woo yeah here we go, lots to cover in this episode. Critiques incoming
Times_Places - I think this works great for the theme, but it did kind of bore me song wise. Which puts you in a weird spot at this point because if everyone else really meets the theme then personal taste starts to play in a bit more, and this feels a little flat. The chorus is easily the best part, there’s some real passion in the way she yells brave.
FromAWindow - This song kind of came and went for me when it was first released, but it clicked a lot better for me listening to it now. Works for the theme absolutely, my only real negative mark is that I feel like Missy kind of messes up the flow of the song when she first starts/the beat switches, but it works again once they put the instrumental back behind her. The outro is fun too!
Currents - I’m not a huge fan of this song tbh (personal reasons, dont shoot me) but i think it was a smart pull. There’s a real independence and strength in her vocal delivery. This is a song that needs to feel a little nonchalant to work, like she’s past the point of caring and she knows she’s gonna be fine regardless. I think you accidentally stepped in a landmine with this song, but I’m trying to not let it cloud my judgment on the theme.
HeavyRain - You can YELL this chorus out, again checking off the independence box really well with this pick. The opening instrumental, the harmonies, the way their voices blend together to make a really empowering statement. AND THE LAST LINE (thank you ill get it myself) is so good, I love this song.
MISSImogen - A stadium song is always a smart way to go for this kind of category, in my opinion. You want something that’s gonna cause that dopamine rush when you yell it at the top of your lungs, and this song has that in spades. I think JT’s verse compliments the feeling of the song perfectly. And then the switch halfway through the song that takes the song somewhere different, yet not out of the universe it was operating in was great.
CoolblueP123 - I was initially more against this song, but the backbeat and the way he really went for those notes turned the tide on my opinion some. The lyrics are kind of elementary, and parts of the verse sounded like it belonged on a different song. I did think the bridge was actually pretty good, even if it kind of took the air out of the sail when it came to the songs energy. But the stomp-clap is a classic way to add some power to a song so you were smart to use a song with that.
mathboy9 - HERE WE FUCKING GO. Probably my favorite submission from you so far. The actual song is a standout in this group. The chorus is crack, and while i think the lyrics kind of take me out of the theme (even though I can definitely relate trying to make it to the weekend to having resilience), you have another one of those yell out choruses that really take this song there.
JonMcGillis - I did scream when I saw the album cover and realized who this was LMAO. The lyrics and the vibe of the music really works for me in this category. I also gave the original a try to compare them and you made a really smart decision with this version.
Alisowned - This feels like a night drive song, which is a pretty unique way of looking at pump up music. I definitely have had one of those 12 am drives listening to music and going nowhere, that’s what this song feels like to me. The harmony in the chorus gives me more of a minor chord which kind of knocks the theme down, but again I’m enjoying the song so much it doesn’t bother me as much.
Alright, I’ve made some decisions. The top 3 of this round are…
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HeavyRain, MISSImogen, and mathboy9. Unfortunately, this does mean that you have been eliminated for good Alisowned. Thank you again for applying.
The winner of this challenge is…
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MISSIMOGEN!! It was great vs great vs great, but I think it was both a great song and a really good submission choice. With that, you have officially re-entered the competition! Congrats on both things.
HeavyRain, your run is sooo good lmaooo, you got just edged out tonight but I thank you for the lovely songs in redemption and playing along when you didn’t have to. You have been eliminated for good as well.
Mathboy9, good job. You are safe.
JonMcGillis and Currents, you are safe.
So that leaves us with Times_Places, FromAWindow, and CoolblueP123.
CoolblueP123… you are safe.
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FromAWindow, you are safe. It was a tough field this round, and a pretty minor thing got you knocked down here, but I feel like you can get right back in the competition (like you did literally last week).
TIMES_PLACES, you did so good! Thank you for applying. It was fun to learn a bit more about your music palette this season and I hope to continue to learn more in your music game (unless you revenge eliminate me :o)
OKAY we’re almost through guys yay no more emotional warfare soon. Next blog up in a bit
For the past few rounds, while you battled each other in the main competition, the eliminated players had a game of their own to play. Round after round (well… kinda), two players would submit their best match for the round, and the better song would advance one player to the next battle.
As of this moment, all three of these people are back in the competition. They will be submitting on this blog, alongside you. The player between the three that scores the highest will remain in the competition, eliminating the other two for good.
There will also still be a normal elimination this episode, so that person who wins their way back into the competition must also do well enough to avoid going right back into the bottom. And after this, there should only be two more competitive rounds before the finale so make sure to send in your best so you can make it there!!!!
As for the actual prompt, you will be submitting songs about resilience, strength, victory. Think of empowering without being cheesy. Something that makes you feel invincible. You want to post a song that makes you feel encouraged. A pump up song, if you will.
Everyone’s getting critiques so we’re gonna get right to it.
Alisowned - LOVE the drama of the song, but am I wrong for kind of preferring the Maxwell version of this? Maybe it’s because there were a few covers submitted this round, but I kind of prefer his voice on this song over hers. When the background vocals came in it did lift the song up though.
Times_Places - I think the talk-sing rapping at the beginning of the verses takes away a lot from the song, which is sad cause it gets very pretty for the other parts of the song. The bass that comes in halfway through the song gives it a good rattle too. Also the piano part at the end didn’t flow right for me, but that might feel different in the context of the album.
Currents - Such a cool song, the layering is so textured and adds such an interesting dynamic to the song. The chorus feels like it shouldn’t work but it absolutely does. And of course her voice is great. Also bonus points for the outro part on the song being short and not distracting from the main song (listening to the album version).
FromAWindow - LOVE the jazzy choices she made vocally. Very retro which worked. By the time she started doing the descending runs I was sold. There’s almost an Amy Winehouse quality to the sound, which love. It has a really breezy quality to it as well, definitely saving this.
MISSImogen - Her voice is good, but I feel like this is pushing that “we’re sad but I love you” rule to me. I think I get where you were trying to go with it but “Won’t you come find me/ Cause I’m down when you’re far away” feels like it’s stepping on that line.
CoolblueP123 - When you asked if Adele was a smart choice for this round, I told you she worried me. I thought you were jumping directly into the trap of “we’re sad but in love” that I warned against. Thankfully, I think you dodged that one tonight. Something about Adele’s delivery is very romantic, and it makes sense for the context of why you chose it for this theme.
JonMcGillis - It was a bit of a throwback week for everyone lol, this was also retro in the sense that it’s a song from the 50s. The doo wop harmonies really sell the song and give it that really special touch. It’s a beautiful song, and I know this song is a message to her kids, which is a different approach to the love category from everyone else.
mathboy9 - Y’know, the more I listened to it the more it worked for me. I went from just liking it to actually kind of bopping. I think you pretty much always submit good songs, but I think you end up getting beat out by stronger submissions, and tonight feels like no exception. But good work is good work, so good work this week.
Alright, I’ve made some decisions. The winner of this round is…
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FROMAWINDOW! You jazzed it up and I adored it.
Currents and JonMcGillis, you are safe.
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Mathboy9 and CoolblueP123, you are safe.
So that leaves us with Alisowned, Times_Places, and MISSImogen. First off, we’re going to reveal the person with the lowest score who is automatically being eliminated. That person is….
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MISSIMOGEN. Thank you so much for applying, I think you have shown yourself to have really good taste but we’ve unfortunately not aligned them this time. HOWEVER, don’t go too far away. I do have news after this round.
The last person safe is….
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TIMES_PLACES. Besides the parts I didn’t like, the song was very pretty and you’ve had a bit of a better run as well so I’m giving you another chance.
ALISOWNED, our ratings are going in the toilet omgggg THANK YOU for applying and spending a bit of time on the site again, sorry to say but I am gonna need you to log back in at least one more time though.
Congrats everyone on surviving a tough round. If you couldn’t tell, there’s a little more to the story but we’ll cover that in the next blog.
Welcome back top 8! We’ve almost eliminated half of the contestants (and it’s my fault we’re not there already), so make sure to really go for it!
ROUND 9 THEME- A LOVE GAME
For this round, I’d like to challenge you all to submit your favorite love songs. Songs about desire, romance, or intimacy (within reason, children are on the site obviously). I would advise to keep things relatively light, like maybe don’t send in a “we get on each others nerves so much but i love you song” unless you think it’s THAT good.
And since we have one more person than I expected at this point, I have some bad news. This is a SUDDEN DEATH ROUND. The person who scores the lowest will be automatically eliminated, and then a bottom 2 will be selected for a second elimination. So make sure I LOVE these songs.
This will be the last time I’ll call people safe before critiques for the season. We’re about to ramp into the second heat of this competition, and the numbers are getting small. The two safe are…
Alisowned - It was a little short for me, but I can’t lie. I really enjoyed this. It’s clearly a song with a persona attached to it, but I had fun with it which feels like it accomplished it’s goal. And I liked the way they attack the bridge, then it just slides right back into the hook. It gets the job done.
FromAWindow - This song was a bit of a rollercoaster to me. it would flip from thing i liked to thing I disliked every few seconds, it was kind of funny LMAO. Ultimately I did have more fun than disdain, but the range of emotions in a 3 minute song was wild
Currents - I preferred Shygirl’s part to Channel Tres’ so it’s a good thing she led us in. The way the instruments started creeping in was a good touch. The trumpet line was a bit unexpected, but it worked for the song. I like the little touches of effects at both ends of the song too.
CoolblueP123 - Probably my favorite chorus of the round. It’s really hard to use these curse words without it coming off immature or corny, and I think this song managed to pull it off very well. Very high school melodrama but I mean that in a good way, this feels like a song that would be some stormy 15 year old’s anthem.
MISSImogen - You had me worried in the first minute, but when the drums kicked in the song worked better for me. It’s got a pretty quality to it, but it felt kind of empty until the final chorus when they added the extra elements to it. I do like a song that builds, but it felt a little late.
mathboy9 - I was worried for you when it started and then the switch up came and I yelled LMAOOOO. The song was a bit chaotic, but i didn’t mind that so much. The chorus I think was a weaker point in the song, but for the most part I was with you.
Alright, I’ve made some decisions. The winner of this round is…
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CURRENTS! Good job this week, you did that shit!
CoolblueP123 and Alisowned, you are safe.
mathboy9, you are safe.
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FromAWindow, you are safe.
….MISSImogen, you are safe. I know I know I know, sorry I think you both have been frontrunners and I’m really having a hard time justifying booting either of you as there were positives to both songs.
So no one’s going home this round, but that means we’re gonna have to do something to stay on schedule…. More on that in the next blog.
It’s the great 8! For today’s challenge, you are tasked with submitting a song of any genre, any sound, with one caveat. The title of your song must contain at least one curse word in it! We’re earning our PG-13 rating today. Seems simple enough, right? The one extra rule I’d place is maybe let’s not go derogatory so nobody gets banned, but if that’s the only song you can come up with I’d suggest maybe PMing it to me to make sure you don’t get in trouble.
