Thank you everyone for your submissions! We had a lot of really great throwback performances, and it was a really tough week of judging, but I hope y'all are ready! This round was one of the strongest by far, and I was very glad to see these submissions!
Let's begin by calling out the following contestants as SAFE (in submission order)...
FromAWindow - Stevie Wonder - "Superstition" beccajo16 - Goo Goo Dolls - "Iris" ILoveLarry - Whitney Houston - "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" Kevin0621 - Backstreet Boys - "I Want It That Way" tbrown_47 - Aretha Franklin & George Michael - "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" Insanity - Britney Spears - "Baby One More Time" iSandeh - Whitney Houston - "I Have Nothing" Heavenlee - The Chicks - "Goodbye Earl"
All of these submissions were really solid, and great enough to move you onto the next round, but not enough to break through to the top 3. Now, who did make the top three? Let's look...
I love Bjork so much and even studied a unit about her in one of my first music courses and I so appreciate her artistry. Now this song in particular, I was actually not at all familiar with prior to this, and I really enjoyed this ride, and this sounds so inspired by early-20th century classical music that I was kind of obsessed.
Is this song basic? Sure. Was it a "safe" submission? Probably. Does that make it a bad choice? Not at all! I really love this song, even if it's not really my favorite Elton John song, it's still an amazing ballade that I think helped set the framework for many years of what a love ballade should look and sound like. Elton John was a revolutionary artist and this staple of his is a classic for a reason.
This song is kind of the definition of a bop. I'm not a huge fan of Michael Jackson - I like him enough, but I'm not listening to backlogs or tracks that weren't singles. But, of the music I know, this is a top three Jackson song for me for sure. The dark tones, the beat, this song is the epitome of what Michael Jackson was able to accomplish and is just so satisfying.
And the winner for this week is...
Congratulations on the win, #AustinRules6969! #purplebb4 and #Marwane, y'all had great submissions today, and you're safe. Can't wait to see what you guys submit moving forward.
Let's take a look at the bottom three this week in order of submissions.
This song is... Kind of just meh? It's not a bad song, and Westlife has some bops, but this one isn't something that really digs in emotionally, and it doesn't go off, so it just kind of fails at really making an impact with me. It's not bad, but it's not enough to let you join the "safe" crew this week. If you survive this week, I hope you'll step back into doing what you have been submitting up to this point.
You won Round 1, so forgive me if I'm a little harsh here - but you have most music in the world accessible to you in this round, and you chose to submit... this? Look, this is a silly sing along for anyone, but it's not a "good" song by any stretch of the imagination. If you survive, I'm gonna need a big step up from you moving forward.
... Kind of the same feedback I had for Christian here. You had so much available to you and this is the choice you make? All three of my bottom three have been strong up to this point, so it sucks to have to cut one of you, but with these being the submissions, I can't keep you all here.
I've decided to eliminate...
#turkeylover. Unfortunately, the quality of song between "Butterfly" and "Barbie Girl" is about the same, but I just have less of an attachment and less nostalgia to "Butterfly". I'm sorry to see that your journey ends here! #Christian_ and #J2999... you're... safe. But just barely. Step it up next time!
Round 4 coming soon, with a similar 24 hour deadline (results may be posted sooner if all submissions are in by then).
Congratulations to everyone on top 13, see you soon!
