#this was like 6th or 7th on my top songs of this year and i’m honestly shocked it wasn’t first because i played this on repeattt😭😭😭

[xhikers]

[because-its-eurovision]

hey !! i was thinking about whether this year’s esc winner is already set in stone and the likelihood that käärijä could still manage to bag the win with a majority televote score …

i was feeling kind of nervous about it all but then i thought back to 2021 - (i haven’t watched it in a while so correct me if i’m wrong,) but did måneskin get that many high scores from the jury? I don’t think they got many 12 points there at least? (maybe just enough to get a rather average jury score i can’t remember)… they had some 12’s tho i think.

… obviously måneskin absolutely dominated the televote so i was wondering if there could be a similar situation in 2023 as to 2021, as 2021 had some hugely competitive acts and it was a nail biter up to the last minute ✨ (i’m tryna remain positive to manifest this win ahahah 💆🏻‍♀️)

This is one of those asks that lighted me up with need to answer with a thousand-word essay 😄 My take on why these cases are different and why Sweden is the winner Eurovision 2023 under the cut 👇

How to win with televote

Your arguments about Måneskin winning are correct. Italy got a set of 12 points from the Slovenian (neighbour), Croatian and Georgian juries but their average jury score was only 5,42. Both Italy 2021 and Ukraine 2022 won thanks to televote despite being only fourth in the juryvote. Here’s my explanation.

In 2021 the differences between jury favorites weren’t that big. Switzerland had 267 points, France behind them 248 points, Malta 208 points and Italy 206 points. Juries tend to go for artistic ballads but televote rarely shares that sentiment, so Switzerland’s “flop” was predictable. Malta is the biggest jury favorite in Eurovision history so their lower placing in televote wasn’t a surprise either. France did well in both components, deservedly so, and over all placed second behind Italy by only 25 points.

In 2022 Ukraine landslided the televote by getting exactly 200 points more than Moldova who came in second. They got an astounding average of 11,26 points from every country’s televote, and I don’t think we’re going to see a result like that for a while if ever. I believe that Ukraine would have won last year anyway, but understandably the war had a huge effect on televoters.

Sweden vs. Finland

Juries love Sweden. Or rather, Sweden has learnt to send entries that fit to the jury taste. These are the Swedish results from the last ten years: 2012: jury 1st, tele 1st 2013: jury 3rd, tele 18th 2014: jury 2nd, tele 3rd 2015: jury 1st, tele 3rd 2016: jury 9th, tele 6th 2017: jury 3rd, tele 8th 2018: jury 2nd, tele 23rd 2019: jury 2nd, tele 6th 2021: jury 17th, tele 11th           2022: jury 2nd, tele 4th

Eight times of ten, jury has loved Sweden more than televoters. Of those eight, they have placed Sweden in their top-3 seven times. Of those seven, they have won three times.

However, the juries' attitude towards Finland is very different. Since the juries came back in 2010, Finland has failed to make it to the final thanks to juries three times (2010, 2015, 2017) when the televote would have been enough for qualification. In comparison, here are our results from the last ten years.

2012: jury 12th, tele 12th in semi (NQ) 2013: jury 18th, tele 20th 2014 jury 7th, tele 17th 2015 jury 16th (last), tele 10th in semi (NQ) 2016 jury 12th, tele 15th in semi (NQ) 2017 jury 12th, tele 10th in semi (NQ) 2018 jury 24th, tele 21st (in semi jury 15th and tele 7th, thanks to televote 10th combined and qualified) 2019 jury 16th, tele 17th (last) in semi 2021 jury 11th, tele 4th (in semi jury 6th and tele 1st) 2022 jury 22nd, tele 16th

Why Sweden is the frontrunner

Just going into the contest, Sweden is almost guaranteed jury support. By looking at the results from previous years it is safe to say Loreen is going to be the jury winner. There is a slight possibility that we get a surprise jury winner like Austria in 2018 and North Macedonia in 2019. However, that would require there to be a clear jurybait song with great vocals, most likely a powerful ballad with innovative staging, and as far as I see, there are really no contenders for that this year. Who could surprise us? Switzerland, Spain, Estonia? Maybe Ukraine because their entry this year is so much slicker and more modern?

I'd also like to point out that in 2021 the jury winner placed sixth in the televote and in 2022 fifth. That is not going to happen in 2023. Loreen is a former Eurovision winner, fan favourite, charismatic, great singer and performer, the staging shows something never before seen on Eurovision stage (assuming they’ll bring the led screens with them to Liverpool) and Tattoo is already a huge hit so it’s not going to be too artistic or boring for the casual viewers. Sweden isn't even a country anyone would vote against for political reasons. I can’t see Loreen placing outside televote top-3. She can easily get over 300 points from the juries (average of 8,34).

Can we trust the odds?

There are years when neither the betting odds or fans have no clear idea which country is going to win, but those are in the minority. We’ve had some out-of-nowhere winners like Austria 2014 and Portugal 2017, who only begun to shine during the rehearsal week, but the way I see it that 2023 is going to be like 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2022 when the odds got the winner right weeks or months before the contest. As far as I can remember, the odds have always managed to predict a Nordic winner 😄

People have been pointing out to me that the odds might be wrong and Finland still has the chance to win despite being second in the odds. I do worry that the betting odds are failing us this year, but for a different reason. My concern is that thanks to the Käärijä hype that has been going on in Finland since January has made lot of Finns bet for their own country. In 2015 the night before the first semi final Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät was sixth in the odds to win the whole contest, only to end up in last place of their semi.

It is not often that Finland believes in their own chances in Eurovision, but when we do it sometimes makes us blind for what is realistic. Not everyone making Eurovision bets is familiar with how the juries usually vote and how that might effect the overall result. Not to mention that despite Finland being second in the odds behind Sweden, their winning chance is now 40% and ours only 15%.

Personal prediction

Please keep in mind that I’m not an expert of betting odds nor Eurovision, just a fan with a love for statistics 🙃

As for Finland, just qualifying let alone a placement in top-10 is of course an amazing result for us – hell, we’ve never even qualified more than twice in a row! My wish is that we could somehow crack into top-5 for the first time ever (2006 not taken into account). There is a possibility that we could win the televote (depending on running order) but juries are going leave Käärijä outside top-10, which means our placing is around 6th/7th in the overall results. Juries rarely care about silly upbeat songs especially if they are sung in native language and based on that I see Finland going the same route as Moldova 2022 (2nd in tele, 20th in juries, 7th combined) or Norway 2019 (1st in tele, 18th in jury, 6th combined).

Sweden wins. Loreen either wins both the juries and televote or placing in second/third in one or both of them. We might have a different jury winner (Spain? Switzerland?) or televote winner (Finland? Norway? Czechia?) but it doesn’t matter because they both flop in the other component (still placing in top-10 though).

You can quote me May 14th 2023 🙂

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2023 PRESHOW - part 3: the Borewhores

Time for my favourite part of any ranking - the songs that make me feel absolutely nothing. Hooray! These songs aren’t bad, but I don’t care for them. There a place for their entries at ESC, and that place is NOW!!! Bask in the glory of the grotesquely average! Or as I affectionally call them: the boring cunts. 

29. ITALY Marco Mengoni - “Due vite” Autoqualifier 

Whoever reads “Borewhore slaughter” in a BorisBubbles write-up thinks there will be an Italy write-up in the mix. Your thinking is once again correct! 😁

I don’t fucking know what to say about Italy anymore. I honestly feels like they’ve achored themselves down to send male-fronted mid-range emotional ballads, each new one just as dull and insipid as the previous one. L’essenziale, Fai rumore, Brividi, what’s the fucking difference, honestly? I’d say it’s the same old, but look at their entries in the last decade, and look at ALL of their San Remo winners since 2020. There was more variation amongst any four-year Italian stretch in the 60s, 70s and 80s, the time period where Italy were consisently one of the worst countries. 

Even as i’m sitting down to review this, my first instinct was “At least Marco’s handsome?” as a punchline and that says it all really? Italy fandom honestly IS barely about their songs and more about whoever (man) performs it, and what he looks like. The fucking halo effect that white mankind projects onto Italians is omnipotent and often earned, but so worth calling out in contexts like these. At least Marco IS handsome, I guess, the first *actually* handsome and charismatic Italian lead since Il Volo. No more “Protecc The Smoll Bean” nonsense. 

So um, the song. God, I don’t care how many silly Spaniards rank it absurdly high on their lists, “Due vite” is boring. I appreciate that it’s inoffensively competent but good grief, it and I do not align. WHY DOES IT HAVE SO MANY WORDS. I know that Italians are a loqacious lot and yap about anything, but this stereotype personified in ballad form frankly exhausts me. 

At least he’s handsome the fandom isn’t annoying about Italy this time around, I guess. 

Odds at Eurovision - ITALY

Aside from the Spaniards nobody seems to care about Marco. One may think this sets up an illusive Italian male flop but I’m not quite as easily fooled. Marco WILL come top 10. Look at this field, and tell me where the jury votes are gonna go towards. Italy will receive a decent mark here. That the fans are less vocal about Italy than they normally is merely an indicator that they’ll place somewhere in the lower half of the top 10. Maybe the Mengoni special of 7th place :-) 

Projected placement: 6th-10th (specifically: 7th) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

28. CYPRUS Andrew Lambrou - “Break a broken heart” Semi 2, slot #06

You know, sometimes the broadcasters easen job. Cyprus released a teaser for Andrew’s song before release, and although it lasted for THIRTY SECONDS it told us everything we ever needed to know about “Break a broken heart”, including what the remaining two and a half minutes would sound like. Great songwriting, y’all. 😃

Upon announcement though, I harboured a faint hope Andrew would just give us another “Electrify”, fulfilling his predestined role as this year’s hapless himbot with a basic club banger. Instead Cyprus imagined some dragons and sure, if you’re going to be basic there are worse directions to go. Doesn’t take away this is some lower-end ID song here to cash out another easy low-effort qualification into the usual 21st place. 

B L E R G H. 

Odds at Eurovision - CYPRUS

Andrew is Australian and less awful than little Victor Varicose Vein. So I think it’s safe to state Cyprus do better than Greece? They’re guaranteed one twelve from Greece and another one from Australia. That by itself puts them mathematically ahead of several countries in that semi. 

Like I honestly REALLY wish “Break a broken heart” were.. you know, good, because that would ensure Greece’s NQ while making Cyprus (which is a lock on PAPER) an even more secure qualifier. Sadlty, that’s not the case. In a fully just world though, everyone recognizes the “Break a broken heart” is just boringdull baggage nobody wants to take home with them, and both Cyprus and Greece get to hold hands as they sink into a sea of flop. Sadly that’s unlikely to happen in semi 2, unless ALL the other fringe qualifiers deliver something extraordinary.  Once in the final, Cyprus will beach themselves in a 21st-ish place (with votes from Greece and Australia ONLY), and nobody will talk about them ever again. 🙂

Qualifier Tier: B+ Projected placement: 7th-10th (semi), 19th-23rd (Grand final). 

---------------------------------------------------------------

27. UKRAINE TVORCHI - “Heart of steel” Autoqualifier

What a big pile of misery. Yes, YES, I am aware what country this is. Any of us would be highly delusional to believe Ukraine would go for something cheery at this present moment in time, but Krut and Finka were right there, on offer for the Ukrainians to take? We don’t have to like  Ukraine this year, surely? Yeah it’s TAKING A STAND!! AGAINST THE EVIL INVADER!!! but if it’s about resilience and overcoming odds, then why does it sound like a fucking funeral march hmm? 

For all its doom and gloom, I don’t dislike “Heart of steel” though. It is well-made and unique, which I can appreciate. But I also don’t give two fucks about it. It’s a far cry away from the usual high octane stuff Ukraine send. 

More than anything, “Heart of steel” feels like the end of success story for what is ultimately one of Eurovision’s best and most consistent participating countries. While it won’t happen this year, I’ve a feeling Ukraine will continue to send entries like these, with diminishing returns until they finally ruin their perfect qualification record.

At least they’re not winning this time around, but more on that in the next rublic:

Odds at Eurovision - UKRAINE

The expectations for Ukraine differ depending on who you’d ask, ranging from “winning back-to-back” to “they’ll flop and come bottom five”. I think the expectations are wrong.🙂  Ukraine will come top 10, but nowhere near a win. Eurovision is not a charity, but there there’s clearly going to be some sort of sympathy vote.. But I also feel like this will be limited to countries with a vested interest towards supporting Ukraine (the Baltics, Poland, Czechia). Most of the other casuals I believe will have moved on, more stingy with their money in a world where general prices have skyrocketed. 

In most countries the oro-Ukraine vote will be limited to the expats and refugees for the most part because, again, most of Europe has moved on and also because  “Heart of Steel” is kinda unvoteable oops. I can’t make a projection of how many points that’ll be, but I’d be surprised it Ukraine got more than a bunch of fives and sixes? That should still be enough for a good result overall, but not enough to come even NEAR the actual winning entries. 

Based on musical merit i would estimate a decent jury score as well, to further underline a good but not outstanding result in Liverpool. 

Projected placement: 4th-10th (prediction: 6th place) 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

26. ESTONIA Alika - “Bridges” Semi 2, slot #4

What a wild rollercoaster ride for an entry I fundamentally care very little about.  I went from not caring about Alika to lowkey stanning her to concluding that wait actually "Bridges” kinda sucks, so Estonia should be ranked lowish. Oops!

Idk, I think that *within the context of Eesti Laul* where it became immediately obvious (from the feedback I heard from actual Estonians) that Alika would win, I just... forced myself to like her?  I also had taken it upon myself that Ollie NEEDED to lose for his overrated ~emo boy with emotions~ nonsense (no, it doesn’t work better if disguised as a Linkin’ Park song.) by all means necessary. Bedwetters would be the ideal men for the job, but again since nobody in Estonia seemed to care about them (why? Were Ollie and Alika truly that more exciting? What a crazy country.), Alika was a decent alternative, or so I thought.

Once she actually beat Ollie, I gave Alika little thought until it was time for the bulk relisten. During that I concluded that “Bridges” kinda annoys me? For something supposed to be introverted, it’s loud and pungent.

The presentation at EL does NOT help it either, as it involves Alika angrily screaming about how SHE’S BUILDING UP A WORLD OF BREECHES (what does that metaphor even MEAN, btw?) with the panache of a crazy woman who was just dragged from a river. It’s like Iceland where I feel like there’s a “solid idea” but the execution is a sloppy mess. Unlike Estonia though, iceland have a very good song AND fun performer this year, so i’m willing to forgive their flaws. 🙂

So much for the ONLY female-fronted classical ballad in this year, huh?

Odds at Eurovision - ESTONIA

Estonia are one of several countries in the second semi that are on the cusp. As i’ve written before, 7 countries are very likely through to the final: those 7 are Australia, Lithuania, Austria, Belgium, Slovenia, Armenia and Cyprus (probably in that precise order). San Marino are dead, and Poland/Romania hang on by a sliver. EVERYONE ELSE has a more or less equal shot at the final three positions. Estonia’s advantages here are (1)  Alika’s powerful voice and (2) Bridges being the only classical ballad in the semi. Both of those things can help Estonia stand out and receive televotes, in a semi where their closest ally is Lithuania. 

Estonia is also disadvantaged however. The first and largest of these is that the semi has a very slow start, so someone will have to kickstart it. That will not be “Bridges” which is adding reverse alacrity to the already dull proceedings

Even worse, I believe the big kicker will be Belgium. Estonia are on DIRECTLY BEFORE them, which is a very bad spot to be in.

Also, being on fourth with a ballad is never good. 

ALSO, “Bridges” in its current state is shouty and miserable. 

There are several things Estonia need to rethink in terms of their staging and Alika’s styling, if their ambition is to do well, let alone qualify. Currently I think they’ll come close to the Q, but will narrowly miss it in 11th or 12th place. 

If they do make the final, I could see Bridges becoming one of those entries that Juries love to death and televoters don’t give two fucks about. Their result will be lower-midtable once they’ve passed the big old hurdle of “reaching the grand final with a ballad in a full televote scoreboard”. Qualifier tier: C Projected placement: 8th-14th (Semi), 14th-19th (Grand Final)

---------------------------------------------------------------

And that concludes those I find very very boring :-)  Next up are the decent entries. I’m not fully on board with them, but I understand why they’re liked. They bring something different to the table and I can appreciate that even if I’m not the target audience. 🙂

THE RANKING:

Part 1: The BAD entries (Switzerland / Croatia / Israel / Greece) Part 2: the IRRELEVANT entries  (Ireland / Albania / Netherlands / San Marino)

[calicoaidan]

Eurovision 2023 - the story so far

I’m gonna be blunt folks, I adore the Eurovision Song Contest, it’s not even a guilty pleasure nowadays.

The concept of it is just something I like, every country gets one shot, once a year, 3 minutes to write and perform a song of their choosing with it being staged however they wish* (well, there are some restrictions).

A list of the recent winners shows the brilliance of it all,

The Swedish slickness of Loreen and Mans Zelmerlow

The heartfelt nature of Jamala when she won with 1944, a song that resonates ever more with current events

Conchita Wurst’s victory with Rise Like a Phoenix, the best Bond theme tune there never was

And through what can often be a lot of noise the breakthrough of Salvador Sobral with what by Eurovision standards was a shock win

It’s not even the winning songs that stick in the memory; Dadi Freyr, Francesco Gabbani, Mahmood, all bangers.

One source of sadness was the remote chance of Eurovision ever being anywhere near home, for near enough the entirety of the 21st century the BBC has tied itself into a number of completely out-of-touch tunes and often hamstrung themselves with some feeble staging - Electro Velvet is probably the best example, just poor. And then, TaP Music – and more importantly Sam Ryder – arrived.

Between his 2nd place, Putin’s fuckery needing the UK to host, and a lengthy bidding process, it has now fallen to Liverpool to host the next contest. Roughly half of the songs in 2023’s contest have now been unveiled and it’s time for some takes!

I’ve zero interest in being harsh, some of these tunes just don’t do it for me and that’s fine – others will thrive on these and that’s the joy of the contest.

From the 18 so far, here’s 11-18:

11 – Latvia

12 – Italy (my least favourite Italian song since they rejoined the Song Contest)

13 – Ukraine

14 – France

15 – Norway (note - this is currently the Eurovision subreddit favourite)

16 – Denmark

17 – Albania

18 – Romania

Between 11th and 15th I see stuff to enjoy, there’s artistic merit, they just don’t fully scratch the itch for me. From 16th onwards I’m just a bit lost, sorry.

And now, we count down from 10.

10th – Malta

It’s a slick enough tune, if they stage it like this in Liverpool it’ll resonate, it’s like a crossover of Moldova’s Sax Man and Lake Malawi’s Friend of a Friend

9th – Spain

It’s a stunning performance, will stand out on the night, but there are bits where it feels a bit flat for me - artistically incredible all the same but yeah, it doesn’t fully carry me.

8th – Ireland

The general attitude towards this song has been hostility from the subreddit, it’s been rather vicious! For me, the lyrics are a bit corny and the live performance on display isn’t amazing because RTE insist on having their selection contest in a shoebox, but the chorus is one of the most anthemic so far. It won’t win, but if they pitch it right they’ll make the final with that song.

7th – Croatia

This year’s pearl-clutcher will be this entry by Let 3, which points their ire to a very obvious individual without directly naming them. The first 45 seconds are a bit of a void, but when it gets going it tells a story that doesn’t need translating - it’s daft but fun. Will it make the final? The jury is out.

6th – Belgium

It’s full 90s, very catchy, another one that r/eurovision hates but I hope it makes it through, it’s three joyful minutes.

5th – Estonia

Well-written, brilliantly-performed, the only thing stopping me from putting this higher is it doesn’t quite peak, a victim of the 3 minute track limit.

4th – Lithuania

Similar issue to Ireland where the verses don’t quite carry but the choruses are lovely, it reminds me slightly of Saudade, Saudade with the harmonies - I feel like this will do better than most expect, not quite a winner.

This moves us onto the top three (who are a clear top three for me at this point), Slovenia, Australia and Czechia

3rd – Slovenia

A very catchy indie tune delivered by a group who clearly want to lean on boy band charm, I’m more interested in the former but this lot are going to be shovelling in the points in May, guaranteed top 10.

2nd – Australia

This is hot off the presses having been released this evening (in the middle of the night for Australian folks, strange) - I LOVE this. There’s elements that remind me of Everything Everything, and then sections that go grungy, world away, it’s a love-on-first-listen kind of tune for me. If it sounds this good live, it’s another top 10 in May.

1st – Czechia

As it stands, this is my clear favourite. It’s powerful, poignant, carries an energy throughout, and between the group of them, multi-lingual as well, it just works. I so, so hope they make this work as a live performance, it should be top 5 as a minimum and it's a potential winner if they pull it off.

So yeah, that’s where we’re at so far - 18 down, 19 to go.

I’ll do a part 2 when we have the full slate and update my rankings. Sláinte.

[doomedandstoned]

Belgium’s WITCH PISS Serve Up Grinding New Stoner Metal Epic

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

Artwork by Jo Riou

"One thing we can be sure of is that we'll all die. Everyone will. It makes sense not to be afraid of this, but to come to terms with it."

With this bit of narration, WITCH PISS belt out "Old Hound Religion," a swampy southern-tinged rock stomper from their eponymous extended play debut.

Witch Piss is a five-piece stoner metal crew hailing from Mechelen, Belgium, with members of Marche Funèbre and Drawn Into Descent.

"How to Travel Lighter" is the gnarly little number that follows, which Doomed & Stoned is debuting today. Vocals are husky, with a gravely edge, and hold their own well amidst instruments that hold nothing back in terms of chugging, downtuned devastation. The song's incessant groove reminds me of a band from my neck of the woods, Tigers on Opium, and I would be happy to see the two bands collab one day.

Singer Peter Egberghs shares some background:

"How to Travel Lighter" is one of those songs that doesn’t muck about. We wrote a first version and then rewrote the whole structure, cutting some of the repetitions. Less is more in this case. We sent it over to Chiaran Verheyden, who engineered the studio session, and he suggested adding a slow crushing ending riff to top the whole song off. Slow riffs? Sure, we can do that! So that’s how the music came about, in a nutshell.

Lyric wise, it’s a bit of a personal song for me. It might not be that obvious because they are cryptic, but it’s actually about my mother who passed away. She was dying when we were touring with Marche Funèbre in Europe. I got a call with some bad news and drove back from Denmark to Belgium only to find her in a coma.

That sounds heavy and depressing, but it’s actually a positive song because it shines light on how you can lighten that burden for yourself. I dealt with this in my own way, which involved therapy, but through that whole process my mental luggage started to weigh less and less, so that’s how to travel lighter. Throughout the lyrics you’ll find references to her. But I like to keep some of that open to interpretation.

The tracks that follow give us an idea of the band's full range of expression, including the desert rumblings of "Me and My Camaro" and "Hoofprints," which takes a turn for the dismal with its doomy touches.

In "The Hunter And The Game," Peter Egberghs's pipes rival Clutch's Neil Fallon and Orange Goblin's Ben Ward. Dennis Lefebvre's drumming is deep and full, as is the basswork by Glenn Van Bael. Dual guitar force from Andoni Lombide Carreton and Stijn Georges Moens lends each song frenetic energy and gravitas.

"Children of the Fire" slows things back down for the closer. It's a slow burner with splashing, emphatic beats, dark, mysterious atmosphere, and an imposing guitar presence. Don't miss the final minutes, with its rousing chorus: "Your time is nigh" -- taking us full-circle to the sentiment with which the EP began.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this band progresses as the year plods along. In the meanwhile, you can expect 'Witch Piss' (2023) to embrace the light of day on April 7th via Saturni Records. And if you're in Belgium, don't miss the release party, taking place May 6th with Gnome and Opium Heathen at De Club in Mechelen (pre-sale here).

Give ear...

WATCH & LISTEN: Witch Piss - "How To Travel Lighter"

SOME BUZZ

Witch Piss is a band that started at the bar. A group of friends were drinking beers and were listening to some groovy stoner music. They decided to pick up their instruments and start playing some tunes. Peter, Stijn and Andoni were in the first try out line up. Back then that meant three guitarists. Peter was combining guitar and vocals but they decided three was overkill and Peter wanted to concentrate on the vocals. The band was soon joined by Glenn on bass and Dennis on Drums.

Musically they wanted to sound somewhere in between Black Sabbath and High On Fire. They haven’t strayed from that path. After the lockdowns the band premiered live in the same bar where the band was conceived.

In the live shows that followed they shared the stage with Vandal X, Your Highness, RRRags, Whorses etc. This all happened without having released one second of music. That is about to change. Witch Piss hit the studio in December 2022 and recorded everything live. The whole process was in the hands of Chiaran Verheyden, known for his excellent work as engineer and producer of Psychonaut and Hippotraktor.

Follow The Band

Get Their Music

[queerdesire]

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans? Like what is this??? Why cup I like or what lmfao. Teacups are probably the most pretty but coffee mugs are my favorite out of these but I drink a lot of coffee.

2. chocolate bars or lollipops? Lollipops but in the form of a baby bottle pop or ring pop.

3. bubblegum or cotton candy? Cotton candy be so goooood but I rarely have it lol I had it the other day yay a baseball game, so ima have to say gum.

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you? I feel like I was always a favorite, I was extremely well behaved, quite in the sense of not distracting the class but talked to the teachers, I tried very hard at everything, honest, all other things you get when you are raised by a narcissistic parent. I know for sure my third grade teacher told me that she couldn’t wait for me to be a popular author one day, and then I absolutely adored my 5th grade teachers (we had two we switched from) and idk what they would say about me but probably nice things lmao. My 6th grade teacher still remembers me to this day as I’ve seen her at the restaurant I use to work at and she still knows me by like longneck dinosaurs. I had a small little dinosaur I named lucky and had on my desk and she was a cool teacher who played along so I drew that bitch on all my school work for her class and I gave her dinosaurs if her own lmfao. My 7th grade home ec teacher would say I was too hyper, she described me as hammy the squirrel from over the hedge and was the only teacher to have me stay after class 😂😂😂. Tbf I was wild af in her class as all 4 of my friends were in there with me.

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups? Something about a soda can if it’s really cold just hits.

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear? I don’t have any style so idfk

7. earbuds or headphones? Headphones

8. movies or tv shows? Both! But I love tv shows probably more as there is more time to flesh it out

9. favorite smell in the summer? Idk fresh cut grass, the smell after it rains, suntan lotion???

10. game you were best at in p.e.? Fuck if I know, I was kinda athletic so I wasn’t ever shit. Dodgeball and capture the flag were my favorite games tho

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day? Coffee. I skip a lot of meals.

12. name of your favorite playlist? It’s called Car Playlist

13. lanyard or key ring? Idk man I just lost my mail key off my lanyard :/

14. favorite non-chocolate candy? So many! Sour patch kids, strawberry baby bottle pop, and lemon heads are my top favs

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment? Idk I haven’t been in school for fucking years so 🤷‍♀️ I know spark noted the fuck out of as I lay dying, I don’t think I liked it. Oooh! The outsiders!! I cried like a little bitch.

16. most comfortable position to sit in? The gay sit. Legs spread or like not sitting correctly in the chair

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes? My converse

18. ideal weather? Idk not too hot or too cold

19. sleeping position? I lay on my side with a pillow between my legs or kinda on my stomach

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)? I never write anything down if I do in my phone it’s the only place that is private

21. obsession from childhood? I can’t remember, Orlando Bloom??

22. role model? No one

23. strange habits? I put pickle juice on mash potatoes instead of gravy

24. favorite crystal? I’m currently wearing amber!

25. first song you remember hearing? I don’t fucking know

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather? Hangout! Idk lol

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather? Cuddle

28. five songs to describe you? Too much work idk I like imported, sacred, bad habits, vibration, and I like you. You can figure out the artists. I just like those songs rn 

29. best way to bond with you? Quality time with physical touch

30. places that you find sacred? I don’t have such a place

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names? Idk

32. top five favorite vines? Idk

33. most used phrase in your phone? Lmao and lol

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head? o o o O’Rileysssss auto parts!

35. average time you fall asleep? 12am 1am????

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing? Idk

37. suitcase or duffel bag? Whatever works

38. lemonade or tea? Tea

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie? Neither

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school? I don’t remember

41. last person you texted? You bitch and I hate you for this rn

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets? Both! Jacket I guess tho

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket? Bomber jacket?? Idk

44. favorite scent for soap? Eucalyptus

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero? sci-fi or fantasy

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in? Tshirt ans briefs

47. favorite type of cheese? Idk fuck cheese

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be? Watermelon!

49. what saying or quote do you live by? I don’t live by one

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have? Idk

51. current stresses? This situationship I’m in

52. favorite font? Idk

53. what is the current state of your hands? Soft?

54. what did you learn from your first job? Don’t be a people pleaser you get paid the same

55. favorite fairy tale? Fuck if I know

56. favorite tradition? Don’t have any

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome? So many!!!! Opening my eyes to the emotional abuse I’ve been going through my whole life, being able to drive, being independent

58. four talents you’re proud of having? I don’t have talent

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be? Can I just have a cool dagger instead of a catchphrase

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be? Idk I don’t watch anime

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.? "I'm all the way down now. I can see all the way to the bottom. Would you like to see what I see? They said there were two fathers, one above, one below. They lied. There was only ever the Devil. When you look up from the bottom, it was just his reflection, laughing back down at you." Honestly there are so many quotes I love from Westworld and Game of Thrones. There are a ton I love from the book “This is How You Lose The Time War”

62. seven characters you relate to? I don’t know nor do I care lol

63. five songs that would play in your club? Idk

64. favorite website from your childhood? RuneScape

65. any permanent scars? On my knee from knee surgery, my thumb from a work accident, scars on my nose from being hit with a rock

66. favorite flower(s)? All of them!! I like wildflowers

67. good luck charms? Nope

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried? Olives

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned? Idk

70. left or right handed? Right handed

71. least favorite pattern? Letting people use me

72. worst subject? Idk

73. favorite weird flavor combo? Idk

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen? Oh fuck I pop that shit all the time for headaches, it has to be enough for me to know it’ll only get worse or if it’s already at worse so like 8?

75. when did you lose your first tooth? Idk

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)? Potato chips!

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill? Idk but I do like them

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store? Gas station

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo? Neither I can’t take good photos

80. earth tones or jewel tones? Earth

81. fireflies or lightning bugs? I call them lightning bugs

82. pc or console? I have console but pc is better lol

83. writing or drawing? Writing

84. podcasts or talk radio? Idk

84. barbie or polly pocket? Barbie

85. fairy tales or mythology? Mythology

86. cookies or cupcakes? Cookies

87. your greatest fear? Being alone forever

88. your greatest wish? Being happy

89. who would you put before everyone else? My nephew and my sister

90. luckiest mistake? Learning about the abuse I’ve went through

91. boxes or bags? Bags?? Idk feels like the wrong answer

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights? Overhead light

93. nicknames? Nope none

94. favorite season? Spring or fall

95. favorite app on your phone? Tumblr

96. desktop background? Random one that comes with computer

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized? 4????

98. favorite historical era? Idk

1-98

Too many and I’m at work

Pick only a few at a time 😂😂😂

[magicapandora]

You haven't posted about Victor in a while and I caught myself thinking about the lil vampire fella.

Shoot me any thoughts, headcanons, whatever you got about Victor 🖤

OHOHOHOHO YES MY VAMPIRE SON

I’m such a bad parent but I’ll try my best!

Victor in my canon/Rosie’s story is very much a dork in wolfs clothing. He puts up a very thought out persona of a bad boy who’s led a trail of broken hearts and won’t hesitate to fight, but is actually a massive dork who’s a huge romantic. He’ll shamelessly flirt with anyone and everyone in 7th year while still watching Star Wars; A New Hope and reading Diane Wynn Jones. He’s still Mr.Smooth but just wears his heart on his leather clad shoulder.

I also thinks he owns a diary with a lock and key and he hides it under his pillow, even if he doesn’t have to since his bed is a coffin, after all. He has some scattered pages of song sheets, poems, love letters he’s never finished, old flyers from concerts he’s visited, and a tarot card he got from a fortune teller lady, The Devil card.

Now time for my expertise; Fashion!

I think Victor wears a lot of dark colors, of course. Blacks, Grays, Reds, Purples, and Blues. I can also see him liking Latex, Leather. Knitwear, and any shiny like cloth, to catch someone’s eye of course. He really likes long sleeved jackets and shirts but doesn’t mind wearing tank tops and the like. As for his pants type, ripped jeans are a must. He rips his own jeans, like a true goth kid. And for shoes he only wear the gothest of shoes; Doc martens/j

As for his appearance, I see him with more messier hair, but it’s just more deliberately messy, with a half ponytail like his old model, and maybe the underside of his hair is dyed blonde? I also think he has fangs and pointed ears, because of course. And he has lots and lots of freckles! I can see him actually being an outdoor person before being turned, and also some of them are just genetic.

Lastly, I think he’d get at *least* a tongue piercing if not snake bites and an eye piercing. It’s the 90s, it was the peak of grunge and punk/goth culture, he totally got it over the summer after 6th year.

[marvelsbetch]

Peter Parker’s field trip. Part 1

Warnings: Trans!Peter, Spidypool, sex references, superfamily, transphobia, supportive avengers

Tony POV

I was in my lab waiting for Peter, my newly adopted son, to come home from school when Friday told me I had an email from Peters school. Turning to my phone I opened the email and was completely annoyed. The email read

'Dear Parent/Carer of Patricia Parker,

We are delighted to inform you that we have a surprise field trip for the student to none other than Stark Laboratories. The trip with be a residential starting on March 7th with a trip to Stark Tower, staying the night there with Mr Tony Stark-Rodgers and then having a trip to the Avengers Tower where we will have the opportunity to meet the Avengers and ask them questions. This is a once in a life time opportunity and we hope you allow your daughter to attend. Also, we would like to keep the trip as a surprise for the student so we urge you not to tell them the destinations of the trip.

Yours Sincerely,

Mrs Robbins.'

I was livid. My child Peter is a boy. I do not have a daughter I have a son. I couldn't believe the nerve of this teacher so I stormed out of my lab and in to the main living area of the penthouse and saw my handsome husband lay on the couch watching tv. He looked so calm and collected but I feel this might change.

"Honey, I just got this email from Peters school that I think you should have a look at." I told him handing him my phone.

He looked confused at first but then the anger set in and by time my phone was placed back in my hand he had an evil smirk on his face. I had an idea of why he had that smirk but just to be sure I asked him,

"What's the smirk for?" I asked.

"Tell the teacher our son can go on the trip while I make a few phone calls. Nobody purposely misgenders my son and gets away with it." He is trusted before grabbing his cell phone and walking down the corridor to one of the training room. Probably going to blow off a little steam and anger. Might watch in a little while.

After a second I simply responded to the email stating'

I as Peters legal guardian allow my son to attend this field trip. Is there any additional information that we should be aware of?' It seemed like the appropriate response.

In all honesty I had Pepper invite the school to the towers as a reward for how well they did at the decathlon competition. I was not expecting to receive an email like this.

-5 hours later-

Peter arrived home shortly after the email incident and was greeted to everyone being in the room. Everyone being Me, Cap, Bucky, Nat, Banner, Pepper, Sam, T'Challa, Shuri, Rhodey, Wanda, Vision, Thor, Loki, Clint and Strange along with the Guardians on a Skype call on the tv. We told him it was a spur of the moment gathering as well all missed each other, not an entire lie, but in reality we were plotting to a) embarrass Peter as much as possible on the field trip and b) get back at the teacher for what they did.

We decided to order enough pizza for an entire 3rd world country and discuss Peter's school life as we ate.

"So Peter, has anyone been giving you trouble lately in School? You can tell us the truth." Steve, Peter's other father and my husband, asked.

"No everything just fine." He terribly lied.

"Come on kid. I've known you for almost two years now, don't try and lie. If there's anyone giving you any type of shit for whatever reason please know that you can tell us." I explained to him all of a sudden getting very serious. I could see him fighting with himself on weather to tell us something or not but decided not to as he then said he had homework to do and went to his room.

"So, he's either lying or the teacher isn't as bad as we think." Loki observed.

"No, he was lying. I could feel his conflict and pain in remembrance of what people have said to him. I'm not one for violence but someone needs to pay for what he's been dealing with." Wanda told us with tears in her eyes.

Cap and Barton walked over to comfort her and hopefully stop her crying. My blood started boiling, Wanda was a strong person and if what Peter's going through brings her to tears then that's a lot for one person to go through. What else has this teacher or student done? Why won't he tell us? Does he not trust us? That last question broke my heart.

"Baby, you okay?" I hear Steve ask moving towards me and holding both my hands in his.

"No. I'm pissed. I'm pissed at any one who hurt my son. I'm pissed at us for not making sure he knows he can talk to us. And I'm pissed at the world for making his go through all of this." I told him with tears coming to my eyes.

Steve pulled me close to my chest and held me tight. He stroked his hands through my hair as he tried to calm me down. I could tell he was mad to, we all were, but he was trying to hold it in despite everyone being here to essentially punish this teacher was his idea. Embarrassing Peter was mine.

"Right, so what do we do about this? I'm not letting anyone hurt my nephew and get away with it." Nat said sitting up and pulling a knife from who knows where to sharped her nails. That women scares me so much.

"How about we just drop in during the day and make sure one of us is always with him. If he has one of us always there and we make it apparent that we know and support him the I doubt even someone as bigoted as his teacher is going to say something. Then we can embarrass him when we're with him." Sam suggested.

"I like that. Where are we all going to be stationed?" Loki asked.

"Well if I speak to the tour guide I could get Banner to give them a lesson on Gamma radiation as the first. Then, Barton or somebody drops in. After that they will be taken to a different lab with Shuri and T'Challa. By that time it should be lunch where Thor and Loki could drop in and the guardians land near the level 7 outside cafeteria. Then we can have Sam drop some stuff from above like a water balloon or something and Bucky bake his favourite cookies to bring to him. After Lunch they're looking around some other labs where Shuri could also be along with Banner. I think they're also going to be visiting the training rooms so Nat, Cap, Bucky and T'Challa could be fighting and Wanda, Vision and Strange could be training their magic." I suggested feeling better now that we were planning this.

March 6th

-Peter's POV-

I was in Chemistry faintly heading the teacher, Mrs Robbins, drone on and on about ionic bonding and how it differs to covalent bonding. It was something I already knew so I didn't need to listen until Ned started hitting my arm. Turning to look at him he simply nodded to the direction of the teacher. I turned around just to catch two words that made my heart drop.

"-Field trip!" Our teacher cheered with a big smile on her face.

Field trip? To where and why?

"That's right, we have organised a surprise field trip for you all as a reward for how well you've all done on your recent exams. Only the top 20 student of the entire school will have the privilege of going. The destination will be a surprise but I will say to bring an overnight bag and money for food and such. You're parents have already got an email consenting for your attendance and the bus will be leaving at 8am tomorrow so don't be late." She further explained.

The whole surprise field trip thing made me nervous beyond all belief. I may not technically be a Parker anymore but the luck definitely followed me and the idea of having to go on an overnight field trip made me terrified. Also, our parents got an email. This means that either Dad (Tony) or Pops (Steve) knew about this probably weeks ago and didn't tell me, this only fulled my anxiety.

Soon the bell went signalling the end of the day and our temporary liberation from this educational prison. On the way out Mrs Robins pulled me aside. It confused me at first until she put our most recent test infront of me. My name circled in big red circles, I know what's about to happen.

"Patricia, you must stop this. You're name is not Peter, you're not a boy. You were born a girl and therefore are, there is no picking and choosing with what God gave you. You must understand this by now. This little joke has gone too far that you're name has been requested to change on our register. Get it through you're head that you are not a boy and you will go to hell for thinking otherwise. One more incident like this and you'll have detention for the rest of the year. Got it?" She basically shouted at me pointing to my circled name on the test.

"No. My name is Peter and I am a boy, I don't care what God assigned me because he got it wrong. I am a boy and my name is Peter as we have gotten it legally changed." I rebutted getting impatient with her ignorance.

"Don't speak to me like that young man. You have no right to change Gods idea and destiny for you. Just thing, you're a girl meaning you can have kids and spread God's message to others and have many kids. Just what God planned for all women." She told me trying to sound sweet but came off and incredibly patronising.

At this point I was too angry to listen to her bulls**t (Gotta keep it Steve friendly people) so I stormed out the room. She started yelling for me to come back to the classroom but I didn't listen and continued walking till I reached the car Happy was in to take me home.

I got in the car and started telling Happy about my day while playing classic songs on my phone such as Highway to Hell, You gave love a bad name and Living on a Prayer. He pretended like he didn't care but I could tell he was listening and hanging onto every word I was saying. I love that about Happy, he acts like he doesn't care but in reality he does and he does a lot. He once caught Flash saying stuff about me and threatened to hit him with the car, he almost did as well but we were running late to a meeting I had to go to with Dad. Of course that didn't stop Flash as he still likes to torment me daily but he now does it more secretly making it more bearable.

We soon made it home and I found all of my dysfunctional family,minus the guardians who were on a Skype call, sat in the living room watching a movie on the tv. I quickly set my bag down on the kitchen island and settled right next to Tony (Dad) who was cuddling Cap (Pops). Everyone was asking me questions about my day and school life in general. They focused mostly on if people were bullying on me. It worried me a little because as much as I know I can go to them, I don't want to because I know that if I tell them everything that's happened they'll kill people and I don't want that for my family. Half of them only just got pardoned and I don't want the governments to revoke that.

"Sorry guys but I got homework. The pizza was delicious, is it okay if I invite Wade around?" I pleaded with Pops knowing he's more likely to say yes.

"Yes but that door stays open hound man. Do I make myself clear?" Pops asked in a stern voice.

"Crystal." I responded before taking out my phone to call Wade, grabbed my bag and walked to my room.

"Hey Baby Boy, what's up?" Wade asked after picking up his phone.

"Not much, Pops said you could come around." I told him making him slightly squeal.

"Okay Baby Boy, I'll be there in 10 minutes. I love you." Wade informed.

"I love you to Babe." I said before hanging up with a smile on my face.

-10 minutes later-

I was sat at my desk finishing my algebra homework when I heard someone knock on the window. Knowing it was Wade I turned with a smile on my face and let him in.

"Hey Baby Boy, how was your day?" Wade asked making himself comfortable on my bed.

"It was fine, quite boring if I'm honest. We did get told about this residential field trip tomorrow though. Sorry I won't be here for most of the weekend. I'm sure my Dads will love having you around." I joked sitting on his lap and cuddling into his chest.

"It's fine Pete. I'll just have to savour our time together now." He said wiggling his eyebrows and kissing me passionately.

"My Pops said to keep the door open." I told him pulling away with a massive blush spread across my cheeks.

"Does that rule apply to your en-suite?" Wade asked.

"I don't believe so." I answered getting up from his lap and dragging him into my en-suite, which is where we stayed for the rest of the night.

To be continued...

[btzone]

Commonality of Buck-Tick member names

I was thinking that if you’re not Japanese, you might not know how common or rare the various Japanese names are. For Buck-Tick, the names of the band members are fairly common first names and surnames, not really anything unusual happening there. No native speaker should have trouble reading their names. However, the most interesting thing to note is that Hisashi’s kanji is not usually how one would think to read that name, which is how it ended up that on their very first release on an independent label, his name was typo-ed as Kotobuki instead of Hisashi. (To keep that kanji and reading, it is likely to add one more kanji to make Hisashi, much like how Atsushi’s name is 2 kanji.) Our Hisashi Imai is not the only one with that kanji and name reading, but it’s not the default way to read it. This is why when you fill out forms in Japan, you not only write your name’s kanji but you also write down how to read it because you never know what combos a parent came up with.

Some basic info about their surnames, such as how common it is and where in Japan is it most common. Excluding Hokkaido and Tokyo as the majority of people who live in those two places are “immigrants”, so to speak, and not native for several generations. (If you meet someone from those 2 places, ask them where their grandparents are from.) I need you to be able to track your family history in that general area for at least 150-200 years in Japan to call you a native of that region, sorry. (If you can’t claim that you’re the 19th generation descendant of so-and-so, what is your worth?) This sort of tracking is quite easy to do in Japan because we have family registry books that note the genealogy (patriarchal because who needs to remember the names of women) and also serves as a way of establishing citizenship. It’s also fairly common IMHO for the history of a surname to be like, well 1000 years ago this person did something good for the emperor/king so they were granted a gift and the gift was this name and some land. But, I digress. (Trust me, this whole paragraph is hilarious if you’re Japanese with a sense of humor because it’s true.)

Focusing on family names here. No info on their first names as I looked up what were the most common names given to boys in the years the members were born and though their names are common enough, only one of the members have a name in the top 10 most popular boys names for the year they were born. Takashi (same kanji as B-T member; real first name of Toll) was the 9th most common name given to a boy in 1962 (same year as Takashi the drummer). Yutaka gets an honorable mention. Yutaka (same kanji as B-T member) was the 3rd most common name given to a boy in 1962 and 1963; the 6th most common name given to a boy in 1964; the 7th most common name given to a boy in 1965 (Yutaka the bassist was born in 1967). Minor note: though the kanji is different, Atsushi was the 10th most common name given to a boy in 1968 (Atsushi the singer was born in 1966). To the rest of the band members, don’t feel so bad as my name isn’t in the top 10 either! And who can even read child names today. It’s crazy, right? (mic check, um, can I get a chuckle?)

What is not so commonly shared and do not expect to ever know this stuff is the family crest. The family crest is VERY specific to the son that you descended from. Japan be like, “We can’t have each of George Foreman’s kids named George AND have the same family crest!” This ain’t no google search thing. This ain’t no ask a librarian. This is in the family genealogical book and the only people who get to see that is family. Sure, there’s crests online. But don’t think that’s your crest or your favorite celebrity crest. That’s just some common crest that made it’s way to a scanner. Also, if you study a craft, it could be that craft is from a “school” that passes on a pseudonym once you’ve mastered the craft, complete with kanji and crest so unless you know the master’s birth name, you’re not even looking in the right direction. Example, one year someone with the same family name and kanji as mine got really famous in Japan and even made international headlines. Like, you’ve probably heard of this person famous. My mom was curious if we’re related (internet says there’s only 5400 of us so maybe) and while she was visiting relatives, happened to find out that we have different family crests, thus she gave up the search and declared we are not related. (She did not want to bother to go back 19 generations or so to the story of the king who passed out names.., see paragraph 2 above.)

On to the names! For reference, all Buck-Tick members are from Gunma prefecture. Japan has a population of 126,476,461 people. The most common surnames are Satō, Suzuki, Takahashi, Tanaka, Itō, Watanabe, Yamamoto, Nakamura, and Kobayashi. Each of those surnames have over 1,000,000 people with that name residing in Japan. What’s a rare surname? Something with either 1 or 4+ kanji. (Except Hayashi.) They exist but. Really rare surnames? Well, those would be the names the Japanese government declared cannot exist anymore so those names tend to exist only outside of Japan. (Happened to one part of my family so I know this shit exists. Only 460 left. How did they get away with it? And how can I get hanko with this?)

Name info source: https://myoji-yurai.net/

桜井 (sakurai) literal meaning: cherry blossom-well (like a water well) This kanji for Sakurai is ranked #106 for most common surnames in Japan. This is the most common kanji for Sakurai. It is commonly found in Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba prefectures. (Kanto region) For cities, Takasaki, Gunma and Uonuma, Niigata have the most people named Sakurai. Roughly 172,000 people in the entire nation are named 桜井. In Gunma, almost 5% of Kanna town has this surname. Other famous Sakurais? Argh, someone in The Alfee. Better than that, Ao from Cali≠Gari.

櫻井 (sakurai) Same name as above, just different cherry blossom kanji (older version). This kanji for Sakurai is ranked #813 for most common surnames in Japan. It is commonly found in Kanagawa, Aichi, and Chiba prefectures (Kanto and Chubu regions) For cities, Takasaki, Gunma and Akashi, Hyogo have the most people named Sakurai. Roughly 23,600 people in the entire nation are named 櫻井. (The people who couldn’t be sussed to simplify their kanji.) 

今井 (imai) literal meaning: now-well (like a water well) This kanji for Imai is ranked #75 for most common surname in Japan. This is the most common kanji for Imai. It is commonly found in Kanagawa, Saitama, and Aichi prefectures. (Kanto region) For cities, Gero, Gifu and Ichinomiya, Aichi have the most people named Imai. Roughly 212,000 people in the entire nation are named 今井. In Gunma, 20% of Ueno village has this surname. Other famous Imais? Miki Imai, singer, wife to Tomoyasu Hotei. 星野 (hoshino) literal meaning: star-field This kanji for Hoshino is ranked #147 for most common surnames in Japan. This is the most common kanji for Hoshino. It is commonly found in Gunma, Saitama, and Kanagawa prefectures (Kanto region). For cities, Kiryu, Gunma and Nagaoka, Niigata have the most people named Hoshino. Roughly 137,000 people in the entire nation are named 星野. In Gunma, almost 36% of Katashina village has this surname. Other famous Hoshinos? Gen Hoshino wrote a song during the pandemic that got very popular and even Hisashi Imai posted a video of him playing along to that song.

樋口 (higuchi) literal meaning: gutter-mouth This kanji for Higuchi is ranked #132 for most common surnames in Japan. This is the most common kanji for Higuchi. It is commonly found in Fukuoka, Osaka, Niigata, and Kanagawa prefectures (Kansai to Chubu regions) but it’s safe to say it is common throughout all of Japan except for Okinawa. Roughly 146,000 people in the entire nation are named 樋口. In Gunma, there’s roughly 1,000 people named Higuchi in Takasaki and guess where our bassist is from. Other famous Higuchis? How about Yutaka Higuchi the figure skater.

Yagami...the stage name of the drummer. He never writes this in kanji but I imagined that if he did, he would write it as 八神. Or did he write it like that once so that’s why I imagine it that way? Anyway, there’s many possible kanji variations and I was surprised that the most common way to write it is actually 谷上. (For me, I’m like is that Tanuye? Taniue? because I’m Okinawan and we have weird place names.)

[tameila]

January Week One Albums

January 1st: Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift

familiarity: I’m going in already knowing about half of the album, and I adore those songs. Taylor is one of the best lyricist of our generation. Whether you like her music or not, that’s a truth, and I would hold this album up as proof of that, especially to those who want to suggest that it’s only her recent album that show her mastery. I’m ready to hear these lesser known songs like “Tied Together With a Smile” and “A Perfectly Good Heart” that I’ve heard a lot of great things about.

favorite(s) before listen: Our Song, Cold as You, Mary’s Song

favorite(s) after listen: None of the songs that I heard super surprised me, and I would say my favorites stayed the same

January 2nd: Home Video, Lucy Dacus

familiarity: I found “Triple Dog Dare” on a playlist for songs that build to grand crescendos, which is one of my favorite type of songs, and I’ve adored it ever since. I’ve also heard “Brando”.

favorite(s) before listen: Triple Dog Dare

favorite(s) after listen: Triple Dog Dare, Christine, Thumbs, Partners in Crime, Brando

January 3rd: The Horror and The Wild, The Amazing Devil

familiarity: I was recommended this lovely band by @thesylversmyth a while back and have been listening to “Fair” for a dose of good, good Pikelan feelings every now and then. However, I never got around to listening to the album as a whole, so you can bet it was at the top of my list for this project!

favorite(s) before listen: Fair

favorite(s) after listen: Fair, The Horror and The Wild, Welly Boots, Wild Blue Yonder

January 4th: Hard To Imagine The Neighbourhood Ever Changing, The Neighbourhood

familiarity: I have a passing familiarity with a number of The Neighbourhood’s songs, but I’ve never really sat and listened to one of their albums front-to-back. My little sister is a huge fan of them though, so I asked for her recommendation.

favorite(s) before listen: You Get Me So High

favorite(s) after listen: Dust, 24/7, Softcore, You Get Me So High, Sadderdaze

January 5th: After It All, Delta Rae

familiarity: I listened to this album through years back but, after a conversation with my best friend who also loves Delta Rae, realized that I didn’t really remember many songs from it -- including her favorite. Thus, I decided to revisit!

favorite(s) before listen: Chasing Twisters, You’re The One For Me

favorite(s) after listen: every time I think I’ve pinned down 3-4 songs that are my top favorites, I relisten to one and go, “Now, wait a minute here...” so, in the name of getting this bit done, here’s my current picks...Chasing Twisters, I’ll Never Die, Anthem, After It All

January 6th: byebyeskiesofyesterday, Matija

familiarity: Going in blind but super excited for this suggestion from @hermionehostclub

favorite(s) before listen: N/A

favorite(s) after listen: troiskilometres, inlovewithamurderer, theoretically

January 7th: Illinois, Sufjan Stevens

familiarity: I am familiar with Sufjan’s music but am ashamed to say that I never actually listened to one of his albums front-to-back. Not even the one for my home state! Thus...

favorite(s) before listen: The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out To Get Us!, Chicago

favorite(s) after listen: Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois (fun fact: did not realize that Jaymes Young’s Habits of The Heart sampled this song until I started the album and spent the first 30 seconds incredibly confused as to why I knew this song but also didn’t); The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out To Get Us!; Chicago; The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders; They are Night Zombies!!! (solely for the Illinois chant that will now be stuck in my head all night thanks a lot sufjan)

[jazziehart]

Taylor Swift Albums Reviews

Hello my lovely blog readers,

I want to thank those of you who stick around through all my crazy rants and long Glee posts. You guys are the real MVPs and I will always appreciate you.

Anyway onto why we're here, in the wake of Taylor rereleasing her albums I found it fitting to take a look back at her discorgaphy so far! Thanks to my good friend Aly, I decided to relisten to all of her albums which the order was randomly decided. I will be talking about the deluxe editions so enjoy!

Let's start off with the first album that was drawn first which was Red.

One of my favorite albums right off the bat with probably her best album cover. I remember how excited I was for 22, mostly because my girl Dianna Agron's name was in the liner notes. Let's dive into what I thought now about 9 years later!

Favorite Track: Begin Again Least Favorite Track: The Last Time (featuring Gary Lightbody) Bonus Track I Wish was on the main album: All of them!!! Favorite Bonus Track: The Moment I Knew Album Ranking: 6th/9

Overall I adore this album so so much. The only track I didn't care for in the least was The Last Time. I think you'll find a trend with me that my least favorite Tayor tracks tend to be her duets (the exception being Everything Has Changed which is also on this album and is the purest of all). The album has held up and even moreso I love it than the first time I listened. Crazy. Anyway onto the rankings of each song. DISCLAIMER: These are just my opinions and you can disagree with them but please be respectful.

1) Begin Again 2) The Moment I Knew 3) State of Grace (Acoustic Version) 4) I Almost Do 5) Stay Stay Stay 6) All Too Well 7) Everything Has Changed (featuring Ed Sheeran) 8) 22 9) Come Back...Be Here 10) Red 11) I Knew You Were Trouble 12) The Lucky One 13) We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together 14) Starlight 15) Girl at Home 16) Sad Beautiful Tragic 17) State of Grace 18) Holy Ground 19) Treacherous 20) The Last Time (featuring Gary Lightbody)

Honestly I adore this album so much as a whole and ranking every song was so hard. Holy Ground honestly had a lot of potiental I hated the arrangement but if I heard an acoustic version I would be sold, much like State of Grace which I wasn't huge on the original but the acoustic I'm obsessed with. Moving onto our second album which is one of Taylor's newest.

folklore! Funny enough on first listen I wasn't as into it as everyone else was but trust me, the relisten definitely helped me change my mind. I also heard the lakes for the first time which I loved. Since it's the only bonus track I'm going to say I definitely wished it had made the main album over some of the other songs on it. Let's dive into my thoughts and rankings.

Favorite Track: mad woman Least Favorite Track: invisible string Album Ranking: 9th/9

1) mad woman 2) the 1 3) the last great american dynasty 4) mirrorball 5) hoax 6) peace 7) seven 8) august 9) my tears richocet 10) the lakes 11) cardigan 12) betty 13) illicit affairs 14) epiphany 15) this is me trying 16) exile (featuring Bon Iver) 17) invisible string

Okay I know cardigan and betty being so low is going make people unhappy but honestly I just loved the other songs better listed above it. So many gorgeous songs and a great era for Taylor. It's not my favorite era and still falls in my lower half of her albums but I can appreciate the tracks on it more than I did before with the relisten.

Now onto Taylor's most recent album which came up next in our randomization in evermore

Unlike folklore on original listen I absolutely adored this album and had it in my top tier Taylor albums but will that opinion hold up? Let's find out.

Favorite Track: no body, no crime (featuring HAIM) Least Favorite Track: gold rush Favorite Bonus Track: it's time to go Album Ranking: 7th/9

1) no body, no crime (featuring HAIM) 2) happiness 3) champagne problems 4) willow 5) cowboy like me 6) dorothea 7) majorie 8) evermore (featuring Bon Iver) 9) closure 10) long story short 11) ‘tis the damn season 12) ivy 13) it’s time to go 14) coney island (featuring The National) 15) right where you left me 16) tolerate it 17) gold rush Okay let's talk about the relisten, it still held up but to me the one thing I didn't love about the album was the bonus tracks didn't add much to the original album so I kind of see why they were bonus tracks. I enjoyed the album none the less and I do think that most of my opinions are somewhat popular. I only see people being mad about 'tis the damn season being so low but honestly 1-11, I loved all the tracks so.

Up next is the rerelease that started it all, Fearless!

Now let's see after 13 years (hey Taylor's lucky number) if my opinion of this iconic album changed. Back in the day I was so obsessed with this album so let's see how I feel now!

Favorite Track: You're Not Sorry Least Favorite Track: The Way I Loved You Bonus Tracks I Wish was on the main album: Forever and Always (Piano Verison) and Come in with the Rain Favorite Bonus Track: Forever and Always (Piano Version) Album Ranking: 4th/9

1) You’re Not Sorry 2) White Horse 3) Love Story 4) You Belong with Me 5) Change 6) Forever and Always (Piano Version) 7) Fifteen 8) Hey Stephen 9) Come in with the Rain 10) Jump Then Fall 11) Fearless 12) Forever and Always 13) The Best Day 14) The Other Side of the Door 15) Breathe (featuring Colbie Cailaitt) 16) Untouchable 17) SuperStar 18) Tell Me Why 19) The Way I Loved You

I still remember when this album was first coming out how jazzed and excited I was for it. It was highly anticipated for me being that I had fallen in love with Taylor from her debut album and listening back it still holds up as one of my favorite albums. The only two tracks I wasn't into back then and still am not into are Tell Me Why and The Way I Loved You. Other than those two tracks the entire album is incredible to listen to. I'm so excited to hear Taylor's versions of all these songs and who knows maybe my mind will change on some of them.

Moving onto the next album to be randomly selected which is almost every Swiftie's favorite 1989.

Funny enough, originally this album isn't in my top favorites so who knows if my opinion will change on a relisten. Let's find out!

Favorite Track: Clean Least Favorite Track: I Wish You Would Bonus Tracks I Wish was on the main album: All of them?! Come on Taylor what's up with 1989 and Red having like some of their best tracks as bonus tracks. I'm mad haha. Favorite Bonus Track: Wonderland (gee I wonder why) Album Ranking: 5th/9

1) Clean 2) Wonderland 3) Wildest Dreams 4) This Love 5) You are in Love 6) Welcome to New York 7) Shake It Off 8) Blank Space 9) Bad Blood 10) Style 11) How You Get the Girl 12) Out of the Woods 13) New Romantics 14) I Know Places 15) All You Had to Do was Stay 16) I Wish You Would

Okay listening back. I now get the hype behind it. Listening to it with bonus tracks honestly makes all the difference. No joke. It's a much better album with the bonus tracks added. Honestly if Wonderland and You are in Love were on the main album it would've been top tier to me. Thank God for the deluxe version but team Taylor what is up with you hiding some of her best tracks and only releasing them on the bonus tracks? I'm mad. Also speaking on Wonderland, I adore the song even without the rumours of it being about my favorite celebrity Dianna Agron. Had the bonus tracks been on the main album it would higher but as a whole I love the album.

And now for our next album, which is reputation!

This is probably Taylor's most controversial albums, some love it and some hate it. I actually am somewhere in the middle. I love some of the tracks while others I could've done without. Let's see where it goes for me listening back.

Favorite Song: New Year's Day Least Favorite: Dancing with Our Hands Tied Album Ranking: 8th/9

1) New Year's Day 2) Gorgeous 3) Don’t Blame Me 4) This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things 5) I Did Something Bad 6) Dress 7) Delicate 8) Call It What You Want To 9) ...Ready for It? 10) Look What You Made Me Do 11) King of my Heart 12) Getaway Car 13) So It Goes... 14) End Game (featuring Ed Sheeran and Future) 15) Dancing with Our Hands Tied

Okay I feel like my choices here are controversal especially Getaway Car being pretty low on the album. Honestly I liked the song just wasn't into the hype that everyone else said about it, sorry you guys. Also Dancing with Our Hands Tied on the ALBUM is my least favorie song. I absolutely adored Taylor's acoustic version that was in the rep Tour. Had she released that on the album it would be after Look What You Made Me Do. The arrangement on the album I just didn't care for and I prefer acoustic Taylor which I think a lot of you gather from my top picks.

Anyway moving onto to our next album that was randomized which is...Taylor Swift!

Ah yes the album that started it all. 15 years ago I discovered Taylor Swift via this album thanks to CMT. I was a huge country music stan back in the day who knew how this one album would lead to a career I've been following for 15 years. Now how does this album hold up? Let's find out!

Favorite Song: Should've Said No Least Favorite Song: A Perfectly Good Heart Bonus Tracks I Wish was on the main album: Invisible and I'm Only Me When I'm with You Favorite Bonus Track: Invisible Album Ranking: 3rd/9

1) Should’ve Said No 2) Invisible 3) Cold as You 4) Picture to Burn 5) Our Song 6) The Outside 7) A Place in This World 8) Teardrops on My Guitar 9) Stay Beautiful 10) Tim McGraw 11) I’m Only Me When I’m with You 12) Mary’s Song (Oh My My My) 13) Tied Together with a Smile 14) A Perfectly Good Heart

This album still holds up 15 years later and made me so nostalgic. This had to be the hardest album for songs to rank thus far. Taylor hit it out of the park on her very first album crazy. She set the bar very high, funny enough it's the first album that a bonus track is my least favorite track but the entire album is a great listen, especially if you love country. It's very different from anything else Taylor did but that's what's so charming about it.

And now onto our second to last album which is another one of my favorites and the only album Taylor wrote fully on her own, Speak Now.

The album cover is up there with Red as my favorite and I'm excited to listen back to this album. I remember how much I enjoyed it when it was first released. Excited to see what I think 11 years later. Let's find out.

Favorite Track: Haunted (Acoustic Version) Least Favorite Track: Last Kiss Bonus Tracks I Wish was on the main album: All of them. Dang it Taylor they deserved to be on the main album. Favorite Bonus Track: Haunted (Acoustic Version) Album Ranking: 2nd/9

1) Haunted (Acoustic Version) 2) Long Live 3) Haunted 4) Better Than Revenge 5) Back to December (Acoustic Version) 6) Mine 7) Back to December 8) Mean 9) If This Was a Movie 10) Innocent 11) Dear John 12) Speak Now 13) Ours 14) Never Grow Up 15) The Story of Us 16) Superman 17) Enchanted 18) Sparks Fly 19) Last Kiss

One of Taylor's absolute best albms and it was incredibly hard to rank these songs. I know people are going to be mad about Enchanted being low but I just didn't love it as much as the other tracks on the album, this after all is one of the best albums she ever released so it's incredibly hard to make the call.

Moving onto our final album which I've called my absolute favorite, Lover.

It's only been an year since its release but will it hold up as my favorite album? Let's find out!

Favorite Track: Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince Least Favorite Track: It’s Nice to Have a Friend Album Ranking: 1st/9

1) Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince 2) Paper Rings 3) Lover 4) Soon You’ll Get Better (featuring The Chicks) 5) You Need to Calm Down 6) The Archer 7) The Man 8) Daylight 9) Afterglow 10) I Think He Knows 11) False God 12) Death by a Thousand Cuts 13) Cruel Summer 14) Cornelia Street 15) I Forgot That You Existed 16) ME! (featuring Brendan Urie from Panic! at the Disco) 17) London Boy 18) It’s Nice to Have a Friend

Yep it held up. This album is my favorite thing Taylor ever released. It was a tough call because I loved all of her top albums so much. Miss Americana still is my favorite performance which is no surprise, I was obsessed when this song came out 2 years ago. It's Nice to Have a Friend is the weakest track on the album but by no means is it a bad track. The entire album is a great listen all the way through, the only song that's hard to listen to especially if you have a sick parent "Soon You'll Get Better" I literally bawled after I finished it. So if you don't want an emotional song that might make you sad, it's best to skip it even though it's one of favorite tracks.

And that does it for us here. Hope you enjoyed my album reviews! Just to recap here's the rankings of all of Taylor's Albums:

1) Lover 2) Speak Now 3) Taylor Swift 4) Fearless 5) 1989 6) Red 7) evermore 8) reputation 9) folklore

Excited to see what's to come with the rerelease of Fearless and to hear the songs released from the vault. I've heard a few of her unreleased songs and honestly there are quite a few that I'm hoping are released. Thanks for enjoying us on this journey as always be kind and always spread love <3

[skepticalcatfrog]

I was tagged by @katecolleen to do this question thing:

1. Name - I don't have one /j

2. Gender - I don't have one /hj

3. Star Sign - Gemini

4. Height - 5'8", maybe (as in I might be taller than that)

5. Time - 10:28 am

6. Birthday - June 7th

7. Favorite Bands - I don't know??? I'm terribly indecisive and like music??

8. Favorite Solo Artists - (See above)

9. Song Stuck in my Head - For once, none, at least not right now

10. Last Movie - It was a Pixar movie, but I can't remember which one

11. Last Show - New Girl

12. When Did I Make This Blog - March 6th 2018 EXACTLY, it's in my calendar

13. What do I Post - Fandom content, mainly, or miscellaneous reblogs

14. Last Thing I Googled - "dumbfounded definition", I have to make sure I know the correct meanings of words

15. Other Blogs - @skeptical-scribbles (shameless self promo) where I post my art, definitely check it out

16. Do I Get Asks - I WISH

17. Why I Chose This URL - I literally put three random words together and it became my brand

18. Following - 150

19. Followers - 250 (I know those seem like oddly satisfying numbers but I swear it's the truth)

20. Average Hours of Sleep - 11, during summer break. Significantly less than that during school.

21. Lucky Number - 7

22. Instruments - I played the flute in my school band for 5 years

23. What I'm Wearing - A Pac-Man t-shirt and shorts, it's summer

24. Dream Job - I'd love to be a published author

25. Dream Trip - If all goes well, I'm going to Disneyworld with my friends next year

26. Favorite Food - I don't know

27. Nationality - A lot of things, I'm very European

28. Favorite Song - (See "Favorite Bands")

29. Last Book Read - Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (BIG reccomend)

30. Top Three Fictional Worlds to Live in - Grishaverse, Aurora Cycle, She-Ra

I'm not tagging anyone, y'all can do this if you want to

[betweenthetimeandsound]

Three Minutes to Eternity: My ESC 250 (#210-201)

#210: Joy Fleming -- Ein Lied Kann Eine Brücke Sein (Germany 1975)

“Hör auf zu spielen und lerne zu fühlen, Wie viele Menschen Freunde sind, Lerne zu singen, vertraue so wie ein Kind,”

“Stop playing and learn how to feel, How many people are friends Learn how to sing, trust just like a child”

For an older and low-placed entry, this German entry has become a fan favorite! Despite this, I wonder if I really like this enough to make my top three of 1975, because I don't go back to listen to it often.

But when I do, it just takes the conductor's stomping to get me into the mood. It's just a great way to start a song~

While the chorus somehow bugs me a little bit, because of how jarring it is (Joy shouts it all out, in comparison to the verses where she has a somewhat lower register), how it builds really helps with getting the party started. The orchestration also helps with the joie de vivre of the song, and Joy manages to live up to her name on stage.

Personal ranking: =3rd/19 Actual ranking: 17th(?!)/19 in Stockholm

#209: Muriel Day -- The Wages of Love (Ireland 1969)

“There will be bridges to be crossed And there'll be teardrops to be lost...”

Ireland’s first upbeat song is a diversion from their first four entries in more ways than one. Not only it’s performed by a woman for the first time, but it also warns about the pains of love—while it’s a great experience, you have to pay a lot in the process. (This actually reminds me of one vintage Eurovision blogger talking about how Horoscopes incorporates a more liberal sound with Ireland's conservatism at the time--maybe it was from the same lines?)

And Muriel has an absolute ball on stage with her uber-high lime green dress. She twirls her microphone around when arriving, bounces up and down like she just got a can of Red Bull, and dances as if it was for the last time. The orchestration really helps out on giving out this vivacious vibe (though the lyric "it can make you live/it can make you die" in context is quite horrifying behind the upbeat track).

Basically, this was an upbeat track which I would've switched out for one of the upbeat winners.

Personal ranking: 3rd/16 (though here, it's 4th/16. A mismatch in rankings, which you can see again in the future) Actual ranking: 7th/16 in Madrid

#208: Alenka Gotar -- Cvet z Juga (Slovenia 2007)

"Moj beli cvet, moj daljni svet Daj, vrni se, moj bodi spet”

“My white flower, my faraway world Come, return, be mine again”

I've never been a big fan of opera--not just in Eurovision, but also in general. I recognize they have beautiful voices and worked on them for the performance, but I never really like the instrumental or the actual song.

Cvet z juga, however, managed to incorporate opera in a way which is actually enjoyable. Not only because of Alenka’s powerful vocals, but also the nostalgia created with the poetic lyrics and the instrumental. It’s a combination of classical and modern--it's not a dance-floor bop (despite the percussion in the background), but it's definitely out of the ordinary.

Combined with a subtle but effective gimmick (Alenka's light-up hand at the end), and you have Slovenia's first qualifier in the semi-final. Definitely deserved.

Unfortunately, Alenka's gone off a bad path since then...)

Personal ranking: 6th/42 Actual ranking: 15th/24 GF in Helsinki

#207: Giorgios Alkaios and Friends -- Opa! (Greece 2010)

"Έκαψα το χθες, νύχτες μου παλιές Κι από το μηδέν αρχίζω όσο κι αν δε θες Δάκρυα καυτά ψέμματα πολλά Πλήρωσα όσο χρωστούσα και τα δανεικά"

"I burnt the past, my old nights And I start from scratch even if you don’t want me to Hot tears, too many lies I paid what I owed and borrowed"

"Motherf---ing testosterone!"

The Scandinavia and the World recap for the 2010 contest basically sums up Opa! as this, with all the tribal cries and torn up shirts. I've also heard it described as the "Love Love Peace Peace" of Greek entries, with the prevalent cry "Opa!", strong ethnic influences, and Cretean lyre to boot.

But beyond that, there's a deeper meaning behind the lyrics. By late 2009-early 2010, Greece was facing the burden's of the Great Recession, which would envelop the country in many years. Their GDP would drop by 26% between 2008 and 2014, and unemployment rose up to 25% at the same time. This economic maelstrom led to public uprisings and an exodus of the highly educated.

Opa is a cry for joy--not just to party, but also to fight against a wave of despair considering the circumstances. It strives to give life and inspiration by those who need it, even if it means starting over. And while economics will trump national pride in the end, one asserts themselves as stronger than they think. And that's what makes it an important part of the Greek Golden Age at Eurovision.

Personal ranking: 6th/39 Actual ranking: 8th/25 (GF) in Oslo

#206: Boris Novkovic feat. Lado -- Vukovi Umiru Sami (Croatia 2005)

"Do zore je ostao još koji sat A vani nemir, k’o da je rat Oblačim kaput i odlazim Da sve zaboravim"

"Only a few hours left till dawn And outside unrest, as if a war is on I put my coat on and leave To forget everything"

Balkan ballads are one of the main joys out of Eurovision; obviously from that region, they feature folk instrumentation and sad lyrics about love. Vukovi umiru sami fits into this mold well, but I only managed to put this in tenth place because of the variety of songs on offer, ranging from glam rock to a wholesome peace ballad.

Over time, however, it has grown on me.

The poetic lyrics stood out the most for me--they tell of an end of a relationship on the Danube (which really grounds the song in its origins, despite the fact I associate it with Central European countries as a whole) and the loneliness of the man in it. There's a mournful nature about it, especially with the choir in the background.

And the way it build is so fantastic, amplifying the story and the stakes. The "Dunavoms" between the last two choruses are well-done and elevate this song to greatness.

I planned to rewatch 2005 to see how my rankings change, and thought it would get to be in my top five. Because of a typo on my list, I needed another song to fit the overall order of the list.

And finally, Vukovi umiru sami is in my top five. :)

Personal ranking: 5th/39 Actual ranking: 11th/24 GF in Kyiv

#205: Marlayne -- One Good Reason (the Netherlands 1999)

“Give me one good reason and I will give you two Say: "I love you forever", say you will, say you do...”

The guitar intro made me think this would be a song I would listen to outside of Eurovision. It reminded me of Michelle Branch’s songs in the early 2000s (of which, Breathe is my current all-time favorite song); her debut album, The Spirit Room, would only be released in 2001!

Alternatively, it has a very country-pop vibe, but it still has a sense of optimism which continues through the entire song. I love how sunny and earnest it is, and it got a really solid result out of it! Unfortunately, it would be the Netherlands' best placing until 2013, but at least it was a jolt of quality in a mediocre year.

Personal ranking: 4th/23 Actual ranking: 8th/23 in Jerusalem

#204: Niamh Kavanaugh -- In Your Eyes (Ireland 1993)

“Love's been building bridges between your heart and mine I'm safe here on my island, but I'm out on the edge this time”

One of the most nail-biting votes in Eurovision came in this particular contest: because Malta's phone connection malfunctioned, they had to wait until the end to give their points. At that point, Ireland was 11 points ahead, which means if Malta gave the runner-up their twelve, the latter would win by one point.

The Maltese jury ended up giving Ireland their twelve, which would give Ireland their second consecutive win in the 1990s, along with a point record which would only last a year.

I’ve never felt the vulnerability of falling in love, but I love the narrative arc in the lyrics, which crescendos with the chorus. Niamh’s voice is a bit harsh at times, but delivers on it with a stately grace in a choice suit.

What also seals In Your Eyes for me was the graceful orchestration thanks to Noel Kelehan. It's especially prevalent in the chorus--the studio cut doesn't do it justice...

Personal ranking: =6th/25 Actual ranking: 1st/25 in Millstreet

#203: Sonia -- Better the Devil You Know (United Kingdom 1993)

“I'll give you my heart and my soul if you give me your love..”

...not unlike with the song Ireland was competing with for the win! While the studio cut is decent enough, Better the Devil You Know wouldn't have gotten so close to victory without the live music aspect of it.

It’s not only the orchestration here, but also Sonia’s fun performance and her cute moves. The track is reminiscent of SAW, but it feels like being at a sock hop in a diner and dancing the night away. The backing vocalists do a good job too; I like how they harmonize the in the chorus .

That all being said, would've this made a better winner? It's hard to tell--it would've been more upbeat than most of the 1990s other winners, but In Your Eyes has aged quite well. And I have several other favorites, so I'm not the best one to comment on it.

Personal ranking: =6th/25 Actual ranking: 2nd/25 in Millstreet

#202: Serebro -- Song #1 (Russia 2007)

“Gotta tease you, nasty guy So take it, don't be shy Put your cherry on my cake And taste my cherry pie”

Unfortunately, song #1 neither placed on top of the 2007 class, nor was it the first song performed that year So, in more than one case, Song #1 is a misnomer.

Nor are they particularly unique amongst bands--Serebro has some similarities to tATu in 2003, in that they are a girl group with a sensual aesthetic. But while tATu's Eurovision entry is more dark, Serebro's has more attitude and edge.

Such saucy lyrics are what makes Song #1 such a total jam, albeit one the fandom overlooks. The dark production increases the attitude of this song, and I love the girls’ stage presence too! Especially those costumes (again, going back to the tATu comparisons, in that they were best known for their school uniforms, hehe); they never fail in adding some sexiness to the performance.

Personal ranking: 5th/42 Actual ranking: 3rd/24 GF in Helsinki

#201: Severina -- Moja stikla (Croatia 2006)

“Zvrc, zvrc, tražit ćeš moj broj, Kuc, kuc, kucaj nekoj drugoj, Jer još trava nije nikla, Tamo gdje je stala moja štikla!”

"Ring, ring, you'll search for my number, Knock, knock, go knocking somewhere else, For the grass has not yet sprouted, Where my high heel has stepped!”

There’s a lot of silly lyrics in Moja Stikla. From mentioning “sex” to “Afrika Paprika”, it’s easy to suggest that this is nonsensical. I’m reading over the lyrics again myself, and they tell quite a different story—of a woman who just wants men to stop hitting on her.

Even now, I'm still confused on how Zumba and African paprika make sense in avoiding men. Or high heels.

But it all doesn't matter when the music starts. Severina's backing vocalists add to the performances, with their solid harmonies and fun presence. Combined with Severina’s own high energy, it’s a good example of turbo folk (even though there was a bit of controversy about whether it actually sounds like Croatian music), and it’s all kinds of fun!

Personal ranking: 4th/37 Actual ranking: =12th/24 GF in Athens

[honeyjaez]

A solo stan who is thinking about checking other groups out?

There is nothing wrong with being a solo stan (as in only liking 1 group) as long as you are kind and courteous to other groups.

Also this post might not be for you.

But if you are a solo stan (usually starting with BTS) or just in need of finding new groups and thinking about spreading your wings here are some suggestions. 🙂

When I first got into kpop way back in the 2010 years I had no clue what I had stumbled on and I only liked 2 groups max for the longest time because I didnt know about any other groups. Since then I’ve come to love so many groups that I wish I knew about sooner.

Now mind you. I am primarily a boy group stan so there are not a lot of girl groups on her so please forgive me. -*edit I’ve decided to do a part 2 of just girl groups so stay tuned

This is also under the impression you already know BTS and their brother group TXT.

also if your fav is not on this list I dearly apologize. I picked groups that might be a good intro to like multiple groups.

Groups down below ˅˅˅˅

SEVENTEEN:

-13 Member group under Pledis Entertainment.

- Debuted May 26, 2015

-Popular in Korea and slowly gaining popularity internationally.

-AMAZING dancers.

-Like the synchronization is unreal for 13 people.

- Divided into 3 sub-units; Performance Unit, Hip-Hop Unit, and Vocal Unit

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Don’t Wanna Cry. Hit, Clap

iKON:

-Currently a 6 Member group under YG Entertainment

-Debuted September 15th, 2015

-Addicting Chorus’s and bad ass rapping

-Their Leader B.I recently left the group early this year, but fans are hopeful for a reunion. But that doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate OT7 right now.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Bling Bling, Love Scenario, B-Day

ONEUS:

-6 Member group under RBW Entertainment

-Debuted January 9th, 2019.

-They are a crazy good for a rookie group and have a lot of bangers.

-Their choreography is no joke

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Valkyrie (Debut song), Twilight, Lit

(Seriously they have no bad songs)

NCT 127:

(NCT is actually a massive group divided up into sub-units)

-10 Member group under SM Entertainment.

-Debuted July 10th, 2016

-Crazy Powerful dance moves.

-Look mean, but are actually sweethearts.

-Gaining popularity in the west.

-Some songs to introduce you to them:Cherry Bomb, Touch, Highway to Heaven

NCT Dream:

-Currently a 6 member group under SM Entertainment

-Debuted August 24th, 2016

-Cute Charm and Powerful stage presence. 

-NCT Dream is as this moment not a fixed unit and based on idols age.

-When they get old enough the members “graduate” and join other NCT sub-units

-Mark of NCT 127 was once the leader but he reached the age limit and “Graduated” and thus no longer apart of the group.

-Many fans detest this concept and wish SM to make them a fixed unit but that doens’t mean you can’t love OT6 or OT7 at the moment.

-Some songs to introduce you to them:  Boom, We Go Up, Go

Stray Kids:

-8  member group under JYP Entertainment

-Debuted March 25th, 2018

-Gained a lot of popularity through their survival show of the same name

-Strong and Meaningful songs that deal a lot with self struggle and depression. 

-All songs are produced by members Bang Chan, Changbin and Han who make up the sub-unit 3racha.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Hellavator Levanter, Voices, My Pace, Double Knot, God’s Menu, Back Door (I mean this list can go on and on)

GOT7:

-7 Member group under JYP Entertainment

-Debuted January 16th, 2014

-Another amazing dancing group

-Strong Charisma on stage.

-Variety Kings

-Goofballs

-Some songs to introduce you to them:Hard Carry, Eclipse, You Are 

VAV:

-7 Member group under A Team Entertainment

-Debuted October 31st, 2015.

-Severely underrated 

-Has lost some members and gains some as well.

-They work super hard year round with hardly and rest.

-Please stan VAV.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: She’s Mine, Poison, Spotlight. 

ASTRO:

-6 Member group under Fantagio Entertainment

-Debuted February 23rd, 2016.

-Cute, Charming group.

-The boys are actual angels.

-The group is a breath of fresh air.

-Super Talented.

-Addicting songs that just make you smile

-Can have the same concept as literally any other group but still make it their own.

-Vocals are beyond this world.

-Also just overall very pretty.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: All Night, Blue Flame, Baby, Always You. 

The Boyz:

-11 Member group under Cre.Ker Entertainment

-Debuted December 6th, 2017

-A really fun and charming group.

-Their song’s are very addicting

-Dance like songs

-Sweet sweet boys who deserve love.

-Member Hwall left in October of 2019 due to health reasons 

-Some songs to introduce you to them: D.D.D, No Air, Giddy Up 

Day6:

-5 Member group under JYP Entertainment

-Debuted September 7th, 2015

-An actual band so they don’t dance on stage

-but crazy talented

-Their songs are known to make people feel happier.

-I don’t think it is possible to have a bad Day6 song.

-Jae’s twitter is quite possible my favorite place on this earth.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: I smile. Time of our lives. Colors, I need Somebody. Dance Dance. Literally any of them.

PENTAGON:

-Currently a 9 Member group under Cube Entertainment.

-Debuted October 10th, 2016.

-Also Underrated.

-Such amazing discography.

-UNIQUE VOICES 

-Strong vocals and major crackheads

-Went through their survival show “Pentagon Maker” and debuted as 10 members.

-Former Member E’Dawn was basically kicked out of Cube and Pentagon after revealing he was dating label mate HyunA. Fans are still hopeful for an OT10 reunion.

-But we can support OT9 now.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Sha La La, Shine, Like This, Cosmo (Japanese song).

SF9:

-9 Member group under FNC Entertainment

-Debuted October 5th, 2016

-FNC’s first dance boy group.

-SEVERELY UNDERRATED.

-If you want any songs to put on your workout playlist, or just get you hyped then their are your boys.

-AMAZING Dancers.

-They are almost all actors as well. If you watch K-Drama’s you might recognize Chani (their maknae) from widely popular Sky Castle and Rowoon from new K-Drama “Extraordinary You”

-Stan SF9. Stream RPM

-Some songs to introduce you to them: O Sole Mio, RPM, Now or Never, Easy Love

Monsta X

-A SEVEN Member group under Starship Entertainment

-Literally the definition of hard-working.

-Powerful Choreography, crazy stage presence, intense charisma...must I go on.

-Literally deserve the world.

-Were formed through the survival program No Mercy and have not stopped since.

-Their songs are so addicting and on top of that are actual sweethearts.

-Only want to make people smile and feel loved through their music.

-Would possibly die for their fans.

-Okay I’m talking too much.

-Gaining popularity in the Western regions.

-In October of 2019, member Wonho (the orange hair in the gif) left the group due to rumors and lies being spread about him. He didn’t want to hurt Monsta X’s reputation so he left the group but fans have strongly opposed this, fighting for starship to help clear his name and have him return. The protest continues on even after almost a month.

(Trust me, if you knew this group and Wonho, you would understand why fans are opposing this.)

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Follow, Shoot Out, Beautiful, Dramarama, All In, Alligator.

NU’EST:

-5 Member group under Pledis Entertainment

-Debuted March 15th, 2012

-Very unique style and concept with their albums.  Sticks to their own specific style.

-Addicting chorus.

-Honey Sweet vocals. 

-Had a sub-united called NU’EST W while Minhyun was promoting as a member of Wanna One. (The W stood for ‘Waiting’ which should tell you the type of guys they are).

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Bet Bet, Love Me, Face (Debut  Song), Help Me (Nu’est W song).

BTOB:

-7 Member group under Cube Entertainment

-Debuted March 21st, 2012.

-Ballads anyone?

-Are primarily a vocal focus group

-But understandably because BTOB has one of the strongest vocals in Kpop.

-But can also dance.

-Honest to good crack heads

-Variety Kings #2

-Currently 3 members are serving their military service but you can still support them in their quiet time.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: I’ll be your man, Only one for me, Beautiful Pain, Missing You.

ATEEZ:

-8 Member group under KQ Entertainment

-Debuted October 24th, 2018.

-ROOKIE KINGS.

-In their one year so far since debut they have shown the world that they are not a group to underestimate. 

-Strong Dancers, powerful choreography. 

-Their stage presence is no joke.

-Songs are super addicting and go hard so if you need a workout playlist Ateez is your group.

THE DUALITY OF EACH MEMBER. 

-San is Satan in disguise.

-Prepared for debut for a really REALLY long time. 

-Already signed up with a US record label.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Wonderland, Pirate King, Treasure, Say My name, Wave. literally any of them.

EXO:

-9 Member group under SM Entertainment

-Debuted April 8th, 2012.

-If you know BTS, you probably know about them.

-But EXO are worth all the hype.

-Korea’s chosen representative (Whether you agree with it or not, it’s true) 

-Deadly Stage Presence and Charisma

-Their songs are always iconic.

-Leader Suho just might be god I haven’t figured it out yet.

-As of November 2019, 3 of their members are not promoting with the group. Lay is off promoting solo stuff and stuff in china and america (because SM doesn’t want EXOLS happy) and the other 2 members, Xiumin and D.O are currently serving in the military.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Monster, Love Shot, Lotto, Tempo.

Golden Child

-10 Member group under Woollim Entertainment.

-Debuted August 28th, 2017.

-Underrated group x 10.

-Dancing is on point.

-Stage presence on point

-Hardworking

-cute songs

-They are just charming boys who smile more than the sun i swear.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Wannabe, DamDaDi, Genie, Let Me

A.C.E:

-5 Member group under Beat Interactive

-Debuted May 23rd, 2017

-I literally don’t understand why they are so underrated.

-They have created their own unique style in kpop with a rock vibe that is hardly used in the community. 

-POWERFUL dancers.

-Rude as fuck but thats besides the point.

-Another great group if you need workout songs.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Undercover, Savage, Callin, Take Me Higher.

Other groups that I did not talk about but I think should be mentioned:

-AB6IX

-CIX

-VICTON

-VIXX

-Great Guys 

-Infinite

-JBJ95

-Kim Donghan(solo)

N.Flying!

-Noir!!!!!

-Spectrum

[daily-dose-of-imagines]

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕌𝕡♡

AAAAAA I hate to be THAT person, but I think I sent in a match up request in the wrong spot...? I sent it through the link in the bio, the normal submissions box, and now this one...I am very slow and do not know which box in particular I am supposed to send it through. I am new to tumblr so I have no clue where everything is, and I just realized that this is the ��match up submission box”. I feel really bad for doing this so many times, I am just very confused ... Sorry again if I am STILL doing this wrong 😣 ~ So I have found this amazing account, and I was wondering if I could have a match up please with Attack On Titan, Haikyuu, and The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K? :) and if I may please be anonymous. ~ Appearance and a bit about me: I am a female, just barely under 5’0, I am Filipino, I have straight teeth, I have thick wavy hair (and just a bit of white hair cause of my genes), I am a bit on the chubbier side, I have big thighs, I have stretch marks, a small scar on my forehead from running into a door when I was 7, i have a small mole on my cheek (similar to Sugawara, just a bit lower), my chest size is a bit bigger (I am a D), I wear glasses and contacts, I always have a ring or two on my finger to fidget with when I’m nervous, and my go to outfit is sweats and a sweatshirt. I also was mocked in 6th and 7th grade about being dumb, useless, and all of that by my close friend group. It made me go in a dark place for a while, but now I have good friends bringing me up, but ever since 💫corona💫, I’ve been doubting myself again. ~ Interests and hobbies: I love playing volleyball, play fighting, binging anime and all types of Asian dramas, listening to sad love songs or jersey club remixes cause the bass on those are ✨amazing✨, sleeping, collecting stuffed animals (I have 10 on my bed alone 🤠), playing the ukulele, hugging, and cuddling. ~ Personality: I am slow with many things but I am also academically smart (if that makes sense), I am dramatic, I have a loud voice when I talk, I am usually playful but when I get mad it’s only for like an hour or so then I start to feel bad and forgive the other person (that is why no one takes me seriously 😔), i apologize a lot, I am very affectionate and kind (I always say I love you at the end of calls, always say have a good day, etc), I am dependent on others most of the time, Whenever there was a class visitor or even if it is a friend’s parent I always say ms or me in front (like ms.(her first name) if that makes sense) I also suck at replying to peoples messages (I read them, respond in my head, then completely forget to respond), I tend to hide how I feel about others which sometimes leads to problems, I over share about what’s going on in my life, and I put others happiness before mine. ~ Thank you for your time :) I hope this wasn’t overboard. Once again, I am SUPER DUPER sorry if I did this and/or the first one I did wrong. I am very confused with how these work. I hope you have an amazing day :))

»»————-　♡　————-««

Hello sweet pea~! So sorry it look all confusing, but I will say you did spectacular~! You’re most definitely in the right place to submit your match-up~! ^^ I’m so sorry this took so long to get out, but I do hope you enjoy who I’ve paired you with~! Thank you again for requesting with us~! It means the world~!

» » Admin Ko

𝕀 𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕡 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘…

ᴊᴇᴀɴ ᴋɪʀꜱᴄʜᴛᴇɪɴ

Someone who was initially known mainly for having an interest in Mikasa, it’s a surprise to many when he comes clean that he’s actually in a relationship with you. To him, you’re absolutely adorable in your own little way. He enjoys your playful banter and easily matches with the loudness you project with ease. Though he doesn’t particularly like the amount of apologizing you do, he actually tries his best to not only ease you out of the habit, but to grow much more confident in your own abilities and skills.

It’s without a doubt that he’ll compliment you on your academic prowess and will continue to do so until you properly understand that you’re amazing in your own way. Whenever you both lay together in bed, he usually likes to caressed your skin and subconsciously will lightly brush his finger tips against the little scar on your forehead with a goofy little smile on his face. 

When hearing of your past, he’s angered of course, but vows more so to properly show you that those people weren’t worth the air you breathed. It goes without saying that if he happens to see them or gets an idea of what they look like he won’t hesitate to boast or cause a sort of scene. After all, he’s very protective of you. 

ᴀꜱᴀʜɪ ᴀᴢᴜᴍᴀɴᴇ

The most similar to you, though he finds your energy and playful attitude reminiscent of the 1st years of Karasuno. In comparison to your loud voice, he speaks in a soft one and tends to be just a touch more timid than you. Make no mistake though, Asahi can be reliable in those moments of desperate need and won’t hesitate to truly show whoever decides to mess with you what the ace of Karasuno can do. When it comes to play fighting, he usually lets you win and have the upper hand as he personally can’t bring himself to ever try to hurt you. 

Without a doubt, Asahi will constantly be giving you reminders as to how much he loves you. Though he may not be quite physical or say it much, his actions are what truly set it aside for you. The small touches to your hands or shoulders, or the light ruffle of your hair, and the chaste kiss to your cheek. It’s all in the small things he does rather than the big dramatic ones. Similar to you, Asahi tends to be quite apologetic and has the habit of apologizing for things that he had no action in just for the sake of keeping the peace. 

Other then that, despite not being as affection via PDA, Asahi actually quite enjoys being the large fluffy teddy bear of your dreams. Whether it be while you’re binging a show together or sleeping in each other’s arms, he doesn’t mind if you decide to snuggle up on top of his chest. (Rather he prefers for you to do so)

ᴋᴀɪᴅᴏᴜ ꜱʜᴜɴ

Hyperactive with his imagination yet shy and absolutely dorky in his own right, Kaidou is the best fit for you in Saiki’s world! He’s playful and most definitely doesn’t mind being a touch chaotic and childish with you. It’s to the surprise of many that Kaidou is practically two different people on the phone and off the phone. (Perhaps that’s just because he can’t handle your adorableness in person.) The air of confidence he has over the line when he communicates about his day as well as his adventures with the Black Wings is nothing but endearing in it’s own way.

He’s always interested in your day though, and adamantly will ask if anything suspicious or out of the norm has happened. After all, he’s quite protective in his own right and knows when to be serious. (It’s easier for him to say I love you over the phone than in person.)

Contrary to what many may think, Kaidou absolutely loves affection but can’t properly emulate how he feels about it as he’s constantly conflicted about the notion of being in such lovey intimate spaces with you. Though make no mistake he truly wants to hold you and kiss you, it’s just hard for him to gain the confidence and to pull through with his thought process. (That and the fear of what his mother may do)

[romansrace]

Roman’s Season 13 Meet the Queens - First Impression & Placing Predictions

Hi everyone! Great to be back for a new season so soon! My review and prediction for each queen, in order of appearance on Meet the Queens, just behind the jump:

DENALI

Gorgeous look, creative, nice mug. Energy giving me a bit Aja, a bit Phi Phi O'Hara. Energetic and positive-to-neutral seeming. My prediction: 7th. Not one of the weakest queens right away, but might get unlucky on several challenges.

ELLIOTT WITH 2 TS

Energy similar to Blair St Clair. Her look is somewhat dramatic, especially if she's known as a dancer. Might be charming or might be argumentative, hard to tell. I'm charmed by her, but she might be divisive.

My prediction: 10th, following several lipsyncs. Early challenges unlikely to play in her wheelhouse unless we get an early Rusical.

GOTTMIK

The strongest look so far in my opinion. She (pronouns?) will have the storyline as a trans queen to go far, unless Ru or Michelle haven't moved with the times as much as we hope they have. Besides her gender storyline, she seems a very stylised and fun queen. She's giving me a little of Adore Delano and Lemon from CDR1. She's cinched well in this promo look which is also incredibly creative, not to mention her metal (?) wig.

My prediction: 3rd/4th

JOEY JAY

Another top look, I love her punk image. Looks a little like Pink (the singer). The impression of being more masc in drag is a fun spin and might play as a story for her. Not wearing a wig guarantees she'll come to blows with Michelle and Ru. Perhaps she'll change during the show.

I feel she may clash with the judges, because her personality seems abrasive and like she won't scare easily, which they tend not to like e.g. Acid Betty, Thorgy. I like her a lot, but I feel she might not be long for it. My prediction: 8th

KAHMORA HALL

Right away she seems extremely likeable. She will likely get on with the judges and be a fan favourite. Jackie Cox jumps out as a personality comparison, or Jujubee. Her look and mug are strong and polished, with an edge of being somewhat more creative. The combination of kindness, low self-confidence, and somewhat shadiness is very well-rounded personality-wise for tv. I think unless things go dreadfully wrong, Ru should really like her which should help her go far. My prediction: 5th

KANDY MUSE

Straight away, really funny. This season's meme queen or Vanjie. She's likely to create a lot of soundbites throughout the season. A queen very ready for tv. Mug is pretty good, a little unusual with what she's doing with the eyes and colour scheme. I feel like she might struggle in sewing challenges. At the same time, I feel like she probably won't be the worst at a lot of challenges, which will see her far enough to keep going. My prediction: 6th

LALA RI

Charming, but probably one of the weaker queens we've seen so far. Going for the soundbites like Joslyn Fox type of the season. Her look is nice and mug polished, but not one of the more dramatic looks served for this MTQ. Ability to do choreo means she might be able to save herself if she falls early into the B2. I wonder if she might do ok in acting challenges too though because her personality is quite likeable. Or she might go to pieces. My tentative prediction: 9th, going out in a lipsync to a top competitor.

OLIVIA LUX

Charming also. Jersey will tie her to Michelle Visage. Says that she can do a bit of everything, but her energy is very much giving me Brita Filter. I feel like if she does worse than she expects she will, she might crumble. Her look is fairly polished, but she admits to being a baby queen. I'm not super convinced by some of the claims she makes in this interview. My prediction: 12th

ROSÉ

Seems quite funny and charming. Will pink be her theme? Like some other queens here, she is a jack of all trades and should be strong, unless something throws her off. The fact she has old references should play well with Ru. Her mug and look are quite natural. I don't love her promo gown, but I think that's a style note rather than a quality note. She seems intelligent, too. A nerves/anxiety storyline might be on the cards for her. Seems like a finalist. The fact that she's political will also play really well for her. My prediction: Top 2

SYMONE

One of the most creative looks we've seen here, with that Medusa-esque wig. Her accessories and jewels are good. Claims to like fashion but also to show a lot of skin, this might be a getout clause. She also likes old references and black heroes, which should play decently well with Ru. Seems very self-assured. I believe her. She does give me Jaida energy to an extent, and she seems like she'll be a strategic player. Hopefully a finalist. My prediction: 3rd/4th

TAMISHA IMAN

The second half of the mother-daughter pair with LaLa Ri. There's no way these two aren't cast in order to B2 against each other at some point. Tamisha's style is good, if a little old-fashioned perhaps. Sewing skills should get her through the first week or the first design challenge, but she may be held to a higher standard because of her experience. An unsuitable lipsync song will probably be the end of her. My prediction: 11th.

TINA BURNER

Extremely charming, a comedy queen, and seems like precisely the type they've been aiming to capture with the disqualified queen last year. Energy-wise, very similar to that queen, minus the criminal elements. Also she has elements of Bianca Del Rio and Ginger Minj, but more respectful. Also some elements of Katya to her. Her mug and wig are great, very 60s with pop art elements. Hard to tell how big she is, but I think she's cinched. Should get on with the judges, and be saved from lipsyncs. My prediction: Top 2.

UTICA QUEEN

Her Meet the Queens image is right away a little one-note. I like her look. She seems very divisive and like she's trying to be a meme queen. Queens she reminds me of include Miss Fame, Jade Jolie and Dusty Ray Bottoms. From this video, I'm not sure she's quite ready for Drag Race, although she has potential. I can't think from what she said of what challenges she might do particularly well or badly at. I don't predict she'll make it to Snatch Game. My prediction: 13th - first out, unless there's a twist where they suspend lipsync for your life.

FINAL PREDICTED RANKING OF ALL QUEENS IN ORDER:

TOP 2: Tina Burner and Rosé 3rd/4th: Symone and Gottmik 5th: Kahmora Hall 6th: Kandy Muse 7th: Denali 8th: Joey Jay 9th: LaLa Ri 10th: Elliott With 2 Ts 11th: Tamisha Iman 12th: Olivia Lux 13th: Utica Queen