Resuming in the next few days

BJSC 89: Clément Bazin - With You

DNQ - 32nd (out of 33) in the semi

Okay, now I'm actually surprised this did as poorly as second last in the semi 😆 I remember Bror loving it at the time (giving it his 10 points in the semi) and I don't remember any other positive comments or anything.

From the 2016 EP Return To Forever, this track from the French artist samples Brandy's 'I Wanna Be Down'. I remember going on a search at the time for what the sample is, but couldn't find anything. Then when I found out it was Brandy I was a bit annoyed as it felt a bit cheap to have sent a song that samples Brandy. However, I remember Leww assuring me that lots of dance songs sample that song and that it sounds nothing like the original - not sure why it even bothered me in the first place People have done cheaper things in BJSC xo

Re-listening now, this is actually still such a bop, with its infectious vocal samples and steel drums! It really has caught me off guard that it came second last in the semi - I wonder how it would do nowadays?

Our top points in that contest went to Persephonia with the gorgeous 'Vlasy' by Fallgrapp - a song that I still listen to, it's definitely one of the BJSC songs in history that has stuck with me. I believe this is now the third top points to Persephonia I have written about, so Bror is in the lead 😄 'Vlasy' came 20th out of 42.

The winner of BJSC 89 was #00274E with Crystal Waters - Relax, to which we gave 5 points.

I co-hosted BJSC 89 with Brer and made recap videos so remember 'With You' pretty well and was shocked it performed so poorly, justice for that!

Speaking of shocks, I totted up the results for the final and 'Relax' was such an unexpected winner, nobody had called it. Perhaps it flew under the radar a bit as it was an AQ. So that was exciting to be able to reveal!

'Vlasy' was an amazing 18 pick and got high points from me too ❤️ I was reminded it of quite recently, when thinking of Slovak artists in general, now ADÉLA has achieved a mainstream break through.

49 minutes ago, Jade said:

I co-hosted BJSC 89 with Brer and made recap videos so remember 'With You' pretty well and was shocked it performed so poorly, justice for that!

Speaking of shocks, I totted up the results for the final and 'Relax' was such an unexpected winner, nobody had called it. Perhaps it flew under the radar a bit as it was an AQ. So that was exciting to be able to reveal!

'Vlasy' was an amazing 18 pick and got high points from me too ❤️ I was reminded it of quite recently, when thinking of Slovak artists in general, now ADÉLA has achieved a mainstream break through.

Yes, I should've mentioned, I remembered 'Relax' being a winner that nobody was expecting - love a surprise winner! I didn't remember it was an AQ though, thanks for adding that tidbit.

BJSC 90: Vogel - Hologram

DNQ - 23rd (out of 31) in the semi

I'm thinking about whether to describe this as our first instrumental entry, as it is in fact an instrumental (with just some vague sampled wordless vocal bits in some parts), but Pogo - Expialidocious was entirely based around manipulated vocal samples from Mary Poppins with an electronic track added, so does that count as 'instrumental' as there weren't really any coherent lyrics? Hehe.

Anyway, this was on the 2014 EP of the same name. I see that there is also a track called 'Hologram II' on that EP.

It's very much an electronic instrumental in all the glory of that word - it literally sounds like electricity to me 😄 Re-listening now, I still quite enjoy this but it was never among my favourites of our entries overall. While still quite a cool vibe, it seems just a little bit too repetitive and monotonous to me now, or maybe I'm just deluded. It's definitely quite punchy and cool to listen to, but not an enduring favourite.

Our top points in that contest went to Bøtanikkä with Ratty - Sunrise (Here I Am), which came 11th out of 42. Interestingly, I noticed that our top 3 in that contest all did very well - our 18 as mentioned came 11th (so close to the top 10, argh!), our 15 to Altyr Muunilinst with Atella and Frøder - Closer To Life came 5th, our 13 to Jadakissnia with HÆLOS - Earth Not Above came 2nd, and we also pointed the winner Aeroche highly! They sent Fraunhofer Diffraction - Fate, to which we gave 11 points. Our 12 pointer FSR Rontvia with Natalia Nykiel - Error did not too shabby as well, placing 14th.

BJSC 91: Holy Two - Undercover Girls

DNQ - 30th (out of 31) in the semi

At the time, this song had a rather cool official music video but it has since been removed.

I don't recall how I discovered this song by the French duo but I really loved it at the time, listening to it constantly. I also really liked their album Invisible Matters (2018), on which this song lies. Now I'm tempted to re-listen to the album soon.

I can see how the vocalist might turn some people off, but personally I don't mind her unusual tone and this song is still kind of a banger tbh. Starting off as a sort of more indie pop/rock song, it has a section where it changes quite a bit, with vocals bordering on rap. The chorus sweeps and swoops and pulls me in. Infectious.

Holy Two were later recycled by Land of DW, with the French-language song 'Festin' in an edition of Masquerade, a spin-off where we had to enter an artist from a randomly assigned BJSC country.

Our top points in that contest went to Beaverdonia, who sent Digitalism - Open Waters, placing 7th out of 41.

The winner of BJSC 91 was Ultraviolenceland with EASYFUN - Monopoly (feat. Noonie Bao). We didn't point that entry.

BJSC 93: Fakear - Ankara

11th (out of 41)

I don't know if this is really an 'official video', but I entered the song with this video at the time and I liked it so I've included it here.

After a short break of one contest, we came back with one of our better results! This electronic beauty from the 2016 album Animal by the French (again) artist narrowly missed the top 10 but it's nice and refreshing to report a better result this time. Quite epic, quite sweeping and soothing, I would almost consider it basically an instrumental but it does have some vocals. At the time I was not able to find what language it is and I always kind of suspected it was mainly wordless vocalizations, which a quick search on Google now also does confirm (if it's accurate). A beautiful track!

Our top points in that contest went to Jadakissnia with aYia - Ruins, which placed 21st. Nice to be reminded of that song!

The winner was once again Ultraviolenceland with Jadakissnia Jaded - In The Morning, which we didn't give any points to.

BJSC 96: world's end girlfriend - Les Enfants du Paradis

26th (out of 42)

We took another break before this entry, this time for two contests. What can I say about this one... Well, it's an instrumental track by a Japanese artist and appears on the 2011 album Seven Idiots. At just over 7 minutes, at the time it was our longest entry and it kept this record for a long time, until earlier this year when we sent a 9-minute song.

This is just an epic, emotional and quite noisy and frantic trip! Especially noisy at the very end when it goes bonkers haha. It just feels like an epic cinematic story in a musical track. Feels like it should be on a soundtrack of some sort. I still remember it from time to time and enjoy listening to it when I do.

Our top points in that contest went to Bignia-Zaragovina with Cezinando - Håper Du Har Plass, which only placed 36th out of 42. I actually don't remember that song at all, might be time to investigate some of these soon. By listening to them.

The winner was Daehun (who just recently returned in BJSC 188) with Helena Paparizou - Haide (English Version), which we didn't point.

BJSC 97: A_GIM (feat. Klark) - Rajka

DNQ - 25th (out of 31) in the semi

Another DNQ 😭 And with such a strangely beautiful electronic track! This song from the Polish artist is from 2017's Votulia and perhaps represents a side of my taste that I haven't explored particularly often in BJSC. I'm glad I've entered music like this though, as even though it didn't qualify, I often enjoy this kind of sound. It feels like something to almost get 'lost' in, with the hypnotizing electronic production and beats and the soft vocals (presumably by Klark). I do really like the vocals as they're quite beautiful to me and I enjoy how they somewhat contrast the production, while fitting into it at the same time, if that makes sense. Quite a dreamy song x

This is another one that I'd be curious to see how it would do nowadays.

Our top points in that contest went to New Lexico, who sent Le Grind - Bricks, a song that couldn't have been more different from our own 😄 It placed 26th out of 41.

The winner was Quintessa with Norda and Mike De Ville - Gypsy (Catch Me If You Can) (feat. Joanna Jones), which we didn't give points to.

Oh some huge Deandria favourites have dropped out since I last commented!

Not heard 'Hologram' in a while but I recall its instrumental synth sound and championed it at the time, so was gutted when it DNQed :'( Great to see the HÆLOS mention, that second place was a new personal best for me at the time 🤩 I loved that Aeroche entry as well so could deal with it blocking me. I think I voted for 'Closer to Life' but remember it growing on me even more post-contest.

'Ankara' is stunning, that got my 18 points so we performed a gold medal swap that contest glad you also loved 'Ruins' <3 oops at us both achieving slightly frustrating positions that edition with 11th and 21st haha! But still a good showing for Fakear and especially after that DNQ streak.

You were on a roll with back-to-back entries in fact as 'Les Enfants du Paradis' is a thrilling piece of music, another one I pointed highly!

BJSC 98: AaRON - Blouson Noir

34th (out of 42)

From 2015's We Cut the Night, this is one of my favourite Deandria entries! I've never really tried to think of a top 10 of our entries or anything (although I did make a playlist of 20 Deandria picks for dandy*'s playlists thread) but this would surely be in there. Funnily enough, it's another artist from France. That said, the song is in English apart from the song title being sung in French.

I remember this was a shock qualifier (I'm not sure if it even got any qualifier predictions) but I'm personally always really moved by the vocal lines and the synths, there's something about it that mesmerizes me and it's one I still enjoy going back to from time to time. There's something very emotional yet slightly subtle about it. Yep, love this one.

I see that it received one 18 from Rolloland and also 15s from Suedonia and Tinnmark. I'm really glad it connected with some people.

Our top points in that contest went to New Lexico for the second time in a row (!), they sent YOMBE - SDIMS, placing 31st out of 42, so three places above us. I'm not completely sure but it might be the only time I've given two top points in a row to the same country. I actually don't remember that song at all - it will be fun to revisit some of these old favourites of mine sometime soon hopefully!

The winner of BJSC 98 was Medhelnia with Claire Maguire - Elizabeth Taylor (Mulholland Edition), which we didn't point.

BJSC 99: Solarstone with Giuseppe Ottaviani - Falcons

11th (out of 41)

A longer version of the trance track appears on 2012's Pure but I entered the shortened version.

This is not one of my favourites. I never listen to it anymore (although I am right now - I always listen to each entry as I'm writing about it) and it doesn't excite me as an entry. It's a nice enough track, but I'm thinking I was probably rather stuck for an entry at the time and maybe felt like entering something more commercial-sounding. And well, it gave us one of our better results - our entry placed 11th for the second time that year ('Ankara' being the first of course). I'm pleased for any better result I can have, but as an entry or a piece of music, it doesn't particularly excite me (anymore). It's just nice to me haha, slightly euphoric and breezy but not a track I ever feel like listening to nowadays.

Our top points in that contest went to Summericia who sent ERA - Ameno (Remix), placing 19th.

The winner was Unovia with Francesca Michielin - Vulcano, which once again we didn't point.

BJSC 100: Alvia Islandia - Sugar Complex

DNQ - 26th (out of 43) in the semi

For the 100th contest, we had a really large edition - as you can see the semi had 43 songs! Interestingly, this song received exactly 100 points in the 100th contest 🤭

I was just having fun with this entry. It's a fun electronic bop, with its drum n' bass beats and Icelandic vocals - as opposed to 'Blouson Noir' which was mostly in English but the song title was sung in French, here the song title is sung in English but the rest of the song is in Icelandic, apart from a few other English phrases here and there, like 'Mister Mystery' and 'drum... bass!'

I don't listen to this often anymore but whenever I do I have fun, it's just a fun track, and it was a shame to DNQ in the big 100th contest. Oh well.

Our top points in that contest went to Rolloland, who sent Anathema - Untouchable (Parts 1 & 2), placing 23rd in a massive 47-song final.

The winner was Aeroche with TR/ST - Capitol, which we gave 8 points to.

BJSC 101: Ine Hoem - Moonland

DNQ - 24th (out of 28) in the semi

entered as Moonland (The Nation Formerly Known as Deandria)

(the video version is slightly shorter)

From 2017's Moonbird (I notice a pattern there x), this is just a cute lil bouncy indie-pop tune that I was enamoured by at the time. It's not one of my favourites of Deandria's entries though, and not one I often think about or listen to, but I do enjoy it when I do.

I do think around that time I was often stuck for entries, and didn't really think them through very much, this seemed fine enough to enter though haha. A shame for another poor result.

This was also the only occasion where we've changed our country's name, going from Deandria to Moonland (The Nation Formerly Known as Deandria) for just one contest, as inspired by the song title. Lol.

Our top points in that contest went to Aelandor who sent How To Destroy Angels - Welcome Oblivion, placing only 34th out of 37.

The winner was Ashton with Alvaro Soler - Sofia, which we didn't give points to.

BJSC 103: Linea Aspera - Malarone

5th (out of 41)

Now this was a good entry! From 2012's self-titled record, this still holds up as one of my favourite entries of ours, and I'm glad we were able to place 5th with it - our 4th-highest placing entry to date. Once again, we came back after a short break and got one of our best results.

The dark synthy atmosphere feels like some sort of black-and-white horror movie and sometimes that just sounds and feels good haha. Why are we drawn to dark things? 🤔 Interesting haha. Not just dark though, this is a great example of a dark song that is also incredibly catchy.

Our top points in that contest went to Desbuanda who sent Blaue Blume - Ebony, sadly only coming 36th out of 41.

The winner was New Lexico with Metroplane - Word Of Mouth (feat. Bree Runway), which we didn't give points to.

BJSC 104: Božo Vrećo (feat. Indigo) - Pustinja

DNQ - 26th (out of 28) in the semi

The closing track on the 2017 album Pandora, this is probably one of my 'weirder' entries in the context of this contest, it probably stood out like a sore thumb but I still quite like it. It's fun and sounds quite powerful and epic. I remember also quite enjoying the black-and-white music video.

Looking back, I'm not really surprised this did so poorly in BJSC, but I'm wondering if maybe in one of the other contests on the forum it might've had a chance to do a bit better? Haha.

Our top points in that contest went to Rolloland with Propaganda - Das Testaments Des Mabuse: The Third Side. It placed 5th out of 37 but sadly it's another one that I don't remember at all (I will try to listen to some of these old favourites soon).

The winner of the contest was Niceland with Built By Titan - Broken Love (feat. Starxs), which we didn't point.

BJSC 105: Lusine (feat. Vilja Larjosto) - Just a Cloud

29th (out of 38)

From the 2017 album Sensorimotor, this electronic, hypnotic beauty with repetitive chopped-up vocals is accompanied by a beautiful and mesmerizing music video, featuring America's Next Top Model contestant Binta riding a bus listening to music with headphones, getting lost in the music and (day)dreaming. I always found it a wonderful audio-visual experience.

I just find this such a beautiful, mesmerizing track to get lost in.

Our top points in that contest went to FARC with Margrete - Joy, another track that I don't remember at all ooops. It sadly only placed 36th out of 38.

The winner was Land of DW who sent grandson - thoughts & prayers. We once again didn't point the winning entry

'Malarone' an all-timer from Deandria and I really like Zanias' solo stuff too. I actually thought of that song a few days ago, as I put together a playlist called Jadakissnia: The Midnight Archive and it came up as a suggested song based on what I added.

The recently mentioned 'Capitol' got my 18 (yay for my favourite winning out of such a massive selection of songs for the 100th) and 'Dr. Mabuse' was an amazing entry too <3

3 minutes ago, Jade said:

Jadakissnia: The Midnight Archive

This sounds interesting 😯

1 minute ago, matto said:

This sounds interesting 😯

I curated a couple of themed compilations for my nation (I'll stop being lazy and post about them properly in my own national thread soon so I don't derail yours too much!) and this one is 25 of my darkwave/post-punk/witch house etc. entries from main contests and spin-offs: