BJSC 90

Host Countries: Aeroche, Bignia-Zaragovina, Daehun, Ramrynia & République d'Ashton

Summary

There were no takers for hosting duties for the final contest of the year so responsibilities were divided between the forum moderators at the time. In what had been quite the break out year for Dobago the pressure was on to secure a strong finish. Meanwhile the battle for EOY #1 had been very intriguing but ultimately it was Aeroche who prevailed once again in both the contest and the overall standings.

Dobago's Entry

Result: 38th

Looking back this was quite the peculiar entry choice. A relatively run of the mill house track with trap production and an Enya sample that's been used a gazillion times. I did wonder at the time whether that connection may have pushed it into veto territory but alas, there have been far more egregious sample uses which have gotten through before and after. Oh and there's a very subtle Grandmaster flash reference in the middle 8 which I didn't click until just now, how cool. It's not one I revisit and despite it comfortably qualifying from its semi, it did not exactly set the scoreboard on fire in the final, finishing bottom 5 and merely matching Baby Boy's result from earlier in the year. Keeping the qualifying run was ideal but it did mean we slipped from 11th to an eventual 14th in the EOY standings. That said, that's still our joint-best finish ever in that all these years later!

Winning Entry

Country: Aeroche

Experiencing the pleasure of announcing themselves as the winner, Aeroche truly struck gold once again with this gem. The witch house subgenre was most certainly en vogue at this time in BJSC and this was one of the best representatives of its sound. Extremely dark, moody and piercing production topped off with a genius sample, it received 11 points from us in the final but would quite probably be my third favourite from this contest nowadays.

18-Pointer

Country: South Danaelanda

My top 2 were fighting it out all through the contest to claim 18 points and in the end, Gregory's Theme just about won out. This is quite simply, an absolutely textbook house song that simply relies on the soaring melodic hook to do the work, very much in the vein of Avicii's 'Bromance' and Swedish House Mafia's 'One'. An absolute aural delight, much like my 15-pointer which on another day could easily have scored top marks and earned Bøtanikkä their 4th (!) 18 pointer from us in that year alone. A song from of Scooter's side project was always going to go down well and Sunrise is up with their best discography across either guise. Jackie Tech's You Can Have It All was a fun one as well but otherwise you had Ghost's Square Hammer which I had forgotten about ever being entered into this contest and the quite wonderful 90s gem Yeha-Noha which I sacrilegiously only gave 2 points to. The 18 point swap with South Danaelanda was the first occasion on which this happened for us.

I achieved a new personal best of 2nd place in that contest with HÆLOS *.* + wasn't mad at all about Aeroche blocking me from the win as 'Fate' was amazing giving a Kelly Clarkson song a witch house makeover sounds bizarre on paper but totally worked.

'Square Hammer' was indeed brilliant too! Still feels a bit surreal that they have a U.K. top 40 hit now.

I've also decided I'm going to do mini-ranks of all 3 criteria for each year based on my feelings towards them as of now (I'll lump the 2015 songs in with 2016 for the first list but afterwards it will be annual top 10s).

Top "10" Dobago Entries

1 T2Kazuya - Youth

2 Mahmut Orhan feat. Sena Sener - Feel

3 Imany - Don't Be So Shy (Filatov & Karas Remix)

4 Albin Myers & Carli - The Legend

5 ItaloBrothers - Sleep When We're Dead

6 Koo - Sail Away

7 DARA - K'vo Ne Chu

8 Kida - Ja Kem Nis

9 Badpojken - Johnny G (The Guidetti Song)

10 Monoir & Osaka feat. Brianna - The Violin Song

11 Lincoln Jesser feat. Yuna - Baby Boy

12 Salvatore Ganacci feat. Enya & Alex Aris - Dive

Top "10" Winning Entries

1 Hilight Tribe - Free Tibet (Vini Vici Remix)

2 Bang La Decks - Aide

3 Aelyn - Give Love A Try

4 Fraunhofer Diffraction - Fate

5 Salt Ashes - Save It

6 Raye - Shhh

7 K3 - 10.000 Luchtballonnen

8 Delta Heavy - Ghost

9 Crystal Waters - Relax

10 Shaun Frank & KSHMR feat. Delaney Jane - Heaven

11 Allie X - Sanctuary

12 The Naked And Famous - Higher

13 Rationale - Fuel To The Fire

Top "10" 18-Pointers

1 Aelyn - Give Love A Try

2 Sagi Abitbul & Guy Haliva - Stanga

3 Kontrust - Sock N Doll

4 LP - Lost On You (Live)

5 Basto - Gregory's Theme

6 LVNDSCAPE & Holland Park feat. Nico Santos - Waterfalls

7 Avicii - Dear Boy

8 DIA - ЕГЕЯ

9 Vita Chambers - Tell Me

10 Venom One feat. Sarah Howells - Rush

11 Lao Ra - Jesus Made Me Bad

12 Julian Perretta - Miracle

Without doubt 2016 still ranks as the best year for winners in my opinion. Only 2 songs I didn't vote for and some all time classics there!

not me having one of the worst winners of that year in your opinion 🫠

oops at 'Dive' finishing dead last for being the song we swapped 18s for, although I wouldn't give it top points if we re-ran that contest again now

more pleasing to see 'Feel' and 'Don't Be So Shy' rank in your top 3 as they've both held up very well

14 hours ago, Cody Piastri said:

not me having one of the worst winners of that year in your opinion 🫠

Unfortunately yes it was only that & Sanctuary which I didn't point that year. But I reckon I must have been one of about only 5 people in that particular bracket!

13 hours ago, danG said:

oops at 'Dive' finishing dead last for being the song we swapped 18s for, although I wouldn't give it top points if we re-ran that contest again now

more pleasing to see 'Feel' and 'Don't Be So Shy' rank in your top 3 as they've both held up very well

Yeah it's not one that sticks out to me at all. Agreed on your last point!

BJSC 91

Host Country: Aeroche

Summary

2017 kicked off with another trip to Aeroche and we were eager to get off to another strong start like the year prior. Still very much in the 'pluck something from my personal chart' era we went a bit on the risky side but something very much akin to what would become the Dobagan sound. After a top 5 start in 2016 how would we fare this time around? The contest was won for the first time by Ultraviolenceland.

Dobago's Entry

Result: DNQ (24th in Semi)

Not very well was the answer with our worst performing entry to date! That said there were no regrets at all in sending this choice as it was very much my most listened to track at the start of 2017. I can't say I've listened to it back all that often but every time I do I am reminded of what I love about it. The slow, gradual, string-laden build up into that dramatic instrumental breakdown with such a teasing downward trill note just before the drop. Then enter the Spanish guitar to hark back to the titular reference. There's plenty of elements I enjoy about this, that the guitar melody switching up in the second phase keeps the intrigue and then the calmness returns again before one final rush completes the piece. I think this may have suffered from the infamous wrong semi-syndrome although it's perhaps not quite as instant as many of my other instrumental entries. It's a really fun listen even now but unfortunately didn't hit the right mark at the time.

Winning Entry

Country: Ultraviolenceland

Aside from witch house, another subgenre that was proving particularly fruitful at the time was 'PC music' which although specifically referring to a record label somewhat morphed into becoming an umbrella term for a certain niche of bright, eccentric, happy-go-lucky dancepop songs. The genre definitely sounded very futuristic at the time (and still does now to a lesser extent, although some elements have appeared to break into the mainstream (Pinkpantheress - Boy's A Liar being one example that springs to mind)) and definitely piqued my interest, sounding much more engaging than a lot of the mainstream music back then. This is a really excellent flagbearer for the label's music and still sounds wonderful now, a very catchy vocal melody combined with super interesting production techniques. I gave it 11 points at the time (when the artist went under an alias of easyFun) on its way to an absolute landslide victory and it would certainly rank similarly to me in a contest nowadays.

18-Pointer

Country: Zanmatony

This is absolutely fantastic and still very much partial to a semi-regular spin on my main Spotify playlist. On the surface it's a pretty run of the mill electro-house song but it packs an almighty punch. The vocals are bang on point and the drop is full on in your face, no holds barred. These kind of songs can fall into becoming too much on the abrasive side but this one toes the line perfectly, with plenty of substance within the sonic aspects. I believe it was a song I was charting at the time (was always fun when one of those appeared in the contest) and may well have been something I could have sent myself, which is usually a pretty good recipe for being in the conversation for my 18! The Spanish trance epic Unbreakable put up a good battle in making it back to back top scores for South Danaelanda and PreGomesh was utterly brilliant for its genre but unlucky to run into 2 powerhouses in the same contest. Ramrynia were certainly picking up the unfortunate habit of finishing second with songs that could have easily won other contests!

1 hour ago, Dobbo said:

18-Pointer

Country: Zanmatony

This is absolutely fantastic and still very much partial to a semi-regular spin on my main Spotify playlist. On the surface it's a pretty run of the mill electro-house song but it packs an almighty punch. The vocals are bang on point and the drop is full on in your face, no holds barred. These kind of songs can fall into becoming too much on the abrasive side but this one toes the line perfectly, with plenty of substance within the sonic aspects. I believe it was a song I was charting at the time (was always fun when one of those appeared in the contest) and may well have been something I could have sent myself, which is usually a pretty good recipe for being in the conversation for my 18! The Spanish trance epic Unbreakable put up a good battle in making it back to back top scores for South Danaelanda and PreGomesh was utterly brilliant for its genre but unlucky to run into 2 powerhouses in the same contest. Ramrynia were certainly picking up the unfortunate habit of finishing second with songs that could have easily won other contests!

Zanmatony's first ever gold medal in the BuzzJack Song Contest was given to us by Dobago for this song! ❤️

the Yellow Claw album that featured Love and War is still fantastic up till this day; it was one of the albums that led me to broader dance/EDM subgenres.

1 hour ago, CowTzy said:

the Yellow Claw album that featured Love and War is still fantastic up till this day; it was one of the albums that led me to broader dance/EDM subgenres.

Yes there's something about their music that puts them above most others in their genre. Till It Hurts is another I absolutely love from their earlier stuff.

BJSC 92

Host Countries: Taahino & Ultraviolenceland

Summary

We went back to a multi-country contest next time around, both new nations for us to visit. We had to get off the mark this time around so went for something that felt more of a safe qualifier, "technically" self-recycling for the first time although arguably a grey area on this occasion. We lost one of our all time favourite BJSC ballads in Ichiban No Takaramono from the semi (damn that still hits hard despite me not understanding a single word) but there were still plenty of songs to get behind including from our allies in South Danaelanda who claimed their first BSJC victory.

Dobago's Entry

Result: 33rd

If The Violin Song was the budget version Feel, then this was undeniably the budget version Don't Be So Shy, featuring the same remixers and their signature deep house touch. Still very much a big song for me at the time so was a no brainer in entering although with slightly more curtailed expectations, as was proven in finishing bottom 10 but garnering a decent portion of support. Not one I tend to revisit but it's a nice listen, the production stealing the show and a sultry vocal from Minelli who would go on to have 2 BSJC hits later on as a soloist.

Winning Entry

Country: South Danaelanda

Trance was clearly the order of the show from South Danaelanda in early 2017 and this time they hit the jackpot. It's your classic uplifting vocal trance anthem with a heartfelt message powerfully delivered, backed up by stunning synth sections of which we'd become very accustomed to with Gareth Emery entries both prior and subsequently. It hits all the right notes to appeal across the voting spectrum and earned 12 points from myself. I said at the time that I actually preferred Unbreakable to this and as matter of fact still do now but I cannot deny the breath-taking instrumental this one offers.

18-Pointer

Country: Pupok

BJSC is always a sure-fire space for hearing the weird and wonderful and every now and then something leaps out in a quite frankly sensational way. This is one of those songs I already knew would be right up my street from the first 5 seconds and it throws about a thousand things at you in just the first half a minute. The Vybz Kartel-esque dancehall vocals (admittedly not the wisest comparison but certainly accurate) are full on but it's the crunching and chaotic production that appeals most to my senses as it must have done to many other participants with it finishing a very impressive fourth. Oh yeah and the accompanying music video was fittingly as batshit as the song. With this, Pupok became the third country to receive 2 gold medals from us. Zanmatony came close to back-to-back 18s with another song we were already enjoying outside the contest in Fire and the 90s trance classic The Age Of Love also scored well from the ever reliable Botanikka.

I can't remember if I voted for 'Monopoly' but I actually like it more now than I did at the time! I was a bit of a late PC Music convert in general.

'Mutant Brain' is probably my favourite ever Pupok entry so nice 18 pick there! Absolutely bonkers song and visuals in the best way. Rakakakakakakakakakaka *.*

Adoring how stacked #92 was when I checked its entries beyond Gareth Emery — Reol, HONNE, Age of Love, Troll (surprisingly fun!), and LiSA 🔥

50 minutes ago, Jade said:

'Mutant Brain' is probably my favourite ever Pupok entry so nice 18 pick there! Absolutely bonkers song and visuals in the best way. Rakakakakakakakakakaka *.*

Echoing what Jade said, it was my favourite Pupok entry ever (thank you @lotita) and something I think Why So Sirius would try to emulate in early 2025 @uhsting with their output.

48 minutes ago, CowTzy said:

Adoring how stacked #92 was when I checked its entries beyond Gareth Emery — Reol, HONNE, Age of Love, Troll (surprisingly fun!), and LiSA 🔥

Yes Troll made quite the impression on many people from what I recall!

If it hits you, 'Ichiban No Takaramono' really does get you. LiSA's done some excellent songs over her career but I don't think any as great as that.

'Saving Light' has always stuck in the memory of course, you've reminded me of 'Mutant Brain', but it is excellent.

For a song that DNQed which I didn't rank particularly highly at the time and I recall thinking might have actually been a contender to be a 0 pointer 'Ichiban No Takaramono' has actually stuck remarkably well in my memory. Think it'd likely get a good handful of points from me if I rerolled my votes for that semi now. ('Jimmy Dean', 'Mutant Brain' and Fla.mingo's 'Die' were and most likely still would be my top 3 though - the former is probably still my favourite Hendinia entry).

I don't remember it too well again so maybe another one I need to revisit but I gave 'Flamenco' 6 points so clearly deserved better!

I just realized it was THE Margaret Qualley in the Mutant Brain commercial ❤️

it would take her a whole seven years until she finally made another BJSC cameo as a mascot for an Aeroche contest

I choose to believe she was cast for The Substance partially based on her performance in the Mutant Brain music video which was incredible. I’m shook I only gave it 15 points in favour of Republic of Adonia (which was also amazing tbh).

Today I learned!

I have good memories of BJSC 92, was my 50th contest and I sent a wonderful classical epic and finish top 10, but the music was really great and I still have some of the MP3s from it on my Apple Music, Saving Light was a fantastic winner and top tier emotional trance, and I loved Mutant Brain too for it being one of the most out and out insane entries I've heard here.