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Posted by: Ansel 16th November 2021, 08:40 PM

Welcome to Pestolia!

Country overview:
Capital city: San Álvaro
Official language: Pestolian
Demonyms: Pestolian / Pestoler (archaic)
Population: 15,000,000
Important settlements:
San Álvaro (city of 5,000,000)
Batisele (city of 1,000,000)
Varocopo (town of 50,000)
Caliamino (town of 40,000)
Portovia (village of 5,000)
Main exports: Red pesto (35% of GDP), green pesto (35%), the little jars that pesto comes in (20%), and other pesto-related technologies (10%)

~ all information courtesy of the Pestolian Tourism Board ~

Posted by: Ansel 16th November 2021, 08:41 PM

Results:
140 │ Jae Stephens - got it like that │ 39th │ 81 pts │ SF1: 19th │43 pts
141 │ Mareux - The Perfect Girl │ 20th │ 159 pts │ SF1: 11th │ 69 pts
142 │ Axolotes Mexicanos - Doble Check │ DNQ │ SF2: 22nd │ 29 pts
143 │ Dora Jar - Polly │ DNQ │ SF2: 27th │ 9 pts
144 │ Four Phonica - Human All Too Human │ 27th │ 137 pts │ SF2: 17th │ 49 pts
145 │ El Columpio Asesino - Preparada (David Kano Remix) │ DNQ │ SF2: 23rd │ 37 pts
146 │ Tennis - Runner │ 29th │ 141 pts │ SF2: 15th │ 50 pts
147 │ Mahawam - Hoping No One Notice │ 16th │ 196 pts │ SF2: 17th │ 51 pts
148 │ Твоё далеко - Теперь не страшно │ DNQ │ SF1: 26th │ 39 pts
149 │ Bibi Flash - Histoire D'1 Soir (Bye Bye Les Galères) │ 24th │ 158 pts │ SF1: 8th │ 69 pts
150 │ Lo-Fang - #88 │ 37th │ 86 pts │ SF2: 17th │ 54 pts
151 │ sangiovanni & Aitana - mariposas │ 13th │ 184 pts │ SF2: 7th │ 84 pts
152 │ When In Rome - The Promise │ 4th │ 291 pts │ SF1: 4th │ 104 pts
153 │ Pearly Drops - Call For Help │ 22nd │ 172 pts │ SF2: 12th │ 71 pts
154 │ Furfriend - Fist Fuck │ DNQ │ SF2: 31st │ 14 pts
155 │ Rafa Villalba - Chiquetere │ 19th │ 170 pts │ SF1: 14th │ 68 pts
156 │ OBK - El cielo no entiende │ DNQ │ SF1: 30th │ 16 pts
157 │ Cecile Believe - Bitch Bites Dog │ 33rd │ 147 pts │ SF1: 16th │ 63 pts
158 │ jaboukie - BBC │ 42nd │ 118 pts │ SF2: 10th │ 78 pts
159 │ SIMONA - PLUSH │ 34th │ 138 pts │ SF1: 14th │ 66 pts
160 │ 8485 - 3cheers │ 40th │ 93 pts │ SF2: 14th │ 63 pts
161 │ ThxSoMch - When The Devil Speaks... │ 38th │ 82 pts │ SF1: 9th │ 67 pts
162 │ Suki Waterhouse - OMG │ 4th │ 229 pts │ SF1: 2nd │ 97 pts
163 │ DJ SG - Sosban Fach │ DNQ │ SF1: 30th │ 16 pts
164 │ Dry Cleaning - Anna Calls From The Arctic │ 22nd │ 169 pts │ SF1: 7th │ 72 pts

Spin-offs:
XMAS IV │ girl in red - two queens in a king sized bed │ 2nd │ 114 pts
Worldvision VI │ Kurs Valüt - Nomer │ 8th │ 69 pts
Masquerade III │ nanobii - Rainbow Road │ 4th │ 190 pts
Pride III │ Lynks - Str8 Acting │ 7th │ 67 pts
Halloween IV │ ieuan - I HAVE NO MOUTH AND I MUST SCREAM │ 26th │ 23 pts
Worldvision VII │ Winter Severity Index - A Sudden Cold │ 7th │ 63 pts
Movies II │ Camille - Le Festin │ 11th │ 61 pts
Foreign Language III │ Marc Seguí - Al menos ahora │ 20th │ 30 pts
Instrumentals II │ Dan Terminus - Fall of the Ancient World │ 6th │ 78 pts
Xmas V │ Sabrina Carpenter - santa doesn't know you like i do │ 10th │ 80 pts

Posted by: Ansel 16th November 2021, 08:41 PM

BJSC140: Jae Stephens - got it like that



Representing Pestolia in our first contest is Jae Stephens! Her song 'got it like that' sits somewhere between pop and R&B, and was one of my favourite discoveries from last year. Other songs I'd recommend by her are 'what are you doing tonight?', 'hate LA', and What You Need (her biggest hit on Pestolia's national chart although it felt a bit less Buzzjack-friendly x).

Posted by: Bré 16th November 2021, 09:04 PM

Welcome to the contest, loving the flag as well <3

Going for an R&B song as your first entry is quite a bold choice, the genre doesn't have a great track record in the contest unfortunately oops but not passing judgement on this particular song yet as I haven't started listening to the songs yet

Posted by: Ansel 17th January 2022, 04:22 PM

Oops at me replying late but thank you! I'm hoping I've learnt from my mistakes this time

Posted by: Ansel 17th January 2022, 04:23 PM

BJSC141: Mareux - The Perfect Girl



This contest, Pestolia is steering away from the R&B sound - instead, we've gone for something a bit rockier and synthier! It borrows its lyrics from The Cure's song of the same name, but this version feels a lot darker and more atmospheric.

Posted by: Brer 19th January 2022, 10:38 PM

Haha well at least you did well enough to qualify with that first entry, that's a better start than a lot of people get off to!

I do think this second entry is a massive improvement though, was excited for it from your post immediately after confirming it and it has lived up to that *.*

Posted by: Ansel 23rd February 2022, 03:52 PM

BJSC142: Axolotes Mexicanos - Doble Check



Pestolia goes Spanish this time, with a hyperpop track from the Asturian band Axolotes Mexicanos! I first heard the song in a Netflix movie (Through My Window) a while back - the movie itself wasn't great and I gave up on it halfway through, but luckily I found this song first. Judging by my potentials playlist, it could be the first of *many* Spanish-language entries for Pestolia!

Posted by: Ansel 25th March 2022, 04:42 PM

BJSC143: Dora Jar - Polly



This month Pestolia is represented by Dora Jar! Her song Polly is a lot of fun - the pre-chorus and chorus have a bit of a Gwen Stefani vibe (I'm specifically thinking of Let Me Reintroduce Myself but this is a lot better x). It's a clever, offbeat pop song that will hopefully get stuck in your head - the line 'fraticapatica automatica' has already started playing in my head randomly throughout the day!

Posted by: Ansel 26th April 2022, 07:52 PM

BJSC144: Four Phonica - Human All Too Human



Originally from Ukraine, Four Phonica is a Berlin-based band who I came across when I was looking for my Worldvision entry. I really loved the dark, brooding sound of this song, which bursts into life when the chorus comes in. It's probably a bit divisive but hopefully catches people's attention after a couple of flops. The title is a Nietzsche reference but I didn't pay enough attention in A-level Philosophy so I've got no clue what this song is about x

Posted by: Ansel 28th May 2022, 10:40 AM

BJSC145: El Columpio Asesino - Preparada (David Kano Remix)



El Columpio Asesino are a Spanish rock band, whose song Preparada features in an episode of the Netflix show Valeria. The song really stuck with me and I've had it in my potentials playlist for ages - then I came across this remix which gives the production a bit more punch and really elevates it. I'd still recommend trying the original, it has a dreamier, rockier sound while this remix is more electronic. I'm hoping for a better result than my last Spanish entry which DNQed, though this is closer to the Mareux/Four Phonica sound so hopefully has a better chance!

Posted by: Ansel 23rd July 2022, 09:13 PM

BJSC146: Tennis - Runner



Slightly belated but Pestolia's latest entry has just qualified for the final it's a chilled out synthy tune and vocally it has a bit of a Kate Bush vibe which I'm glad a few other people have picked up on! Best of luck to Tennis in the final

Posted by: Ansel 19th August 2022, 09:32 PM

BJSC147: Mahawam - Hoping No One Notice



Representing Pestolia this month is Oakland-born genre-defier Mahawam! Mahawam (who uses they/them pronouns) often sits somewhere between rap and electronic, with this song certainly following that pattern – it's a fast-paced track that sees the singer reclaim their own insecurities and identity.

Posted by: Doctor Blind 27th August 2022, 07:53 PM

I'm absolutely loving this at the moment - a very dreamy and catchy track that is very much DBcore, so much so that I have already bought the track from iTunes and checked out the EP it came from. Thanks so much for the discovery, enjoyed the 360video and ofc very pleased that you've made it to the final. Hopefully your biggest hit to-date incoming!

Posted by: Ansel 30th August 2022, 04:39 PM

Ah I'm really happy you've connected with it so much! I'm not very familiar with any of their other stuff at all but I just love the energy this song has. Hope you're right about it being a hit

Posted by: Ansel 26th September 2022, 04:29 PM

BJSC148: Твоё далеко - Теперь не страшно



This month, Pestolia is sending an atmospheric slice of indie-electronic courtesy of Твоё далеко! It reminds me of long dark September nights spent with friends, and feels like the perfect entry for the start of autumn.

Posted by: Ansel 29th November 2022, 06:51 PM

BJSC150: Lo-Fang - #88



After Bibi Flash gave Pestolia its 3rd best result to-date, we're back with #88 by Lo-Fang! This is a song I've been listening to for years and I don't remember how I found it, probably from my Spotify Discover playlist when I used to listen to that regularly. It's Pestolia's longest entry ever, and it definitely justifies that 6+ minute runtime imo, building up to a very atmospheric moment towards the end. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I do!

Posted by: Dr. Bré 29th November 2022, 11:41 PM

I found when Googling this that Lo-Fang was an opening act for Lorde back in the day so consider me intrigued x

Posted by: Ansel 2nd December 2022, 04:50 PM

I discovered that recently too while I was checking to see if it might get vetoed! According to Wikipedia, Lorde said this was her 2nd favourite song of 2013 and there's actually https://youtu.be/Ar5vB5HenHM?t=115. Hopefully that doesn't make it cheap

Posted by: Ansel 15th January 2023, 08:41 PM

BJSC151: sangiovanni & Aitana - mariposas



Pestolia is starting off the year with a basic pop banger - this song has actually been a big hit in Spain, I hear it almost every day on the bus to work! So now you all get to have it stuck in your heads too. It's my first time (I believe) recycling an artist - Aitana has been sent to BJSC twice before, DNQing once and coming 37th the second time. Hopefully she can do better this time! I think it's fair to say this doesn't sound like something we'd normally send but it's something fun to kick off what will hopefully be a good year for Pestolia.

Posted by: Ansel 17th February 2023, 03:21 PM

BJSC152: When In Rome - The Promise



I'm sorry but I'm just thinking of the right words to say... After achieving our best result to date with 'mariposas' (the 25th biggest song of 2022 in Spain did THAT!), Pestolia is heading into the past! We're represented by English synth-pop band When In Rome, an 80s one-hit wonder in the US and a no-hit wonder in the UK. Since then, the song has appeared in the end credits of Napoleon Dynamite and experienced a TikTok resurgence that helped bring it to new audiences, including me! Reviewers have likened this song to New Order, according to Wikipedia, but for me its closest relative is the Wii Sports theme. Listen to the opening and you'll see what I mean.

Posted by: dhwe 17th February 2023, 03:28 PM

love this song, really hope it does well! the chorus is the kind you wanna belt out at drunk karaoke, which you reminded to do next time I partake in some karaoke

Posted by: Ansel 17th February 2023, 03:44 PM

Thanks, equally hoping yours does well! I'll be adding "drunk karaoke to this song" to the top of my to-do list as well

Posted by: Brer 22nd February 2023, 03:56 PM

This is actually so good. I'm mad at the 1989 UK public not letting this be a hit here, one thing the Americans did right x

Posted by: Ansel 23rd February 2023, 09:37 PM

Yes so true!! Up there with Brexit as one of the UK's biggest mistakes tbh.

Posted by: Calvin Maxwell 26th February 2023, 03:16 AM

The discrepancies between the US and UK charts never fails to amaze me there are songs that are too obscure in the UK that make it into this contest that I’ve heard everywhere at one point and then there are songs that a majority of this forum have nostalgia for that I’ve never heard of in my life

Posted by: Ansel 26th February 2023, 04:42 PM

I always find it so interesting coming across songs that were huge in one country but literally N/A in the other! although I will 100% be gaslighting people into believing The Promise was a huge UK hit they've somehow forgotten. One of my closest friends is originally from the US so whenever we all go on a night out we're belting out some pan-European smash hit and she's there like 😐 but of course it'd be the same for me if I moved over there!

Posted by: Roba. 4th March 2023, 01:15 AM

congrats on your first top 5! It did grow on me a lot since the listen throughs as I wasn't so mad at first. Really is nice to see different nations in the mix too!

Posted by: Ansel 4th March 2023, 03:00 PM

Thank you so much! Really didn't see it coming at all, I'm glad it grew on you!

Posted by: Ansel 18th March 2023, 08:15 PM

BJSC153: Pearly Drops - Call For Help



We're sticking to our usual synth theme in Pestolia this month, with our latest entry from Finnish duo Pearly Drops! A lot of people in the YouTube comments have compared this song to Grimes and I can definitely hear the similarity to her earlier stuff, the vocals are a very similar style. So if you want to listen to Grimes but don't want to hear songs about El*n M*sk, then this is the song for you!

Posted by: Brer 18th March 2023, 10:37 PM

They had a song in PJSC before which I really liked ('Bloom For Me') so looking forward to this one! (and yes can definitely see the Grimes comparison from that other song)

Posted by: Roba. 19th March 2023, 01:04 AM

I've already checked this out whilst looking through potentials and it sounded great. Hope it does well!

Posted by: Ansel 20th March 2023, 04:57 PM

Ah interesting, I checked out Bloom For Me before sending this one but wasn't so convinced on it! I've just had a quick hunt and seen it did pretty well there, top half at least so hopefully a good sign for Call For Help!


Ahh nice! Glad you're a fan :)

Posted by: Ansel 24th April 2023, 05:26 PM

BJSC154: Furfriend - Fist Fuck



I feel like I don't need to say a lot about this one since the title kinda says it all. Sorry to whoever had to do veto research, I'm sure it was an unpleasant Google search x

Anyway, Furfriend are a German duo known for their rather explicit dance tracks and for wearing masks made of hair. They're also vocal queer activists (or at least as vocal as their minimal Google presence allows) which comes through heavily in their music where they make no attempt to avoid taboo (in addition to the titular weekend pastime, they also take the time to drop some (reclaimed) slurs in this song so I apologise in advance to anyone uncomfortable with that). The music video is kinda weird nightmare vibes by the way. No prizes for guessing they're based in Berlin.

Posted by: Ansel 25th May 2023, 09:21 PM

BJSC155: Rafa Villalba - Chiquetere



Rafa Villalba is a Valencian artist who first recorded Chiquetere in 1984 (new mixes came in '86 and '94, I think the one we're hearing is the 94 mix but idk). At the weekend his parents would leave the city, leaving Rafa home alone (ok he was 20 so not a big deal) where he recorded the song's rap verse in just 2 minutes. The lyrics talk about how he spent the weekend making dinner, going out with friends, and smoking on the beach. https://elpais.com/eps/2023-01-10/empieza-chiquetere-te-te-te-te-tere-y-es-la-musica-que-escuchas-en-tu-interior-cuando-estas-feliz.html is quite interesting about the song's background and rediscovery. It's a 90s dance anthem which has now soundtracked around a million TikToks!

Posted by: Ansel 18th July 2023, 11:08 AM

BJSC156: OBK - El cielo no entiende



Pestolia's latest BJSC entry is 'El cielo no entiende', released in 2000 by Barcelona synthpop group OBK (fun fact: their name is a shortened version of the Depeche Mode song Oberkorn, just in case that helps with the retro bloc pandering x). It's become something of a Pride anthem which I heard a few times at Madrid Pride earlier this month, and the lyrics talk about expressing your love and not caring what others think (the title translates as 'Heaven doesn't understand'). I originally discovered it after it featured in the Netflix show 'Todas las veces que nos enamoramos' and I really love the late-summer 00s feel of it. It was also the official song of La Vuelta a España (the big cycling race) in 2000 and reached #1 on Los 40 (essentially the Spanish equivalent of the Capital Big Top 40)!

Posted by: Ansel 19th August 2023, 07:14 PM

BJSC157: Cecile Believe - Bitch Bites Dog



After back to back Spanish entries we're back to English with Cecile Believe! This song gives me strong Britney vibes but with a slightly sinister edge, it was recommended to me recently by a friend and it's been on repeat all summer.

Posted by: Ansel 17th September 2023, 09:52 PM

BJSC158: jaboukie - BBC



Taking us into 158 is Twitter's very own jaboukie with BBC! The song isn't about *that* BBC, or even *that* BBC - in this song it stands for "bad bitch coochie" and the lyrics are really something. I get a strong Azealia Banks vibe from the whole song and it's a real banger.

Posted by: Ansel 23rd October 2023, 09:19 PM

BJSC159: Simona - PLUSH



Steering Pestolia through #159 is Argentinian singer Simona with her house-influenced banger PLUSH. It's a fun upbeat track where she asserts various identities (pop star, porn star, dealer, baby, angel, devil, mother, father - quite the stacked CV). I was recommended this by a friend, although the first time they told me the name I misheard it as "flush"

Posted by: Ansel 19th November 2023, 08:06 PM

BJSC160: 8485 - 3cheers



Pestolia is finishing off the year with a fast-paced hyperpop banger! It's a song about longing for someone but also saying goodbye - which feels like a pretty good message while we wait til January for the next contest.

Posted by: Ansel 20th February 2024, 02:57 PM

BJSC162: Suki Waterhouse - OMG







Back to remembering to update this thread - especially since I wanted to save the gorgeous graphics from this contest! Pestolia has chosen Suki Waterhouse this month, with a rock-tinged banger called OMG. Suki feels like one of the cheaper names we've sent but I feel it has quite a timeless feel as a song and could be from any time this side of the 2000s. The video features Suki absolutely mothering in a greenhouse where she is hoping to cultivate a higher finish than Pestolia's recent sub-30th-place run. Either way, here's hoping she makes the final and earns us a new record qualifier streak!

Posted by: uhsting 20th February 2024, 07:30 PM

yaurrrr glad you liked the graphics Suki's not cheap because her thread got 0 replies in the Indie/Alt forum

Posted by: Ansel 20th March 2024, 05:34 PM

BJSC163: DJ SG - Sosban Fach



Off the back of our joint-biggest hit to date thanks to Suki Waterhouse coming in 4th place, Pestolia has officially annexed Wales! I've been back and forth between Bristol and Cardiff this entire month and it felt very appropriate to send something in Welsh. I discovered this song through one of my flatmates (a quite frankly militant Welsh rugby fan) playing it on St. David's Day while we all ate Welsh cakes, and I just immediately knew I had to do something with it. The song itself is a dance update of a Welsh folk song (the title translating as 'Little Saucepan') and the music video is one of the highest-definition videos of all time, letting you really feel like you're in the room with DJ SG himself.

Posted by: Ansel 20th March 2024, 05:35 PM

Glad to be back in Sovarasma again, loving the dedication you've put into both contests! Oop, flop Suki x

Posted by: Ansel 20th April 2024, 06:34 PM

BJSC164: Dry Cleaning - Anna Calls From The Arctic



After BJSC said NO to Welsh folk-dance excellence Pestolia is back with something very different! I don't really remember where I came across this, I think it was in the comments of a Guardian article tbh. But I think the message is really interesting, it deals quite nicely with the gradual 'enshittification' of late stage capitalism: 'Nothing works / Everything's expensive / And opaque and privatized / My shoe organizing thing arrived / Thank God'.

Posted by: Ansel 27th May 2024, 07:20 PM

BJSC165: Emilia - GTA.mp3



Pestolia's latest entry is courtesy of Argentine singer Emilia! She's described this song as inspired by Kylie Minogue (maybe there's a different Kylie Minogue in Argentina bc I don't really see the resemblance x) and it's a dance-pop bop. It's in a similar vein to last year's 'mariposas' (albeit with slightly racier lyrics) which scored Pestolia a 13th place smasha, and we're hoping for another pop bloc success story this month!