Voter 5: Chez Wombat

Escala’s “Kashmir” is a powerful instrumental cover of the iconic Led Zeppelin track, featured on their 2009 debut album Escala. The piece is a standout example of the group’s signature style—a fusion of classical string instrumentation with modern rock and electronic elements.

🎻 About the Track:

• Original Song: “Kashmir” was originally written and performed by Led Zeppelin in 1975, composed by Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Bonham.

• Escala’s Version: Their rendition is a dramatic, cinematic reinterpretation that retains the epic scale of the original while replacing vocals and guitars with electric strings and orchestral textures.

• Collaboration: This version features Slash, the legendary guitarist from Guns N’ Roses, adding a gritty rock edge to the classical arrangement

📀 Album & Performance:

• Included on their self-titled debut album Escala (2009), produced by Trevor Horn.

• Escala performed “Kashmir” live on several high-profile occasions, including Britain’s Got Talent and The Oprah Winfrey Show, helping to cement their reputation as a crossover classical act 

🎼 Style & Impact:

• The track blends rock, classical, and electronic influences, showcasing Escala’s ability to reinterpret classic rock anthems in a fresh, instrumental format.

• It helped define their sound and appeal to both classical and mainstream audiences.

That Liberty X choice was inspired how did it not make the album? !!!

Ooh one right with Escala for Chez *.

On 10/07/2025 at 21:45, Chez Wombat said:

12; Blood - Equador (Bo Bruce), The Voice UK, 28/10/2016

10; Bloodstream - Tokio Myers, Britain’s Got Talent, 12/10/2017

08; Alone By Heart - Clara Van Wel, New Zealand’s Got Talent, 25/10/2013

07; Borderline - Tove Styrke, Swedish Idol, 09/10/2014

06; You’ll Never Get To Heaven - Diana Vickers, X Factor UK, 03/05/2010

05; Nolwenn Ohwo! - Nolwenn Leroy, Star Academy, 23/01/2006

04; Racing Cars - Ruti, The Voice UK, 05/04/2019

03; I Trance - Agnes, Swedish Idol, 28/06/2019

02; Breathe - Liberty X, Popstars, 13/05/2002

01; Chameleon Life - Daithi featuring Raye, All Ireland Talent Show, 06/06/2014

Chez’s votes bring some more songs into contention and take all but 1 off 0.

1	I Trance - Agnes	37	?
2	You’ll Never Get To Heaven - Diana Vickers	25	Tafty
3	Bloodstream - Tokio Myers	25	?
4	Kashmir - Escala	23	Chez Wombat
5	Borderline - Tove Styrke	20	?
6	Chameleon Life - Daithi featuring Raye	19	?
7	Blood - Equador	17	?
8	Racing Cars - Ruti	16	?
9	Baby Don’t Dance - Fleur East	15	ChrisJK
10	Damaged - Danity Kane	13	?
11	I Do - Only The Young	11	?
12	Ladies In The ‘90s - Lauren Alaina	11	?
13	Creep - Dannii Minogue	9	?
14	California - Amelia Lily	8	awardinary
15	Dub On The Track - Cher Lloyd et al.	8	?
15	Alone By Heart - Clara Van Wel	8	?
17	Domino - Saara Aalto	6	?
18	Rock With Me - Reggie ‘n’ Bollie et al.	6	?
19	Breathe - Liberty X	5	Jade
20	Nolwenn Ohwo! - Nolwenn Leroy	5	?
21	Gladiator - Dami Im	2	?
22	Misty Eye - Aiden Grimshaw	1	?
23	Think Of You - Christina Grimmie	0	?

 

Next is gooddelta

Oh will try to keep an eye on this... love the effort in the results though, it's lovely to have a write up about each song as the votes are revealed <3

Voter 6: gooddelta

gooddelta had originally entered “White Light Moment” by Tove Styrke. We had no issue with his entry but he decided to self veto as it had appeared in another spin off contest, allowing someone else to enter “Borderline”.

Nolwenn Leroy’s “Nolwenn Ohwo!” is a vibrant French pop single released on 23 January 2006 as the lead track from her second studio album Histoires Naturelles. It marked a significant moment in her career, showcasing her evolving artistic identity and achieving notable commercial success.

🎵 Song Overview:

• Genre: French Pop

• Length: 4:34 (album version)

• Writers: Nolwenn Leroy, Alain Souchon, Laurent Voulzy

• Producers: Laurent Voulzy, Franck Eulry

🌟 Chart Performance:

• #1 on the French Singles Chart

• Top 3 in Belgium (Wallonia)

• Also charted in Switzerland and on the Eurochart Hot 100 

🎶 Musical Style & Theme:

“Nolwenn Ohwo!” blends poetic lyrics with a catchy, melodic structure. The song explores themes of life’s unpredictability, emotional longing, and personal reflection, wrapped in a whimsical and slightly mysterious tone. Its title phrase “Ohwo!” adds a playful, expressive flair that punctuates the song’s emotional highs.

📀 Release & Reception:

• Initially released digitally in December 2005, followed by a limited CD single in January 2006.

• The song was performed during her Histoires Naturelles tour and included in both studio and live versions.

Only The Young

Such an underrated bop! Glad to see it doing better than I feared it would at this stage

Yep I was behind DiVi! My cursive Queen (funnily enough, I'm not a fan of cursive singers lmaooooo)

Also @Julian_ these write ups are incredible. LOOOOVE IT!

Yes, great work on the writeups, I'm enjoying those!

On 10/07/2025 at 21:53, gooddelta said:

Hi Julian, thanks for hosting an interesting theme - a nice mix of tracks, artists and shows in the end.

+12 Blood - Equador (Bo Bruce)

+10 Borderline - Tove Styrke

+08 You’ll Never Get To Heaven - Diana Vickers

+07 Domino - Saara Aalto

+06 Baby Don’t Dance - Fleur East

+05 Alone By Heart - Clara Van Wel

+04 Dub On The Track - Cher Lloyd, Mic Righteous, Zeph Ellis & Ghette

+03 I Trance - Agnes

+02 Kashmir - Escala

+01 Racing Cars - Ruti

Thanks,

Rich

And the leaderboard tightens again, with Diana, Tove and Bo all moving within striking distance.

1	I Trance - Agnes	40	?
2	You’ll Never Get To Heaven - Diana Vickers	33	Tafty
3	Borderline - Tove Styrke	30	?
4	Blood - Equador	29	?
5	Kashmir - Escala	25	Chez Wombat
6	Bloodstream - Tokio Myers	25	?
7	Baby Don’t Dance - Fleur East	21	ChrisJK
8	Chameleon Life - Daithi featuring Raye	19	?
9	Racing Cars - Ruti	17	?
10	Domino - Saara Aalto	13	?
11	Damaged - Danity Kane	13	?
12	Alone By Heart - Clara Van Wel	13	?
13	Dub On The Track - Cher Lloyd et al.	12	?
14	I Do - Only The Young	11	?
15	Ladies In The ‘90s - Lauren Alaina	11	?
16	Creep - Dannii Minogue	9	?
17	California - Amelia Lily	8	awardinary
18	Rock With Me - Reggie ‘n’ Bollie et al.	6	?
19	Breathe - Liberty X	5	Jade
20	Nolwenn Ohwo! - Nolwenn Leroy	5	gooddelta
21	Gladiator - Dami Im	2	?
22	Misty Eye - Aiden Grimshaw	1	?
23	Think Of You - Christina Grimmie	0	?

 

Next is Dobbo

Mon beau flop Français <3

I know it probably looks mad to have changed away from Tove Styrke, but I had to self-veto after recalling that White Light Moment was in another contest that shared about 8 or 9 participants with this, so I didn't feel comfortable with the music discovery aspect not being there (despite this being a No.1 in France, I was confident it was not a widely known track!)

I only discovered Nolwenn myself in 2019 but have been really addicted to the track ever since. But it's a grower more than a shower so I wasn't necessarily expecting much.

I thought I'd be pretty easy to guess, so I was pleasantly surprised to just get the one x I really had to think with this theme, but I did always love Escala's brand of epic classical music, Palladio went top 40 so I went with another random one from their album, and I do think their sound suits the epic riff of Kashmir very well (I mean it sounds straight out of a talent show result show opening x)

Thanks for the votes so far, wasn't sure how well it would go down as it's quite different to most others here, I'm glad someone else also went with an instrumental entry as Tokio Myers is an inspired choice and Blood was also a really interesting sound, never expected something so good from The Voice x

2 minutes ago, gooddelta said:

Mon beau flop Français <3

I know it probably looks mad to have changed away from Tove Styrke, but I had to self-veto after recalling that White Light Moment was in another contest that shared about 8 or 9 participants with this, so I didn't feel comfortable with the music discovery aspect not being there (despite this being a No.1 in France, I was confident it was not a widely known track!)

I only discovered Nolwenn myself in 2019 but have been really addicted to the track ever since. But it's a grower more than a shower so I wasn't necessarily expecting much.

I really liked the discovery! Thank you for changing and sending it!

Voter 7: Dobbo

Cher Lloyd’s “Dub on the Track” is a bold, genre-blending song from her 2011 debut album Sticks + Stones. It stands out for its fusion of pop, grime, and dubstep, and features collaborations with UK grime artists Mic Righteous, Dot Rotten, and Ghetts.

🎵 Song Overview:

• Album: Sticks + Stones (Track 9 on the standard edition)

• Genre: Pop with grime and dubstep influences

• Featured Artists: Mic Righteous, Dot Rotten, Ghetts

🎤 Theme & Style:

The song is a high-energy, attitude-filled anthem where Cher asserts her individuality and confidence. The repeated line “I’m the kinda girl to put dub on the track” emphasizes her boldness and willingness to break genre boundaries.

Each featured rapper brings their own gritty, streetwise verses, contrasting with Cher’s polished pop vocals. The lyrics touch on themes of self-empowerment, resilience, and artistic authenticity.

🎧 Notable Elements:

• Production: Heavy basslines, electronic beats, and grime-style flows.

• Lyrical Edge: The song includes clever wordplay and assertive lines like:

“I’m a machine, couple screws loose, but I’m running smoothly.”

• Reception: Though not released as a single, it gained attention for its unexpected collaborations and genre crossover, especially given Cher’s mainstream pop image and her association with Simon Cowell’s label.

I have Cher's album and I had honestly forgotten all about Dub On The Track, but what an earworm.

Oooh interesting. I'd have put money on Bra being Cher Lloyd lol x

On 11/07/2025 at 12:56, Dobbo said:

Old school stereo on the wall. Who is the boppiest one of all?

+12 California - Amelia Lily

+10 Bloodstream - Tokio Myers

+08 Misty Eye - Aiden Grimshaw

+07 Kashmir - Escala featuring Slash

+06 Borderline - Tove Styrke

+05 Chameleon Life - Daithi featuring Raye

+04 Damaged - Danity Kane

+03 Breathe - Liberty X

+02 You’ll Never Get To Heaven - Diana Vickers

+01 Creep - Dannii Minogue

And suddenly it’s all very close in the Top 5!

1	I Trance - Agnes	40	?
2	Borderline - Tove Styrke	36	?
3	You’ll Never Get To Heaven - Diana Vickers	35	Tafty
4	Bloodstream - Tokio Myers	35	?
5	Kashmir - Escala	32	Chez Wombat
6	Blood - Equador	29	?
7	Chameleon Life - Daithi featuring Raye	24	?
8	Baby Don’t Dance - Fleur East	21	ChrisJK
9	California - Amelia Lily	20	awardinary
10	Racing Cars - Ruti	17	?
11	Damaged - Danity Kane	17	?
12	Domino - Saara Aalto	13	?
13	Alone By Heart - Clara Van Wel	13	?
14	Dub On The Track - Cher Lloyd et al.	12	Dobbo
15	I Do - Only The Young	11	?
16	Ladies In The ‘90s - Lauren Alaina	11	?
17	Creep - Dannii Minogue	10	?
18	Misty Eye - Aiden Grimshaw	9	?
19	Breathe - Liberty X	8	Jade
20	Rock With Me - Reggie ‘n’ Bollie et al.	6	?
21	Nolwenn Ohwo! - Nolwenn Leroy	5	gooddelta
22	Gladiator - Dami Im	2	?
23	Think Of You - Christina Grimmie	0	?

 

Next up is Scene

Not doing too badly so far.

I said it in the voting thread but that was such a bold and inspiring choice of Cher Lloyd track to use! It's an absolute BANGER though.

I wonder if 'Sirens' would have won if it was sent? People are usually quite (pleasantly) surprised that she has that in her catalogue!

(GREAT now I wanna do a Cher Lloyd discography listen through!)

That Cher Lloyd song was a good discovery, very edgy and great production!