N - Such an open interpretation week to see how you guys collab yourselves..honestly no idea what to even expect here. My only hint to ALL of you: READ OUR REVIEWS. IT DOESN’T MATTER IF IT’S YOURS OR YOUR COMPETITORS – Reading reviews every round will help you in future rounds, and that’s where some of you are indeed thriving and others are constantly lacking.
DUO 1: FromAWindow/ Hunty #FromAWindow: Halsey - Honey
J - Why are there FOUR Halsey songs this round? I can’t stand Halsey. Ugh. I don’t like her music and I don’t like her personally. I will give these songs a fair chance though. I guess it’s good that she’s finally leaning away from pop music seeing as how she kept whining and complaining about being called a pop singer while making some of the most generic pop music out there. I would never seek this out but I guess I get why someone might be into this one.
N - Okay, so I just want to start off and say let this be a fair warning to EVERYONE, read every judgement we make, every round, because I know damn well I hinted to you all that Julian is NOT a Halsey fan, whereas I definitely don’t mind queuing her up… Honey just isn’t one of those songs that I would queue. When I think of Halsey, I do have to admit I think of her more popular songs. It’s okay, I will admit it’s one of the first few listens I’ve ever given it, but it honestly didn’t bite for me this week.
#Hunty: Halsey - Easier Than Lying
J - Halsey round two, let’s go. Almost IMMEDIATELY this song is really annoying. The percussion, the guitar, and the lyrics are following 3 entirely different rhythms and it just sounds so slapdash and it’s really fucking with my head. The verses also feel like they go into the chorus a single measure too early and it’s bothering me. This feels amateur. Again, I already do not like this artist so you’ve gotta really WOW me if you’re gonna submit some Halsey and this absolutely did not do the job.
N - Okay, first time listening for me.. This gives me more… Billie Eilish’s love child with Avril Lavinge vibes, but I feel like that IS who Halsey is.. I will say, I do like this more than Honey, but the theme of this week was to match your duo with a collaborative vibe… to me… all I can tell is they’re both Halsey songs? You’re the first duo of the night so let’s hope it plays out in your favor… but again, did anyone read my past critiques?
DUO 2: Buttercup13 and brightongal
#Buttercup13: G-Eazy & Halsey - Him & I
J - I HATE THIS SONG. I have ALWAYS hated this song. I don’t even know how to put it into words, it’s just… so obviously bad. G-Eazy is a very bad rapper and Halsey is just a nuisance. That said, they were MADE for eachother, and I almost wish this couple worked out just so nobody else would have to deal with either of them. It’s almost hilarious how quickly and how badly this song has aged.
N - Now we’re in the Halsey songs I know…I’ll repeat my warning: I said it multiple times in past rounds, Julian isn’t a fan of Halsey, I picked up on that last season. Him & I isn’t bad for me… so I’m sorry Julian but we’re gonna have to agree to disagree here. The one thing I will agree with is how this song has aged because it’s become one of those songs that I do tend to skip halfway through on shuffle for “something better”.
#Brightongal: Halsey - Without Me
J - Alright this is it, the last fucking Halsey song of the round. See, now, this one I actually can stand. I went through a very short phase of actively seeking this song out, which is probably the highest praise I can give any song of hers with 1 sole exception. That said, it’s still got plenty of flaws. While I appreciate how raw Without Me is, and I appreciate that it tries to tear into G-Eazy because fuck that loser, this just doesn’t feel like it has that much bite to it. There’s all this buildup in the chorus or whatever that is, and then it just does not deliver on all that angst. It feels like she’s about to drop a BOMB on this idiot, and then she just finishes with “thinking you could LiiiiIIIIiiiiIIIIve without me!” over and over and that is just not a punchline… That’s weak. Plus, the Cry Me A River reference is very not earned and makes this just a bit more difficult to stomach when I realize I could just go listen to that instead. But, did I actively hate this listening experience? Not really.
N - ALRIGHT JESS I SEE YOU. If this round were a “Halsey Only” round, sure, this would be up there, you did pull your weight for the entire Halsey clan of the cast this week. I agree with Julian where this song just works well, but I do agree the song could have been more creative lyrically than dealing with the same line more often than getting calls about my car’s extended warranty. Overall, great pick to pair with your partner, since that *IS* the theme this week.
DUO 3: Booyahhayoob and Mrkkkkyle
#Booyahhayoob: Linkin Park - One More Light
J - And we go from my least favorite pop singer to my favorite band, yes! Chester’s heartbreaking lyrical content about death hits even harder after his suicide. This album got way too much hate, and this song is the biggest and best example of why I’d argue the album was actually really good.
N - We go into your duo as the first with no Halsey entry and no explanation, so judging this raw is going to be interesting! I don’t listen to Linkin Park often, and I actually don’t know this song yet, but it gets the first Spotify Save from me in a few rounds now! Whew, and a tribute song too!? They say who cares if one more light goes out in a sky of a million stars…well I say I give a damn, because your light is NOT going out this week.
#Mrkkkkyle: Coldplay - The Scientist
J - OMG it’s been YEARS since I’ve heard this song! That said, this is easily one of my favorite songs by them. I totally get the through line between these 2 songs even without an explanation, the weight of loss is a very difficult one and one I've had to experience during this round actually. So these 2 songs are hitting pretty hard right now.
N - Alrighty Kyle, your partner surely delivered this week, so let’s see what you do here. I’ve known this song for a while… but it never really comes to mind often. It’s the perfect rainy day song in my mind, like today. I totally get the theme you guys went with here as well, and y’all just really dug at the two empathic judges here this week, didn’t you!? Whew, chile. Sit back down there’s no faceoff for y’all this week, hands down.
DUO 4: JayElVeeIsBack and Bigbrotherlover7
#Bigbrotherlover7: Eminem ft. Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie
J - I know JLV submitted first but I'm putting you up here for… obvious reasons. ANYWAY, the fact that a song like this got as big as it did at any point in time is shocking. This is RAW. There's so many raw and ugly feelings and moments on display as Em lays his soul bare for the world to see and Rihanna delivers an absolutely DEVASTATING chorus as a blitzkrieg to this man's balls. I love it so much but I do not return to this very often because it's a lot.
N - I do think Julian is right where listening to Part One first benefits you guys… but I shamelessly did the opposite, and it still serves. I’ve never given Part Two a hearty listen, but this is the one I’m more familiar with. I feel so relative to this one because it does illustrate the smothering/overwhelming care and love that Marshall has for her….”Where you going?" "I'm leaving you" "No you ain't, come back" We're running right back, here we go again
It's so insane 'cause when it's going good, it's going great I'm Superman, with the wind at his back, she's Lois Lane”... whew, I relate. We know I don’t give up on people regardless of fighting.. So yeah, this hits.
#JayElVeeIsBack: Rihanna ft. Eminem - Love The Way You Lie (Part 2)
J - I kinda ruined this song for myself years ago. I don't remember exactly how involved Skylar Grey was but there's a version on YouTube where she sings Rihanna's pretty and I love her voice so much more. That's become the definitive version for me, Rihanna's flow feels a bit more jerky and stilted and… As I'm writing this, I realized... that's the point. Again, these are very ugly songs. This one is Rihanna peeling back the layers of how violent of a relationship this is, with a verse from Eminem highlighting both his toxicity and his love for this woman. It's a very powerful track.
N - I mean, two ICONS of the era collabing together is already one thing, but LTWYL has always brought me back to my mornings on the bus on the way to/home from school. I haven’t listened to these in a good while, but Rihanna just has one of those voices I could peacefully just close my eyes and be lifted by. I honestly haven’t paid attention to the lyrics of this song in a while but WHEW. “Together we move mountains let’s not make mountains out of molehills, you hit me twice but who’s counting, I may have hit you three times… but together we’ll live forever.” Bruh. There’s creative genius in Marshall that has me wishing he could write my thoughts out everyday. This SERVES. I will say the idea of having your theme be part one, part two was unique, but not creative.
DUO 5: BrianGonzalez and Smuguy2012
#BrianGonzalez: Dr. Peacock - Trip To Valhalla
J - I really like everything before the drop! Their harmonies are incredible, I love the build and I love the way everything sounds! Then the drop hits and it just feels so out of place, these do not mix AT ALL. And SPEAKING OF MIXING… Whoever mixed that final drop needs to be fired asap because it sounds like absolute shit. The last minute or so has the exact same problem as Happier Than Ever’s back half (which is the one thing that stops me from truly obsessing over that song as much as I want to) being that the song gives the impression that my speakers are fucking up, which I kinda hate. I can see the audience for this, I can absolutely see why someone would LOVE this, but that back half turned me off pretty quickly.
N - I have never heard this song, or heard of it, but Brian, you’ve been serving these new finds all game so far… and YES, I agree with Julian here, honestly, it got a replay out of me, and a Spotify Save this week… and then the beat dropped. It did feel like a remix after that, which I wanted to hear the original to instead. The song progresses, and I yeah, the beat drop at 2:30 in… just didn’t work with me either. I love the personality of the song part, but the beat drops/rave aspect make this like a $100 bill… that you blacked-out with a Sharpie so it just looks like paper. It had value, and then… now you can’t tell.
#Smuguy2012: Kid Cudi - Pursuit of Happiness
J - I’m not entirely sure I understand the connection between these 2 songs? Maybe Noah can enlighten me. Idk. Kid Cudi is not someone I’m all that familiar with, I’ve only ever heard 1 song from him (being the obvious one) and this is very wildly different. I’m not sure I’d call this bad but I’m also not sure I’d say it’s my favorite thing I’ve heard either. I lean towards being ok with this rather than not though, so that’s good at least. My only real complaint is that this is way too long, I got the point pretty quickly and about halfway through this felt like it should be over.
N - Ruhroh, raggy… if Julian can’t pinpoint a theme before I listen, this feels like AP English Class trying to compare Snoop Dogg to Shakespeare… so here we go. Pursuit of Happiness… I think I get the theme in the intro itself. Your teams theme… is psychedelics at a rave/concert. It From the quality music, to the beat drops and feeling confused as fuck, to this song serving just that comfortable wave-riding sway-ey vibe. If that’s not it, then damn I’m failing to find it myself this round and that could put you two in danger this week, but honestly, Pursuit is one of those songs I don’t mind hotboxing to and appreciating the good vibes. I would say I do prefer this song over your partner’s, and that it will be the one carrying the weight for your team this week.
DUO 6: Lukesaur and Tryphena
Tryphena: Utada Hikaru - Traveling
J - Utada Hikaru is a name I am VERY familiar with thanks to Kingdom Hearts so her name has a very positive connotation in my head, having spent hundreds of hours in that franchise and listening to and loving the songs she wrote for it! I don’t fully understand the lyrics but I don’t feel like I really need to here, I got the idea pretty quickly. This is just very pretty and sounded amazing, which sometimes is all you need. There was a lot of passion in her voice though and I can tell this would likely mean a lot if I knew what this was about. Still, I’m on board!
N - Tanya you never fail to introduce me to interesting choices. Your discography so far has a theme in itself, I’ve noticed, and I’m a first time listener here unlike Julian. I agree that the voice works, but having no idea what’s being said has me a bit torn on being able to find a theme before listening to Luke’s submission. Honestly… it sounds like a song I’d try to put on expert mode on Dance Dance Revolution. That’s the first impression.
Lukesaur: Rina Sawayama - XS
J - YES YES YES I LOVE RINA SO MUCH. How are you so deep in my head with some of your submissions? Goddamn. This has been in my playlists for the better part of a year now. It’s a little bit crazy that this song about capitalism and hypocrisy is the one that got big when it’s the CLEAR outlier on an album full of very personal topics, but it’s a bop and a half so I get it. The 2000s pop beat blends PERFECTLY with those short bursts of shredding guitar. Add on her delivery, which is hypnotic and crazy catchy, and it all comes together in a package that both hypes me up and gets me moving!
N - Bruh, Julian has hyped this Rina person since you submitted, saying this is going to be amazing. I don’t know Rina, so other than your team's theme being a whole new ballgame for me as a judge, I do see the theme, your artists are similar, I do feel more clued-in by your rundown in your post, and yes, I see it/hear it. I don’t see this one as a DDR song unlike your partner’s, but maybe on Just Dance, I could see a bunch of preteens trying to master this in their slumber party for TikTok LOL.
Yeah, we were more or less in agreement on how things were gonna play out this week. I think this is actually the most similar our lists have been all season! Taking the top spot is...
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. Booyahhayoob and Mrkkkkyle!
You hit 2 judges who have been very deep in their emotions as of late right in the sweet spot and ran away with this week! Congratulations!
As for the bottom spot... We actually have a tie between 2 teams. And because the bottom 2 teams this round are the ones going into the face-off, the tie issue pretty much solves itself. Heading into the face-off this round are...
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FromAWindow & Hunty
Brightongal & Buttercup13
Now, we're going to be saying goodbye to 2 of you. But there's no guarantee that both members of a pair will be leaving.
For your face-off submissions, you will be submitting with your partner still, we want you to come up with another pair theme, however the two worst SONGS overall of the 4 will be eliminated. Match our theme so you don't dip in the rankings, while also submitting a song good enough to pass! Do you try to survive with your partner or do you outdo them?
Send myself and yswimmer96 your song submission in MAILS! Good luck!
