Iz様 🌟

I'm not sure I've ever seen someone claim the UK does well for political reasons, or why those same reasons would now no longer apply. Tbh, no one is allowed to doom anymore until at least we've heard the song.

ooh the winner AQ picking up an artist I entered a little while ago, intrigued to see what new stuff Pixel Grip has

01 FKA twigs - Perfectly 02 LiSA - Another Great Day!! 03 ROSALÍA - Aute Cuture 04 Toni Braxton feat. Loon - Hit the Freeway 05 Delta Goodrem - Wings 06 Kesha - Take It Off 07 Lily Allen - Everyone’s At It 08 Nadia Oh - Jump Out the Window best Toni Braxton one so far defo and Perfectly is absolutely brilliant, great new one to me.

The article does say that tactical voters range from about 40% of voters to 60% of voters, I think that's well outside the range of how many actually will tactically vote, I think estimates in 2024 was for about 17% of the electorate. Though surely more will be considering now, I'd be very surprised if it were as high as the people saying they're considering it on a survey in any real election. Reform have fallen back in a few polls, though YouGov has them lower than everyone else. Waiting on Gorton & Denton/the locals I suppose - which means the polling is open to change. Idk about Lowe, I think that's the natural extremists peeling off Reform and won't do anything in the real world. Unfortunately gives Reform a bogeyman to their right to point to (like say Le Pen with Zenmour - though he managed to get 2 million votes, Lowe isn't getting anywhere near the kind of oxygen needed for that).

https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/54117-what-is-the-tactical-voting-landscape-in-february-2026 Really nice article about the current state of tactical voting, confirming that like many other countries and despite big claims about Reform replacing Labour or such like, we are going into a straight left vs right 50-50 fight from now on. (this image is overall numbers, there's some really interesting ones in the article including ones that show that while most parties have a good even chance of making a tactical decision to stick to their vote, Reform voters really are diehards and really won't countenance voting anyone else except.... maybe the Conservatives)

I really don't see the problem with "nobodies", it's always the song, not the act, and you hearing of people does not mean they don't have talent. That you never heard of him doesn't mean he's a nobody either, this is probably the first time most of the general public have heard of him but he's got fairly decent numbers on Spotify/Youtube, does have a reasonably long career as a musician/audio artist and many of us here are already aware of him. Also like, well-known names never pan out well, they often end up with a weak song that's nowhere near as good as it could be. Can quite easily see why he would do it now, he's been doing his thing for a few years in his niche, and it's an opportunity to get that niche exposed to the whole continent if briefly, and he can easily go back to doing what he did before afterwards.

Typical that the BBC choose this year to answer what I've been asking for for at least a decade and not only finally send a non-pop act, but one that I really like the material I've heard from before now. That's a good choice. normally by now I would have heard some of the field to work out whether the artist stands a chance, right now I have not, but I do hope that this is a choice that works out for the BBC and him.

I love the ABBA approach, it's really refreshing hearing these little known fun tracks show up, I'm sure the piloter will send big hits when it's time - I skimmed through it so I didn't see if the scores have been posted but I thought they wouldn't be second-last either.

have submitted something, I wasn't sure if I wanted to but my searches turned up a couple of good alt entries so one here and one in the other contest let's go

gone with quite a left-field song this time 😺

Chappell Roan - Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl LiSA - Gurenge (紅蓮華) ROSALÍA - DIABLO Michelle Branch - You Set Me Free FKA twigs - Glass & Patron Lily Allen - Who’d Have Known Kelly Clarkson - Gone Delta Goodrem - Sitting On Top of the World Toni Braxton - You’re Makin’ Me High Kesha - Blow Nelly Furtado & Tiësto - Who Wants to Be Alone Nadia Oh - Taking Over the Dancefloor I am glad we got 'Gurenge' in here, intrigued to see what the LiSA piloter will pick next after this though because it's great but also the obvious one. In case anyone was wondering why, 'Gurenge' was the opening theme to the first season of possibly the biggest anime of the 2010s - Demon Slayer, and is definitely LiSA's most well-known song in a career where her most well-known songs are anime themes, she started her career doing those (but she definitely has a lot of potential beyond that and I need to explore her more). good song from Michelle Branch, shame they decided to withdraw, good top half here - Chappell's choice is amazing, and also a great selection from Rosalía again, I used to like 'Blow' but I think these days it's one of Kesha's more basic ones, wasn't feeling the dance ones at all.

Honestly 'Now You're Gone' never gets old for me, one of the best examples of big hit Eurodance, maybe a couple of years too late to the curve but a great dancefloor song. (might have even put it #1, at least top 3)

Erasure - So the Story Goes (almost sounds like a symphonic metal track, wow) HAIM - I Know Alone Ace of Base - Beautiful Life The Chicks - Not Ready to Make Nice Florence + the Machine - Queen of Peace ABBA - Hole in Your Soul Scissor Sisters - Take Your Mama The Corrs - I Never Loved You Anyway Girlicious - Over You Atomic Kitten - If You Come to Me Blondie - Hanging On the Telephone The 1975 - Love Me very strong round outside of slightly weak 1975 and Blondie choices for me, didn't know any of my top 3 before and they're all excellent.

Nik Kershaw - Gone to Pieces Conan Gray - Killing Me David Bowie - Young Americans Eric Saade - Every Minute Fred again.. - Berwyn (all that i got is you) The Weeknd - A Lesser Man Guitarricadelafuente & Troye Sivan - midsummer pipe dream Shawn Mendes - Lost in Japan (Zedd Remix) Troye Sivan - Strawberries & Cigarettes George Michael - Freeek! Ruel - Not What’s Going On Markus Riva - Forever

Hell yeah go big or go home LiSA. What a banger. If that comes last too I will despair. I only know a couple of the others actually lol

I only managed to figure out the first one was something to do with trains or roads up the East Coast so how I didn't twig A1 from that I am annoyed.

I love those clues btw even if I have zero clue how this is actually playing out yet, I shouldn't have skipped season 1!!

Good luck! I know the pressure, as I did host while also having to go through a semi in 136, but fortunately I made it through in the end and that in itself is very relieving - you may well be scanning the semi votes and praying like I did x (the incident that Dobbo refers to is another time, I was barely a host for that contest in 78, just got handed the semi results on short notice, but I do like the accolade) I do quite enjoy that aesthetic actually, Japanese and retro is a good combination, I approve. I have had a few good options jump out at me, I am encouraged after a good result last time even if the cruelness of the Bré audit scuppered me out of a position. Maybe I'll win. Or more likely not, but time for something cool regardless (I have not chosen at all yet lol)

Bumper election day as Japan and Thailand both have national elections (and Portugal's 2nd president round too) Japan have reelected the LDP (shocker) because of Takaichi's personal popularity and ability to sell herself as an agent of change. Not good. Biggest reswing back towards the LDP in a long while, I fear many Japanese people expecting solutions and change from Takaichi will be disappointed but she has her mandate and is definitely cementing herself as a Thatcher, not a May. Sad. Looks close in Thailand where the progressives were blocked from taking power last time because of traditional institutions, which has led to some political instability in the interim.

Good riddance, a solid centre for much of the rot at the heart of the Labour Party. It might, might, quell this scandal now there's a significant scalp, but as much as I'd like to see the government's direction move away from the anti-Labour McSweeney-led direction he pioneered, there's too many who share his views right at the top. if the government manage to get the messaging right, they can pile a lot of Labour unpopularity at his feet now, but that's also optimistic tbh

Lindsay Vonn down on the course during her comeback, sad :/ Had fun watching the downhill so far, it's a great event, in part because of those insane speeds

Conan Gray - Actor David Bowie - Life on Mars? The Weeknd - Blinding Lights Nik Kershaw - The Riddle Shawn Mendes - Teach Me How to Love Luke Black - VOMIT Troye Sivan - Got Me Started George Michael - Faith Eric Saade - Made of Pop Ruel & DMA’S - What a Life Fred again.. & The Blessed Madonna - Marea (we’ve lost dancing) Guitarricadelafuente - BABIECA! Markus Riva - You Make Me So Crazy did not think I'd enjoy this lot as much as I did, good start for the male pop.

The Corrs - Breathless Blondie - Maria ABBA - As Good As New Erasure - Drama! Scissor Sisters - I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ The 1975 - It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You) Florence + the Machine - Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) HAIM - Forever Ace of Base - All That She Wants Girlicious - Like Me The Chicks - Goodbye Earl A1 - Same Old Brand New You Atomic Kitten - The Tide is High very high quality round here, all are decent - wonderful Corrs choice, Blondie is excellent, quite an inspired ABBA choice actually, the Erasure song was a great discovery as well.

LiSA - QUEEN (fave) ROSALÍA - MALAMENTE (Cap.1: Augurio) FKA twigs - ride the dragon Kesha - Praying Michelle Branch - Everywhere Cher Lloyd - Sirens Nadia Oh - Hot Like Wow Delta Goodrem - Innocent Eyes Chappell Roan - Good Luck, Babe! Nelly Furtado - I’m Like a Bird Kelly Clarkson - Walk Away Toni Braxton - You Mean the World to Me Lily Allen - URL Badman god LiSA songs always slap so hard and this is no exception, in fact may be one of the most energetic I can think of (Oath Sign and Ash maybe close, I need to do a deep dive of her albums one of these days so it's not just the basic bitch anime themes I stan). Glad to know she's still got it. Wasn't the most familiar with the FKA Twigs or Rosalia ones but they are also excellent. One of my favourite Kesha songs, the Michelle Branch song was a cool little pop-rock discovery, I was impressed by the Cher Lloyd and Nadia Oh choices (I knew Sirens but it's probably her best? now I think about it there's not much else I remember from her). Innocent Eyes and Good Luck Babe are fine songs in the middle, I'm Like A Bird and Walk Away are not my favourite songs from those artists at all but I know there's much better out there, I wasn't a big fan of the Toni Braxton track and uh, I enjoy Lily Allen normally. That's my least favourite Lily Allen song lol but good list on the whole

I checked to see if discovery+ did the same thing as last Olympics where they had everything for a month's sub of £3.99 and got that, I'll surely spend a bit of time looking at obscure winter sports over the next week x opening ceremony yay