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Kyrgyzstan Gulnur Satilganova - Tuulgan Jerdi Saginuu

Vojthas: "Don't Use Electronic Devices Over Instruments" Unlike rybak, the fellow Polish juror Vojthas is a closed book. We have no data, no idea, no concept of what to expect. All we know is that royals may get some disproportionate advantage in these votes. Neither the Duchess of Sussex nor Princess Nathalie have announced their intent of participation yet, however... Q: How do you go about evaluating TISC entries? Do you use a specific system when picking out your Top 12? A: During the first listening, I make my first classification. As it appeared there are more than 12 songs, to which I would give points without the feel of voting for something I don't like, I haven't listened to the other ones. Then made my final choice after second listening of all of them and then partially listening of those under the biggest question mark of the final placement, which is usually a matter of "tie-breaking" between two or three - either very similar or totally opposite, which is always hard to compare.* *I could tell you more about the specific case of this contest, but that would need to be done after the voting closes. Q: And what about the maximum 12 points? Can you recognize it immediately? Or do you take a certain amount of time before deciding on it? A: During first listening, I usually know which ones are the strongest candidates for it. Of course, you never know, if this is the best until you get to listen to all of them, but I know, which one will be hard to beat. Q: Do you have a favorite music genre? Is there any genre you would like to hear more of on the TISC stage? A: Yes, I like classic rock, in quite a hard way, even on the edge of metal, but also in a ballad or pop-rock version. I am also a fan of 80s disco and euro disco specifically. These are two totally different genres, but I really like them both. Q: How important are lyrics to you? A: Not really important, when it comes to voting unless it's really vulgar - but in 99,9% offensive lyrics go along with music genres that will never get my points. When it comes to listening to music outside the contest, I naturally have a sentiment to the songs which tell the stories similar to my owns. Usually, they end up in being translated to Polish by myself, sometimes with a slight adaptation to stories of my life. But don't ask me about titles - they're quite personal. Q: And finally... How can we get 12 points from Vojthas? A: If you're in the style of 70s or 80s and do not use other electronic devices over instruments - you got it. Stay tuned for more user interviews to come, as we count down to TOISC 2020...

rybak: "I Want More Traditional Songs" As long-term TISC supporter, rybak has lead Poland to numerous notable results. This includes an impressive run of three consecutive Top 10 placings (2017 Open - 2018 Open). Poland, however, will not be represented by a single person jury in Holland. For the first time in a long time. WIll this cause them to shift away from their usual far anti-establishment patterns? Q: How do you go about evaluating TISC entries? Do you use a specific system when picking out your Top 12? A: No, I don't have a specific system, I just listen to all entries, and I choose those ones which sound good for me. Q: And what about the maximum 12 points? Can you recognize it immediately? Or do you take a certain amount of time before deciding on it? A: Usually there are few songs at the beginning, to which I would want to give 12 points, just like at this contest I had 4 songs which IMO deserved to have my 12 points. I needed this time four listenings to make a final decision about top 4. Q: Do you have a favorite music genre? Is there any genre you would like to hear more of on the TISC stage? A: I prefer Pop, rock songs and trance music, but time to time I also listen to other music genres, all depends on the current mood. I still listen every day the song which represented Hong Kong at the TISC Special Event. At TISC I would want to hear more traditional songs, like Balkan ballads, folk songs and so on. Q: How important are lyrics to you? A: Music, sound, rhythm for me are more important than lyrics. Q: And finally... How can we get 12 points from rybak? A: Well, the answer is simple, choose the song which I will like/love, hints are above. If rybak's musical preferences still feel like a jigsaw puzzle - maybe this will help. Our resident Polish juror has outlined the following entries as favorites during the most recent editions... Stay tuned for more user interviews to come, as we count down to TOISC 2020...

Big news from Pfizer. Their vaccine appears to be 90%+ effective.

FEI is about to make yet another populist decision and impose a blanket ban for top hats in dressage. Helmets will become compulsory. Many top riders are strongly opposing this decision. Pretty much all big names in fact (expect certain someone, who apparently is anti-choice...). And all this due to a couple of accidents that occured in training (and never in an actual competition!) Additionally, vaulters and reiners are not required to wear helmets, even though their disciplines are arguably much more dangerous. Obviously this decision has nothing to do with safety...

Mad World really did score a ton of 12 pointers.

Henry_Leon: "Sometimes the Sound is Enough" Staying inside of the Committee requires users to continuosly award points to the winning songs. It is a job too difficult for most, but not so much for the Italians. Such is the case with Henry_Leon, a true stalwart of the Italian judging panel and selection subcommittee... Q: How do you go about evaluating TISC entries? Do you use a specific system when picking out your Top 12? A: Easy system: I listen to the songs and put a vote (from 5 to 8, includes decimals...). After I listen to the songs a second time (cut the song under six of vote); and in the third listen I have a ranking. Q: And what about the maximum 12 points? Can you recognize it immediately? Or do you take a certain amount of time before deciding on it? A: Difficult at first listen because there are always many beautiful songs. Q: Do you have a favorite music genre? Is there any genre you would like to hear more of on the TISC stage? A: No, I like music in general. Q: How important are lyrics to you? A: 50/50. If it is possible to know what meaning the words is a good thing, but sometimes it isn't possible, and/or the music sound is enough, for a like. Q: And finally... How can we get 12 points from Henry_Leon? A: There is no formula, genre or famous songs, depends on the moment and on the other songs in the contest. If Henry_Leon's musical preferences still feel like a jigsaw puzzle - maybe this will help. One of the resident Italian jurors has outlined the following entries as favorites during the most recent editions... Stay tuned for more user interviews to come, as we count down to TOISC 2020...

We will have to review it on case-to-case basis, but for what it's worth, there are 5 pro-establishment and 2 anti-establishment nations voting in the final session. But how can we define these anyway? Suggestions? Establishment - light rock / polished pop, English language, solo artist / duet ? Anti-establishment - anything else ?

Werloc: "Lyrics Are Extremely Important, but You Can't Sacrifice Sound for Lyrics" Unlike most of us, Werloc took his TISC experience to an entire new level. Werloc entered his own work. While "I'll Be There" was not particularly well-received (39th), with more fine-tuning and mileage, "Acceptance" was able to record a more respectable final result (14th). But that is not where the story ends. Under Werloc's tutelage, Lithuania achieved a record-setting five consecutive Top 10 placings, including the fan-favorite victory aboard "Song About Love". Clinics with Werloc (pictured above) are notoriously hard to get in. We did manage to sneak in an interview, though... Q: How do you go about evaluating TISC entries? Do you use a specific system when picking out your Top 12? A: I start with an Excel spreadsheet where I have all countries listed and rank every song from 1 to 5. A 4 and 5 will get you to the upper bracket (usually no more than eight songs), and a 3 will get you in the lower bracket. A 1 and a 2 gets you out of the competition, and I usually lose 10 songs like that. The second stage is ranking each individual bracket. If you don't get into the top 12 in the lower bracket, I'm probably saying goodbye to you, unless I feel potential of growth from the song, whilst the upper bracket ranking is where the high points are at. The third stage is the first time the songs are evaluated together, listened in the previous rankings order to see if the order holds up. This is usually the stage in which lower bracket songs have the best chance at moving past the upper bracket songs and really gives a good vibe of what the final ranking could look like. Some of the songs at the bottom get dropped. The fourth stage is randomizing the order of the songs and ranking them again. If there are any irregularities with the previous ranking, listen again and again until doubts disappear. For example, the last annual contest took 7 listens for all the irregularities to disappear since there was a lot of drama between places 10-14. Q: And what about the maximum 12 points? Can you recognize it immediately? Or do you take a certain amount of time before deciding on it? A: I think that is a question that is best answered with some statistics. During 2020A, 2019O, 2019A, 2018O, 2018A, 2017O and 2017A (the excels that I have on hand with me right now), the maximum 12 points were decided in the very first upper bracket ranking, and it was immovable during every listen. So I guess it's fair to say that I recognize it immediately. I think it would be more fun if it was a closer battle, but one song is always head and shoulders above the rest. I think the last contest was the closest top 3 that I've had, but even after those 7 listens their order didn't shift apart from Ireland stealing the third place in the fourth listen from Brazil, which ended up being passed by Malta and Netherlands as well. Q: Do you have a favorite music genre? Is there any genre you would like to hear more of on the TISC stage? A: I think I've experienced a lot of musical growth throughout my youth because the concept of a favourite genre was everchanging. I had a Pop phase, went through a Rock phase, went onto lighter things and listened to a lot of Alternative, then came Indie, afterwards it was a huge Soul, Jazz and R&B stage. Then I started listening to a lot of Folk. Suppose I had to name my favourite genre now. In that case, I think it would easily be Folk and Indie Folk with Pop/R&B being a close second. However, I also really love Jazz, Soul still, and lately, I've been roped back into heavier music as well, with some friendlier rock-inspired acts like Sam Fender, Nothing But Thieves, Royal Blood. A genre that I would like to see more represented on the TISC stage? Perhaps Folk is indeed a bit underrepresented, but stuff like R&B and Jazz is also not something that you get to hear too often. but there's also probably not a huge demand for these last two genres in the TISC community. I feel that light rock and polished pop are the front runners of our contests. Q: How important are lyrics to you? A: Lyrics are actually extremely important to me, but you can't sacrifice sound for lyrics. Folk singer-songwriters are probably my favourite, because of their attention to lyrics. Although there are times where the song is just that good, that you don't have to care what it's about. I remember Austria getting twelve points from me, and to this day, I have no idea what that song is about. (Well, I'm lying, due to the video, I can at least guess that it's about a machine). One thing is sure that, since lyrics are important to me, it's the English songs that are most in danger for this category. I have pummeled songs down the rankings more times than I could count if the lyrics were awful. Q: And finally... How can we get 12 points from Werloc? A: I think the secret is to find the combination of everything that I love. At the forefront, there has to be a good vocalist (hitting notes, having a nice timbre). The instrumental has to be good, and it has to compliment the vocals well. I'm a sucker for live instruments, though, so your trap music and hip-hop are probably not going to resonate with me as much. The mixing and mastering of the tracks, basically the production. With a good set of earphones, you can hear a lot of extra details in every song as well as you can hear small mistakes, some of which can be irritating to the ear and might lose a point or two. Sometimes it could be the bad balance of sound, instruments or some vocals too loud or too quiet in the mix. Sometimes it can also be the tone of the reverb used that sounds off-putting and doesn't compliment the vocalist well, or you can hear that there's too much autotune. Harmonies. I really love harmonies. If your song has good harmonies and vocal layering, you have an excellent chance to end up in my top 12 Lyrics. If you're writing in English, then it would be cool if you would understand the language and avoid grammatical mistakes. The rhyming scheme is pretty important, too, as well as rhythm. Lastly, I like meaningful songs, so if you're singing about having sex all night long and drinking till blackout, doing drugs and all that good shit, you're probably not going very high up my list. If Werloc's musical preferences still feel like a jigsaw puzzle - maybe this will help. Our resident Lithuanian juror has outlined the following entries as favorites during the most recent editions... Stay tuned for more user interviews to come, as we count down to TOISC 2020...

Not gonna happen. Unless Saskatchewan joins too, that is.

Are you telling us to enter more trap music?

Interestingly enough, Biden's win should prove to be quite beneficial for Croatia. More so than to similar countries, as we are looking to join the Visa Waiver Program. I suspect we will be joining quite soon now. Mike Pence, meanwhile, was already suggesting some additional requirements on his recent visit (mostly limited co-operation with China).

Interestingly enough, Biden's win should prove to be quite beneficial for Croatia. More so than to similar countries, as we are looking to join the Visa Waiver Program. I suspect we will be joining quite soon now. Mike Pence, meanwhile, was already suggesting some additional requirements on his recent visit (mostly limited co-operation with China).

Fox openly contests Trump's statements about "stealing" elections.

Same pen, same handwriting.

Right Side Broadcasting Network are making their case, "Be careful about the mainstream media - they will call Trump a dictator. How can he be a dictator if he holds elections?"

It's the first thing I got upon googling 'Trump press conference' (with search results filtered for the last hour).

Quite convenient to make that projection right before Trump's press conference.

"Nightmare is over for million of Americans." No, judging by the votes, millions of Americans are happy, and millions are unhappy. Almost to the exact equal extent.

And of course they use this moment to throw in personal opinions and pretend the nation is not completely divided.

CNN projects Biden for president. Who knew I would be watching live when it happened.

Not that I think it happened, but one can try to make a case that someone used 'magic turnarounds' to throw in some illegal votes as well.

Vektor: "Send Something Interesting and Original!" Vektor has enjoyed similar track record to Cobi. Two Top 10 results in as many participations, during which all previous Hungarian national records got obliterated as well. As fellow stakeholders, however, we may still be catching up with Vektor's musical compass. Maybe this interview will help put us in the right direction... Q: How do you go about evaluating TISC entries? Do you use a specific system when picking out your Top 12? A: I make a nice, simple Excel sheet with all the songs listed, and as I listen to the songs for the first time one-by-one via the playlist, I make a provisional ranking of them. After that, I do a couple rounds of reevaluation with my top picks for a few days before I submit my Top12. One thing I have learned about myself over the years is that I rarely change my opinion on a song or movie after the first impression. When it happens, it's far more likely that a song goes down on the ranking than up. So if I find a song boring on the first listen, then it's pretty much done and won't come close to my Top12. Q: And what about the maximum 12 points? Can you recognize it immediately? Or do you take a certain amount of time before deciding on it? A: Well, I have participated in TISC twice so far, and both times the song that had my 12 points after the first impressions was able to keep the 1st place after a few days of reevaluation. Usually, there aren't many changes to my first provisional ranking, I am good at instantly picking up on what my preferences are when it comes to art. Q: Do you have a favorite music genre? Is there any genre you would like to hear more of on the TISC stage? A: If I would have to pick one broad genre, it would probably be electronic music. But while I prefer some genres more than others, it's not like I am obsessed with one and don't listen to anything else, or that I will always give more points to one particular genre of music. I have only been part of TISC for one year, so I am not exactly sure which genres are less likely to appear. I will give you a diplomatic answer: I just hope that there will be a wide variety of genres for each contest. Q: How important are lyrics to you? A: Depends on the song. Let's use films as an analogy because I am more of a cinephile than... um, musicphile? Is there a fancy word for music nerds? Anyway, when I am watching an action movie like John Wick I won't complain about how even a 13-year-old can write the dialogue of that film, because who cares as long as the action scenes have great choreography and I am having fun. Same applies to music. I can appreciate a dumb song if it executes well what it's set out to do because not every song has to have the deepest of lyrics. But for example, I can't rate a rap song highly if the rhymes are terrible or way too obvious. Q: And finally... How can we get 12 points from Vektor? A: Send something interesting and original! I also always appreciate it when someone sends a song that represents the culture of their country. That's my backup plan for when I can't find a good popular song to submit. I know that, even if everything else fails and I can't compete with Western countries that have a vast talent pool in popular genres, at the very least I will always have Hungarian folk music that I can proudly submit. There won't be anything else quite like it in the contest. If Vektor's musical preferences still feel like a jigsaw puzzle - maybe this will help. Our new Hungarian juror has outlined the following entries as favorites during his two TISC participations... Stay tuned for more user interviews to come, as we count down to TOISC 2020...

What you get for lazily quoting some TV source...