tournament Golden Hit: Season 4 📀 Congrats to Kylie Jenner! 🌸

[OreGuy]

23 minutes ago, JoeAg said:

  Reveal hidden contents

@Hug: wow. this feels like something i’d write, and I don’t mean that in a wholly self-aggrandizing way, but you use the same sort of flow in your prechorus that i use in a lot of my folkier songs. you killed it honey turtle. I gave you an easy 9.5 because this works so perfectly with the dark type, and even though i haven’t played or watched pokemon in years (i’m so fake lawl) I feel this one to my core. locking me out… climbing the walls… so evocative and dark and crisp

 

@Kylie Jenner: damn you guys are going for my heart here. HOW DID U KNOW! not only is there that lovely ass Lana reference but the whole damn thing feels super inspired by her. you got a 10 from me my darling. tainting azure with a sea sick foam. absolutely smashed this one, knocked it outta the dang park! I can sing this one in my head, I’d love to sing something like this

 

@worldwide angel: my darling, you hit the mark here!! you got my 10. perfect balance of simplicity and profundity. there’s darkness, there’s hope, there’s a stunning and fatalistic simplicity to some of the lines, but it’s deceiving. there’s so much depth in the power of lines such as “run to special places, create perfect spaces.” you’re after my heart istg!

 

@GentleDance: similar to @worldwide angel, there’s something so enticing about the deceptive simplicity of these lyrics. damn… I truly feel like I’m dancing gently here babe. you got another of my high scores, I’m a sucker for subverting typical lyrical norms to something new and you gave me a GREAT whoop in the stomach with (and you might be like “wtf Joe really? that’s random” when you read this) the “can do nothing about white and grey/can do nothing about DNA.” that right there is subverting the more obvious “can’t do nothing…” I was like YES! THIS IS WHAT’S UP!!! f*cking slay hon

 

@Tropical: this one is so cute! the chorus is soooo pop. I like the rhyme schemes, particularly in the bridge. idk if you’ve listened to my music (god i might be annoying about this but since i’m a songwriter it’s my main frame of reference here so bear with me lmaoooo) but I so rarely go for rhyming in my lyrics, i’m consistently impressed by everyone who utilizes rhyming schemes so seemingly effortlessly. you knocked it outta the park in that department. I thought the direct use of Mewtwo’s name really brought something fresh to the table, so i commend you for the boldness of this entry!! if i were to give you one little thing of advice: i think the length of this song hindered it in a small way. it’s great and cute, but i think a second verse really could’ve added a little bit more of an impact! great work overall though

 

@8thPrince: oh babe. you snapped. the imagery here is impeccable. i’m gonna give you a huge compliment are u ready? this reads like something my fav Kate Bush would write in her The Sensual World or Aerial eras. there’s a sci-fi undercurrent to the whole thing. and then the two final lines blindsided me with a cute (and I mean this in the best way) and cheesy sort of statement. I love it. I love that deception. excellent work

 

@xBoySelenatorx: this reads like a folk/country tune tbh! it’s storytelling in song form at its finest, and I’m so happy with the route you took. the chorus is giving catchy realness. the lil monologue at the get-go is giving local bard running you through what’s up before he gets into the thick of it. oh yeah and i’m a sucker for writings on spiritualism, so the “psychophonies” thing struck me hard

 

@stormpulse: babe. you utilized my favorite type of repetition in these lyrics!! it feels dizzying and yet when the changes come they’re super striking. but the whole thing feels like a series of mantras. this is extremely powerful stuff, and it stands out in this competition. it’s challenging, but it never feels claustrophobic or too far out to turn me off. very well-done

@Julianna Calm Down: hmmm. this one was more of a challenge for me for some reason. i think some moments felt a bit clunkier than others. “so I conceal my powerful” felt like a bit of a stretch but I understand the notion. “truth is hidden in my fragile” was the same to me. were you trying to… like purposefully be improper from the perspective of someone learning new things? that was my initial interpretation. one thing i ADORED about this one though was the line “for 40 days I’ll make it cold/it’s been 40 nights and you’re not home.” that one right there is absolutely stunning

 

@XO_Life: magnificent. some might give this the critique of it being on the shorter end, but you know what? this time the brevity very much played to your strengths and the potency was tangible through my laptop screen hon. this is some intense sh*t right here. every lyric is a standout for me, making this one of my absolute favs of the round. you know how to get me with this kind of song, and I’m actually a sucker for a question-filled chorus. “cold showers won’t help!” GAHHHH! you just get it!

 

@PoKiTaurus: mmmmm sweet victory. “maintain your hope when you feel alone.” I love this empowerment anthem vibe. it can be so hard to do it without it feeling overwrought, but you did a fantastic job here. being proud, the visuals of the sun and the moon, tuning in, chilling out, i love it all. I will say a bridge could’ve elevated this just a BIT but otherwise it really does work as an empowerment pop anthem that i’m hearin in my head

 

@Prisoner: no. thank YOU! sky children. what a dreamy title. “cushions of white pillows under the starlight.” what an incredibly lush and gorgeous image you painted here! I love the deception in that one line because my internal monologue went “oh clouds, oh yeah Joe it’s gonna be a bright sunny moment!!” then comes the STARLIGHT! starlight!! the Marina stan in me ate this up! the bird references… oh birds are my life lemme tell ya. “lone dove perched on a banyan tree” i want that image tattooed under my forearm owl tattoo tbh

 

@OreGuy: idk how to fully explain this but… as a queer man it’s sometimes so nice to read something like “life has treated and altered my plans of being the best version of a man.” it makes me feel kinda gay as f*ck and it’s very affirming knowing that other people feel that way and can express themselves that way. oh my god why am i in cheesy world lmao. but like yeah i’m all “yeah i’m a man 😤 but i’m also super duper gay and also bisexual but yeah we struggle. we’re out here” idk lol that was my first thought. very humanizing and vulnerable and i like that. this is so contemplative. i gave you high marks for the introspection here. coming of age realness

everyone did excellent work  bravissimo babez

awww thanks babe

[JoeAg]

7 minutes ago, fountain said:

Yas thank you king  great reviews!

these entries really impressed me tbh!

[OreGuy]

On 6/27/2023 at 11:46 AM, Jackson said:

 

Round 1: Pokémon Types

Ranking & Scores

 

#1 @Kylie Jenner - Lost in the Rays - 9.50

#2 @GentleDance - DNA - 9.33

#3 @Hug - Heaven only exists in the dark - 9.17

#4 @8thPrince - Hurricane - 8.80

#5 @PoKiTaurus - Victory Tune & @Prisoner - Sky Children - 8.67

#7 @OreGuy - Sunshine At Sea - 8.60

#8 @Julianna Calm Down - Silver Skin - 8.27

#9 @XO_Life - Is the...? - 8.13

#10 StormPulse - Exodus - 7.87

#11 @worldwide angel - Grace - 7.67

#12 @xBoySelenatorx - Ghost and Maniac - 7.47

#13 @Tropical - Read Your Mind - 6.77

 

🌸

 

 

 

oh wait a min... i ranked #7???  i didn't expect that nnnn thanks ladies. let me finally read the other reviews

[Kylie Jenner]

Thank you for your kind words 

[fountain]

4 minutes ago, JoeAg said:

these entries really impressed me tbh!

It was a wonderful first round, hopefully round 2 delivers the goods too 

[fountain]

2 minutes ago, OreGuy said:

oh wait a min... i ranked #7???  i didn't expect that nnnn thanks ladies. let me finally read the other reviews

Yes and you were only 0.07 away from top 5 too  great job

[OreGuy]

On 6/27/2023 at 11:14 AM, Jackson said:

Next up at #7 with a score of 8.60...

 

Is @OreGuy with "Sunshine At Sea"

 

This was in my top 3 for the round personally. Thanks for providing such a gorgeous debut! 

thank you!! im sooo happy you liked it

On 6/27/2023 at 11:16 AM, fountain said:

@OreGuy congrats on your highest scoring song in Golden Hit so far! Keep going up from here

it is  sometimes low scores can be so discouraging to continue, but this was a surprise. I felt distant to this bc I wrote this during my mom's hospitalization so I completely forgot about it just bc of its association during that time last week. 

 

I should've read reviews first before submitting R2, a kii

 

2 minutes ago, fountain said:

Yes and you were only 0.07 away from top 5 too  great job

omg  

[fountain]

6 minutes ago, OreGuy said:

I felt distant to this bc I wrote this during my mom's hospitalization so I completely forgot about it just bc of its association during that time last week. 

Omg no, I hope she is doing better  

 

Hopefully with more time between it you can look back on this song even fonder. You really did a great job and the score shows that

[poki]

1 hour ago, OreGuy said:

thank you!! im sooo happy you liked it

it is  sometimes low scores can be so discouraging to continue, but this was a surprise. I felt distant to this bc I wrote this during my mom's hospitalization so I completely forgot about it just bc of its association during that time last week. 

 

I should've read reviews first before submitting R2, a kii

 

omg  

I hope things will be well 

 

Sometimes when we feel distant, our subconscious can take the lead and we don't realize it. It can be a great opportunity to learn from. 

 

[poki]

I scrapped my track, starting over. 

[Kylie Jenner]

10 minutes ago, PoKiTaurus said:

I scrapped my track, starting over. 

I did this too like 4 times for this challenge  I found this one so difficult

[fountain]

24 minutes ago, PoKiTaurus said:

I scrapped my track, starting over. 

 

13 minutes ago, Kylie Jenner said:

I did this too like 4 times for this challenge  I found this one so difficult

Oh no

if you are struggling with one of the prompts in particular, maybe give the other one a try and see if any inspiration comes for that?

[fountain]

It’s different for everybody but for me if I was doing this challenge I would probably look at my favourite artists and my favourite songs and see if there is anything that I can work with using their work as the starting point. I think those people naturally inspire us anyway, and either sampling or writing a sequel to one of their songs can just be another form of that inspiration. And still, even though we are taking inspiration from others in this challenge, what you write can definitely still feel yours so don’t feel too constrained. I wouldn’t worry about the sample/sequel component too much, it doesn’t have to be overly significant and you can always go for something more simplistic anyway. It’s intention is not to box you in but just to create a starting point for your inspiration, and then you can write from there and develop it in your own way to make the song feel more you if that helps. 

[Julianna Calm Down]

submitted 

[Kylie Jenner]

1 hour ago, fountain said:

 

Oh no

if you are struggling with one of the prompts in particular, maybe give the other one a try and see if any inspiration comes for that?

I came up with something but it took me a while to get it to a place where I was happy with it. I do really like the challenge of the sequel/sample, I think it was just me battling against my muse

[GentleDance]

7 hours ago, fountain said:

Thoughts on these? 
 

 

beautiful, thank you 

[poki]

3 hours ago, fountain said:

 

Oh no

if you are struggling with one of the prompts in particular, maybe give the other one a try and see if any inspiration comes for that?

I tried to capture the whole world and almost forgot why I even did it for 

[poki]

I'm gushing like a teenage girl 'cause I finally see me. 

[poki]

Just now, PoKiTaurus said:

I'm gushing like a teenage girl 'cause I finally see me. 

It's so DUMB but I love it so much lmao

I'm keeping this one.

[XO_Life]

I had to re submit. I forgot one Chorus.

[XO_Life]

8 hours ago, JoeAg said:

  Hide contents

@Hug: wow. this feels like something i’d write, and I don’t mean that in a wholly self-aggrandizing way, but you use the same sort of flow in your prechorus that i use in a lot of my folkier songs. you killed it honey turtle. I gave you an easy 9.5 because this works so perfectly with the dark type, and even though i haven’t played or watched pokemon in years (i’m so fake lawl) I feel this one to my core. locking me out… climbing the walls… so evocative and dark and crisp

 

@Kylie Jenner: damn you guys are going for my heart here. HOW DID U KNOW! not only is there that lovely ass Lana reference but the whole damn thing feels super inspired by her. you got a 10 from me my darling. tainting azure with a sea sick foam. absolutely smashed this one, knocked it outta the dang park! I can sing this one in my head, I’d love to sing something like this

 

@worldwide angel: my darling, you hit the mark here!! you got my 10. perfect balance of simplicity and profundity. there’s darkness, there’s hope, there’s a stunning and fatalistic simplicity to some of the lines, but it’s deceiving. there’s so much depth in the power of lines such as “run to special places, create perfect spaces.” you’re after my heart istg!

 

@GentleDance: similar to @worldwide angel, there’s something so enticing about the deceptive simplicity of these lyrics. damn… I truly feel like I’m dancing gently here babe. you got another of my high scores, I’m a sucker for subverting typical lyrical norms to something new and you gave me a GREAT whoop in the stomach with (and you might be like “wtf Joe really? that’s random” when you read this) the “can do nothing about white and grey/can do nothing about DNA.” that right there is subverting the more obvious “can’t do nothing…” I was like YES! THIS IS WHAT’S UP!!! f*cking slay hon

 

@Tropical: this one is so cute! the chorus is soooo pop. I like the rhyme schemes, particularly in the bridge. idk if you’ve listened to my music (god i might be annoying about this but since i’m a songwriter it’s my main frame of reference here so bear with me lmaoooo) but I so rarely go for rhyming in my lyrics, i’m consistently impressed by everyone who utilizes rhyming schemes so seemingly effortlessly. you knocked it outta the park in that department. I thought the direct use of Mewtwo’s name really brought something fresh to the table, so i commend you for the boldness of this entry!! if i were to give you one little thing of advice: i think the length of this song hindered it in a small way. it’s great and cute, but i think a second verse really could’ve added a little bit more of an impact! great work overall though

 

@8thPrince: oh babe. you snapped. the imagery here is impeccable. i’m gonna give you a huge compliment are u ready? this reads like something my fav Kate Bush would write in her The Sensual World or Aerial eras. there’s a sci-fi undercurrent to the whole thing. and then the two final lines blindsided me with a cute (and I mean this in the best way) and cheesy sort of statement. I love it. I love that deception. excellent work

 

@xBoySelenatorx: this reads like a folk/country tune tbh! it’s storytelling in song form at its finest, and I’m so happy with the route you took. the chorus is giving catchy realness. the lil monologue at the get-go is giving local bard running you through what’s up before he gets into the thick of it. oh yeah and i’m a sucker for writings on spiritualism, so the “psychophonies” thing struck me hard

 

@stormpulse: babe. you utilized my favorite type of repetition in these lyrics!! it feels dizzying and yet when the changes come they’re super striking. but the whole thing feels like a series of mantras. this is extremely powerful stuff, and it stands out in this competition. it’s challenging, but it never feels claustrophobic or too far out to turn me off. very well-done

@Julianna Calm Down: hmmm. this one was more of a challenge for me for some reason. i think some moments felt a bit clunkier than others. “so I conceal my powerful” felt like a bit of a stretch but I understand the notion. “truth is hidden in my fragile” was the same to me. were you trying to… like purposefully be improper from the perspective of someone learning new things? that was my initial interpretation. one thing i ADORED about this one though was the line “for 40 days I’ll make it cold/it’s been 40 nights and you’re not home.” that one right there is absolutely stunning

 

@XO_Life: magnificent. some might give this the critique of it being on the shorter end, but you know what? this time the brevity very much played to your strengths and the potency was tangible through my laptop screen hon. this is some intense sh*t right here. every lyric is a standout for me, making this one of my absolute favs of the round. you know how to get me with this kind of song, and I’m actually a sucker for a question-filled chorus. “cold showers won’t help!” GAHHHH! you just get it!

 

@PoKiTaurus: mmmmm sweet victory. “maintain your hope when you feel alone.” I love this empowerment anthem vibe. it can be so hard to do it without it feeling overwrought, but you did a fantastic job here. being proud, the visuals of the sun and the moon, tuning in, chilling out, i love it all. I will say a bridge could’ve elevated this just a BIT but otherwise it really does work as an empowerment pop anthem that i’m hearin in my head

 

@Prisoner: no. thank YOU! sky children. what a dreamy title. “cushions of white pillows under the starlight.” what an incredibly lush and gorgeous image you painted here! I love the deception in that one line because my internal monologue went “oh clouds, oh yeah Joe it’s gonna be a bright sunny moment!!” then comes the STARLIGHT! starlight!! the Marina stan in me ate this up! the bird references… oh birds are my life lemme tell ya. “lone dove perched on a banyan tree” i want that image tattooed under my forearm owl tattoo tbh

 

@OreGuy: idk how to fully explain this but… as a queer man it’s sometimes so nice to read something like “life has treated and altered my plans of being the best version of a man.” it makes me feel kinda gay as f*ck and it’s very affirming knowing that other people feel that way and can express themselves that way. oh my god why am i in cheesy world lmao. but like yeah i’m all “yeah i’m a man 😤 but i’m also super duper gay and also bisexual but yeah we struggle. we’re out here” idk lol that was my first thought. very humanizing and vulnerable and i like that. this is so contemplative. i gave you high marks for the introspection here. coming of age realness

everyone did excellent work  bravissimo babez

Thank you

[poki]

This one's going way better now for me. 

[xBoySelenatorx]

Thank you for the kind words @JoeAg 

 

Cleaning up my lyrics for the best flow as possible, submitting after work  

 

I went with a sad-sample… I would even say it’s the perfect.mp3 embodiment of my first love and relationship ever and some of the post-break up emotions, questions, and wonders. 

[xBoySelenatorx]

I wanted to do something else at first. I wanted to do something “fun” and sample an upbeat song but it would have been another story-telling type of song  decided to go another direction and show some kind of range week 2 
 

 

[xBoySelenatorx]

2 hours ago, PoKiTaurus said:

This one's going way better now for me. 

Release the scrapped ones after. (PoKiTaurus’ Version - From The Vault)