tournament Golden Hit: Season 5 ⚜️ Congrats to fountain!

[Jackson]

2 hours ago, JonginBey said:

 

Thank you so much for the review! 

i hope you're working on your R6 song

[Hug]

I will be deciding what challenge I do...maybe Tuesday. Since I'm gonna be doing midjourney anyway I'll have to choose one of the others as well, lest I take a cop-out to the finale.

 

I am pretty sure I wouldn't do the 500 word challenge though because I am best keeping things concise.

[Jackson]

18 hours ago, Jackson said:

Welcome to the final round of Golden Hit Season 5! To cap off the season, we're taking you on a nostalgic journey through the seasons of Golden Hit. Get ready to dive into your Golden Hit history books!

 

 

 

 

For this round, we've handpicked a challenge from each of the first four seasons of Golden Hit. This is your chance to choose a challenge that resonates with you – you could even combine challenges if you’re feeling extra ambitious. Below, we’ve provided brief explanations of each challenge and linked to the original challenge posts for additional information:

 

Season 1 ⚜ ATW10MVTVFTV (long songs)

 From the first season of Golden Hit - here brevity is your enemy. For this challenge, you are tasked with writing a song that’s at least 500 words in length. As in the original challenge, only the first three instances of a repeat will count toward your word count. That is to say, if you have four identical repetitions of a chorus throughout your song, only the first three will count toward your goal of 500 words. Remember, more is more!

 

 

Season 2 ⚜ Spoken Word

From the Season 2 classic, we're throwing the conventional songwriting rulebook out the window! Here, your task is to infuse your song with spoken word elements. Feel free to scatter them throughout your lyrics, designate a specific section, or go all-in with an entire spoken word song! The beauty? It's your call! Your theme, story, or inspiration – totally up to you.

 

 

Season 3 ⚜ Midjourney

From Season 3, your challenge is to write a song inspired by a Midjourney AI, or another generative AI of your choice. This generated image will double as your single cover. If you prefer, you can also create your image yourself. Note that we will not be judging you on your generated single cover, only the lyrics inspired by it.

 

 

Season 4 ⚜ Absurdity

From Season 4 comes the Absurdity Challenge – a challenge where normal is boring, and the absurd is just enough! Your mission is to craft a song that's a celebration of the nonsensical. We're talking lyrics that defy logic, make us laugh, or seek to confuse. Break free from the ordinary, play with unconventional structures, and dive into the surreal. Absurdism is your muse, so let your imagination run wild.

 

 

Songs are due via Google Form submission by Thu. Dec 7, 11:59PM EST

The top three submissions, regardless of the season chosen, will earn their talented creators a coveted Hit Token! This is your last chance this season to score a gold/silver/bronze token, so don't miss out on the chance to add one to your collection! It’s still not too late to sign up! Simply submit through the submission form to be added to the sign-up list.

 

@stupidjock@fountain@Hey Dude@GentleDance@réveuse@Invisibility@worldwide angel@Legend E@JonginBey@Kayseri Mantisi@blackoutbaby@Navy4Life@Antikythera@Julianna Calm Down@Hug@Prisoner@punisher@TruGemini

 

almost forgot, but @JoeAg the next round is up!

[Jackson]

 

hurricane326 – Parasite

You did a great job of matching the tone of @Aurora's verse. When I first started reading the song I almost forgot that you didn’t write the verse, because it felt very reminiscent of your style, and you wove it into the song so seamlessly. Although the song is fairly short, the lack of repeating sections made it feel complete despite the word count (which, according to your last insta DM, you don’t intend to repeat next week!). Still, I think this could have benefited from some kind of repeated hook - even if not a chorus, perhaps a couplet at the end of each verse or some mention of “parasite” throughout. Your imagery is all very strong, but having a repeated part would have added some focus and additional power to the central theme. There were two parts to your song that stood out to me the most – “I’m an ocean being drained/A fiery spirit caught in the rain/Extinguishing my soul” and “You may end my pointlessness/In living in guilt and shame/My deserving parasite” were both so raw and emotional despite being so poetic and layered behind metaphors. As usual, this was a quite strong entry. It may not rank among my absolute favorites from you this season, but you yet again delivered an exceptional entry.

 

@fountain – Everything, as It Should Be | Official Theme Song of Golden Hit Season 5 | From the Grammy Nominated Original Live Action Musical Motion Picture Soundtrack | Performed by fountain, Aurora, Jackson and XO_Life | feat. Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga, Adele, Britney Spears and Michelle Yeoh | The Calvin Harris, David Guetta and Zedd Remix | ARTPOP 10th Anniversary Edition | Tik Tok Sped Up Version | Remastered | From the Vault

I had the same question re: moonseed chardonnays – I definitely spent 5 minutes on google trying to figure out what moonseed is and if you can make a wine from it. This felt crafted specifically for Round 6 – it was certainly absurd, quite long, and mostly spoken word. As a song, I’m not entirely sure how to score it, since there weren’t really any original non-dialogue sections. Had this been a (long, meandering) intro to an original song, it could have been slightly more effective, even if the original song was just a couple verses. As it is, it’s certainly creative, and perhaps one of the most unique things we’ve ever read in this game, but I’m not sure how it will fare as a song. Regardless, that’s the magic of GH5 and its dropped score. You certainly took a huge risk here, so I applaud you for that.

 

@Legend E – Dorothy Dying (feat. Tin Man)

Your range this season is pretty impressive! This isn’t the type of song I was expecting this round, but I loved the direction you took us in. One small note off the bat – make sure your cases are consistent. Your first line is in past tense, but the second line is in present tense. Lyrically, your verses were my favorite part of the song. You managed to pack a lot of emotion in them, and I could vividly see the setting. I like how you gave everyone jobs that matched their personalities from the original story and deepened their background and stories. While I liked the inclusion of a chorus, it felt kinda thrown in for the sake of having a chorus. It would have been stronger had you included specific references to Oz or the magical elements found there. As a duet, this worked well. I liked the two perspectives and they both felt equally strong. The bridge was also great. I loved the Toto/ruby/yellow brick road references. Great job overall!

 

@Hey Dude & @Hug – The Harp of Heaven and the Man with Clumsy Hands

I’m really happy to see you two collaborating! Although your styles are quite distinct, you both find inspiration from a lot of the same sources, which makes for an interesting dynamic. I’m interested in your song structure. You could have easily separated the first two verses with a chorus, but chose to write both verses first before going into the chorus. It does help to be able to see both verses side by side, and exemplifies how strong both are. From the beginning, I loved the couplet “If I’m a lonesome harp who needs a warm set of hands/Then the fire in me wonders if you’ll be my match”. In the second verse, it would have been cool to follow up the “I could ever afford” line with some reference to wealth or money to follow that structure. The verses are really the meat of the song. The chorus is a bit generic, and the bridge doesn’t add or contrast much from the story. While I loved the verses, I think the song could have benefited from a longer bridge or a more distinct chorus. Still, this was a solid entry for both of your standards, and I’m really happy to see you create something great together.

 

@punisher – Buy Me Flowers

You can buy yourself flowers, you can hold your own hand, legend! This is perhaps the expected route when one thinks of a duet, for both better and worse. Conceptually, this doesn’t push the envelope, but it certainly doesn’t need to. While there are times I would have loved to see more descriptive language to make the song feel more unique, there are still a lot of strong lines here. The chorus is pretty strong. I especially love the repeated “me or her” refrain, and how you weave it into the story of the song. The bridge is my favorite part. The “us/trust” rhyme was great. I could feel the bridge as an actual conversation, and the tension was palpable. While I liked the accusatory angle, I think it would have helped build the story even more to give the female character more flaws, to truly create even more tension. Still, this was a strong song, and there were some masterful sections. Great work!

 

@stupidjock & @JonginBey – The Loop

You’ve certainly been around the thread for a while, but I’m happy to see @JonginBeysubmit! Hopefully this is a trend – there’s still one more round! I’m not sure if you both wrote individual sections or co-wrote the entire thing together, but your styles meshed together really well. This feels very commercial, and while the theme isn’t anything I haven't seen before, I think you executed it really well. Everything flows very well, and you make even mundane motifs like fights and knives stand out with “I’m wielding a shield/You’re twirling a knife”. This song is also a great example of how showing rather than telling makes lyrics more interesting. You don’t even need to show the dialogue to drive home the emotion in “you stammer out an explanation/you’re avoiding my gaze”. You take what would typically be considered generic concepts (twisting a knife, running and hiding, bleeding out) and make them interesting through strong, interesting verbs. This was perhaps my favorite stupidjock song this season and an excellent JonginBey  introduction!

[Kern]

3 minutes ago, Jackson said:

This was perhaps my favorite stupidjock song this season and an excellent JonginBey  introduction!

to be fair the lines you and @Aurora quoted are all written by @JonginBey  He elevated this song perfectly from just a concept 

[Jackson]

Just now, stupidjock said:

to be fair the lines you and @Aurora quoted are all written by @JonginBey  He elevated this song perfectly from just a concept 

it sounds like you make a great songwriting duo 

[JonginBey]

7 minutes ago, Jackson said:

@stupidjock & @JonginBey – The Loop

You’ve certainly been around the thread for a while, but I’m happy to see @JonginBeysubmit! Hopefully this is a trend – there’s still one more round! I’m not sure if you both wrote individual sections or co-wrote the entire thing together, but your styles meshed together really well. This feels very commercial, and while the theme isn’t anything I haven't seen before, I think you executed it really well. Everything flows very well, and you make even mundane motifs like fights and knives stand out with “I’m wielding a shield/You’re twirling a knife”. This song is also a great example of how showing rather than telling makes lyrics more interesting. You don’t even need to show the dialogue to drive home the emotion in “you stammer out an explanation/you’re avoiding my gaze”. You take what would typically be considered generic concepts (twisting a knife, running and hiding, bleeding out) and make them interesting through strong, interesting verbs. This was perhaps my favorite stupidjock song this season and an excellent JonginBey  introduction

Thank you!  @stupidjock came up with the concept and kicked off a few lines, and then we wrote our own parts from there while communicating in-between to make sure we remained cohesive.

 

I wrote the first verse, second half of the first pre-chorus, the chorus, and the second pre-chorus.

 

stupidjock wrote the first half of the first pre-chorus, the second verse, the “to you” parts in the chorus, and the bridge (with minor tweaks from me).

[JoeAg]

1 hour ago, Jackson said:

almost forgot, but @JoeAg the next round is up!

thank u babe  i’ll check it out rn

[JonginBey]

1 hour ago, Jackson said:

i hope you're working on your R6 song

[fountain]

2 hours ago, Jackson said:

This felt crafted specifically for Round 6 – it was certainly absurd, quite long, and mostly spoken word.

12 hours ago, Aurora said:

wish you had taken my hint and held off writing something like this until Round 6’s Absurdity challenge! I would have had absolutely NO qualms giving this a 10 for that challenge. None whatsoever. Without hesitation.

Well let’s pretend it was submitted for round 6 then. Ahead of its time, literally!

 

My ARTPOP era indeed 

[XO_Life]

hurricane326 - Parasite

 

As always I am going to be completely honest. 

 

I actually let out a sigh of relief while reading your lyrics. Finally this is serving a clear (pop) song structure

 

Your first verse is purely amazing. Imo opinion it combines your usual writing style with a more pop style. You gave this verse such a tight rhyme scheme that it almost popped. Very well done. It was dark, brutal and poetic at the same time 

 

I loved your chorus, it was short and simple but very effective and kept the brutality of your verse going. 

 

Your second verse stayed on theme as well and in my opinion the first two lines were a complete collapse! Such amazing writing. You then went on and morphed your chorus while still being perfectly on theme with your song

 

Then came a plot twist showing that you are actually also a Parasite and may deserve everything that is coming your way. 

 

Another morphed chorus and the slay is complete. 

 

This is easily my favourite entry from you this entire season and you gave me everything I wanted.

 

While this isn't the pop perfection I ask you to deliver us in the first round, this is dark-pop perfection and to me a whole circle moment. 

 

Amazing and well done!

 

@fountain - Official Theme Song of Golden Hit Season 5

 

Well... I am not sure how I can even judge this

 

The creativity in this is absolutely insane, I've never written or read anything I could compare this to.

Is this a good thing? I am not sure tbh. To me this isn't a song

 

It's like an SNL Skit imo and for a short movie or a teaser for a real show this is extremely entertaining, I don't think I've ever been more entertained while reading something. It's giving Drag Race meets SNL and for this I enjoyed this. 

 

I am honest. I am not sure how I will rank this. On one hand I absolutely love it on the other this is isn't a real song imo.

 

@Legend E - Dorothy Dying (feat. Tin Man)

 

I am not aware if there this a sequel or real ending to Dorothy and how her life turned out to be. 

 

So this is a really interesting topic to write about. 

 

This entry is very camp and goes into great detail showing us how the life's of the hero's stories turned out. 

 

But... Reading this after fountains entry it's rather giving short story, musical number/musical than song.

 

The lyrics or the story was beautiful and wholesome and the creativity is off the charts.

 

Again, I am not sure how I will rate this

 

I love the creativity and the campness of it all and I like that you included a cute chorus.

 

@Hey Dude & @Hug

 

Ugh it's giving exiles little sister / intro.

I love how raw and emotional and reflective the lyrics felt. 

 

You both created something really beautiful and the two songs made one really beautiful one! 

 

It sounds like a conversational ballad that is simple, pure and really gives you all the emotions. 

 

The final chorus really took it home for me. It sounds just so beautiful. 

I just wished the song was longer. Throw in another chorus and two short verses and this would a contender for my #1!

 

This is a strong entry, well done!

 

@punisher- Buy Me Flowers

 

Interesting concept. 

 

I liked the rawness and simple language you used throught the song. This automatically makes a song more relatable. 

 

The rhyme scheme was good and everything seemed very well written. 

 

The last line of the first verse is a standout to me... something just always hits me when people talk about not marrying someone.

 

Your chorus was catchy and relatable as well. 

 

I would loved a complete chrous from his perspective tho and then another morphed chorus where both sing. But that is just my preference. 

 

Overall I enjoyed this entry and it's a cute song to add to your catalog.

 

@stupidjock @JonginBey- The Loop

 

Yes!!! Give me that toxic relationship anthem. We love that over here. 

 

You both did a great job capturing the essence of a toxic relationship and appropriately named it the loop.

 

The lyrics were crafted well, the rhyme scheme was tight and your chorus sounds like a banger. I got Ellie Goulding - On My Mind Vibes with this one (especially because of the (And you) parts. 

 

This is a really strong contender and I loved reading it. You did an amazing job.

 

Although,  and don't take this the wrong way I would've appreciated a clearer distinction between your writing styles they seem quite similar.

[poki]

I just realized both this R5 and season 4's R5 had me write by choice about a hopeless romantic and both had a fairytale vibe (at least in my mind when I was writing)

 

[Legend E]

I'm probably finishing last and it's fine, but I'm so damn curious about the score

[Kern]

9 minutes ago, Legend E said:

I'm probably finishing last and it's fine, but I'm so damn curious about the score

So far I served all OUT and one #2 so mine will be last 

[fountain]

31 minutes ago, Legend E said:

I'm probably finishing last and it's fine, but I'm so damn curious about the score

 

21 minutes ago, stupidjock said:

So far I served all OUT and one #2 so mine will be last 

The way we are all fighting for last 

[Legend E]

I mean idc that much, I am just curious  

[Kern]

I do care and idk if I should embarrass myself for the finale or give it a rest 

[XO_Life]

4 minutes ago, stupidjock said:

I do care and idk if I should embarrass myself for the finale or give it a rest 

I expect perfection from your final entry!

[Kern]

4 minutes ago, XO_Life said:

I expect perfection from your final entry!

Unexpect it 

[XO_Life]

32 minutes ago, stupidjock said:

Unexpect it 

Nope. You had an amazing journey so far! Finish high! 

[JonginBey]

@XO_Life thank you for the review! 

[Galah]

On 12/3/2023 at 9:01 PM, Aurora said:

5. @punisher - “Buy Me Flowers” (Individual Duet)

You used Google Docs! I’m gonna buy you flowers. This was honestly such a surprise from you and really refreshing to see. I know you weren’t around for those days, but this piece reminded me of something we’d be more likely to see in the Platinum Hit era… honestly this even feels like something I might have written during those days. This is pretty much a textbook individual duet, you’ve got the female vocal/perspective, the male vocal/perspective, the duetted lyrics for emphasis etc. In terms of structural execution, almost faultless. It also really, really feels like song lyrics, it’s got that “Just Give Me a Reason” by P!nk and Nate Ruess vibe to it, and I could see a modern starlet like Sabrina Carpenter getting someone like Shawn Mendes on this. You do have a handful of really standout moments, such as, “I didn’t stick to my vows / I chose somebody else / I chose suspense and motels / But this can’t be our farewell,” and also, “You didn’t just cheat on me / You cheated on us / You didn’t just break my heart / You broke my trust,” was a nice way to kickstart your bridge. There were plenty of moments here that felt either cliché or overused in pop music, however, and not a lot was done to try and subvert that or give them a new angle. Swapping out some of the more common metaphors for unique one-liners definitely would have pushed you into the next score bracket for me. Would have liked to see you integrate some wilted/dying flower imagery somewhere into this song too. But overall, I like that you tried something different and didn’t just deliver another rap collab (which no doubt would have slayed too).

@punisher I've added my review for you into the original post, but here it is in isolation for your convenience. 

[Jackson]

results are in! should we do the results show at 7PM EST? if that's too late for anyone i can probably do 6PM

[fountain]

33 minutes ago, Jackson said:

results are in! should we do the results show at 7PM EST? if that's too late for anyone i can probably do 6PM

Take your time king it seems we are all having a mid off anyway

[Jackson]

13 minutes ago, fountain said:

Take your time king it seems we are all having a mid off anyway

there were only 6 songs so results should take like 4 minutes anyways