tournament Diversity 4: The Re-Up | Winner revealed (pg.132)

[Kavish]

[ABYSIL]

[thecptz]

57 minutes ago, ABYSIL said:

You already saw my posts when I was in Gaymers Discord. No much of a surprise, that's why I'm not fearing mentioning it here and let it ambiguous when half of the people on here already knew it. 

 

i didn't see anything

[thecptz]

 

ROUND 2

the higher ground

 

we lost Ginger Root, LOONA, and Zara Larsson in the first round

the judges and i are ready to claim our next victims now

 

last time, you're going to hell. now this time, let's change it up, yup cause your next theme is....

'the higher ground'

 

we want you to send in a song that is bright, happy, optimistic, angelic, uplifting or blissful or anything that related to heaven in somewhere! just like i said, you can go with a song that has a bright and happy production OR you can go with the optimistic and uplifting lyrics (like rainbow by kacey musgraves, for example). be creative! there is always a way for you to tackle this theme.

 

an explanation is not required but you're allowed to explain your choice to make the judge get why you choose this song for this theme.

our lovely judges will score each part: 5 for how it fits the theme and 5 for judges' personal taste. so please do your best, everything counts!

 

this round is, again, A TRIPLE ELIMINATION.

its our last one tho.. we're gonna go to top 20 after this.

 

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY HERE!

you can submit your entry only once. however, you can still go back and edit things until the deadline.

if you make any edit in your submission, please ping me in the thread or on discord x

 

you will have 36 hours for this. no extension will be granted x

DEADLINE: 12AM/MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY 24TH OCTOBER

 

if you have any questions, feel free to leave them here or DM me.

good luck and have fun

 

Spoiler

@Element @shelven @clue @Not Like The Movies @Rotunda @touya kinomoto @hofork @Drifloon @kipperskipper @boys @bestfiction @mokitsu @TruGemini @Opulent @Auburn @diogozsz @Sanguine @Noah @Rence @Tom Vercetti @ughgabriel @luckystrike @PinkBox

 

@Overprotected @Dessy Spiced Latte @Navyofbadgals @Staryu @Kavish

 

[ABYSIL]

The way I would have like 30+ Options with this Round. 

 

Spoiler

That's what I get and deserve for Overthinking too much. 

 

I always end falling in that mistake. 

 

[Element]

oh good, my artist is in heaven

[Kavish]

32 minutes ago, Element said:

oh good, my artist is in heaven

[luckystrike]

 

[thecptz]

53 minutes ago, Element said:

oh good, my artist is in heaven

winner

[Opulent]

I kind of wanted to play THAT song, but I’m too scared of using it too early. Submitted another global classic though. 

[thecptz]

14/26 entries are in

only 10.30hrs left  no extensions will be given. get to work yall.

 

@Element @shelven @clue @Not Like The Movies @Rotunda @touya kinomoto @hofork @Drifloon @kipperskipper @boys @bestfiction @mokitsu @TruGemini @Opulent @Auburn @diogozsz @Sanguine @Noah @Rence @Tom Vercetti @ughgabriel @luckystrike @PinkBox

[clue]

Very happy with my song choice

 

[Dessy]

I'm ready to be uplifted or just hear good vibes

[Noah]

excited to see the entries

 

[TruGemini]

Struggled a bit this round, still feel safe though.

 

[thecptz]

ROUND 2 (the higher ground)

ENTRIES

 

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

 

Aaliyah - It's Whatever

Spoiler

The angelic piano riff accompanied by Aaliyah's comforting vocals create a truly blissful and heavenly atmosphere throughout. Lyrically, she speaks of a romance that is full of safety and security. It's peaceful like "birds whistling"... akin to a "summer breeze". Their experience is fantasy-like; their dreams and love have no limit when they're together.

Billie Eilish - my future

Spoiler

While most of Billie’s introspective songs showcase her fears and anxieties, “My Future” is a notable exception which puts her hopes and optimism on display. The song finds Billie resisting the temptation to return to a lover that will be bad for her in the long run because she realizes how positive a future without him can be. The song’s lyrics showcase an optimism about Billie’s mental state that she doesn’t often display; the line “I’m in love with my future; can’t wait to meet her” is a simple yet powerful statement that comes from feeling confident with your life and excited about where it’s going. And even though the production isn’t the typical bright and upbeat type that you see in many uplifting songs, the relaxed, lofi production in “My Future” – particularly after the beat switch – creates a different kind of bliss, capturing a calmness and satisfaction that one feels when they’re in a healthy mindset and not letting their worries overpower them.

Charli XCX - visions

Spoiler

For me, "Visions" is about leaving the past behind and manifesting a bright future for yourself, even if you don't necessarily have it all figured out just yet. Aside from the uplifting and self-assuring lyrics, the production is anthemic and upbeat.

Chloe x Halle - If God Spoke

Spoiler

The title of the song reflects the heavenly theme. The lyrical content represents optimism and buoyancy. The production is ethereal and the vocal performance is angelic. The song was written in the point of view of God speaking to someone reminding them that even though negative occurrences may take place, positive things are coming in the future. For religious persons, God always has their back despite the turmoil and chaos. This song is simply a reassurance of that sentiment of hopefulness. Be hopeful because the best is yet to come.

Demi Lovato - The Art of Starting Over

Spoiler

this song is about choosing to keep a positive outlook despite the dark times in life and choosing to “let the darkness out”. The upbeat production also lends itself to being about happiness.

Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen

Spoiler

it's a love anthem whose production is bubbly yet also ethereal sounding. the lyrics are also uplifting. the hook maybe very repetitive but it makes you believe that really, anything could happen.

f(x) - Airplane

Spoiler

This electro pop song is so bright and euphoric - for good reason. Lyrically it uses an airplane as a metaphor for the rising feelings of love in a relationship. I think it has a very expansive feeling to it and the breakdown is reminiscent of a bubbly video game song.

uwu ~

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Paper Mache Dream Balloon

Spoiler

This song fits both sonically and lyrically!~ The song sounds like it's straight out of Mr. Rogers' neighborhood, and the words are about letting go of your problems like a balloon <3 also notice how different the three songs I've submitted so far are oh wow oh wow. True diversity get into it (yuh)

Lana Del Rey - Arcadia

Spoiler

Arcadia is a song that sounds heavenly, angelic, and blissful. Lana is blissfuly singing about a lover and how Arcadia is essentially their "heaven". In the song, there are religious references like angels, cross on the hill, and prayer. Overall it is a beautiful, angelic, heavenly lullaby.

Miley Cyrus - The Climb

Spoiler

It's the climb.

Mylène Farmer - Appelle mon numéro

Spoiler

This bright, simplistic, guitar driven song has turned into a late career classic for Mylène; radio has eaten it up. In the song Mylène just wants her lover to call her, she's a bit needy but still playful and the song retains the uplifting vibe.

Red Velvet - All Right

Spoiler

In this funky 80's throwback jam, Red Velvet guide a friend that's going through a stressful time through the darkness and help them find happiness and joy in life. We've all gone through low periods and know just how important having a support system is - and that's exactly what the song is about.

Don’t you know you’ve already been caught being depressed alone?
(We know it know it)
Let’s start a chatty night, tell me everything
I’ll listen to everything

Translation: https://lyricskpop.net/lyrics/red-velvet-all-right-english-translation/

 

while you all wait for the judges, here are all the songs in the audition for you to have fun with it OR you can just critique these songs too

 

judges will have 36 hours (NOON ET on monday 25th) to judge your entries!!

 

Spoiler

@Element @shelven @clue @Not Like The Movies @Rotunda @touya kinomoto @hofork @Drifloon @kipperskipper @boys @bestfiction @mokitsu @TruGemini @Opulent @Auburn @diogozsz @Sanguine @Noah @Rence @Tom Vercetti @ughgabriel @luckystrike @PinkBox

 

@Overprotected @Dessy Spiced Latte @Navyofbadgals @Staryu @Kavish

 

[thecptz]

 

ROUND 2 (the higher ground)

ENTRIES

 

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

 

serpentwithfeet - This Hill

Spoiler

As this round is somewhat of a spiritual successor to the last, I wanted to continue own with the story. For the hell round, we discussed Serpent climbing up the "wrong tree" and becoming content with his fate. This Hill is a play on the fact that acceptance is not the final step. The song discusses themes of suicide and "letting go" in the first half, while switching to a discussion of the other side of that depression on the second half.

Narratively, I think Serpent is pulling himself from the position he accepted in Wrong Tree nd the consequences that come along, while also realizing that that is not somewhere he needs to stay. It's the realization and acceptance that even on the darkest days, life will move on, and better days will be had.

Shakira - Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)

Spoiler

This song features uplifting lyrics paired with bright and joyous production. This is one of my personal cheer up songs whenever I feel down, it’s just so happy.

Shania Twain - Up!

 

SHINee - 1 of 1

Spoiler

Nostalgia may be a hard emotion to place on the "happy - sad" spectrum, but "1 of 1" certainly prohibits the listener to lean towards the sadder aspects of it. SHINee were commited to rescuing the bright '90s boygroup sound and adding their own twist to it. While boygroups in the '90s had the upbeat sound while having a "bad boy" or "your-typical-heartthrob" image, SHINee chose to go as colorful as they could in both the song and everything visual attached to it, such as the MV (https://imgur.com/a/s1GzODx) or the live performances (https://imgur.com/a/41Kt3mJ). The lyrics portray SHINee telling someone how unique they are for 4 minutes straight and they also feature a genius nod to their debut single "Replay" ["Forever like the first feeling / Replay (Replay)"].

St. Vincent - I Prefer Your Love

Spoiler

This is a song dedicated her to her mother, where she talks about how she’s always been there for her and that she would rather have her mom than some sort of god that’s far away from her. The production is also pretty ethereal

Sufjan Stevens - The Greatest Gift

Spoiler

The Greatest Gift is one of Sufjan’s more religious songs and is titled after the Christian belief that Jesus is God’s greatest gift to humanity because without his death and faith in him no one would be able to have eternal life in Heaven. In this song there is a message on how to go through life with positivity and gratefulness for all of God’s creations. This can be seen in the lyrics: “Praise the mountain and the rain / All the gifts that still remain” and “And the law above all laws / Is to love your friends and lovers.”

Taylor Swift - invisible string

Spoiler

“Hell was the journey but it brought me heaven”, Taylor sings in the bridge as she tells the story about how meeting her lover made everything feel right. In a way, the lyrics detail their encounter and its effect on her journey as a person. “Time, mystical time | Cuttin' me open, then healin' me fine” and other variations in the chorus tell us that the writer went through the darkness but eventually found the light. This optimistic and uplifting approach to writing shows that our connection with other people, as long as they’re real and sincere, can help heal our wounds and make every day worth living.

Tinashe - Pasadena

Spoiler

I simply chose this song because lyrically it oozes positive energy and the collab added to the vibe.

Tove Lo - Got Love

Spoiler

the production is super bright and uplifting which is unusual for her. the lyrics are basically about being in love with life and finding perfection in reality. she has love so it feels like she can conquer the world and do the impossible

Troye Sivan - Angel Baby

Spoiler

I mean… this song was made exactly for this round, it’s bright, happy, optimistic, angelic, uplifting, blissful AND related to heaven, hits every mark. It’s about feeling saved by somebody when you feel hopeless, somebody so special comes and fills you with hope and makes you feel so good, like an angel sent from heaven.

Whitney Houston - I Love The Lord

Spoiler

This literally sounds like it would be the song that plays when you're welcyumed in heaven (not that any of you will know, you're all never getting there!!), the choir, the lyrics LITERALLY based on the Bible (Psalm 116!!!) with her saying God will reach out to you and save you if you ask for him, her ANGELIC voice........ she is the moment, now cmon now, I don't know what ELSE you want!!!

 while you all wait for the judges, here are all the songs in the audition for you to have fun with it OR you can just critique these songs too

judges will have 36 hours (NOON ET on monday 25th) to judge your entries!!

 

Spoiler

@Element @shelven @clue @Not Like The Movies @Rotunda @touya kinomoto @hofork @Drifloon @kipperskipper @boys @bestfiction @mokitsu @TruGemini @Opulent @Auburn @diogozsz @Sanguine @Noah @Rence @Tom Vercetti @ughgabriel @luckystrike @PinkBox

 

@Overprotected @Dessy Spiced Latte @Navyofbadgals @Staryu @Kavish

 

[thecptz]

for judges' critiques list

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

 

Aaliyah - It's Whatever

Billie Eilish - my future

Charli XCX - visions

Chloe x Halle - If God Spoke

Demi Lovato - The Art of Starting Over

Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen

f(x) - Airplane

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Paper Mache Dream Balloon

Lana Del Rey - Arcadia

Miley Cyrus - The Climb

Mylène Farmer - Appelle mon numéro

Red Velvet - All Right

serpentwithfeet - This Hill

Shakira - Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)

Shania Twain - Up!

SHINee - 1 of 1

St. Vincent - I Prefer Your Love

Sufjan Stevens - The Greatest Gift

Taylor Swift - invisible string

Tinashe - Pasadena

Tove Lo - Got Love

Troye Sivan - Angel Baby

Whitney Houston - I Love The Lord

 

while you all wait for the judges, here are all the songs for you to have fun with it OR you can just critique these songs too

judges will have 36 hours (NOON ET on monday 25th) to judge your entries!!

 

@Overprotected @Dessy Spiced Latte @Navyofbadgals @Staryu @Kavish

[TruGemini]

the spelling errors in my description  I swear I'm literate, I was just half sleep.

[Dessy]

Perched to listen

[Not Like The Movies]

wow wow

[minho]

some good entries, let me hope the actual sound of my song comes through for me sjkfjs

[Auburn]

[Navyofbadgals]

 

Spoiler

Aaliyah - love this. It feels so light and carefree. The lyricism is a perfect fit, there's not a single dark line in this. It's just her and someone else, carefree and even better she feels selfless and lets the person decide the journey. Very pretty and a perfect fit

 

Billie Eilish - often think this is one of the biggest risks Billie took. There are slight inspirations from jazz, soul and r&b throughout the song along with some gorgeous vocal layering that makes this her most lush song to date. I love the line that she can't wait to meet her future, it's so optimistic. This whole song was probably also your only suitable choice for this round anyways, but it's a great one at that. Such a beautiful and lush experience with some very simple but effective lyrics

 

Charli XCX - wasn't a massive fan of this album but this was very nice. The beats feel strangely euphoric, it reminds me of eurodance of the 00s but with a much more unique hyperpop twist to it. I love the approach to go with relief, the contrast with coming from a dark place and now feeling optimistic is a nice approach. Pretty decent entry to me at least

 

Chloe x Halle - I love the approach of going with a song about resilience and holding out hope for better things. Whilst the song might be taking place in a darker time, it still feels in place in this round thanks to its unique approach and hopeful sentiment. It's not my favorite song from them, near the end this song drags a bit, but it's still a decent song overall thanks to some beautiful notes sung in a higher register. Not bad overall

 

Demi Lovato - I'm sure you had many others to choose from, including ballads, but I like the fact that you chose a song that feels a lot lighter compared to some of her other stuff. Very nice fit, love the approach

 

Ellie Goulding - I mean.. yes.. what else can I say besides YES. Excellent song

 

F(x) - not the most interesting song i've ever heard, but it fits well so there's that. There's nothing bad here.. but it doesn't really excite me personally, esp with a drop that I feel like I've heard a million times before

 

King Gizzard  & The Lizard Wizard - the flute in this absolutely genius. I feel like in many ways it feels like your standard psych song but the flute gives it this really uplifting and unique feel. The lyricism is also great, so imo you did really well

 

Lana Del Rey - her best song post-NFR i fear.. I don't know if your description fully matches some of the lyrics of the song. Whilst she wants to go to the safe haven of Arcadia, she also sings about people tearing her down, and breaking her fragile heart of paper. Whilst i adore the song, I don't think it's the strongest fit this round

 

Miley Cyrus - it is the climb INDEED! 

great fit I love the emphasis on how you don't need to know the answers to know the journey to it can be very rewarding despite all of the things

 

Mylene Farmer - I sadly think you set the bar too high for yourself. This feels.. kinda underwhelming compared to the interesting audition and perfect fit last round. Not my fav thing I've heard from her, and whilst it does the job to fit, it's not incredibly exciting to me sadly. Maybe the other judges will feel differently about it tho, cause it's prolly also the most accessible song to date from her we've heard here

 

Red Velvet - the lyrics to this are so sweet omg   I think this might be my fav entry of you to date, it's very simplistic but it just.. hits right for me and the lyrics are very sweet along with a nice production. Very nice

 

Serpentwithfeet - your best entry to date. I love how you realized how this round was indeed the spiritual successor to the last round, and decided to do the same with your songs. The song is ethereal with some beautiful notes and nice vocal layering. It's a bit on the short side, but I like that here, no need to elaborate other than he's just better now

 

Shakira - there will never be a football song better or more iconic than this I fear. It was very much so tailored to where the world cup was taking place (besides the decision to let Shakira sing this but w/e), yet still feels timeless. It's also a nice fit cause it's not only a song that connects people, but also a nice simple uplifting song. Cute x

 

Shania Twain - I mean it indeed doesn't need an explanation. This is undoubtedly meant to be an uplifting song. Both fit-wise and song wise is a little bit generic/basic to me, but it def does the job so I'm not that mad at it

 

SHINee - this is a very beautiful serenade. I like the approach to go with a serenade type of song. It's sonically not my fav thing I've heard from them, but it's cute enough. Overall pretty good, the 90s boyband vibes are def there but it's nice that it doesn't ever feel overly cheesy. 

 

St. Vincent - one of my fav st. vincent songs of all time, it's so stunning without losing Annie's uniqueness. It's one of the most touching and pure love songs for a mother ever recorded. Saying she prefers her love over Jesus, adds extra admiration to this. There's no chaotic guitar breaking out, just a beautiful ode to her mother. Excellent

 

Sufjan Stevens - cute fit. I like the idea of using Jesus as well, and Stevens realizing his pain and sorrow is with the 'greatest gift', namely Jesus' sacrifice. It's a great fit and I love the harp throughout. cute

 

Taylor Swift - I love this choice for Taylor, anyone who has even somewhat followed her will know about her highly publicized relationships. Invisible string is a beautiful song expressing how grateful she is for Joe (or that's what I'm guessing), after all her unsuccessful relationships. This isn't just a nice fit for the round, but it's also the best fit you could make for an artist like Taylor. It's also a very nice simple song sonically. Very nice job

 

Tinashe - also pretty standard fit-wise. It does the job but it's not the most unique approach out there. Cute song as well, overall pretty decent

 

Tove Lo - nice fit, but the song doesn't really grab me. There are a few other love songs here, that feel like better serenades than this. It's nice, but doesn't blow me away personally

 

Troye Sivan  - 

this was lowkey one of the best sings I've heard ever from him and it's also a really nice fit.. i'm impressed

 

Whitney Houston - this thematically has been done before this round.. but nobody can sing it as well as her so..  

The elements of the choir and all of this makes this the most heavenly sounding song this round, your best entry to date for me I fear

Spoiler

@Element @shelven @clue @Not Like The Movies @Rotunda @touya kinomoto @hofork @Drifloon @kipperskipper @boys @bestfiction @mokitsu @TruGemini @Opulent @Auburn @diogozsz @Sanguine @Noah @Rence @Tom Vercetti @ughgabriel @luckystrike @PinkBox

 

[thecptz]

thank you for the praising to most of our acts judge rihanna  @Navyofbadgals