The judges will receive a pm from me with further instructions.
The contestants should discuss the entries in this thread.
FOR THE JUDGES DEADLINE: Sunday, December 21st 4pm EST
AFTER THAT WE WILL HAVE A CHRISTMAS BREAK.
THE GAME WILL CONTINUE ON DECEMBER 27th.
Episode 8: Stan Swap - Entries Part 1
Capital B
Quote:
Originally posted by Capital B
This challenge, I had the upmost pleasure to stan for the one, the only...
GWEN STEFANI
To be honest, it wasn't much of a stretch, as once upon a time I was really into her music (more on that later!)...but now, let's start with the good.
Fave Single
Choosing my favourite Gwen Stefani single of all time was simple - I knew instantly I'd have to go with "The Sweet Escape". Not only is it my fave Gwen single, but probably in my list of favourite pop songs of all time. Something about it - the relaxed and enchanting "woo-oohs!", Gwen's crazy flow on the refrigerator door line, or the cool and breezy chorus - makes this song absolutely irresistible. It literally sounds sweet. Gwen's smooth voice and style just take it over the top - it's the definition of an earworm. Despite being released almost 8 years ago, it somehow still sounds fresh and innovative in today's pop music landscape. I still listen to it regularly, and haven't tired of it yet.
Fave Video
Gwen's got a lot of great videos under her belt, but "Hollaback Girl" remains my absolute favourite. Gwen's in your face attitude is front and centre in this video, as she and her Harajuku girls storm through a high school campus. I think what makes this my favourite video is how it perfectly encapsulates what I love about Gwen - she is effortlessly cool. Upon reflecting on all her videos, I realized that in her heyday Gwen was essentially doing theme videos (High school! Pirates! Alice in Wonderland!) - but seemed to escape the "She's so juvenile!" drags that a certain pop-star today gets when she does heavily themed videos. I think this speaks volumes to how Gwen's cool attitude permeates how she and her work are received by the general public. This video is just so darn fun - and it brought us many great moments from cheerleaders to marching bands, from grocery store dance parties to, yes, the iconic B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
But, alas, that brings us to...
Least Fave Single
So, after those two rave reviews why am I not really a Gwen stan and just pretending for this challenge? Why am I Capital B instead of Capital G? Why was I boyonce instead of Men Stefani ()?
I was HUGELY into her first two solo albums, as evidenced by my blurbs up above...but after that, she just lost me. She returned to making new music with No Doubt but I personally found "Settle Down" underwhelming when compared to their old stuff. So imagine my delight when I heard Gwen was returning to making solo music! Fast forward now, to imagine my confusion when the once-slaying Ms. Stefani returned with the utterly lacklustre "Baby Don't Lie". The song is just so uninspired and lacking of anything that makes Gwen Gwen. I know in the past she's struggled with writer's block (she brilliantly channelled this into the inspiration for What You Waiting For, which totally paid off) - but in this case it just seems like she's recording something just for the sake of recording something rather than actually being inspired and ready. The song is bland and lacking of any flavour or style - it's just kind of "there". Upon hearing it for the first time it was one of those "Ok, I would be fine if I never heard this song again" kind of moments. When compared to how fantastic her lead singles have been in the past, this easily becomes my least favourite Gwen track.
Spark The Fire has given me a small glimmer of hope, but I fear I'll never fully stan for Gwen (who judging by this song is racking up more misses than hits lately), and her brilliant first two solo albums will remain just an earmark in my musical taste history. I did however, enjoy pretending to be a Gwen stan, at least for the duration of this challenge.
Sorry girl.
Melvin
Quote:
Originally posted by Melvin
I decided to go through with this challenge using my flawless avatar rotator, and I decided to pick scenes from 4 of my favorite songs from Nicole Scherzinger. These include Don't Hold Your Breathe, On The Rocks, Boomerang, and Bang. In addition to following standard Melvin protocol, I rounded the avatars and made them just how I would create any other avatar. Nicole has some strong bodies of work, that without this challenge, I probably never would have recognized.
That doesn't mask over the fact that she does have a few songs that might not be the best.
I was going to originally going to go with Don't Hold Your Breath as my favorite single, Until I ran into this song, and it just happened to strike something deep down inside. It brought back memories of some of my exes and how things ended. I feel like the real reason that I'm actually enjoying this, is because I currently have a person of interest right now that I'm definitely feeling some type of way about. This person is showing me what it's really like to be cared about. You all may know who it is, but I definitely won't say anything else until the time is right. This song may be about break ups, and that's where it took me. But because of the person that I'm currently dealing with, it actually made me enjoy the song, and actually appreciate it.
This is no doubt one of my favorite videos that I watched of hers. It was recently released, so the timing was perfect. After watching it, I realized that I like it because it was simple. She was dancing and serving vocals. The effects were minimalistic and clean, and then it brought me back to something, My brand. When it comes to everything I do, it's simple and straight forward, and I think that is why I gravitated towards this video.
The debut single, off of her debut album was simply not it for me. The song was very basic, and progressed little. The sound in that chorus, the du-do-do-do-du-do-do, was literally the worst. In addition to that sound, the whole song just sounded repetitive. Her work today is a lot stronger, and a lot more solid. This simply does not show the talent that she has. It's scary because this was her debut, so if this was all I had heard back when she first started doing her own thing, I probably wouldn't have shipped this. But I'm glad to see, even with this rocky start, she was able to product some real gems.
FunkyDinevo
Quote:
Originally posted by FunkyDinevo
Well, it was a tough decision between Hey Man and Promiscuous, but I had to go with the flawless Promiscuous.
This song represents Nelly’s peak with her collabs with Timabland. The reason this is my favorite single over Hey Man is more than the catchy beat and lyrics, it’s because I can relate to it more than I did back when I was 13. I’m a sucker for anything that I am personally able to relate to, and this song definitely relates to me being in my early 20’s. Yes, like every other stereotypical gay male, I use Grindr and the lyrics actually emote some of the conversations I have had. Nelly and her co-writer call Promiscuous ‘The BlackBerry Song’ because ‘everything we say in the song you could text-message to somebody’. Like I said before, I can kind of see part of my life right in front of me whenever I listen to the song now, especially with all the experiences I’ve had . With this being the song of Nelly’s I can personally connect with the most, it’s my favorite single of hers.
This video gives me Freakum Dress teas where you’re grabbing your girls and getting all glammed up for your man. Yes, the song is about getting seduced by your man, but hey, that’s one of the reasons why this song and video is one of her best. Did I mention a quick way to get in my pants is to be seductive and hit it do it right . The video is simple but very fun at the same time. I really like videos that take you on an adventure, especially with friends. I like envisioning myself in Nelly’s shoes going somewhere with her clique and just having a blast. Also, the fact that they are all girls related to me because 99.9% of my friends are girls, so I easily relate to changing with girls and getting all glammed up with makeup. Again, this video is another personal connection so that’s why I ranked it so high.
p.s. - I feel like a total big thot-(versatile)bottom after these two explanations.
I don’t give a **** if it’s catchy or not, the **** stinks. Stupid Hoe and Anaconda is catchy, but y’all know how much they stink. Same thing with 7/11, but we’re not going to get into that. I’ll save that one for my Best Of. Anyway, it feels as though after dropping her life support, aka Timbaland, Nelly was reaching for life and attempted to do anything to get a single back on the charts. Well, she definitely pulled something from ha ass alright. This song relies on gimmicky catchy lyrics
(“Na na na na na, ley ley
Ah ah ah ah ha, ey hey ey
Na na na na na, ley ley”)
in order to create some sort of mainstream song. Just another attempt to get a mainstream “hip” song out. Here’s a recap of the lyrics: I’m bored, ah ah ah, let’s go to the parking lot, na na na na, let’s park our cars, then dance and reflect on getting rid of our financial life support, hey! It kind of sounds like she speaking in Ebonics in the beginning of the song.
darkhorse
Quote:
F E R G I E
THE SINGER
Fergie is arguably what made the Black Eyed Peas great, because judging from Will.i.am's and the other slightly irrelevant members' work. This girl's voice has a distinctive character, which may be or may not be the reason the group got its first major hit, when Fergie joined the band in 2002. Where Is The Love? charted at #8 in the States. Her solo music might even be better though. Although she sings about 'no emotional baggage, just bags full of Dior' on the Sex & the City soundtrack she did (Labels or Love), and says big girls don't cry, some songs suggest differently. Mostly the tone of her music is light, but when it's not, she's arguably at her best.
Fun fact: She was the female artist that held the record for most multi-platinum singles from one album, until my other fav snatched that title.
FAV SONG
Fergie's voice has a distinctive character. While mostly known for her R&B jams, which really are jams, I love Fergie's voice the most when it's got that heavy rocky rasp. Her voice is arguably one of the most versatile voices in the industry, at times it's soft, breathy - here it's exactly the opposite. Fergie has a habit of oversinging, here that doesn't bother me. This song is about Fergie coming out a winner, and she most certainly does. She's the girl I bought Hitkrant (a Dutch pop magazine for teens) for, because she was in it with a really amazing poster. At that time, I stanned, because I thought she was hot, probably because I still thought I was straight. However, she's more than just hot - she's not just a popstar, she's the voice of a generation. A true Duchess of Pop.
LEAST FAVORITE SONG
First of all, I don't hate this song. I don't hate any Fergie song. I got all excited when the song was announced, but 'Feel Alive' ended up disappointing me. To think this was her first song in years, and then to find out it was more of a Pitbull jam than a Fergie song, that was disappointing. I don't hate Pitbull, he was funny at the AMA's, and he's got good songwriters. He's got that going for him, however, Fergie is lightyears ahead of him. Fergie actually doesn't need autotune. Pitbull referring to 'Boom Boom Pow' is cute, when he raps 'I'm so 3000 and great, they're so 2000 and hate', but that's as far as the credits go for him. Fergie's oversinging is actually amazing, when isn't it, but the song itself most certainly did not make me feel as alive as I thought it would.
FAVORITE VIDEO
This video is like Fergie's 'California Gurls' in a way. It involves candy. Y'all know I love Katy, but honestly - Fergie must have been her inspiration for the video of 'California Gurls'. Katy looked Katy-licious there, Fergie looks Fergalicious here. I can't really so much else - the room of lollipops speaks for itself. Also, the video is arguably better than the 'California Gurls' vid. The tone of the song + video is light. This is one of her R&B jams, that will forever be remembered, not only because of the video (it's got more than 67 million views), but because of Fergie and ha distinctive voice.
The Hitkrant poster was of this shot in the video.
Les ATRLers - Season 02 ∙ Episode 8: Entries Part 2
Episode 8: Stan Swap - Entries Part 2
Rider
Quote:
Originally posted by Rider
Episode 8: The One Where We Changed Our Profiles
First let me say this is my favorite challenge yet. Being skeptical at first, I thought that I always wanted to listen to more of Madonna's song and this was the right opportunity to do it. Long story short, I got into her more over the past few days, I watched interviews of her and she actually has a nice personality although she's a bitch sometimes. And I also love the current avi of mine.
While choosing the 2 singles and 1 video I wanted to reflect 3 personas of Madonna.
Favorite single
F R O Z E N
I consider Ray of Light being Madonna's creative peak, and the lead single, ”Frozen” to be her best single to date. I find it so interesting that for an album with the title being ”Ray of Light” she chose such a dark song with an even darker video.
Critically acclaimed by critics, worldwide hit, in my opinion ”Frozen” is the perfect exemple of a pop masterpiece.
I really love Madonna's voice on this track. It's soft and it goes so well with the mystical feeling of the song, as well as the album, it's really complementary.
Also it's very Madonna, I can hardly imagine any other pop girl doing something like this.
Also the progressive instrumental of the song with again, the mystical feeling of the song, concludes into Madonna's best single ever.
The video also is doing justice to the song, it's exactly how I think you would imagine it before you saw it.
I also love it because it's so different from everything. Madonna did such a great job at reinventing herself.
As I said I will show 3 Madonnas through my entry. This was the first one: The creative, edgy, serious Madonna.
Favorite Video
JUSTIFY MY LOVE
Although being seen as probably a simple video today, this video was such a huge moment in pop culture. A reason for why I love this video is that showcases a whole different Madonna. I mean going from this to ”Frozen” is truly amazing. A TRUE chameleon.
I love sultry videos, I always had a thing for them and this is really done so brilliant. The black and white filming is such a nice touch and I love all the elements of film-noir. It reminds so much of a classic 60's film and I love that.
I also love controversial Madonna and this was such a big moment from that persona. The video was heavily banned and Madonna's response was: "Why is it that people are willing to go and watch a movie about someone getting blown to bits for no reason at all, and nobody wants to see two girls kissing and two men snuggling?". Madonna also said in 2013 that this is her favorite video, and that's quite understendable. In a videography as huge as Madonna's this definitely left
quite a big mark. I also believe this is Madonna at her most sexiest.
Again, the element of simplicity, the black and white filming, the sultriness and sexuality are the things that makes me love this video the most.
You can clearly see the influence of the video in Beyonce's ”Haunted” from the visual album.
Again a quote from her, in the end of the video which I find really interesting and true: ”Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another”.
This is the second persona of Madonna that I'm showing: The controversial, sexual Madonna.
Worst Single
GIVE ME ALL YOUR LUVIN (feat. Nicki Minaj & M.I.A.)
In such a diverse and big discography there are gonna be, inevitable, some bad songs.
What is in my opinion her worst single is the last lead single from ”MDNA” and that is ”Give Me All Your Luvin”.
Let's be serious, Madonna just hopped on something here, the song is nowhere on the quality scale of her other records. This is a generic pop record, which not only seems rushed, but I think Madonna just wanted a big name moment at the time on the song, and that was Nicki Minaj.
I find Nicki's and M.I.A.'s verses on the track more exciting than Madonna's and that's not a bad thing.
I mean, just look at my post and the transitioning between ”Frozen”, ”Justify My Love” and then ”Give Me All Your Luvin”. This song was created for the sake of having a hit song and not for the music itself, and that bothers me. And this coming for the musical genius that Madonna is, it's even worse.
The song is bland, the lyrics are generic and it doesn't deserve a place in Madonna's discography.
This was the 3rd persona: The commercial Madonna.
Again, thank you for the opportunity of this challenge, it gave me a whole different perspective on Madonna.
Serendipity
Quote:
Originally posted by Serendipity
There are a few reasons why this has to be the worst Shakira song I could find. I tried going through all her Spanish ones and old songs, yet funnily enough at least some of them make you groove, or the slower ones actually have a nice melody and her lyrics (when translated) actually mean quite a lot.
This song departs from that. Lyrically, the song had to be another generic song about sex and whilst it’s not a topic that should be discouraged, many great songs can explore that theme, Spy fails to add anything new to the theme. Moreover, the addition of Wyclef Jean’s terrible rap with lyrics such as “When the dog's away that's when the cat's play” are cringe-worthy at best.
Sonically, the song performs even worse. Shakira samples two Michael Jackson songs; Billie Jean and Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough. To have the ability to take the music of two really good songs and turn them into such a horrible pop song is a feat in itself. The song literally goes nowhere. Many of her later songs can be complained to lack of lyrical substance but she can be forgiven due to their “boppability” factor – they make you dance or feel good. Spy fails musically to go anywhere and ends with her whispering which seems to be the highlight of her singing in this song.
Shakira, as we all know, has one of the most unique voices in music. When utilized well, her voice can be the master of some great songs. Spy is the antithesis. The most grating sound to feature in the song is Shakira attempting some cooing, baby noise. As one YouTube comment put it, it sounds like the sound a Drowzee would make from Pokémon. Her high vocal on the word ‘spy’ also irritates me and contributes to a song that on the whole should have never been made.
Behind the bops of Shakira’s catalogue sits what I think is one of her greatest songs. A pop-rock, power ballad that genuinely draws an array of emotions from pure happiness but also to tears because of genuine tears due loveliness is all that I can phrase it as. The lyrics of the song are just beautiful. To contextualize things, Shakira wanted to break through to the US and therefore needed English songs, so this was song she personally wrote in a second language. So yes some may say the lyrics are slightly abnormal, or simplistic, but to me they add to the beauty.
As you already know, I’m a classy person. Shakira singing about the happiness she gets from finding someone that is good just really gets to me. The fact she sings about love and devotion in, what seems face value a lustfully cladded song with lyrics such as “all my thoughts go hiding and right under your clothes is where you’ll find them” is actually quite a metaphorically clever little gem of a song. The metaphors are clumsy but endearing and that’s what I love about it.
Like I already said, Shakira has a unique voice, and this song does it justice. It sung with such variety that allows it to be quirky and not some generic fodder of a ballad. The line where she softly sings ‘there’s my territory’ is my favourite. The way the music and her voice just match and the fact you can sing this once you find, hopefully me included, that one is just amazing.
What seems quite a different choice from all her bigger music videos, I think Did It Again is actually her best video due to a combination of factors. There’s always the tendency to label the most ostentatious and budget-consuming videos the ‘best’ or ‘greatest’. I believe what Shakira achieved in this video though shows you don’t need to have the biggest budget or fanciest props and scenes.
Aesthetically, the video is beautiful. The way the video starts with pale colourful bathroom and misty shots that contrast with the vivid colours of the bedroom and its lights is a beautiful juxtaposition. She also looks her sexiest in all the scenes, particularly the final few scenes of her with her back combed and poofy hair where she resembles a sort of golden lioness. However, the real beauty and quality of the video comes from its richness and depth of culture.
The video was inspired by British, Moroccan and Icelandic culture as well as the Korean women performing a traditional drum dance. The British aspect comes in form of the beautifully shot bathroom scenes where she unleashes her love for poetic imagery. Influenced by painter Lawrence Alma Tadema’s painting, she also included the women twirling their heads which she saw in Morocco.
Obviously, it would be incomplete to not talk about her dance, influenced by Icelandic choreography. Immensely moving and has flavours of rumba but also expressive dancing. It is really just beautiful and stands out from a huge fascination of hips, twerking, ass gyrations and the rest.
Overall, the amalgamation of these different influences has to have produced, what I think, one of Shakira’s best videos; truly the art in pop.
Allstar
Quote:
Originally posted by Allstar
JANET JACKSON
Favorite Single
I debated a long time about that. Would I pick one of her widely acclaimed classics that I love, such as the funky, pop and industrial 'Miss You Much' or the smooth, chilling R&B hit 'That's The Way Love Goes'? But then I came to the conclusion that while I do love many of her singles the only right choice for me would be 'Together Again'.
Why? It's the one Janet single that I connect most of my memories and feelings with. It's her biggest hit in Europe and while she's an undeniable legend in the US she sadly never quite made it abroad but she did with that song and that's why I connect all my first memories of her with this song. 'Together Again' is from my favorite album 'The Velvet Rope' and on top of that I love it for all the dance/house elements and influences it has because I'm also a small fan of Donna Summer whom she definitely vocally channels in this.
Least Favorite Single
That wasn't all too hard for me because there's only one Janet album I could never get into - Dream Street. I only truly love Janet since her album 'Contact' but I'm a sucker for the disco-like anthems and bubblegum soul vibes on her self-titled debut so my choice would definitely have to be from that album.
'Two to the Power of Love' is my least favorite of her singles because it sounds dated to me despite having an affection towards 80's music. It's a very dull pop ballad that seems to go nowhere for me and not even the fact that she performed it at the classic show 'Fame' which I kinda dig could change that for me. I just don't feel it - not one bit.
Favorite Music Video
This was honestly really hard. Janet's videography has quite some gems and variety but I know I have to make a choice...
I know I could have gone with the very obvious and safe 'Rhythm Nation' which provided the blueprint for many future pop girl's videos or the most expensive video ever 'Scream' but I would have lied had I pretended those were my favorite music videos of her. And I almost, almost chose her vibrant broadway-tribute 'Alright' since I love movies.
'Got Til It's Gone' is something very different for Janet. It's much darker and 'artsy' than most of her other videos but that's why I love it. It speaks to me in a unique way because I feel as if we saw the real Janet expressing herself here through and through. The video, while incredibly minimalistic, speaks about 1960s pre-apartheid South Africa in the fashional and emotional aspect. Without any hard attempts it achieves so high in creating a mood that is packed with melancholy and sadness.
I love that video for how different it is and while I have an affection towards so many of her others this one's definitely my favorite.
I decided to go through with this challenge using my flawless avatar rotator, and I decided to pick scenes from 4 of my favorite songs from Nicole Scherzinger. These include Don't Hold Your Breathe, On The Rocks, Boomerang, and Bang. In addition to following standard Melvin protocol, I rounded the avatars and made them just how I would create any other avatar. Nicole has some strong bodies of work, that without this challenge, I probably never would have recognized.
That doesn't mask over the fact that she does have a few songs that might not be the best.
I was going to originally going to go with Don't Hold Your Breath as my favorite single, Until I ran into this song, and it just happened to strike something deep down inside. It brought back memories of some of my exes and how things ended. I feel like the real reason that I'm actually enjoying this, is because I currently have a person of interest right now that I'm definitely feeling some type of way about. This person is showing me what it's really like to be cared about. You all may know who it is, but I definitely won't say anything else until the time is right. This song may be about break ups, and that's where it took me. But because of the person that I'm currently dealing with, it actually made me enjoy the song, and actually appreciate it.
This is no doubt one of my favorite videos that I watched of hers. It was recently released, so the timing was perfect. After watching it, I realized that I like it because it was simple. She was dancing and serving vocals. The effects were minimalistic and clean, and then it brought me back to something, My brand. When it comes to everything I do, it's simple and straight forward, and I think that is why I gravitated towards this video.
The debut single, off of her debut album was simply not it for me. The song was very basic, and progressed little. The sound in that chorus, the du-do-do-do-du-do-do, was literally the worst. In addition to that sound, the whole song just sounded repetitive. Her work today is a lot stronger, and a lot more solid. This simply does not show the talent that she has. It's scary because this was her debut, so if this was all I had heard back when she first started doing her own thing, I probably wouldn't have shipped this.
But I'm glad to see, even with this rocky start, she was able to product some real gems.
Fave Single
)?
. With this being the song of Nelly’s I can personally connect with the most, it’s my favorite single of hers. 
. The video is simple but very fun at the same time. I really like videos that take you on an adventure, especially with friends. I like envisioning myself in Nelly’s shoes going somewhere with her clique and just having a blast. Also, the fact that they are all girls related to me because 99.9% of my friends are girls, so I easily relate to changing with girls and getting all glammed up with makeup. Again, this video is another personal connection so that’s why I ranked it so high.
