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

[Kylie Jenner]

Thanks for the review  I’ve really enjoyed writing for this which is a first, usually when I write it feels like such a chore so thank you to the judges and host for coming up with challenges that sparked inspiration each week

[Julianna Calm Down]

thank you so much for organising such a fun, creative and well-structured competition, and thanks for all the effort you've all put into judging, scoring, giving feedback, mentoring and writing reviews! this was my first time participating, and I joined quite impulsively on a whim because the concept sounded fun when I read about it. i am so glad that i did join, because throughout the different challenges, i've been so inspired and written more stuff than i ever have in my life. it's been so challenging och creative, and i've thoroughly enjoyed every single moment. sad to see this end, but happy that this competition has enabled me to push myself into corners of writing that i normally wouldn't have explored. i hope everyone is feeling well on the last day of July, sending well-wishes to @fountain in particular, and to @Legend E - hope your week goes well! 

[Galah]

7 hours ago, fountain said:

@Aurora - Third Wish

Well, I already gave you a majority of my thoughts on this song with the mentoring, but a little more praise never hurts right! This very clearly is a beautiful song and it’s use of inspiration from the countries you visited is amazing. The overall theme of the genies wish, and the message of wanting to be so content with life within yourself, to the point that you don’t feel the need to use the third wish, is simply beautiful. I know you were worried about this possibly not living up to your previous entry as that one itself was so special and personal to you, but I think this song perfectly compliments your previous submission and acts as a great sister song. Though your position started off uncertainly at the beginning of the season, I’m really glad that you joined and that you enjoyed this different experience of GH. Certainly, at the very least, you’ve earned some special songs from it.

Thank you once again for allowing me to use your mentorship when navigating this difficult subject for me. Your advice was definitely invaluable and I am proud of the final version as a result.

 

7 hours ago, Legend E said:

Unfortunately, I am sorry to finish like this, but I will not be able to post reviews for this round, it would take me too much time and it's already very late and I have a stressful week ahead. I am terribly sorry for this. I am scoring your entries right now though.

Aw, I was very much looking forward to your review as I appreciated how you shared your personal interpretation of “First Place • Second Wind”, and made me think about my own writing in new ways. I hope you've enjoyed your time on the panel this season.

[fountain]

2 hours ago, Julianna Calm Down said:

thank you so much for organising such a fun, creative and well-structured competition, and thanks for all the effort you've all put into judging, scoring, giving feedback, mentoring and writing reviews! this was my first time participating, and I joined quite impulsively on a whim because the concept sounded fun when I read about it. i am so glad that i did join, because throughout the different challenges, i've been so inspired and written more stuff than i ever have in my life. it's been so challenging och creative, and i've thoroughly enjoyed every single moment. sad to see this end, but happy that this competition has enabled me to push myself into corners of writing that i normally wouldn't have explored. i hope everyone is feeling well on the last day of July, sending well-wishes to @fountain in particular, and to @Legend E - hope your week goes well! 

  

You’ve done amazing and definitely brought a fresh sense to this season, your songs have all been so creative and diverse so I’ve never known what to expect (certainly not LCT!) and that is always so fun to have. It can be more difficult taking part for the first time but you jumped in and delivered great writing straight away, a complete natural thank you for these kind words!

 

It does come and go quickly, I kinda can’t believe it’s about to be over again because it feels like just minutes ago when Jackson and I were first talking about ideas for this season , but I’m hoping we can share some of our plans for the next season today 

[Jackson]

7 hours ago, Julianna Calm Down said:

thank you so much for organising such a fun, creative and well-structured competition, and thanks for all the effort you've all put into judging, scoring, giving feedback, mentoring and writing reviews! this was my first time participating, and I joined quite impulsively on a whim because the concept sounded fun when I read about it. i am so glad that i did join, because throughout the different challenges, i've been so inspired and written more stuff than i ever have in my life. it's been so challenging och creative, and i've thoroughly enjoyed every single moment. sad to see this end, but happy that this competition has enabled me to push myself into corners of writing that i normally wouldn't have explored. i hope everyone is feeling well on the last day of July, sending well-wishes to @fountain in particular, and to @Legend E - hope your week goes well! 

I'm so glad you decided to join - your presence this season has made the game so much more fun and interesting. No one else could have written LCT

[Jackson]

 

@OreGuy – Kid

I really appreciate how varied your entries have been this season. You haven’t been afraid to take risks and try new things, and I’m happy to see you try something new yet again for this round. This feels like a very personal entry, so it definitely fulfills the challenge. There were a lot of strong metaphors in this song, like “I could fit shapes into boxes/just as proud as I do with my thoughts”, but there were also times you resorted to clichés like “lock the doors, and hide the key”. Replacing these lines with more original metaphors or personal details would have further strengthened the song. I would have also liked to see the song include more personal details about what your character did alone, like you did with the “go to the movies” line, although “to places couples go to in the afternoon” left like a forced rhyme to the next line. Still, I loved your bridge, specifically the line I mentioned earlier and “I should unlearn the alphabet/Cause I’m never good with words”. I also liked the changed glow/grow in the chorus. It ends the song on a more somber note, but there’s also a feeling of self-assuredness throughout the song. I like the conflicted-ness of the narrator. It keeps the song from feeling one-dimensional and makes it feel more real. Overall, I think this was a solid finale song, although some lines could have used more editing. I’ve been one of your biggest stans this season and I’ve loved watching you grow and explore new themes. This song is just another testament to how capable of a writer you are.

 

StormPulse – I Was Just A Child

Not the back to back kid songs . You’ve written a few personal entries this season and throughout your Golden Hit run to the point that I recognize some common threads between them. I almost felt like I was re-entering the StormPulse cinematic universe as I oriented myself somewhere in the Northeast, after leaving the south. The way you describe “a creaking engine to the old Northeast/The southern reaches are too sweltering” is so beautifully poetic and helps build the scene well. There were a few poetic elements that felt forced, such as the alliteration in the first line, and the might/fight and stare/dare rhymes. My favorite line here was “I was not deserving of sanity” – the way you portray sanity as a social construct or a badge to be earned by others was striking, and honestly made me think about how mental health is talked about and stigmatized. There was a time not long ago that we would have been thought of as mentally ill just because of our sexual orientation, so perhaps mental wellness is not as diagnosable as some might think. I’m not sure how literal some of the events of the song are to your life, but there were quite a few unexpected twists here, and the honesty with which they were portrayed was impressive. Like your previous song, themes were introduced and left behind, and perhaps disjointed at times, but I think that only adds to the diaristic style of the lyrics. At this point, you’ve had multiple strong seasons and continually proved your writing strength. Regardless of how this season ends for you, you’ve proven you’re a writer deserving and capable of a win, so I hope (whether this season or another) you achieve that title.

 

@worldwide angel – musings of an imperfect soul

I’m not mad about it, but I feel the need to point out that “my dreams go dancing in the wind” is just another way to describe something floating, which as I mentioned last week, is almost an expected worldwide angel trope at this point. This song, as most of your songs do, returned us to your ether, but this is the self-portrait round and I’d be surprised to see your soul existing anywhere else. Despite the airy imagery and structure, there was a certain weightiness to some of the lyrics here, and you let us deeper into your mind than usual, which was a choice that paid off. “Frilly and feminine, invisible gowns/look down on my crown, I’m incredibly proud” was both a beautiful line and a striking one. I also loved the image of “blurring binaries”, and “for my Sherlock to solve” made me visibly smile. I felt like a bit of a Sherlock trying to decipher your first verse, but my interpretation is that slicing trees/black blood refers to your writing, and as far as worldwide angel metaphors go, this wasn’t among the least accessible.  In fact, this is probably my favorite song of yours this season, and perhaps one of my favorite songs overall this season. There are too many standout lines to quote, but a few of my favorites include “dive my head in the dense, stream of passion” and “just a little voice locked up in a basement/churning universes and planets by the second”. Your final couplet, “but time may not be real/but it sure is futile” was a gorgeous way to end the song, and a beautiful summation of the overall feeling of trying to cast unease aside to find and accept happiness found throughout the song. You’ve been a remarkably consistent writer this season, and I’m happy to see you ending on such a high note.

 

@XO_Life – stronger than i ever was

This season really has been your personal era – but I also feel like you’ve ventured out from your typical style a lot this season, so a return to a poppier style of writing is itself almost a self-portrait for you. Beyond that, there were a lot of cliché or generic lyrics to the point that it didn’t feel especially personal. Your chorus, “This was rough/But I am here/Stronger than I ever was” is simple and catchy, but it lacks personality. Images of fake smiles, brighter days, and looking in the mirror are also not much more than common pop song empowerment tropes. There were small moments of originality that shone through. I liked the way the “prince” line referred to one of your previous songs this season, and the diamonized/crystallized couplet was an interesting way to portray scars. You’ve proven yourself to be a strong writer this season, but this song didn’t provide a clear enough window into your life to truly be a self-portrait song. Still, I’ve seen a lot of growth from you this season, and I’m glad you’ve continued to explore your identity and writing style with us. 

 

@Julianna Calm Down – NOMAD

This was a new kind of song for you this season! A small nitpick to start, but what was the intention of white rust? Isn’t rust usually red? I googled and learned that white rust is an actual thing, but it feels oddly specific, so I wondered if it was supposed to symbolize something that typical rust doesn’t. Your first verse starts off very BIG, referencing black holes and people dying of insatiable lust. The lust line in particular stands out, because everything else has a negative connotation, yet there are apparently people lusting over this man? Explain. Your first couple verses have a few lines I really like, such as “they flutter like silk confetti in the wind” and “warning me not to lend you too much to myself”, but there are also a few lines that I think could have been reworded to sound more lyrical or carry more emotional weight, such as “then laughed at my face” and “then placed all your blame on me”, which didn’t feel as elevated as the rest of the verse. The prechorus was a bit of a miss for me – each rhyme felt forced and unnecessary. Thankfully, I thought your chorus was great, specifically the impeccable flow of “a temporary thing/a lie on the lips/a mind playing tricks”. I like the progression of the song, with you eventually finding meaning in yourself. I like the image of wandering through pitch black to find happiness – it gives a sense of urgency that feels needed in the song. Overall, this is a good song, if inconsistent at times – a song that would be among your best with a little more editing. You’ve already accomplished a lot in your first season, so thank you for joining and gracing us with your writing!

 

@Hug – Lost in the Mirror

This feels like exactly the kind of self-portrait song I would write for this challenge, and tbh it reminds me a lot of my final song for GH1. The whole premise of the song is very clever, and the image of walking down a street looking at yourself in the CCTVs of the stores you walk past helps build the story well. The theme of self-acceptance isn’t necessarily new, but it’s presented in a unique and interesting way. Some lines in both the verses and the chorus feel a bit too wordy to be lyrical or poetic – words like “divert” in the first verse feel like they’re picked just to elevate the language, and “so I wake up my phone before looking at the screen” doesn’t roll off the tongue as well as your lyrics typically do. Still, you have a lot of strong lines here. I love “I can lose a lot of weight, but no confidence was gained” in the chorus, and “people can try and point out all my strengths/the pessimist in me wonders why they’d go to such lengths” in the bridge (the highlight of the song for me). Although the song wasn’t always as lyrical as I would expect from you, it was still quite a strong entry and a great way to cap off another stellar season from you.

 

@Kylie Jenner – The Great Pretender

This feels like a big departure from your writing throughout the other rounds this season. There are a lot of touches here that make this feel quite personal, so you executed the challenge well. “People always ask what I’m gonna do/Ain’t being a dreamer enough for you?” is a great moment of introspection, and the question helps amplify the sense of doubt, which is then followed up nicely later by “My world’s isn’t lonely though, it’s the perfect place/Why would I be sad when I’m my own saving grace?”. Perhaps it’s a function of being a more raw, personal song, but there were also lines that felt less polished than usual. “Hosting tea parties for all their friends” and “while I am just a boy” felt awkwardly phrased. A couple lines, like “I am happy here, lying to myself to keep out the fear” seem worded to complete the rhyme scheme rather than add to the lyrics. Elsewhere, however, I really liked some of your rhymes, specifically the titular line. I really liked the “petals and grass” and “garden” lines in the first verse. I think it would have strengthened the song even more to carry that theme throughout, perhaps using the garden as a metaphor for the safe place in your mind and the sharp blades and bad streets as a metaphor for the place you’re trying to escape. This was another strong entry from you, albeit one that could have used a bit more editing. Still, you’ve had an undefeated run this season and absolutely proved yourself to be one of the strongest writers we have. Good luck in the finale!

 

@Aurora – Third Wish

I’m happy to see you submitting something for the final round! Obviously, this was an almost perfect entry from a technical perspective. Your perfect meter makes the song very easy to read, and helps accentuate some of the flowery language. It works well throughout the song, only faltering a bit in the “all anguish felt” line, which felt contorted to fit the rhyme scheme and meter. Lyrically, this was beautiful and poetic. Compared to “First Place • Second Wind”, this had the flowery lyrics and technical mastery of “First Place” while retaining a lot of the emotion of “Second Wind”. I was immediately transported to the spice bazaar on Lodos winds with you. Lines like “I’ve stalled before another stall” were cleverly crafted, and the “Turkish delight”/”Turkish lira” lines had a commercial aspect to them that stuck in my brain like a well-designed pop hook. I’m happy to see you tackle such a personal subject, and lines like “confronted by the cause of my despondency and woe” certainly struck a dramatic, personal tone, although having them masked behind so many layers of precisely picked words and metaphors kept me from strongly connecting to them. I can feel that this is a personal song with deep meaning, but the elevated language makes it feel more like a story told by someone else than a raw retelling of the events you experienced. Regardless, I love the song and I have no doubt it will score well, but I’d love to see you play a full season and explore new sides to your songwriting. You’ve proven over and over through the years that you’re one of the best writers we have on this site, but I feel like you have even more to say and offer behind the curtain you sometimes draw around yourself.

 

@PoKiTaurus / The Heart of Poki Still Beats – Hibiscus

Loving all these alter egos we get to experience each week! I bought two hibiscus last year, and they really are fun because they're constantly in bloom. New flowers last a day or two and fall off, but new flowers are always close behind. I think that’s a cool metaphor for life, and I see how that impacted the song. I appreciate that you kept this song quite personal rather than writing it through the perspective of external characters. Writing it from a first person point of view helps keep a sense of intimacy that I think the song needed and benefited from. Lyrically, there’s a mix of stronger and weaker lines. I liked “The tallest mountain won’t be beyond reach”, but “bleak” in the next line felt like a forced rhyme, and “out of all those years with ease” was a bit too wordy for a chorus line. My favorite part of the song is the “beyond my knee” verse – I loved this metaphor and the way you conveyed such a personal meaningful message through it. I’ve greatly appreciated your involvement this season, both through your lyrics and the personality you’ve shown us in your songs and in the thread. I hope you continue to be a presence in this game in the future, and continue to explore the many sides of us you’ve shown.

[Hug]

Thank you for your comments, now and throughout the season!! ♥️ Unfortunately I may not be able to participate in the finale. I work until 7 est today :( though I have a sinking feeling I won't need to be here to know what will happen! Still, thank you for a wonderful season. These games are my reason for even remembering this site exists at this point and I love playing a part <3

[poki]

I loved this rhyme 

 

“confronted by the cause of my despondency and woe” certainly struck a dramatic, personal tone, 

[Jackson]

1 hour ago, Hug said:

Thank you for your comments, now and throughout the season!! ♥️ Unfortunately I may not be able to participate in the finale. I work until 7 est today :( though I have a sinking feeling I won't need to be here to know what will happen! Still, thank you for a wonderful season. These games are my reason for even remembering this site exists at this point and I love playing a part <3

I relate  scores are still close, though, to the point that final season rankings will depend on the final set of scores yet to arrive! Thanks for your participation in what has been another amazing season for you

 

10 minutes ago, PoKiTaurus said:

I loved this rhyme 

 

“confronted by the cause of my despondency and woe” certainly struck a dramatic, personal tone, 

reviews can be poetry too i guess  

[fountain]

Two hours to go!! 

[Jackson]

1 hour ago, fountain said:

Two hours to go!! 

One hour to go!!

[poki]

15 minutes 

 

 

It's been such a ride 

[Kylie Jenner]

well it’s (almost) over

[Jackson]

1 minute ago, Kylie Jenner said:

well it’s (almost) over

[fountain]

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

 

[Julianna Calm Down]

I have arrived, the show can begin 

[poki]

The weekly homework was honestly the only form of structure my life had in the past 2 months

 

[fountain]

we will be beginning any minute now, thank you for being here early

[fountain]

 

 

Welcome and thank you for joining us for the finale of Golden Hit Season 4!

 

After six amazing and creative weeks of writing, the time has come for the final results of the season! 58 fantastic songs were written during this season, and I hope you can join us in paying tribute to this great work!

 

A big thank you to you all for taking part and putting so much of yourselves into these songs. It takes a lot of bravery and soul to write like this and to share it, and you should all be proud of yourselves for doing so, no matter if you took part for only one round, or for the entire season!

 

 

The finale schedule will go as follows:

 

-Score reveals for Round 4 and Round 5

-Results for Round 6

-Final season 4 averages revealed

-And a tease of Season 5

 

Hope you are looking forward to it and thank you for joining us! We will begin with Round 4 scores to follow…

 

Spoiler

Sign ups:

1. @worldwide angel

2. @XO_Life

3. @GentleDance

4. @Tropical

5. @Hug

6. @Julianna Calm Down

7. StormPulse

8. @OreGuy

9. @PoKiTaurus

10. @8thPrince

11. @xBoySelenatorx

12. @Prisoner

13. @Kylie Jenner

14. @Better Mistakes

15. @Aurora

 

@Legend E @JoeAg 

 

[Jackson]

 

Round 4: Absurdity 

Scores

 

One of the most fun rounds of the season, this round had some high scores to match!

 

#1 @Hug - TMI - 9.23

#2 @Julianna Calm Down - LCT (Lemon Curd Titty) - 9.17

#3 @worldwide angel - Blue Flame - 9.13

#4 @PoKiTaurus - Hey Simon & OreGuy - Monster - 8.6

#6 @Kylie Jenner - Madonna Came Down From The Sky - 8.57

#7 StormPulse - 7 Rings (Gay Version) - 8.23

#8 @XO_Life - Blocked - 7.57

[fountain]

10 minutes ago, Julianna Calm Down said:

I have arrived, the show can begin 

please everybody picture me looking like this:

 

 

and picture Jackson and witness era Katy

[Jackson]

my ***** is still throbbing from LCT honestly (not to downplay TMI, which was also a fantastic song)

[fountain]

1 minute ago, Jackson said:

 

Round 4: Absurdity 

Scores

 

One of the most fun rounds of the season, this round had some high scores to match!

 

#1 @Hug - TMI - 9.23

#2 @Julianna Calm Down - LCT (Lemon Curd Titty) - 9.17

#3 @worldwide angel - Blue Flame - 9.13

#4 @PoKiTaurus - Hey Simon & OreGuy - Monster - 8.6

#6 @Kylie Jenner - Madonna Came Down From The Sky - 8.57

#7 StormPulse - 7 Rings (Gay Version) - 8.23

#8 @XO_Life - Blocked - 7.57

I'm not gonna lie... the absurdity round is unironically probably my favourite of the season 

[Jackson]

1 minute ago, fountain said:

please everybody picture me looking like this:

 

 

and picture Jackson and witness era Katy

 

can you see me (on the red carpet)? can you REALLY see me (on the red carpet)?

[Julianna Calm Down]

1 minute ago, Jackson said:

my ***** is still throbbing from LCT honestly (not to downplay TMI, which was also a fantastic song)

Cause your taste is on point 

I’m still shooketh that THaT sensational masterpiece left my body