January 9Jan 9 Author BJSC 110Host Country: AerocheOverviewSo we rounded off the year with a familiar return to Aeroche, which had not been a particularly happy hunting ground for Dobago on previous occasions so there existed the immediate chance to at least put that right. In what had been quite a sobering year for the nation with only a couple of highlights there wasn't really any expectation for this contest's entry but it turned out to be a most satisfying result which edged us just inside the EOY top 30. In true 2018 fashion it was to be yet another debut victory, Oslol romping home by a much more comfortable margin than recent contests. Little did we all know what would be in store next year when the contest reached their land... In the EOY standings Aeroche ran away to what was an incredible 6th straight victory, leading home Quintessa who were the only other nation to eclipse the 2000 point barrier.Dobago's EntryResult: 10thThis is probably the only entry of ours that was a literal 'word of mouth' recommendation. Back at the time I was participating in monthly (?) quizzes at a nearby pub based solely around identifying music clips and had struck up good camaraderie with one of the hosts. We talked about general music preferences and when I had once mentioned my affinity for strings-based dance music he had recommended me this golden nugget of a tune from all the way back in 1998 and it was unsurprisingly insta-love from my side. With nothing else jumping out at the time I just decided to throw it at BJSC out of curiosity more than anything as we had never sent such a "retro" sounding song to the contest up until then. It went down a storm, qualifying 3rd from the semi and landing home 10th in the final courtesy of a tie-break (which was a bit of recompense for falling on the other side of the line in 103). Although not one I've revisited often (blame it not being on Spotify for that mainly) it's a truly timeless-sounding piece that absolutely appeals to almost all of my preferences, with the build up and drop at around the 4:20 mark being my favourite part of the track.Winning EntryCountry: OslolA rather ironic title as I have absolutely zero collection of this song despite it featuring in our votes (in fact receiving a few more than several other winners that year). Listening back it's a very uplifting slice of dancepop with a strong vocal effort but it doesn't have any real standout features that push it higher in my affections. I certainly wouldn't label it as outright tropical house but some of the elements of that subgenre are evident here and given that was more of an "in" sound at the time it had the support of multiple voting blocs. Probably not one that would do so well nowadays but it was certainly more catchy than other similar entries of its ilk. Looking back at the scoreboard, this contest's top 10 (our entry aside of course) must be one of my least favourite ever with us only pointing 3 other songs with a combined total of just 11 points! The 11-20 section was certainly where is was at this time around which brings us to...18-PointerCountry: UnoviaA very rare gold medal to a non-dance song! (Indeed the only one of the year if you don't count 'Bánh Trôi Nước' which is more dance-fusion) But a well deserved one as this song stood out to great effect in a contest certainly not bursting at the seams with quality. This is the sort of energetic, in-your-face rap that is right up my street, more so than much of the laid-back, mumble rap that was becoming more prominent commercially at this time. I recall there being several comparisons to 'Black Skinhead' and I can certainly see and appreciate such similarities. I can't say I'm all too familiar with Italian rap specifically but this is certainly a brilliant flagbearer, the Italian language is often viewed as very beautiful but it can also pack a punch when delivered in such a marauding style. It's one I still give the odd spin to now and then. I remembering it being quite nip and tuck between this and the epic post-rock instrumental 'Terrain' for my 18 points but I'd still stick with my original decision now (not least because the other way round would have cost us a top 10 place!) My top 5 in both rounds were the same, with a subsequent reshuffling pushing semi favourite 'Close Your Eyes' all the way down to fourth in the final ranking behind a fellow but much more contemporary-sounding violin piece 'Rise' in what was quite an unusually eclectic-looking top section of our votes. The other big takeaway from 110 though turned out to be very much a dance number, the moody and melancholic '1992'. Also a shout out to 'Favela' which we only gave 2 points to but grew strongly post-contest and certainly ranks more favourably in the dancepop universe than the winning entry.
January 9Jan 9 'Hypocrite' was a beautiful winner that I didn't see coming. Love to see an instrumental smashing.'Sinking' is still my favourite song I've ever entered, which is interesting as it's not my usual sound, but it strikes such an emotional chord for me. It was quite an obscure find so its success was also rewarding on that front. Somnium would've been a dream first winner but it wasn't meant to be! That result was the second time I'd missed out on winning by a 1-figure margin, so a bit frustrating, but thankfully I only needed to wait a year at this point to get there in the end. I think I gave 'Long Way Here' a bronze medal that contest, so nice pick of favourite Oh wow we book-ended 2018 with the same gold medals as '90MIN' was mine as well very 'Black Skinhead' indeed.
January 9Jan 9 Author Dobago Entries of 2018 Ranking1 TEPR - Hello E2 Trevor Reilly - Down With The Underground3 Purple Haze - Choir 1.04 MC Solaar - Sonotone5 Mark Eliyahu - Journey6 ManyFew (feat. Twiggy) - Where To Go7 Zazie - Speed8 Tom Budin & Luciana - X With U9 Sabyan (feat. Annisa & El-Alice) - Ya Jamalu10 Amber Mark (feat. Mia Mark) - MonsoonWinning Entries of 2018 Ranking1 Built By Titan - Broken Love (feat. Starxs)2 grandson - thoughts & prayers3 Jean-Michel Blais & CFCF - Hypocrite4 Metroplane feat. Bree Runway - Word Of Mouth5 Alvaro Soler - Sofia6 Kim Petras - Heart To Break7 Colleen D'Agostino - Disaster8 Gryffin & ZOHARA - Remember9 Cathedrals - Try To Fight10 Daniella Mason - Cruel Summer18-Pointers of 2018 Ranking1 Kalki - Varanasi2 Eric Prydz - Opus3 µ-Ziq - Hasty Boom Alert4 W&W & Darren Styles feat. Giin - Long Way Down5 Brianna - Lost In Istanbul6 Hoàng Thùy Linh - Bánh Trôi Nước7 Salmo - 90MIN8 Offer Nissim feat. Ania Bukstein - Rokedet9 Berg - Bayaka10 Jorn van Deynhoven - Rising High
January 9Jan 9 Author 7 minutes ago, Jade said:'Hypocrite' was a beautiful winner that I didn't see coming. Love to see an instrumental smashing.'Sinking' is still my favourite song I've ever entered, which is interesting as it's not my usual sound, but it strikes such an emotional chord for me. It was quite an obscure find so its success was also rewarding on that front. Somnium would've been a dream first winner but it wasn't meant to be! That result was the second time I'd missed out on winning by a 1-figure margin, so a bit frustrating, but thankfully I only needed to wait a year at this point to get there in the end. I think I gave 'Long Way Here' a bronze medal that contest, so nice pick of favourite Oh wow we book-ended 2018 with the same gold medals as '90MIN' was mine as well very 'Black Skinhead' indeed.Yeah we definitely need more of those winning again in the future (even one! )I actually gave Sinking another spin as I remember it not doing much for me personally at the time and it still doesn't now sadly. I guess having an emotional connection with a song certainly elevates it though, and great that your favourite entry did so well! Ah yes Ignis, I seem to recall enjoying that so looking forward to relistening again soon.And that's quite the coincidence re the gold medals!
January 9Jan 9 'Long Way Down' has stuck with me very much more than a lot of the 2018 tracks, I think I'd heard it because of following Darren Styles myself before it got entered but it getting entered cemented it as a fave.Good year for me on the whole although we didn't cross paths much this year (except in 18s, most of yours were excellent), I think Purple Haze was my favourite of yours here.
January 9Jan 9 'Connection Through Sound' still sticks out as gorgeous even now. Was chuffed my AQ paid off with sneaking the top 20 as trance dnqed for me the only other time before that.'Sinking' was my preferred choice of the top 2 but liked both of them. 'joy' was one of my fave discoveries too.
January 12Jan 12 Author On 09/01/2026 at 17:06, Iz様 🌟 said:'Long Way Down' has stuck with me very much more than a lot of the 2018 tracks, I think I'd heard it because of following Darren Styles myself before it got entered but it getting entered cemented it as a fave.Good year for me on the whole although we didn't cross paths much this year (except in 18s, most of yours were excellent), I think Purple Haze was my favourite of yours here.I'd actually not come across it before at all so was very pleasantly surprised at how good it was!Yes there wasn't much crossover at all, thankfully 2019 provided one of my fave entries of yours (although I didn't point it extremely highly in its contest).
January 13Jan 13 Author 15 hours ago, Cody Piastri said:Cor lupus at the bottom of both lists 🙃Yes unfortunately Rising High fell into a seriously strong year, it's certainly better than a few of my 18s from 2015-2017.
January 13Jan 13 Author BJSC 111Host Country: OslolOverview2019 and triple 1 kicked off with a first visit to Oslol and well... let's just say things were "eventful" - without going into too much detail we were certainly exposed to a quite unique hosting style with moments and mishaps aplenty but it most definitely added to the amusement (or unfortunately in Bré's case, exasperation). All jest aside, a new year presented a new opportunity to kick off the year in a strong manner which we hadn't be able to achieve in the previous 2. The contest was won in utterly dominant fashion by FARC who, much like with their previous victory, blitzed the competition and smashed through the almighty 400 point barrier.Dobago's EntryResult: 8thOur first ever "proper" recycle came a mere 5 contests later but there's most certainly reason behind it. Primarily, the song sounds like it comes from a completely different producer to the one behind 'Hello E' - still today it's hard to believe it's the same man but perhaps it's a flattering reflection of his versatility (who apparently now dates actress Natalie Portman, TIL!). This song is much more down the lines of 'X With U' and 'Hound', being more of a trashy-leaning house track with punchy vocals but this definitely ranks as my favourite of those and indeed the contest agreed, rewarding it with a top 10 finish (despite only qualifying 15 in its semi, which means this likely remains our best ever improvement in performance across the 2 rounds). Another reason for entering was because it did sound like something highly palatable to the contest (although previous entries may have heeded caution on that front) and we were determined to start as strongly as possible this time around. The track is still a really fun listen, packed full of personality although I wouldn't put it anywhere near 'Hello E'.Winning EntryCountry: FARCThe song that pulled of one of the biggest landslides ever seen in the contest and... we didn't even vote for it. Most certainly being in the minority on that front, I did enjoy the electronic production and anthemic feel to it but never really got on board with the vocals or general pacing of the song. The soaring chorus is undeniable but for a 5 minute runtime there's not quite enough variety to keep me on board throughout, the verses in particular feel a bit too on the ploddy side. Admittedly it is sounding better now and may likely sneak a few points but it's not one I'd be rushing back to listen to. This was in fact another contest where we snubbed the entire podium, again our personal highlights rather camping on the outskirts of the top 10.18-PointerCountry: DanæviiaUnquestionably, this is in my top 20 favourite discoveries of all time and easily remains my favourite ever entry from our allies in Danæviia. Hardstyle can be a very hit and miss subgenre, both in our own estimations and indeed the contest's but this absolutely ticks every box required. The initial tender and soothing vocals leading to the impactful first drop, then the introduction of the euphoric synth sections rising and building to a scintillating combination of all of the elements combined. You even have a key change towards the end! This song truly takes you on a quite electrifying journey and never ceases to impress with quite how much is managed to be fit inside just over 4 minutes. It's probably one my most replayed songs ever in the period following a contest and was a certified lock for our gold medal in 111, comfortably beating our silver, another extremely Dobagan-coded and Monoir-produced track in 'Sugar And Brownies' which narrowly missed the top 10. Taking bronze was the energetic Turkish bop 'Yüzlesme' whose video appealed to our personals senses featuring the Istanbul Park F1 circuit. There was a lot of good stuff in 111 with a few other of our votes still holding up well, with a special mention to the attention-grabbing 'O' which seems to hit harder every time I hear it.
January 15Jan 15 On 13/01/2026 at 08:25, Dobbo said:let's just say things were "eventful" - without going into too much detail we were certainly exposed to a quite unique hosting style with moments and mishaps aplenty but it most definitely added to the amusement (or unfortunately in Bré's case, exasperation)but NOTHING will compare to what would happen four contests after
January 19Jan 19 Author BJSC 112Host Country: CowtermontOverviewFARC declined to host the next contest so duties were passed the way down to last month's 7th placed nation in Cowtermont. Of course they were the stars of the previous year from our perspective so this was an exciting one in which to partake. Following a strong start to the year and a top 10 result already in the bag there was a little bit of pressure off but we still wanted to keep the current qualifying run going at the bare minimum. The contest was a much closer affair this time with only 23 points covering the top 4, Aeroche bagging an early win in the year this time to take their grand total of victories to a round 10!Dobago's EntryResult: 38thOur music tastes around this time were rather eclectic and we were venturing into all sorts of foreign pop, indie and dance. One particular track which stood out to us was this heartfelt, midtempo, Ukrainian-language ballad which created quite a buzz around the continent and currently holds the YouTube views record for a Ukrainian song at just shy of half a billion views. So certainly not an obscure song but a more obscure language, which also received an unusual bit of hype in our Country thread so expectations were brewing somewhat. This unfortunately turned out to be a bit of false dawn, with the song qualifying by the skin of its teeth and going onto finish second bottom in the final (#sportsmodbottom2), becoming our first finalist to miss the 100 point mark. Again, pop was proving a difficult nut to crack but truthfully, it's not an entry I revisit all that much despite it still sounding pretty strong now.Winning EntryCountry: AerocheI'm really not sure what happened in 112 as, triple-checking our votes, we did not vote for this song, making that 2 from 2 snubs so far for winners that year. But this is really, really good revisiting it now. I suppose I wasn't always on board with moody, witch-house style songs that had yielded much success back then, this particular one offering impressive production but not a whole lot more else in its near 5-minute runtime. That said, I'm shocked this one didn't make the cut even at the time as I don't recall this contest being a mega-quality one. Unquestionably, this would feature reasonably high in a revote of 112 and thankfully didn't require our support then to bring it home. The vibe of the track really hits hard and makes for a fantastic late night driving piece (within the speed limits of course). I've actually listened to some of Juche's solo material in recent times and there's some pretty damn good stuff there.18-PointerCountry: JupiterdoniaClearly it was around this time that my penchant was shifting somewhat towards other genres as this became just the second ever rock song to receive the gold medal. But this is the sort of absolute in-your-face belter that usually possesses the ability to awaken my senses much unlike a lot of other songs within the same sphere. The chanting that kicks off and (ultimately concludes) the song really sets the stage but what I like most about this track is the overwhelming energy felt in both the shouty vocals and lead guitar parts, particularly for the chorus, which are extremely effective without it feeling like they're being overdone. That particular characteristic isn't a mile away from the likes of System Of A Down which indeed which I also previously likened to Sock 'n' Doll. Jupiterdonia have a great ear for politically motivated tracks as this is by no means the last they have sent. I recall this being a comfortable 18-point award (also receiving 12 in the semi-final) ahead of Fljótavík's own edit of the enchanting electro-house instrumental 'Wolves' (complete with a very apt accompanying video) and the fabulous post-punk tune of 'Proxy Love'. Perhaps it goes some way in explaining the 'Proxima' snub in that dance music clearly took a noticeable backstep in 112 with even the songs that have stayed with me the most now coming from alternative fields. 'Killing My Time', 'Genius' and 'C.L.A.U.D.I.A' have all aged very well and for sure sit amongst my favourite entries from their respective genres. The best dance takeaway? Certainly the Smooth vibes of 'Promised Land' which was a minor UK hit back in 1989.
January 19Jan 19 36 minutes ago, Dobbo said:BJSC 112ahead of Fljótavík's own edit of the enchanting electro-house instrumental 'Wolves' (complete with a very apt accompanying video)I had completely forgotten about this 🤣Have just checked on youtube and it has amassed a whole 81 views in 6 years!!!
January 22Jan 22 Author BJSC 113Host Country: AerocheOverviewAfter just 3 contests we were back in Aeroche again aiming to match the heights of our previous visit with a potential top 10 hit. This contest is notable for featuring one of my favourite ever DNQs from the other semi-final, namely 'Trip To Ireland' which is truthfully a top 20 discovery of all time and I was beyond gutted when it didn't progress as it would have been one of the easiest gold medals I've ever given out. 113 was also notable for featuring the longest winning entry of all time, a record which I believe still remains to this day, earning Danæviia their second victory with a reasonably healthy gap back to second.Dobago's EntryResult: 14thA song which has many, many versions across the various streaming platforms but it is this specific one (which actually doesn't have a direct Spotify-equivalent version as the one sent was a shorter edit of the DJ Shah original mix) which represented Dobago in 113. I'm most definitely partial to the odd bit of chillout music and this particular piece really does hit all the right spots. I really like the long murmuring intro followed by the delightful guitar overlays (which to my ears sound more like a banjo but I've never been an expert on instruments so...), it really gives off a playful yet soothing vibe and transports me to lying by a beach (apt indeed) or a pool in a hot country somewhere, carefree and stress free. It perhaps would have been more fitting to send this to a summer contest but I couldn't resist the temptation after discovering it. It turned out to be a shrewd move either way as it yielded another strong result and fell just 17 points off the top 10. This despite only finishing 12th in its semi, making this a rare entry that actually improved upon its forecasted finish, which may likely be down to the nature of the song which very much falls under the "grower rather than shower" categorisation.Winning EntryCountry: DanæviiaBehold, the quite epic piece that, despite its eye-catching runtime, overcame the tried and tested formula to romp home to victory. Two Steps From Hell had previous entries which had both fared well but I certainly didn't foresee a win on the cards for this song even with its undeniable qualities. Of course, the group being well known for their cinematic and orchestral epics, Emerald Princess truly raises the bar even further and categorically immerses the listener in a quite spectacular sensory journey. You could overlay this to no end of uplifting or spectacular cinematography and it would fit like a glove. There are so many different sections and elements throughout the piece which is an essential feature for such a long track and that's exactly why it earned plaudits across the board, Dobago ourselves awarding a solid 15 points which was the most we had pointed a winner since 'Give Love A Try' way back in 86. A true standout winner that is just as glorious to listen to again now as on the very first occasion. This song was apparently created as a tribute to Avicii who had passed the previous year and what a fitting tribute it is.18-PointerCountry: TheloniaWith 'Trip To Ireland' sadly out of the picture the gold medal went to the 12-pointer in our semi, a breathless and exhilarating slice of drum and bass which honestly, I haven't revisited often enough as this still sounds utterly spectacular. I also love how this track builds then teases you with that ticking drum beat before exploding into life, throwing all sorts of synths and drumbeats right in your face. The breakdown section in the middle sounds like something ripped right from one of Pendulum's early concoctions which was always going to go down well here. Moreover, it's simply another BJSC entry that never fails to get the pulse going and is a true flagbearer for how the genre should sound without being falling into the trap that many others do of sounding generic or overdone. It's fresh, intense and absolutely magnificent. After taking a step back in 112, electronic songs were at the forefront again this time around with the industrial-sounding 'Sarva Mangalam' joining the 2 aforementioned songs on the podium. Other big takeaways from the contest include another long electronic piece in 'Finished Symphony' and the runner-up entry 'Olvídame'. I also completely forgot about an old Noa Kirel song being submitted a full 4 years before her Eurovision performance.
Monday at 16:002 days Author I have not forgotten/given up with this! Just had a busy few weeks.BJSC 114Host Country: North DanaelandaOverviewOur second visit to the land of Danæviia coincided with the country going through some sort of civil war with the Northern region taking over and thus, assuming the auto-qualifier spot. For Dobago, 114 represented the chance to match our then record qualifying-streak which stood at 6 so the pressure was somewhat back on again to strive for a strong result. Despite that, we took a bit of a risk with the entry choice but with the certainty that the hosts would be the only guaranteed country to potentially provide points, hence we opted for something we considered right up their proverbial street. Anecdotally, this contest kicked off just before a planned long weekend trip to Istanbul whereby I missed the original flight at Gatwick and so had to catch a coach to Heathrow to board a subsequent one some 10 or so hours later, inadvertently presenting me with a perfect window to patiently consume the entered songs. The dust had barely settled on the chaos of 111 and yet, the BJSC universe decided to collectively reward Oslol with another chance at hosting as they romped to a convincing victory to make it 2 wins within 5 contests.Dobago's EntryResult: 25thThe assumed risk of this entry was solely because of its song length, although given the previous winning song clocked in at 11 minutes it perhaps shouldn't have been such a concern. Alas, this 8 and a half minute trance epic was a song we'd been sitting on for a while and so didn't think twice to send it to a Dan-hosted contest. Indeed, there was a temptation to enter a shorter, edited version like with 'White Sand' in the previous contest but I had more of an affection to the full version in all its glory with this piece. After very much a teasing, slow-burning first half of the runtime the track transitions into a delicate piano section accompanied with tender yet haunting vocals. And then comes the inevitable switch up with the intense trancey synths. I certainly don't consider this an essential work from the genre (I don't hold it in as high regard as several of my Club Bizarre hits) but it very much does what it sets out to do, provide an anticipatory and entrancing audio experience. It achieved the required desired of qualifying, very comfortably in fact, before eventually landing in a middling position come the final, picking up a handful of medal positions along the way. Fun fact, 25 is my favourite number and so far this is the only Dobagan entry to ever achieve this position.Winning EntryCountry: OslolGarnering an extremely impressive 384 points in total, Oslol struck gold again with a similarly bouncy dancepop track however this one sounded even more generic to my ears and was duly snubbed from our votes, making that the case (rightly or wrongly!) for 3 out of 4 winners in 2019 so far. This remix of an otherwise deathly dull original does at least give it a bit more energy and personality but overall it's just an extremely average song which doesn't evoke any sense in particular. The vocals are mid, the production is basic and even the choral hook is nothing standout. How this got quite so many points as it did remains a baffling mystery to me but there you go!18-PointerCountry: TinnmarkThe third year in a row where an Offer Nissim song was entered and spectacularly, the third time where it then received our gold medal! Indeed, this was becoming quite impressive by now and most definitely elevated the Israeli producer to icon status within Dobagan lands. At first I really wasn't sure what to make of this track, a thumping opening section featuring his signature sound then abruptly cuts to a modified version of an Italian operatic pop song from the 1960s for a couple of minutes before switching back to pounding drums and brazen brass sounds which then continue for the remaining near 5 minutes. It's quite a ride and very much unlike the previous 2 entries of his in terms of structure. Having said that after a couple of listens I completely fell in love with its charm and quirkiness. The production is of course on point as was pretty much expected by now but I love the inspired sample choice (not a song I had come across before in original form) and the way the odd word is interwoven into the instrumentation in the latter half of the track. It's memorable for all the right reasons and has stuck with me incredibly well over the years, in fact I'd go so far as to say this is my favourite of his 3 entries which have featured in this countdown so far. Of course, the intrigue thereafter would be whether he could make it 4 out of 4 and indeed he did appear in a future contest (fittingly, another year later) however 'only' achieved a measly 12 points on that occasion. It was a straightforward decision for the gold medal this contest but earning silver was a proper indie fave of mine in 'Dance Again' (of which I'd go on to send an even better song by the band into Masquerade III several years later) and the bronze went to an organ house gem in 'Tall Stories'. The BIG omission from my high scores here most certainly has to be the runner-up entry of the contest, the brilliantly energetic 'Up And Down' which did receive 9 points from the Dobagan jury but was pretty soon afterwards a clear second fave discovery from 114. Other highlights include 'Signatune', 'Sad Story (Out Of Luck)' and 'Love For Days', the last one being a rare pure pop entry that piqued our interest.
Tuesday at 12:072 days Author BJSC 115Host Country: OslolOverviewThe Buzzverse awaited a swift return to Oslol with both bated breath and undeniable intrigue as to what shenanigans could possibly ensue this time around. Apparently it turned out to be even more chaotic than 111 although my memory escapes me somewhat here and I did not intend to minesweep all the threads post by posts for this topic. Just one glance at the titles of said relevant threads however does enough of the talking! Anyhow, for us of course it was about breaking our qualifying streak record and ultimately settled on a relatively cheap entry by our typical standards. We sadly lost 2 big favourites from our semi this time, those being the utterly joyous Bollywood epic 'Maahi Ve' along with the (still at this point) criminally underrated Elley Duhé with 'FEVER'. It had been 75 contests since Greenfroze claimed their maiden win and here they claimed a long-awaited second with a notably low winning score, which was testament to the closeness of the field.Dobago's EntryResult: 36thOn reflection this was admittedly a rather cheap entry as the electronic duo had already garnered a modest following across the site and I believe this song was even shortlisted on Radio 1? Although in our defence we did not know about the latter fact until after the contest had commenced in which a few participants noted they were surprised it had passed the veto. It mattered little in the end as this turned out to be quite a disappointing underperformance for a song we expected to at least be challenging for the top half. I enjoy the crunching production and the very 90s-leaning vocal effect on the repeated lyric. That said, it's not one I've played much since its appearance in the contest and falls more into the passable category than must play when reviewing personal entries. It did receive one gold medal from none only than the host nation themselves which was greatly appreciated!Winning EntryCountry: GreenfrozeA bit of a heavyweight collaboration here with 2 acts who had already enjoyed previous success in the contest so perhaps it wasn't too big a shock to see this take the crown. Now I like quite a few songs by both but unfortunately this one does very little for me. It kind of stays on one level throughout the whole song, the vocals aren't particularly interesting and the production borders more on the annoying side than the engrossing side which you would normally associate with much of both of their discographies. So indeed, it was yet another winner we snubbed from our points although on reflection this does at least have a little more going for it than the previous one. As mentioned, this 'only' amassed a total of 274 points, over 100 less than last month's winning song, but that was enough to seal the victory.18-PointerCountry: Skall (result: 10th)It must have been around this time that our apparent penchant for long songs was taking shape, as this easily became our longest ever gold medallist at a marathon 13 minutes+ (I believe that record still stands but will find out gradually as we go through the contests!) Of course the original 'Chime' was a top 20 UK hit way back in 1990 but it wasn't actually a song I was massively familiar with so in that sense it fell more into the discovery bubble than perhaps otherwise might have been the case. And this piece combines that with the 'Crime' section to bring about a sensational techno piece often played as the finale to their live sets. Despite its unarguable repetitiveness, somehow it doesn't feel like such at all to me, rather having the effect of a luxurious aural massage (*ahem* please do pardon the questionable choice of wording there). Had it just been the original 'Chime' which was sent it may well have still earned our gold but the 'Crime' half adds additional elements (including a cute 'Material Girl' sample) that elevate the track to an even higher level. It's a superb electronic package that belies its long duration and keeps me fully absorbed all the way through, so I was especially delighted that our support helped it squeak into the top 10 by a solitary point (at the expense of rather more generic producer Nathan Dawe of all people to add to the satisfaction).It was surprisingly joined on our podium by 2 pop-leaning songs, with 15 points going to the catchy indie track 'Run Away' and 13 to the rather more abrasive but nonetheless hair-raising 'Alone'. Looking through our list for this contest there's not really anything that sticks out so this one is getting marked down as a relatively weak field. But wait, hold on I'm hearing something? "Everybody sing SONI SONI AAJA MAAHI VE" - OK no this was definitely my favourite discovery overall and would have probably gotten the 18 points in a just world.
Tuesday at 12:232 days Author Also, as an aside I remember there being some sort of side-contest which ran alongside the main one where everyone submitted an all-time favourite song of theirs and there were straight knockout rounds held until one song was left as the winner. Although I recall it being fraught with errors and inconsistencies (such as 'Maahi Ve' somehow ending up in both contests and my personal entry of Oasis' 'Whatever' randomly receiving a bye in the first round). Am I talking nonsense here or did this actually happen? As I can't find any trace of it looking through old pages in this Forum!
Tuesday at 21:191 day Yes that was ducky importing over the 'Legends' contest that he ran alongside editions of the PopJustice contest that he hosted. (I always sent Michelle McManus songs except when there was a theme that made that impossible x)
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