As I stated in the signups blog, we're going to start by listening to one per album and rank them from best to worst.
Since eliminations are determined by the average ranking of the most recent two episodes, for this round we won't have any elimination, isn't it lovely?
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But of course let's go to reveal tonight's line up with each opinion on the songs.
(All of the chosen songs were randomized and won't be repeated again in the game unless an album has used all its songs)
💿 01) CHUNG HA - Dream Of You (with R3hab) / QUERENCIA
◼ This feels fresh and catchy. A pretty safe start for this album and I'm sure there's even better to be prepared for. Should I be scared that other tracks might be too basic? I'm honestly not sure what I can expect from this record, but the surprise factory will certainly help if the next round's songs are likeable. Great beginning.
💿 02) LAUREN SPENCER SMITH - Best Friend Breakup / MIRROR
◼ Alright alright miss Spencer Smith, you have great vocals, but this felt insanely basic. You're lucky your voice is quite gorgeous and the harmonies make this a beautiful experience, but I just know the perfect ballad is hidden somewhere else in this album. With this song, I still cannot distinguish this girl from other pop girlies of her level but it's a cute start. She sounds professional, some chords were great and I'm curious for what's next.
💿 03) ILLENIUM - Takeaway (with The Chainsmokers & Lennon Stella) / ASCEND
◼ Insane production and quality. This would've been my jam 3 years ago but now I'm searching for something way different. I understand why this song is severely streamed and viewed, it is really catchy but I feel like in these types of songs the chord progression is always very similar and it just doesn't drive me insane with something surprising. I had a great time though.
💿 04) HILARY DUFF - Happy / DIGNITY
◼ Ohhhh I might have a really good time with this. This feels nostalgic I sense the vibes from those years, I'm really living. I feel like this had some parts where I lost a bit interest but this was a complete slay and she's a queen I can't wait to hear more from.
💿 05) MELANIE MARTINEZ - LIGHT SHOWER / PORTALS
◼ I'll be really honest now. This isn't what I was expecting at all. Maybe this is a track that follows a different direction from the others, but if that's not the case, then I'm happy to hear more. This was cute and she's a great lyricist. This felt like a weird little nursery rhyme in an alien world idk how to explain it. This wasn't bad for sure!
💿 06) CHAPPELL ROAN - California / THE RISE AND FALL OF A MIDWEST PRINCESS
◼ This had me thrilled ngl, I love the high vocals in this. This felt powerful, a nice track about the singer that feels homesick and realizes she wasn't prepared for a new journey she embarked in. Kinda relatable in a way. In terms of the melody and stuff, I have similar opinions to the ones I had for Lauren before, but maybe this track felt more exciting throughout the entire thing. I expect many different sounds from this record too.
💿 07) KALI UCHIS - Endlessly / RED MOON IN VENUS
◼ Unlike Melanie, this was exactly what I expected to hear from this record. She's incredibly talented and those visualizers look gorg. I don't rly vibe 100% with this type of music but the way she sings can be appreciated by anyone. I'll try to put my genre preference bias aside and be positively surprised hoping to hear even something more exciting and memorable in the next rounds.
💿 08) KESHA - Rainbow / RAINBOW
◼ I think I understood what to expect from this record. I honestly prefer this Kesha without that troubled past and that cringe-ass dollar sign. I'm gonna be rly honest when I say the first minute of the song was really boring and hard to get through, then the violins and strings and harmonies and beauty arrived and I started ascending a little bit. It was fun to listen to and the part where she goes "aaaaaah", the chords there were insane, I was rly relieved it got better. She sings from the heart and I appreciate it.
💿 09) CARLY RAE JEPSEN - Emotion / EMOTION
◼ Right so, her voice is great, the vibe is nice, but I really didn't feel anything much. This just felt like a normal song, and normal ain't a great adjective to use. This makes basic songs sound like the most experimental thing ever, but I must admit this was what people loved back then. I don't want to think she peaked with Call Me Maybe 'cause I'm sure as hell she has way more to show, and I hope it's in this record somewhere. For now I haven't found it.
💿 10) SUDAN ARCHIVES - Home Maker / NATURAL BROWN PROM QUEEN
◼ Sounds rly experimental, I bet she had a lot of fun making this record and there were some parts too that genuinely left me impressed. Her voice is also really soothing and gorgeous I feel like she could hit some high powerful notes for some reason I hope she does in the record (fritzy lmk if she does if u read this). Cute beginning. Maybe not one of my favs from this round but this 100% feels worthy listening fully.
💿 11) FLORENCE + THE MACHINE - Only If For A Night / CEREMONIALS
◼ THIS. WAS. EXTRAORDINARY. It grew kinda slowly but GODDAMN when it hit. That was one of the most interesting tracks of this round. This doesn't sound basic at all, kinda opposite ngl. I've never heard anything like this before, and if this is the vibe I'll have to expect from future songs then SIGN ME FUCKING IN. WOWWWWWWWWWWWW.
Edit: I'm writing this after I listened to all the songs and I realized this is sampled in Goodnight Gotham from Rihanna that's why it sounded familiar LMFAOOOOO even better.
💿 12) AMAARAE - Big Steppa / FOUNTAIN BABY
◼ OKAYYYY. I didn't expect to like it THIS much. The combination of those angelic vocals, plus STRINGS AND TRUMPETS? I was gagged I didn't expect that at all. A gorgeous mix of sounds that stays attached to the mind. I heard this girl is doing real great and I for sure can understand why even after this single track.
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That's it for the songs today! Time to reveal my personal ranking.
Here we goooo...
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💿 SLAYFUL ALBUMS | ROUND ONE RANKING 💿
1ST | FLORENCE + THE MACHINE / Only If For A Night
2ND | KESHA / Rainbow
3RD | AMAARAE / Big Steppa
4TH | MELANIE MARTINEZ / LIGHT SHOWER
5TH | LAUREN SPENCER SMITH / Best Friend Breakup
6TH | CHAPPELL ROAN / California
7TH | SUDAN ARCHIVES / Home Maker
8TH | KALI UCHIS / Endlessly
9TH | HILARY DUFF / Happy
10TH | CHUNG HA / Dream Of You (with R3HAB)
11TH | ILLENIUM / Takeaway (with The Chainsmokers)
12TH | CARLY RAE JEPSEN / Emotion
Congrats to Florence and MJFJUNE that submitted the album for the very first win of the season!
Those rankings will be added to the Round 2 ones and the average placement will determine our first eliminated album.
Overall this first batch of songs was really good, I'm not disappointed, and considering that few songs I've heard today are the hits of each album, based on popularity, it might mean there's better to come and I'm here for it.
That's all see ya next round, maybe tomorrow, maybe in 100 years. Who knows?
