Jade

Ooh so it was Bré behind my favourite entry this time, by some considerable distance glad that's currently top 10. Thank you for the points in return!

Sophie B. Hawkins was my guess for Rollo but a 12 for her is close enough. Peter Gabriel makes a lot of sense, great pick. Happy to have points from our hosts!

Jim makes a lot of sense for Bruce Springsteen! Thank you for the 5 points. 💕

Oh this looks like a potentially good semi for me?? I'm not sure if I'm super familiar with anything in the opposite semi but I already know and love Pestolia, Terra Avium, Skall and Bøtanikkä's songs

Chez self recycling? Good entry though (as you can see it snuck into my points) and thank you for the silver medal

Phew Damien Well I'm glad Lewis' mentor already used my favourite song of his in the first round!

@Bror the people have spoken

Fontaines and M83 were my top two in that round so that was going to hurt either way! Relieved Fontaines are still in but thanks to whoever sent M83 for unleashing 'Lower Your Eyelids to Die With the Sun' as it was a really good discovery for me <3

I've heard they enjoy the silence

2010s #06 Hozier - 'Take Me To Church' (2013) #05 Lorde - 'Ribs' (2013) Irish singer-songwriter Hozier first unleashed 'Take Me To Church' as part of an EP of the same name in 2013. He was a struggling musician who wrote and recorded a rough demo of this song in his parents' attic, with a programmed backing track. Hozier and drummer Fiachra Kinder were the only musicians present on this recording. The demo caught the attention of independent label Rubyworks, who paired him with producer Rob Kirwan. The final version of 'Take Me To Church' was overdubbed with live instrumentation but the original vocals remained. BuzzJack was ahead of the curve on this occasion as our very own gooddelta sent 'Take Me To Church' to BJSC towards the end of 2013. It performed solidly and finished 11th in the final. That result is perhaps a bit lower than I would've expected for a future chart smash but the contest had much worse casualties than this, like 'Pink Pony Club' DNQing, albeit with a deduction. I did not join BJSC until 2015, so found out this information retrospectively and would not discover 'Take Me To Church' until 2014, when it began to impact the chart. I remember enjoying 'Take Me To Church' at the time, as it made an appearance in my personal chart, but I soon became sick of it as its chart run was so lengthy. I evidently needed a break from it for a while. This worked wonders, as in time I began to appreciate 'Take Me To Church' more than I ever did originally. This song metaphorically compares a lover to religion and also acts as a critique of institutions that try to repress natural human desires. My favourite lyric is probably: "I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies", as a condemnation of those who vilify people for their sexuality, as it's a striking descriptor of blind loyalty. I also particularly like the reframing of the criticisms as "there is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin". Hozier refers to a female partner in the song, but the music video instead takes an LGBTQ+ direction, as he wanted to bring attention to the persecution and repression faced by the gay community in Russia. I find the lynch mob attacking one of the men in a gay relationship an incredibly difficult watch, but it's certainly a powerful video. Hozier also provides a lot of power with his commanding voice. I can see why this vocal performance survived from the demo right until the end. The instrumental stays in a pretty similar lane throughout but I enjoy the appropriately cathedral-esque atmosphere it creates, from the organ to the gospel style piano and backing vocals. The guitars are also a pretty ominous touch. 'Take Me To Church' reached #2 in the U.K. for four non-consecutive weeks in early 2015. It was blocked from the top by the juggernaut 'Uptown Funk' by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, as well as Ellie Goulding's 'Love Me Like You Do' for the latter three weeks. Hozier also stalled at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Incredibly, he would later achieve a #1 across both sides of the pond with 'Too Sweet', almost an entire decade later. ... New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde is an incredibly special artist to me. I've always felt a particular connection to her to music, as she was born just 10 months before me and refers to age quite a lot in her lyrics, so I felt like I was growing up alongside her. Debut album Pure Heroine took me through sixth form, while sophomore record Melodrama was a University soundtrack and both are two of my favourite albums of all-time. I considered 'Tennis Court' to be my favourite Lorde song for years but it has now shifted to 'Ribs' in recent times. I always loved this song but there was something really special about hearing it live, in an intimate setting, during her Solar Power tour in 2022. The track also experienced some traction on TikTok last year and this reminded me how much I enjoyed it once again. So, while I could name a number of Lorde songs as favourites of the 2010s, I have settled on this as my #1 now. Lorde blew up at just 16 years old when 'Royals' became an unconventional chart-topper. I remember the Pure Heroine album being absolutely everywhere on then very popular blogging website Tumblr, as the moody music and monochrome artwork slotted perfectly into the 'soft grunge' aesthetic on there. I was fascinated by Lorde's dark, introspective sound and thought she sounded incredibly unique in the charts at the time. 'Ribs' is track #4 on Pure Heroine and really spoke to me lyrically at the time, when I was a fellow 16-year-old, as it's about the bittersweet feeling of ageing into adulthood. Lorde was inspired to write it after she was given the responsibility to throw a house party, while her parents were away. This was an exciting prospect but also made her fearful, as this was a step closer to adulthood, so did this mean there was no going back to the more carefree times of childhood now? I highly related to this sentiment at the time even if I wasn't throwing house parties myself. I did still attend quite a lot of them during sixth form, though! My feelings were mixed, as I was quite a socially awkward person, but did have fun with close friends at them and loved getting to control some of the music. I remember a washing machine getting damaged at one of them so no wonder my own parents weren't keen for me to host one! The lyrics really take me back to those times, but I can still appreciate her perspective on the record even now I've been a fully-fledged adult for over a decade. There's a timeless, vulnerable quality to the songwriting and the sentiment "it feels so scary, getting old" is one that can apply to any stage of life. The refrain is gorgeously human and nostalgic with lines like: "you're the only friend I need" / "sharing beds like little kids" / "and laughing 'til our ribs get tough". This really paints a picture of more innocent times before we're all bogged down with adult responsibilities. Sometimes it would be nice to experience that totally carefree joy again indeed. I appreciate Lorde's fragile delivery of these words during the verses and the more soaring, frantic chorus. Another incredibly standout and atmospheric feature of 'Ribs' is the layered, choral backing vocals that travel from one headphone channel to another. They feel overwhelmingly emotional and quite transcendental. I appreciate the minimalist synth production provided by Joel Little too. What a magical song.

Imagining I PROMISE YOUUUUUUU playing as the soundbed each time Leona is announced through

Trance To The Sun stood out in the field for me too!

Rubber Soul the timeless album you are

Another new peak for Ashe today as 'Stop The Wedding!' is up to #4 on Spotify!

+30 Billie Eilish - when the party's over +29 Ariana Grande - no tears left to cry +28 Ariana Grande - God is a woman +27 ROSALÍA - MALAMENTE (Cap. I: Augurio) +26 MJ Cole & Freya Ridings - Waking Up +25 The 1975 - Love It If We Made It +24 Lana Del Rey - Mariners Apartment Complex +23 BROCKHAMPTON - 1999 WILDFIRE +22 Childish Gambino - This Is America +21 Christine and the Queens - Doesn't matter +20 Mark Ronson - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart (feat. Miley Cyrus) +19 Troye Sivan & Ariana Grande - Dance to This +18 Au/Ra & CamelPhat - Panic Room +17 Ariana Grande - breathin +16 Kendrick Lamar & SZA - All The Stars +15 Mitski - Washing Machine Heart +14 Silk City & Dua Lipa - Electricity +13 Twenty One Pilots - Jumpsuit +12 Freya Ridings - Lost Without You +11 Arctic Monkeys - Four Out of Five +10 Years & Years - Sanctify +09 Janelle Monáe - Make Me Feel +08 Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa - One Kiss +07 Billie Eilish - you should see me in a crown +06 Grimes - We Appreciate Power (feat. HANA) +05 Juice WRLD - Lucid Dreams +04 Drake - Nice For What +03 Taylor Swift - Delicate +02 Ariana Grande - thank u, next +01 Virtual Self - Ghost Voices

'Money On My Mind' wasn't a bad start to Sam's solo success although, as already referenced, the "when I go home, I tend to close the door" lyric does stick out like a sore thumb! I remember enjoying 'Rude' at the time but it didn't really do anything for me when I last heard it in more recent years. Funny that a Maroon 5 comparison was made in this thread, as I accompanied my brother to see them back in 2015 and MAGIC! were one of the support acts The main thing that springs to mind about 'All About That Bass' for me was Brer mentioning that he discovered the song before it blew up and considered sending it to BJSC, so that would've been an interesting moment in the Persephonia catalogue...! It was massive indeed, I remember being asked by someone if they could buy it on CD single while I was working at HMV but we only had it via Now! 89. The songwriting is very of its time, much like the "haters gonna hate" message at #2 but I don't mind it, 'Dear Future Husband' from that same Meghan era was much more annoying for me. 'Stay With Me' is my least favourite In The Lonely Hour single by far, so dull and dreary. The overplay for this at the time as a chart listener was torture! I'm partial to a saxophone in general but I always thought the drop on 'Crazy Stupid Love' was really naff, in addition to some of the lyrics, especially "she had my D, now she dickmatised". 💀 'I Don't Care' is also pretty grating but I think you have the two songs in the right order.

Round 1: 36 (didn't get: Stephanie De Sykes) Round 2: 30 (didn't get: Celine Dion, Raydio) 3-in-10: 3 (The House Of The Rising Sun, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, Don't Bring Me Down)

Not at all surprising but Vitalic only getting 1 point aside from me was rude, shoutout to Jim xo Too many painful descents to mention (I'm really noticing the lack of Brer this year with the hard falls for songs like 'On Hold' and '3WW' so far...) but at least 'Glue' was on the rise. The campaign for that to become an AQ next year starts now!

I've just given the new entries from over the weekend a listen and this is unsurprisingly a dance reworking of Lumidee's 'Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)'!

Oh yes, I unsurprisingly gave 'Waiting For The Stars' my top marks that round and watched as it didn't get anything else at all for a while (not too surprising when it wasn't a hit) until your votes came in, yay! Happy to hear it stood out enough from one listen to sneak into your votes <3 I think each Billie album has been stronger than the last (I remember being a bit concerned for Happier Than Ever when 'Lost Cause' was chosen as a pre-album release, as it didn't hit me as much as her songs usually did, but the project turned out to be great in full) even if 'when the party's over' is my overall favourite song of hers! I think my favourites from this decade would be 'Happier Than Ever' and 'CHIHIRO'. Love that we have the exact same choice of #1 Billie song! As mentioned, 'you should see me in a crown' was the first song of hers that made me sit up and take notice, but she has some really stunning quieter moments as well like this song or 'everything i wanted'. The choral effects are indeed wonderful, the song 'GOLDWING' from her second album is also a big favourite for me for the same reason. Really happy to hear that 'Waiting For The Stars' was a good discovery for you 🖤 can see the Depeche Mode comparison for sure. Big hits always do the best in ROTD but it's a shame the alt vote has collapsed so much over the past couple of years 🥺 can see why that experience would've been disheartening although I'll still be flogging some songs like a dead horse every year even if they bomb

Favourite: 'ghostin' 🥰🥰🥰 my #1 Ariana album track! Least favourite: begrudgingly 'warning signs (interlude)', this is a great line-up

2019 Bring Me The Horizon - nihilist blues (feat. Grimes) Burial - Claustro Drab Majesty - Ellipsis

Yikes this is such uncomfortable viewing. I didn't like a few of these people anyway but disappointed in Philip. Twinks has very quickly gone up in my estimations though, she's lovely!

The Damned - Grimly Fiendish Dream Academy - Life In A Northern Town Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Welcome To The Pleasuredome Pat Benatar - Love Is A Battlefield Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World

week ending 04/10/26: 09 Ariana Grande [28 posts] 20 consecutive weeks in the top 10 thanks all <3