Round 2 is full of excellent music, which we had the pleasure of hearing for the first time at last night's Listening Party. If you missed it or you just need to hear these songs again (and who could blame you?), the full Round 2 album is now available to download or stream on Bandcamp or embedded below. As usual, the charming cover art is provided by our faithful and talented graphic designer, Matt "Shoobs" Schubbe.
The Round 2 deadline has passed. We received entries from 29 of our 31 eligible contestants, which left two spots open for shadow reinstatement. The two shadowing artists who received the highest ranks in Round 1 have been reinstated and will compete on an equal footing with the rest of the contestants. Welcome back to the competition, Paul Dermody and Star Bear!
Your first chance to hear all 31 competing entries and six shadow entries is at tonight's Listening Party hosted by Tommy G at 9 pm EDT. Join us on YouTube or embedded below!
Our judges have ranked all 44 of your Round 1 songs against each other, and we have our completed rankings.
There was plenty of disagreement among our judges, but a few songs stood out as excellent. Specifically, three entries received top-ten rankings from all five judges, which earned their artists spots on the podium. The top score went to SpinTunes 17 Champion Also In Blue for "Vicious Circle". Congratulations to our Round 1 winner!
Competing in SpinTunes for the first time as a solo artist, Carrie Spillane earns second place for "The Shape of Our Goodbye". And two-time SpinTunes Champion Ironbark rounds out the podium, with "Hourglass" earning him third place.
Read on for the full Round 1 rankings!
What an incredible round. I'm glad I didn't have to rank any of these songs against each other, because it would have been a difficult job indeed. Thanks to all the judges who took on that responsibility!
Since I don't have rankings, I don't have to justify liking any one song more than any other. Thus, rather than comparing the songs to each other, in my reviews I try to zero in on my strongest impressions of the song, whether positive or negative, and/or focus on the feedback I hope is most helpful for each contestant to hear, whether it deals with big-picture conceptualizing or mechanical details like syllable stress, rhyme scheme, and mixing.
Read on for my reviews!
Here are your Round 1 rankings from SpinTunes 5 and SpinTunes 25 Champion Travis Norris:
Travis's full reviews are coming soon; in the meantime, read on for some words from Travis about their judging philosophy and process.
Here are your Round 1 rankings from Paul R. Potts:
Read on for Paul's reviews, which are also published on his own website.
