Persephonia's 'Keep You', by Wild Belle, also scored enough votes despite its failure to make XLVI's final.

 

*.*

SSSB in crisis as Syndare's BJSC hopes continue to flounder

 

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Say Lou Lou (left) and Mmm (right)

 

It was announced this morning that the current panel of the Syndarian Song Selection Body (SSSB) have all been dismissed by the nation's leading television network, the SNN, after fortunes in the contest failed to turn around with another lacklustre finish in BJSC LII this month. Mmm, the second Swedish female pair to enter for Syndare after Say Lou Lou joined producer Goldroom on 19th placer 'Sweetness Alive' in LI, failed to live up to encouraging odds across the Buzzjack world and limped hope in 22nd place with their entry 'Dark Motion'. While the country's recent run of qualifications had been seen in the press as a positive step forward from the poor run of form last summer, which saw four consecutive non-qualifications for Syndare, the SNN clearly disagrees.

 

SNN president Gregory Stolt said in a statement: 'Months of discussion and consultation with the former panel have preceded this announcement and it is not something arrived at without full consideration. Further information will be released before before the next song contest begins.'

 

Dan Skvaller, columnist at SynDarekt, one of the country's most circulated newspapers, has already posted a preview of tomorrow's opinion piece where he suggests that 'the members of the SSSB were losing touch with the shifting tastes of the Buzzjack world' and suggests that the SNN has already secured several university graduates to form a much younger panel in the hopes of regaining a successful foothold in the competition. He also notes that the SNN's decision to fire the current members of the SSSB contradicts polls of the Syndarian public, in which 78% of those polled said they'd prefer high quality, low scoring entries to poor entries that score highly. 'Sweetness Alive' currently sits at five in the country's best-selling songs of the year, with 68% of the population said to have purchased a copy of the song. ('Dark Motion', still in the nation's top ten, is reportedly at 49% as of last week.)

Outside consultations revealed as answer to SSSB shake-up

 

Following the shock dismissal of the entire panel of the Syndarian Song Selection Body, SNN president Gregory Stolt today revealed the network's plans for the organisation's revamp. Four new members of the board have been appointed, ranging in age from 21 to 37 - a move which confirms SynDarekt columnist Dan Skvaller's suggestion that the SNN was moving to a younger mindset in its plans for the future.

 

More controversially, Stolt also revealed that for the first time - at least to the public's knowledge - the SSSB will hold consultations with bodies from other nations in the Buzzjack world. Stolt's revelation at the press conference today prompted audible gasps and a small sub-section of booing from one section of the assembled press. However, Stolt insists that the move will be handled with caution and that the SSSB will still make all decisions. 'These outside consultations are being made in the interest of ensuring that the SSSB does not become too insular,' said Stolt. 'Our recent results suggest that Syndare's entries into the competition are not connecting with the wider Buzzjack world, and these consultations will gather vital opinion before any decisions are made.'

 

Stolt would not reveal which nations were being consulted, nor how many. These decisions come in light of the recent announcement of the previous contest's semi final result, in which Syndare's entrant Mmm were revealed to have come fifth, marking a disappointing comedown in the ultimate result in the contest's grand final. Contest analysts contacted by this publication were at a loss to offer an explanation for the disparity.

 

---

 

Anyone willing to help Syndare make a decision on this month's entry, please shoot me a PM!

Just PM me and I'll do my best to get it done tomorrow :)

Well you can drop the ASSC a PM if you so desire.

Yeah give me a PM, I may well do the same in return.

Alice & the Glass Lake illuminate LIII in Batidas as SSSB shake-up proffers surprising results

 

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The competitors in the fifty-third edition of the Buzzjack Song Contest were unveiled in Colpi Golpes, Batidas tonight, and Syndare's entrant has already provoked shocked reactions from national commentators on the contest. The selection of Alice & the Glass Lake, a previously unknown act from Wisconsin, USA, seems to contradict the recent overhaul of the SSSB, which encompassed a complete change in personnel and new consultation procedures with other Buzzjack nations. Immediate reaction from Syndarian journalists and commentators was that 'Luminous', Alice Lake's first release, was a more dangerous proposition as regards success in the contest than the previous entrants from Syndare thus far this year. SNN president Gregory Stolt is expected to make a statement early tomorrow morning, but remained closed for comment when contacted earlier.

 

Initial odds from leading bookmaker RontBet placed 'Luminous' in the middle of the table, but reaction from the rest of the globe has yet to follow. Stolt is also expected to confirm the nations who were involved in the consultation process, although many Syndarian press outlets have already reported unconfirmed speculation that frequent trade partners Persephonia were the first to be contacted in the new procedures.

 

Alice & the Glass Lake - 'Luminous'

I'm really surprised that out of your contenders this was the one you picked! It was my favourite of them though so that's surprised in a VERY good way. It's a shame I'm in the opposite semi...

AMAZING choix, I've been playing it to death since your PM

At least I got one of you in my semi! It really grew so quickly to be my favourite of the bunch by far, and I'd rather go with something I'm passionate about. And even if other people I asked had different reactions, the positively from you two has me hopeful it'll get big points from a selection of people and go through. FINGERS CROSSED

Alice and the Glass Lake keep Syndarian fortunes still

 

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In typically tense Batidan fashion, the results of the fifty-third Buzzjack Song Contest were revealed last night, with the winner, Carli's 'Look Up' from #00247E, ultimately finishing a full thirty points ahead of the competition - a deserved debut victory for the nation in a very dance-orientated contest. Syndare were once again nearer the other end of the scoreboard, but feelings were positive across the nation this morning after Alice and the Glass Lake finished in 22nd place, repeating Mmm's fortunes in the previous contest. Despite the recent overhauls of the SSSB, the selection of the mysterious Alice Lake - who performed on a tall glass island in the middle of a lake made mirage by computer graphics, preserving her mysterious persona - suggested that the SNN's dismissal of the previous SSSB panel was not down to Syndare's recent fortunes in the contest. SNN president Gregory Stolt has yet to make any comments on record, but conjecture in the press has hinted at unrelated personal matters within the organisation as being the motivation behind the changes.

 

Odds throughout the contest this month had Syndare widely predicted in the dreaded bottom seven of the contest, a fate once again avoided by strong support from a pocket of friendly nations. Twelve points were gifted to Syndare from both Zechonia and Bignia-Zaragovina, while trade partners Persephonia and Altyr Muunilinst also demonstrated passionate support for 'Luminous'. The final score of 80 was far above the 40 points scathingly predicted by SynDarekt's Dan Skvaller earlier in the week. 'Luminous' rises back to its chart peak of 4 in Syndare's singles chart this week.

 

Unnamed sources at the SSSB have already contacted this publication with excited word on the quality of applicants for the 54th contest, which, controversially, will hold no veto process. Rumours printed in Skvaller's latest column, meanwhile, suggest that, for the first time in the organisation's history, they have reached out to an act requesting their application to the contest.

Du Tonc hope to bring light to Syndare's recent darkness in BJSC

 

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Du Tonc: Matt Van Schie and Mighty Mouse

 

The fifty-fourth edition of the Buzzjack Song Contest kicked off in #00274E earlier tonight, and Syndare's fourteenth entrant was revealed to be Du Tonc - an almighty teaming of dance maestro Mighty Mouse and Matt Van Schie, a former entrant into the contest with his other musical outfit, Van She. 'Darkness' does everything but live up to its name, instead offering a crescendo of glimmering synths as Van Schie's vocals fly over groovy disco beats. Having selected a male vocal track for only the second time in the nation's history - the other being Sin Cos Tan's 'Trust', which placed fourteenth in the fiftieth contest - the SSSN are hopeful that this brisk change of pace will improve the country's fortunes and return them to the higher reaches of the scoreboard.

 

ASTR successfully pull through semi final of 55th BJSC

 

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The qualifiers for the 55th Buzzjack Song Contest, taking place in Skall after their victory with Postiljonen's aptly named 'Supreme' last month, were announced this evening, and Syndare were back in the world's good graces after their narrow miss last month. Mysterious NYC duo ASTR, with the sexy, whirring 'Operate', had received mixed predictions, but flew through with plenty of cheers from several nation's delegations, with the host of the evening even breaking protocol to proclaim their support. In a month where music sales are at their highest ever in Syndare, ASTR's peak of #7 in the national charts belies its sales, which have already outclassed over half of the nation's previous entries into the contest. Hopes are high that 'Operate' can return the nation to the contest's top ten - somewhere they have yet to return to after their initial streak of three top ten successes.

 

ASTR resuscitate Syndare's BJSC fortunes with top ten finish

 

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The final of the fifty-fifth Buzzjack Song Contest last night heralded a long-awaited return to the top ten for Syndare, as New York duo ASTR nestled into sixth place with 'Operate'. It was the nation's fourth top ten placement, and the first in over a year since their debut run of three successes that ended with Laura Welsh providing their best ever finish, as 'Ghosts' came third. Though 'Operate' couldn't quite match the peak of 'Ghosts' or Butterfly Boucher's 'Not Fooling Around', it is ultimately Syndare's second most successful entry so far, with its 130 points besting Boucher's 127. ('Ghosts' remains on top with 161 points.) The Syndarian national chart marked this return to the upper echelons of the contest by giving ASTR a new peak today, with 'Operate' climbing to #3. Incidentally, the same chart saw Juranabaijan's contest entry 'Papaoutai', by Frenchman Stromae, climb to #2 - but the track only came in fourteenth position in last night's contest.

 

The SSSB, keen to continue Syndare's newfound success, are already in consultations with other nations for next month's entry, and are currently playing host to an Aerochian delegation, according to reports from SynDarekt's Dan Skvaller.

Syndare task Belanger with bringing the contest home

 

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Following last month's return to modest success, as Scandanavian duo KIll J landed seventeenth place with 'Phoenix', the SSSB have turned to American DJ and remixer Matt Belanger for their entry into the fifty-seventh Buzzjack Song Contest, with his mammoth dance tune 'Take Me Home'. Belanger, who drops his first name for his artist moniker, has been delivering ear-catching remixes of tunes from artists including Demi Lovato and Bridgit Mendler over the last few months, but 'Take Me Home' makes use of Stevie Nicks' 1983 classic 'Stand Back' for its piercing vocal crescendos. The SSSB are hoping this mixture of nostalgia and modern synth euphoria will take Syndare to the top of the scoreboard come the final this month - though competition is fierce, with initial odds at their closest for many months.

 

Belanger - 'Take Me Home'

I really love this, it was indeed the track I was considering sending also - although when I checked your personal chart it was clear you'd known it for longer than I!

 

You shall be gaining much support from FLJ this month. :D

freakin love it #aerodare

I really love this, it was indeed the track I was considering sending also - although when I checked your personal chart it was clear you'd known it for longer than I!

 

You shall be gaining much support from FLJ this month. :D

 

I was pretty sure this was what you meant - the other was Aves' 'Sunkissed' but that was a lot lower on my chart. Always happy to have FLJ support, the stamp of quality! :D

 

freakin love it #aerodare

 

#aerodare I'd like to see anyone else TRY and match us

Belanger take up residence in LVII final

 

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It's set to be a glorious homecoming for Belanger once the fifty-seventh Buzzjack Song Contest ends, after the New York DJ sailed through to the final tonight. The first act announced from semi final two, Belanger has been riding high in the latter part of the week, with hype exploding in the last few days as many nations anointed 'Take Me Home' one of the frontrunners - that despite average odds of 35/2, notably behind other mooted champions Bellamia and Persephonia. The nation will be on tenterhooks next bank holiday weekend, once the final voting closes and the country's fate will be sealed. SNN president Gregory Stolt insisted that expectations were being kept low, commenting that "visible hype can often be misleading. After all, last month's winner [Trifoski's Ghost Loft] was a complete surprise, albeit a very welcome one! We're very proud of Belanger whatever the result - I think the national charts speak for the population's opinions on the matter!" 'Take Me Home' has been at the top of Syndare's national chart for three straight weeks, with a total of five in the top ten, and with sales at the usual high peaks of the summer.

 

Belanger - 'Take Me Home'

This track just gets better and better, and has a massive crossover appeal. Having initally thought it was a two horse race between Persephonia and Bellamia, I'm starting to wonder if Syndare finally have the contest in the bag :o