Time for long comments again.
1. Holly Williams - Country has always been a marmite genre to me. I could either like the music, find it just okay, and sometimes I'd say it's absolute crap. We have a female singer, so that's already a good start, as women are definitely more entertaining in this kind of music. While this is a little boring, it's a very relaxing tune, just not sure if it's good for higher points.
2. Conor Quinn & The White Chalk - Talking about The White Chalk, can someone send me a link to download for their amazing song "Back To The Start"? That was probably one of the best 2014 TSC singles, and I still can't find a way to get it anywhere. On the other hand, this feels rather uninspired in comparison to the single I mentioned, but it's still definitely decent sounding.
3. Bim - This has pretty much passed me by, sorry Sean, you failed me again!
4. The Sound of Arrows - The intro sounds extremely familiar to me. Nice background music, reminds me of M83, and the vocals aren't too powering, if not weak. A very pleasant entry, but I feel like I really need something with a little bit of a punch, though.
5. Cordial Factory - A female vocal that doesn't sound too annoying is already a points-worthy entry to me. What disappoints me is that it is another soothing song, I do like such stuff, but some energy would be nice in the contest that is "Best Of". Oh, it becomes faster in the 2nd part, so maybe it will get more points from me.
6. Anselmo Ralph - The obligatory cheesy male entry, with the addition of a different language, how "unique"! I'm not really sure what to make of this, as I can't say I enjoyed this at all. Thank you for such an entry, it makes it easier for me to vote.
7. American Authors - Radio overplayed this to death here, unfortunately. I still enjoy listening to this, but it doesn't really have that feel anymore, it falls a bit flat now. Still, it's nice to have some energy in songs, after a rather slow start.
8. Zedd - They also overplayed that song. This basically sounds like a rejected version of "Clarity", but considering how amazing the song with Foxes is, this still is a pretty good example of how to make great dance music. A little bit generic, but I still enjoy this. Not to forget a mention about Hayley's terrible haircut in the video, I guess the stylists had a really bad day or Hayley pissed whoever the stylist was off.
9. Nerina Pallot - I've seen her name in TSC so many times that it is not funny at all, but I can understand why she's become so overused. Her songs follow the same pattern that this contest really loves, and this is no exception. While I wanted this to be a little bit faster, this is still quite nice.
10. Jacynthe - This sounds like something they would play on the radio all the time. The verses are actually quite strong, but the chorus makes me so frustrated, THE SONG IS SUPPOSED TO EXPLODE DURING IT, and it just falls so flat. So disappointing, like ugh, I can't really find a good reason for why they decided to have such a crappy breakdown in this.
11. Frida Sundemo - Her "Drawn To You" is a great song, and while this doesn't quite live up to the standards of my #28 favourite TSC song, this is still pretty damn good. I love the progression here, and her unique vocals are always a nice thing, but this music video almost gave me a seizure. You had one job, director.
12. Bat For Lashes - I've never understood the success of this song in TSC. I've always thought this drags on too much, and it really does. Sure, a ballad is supposed to start slow, but her voice just doesn't suit this song, it's completely off the beaten track.
13. Serena Ryder - I didn't really care for her music until the release of Stompa, which caught my attention to her. When she released "What I Wouldn't Do", I nearly fell off my chair, as this is the kind of an indie pop song I've always thought of as "masterpiece".