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Post by Julian on Jan 10, 2021 20:00:28 GMT 1
 EPISODE 10 • THE NIGHTMARE BALL  Welcome back ghouls! As always, before we start, remember that we're not here to judge your taste in music. Everyone's entitled to their own and it's all subjective. We are only here to judge the choices you make as they relate to this competition and the challenges put before you. This week, we want to welcome a lovely guest judge, a DSR icon: Callum ! The results and critiques will be posted soon. |
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Post by Julian on Jan 10, 2021 20:05:07 GMT 1
Sis Anne Desit  First up, Sis Anne Desit. Let's hear what the judges have to say about your floorshow. Krampu$$y: I guess I'll adhere to your preferred order and start with your Disney Villain song. Scar was one of, if not the deepest villain of the week and unfortunately your song just touched the surface of him. It's basically just a summary of his movie storyline. You really should've gone deeper than that. Additionally, you've used this concept in Week 2 already. Back then, I was in awe because of the originality but now it just feels a bit cheap, especially since I find parts of your interpretation to be stretches. And this is also your 4th instrumental of the season, it's getting a bit old.
Your occult entry was great in my opinion, I love kpop and thought this was a good song. I do think that it only fit the category thanks to the music video and not thanks to the lyrics, but it did fit so I'm pleased with this choice, although you could've gone deeper again.
Lastly, your afterlife entry was lovely, I enjoyed it and was certainly touched by the singer and her story. But I do think that your explanation for it is... convenient? The entry is set in real life and the only think that really connects it to the afterlife is your explanation about the buddhist faith. Maybe if the song actually dealt with that faith, I would've appreciated it more, but this honestly just felt like a bit of a cop-out. Claudia: With Scar as your Disney villain, I think there was a lot of scope to do something really interesting and creative, probably moreso than any of the other Disney villains. You even detailed this extensively in your essay, so with that in mind, I can't help but feel disappointed by this choice as an entry. I don't necessarily mind that it's an instrumental, but you've followed the exact same concept that's been done multiple times now, and I don't think this instrumental did it particularly well. You've done it better before, and I just wanted more at this stage in the competition.
Your occult song was also kinda disappointing to me. The song didn't really give me occult at all apart from the song title, the lyrics just gave me generic, slightly darker pop song, and while the video did give me elements of occult, this is House of Musical Horrors, not House of Audiovisual Horrors, and again, I was just left wanting more.
Your afterlife song was hands down your best entry this week. It was lovely, and I liked that you put your usual touch of going into the artist's personal life and the reasoning for the song in particular - that is something you've done very well throughout the season and works well for me. It was a unique approach, the song itself wasn't the most memorable, but a pretty nice job in this category. Junglepu$$y: I actually don't think you had a bad week here, the only song of yours I did not enjoy was your occult one. I may be partial to K-pop, but this was, simply put, not it. Good attempt though.
Your Disney villain song I found myself enjoying a lot actually, it's a very Sis Anne Desit type beat, but it was still very enjoyable. I think you managed to draw the connection to your assigned villain quite well with what you had to work with here, as it's an instrumental it's always bound to be a bit vague, but I get it.
Your afterlife song was pretty cute. Uhhhh, yeah, it was cute. I liked it. Angelyne: let me just talk about the good and the bad. i do not wish to waffle this critique.
the good for me was surprisingly the disney villain song. i know that the other esteemed judges on this panel disagree with me, but i thought you took a very interesting route with sending an instrumental and i was very intrigued. this is the vibe and i felt the song really embodied scar, maybe on a surface level, but the point was made. Even though you sent a similar song in the earlier weeks, i’m judging you based on this week and not the past ones, and i felt this was a hit.
now onto the misses… that occult song was very, interesting. it was giving me very much antilopa, and you saw how that turned out. but still, this fit the theme for the most part. it just felt a little too cheap for the top 4, kind of like showing up in a fashion nova dress at the met gala.
the afterlife song was beautiful. but your explanation and interpretation was a waffle my dear. it didn’t give me afterlife and it definitely did not give me buddhism. i feel like there are more suitable options if you are going for a buddhist feel, ya kno? like i GET what you’re going for, but this just needed a little more thought. |
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Post by Julian on Jan 10, 2021 20:10:46 GMT 1
Ordgie  Next up, Ordgie. Let's hear what the judges have to say about your floorshow. Claudia: First things first, thank you doll for giving us three 6 minute songs as well as the wonderful essays to read, you must think I have all the time in the world and no Head N Shoulders adverts to film. I think your occult song worked pretty well, the song was dark and haunting and while I wasn't necessarily slain by it or anything, it was solid and a decent enough choice.
Your Disney villain entry had me a little less convinced sadly. I was a bit confused with where you were going with your essay, parts of it kinda worked but other parts... not so much and as a whole I just wasn't sold on both the song itself and its connection to the Evil Queen. It felt like you held onto a couple of lines and used those alone as your selling point, which you can get away with sometimes, but not here and not with a song 6 minutes long when there's so much other substance to it.
With all that being said, your afterlife song SLAPPED and perfectly captured the essence of the afterlife. This was exactly the sort of thing we were looking for, emotional, powerful, light and dark, a mixture of everything combined so perfectly. For me this was your best entry of the whole season, an incredible send and a wonderful way to round off your three entries. Angelyne: girl i felt the ordgie experience miss thing. stun
as a witch… this occult song was so IT. it gave me very much pagan ritual in nature, eating moss and chrysanthemums and shit. it got kind of endearing after 6 minutes though, but it still is IT.
now from a witch whopper to a witch flopper. like, i’m trying to understand this choice, but it just isnt working. the umai connection i felt came out of the blue, and the song, from the lyrics to the melody, just… wasn’t giving me what it’s supposed to. this was giving me more pagan peasant than a queen, evil or not. where is the regality mama? where is the MIRROR mama? where is the toxic jealousy mama? we want IHOP…. but all this was, is a waffle.
but… your SAVING GRACE…. was this alterlife song. like, girl. i am not exaggerating when i say that this song is easily probably the best song of this entire season. i could go as far to say that this is the best song of this entire franchise. these 6 minutes were so worth it. the impact mama. like everything about it ugh i could go ON. but i will not waffle this. absolutely impeccable. Krampu$$y: Let's start with your occult entry. I'm not fully sold on the concept of it I have to say. I get where you're coming from but at the end of the day, this just seems to be your own interpretation of the song. Like yeah, sure, it kinda sounds like a chant, but I would've preferred to see something that was more directly connected to the category and to occultism, instead of this. And honestly, the song is not all that great either, it did NOT have to be 7 minutes long.
Next we have your Evil Queen entry, I'll just glance over the fact that you chose to ignore the ICONIC Evil Queen Regina from Once Upon A Time. The song was cute, once again I don't believe it had to be as long as it was, but at least it was a decent song. I also think that it fit the Queen lyrically. Your explanation was honestly a mess though. Why did we take the detour to Miss Umai in the middle of your explanation? I was reading the text, in the flow of the Evil Queen and suddenly we changed direction halfway through. I get that you want us to serve as much big brain energy as possible but you should've just left the Umai part out, the song already fit the Queen well enough without the connection to some Turkish mythical creature and you stuffing all of that into that post is just like me trying to fit into Size S pants, it's too much.
But, whew, your afterlife entry... This might genuinely be my favourite entry in HMH herstory. I said it. Your explanation of it was spot on and original and the song itself... A dream. A masterpiece. Thank you for picking this sweetie. Junglepu$$y: Okay you made some points here.
But let's start with the negatives: your Disney villain song. It's, um, something. I get your explanation and even though I'm not the most familiar with these Disney villains myself, it makes sense to me. But the song itself just does not click, I genuinely didn't really enjoy it at all.
That being said, your other two songs. Can I just say, the flavour? Your occult song is one I've known and loved for a long time and even though the connection is a tiny bit vague, I cannot fault this song choice, it's just so good. And your afterlife song is quite simply one of the best songs this entire season in my opinion.
Wonderful job! |
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Post by Julian on Jan 10, 2021 20:16:47 GMT 1
Fuhlei Sheeo  Next up, Fuhlei Sheeo. Let's hear what the judges have to say about your floorshow. Junglepu$$y: A bit of a mixed week for you, I think.
The song of yours I enjoyed the most by far was your afterlife entry, I think it does everything pretty much right in terms of what I expected for this category. Good job on picking it.
However, your other two songs are very... lacklustre. I'm really not sure what you were trying to do with your Disney villain song because I don't feel like it lands. The song itself is quite basic and the explanation seems like a stretch.
Your occult song I'm afraid just did not capture me, it didn't really feel like it progressed much in its 3 minute runtime and failed to keep my attention on it. It's an interesting concept and I loved reading your explanation for this entry, but the song itself doesn't hold up for me. Angelyne: your disney villain song was cute. like it’s really solid, from the interpretation and everything, but it just felt really weak.
then we have the occult song. ugh. like. ugh. this is a good song. but this is in no way shape or form occult. like, first, it’s in gibberish. so she could be singing about waffles. second, the melody was not giving me occult at all. like zero. and i could forgive one thing if the other was fitting, but neither the lyrics OR melody FIT. even if the artist’s purpose or interpretation was occult themed, it did not translate for me, whatsoever.
but your alterlife song was gorg. i did a vibe check, and the vibe was immaculate. your occult song wishes she was this song. because even if the lyrics are unavailable, you can still feel the emotion and connect that to the challenge. unfortunately, this song kind of paled in comparison to the other afterlife songs. 3 good enough songs cannot make a singular bop Claudia: As with all the queens, I think your Disney choice was the weakest of the bunch. I think it showed that you weren't massively familiar with Cruella De Vil as I don't think this really captured the essence of the character all that well. The first set of lyrics you pointed out worked quite well, but the other two kinda seemed like reaches and the song itself didn't really help sell it as a Cruella De Vil song. With that being said, I don't think you did a terrible job, I could see where you were coming from, and you probably had the most difficult Disney villain to work with.
Your occult song was fantastic. I love Melentini and I love this song, it was a really different, out of the box approach to the occult theme, but one I personally think worked well. It was unique and stood out in this crowd, and while I'm not sure it was completely, 100% there, I think it was a very good effort.
I think your afterlife entry, as a rounded entry, was the strongest of your three. The song was great and I could really see how it related to being an afterlife song, in both the song and the video. All in all I think you did a good job this week! Krampu$$y: We're starting off with the iconic Cruella De Vil, probably the hardest villain to work with this week. I think your song fits, I can't really say more than that, I think you captured Cruella's essence well enough. Maybe not 100% but like 75% or so. The song is pretty good too. Nothing outstanding but it was cute.
I was a little confused by your "occult" entry. In Season 1, we had a challenge about supernatural themed entries and a queen called Pisa Garbits decided to send a song about science. Your entry this week is kinda cutting into the same lane. I'm not really getting occult vibes from this, parallel worlds in the sense of parallel universes are just as much scientific as they are supernatural, depending on what opinions you hold, and I don't think this was particularly occultish. The video also reminded me more of science than occultism. The word that describes this song the best is "weird" but just like with Ordgie, I wanted a bit more occult substance. The song itself was cute but not very memorable.
Then we have your afterlife entry and I think it fits. Obviously having lyrics would've been nice but based on your explanation, it's a good execution of the challenge. I was a bit bored by the song, not gonna lie, it's not bad but didn't necessarily impress me either. Just like your whole performance in this ball. |
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Post by Julian on Jan 10, 2021 20:23:18 GMT 1
Shiva Kindett  And finally, Shiva Kindett. Let's hear what the judges have to say about your floorshow. Angelyne: your afterlife song was no waffle mama, she was a blini. bite sized and delicious. this was truly quality over quantity. i have to give you props for that because i truly am sick and tired of songs over 5 minutes. and you showed that you can serve with a short song. very nice
your occult song was very occult. which is refreshing to see. very direct and to the point, no frills. smooth like a pancake, not messy like a waffle.
and then we have your disney villain song… we have to stan. this was an educational experience and i have learned a lot. we love to learn here and the song i felt was very representative of miss ursula’s history. you did your research and you schooled the children mama.
you are also the only queen who actually served in all 3 categories in my humble and esteemed opinion, which is pretty well done. you are a force to be reckoned with miss shiva, because you are a pancake in a sea full of waffles. Krampu$$y: Your afterlife entry is the shortest entry of the season, if I'm not wrong, and also the one with the least "deep" connection to the afterlife category. I can't say that I mind that though, I get exactly what you mean and it embodies the afterlife/dying mood really well. I'm not absolutely floored by this, but I think it's actually a better performance in this category than some of the "deep" entries.
For your occult song, you went the folk route and I approve. This is giving me occult vibes, with the emphasis on cult. Maybe not the most out of the box entry this category had to offer but it's certainly fitting and I think it's a really nice song too, so good job!
And finally, your Ursula entry. You're not getting bonus points for being the only one to pick the OUAT route, but I do appreciate it xoxo. The lyrics definitely fit the whole OUAT Ursula story, I absolutely see her in them and think they paint a pretty good picture of the Sea Witch. In the song it wouldn't have hurt if they were a bit more distinguishable, as the music kinda drowned the vocals out, but overall the song is boppy and a good choice. While I don't think you knocked any category completely out of the park, you delivered consistently across all three categories, while everyone else messed up at least one category, so well done. Claudia: Well my dear. You have chosen a very good time to come to the forefront of the competition and start slaying. Your afterlife song was stunning, a perfect fit for the task and was beautifully simple too - you perfectly demonstrated that less is more with this entry. I think this may have been my favourite entry of the week, just absolute perfection.
Your occult song was strong as well. I wasn't blown away by it or anything, but it was a very strong entry that fit the task well. The crows cawed and they were chanting in Spanish like the escucha las palabras de las brujas girls in Among Us. I don't really have anything to critique about it, it was a very good entry overall.
I think you probably did the best job with your Disney villain entry as well. Though the song got a bit stale by the end, it did slap for the first 2 minutes and stood out to me as a high energy banger. I loved how you connected it to Ursula's backstory, it was a very well thought through entry in that respect, I can see the thought process and you executed it well - sonically and lyrically fitting very well to the challenge. Fantastic job this week. Junglepu$$y: First of all thank you for being the only person this week to respect the order of entries.
I genuinely liked your afterlife song a lot, it's a very pleasant short instrumental and I get what you were trying to do here, but I just think it's a tiny bit too vague. Like, there are a lot of other interpretations I could come up with for this song, so while I get the connection, I also think it could be stronger.
Your occult song was the one of the bunch that I did not like very much. I can't fault you for the connection to the topic at hand here, because it's definitely there, but the song itself is just not very pleasant to listen to in my opinion.
Your Disney villain song is good as well. It's a very nice listen and the connection is apparent. |
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Post by Julian on Jan 10, 2021 20:28:55 GMT 1
Fuhlei Sheeo, Ordgie, Shiva Kindett and Sis Anne DesitThank you for giving your all in this season's Nightmare Ball. But making a decision for the Top 3 is harder than ever. So before we announce the results of the ball, we would like to see more. All four of you will participate in the extermination challenge. |
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