Dobbo

Yeah I actually had to double check it was you that had sent it as it definitely sounds like quite the departure from your "usual" sound, although that of course is very wide-scoping anyway! It's very akin to Roli Glitzer Glitzer which of course was sent earlier in the year.

Oh I actually just found the thread and it was Euphoria which beat Feel Good Inc in the final.

True but Wolves could be a tricky match, they've already accepted their league fate so can throw all their eggs in a good cup run basket and as we've seen are more than capable of causing the big teams big problems. Interesting that most of the "bigger" teams were drawn away so this adds to the bananaskinability!

Na I wouldn't count What You Saying myself, there's barely any French in it actually and what French there is is completely drowned out by "BASS BASS BASS"

An old Sean Paul classic makes a reappearance in the midweek top 40! One of his underrated tunes too.

BJSC 116 Host Countries: Aesthetica & Aeroche Overview Following the customary one-month break, BJSC was back with a first voyage to Aesthetica however this trip unfortunately came with a notable bump in the road (i.e. the host's laptop broke) meaning the results shows were diverted to the ever-reliable Aeroche. With a new record streak obtained for Dobago, we had a bit of fun with our entry this time but still with retaining modest confidence in tapping into a niche fan base. 116 was notable for one of the most infamous underperformances in finale history, with the winning song from Semi 2 'Salsa Me' inexplicably finishing 3rd from last in the final. With results duties passed over to Aeroche, as it turned out they had the honour of revealing themselves as the contest's narrow winners, achieving their 11th victory overall and 3rd in the space of just 8 contests. Epic stuff. Dobago's Entry Result: 35th Speaking of epic stuff, that's certainly what I'd personally describe this particular entry as. This was a most random YouTube discovery which had appeared a couple of times in my recommended (I was not aware of any prior exploration of the medieval rock subgenre) but nonetheless the algorithm did its thing and I'm definitely glad it did as this was quite an experience to listen through! Long rock songs do tend to go either of 2 ways for me with very little middle ground but this piece did all the right things with the slow burning build up, understated vocals growing into a chant-like war cry and an all round solid foundation of production, topped off with a shrill bagpipe overlay and demonic-like chord smashes. It truly evokes the senses and has stuck with me very well over time. I was perhaps overhyping my entry this time with subtle expectations it would be the type of song that could potentially hoover up medal positions however it only ended up amassing one of each in the end with very little support elsewhere to ultimately finish in a lowly 35th (out of a field of 38). A bit of a disappointment, particularly when another entry from a not too dissimilar sphere managed to crack to top 10 (and one which indeed gets its own section in this post!) Winning Entry Country: Aeroche Continuing the relentless trend of snubbing winners this year, of course for a second time with Aeroche, however there is much less retrospective regret this time around, although I would imagine nowadays this would still likely sneak a few points. A song I'm sure all about one of the most underrated punctuation marks, It's quite an interesting track in terms of sound, with shades of darkwave and shoegaze and a playful synth section that melodically reminds me somewhat of Razorlight's 'America'. I'm not particularly sold on the vocals here but the production is smooth and engaging and there's a very cool fusion of noises which effortlessly complement each other. This was another perhaps fortuitous winner with fewer than 300 points and in fact there were over 10 entries which received more votes but it was the high scores that sealed the deal here, winning by just 8 points from the runner-up. I will admit that the song has a very timeless feel to it and would probably still do very well if entered now. It's also sounding much better now than it did to my ears at the time but is ultimately another winner that I wouldn't be speeding to dig back out again, 18-Pointer Country: Persephonia (result: 11th) Back to the medieval-sounding rock then we go to find our gold medal for 116, must have certainly been something in my London flat's water this month. And of course this made it back-to-back favourite songs with over 10-minute runtimes. Just the first minute alone gives away so little but so much at the same time - those ethereal, haunting voices tempting you into the song before the striking chant section takes over, which sounds like something cut straight out of a séance. Upon further research it appears to be a reading from an ancient Norse poem called the Hávamál which does an even better job of sounding like a war cry than my own entry. Whatever is going here, the whole piece is utterly mesmerising and whole-heartedly compels me to last the ride right until the very last second. I'm also transfixed by that pulsating "in and out" warping production that continues throughout and the Russian roulette of terrifying raspy voices that draw proceedings to a conclusion. In a very similar vein to the previous contest, my 18-pointer was locked in an extremely tight battle to make it into the top 10 however this time unfortunately missed out by virtue of a tie-break (although to a song I also pointed rather handsomely). It would have been nice to have my entry up there as well but I will confidently say that this song does the job, what ever that job was, even better. With 'Othan' being in the other semi the rest of the medal positions went to 2 faves from our own semi, albeit swapping places in the final. 15 points went to a superb slice of UK grime in 'Skwod' and completing a very diverse podium, 13 went to the extremely Eurovision-coded Turkish banger 'Hayastani Axjikner'. Truly what makes BJSC special is seeing an eclectic trio like this in the same contest, all brilliant in what they set out to do. From the rest, 'Gauč N Bass', 'Missing Paradise' and 'Norwegian Reggaeton' stick out as fun discoveries from a memorable contest.

Katie B was on a mission and so was Alex DM!

For me she's just extremely hit or miss. Nice To Each Other & A Couple Minutes are both utterly dreadful, Man I Need is extremely mid but then So Easy (and Rein Me In) are both A-tier pop songs.

Yeah crazy tight title fight this season!

Joining the league of Icons ✊

+5 Bad Bunny - DtMF +4 PinkPantheress - Stateside +3 Olivia Dean - So Easy (To Fall In Love) +2 Sam Fender & Olivia Dean - Rein Me In +1 Bruno Mars - I Just Might -1 Taylor Swift - Opalite -2 RAYE - Where Is My Husband -3 Zara Larsson - Lush Life -4 Olivia Dean - Man I Need -5 Dave & Tems - Raindance

Well done to you two both!

09 Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle 07 Sugababes - In The Middle 08 Kylie Minogue - Spinning Around 07 Rachel Stevens - Sweet Dreams My LA Ex 10 Avril Lavigne - Complicated 00 Atomic Kitten - Ladies Night 07 Destiny's Child - Survivor 05 Girls Aloud - Jump 07 P!nk - Get The Party Started 09 Mis-Teeq - Scandalous 06 Jennifer Lopez - Jenny From The Block 09 Holly Valance - Kiss Kiss 10 Lumidee - Never Leave You (Uh Oooh!) 09 Christina Milian - AM To PM 07 Anastacia - I'm Outta Love -1 Delta Goodrem - Born To Try 04 Hilary Duff - So Yesterday 06 Kelly Clarkson - Miss Independent 10 Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor 09 Amy Studt - Misfit 05 Emma Bunton - Maybe 08 Stacie Orrico - (There's Gotta Be) More To Life 11 t.A.T.u. - All The Things She Said

LCD. Always found this Usher song annoying

I still think Leeds will be the 3rd team to do down despite their upturn in form, just a hunch!

I can remember all of them. I don't think I'd ever completely forget one of my own entries given I've usually wired them into my brain permanently before ever submitting.

They can't even referee with VAR let's be honest 😂

The refereeing was so bad in the Villa - Toon match I'd be investigating bank accounts immediately...

7 songs with positive points is most unusual!

Question for the chart enthusiasts, what do you think the reason is behind this abnormally fast turnover of #1s this year? Is it people finally adjusting to streaming after years of sluggish listening habits or are the chart rules the OCC had always hoped for finally working as they were designed to? We've already had 5 new #1s singles this year, it took until June for that to happen last year and May the year before. It's very fascinating to me for such a dramatic change in one year.

Assume that's a typo for Guinness Premiership 🥇 Apparently not :o TIL moment! Starlight gets my vote.

Austria 2001 flashbacks intensify.

Awful player, Chelsea were totally conned there.

Unfortunately have to go for Oasis next, would probably call that their weakest ever single.

Agreed, especially if the ownership hasn't changed since. ENIC didn't want Poch in 2019 so why would they want him in 2026?