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Summary

...First and foremost, Happy New Year everyone! I sure hope my post pleases the select handful of Open-Mic people who may be checking their status with regard to placing here in week #65. I’m referring to all those artists who made my top-5, my honorable mentions list, as well as my shout-out list. I’m hoping that I can make each and every one of their New Year celebrations that much more special. I’m a bit late to the draw this week as I was on the road all day Saturday and Sunday. With that said, let’s move on, shall we.

GENERAL NOTE: The sixth round/Week-6 of the Open-Mic SONGWRITERS Challenge sponsored by @meno is underway! This week’s theme is “Special Delivery. The first half of the challenge is now behind us, and the second half is underway.

As @meno alluded to in his recent Songwriters posts, everyone who has entered, as well as anyone who has not yet entered the challenge thus far, still has a very real chance of capturing the Grand Prize. As such, no one should ever be discouraged from entering at any point in time along the challenge’s path. For more details on how this works read my summary here.

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 #66.

You can check out all the current Wind-Swept Shore “Songwriter Challenge” entries HERE. Do take the time to read the rules carefully, and follow them when entering.

Steemit Open Mic Week 65

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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: @pechichemena - “Alas de Polvo / Dust Wings” - (Original Song)

I have to give Pechiche a lot of much-deserved credit for his presence, inspiration, and contribution to both the Open-Mic and Songwriters venues here on Steemit. He is one of the few if not the only artist to separate his Open-Mic and Songwriters entries – creating a double workload for himself each week. He somehow magically rises to the occasion week-in-and-week-out! Here in week #65 Pechiche graces us with an original song inspired by the all too familiar heartache of “breaking-up,” which I suspect we are all rather familiar with. For this and countless other reasons, I place Pechiche at the top of my list here in week #65. No need for me to go on any further – all one needs to do is click play to experience the magic of @pechichemena.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@pechichemena/steemit-open-mic-week-65-alas-de-polvo-original-song

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SECOND PLACE: @wilins – “El avión de Papel / The Paper Plane” - (Original Song)

I just love @wilins music! Here in week #65, he’s given us an original with some familiar insights we all face at various points throughout our lives. “The Paper Plane” is somewhat of “an awakening” song whereby upon deep thought and introspection, we reach a point of knowing – in this case, knowing how to fly – presumably, to where we need to be. I trust @wilins is in the midst of such a journey, and I wish him all the best for a safe trip and successful arrival!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@wilins/steemit-open-mic-semana-65-el-avion-de-papel-cancion-original-de-wilins-concurso-patrocinado-por-luzcypher-y-pfunk

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THIRD PLACE: @jesuszoliz – “Jesus Solis - Tus besos / Your Kisses” - (Original Song)

It’s been a while since Jesus submitted and entry to Open-Mic. He is one of my favorites so I was rather excited to see what he had in store for us here in week #65. He returned to provide us with a fresh rendition of the first song he had ever written with someone specifically in mind – it’s entitled, “Your Kisses.” As I feel about much of his music, I think his revitalized rendition of this old original song is simply brilliant!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@jesuszoliz/steemit-open-mic-semana-65-tus-besos-original-jesuszoliz

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FOURTH PLACE: @elliotjgardner – “Christmas Time Without You” - (Original Song)

Elliot is no stranger to Open-Mic yet he’s conveyed to us that he’s finally gotten around to writing an original song that he was satisfied with to such an extent as to share it with us here on Open-Mic. His song is seasonally relevant; however, it’s a definitively melancholy perspective on the Holiday – one which I’m certain many of us can relate to. I found “Christmas Without You” rather sobering and quite beautiful all at the same time.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@elliotjgardner/steemit-open-mic-week-65-christmas-spirit-original

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FIFTH PLACE: @yourmercury– “Too Good at Goodbye's” - (Cover Song)

Okay, so a lot of the judges have been onto @yourmercury’s talent and vocal abilities ever since he arrived on the scene a short while ago. I’ve noticed him too – however, this week, I simply could not resist placing him in my top-5! He and Dominique make a fantastic duo here despite any technical or vocal constraints explained by @yourmercury in his accompanying post. This is a fantastically raw performance that is simply captivating at every measure!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@yourmercury/steemit-open-mic-week-65-too-good-at-good-byes-sam-smith-cover-by-me-yourmercury

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My Top-5 Honorable Mentions in Order:

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First: @lauralvarado – “QUIERO IR A TI” - (Original Song)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@lauralvarado/steemit-open-mic-week-65-quiero-ir-a-ti-original-song

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Second: @onetruebrother - "Wind-Swept Shore" - (Original Song)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@onetruebrother/steemit-openmic-week-65-original-song-wind-swept-shore

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Third: @smith-house – “Brighter” - (Original Song)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@smith-house/steemit-open-mic-week-65-brighter

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Fourth: @robertonavs – “Tenerife Sea” - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@robertonavs/steemit-open-mic-week-65-tenerife-sea-by-ed-sheeran-cover

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Fifth: @edenmichelle – “Humble Me” - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@edenmichelle/steemit-open-mic-week-65-eden-michelle-version-of-humble-me-by-norah-jones

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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. Thank you 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:

@aidarojaswriter, @bendictus, @davidfar, @mindhawk, @storycharlemagne, @kaizag, @blancokarl, @alejandra23, @slimstanley, @denis.savisko, @senzenfrenz, @vera.carla, @razorback-holler, @hadif66, @adreini, @sallyswitchblade, @tamsguitar, @jaredkhamanah, @kiloindigo, @nestorchacin, @temistocles123, @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!

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