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Sunday, September 14, 2025

SpinTunes 25 Round 1 Results

 SpinTunes 25 Round 1 is officially in the books. And what a round it's been! The quality and variety on display have already resulted in some intriguing differences in judging. It stands to reason - when the batch of songs as a whole is this good, technical details, personal preference, prior experience, and simple gut feeling may guide one judge one way and another judge another way.

However, even in a round this good, there are usually a few entries that rise to the top, and this round is no exception. One song in particular made a big impact, receiving the first place spot from four out of the five judges and earning its artist their first SpinTunes round victory. Congratulations to Hot Pink Halo, whose plaintive, affecting song "Move Mountains" wins SpinTunes 25 Round 1!

Showcasing the stylistic diversity within SpinTunes, two very different entries fill out the podium: The Alleviators' "Right By You", a tender tale of a family supporting each other the best they can, takes second place; and Wendy Wiseman Fisher's tale of a grisly road trip, "Where the Pumpkins Lie" comes in third.

Read on for the full results!

A reminder: Competitors whose songs ranked 1 through 21 will move on to compete in Round 2. If you see your name below the elimination threshold, you are strongly encouraged to still submit a shadow entry to Round 2. With a full day since the challenge was posted, some of you may be well on your way to a completed song already. We want to hear them! And of course, if a higher-ranked competitor misses the Round 2 deadline, that creates an empty spot for shadow reinstatement. So no matter your rank, keep making music!

RankArtistBenJoyMikeNancyPhilTotal
1Hot Pink Halo1111610
2The Alleviators2262719
3Wendy Wiseman Fisher126311133
4Flintsteel95138540
5The Pannacotta Army69193946
6Huge Shark24787248
7☀bucket1914184358
7gammammannn7181761058
9David Taro1831023862
10Bob Voyg10151128468
10OutLyer5192451568
12Boo Lee Crosser2916591473
13This Big Old Endless Sky42212201775
14SEE/MAN/SKI15820221378
15chewmeupspitmeout82323141280
16Sober111121182182
17miscellaneous owl22242102583
18Good Guy Sôjàbé131015242385
19Governing Dynamics211322131887
20Jealous Brother231227151188
21glennny162014162490
22Möbius Strip Club27257122293
23Boffo Yux Dudes141726172094
24Dog Star Pilot28269191698
25Siebass32125212999
26Huey Long's Big Strong Thick Pink Magnum Opus172742528101
27Nathan Joe Long254282619102
28Fluke Wilson2029162927121
29Falcon Artist2628292726136

In addition to ranking, our hard-working judges have written thoughtful reviews of every competing entry. Many of them have written preambles explaining their methodology or offering thoughts about the challenge, strengths or weaknesses they saw across multiple entries, or general songwriting or recording advice. Please read them!

There is also a lot to learn from the judges' reviews of your fellow competitors' songs. I encourage you to take some time to read as much of the judges' reviews as you can - they certainly put a lot of time into writing them!

There are also reviews and discussion by contestants over on the Song Fight! bulletin board, which is linked below as well.

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