gooddelta

I was obsessed with Roar at the time, even though it really is very similar to Sara Bareilles' Brave, which didn't even go top 40 here a few months earlier. I still enjoy it now and it's nice to see it quite high here. La La La is strong, the verses are good, the chorus is catchy, and Sam sounds very soulful on it.

Two good songs, I think I'd have Black and White higher, it has quite the funky bassline and I remember it very well from the time. The face shift video technique still looks quite good to say how far tech has moved on in 35 years. The Queen song is very stirring indeed.

Could be a red herring from Mr Agnes. As Addy sent a group last time lest we forget.

Congrats Jim and the people correctly identifying the landslide! Outside of BJSC I’m still awful at predictions *.* but nice to see my winner prediction Liquido not miles behind and I absolutely knew Addy would have sent that, as it’s a Euro classic! Happy to just about avoid the bottom ten as I can see why people might consider Bad Idea a filler but it just really grabbed me so it was nice to see a few high scores for it, thank you kind voters! Thanks Jack for hosting!

Was looking very bad for me at the start, thanks for the recent high scores. I know this song doesn’t reinvent the wheel but it reminded me of a good Kings of Leon song so I was a big fan!

Seems like the mentors of the Swedes are all playing the long game, whereas Adele, Dido, Kate Bush etc are already using up iconic hits. However it looks like this strategy will be fatal for one of them sadly.

She isn't as Lo as some at least. #savetove #shehasbettertocome

Darin - Lovekiller (a long time since I've heard this, it's still an epic of the highest Scandipop proportions ('MURDERER!!') and I want to hear more of Darin!) Damien Rice - 9 Crimes (fun fact, I debated putting this on BuzzJack Presents 2006, but it was a late cut due to it being such a competitive year, shame as it's brilliant) Sam Fender - Chin Up (Great track, really reminds me of Urban Hymns' era The Verve) Calvin Harris - Feel So Close (Radio Edit) (nice to see Calvin kick off his campaign with his vocal, and this is a decent production, I've always liked the main riff/drop) HRVY & Malú Trevejo - Hasta Luego (this is catchy) Sam Smith - Diamonds (nice choice to open with, Sam is such a good pick as they have a lot of high quality songs to call on and could be a dark horse if said songs are indeed called on) Tom Grennan - Found What I've Been Looking For (crazy that this didn't make the top 75 as feels so well known - good track by him) Gary Numan - We Are Glass (good track, looking forward to hearing more from Gary) Lewis Capaldi - Hold Me While You Wait (never an artist I'll love due to his voice, but this is a strong song) Roosevelt - Luna (nice little disco pop number, I don't love it but could be one to watch) Mackenzy Mackay - Want You For Life (didn't get a lot from this) Bladee - Cartier’god Icedancer (Intermission) (not my cup of tea)

Vengaboys - We Like to Party! (The Vengabus) (genius song - starting off with one of their two undisputable all-time classics is a big move but it will see them through) iamamiwhoami - play (legendary BJSC entry! Not listened to this in ages but it's still great and should have won) Texas - When We Are Together (I've always had a soft spot for Texas/Sharleen Spiteri and this is effortlessly joyful and brings back happy memories) Bananarama - Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye) (one of their early classic singles – I've always loved their schitck of singing every word together in tandem, it gave a very distinctive sound) Sade - The Sweetest Taboo (a very nice song from a class act, I'm probably more familiar with the Glamma Kid cover but this is superior) New Order - Ruined in a Day (one of many excellent songs from New Order) Ultravox - Sleepwalk (nice discovery, good melody and production on this) Depeche Mode - See You (a strong start from another quality 80s act) Fontaines D.C. - A Lucid Dream (I do have a handful of songs I love by them which I hope are used, this isn't one of them but is decent) Years & Years - Take Shelter (good start from Years & Years, looking forward to see what is on offer from them) M83 feat. Susanne Sundfør - Oblivion (unfortunately this never clicked with me and I didn't vote for it when it won BJSC - on paper an amazing soundscape so I'm not sure why that is) Dead or Alive - Misty Circles (I couldn't get into this I'm afraid)

The one I was missing suddenly came to me, or something that feels like it could fit anyway, so I'm done and have submitted! I initially thought of a funny answer for the one I couldn't get before realising it wasn't a top 40 hit, but I'll share during the answer reveal.

I've got 19/20 that I think fit, but the last one means nothing to me visually, after looking at it 100 times! I will enter though.

Poor Ireland 🥲 Germany has lots of good female solo acts too that would be fun to rake through in a future round - Sarah Connor, Lena, Nena, Helene Fischer (who I considered but fear schlager was a one way ticket to nowhere). But yeah Sweden is the absolute Western musical powerhouse other than the UK. We didn't even get Loreen or Neneh Cherry yet.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Music Gets the Best of Me (I have always absolutely loved this, an underrated single really and good memories of late 2002 - never gets old for me) Dido - White Flag (just a legendary single, what a start for Dido) Adele - Hello (I would have probably ranked it top a couple of years after it came out but it has worn a bit - still an absolutely fantastic song and vocal performance though and takes me back to the all the 'hello' memes from the time) Robyn - Talk to Me (deserves more than it's getting in the ranks so far, one of the highlights from her new album) Milica Pavlović - Ona nosi Pradu (oh nice one, well done to her sender for being brave, hope you get a shot at another round - Eurovision Balkans 2000s in a great way) MARINA - Bubblegum Bitch (some time since I've listened to this, I forgot how good it is) Leona Lewis - Better in Time (Single Mix) (lovely song, although definitely not one of my top faves from Leona, who I love - was nice to hear it again though) Kate Bush - Hounds of Love (a classic, I like the Futureheads cover too) Agnes - Selfmade (everything on all of her albums from Dance Love Pop onwards is pretty much untouchable, however this is not one of my personal highlights but should be fine to see her through) Zara Larsson - Love Me Land (I forgot about this song, not much of a favourite for me) Jessie Ware - Sauna (I love a few songs from Jessie but generally she's one of those artists that doesn't click with me as much as I feel they should despite enjoying her when I listen to her stuff - love her first two albums though and a couple of songs from the new one) Tove Lo feat. Wiz Khalifa - Influence (I like Tove a lot, but this song doesn't do much for me)

I think ultimately Ed has good intentions and probably was more immediately concerned about fulfilling his contracts and not letting paying fans and tour crew down. I'm sure he truly doesn't want his tour and life to become political. But on an issue as huge as this, somebody being removed from your tour for their politics makes it political, so he was between a rock and a hard place which I do understand. But I still don't believe you can be apolitical in 2026 in a way that you more easily could be even 20 years ago before social media. Everyone is online all the time these days, sees and hears everything going on and is going to be asked their opinion by journalists and fans who look up to them, admire and adore them. I've seen all over social media today that fans of many artists have been checking Instagram today to see who has and hasn't liked Macklemore's post, it's extremely important to people how their idols act and what they believe. Rightly or wrongly, the public are closer to artists now than they ever were before and want to hear what they think. Silence is now political because many will see that as endorsement for a certain side, so stars just can't sit on the fence on major global issues without some sort of backlash or expectation of a comment.

It definitely feels like one of those songs that was gigantic and a cultural phenomenon for a time and then the moment passed (remember the adverts on X Factor trailing it!), whereas other songs from the same album stood the test of time more. It was a great lead single, with its 'it's me, I'm back' kind of statement but I question if it would have been a particularly huge hit if it had been released at any other point during that era. I do get the concept of playing it first, it's almost like a concert opening song - you want a big hit that will please people, but not the biggest one. Adele is so big that on the face of it it feels like one of her biggest, but when you look at the stats beyond its initial chart run, it's not really anymore. Also, 'Hello' is just thematically a great song to play as your first song.

I have little to add that hasn't been said except this is really disappointing from Ed, as I have always been a huge fan. This empty and meaningless statement. You can't be a megastar in 2026 and be apolitical, you have a major platform and people look up to you and are inspired and influenced by you. He is known to be a businessman and protects his assets, but to this extent? Not just hugely disappointing but potentially career suicide, and I can't see how he didn't see the backlash coming. I get that he was thinking more about all the people directly employed by his tours etc, and I understand he feels a responsibility to them, but there is a bigger picture here and now the tour is at risk anyway with support acts pulling out, venues may not want to be involved with him, audience members won't show up etc. I fully respect Macklemore and what he did here, have a lot of love for him and have seen him live too a couple of years ago and he was great! P!nk... ugh!

Not Milica’s actually being great Could the first upset in this group come in the first round?

A few of the bigger acts could be lower down in the opening rank based on the choices. But there is the poor sacrifical lamb in here. Maybe it’s a banger of the highest proportions and will cause an upset.

Wow so many people using a top three quality song in the opening round. Maybe wise as I did half expect an opening round elimination would be on the cards for somebody!

Hello and White Flag, wow. Final material!

Looking forward to hearing what people have found and artists I forgot about! Have there been any vetoes? No doubt there must be some big names and songs in the mix.

Probably, maybe they'd 'only' have done as well as Bowie did, but they have so many different routes you could go down with them and so many classics that I think they'd do a little better. Will Zara get the indie crowd vote as much as Robyn though late on? Look how many synth and alternative leaning acts have been entered, especially in groups - once those acts inevitably depart before half or more of the solo females then its the likes of Robyn and Kate Bush that will pick up those voters' points over Zara imo.

Yeah on paper I agree it's Robyn's to lose. I predicted to myself prior to the contest even opening that the final would be between Robyn, Zara, Adele and The Beatles (oops!). I guess the problem is the weight of the competition, especially in the solo females category, might mean their mentor can't sit on those songs right to the end to be able to progress and may feel their hand is forced at some point to send one of those untouchable songs early. Robyn does probably have at least 10 bulletproof songs that wouldn't fail against anything else but one slip while everyone else sends big hitters and you never know. Well, there was Pick a Bale of Cotton, and I think that would have been the end of ABBA! So yeah, probably not a level playing field to do a covers round.

Looks like a straight fight between Aeroche and Persephonia I think, both will pick up votes from everywhere. It is very hard to look past Ane Brun getting a second but Persephonia is a huge choice and could well be the second winner in a row to go from DNQ to victory. Cor Lupus is still in the battle if the pop bloc throw everything at it but I don't see it getting that much alt crossover. Neliönoir also sure to be up there, and obviously a huge improvement for Wasia Project for Hendinia, although to go from outside the top 30 with the last entry to win with this would be a tall order. RontBet thoughts: Possible winners: 2/1 Aeroche | Ane Brun - Hold Me (feat. ARY) 3/1 Persephonia | Devon Again - cherry cola
 Top 10 contenders: 7/1 Cor Lupus | AMARA ctk100 - Paradiso Nights 8/1 Neliönoir | Tamara Flores & Tourist - Bésala Mucho 10/1 Hendinia | Wasia Project - Vogue 12/1 Dalisska | Chanpan - i got a gun
 14/1 Jupiterdonia | Elley Duhé - Body Talk 14/1 POPHub | HMLTD - Blitzkrieg 18/1 Sovarasma | Marina Herlop - Jaque 20/1 Altyr Muunilinst | Tiger La Flor - FOREVERMORE 20/1 The Spodic Empire | DJ Shadow - Stem / Long Stem (Medley) 22/1 Fljótavík | Juno Reactor - Return Of The Pistolero 22/1 Vaskla | paris jackson - adagio (feat. Manchester Orchestra) 24/1 New Helvetica | Lankum - Ghost Town 24/1 Flynnonda | Crawlers - ALL WE HAVE IS US 25/1 Herbilore | Cibo Matto - Sugar Water 25/1 New Lexico | EARTH TO EMILY - PINK CIGARETTE Dark horses: 30/1 Zephyra Continuum | Livka - poza Tobą nic 30/1 Freidland | Wolf Cutt & vi0let - I'M NOT CRAZY, YOU ARE 30/1 Jadakissnia | Kidskin - HEAVEN 30/1 Ennea | BALTHAZARD & Dyana - FADE 30/1 Elëdan | Gigi Ros - CREMEN 301/ Skall | Jasper Tygner & holybones - 28 Eyes 30/1 Lentyll | Angine De Poitrine - Sherpa 32/1 Aelandor | The Midnight - Crystalline [100th anniversary entry] 32/1 Danæviia | anamē & Lydmor - Hopeful 32/1 Ramrynia | Bea Miller - drunk enough I don't know about the rest but vote Pandora for life, joy, fun and great skin!

Agreed on Liquido, it has 300m streams for a good reason, it's a classic track. I don't remember The Joy Formidable's song, but will recheck it for landslide potential.