10 minutes ago, Roba. said:

'Slow Dancing' *. T'was catchy at the time.

Catchy never dies xo

BJSC 79 is so nostalgic for me as it's the first edition I ever co-hosted, alongside JSG! 'Sit Still, Look Pretty' does feel quite un-Deandria in retrospect, although pretty cool you got to it before it became a hit in the U.S the following year. Your 18 that contest 'Resonate' was a stunner 😍

I remember both you and Lotti sending the 'Slow Dancing' songs in BJSC 80 <3 shame neither made it, Pupok's was in my semi and I'd given them 12 :'( I didn't see that coming as they'd been tipped to do quite well. My 10 was also booted out, Skall's 'Farewell G41' by Stephen Lopkin. I feel like that contest had quite a lot of unfortunate DNQs, my own Stranger Cat with 'Unzip Your Skin' also comes to mind and Bror's 'Kyoto' by Yung Lean. Btw 'I've Been Secretly Falling Apart' was my 18 as well, taste ❤️ I wish that was on streaming!

3 minutes ago, Jade said:

BJSC 79 is so nostalgic for me as it's the first edition I ever co-hosted, alongside JSG!

Agh, of course there was something I missed out on including lmao - I haven't noted at all who hosted each contest 🥺 I'll try to remember to do it going forward!

Thanks so much for commenting! It's nice when people do so I'm not just speaking in a void. I mainly just wanted to have a record of all my entries in this thread, so figured I'd do a write-up on each. I'll probably have to break up these write-ups for a bit though to introduce our new entry soon 😆

Ideally I would also add all our votes received and given in each contest, as well as all spin-off entries - but don't be too surprised if I end up just doing these for any upcoming contests, and skipping the historical ones Takes effort to have a perfectly perfect National Thread haha 🥹 Maybe one day!

Oh, I've just seen the spreadsheets Bror so kindly shared don't state which country hosted each contest (as far as I can see), and of course sometimes the winner of the previous contest doesn't host the next one, so it would take a bit more searching to see who hosted each! I'm not sure if I'm willing to go searching for each contest to be able to include that info 🥺

I have got a list of the hosts as well can send to you when I get home x

(Need to catch up with commenting on some of these songs also x)

BJSC 81: Allie X - Sanctuary

1st (out of 41)

My winner! The song was on 2015's CollXtion I.

To be honest, I'm a little bit conflicted about this being my only winner. I remember several people saying it wasn't an interesting winner and I actually agree. As someone who has sent much more experimental and intriguing songs over the years, I kind of wish I would've won with something more like that, rather than this sugary sweet electropop(?) song. Obviously I'm glad to have won though, and I'm not denying that it's a catchy song, and upon entering it I had a feeling it would win. It just feels too 'obvious', a catchy euphoric song with a memorable melody and a sweet female vocal wins the Buzzjack Song Contest? I mean come on! 😋

It was a huge points total as well - we achieved exactly 400 points in the final, and in the semi it came 2nd with 102 points. I believe it's still among the highest final total points in BJSC history 🥲 It's not the highest, but it's up there - perhaps @Bror can pitch in here with that info.

Additionally, I remember I had some internet connection problems that evening (I think particularly towards the end of the results show), so I couldn't follow all of the results properly in real time and it was all rather chaotic and overwhelming. It's actually quite typical in my life to have a connection problem right when something interesting is happening! Or at least it does sound like something that would happen to me 🥲

Nowadays, I do quite enjoy the song, and listen to it occasionally with nostalgia, but it's not the most interesting entry or winner, and so I do wish I would've won with something else.

Our top points in that contest went to What, who sent KONTRUST - Sock 'N' Doll, achieving 7th place out of 41.

The contest isn’t coming out of this thread too well oops! All those great and interesting entries of yours DNQing and that winning, although it’s OK.

BJSC 82: Poison Ivory - Alchemy

AQ - 24th (out of 42)

My only AQ, this was on the 2014 EP The Filth, which I was rather obsessed with in 2015/2016. I remember being captured by both the song and the artsy music video. The whole thing is actually quite bonkers in its artsy-ness, but to this day I definitely still enjoy the bordering-on ridiculousness. From the opening piano notes, I am taken on a journey. I would consider this one of my most artsy and striking entries. I still just love it, there's something brilliantly chaotic in a beautiful way about it. I enjoy her slightly unusual vocals, the bouncing beats and strange atmosphere. It evokes a feeling of having a spell put on me 🥲

I remember some people saying at the time that this most likely would have qualified even without the AQ status, maybe I could've tried to send something riskier as my AQ. Oh well.

Our top points in that contest went to Yehesi, who sent Era Istrefi - Bonbon, achieving 3rd place (for some reason I thought this won lol).

BJSC 83: Ecca Vandal - Father Hu$$la

DNQ - 31st (out of 33) in the semi

A standalone single from 2015. Re-listening at the moment, I'm definitely still enjoying this one too, although I can imagine how her vocals might have annoyed some people maybe. I don't really know what to say about this song or how to describe it, I just enjoy the unusual production and vocal line. And the vibe. It's very vibey. An unusual and striking song again!

It was sadly yet another DNQ for us but I see current hosts Séyetana gave it 12 in the semi, and I'm aware that they also recycled Ecca Vandal for a BJSC edition while I was away from the site.

Our top points in that contest went to Syndare with DJDS - In the Flames, which came 28th out of 42. I actually randomly decided to listen to that song not too long ago and still really enjoyed it.

BJSC 84: Anna and the Barbies - Álmatlan

DNQ - 27th (out of 30) in the semi

Yet another DNQ. I actually still really like this song! From the 2008 album Medallion, this song by the Hungarian band was one of the many songs and artists I discovered and liked when I was assigned Hungary in a Worldvision spin-off just a bit before this, and decided to enter one of them to the main contest. This song went completely under the radar though. Personally I do really enjoy the beats and vibe of the song. The beats are soo good! 🥰

Most of the lyrics in the song are rapped in Hungarian by one vocalist, but there are some English phrases sung by a different vocalist, such as the repeated phrase 'I got a hole in my soul'.

Our top points in that contest went to Bøtanikkä with Meghan Kabir - Tu Ba Mani, which came 11th out of 41. I remember that was a really beautiful, striking entry. I'm enjoying how there are so many different countries that have received my top points - I believe Kylienips is the only one so far who have received two 😯

BJSC 85: Tzlil - Oh My Love

DNQ - 25th (out of 30) in the semi

(artist name has since been changed to Tzlil Danin)

Appearing on 2017's three-track Tzlil 3.1, this song isn't really one of our more memorable entries and until some time ago, I had actually forgotten what it sounds like and I couldn't sing it in my head. That said, I've since started listening to it again here and there, and it's actually quite a lovely song with a nice melody and some nice sounds going on. I would say her singing voice here is not very memorable or distinctive, but it's a nice song. Maybe just not quite striking enough for here or something.

Not much more to say this time really.

Our top points in that contest went to Tartford with Cigarettes After Sex - Keep On Loving You, which only came 33rd out of 41. I see I was also the only one to give it 18 points.

I like 'Sanctuary' and voted for it at the time but I get where you're coming from about it not necessarily being the best representation of your sound overall. I have a similar relationship with my own winners, two are on the more commercial end of dance and one is pop, which are not my typical avenues. 81 was quite an out of character month sonically for me as well, sending Sonia y Selena, but they were more childhood icons that I thought would be a fun moment. Love that 'Sock n Doll' was your 18, I think it was my 15 - what a highly memorable song and video!!

Ahhh 'Alchemy' I remember giving that an 18 it was my favourite Deandria entry for a while.

I thought 82 was a really strong one overall. I don't think I voted for 'Bonbon' at the time but it was a huge post-contest grower.

Wow what a brutal DNQ streak for Deandria at this point and so soon after winning as well. </3

Ooh we had snap 18s in BJSC 83! I still love 'In The Flames' ❤️

52 minutes ago, Jade said:

I thought 82 was a really strong one overall.

I also seem to remember Bror saying at some point that it was the strongest ever contest for him!

Side note, I would prefer to finish these write-ups before I introduce our new entry for BJSC 188 - hopefully I can manage to keep it up regularly before 188 is finished 😄 But if not, it's not really a big deal and in that case I'll just write about 'Komu Ja' a bit later.

BJSC 86: Blackbriar - Until Eternity

21st (out of 41)

A qualifier for a change! This was on the 2017 Fractured Fairytales EP. I didn't really remember this song or how it goes and I never think about this one, but re-listening now I actually still quite like it. A rock song, it's definitely one of our heavier entries. The Dutch band is described as 'alternative metal' in some places, so there we go. I'm maybe not super keen on the singer's vocals right now but I also don't particularly dislike them. Overall I can see why this qualified as it's one of our 'bigger' sounding entries.

Interestingly, I see this received exactly two top pointers and they were from a pair of brothers haha - Séyetana and Aelandor both graced us with their 18s for this one.

Our 18 in that contest went to Persephonia (for a second time so far) with Aron Can - Með Mér. Gosh, I remember how I loved that song 😍 It placed 12th out of 41.

BJSC 87: NOËP - Move

DNQ - 28th (out of 34) in the semi

Our first entry by an Estonian artist! The song itself is sung in English but more recently we did send another song not only by an Estonian artist but also in the Estonian language (it wasn't the first of those ever in the contest as FSR Rontvia got there first, just one contest before 😅). And stay tuned btw, we have another Estonian-language entry waiting in the wings.

The production of this song (which seems to be a standalone single) is very soft and mellow. Some people might find this dude's vocals a bit off-putting but personally I enjoy them and they add something more interesting to the song. I also just enjoy the chill vibe and melody of the song, and I remember also liking the simple but pretty music video.

For some reason, I had it in my head that #00274E gave this their top points in the semi, but I see now that they in fact 'only' gave it 7 points, but it did receive a 12 from Fljótavík! And I did give my own 12 to #00274E with Noréll - Howl, which was the highest-placing DNQ. I believe I later sent that song to a spin-off where we sent songs by other countries.

Our top points in the final of BJSC 87 went to Jadakissnia (the first of a few!) who sent FM-84 - Arcade Summer, coming 9th out of 42.

Glad you managed to briefly break up that DNQ run! Iz and Jacob both awarding Blackbriar an 18 makes a lot of sense.

Speaking of top pointers... I had forgotten 'Arcade Summer' was my first 18 from Deandria, so that was a nice reminder I remember that entry getting 5 top scores which was the most I'd ever received at that point! Just looked up the other countries who joined you with the gold medals and they were: Cumulonimbia, Ethanola, Quintessa and Suedeonia. I'm pleased that joyous instrumental went down well.

BJSC 55: Anneli Drecker - You Don't Have To Change

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I like the vibe of this one. What puts me off a little is the whistling in the chorus! It sounds quite nice though. It should have performed far better than its last place finish though. Unjustified result.

BJSC 77: Sutrastore - Zero Point

⭐️⭐️⭐️

How did you go about whole 22 contests before participating again! It's as if you had zero point to enter (see what I did there, I know, I'm impressed too). Onto the song, it started off curiously, and I thought I had some idea what this might have turned into, and then the vocals started. It does feel like a return to what made Deandria successful in the early days, but it should have done better.

BJSC 78: LOLAWOLF - Calm Down

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh wow, this is perhaps the biggest shift in Deandria history, what a whiplash from the last entry! How did this bop DNQ???  #endDeandriaracism I found myself enjoying this a lot surprisingly perhaps because it caught me off guard and it was such a surprise. The music video was quite cool too but I wish it was longer!

BJSC 79: Daya - Sit Still, Look Pretty

⭐️⭐️

I've always heard that Daya was a BuzzJack fave. Perhaps the quirkinesss of the production helps, but it tends to go over my head a little, but back then I would probably have appreciated this more than I do now. At least it got you a qualification again!

BJSC 80: Ms. Henrik - Slow Dancing

⭐️⭐️

What's this? Another type of shift in Deandria's electronic discovery era! It's got some elements to it that I like but overall I'd say it's quite forgettable for me, but perhaps at the time this was the 'in sound' so I can understand why it was attempted. Sorry Roba!

BJSC 88: Maya's Moving Castle - When You Wish Upon The Stars

DNQ - 24th (out of 34) in the semi

Released in 2013, this was the theme song to comic book series 'Amoras', which I know nothing about but just a fact. (hence the 'Amoras' in brackets after the song title)

This song by the Belgian band (we have sent several Belgian artists actually) is quite epic-sounding and the vocals remind me of Bat For Lashes. I'm sure this song could also be compared to many other artists as it does seem to be part of a certain 'pool' of epic indie music. I'm not sure if you'd call this indie pop? Haha.

Interestingly, I remember at the time I had a bit of a hard time with having entered this As the contest was ongoing (or maybe sometime after), I even remember Bror commenting that I had almost 'disowned' this entry haha. This was probably not exactly the case and perhaps I should've kept my mouth shut with some more negative comments about the entry, but it was partly that the music video annoyed me a bit, and partly because I felt I could've sent something more interesting and just hadn't really found anything else.

All that said, it's a nice enough song. I enjoy the epic, slightly mysterious feel and I can say now that I'm not unhappy at having sent it. It's definitely not one of my favourites of our entries, but it's quite nice to listen to - which I'm doing as we speak.

Fun fact - whenever the lyric 'it's not up to you' plays in this song, I immediately think of the Björk song 'It's Not Up To You'

Our top points in that contest went to Pupok, who sent Claudia Kane - Einstein, which came a nice 8th place out of 42. We were the only ones to give it an 18, but I do see several other medal positions.

I should start noting the winner of each contest too, argh at not doing that from the beginning! The winner of BJSC 88 was N DNTN, who sent RAYE - Shh. We gave that song 8 points (having previously given RAYE 18 points for 'Bet U Wish').

The amount of DNQs we have is ridiculous

It's looking like I might not get these write-ups done before edition 188 is over, so I'll probably just write about our current entry 'Komu Ja' a bit after the contest is already finished. I was hoping to do five songs a day since a few days ago, but that hasn't exactly happened and I will be mostly away today and possibly also tomorrow.