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BuzzJack Music Forum _ BuzzJack Song Contest _ What's your recipe for BJSC success?
Posted by: JSG 26th July 2014, 09:30 AM
I've noticed a fair few people always tend to do well in bjsc. I was just wondering how they do it. In my case the songs that tend to qualify are ones that have lower peaks on my personal chart. That doesn't guarantee success but I've noticed it usually leads to qualifying on my part.
Posted by: Lauroeighhiya 26th July 2014, 11:27 AM
Well, I might not be bagging the big peaks month in, month out, but I've been top 10 for the last 2 years and also pretty CONSISTENT. For me it's basically just send the song I like most at the time, although there is obviously a slight allowance for 'what will do well' too. It's finding the right place to SOURCE entries really. And of course avoiding the genre's of doom: R&B and Metal/Rock among others.
Posted by: Doctor Blind 26th July 2014, 11:28 AM
I think now with the indie-bloc growing you may find that POP becomes the genre of doom. 
Posted by: LexC 26th July 2014, 11:58 AM
Well I would tell you if I had one, but my past form clearly shows i don't have one. One aim I do have for the future though , and what I tried to do this month, is to send something that people react to rather than are indifferent to. Because the make up of people in BJSC have two distinctly polarised tastes, even if some people hate it there'll be an equal response to it in the opposite direction. If that works for me this month then I'll try and stick to that for a while.
Posted by: Thermo 26th July 2014, 12:04 PM
Lipstick going top 3 (and Armenian Girl likely to do the same tonight) suggest otherwise
But yeah, there are 3 distinct blocs in the contest (pop, dance and indie) and I find that if I really appeal to my bloc (dance obvs) whilst having some cross-appeal then I finish top 20.
I am considering selling out next contest though oops (not even sure if it'll work too lol)
Posted by: Lauroeighhiya 26th July 2014, 12:10 PM
I don't think the 'blocs' are anything like as rigid as they used to be, it's just that there is a substantive indie bloc now whereas it was only a handful of people before. Obv the key is appealing across genres, I usually tend to straddle indie and pop (although usually about 80% pop, granted), which seems to work alright for me.
Posted by: *Tim 26th July 2014, 12:14 PM
Dance/pop does the job for me
(More often a mediocre one than a great one but still)
It's what I love the most so that's what I usually go for. Some crimes have been commited by the BJSC crowd (Shotgun, Overdose, World Of Dreams DNQing bye) so you never really know what will do well
Posted by: Callum Sandford 26th July 2014, 01:32 PM
Having impeccable music taste. 
Posted by: Noahspike 26th July 2014, 01:39 PM
Would be interested if anyone could shed some light on what makes R&B a genre of doom? I would have thought it's relatively popular and many songs have crossover appeal from general discussion elsewhere on the forum.
Posted by: gooddelta 26th July 2014, 01:49 PM
Just sending my favourite song at the time. I don't think there is a recipe for success, although there are always genres that do better than others at any given time.
Posted by: LeeWallace 26th July 2014, 02:11 PM
BE LEWW.
Posted by: Lauroeighhiya 26th July 2014, 02:40 PM
Well, maybe it's just my skewed perception, but generally R&B tracks don't do very well and if they do it's usually because they are an act that is beloved, remixed or from one of the popular nations (not saying people give more to them because of who they are, just they are more likely to listen/expect them to be good).
Posted by: Noahspike 26th July 2014, 02:44 PM
Thanks for the explanation. I love a load of stuff that probably falls under the 'R&B' umbrella so I might try make a surprise BJSC hit out of one of them!
Posted by: { bré } 26th July 2014, 02:55 PM
I think in the early days BJSC had a little 'R&B bloc' but all the countries involved died, apart from B.a.N.G who still occasionally show up and sometimes vote. It really does seem to be a cursed genre these days, even more so than rock and hip hop - I mean if 'Vulnerable' couldn't come close to qualifying it's hard to imagine what would. 'Adorn' not qualifying was also rather ?! though it did at least go on to win Rejects.
Unrelated: what the HELL is that mess of a username John?
Posted by: Lauroeighhiya 26th July 2014, 03:17 PM
It's an HOMAGE to the amazing Lauroeighhiya Samcake from The Spoils Of Babylon *.*
Posted by: Callum Sandford 26th July 2014, 03:37 PM
R&B is my favourite genre of music and I have SO many potential entries of that sort but I can't enter them unless I wanna come last in my semi. Such a shame. 
Posted by: Martyn 26th July 2014, 04:27 PM
I go for something I like, or by a hot guy.
Posted by: Iz~ 26th July 2014, 04:56 PM
Metal/Rock being genres of doom makes me sad. It wasn't that long ago I got a top 6 hit with a full on metal song (that admittedly had plenty of pop appeal too). I will get another one day.
I just send something I find that I'm loving at the time and recently that's been working well for me as they've been songs with plenty of crossover appeal - my urge to not be predictable does come into it though and I'll rarely send the same song twice in a row. The songs I used to send partly because I thought they'd get noticed tended to DNQ (Megitsune, Seven, Ruostunut Ankkuri) so I'm kind of off that strategy at the moment but I'll probably come back to it in time. My entry this month is partly based on that although it probably has more obvious appeal to the base BJSC voter than any of those 3.
Posted by: ♒ chris 26th July 2014, 05:29 PM
Unrelated: what the HELL is that mess of a username John?
this makes me wonder how on earth kes managed a relative smash if like not even tinashe / miguel could. the dntn effect is real***
Posted by: { bré } 26th July 2014, 05:41 PM
I wonder about that too but mainly cos it's not very good #srynotsry
Posted by: Liаm 26th July 2014, 05:43 PM
Don't be me.
Posted by: popchartfreak 26th July 2014, 05:50 PM
I've tried a wide variety of genres and the only ones that registered were EDM-uptempo-subtle-gems. It should be called the Buzzjack EDM Contest, really, BEDMC has a ring to it... 
Though, of course, EDM's what is currently music scene buzzy, so prob not surprising to see that reflected...
Posted by: AlexRange 26th July 2014, 06:29 PM
That's a main reason, because I'm not a participant.
Posted by: ✖ ketalina ✖ 29th July 2014, 05:45 AM
well my taste is just very bjsc orientated. 70% of my 12 points have gone top 15 or something ridiculous like that, and 75% of my own entries have done the same.
i think the really important thing is make sure your entry stands out as much as possible - it's fine to send any genre but if you think everyone else is going to send the exact same thing rehashed, why bother? that's a tactic that i've taken this year (and FSR rontvia / persephonia / N DNTN have ALSO taken this year) and the results are showing there. also if you love a song and you don't think it's right to send, don't just dismiss it, revisit it later and see if it fits. thats why i held onto 'wonky' and 'windowlicker'.
Posted by: Cassandra 29th July 2014, 06:07 AM
absolutely, resolutely, unbendingly refuse to accommodate any notion that the contest has changed since 2011
this contest will appreciate my schlager gems again someday
Posted by: Conderella 29th July 2014, 06:14 AM
I don't really have any strategy when entering songs into this. I just send one of my favourite songs at that moment and see how it goes. Won 5 times so must be doing something right.
Posted by: gooddelta 29th July 2014, 02:44 PM
I HAVE this natural instinct to want to stand out which is why I try to actively avoid chasing trends. I was sending dance before it became fashionable and now it's more fashionable than ever during 2014, I'm not sending it. (RAMelia being the exception but it's hardly the usual ten-a-penny house track that plagues every contest now).
So I guess my recipe for success is don't try too hard. If you're sending something just because it's part of a genre that tends to do well, chances are that you'll be the one person that gets it completely wrong and ends up DNQ'ing. Just send what you love, regardless of the genre and cross your fingers and hope for the best!
Posted by: JosephStyles 29th July 2014, 02:49 PM
I don't have any kind of recipe at all, it's just like throwing stuff at a wall and seeing what sticks For a while, nothing really clicked and in my first 8 contests, I had one qualification and that came 2nd last in the final. Only had one DNQ this year (still not over poor Caroline Brooks not qualifying) so I guess your instinct kinda improves as you go along. My advice is to just go with your gut - don't just send a song for success, send what you love (I remember changing a song that probably could've qualified, Angie Miller's You Set Me Free, to Ulrik Munther's Heroes In Defeat, a surefire DNQ and my worst result of last year, but I preferred it so still changed it).
Posted by: ✖ ketalina ✖ 29th July 2014, 02:53 PM
So I guess my recipe for success is don't try too hard. If you're sending something just because it's part of a genre that tends to do well, chances are that you'll be the one person that gets it completely wrong and ends up DNQ'ing. Just send what you love, regardless of the genre and cross your fingers and hope for the best!
the latter is definitely me for next month. i'm lucky cos it's an AQ but don't wanna be doing that whole 01-32 nonsense that everyone's scared of. (sry yu)
Posted by: *Tim 29th July 2014, 03:35 PM
So if everyone could steer away from the so called "dancetrend" this month, that'd be amazing
Posted by: LexC 29th July 2014, 03:48 PM
There's nothing wrong with sending dance music, it's just an unfortunate trend recently where so many people decide to send the same type of dance songs - the absolute nadir was in the 64 semi finals where so much of the entries just blended into each other.
Posted by: JSG 29th July 2014, 03:55 PM
I have so many potentials this month and no idea what to send although I do have a Katy B-esque track that I absolutely adore.
Posted by: { bré } 29th July 2014, 04:20 PM
My usual 'formula' is finding something that will appeal to the few people who usually like my songs and then hope others will like it too. This may explain why I keep finishing 23rd/24th.
I don't rly like sending generic / trend-chasing songs (I do love 'Lately' but I really only sent it because I was unable to find something more 'interesting' that I could still get behind, I will probably come to regret sending it like I regret 'Beat Dun Drop') so I suppose 'try to stand out' like Leww said as well. Doesn't often work spectacularly well for me though
Posted by: gooddelta 29th July 2014, 04:32 PM
I'd LOVE to see more trance in the contest personally, it's always been my favourite dance genre and nobody ever bothers with it!
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