I've Secretly Been A Steemit Open Mic Official Judge For The Past 6 Weeks (Original Blog)
Yes, I am happy to announce that I am an Official Judge Of The Steemit Open Mic Contest.
The Team
I was laying low with three others for as long as we could, handling the judging and discussing other aspects of improving the Steemit Open Mic Contest experience. The three other Official Judges are all musically gifted, and passionately talented musicians/performers/singers, the first judge is @jessamynorchard who not only sings, plays guitar, but also raps and blends genres and can freestyle improv with ease and conviction, the second judge is @soundlegion who is breathtaking with her precision vocals and powerful lyrics and driven heart filled performances, and last but not least there is @krystle, who is well versed in live performances in front of audiences from hundreds to thousands of people, she is a great singer and also connects with her listeners with her moving soulful energy and sweet melodies. Krystle is also the PAL/minnow advocate/Steemit ambassador. All judges are kindhearted, experienced in music, easygoing, understandable team members and fair judges who bring a diverse outlook to the judging aspect.
It is an honor and privilege to be in this position of responsibility and be able to give back to the music community our time and effort to keep the Open Mic Contest music community-based and strengthened in and out. Many thanks to @luzcypher for pulling us all together to make the judging system more structured.
I'm thankful and grateful to give my input and feedback on all of the participants each week. There are so many talented artists out there, duets, soloists, improvisational free flowers, and more. I appreciate you all and the inspiration you provide with your music.
Judging
Myself as a judge, I look out mainly for Original Artists, and vote these entries to win, so I look for the best performances in this category because, as an original artist, as well, I know how difficult it is to make an original composition or song of your own and perform it with everything you possess. The process of judging is that, us four judges, individually go through all the entries separately, and we all submit our own lists of who we think should win and in which order we feel. And then the winners are decided through this process.
As for Cover-related entries, Only Cover entries which are simply stunning and gripping, that catch me off guard, will grab my attention and my vote. It is easier to sing someone else's song, but you never know the song that can be created and sung/performed by you. I do agree that some artists can sing another artist's song better than the original creator so I keep my ears open and welcome all music entries.
A Bit Backstory
Since learning of the creation of the Steemit Open Mic Contest, I had been consecutively participating in the Open Mic Contest 44 Weeks straight without missing one, with the exception of the very 1st week, due to unawareness. After 44 weeks of nonstop passionate music giving, the time constraints finally caught up to me and I wasn't able to enter anymore due to other priorities.
I wanted to give you all a full 52 week's (one year's) worth of Original Music Live Performances from me, showing a diverse range of stylistic approaches of HipHopEmceeing, Singing, Piano Playing, and genres, but I am sure many will agree that 44 is more than enough to show my love and experience with music.
For many, music is fun, and that is a big element, but also, for me, I know how powerful words, intentions, energy, performance and impact are with music. Music can truly save lives, resonate and awaken, and change the worlds and perspectives of many. So I take it very seriously for myself the majority of the time :)
Conclusion
So, since I am no longer participating in the Open Mic contest, I am happy to sit back, give support, and be a listener and an official judge from now on. But you can always visit my page for Rap Challenge Entries and Beat Battle League Instrumental Entries that I produce as well as singles I release on my page as well as through ADSactly Records with @sirlunchthehost, @rondonson and @adsactly. I'll be scouting talents to bring into the Blockchain based ADSactly Records Label, as we are looking for artists who can effectively introduce Blockchain and cryptocurrency inspired music. Stay sharp and give your best entries in the Open Mic for this week.
Thank you for reading & listening to this post in its entirety, I hope you enjoyed it for what it's worth.
All Gifs used from Giphy.com
Next Post coming tomorrow
My very own wonderful gif logo provided to me by the generous and kindhearted @papa-pepper Thanks again very much!
@verbal-d you are truly an inspiration to us all and I'm so happy you're part of this team. It's so much fun talking music with you.
In case anyone didn't know, the original inspiration for the Steemit Open Mic contest was when I saw a post from @verbal-d almost a year ago where he was singing one of his original songs that gave me the idea for the contest.
His unending support is just as inspiring.
Here was the original post I made for the idea to see what the community thought about it before actually starting the contest. New Idea For A Contest Steemit Open Mic Night --- by @luzcypher
Good to have you helping with the judging @verbal-d
Thank you very much bro, much appreciated, I'm here to support as much as I can. Glad to be on the judging team. And it is definitely fun discussing music and the entrants who inspire and wow us with their talents.
He definitely is an inspiration, and you @luzcypher are right up there with him. My brother finally made an account!!! Just waiting for the confirmation or whatever it is they do now, I can NOT wait for all of you to meet him, and for him to see just how awesome you guys all are too!
Hi, thank you very much... This serie has changed my belief in the future for us, independent artists... After spending a lot of money into tradicional centralized social midia just to spread my work the market has brought me down a little bit... Here in Brasil the art has no value.... Is very hard to make a music work generate some income... But now I believe in the future... Thank you very much... Here is my original song for this week... https://steemit.com/openmic/@fael/steemit-open-mic-week-47-original-song-by-fael-aka-rafael-ferreira-solace
You are very welcome, I am glad you are a part of the Steemit community and can have value for your art here. Steemit is amazing, the future looks bright and there are so many success stories. Thanks for the entry link of yours but don't worry, @Luzcypher keeps us updated on all the entries, so I would have listened to it this week regardless. I look forward to hearing what you share with us this week. Best of skill and performance to you :) No luck needed or used here in the Steemit Open Mic Contest.
Right on! Original Music all the way. I usually skip most of the covers when I'm looking at open mic. Unless it's a song that I believe is going o be interesting, a steemian i know who's generally quite good.
Yeah bro, original music is where it is at! As a judge, I don't skip cover entries. lol
Oh I would expect that you would as a judge.
Do you guys go through all of the entries individually and then have a group huddle? or split the entries among u?
I will edit that into my post so everyone will know the process but there are no shortcuts, us judges individually go through all the entries separately, and we all submit our own lists of who we think should win and in which order we feel. And then the winners are decided through this process. Thanks for checking in
ho man.. daunting task for sure! there's like 100 entries every week!
Much respect for doing this job!
Thanks man, it is not easy, but it is rewarding from the musical gems we discover.
Each judge listens to all entries individually. And then we do like @verbal-d says in this thread.
Jeezus... I go through like 10 entries and then I'm wiped brothas... You guys are legends!
Nice you're moving up... and helping others. I'm so glad I joined Steemit... this is the place, for talented people. Steem on!
Thank you very much, yes helping others is key to strengthening the community. Glad you are part of it. Steem on!
upvote for u
i like to read your post .
Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed reading this post. Appreciate it
Yo "D" - read the whole thing through - and so appreciate where you're coming from... Very well-written, and though we'll miss you as a weekly contestant, we'll certainly embrace you as an official judge... Thank you for your service brotha!
Thank you very much bro @passion-ground, I always appreciate your easy going, and real upfront style with your open mic entries, I look forward to hearing more from you. And when things settle down for me with life, I might jump back into the open mic when I'm ready :) You're most welcome, and I am grateful for your support.
Woah! Sneaky sneaky, bro! I should've sent my Open Mic Night in before the reveal so that you would've been part of the judging panel haha! Just kidding. But yeah, it wouldn't have made much of a difference anyway. I've never won in any of the contests you've thrown or judged haha!
Way to put in the work, bro! You'll be reaping the rewards from all of your effort soon :D
Thanks bro, appreciate the encouragement and acknowledgement. Doing my part to stay relevant and giving back and reciprocating the support and love that we all share within our Steemit Community. I still have yet to hear any musical entries from you. The closest I got was turning your poem into a song from Papa-pepper's Wild and Strange Contest. The Cool Cats On Steemit lol You may not win my contests, but you are in Scrabble the champion so far! That hurts me more lol
Oh how I can't wait until my brother's confirmation goes through! Did I tell you he signed up? Yes! He did! He did it the day after I asked everyone to encourage him in a post, but being let through the gates has become a big PROCESS now. A friend of mine made him an account to speed up the process...unfortunately he just wasn't comfortable with doing it that way, so down the road we'll probably use that account for a joint effort on something, or maybe it will even be a joint account for musicians, but anyway....I can't wait for you two to meet!!
you are a fantastic inspiration here and one of my absolute favorite energies in sound. I love everything you bring to the table on steemit and with music. Much respect to you my friend alll dayyy
Thank you very much my friend, I appreciate your kind words and respect.