If you missed last night's Round 3 Listening Party, never fear. The whole Round 3 album, including 18 competing entries and 5 shadows, is now available to download or stream on Bandcamp or embedded below. Matt Schubbe once again provides our cover art. Thank you, Matt!
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Monday, October 5, 2026
ST26 Round 3 Listening Party and Deadline News
The Round 3 deadline now has passed;
I've gathered up the batch.
The sea of talent's awful vast,
With lovely tunes to match.
Two openings were found today
That shadows get to fill:
Now David Taro's back in play,
And Om'nous Ride as well!
If you're agog for melody
(And I know I sure am!),
Then join tonight with Tommy G
at 10 o'clock PM.
The List'ning Party's where you'll hear
These twenty-three new tunes
To join the fun, you just click here.
I'll see you all real soon!
Sunday, September 27, 2026
ST26 Round 2 Results
Wow, people. What a round. Every song had its strengths, and with a batch of songs this good, the judges each had to decide for themselves what put one song above another. You'll see that in the variations in your final scores.
However, exactly one song earned top-ten rankings from all five judges, which put it easily in the number one spot, and earned its artist his ninth SpinTunes round victory, meaning he now gets the record for most wins all to himself (sorry, Edric!). Congratulations to Sober, whose song "I'll Try Again" wins him first place in Round 2!
Cheslain's "Apostasy" comes in second place, while Ironbark takes third with "Don't Get Behind Me".
Read on for the full Round 2 results and links to judges' reviews!
ST26 R2 Rankings - Travis Norris
Here are your Round 2 rankings from SpinTunes 5 and SpinTunes 25 Champion Travis Norris:
Travis's reviews are coming soon!
ST26 R2 Reviews and Rankings - Beka Gurney
Here are your Round 2 rankings from SpinTunes 25 Champion Beka Gurney:
Read on for Beka's reviews!
ST26 R2 Reviews and Rankings - Ian Blaylock
Here are your Round 2 rankings from Ian Blaylock:
Read on for Ian's reviews!
ST26 R2 Reviews and Rankings - Paul R. Potts
Here are your Round 2 rankings from Paul R. Potts:
Read on for Paul's reviews!
ST26 R2 Reviews - Micah Sommersmith
I don't have to rank these songs, and it's a good thing I don't because as a whole this round is stupid good. Read on for my reviews.
Friday, September 25, 2026
ST26 Round 3 Challenge
The tournament is halfway through;
We’ve had two rounds of fun.
But tougher things are asked of you
Before the whole thing’s done.
We’ve had two rounds of fun.
But tougher things are asked of you
Before the whole thing’s done.
This round, I fear, you can’t get lax
While sculpting lines of text,
For careless wordsmiths get the axe;
I hope you won’t be next!
“So what’s the task?” I hear you shout.
I’m showing you right here!
Keep reading, and I’ll spell it out
So all is crystal clear…
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
SpinTunes 26 Round 2 Album
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.
Monday, September 21, 2026
ST26 Round 2 Listening Party and Deadline News
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!
Sunday, September 13, 2026
SpinTunes 26 Round 1 Results
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!
ST26 R1 Reviews - Micah Sommersmith
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!
ST26 R1 Rankings and Judging Thoughts - Travis Norris
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.
ST26 R1 Reviews and Rankings - Paul R. Potts
Here are your Round 1 rankings from Paul R. Potts:
Read on for Paul's reviews, which are also published on his own website.
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