Defaze

*.* Honestly wasn't expecting anything for another 3 months or so. Not a bad idea to release soon though, with the charts being relatively stagnant. Drawn out campaigns are an awful idea as well though. Halsey failing to capitalise on 'Without You' and instead releasing the album after a string of flops springs to mind. Ditto with Dua's first album and it dropping after 'Lost In Your Light', rather than when she had three simultaneous top 20 hits (although thankfully 'New Rules' salvaged the campaign). Plus, in fairness, Little Mix's post-album singles have always done exceptionally well until TAU came along.

I hope the Mixers vote en masse like the Brits Video award. She really deserves the win.

I'm sure I read that the Direct focused on Pokemon Bank all the way back in 2013 was roughly 20 minutes, so I'm not getting my hopes up for anything exciting. I'm actually replaying Platinum for the first time since it was released, and while it's objectively better than any of the 3D era games, it's so unbelievably slow. All the QoL changes from the newer gens are sorely missed. So I am tentatively excited for DPP remakes, although slightly hesitant that they'll butcher everything that made them fantastic games. I know for a fact that they'll lower the difficulty, but I swear if they don't at least incorporate the Platinum upgrades, like the distortion world + the improved dex and gym leader rosters (hi ORAS *shudders*), then I'll scream.

I know it gets a bit of a bad rap on here, but LM5 was such a serve. The only tracks I'm not massively enamoured by are 'Told You So' and 'Strip', and even those are perfectly serviceable album tracks. Without a doubt my favourite album of theirs. Even if they do choose to lean more into pop for LM6, then I hope the quality remains as high.

Okay but Friday the 13th is actually slightly iconic. It's kept me entertained more than any other game the past few years.

Secret Love Song fits the bill perfectly surely? I still get chills when I listen to it (part 2 tho). It's probably one of their most recognisable hits too (it's shifted > 1,000,000 units). I sorta' see your point though. Although the vocals are amazing, I often find their ballads a little lacking in melody. Only SLS, 'Towers' and 'Monster In Me' (which would've made a brilliant Winter single) stand out among their discography for me. That being said, coming back with a ballad would be career suicide at this point, especially after the floppage of 'One I've Been Missing'. They need an undeniable banger to remind the public why they were so huge during the GW/GD eras.

Hype. *.* They definitely seem to have a fire in their bellies this time around, which is amazing to see six albums deep. I really hope they manage to turn things around. Another 'Black Magic' moment please girls.

:manson: :manson: :manson: This has somehow managed to pass me by entirely for a second year running. It's an admirable cause and all, but the whole thing makes me cringe beyond belief. The British public are so... lame.

Both of these + 'Be The One' are her holy trinity for me, but gotta' give it to 'Don't Start Now'. We'll see how it fares in a few years though, because I still hammer 'Hotter Than Hell' on my gym playlist. A BOP.

Yes!! Literally my first thought when I was listening to it. Probably why I found it so instant. :lol:

I never really saw the appeal of 'New Rules', so I'd place this a comfortable second after 'Be The One'. The Purple Disco Machine remix is unreal.

-kPreA23zsg This put a huge smile on my face. Jesy was hilarious as ever, and she looks absolutely unreal with the fringe!

It's so bizarre. I've never seen a fanbase so intent in underplaying how successful a single was. It was literally the only aspect of the LM5 era that wasn't an underperformance. :lol:

Fair enough. That comment wasn't intended to be as mean spirited as it came across. :lol: I wish them all the best; it would be great to have another girl group on the scene! Ahh, finally! Buzzing for you!

:cheer: I honestly no clue it had even aired until this comment. A girl group winning when the show's very purpose was to stick it to Little Mix is a bit of a lol. Very convenient.

It's frustrating because I still think LM5 was far and away their best album; it was the messy rollout, the Syco departure and the terrible single choices that killed their momentum. I think they'd be in a much more favourable position if they'd released the likes of FYN/Wasabi/Monster In Me. Honestly though, it was probably Bounce Back that really cemented their decline. What a wretched choice for a 'comeback' single. I know for a fact the WLM situation has been explained to you before. The streaming ratios changed between the GD and LM5 eras, hence why its total sales appear 'underwhelming' in comparison to their GD singles. It was a smash, and I can't believe people are still trying to deny that (especially in light of their recent chart performance). The TAU assessment is also sorta' unfair given that both its airplay and Spotify support was abysmal, plus it was hindered even further by the messy video rollout. I'll agree with you re. Bounce Back though. It really had no reason to flop as hard as it did besides being a poor song. Yeah, hard to disagree here. I think they're in a similar position to Katy (although perhaps not quite as bleak), in that if they release an undeniable banger like NRO then it'll smash, but anything middling or safe (like this single) will probably sink without a trace. I really hope they pull it out the bag; yet another wave of momentum after the 'Black Magic' revival would be slightly iconic.

I never consider myself a massive fan of her, but I've loved literally everything she's released to date and this is no exception. It's so instant and unbelievably catchy. Although the same could be said for 'Love Me Again' and that didn't exactly set the charts alight, so I don't have high expectations for this.

@1204903255660277760 Queen.

My lists are just... bizarre. Like you Jonjo, they're my most listened to artist of every year + obviously decade, but barely any of their tracks actually feature in my top 100. 2019: 18. Only You 36. Reggaeton Lento 40. Think About Us 61. Bounce Back 62. Only You [Wideboys Remix] (Only You being so iconic that it features twice). 2017: 17. Reggaeton Lento 36. Touch 2016: 19. Hair Literally 0 tracks of theirs in 2018. :lol: Not even WLM?! Although perhaps understandable given that it was released in October. No SOTME, Power, or even NMSS in any capacity gobsmacks me since they all feature on my gym playlist which I hammer pretty much every summer. I'm such a flop stan. No wonder their Spotify figures are often lacklustre. :lol:

An underappreciated mega-bop. I get that it's basic as all hell, but I adore Perrie's intro and Leigh sounds amazing on it. I don't even find the drop that jarring either. Honestly, it's probably the single I return to most from the LM5 era.

Yeah, I can't imagine it'll incur much (if any) loss for the label given the low-budget MV and the fact that Leigh wrote it. I still think it's a cute song and it would've been nice to see it smash, but I can't say I'm that upset it hasn't. (That being said, they reeeally need to pull something out of the bag for their next single. Three consecutive flop/underperforming songs doesn't bode well).

Aren't these US playlists? I can't even find 'Christmas Pop' in the Holidays genre unless I actively search for it. Would also explain why the Jonas Brothers/Alessia Cara are featured on certain playlists but not Mabel/LM. Good news regardless, but I can't see it having a massive impact on the UK charts.

Cute but unremarkable. A bit like the song itself. I really don't think we can use a Christmas song as any indication of the label's commitment. They were pretty relentless with the 'Bounce Back' campaign despite there being literally 0 appetite for the single from the public. Mabel's new track is similarly struggling to pick up any playlist support.

So the conclusion was about as underwhelming as I expected. The entirety of Wyndon is aesthetically great... but there's nothing to do? You can't enter any of the houses, the hotel serves no purpose, the footpaths contain precisely 0 NPCs and you can't even buy anything from the stalls outside the stadium. The final boss 'dungeon' consisting of a single elevator going upwards was a bit of a scream. It's honestly just grim. Did they run out of development time?? As for the championship, I actually experienced some difficulty with Leon, but that's probably due to my self-imposed no items rules and my team being hot trash (and largely underleveled). Speaking of, hall of fame team: Mortimer the Thievul [66] - Basically my makeshift starter since none of them appeal to me in the slightest. He's weak as shit, but he's shiny and his colouration is awesome. Poison the Tsareena [58] - I put her on the team purely because of her chase animation. Iconic. Bjorn the Beartic [59] - I... have no idea why I used this? His design is tragic, but Hail/Slush Rush shenanigans was fun to abuse I guess. Decibel the Noivern [60] - Amazing design but using Noibat until level 48 is honestly torturous, and the pay-off really isn't worth it. He's fast but not much else, and Draco Meteor/Hurricane aren't the most reliable STABs (Air Slash/Dragon Pulse did pitiful damage). Flubber the Reuniclus [58] - Would've been a whole lot more useful if Trick Room wasn't post-game. She was powerful and bulky enough though, and my switch in to most incoming attacks (I was playing on Set mode). Tex the Pincurchin [58] - See above re Trick Room. Still a whole lot of fun with Electric Surge though. He has surpisingly decent stats. I was originally planning on using EV-reducing berries and retraining them (and fixing their IVs using caps) like all my other playthroughs, but I honestly think they're beyond salvation. :lol: I'd probably get annihilated if I tried Battle Spot. Eiscue is objectively horrific and I was legitimately offended when it was revealed, but I think its gimmick meshes well with how awful it looks. :lol: Seems like a lot of fun to use at least (especially with Belly Drum). Cinderace is probably the best of the starters, but I figured I'd stop forcing myself to use designs I wasn't keen on simply because they're starters. The last one I actually legitimately liked from a design standpoint was Serperior. Every starter since has been leaning far too heavily into the anthropomorphic trend imo. They just look unnatural and... icky.

'Outside' and 'I Need Your Love' are both iconic, so I'm very here for this. (Also the Matoma/Notorious B.I.G. song of the same name is a massive bop, questionable lyrics aside, so I hope this is as good).