Oh wow that is a big TIL moment indeed! Totally see it now 😅

On 21/10/2025 at 21:34, Chez Wombat said:

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.

Oh yes Africa was a lovely ambient track. A pretty stacked contest indeed!

BJSC 93

Host Country: South Danaelanda

Overview

Just over a year after they last hosted we got the chance to visit South Danaelanda again BUT amusingly were eyeing up potentially sending a non-dance entry. In the back of our mind we felt that the contest ran the risk of being somewhat oversaturated with the genre given the subconscious tendencies to invariably appeal to the host's tastes (after all, they are the only country you can normally 100% guarantee will be able to vote for you in your semi) but moreover had stumbled across a little alternative piece that very much appealed to the senses. At this point I was also keen to explore other sounds and didn't want to become known as being a one-dimensional nation. There was also the chances of garnering some support/votes from different countries to the norm which is always fun.

Dobago's Entry

Result: 20th

The song was placed 3rd on a popular Australia radio station's top 100 of the year countdown however I don't believe I would have discovered it via that medium. Either way I was immediately drawn in by the extremely long and rather hypnotic instrumental opening section which builds and builds, lasting a full 2 minutes before the vocals finally come in which themselves are similarly entrancing. Tash Sultana is a very talented musician described as a one-woman band and it's not hard to see why, able to play an array of instruments and possessing highly versatile vocal capabilities. This was the first indie/rock-leaning entry I sent to the main contest and it performed admirably, just cracking the top 20 in the final and showing that we could be successful outside of our main genre.

Winning Entry

Country: Ultraviolenceland

A mere 2 contests after their debut victory, Ultraviolenceland won back their BSJC crown (only the second ever occasion of a 'sandwich' victory) albeit with a song I was much less keen on this time. I remember thinking at the time it sounded like an entry that one of the less successful dancebloc nations could have sent and finished bottom top 10 with in the final, so to see it actually win was rather surprising to me at least. It's a decent, fun, upbeat bit of dancepop with a bouncy trumpet riff but doesn't offer much else besides borderline-annoying vocals. It was the first winner I didn't vote for since 87 (although I did throw it a sole point in the semi) and it hasn't held up well, very much a song I would skip over nowadays without batting an eyelid.

18-Pointer

Country: Espen

To add to the personal disappoint of the contest results, the song which In The Morning narrowly defeated was by far and away my highlight, taking my 18 points with ease. A truly stunning song packed full of drama and emotion, the cherry on top no doubt being the commanding instrumental sections, the likes of which we'd hear a handful more times in subsequent Offer Nissim entries (and we may indeed see again in this thread, stay tuned). The way the vocalist seduces you in and suddenly the explosion of sound takes over, this is exactly the sort of recipe often required to earn big Dobagan praise. Of course out of curiosity I had to give Part B a listen as well but it doesn't achieve anything than Part A doesn't, with slightly more drawn out transition sections. 93 was another stacked contest, other big highlights being Eurodancer, Snow Globe and Spirit (which ended up receiving 12 points in both the semi and final) but the clear enduring entry here of course is Jenny which eventually took on a life of its own after going viral on TikTok some years later and has stood the test of time very well indeed. Espen were the only country which gave us their 18, meaning this was the second time in four contests in which we swapped top marks with the winning nation.

BJSC 94

Host Countries: Hushkanukia, Ultraviolenceland & Unovia

Overview

This was another tri-hosted contest complete with a quick second trip back to Ultraviolenceland. After our first top half hit of the year it was time to send something much more akin to our usual sound and we called upon the services of an artist we had very recently given top marks to. I'm not one to knowingly/willingly recycle acts all that often but I made an exception here as the song made such an impression on me. This contest was a close fought battle for the win between Trifoski & D'yermak'er with the former winning for the third time.

Dobago's Entry

Result: 9th

Such was our enjoyment of his previous entry (with Guy Haliva) of Stanga, I kept close tabs on potential future releases as his production style would almost certainly yield more music I could get on board with. What I wasn't prepared for was this release being even better. The similarities are clear to see but this track had a much more interesting vocal and song structure, with the drop around the two thirds mark being a genuine "best moment I've heard of any song of the year so far" contender. The final psytrance section was becoming ten a penny by now in these contests but the vibrant instrumental parts beforehand elevated this far beyond other music I was listening to from that genre at the time. After an extraordinarily slow start in the final voting (running last after about a quarter of the way in) I was elated to see it eventually rise into the top 10, our first one of the year, picking up a then joint record four 18s. This is unquestionably still a personal top 10 entry of mine and it's unlikely to be ousted from that bracket anytime soon.

Winning Entry

Country: Trifoski

A fun one this. I'm usually a sucker for modified, robotic-like vocals and they come in abundance on this song. Accompanied with a silky smooth bassline and bloopy melodic sequences, there are of lots interesting elements going on throughout. The dancing storm troopers style music video was also very memorable, perhaps even more so than the track itself. Whilst not being an absolute fave of mine, it received a solid 10 points, 9 more than its main competitor. Listening back, I can see why this appealed so widely and it still sounds pretty fresh today.

18-Pointer

Country: Quintessa

What do you get when you mix trance with strings? Normally a shoo-in for an spectacular listen, as was proven with this track. It's one of those I knew I would love from the first few seconds, after which more layers keep getting introduced until everything is stripped back for the utterly glorious violin section. Even if that alone was the entire song I think it would have been competing for my 18 but then in come the splitting trancey synths to truly put this into the top top bracket of all time discoveries. I felt this deserved a bit higher than 22nd even at the time and fortunately Driftmoon would eventually earn his colours on the site courtesy of winning Club Bizarre 6 with another instrumental epic, although even I wouldn't rank that as high as Genesis, which is a BJSC all-timer for me. Espen impressed again with Instance Of Time being a distant 15-pointer but would likely have won top marks in several other contests that year and Superpowers flew the flag for pop music in 94. Lower down my votes, Waqqaberry sticks out as something that ranks more favourably now that songs I ranked ahead of it originally.

BJSC 95

Host Country: Trifoski

Overview

The next contest was solely hosted within the eclectic lands of Trifoski. Continuing our upwards trajectory was the aim and we thought we had stumbled across a bit of gem in the weeks prior to the contest starting. It would be our first time venturing into the pure pop field and, given I had generally viewed BJSC to still just about be more pop leaning than any other genre, felt this could have yielded another strong result. However that was quickly put paid to in what I still vividly remember as a rollercoaster of a semi results thread with all the DNQs being announced together at the time, featuring shocks aplenty. Suedeonia would go on seal a first victory in a very tight battle with FARC.

Dobago's Entry

Result: DNQ (23rd in Semi)

First thing to note is I clearly wasn't paying too much attention in my first couple of contests, as Grace Mitchell had been entered into both 78 AND 79, yet by the time 95 came around I had either chosen to completely ignore this or simply didn't care enough to check. Recycling artists was not something I was generally inclined to do, especially given I had done such in just the previous contest, but this slice of 80s-inspired pop clearly grabbed me enough to jump the front of the potentials queue and as mentioned I was curious to finally branch out into the pop sphere. In what was considered a big shock at the time, the entry did not qualify which certainly made me overly cautious branching out of my comfort zone for a good while thereafter but on reflection it was just one of those unlucky results which happens sometimes. Clearly the song had some legs as it would go on to earn some justice by finishing runner up in that year's Rejects competition. Interestingly, I ranked this quite low down in my list of personal entries a few years later but listening to it again now, it has aged remarkably well. I love the slightly unusual song structure and abundance of hooks scattered throughout. One that deserves more attention.

Winning Entry

Country: Suedeonia

I did not like this song at the time. And still don't now. It's in that avenue of indie pop that never really does much for me. Rather plodding production and nothing interesting structurally, which both can be compensated for by good vocals but I really don't like the lead singer's voice either. Sounds like something I would skip over in the FIFA menu and is just in all something I really don't get, making it my least favourite winning song so far.

18-Pointer

Country: Bøtanikkä

On the complete flipside we had this truly absorbing electro-psytrance entry that very much ticked all of our boxes. Entered by none other than the ever reliable Bøtanikkä, it was indeed another track cut from the tablecloth laid by Free Tibet but that was certainly a fun place to eat back then. This has many similar elements to that including numerous sections interwoven by an irresistible heavy bass riff, sporadic tribal chanting and that feeling of being taken on a journey. Unfortunately it must have hit a "heard this all before" kind of vibe with the masses as it finished a lowly 35th in the final, becoming (without checking) my worst performing gold medallist to date. Fortunately the other 2 songs on the podium were big personal faves, those being the vocally stunning Hopeless Dreams and effortlessly fun Dub-I-Dub which picked up my 11 & 15 points respectively. I also still think fondly of Ambling Alp, Gatekeeper and indeed the very song which "trolled" everyone in the semis by being announced last to qualify, Friday Night. Oh and a mention goes to my 1 pointer from this contest Lucy Camp who rather coincidentally has just been entered again a full (it's been) 84 contests later *_*

BJSC 96

Host Countries: Medhelnia & Suedeonia

Overview

After the traditional summer break we were back for 96 with 2 new hosts and as was noted at the time featuring quite probably the biggest age gap between hosts of any contest to date and indeed since! After our shock DNQ we were keen to go a little bit (/a lot) safer this time around to try and get our EOY target back on track, noting we'd need 5 strong results to achieve another top 20 placing. After a little while without too much controversy we got some this time around with 2 countries confirming they had sent in final votes however these were not received by the host, resulting in both deductions (FARC as an auto-qualifier suffering from a record 53% deduction) and bans from the subsequent contest as their messages had not been saved as proof. One of BJSC's great unsolved mysteries... The final results reveal was nonetheless enthralling with 5 songs still mathematically in the running for the win before the final revealed vote (albeit later scoreboard adjustments confirmed that some of these points weren't actually 100% accurate at the time of reveal) - nevertheless Daehun scored their third win with a reasonably comfortably margin. At the other end the bottom 2 was occupied by both hosts.

Dobago's Entry

Result: 8th

Returning to our safe haven of string-laden dance we actually ended up recycling for a third contest in a row however on this occasion the artist's previous entries had both been sent prior to us competing. This song, which was produced by Zedd, featured Lindsey Stirling's traditional violin playing along with RuthAnne (fka Rooty) on vocal duties to bring together a lovely number. It's a rather formulaic house song in structure but the irresistible violin sections and powerful vocals add plenty of substance. It proved to be an extremely popular entry, racking up votes from over half of the participants and earning us another 8th place finish, our best result of the year so far. Impressively, it kept up Lindsey Stirling's 100% BJSC record of top 10 finishes as lead artist (which would be further added to 7 and a half years later taking it to 4 from 4). Still a great listen today and hits all the right notes for me!

Winning Entry

Country: Daehun

A song I was very vaguely familiar with in original form pre-contest from former Eurovision winner Helena Paparizou. However it was the English version which was sent to the contest and to be quite honest I enjoy them roughly about the same. A superb pop song with punchy production and an electric chorus, complemented with what to my ears sound like panpipes - and who doesn't love panpipes?! This wasn't considered one of the favourites at the time but looking back it certainly has all the right ingredients to appeal to a wide voter base across all so-called blocs, with Dobago providing 12 points. I still jam to this now although generally pick the original Greek version.

18-Pointer

Country: Altyr Muunilinst

I specifically recall this song being the first proper case of entry envy, solely because it was a song I felt I should have come across myself. Back then I was closely following European charts although clearly not closely enough as, once learning this had been a reasonable sized hit in a couple of Scandinavian countries, I had somehow missed this absolute gem which would unquestionably do well in BJSC. I did not know initially that it was a cover version of a 90s song but having heard both versions, whilst I appreciate the original, it is not a patch on this beauty of a cover. The angelic vocals and light, airy production are captivating but unquestionably it's THAT utterly gorgeous saxophone that completely steals the show here. Especially the final section, I feel more emotion from the instrumentation than the vocals! This was a comfortable fave of mine from this contest, even finishing ahead of a very Dobago-coded Visele and a modern house classic in Strobe (which nowadays would possibly pip Jag Trodde Änglarna Fanns to my 18 at least in its original full length format), and it eventually finished 3rd overall. What could have been!

BJSC 97

Host Countries: Daehun & The Actual Republic of Bellamia

Overview

No sooner had the dust settled on 96 that we were straight into 97, another dual hosted event with TARO Bellamia hosting the semis before handing final duties over to last month's winner Daehun. Aside from the DNQ in 95 we had been on a strong run in general with 3 top half finishes in the year so far, so the pressure remained to keep up the decent results. At this stage we were deep into super obscure artists in our tireless quest for potentials and submitted by far our most underground entry so far, even now at time of writing with only just over a thousand Spotify streams ever (wonder how many of those came in August 2017 alone). Fortunately, it paid off as we scored another top half finish to edge back into the EOY top 20. This contest saw a landslide debut win for Quintessa, finishing over 50 points clear of runners-up Terra Avium.

Dobago's Entry

Result: 18th

This entry was so obscure that it didn't even have a YouTube audio upload back then, so for the first time I took matters into my own hands and made one myself (indeed from my ancient YouTube handle that I've barely ever used for actually posting videos). Having said that I seem to recall discovering this song on a random dance music compilation, where it must have stood out a hell of a lot more than the rest of that list. This remix is a super catchy house track which completely reinvigorates the rather dull and lifeless original version with its bargain basement production. It proved a popular choice, finishing 18th in a ridiculously congested mid-part of the final scoreboard where only 4 points separated 17th right down to 23rd. One very specific thing that I recall about this entry is that, after 18 consecutive contests of getting no points at all from then moderator nation Bignia-Zaragovina, they gave my 19th entry the full 18 points which was pretty neat (though it should also be mentioned we had never pointed them either up to and slightly beyond this point!)

Winning Entry

Country: Quintessa

This song felt like a breath of fresh air in 97. Whilst there had been electro swing songs entered before, this one managed to successfully combine the irresistible catchiness of the instrumentation with a modern house-style drop. It certainly stood out and oftentimes can be all that's required to rise above the field. I really enjoy the vocals in this as well and they certainly complement the feel and sound of the track. It also had a very memorable music video so pretty much all bases of appeal were covered. This is another of those winners that proved to be a huge grower, as I only gave it 5 points in the final but noted even back then that by the time of the final results it would and should have gotten more and nowadays this is a tremendous listen which would undoubtedly be pushing for the medal positions.

18-Pointer

Country: FSR Rontvia

This was a clear, clear favourite of the contest and there was really zero competition for my 18 the whole way through. A retro-sounding trancey EDM song from 2000, it was one I was not familiar with despite being from a sound I'd always completely loved. The production is absolutely on point, the tranquil piano melody building into the euphoric synth breakdown, topped off with those luscious French vocals. The middle section is excellent as well, bringing in the harsher Scooter/Ratty-esque sound. A distant 15-pointer was Lao Ra's Body Bounce, which as previously mentioned I actually preferred to her song I did give maximum points to back in 80. Other highlights from the contest included the super slick deep house of Never Did This Before, the fabulously catchy Caramelldansen (which has took on a life of its own in recent years) and the artistically stunning runner-up Pariah. There was certainly an eclectic mix to choose from!

Funny how I initially did not recall your entry to 97 from its name but hitting play I was immediately reminded of it and looking back I see I gave it 5 points, not normally my sort of thing that but it has a really nice charm.

Dance Avec Moi and Gypsy were both in my top 3 of votes in that contest so very much agreed with your commentary on both, the latter in the rare group of winners that I gave full marks to and indeed, it really stood out among its field.

BJSC 98

Host Country: Quintessa

Overview

Making our first voyage to Quintessa, the aim was to keep the strong run of results going as we certainly couldn't afford a DNQ. At this point I was winding down on my personal charts era which would discontinue at the end of 2017 but still had a few gems that I felt needed unearthing to the masses. The contest was won by a quite frankly ridiculous 123 point margin by Medhelnia, their entry amassing 454 points in what must be one of the highest totals ever (Sigala's 'Easy Love' with 477 I still believe retains that record to this day). Extremely impressive considering it was their first ever victory after several close calls previously. But what became of our 20th entry...?

Dobago's Entry

Result: DNQ (21st in Semi)

Now this really was a sucker punch result, not just because of it only narrowly missing out on qualifying but because it was a song I had been loving for most of the year. It was initially planned to be our 94 entry before we stumbled across Mariko, thereafter rebounding around our potentials shortlist before finally being unleashed. From memory I think this track I rather shamelessly pinched off a fellow member's personal chart, although if I had to guess it was moth09 who was not nor has ever been a BSJC contestant to my knowledge. I tend to enjoy Middle Eastern sounding entries with their unique instruments and this song combines that with a delicious psytrancey underlay, one perhaps not one as ostentatious as others which had been entered in the grand looming shadow of Free Tibet. I had reasonable expectations for this entry and it did score a pair of 12 points in the semi but it just didn't have enough of a wide appeal. I feel it may have snuck through with a lucky semi draw in another contest overall but them's the breaks sometimes.

Winning Entry

Country: Medhlenia

I realised before posting that I don't think I'd ever listened to the original version of this so I duly fulfilled that obligation. Indeed, years before Taylor Swift carried out her own namedropping of the legendary actress, we had this from one hit wonder Clare Maguire. The original is a decent, heartfelt ballad but lacked an oomph which this version certainly brought to the table. In a time where Jess Glynne had not long prior been dominating charts and airwaves alike with upbeat piano house, it wasn't much of a surprise to see this perform well, although I still feel now as it did at the time that its points total was rather incredulous. I did point this, in fact giving it more (7) that the previous contest's winner but that was more a product of it being a weaker contest. It's a very nice listen, still retaining the superb vocals but complementing them with more engaging production, however it's not one I've ever rushed back to hear.

18-Pointer

Country: Aeroche

Whenever the eternal discussion arises as to what you regret not sending despite having a golden opportunity, I immediately jump straight to Brianna's 'Lost In Istanbul' but then we also have this banger which I always forget I knew well (and had charted) a fair bit before its eventual introduction to the contest. That said, there was always something about it that just didn't quite get me fully onboard so it was never truthfully a legitimate potential of mine. It's a very airy and summery bop with delicate verses building into a euphoric explosion of joy that's undeniably hard not to make your day feel just that bit better. As mentioned I had charted this song a while before the contest so it certainly had a head start on the competition but on reflection it really was a case of there simply not being any songs I preferred, as I would put this as one of my weakest 18-pointers from my early years competing. My 15 was Yalla, which at the time set a new record for best improvement in performance from the semi to the final, with my 13 being the overtly provoking but undeniably catchy Mi Mi Mi. Truth be told there's not a single song from this contest that's massively stayed with me, and to bring this summary full circle back to the Lost In Istanbul comparison, Born Ready also finished 4th overall.

and this entry was so robbed!

BJSC 99

Host Country: Medhelnia

Overview

The penultimate contest of the 'century' was a quick return trip to Medhlenia, although this time as a sole host. With 3 DNQs this year, in a way the pressure was off now so it was simply a case of going back to basics and sending what was riding high in my personal chart, which in fact was the longest ever running #1 in its 3 year history. This contest also sticks out of me as featuring the 'battle of the garage tracks' between myself & Buzzjack Mountain, of which their entry unfortunately became only my second ever top scorer in the semi to not qualify. To add to the woes, by this point I was making a more concerted effort to listen to the DNQs from the opposite semi, where I discovered an even better track in Dance Floor which would almost certainly have been my 12-pointer had I been placed on that side of the draw. Still, the final had its fair share of highlights without these personal gems. For the third contest in a row, and the fourth in five, a new nation was added to the Roll of Honour, this time being Unovia.

Dobago's Entry

Result: 20th

At time of writing I can't even find this song on Spotify, so the only version that seems to exist is my own personal YouTube upload of it from 2017. Indeed, very much like BUT a couple of contests prior, this was an ultra-obscure song discovered on whatever random dance compilation channel I was subscribed to back then. And also much like BUT, it was far more interesting, dancier version of an otherwise rather mundane original which was entered. An utterly brilliant 2-step garage track capped off with powerful vocals from a very aptly-named artist who at 15 at the time, became our youngest ever representative. Certainly one of my favourite personal discoveries of 2017, it garnered a lot of early hype and had me feeling the most confident I'd been for an entry since The Legend. Although caution was taken given garage was not a particularly easy subgenre to gauge. As it transpired, it finished Bang in the middle of the scoreboard (couldn't resist), matching Jungle, which was a little underwhelming but nonetheless sewed up a fifth top half finish in 7 contests.

Winning Entry

Country: Unovia

Well The Bleachers have stiff competition here for my least favourite winner so far. This is an extremely non-descript Italian pop sing with roughly nothing that stands out to me whatsoever, much like what I thought about it at the time. I do like one song by her, namely Tropicale, but this one does absolute nothing for me. As soon as it's over I can't remember the melody nor the production. There hadn't been many pure pop winners in the time I'd been competing and I'm really not sure what about this pleased the masses but there you go.

18-Pointer

Country: Summericia

Where to start with this one! First off there seem to be about a hundred remixes of this new age song from the 90s but it was one simply entitled (Remix) which was entered into the contest so we'll go with that. In any case, this is an absolutely stunning piece of music, with haunting vocals (the lyrics in fact being a completely made-up language with the intention of sounding akin to Latin) and gorgeous string sections. This remix adds a layer of breakbeat much in the vein of Enigma and really makes you feel something, the whole song is a true aural experience. This ended up finishing a place above Push Bang Bang, my 18 points most certainly contributing to that result. I'm not sure what was in the water in Summericia in 2017 but they managed to send another song which would subsequently go on to become an internet meme in the following years, Ameno gaining traction on Tiktok & Twitch before being embraced in wider social cultures. After the dip in 98, 99 was a return to high quality with a wide variety of excellent dance on show including the exhilarating ride of The Drums and Bass of Flower Bless, a beautiful slice of progressive trance in Falcons, the summery house of GO 2.0 and a pulsating 90s banger in Rockin' For Myself. Have to also give a shout out for what I thought what was the best pop song of the contest, the insanely catchy Scandipop tune Så så så säg.

Ameno was a Bøtanikkä song that never got sent

Deserved much better result than what it got!!!

It is VERY Bøtanikkä-coded yes!!

'Ameno' <3 actually don't listen to it as much as I should but when I do, in whichever version it sounds incredible.