Chez VampireBat

I work in a college and misinformation and misuse of social media for negative means is absolutely rife even at just age 16, the police had to get involved in one case as it got to the point where it was a risk of them even leaving the house, I couldn't count the the amount of harassment and feuds that occur online that spills into the classrooms and forms rifts. I can't show anything but support for this, even if there'll clearly be ways around it for them, it will also help that real-online world balance that we all need and is harder than ever for this generation growing up with screens all around them from the day they were born.

The absolute cruelty of this reveal topped off with me losing narrowly thanks to a guest voter, if it weren't my birthday, I would delete Harry and this forum right now xx I jest (maybe), I did sense that amazing start wouldn't carry over looking at the voters still to come, but I'm obviously very happy with 2nd (and for fooling a person that isn't Bre x), it's one that I had bookmarked for a potential contest for a while but KKB had been sent a few times to BJSC, I really love the more introspective tone of this one compared to their other work and the environmental themes coupled with that classic optimism does make it a very uplifting and epic listen. Thanks for all who voted and congrats to Rob, this one was OK if not quite to the standard of her entries sent here a while back, pleased to see a lot of my votes made it to the top 10 as well, though wish Neon Bunny and Tulip had done better. Thanks for the great hosting, AllStar (despite the cruelty xx)

Hmm, this could be going better x Great top 3 though

Tulip has been in my head a lot since listening, really love the slow build.

Hot take but I actually prefer Westlife's version of I Have a Dream to ABBA's...and it's actually for backhanded reasons as the original is easily ABBA's worst song and miles below their usual genius, it's the sort of cheesy rubbish that's more within Westlife's ballpark and they do a decent job of jazzing it up. Their version of Seasons In The Sun though is awful, especially as it was written as a very personal song for a close friend dying. Everything else so far is crap so appropriately placed, Millenium Prayer is a new kind of bad not many records achieve x

40; Wolf Alice - The Last Man On Earth 39; Alan Walker (feat. Iselin) - Faded 38; Chappell Roan - Good Luck, Babe! 37; Tame Impala - Let It Happen 36; Weeknd (feat. Daft Punk) - I Feel It Coming 35; Billie Eilish - Everything I Wanted 34; Christine And The Queens - Tilted / Christine 33; Charli xcx (feat. Lorde) - Girl, so confusing 32; Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever 31; Dua Lipa - Physical 30; Weeknd - Blinding Lights 29; Miley Cyrus - Midnight Sky 28; Go_A - Shum 27; Taylor Swift & Bon Iver – Exile 26; Weeknd - Save Your Tears (Original / Ariana Grande Remix) 25; Metric - Doomscroller 24; Calvin Harris (feat. HAIM) - Pray To God 23; Fat Dog - King of the Slugs 22; Charli xcx - Von dutch 21; Chappell Roan - Pink Pony Club 20; Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso 19; Major Lazer (feat. DJ Snake & MØ) - Lean On 18; Post Malone - Circles 17; Fontaines D.C. - Starburster 16; Ariana Grande - We can't be friends (wait for your love) 15; Billie Eilish - What Was I Made For? 14; Olivia Rodrigo - Vampire 13; Taylor Swift - Style 12; Wolf Alice - Don't Delete The Kisses 11; Dua Lipa - Be The One 10; JADE - Angel Of My Dreams 09; Lana Del Rey - A&W 08; Years & Years - King 07; Clean Bandit (feat. Anne-Marie & Sean Paul) - Rockabye 06; Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut To The Feeling 05; Weeknd (feat. Daft Punk) - Starboy 04; Dua Lipa - Levitating (Original / DaBaby Remix) 03; Lorde - Green Light 02; Ariana Grande - Into You 01; Beyoncé - Break My Soul

Also Jump In My Car remains iconic x

I think No Tomorrow and Thunder In My Heart Again would be near or maybe just in the top 10 - I have some nostalgia for Meck, not the most innovative dance song but it does its job well better than any other Leo Sayer songs I’ve heard. Orson is pretty dumb rock but I’ve always found it quite enjoyable, unlucky that it’s forever seen as a sign of a declining era even though it actually sold quite well overall. America is one I liked at the time but it has worn off and I get the critical consensus more now, it’s just quite empty and hollow lyrically and just feels like an attempt to be anthemic, In The Morning that got to #3 earlier in the year was much better. Plenty of wonderful stuff still to come in that top 10

Cumulonimbia a fantastic last qualifier <3 So only losing Trifoski (5 Points) from my vote overall and only one of my commiserations in Dobago! Glad to see, but gonna make final voting all the more brutal if Semi 1 brought it x

Well phew, I won't miss that bloodbath x Many thanks all, a new consecutive Q record and 8/10 Qs this year which I think may be my most ever! *. Really pleased for Aelandor, that was a fantastic discovery, Trifoski though is sadly the first of my votes to leave, I did worry it may be borderline here </3

Girls, I'm Scared x (quite a few of my favourites still to come as well oops) Dobago was one of the five vote worthy songs I couldn't vote for so do hope it wasn't too close

I'd probably be confident in qualifying in a less high quality semi, but almost nothing in this semi sounded like a DNQ so bound to be some upsets, let's see eh x

Voted, 15 songs I wanted to vote for (Botanikka would've made it 16!) which is the most for a semi in a long time, I do hope my songs I couldn't quite fit in are OK, but I don't want to think about how difficult voting for the final will be if they all make it!

This feels like a real crisis for EBU and dare I say, could be the beginning of the end for the contest. I know there's been withdrawals before for political reasons, but none on this scale. There's just no way they can preach unity and love when they are cowing to a genocidal nation that's giving them some nice funding. I'm glad to see the withdrawals and I hope it continues to keep putting pressure on. Not certain I'll follow myself which is gutting as I've loved the contest over the years, but the thought of Jerusalem 2027 is just horrendous to think of.

Please take this, Linkin Park x

Believe is a great winner, I think it would rank quite highly for me too. The use of the vocoder is masterfully done and complements her voice well rather than overpowering it, very impressive for a singer whose career had spun three decades already to come back with something so effortlessly current. The Spice Girls gradually went downhill after their debut, I do really like Viva Forever though, great Spanish guitar and subdued vocals, it really should've been their last single as it's very fitting for that and so much better than what came after. That video with that giant dispenser and cartoon fairies was utterly ridiculous and I kind of love it. Never Ever is a classic too, they were a bit hit and miss as a group, but they really got this one right. 1999 was the first year I was vaguely aware of the music around me so looking forward to it!

It seems their hand may have been forced due to an ex-employee threatening to sue, so they would've probably been harassed into doing it either way. Depressing. This feels particularly horrible coming from an organisation aimed at supporting children in growing up and understanding themselves, I just don't understand how no one can see how utterly cruel all of this is.

Have you tried it without a space between the words?

I have a real soft spot for Star Girl, the McFly day with Chris Moyles brings back very good memories for me too, it was such a random choice but I loved it. Granted probably wouldn't be much higher for me as most of what to come is great Smack That would be nearer the bottom for me, I find it quite repugnant both musically and lyrically although it may be because I heard that what felt like hundreds of times a day on the music channels. Eminem has a decent verse though.

Seen the first episode, very exposition heavy and fast talking, but enjoyable. I think the show is long past that mysterious and enigmatic feel of the first season that really made me love it and is now very much an us vs them horror-sci fi, a bit like the contrast between the first two Alien films, but it's still capable of some fantastic moments, just in a different way to the first few seasons, and hope it can go out with cinematic, huge climax fitting of it's status. I'm intrigued about how Dustin is handled in this first half, it was interesting and sad seeing such a deflated version of him following Eddie's death (Let me avoid this thread now as I see some of you are already finished x)

Btw, I think my video might need a strobe warning, it's a bit jumpy in a lot of ways x

Gosh, I'd really wanted to send Daniel Avery but decided not to as there's been a bit of a following for him on here...had I known it would make it through the veto, I might have tried it! (Greasy off the Racing Track was my preferred track) anyway, I finally got round to the album and this was great so good to see that here, and always nice to see a former Terra Avium artist Steven Wilson here as well even though I don't know this one, looking like a good semi for my tastes on first glance x

I was not expecting Manics to rank that high for you, but I'm really pleased to see it. It would be my number 1 of the year, I agree it's got excellent lyrics and the haunting, hazy guitars add to the atmosphere (and that pretty terrifying video), it definitely seemed to be an opportune fanbase buy to get to number 1 with a song about the Spanish Civil War in 1998 of all times, but hey, it's quite a story getting a song like that to knock Boyzone off number 1 (possibly relying on a similar tactic with The Masses Against the Classes knocking off Westlife in the new millenium) and I think it's aged pretty well amongst their back catalogue. Frozen is fantastic from Madonna, her William Orbit era was one of her best reinventions. I do really need to get round to this album as everything I've heard from it is really good. I think that, Manics and Cornershop would be my top 3 here, but the other three left are all worthy classics to be there too.

I didn't mind ...Punk Rocker at the time and wondered why people had such strong opinions, but I do sort of get it now. It does seem like an overly naive and a bit pretentious romanticising of the past without the more knowing element that makes these throwback songs enjoyable (like say, Charli XCX's 1999). I quite like the minimalist beat, but it's not a song I go back to at all. I used to really love Proper Education so hated A Moment Like This even more for that, I don't quite like it as much now, certainly not compared to the original, but A Moment Like This is still bland like most of her material, I sense I'm going to have some unpopular opinions on her future appearances here x

Confirmed, I've done a 180 only in the sense I've pivoted back to a sound quite expected from me after the last few being a bit against type x