1.The Cranberries - Dreams - 9/10 - LOVE
2.Ed Sheehan - Galwat Girl - 9/10 - would have been disappointed if this wasn’t on the list
3.Seeing Blind - Niall Horan - 8/10 - nice song I haven’t heard of somehow… so happy to add it to the rotation
4.Traditional Irish Singing - 10/10 - I loved this entire thing
5.Drink before the War - 8/10 - slow but powerful
6.The Script - The man who can’t be moved - 9/10 - very catchy
7.Niall Horan - Nice to Meet Ya - 9/10 - I will have this stuck in my head for the rest of the day
8.The Academic - Different - 8/10 - never heard of them before but a fan now!
9.Snow Patrol - Called out in the Dark - 9/10 - great band, great song
10.Sinead O’Connor - Nothing Compares 2U - 9/10 - the RANGEEEE!!!!
11.Westlife- World of our own - 8/10 a little old school but I dig it
12.The Script - Breakeven - 10/10 - you know I was singing every single word!
13.Ryan O’Shaughnessy - No Name - 8/10 - can see this being a wedding song it’s so good
14.The Cranberries - Linger - 8/10 - classic grunge pick and it was great
15.Hozier - Take me to Church - 9/10 - the emotions felt in this song are deep
16.The Fields of Athenry - 8/10 - different from the other submissions but payed off I liked it.
17.The Corrs - Breathless - 8/10 - this left me breathlesssssss
18.Flavia - Hateful - 9/10 - I feel like if this was released now it would be a tik Tok song too
19.Irish Exit - 9/10 - she is so talented!
So my judging will be a score out of 9 for the song, then a score ranging 0-1 for the ‘originality’. This ‘originality’ may be subjective, hence I am not going to weight it too much!
001. The Cranberries - ‘Dreams’ : This is a great song. I didn’t realise it was this one by name, but it’s a good one, definitely rate it. Song rate - 8. Originality - 0.5. Total - 8.5
002. Ed Sheeran - ‘Galway Girl’ : As soon as I knew the theme, this was the song that first came to mind that I expected to see sent. BUT, it IS a strong song, one of Ed Sheeran’s best, and just a pleasant bop, so there’s that. Song rate - 8.5. Originality - 0. Total - 8.5
003. Niall Horan - ‘Seeing Blind’ : Quite a good song. The chorus is solid, the rest is still… pleasant and makes for a good enough listen. Niall has better solo discography, but it’s still a good song. Grew more on me as the song continued. Song rate - 7.25. Originality - 0.5. Total - 7.75
004. 980466 - ‘Traditional Irish Singing’ : Definitely an… interesting submission! Something different. It’s got a happy vibe surrounding it, that boosts the enjoyment. As far as rating for a song, it’s perhaps limited, but it’s not bad, it’s still decent, just not the type of thing I’d choose to return to. She does have a good voice too, and it’s… consistent. Song rate - 5. Originality - 1. Total - 6
005. Sinead O’Connor - ‘Drink Before The War’ : For the first couple minutes, I wasn’t too sure. I enjoyed the music effects, but that seemed the limit. Then at roughly half way through, the singing properly kicked in, and it became a good listen. Then remained good throughout. Definitely saved itself. Song rate - 6.5. Originality - 0.5. Total - 7
006. The Script - ‘The Man Who Can’t Be Moved’ : The Script always produce good songs, though this isn’t one of their best personally. It’s GOOD, but feels slightly restricted because The Script can be GREAT. I suppose the music is quite chilled back here, and overall I prefer it being more… less-chill. Song rate - 6.5. Originality - 0.25. Total - 6.75.
007. Niall Horan - ‘Nice To Meet Ya’ : Between the two Niall Horan songs, I prefer this one. There’s less originality in it, with this being one of his better known songs anyway, but I prefer his singing and music, both are good here. Good listen. Song rate - 7.5. Originality - 0.25. Total - 7.75
008. The Academic - ‘Different’ : Both the music and the signing work well together here. Made for a solid listen. Nothing too complex, but yeah it’s a good song. Song rate - 7.75. Originality - 0.75. Total - 8.5
009. Snow Patrol - ‘Called Out In The Dark’ : Definitely the vibe of a Snow Patrol song. Not their strongest, but it’s a solid listen. Their production is always a pleasant listen, so still enjoyable. Song rate - 7.5. Originality - 0.5. Total - 8
010. Sinead O’Connor - ‘Nothing Compares 2U’ : As with the other song sent by her, her voice pulls through well and is strong. Less original as this is her best known song I believe, but yeah it’s still a good one, so a decent send. Song rate - 6.25. Originality - 0.25. Total - 6.5
011. Westlife - ‘World Of Our Own’ : It wouldn’t be an Irish theme satisfied without a Westlife appearance… This is a good song, during the first verse I was a bit hesitant, but the chorus pulls it back, and following that just makes for a good listen. Nice send. Also decent that it wasn’t one of their MOST known songs sent. Song rate - 8.25 Originality - 0.5. Total - 8.75
012. The Script - ‘Break Even’ : Great submission. This is how I imagine The Script to be, and although I cannot say I’m familiar with this song, it’s hit well. Half the view count the other submission by them had too. Good song. Song rate - 8.5. Originality - 0.5. Total - 9
013. Ryan O’Shaughnessy - ‘No Name’ : This man. His singing style is just sooo pleasant to me. I assume whoever submit this knew him from Eurovision, and his song there grew on me so fast because of his voice, and great music. Unless they didn’t, then never mind! But yeah he delivered really well here, smooth song, enjoyable. Song rate - 8.75. Originality - 0.5. Total - 9.25
014. The Cranberries - ‘Linger’ : Prefer the other Cranberries song that was sent, but it’s still a decent listen. This doesn’t really go beyond in any way, but the singing is once again good. Particularly just enjoyed the solely music parts here. Song rate - 5.5. Originality - 0.5. Total - 6
015. Hozier - ‘Take Me To Church’ : Amazing song. For me there is like basically no originality behind it, but it’s an example of playing it safe being a very effective choice. Cannot tell you something specific about this that is great, because literally the entire thing is just so good. Love it. Song rate - 9. Originality - 0. Total - 9
016. Mary Duff - ‘The Fields of Athenry’ : Her voice is pleasant, and the music has a soothing ring to it. It all works well together, my personal enjoyment for it is not as vibrant as other songs, but I can appreciate the qualities this has still. Song rate - 5.5. Originality - 1. Total - 6.5
017. The Corrs - ‘Breathless’ : Honestly… it’s good. The production is like … bop-like but not a standard bop, but like… I’m moving. The singing is good on top of it too. Sweet song. Song rate - 8. Originality - 0.5. Total - 8.5
018. FLAVIA - ‘Hateful’ : Oh wow, this definitely is a vibe. It all blends together nicely. The only thing it’s feeling it misses is a bit of a harder chorus to it I suppose. But it’s a good listen. Song rate - 7.75. Originality - 1. Total - 8.75
019. Eliza McLamb - ‘Irish Exit’ : Her voice is very smooth, but it’s… very good. The production is like quite chill also, but the stronger part is definitely her voice. Wins the week for originality too. Around 3 mins was when the song went into its strongest part. Song rate - 6.5. Originality - 1. Total - 7.5
So combining both judges ranking the 2 songs got a combined score of 7
Linger by the Cranberries and The field of Athenry by Mary Duff
So that means that our bottom 2 eliminated are systrix and joee323
