tournament PLATINUM HIT 11▴ congratulations aurora ♛

[feelslikeadream]

3 minutes ago, Jackson said:

The second live performance of the night is a live version of future worldwide smash Hey Hey Hey  

https://vocaroo.com/i/s1beDhFexWXH

I paused New Year's God to listen to this. It wasn't worth it.

[ultraviolence.xx]

I wish vocaroo mobile was a thing 

[SaintWest]

1 minute ago, Jackson said:

i have a conspiracy theory that you only asked to read my songs last week so you could copy them

SCREAMINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG at this. Girl why would I️ copy your songs this far in KNOWING you would read them.  A case for Nancy Drew. 

[Jackson]

CEREMONIALS REVIEWS

 

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Aurora, "Aftertaste" 

 

Tbh I'm not really sure where this is different than the original, but I'm thinking it's the bridge since that seems the least familiar. In that sense it feels like you didn't add a lot, but  I don't think you really needed to for a "retouch". Then again, there were maybe better songs to pick for this challenge, since I don't think it needed much retouching at all, it was nearly perfect the way it is. It was just as concise as the original and leaves no room for mistakes, but I think the new bridge gives it a more satisfying conclusion this time around, now that I've read through the old version. On an unrelated note, I'm not the biggest fan of the titular couplet and I'm not sure why. It's a little more vague than most of the lines in the song but idk, I don't think that's really an issue at this point. Anyway overall this slayed, and it was definitely better than the original which was already great, but I think you could've picked a better song to retouch, even if you don't have many that didn't go #1 

 

Aurora, "El Orfanato" 

 

This seemed really unsure in terms of direction the first time i read it. I thought from the first few verses and lines like "restoring ever fracture with our love" that it was some kind of love song but by the time i got to the middle 8 it was clear it wasn't. So I thought maybe that was an issue, but reading it through a second time it seems like it's just sort of background information (the first verse, that is). The Spanish parts seem a little out of place? Like I don't think it really adds anything that an English refrain wouldn't, but it was cute. I will say that the second one punched a lot more than the second, but maybe that's just cause the title is in there. Either way, this was still pretty succinct, if not a tad disjointed/unsure in certain parts. Also, "La vida es temporal" 

 

Aurora, "Positano" 

 

This was definitely the weakest of the three for me. While most of them work seamlessly, the sea metaphors got to be a little much by the end of the song, and there  were a few grammatical errors that aren't typical of you at all. Maybe I'm wrong on this but i think "on towards" in the second verse is incorrect, it feels like you only need either on or towards, but I could be wrong. Either way, it still kinda sounded awkward when I said it aloud, idk. Not really a grammatical error but the Poseidon line as well kind of rubbed me the wrong way. What do you mean by "flood you"? That was the point where I was like ok, this is just water imagery for the sake of water imagery. For the rest of the metaphors, I think you expanded on them enough to the point that they work, but there is a LOT of them, and like I said it was a little much. That being said, I LOVE all the choruses, even though I have no idea where any of those places are. Overall, this was pretty good still, just maybe went a bit overboard (hehe see what I did there) with some of your metaphors, but I can at least admire that you took the time to hammer down the ideas/metaphors in this song.

 

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Hug, Heaven's Mirror 

 

Wow, you still replacing the flawless first chorus in this version  No mama. This felt like a prime candidate for a rewrite and while I feel like you didn't change a WHOLE lot, I do think many of the subtle changes work together to make this more believable as a whole. I kind of wish that this changed a little bit more though, because while it does improve upon the original, it still doesn't address some of the gripes (that at least I had) with it, particularly the ambiguity. Still not entirely sure what "Heaven's Mirror" is unless it's just a fancy title for the night sky or something, but maybe it was left intentionally vague, or it's supposed to be open to interpretation. If that's the case, it makes a little more sense but still feels like a cop out. Overall this was good, and a definite improvement on the original, but I hoped for a little more clarification. 

 

Also,

 

entire song talks about constellations and drawings int he sky

So What Do You mean Patterns In The Sky ?

I Got Lost .

 

Hug, "Canvas" 

 

Okay this was really short and sweet but lemme say that the chorus was super underwhelming. You could take it out and the song would lose absolutely nothing, and I don't think that should be true of most choruses. I actually really loved the verses though to be honest. High key contains some of your best couplets. "On the shore we're side by side / There I'm swimming in your eyes"is so satisfying for some reason. Unfortunately that's about where it ends, there's not a lot else here. It's incredibly short and while it is to the point, it could've used more development for sure. I know it was for the Twitter Challenge, but I've seen you do more with less before.

 

Hug, "The Place We Sang Of" 

 

Okay, this felt like a real song to me, and not just lyrics. Maybe it's the postchorus? That feels v melodic. I think this is pretty interesting conceptually, not the biggest risk or anything but it's interesting that you made a subject like this engaging. It also feels very meta. Is the place you sung of the places you're talking about in this song, like with the fireflies etc? Maybe I'm interpreting that wrong  Either way this was probably my favorite of your three songs, it was a good mixture of what I liked about the other two + the rest of your work this season. I like that there was an emphasis on storytelling and I think it worked out phenomenally especially in this song. Overall, I can't poke too many holes in this one. It is completely sure of what it wants to achieve the whole time and for our purposes, I think it did.

 

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uvie, "White Heat" 

 

Yasss bring this underrated hymn back sis  I didn't notice too much changes from the original, other than the awkward word choices that Jackson lashed you for being changed, which ultimately was for the better. In that regard I don't have much to say about this that I didn't in the original review, but I still really like this. The themes of music in the begiining and the end really tie the whole thing together, and while the narrative isn't your strongest effort, there's still a satisfying conclusion. I will say that I'm still not exactly sure what you mean by "white heat", but it sounds sexy.  Overall this was a good, albeit not very different attempt at a retouch. I can't speak to how well you took my advice from White Heat's critique cause well...I liked it a lot that week, so I didn't give you much. But I do think what changes you did make were for the better.

 

uvie, "Sepia Poetry" 

 

Wow, this was really interesting - the idea of "sepia poetry" anyway. I think color metaphors in general are kind of lazy, but this worked really well. Bitch DELETE that ash/gash rhyme though, easily the most forced rhyme I've ever seen from you, which kinda hurts since you're in the finale, and well, that shouldn't really be an issue anymore. Interestingly though I don't recall you ever having many issues with rhyme, so maybe this was just a minor oversight. Like other people who did the Twitter challenge, this felt a little under developed, even if you were constrained by length. I've seen you do more with less before, like I told Hug. The ultimate goal in those types of songs to pack the most punch in the smallest package you can, and I don't think either of you really did that per se, but they were still good attempts; they just need more space to fully map things out. 

 

uvie, "Orange Grove" 

 

Wow, this...slayed.  Probably my fave entry from you all season, poor White Heat. The Citrus pandering though  you aint slick, bih. Anyway this was when you whole "colors" theme  hit home for me, and in the most meaningful way. I do think you made a conscious effort to make this your best song ever and not just use it as a "free round", and that definitely translated, for me at least. I think this song's biggest asset is that it's extremely poetic but yet still doesn't border on poetry. It still feels like a song to me, which is what some of your more poetic songs tend to stray away from (most of the time). If I had to pick some holes in it, it would probably be the narrative itself. Orange grove is where oranges grow, no? Seeing that oranges grow in mainly tropical areas, the snow in the first few stanzas seems out of place, but maybe "orange grove" has some other implication I'm not seeing. Either way, this was still wig-defying, and one hell of a final song.

 

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SaintWest, "Languages" 

 

This is how you do a retouch, girls. Take a song you KNOW you ****ed up on and make it into a good one. It's quite the challenge if you can't completely rewrite the song, and even then knowing what changes to make is difficult, but I think you handled it probably the best out of all four of the HAUS. It was drastically different than the original, almost to the point where it's a completely different song, but it still kept most key concepts from the original (well, in this case, the story), so I guess I had to let it slide. But know that this was much more of a rewrite than a retouch, which are two different things. Still, I think the song itself would've placed pretty high had you released it that round, so i can't in all good consciousness discount it based on that. On a minor note, I think it should just be "waited" in line 2, or something else entirely, because it doesn't really make sense rn. Also, "crystalline clear" was not the tea. That's just extra. Overall, this was good, definitely my favorite of the retouches, even though it borders on a completely different song.

 

SaintWest, "Monsoon" 

 

Other than a few odd word choices, I liked this. The different types of weather throughout it was a nice touch, tbh, it added a lot of depth for me. I kind of wish they were connected to the emotions within the song a little better. There's some vague connections that I picked up on, like that the rain symbolizes saddness etc, but I wish there was a little more to it. Along with that, you play with this idea of false realities but it's never fully explored, and I wish it was expanded a little more because I find it really interesting, especially in the context of this song. I don't think this song suffered too much from the lack of a chorus, but I think maybe that would've helped to tie everything together. There was probably another way to go about tying things together too, but for what it's worth, I think this was a good attempt at breathing some life into a DEAD concept. 

 

SaintWest, "Nomad Lands" 

 

Not gonna lie, this was a little underwhelming as a final song. As any other song it would've been good/great, but it just didn't feel like this was the zenith of your ability. It was still pretty concise though, even though Jackson is writing up a lawsuit as we speak! I think the biggest offender here is the verses though, they're just kind of choppy and forgettable and don't have the trademark SaintWest flawless flow like the rest of the song. The bridge was kinda meh as well, but still kinda cute at the same time. I'm indifferent to it. I really love the chorus and prechorus though, and I'm living for this concept as a whole. It kinda reads like if Brokeback Mountain were  a song?  I mean that in a good way though, it's an acclaimed movie.  Overall I think Monsoon probably would've made a better finale song in all honesty, but this was still pretty nice, but most of your lines lacked the ounch they usually have, which ultimately hurt it as a final song.

 

[Hug]

Okay toupee OFF @ the 10 from Citrus.

[SaintWest]

1 minute ago, ultraviolence.xx said:

I wish vocaroo mobile was a thing 

 

[Jackson]

Just now, SaintWest said:

SCREAMINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG at this. Girl why would I️ copy your songs this far in KNOWING you would read them.  A case for Nancy Drew. 

because when people pander to me i almost always give them high scores n

[Aurora]

I was gonna try read everyone's reviews but it's moving too quickly.

 

@Jackson mess at you pointing out the moving van lyric as a problem when you praised it the first time.  But I get the criticisms. I didn't want to do a conventional refrain b/c I figured that would be too much like a repeating section. But I'm glad you seemed to like the three overall!

 

@Citrus yeah, that's the film. It's so good. I could watch it any day and still be as captivated as I was the first time. I'm lowkey surprised the "What we had wasn't love but I loved what we had" lyric is being praised, but thank you. I'm most proud of Positano of the three, actually.

[ultraviolence.xx]

2 minutes ago, Jackson said:

uvie, "Orange Grove" 

 

Wow, this...slayed.  Probably my fave entry from you all season, poor White Heat. The Citrus pandering though  you aint slick, bih. Anyway this was when you whole "colors" theme  hit home for me, and in the most meaningful way. I do think you made a conscious effort to make this your best song ever and not just use it as a "free round", and that definitely translated, for me at least. I think this song's biggest asset is that it's extremely poetic but yet still doesn't border on poetry. It still feels like a song to me, which is what some of your more poetic songs tend to stray away from (most of the time). If I had to pick some holes in it, it would probably be the narrative itself. Orange grove is where oranges grow, no? Seeing that oranges grow in mainly tropical areas, the snow in the first few stanzas seems out of place, but maybe "orange grove" has some other implication I'm not seeing. Either way, this was still wig-defying, and one hell of a final song.

[feelslikeadream]

What's with y'all underrating Canvas? As least Citrus and I recognize it as a finale highlight!

 

[feelslikeadream]

1 minute ago, Aurora said:

I'm lowkey surprised the "What we had wasn't love but I loved what we had" lyric is being praised

Oh yeah, that was a really cute line. I almost praised it in my review but changed my mind last minute and took it out 

[Jackson]

im giving a couple minutes to read reviews before i move on to results

[Aurora]

@feelslikeadream what is Goat behaviour?  Positano was the only song I've "lived" so those comments in regards to Aftertaste (and El Orfanato) not feeling lived myself would be accurate, but they did come from a personal place/people in my life. The Katy docking.  I'm surprised "the roof" and "fantasy" references didn't make up for it.

[Hiatus]

WaiT at "Best Sex Song" category. 

 

Speezy ha impact 

[Hug]

Let me try responding to everyone!

[feelslikeadream]

Just now, Aurora said:

@feelslikeadream what is Goat behaviour?  Positano was the only song I've "lived" so those comments in regards to Aftertaste (and El Orfanato) not feeling lived myself would be accurate, but they did come from a personal place/people in my life. The Katy docking.  I'm surprise "the roof" and "fantasy" references didn't make up for it.

Mariah stans are Lambs. Her haters are called Goats.

[ultraviolence.xx]

my dad’s being an asshole so i’ll be in and out

[feelslikeadream]

Just now, ultraviolence.xx said:

my dad’s being an asshole so i’ll be in and out

[Jackson]

PART ONE

FOURTH/THIRD PLACE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in fourth place is

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hug with Heaven's Mirror

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in third is

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SaintWest with Languages

[Jackson]

2 minutes ago, ultraviolence.xx said:

my dad’s being an asshole so i’ll be in and out

 

[touya kinomoto]

Oh wow! What a polarized panel we have here. I can't seem to put a finger on who is winning. The reviews are so varied. HAUS DID THAT!

@Hug @Aurora @ultraviolence.xx @SaintWest

[Hiatus]

Uvie vs Aurora? 

 

[Jackson]

PART ONE

SECOND/FIRST PLACE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

second place is

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

uvie with white heat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

meaning Aftertaste is our first #1 of the night, congrats Aurora!  

[Aurora]

2 minutes ago, feelslikeadream said:

Mariah stans are Lambs. Her haters are called Goats.

A mess. I can't even remember the last time I said something negative about her either but lettuce hope that wouldn't really come into your judging

 

@ceremonials I suppose I just wanted to "finish" Aftertaste since I'm not partial to short/incomplete songs, and I've already done the "make a flop song into a slay" type challenge before. I'm a little sad "Positano" wasn't your thing since it's definitely my favourite but it is what it is.

[ultraviolence.xx]

WAIT WHAT