OFFICIAL: Open-Mic | @passion-ground's Top-5 Entries for Week 73
Summary
...This week was quite special because, in addition to all of the regular musical entries, we also got the chance to hear directly from the Open-Mic artists via “The Voices of the Open-Mic!” At the end of this post, if you haven’t seen it already, I’ll put a link to “my voice-video” along with the page link for each of you to see the guidelines to create and drop your own Open-Mike Voice videos too! I believe the deadline for dropping videos is Wednesday the 28th of February, so make sure you get yours in on time!
Check this out man, I’ve got a killer karaoke-style vocal performance in my top-5 this week! Yep, you heard that right, folks. Simply an incredible singer without any instruments – a great song backdrop, and a most unforgettable performance.
Rounding out my top-5 I’ve got two additional covers, and two rather amazing originals. Within my top-10, I’ve got a great original instrumentalist production that I’m sure you’re going to enjoy just as much as I did. My top-10 wraps up with a super-fun group-cover performance, which embodies a large part of what the Open-Mic is about. Inclusiveness, sharing, and having tons of fun with music!
So with all of that said, following some further insights as to how I judge, let’s get it on, shall we?
Steemit Open Mic Week 73
My Process
As one of the esteemed Open Mic judges, it is my job to come up with (or “curate” as it were) 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 100 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 100 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
Though I’ve never heard this before in my life, after Roman’s brilliant rendition, I now just love this song! What caught my immediate attention was the crystal clear audio of a beautiful acoustic guitar intro. A few seconds later, Roman looks up, totally present, with softness in eyes and then BAM he begins to sing just before hitting that fresh chord to start the verse, and I was like, whoa dude – this is so freakin’ sweet, man! That was all I needed truly, but he carries on with such splendor throughout the entire performance! In his post, he says I often give him good “returns” or comments, and well, yeah! He’s topped my list this week, and he’s just so consistently good!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@roman.musica/steemit-open-mic-week-73-quedandote-o-yendote-luis-a-spinetta-cover-by-roman-musica
I’ve never heard this song by Seal but found myself quite drawn to it with this fine performance. And yeah, another truly outstanding artist with phenomenal vocals doing a cover - has found themselves near the top of my list! Petra’s vocal styling is rather unique, infectious, and quite pleasant to the ear. The interesting and subtle harmonies she infused into her real-time performance was just the cherry on top for me.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@petrajordan/steemit-open-mic-week-73-dreaming-in-metaphors-seal-cover-by-petrajordan-my-first-open-mic-entry-ever
I mean, wow - these two artists just keep killin’ it week after week! This is the second week in a row that together, they have captured my number 3 spot. You know, I’m trying to make room for fresh faces and all, but Dan and Eden make that rather hard to do sometimes. Straight away, I was hypnotized by the steady drive of Eden’s guitar riff. The captivating lyrics Dan began to sing complimented the essence of that drive quite nicely. The chorus ramp and move back into the verses was flawless along with their intermittent harmonies. This is a finely crafted original song and performance that’s ready for prime time.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@danshawmusic/steemit-open-mic-week-73-silhouette-original
Once I got past the face paint and simply listened to this incredible performance, I was very impressed. When I read the story behind the song, I was totally floored. Compelled to listen several times over, the empathy and passion expressed in this arrangement is rather profound and quite beautiful, to say the least. @uvalunera is brand new to the Open-Mic, and I’m so happy that she has received such a warm welcome!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@uvalunera/steemit-open-mic-week-73-lamento-by-uva-lunera-original-song-en
This guy came to sing, man! And sing he did! Let me tell you, folks, Alex sang his heart out here people – for real! This is such a beautiful song too. Its title translates to “Nude Woman.” I sure wish the lyrics were translated as well. This ballad just builds and builds, and the passion with which Alex sings, builds in a most splendid matching tandem – never missing a note, inflection, nor losing any of the masterful vocal power he delivers throughout. This has to be one of the best vocal performances that I’ve heard in a long time. His grand finish is quite something to behold. Super-professional, man! Bravo, Sir Alex!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@alexlinares/steemit-openmic-semana-73-desnudate-mujer-cover
My Top-5 Honorable Mentions in Order:
First: @trevorpetrie – "Intersection" - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@trevorpetrie/steemit-open-mic
Second: @granaddiction - "La Gano Yo" - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@granaddiction/steemit-openmic-week-73-la-gano-yo-original-song
Third: @nathankaye – "Wings" - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@nathankaye/open-mic-week-73-wings-orginal-nathan-kaye-one-man-festival
Fourth: @cezanne – "Confiando en ti" - (Original) (Instrumental Performance)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@cezanne/steemit-open-mic-week-73-original-composition-confiando-en-ti
Fifth: @hardikv – "Kajra Mohabbat Wala" - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@hardikv/steemit-open-mic-week-73-kajra-mohabbat-wala-cover
Voices of The Open-Mic
Since @meno did one, I simply couldn’t resist. You should make one too! Just drop your videos and post your links on the page below to join the fun!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@luzcypher/voices-of-open-mic
Thank you for reviewing my selections for this week’s Open-Mic contest. If you find this content I’ve curated entertaining and of value to you, then please consider up-voting and/or re-steeming it.
Peace, Love, and Justice for All
A Very Special Shout Out To:
The following 20 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. This special list is very much an extension of my most honorable mentions.
They are - in no particular order: @melavie, @edenmichelle, @funkmedia, @marcusings, @basilmarples, @jesuszoliz, @mightyjoenolan, @branhmusic, @silviagoh, @marctwang, @vera.carla, @itsallasong, @exzorltg, @alvaro017, @silentscreamer, @lucybanks, @paulhallman, @benleemusic, @drewley, and @danieldyemusic.
Another Special Shout Out To:
The following artists whose performances I very much enjoyed this week. They are - in no particular order: @operahoser, @melodeons, @malvarezmusic, @wilins, @mrbloom, @bethwheatcraft, @addiesworld, @oswave, @abelfernandez, @thesimpson, @pechichemena, @donatello, @coruscate, @miguelarl, @graceleon, @rjcha, @yrmaleza, @pollocyber, @shaktisun, @sebastianhughes, @wahyunahrul, @rodrigocabrera, @bennettitalia, @teukurobbybinor, @wethepatsies, @kayclarity, @brendahcaroline, @raci, @kkarenmp, @stanhopeofficial, @justinzidi, @williamsreinoso, @amai, @transmystic, @beeflomein, @byrongrant, @honeymoon-1611, @mcmusic, @rial17, @mrprecious, @timothympratt, @yusaymon, and @denis.savisko3.
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!
I was not on the see who played lists of @luzcypher so I guess I do not make it into anyones of the judges consideration, the same thing just happened two weeks ago, I say my user name in the end of the video, still not valid? Anything wrong with me?
https://steemit.com/openmic/@senzenfrenz/steemit-openmic-week-73-spring-s-melody-original-music-senzenfrenz
Dearest @senzenfrenz, I am certain this was in error. You have been a valued friend of The Open-Mic and the Songwriters Challenge as well. I am certain that your entry was misclassified, and as such, did not appear in the “see who played list” as it should have.
What’s worse is that this happened to you only two weeks ago as well! On behalf of the team, please accept my apologies for these errors, as they are not intentional.
Yes, some “valid” entries simply do not make the “See Who Played List” simply due to space constraints and quality control factors, however, clearly, neither of your entries in question should have been classified as they were.
I have brought this to the attention of the team, and each of the judges will take your entry for week 73 into full account.
Thank you for your patience and understanding, my good brother.
Dear @passion-ground,
I accept your apologies, of course, that is nothing in personal I see, and the same from my view.
I hope you won't take it amiss that I seemed to be a little bit disappointed and I want to take the chance to bring something to your awareness, while I studied the context of beeing missed and why others are on the see who played lists and again others not.
Besides the fact that my entry was probably just forgotten and besides the fact that the rules had to be adjusted recently, which I in general agree with in order of scam and quality purposes,the rules are not judged consequently from my opinion.So for example, obviousely cutted and postprocessed performances as well as playbacked songs are on the see who played lists while others are not although I can barely find any reason why they shouldn't be. And for quality matters it is the same thing, does @luzcypher mean recording qualtity or song quality, singing or instrumental skills in general? It is not clear- some four chord song that a six year old could play from taking two piano lessons is hailed while on the other hand it is said that "just put together some chords" is not ok, and entries that are obviously much more advanced are left behind.
I could link performances here but I don't want to miscredit people right away, for it is not their fault and no problem with them personally, but if rules are set in a contest they should be transparent and to be consequently followed otherwise impression will be that it gets random and this would hurt the reputation.
Do not take that personal, it is just my personal view on the new developements of the contest in general. I guess this is dissatifying people, and they are right with it, just to be honest.
Thank you very much for your time reading this, it seems you are taking it very seriously and I highly appreciate that! So I hope such things won't stay between us in the future for as I said this is nothing personal, just some experiences I made in the last few weeks as (concerned myself) looked into this a little bit closer.
Kind Regards, @senzenfrenz
Thank you, @senzenfrenz. I very much appreciate your understanding, and I shall try my best to answer the additional questions posed in your comment.
Given the sheer volume of “valid” entries, we find it necessary to put a loose cap on the number of such entries that make it into the “See Who Played List” each week. One measure that helps achieve such goals is to try and leave out the poorest of performances – even though they are perhaps “valid” entries.
Insofar as the “quality” aspect to which you referred, I suspect @luzcypher is using his best discretion to classify rather poor performances as not suitable for the weekly “See Who Played Lists.” I suspect such quality measures have more to do with general “entertainment value” and “listen-ability” as opposed to song structure or audio quality.
His reference to throwing some sloppy senseless chords together and calling it an “original” simply to get extra bonus rewards is sort of a scam in and of itself. Such entries are rather obvious, and that’s where @luzcypher’s discretion must come into play.
All of this initial “filtering” and “classification” falls exclusively on the shoulders of @luzcypher. He has to manually sift through more than a thousand entries per week to make sure they are first and foremost “valid,” following the general rules, and are not “scam” or “bogus” entries of any sort.
After that, he must then make hundreds of judgment calls in order to determine which of all these “valid” entries are suitable for the weekly “See Who Played List.” I am not aware of the precise mechanics; however, it is very much a “manual process” that he must go through to keep the “See Who Played List” of reasonable size and general quality.
Now, given such burden for one individual human being, it is natural to expect that he will make mistakes on occasion. In addition, we do have some level of automation that works off of @luzcypher’s manual inputs, and on occasion, that automation system goes down, and sometimes we don’t notice it’s down for several hours. As a result, even though @luzcypher’s manual inputs may have been flawless, a downed system of automated classification may allow several or more entries to fall through the cracks.
We had such an automation failure this week, and I think that’s why you and a small handful of random others were inadvertently left out of this week’s “See Who Played List.”
I trust in lifting the hood a bit for you, that you now have a better appreciation for what’s required of us each week, what can go wrong on a human level, and what can go wrong on a software level.
I also hope that my explanation of quality criteria was suitable in answering many of the related questions posed.
Thank you again, @sensenfrenz, I very much appreciate this open dialog.
Kind Regards,
@passion-ground
As you are explaining it that way, I can easy understand what it is all about. Thank you very much for making all this transparent, leaves me a lot more satisfied.
This happen to me too... and I dont know what I do wrong I post my link and ita one of the first coments on the open mic week 73 and I dont get into the list but I dont know if i do something wrong and its super sad
What an honor! Thank you, @passion-ground! My first ever entry to Steemit Open Mic and already in your Top 5 - that’s some encouragement! Especially surrounded by some serious talent here - so nice to meet you guys! Can’t wait to get the cameras rolling for the next entry :) I can already see that this will stimulate me to become a better musician as I will aim to bring out the best in me every week - regardless of winning or not. Thank you for that alone ❤️
P.S. I, too, am a libra and when I was little I was not only fascinated by music but also wanted to be a judge to rid the world of unfairness :) you embody both ;)
Oh, that's so very awesome of you to say, Petra! Welcome aboard, or to the jungle as it were! Ha-ha... So happy to have you here, your maiden entry was truly stellar!
Thanks again! “Maiden entry” - I like! I’ll be back ;) xxx
O shit!!!! I am Libra too. Smiles
fantastic picks my friend @uvalunera was a special treat really loved her performance. very cool
Thank you, Bonnie! She most certainly was! Glad you loved her performance as much as I did! xoxo
Thank God for allowing me to meet the Steemit community and people like @passion-ground and all those who created open mic, who with every contribution and recognition, support the effort, work and passion to improve the musical education of my Country Venezuela through of hard work in churches, foundations, communities and educational institutions, so that as many people as possible can learn from what I have learned during my musical career, and thus help to give back the hope that has unfortunately been lost because of the hard economy.
I am grateful to be able to help my family, friends and all those who are going through more needs than what I might be going through, and fulfill my dream of seeing a Venezuela restored in the Name of Jesus Christ.
Such a beautiful comment, my friend! We must all keep the faith in restoring all that is good in this world and shunning all that is hurtful, negative, and malevolent. It is a never-ending battle between the forces of Good and Evil. The slope is slippery, and the terrain rather confusing, and I pray for us all to have the wisdom to effectively discern between the two. God bless you, my brother!
Ameennn @passion-ground
Oh wow! I made your honorable mention list! Woohoo!
That's so cool!
Thanks heaps, bro!
I'm honoured and grateful!
🙏🏽💚
You are so welcome, Nathan! Thank you for such an outstanding performance, mate - I loved it!
Thank you so much for the shout-out!
All the Best!
Likewise, my friend! Thank you!
Hi @passion-ground i'd like to thank you deeply for your kind words, to me this is very important, having in mind that I'm quite new here. I'd like to thank you for having me in your top 5 picks. :) PD. I also have to tell you hta the tag you used on the post was wrong, you missed an "u" hahahaha. it's uvalunera. Greetings!!!
Hi @uvalunera! Sorry if I messed up any tags... I think I did get the link right, as well as your username - so that's a plus! You are quite welcome despite any such flaws I may have inadvertently imposed. It would be great if you can share with us exactly where, why, and how the handle-bar mustache (face-paint) come's into play. Ha-ha! I just think it would be cool to know. Loved your performance, and I'm so looking forward to hearing more from you! xxx
Oh, absolutely. I'm planning to make a whole post about my mustache, when it's done, you'll be the first one to know ;)♥
Awesome! I can't wait! :-)
Fixed it! :-)
yeiiii !!!! No Problem!!♥
Thank you so much for the mention @passion-ground. ✨🙏🏻
Will get my entrie band to participate next time :)
You are quite welcome, my friend! Thank you for such lovely entertainment! Look forward to hearing more from you and the entire band!
Another solid list of talented artists bro, can't wait to put out my list as well. So much inspiration every week. I really enjoyed your Voices of Open Mic video as well, finally had the chance to watch it, answers were heartfelt and eloquently considerate and deeply thought out. We are definitely expanding and aiming for higher quality entries and this has been a great journey thus far with our team and community. Keep strong bro
Thank you, my brother! I look forward to your Top-5, and I very much enjoyed your "Voices of Open-Mic" video as well! Together, we shall always stand strong...
Your choice is always good. I really love meeting new participants and their musical work and here was one in particular that I loved ... And it was the interpretation of @petrajordan ... An excellent voice and perfect execution of the instrument
Boy, me be humbled! Thanks @edwardstobia :)
They are people like you who make the open mic an extraordinary journey ... I am the one who feels humbly pleased to be part of the @petrajordan family. I hope to continue enjoying your talent \m/
Wow, much love to you ❤️ Thanks!
So cool, Edward! Glad you loved Petra's entry as much as me, brother! Thank you, man!