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

[Pedro]

I am sorry to inform that the update will only come tomorrow but to hype things up, don't forget what I said in the beginning of the round!

 

Quote

...fourth one and believe me when I say this will be one of the most important ones throughout the game.

There can be major changes in the scoreboard. I will leave it for now. Tomorrow you'll get to know everything.

[Queen Conchita]

Trust me to **** up my entry for the most important round

[lhdang2000]

3 minutes ago, Queen Conchita said:

Trust me to **** up my entry for the most important round

Now don't be like that, you never know what would happen. Personally my most favorite entry of mine is 'Send My Love', but that's my worst performance according to the players and judges here.

 

So don't **** up nothing, you submit what your heart wants and that's it. Everything else depends on other people whom you can't control.

 

Take this opportunity and fight back next time, I'm sure you'll do fine.

[shelven]

The ONE round where I don't get public support, and it's the most important round of the game so far  

 

I assume I probably won't be at the top of the leaderboard anymore, but let's hope I don't fall too much  

[Pedro]

Babes!! Calm down! If there's one thing I respect is cohesiveness and this game has always been about that! There will be changes but don't expect drastic ones.

[MusicLoverDude]

I just hope I move up on the leader board 

[Queen Conchita]

19 hours ago, lhdang2000 said:

Now don't be like that, you never know what would happen. Personally my most favorite entry of mine is 'Send My Love', but that's my worst performance according to the players and judges here.

 

So don't **** up nothing, you submit what your heart wants and that's it. Everything else depends on other people whom you can't control.

 

Take this opportunity and fight back next time, I'm sure you'll do fine.

Thankyou! Just got to wait for the results now 

[Pedro]

I am starting the real update now. I will say we will have the results in about an hour.

[lhdang2000]

Perched!!

[MusicLoverDude]

[MusicLoverDude]

[Pedro]

 

As I've stated before there will be surprises throughout the results show. Those surprises will be focused on the points distribution. Due to the fact the contestants sent not one but two songs, the top five will receive more points (both in the judges votes and in the public vote). Here's the changes:

 

1st place gets not 17 but 27 points;

2nd place gets not 15 but 23 points;

3rd place gets not 13 but 19 points;

4th place gets not 12 but 17 points;

5th place gets not 11 but 15 points.

 

The remaining five will get the same amount. This will obviously create big disparities in the chart. Don't worry. The contestants who ranked lower this round will have a final chance at shinning and collecting extra points to catch up with the leaders. More info will be delivered in the fifth round.

[shelven]

Hoping I got Top 5 with the judges because I'm pretty sure I only got 6th with the public  

[lhdang2000]

Oops. I've pictured this yesterday!!

 

Not exactly like this (since I thought it would be doubled), but it's still should be fun to see the movement.

[Pedro]

 

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

 

Welcome back! A lot of anticipation has been built for this round. Tymps. has indeed left us but that doesn't mean everyone else will be immune today. In fact, one is still leaving and we will be left with nine contestants. As you also know, points have been upgraded for the top five of each part of the voting and believe me, there'll be changes.

 

We are about to know who's leaving, who's staying but first here's our judges!

 

 

 

    Pedro                     Lazuli                     Kavish                   Ronaldista

 

Looking good, girls (and boy!!!!)! Now that you've taken your position, let's review the voting rules along with the respective updates, shall we?

 

 

1. The voting process is dived into two parts: the public vote and the judges votes;

Each of these parts account for 50% of the results.

2. Each contestant that didn't cast a vote will be deducted 30% of his/her final result;

The 30% discount can be translated into less 5 points.

3. The judges have rated each entry from 1 to 10;

All of the judges votes are then summed and we get to an average.

4. Your results are cumulative from the points you receive eachround;

5. During the voting process there may be ties. Find below the rules to break them:

5.1. If there is a tie wiithin the public vote, the entry with the best result within the judges votes gets ahead;

5.2. If there is a tie within the judges votes, the entry with the best result within the public vote gets ahead;

5.3. If there is a tie within the final results, the entry with the best result within the judges vote gets ahead.

6. The points distribution have changed in order to decrease expected events.

1st Place: 27 Points | 2nd Place: 23 Points | 3rd Place: 19 Points | 4th Place: 17 Points | 5th Place: 15 Points | 6th Place: 10 Points (...) 10th Place: 6 Points.

 

 

Spoiler

What usually makes an album sound and feel so great is the fact that it takes you into a journey of emotions. You get to experience so many sides of an artist and end up having mixed feelings throughout the listening session. This round is exactly about that but focusing on the cohesiveness of the record.

You are going to send in not one but TWO songs that are opposite of eachother but end up being really important to the album itself. In this round, you will have to talk about those two songs and also about the album itself. Therefore the word limit will be extended to 250 words. Also make sure you nail the round as there will be different points distribution and literally anything could happen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

1. shelven: Sia - "This Is Acting": 127 Points. (=)

2. sumthintoxic82: Kelly Clarkson - "Piece By Piece": 109 Points. (+3)

3. Vulnicura: Robyn - "Body Talk": 104 Points. (-1)

4. Rihlana: Halsey - "Badlands": 98 Points. (=)

5. MusicLoverDude: Samantha Jade - "Nine": 96 Points. (+4)

6. lhdang2000: Adele - "25": 93 Points. (=)

7. theycallmemaraj: Ariana Grande - "Dangerous Woman": 89 Points. (-4)

8. Queen Conchita: Conchita Wurst - "Conchita": 69 Points. (-1)

9. Speezy: The Weeknd - "Starboy": 57 Points. (+2)

10. Lion: Troye Sivan - "Blue Neighbourhood": 52 Points. [Eliminated - R4]

11. Tymps.: Lemon Demon - "Spirit Phone": 47 Points.[Quit - R3]

12. ReachOut: Hilary Duff - "Breathe In. Breathe Out.": 34 Points. [Eliminated - R3]
13. Sempiternal: Asking Alexandria - "The Black": 12 Points. [Eliminated - R2]

14. Verge of Obscene: Britney Spears - "Glory": 14 Points. [Quit - R1]

15. Alena: Melanie Martinez - "Cry Baby": 5 Points. [Quit - R1]

 

 

Lion... It is your time to go. It was a major pleasure having you playing the game and I mean it when I say your songs made me so interested in Troye Sivan. That's what this game is about. More than winning is sharing the music and you did it! Hope to see you in the future and around!

 

[Pedro]

 

Find below the judges' comments to each entry.

 

 

Spoiler

PEDRO

 

1. shelven: Sia - "This Is Acting": 'Space Between' || 'Summer Rain'

 

9,9

 

I am overwhelmed by how flawless your entry was. I actually am struggling to find words to describe it or to even critique it. Not only you described the songs flawlessly but you correlated them to the album in such an original and unique way. You don’t have a perfect 10 due to the word limit - 301.

 

2. MusicLoverDude: Samantha Jade - "Nine": 'Nine' || 'Born To Be Alive'

 

7,75

 

While I believe this is a strong entry (and I love the EDM track), I was a bit lost. I feel like you focused more on “Nine” than on “Born To Be Alive”. When you say this album is about turning negativity into positivity, in what terms are you including the former on this? I can totally understand how “Nine” does that but not so sure about “Born To Be Alive” and this was what missed in your entry and ended up taking the perfect 10 from you.

 

3. Rihlana: Halsey - "Badlands": 'Drive' || 'Strange Love'

 

8,85

 

I believe you did a very good job and I really enjoy your way of writing. Either way, I also believe you focused a bit much on “Drive” and left “Strange Love” a bit alone. On top of that, I also wanted a bit more input on the correlation to the album even though I completely loved your conclusion and that was the main reason why I gave you such a strong score. Overall, great job and “Strange Love” sounds great!

 

4. theycallmemaraj: Ariana Grande - "Dangerous Woman": 'Thinking Bout You' || 'Side To Side (feat. Nicki Minaj)’

 

5,1

 

This was a bit all over the place. There was no cohesiveness and I feel like you gave two different ideas to “Thinking Bout You” that ended up not making sense. On top of that, the correlation to the album lacked. I expect better from you.

 

5. sumthintoxic82: Kelly Clarkson - "Piece By Piece": 'Tightrope' || 'Invincible'

 

9

 

Your entry was so cute! I loved it! I am not a fan of “Invincible” at all but “Tightrope” is so beautiful and heartbreaking, my God! I don’t have a lot of critiques for you but the word limit (301) and also the correlation to the album that could’ve been slightly better and have more input.

 

6. Vulnicura: Robyn - "Body Talk": 'Don't ****ing Tell Me What To Do' || 'Stars 4-Ever'

 

6,75

 

Dear Vulnicura, please don’t be upset with my rate for your entry. You know that most of the times I appreciate your entries and if I am honest I loved both songs but I had to read your essay more than five times to understand the correlation to the album and even after I wasn’t convinced. Not only I believe the first song is quite abstract to be that “easily” put together with the second one but I also believe you could’ve explained the choices a bit better in order to make that full circle you normally create.

 

7. Queen Conchita: Conchita Wurst - "Conchita": 'Pure' || 'Where Have All The Good Men Gone'

 

6,4

 

How it pains me to give you a lower rate. I love Conchita and “Conchita” so much. This album is a piece of art and, yes, very versatile. Nonetheless, you could’ve done so much more with this. You took a very general approach and left me (and probably more people) wanting for more. What killed the entry for me the most was the conclusion and respective correlation to the album. It lacked more input.

 

8. Lion: Troye Sivan - "Blue Neighbourhood": 'Lost Boy' || 'Too Good'

 

5,55

 

Lion, what I love the most about your entries is the amazing music you have been introducing me to. I totally loved every song so far and I hope you continue to show me more. Now… When it comes to the writing part, it’s understandable that you’re not yet as ready as other contestants who have played the game more times. You need to get more mature in your writing and also find a structure for the essay because it comes. The entry wasn’t as good as the previous ones, it came off as short and a little bit bland. There was lack of correlation to the album and you left me wanting for more…

 

9. Speezy: The Weeknd - "Starboy": 'Rockin'' || 'True Colors'

 

4,65

 

Lion, what I love the most about your entries is the amazing music you have been introducing me to. I totally loved every song so far and I hope you continue to show me more. Now… When it comes to the writing part, it’s understandable that you’re not yet as ready as other contestants who have played the game more times. You need to get more mature in your writing and also find a structure for the essay because it comes. The entry wasn’t as good as the previous ones, it came off as short and a little bit bland. There was lack of correlation to the album and you left me wanting for more…

 

10. lhdang2000: Adele - "25": 'Love In The Dark' || 'All I Ask'

 

9,25

That was an amazing comeback. I believe you retrieved the essence of the first round and, once again, nailed the round. I loved your conclusion and that’s what gave you such a strong score. I also love the songs selected and how you flawlessly explained them! Great job! I hope you continue like this!

 

Spoiler

LAZULI

 

1. shelven: Sia - "This Is Acting": 'Space Between', ‘Summer Rain’ – 10/10

 

You explained clearly how they’re different, and you used ‘acting’ as an effective theme for the album and to tie everything together. However, I am going to have to nitpick that the disparity between the songs isn’t as great as I wish, but overall you still nailed it.

 

2. MusicLoverDude: Samantha Jade - "Nine": ‘Nine’, ‘Born To Be Alive’ – 10/10

 

Best entry this round. The songs by themselves are definitely worlds apart. I wish you mentioned how one song is about death but the other was about being alive, that could’ve been the cherry on top of the icing of the cake. But you linked the songs to the key idea of the album well and explained each song clearly. Good job.

 

3. Rihlana: Halsey - "Badlands": ‘Drive’, ‘Strange Love’ – 7/10

 

You should not have mentioned how these two songs were about concealment, unless you meant to say that is how the songs tie into the overall theme of the album, but it shouldn’t have been at the start of the essay when you are trying to establish how the two songs are different. Also, maybe it’s just Halsey’s “dark” sound, but the songs don’t sound too different too.

 

4. theycallmemaraj: Ariana Grande - "Dangerous Woman": ‘Thinking Bout You’, ‘Side to Side (feat. Nicki Minaj) – 6/10

 

When I think of Dangerous Woman’s slower songs, Thinking Bout You isn’t one that I would think of. But content wise, it is a suitable choice. You say that both songs are about sex, but you did not mention that for the former. Either way, the reason why they’re indispensable to the album was not very convincing here.

 

5. sumthintoxic82: Kelly Clarkson - "Piece By Piece": ‘Tightrope’, ‘Invincible’ – 6/10

 

I’m not all that convinced about how these two songs are complete opposites. Invincible is after all, still a mid-tempo song and not too far off Tightrope’s tempo. Also, though they are talk about insecurities differently, they’re not polar opposites. You could’ve made this work, however, if in the second paragraph you mentioned how the latter is an optimistic song, whereas the former isn’t instead.

 

6. Vulnicura: Robyn - "Body Talk": ‘Don’t ****ing Tell Me What To Do’, ‘Stars 4-Ever’ – 8/10

 

They’re both still pretty dance-pop, but your point about song structure was excellent. However, I am rather unconvinced as to how they’re important to the theme/cohesiveness/journey of emotions of the album. It seems to me that your point is that Body Talk is a vast collection of different things: which isn’t really a strong point.

 

7. Queen Conchita: Conchita Wurst - "Conchita": ‘Pure’, ‘Where Have All The Good Men Gone’ – 7/10

 

You should’ve drawn direct comparisons between the two songs in the fourth paragraph instead of simply explaining what they’re about. You mention that the album is a look into her life journey, but you didn’t explain how each of these songs represent her life.

 

8. Lion: Troye Sivan - "Blue Neighbourhood": ‘Lost Boy’, ‘Too Good’ – 5.5/10

 

I can sort of see you showing that theme wise, the songs are opposite. But there was no mention about how the songs link to the album and how they are equally important to it.

 

9. Speezy: The Weeknd - "Starboy": ‘Rockin’, ‘True Colors’ – 5/10

 

That last sentence is really bizarre. The essay is kind of all over the place and I guess after reading it 10 times I can sort of tell what the difference is between the songs that you are driving at. But I don’t see how they link to album, unfortunately.

 

10. lhdang2000: Adele - "25": ‘Love In The Dark’, ‘All I Ask’ – 7.5/10

 

It is risky to use two ballads and convince me that they are worlds apart, and sadly I don’t think your explanation was convincing enough. Though you explained each song well, you needed to draw some comparisons to make the difference more apparent. You should also explain better how these two songs show her growth etc.

 

Spoiler

KAVISH

 

10 | shelven: Sia - "This Is Acting": 'Space Between' || 'Summer Rain'

 

 

You have been very consistent since the beginning of the season, and this essay is a further example of how you pay attention and pen exactly what is being asked. You have painted a beautiful contrasting picture of the two songs – touching on the production, lyrics, vocals, and theme – and framed it with This Is Acting's purpose of portraying Sia's different sides and emotions. The effortless way in which you used the duality of the challenge to write about the concept of acting that surrounds your album and defines your artist makes your entry a continuation of your previous entries, and an exemplary approach to the game itself because you understand that each round is just another step in the process of selling your album and showcasing your artist while staying relevant to the topic at hand.

 

 

 

9.8 | MusicLoverDude: Samantha Jade - "Nine": 'Nine' || 'Born To Be Alive'

 

 

You solidify the concept that you presented in the first round by highlighting the differences between the two songs – displaying how their atmosphere and theme are far from each other - and you also showed how Samantha uses them both to showcase her resolution to turn the darkness of her life into something brighter, which is the theme of the album.

 

 

 

9.0 | Rihlana: Halsey - "Badlands": 'Drive' || 'Strange Love'

 

A solid essay dissociating one track from the other – you intricately analyzed the difference in sound, vocals, and theme - yet underlining its core theme of expression. By the end of it, you managed to illustrate that Badlands is at times a rocky, and at times a smooth road that Halsey drives through and therefore, both songs meet at a roundabout.

 

 

 

8.7 | sumthintoxic82: Kelly Clarkson - "Piece By Piece": 'Tightrope' || 'Invincible'

 

The 'piece by piece' aspect of your album is convincingly explained in your essay, by showing how the two differing tracks – which you mismatched using the sound, vocals, and theme - act as puzzle pieces. I think that you were a bit too general as opposed to relating the two instances to Kelly, and the middle paragraph was not necessary as everything was already explained and understood from the first paragraph. That aside, you still managed to piece everything together into a wholesome picture.

 

 

 

8.6 | lhdang2000: Adele - "25": 'Love In The Dark' || 'All I Ask'

 

 

Simple, but effective. You centered your essay around the album's concept of 'growth, experience, and letting go' and used those two songs to prove your point. The difference between the tracks are made evident, and you summed it up to show how they are essential in Adele's determination to learn and move on.

 

 

 

8.5 | Vulnicura: Robyn - "Body Talk": 'Don't ****ing Tell Me What To Do' || 'Stars 4-Ever'

 

 

 

A clever approach by using the distance between the placement of the tracks to showcase their differences, as well as connecting them through the album's 'theme of repetition.' You nicely explained how the songs differ from each other, and it all came full circle at the end to showcase the cohesiveness of the album.

 

 

 

7.5 |  Queen Conchita: Conchita Wurst - "Conchita": 'Pure' || 'Where Have All The Good Men Gone'

 

 

The difference between the two songs tread on a thin line considering that both are pretty low-spirited theme-wise. Still, I can understand where you are coming from given that the situations are different, and you nicely explained the contrast between the sound and how they show the dual side of Conchita on the album.

 

 

 

7.4 |  Lion: Troye Sivan - "Blue Neighbourhood": 'Lost Boy' || 'Too Good'

 

I like how both songs use the same instruments, yet the tone is different, and you nicely explained that in your essay, as well as stating the opposing ways that relationships are dealt with on the album. In accordance, both feelings that are conveyed on the songs are important to the theme of love on the record.

 

 

 

7.0 |  Speezy: The Weeknd - "Starboy": 'Rockin'' || 'True Colors'

 

 

You explained the distinction between the two tracks thoroughly, and although you tried to show how the smooth and upbeat tracks flow well together, it's not a strong point because the same thing could be said about any album, and I think that you should have written a bit about their importance on the album together as well. Also, try to proofread your essays before submitting to avoid some grammatical mistakes or misplaced words.

 

 

 

 

1.9 | theycallmemaraj: Ariana Grande - "Dangerous Woman": 'Thinking Bout You' || 'Side To Side (feat. Nicki Minaj)'

 

 

I understand the different nature of the tracks, but I found your essay to be very informal and filled with subjective statements. Instead of dissecting the songs' attributes to showcase their differences, you are telling us how the songs would make us feel, or how you perceive the songs as. You barely used technical terms to describe the songs or associate them to the album or your artist, and your approach was very left field in comparison to the other entries. Even when you dropped the words 'lyrics' and 'instrumental', they were vague statements without going in depth. Also, the reason for why they balance each other felt very rushed too, and you could have done that with any two different songs on the record because you did not give any specific association that bind these two particular songs together

 

Spoiler

RONALDISTA

 

Sia: Your essay felt very complete, you beautifully compared the songs and described the contrast between them but what I loved the most was how you made the connection to the album title and acting. That was great. 9.7

 

Samantha Jade: Two very different songs and you nicely highlighted their characteristics while also tying them in with the album. I liked how you grouped the songs together with others from the album that are similar. 9.2

 

Halsey: This might be the most cohesive album in terms of production, I feel like all the songs sound pretty same-y. That speaks for the cohesiveness of the album, but it also means the contrast between the two songs isn’t as big as it is in other entries. 7.4

 

Ariana Grande: Good song choices. Your essay was a bit hard to read because there were no paragraphs, and you only mentioned the album as a whole briefly but luckily you said everything that needed to be said in that last sentence. 7.9

 

Kelly Clarkson: Your write-up was great, I liked the structure and you formed a nice conclusion in the last paragraph, connecting the songs to the album. Good choice of songs as well in order to bring out the contrasts. 8.9

 

Robyn: Your essay is excellently written, but whilst reading I found myself struggling to get your point sometimes. It seemed very technical and injected with a lot of big words. I wish you’d simplified it just a little, to make your point more relatable and understandable. The songs do fit the theme though and I liked the idea of the songs’ placement on the track list representing a cycle. 6.9

 

Conchita Wurst: These are two very different songs, both sonically and lyrically, and your essay captured that nicely. You found the right balance between interpreting the songs but also elaborating on their meaning in context of the album. 8.4

 

Troye Sivan: The two songs form nice opposites, and you explained it well. My only criticism is that you talked so little about their role in the album, the bigger picture. You briefly touched upon it in the last paragraph but I feel like you could have elaborated more on it. 8.1

 

The Weeknd: I feel like once again, you only scratched the surface with your essay but didn’t go enough into depth. It was good that you included lyrics and you described the songs well, but you didn’t really talk about the cohesiveness of the album. You mentioned that it shows Abel’s dark side, but didn’t write about how the songs tie in with that. 7.1

 

Adele: You chose two ballads, which for me doesn’t really bring out the contrast even though thematically, they’re opposites. I also feel like the connection to the meaning of the album could have been a bit better. 6.8

Edited March 12, 2017 by Pedro

[lhdang2000]

The points difference between #4 to #7 is not even 10 points!!!  

 

Next week should be tough!!!

 

And sorry @Lion, you should still join next season, and I believe you can still vote tho.  

 

[shelven]

Oh wow, thank you so much judges  

 

Congrats on the round win, @MusicLoverDude! Very well deserved  

 

5 minutes ago, Pedro said:

You don’t have a perfect 10 due to the word limit - 301.

Mess, I could have sworn I double checked my final draft and it was 300  Oh well, I'm more than happy to take the 9.9  

[Queen Conchita]

Oh my god how on earth did I survive that

[Pedro]

Just now, lhdang2000 said:

The points difference between #4 to #7 is not even 10 points!!!

 

Next week should be tough!!!

Don't forget that the contestants ranking at 8th and 9th still have a huge shot of going around there next round.

[Queen Conchita]

I'm going to come back fighting next week, thankyou judges for your scores especially @Ronaldista 

[Vulnicura]

 I thought I slayed this round. I'm pretty disheartened with my critiques considering one week I'm told I'm being too emotionless with my entries, and then I try to be more personable with my entries, and then I get told that I'm not explaining my entries well enough... rinse and repeat. I feel like I'm not improving. 

[Pedro]

1 minute ago, Vulnicura said:

 I thought I slayed this round. I'm pretty disheartened with my critiques considering one week I'm told I'm being too emotionless with my entries, and then I try to be more personable with my entries, and then I get told that I'm not explaining my entries well enough... rinse and repeat. I feel like I'm not improving. 

Still third and comfortable! Keep it up!

[lhdang2000]

4 minutes ago, Pedro said:

Don't forget that the contestants ranking at 8th and 9th still have a huge shot of going around there next round.

Now that you remind me!!  

 

But I feel like this is the highest @Kavish has ever given me since Demi Lovato's Father in few seasons ago. So yass.  

Edited March 12, 2017 by lhdang2000

[Rihlana]

@shelven you absolute beast

 

@MusicLoverDude a truly deserved win, your best entry yet!

 

Not me being equal last in the public and almost top 3 with the judges  something just didn't click well this week with the other contestants, even though I was really happy with my entry. Thank you everybody for the feedback!