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Steemit Open Mic Week 59

My Top-5 Picks in Order

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As one of the esteemed Open Mic judges, it is my job to come up with a short-list of my top 5 entrants each week. With all of the great talent here, that is by no means an easy task. Sure, tossing in another 5 honorable mentions helps, but not when my weekly list starts out with 30 or more of my favorite entries... You guy's rock - I'm tellin' ya!

Yes, I’m a Libra – so I have an inherent drive deep within me to be fair and balanced – good qualities for a “judge” if you ask me. That being said, I’m still human – filled with emotion and subjective feelings – just like you. So, in order to mitigate my subjective tendencies to the best extent possible, I’ve come up with a method by which to narrow down my selections in a more objective vs. arbitrary manner.

Here’s how I go about my personal judging process: I first start out with a list of 30 or more of my most favorite entries for the week, and score them (yes, subjectively) in six distinct categories via a spread sheet. The categories I’ve selected for scoring are in general harmony with those explained by @luczypher in his post titled How We Pick The Top 3 Entries, referencing such.

To get a more in depth perspective as to how I personally go about selecting my artists, please refer to What I go through as an Open-Mic Judge.

Even though it’s still a “subjective” process – diligently going through each scoring category to come up with a “total” score for each entrant helps to minimize any overzealous subjectivity that I may harbor with respect to any specific entrants.

Quite often, this exercise doesn’t give me the exact results I would personally prefer to see – but that only means that my system of judging is working as intended and designed.

GENERAL NOTE: Beginning Saturday, November 18, 2017, I will be entertaining house guests over the next week for the Thanksgiving Holiday. As such, I will likely not be as "visibly present" as I typically am, but I’ll still be listening! That you can count on!

With all of that said, here are my top-5 picks for the week – in order.

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First: @stanhopeofficial - Moving On - (Original Song)
In my opinion, @stanhopeofficial is very much a “Sleeping Giant” not only here on Open-Mic, but on any worldwide musical stage! His guitar intro here is amazing - in concert with his on-point vocals and melodic composition skills. The commercial viability of such talent should be readily obvious to the most casual observer. His lyrical story-lines and accompanying melodies are quite simply phenomenal!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@stanhopeofficial/steemit-open-mic-week-59-moving-on-original-song

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Second: @melavie – At All - (Original Song)
The level of emotion that @melavie is somehow able to routinely express is rather profound! The melodies she constructs alongside her clear lyrical acumen is nothing short of amazing! Yet, she’s just a girl in her bedroom - burning some candles and playing her self-composed music. I don’t know about you, but for me, such a miraculous combination of intense talent and organic purity is simply far too priceless - by any measure - to ignore!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@melavie/steemit-open-mic-week-59-at-all-original-song

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Third: @g10a – At Sana – (And I wish) - Original Song
I for one thought that this cat, @g10a, was just a karaoke type dude. How wrong was I! He can most certainly play a guitar, compose a meaningful song, and sing his passionate ass-off! For all of that and more, he has earned my utmost respect. @g10a is the quintessential Open-Mic artist/entrant that I so love to embrace and encourage. I know what such encouragement might mean, as I for one, never had any such encouragement. If only I did, perhaps things might have turned out differently for me musically. Be that as it may, and apart from any such philosophical introspection, this is one pretty-darned good song and performance! And I hope that @g10a is able to maintain access to that guitar he managed to get his hands on, - in order to up his game, and follow his dreams! This guy rocks, and he’s a good guy… And that’s all that matters to me.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@g10a/steemit-open-mic-week-59-at-sana-and-i-wish-or-my-own-composition-or-20171112t21378305z

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Fourth: @mogatiexperiment – Luchin’ - (Victor Jara) - Original Song
Yeah, I get it… Two of the fine artists in this entry have won last week’s competition. Trust me; I took major points away from this entry for that specific reason. Despite such a subjectively imposed handicap, they still managed to rise within my top five picks. I can only do so much in the way of trying to create a level playing field as it were. If it weren’t for the handicaps I imposed upon them – there is no doubt that this performance would have topped my list in the number one position. I especially enjoyed the addition of the very fine bass player @choby, as well as the fun loving professional camaraderie witnessed at the end of this classic submission.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@mogatiexperiment/open-mic-week-59-mogati-steemit-experiment-luchin-victor-jara

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Fifth: @travisacid – Comin’ Around - (Original)
If you’re anything like me, sometimes you like your music “raw!” And raw organic bluesmanship is just what @travisacid graced us with this week. Sure – it’s nowhere near a perfect performance - but it very much struck a chord with me, as I’m sure it did with you, and that’s precisely why he’s here in my top-5!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@travisacid/steemit-open-mic-week-59-original-song-travisacid-comin-around

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My Top-5 Honorable Mentions in Order:

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First: @afro0 – Forgetting Time - (Original Song)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@afrao0/steemit-open-mic-week-59-forgetting-time-original-song

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Second: @onetruebrother - "The Client" - (Original Song)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@onetruebrother/steemit-openmic-week-59-original-song-the-client

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Third: @lucybanks – Red by Daniel Merriweather - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@lucybanks/steemit-open-mic-week-59-red-by-daniel-merriweather-covered-by-lucybanks

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Fourth: @sallyswitchblade – Can’t Be Loved - (Elle King Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@sallyswitchblade/steemit-open-mic-week-59-can-t-be-loved-elle-king-cover

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Fifth: @the-vile-maxim – Winter - (Bayside Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@the-vile-maxim/steemit-openmic-week-59-winter-cover-by-bayside

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Thank you all so much for taking some of your precious time to review my take on all of the magnificent artists here at the Open-Mic venue this week. Thanks so much as well for up-voting and re-steeming this post in order to spread the word that Open-Mic is clearly taking Steemit by storm - and shall remain a collective people-oriented force of love and artistry to be reckoned with on every level of measure.

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Peace, Love, and Justice for All

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A very special shout-out to: The following artists who were very much on my radar and within a splitting hair of -making it into my overall top-10, and whose performances I loved, cherish, and respect most assuredly. They are - in no particular order:

@wethepatsies, @drewly, @trillex, @jeusman12, @owner99, @pechichemena, @finkenchris, @donatello, @joeduke, @addiesworld, @alejandra23, @lisamallerart, @oliverwaterman, @soykatonline, @teukurobbybinor, @wbwillie, @brimax, @nirtsfaty, @digitalopus @steemmatt, @claratymusic, @joseacabrerav…

Much love and thanks to each and every one of you who have touched a part of my heart and soul - not only this week, but forever!