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Summary

...This was yet another brilliant week for the STEEMIT Open-Mic venue! I’m tellin’ ya, there is no shortage of talent here at the Open-Mic - there is simply no disputing that! I’m in Virginia late this Saturday evening - making my way north up the East Coast for the Holiday’s – so do excuse me if my prose appears a bit rushed. I sure wish I had more room to showcase so many more of all the awesome entries that I heard this week, but I’m limited only to 5 with 5 more honorable mentions. However, I do go out of my way each week to make certain that I give a shout out to each of those outstanding entries that were within a whisker of making into my overall Top-10 as it were.

GENERAL NOTE: The fourth round/Week-4 of the Open-Mic SONGWRITERS Challenge sponsored by @meno is underway! This week’s theme is “Because We Can. I encourage all “Songwriter” entrants to also enter their "Songwriter" submissions under the general Open-Mic contest as well, which begins every Sunday. This Sunday’s Open-Mic will be #64. Entering and gaining good rankings under both venues will only increase one's prospects of winning, gaining more overall recognition, and of course, earning more rewards.

You can check out all the current Because We Can “Songwriter Challenge” entries HERE. Do take the time to read the rules carefully, and follow them when entering.

Steemit Open Mic Week 63

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My Process

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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 am 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 spreadsheet. 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. With all of that said, here are...

My Top-5 Picks in Order

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FIRST PLACE: @kayclarity - “Only Ever You” - (Original Song)

Kay is no stranger to the Open-Mic venue. She’s taken a bit of a hiatus recently for professional reasons but now she’s back in week 63 with her original, “Only Ever You.” Combine beauty, talent, passion, and tenacious energy and one finds themselves arriving at Kay’s latest contribution. Her exquisite lyrics, composition, guitar-playing, vocals, and overall performance placed Kay at the top of my list this week.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@kayclarity/open-mic-week-63-original-song-only-ever-you

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SECOND PLACE: @tonypapa – “Ten Dollars at a Time” - (Original Song)

This week, Tony brought some levity to week #63 with his original performance of “Ten Dollars at a Time.” Because of the subtle ironies resident within the lyrical storyline, his amazing guitar-riffs, awesome vocals, and the overall production value of this original performance - it impressed me abundantly enough to set him solidly in my number-2 spot for the week.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@tonypapa/steemit-open-mic-week-63-original-song-ten-dollars-at-a-time

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THIRD PLACE: @amyinautumn – “Eat You Alive” - (Original Song)

There’s simply nuthin’ like some heart-felt blues sung with the utmost of soul, passion, and feeling – and that’s precisely what Amy delivers here in her breathtaking original rendition of “Eat You Alive! I have to say; this is one great blues performance. Amy sings her heart out and plays that Uke like nobody’s business.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@amyinautumn/steemit-open-mic-week-63-eat-you-alive-original

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FOURTH PLACE: @thesimpson – “The Tragedy of Man” - (Original Song)

@thesimpson invites us into his realm, and then lay’s upon us one hell of a great song! Passion, lyrics, melody, composition, and performance are all in fine order as “The Tragedy of Man” story is told with a level of brilliance and artistry to which each of us should aspire.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@thesimpson/steemit-open-mic-week-63-the-tragedy-of-man-original

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FIFTH PLACE: @andrewmarkmusic – “A Lost Paradigm” - (Original Song)

Yo, Andrew – “go for your guns,” brother! That’s exactly what he did here – his guns of course being his guitars and his creative genius. Love the “Ohio Players”-like sirens (“Fire”) at the very beginning of this song… As someone who dabbles in the multi-instrument production realm, I especially appreciate the total package that Andrew created here. Not only is he getting his message out, but he’s having one heck of a fun time doing it, and that’s just some of what I love about this entry.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@andrewmarkmusic/steemit-openmic-original-week-63-a-lost-paradigm

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My Top-5 Honorable Mentions in Order:

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First: @addiesworld – “Silent Night” - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@addiesworld/steemit-open-mic-week-63-silent-night

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Second: @QuanahJayHicks - "Smashing Pumpkin’s Cover" - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@quanahjayhicks/steemit-open-mic-week-63

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Third: @tarotbyfergus – “Folsom Prison Blues” - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@tarotbyfergus/steemit-open-mic-week-63-folsom-prison-blues-cover

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Fourth: @avesa – “Minnows and Whales” - (Original Song)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@avesa/steemit-open-mic-week-63-minnows-and-whales-original

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Fifth: @travisacid – “Ball and Bisquit” - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@travisacid/steemit-opem-mic-week-63-cover-ball-and-biscuit-white-stripes

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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 that it 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, each 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:

@nirtsfaty, @malvarezmusic, @ray.luv.music, @luisferchav, @steemmatt, @wishmaiden, @chaifm, @jaybird, @steembirds, @wilins, @gibber, @melbookermusic, @kjablonski, @djdyvad, @kiloindigo, @melodyrussell, @anarchrysalis, @adamazing, @sanjay91422, @jaredkhamanah, and @miguelarl._

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!

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