Josh!

BANANARAMA TEXAS FONTAINES DC ULTRAVOX SADE DEPECHE MODE IAMAMIWHOAMI YEARS & YEARS NEW ORDER Worshipping at the altar of Texas and Bananarama each and every week. I am ready for one of Depeche Mode/Ultravox/New Order to go soon but my favourite and least favourite seem to keep changing each week lol

SAM SMITH CALVIN HARRIS SAM FENDER TOM GRENNAN DARIN GARY NUMAN DAMIEN RICE ROOSEVELT HRVY Haven’t kept up with Tom Grennan in years now but didn’t release he was releasing bops like this so recently. Always had a huge soft spot for a Sam Smith classic ballad too, more so than the upbeat ones they did in the early days like Latch, La La La or Money On My Mind.

ZARA LARSSON (FAVE) JESSIE WARE SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR KATE BUSH AGNES MARINA ADELE ROBYN LEONA LEWIS I knew every song entered in this one quite well so it just took one listen to quickly revisit and decide on an order. These are all heavy hitters so this is going to be soooocompetitive. I’ve had to put Leona last but I still listen to it semi-regularly. That’s how strong everyone has played their choices here.

I’d never heard of Sarah Kinsley before the Fleeting rush, but then I took notice and loved Truth of Pursuit earlier this year. I hope it has plenty fans in the alt-leaning semi to make it through still!

Pls put me on the entry list and don’t start without me xx I’m waiting on the go ahead from the mods xx

Hoping to hear from the mods today about my anniversary entry 🤞

BANANARAMA TEXAS IAMAMIWHOAMI NEW ORDER SADE FONTAINES DC YEARS AND YEARS DEPECHE MODE ULTRAVOX M83 I was really enjoying M83 up until now but this one tested my patience. LOVED the 80s pop vibes of Bananarama’s though.

ZARA LARSSON (FAVE) JESSIE WARE LEONA LEWIS ADELE SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR ROBYN KATE BUSH AGNES MARINA DIDO Funny that I think Zara is killing it with every choice so far but appears to be getting mid reactions. Forgot how boppy that Adele song was until revisiting it for this round too!

SAM FENDER (fave) CALVIN HARRIS LEWIS CAPALDI DARIN HRVY TOM GRENNAN SAM SMITH GARY NUMAN ROOSEVELT DAMIEN RICE These are all pretty good. I could definitely imagine the Tom Grennan and Lewis Capaldi ones being top ten hits that dominated radio for months on end. I think the bottom three aren’t really artists for me. I do like the sound of Roosevelt but each one seems to go on too long.

I was expecting All I ask too but it’s probably strong enough to get through a non-themed round tbh!

Spill!!!!!

It doesn’t appear to be listed on Wikipedia as a single either which is, of course, the definitive resource on these things 🤭

Still sad about the ballad round as Haim's mentor last time but it is iconic that 'to HAIM' has entered Buzzjack lexicon as its own verb now

iamamiwhoami - chasing kites (this is more like it!) Bananarama - Look on the Floor (Hypnotic Tango) (looooove these girls) Texas - I Don't Want a Lover (I can tell I’m going to love discovering more from Texas as the competition goes on ) Sade - Your Love is King (some nice easy listening, they’re good vibes) M83 - Kim & Jessie (lovely synths) Years & Years - All For You (this Y&Y era passed me by at the time because I wasn’t a fan of ‘If you’re over me’ but this is good) Ultravox - The Voice (not hugely my thing on paper but I could imagine myself tapping my toes to this on Heart 80s) Vengaboys - 1999 (I Wanna Go Back) (objectively not great but I can’t’ deny having fun when I listen to the vengaboys) Fontaines D.C. - Jackie Down the Line (sounds like most other Fontaines songs but that’s a good baseline so I enjoyed this) Depeche Mode - Ghosts Again (suffers from not being my cup of tea but it’s objectively nice) New Order - Age of Consent (sounded like I’d expect it to but it’s decent)

Zara Larsson - Ain't My Fault (always ADORED this. The ad libs make me go feral) MARINA - Froot (love how kooky this is. it flies by for a fairly long song too) Jessie Ware - If You're Never Gonna Move (always thought this was so cool and ahead of its time) Robyn - Hang With Me (I didn’t know this at the time but I discovered it a few years back and I think its really nice) Milica Pavlović - Crna jutra (Balkan S&M) (boppy in a eurovision way - complimentary) Adele - Rolling in the Deep (a classic for good reason but a tad overplayed for me nowadays. My last.fm tells me I’ve only played it once in the last 11 years, until now!) Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Me and My Imagination (there isn’t a bad Sophie ellis-bextor song, let’s be honest) Agnes - EGO (I liked this for a few weeks last year and the forgot all about it!) Kate Bush - The Man With the Child in His Eyes (she’s just great also) Dido - Take My Hand (interesting song but a bit long for me. I’d probably have enjoyed a radio edit more whoops) Leona Lewis - Come Alive (sounds a little dated in today’s landscape with the dubstep kinda sound)

Calvin Harris - Summer (an all-timer good-mood immaculate vibes song) Lewis Capaldi - Forget Me (this is my fave lew cap song ever) Sam Fender - Saturday (an underrated banger) Darin feat. Kat DeLuna - Breathing Your Love (sounds dated but in a fun JLS kinda way) Calvin Harris & Sam Smith - Promises (not the best from either artist but I did like it a lot at the time) Gary Numan - I Die: You Die (decent 80s tune, nice synths) HRVY - 1 Day 2 Nights (basic but it’s catchy enough, haha. Feel like it would slap with a becky hill/Ella Henderson vocal) Tom Grennan - Before You (I do prefer his upbeat ones and I do like his voice) Damien Rice - Woman Like a Man (didn’t do anything for me to begin with but it did build nicely. He seems quite like Ben Howard who I do like, but nothing has hit me in the same way yet). Mackenzy Mackay - London (the weak link of this group for me personally. I’m surprised he didn’t struggle more in round one). Roosevelt - Take Me Back (Midnight Version) (disappointing after I enjoyed his round one because this felt like it went on forever)

I (Ajanaeda) didn’t give you any points in the semi either Pav 🤭

07.0 Rock Music 05.0 SS26 09.0 Card Declined 09.5 Camera 09.0 2007 05.0 I’m Afraid 08.0 Yeah 08.0 Wink Wink 07.0 Persona 07.5 Magic Metal Montana 07.5 No One Lasts Forever featuring David Cronenberg

Didn't vote for any of the top six but Nelionoir and Persephonia were definitely in my top twenty (and this contest was super strong imo) so I'm still happy with the top two. Funny to see me come 12th in the semi after an onslaught of DNQ predictions. I hope I can end the year on a high because it's not been a good one so far for us in Ajanaeda, haha. Thank you to everyone who voted for Tiffany and especially Lookylion, Herbilore, and Mothertopia for the big points! Thank you for hosting <3

Seeing how competitive it all is, I'm feeling STRESSED going forward about making the right choices. Shame to lose Dead or Alive as I thought their song was a highlight of the groups. Not sure why it was being so hated on ! I'm intrigued to see how Dido holds up after a big first round because I must admit to knowing only a handful of songs by her so I'm not sure what else might be to come.

VENGABOYS TEXAS M83 DEAD OR ALIVE SADE YEARS & YEARS NEW ORDER DEPECHE MODE FONTAINES DC BANANARAMA ULTRAVOX IAMAMIWHOAMI I expect Bananarama will get plenty of points from me going forward but always found this song grating and a bit naff.

CALVIN HARRIS (fave) SAM SMITH LEWIS CAPALDI SAM FENDER TOM GRENNAN ROOSEVELT GARY NUMAN HRVY DAMIEN RICE DARIN MACKENZY MCKAY BLADEE (least fave)

ROBYN (FAVE) MARINA JESSIE WARE ZARA LARSSON LEONA LEWIS KATE BUSH SOPHIE ELLIS BEXTOR DIDO MILICA PAVLOVIC ADELE TOVE LO AGNES (LEAST FAVE)

i thought i was sending an undeniable pop banger 🥲🥲🥲 here for fergie to follow in scherzy's footsteps though!!!

Am I right in thinking next contest's entry (BJSC 189) will be my 50th? If so, can someone fill me in on the rules around anniversary entries, pretty please?