djcalpal Posted April 6 Posted April 6 Just did a last minute submission - sorry for the delay, y'all!!! 1
Prisoner Posted April 6 Posted April 6 Will submit in a few minutes working on the final touches. I miss when i was in college and unemployed and could focus on writing 2
Jackson Posted April 6 Posted April 6 Wasn't planning on writing anything but I had a little burst of inspiration and an hour to write - just submitted! 2
Galah Posted April 6 Author Posted April 6 ❗️Mini Announcement❗️ Hey, Hitmakers! I'd like to take a brief moment to congratulate one of our own contestants who has recently stepped into the role of ATRL Moderator... @Legend E Legend E has been an avid supporter of Golden Hit since our inaugural season back in 2022, and we know they'll do the Games section proud! Other new additions to the mod team @feelslikeadream and @Element have also had a significant impact in previous ATRL writing tournaments. While awaiting your reviews for Round 3's Country Renaissance challenge, join me in congratulating these wickedly talented moderators. 4 1
ATRL Moderator Legend E Posted April 6 ATRL Moderator Posted April 6 How sweet, thank you and happy for the other two writing tournaments legends 3
Prisoner Posted April 7 Posted April 7 Not sure whether I've submitted it last night. just submitted it again just in case
Galah Posted April 7 Author Posted April 7 2 hours ago, Prisoner said: Have i submitted? @Aurora 2 hours ago, Prisoner said: Not sure whether I've submitted it last night. just submitted it again just in case You were all good, updated the Songs of Round 3 post with the three additional entries! I'll get started on my reviews, however I'm heading out for dinner in a couple hours so not sure if I'll get through everyone's by then. Round 4 will be coming in the next day or two, just waiting on a little something for that (those familiar with Golden Hit might know what I'm talking about!) so stay tuned for more info regarding that.
Prisoner Posted April 7 Posted April 7 5 hours ago, Aurora said: . Round 4 will be coming in the next day or two, just waiting on a little something for that (those familiar with Golden Hit might know what I'm talking about!) so stay tuned for more info regarding that. Give us some hints!
Invisibility Posted April 7 Posted April 7 Welp I ran out of time and I wasn't LOVING what I was writing so it's KNTRY 1 - 0 Invisibility for now... Eagerly awaiting Round 4
ATRL Moderator Element Posted April 7 ATRL Moderator Posted April 7 thank you @Aurora!! i hope this season is a fun ride for everyone so far! 1
Galah Posted April 8 Author Posted April 8 Hey, hitmakers! So far this tournament we've flown with the butterflies, embraced the season, and got our yeehaw on! While reviewing and scoring your Country Renaissance creations, us judges have been creating something ourselves… Without further ado, let me introduce you all to the fourth round of Season 6... Would it be a season of Golden Hit without the Judge's Choice challenge? This challenge is designed for experimentation, from both contestants and judges alike! Each judge has created their own writing exercise. You may select whichever of the three challenges appeals to you most, or combine multiple challenges if you're up to the task! Will your decision be based on which option you prefer, or find the most creatively interesting, inspiring, or perhaps even challenging to write? Choose wisely… Quote 🫦 Aurora's Erotica challenge 🫦 Hey, Hitmakers! For my "Judge's Choice" challenge I wanted to go somewhere Golden Hit has never gone before, and perhaps for good reason… Erotica! Specifically lyrics and concepts inspired by the genius of artists in the vein of Ayesha Erotica, Chase Icon, Slayyyter, Kim Petras, Chrissy Chlapecka, cupcakKe, and so on. Songs in this genre see the artist almost always take on a caricature or persona of some kind; whether that truly represents the artist themselves is another thing entirely. Hypersexuality, humor, and being just a little bit Problematique™ are a must. I'm not looking for the next Mozart here, but rather something that would leave Mozart real quiet after dropping. Songs submitted for this challenge obviously won't be judged on how poetic or moving they are, but simply throwing every sexually obscene thought in your head at the wall and hoping something sticks won't be enough either. I want to be laughing with you, not at you! It's always clear that these artists are in on the joke, which is why they are able to set them up and deliver them so well. I'm looking forward to seeing a new side to some of you! Quote 🤖 Hug's Cyberpunk challenge 🤖 Cyberpunk, as defined by Brittanica, is "...a science-fiction subgenre characterized by countercultural antiheroes trapped in a dehumanized, high-tech future." You may have heard of the game Cyberpunk 2077, which brought the concept of cyberpunk to a wider mainstream audience, but may not be aware that it was based off of a table-top role-playing game, or that even that ttrpg wasn't the origin of the subgenre, which rose to prominence in the '80s and has its roots as far back as the '40s and '50s! Of course, you won't need to know the whole history of the genre for this challenge. That'd be asking quite a lot! For this challenge, I'd simply like you to imagine a character living in a high-tech society. What problems unique to that society would they face? Perhaps they're unable to work due to robots doing everything, thus are unable to forge a living for themselves. Perhaps they're so overstimulated with information in a digital world that they're stressed and unable to sleep at night. These are just some ideas, of course. It's half thought-experiment half challenge prompt! I'd love to see just how creative y'all can get with it. Quote 🔥 Hey Dude's Fire Breath challenge 🔥 Throughout my recent two seasons of Golden Hit, I have noticed that I naturally gravitate towards themes of light and fire. Similarly, two of my favorite tracks atm are Natasha Bedingfield's "Pocketful of Sunshine" and "Happy", which also incorporate such themes. Fire can often be used to describe rage, desire, passion, determination, warmth, enthusiasm. Light can often be used to describe peace, hopefulness, positivity. I would like for you to write lyrics that involve the themes of fire and/or light, let these themes smoothly fit into your track, or build your track around them, in a way where they can add vivid image to your lyrics. Doesn't mean you have to directly reference the literal terms! Some sources of inspiration for how you can push and pull for this in terms of what concepts you can express: Madonna - Ray of Light Story of the Year - Anthem of Our Dying Day P!nk - Just Like Fire BBMAK / John Rzeznik - Always Know Where You Are Evanescence - Call Me When You're Sober Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstasy Natasha Bedingfield - Pocketful of Sunshine Natasha Bedingfield - Happy Songs due via Google Form submission by Fri. Apr 12, 11:59PM EST This challenge has historically delivered some of the highest-scored songs in their respective seasons… so no pressure! The top three submissions will earn their writers a Hit Token, so make sure to submit for your chance at one of those. If you have not yet signed up for Golden Hit: Season 6, that's fine! Just submit an entry and we'll add you to the sign-ups list. Spoiler @Legend E@Jack!@beatinglikeadrum@punisher@Jackson@AccioMiley@Rotunda@worldwide angel@helpthomas@stupidjock@Nashe@Julia Fox@blastoisebaby@Armani?@fountain@Lana Banana@Lorenzo22@JonginBey@Invisibility@Weld_E@Forestboy@OreGuy@Prisoner@djcalpal@Kylie Jenner@Augmented 2
ATRL Moderator Legend E Posted April 8 ATRL Moderator Posted April 8 Quote Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstasy this masterpiece
Prisoner Posted April 8 Posted April 8 Went the BDSM route once and it's just not my thing , Cyberpunk sounds really cool, and I've had a concept since a few years back but I don't know if i can pull it off. Fire is what i usually gravitate towards but i feel like taking risks this season so we'll see
Galah Posted April 9 Author Posted April 9 Hey Hitmakers, it's been another interesting few days for me, so apologies for slightly later than expected reviews. I was allowing time for a few more last minute submissions, but alas... it appears we have our top ten this round! 🤠 Spoiler 1. @helpthomas - "Hear Me Out" This honestly checked all of the boxes for me. The storytelling was on point, I knew exactly what this song was about and there was no confusion which made it such an effortless read. There were definitely a few countryisms (references to off-road vehicles and drinking) but they were incorporated well and assisted the narrative rather than feeling forced in. I loved the lyric, "standing at a crossroad in my mind,” this was a perfect way to lead into the chorus. The bridge was a really integral part of this song and the, "I'll remember,” refrain was honestly just flawless. I'm sorry to hear that this was based on genuine experience and this was the outcome, but I think that makes it even more raw and special. This had a strong country vibe to it from the lyrical content to the theme to the approach, so I think you've really excelled at this challenge. 2. hurricane326 - "Do Good" I know the reception to your submission last round wasn't ideal, but I don't want you to think that we don't appreciate risks being taken. Sometimes they pay off, sometimes they don't. That's the nature of a risk. Onto this song, I didn't find it to be a huge departure from your general style and approach, and as you said, treads a subject matter you've covered many times before. Structurally I got more folk or alternative than country from this, but let's consider it a fusion! I loved your rhyming in the opening verse here, especially the internal rhyme you snuck in towards the end. I would have loved to see you deliver a real show-stopper of a country hook here, but you stuck with your more typical chorus-less style of writing. I appreciate your artistry, vision, and unwillingness to compromise who you are and what you want to write about as a writer, I honestly do. This didn't check all of the boxes I was looking for from a country storytelling challenge, but as long as you're writing something that you're pleased with, that may be more important than any score I can assign. 3. @Augmented - "Pure Devotion" I was so so so excited when I saw you were submitting something for this round! A Golden Hit icon, we need to see more of you again please. Going to try and be as delicate without referring to specific excerpts as I can as per request. I definitely get the angle you were going for as religion (Christianity specifically) obviously plays a huge role in the "Bible Belt" of the US. Unfortunately for me, that's where the country left the song I'm afraid. Don't get me wrong, I'm very pro-questioning religion and have even written about a similar subject matter myself! This just feels more, "former Christian calls out their religious upbringing,” rather than something that would be likely to be played on country radio. This is almost the antithesis of country songwriting, which I most likely would have stanned in… literally any other round. So while it may have missed the mark in that sense, the song itself is fantastic, and I wanted you to know that. 4. @Armani? - "Tupelo" What I really liked most about this submission was the attention to detail you put into the verses, which is exactly what I'd expect to find in a country songwriting challenge. It was very Southern Americana, with references to details such as soul food and specific country classics. I do think your chorus worked here in this context, but lyrically it was quite simple. It's hard to find that balance because admittedly in song this would probably sound very nice and memorable, but it doesn't jump out and leave a lasting impression. Finding a balance of catchy repetitive moments and strong lyrical ideas in your choruses would probably be my main suggestion for you moving forward. Otherwise, I think this was pretty good overall and probably your strongest offering in this tournament thus far! 5. @Weld_E - "Space Cowboy" Ooh, you have some pretty big shoes to fill selecting this title. Honestly… I think you did quite well! Your lack of familiarity with the country genre admittedly shone through at times and it did feel a bit like pop-goes-country, but there were some real gems here too. Conceptually, I thought we were going to have a retread of helpthomas' submission, but the similarities kind of vanished after the first verse which was a relief. You had a good sense of narrative progression throughout, which helped give your chorus different depth and meaning with each iteration despite the lyrics actually being the same, which was pretty clever. I actually really appreciate that you didn't just give it a happy ending and acknowledged the much more realistic outcome and touched on the genuine emotions the narrator would be feeling in this scenario. The outro mirroring the intro was another really great touch. I especially enjoyed the lyric, "To follow my heart or straighten my life,” which could be interpreted as simply giving up one's dreams and conforming to societal expectations of a mundane, "straight and narrow" working class life, but also has the double entendre "straighten", referring to sexuality. This was probably my favorite submission of yours thus far, your growth from round to round has been amazing to witness! 6. @Ya Ya - "Buried" I was wondering how long it would take before someone broke out the "mama", whew. I'm just going to get this out of the way first, for me this wasn't as strong as your past two submissions, but with multiple 9+ entries… that was always going to be a tall order to live up to! That said, this is still very good. I gather this is about a dying family member (perhaps grandparent?) who you've become distanced from (physically, rather than emotionally) but you still care for deeply. I'm also getting the impression that perhaps this is touching on fear of homophobia and remaining closeted from older generations out of convenience? I hope I'm not reading into things incorrectly here as you didn't elaborate specifically, but I think it's wonderful that you've left this song up to interpretation, because it certainly opens it up to a wider audience who could find their own ways to relate to this. It's very cleverly written in that sense. This is another very, very strong submission from you and I'm just so glad you decided to sign up for this season. 7. @Legend E - "This Town" This was certainly something new for you, which was nice to see. I hoped this challenge would put a few people out of their comfort zone, and I think it's lived up to that. The small town setting is definitely very country-coded, so that was a good starting off point. I feel like your drink of choice was an interesting drink to specify as I don't really associate it as being a go-to country beverage… it's not a negative, just an interesting specification to make. This was a common occurrence throughout, honestly. Referring to specific details is very country-coded, but some of the details felt almost out of place in a country song (won't mention specifics as per request, but if you would like me to elaborate in private I'm happy to do so). I'm going to put this down to you trying not to use too many country tropes, which is a fair decision, but there were a couple of key instances that felt a little too far removed. On the whole though, there were definitely strong country elements throughout and this was an enjoyable read. 8. @djcalpal - "The Only One" Oh, a short and sweet one. I have nothing against short songs if they really pack a punch! Conceptually I think you have something worth expanding upon here, and would be very interested to see you do so. A couple of lines such as, "Skinny girls, pretty dresses tight,” and, "Yet in spite I like you, yes I do,” were worded unnaturally to fit the rhyme scheme, so that's something to be conscious of. If this happens, it's always a good idea to think of another way to get the same message across with different wording. This was definitely country though, so props for staying on theme. 9. @Jackson - "Tumbleweed" I honestly wasn't expecting to see you again for the remainder of the tournament, so welcome back! This was a pretty relatable song, I definitely feel a bit like this at times. I appreciated the imagery in the opening verse, which almost conjured up images of an old western frontier town. "All the dreamers moved away somewhere dreams don't evaporate / In the unforgiving sun that killed this town,” was certainly a standout couplet here. I would have loved it if you went a bit more in depth during the second verse, perhaps splitting it up into two verses—one full of optimism and promise, and another reserved for the harsh reality and perhaps dived into why things all came crumbling down. This was a nice country experiment from you, and I'm glad you were able to join us again this season! 10. @Prisoner - "The Biggest Party In The Universe" This was hands down your strongest offering this season so far for me. The emotion was palpable throughout, and it was gripping from the very first triplet. Your chorus connected back to the country theme with the bar setting nicely without being too gimmicky, and was a great focal point of this song. My favorite part of this song however, and perhaps one of my favorite moments of the season thus far, was your bridge—there's storytelling, there's honesty, there's emotion, there's depth—it's just brilliant. The implications of the outro… no words. I don't know if this is inspired by true events or not, but thank you for sharing this with us. 1 3
Augmented Posted April 9 Posted April 9 Thank you for taking time to review @Aurora, disappointed that you felt like I missed the mark challenge wise but oh well 1
Galah Posted April 9 Author Posted April 9 2 minutes ago, Augmented said: Thank you for taking time to review @Aurora, disappointed that you felt like I missed the mark challenge wise but oh well It was really good. I haven't ranked/scored the songs yet as I like to sit with things for a little while before deciding that, and not all of the judges' may echo that sentiment or even feel that's worth scoring less for. It's always difficult for me when someone submits a song that I think is technically brilliant, but I don't feel does as good of a job at encapsulating the challenge brief as perhaps others did. So I'm not sure where you'll end up with me or overall, but regardless I did want you to know I really did enjoy it and it was something I would be proud to have written myself.
Rotunda Posted April 9 Posted April 9 Thank you for your review @Aurora, stop sabotaging me in Spoon 1
djcalpal Posted April 9 Posted April 9 Thanks @Aurora! 'Tight' rhymes with 'Tonight' and 'New' rhymes with 'Do' - I think not hearing the melody probably threw you off from where the rhyming schemes were in the song, but these were definitely considered! Appreciate the feedback, as always. 1
Jackson Posted April 9 Posted April 9 Thank you @Aurora - old western frontier town was exactly what I was going for 1
helpthomas Posted April 9 Posted April 9 thank yoooou so much @Aurora also can i ask if it's okay to use pre-written lyrics for the challenges? i'm releasing a song in a couple weeks that checks out for this weeks erotica challenge 1
Hug Posted April 9 Posted April 9 2 hours ago, helpthomas said: thank yoooou so much @Aurora also can i ask if it's okay to use pre-written lyrics for the challenges? i'm releasing a song in a couple weeks that checks out for this weeks erotica challenge As someone who has done this myself...it's discouraged. We can't really dock you if we can't prove you pre-wrote it, and as long as it is your words, then you're free to submit it. It just ends up feeling a bit disappointing to see someone admit it as a judge I suppose
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