Welcome back everyone. Sorry I ignored this for awhile lmao, the holiday season made me a busy bitch over the week, but we are back. As a late Christmas present to you all, I have decided that starting from this point on, you will ALL be receiving critiques. It’s important to make sure at this point that you are standing out in the competition. I hope these critiques have proven somewhat helpful when choosing songs from this point on. Let’s see what y’all came up with this week.
NOT THE SWORD ART ONLINE ANIME OPENING BEING SUBMITTED. I literally remember watching every episode of that anime in my college apartment, and the opening was one of my favorite parts because this song fucking BANGS. The guitars on this song sound really nice, and they really enhance the song and give it an edge that I really enjoy. I kinda prefer the song she did for the Demon Slayer opener, but this song honestly stands the test of time. I’ve always thought this song was iconic and always got me pumped. Great pick!
FromAWindow - “Nunca Es Suficiente” by Los Angeles Azules feat. Natalia Lafourcade
I think she has a pretty voice, and the instrumentation throughout the song was pretty nice with the trumpets and accordion being standouts. I think it’s kind of a risk to submit a live version of a song, I just always prefer to hear the studio version first before any live performances unless they are just KILLING IT. I think it’s certainly pretty, but I don’t really see myself putting this on any playlists for me. The song pretty much stayed at one level the whole time and didn’t really progress, and that’s not too good considering the video was almost five minutes long. I would’ve loved to have heard more strong vocal moments, especially since this was a live performance. I think it would’ve broken up the monotony of the song a bit.
I generally like Blackpink’s songs. They have a couple of songs that I absolutely do not care for, but they hit like 90% of the time, and this song itself is certainly a hit. I remember when this song first came out that I had this on repeat the whole way for like an hour long car ride, so I think that’s all you need to know. The intro is really cute, I LOVE the progression of the synths during that part. The chorus is super strong and catchy as well. This was kinda pushing it on the amount of English I’d be willing to allow since the little intro and rap verse is ALL English, but this was still such a great song. Loves it.
This song has a cute charm to it, and I love that you went in this direction since your entry really stands out compared to everyone else. Similar to FromAWindow’s entry, I just don’t really see myself putting this song on any of my playlists. It’s just not my style at all. I think my favorite part about your entry was the instrumentation. The drums paired with whatever stringed instrument was being strummed was really great together, and gives the song a rather tranquil mood. The vocals at times were a little distracting, because I wanted to listen to the instruments in the back more than anything, and I didn’t necessarily care for his vocal performance. I didn’t hate this song, but I don’t know if I would ever return to it.
The instrumentation to this song was really cute, and definitely the highlight of the song for me. I can’t tell exactly what the main instrument was when she would stop singing, but whatever it was I was living. It lowkey made me feel like I was on a pirate ship. I thought Kaoma’s voice was very pretty and delicate, and I think it pairs really well with the instrumentation throughout the song. This was yet another song I couldn’t see myself putting on a playlist, but I definitely enjoyed listening to this one. I do wish there was a little bit more energy though.
LovelyKiss - “Aqui Yo Mando” by Kali Uchis and Rico Nasty
I’ve definitely seen both of these artist names before, but I really don’t know much about either artist musically. I think they both work really well together in this song. The soft vocals of Kali in the chorus against Rico’s rapping in the second verse was a really good combination, although I wish there was more rapping in Spanish. I wish the song pushed the envelope a little further. Like this song was a pretty good choice for the assignment, but this song doesn’t really take a ton of risks, and kinda floats somewhere in the middle of the pack for me as a result.
LMAO okay real talk turkey, you could’ve like auto-won this category with a few RV songs, they are just so talented. Although I LOVE this song, it is for 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 ironic reasons. Like first of all, what the hell is a zimzalabim? Like whose 180 IQ brain decided that not only was this combination of letters going to form a word, but it was also gonna be the title and the hook of this song? It’s just so nonsensical and zany, and I nearly fell out of my seat when I heard this for the first time. The beat itself is fun, but it’s really all over the place. The song in general is just all over the place. I wish you went with a less predictable RV entry for this round, because I know how much you love this song, but if I’m being completely honest with myself this song has never been one of my favorites from them. It always gives me a good chuckle though. I was not ready for this.
Mathboy9 - “Saint Claude” by Christine and the Queens
I’ve always been a sucker for French artists. I think the language is beautiful when sung, and I feel like they usually have good production to their songs. I was really feeling this song in the verses, her voice sounded powerful and sexy at the same time. I was really disappointed that the whole chorus was in English. Like that’s a pretty important part to any song. If I was judging this song regularly, I wouldn’t think much of it, but for the foreign language round I was incredibly disappointed. I really thought you could be another contender with this song, because from the moment it began it had me fully on board. However, I really don’t think I can award the winner of a foreign language category to a song that has a chorus sung entirely in English.
I have made some decisions. The top three this week are…
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Irelia, Lexeyjane, and ManniBoi. You three had my favorite songs this week, congratulations! There can only be one winner though, and I’ve decided that the winner this week is…
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Irelia! Congratulations on your win. This song is dynamic and beautiful. Lexey and Manni, you both submitted great songs as well. All three of you have qualified to the next round.
Turkeylover and LovelyKiss, you are both…
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SAFE! Congratulations, you two have moved on.
Mathboy9, your song honestly could have competed against Irelia’s for the best this week, but submitting a song with French verses and an English chorus was a weak choice for me this week. You are…
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SAFE! I loved your song and I’m glad you showed it to me, but you would’ve been in the top if you followed the prompt better.
FromAWindow and Olympia, you two had my least favorite songs this week. If I’m being quite honest, I didn’t care for either of your songs this week. You have both submitted some of the most original entries in the competition so far, and it pains me that we have to say goodbye to one of you this week.
Olympia, please step forward. You are...
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Eliminated from the competition unfortunately. I love that you went with a risk this week, as you’ve been pretty risky throughout this entire competition, but this week, it didn’t pay off for you.
FromAWindow, you are safe and will continue onto the next round. Olympia, we bid you farewell, period pooh.
