Jade

My semi 1 votes are in

08 Beyoncé - Crazy In Love (feat. Jay-Z) avg: 7.97 👑 Pop Royalty: 11 (jimwatts, Julian_), 10 (DaTilt, Lukuzz, blacksquare, RyanFM, Jade, Nina West, HarryInnanen, Bror, leww, Chez Wombat) ❌ Pop Flop: -1 (Dobbo, Doug), 5 (Viper*) I expected the much acclaimed 'Crazy In Love' to be a winning contender in this rate, however, not everyone was crazy about the collab - so it settles for a 7.97 average. Beyoncé initially planned to release debut album Dangerously In Love in late 2002 but it was postponed until the following year. This is because Destiny's Child bandmate Kelly Rowland was experiencing unprecedented success with her Nelly collaboration 'Dilemma', so she was the priority, to capitalise on this momentum. Beyoncé therefore had more time to work on her material and it would be worth the wait, as lead single 'Crazy In Love' helped to propel her to a level of superstardom that not many others could rival in the 21st century. Beyoncé co-wrote and produced 'Crazy In Love' alongside Rich Harrison. His credentials also include 'Get Right' by Jennifer Lopez and Amerie's '1 Thing', so he's no stranger to a horn-heavy R&B anthem. 'Crazy In Love' features a prominent sample of 'Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)' by The Chi-Lites, so the group's lead singer Eugene Record also has a writing credit. Beyoncé's now-husband Jay-Z provided the final piece of the puzzle when he improvised his rap verse in about 10 minutes. The two play on their real-life chemistry in the Jake Nava directed music video, which was filmed in LA. 'Crazy In Love' was a bonafide smash, providing both Beyoncé as a solo artist and Jay-Z with their first U.K. #1 hit each. They dislodged Evanescence's 'Bring Me To Life' from the top in the process and stayed there for three weeks. Both of these tracks have proved very enduring despite their wildly different genres; 'Crazy In Love' boasts over 1.8 billion Spotify streams, while 'Bring Me To Life' has over 1.9 billion. 'Crazy In Love' was also Beyoncé's first solo #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The song's maximalist sound was a hit with critics and it continues to place highly on all-time lists. 'Crazy In Love' also won two Grammy Awards: Best R&B song and Best Rap/Sung collaboration. As it stands, Beyoncé is the most decorated artist in Grammy Awards history, with 35 wins. 'Crazy In Love' is the first song to depart with more than one 11 score. It was jimwatts and Julian_ who particularly loved this Bey and Jay classic. However, this was also the only song to receive multiple -1 scores, so this one must drive both Dobbo and Doug crazy.

Oh nice to see the incredible Radio-Activity by Kraftwerk in the album chart I see it's due to a 50th anniversary reissue.

Wow DARA's 'Bangaranga' is #9 on Spotify!! That's the only Eurovision impact I can see from a quick glance.

Thanks Rollo! today's game: Round 1: 30 (didn't get: Bad Company, Mott the Hoople) Round 2: 30 (didn't get: Mai Tai, Shalamar) 3-in-10: 3 (Mr Blue Sky, Xanadu, Shine a Little Love)

Tove Lo 💕

Brer has just informed me that this is the tenth time I've opened a semi which is the record get to the listening session promptly etc.

'LoveGame' pour moi now

BJSC 185Liv Del Estal - CŒUR TITANE I wasn't lying when I said I'd be unleashing a 'sad banger' this month! 'CŒUR TITANE', or 'TITANIUM HEART', is taken from French singer and actress Liv Del Estal's latest EP FRAGILE HARDCORE, released just last month. Her claim to fame was starring on the French version of The Voice back in 2018, where she was eliminated just before the quarter finals. I swear we're not intentionally poaching The Voice-adjacent contestants, after Erin LeCount also starred on The Voice Kids! I stumbled across 'CŒUR TITANE' and immediately fell in love with its urgent dance-pop sound and emotive vocals. We've now sent two French language songs in a row, but this is our least alt sounding entry since the aforementioned LeCount, as we occasionally enjoy taking breaks from 'toaster in the bath' entries. Liv Del Estal is your semi one opener so we hope the BJSC masses will conclude that she kicks off the contest in style. BJSC 184 ResultsLe Belladone - NYMPHE 28th place | 141 points Le Belladone's result in the previous contest showed remarkable consistency for our nation as we finished in 28th place for a second edition in a row, this time with 7 fewer points. Last month there was a glaring oversight in our commentary as we neglected to mention that 'BENGRAMO' was our first ever 28th result, which is particularly notable - as we've now achieved every position in the top 30! Typical that we waited over 11 years to unlock a 28th place and then got two in a row. Insert analogy about buses. This is now our third top 30 result of 2026 in a more modest year for Jadakissnian success so far. It was also revealed that 'NYMPHE' finished 14th in the semi with 55 points. Thank you to everyone who supported us in this edition! Zephyra Continuum took home the trophy this time with 'Struck' by Charlotte MacInnes. Jadakissnia did not point this entry, but we have supported this nation in the past, plus couldn't get too greedy after our 18 won the previous edition. Congratulations to them once again! Our favourite finalist, trip-hop beauty 'HOW THE EYE' by KHOIBA, unfortunately placed in the bottom 5 for Deandria - in 37th place. What a robbery I tell thee. Our silver medal thankfully performed pretty well albeit was not quite the winner some were predicting. The quirky 'Klouds Will Carry Me To Sleep' by Gelli Haha was a big pre-contest favourite for us and finished in 10th place for Terra Avium. Finally, Dalisska bagged our bronze medal, with 'Kelpie' by Internet Islands. This could be found within the bottom three, in 39th place. Another robbery detected! Thank you to the people of the République d'Áskorza for a great hosting job. These were our BJSC 184 final votes in full: 18 Deandria: KHOIBA - HOW THE EYE 15 Terra Avium: Gelli Haha - Klouds Will Carry Me To Sleep 13 Dalisska: Internet Islands - Kelpie 12 Elëdan: Jerobeam Fenderson & Hansi3D - Function 11 Pagasa: Model/Actriz - Glassman 10 Ennea: KOMPROMAT - I LET MYSELF GO BLIND (feat. Vimala Pons & Sonia DeVille) 09 Persephonia: BRÄLLE - Callous Response 08 Aeroche: Tsu Nami - Perfume 07 Land of DW: TEMMIS - Arterien 06 Bøtanikkä: 2charm - boyfriend 05 Kathaldazia: Ignez - Lunfardo 04 Pestolia: Goochems - barrel of soil 03 Neliönoir: Tiffany Day - SAME LA 02 Freidland: Pegassi - MOAA 01 Utopia: Brigitte Calls Me Baby - Slumber Party xx Skall: Fort Romeau - U R My Love xx Dobago: VASCHA - maddie ziegler xx Fljótavík: Wasia Project - 2515 xx Danæviia: Lux Terminus - Electrocommunion xx A-Konohagakure: ZUTOMAYO - lowmotion algae Thank you to these nations for the following points in this edition: 18 - Aeroche 13 - Fljótavík + Skall 12 - Sovarasma 10 - Deandria + Pestolia 9 - Cumulonimbia + Pagasa 7 - Land of DW 6 - Bøtanikkä, Elëdan + Hendinia 5 - Utopia 4 - A-Konohagakure + Kathaldazia 2 - Dalisska, Neliönoir + Scotland 2 1 - République d'Áskorza, Kluminican Republic + Taahino p.s. SHENANIGANS have been uncovered as Jadakissnian top 10 hit 'Wild Animal' by Hante. has been pulled from streaming 😪 here's hoping it returns one day.

Olly Murs was a big teenage crush for me and I found him entertaining as a performer, so I was rooting for him to succeed at the time. I bought 'Please Don't Let Me Go' on CD single and everything! It is... pleasant, but 'Teenage Dream' has far eclipsed it in my affections long term, so my loyalties would flip in that chart battle now. I really don't like 'Start Without You' though. That nursery rhyme chorus is pretty off-putting! I'd actually forgotten this blocked 'Teenage Dream' as well, so I'll let Olly slide, my beef is with this x 'Green Light' is pretty naff but I am another who is forced to stan them sneaking the green cross code in there. 🦔

01 Star Guitar 02 Hey Boy Hey Girl 03 Setting Sun 04 Go 05 Block Rockin' Beats 06 Galvanize 07 Let Forever Be 08 It Began In Afrika what a fantastic list 🤩 something as good as 'Let Forever Be' sitting in my bottom two feels wrong!

Depeche Mode - Everything Counts Herbie Hancock - Rockit Kraftwerk - Tour De France Spandau Ballet - Gold The Style Council - Long Hot Summer tiebreak: Mike Oldfield - Moonlight Shadow

Hi Sergej! Love that 'Judas' is so popular these days with over 1 billion streams. Hope you have a good holiday! thank you for commenting <3 Hi Piran! Yay, I think akiaura's previous best was #2, so he got there in the end. 'On The Floor' is still good fun! thank you for commenting <3

Hi Piran, hope you're good 'Stateside' is my favourite PinkPantheress song so not complaining about that re-entering your chart 🤩 Also love 'Tonight' and Ari x2 from your throwback chart - bring on her new single next week *.*

Hi Sergej, hope you're good Fantastic to see The Chemical Brothers smashing in your chart this week *.* could not be happier that 'Go' is experiencing a revival right now. My favourite in your throwback chart is 'Bonbon'! It went over my head a bit when it was sent to BJSC but became a huge post-contest grower.