tournament Choose The Album, Then a Song 9: And the winner is...

[shelven]

I mean everyone except MLD usually votes in the last 24 hours of the voting period anyways, so might as well just make it 24 hours to begin with  

[MusicLoverDude]

4 minutes ago, shelven said:

I mean everyone except MLD usually votes in the last 24 hours of the voting period anyways, so might as well just make it 24 hours to begin with  

Watch me end up being late then if that gets schedule while i'm on an 8 hour shift at Walmart or sleeping

 

[lhdang2000]

50 minutes ago, shelven said:

I mean everyone except MLD usually votes in the last 24 hours of the voting period anyways, so might as well just make it 24 hours to begin with  

Well, that's the thing, most of us rely on too many free days before deadline and not cast our votes until last second. 

 

That includes me for the last few rounds. 

[Pedro]

The update will come tomorrow. I apologise for the time that I am taking to do so, guys!

[Speezy]

57 minutes ago, Pedro said:

The update will come tomorrow. I apologise for the time that I am taking to do so, guys!

Take one step at a time there's no need to rush 

[Queen Conchita]

On 2 April 2017 at 11:30 PM, Pedro said:

The update will come tomorrow. I apologise for the time that I am taking to do so, guys!

No worries!

 

drop me a 10 though

 

just kidding anhshs

[Pedro]

I will update the game now but first I have something to say.

 

It really saddens me to see what is happening right now with the game. Each round, there's someone who quits simply because they're too lazy to send an entry or just because. I am not even upset because I am the host, I am upset because of all the contestants that work hard in order to succeed and they keep on seeing the game becoming shorter and shorter. Quiters are freaking ridiculous and they have no respect at all. They commit to a game and a few rounds after they just get tired and stop sending entries, I guess the game is too intelligent for small minds. #NoShade

 

With this being said, I'd like to apologise to the remaining contestants and confirm to you that the game is still moving on.

[shelven]

My eyes saw a message with a bunch of bolded phrases and I got so scared you were about to cancel the season  

 

Tbh I've never understood why people choose to quit instead of just spending 10 minutes quickly putting together an entry. Even if the entry is terrible and you come in last place in the round, that's still better than eliminating yourself because you could potentially stay in the game if you've been doing well in previous rounds  Although I guess it could be argued that if someone thinks they won't have the time to commit to multiple rounds in a row, then submitting bad entries repeatedly is just delaying an inevitable elimination.

 

Anyways, no need to apologize, Pedro, and glad to see the game will be continuing!  

Edited April 4, 2017 by shelven

[MusicLoverDude]

Let me guess, Ariana is out. 

 

X Factor USA Double elimination tease

 

 

[Pedro]

 

ATRL's original game "Choose The Album, Then a Song" is back for its anticipated ninth season on its original concept.

 

Hello guys! A million apologies for the late (late) update. As you know by now there's one more contestant out and we are down to seven players. The good thing is... Competition is really fierce and anything can happen. Now that we have all the entries in (incuding the bonus round ones), let's move on with it!

 

But first... Rules!

 

 

1. There's not such thing as bad losers;

We are all here to have fun and share our favorite music with everyone.

2. Every contestant must cast a vote each round;

The main purpose of the game is to introduce everyone to new music. If this rule isn't applied, only the judges will benefit from it.

3. Every entry must contain a written part;

To fully understand your decision, you will be required to send in an essay along with the song chosen.

4. A song can only be used twice and can only be use three rounds after;

This will allow you to explore your album further.

5. Deadlines must be respected by contestants and judges;

There will be three updates weekly: the round presentation, the entries and the results.

6. There's no space for stan wars or called voters;

The main purpose of this game is to introduce everyone to knew music. Therefore, we don't want any fights or any type of voting manipulation.

7. The vote process is build up of two parts;

Every round the judges votes will be mixed with the public votes.

8. Be fair and do not be biased.

If you want others to respect your work and game, make sure you respect others too by not allowing your personal taste affect your votes.

 

Spoiler

A symphony is an extended musical composition written for an orchestra. It is a work usually consisting of multiple sections and are scored for string, brass, woodwind and percussion instruments.

 

A good long play also needs to have rich instruments and content to please the listener. Therefore, for this round you are supposed to send in the richest song in your album in terms of instruments. We are not expecting a symphony with 30-100 musicians in the background but we are also not expecting a simple studio mix filled with synthesizers effects.

 

Explain with detail, in no more than 300 words, why the song chosen has the richest instrumental from your point of view, not forgetting to mention a few of the instruments that build it.

 

1. shelven: Sia - "This Is Acting": 'Jesus Wept'

 

Spoiler

ROUND SIX: “JESUS WEPT”

 

Just as an actor relies on elements like the set, direction and background music to add depth to a script, an excellent singer uses a song’s instrumental to provide a deeper meaning that its lyrics cannot communicate on their own. This is exactly what Sia does on “Jesus Wept”, a song about both the despair Sia felt at the lowest point of her alcohol addiction and the hope she discovered in recovery. It’s a conflict of opposite emotions that’s extremely difficult to describe, but the song’s instrumental captures this conflict in a way that words alone cannot. Within the first seconds of the song’s introduction and opening verse, the bright plucks of a harp against a brooding cello immediately establish the fight between light and darkness that Sia is facing. As the first chorus arrives, an orchestra of violins, violas and piano are added to create a fuller sound that conveys both melancholy and hope simultaneously. The instrumental continues to build, and by the second chorus and bridge, a choir has emerged that can be interpreted as expressing either pain or deliverance. The final chorus, easily the song’s most powerful section, sees all of these elements combined into a chilling climax that brings the struggle to its peak. And just when it seems like “Jesus Wept" may end with the conflict unresolved, one final instrument is introduced: the quiet roll of a suspended cymbal that signals peace and serenity in the song’s final moment.

 

Describing every one of these subtleties in the lyrics would have been impossible, so Sia allows the natural meaning found in musical instruments to help her. The result is a haunting instrumental that is both beautiful to listen to on its own, and a vital part of making “Jesus Wept” as emotionally complex as it is.

2. MusicLoverDude: Samantha Jade - "Nine": 'Only Just Begun'

 

Spoiler

Some of the best instrumentals on an album come from songs you wouldn't expect  The disco influenced "Only Just Begun" is exactly that. Starting off with both a regular and an electronic piano mixed with a dance beat, the song adds an electric guitar every fourth beat. As the first verse goes on, the electronic piano and the guitar combine together to carry Samantha's vocals to the chorus. The regular piano rings in the chorus, where the song slows down briefly, only relying on the piano and soft percussion equivalent to the sound of a coconut. Samantha's vocals then lead into the song's breakdown that is carried by her vocal runs. In the second verse, the guitar combines with the piano and dancebeat for a continuous beat up until the second chorus, where an acoustic guitar is added to the regular piano and percussion, which then lead to the electronic piano joining the dance breakdown for the second chorus. For the bridge, the instrumental reverts back to the quietness of the first chorus with just the regular piano and percussion, before leading into the final chorus that, for once, is backed by the dance beat and electronic piano which leads to the final major dance breakdown, before the song closes with just the regular piano and percussion. When everything comes together, the instrumental gives the song a positively polarizing atmosphere to it, like you're having snow in Hawaii. It also gives Samantha's vocals time to shine while still being a song you can dance to.  And the organization of the instruments keep the listener engaged and the song never plateaus. Overall, the instrumental of this song is as rich as ice cream from Kroger's private selection.

3. Rihlana: Halsey - "Badlands": 'I Walk The Line'

 

Spoiler

Whilst BADLANDS boasts a stunning array of electronica, it seldom contains physical instrumentation at the forefront of its tracks. However, the end of the album delivers a brooding and morose cover (Johnny Cash’s song of the same name) which exploits heavy instrumentation. It builds suspense, but acts as the perfect closure for the BADLANDS experience; one of troubled minds and vulnerable souls.

 

The track begins with a humble piano. It is tremendously stripped back and the sparse nature of the piano heightens the anticipation. Drums are introduced into the track and Halsey’s vocal layering becomes slightly disjointed. The drums introduce a deep, ominous bassline which keeps the listener on edge. In turn, the instrumental becomes fuller and more intense. The crescendo comes in the orchestral chorus with violins added for thrilling dramatic effect. Halsey’s vocals becomes equally as dramatic, sounding like there is more than one person singing the track. String instruments are commonly utilised in many forms of artwork (movies etc.) to amplify the intensity of the subject matter. The instrumental is resonant and loaded with many instruments that come together to ensure a grand finale for BADLANDS. The listener is ensnared by Halsey’s icily fragmented vocals and is subject to the gradual progression of the instrumentation. This gradual progression is synonymous with the gradual progression of anxiety in the minds of the listener. The song’s symphonic grandeur comes from the ability of the instrumental to conjure up all the angst and torment of the tracks prior and have it explode in one epic climax. Although only a cover, Halsey was able to remodel the relatively upbeat original into a darkly enthralling and energetic track through the use of raw instruments, progressively building upon one another, creating a superbly rich instrumental and an extravagant ending to the BADLANDS journey.

 

INSTRUMENTAL

4. sumthintoxic82: Kelly Clarkson - "Piece By Piece": 'Run Run Run (feat. John Legend)'

 

Spoiler

 

The overall sound of this album was inspired by Kelly's Christmas album, Wrapped in Red, and her love of movie soundtracks. Kelly has said that Wrapped in Red is her favorite album because she really got to try new things on this album. Kelly felt that adding an orchestral element would add more intensity and emotion to this album. I feel like the song that best envisions this sound is "Run Run Run".

 

While there are several songs with an orchestral element to them, "Run Run Run" is the one that fully commits to this idea. There are no synthesizers at all on this track. Everything instrument was played live. I love synthesizers as much as the next, but on this track you can really feel the essence of the song through the instruments being used. The haunting piano throughout the song is the main element of the song. The song really starts really simple, with new elements being added as the song builds in drama. You start to get strings in the first chorus, and back again during the last half of the second verse and chorus. Just as it seems that you loose all the instruments, the you get this explosive hit of guitars, bass and drums that just intensifies the song to another level. The instruments also really work well with Kelly and Johns voices. When the instruments gets this intense, sometimes it can overpower the voices of the singers, but Kelly and Johns voices really add a richness to the overall sound.

This is a sound that can be found throughout the album. While not every song has the orchestra, they do of elements of it. It has been described as electropop meets orchestral pop. Something different for Kelly, but fits her voice so well.

 

5. Queen Conchita: Conchita Wurst - "Conchita": 'Rise Like a Phoenix'

 

Spoiler

As with diversity last round, orchestral and polished production is another key attribute to Conchita.

 

A powerful instrumental can convey the songs meaning through instruments, without the need of hearing the lyrics, something that Rise Like A Phoenix portrays, and what makes the song so special.

 

Rise Like A Phoenix is reminiscent of many Bond classics. It's a climatic power ballad with authentic vocals. Production is expensive, with full emphasis on live instruments instead of synthesiser fillers. A key factor to the originality of Rise Like A Phoenix is that it doesn't lose its dynamism and strength when performed live.

 

The use of symphony in the track is captivating, opening with an eruption of brass, rich instruments are layered to create a base for the song, the electric guitar, piano and bass are embodied throughout, while the listener is hypnotised by the explosion of different instruments brought in along the way. 

 

The brass instruments inject power into the song, taking Rise Like A Phoenix to another dimension, while the drums, timpani and harp simultaneously build up to the monumental climaxes, including the middle eight.

 

The song is a masterpiece, lyrically and sonically. Conchita and the team around the song, manages to deliver on all aspects without over shadowing the vocals or making the track too ‘busy’. Listening to the track in all its glory is an experience you'll want to keep coming back to. 

6. Speezy: The Weeknd - "Starboy": 'Sidewalks'

 

Spoiler

Sidewalks is my choice for this round. The Weekend boring along Kendrick Lamar to help for this soothing life story and inspirational track. Compared to majority of Abel's album which is bass heavy and filled with instruments from the percussion family, Sidewalks takes a slightly different approach by having an electric guitar lead it's production.

This track uses hi-hats, bass drums, an electric guitar, a piano and of course 2 male voices. The track take advantage of the instruments in the production and the tempo of the song which is a reason why this song is rich in instruments. As mentioned above, the song is led by an electric guitar, which is very uncommon in the R&B genre. The chorus of this track is when all the instruments come out to play. The high notes of the electric guitar and the piano blends well with Abels voice range within the track, especially in the chorus. The lmao the bass drum and hi-hats adds a bit of umph to the production. The bass and hi-hats also contribute to many minor build-ups in the song. These build-ups are usually heard when the next verse or chorus is approaching (Play around 0:48,1:15,2:58...etc)

During Kendrick's verse, the producer player lower notes on the guitar to work hand in hand with his raspy voice. In comparison to Abel's verse, the electric guitars are heard less often. In Kendricks verse they made the piano stand out more to signify a bridge/climax of the track. The piano also closes out the track

The production of Sidewalks did a wonderful job manipulating the instruments to create a unique vibey feel to the track. You can have a track with many diverse instruments but it's how you utilize those multiple instruments and their notes to make the song "rich in instruments". Other songs on The Weeknds Starboy were close for selection for this round but they didn't use more than 2 notes to instruments.

7. lhdang2000: Adele - "25": 'When We Were Young'

 

Spoiler

 From the beginning, when she describes the appearance of her love, some percussions together with synthesizer were added into the track, abstracting how dreamy and beautiful the man look. On the second verse, Adele utilizes the percussions again to express her emotions when she saw the man, the love of her life had lied to her. She wanted to see him, but also, scared and hate him for what he had done.

 

In the choruses, all the melodies harmonize together, brings us to a climax where she was heartbroken by the man; she knew something was going between them and tried so hard to preserve all the memories she had of him.

 

But, in ‘When We Were Young,’ piano is the primary instrument for the whole track. The piano sound starts when Adele starts telling her story with beautiful memories and brings the nostalgia about the memory Adele has in her youth. It reaches the climax when Adele struggles with the difficulty of maintaining her love. It follows to the bridge when she doesn’t feel hurt by the past anymore because it will hold her back from the precious life she deserves. And last, it guides her to the end of her memory recalling, a beautiful memory that she will always remember.

 

Overall, ‘When We Were Young’ is another beautiful picture of Adele repainting her past. And those could never have been beautiful, had the instruments been missing.’

 

 

DEADLINE

April, 7th

 

Spoiler

@shelven, @MusicLoverDude, @Rihlana, @sumthintoxic82, @Queen Conchita, @Speezy, @lhdang2000

 

[Pedro]

BONUS ROUND

 

As you know, only four players (now three) will be playing the bonus round due to the points distribution disparities and in order to stimulate the competition. The three contestants - Queen Conchita, Speezy and lhdang2000 - sent in a song of their preference and justified why they deserve to remain in the competition. The essay couldn't go over the 200 words.

 

They will not have a say in this bonus round but the top 4 along with the judges will. Keep in mind that there's a maximum of points they can collect in this round respectively - they can't go over 127 points which is our 4th place amount. With this being said, I will need the judges and the top 4 to send me via PM a rate from 1-10 to each of the entries and justify their choices (doesn't need to be a massive explanation).

 

Spoiler

@sumthintoxic82, @MusicLoverDude, @Rihlana, @shelven

 

1. lhdang2000: Adele - "25": 'Hello'

 

Spoiler

‘Adele returns to the music industry after one of the biggest albums in the history with the lead single, ‘Hello,’ to open for her new era, the era when she was 25. Throughout the track, Adele has shown her maturity. And that is shown in all the tracks of the album. She doesn’t show any hate towards anybody anymore; she learns how to accept, to move on, to become more responsible for her family and herself.

 

Just like me, I return to ‘Choose the Album, then a Song’ after reaching the highest peak of myself last year with Selena’s For You. I come back with the maturity of a 17-year-old flying 8000-mile across my hometown to the United States to study. I approach in the topics in a different way compared to the last two seasons, no more competitive, but happy and eager to learn new things every round.

 

Probably that is why I immediately picked ‘25’ when I signed up for the challenge because I believe that me and Adele, we both have something in common and that is to showcase to people how we have grown up, and we deserve a chance to prove that.’

 

2. Queen Conchita: Conchita Wurst - "Conchita": 'You Are Unstoppable'

 

Spoiler

For this bonus round, I've chosen to present a new song from the album, “You Are Unstoppable” as I feel part of the chorus is relatable to my experience throughout the competition.

 

As someone who hasn't put themselves forward to be judged before, this game is a new experience for me. At times I have wanted to quit, especially after Round 4, when I felt like I had no chance against my other competitors.

 

When writing a new round, I listen to the whole album to pick the best suited song. As trivial as it sounds, the chorus of YAU in particular gave me motivation to continue in the competition. It's a loud, joyous anthem with lyrics such as “you’re stronger than you believe, you're unstoppable”.

 

I want the chance to stay in the competition to bring you all more of Conchita, an artist who I feel is underrated globally.

 

I think I deserve to stay in the competition because I have taken aboard judges and competitors feedback which can be seen throughout the game and more closely, from the transition of Round 4 into Round 5 and would hope to improve more along the way.

 

3. Speezy: The Weeknd - "Starboy": 'Starboy (feat. Daft Punk)'

 

Spoiler

-Starboy the song is my choice for the bonus round. Honestly this season and probably one of the only few games where I am not using Jordin Sparks. Similar to The Weeknd debuting a new style with Starboy, I'm taking a chance with his music in this competition. 

As I compete through out this challenge I am learning more about him as an artist. Each rounds makes me dig deeper into the tracks itself pulling out my best to show his best. 

Starboy the track is about The Weeknd coming to fame and how he spends his earnings from his hard work. If I was given another chance I could potentially show off my hard work ( as seen in Season 8) and potentially place Top 5 

 

DEADLINE

April, 7th

Edited April 4, 2017 by Pedro

[lhdang2000]

I want to vote off but I've realized that I did the worst this round, so it'd be pretty guilty to vote anyone off.

 

 

[Speezy]

Sorry about my font

I don't browse ATRL much on laptop but I guess when I typed this in word and sent it the font changed 

[Pedro]

46 minutes ago, lhdang2000 said:

I want to vote off but I've realized that I did the worst this round, so it'd be pretty guilty to vote anyone off.

 

 

Well, try to save yourself out of this then. You can't vote off or save yourself, you can vote off/save others so it's just a matter of trying to save yourself.

[MusicLoverDude]

SAVE

Halsey (I feel like you did a good job with what you had and your essay was well written)

Conchita (major improvement over the last few rounds)

 

OFF 

Adele (your essay was just very disorganized :( )

Kelly (your essay was all over the place and just didn't feel like your point was made in a very organized manner)

 

[Speezy]

Off:

Adele - Honestly was hard finding a second person to off. I felt like you got lost trying to portray the story of the song. But it was an refreshing essay because you took a different approach 

Kelly - Felt like the explanation wasn't enough

 

Save :

Sia

Sam Jade

Edited April 8, 2017 by Speezy

[lhdang2000]

I have a test tmr so sorry, no explanation this week.

 

SAVE

Samantha Jade

Halsey

 

OFF

Kelly Clarkson

Sia (Well, I might address this a bit. I have the same issue with Halsey's few weeks ago that the essay is becoming heavily academic, not that it's a bad thing, but I just don't want to be overstressed when I read a 300-letter essay).

 

[Rihlana]

SAVE
Sia - Great link between instruments and their intended effect
The Weeknd - I feel like you're continuously improving, which is one of the best parts about this game

OFF
Adele - Not enough focus on the instruments and how they add to the track
Kelly - Same as Adele 

 

This round was really hard to choose  and sorry the feedback is not detailed, I am swamped with assignments. 

[Pedro]

Still missing:

 

@MusicLoverDude - Don't forge to send to me via PM your rates for the bonus round.

 

@sumthintoxic82 - missing both parts

 

Edited April 7, 2017 by Pedro

[Queen Conchita]

20 hours ago, MusicLoverDude said:

SAVE

Conchita (major improvement over the last few rounds)

 

Thankyou SO much  

[Queen Conchita]

Now reading through and listening to the entires, will vote asap!

Edited April 7, 2017 by Queen Conchita

[shelven]

OFF

 

The Weeknd: I do agree with Rihlana that this was an improvement over some of your previous entries, but I found that your essay was too rigid and disjointed. You spent most of the essay simply describing the instrumental and the instruments used without mentioning why these were strong choices. I thought your concluding paragraph was good, but I would have liked to see the idea you wrote about in there mixed in throughout the essay as opposed to tacked on at the end.

 

Adele: I actually think you had the opposite problem that Speezy had. You did a great job explaining why the instrumental choices in the song were relevant and important, but my issue is that you didn't actually talk about the instrumental very much. You would start sentences and ideas with reference to the instrumental, but you would quickly move on to explanations about the lyrics and the meaning of the song, so I felt as though your essay was slightly unbalanced as a result.

 

SAVE

 

Halsey: Of all the entries this round, I thought you did the best job by far at finding the perfect balance between describing the instrumental in detail and explaining the relevance and meaning of the instrumental. You talked about many different aspects of the instrumental, and every time you brought up a description, you made sure that you were justifying why that instrumental choice had been made and how it relates to both the intention of the song and the album as a whole. (Side note: I'm really happy you managed to use this song in this game because I consider it one of the most underrated tracks on BADLANDS )

 

Conchita Wurst: I thought you started off your entry VERY strongly with that point about the purpose of a powerful instrumental, since you immediately established that you understood this round wasn't simply about describing an instrumental, but proving why it's an effective one. Even though I think your essay could have benefitted from being a bit longer (you had about 70 words to spare), I thought you nonetheless managed to describe your instrumental well and explain how each instrumental choice contributes to the song and makes the listener feel.

[Queen Conchita]

OFF

 

Adele - Your speciality is being able to convey the meaning of the song into your essay, and while it works in most rounds, in this particular one, it feels out of place. Reading your essay, I didn't feel convinced that When We Were Young had the richest instrumental from your chosen album. 

 

Kelly - While I thought your essay was good, other people's were stronger. The one criticism I have is that it sounds a bit 'chatty' rather than a structured essay, it felt slightly disorganised. 

 

SAVE

 

Halsey - Your essay was incredibly well written, the adjectives lifted your essay higher than any other this round. If I had any slight criticism, it would be that sometimes, I'd love for it to be more personal.

 

Sia - The sentence about the suspended cymbal sold your entry for me as my second save. Every time you mentioned an instrument, you backed it up with its intended effect. 

 

Edited April 7, 2017 by Queen Conchita

[Queen Conchita]

31 minutes ago, shelven said:

SAVE

Conchita Wurst: I thought you started off your entry VERY strongly with that point about the purpose of a powerful instrumental, since you immediately established that you understood this round wasn't simply about describing an instrumental, but proving why it's an effective one. Even though I think your essay could have benefitted from being a bit longer (you had about 70 words to spare), I thought you nonetheless managed to describe your instrumental well and explain how each instrumental choice contributes to the song and makes the listener feel.

Thankyou SO much for the save!

 

I get what you mean about the word limit 100% and it's the first time i've been under the limit by that much, I decided to go for quality over quantity in the end instead of a filler paragraph as I thought I wrote about everything I needed to. 

[Speezy]

Idek know whoelse to vote off