If you want to Make BJSC Pop Again, you should be giving all your points to Aesthetica!!!!!! :P

There has always been a bit of a cycle of what genres are popular, it’s natural and happens in the charts and in wider culture as well. We here at BJSC are no different.

 

 

I am very strongly against any form of attempt to „encourage“ past participants to return. If it’s involuntary then it’s not sustainable. People leave for many different reasons, some don’t change with time and sometimes it’s a lack of drive to participate, trying to pull people back doesn’t work long term because the factor that stopped them in the first place is still there. If people have the time and space to come and go as they please they feel more able to enter when they have a random spark of inspiration or time and it’s less of an obligation. I think sometimes it’s forgotten that BJSC participants are a diverse body of people with very different lives, interests and schedules.

 

This isn’t an obligation, it’s supposed to be a fun way to discover new music. Some people forget that a little too often

Fwiw I tend to agree with Silas

I definitely miss a lot of the nations in that first post.

 

Scherzland, Ramrynia, UVLand, St Burbia, Bellamia, OSLOL :(

 

When we talk of getting people back though, it’s hard, BJSC is time consuming because of how many entries there are. I find it hard to fit into my life to be quite honest and it’s unsurprising that a lot of people drop out because they don’t have the will to block out 2/3 hours of their day to listen to all these songs.

 

I would agree that I’m enjoying the make up of BJSC less in the last 12 months, just in terms with the music that resonates with me, but I do always find that it seems to come back around and nothing stays the same. And I also find that in contests where a lot of the pop doesn’t make it, the ones that do actually hoover up a lot of points because there’s not much choice. So then people see that and send pop… then a lot of it qualifies and a more experimental song will succeed next contest because there’s less of them. Everything is a cycle and it keeps things interesting, I guess.

 

 

I agree, the contest can be time-consuming and I don't fault anyone who doesn't want to deal with that from taking a break, I've often thought about it, never have, and not now, but I get completely why. It's a fun social thing to incorporate into my music discovery chain, and that's all it needs to be. Part of the fun is seeing the contest change through genres, sometimes it's more in line with what I like, sometimes it's less, but I'll take away the tracks I enjoyed from it regardless of how they do.

 

Not sure if my entry is considered pop, because it clearly sounds more J-Pop and pop-rock rather than the contemporary American/European/Scandi pop in general.

 

I might once return to that subgenre of music again (Ilse DeLange - Confetti Shotgun) later on this year...

 

See if it's J-Pop, it absolutely should be considered pop! If J-Pop were to ever have a winner (I wish), I'd absolutely be putting it in the bucket of 'pop winners' rather than anything else.

 

It's viewing pop as an umbrella genre term that encompasses all kinds of styles vs using pop as shorthand for a few specific common styles under that umbrella I guess. Gonna count them at the listenthrough and see how far I can stretch the definition :kink:

Ooh yes quite a few fave nations are AWOL now I look at the list! That's a shame and I hope they feel enthused (or get more time) to return at some point.

 

My theory, apart from that, I put on the main semi thread, but in terms of picking songs, just pick a great record you love, doesnt matter if it flops! If one person loves it then it's a discovery and it's worthwhile. It's nice if 20 people love it but it doesn't mean in any way that a record loved by 1 person is less good than one loved by 20. As I've mentioned before, BJ is often useless at spotting big hits, or cult sensations because people have notions of what "sort of music" they prefer and they might like it but not quite as much as their fave genre/s. My philosophy is a track that's genuinely interesting and different is going to get me to notice it, so is one with that's crafted well regardless of genre.

 

My own negative bias, and I've not made it a secret, are tracks that are on an extended short loop and do nothing with the extra time that varies or develops the underlying theme. "just a vibe" is not going to cut it with me unless I change the habits of a lifetime and take up pot :lol: :teresa: - but they still do well in the voting, while I'm busy balancing up points for perhaps less experimental choices.

My own negative bias, and I've not made it a secret, are tracks that are on an extended short loop and do nothing with the extra time that varies or develops the underlying theme. "just a vibe" is not going to cut it with me unless I change the habits of a lifetime and take up pot :lol: :teresa: - but they still do well in the voting, while I'm busy balancing up points for perhaps less experimental choices.

 

This perhaps perfectly sums up frustrations I have had in past competitions. A vibe but repeated 100 times does not make a good song. I try really hard not to be rude about those entries/people who vote for them, but at the same time I question the choice to give those songs points over a song that has layers/clearly sets out to have a structure.

Time is such a key thing for being able to participate in this contest tbf so I can understand why people dip in and out, I've done the same and would do it again if I didn't care about my Q streak/anniversary milestones :kink: