even though I gave you a win with Demi Lovato two weeks ago, there’s really not a lot of songs of hers that I love as much as Cool For The Summer. I love how honest Demi Lovato has been with her struggle with addiction, and I can’t even imagine what she’s gone through, but musically, I truly do not care for this song at all. I’m a sucker for a piano, but I don’t think I would ever go out of my way to listen to this particular song. It’s just very basic, and I’ve just never been a huge fan of these slow songs. Also Lexeyjane nearly went home for submitting multiple songs from the same artist in a row, and you submitted two Demi songs in three weeks. I tried to be nice and give you all warnings, and shit like this makes me wonder why I even BOTHER trying to say anything in the first place. I guess I should’ve made a rule if it’s gonna bother me this much, but I really did not think three separate contestants would reuse artists after four weeks. There is too much music out in the world to be doing that.
ManniBoi - “Cheers (Drink To That)” by Rihanna
I’m actually not sure if I’ve ever heard this Rihanna song befo-- OH WAIT YEAH I ABSOLUTELY HAVE BECAUSE I KNOW THAT AVRIL LAVIGNE SAMPLE LMAO. I have to admit, I really don’t care for this song from Rihanna at ALL. I think Rihanna is actually a fun artist choice for this theme, but I think she has much better songs than this in her discography. This song was honestly kinda boring, and the Avril sample is so random and out of place to me. Also Rihanna’s got some fucking VOCALS, and I don’t even think those were really showcased either. Nothing about this song really stands out at all, I wasn’t very impressed.
Mathboy9 - “Overdose” by EXO-K
Congrats on finally getting any critique, I think you’re the last one! So I looked up the lyrics before I started this song, and there are buzzwords in the translated lyrics like addiction, ecstasy, and overdose, but I wouldn’t say this song is really about drugs or alcohol at all, but more about the addictive feeling someone who’s really attractive can give you. Maybe there’s something lost in translation, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. The actual song is fine, but I feel like I’ve heard this type of sound executed by similar bands in a much more successful way. Even when it got to the chorus I wasn’t too impressed with it, I just feel like I’ve heard this style before. Also I found the rap section in the bridge pretty forced and unnecessary. Like I think if one of the members just belted a long high note alongside an explosive final chorus, I think that would’ve boded a lot better. I don’t think this is the worst musically, but I think this is a stretch in terms of matching to the theme.
So I have made some decisions, but let me tell you, this decision was not easy at all. The first contestant that is safe is…
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ManniBoi. By far your weakest submission to date. Step it up next week, you have advanced to the next round.
The next person that is safe is…
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Mathboy9! Even though you’ve been safe up until now, I still think you have the potential to wow me. You have advanced to the next round.
Rodrigueseve, NicoleF, this week, neither of your songs impressed me. I did not think to see both of you in the bottom two together this early in the competition, but after some thinking, the person I have decided to save is…
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… neither of you. I’m sorry to you both, but neither of you are advancing into the next week.
Rodrigueseve, I would say that you know my music tastes the best out of everyone in this competition, so I’m extremely disappointed to see you going out this early. I applaud your risk, but I simply could not excuse your song, it’s absolutely dire.
NicoleF, your elimination breaks my heart because you were doing so well in the competition thus far. I was not expecting to do another double elimination after doing one last week, but I tried to warn everyone not to repeat artists this early in the competition multiple times. You’re not leaving just because you repeated an artist, because frankly I really did not like your song either, and this week your song was not strong enough to keep you in the competition despite going against my warning.
Thank you both for your participation!
There will be a few new rule changes starting next week. New week will probably be posted sometime tonight. Stay tuned!
