Originally posted by Supaspaz

I love how you designed your entry. It's a standout this week—very cute. That's sort of how I feel about the entry as a whole: It's cute. You certainly met the challenge criteria and I now have a good sense of your music taste and how it's evolved. But the focus is on entirely on the music. Where are you in all of this? It feels like this is the baseline of what the challenge was asking for and you could have taken it several steps further.

Originally posted by Zune

I am stanning for the format and presentation of your entry even without reading it! I will say it is only implied by the entry that you musical taste will reflect your most favorite genres: Pop. However implications is all I really received from this entry. In the challenge description, in giving a list of songs to the judges to define your musical taste, I felt your entry was unclear as to the reasoning behind your musical taste. While you provided a good analysis of the different songs in the entry, I felt this entry lacked reasoning as to why you like the songs you submitted. While the songs made an impact in your life in some shape or form, the explanations had little explanation of how the song reflects your musical taste and how it reflects you. If the personable portion of your entry was improved, the hardcore band song particularly would have made more sense being included as its a very clear outlier from the rest the songs you submitted.

Originally posted by Kitt

At 8 years old, Britney was just starting out and taking my heart, my mothers coins, and my fealty with Baby One More Time. For you, Gwen's L.A.M.B. just came out. Don't make me feel old! The dance-pop takeover in your entry is giving me Scene teas though; that's all he loves. Speaking of, have you thought about getting into K-Pop? It'd be a way of branching out whilst still staying in your favorite genre

Lovely entry.

Originally posted by EdgeOfAddiction

I actually liked your entry. It was rather simple but I really enjoyed your tone. Something about it was so carefree that it drew me in and made me appreciate your entry a whole lot more. However, I wish there was more variety than what you offered. I understand that Pop/Dance is your preferred genre but it would have been nice had you offered more acts that you were into that wasn’t one of the bigger pop girls. The Agonist was a nice touch but that was also a song from a completely different genre so a bit more range would have been appreciated.

Originally posted by Matty

No comments this week but will rank and score

Originally posted by Supaspaz

You did a lot with this challenge, tying each song to a time in your life, the impact it had on you and how it evolved your music taste while still crafting a broader story about your evolution. That's a lot of threads to maintain and your effort is honorable. I certainly give you points for ambition, even if it all doesn't come together perfectly.

Originally posted by Zune

In reading this entry, you exude a lot of confidence. I also liked your structure and description. I enjoyed the explanation structure since it hit the points that I as a judge would be looking for in judging these entries: knowing how the song came into your life, what it added to your music catalog that you have grown throughout your life up to that point, and then to self-reflect how the song looks looking back at this moment and time and what you think of it to date. Excellent Work.

Originally posted by Kitt

Each song was diverse and recounted a profound memory from your life and which also blended into how your tastes changed over the years. I really loved that.

Originally posted by EdgeOfAddiction

Under the Sea was an awesome touch to an otherwise predictable lineup. However, it’s completely understandable considering how young you are. I liked how you had clear separations by picking one song to sum up your taste in each stage of your life. I also appreciated the “now and then” summaries for each song, which made me understand you as a person a little bit more. I was originally against all the excess text but then decided that it was used effectively enough for me to praise rather than reprimand. My only critique is the “How it evolved my musical taste” portion. I’d rather you let us read and decipher your taste for ourselves then you spelling it out.

Originally posted by Matty

No comments this week but will rank and score.

Originally posted by Supaspaz

This is exactly what I was looking for from this challenge and I can't imagine it done better. You expertly used your music evolution as a vehicle to take us inside your life and give us a better understanding of who you are. It's not just about the experiences that you've had (though I appreciate your willingness to share them); the real strength of your entry is how seamlessly the various components are woven together. I honestly don't know if you choose the songs first and crafted your story around them or vice versa, and it doesn't matter. I enjoyed the journey immensely.

Originally posted by Zune

In reading one part of you entry "I know this whole entry seems negative", I do not think its so much negative, its just what journey you had in your life and the songs that attach itself to those memories. However, the part that was missing for me was the connection between your actual music taste as your entry gave the impression that these songs were more "background music" to the life than your actual taste in music. I took your entry however as a musical journey, so I can accept the fact the music was more of a timeline reflection of your life. I would have preferred to hear how these songs worked with you today and how your music competes with your musical taste of the past .

Originally posted by Kitt

I learned so much about you that I've never had the slightest clue before! I have to admit though, from this entry, I'm left with a more vivid memory of your experiences and way less of the songs you chose and why they were chosen. But, when I do take a second look at the songs, they are very fitting - I say "fitting" because I personally know they're all songs you love.

Originally posted by EdgeOfAddiction

It’s worthwhile noting that you approached your entry in a different manner than the other contestants. You structured the evolution of your musical taste based on strong memories tied to the song rather than focusing solely on the song. I also appreciated that you left your musical taste up in the air for the readers to figure out while following you on your journey. While that’s certainly a strong approach, I felt like a good portion of your entry was pushing for attention. I say this because the tone in which you delivered you entry wasn’t empowered and wiser, but more victimized. I may be being cynical but you already knew this.

Originally posted by Matty

No comments this week but will rank and score.

Originally posted by Supaspaz

This is beautifully done, as is all of your work—clean, sophisticated, eye-catching. But the content is all over the place. There's a lot of gushing over five of your favorite songs, and only a little of the evolution and insight this challenge called for. I do come away with a better sense of who you are, but only in flashes of your personality you reveal.

Originally posted by Zune

What I liked about your entry aside from your formatting is your balance between your personal life and what the elements of the music itself you liked. I would have wanted to see a more personable reason for liking "Baby Love", but I am satisfied with the response you gave. Other then that, I felt your entry told me as a judge what you look for in summarizing your musical taste: anthems for your life, reflecting life experinces, a good bop or two, songs that read your soul, and music you have come to respect. Great Analysis.

Originally posted by Kitt

Very unique, yet distinct mix of songs that represent your taste evolution. And set me on a journey, that you certainly did. I feel like I'm left with a good impression of distinct moments or traits about you and the songs that connected to them. Well done.

Originally posted by EdgeOfAddiction

It’s a very Latch entry. It has your signature look to it with the strong layout and clearly blocked sections that I’ve come to like. Definitely the opposite of “not really smart or exceptionally skilled in any area.” You offered a variety of songs that shaped your taste but it was your point of view that really made your entry pop. Your mini stories had a believable sense of reflection that you mixed well with earnest insight and I thought it came off very nicely written. Your stories made me feel what you felt when combined with the song listening experience and it was quite a journey.

Originally posted by Matty

No comments this week but will rank and score.

Originally posted by Supaspaz

I was worried when you said you'd only be focusing on the last few months with your entry, but it's clear that you've been through a lot in your first year of college and it gave you plenty of material to explore. You gave us a tight, deep picture of a period in your life and used the music to explore all the major points—and some of the subtleties—of that transition. It was a different approach, but you handled it successfully and stood out from the pack as a result.

Originally posted by Zune

When reading your entry, it read as if you wrote it with a bit of self-reflection and self-therapy. This is evident by your overall theme and time period (the time period of late adolescence). What I like is the fact you picked songs that lyrically gave you something back. I also favored the song quotes in your presentation of your entry. I also enjoyed the dense analysis of the song and how it applied to your moment in time. Looking over your entry, I got an idea of what is going on in your world and how you judge your own musical taste. This was a great solid entry.

Originally posted by Kitt

I loved and enjoyed the songs, individually and how they connected to you and your poignant moments in life, but why are your recounts so negative? I felt kind of cheated because your first paragraph talked about feeling empowered and being a fierce queen (), but then after that first section, every description of your chain of events went downhill ().

Originally posted by EdgeOfAddiction

Ugh. Dancehall. You could have absolutely slayed the other entries and all by cutting down on what you did. Those quotes were more than revealing enough to get a sense of where you were as a person and how the music impacted you at that moment in life. I do appreciate your back-story, I really do, but the minimalist tone would have given your entry a deadly candid punch. From a formatting point of view, a more minimal entry would have gone well with your previous entries where everything was super compact and neat.

Originally posted by Matty

No comments this week but will rank and score.