BOOT CAMP: PART TWO

THE DEEPEST OF CUTS

GROUPS

Boot Camp: Part Two awaits, and for three unlucky artists - Nadia Oh, Guitarricadelafuente and Ace of Base - they've been left in the wild wondering if they'll ever be found again. But for the remaining artists, there's a glimmer of hope. Just a short trek away are vital resources to refuel the spacecraft and continue on the mission to find Lady BuzzJack and return her to the homepage before time runs out and her captor makes her disappear forever. There are limited resources though, and only those that come across them will be able to board the spacecraft again, while three more artists will be left behind on this picturesque planet. It's time to welcome back the groups, once again, to the stage to perform for you, the voting BuzzJack public. And this time, they've dug deep.

How it works:

Once you have listened to all of the artists perform you should post a ranking of each of the performances. You can rank them from best to worst (making clear which is your favourite down to least favourite), or use the template below:

01 (favourite)

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10 (least favourite)

For those voting who have entered one of the artists into the competition, you should rank all ten performances in your own category (however it's encouraged that you vote in both other categories), and when totalling up scores your entry will be removed from the list to retain anonymity in the competition.

As always, even if you are not competing in The Pop Factor you can vote too!

When voting closes, the nine groups with the highest scores will jump back on board Pop Fleet 26 and set flight for Judges' Houses while ONE of the groups will be eliminated from the competition and will not be going through.

IMPORTANT:

The Rebecca Ferguson Lobster of Resurrection is in play this round, and if whomever holds it ends the round in 10th place they will not be eliminated from the competition. Instead, the artist that ends the round in 9th place will be eliminated.

Voting will close on Monday 2 March 2026, 17:59 GMT

Let's say hello to the artists again and find out what they consider to be THE DEEPEST OF CUTS...

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

Standard list of entries:

Atomic Kitten - Walking on the Water

ABBA - Keep an Eye on Dan

Erasure - Sono Luminus

HAIM - Days Are Gone

Blondie - Shayla

The Chicks - Lullaby

The Corrs - Hideaway

Scissor Sisters - Skin Tight

The 1975 - Pressure (Artful Remix)

Florence + the Machine - Howl

Solid picks for Florence and HAIM!

Are Blondie just going to deliver songs named after people? 😂

This one is going to be a full house of discoveries <3

Again all new :)

Pleased to see some Night Work representation for Scissor Sisters

4 minutes ago, Scene said:

Are Blondie just going to deliver songs named after people? 😂

'Hanging On The Telephone' coming to top the baby name list next year tbh x

Queen Of Hollywood is the ultimtate Corrs album track, but Borrowed Heaven was a brilliant album so that's a good choice too.

Keep An Eye On Dan is a great song from Voyage, and you can't go far wrong with anything from Lungs.

Walking On The Water is a song I haven't thought about since 2002, I recall it being quite breezy and fun though.

Looking forward to hearing the rest!

Edited February 24Feb 24 by gooddelta

That Abba song choice is inspired, it's my favourite track on Voyage I know the HAIM one too, and I presume I'll know the Scissors one as I have all of their albums, but I can't think how it goes so I look forward to rediscovering it.

I only know Atomic Kitten, ABBA, HAIM & Florence (I think? Wasn’t this sent during AF Idol? Icr)

I coulda seorn ‘Keep An Eye on Dan’ was a single but I could be mis remembering ofc.

That’s a solid Atomic Kitten pick. But I have a feeling they could be in trouble a bit. We’ll see!

Listening through to this category now so thought I'll document my initial thoughts on each (I'll hold off ranking just yet though obvs).

Atomic Kitten - never heard this before despite owning the album for over a decade. Really solid album track from them and a clear improvement on last round. It's the sort of track they really excel at.

ABBA - another one I've never heard. This sounds pretty good on first listen. Not sure how it'll fare here though.

Erasure - another discovery. This sounds good - maybe a bit of a grower.

HAIM - LOVE the production on this and the chorus. It has such a summery throwback vibe to it. Great choice! Hoping it serves them well this round.

Blondie - this is a great find! Debbie sounds gorgeous here.

The Chicks - hmmm this is pleasant but not very competitive from them... especially since they've been in danger repeatedly. I suspect either the lobster holder or the hostess herself @Calum recklessly played this.

The Corrs - this sounds like a really solid entry/safe bet for them. One of their better entries to date imo.

Scissor Sisters - the first entry of theirs I didn't know beforehand. I need to give this album a play tbh. It's a bop!

The 1975 - a bit of a sound switch-up here from them. I'm sure they have far better album tracks, no?

Florence - getting the closing slot with Howl. I probably would've picked half a dozen songs before this one but can't fault the choice - the whole album is fab!

Scene the first one to catch on to me, in fact, being The Chicks?

Another nice selection of songs.

I agree with @gooddelta Queen Of Holiday is an absolute classic.

1. Scissor Sisters - Skin Tight (top marks for the first time as this was my favourite discovery here by far - I haven't heard any Scissor Sisters albums apart from Magic Hour, which I bought, but this is instantly good)

2. ABBA - Keep an Eye on Dan (one of the best album tracks on Voyage, I find the lyrics about sharing custody of a child following a divorce an unusual subject matter to hear in a pop song)

3. Atomic Kitten - Walking on the Water (bright and breezy indeed, I enjoyed hearing this track again and it could easily have been a single)

4. The Corrs - Hideaway (anthemic, and surprised they didn't release this as a single instead of Long Night, such was its positioning on Borrowed Heaven between four songs that did become singles)

5. Erasure - Sono Luminus (good one! Not heard this before and it suits its length)

6. Florence + the Machine - Howl (probably not a Lungs fave for me, but it's still really good)

7. Blondie - Shayla (nice one, Debbie does indeed sound great here)

8. HAIM - Days Are Gone (solid title track, I feel bad putting it so low)

9. The Chicks - Lullaby (quite pleasant, a nice switch in sound for The Chicks, but not a big favourite from the round)

10. The 1975 - Pressure (Artful Remix) (this wasn't a remix I enjoyed unfortunately)

Another strong round from the groups, mostly really good selections here.

01 The 1975 - Pressure (Artful Remix)

02 Florence + the Machine - Howl

03 HAIM - Days Are Gone

04 Scissor Sisters - Skin Tight

05 The Corrs - Hideaway

06 Atomic Kitten - Walking on the Water

07 Erasure - Sono Luminus

08 The Chicks - Lullaby

09 Blondie - Shayla

10 ABBA - Keep an Eye on Dan

I enjoyed most of these, the top 5 in particular. Atomic Kitten felt a beige - but I guess mid-tempo pop is their thing. Erasure was ok but it was a tad long (in need to a radio edit 🤣). I just don't think i'm an ABBA fan really

Edited February 25Feb 25 by ElectroBoy

01 Blondie - Shayla

02 Florence + the Machine - Howl

03 HAIM - Days Are Gone

04 Scissor Sisters - Skin Tight

05 Erasure - Sono Luminus

06 The Corrs - Hideaway

07 The Chicks - Lullaby

08 The 1975 - Pressure (Artful Remix)

09 ABBA - Keep an Eye on Dan

10 Atomic Kitten - Walking on the Water

Could not agree more that Debbie's voice really shines on this Blondie song

My votes are in!

01 ABBA - Keep an Eye on Dan (best track on Voyage, love it!)

02 HAIM - Days Are Gone (always liked this)

03 Atomic Kitten - Walking on the Water (not top tier AK but a pleasant enough discovery)

04 Blondie - Shayla (agree her voice sounds great on this!)

05 Erasure - Sono Luminus (a bit long)

06 Scissor Sisters - Skin Tight (not my favourite Scissors album track, I probably would have gone for 'Let's Have A Kiki', or was that a single?)

07 The Corrs - Hideaway (middling)

08 The Chicks - Lullaby (I think I have to accept at this point that they are not my cup of tea)

09 Florence + the Machine - Howl (I've never been a huge fan of them and this one is doing nothing to change my mind)

10 The 1975 - Pressure (Artful Remix) (did nothing for me, apologies)

I can’t listen to the ABBA track without thinking it’s a warning about our dance mod

My ranking

1. Blondie - Shayla

2. Florence + the Machine - Howl

3. The Corrs - Hideaway

4. HAIM - Days Are Gone

5. The 1975 - Pressure (Artful Remix)

6. ABBA - Keep an Eye on Dan

7. Atomic Kitten - Walking on the Water

8. Scissor Sisters - Skin Tight

9. Erasure - Sono Luminus

10. The Chicks - Lullaby

Except "Lullaby" I enjoyed all the songs

1 FLORENCE (This was the right choice imo but I also adore South London Forever)

2 HAIM (I’d have liked to see ‘Spinning’ or ‘3Am’ get some love here)

3 THE CORRS

4 ABBA (I don’t know of many ABBA album tracks but this was one of my instant faves from Voyage, so great choice)

5 ATOMIC KITTEN

6 BLONDIE

7 SCISSOR SISTERS

8 1975

9 ERASURE

10 THE CHICKS

Breaking Down is my favourite album track form Florence.

Ceremonials is a fantastic album, it’s been ages since I’ve heard Lungs though.