The consolation for not having any of my rambling commentary is being in my top 18. x

Aka you have to trust that Bray loves you even though you don't get any explanation as to why ~

 

I'm guessing by the write-up you did for 85 that I didn't make my comeback from the disastrous 84 yet? :kink: I think the song I did enter this contest might be up your alley and might be the real comeback #ForeignBloc (well more like #SortaForeignBloc)

Crywolf will certainly be there somewhere I'd think, that and 'Who Returned' remain my two favourite DNQs of the year so far I think! And still plenty of time for me to get behind more Quintessa entries this year (especially if you do send that second song you sent me this month ~)

 

I'm gonna wait a month at least for that one, I don't see anyone taking it in the meantime.

REINVEN✝ION

http://i.imgur.com/taB4KKS.jpg

✝ we were born sick ✝

A Hozier appears(?)

Persephonian News Bulletin ~ 12/07/2016

 

Aron Can represents Persephonia in Beaverdam

 

As BJSC recovers from Blush-gate with new and reinforced rules in place to crush dissent crack down on illicit potential sharing, it is time for us to reveal our song that we hadn't yet shared with anyone anyway. :magic:

 

BJSC LXXXVI has kicked off after that slight delay, so we can announce Persephonia's 65th main contest entry comes from 16 year old Icelandic rapper Aron Can (editor's note: well he might be 17 now, but either way he's younger than I am which is probably a first, getting old). Also a first, it's a song that actually came out this year, thus six entries into 2016 we've finally sent a 2016 song.

 

Aron Can released his first project, an eight track EP titled 'Þekkir Stráginn', back in May of this year. That EP contains a lot of good songs and two of them were also under consideration for our current entry. However, he has moved on from that release pretty quickly as the song we have actually sent is a new track not featured on that EP at all. It's called 'Með Mér', and the theme we're getting here is he's quite keen on using Icelandic-exclusive letters in his song titles :D Just call it 'Med Mér' if you don't feel like learning the alt-code for ð (it's Alt+0240 by the way).

 

Anyway, 'Með Mér' is a little bit more commercial (?) than the songs from the EP, with a bit of tropical-y dancehall-y influence going on in the production (dare I compare it to the recent singles from Drake ~) and an infectious hook that we hope will have people phonetically singing along even though no one will have any idea what he's saying, and the lyrics aren't even online anywhere to translate them into anything meaningful. All we can say is the title translates to 'With Me'.

 

Here is the song:

 

 

And if anyone feels like listening to them here are the other two songs from the same artist that we were also considering for this contest (conveniently packaged into one video, as he happened to make a music video that combines the two songs):

 

 

'Með Mér' is our seventh fully foreign language entry and first in Icelandic (though Jónsi's 'Animal Arithmetic' also included an Icelandic part). Aron Can is the fourth Icelandic artist to represent Persephonia following the aforementioned Jónsi, plus all-time icons Orphic Oxtra and most recently Fura, bringing us up to having sent ~0.005% of the population of Iceland to this contest :D

 

Persephonia are performing 18th in semi-final 1 which is being hosted in Beaverdam, Beaverdonia (while semi 2 is being handled by Morpeth Cove, Federal Republic of Ashton).

Persephonian News Bulletin ~ 18/07/2016

 

Yes Aron Can! Persephonia do well in the BJSC

 

Persephonia have once again defied the predictions as our latest entry, 'Með Mér' by Aron Can, has qualified to the final of BJSC LXXXVI, our 36th semi-final qualifier and 47th song to appear in a final. Much like the last time we sent a hip-hop entry the odds and predictions were mostly, understandably, not in our favour but we scraped together the points we needed and that's all that matters in the end ;o 'Með Mér' is now scheduled as the opening song in the running order for the final in Beaverdam, Beaverdonia.

 

Eight out of ten songs that the Persephonian audience awarded points to in semi-final 1 qualified alongside us. The unlucky 2 were Varakë's comeback (which looks set to be a very brief one unfortunately :'( #endvarakëracism) 'Luststruck' by De̊ǰa which became the second song by that band to DNQ for Varakë (though they also have a top 5 hit to their name with 'Heart' representing Espen) and Syndare entry 'Numbered' by Calypso, which picked up 4 and 2 points respectively. Sadly a few more popular tracks that didn't quite make the public's top 10 also missed out, namely those from Bignia-Zaragovina, Cumulonimbia, Cor Lupus and Séyetana (all ranked in the top 15). A non-binding vote on semi-final 2 was also held as usual, with 3 of Persephonia's top 10 there missing out on the final - Skall's latest long dance entry 'Woolloomooloo' by Dave DK (ranked 4th), allies Jadakissnia with Tuna's 'Seret Aravi' (6th) and Flynnonda whose run of bad luck continued with Grace's 'I'm Fine' (8th). #endflynnondaracism2k16

 

The shock conclusion to tonight's semi-final 1 results was that Aeroche had a rare DNQ, just missing out on the final with Bassnectar's 'Now' (feat. Rye Rye), bringing an end to a run of 13 straight finals for them. #00274E and Taahino now lead the list of consecutive finals with both qualifying 9 times in a row (#00274E now having 18 consecutive entries that appeared in the final, broken up by a few breaks from the contest). Persephonia advance to 2 in a row again.

 

Dissonance flip an FSR Rontvia classic to represent Persephonia in BJSC Reinvention

 

A Hozier appears

 

In other news, a new spinoff entitled Reinvention is now underway (jointly hosted by Taahino and Pupok), in which all manner of covers, samples, remixes and mashups are competing for spinoff glory.

 

Persephonia has selected Los Angeles producer Austin Chase aka Dissonance as their representative in the contest with 2013 release 'Born Sick' which reinvents former BJSC #11 hit (FSR Rontvia LIX) 'Take Me To Church' by Hozier - and I think it might have been a minor hit in some irrelevant places like the UK and USA as well maybe - twisting a few choice lyrics into a dark and delicious future garage number. Take a listen below B-)

 

 

The Persephonian BJSC Committee was actually originally after a different track by the same guy called 'Jackson' which samples 'Ms. Jackson' by OutKast, however they declared 'Born Sick' to be better and thus went with that. x

 

As we open the main contest final, we close the spinoff, with Dissonance performing last out of the 38 tracks in the running order.

:kink:

Man this is so catchy.

 

This might send me on another Swedish hip hop spree.

Awaiting the semi results still before I do my usual writeup of the last contest. But in the mean time...

 

~~~

 

The Persephonian BJSC Committee is struggling to decide on an entry for BJSC87 so after careful thought has decided to cave and dump all its potentials into this thread.

 

(tbh I feel like I want to send all of these at some point but I almost certainly won't so I'm partially just posting them so at least a couple of people hear them anyway!)

 

GHOST DATA - CELESTIAL BODIES (feat. Jovani Occomy) - kind of Purity Ring esque (?) electronic pop

- ambient techno instrumental I nicked off a Vsauce video. has a cool and slightly spooky music video. warning: over 5 minutes

Robert Parker - Cardinal - synthwave instrumental in the mould of DANCE WITH THE DEAD

- trappy poppy dancey song. sick~ would probably regret sending a la San Holo but it's still a jam

TRWBADOR - Start Your Car - "A sort of techno Enya doing the Drive soundtrack."

- spacey and slightly emosh electronicy song. gets better near the end so WAIT FOR T CHORUS. watch the video as well

 

Any feedback is appreciated, I think there is one of these that I am SLIGHTLY leaning towards so will see if anyone can respond and reaffirm that for me :unsure: will probably be sending one of these to this contest anyway and others may yet appear in future contests!

I'd most likely point all but 'No More' ~

 

'Water Frozen' > 'Start Your Car' > 'Shona' > 'Cardinal' = 'Celestial Bodies' >> 'No More'

 

'Celestial Bodies' is good, I can see the Purity Ring comparison but I feel it's more similar to ODESZA in the production and vocals~

I really like 'Shona' but I feel like it's a big grower, the one issue is I could see this being a DNQ because it's a very slow burner to me. Excellent song though.

'Cardinal' is really good but a bit repetitive at the beginning. Once it picks up it's really good tho ~

'No More' is fine but it feels really basic by Persephonia standards. It's pretty off the wall but I feel it won't fit the contest very well.

'Start Your Car' is very atmospheric, I LOVE it but I don't know how well it would do. Really melodic and smooth!

'Water Frozen' is beautiful, very 2007 Linkin Park and that drop is *_____*

Ghost Data - good electronic-pop and a lovely sound to it but I feel it might go on a tad long. Just a tiny negative, it'd be a good choice regardless.

Jake Chudnow - Vsauce! I hadn't thought about that for a BJSC entry before but it's certainly enjoyable ambient stuff and this is definitely one of the better picks. Will probably rely on a dedicated fanbase though.

Robert Parker - I don't think this one is hitting it as much as some other synthwave stuff, it's got a few good chord progressions but isn't going anywhere exciting for me.

Sachi - Oh this is reminding me of Aeroche! I can see why it might get some detractors as it does feel quite standard BJSC lately but wouldn't be a bad choice per se. Enjoyable sang.

TRWBADOR - Sounds like a good grower, it has some lovely vocals, I can see myself perhaps quite enjoying that.

TWRR - Oh this is really interesting, I love what they're doing with the instrumental bits already. Could potentially develop into something great once I get used to the chorus/finale.

 

On first listen, I'd go for any of Ghost Data, TRWBADOR, Jake Chudnow or TWRR (yeah that's not much help but just what I'm thinking). The best song would probably be Shona now but either Start Your Car or Water Frozen could overtake it once we actually get to the contest.

:hi: my ranking of your potentials:

 

Shona > Water Frozen > CELESTIAL BODIES > Start Your Car > Cardinal >>>> No More

 

I predictably love Shona, v. kooky video and the sort of ambience I really love, it would be a bit risky to qualify though. Water Frozen I can see myself really loving, love the build up and the instrumental is fantastic, I feel like if it gets the right semi, it could be one of those surprise big hits that everyone thought was a no hoper at first.

 

CELESTIAL BODIES and Start Your Car are both wonderfully subtle electro indie songs and could possibly do very well (the former moreso probably). Cardinal is very good, but I feel synthwave is a becoming a bit par for the course as far as BJSC instrumentals go these days and No More I kind of agree with Math is just very basic. It's not bad at all, but it's the only one I can't see me pointing.

 

Any of the first four would be great although the first two in particular stand out to me as really great, however risky they are. I hope you do end up sending more than one of these in the year as a lot of them are much better than most of your entries this year! (no shade intended but comparing to last year...)

Thanks for the feedback! I think I have decided on my entry now (and tentatively my entry for next month as well unless I end up finding something else in the meantime). Revealing nothing of course :o

 

(I still encourage anyone who wants to to listen to the songs above tho because they're all good songs that I want people to hear!! :kink:)

Oh I didn't realise I hadn't commented in here recently (altho i guess you haven't posted your final write-up yet)! Congrats on the new unique position for Aron Can! One of those songs that is irresistibly catchy without even needing to know what any of the words are :lol: your spinoff song is pretty kool too *.*

 

'Water Frozen' is my favourite of those potentials :wub: Reminds me of ONUKA - 'Time' in a strange way, in that the production is quite delicate and it slowly builds up to something special. 'No More' is the only one i'm not crazy about, so I'm here for any of the others being sent, but particularly gravitating towards 'Water Frozen'! You know the way to my musical heart with synths galore here *.*

No More >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Water Frozen >> Cardinal > Celestial Bodies >> Start Your Car > Shona

 

Well No More is the only fairly likeable song here and at least Water Frozen offers something a bit different to the other 4 boring things.

 

This is based off a quick skippage through the songs to see if any of them turn into anything exciting which the answer for 2/3s of them is no.

Yeah, don't listen to Ryan x

Ryan's feedback is reaffirming my decision to never send SACHI

 

:kink:

I'm gonna echo the previous statements that "Water Frozen" is BEAUTIFUL. There's a sort of subtlety to it that makes it pop out in a way that it can be mainstream (it kinda reminds me of Henry Krinkle's "Stay" a bit).

Here is my rank

 

Shona >> Water Frozen >> Ghost Data >>>> Cardinal >>>>> SYC >>>>>> SACHI

The three in first omg :wub: Really good selection tbh I could see like 4 of them doing well for you so just choose what you think is right :D

Right, time for some delayed paragraph spam (this commentary was quite fun to write for this month, all the drama *.* hope you enjoy it ~3 people who actually read these) xx

 

Persephonian News Bulletin ~ 02/08/2016

 

Aron Can shocks the world with Persephonia's biggest non-top 10 hit

 

Following his surprise qualification, Aron Can did us proud as he defied the odds for Persephonia once again, smashing consensus predictions of being bottom 10 to actually finish in a strong 12th place with his infectious track 'Með Mér' in the final of BJSC LXXXVI in Beaverdonia, becoming our second biggest hit of the year to date both by position and points (it's our second 2016 entry to pass the 200 point barrier, finishing on 201). Since our back to back finishes of 6th and 13th in BJSCs XXX and XXXI (as well as before that), we had never finished in any of the inbetween positions, but that has finally changed. Now it is just 7th to 11th that elude us. 'Með Mér' is our 4th top 20 out of 6 entries so far this year, not a bad run at all ~

 

Thanks to the 24 countries who gave points to Aron Can, primarily Deandria for their full 18 points, Usfland and Skall for 15 points apiece and N DNTN for 13 points. We also are finally able to add Bhangra to our points received list as following their 57 contest absence they made a grand return this month (more on that below) and have now voted for us for the first time, throwing 2 points our way.

 

In a story that keeps repeating itself for Persephonia this year, our final performance was much better than the semi-finals indicated. 'Með Mér' came just 15th in semi-final 1, with 54 points, and was projected to come 29th in the final. The 17 place improvement is a new record for us just one month after Color Guard matched the previous record of 15 places, and 4 of our top 5 improvements from the semi-final have now occurred this year.

 

Entries (excl. AQs and DNQs) sorted by improvement/regression from projected finish based on semi-finals:

(i.e. all semi-final qualifiers listed in order of number of points received in their semi-final, excluding auto-qualifiers)

 

Pos. - Contest - [Projected pos.] - [Final pos.] - ±Change from projection ~ ARTIST - "SONG"

 

01 - 86 - [29] - [12] - +17 ~ ARON CAN - "MEÐ MÉR"

02 - 72 - [19] - [04] - +15 ~ DAWN RICHARD - "TIDE: THE PARADOX EFFECT"

03 - 85 - [31] - [16] - +15 ~ COLOR GUARD - "IN YOUR BONES"

04 - 81 - [20] - [06] - +14 ~ THE SHANGHAI RESTORATION PROJECT - "THE WANDERING SONGSTRESS" (FEAT. ZHANG LE)

05 - 83 - [37] - [25] - +12 ~ BOOTS - "C.U.R.E."

 

Final results commentary + Persephonia's full rankings

 

It had to happen sooner or later - after taking a few months to get into their stride, Pupok were on fire in the previous four contests with four straight entries finishing either 5th or 6th, and in the latest contest they broke free of that glass ceiling and secured their first main contest winner with Aelyn's trance stormer 'Give Love A Try' taking the title in Beaverdam with a total of 359 points. They had previously already won a BJSC spinoff, the Movies edition earlier this year, with Franka Potente and Thomas D's 'Wish (Komm Zu Mir)' (Persephonia's 18 pointer in that contest - 'Give Love A Try' fell a little short of our points in this contest). After declining an opportunity to host the contest following their own win earlier this year, Yehesi are now serving s the cohosts of Pupok in BJSC LXXXVII - quite the power duo of hosts as they sit well clear of all competition as the top 2 in the year to date rankings (Yehesi leading with 1,662 points to Pupok's 1,525, which is nearly 400 points ahead of third placed N DNTN on 1,161).

 

Second place went to Altyr Muunilinst, who have taken a while to score a major hit this year but now have done it in a big way with WILLA's 'Hey' taking the silver medal with 334 points, only 25 short of giving them a third winner. It would have given them their 9th semi-final victory in semi 2, allowing them to overtake Aeroche who tie their record of 8 semi-final wins, but they voted slightly late in the semi-final and were thus handed a 15% deduction meaning 'Hey' technically finished second there too. The lucky nation that picked up a semi win was the aforementioned Yehesi with TP4Y's 'Blush', which kicked off the contest with a 40 page monstrosity of a controversy that we don't talk of any more. But clearly not many nations held that against them (or perhaps it even helped) as it went on to complete a high scoring top 3 in the final, with a bronze medal and 322 points, marking the 4th time in the last 5 contests that they finished in the medal positions after never doing so before. It was their first ever semi-final winner. Incidentally the other semi-final winner was 'Give Love A Try', also a first for Pupok. Poophesi domination confirmed.

 

Medhelnia seem to have suddenly become major players too as after two DNQs in a row from their debut including a last place in the semi, they have now had two consecutive top 5 hits in the final, as they followed last month's silver medal position with a fourth place finish with No Wyld's 'Let Me Know' on 259 points (although not before being infamously and memetically vetoed - oops). Also scoring back to back top 10 hits, Hendinia completed the top 5 with Highasakite's 'Samurai Swords' on 239 points. That was only 2 points and one position ahead of D'yermak'er's latest entry that did well in the BJSC, Ryos' 'Where We Are' (feat. KARRA). Let us not speak of the controversy. Watch out for 'Golden Ticket' in BJSC 100 :cheer:

 

FSR Rontvia are enjoying a renaissance of sorts this year, currently sitting fourth place in the YTD and actually ahead of Aeroche (who have an uphill climb to win the end of year chart again following a DNQ in this contest). They claimed a second top 10 hit of the year, and their 44th top 10 in total, finishing 7th place with Olivia's 'I'm Not Your Lady'. Perhaps BJSC is coming full circle and Scandipop will rise again and with it, its kings FSR Rontvia. Ramrynia still flopped though. (Okay they came 16th, but... lower than our entry!!1) Dobago scored another top 10 hit, their third of 2016, in 8th place with Albin Myers and Carli's 'The Legend'. That was Persephonia's easy 18 pointer in the final, while we gave just 2 points to the rest of the top 10 combined (those went to Hendinia). Our 1 pointer, returning nation Republic of Adonia with 'Ingrid Is A Hybrid' by Dusky, would also have made the top 10 but like with Altyr in the semi, and like with Republic of Adonia in the semi and final nearly every time they enter (:kink:), they did not vote on time and thus suffered a deduction, though only of 15% meaning they still finished a respectable 14th. The lucky country to snatch a flukey top 10 out of it was Triangledonia, 10th place with Alexa Lusader's 'Fantasy' (Sokko Remix). That matches their peak position, incidentally previously also achieved by fluke - their previous top 10 hit was 'Rush' by Venom One featuring Sarah Howells which was promoted to that position after Aquafina's infamous disqualification in BJSC 78. Séyetana have rivals as kings of the flukey 10th place. Nonetheless, it's reason to celebrate for Triangledonia as this was their first entry to even qualify since 'Rush'. The other song in the top 10 was Greenfroze entry 'Make You Stay' by The Girl And The Dreamcatcher in 9th place, their first top 10 this year.

 

Spare some thoughts again for poor brave Ultraviolenceland and Taahino who both claimed their 6th top 20 hits but fell short of first ever top 10s yet again. The former came 13th with Casi's 'Lion' while the latter were 15th with Jule Vera's 'Die Trying', their fourth top 15 hit this year with none doing better than 14th (though as consolation their consistency has been rewarded with 6th place in the year to date rankings). Another country that has waited even longer without a top 10 hit is Tartford, and they fell heartbreakingly short, setting a new national record of 11th with Marsheaux's 'Safe Tonight', their second top 20 hit following a 17th place finish with Son Lux's 'You Don't Know Me' last year. Suedeonia have waited a while to even qualify, starting their run with 5 consecutive DNQs, but they made their first final in this contest and came a decent 27th place with 'Tripping The Luv Fantastic' by Where's The Beach. Thus they didn't quite do as badly to start off with as the similar providers of 'quirky' and often retro entries, Singerpurear. The only active country that has never qualified is now Aelandor as they failed to qualify for a third time in a row with Bear's Den's 'Above The Clouds Of Pompeii', though that was only a handful of points short in a national best 21st in semi-final 2. Their time will come.

 

There weren't any brand new nations competing in this contest, but there was a very unexpected return from Bhangra. They competed in the very first edition of the contest and achieved their only win to date in the third contest with Dixie Chicks' 'Not Ready To Make Nice'. Apart from a couple of absences, they were regular entrants until BJSC XXVIII, which was touted at the time as potentially the last ever edition of BJSC due to monstrous controversies. Isn't it great how things have changed since then?! Bhangra went into a long period of hibernation after this but after 57 missed contests (the longest ever absence between two entries, beating a run of 47 misses by Tartford) their grand comeback entry 'Once In A While' by Timeflies finished 17th in the final. There were a few other returning nations in the final. Fljótavík were forced to pull out in the previous contest for the first time in years but have thankfully found the time to return, and came 19th with Hanna Järver's 'Anekdoter'. Usfland also had a month out due to *ahem* technical difficulties but they managed to confirm correctly this time and made another final, coming 31st with the brilliant 'Blackbeat' by Apollo 440 (now their last two entries have qualified after the 11 before that didn't). The nation formerly known as Terra di Campioni rebranded as F.D. Anēné for a comeback with Martin Jensen's 'All I Wanna Do' which also made the final, but their comeback will be brief for now as they didn't vote in the final and thus have to sit out the next contest anyway. It came 37th after its deduction. Other returning nations were Thelonia and Varakë who didn't qualify (and sadly it looks like Varakë are probably going back out too - #endvarakëracism :'(). There was another rebrand this month too, Summericia becoming Aeyundoré, but they fell short of the final as well.

 

There was a close three-way fight for the wooden spoon but ultimately it's a #BeaveringRecord as hosts Beaverdonia came 41st and last with autoqualifier 'I Tígri' by Mazoo And The Zoo (a callback to their iconic buzz entry debut) with 75 points. That's the worst performance following a win in a contest with semi-finals (a record previously held by OURSELVES and also Daehun, with both of us having 1-31 slides), though it's slightly better than the country that is now going by 'FKA FKA FKA π' who followed a winner with a 43rd place back when they were still called Elëdan in the hot mess contest LXIV. That 43rd place entry was the 25 minute (yes, really) 'Impossible Soul' by Sufjan Stevens. Surely a song in the double figures of minutes could only ever make the final if it was an autoqualifier?? Convenient segue to mentioning Ethanola's latest entry! Apparently emboldened with recent #longsongbloc and otherwise leftfield successes, they sent their longest entry to date with Konstantin Sibold's 'Mutter' clocking in around ten and a half minutes, of mostly repetitive bleeps and bloops. And it qualified!! Actually somehow coming FIFTH in semi-final 1, it nonetheless fell a bit flat in the final in 35th place, attracting the votes of only 9 countries (including our 13 points) and the IRE of many more than that. But anyway, back to that three-way wooden spoon race. Mazoo And The Zoo only came last on a tiebreak, with 40th place also on 75 points going to Singerpurear's entry 'Invincible' by Firebeatz and DubVision featuring Ruby Prophet. Just ahead were Mulgracia with Ariana And The Rose's 'Survival Of The Fittest' on 76 points following a 33% deduction, as Mulgracia became embroiled in a... scandal involving their leadership? (there was too much drama this month!!) and failed to submit their final votes. We hope to see them return in two contests' time.

 

Here is Persephonia's full votes and rankings for the final and semi-final 1 of BJSC LXXXVI:

 

Final

 

18 Dobago // Albin Myers and Carli - The Legend

15 Quintessa // ANi GLASS - Y Ddawns

13 Ethanola // Konstantin Sibold - Mutter

 

12 Usfland // Apollo 440 - Blackbeat

11 Fljótavík // Hanna Järver - Anekdoter

10 Suedeonia // Where's The Beach - Tripping The Luv Fantastic

9 Trifoski // Pillow Person - Go Ahead

8 N DNTN // Vendredi Sur Mer - La Femme À La Peau Bleue (Chez Toi)

7 Deandria // Blackbriar - Until Eternity

6 Tartford // Marsheaux - Safe Tonight

5 Terra Avium // Illenium - Fortress (feat. Joni Fatora)

4 Beaverdonia // Mazoo And The Zoo - I Tígri

3 Cadelicia // WEKEED - Wild Child

2 Hendinia // Highasakite - Samurai Swords

1 Republic of Adonia // Dusky - Ingrid Is A Hybrid

 

Medhelnia // No Wyld - Let Me Know

Altyr Muunilinst // WILLA - Hey

Pupok // Aelyn - Give Love A Try

#00274E // Hotel Garuda - Smoke Signals

Mulgracia // Ariana And The Rose - Survival Of The Fittest

Greenfroze // The Girl And The Dreamcatcher - Make You Stay

Ultraviolenceland // Casi - Lion

Kylienips // Skott - Porcelain

Avalonia // Nicole Skye - Terminate

Unovia // Baby K - Anna Wintour

Taahino // Jule Vera - Die Trying

FSR Rontvia // Olivia - I'm Not Your Lady

(The Actual Republic of) Bellamia // Maty Noyes - In My Mind

Yehesi // TP4Y - Blush

Daehun // Girls' Generation - Gee

D'yermak'er // Ryos - Where We Are (feat. KARRA)

Ramrynia // Cilia - Hardcore Heartbreak

Hushkanukia // April Ivy - Be Ok

New Lexico // Richard Istel - Still Mit Dir

Triangledonia // Alexa Lusader - Fantasy (Sokko Remix)

F.D. Anēné // Martin Jensen - All I Wanna Do

Oslol // Liam Summers - When U Do Me Like That (feat. Mikaela Coco)

Bhangra // Timeflies - Once In A While

Singerpurear // Firebeatz and DubVision - Invincible (feat. Ruby Prophet)

(Federal Republic of) Ashton // Jana Kramer - I Hope It Rains

 

~

 

Semi-final 1

 

12 Ethanola // Konstantin Sibold - Mutter

10 Dobago // Albin Myers and Carli - The Legend

8 Usfland // Apollo 440 - Blackbeat

 

7 N DNTN // Vendredi Sur Mer - La Femme À La Peau Bleue (Chez Toi)

6 Deandria // Blackbriar - Until Eternity

5 Terra Avium // Illenium - Fortress (feat. Joni Fatora)

4 Varakë // De̊ǰa - Luststruck

3 Tartford // Marsheaux - Safe Tonight

2 Syndare // Calypso - Numbered

1 Cadelicia // WEKEED - Wild Child

 

Republic of Adonia // Dusky - Ingrid Is A Hybrid

Bignia-Zaragovina // Ryan Beatty - Passion

Cumulonimbia // The Longcut - A Tried And Tested Method

Cor Lupus // Snow Tha Product - Nuestra Cancion

Séyetana // 3-nen E-gumi Utatan - Jiriki Hongan Revolution

Hendinia // Highasakite - Samurai Swords

Pupok // Aelyn - Give Love A Try

Aeroche // Bassnectar - Now (feat. Rye Rye)

Aeyundoré // Generik - Late At Night

Mulgracia // Ariana And The Rose - Survival Of The Fittest

Danaelanda // Mr FijiWiji, Direct and Aruna - Time To Say Goodbye

St. Burbia // The Free - Freedom Island

Greenfroze // The Girl And The Dreamcatcher - Make You Stay

Avalonia // Nicole Skye - Terminate

#00274E // Hotel Garuda - Smoke Signals

Hushkanukia // April Ivy - Be Ok

New Lexico // Richard Istel - Still Mit Dir

Ramrynia // Cilia - Hardcore Heartbreak

Triangledonia // Alexa Lusader - Fantasy (Sokko Remix)

 

Also (will keep this a bit more brief :magic:)...

 

Midtable finish for Dissonance in BJSC Reinvention

 

In slightly more timely news Persephonia came a midtable 21st in the BJSC Reinvention spinoff in Taahino & Pupok with Dissonance's 'Born Sick'. The song received 112 points in total from 13 voters. Like in the main contest our biggest supporter was Deandria who sent 15 points our way, being the only country to rank the song in their top 3. Much appreciated <3

 

Unovia still haven't won a main contest but are shining brightly in the spinoffs recently, as they followed their Worldvision II win with another winner courtesy of Delta Goodrem's cover of 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love' by The Darkness. That scored 242 points including an impressive six 18s, almost an exact repeat of their performance in Worldvision. The silver medal went to Skall with the Unicorn Kid remix of former BJSC entry 'Phone Sex' by Blood Diamonds featuring Grimes, receiving 229 points, while Altyr Muunilinst had concurrent top 3s in the main contest and the spinoff, coming 3rd with Nick Talos' Whitney Houston flip 'Heartbeat' on 194 points. (In fact the song with the third most points was N DNTN's entry, an 80s-style remix of Justin Bieber's 'What Do You Mean?' going by the name of 'What Do You Mean It's 1985', but that finished 13th after N DNTN didn't submit votes for the contest, which seems like it also cost Skall the win *sideeye*). Séyetana had a rare spinoff success with their most reinventy of reinventions, the Nightcore of Baracuda's 'Where Is The Love' which samples both Nightwish's 'Amaranth' and Alice Cooper's 'Poison' and came 4th with 188 points. Deandria had another spinoff top 10, coming 5th on 181 points with Owsey and Resotone's 'Broke My Promise & Stared To The Sea' which is also a multiple reinvention, sampling both t.A.T.u.'s 'All The Things She Said' and Ellie Goulding's 'Lights'.

 

Completing the top 10: Hendinia came 6th (which means yes, they actually voted!!) with the... mildly paedophilic but nonetheless ikonek novelty remix of LazyTown's 'Cooking By The Book' featuring a comically misplaced Lil Jon, Danaelanda were 7th with CAPPA's take on TLC classic 'No Scrubs' featuring Jon Santana, Hushkanukia were 8th with a surprisingly well-flowing mashup of Tinashe's 'All Hands On Deck' and Sophia Grace's 'Best Friends' titled 'Best Friends On Deck', Avalonia came 9th with Within Temptation's improvement of 'Dirty Dancer' originally by Enrique Iglesias, Usher and Lil Wayne, and Ramrynia fluked into the top 10 with Bastille's 'Dreams' (feat. Gabrielle Aplin), a Fleetwood Mac cover.

 

The contest trialled a proposed new reveal system in which the last 15 voters were combined into a single reveal. One of the most notable quirks from this was the rallying of Jadakissnia's entry 'MIDNIGHT CITY' by CROSSPARTY vs. M83. Prior to this last chunk of votes it was sitting in dead last with only 7 points (4 of which came from us), but it was among the top 10 of the last bunch and earned another 71 points to ultimately come 27th. Slay.

 

Persephonia's votes and rankings for the spinoff:

 

18 Harmonica // The Amity Affliction - Born To Die

15 Séyetana // Baracuda - Where Is The Love (Nightcore)

13 N DNTN // Justin Bieber - What Do You Mean It's 1985

 

12 Skall // Blood Diamonds - Phone Sex (Unicorn Kid Remix) (feat. Grimes)

11 Avalonia // Within Temptation - Dirty Dancer

10 Cadelicia // Henrik The Artist - Perfect Workout

9 Ethanola // Cupcakes - Captain Obvious

8 Deandria // Owsey and Resotone - Broke My Promise & Stared To The Sea

7 Fljótavík // Ólafur Arnalds - Say My Name (feat. Arnór Dan)

6 (Federal Republic of) Ashton // Mutya Keisha Siobhan - Lay Down In Swimming Pools

5 Brechtoria // Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike vs. Sander Van Doorn - Project T

4 Jadakissnia // CROSSPARTY vs. M83 - MIDNIGHT CITY

3 D'yermak'er // Autre Ne Veut - Little Red Corvette

2 Taahino // Fall Out Boy - Fourth Of July

1 Hendinia // LazyTown - Cooking By The Book (A Lil' Bigger Mix) (feat. Lil Jon)

 

St. Burbia // BATTS - What Is Love

Danaelanda // CAPPA - No Scrubs (feat. Jon Santana)

Hushkanukia // Tinashe and Sophia Grace - Best Friends On Deck

Yehesi // Samantha Jade - Heartless

Terra Avium // Pendulum - Violet Hill

Altyr Muunilinst // Nick Talos - Heartbeat

Cor Lupus // Sofia Carson - Love Is The Name

Flynnonda // Postmodern Jukebox - Fancy

Suedeonia // Holland And The Jogging Tree - Joan Of Arc

Ojnoj // Keri Hilson - Do It

FSR Rontvia // Scala & Kolacny Brothers - Barbie Girl

Ultraviolenceland // Jennifer Ann - Mad World

Unovia // Delta Goodrem - I Believe In A Thing Called Love

Aeroche // Bassnectar - Magical World (feat. Nelly Furtado)

Quintessa // Gossip - Careless Whisper

Botanikka // Sharon Doorson - Touch Me There

Ramrynia // Bastille - Dreams (feat. Gabrielle Aplin)

Triangledonia // Jasmine Thompson - Do It Now (Montis Remix)

Mulgracia // Blondee and Marc Werner - Wonderful Days (feat. Fabienne Rothe)

Pupok // No Frills Twins - Milkshake/212

Thelonia // Collin McLoughlin - Titanium (Anton Ishutin Edit)

Aelandor // Patty Walters - Story Of My Life