Ricktworick1’s Top 40 Favourite TSC Songs of 2017

Welcome to my list of Top 40 Favourite TSC Entries of 2017!

I am quite certain that the picture above is going to reflect your thoughts on some of the picks I have made for this year’s top 40, but after all, the whole point of this blog is to post my favourite TSC songs from last year.

First of all, if you missed it, the so-called honourable mentions list can be found here as the songs listed there are ranked between #100 to #41.

Secondly, please refer to the hyperlinks to understand some of the stuff I have put out.

Now for the rules:

– All songs sent in TSC between 265 to 300 are eligible (except for the decades, throwback and cover themes)
– This is based on my personal opinion. Please do not take any offense from what I think of as they are strictly my thoughts.
– Contrary to some weird belief, I don’t believe that my music taste is better than anyone else’s. This list is for you all to have some fun and laugh at possible comments I make.

Just a heads-up before you start reading, there are going to be over 40 video links here, so if you have a slow browser then good luck noms.

40. Hurts – Beautiful Ones

Sent by Patrick319 in TSC270, finished 2nd with 123 points.

Patrick has had a really good year results-wise this year, as he has closed on AlphaBravo’s record for the most Tengaged Song Contest wins while showing off how much of an asshole he is. However, even without all the half-joke half-serious trolling, this is fortunately Patrick’s only entry that managed to scrap into my top 40. 2017 saw him send quite safe entries that somehow gave him really good results, and “Beautiful Ones” is certainly his best effort, confirming his reputation as one of the most consistent players in the game. This catchy (but also dark-themed at places) tune makes this song more anthemic than it should be, so to balance it all out the music video went all in and shows a discriminated drag run over his attackers. Queen of killing discrimination, literally. Well, except Patrick lost this contest to this protector of equal rights.

39. Halflives – Burn

Sent by bibbles in TSC299, finished 13th with 59 points.

Y’all, everyone laughing at Bibbles for the quality of her entries should bow down to her (especially you Patrick, she did better on this list than you) because this song is fucking awesome. While it is not exactly outside her comfort zone, the way the song gradually builds during the verses into this explosive chorus is brilliant, and the only thing that I can criticise this song for is perhaps the repetitiveness of the chorus which gets a bit granting by the end. I am slightly surprised that this entry underperformed, although by Bibbles’ standards she must have considered that contest a huge success. When was the last time Bibbles won? She should have definitely received a TSC victory for “Burn.”

38. Kodaline – Brother

Sent by dragotistic in TSC279, finished 3rd with 112 points.

For some reason, Kodaline consistently get it right. They have already received some warm reviews from me for their TSC appearance with “High Hopes” (one of the best ballads sent into TSC in my opinion), and the elements that made their slow-tempo song work so well are also present in this mid-tempo indie pop song. Moving lyrics? Check. Great chorus? Check. While it slightly lacks in terms of the climax, it definitely makes it up with some great production from Two Inch Punch, the same guy responsible for my favourite TSC entry of 2016. You should definitely check out this producer’s discography (which includes Fritzy’s favourite 2017 entry), because it is quite impressive to say the least.

37. BLACKPINK – Playing With Fire

Sent by rodrigueseve in TSC271, finished 2nd with 114 points.

Blackpink continued their streak of great results in TSC up until some wanker decided to send their harmonica acoustic ballad which never had a chance to perform well in first place. What really strikes about this k-pop entry is the way they used tropical house influences in a completely different way than one might expect. Instead of making it sound like an addition to the song, the tropical synth is the key part of one of the melodies in the chorus, and it becomes clear that without the tropical house, the song would not have sounded as punchy as it does. This song might slightly lack in comparison to their winning effort, but it cannot be denied that at least this song does not sound like 2NE1 2.0, unlike their most recent release.

36. Jun Hyo Seong – Find Me

Sent by rodrigueseve in TSC275, finished 2nd with 108 points.

Woah, look at this, two k-pop entries in the row, both sent by Rodrigues, and both finished 2nd! Who’d have thought?

It is pretty well-known how much I enjoy pop music from this particular region in the world, but I have always been a bit skeptical towards sending such entries into a contest where some people discard anything that is from East Asia. 2016 already saw huge changes with people’s attitude when a korean song won the non-foreign contest and people were probably pissing their pants regarding the circumstances that surrounded that contest. 2017 continued the transition, although there were some people who were a bit confused whether they liked such songs or not. Anyway, this bouncy dance tune may not change the world, especially with that unnecessary rap bridge, but the upbeat tempo and the smoothness that the song offers makes it sound like something that would be played at gay bars if it was ever recorded in English.

35. She Is We – Boomerang

Sent by Fritzyyyyy in TSC299, finished 1st with 106 points.

The opening line of the chorus can be considered as the perfect description of that part of the song. “Boom, baby, hit you like a boomerang,” it’s so in-your-face that at first I was completely unprepared for such a huge punch, it’s just so fierce, like Thamys (or Lucia Cozzi, whatever she’s called now). I was not surprised at all that this won TSC299, because no other song had a chorus as strong as this. The verses, while quite dull at times, are perfectly suited for this kind of a song, as you do not anticipate anything too exciting from the climax. This reminds me of one time when I went to my friend’s birthday party and he said that I am this kind of a person that wouldn’t hurt a fly before slapping the shit out of him. Ah, good times.

34. Sunstroke Project – Hey Mamma

Sent by CharlieBibi in TSC272, finished 7th with 80 points.

While the overall quality of Eurovision singles slightly depreciated in 2017, the better entries really upped their game. This entry from Moldova incorporates two trends: tropical house and bullshit saxophone sounds (that got Fleur East her only hit song), and for some reason it actually works really well. Considering how most of the songs sent into ESC 2017 were either some utterly crappy ballads (where one got barred from entering in the name of decent music), mediocre mid-tempo songs, generic upbeat stuff or different garbage, Sunstroke Project provided a breath of fresh air, and their effort has definitely paid off as they got Moldova their best placement in Eurovision, as well as becoming a meme again. Even bigger than Manel and his failed high note.

33. Girls’ Generation – All Night

Sent by Toliskalkas in TSC296, finished 4th with 80 points.

In my opinion, what makes k-pop songs sound better to me than they should is the fact that I understand fuck-all in terms of the lyrical content. That’s also probably the reason why I enjoy “All Night” by Girls’ Generation so much, although I cannot disregard the fact that this song just sounds so late 70s to 80s disco, and we know that I love disco music from that musical period. What would I change? Maybe remove that horrid opening of “I Like To Party” as well as reconsidering some of the vocal choices, as the girls sound so cheesy at times. Nevertheless, this song is still a tune, and I’m so glad Tolis did not opt to send their other 2017 release which I consider to be one of the worst k-pop feature tracks from that year.

32. Bishop Briggs – The Way I Do

Sent by Insanity in TSC274, finished 8th with 73 points.

Bishop Briggs had a brilliant 2017 in terms of the quality of music she put out, as almost everything she released was at worst above average, at best freaking amazing, and “The Way I Do” definitely goes into the latter category. This song is almost exactly how I imagined the female version of Rag’n’bone Man’s “Human” to sound like, although I question the use of trap elements in here as they bring absolutely nothing to the mix. Anyway, I really hope she sees some sort of success while continuing to release such gems, but knowing how it usually pans out, she will be a semi-popular singer who never gets their break or a famous act that sells themselves out for the mainstream radio.

31. DeJ Loaf – Fear Me

Sent by Fritzyyyyy in TSC283, finished 12th with 75 points.

I was always surprised by the initial musical route Dej Loaf embarked on, because she didn’t have that oomph to be a hip-hop artist. “Try Me” wasn’t an exciting song at all, and moreover, it showcased that she is not much of a rapper. “No Fear” is definitely a step in the right direction, a smooth upbeat R&B tune that keeps the momentum going. While there is no standout moment throughout the whole song, the relaxing feel and Dej Loaf’s pleasant (albeit obviously autotuned) vocals gets this single over the line. Also, this moving bed should become friends with Vanessa Carlton’s piano.

30. Blanche – City Lights

Sent by krrais in TSC272, finished 2nd with 108 points.

This song is a perfect example of how to incorporate some musical subtlety properly. Eurovision entries productions, while usually high in terms of costs and overall quality, are not exactly innovative in terms of mixing, as most of the time the volume of the vocals are turned up all the way to 11 to put emphasis on the voice of the singer which I can get easily annoyed by. Whoever produced Blanche’s “City Lights” took a completely different approach, as the vocals are at times quieter than the production quirks. Best part is that Blanche never goes into the vocalwanking territory, making this seemingly harmless tune stand out more than you initially might have thought. I seriously hope that 2018 Eurovision will see more of such experiments, but you know, a dull ballad won last year and we know how countries love to follow what I call “the previous winner” concept.

29. CLC – Hobgoblin

Sent by Insanity in TSC282, finished 13th with 56 points.

There were two good k-pop songs entered in TSC282, first one being Blackpink’s “As If It’s Your Last” and second one being this. I am still struggling to understand how TSC thought that Blackpink’s entry, albeit more radio-friendly, was better than CLC’s “Hobgoblin,” as the latter is more upbeat, has an even better chorus and just keeps the pace throughout the song, while “As If It’s Your Last” has some hiccups in terms of the quality at times. Maybe the reason is behind the fact that this sounds like another version of 4Minute’s “Crazy” (which finished 2nd in a contest in 2016 and made it into my top 100 for that year), but CLC’s take sounds more fresh in my opinion. I guess whatever floats others’ boat!

28. Kenza Farah – Briser Les Chaines

Sent by catch_a_falling_star in TSC284, finished 2nd with 99 points.

Entered during the African-themed contest, I was taken by surprise by how not-so-african this sounded. Quick research led me to find out that this is a RedOne production, the guy responsible for anthemic tunes like Magic System’s “Magic In The Air” and Khaled’s “C’est La Vie.” When you listen to these 3 songs back to back, you can immediately notice that the overall song structure is almost exactly the same, and there are only some variations added to what I call the “RedOne template” which he so obviously copy pastes. That’s ok, because whenever RedOne produces such songs, it is almost impossible for him to screw it up, and Kenza should definitely be happy that she got to sing over an amazing backing track, basically because she didn’t need to do too much with her vocal to make the tune sound decent.

27. Louisa Johnson – Best Behaviour

Sent by rodrigueseve in TSC273, finished 4th with 86 points.

Margaret’s “What You Do.” Ericka Jane’s “Bad Like You.” This entry by Louisa. What do these 3 songs have in common? They are all former TSC entries that finished 4th in their respective contests, they are all similarly produced tropical dance-pop songs with almost the same structures. While the first two songs were good, Louisa Johnson’s take on this style of dance music is better due to the following reasons:

• Louisa gives some great restraint with her vocals here – she just sings the song in the way it should be sung, no more, no less.
• A drop that doesn’t sound like some backwards-ass flute that got stuck in somebody’s anus, sorry Margaret.
• Overall better production than in the other two songs combined.

This is a kind of a song that always does well in TSC but never manages to win, and I can see why – this sound has now been recycled so many times that it has become quite unoriginal for the listeners, as if they have heard such songs a million times already. I do not think that such entries are gonna perform much worse in 2018, but I also believe that it is correct for me to assume that something like “Best Behaviour” isn’t going to be a contender in upcoming contests. I mean, just look what happened to most indie songs that would win every contest back in 2012.

26. Jennifer Hudson – Remember Me

Sent by Toliskalkas in TSC270, finished 5th with 91 points.

Jennifer Hudson is such a technically-perfect vocalist that you would expect her to vocalwank the fuck out of her songs. That’s why I was so shocked when I first heard this song because she sings this tune so emotionally without overdoing it too much. Despite being an obviously pop entry, the song itself has so much soul thanks to its simplicity – there is not too much going on in terms of production, and it just works so well here. I was so mad when Tolis entered this because this was initially my entry until little me decided to host this contest. In addition, I have never expected a guy like Tolis to send something like this, ya know, Tolis the guy that would regularly send stuff like this. Anyway, this song is beautiful and it deserved better than 5th place.

25. Misterwives – Machine

Sent by Insanity in TSC267, finished 1st with 124 points.

Their previous releases have been consistently solid if not unspectacular, so when I first heard “Machine” (before TSC267) I was quite surprised that I couldn’t bring myself to like it. I couldn’t exactly point my finger on what elements made me feel so annoyed with the song itself, although I can hear that the way she enunciates may be a bit off-putting to some people, as well as the instrumental sounds quite sparse at times. However, for some reason I couldn’t stop listening to the song, despite the faults that are so easily noticeable, and by the end of TSC267 it has grown on me so much to the point it has become one of my favourite entries from this particular contest. Especially good are both the pre-chorus and the chorus which just fit so well together. Misterwives therefore continue their streak of decent singles, although now they have one song that really stands out in their discography.

24. Miss Li – Aqualung

Sent by rodrigueseve in TSC281, finished 1st with 117 points.

Rodrigues had a really good 2017 in terms of both results and the quality of his entries. He scored his first two wins, and the breakthrough came with this Sia-esque pop ballad from Miss Li who has never released something as radio-friendly as this before. She makes it apparent in “Aqualung” that her vocals are no joke, although there are times in the song where she overdoes it, slightly ruining the overall quality of the tune. While there are many elements that are so similar to Sia’s “Chandelier” (Miss Li basically replaced “I’m holding on for dear life” to “Swim for my life”), the fact that these things have remained almost unchanged actually helps this song, as “Chandelier” itself is already a brilliant release. Sometimes copying somebody else’s stuff turns out to be a good idea, but only sometimes.

23. Triana Park – Line

Sent by ricktworick1 in TSC272, finished 6th with 88 points.

Okay, this bitch cannot sing live to save her own life, but even if she actually performed well during that semi-final, I doubt Europe (well, jury) would have voted for Triana Park anyway. It has to be remembered that many viewers of ESC are your typical catladies who understand fuck-all about production quirks, hence the overall quality of the contest will always be quite similar year by year. On another note, what is really amazing about “Line” is the way they were able to pull off this great restraint on overused EDM beats to the point that the same production elements used in your generic dance songs serve more as a secondary melody during the second chorus rather than the main component holding the tune. The responsibility of carrying the tune instead lies on simple, yet highly effective drums which keep the pace going and the song never dies out at any point. The fact that Agnese Rakovska, the main vocalist of Triana Park, is not a well-trained singer in terms of the technique makes “Line” even better than it already is.

22. CupcakKe – LGBT

Sent by TheGoodMan in TSC267, finished 4th with 88 points.

Believe it or not, but CupcakKe’s discography has received generally positive reviews, despite the comical (and raunchy) presentations of various ex-taboo topics in her songs and some music videos. While I am definitely not exactly sold on most of her rap releases (read: almost all of them), “LGBT” is different in the way that it is more radio-friendly than everything else on her discography. Who would have thought that this hood girl is a legitimate ally of most of Tengaged? While she may not be as outspoken as other LGBT warriors, at least we know that she is willing to make her thoughts public despite being in a music community that in the past used homophobic slurs in almost every song. This electro-rap song is actually very good even when you don’t compare them to other releases from her discography, and if that’s not an indicator on how quality this tune is, then I don’t know what will convince you.

21. Sam Sure – Catching Feelings 

Sent by dragotistic in TSC277, finished 1st with 124 points.

You might have noticed that almost every song on this list so far has featured female vocalists. The reason for that is definitely not my sexuality, this is more about the fact that I find female voices in music more pleasant to listen, and most of the time, male singers get inferior production for their songs in comparison to what the opposite sex receives. However, I have noticed that this trend might be soon a subject to change, as a lot of new up-and-coming female pop singers sing over some really underwhelming backing tracks and I feel like it is preventing such artists from getting more public recognition. Meanwhile, male singers slowly, but steadily have been gaining momentum, and Sam Sure’s “Catching Feelings” is a showcase of good production while not exactly going too overboard with all the buttons available in the studio. The result is a very breezy, relaxing, but also a captivating song that is perfect for any time of the day.

20. Sigrid – Strangers

Sent by QueenMichelle in TSC299, finished 8th with 69 points.

Her first two entries sent into TSC were fairly decent efforts, but they didn’t really leave much of a lasting impact to me. “Strangers” is definitely a vast improvement, with an amazing synth-driven chorus that clearly screams “80s vibes.” The beat drop has honestly left me surprised to say the very least, as I completely did not anticipate anything like that coming. There is so much energy in this that feels so genuine in comparison to some other upbeat songs, which are fast just for the sake of it. I don’t know if the production itself is a part of what some people refer to as “Scandinavian minimalism,” but there are no elements in the song itself that I would consider as completely unnecessary, which is quite rare in pop music in general. I honestly cannot wait to listen to more of the new music, especially she is now considered as an artist to watch.

19. Jana Burceska – Dance Alone

Sent by Fritzyyyyy in TSC272, finished 1st with 137 points.

It would be an understatement to say that my favourite Eurovision songs underperform. Last year, it was Barei’s “Say Yay” that captured my heart, but Europe instead decided to “Say Nay.” In case of Jana Burceska, I guess the public really wanted to let her dance alone, because this really bombed hugely with both the televoters and jurors. What could have pushed Jana into the finals? Maybe if the marriage proposal was done at the start of the voting she would have received more sympathy votes to get her over the line. Nevertheless, I am pretty sure Jana was not exactly upset about not qualifying into the finals with his awesome disco song, which is pretty much Macedonia’s best entry in the history of ESC. I mean, she got engaged and she is having a baby – I would say that from her perspective starting a family is more important. Hey, I wonder what they were up to after semi-final 2, hopefully Kiev was shaking during that night.

18. Rotana – Daddy

Sent by ricktworick1 in TSC279, finished 1st with 138 points.

Here are some of many things that I like about Rotana’s “Daddy:”

1. Great use of drums that pretty much take the form of the melody that drives the whole tune.
2. A fresh tribal feel to this pop song – many times experimenting with a sound as hard to execute as this can end up horribly wrong, but whoever produced this song made those elements something that resembles a secondary melody.
3. The message derived from the lyrical content is absolutely brilliant.
4. Stellar pace throughout the tune that never dies out at any moment.

I can go on and on till I bore all of you to death, but I am not even sure if some people had the ability to read all of my reviews on the previous songs. I suspect there are some readers who just skipped through to see whether their entries are on the list or not, and and whoever they are, those guys are missing out on what I think are some of the best songs out there.

What makes Rotana’s win kind of funny to me is the fact that this was the first contest the hosting panel let Dallas participate in after his ban due to his homophobia an unfortunate situation that arose. He was the last voter announced by Tolis, who was hosting that TSC, and thanks to his votes “Daddy” just slightly edged out Off Bloom’s “Falcon Eye,” which caused our beloved TSC mascot to raise an eyebrow or two. Nice try, Patrick, but I had no idea how he was voting!

17. Nao – Inhale Exhale

Sent by AlexaVonTrayne in TSC277, finished 16th with 49 points.

The title might suggest what we need to remember to do when we are forced to listen to Ryan Brown, but damn, the song is so groovy. You get such old-school R&B vibes from both the production and Nao’s voice, and the fact that there is not exactly too much going on throughout the tune is actually more of a strength rather than a weakness. It’s quite a shame that Alexa didn’t vote that contest, because originally Nao’s song was supposed to finish in a comfortable 6th place, which would have definitely look better on all lists, but what can you do except actually vote and comment?

16. Chungha – Why Don’t You Know (feat. Nucksal)

Sent by ryan5676 in TSC281, finished 11th with 59 points.

One of my favourite things about being a host is when a player whose entries are easily recognisable by their taste sends something completely out of blue, and Ryan completely stunned me when he sent a k-pop song, especially when it’s so out of his comfort zone (well, not that his comfort zone is good in first place). Funniest part is the fact that he did not even enjoy the song itself that much, raising suspicion whether he sent it just to get a good placing (or maybe he just enjoyed the video that has some great moments). He semi-succeeded at that, as Chungha just missed the top 10 with this great tropical pop song. I must agree with Ryan that Nucksal brings absolutely nothing contributional to “Why Don’t You Know,” although his verses are short enough to keep the high quality of the tune itself more of the same. This is definitely the best thing Ryan has sent since he won with Indila, who got 3rd on the list of my favourite TSC entries from 2011 to 2014, maybe one day Ryan will be able to clinch the top spot on any of my lists, as he got pretty close to it on my other list.

15. Sigala & Ella Eyre – Came Here For Love

Sent by Fritzyyyyy in TSC277, finished 2nd with 97 points.

Sigala is this type of a producer that just recycles the sound that made him popular in first place, while Ella Eyre is so popular in the TSC community that even her below-average album filler got top 10 in a contest. When I heard “Came Here For Love” for the first time, I was quite underwhelmed as I felt it was nowhere near their best releases. While I still maintain that opinion regarding the song, I have grown to really like it nonetheless. Yes, Sigala is not original at all with his production, but then, why fix something that is not broken? Ella’s ability to hold the tune with her strong, yet not so overwhelming vocals helps improve the quality of the tune dramatically, and this makes me forgive her for releasing this horrible comeback song that has nothing to do with her musical identity at all. Ella, please go back to your old sound asap.

14. Lights – Savage

Sent by catch_a_falling_star in TSC286, finished 2nd with 116 points.

Last year, I talked about Birdy in terms of how her releases are really good when the song has some sort of an actual beat, and that she should continue going that route because her slow-tempo releases are mostly absolutely atrocious. I am not sure if that fully succeeded because she first released a bore before redeeming herself with this great Sigma collaboration, so who knows. Meanwhile, Lights is now in the early stage of improving her music, as almot everything she did before was pretty mediocre, although definitely nowhere close near the bottom of the barrel of Birdy’s leftover tracks. “Savage” changes the static trajectory of the quality of her music, completely shooting that chart to the roof with this great pop-rock tune. This amazing chorus that features some of the best use of hard-sounding instruments, as the production itself sounds quite sonic, but not harsh enough to overpower Lights herself. The guitar and drums pretty much carry the melody, yet something so simple turned out to be so effective. Hopefully, we get more of this rock sound executed properly when the first TSC of 2018 starts, especially with people like Bibbles and Adelesmom participating.

13. Kelela – LMK

Sent by Insanity in TSC286, finished 18th with 34 points.

I consider this the biggest crime that occurred in TSC in 2017. I know that TSC isn’t exactly fond of R&B, but you’d be a fool to say that this isn’t some of the best production you have heard from this genre in a really long time, as it embraces the old-school 90s sound with a modern twist, heavy on bass. The fact that “LMK” didn’t even manage to crack the top 15 really just showed to me that this sound is not going to get you good results, even with such a great execution that Kelela provided us with. Her sultry vocals just add to the overall greatness of the song, and I can just imagine how amazing a collaboration with her and SZA would sound like. Some of y’all should be really glad that I choose not to comment on entries whenever I host, because at times I just feel like throwing something extreme such as “THIS SONG IS BRILLIANT WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU GUYS THINKING” and “WHY ARE YOU LIKING THIS PIECE OF A SMELLY TURD THAT GOT STUCK IN MY ASS THAT SOMEONE CALLS AN ENTRY,” no inbetween.

12. Merk & Kremont – Sad Story (Out Of Luck)

Sent by Insanity in TSC287, finished 3rd with 80 points.

There are a lot of people who believe that depressing songs need to have a certain sound (mostly a ballad) to actually consider it as a sad song. Albeit this is basically an EDM version of a slow-tempo, dreamy song by Ady Suleiman, whatever Merk & Kremont did fucking works. Instead of drowning out the lyrical content by filling every single space of the track with stupid, unnecessary noises, they opted out to create an instrumental that thrives on some of the most basic synths available with some help from the drums. The song itself may start like something straight from The Chainsmokers’ junk projects, but once the beat kicks in, there’s no stopping from there on. However, what really stands out in comparison to the rest of the tune is this great guitar melody added during the bridge, lifting an already good song up. The only negative would be the video where the girl shows how to use a skateboard in a way to make sure you crash into everybody and everything around you, because nobody fucking rides it like that. Thank fuck MVs are not supposed to be rated, because it would get a negative 15 for promoting bad habits.

Just a warning, this is the last entry that has a male vocalist in it, as ladies completely dominated the top of my list. Welp.

11. Allie X – Paper Love

Sent by QueenMichelle in TSC297, finished 6th with 80 points.

If you want to listen to a great pop album released in 2017, I strongly recommend having a look at Allie X’ “Collxtion II,” which is basically a showcase of back-to-basics synthpop that 1980s music was known for. She has that dark vibe that can be compared to stuff Melanie Martinez does, but just by the compositions themselves you can tell that Allie is superior in terms of songwriting, as she doesn’t let the vibe itself fully take over the tune (although the song I hyperlinked almost manages to overcome that for Melanie). Whether 30 is the new 20 here is up to debate, as Allie X has not exactly made it yet, but on the other hand, her music isn’t exactly friendly for the audiences that only listen to the radio. She has a large enough fanbase that can carry her career up until she gets bored of it, and until then I am fine with whatever she does, especially when she stopped creating vomit-inducing music videos.

10. Nadine Coyle – Go To Work

Sent by Toliskalkas ricktworick1 in TSC296, finished 3rd with 86 points.

This trashy entry sounds like something Tolis would send whenever he has no idea what to enter, but it was me, and people were generally quite shocked that I decided to send something that doesn’t even sound close to stuff that I usually send. I was also pretty surprised that I like this song so much, but this might be due to the circumstances under which I discovered it. One of my really close friends has a pretty basic taste, what I mean by that is the fact that he really likes generic pop songs, so get him to listen to anything by Little Mix and he will start screaming the lyrics. I didn’t have high expectations when he sent me “Go To Work,” especially when I find most of the stuff he recommends quite average at best. However, from the very first note I was completely hooked on the song, even despite its extremely generic sound. Nothing in this song is innovative, but it’s executed so well that it makes me forgive the basicness of the tune. Other reasons that probably made me enjoy Nadine’s single more than I should are:

1. TSC in 2017 was pretty much flooded with entries that sounded unique in terms of production due to the shifting perception of the participants on how the winning entry should sound. This created a large drop in terms of the quality of the songs, as people REALLY WENT OUT THERE to the point that the track itself doesn’t even sound like music anymore.
2. Last July I started an internship that concluded last month. While it was a great experience working for a huge company that listed on the London Stock Exchange, I found the 9-5 quite draining as whenever I arrived home after working, I would go straight to my bed. Having a song with lyrical content that related to my life at that point really helped me motivate myself to do my best during my placement. And I mean, the money was really good to the point that I was able to afford a solid studio in London.

Music doesn’t always have to be different to make it sound decent, and whoever wrote “Go To Work” definitely knew what they were doing.

9. Salt Ashes – Save It

Sent by Alexeh23 in TSC295, finished 2nd with 114 points.

Alexeh is one of the best newcomers that TSC has ever seen, mainly due to the sheer consistency of high quality entries he sends. However, while decent, I usually found his songs to be lacking that final oomph that would push the song over the line to me. Salt Ashes’ “Save It” breaks that trend thanks to artist’s effective use of isolated drum’n’bass (you can barely notice that there is any sort of that because the instruments have been slowed down to make them sound like your typical drums), and a great beat that fits the song perfectly. Her high-pitched vocals may be a bit of a turn-off at times, but they are not annoying enough to stop me from listening to this brilliant tune. Moreover, the song is 124 beats per minutes, which is not that fast of a tempo, but considering how down-tempo’d pop music sounds nowadays, you can consider “Save It” as fast as this genre can get at the moment.

8. Dreamcatcher – Chase Me

Sent by Insanity in TSC283, finished 4th with 100 points.

Steven has really racked up a lot of songs on my top 40 this year, mostly because he picked some risky entries over the past year, and that mostly paid off quite well. Dreamcatcher’s sound is exactly what I wanted from the “k-pop meets metal” concept and I really hope that they are going to continue releasing music like this, especially when the follow-up to this song goes even harder. Back to “Chase Me,” what I really love about the entry that sort-of laidback, but dark verses are followed up by the pre-chorus where the tempo spirals out of control. Such experimentation may end up in a disaster if not executed properly, but in rock/metal music doing that is almost always recommended, especially when such songs are usually driven by harsh-sounding guitars and drums. The chorus is a decent follow-up to the extremely fast-paced pre-chorus, but it sounds a bit too cheesy for its own good, a bit like whenever Japanese artists release any pop songs for their specific market, but the rest of the song makes me forget about this slight problem.

For those who hate k-pop, don’t worry, this is the last entry that has anything to do with that genre. I feel bad for you guys, because you are missing out on a lot of great music there.

7. Eva Simons – Guaya

Sent by TolisKalkas in TSC282, finished 2nd with 105 points.

Last year, her release with Sidney Samson (to whom she is married to) managed to make it to the bottom of my 2016 Top 100 list. I mentioned that her music sounds better when she goes for a safer EDM sound, mostly because this largely reduces the risk of overproducing the song itself. With “Guaya” I have to completely eat my words, because from the very first note, Eva shows that she is gonna be trashy and that’s what she wants to do musically. Sure, half of the lyrical content are pretty much gibberish, but in a song like this lyrics take a secondary role. The only thing that matters is that “Guaya” sounds absolutely brilliant, it’s as if Destra’s Lucy was given a dark makeover and I am definitely here for it. It’s quite rare for European artists to go for a dancehall-inspired production these days, so seeing that Eva took that risk and did that sound justice is a nice change to the domination of tropical house which I didn’t really mind, but that genre, in my opinion, has stayed for too long now.

6. RAYE – Shhh

Sent by ricktworick1 in TSC274, finished 1st with 130 points.

On paper, everything about this song shouldn’t work at all. There are manic tempo changes which can easily result in horrible enunciation of the lyrics that an artist sings. There is an evident use of hard autotune that can ruin the sound as a whole. The speed of the verses is so fast that it might be hard to keep up for people like Bibbles. So how come a song as out there as “Shhh” sounds so coherent despite what many may consider as setbacks?

Firstly, while the changes in tempo are sudden, RAYE pulls out at the right times, as noticed by Steve in his review. There is never a moment in the song that sounds like a mistimed decision to slow the tune down. Autotune is not an issue here at all, it actually adds to the song more than you might expect, especially when at times she sounds as if she harmonised with robots, although definitely not to the extent Imogen Heap did. I don’t even know how to classify the genre of “Shhh,” because the way the song is produced is largely influenced by the domination of synths rather than your typical pop production. I guess we can call this alternative music, as this tune sounds SO DIFFERENT to what is currently trending. Pity that RAYE herself couldn’t keep that up.

5. Carly Rae Jepsen – Cut To The Feeling

Sent by TolisKalkas in TSC278, finished 1st with 115 points.

I find it quite extraordinary that after finding huge success with mainstream radio, Carly Rae has decided to take a musical direction that is so against what the general public wants. Usually, that generates better results in terms of music artists release, and that worked exceptionally well for her. Her 80s inspired pop in brilliant EMOTION album was completely overlooked due to certain someone that released a largely successful album inspired by the same decade of music. Despite that setback, Carly continues to deliver songs which may as well serve as a continuation to EMOTION: Side B, at this point by 2040 she will run out of letters in the alphabet to use so she might opt to use the name “Emotion: 2040 Edition.” Anyway, I do not think I need to explain much regarding why I enjoy “Cut To The Feeling” so much, but if you are wondering why, just listen to the song itself.

4. Jax Jones – Instruction (feat. Demi Lovato & Stefflon Don)

Sent by QueenMichelle in TSC278, finished 6th with 80 points.

I mentioned that Eva Simons’ “Guaya” could be considered as a dark, trashier version of Destra Garcia’s TSC-winning entry, but how about a song that has all the elements that “Lucy” had, but improved almost every aspect of it? Everything about “Instruction” screams dancehall-soca that made Destra’s song so great, but Jax Jones’ take is better because:

1. He made the song much shorter – the length really matters because by cutting it short, you make the listener want more from the tune and as a result, they are more likely to replay it all over again. To me, this was also one of the main reasons why this entry won last year.
2. In this rare occurrence, the addition of rapping actually fits the song well, and it’s timed perfectly, especially with the overall sound throughout the whole thing.
3. Jax Jones added elements reminiscent of Samba, a genre that is known for its carnival-alike sound thanks to its emphasis on booming drums and “Instruction” sounds exactly like something you’d play and shake your ass to at some city festival.

This is what I consider to be the producer’s best release, and I just hope that he will be able to recover from a slump in form he’s experienced recently.

3. Kesha – Praying

Sent by ricktworick1 in TSC281, finished 2nd with 99 points.

It is rare for pop artists to recover their careers after being hit with scandals regarding their personal problems, so the fact that Kesha is still able to release music after what she has experienced is already an achievement in its own meaning. However, she has undergone a musical transformation that nobody, probably including her, would have ever imagined to witness. The whole “Rainbow” album is bloody brilliant, there are very few duds when it comes to the B-sides, and the singles themselves are really of great quality. “Praying” is easily the best track on the record, a powerful pop ballad that builds and builds into this amazing chorus, driven by drums and piano only. However, unpopular opinion coming – I feel like what many consider to be the climax of the song is what actually what prevents “Praying” from topping my list – yes, I’m talking about the highest note in the song which to me is unnecessary vocalwank just to show that Kesha can sing, not that she has not proved that throughout the whole tune. Even with that con, I still believe that this single deserved to be nominated for the main Grammy awards, I mean I am already quite happy that she got nominated in two categories, but I find it quite unacceptable that we have crap like Despashito going for the top awards instead of actual songs.

This is the last song entered by me on the list, so to all of you who thought I would be some self-absorbed prick, try again.

2. BANKS – Gemini Feed

Sent by Insanity in TSC265, finished 1st with 106 points.

This occupied the number 1 position on my list for most of 2017, it got pipped out of the top spot at the very last moment which is quite a shame, but I just cannot deny that I found the actual number 1 song better than BANKS’ release. Nevertheless, “Gemini Feed” shows that being different in terms of the musical approach doesn’t necessarily mean salvaging the quality of the actual track, thanks to the stellar infusion of synth/electro. The piano-only intro to the song actually brings a lot to the overall product, as it is a perfect way to start the tune mainly because the songwriting itself is already great enough that even the acoustic version sounds captivating. I must admit that prior to listening to this I have never heard anything like that, and I was even more surprised that it was BANKS that made it happen, especially when her past singles stayed on that safe, almost Lana Del Rey-ish sound. “Gemini Feed” is definitely a step in the right direction as the song never dies down once the beat kicks in, and it’s nice to see that BANKS continues to release music with higher BPM than Lana Del Rey will ever reach.

Now it is time to reveal my favourite TSC entry of 2017! Tolis dots incoming!

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1. Bishop Briggs – Dream

Sent by Fritzyyyyy in TSC295, finished 1st with 148 points.

This might come as a major shock to most of the people in TSC, especially when this type of a song has never been sent by me last year, but let me explain that.

Firstly, I initially wanted to enter “Dream,” but stupid me decided that I wanted to help with the hosting for TSC295. I was hoping that nobody would enter this, and legit the first mail I received was Fritz deciding to completely crush my dream (see what I did there, ha!).

Secondly, back in 2012-2013 when indie completely dominated the TSC scene, some of the most successful entries from that genre had some really powerful drums supported by acoustic guitars. We know that the indie scene itself mostly uses ONLY those instruments, but to use them effectively is another matter.

Back in 2010 I was quite obsessed with Florence + The Machine, as her music captivated me for the reasons mostly related to captivating backing tracks that were created by some of the simplest instruments. “Shake It Out” remains to be one of my favourite songs of all time due to some great execution thanks to the sounds created by instruments mentioned above, and “Ceremonials” album is pretty much dominated by those sounds.

“Dream” to me sounds like a more laidback version of “Shake It Out” as it doesn’t have an explosive chorus that makes you shout loud, but instead opts for a restraint in terms of vocals and lets the drums and guitars shine. The song as a whole reminds me a lot of TSC 4 years ago, except “Dream” sounds modernised in comparison to stuff that was sent back in the day. The inclusion of choir vocals as a melody is genius, as it prevents the vocals from being too crowded, and also stops Bishop Briggs from singing when it’s not necessary. She doesn’t do vocal olympics at any point of the tune, and it fits the narrative of the melancholy that can be felt in the instrumental.

Whether she is going to become a mainstream star is up to debate, but even without achieving that, she definitely has a solid fanbase that will support her no matter what. Hopefully, this will let her continue release music as good as that.

 

That’s it from me, I will see you back at the first TSC of 2018 soon!