If we're talking about other countries' entries the two I most vividly remember are Shopping in Lidl, and Midnight Rapture which iirc was an Addy entry (?) which I snubbed in the contest and then it went on to be one of my most played songs of the year and something I still have on my gym playlist

14 hours ago, RobBot said:

I could've gone my WHOLE LIFE without remembering this existed! 😭😭

Get it played at the bar please

To add some very early lore from the first 10 contests:

Boyan introudced BJSC to the forum back in late 2007 - we collectively didn't really understand it for the first year so you'll see plenty of UK No.1s and classics among the first year of entries before people universally realised (for the most part anyway) that it was a great tool to discover new music rather than sharing existing hits. Many people self penalised anyway so none of the big past UK hits ever won. Damon/Frahliso sent a 15-year-old artist called Charli XCX as early as 2008 though, so he got the inspired memo early on. In true BJSC fashion, it was a DNQ. Some early winners and 2nd placers became hits several months after they were sent (Love Song, I Kissed A Girl, Just Dance).

BJSC had another long break between the 5th and 6th contests, the 5th being the first one I hosted (starting to wonder if the semi to get rid of three songs had an effect here, although I was proud to host the contest's first ever semi final 🤣). However I somewhat redeemed myself by helping it back from the brink when I suggested pulling the 6th contest forward (iirc a date hadn't been set for it yet after some months) after hearing the song Smack Me by Untouched on a free CD I got with Music Week and being desperate to send it and not wanting to wait for ages. The track finished 5th.

We used to go all in with the fantasy with our countries and the national threads. We had things like a gossip/chat show called 'Loose Lingerie' (it was based on Loose Women...the 00s were really something else) hosted by Maria Haukaas Storeng and Mira Craig, where countries could book a slot to promote their entries and lots of fun, hype and gossip would ensue. It looks like I'd been let loose on Photoshop for the first time for the banner.

Talking of Mira Craig, I sent her in quick succession for a second time in BJSC X, which was effectively the contest that ended that formative era. A lot of the nations who had been there from the start saw their first DNQ, including myself and @Silas - who sent a fan favourite Sugababes album track. Meanwhile, my entry Headhunted I was so sure would win that I installed it at the top of my OWN odds - I think I deludedly said it could be a No.1 single for Pussycat Dolls. All this self hype caused a lot of discussion about it on the forum (roughly 50/50 for and against the song, at least 20 posters commented on it one way or the other and I put some of the very funny opinions in my signature for a while - I particularly enjoyed Martin's 'I don't know what the other members are smoking') only for it to come crashing down spectacularly with a DNQ, although I really needed the dose of reality looking back, although I still love the track. The eventual results in the final also showed an early changing of the tides, with new countries, genres and sounds doing well and coming through.

The second year on had a very different feel to it than the first, with the introductions of early attempts to veto stuff, although several of us had called for procedures earlier than that, especially when we nearly had one of the contest's all-time great early winners, Will You Remember Me Tomorrow by Margaret Berger, being beaten by P!nk's So What, which had started to get airplay and was quite clearly heading for the top in the UK in the coming weeks when somebody cheekily sent it.

I've realised through this that having an online footprint from nearly 20 years ago available really makes you appreciate how much you grow up over time.

I remember that Charli demo, that’s how I discovered her, insane to think where she is now.

Cause baby boo boo you’ve been headhunted, the OBSESSION I used to have over this track. #justiceforheadhunted

Also, Kopečka sent this 6+ minute classic in BJSCX and it came top ten. This was the first time a lot of us realised that the contest was likely to evolve away from just 3/4 minute pop songs doing well quite quickly. There basically was no alt bloc to speak of at the time (just 3 or 4 countries perhaps), so this did very well considering.

I bought her album off the back of this being sent ❤️

The contest would remain a largely pop (especially Scandipop) dominated affair though until about 2012 when I would say it started to become more recognisable as the contest it is now, with a much wider spread of genres and a greatly increased electronic music influence from the new countries coming in around then and in 2013.

I was also obsessed with Money Note, it was my personal chart number 1 for a couple of weeks!

That reminds me of the time I sent Ólafur Arnalds to bjsc22 and I believe it was one of, if not the first more ‘classical’ hit, having finished 7th.

Weren't there two countries who everyone knew/suspected were the same person in the early days but somehow managed to get away with entering for a few months?

Was that not someone who pretended to be their cousin or something?

Yeah I don’t think anyone could quite prove that they were the same person.

Headhunted is something I still have in semi regular rotation. It’s a glorious song. Money note was excellent too. BJSC X had some crazy good songs.

5 hours ago, LexC said:

Weren't there two countries who everyone knew/suspected were the same person in the early days but somehow managed to get away with entering for a few months?

Was slightly before my time but it was Leonville and Camtoro (and then later Fortunia and Mykanovia, who were found out partway through a contest and both got disqualified just before the semi-final results, the former would actually have won the semi otherwise!) I'm not sure if Leonville/Camtoro were actually formally banned or if they just quietly slipped away with their aliasdom just being an open secret.

14 minutes ago, Brer said:

Was slightly before my time but it was Leonville and Camtoro (and then later Fortunia and Mykanovia, who were found out partway through a contest and both got disqualified just before the semi-final results, the former would actually have won the semi otherwise!) I'm not sure if Leonville/Camtoro were actually formally banned or if they just quietly slipped away with their aliasdom just being an open secret.

Makes my offence seem rather tiny by comparison, especially as I was unable to actually "get away" with it by carrying out the offence in the first place but hey ho. The long arm of the law must be upheld and an example must be made to forwarn others not to try it again.