Completely blind prediction: 350 million views for something I’ve never heard of. This guy must be massive in France. Middle of the pack.
First listen: I like his voice. Song is a little slow, wish it had a more up-tempo beat. Not completely doing it for me right now but maybe it will do better on re-listens. Can 350 million people be wrong?
Final verdict: Yeah, outside of “I like his voice” (which does count for something), there’s not much for me here. I think it’s just a personal stylistic preference. It’s just not catchy or poppy enough for me.
Completely blind prediction: Not much to go on here. Never heard of them. Animal band name, which for modern bands usually means it’s a little too hipster for me. I’ll guess they do a little better than that. 4th place.
First listen: Beat is catchy. The vocals aren’t matching the intensity; she’s mumbling a bit too much. There’s potential here with this group, but this isn’t really doing it for me.
Final verdict: Still like the beat, but the song is pretty much just the chorus. The rest of the song (especially the vocals) are just kind of a boring set up. I did listen to a couple of other songs by them. They were substantially better. Just unlucky you picked this one.
I know a lot of people who really like Sleater-Kinney but I don’t think I’ve listened to much by them. Agree the singer’s voice is annoying and the rest of the song is good.
Completely blind prediction: Looks to be a live performance from a talent show. Odd choice. Feel like this isn’t going to really do it for me. Nodium.
First listen: So this is a Kazakh guy singing in French on a Chinese talent program. Ladies and gentlemen: Globalization. I’m not really an opera fan, but obviously this guy is super fucking talented. His range is absurd. Cool performance, but I’m not sure how this is going to hold up on re-listens.
Final verdict: This was the hardest one to place. In terms of just natural talent, this guy wins easily. But at the end of the day, this isn’t really all that fun to listen to. The reactions from the crowd/judges are nice, and is honestly the whole point of the video. Would I ever go out of my way to listen to this without it? I can’t say that I would.
Completely blind prediction: Why is there an apostrophe in their name? Anyhoo, I don’t know this song. I know the band from We Got the Beat and Vacation and probably some other songs. And also Heaven is a Place on Earth from Belinda Carlisle’s solo career. All of those songs are fun, but would be very middling for me most of the time. Guessing 7th or 8th.
First listen: Yup, this is a Go-Go’s song. I’m not sure what more else to say. It’s exactly what I thought it was. Not a lot of substance, but it’s fun.
Final verdict: Still at a loss for words to what more to say here. It’s like the safe choice at a restaurant.
I really like that you write stories or comments, and I can’t tell if there is one accompanying a submission that “oh that must be Yuv again”. I hope you keep adding them.
Completely blind prediction: 3 categories. Cute, but I’m not awarding a bonus. I’ve always felt like I should like this group more than I actually do. None of their songs have really grabbed me, except for Sweet Nothings, which isn’t even theirs, it’s just Florence and Calvin Harris. 8th place.
First listen: Starting off really slowly. This is really taking too long to get going. Picking up now, but something is missing here.
Final verdict: This is the one that improved the most on relistens. Lyrics are great. Still a bit too slow in the beginning, but the end is a lot of fun.
Completely blind prediction: Stosgebbet looks like a German word. Wasn’t expecting that. Expecting something loud given the band name. Hopefully it’s not too growly. 3rd or 4th place.
First listen: Concert atmosphere looks like a lot of fun. Not too big a fan of the slow parts. Rocking parts rock, but the slow stuff is too dominant.
Final verdict: Thankfully not growly. Appreciated the slow parts more on re-listens. Rocking parts don’t rock as much without the quieter parts, right? This still would be way more fun live, which is almost certainly why the video was made this way.
