As much as I always thought it was a winner IN MY HEART, I'm still rather shocked at 'Cry For Freedom' actually winning as I still think it doesn't sound like a BJSC *hit* let alone a winner. On that subject, what winners do you think sound the least like, well, winners?

 

Here's the list :magic:

 

BJSC I: Mdiče: Britney Spears - And Then We Kiss (Junkie XL Remix)

BJSC II: Bokia: Katharine McPhee - Dangerous

BJSC III: Bhangra: Dixie Chicks - Not Ready To Make Nice

BJSC IV: FSR Rontvia: Sara Bareilles - Love Song

BJSC V: Elëdan: t.A.T.u. - Gomenasai

BJSC VI: Quotosibb: Beverley Knight - Black Butta

BJSC VII: Mdiče: Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl

BJSC VIII: Nonsuch: Lily Allen - Fuck You

BJSC IX: Kingdom of Shadow: Margaret Berger - Will You Remember Me Tomorrow?

BJSC X: Mdiče: Brandy - Right Here (Departed)

BJSC XI: Elëdan: Lenka - The Show

BJSC XII: Kopečka: La Roux - Quicksand

BJSC XIII: Herzebania: Agnes - Release Me

BJSC XIV: FSR Rontvia: Uh Huh Her - Not A Love Song

BJSC XV: Mdiče: Röyksopp - The Girl And The Robot

BJSC XVI: Mdiče: V V Brown - Shark In The Water

BJSC XVII: FSR Rontvia: Beautiful Small Machines - Robots In Love

BJSC XVIII: Mdiče: Kesha - TiK ToK

BJSC XIX: Kathaldazia: Eva Simons - Silly Boy

BJSC XX: Numayania: Alphabeat - The Spell

BJSC XXI: Lorikeet: The Dolly Rockers - Boys Will Be Boys

BJSC XXII: B.a.N.G: Ellie Goulding - Under The Sheets

BJSC XXIII: Quotosibb: Marina And The Diamonds - Hollywood

BJSC XXIV: B.a.N.G: Delphic - Halcyon

BJSC XXV: Hendinia: Roll Deep - Good Times (feat. Jodie Connor)

BJSC XXVI: FSR Rontvia: Sheelah - Psycho

BJSC XXVII: Kopečka: Eric Saade - It's Gonna Rain

BJSC XXVIII: Ashton: Molly Sandén - Mitt Liv Är Mitt

BJSC XXIX: Yuxhaaq: Zoë Badwi - Freefallin'

BJSC XXX: Hendinia: Adele - Someone Like You (Live)

BJSC XXXI: FSR Rontvia: Sheelah - The Last Time

BJSC XXXII: FSR Rontvia: Lykke Li - Sadness Is A Blessing

BJSC XXXIII: Batidas: Agnes Obel - Riverside

BJSC XXXIV: Herzebania: Charice - Louder

BJSC XXXV: FSR Rontvia: Chart Music - All My Life

BJSC XXXVI: Isconia: Lana Del Rey - Video Games

BJSC XXXVII: Farahtyn: Jessica Mauboy - Inescapable

BJSC XXXVIII: Kopečka: Loreen - Sober

BJSC XXXIX: Hendinia: Ricki-Lee - Raining Diamonds

BJSC XL: Greenfroze: Rachel Platten - 1,000 Ships

BJSC XLI: Fljótavík: Foxes - Youth

BJSC XLII: Botanikka: Emma Hewitt - Colours

BJSC XLIII: Numayania: Dragonette - Let It Go

BJSC XLIV: Elëdan: Ronya - Hyperventilating

BJSC XLV: Ingermanlandia: Woodkid - Run Boy Run

BJSC XLVI: Aeroche: Trentemøller - Moan (feat. Ane Trolle)

BJSC XLVII: Aeroche: TR/ST - Sulk

BJSC XLVIII: Aeroche: Unicorn Kid - Need U

BJSC XLIX: Fljótavík: Fibes, Oh Fibes! - Cerahtonia

BJSC L: Numayania: Frida Sundemo - Indigo

BJSC LI: Aeroche: Kate Boy - Northern Lights

BJSC LII: Batidas: Zara Larsson - Uncover

BJSC LIII: #00274E: Carli - Look Up

BJSC LIV: Skall: Postiljonen - Supreme

BJSC LV: Caerfyrddia: Marcel Woods - Bring It Back (feat. Vanbot)

BJSC LVI: Trifoski: Ghost Loft - So High

BJSC LVII: Syndare: Belanger - Take Me Home

BJSC LVIII: Fljótavík: Vaults - Cry No More

BJSC LIX: Trifoski: The Kite String Tangle - Given The Chance

BJSC LX: Elëdan: Cut Copy - Meet Me In A House Of Love

BJSC LXI: Daehun: Indila - Dernière Danse

BJSC LXII: FARC: SOHN - Artifice

BJSC LXIII: Elëdan: RuPaul - Sissy That Walk

BJSC LXIV: FSR Rontvia: RAM and Susana - RAMelia (Tribute To Amelia)

BJSC LXV: N DNTN: Hervé and Zebra Katz - Tear The House Up

BJSC LXVI: Aeroche: A. G. Cook - Beautiful

BJSC LXVII: Persephonia: Jay Dabhi and Moises Modesto - Cry For Freedom

 

Aside from my own (and early songs which would go down like a lead balloon if they were sent today but made more sense at the time I suppose) I'd say Trentemøller, Postiljonen and Ghost Loft are the songs that sounded the least like winners. (I know Postiljonen was a widely predicted winner and I did vote for it and all but I still think it sounds a little too 'subtle' to be a BJSC winner, pop or not most of the winners are at least catchy/memorable/standout whereas 'Supreme', as lovely as it is to listen to, kind of blends in a bit in my memory).

Moan by quite a distance.

 

If it'd been sent the contest before it might not have even qualified

I'd replace Postiljonen with N DNTN's winner, also Charice - Louder was quite a surprising/underwhelming winner IIRC.

I just smile everytime I see myself in the list of winners.

(On a related note is 'Cry For Freedom' the first ever instrumental winner? I had it in my mind that FSR Rontvia won with an instrumental once but I just checked and it appears they didn't, I may be overlooking something else though).

 

I do remember the surprise at Charice winning, I don't think I paid much attention to that contest though. Don't remember the song at all.

> Not A Love Song (snuck through due to everything else in the top ten being handpicked off the new release schedule)

> Louder (woefully basic)

> Dangerous (still don't get how this won, even though it was only the second contest)

> Halcyon (a random indielectro male song winning in 2010 was definitely not on the cards)

> Right Here (Departed) (boring R&B - and BJSCX was such high quality, there could have been 20 stronger/more iconic winners than that)

> Freefallin'/Inescapable (Auspop filler - Jess has so many better songs)

> Let It Go (hardly that standout and certainly not when play was in the mix).

(On a related note is 'Cry For Freedom' the first ever instrumental winner? I had it in my mind that FSR Rontvia won with an instrumental once but I just checked and it appears they didn't, I may be overlooking something else though).

 

I've come top five with instrumentals three times - Colors/Platinum Chains/Flares but I think you're the first to win with one!

Moan (obviously) / Unicorn Kid / Ghost Loft / Belanger / A.G. Cook / Kite String Tangle / Herve x Zebra Katz

 

the latter two did sound like they'd do well but not winner worthy, just Top 10 at a push. i didn't think ghost loft sounded like a big hit in any capacity really (hence why i tried to send it to bjfest) and with unicorn kid / belanger / a.g cook that pitched up abrasive vocals and hi-nrg were pretty anti-bjsc

Beautiful sounded like a clear winner the first time you showed it to me, it has that 'je ne sais quoi'. Agree with Tear The House Up though, that sneaking a win really surprised me.

I've come top five with instrumentals three times - Colors/Platinum Chains/Flares but I think you're the first to win with one!

 

I think I was thinking of 'Flares' - not sure why I thought that was a winner! 'Platinum Chains' should have won though. :heart:

 

The complete lack of previous instrumental winners makes my surprise at 'Cry For Freedom' even greater, it's not even like it was a niche winner, being the 2nd biggest of the year :o

 

~

 

'Beautiful' definitely sounded instantly like a winner to my ears! Same with 'Need U' and 'Northern Lights' (and I kinda figured 'Sulk' would win just based on how many fans it had but you know my feelings on that song ~)

Echoing Ghost Loft / Herve x Zebra Katz / Trentemoller as the first ones that come to mind. Run Boy Run as well, ofc. it was brilliant and had a lot of hype behind it, but a throaty male vocal led song with not a synth in sight and entirely string and percussion based doesn't sound like a winner, maybe a surprise top 10 for being different at best.

 

Black Butter also from the early ones, hardly sounds like the sort of female pop Buzzjack love and it was a live track?

Edited August 26, 201410 yr by Chez Wombat

Both of Numayania's winners from 2012. Still don't get how they won, even at the time they sounded like top 10s rather than winners.

 

Delphic's Halcyon looks very out of place as a winner amongst all the generic fempop winners of the time, how did that win exactly? Not complaining though.

 

Moan, So High, Tear the House Up and Cry For Freedom too as already mentioned.

I would say this being like the only person who called it as a winner (#mysticbra) but 'Tear The House Up' wasn't a surprise winner to me, I suppose on paper it doesn't really seem like the type to win (male rap without a poppy hook a la 'Good Times') but the complete package sounded exactly like the sort of song that'd have fairly wide appeal and a decent number of big fans. IDK though. It was a very lucky low scoring winner really so I suppose it's one of the least winnerish winners for that reason alone.

 

Actually 'Good Times' is another one for this, even with the poppy hook I'm surprised BuzzJack ever voted for a track involving Wiley and co en masse :lol: I don't remember it being hugely well loved in the chart forum when it became a hit either.

bre you should do a spreadsheet of bjsc instrumentals! would be interesting to see what the most successful are (gesaffelstein hay)

bre you should do a spreadsheet of bjsc instrumentals! would be interesting to see what the most successful are (gesaffelstein hay)

 

The difficulty with that is you can't really tell what is and isn't instrumental from the title alone ~ Let's just leave it at Jay Dabhi > everyone else.

damn me and my 5 NEAR instrumentals

 

 

I nominate mine, which both DNQ'd, and link them to remind everyone.

 

I'm surprised I've only sent 2 instrumentals to be honest! (homemade John Cage covers don't count)

 

On the actual topic, Ghost Loft surprise me the most. And I still don't understand SOHN and Fibes, Oh Fibes - not because I don't like them but because they sound so indistinct/unmemorable. You've got winners that don't sound like winners because they're so unlikely and different, and then you've gone winners that don't like winners because they don't stand out much (in my opinion!).

Edited August 26, 201410 yr by Harve

Both of those songs are great Harve! Though 'Reset' was a pretty obvious DNQ (which is absolutely not the case for Todd Terje)

 

I've sent 3 complete instrumentals (Orphic Oxtra, Quirke and Jay Dabhi) and another 2 that are more or less instrumental but have small vocal parts (Kidnap and Surkin). 4/5 Q rate out of those lot and Orphic Oxtra wasn't exactly a serious entry anyway. Not too bad.

 

(oops drifting from the point of the thread)

2 #2s and a #8-- dntn king of instrumentals