Werloc

Honestly, I would like to bring up the topic of the disqualification of bestmen from future contests. Not only has there been visual proof of him "not caring" about the contests and giving hell to the prior three hosts of TISC. He blatantly wrote a few messages above that he also cheats in his voting. This is inexcusable and I don't know how many more times are we planning to let this slide just because he can make GIF's.

I assume it's because we didn't have as many participants back then as we have now, so the points are divided by a larger amount of countries and thus the PPJ is affected.

Seeing how @Bohemia can stalk me on last.fm, she must be enjoying the way I keep spamming Mariah's "Emotions"

Give this a try: If Australia ever comes back to TISC, they know what to do.

You forgot emotional.

If this is not how to get kicked out of a committee, then I don't know what is.

Also, 8 editions of awarding points to the eventual winner, being kicked out from the committee after placing Ireland 13th, kinda sucks

One day, I swear, I'll get in this list.

Anyways, as promised to @Bohemia I'll try to post some of my comments on this year's entries and sorry that I'm not able to talk about each one. I think it will be easier for me to go down my voting list first: Brazil - As I've mentioned, Brazil's video was blocked for me, so during the 1st listen (before it was fixed) I was listening to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THGwdK8zu_4 Anyways, what I loved about this entry was its simplicity, the acoustic guitar was music to my ears, his vocals were just where they needed to be, the chorus was very catchy and the melody of it was amazing, which is why I was hooked on doing harmonies 24/7 and yes, I enjoyed this far more than the over-produced version. United States - Another song that made it directly to the upper bracket after the first round. Enjoyed the tone of her voice, it was pretty distinctive out of the others, good chorus, nice melody and instrumental. The Netherlands - Another song to go to the upper bracket after stage 1. Somehow when I heard the first few chords of the acoustic guitar, I had the feeling that I would enjoy this and I wasn't wrong. I think that this song has the same key as Brazil - its simplicity. The vocals are controlled, the melody is good, I think I just saw it as slightly less than Brazil, that's why it's third. France - Another song that quickly went to the top without much moving around. The drums and guitar at the start promise something interesting, her vocals are good, the instrumental is great, yeah, perhaps it is a bit monotone, but the production of the song is very high class, which is why it's up here for me. Estonia - It's been a while, so I don't know what to expect from Estonia. It's starts with a calming piano and fairly ok female vocalist and then the man joins and I know it's a duet, so the most important thing becomes the harmonies, the pre-chorus/chorus thing is nice, but the harmonies at the end is what bought me over, nice melody. Chile - Honestly the most haunting/bizzare entry in this TISC, but it's the right kind of bizzare. The interesting instrumental and the colour in her voice is what makes this memorable and interesting and it stands out. Also, this song was a grower, because it originally was lower on my list. The start of the song is still my favourite part. New Zealand - Do-do-do-do-de-de-de-de, do I need to explain myself more why this song is up here? Also, very nice guitar action, I approve. The vocals are also pretty decent and charming in their own way, reminds me of something that Denmark has sent in a previous competition that I adored. Canada - Hallelujah is one of those songs that pretty much make me sick every single time when I hear it, but that's probably since it's a go to song for everyone during musical competitions (had to perform this one myself too). The thing that took me in, was the magical performance. The vocal control is amazing, those extended notes were perfect, the vocalist knows when to press forward and when to tone it back and I really respect that. Argentina - Okay, so Argentina really stood out from the bunch being one of the songs that chose upper-tempo. I remember hearing the start to that instrumental and thinking "okay, what's coming, what's coming, will it be good or will it be bad?". Then I heard the vocals and they were great, the song really woke me up, as I've said, it stood out with its energy and the chorus was fairly nice. India - Not really a country that has made a huge impression on me in previous editions, only a couple of times close to my points, but when I heard the intro, I already knew that it would score at least some points. Even though I'm not a big fan of how Indian singers use their voice, it didn't bother me that much this time and sounded pretty nicely, but that part with the voices is gold. Indonesia - Started fairly high, but then gradually fell down to two points as the songs above it had more distint character and this song struggled to make an impact on the songs that had a strong identity, that's why it kept falling down in my list. Czech Republic - This is where my head starts to hurt, because I had 4-5 different songs on 1 point at every single listen, but it ended with being Czech Republic. The vocals are fine, I enjoyed the wind instruments joining in the chorus and that might have tipped it over. Ireland - In my points during the first three rounds, nice instrument work, the song is good at what its aiming for, but I guess it was something that I heard a million times before and it gradually fell down compared to the songs that brought something fresh into my perspective. Colombia - Not bad, but perhaps I have something against popular songs? It was considered for points at a few times, but somehow didn't connect with what I was looking for in my top twelve and got stuck in the reserve list. Malta - Malta is one of the most interesting countries to me. I probably had them in my reserve list for more than 4-5 times, but there's always a small margin that keeps them out of my top twelve. I guess it ended up losing in the battle of the choruses. Iran - Pretty decent entry, loved the guitar intro. Last year Iran was very close to my points, but I think it was a much much better song (as I believe the quality 6 months ago was much better). Anyways, Iran did good enough to get noticed, so I guess that's nice, since they're always up there in my standings. Tunisia - A song that I lost somewhere, the intro was too telenovela, I don't also enjoy the constant vibrato of the vocals that is prominent in most Arabic music and that probably put me off. Algeria - Metal is just not in my blood, there are some exceptions, but Algeria wasn't one of them. Slovakia - Wouldn't call this a memorable song, didn't really make an impression, didn't have that something to rise above other songs. Serbia - Can't say that it's bad, but it's pretty bland, didn't stand out of the average category and the dance beats are off-putting. Great Britain - A country I always expect greatness from, but this time I got sentimental sadness, plus I dislike the classical voice position, because I think that's a technique where a voice loses its colour and character. I love how you went with something different, but it didn't make an impact on me, so the song couldn't climb. Mexico - Fun instrumental, interesting concept, but not good enough to challenge anyone in my top 16. Uruguay - A song that suffered from its shortness, didn't have enough time to show something good/memorable enough to make an impact on the rankings. Slovenia - This is that POP that I dislike with a passion. A bland mess with cheap beats. Croatia - After the last contest I started expecting something interesting. Can't say that it's bad song, good instrumental and vocals aren't bad, but just lacked a bit of character, easily got lost amongst other songs. Italy - Nice instrumental at the start, promising, but underwhelming vocal line and the song doesn't really go anywhere. I MISS THE ITALY THAT GOT POINTS FROM ME IN EVERY SINGLE CONTEST. LIKE REALLY REALLY MISS THAT ITALY, as I still have some of your older entries on various playlists. Denmark - I love the way Denmark always sends something interesting, the intro of the instrumental is good and the vocals are not bad, but unfortunately it is something that I had to re-listen against in order to remember what the song was about and why it didn't move forward in my rankings. Anyway, Denmark usually surprises me once in half a year so fingers crossed for next TISC. Portugal - I enjoy instrumental music, but in order to outrank the depth of the other songs that have vocals and lyrics in their advantage, the instrumental has to be BEYOND amazing. This one was good, but not that sort of amazing that would beat a melody or a story. Spain - I don't think there are words that would describe my general disinterest in what Enrique Iglesias does. Throughout so many years, there's no musical evolution for him, everything is the same, the lyrics are always eeeeeeeeeh and I should stop here before I rant further. Greece - The instrumental didn't appeal to me, this vocal technique is not something I particularly enjoy and in the Tunisia's, Turkey's, Greece's and other countries that overuse this style, Iran and India had a much bigger impact. Turkey - Another song that I struggled to remember. Poland - Ok, firstly, this type of beat always brings me down, because it makes the music sounds cheaper, so a big minus on production. Another pet-peeve for me is very very simplistic/meaningless lyrics and broken English. This is why I probably prefered Polish entries in Polish. Also, the forced 'rap' part didn't feel necessary. Romania - The Eastern European pop production vibe was never too appealing for me, this is why such songs have trouble to score in my list. This is why I prefer such countries not trying to chase the "Western Standards", but sending something authentic that's them, because that's usually a better choice. Really liked Romania last edition, they were my 1st reserve, I think. Bulgaria - That pretty much falls down the Tunisia, Greece rabbit hole. Iran and India were much better at this type of style, so Bulgaria didn't leave me with fond memories. Anyways, I believe that's all. T'was tough work.

Also, I would like to congratulate @heywoodu for winning the Mainland Western European Derby. Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein were blown away.

Well, congratulations Ireland @OlympicIRL and goodbye committee after 9 editions of loyal servitude Congratulations @dezbee2008 , I really believed you could do it, but anyways, still a very great contest for you.

Well, I would hate myself, as they were in my top 12 during the first three round and then gradually fell down to 13th

And twelve points go to.......... LITHUANIA

Oh boy

Was it fun while it lasted?

Or a "We don't need a winner today, because the winner is friendship" break.

It's a risk that I was willing to take, but was not given an opportunity to risk it.

I feel robbed as my song has only started growing with the 3rd listen

First they need to show up if they want to decide

well @Sindo is pretty good at shutting down ghost accounts.

Still, I'd find a win for @dezbee2008 a more memorable win, since we have her with us for such a long time.

I don't think we need to wait for the end of the vote to know with how much points Lithuania will be ending

Problem is that Colombian users are not really famous for their activity, which is why it's even harder for me to support their winning cause, because I'm thinking about the hosting rights.

Nah, postpone it for next week.

My committee life has never been as much on the line as it is now and the geography scares me even more