We’ve decided to open the doors to all 18 who signed up! Let’s get right into round one.
Our first theme, When Life Gave You Lemons, is asking you to call upon two times in your life: a high point and a low point (the lemons). You can provide a brief explanation of what each of the songs means to you & what it represents in your life. For the sake of the length of this blog but also wanting to introduce our music tastes we’re providing a split example of a submission.
Blu:
My Choice, Walking on Sunshine-Katrina and the Waves, represents high points in life. Triumphant moments, successes, everything that I've set out to achieve scholastically & in the workforce. Positive relationships & Rapport made with people from different backgrounds & all walks of life. Also, how I felt coming out of pandemic depression of not being able to see family & friends regularly. Generally, I lean towards music with great vocals, unique tone/sound & a nice beat. I like all genre's of music, but gravitate to those that have a purpose, lyrically.
Noelle: heavenlee
My choice, Not Ready to Make Nice - Dixie Chicks, represents quite a few low points generally in my life. I’ve dealt with a lot from other people and the anger & refusal to completely forgive and forget those who have wronged or hurt you like some people insist makes me love this song. Generally, I do lean towards favoring female artists. I love alternative pop, pop, foreign pop, and country most but every genre has at least a couple songs I’ve enjoyed. Songs with a message or songs that tell a story I usually receive the best but just like everyone else, sometimes a song that simply sounds nice is what gets me excited.
Judging For Round 1:
Blu: Highs
Noelle: Lows
Decisions at an impasse may still be made together.
Sudden Death: Joint Decision
Sudden Death in Round 1: Likely, 4 people will be sent to the Sudden Death round to submit one more song for a chance to stay in the studio.
Deadline tonight at midnight, eastern time. Good luck!
High - I feel I’m at best in a relationship cuz I love putting effort into people, especially romantically, and I play this song when I feel best about a relationship
Low - Represents the feelings of needing a change but not searching for one actively myself
High - This such a feel good song and just radiates positivity. During high points, sometimes you just want to celebrate with anyone and everyone no matter who they are, and that really comes out in this song.
Low - This song really expresses the hopelessness one feels when they are at a low point in their lives. During tough times it seems like things may never get better and you may feel like you're falling off a cliff. This song really expresses these points beautifully.
High - This song brings me back to college days just having a great time with my friends. It would play in bars and at pre-games and just reminds me of a time I could be more carefree. I feel my happiest when I'm with friends and can forget about all my dumb life stressors.
Low - This song came out at around the same time I had a breakup with my first long-term boyfriend so it reminds me of that time. It's such a catchy song though so I loved listening to it and the message behind the lyrics kind of resonates with the reason that relationship didn't work out.
Okay I’m going to start with the low point, as that’s the order of my life’s journey, and I want to end on a high note =). And let me apologize for the language, the clean version was atrocious Bc it just constantly stops. But this song is full of too much raw emotion for me not to use
Low- This song represents a time that I went through a similar illness, where potentially, my life was on the line. The low wasn’t necessarily the illness. But more of me not comprehending what God was doing. I mean, none of my friends were undergoing treatment like I was. None of them were having their hair fall out like mine was. None of them were struggling holding down a meal.. So what resonates with this song is Boosie questioning God. “I need answers”
High- This song represents everything broken being restored one day. Trip Lee battles an illness called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. And so this serves as a reminder to me that despite the battles, despite the hardships, (at the risk of sounding preachy) the Sweet Victory of life is knowing Jesus. ***Also my absolute favorite song..
High- This song Game out around the time I was finishing high school and starting Uni. Truly the best years of my life! I will never forget jamming to this song all night at parties and stuff!
Low- Anytime Im having a bad day or going through some stuff I find myself gravitating to this song.
Low - Who Knew by P!nk
The unexpected loss of someone you think you will have forever is hard to cope with and this song portrays the feeling well... when someone tells you to cherish what you have, it’s easy to let life get in the way and by the time you realise how important it is to take the time, it’s sometimes too late!
High - This is Me from The Greatest Showman
This song is about being unashamedly exactly who you are and this is how I live and how I raise my girls to be. I will forever find ways to boost people up and help them to feel proud for being who they are because to be comfortable with that is so important.
The highest point song for me will be a Madonna song.
She is my favorite artist and I have devoured her catalogue throughout the years. Her music makes me happy and I’ll always sing along. Vogue will have to be the song I choose because it makes me dance along.
Madonna is an iconic queen for the moments when your waiting in the doctor’s office to where you’re getting good news of a promotion or thinking good thoughts about a guy you like. Though I don’t have one particular moment, I’d say a good time to represent would be when I went far to the highest level of an acting competition after being labeled an understudy at the beginning of the competition. Vogue will get you going and you just gotta move your body to the music.
For the lowest point, I’d say this year has been the worst possible year so far. My mother passed in August and she was a huge part of my life. This year has been a lot of things to reconcile including how I plan to navigate my life without one of my favorite people in it. I still have a lot of life to live and so The Middle by Jimmy Eat World is the song that lets me know it’ll be alright, alright
Low moment:
Stay by Rihanna
It was released around the time I lost my pet rabbit (of 3 years). Whenever I listened to it on the radio, it would cause me to well up. I am uneasy listening to it. It is very well-written, yet the dark memory lives on. I appreciated my surprising endurance during this life chapter.
Happy moment:
Graduation (Friends Forever) by Vitamin C
I enjoyed partaking in the melodies of graduation prior to my own, high school, graduation. I sang along to it in the shower. The tune was playing on my home bathroom Google speaker. It was a bittersweet moment looking back on it (promptly euphoric in this instance).
Loreen | Euphoria - This song will always be a high point for me, I listen to it every time after something very awesome happens in my life. It really gives me the hype to go on!
Low Point -
Adele | Make You Feel My Love - When my parents separated, or when I lost my friends from school, or even during covid, this song would come into my mind. The first time I heard it, I loved it since the end and has always been one of the songs i listen when I'm feeling sad.
There’s just something very light and happy in d’angelo’s music. This sounds like something I’d listen to as I stroll down the street of a park, maybe with someone special next to me.
In this haunting cover, Birdy speaks about the anxiousness of a failing relationship. Maybe symbolically against a rainy backdrop, Birdy laments over her love being lost and unwilling to be found.
I love this song because in my high moments, or even when life is going well, it reminds me to think and question if I’m on the right path. It helps remind me not only to be happy but live my life and genuine. I find it very encouraging and always a good reminder.
This song is one I always turn to when I’ve just hit the end of my limit and feel like I’m lost and have no more options, especially in this time of school and loneliness because of the lockdown. It helps me just cry it all out and pray and give my struggles to God.
Okay, here's the high point, I'm Ready by Jack's Mannequin. This is a band I listened to a lot in my late teen/early 20s, and it represents an era of my life, and friends I had at that time. This band was really special to me, I saw them live and so it has good associations and nice memories, and I picked this song specifically because the title and lyrics are fitting for being ready for new starts and whatever comes your way.
Low is Drunk Kid Catholic by Bright Eyes. This is my favorite band and there are so many songs I love that mean different things to me, but this one particularly reminds me of a very low point in my life when my depression and anxiety were both at a high and I just felt kind of lost, and this was one of my go to songs.
High (Hey Look Ma, I Made It - Panic! at the Disco): My parents have very high expectations of me academically (stereotypical because half my family is Asian). I listen to this song whenever I achieve something grand and it hypes me up a lot! It's to show them that "I'm serious about what I aspire to do and here's what I have achieved. Have faith in me and I'll make you proud."
Low (when the party's over - Pentatonix): I really like spending time with the people I love and adore, but that doesn't last forever and I get back to my room or my little space somewhere, I get distant and I just don't seem to want to talk to anyone. I have my agendas and what I want to do and I don't want anyone to be part of them. But if I jump outside again with my friends, I'd be back to my exuberant self. To surround myself with them is like my fuel for the day and this song strongly encompasses that. This rendition of the song also fits with the theme because they are performing as a group but they all have their own individual parts that make up a song.
High- "Dance with Somebody" by Whitney Houston: I can't believe I am throwing this song down on Week 1 of this competition because this is my absolute favorite song to dance to. It makes me so happy and reminds me of happy times. It is also just so fun to sing this song out loud! I love 80's music and Whitney Houston is a legend!!
Low- "True Colors" Cyndi Lauper
Ever just need a good cry?? When I struggled with my self identity and tried to fit in to my new surroundings, I would blast this song and cry with Cyndi. This song was the pep talk I needed in my lowest moments and reminded me that I am my own person.
I listen to all different eras of music even though I picked two 80's songs. Synth pop and indie pop are what I listen to the most.
High: I listened to this song a lot during the best year of my life. It is just a catchy, upbeat song but it means a lot to me because of the adventures I went on while listening to it.
