#afterglow story 1 is like the only band story that I really think is actually noticably sloppy from a new players perspective

[chisatowo]

Reading through poppin' party's band story was fun because their band story 0 was such a lovingly crafted and surprisingly well written story with some of my favorite character arcs and then I moved on to band story 1 and was just instantly hit with the reminder that ah. This was written long before.

[punkpresentmic]

Traitor Aizawa AU Pt. 4 — 1, 2, 3

cw for implied sexual content, but nothing that warrants a mature rating

Hizashi digs back into his husband’s case, & it's clear investigators still don’t particularly WANT him to—partially for distrust, partially for the still-secret letters, he's sure. But he does what he can to show them that he wants this mess cleaned up. They reluctantly give him what they have to chew on: not much—a vague lead, an unreliable source. It puts Hizashi no closer to the letters or why they were taken.

The investigators only keep an eye on him until they get bored &/or annoyed, judging him airheaded or harmless. Once he’s away from prying eyes, he sets off on his own; Hizashi is already in deep with less-than-legal activities lately. He sneaks into their evidence archives.

The letters aren’t there.

Hizashi skips out of the police station before he’s discovered sticking his nose where it shouldn’t be. He has to get back to school anyway. After teaching English & having a shitty, lonely lunch, an idea occurs to him. If it was Nezu who suggested the letters be taken… would Nezu have kept the letters?

So Hizashi sets out about a new kind of heist. Nezu is in a meeting & the principal’s office is locked, but Hizashi as a tenured faculty member has access to anywhere in UA. Of course it’ll record that he entered, but that’s not Hizashi’s concern right now. He goes through every file in Nezu’s cabinet. Nothing. His heart sinks. Then he notices Nezu’s desk drawer has a simple lock on it. As a last ditch effort, he picks it with a bobby pin. There’s a bowl of candy inside. It’s the only idea he has left to pick it up & see if there’s anything underneath &.... Sure enough, just like in a bad movie the drawer has a false bottom. Under it, there’s a neat stack of letters bound with a rubber band.

They’ve all been opened.

Hizashi immediately seeks out the one marked with his name, tugs it out, skims it. It’s everything Shouta said it was. It ends with I love you. The script is shaky. Hizashi’s heart is in his throat. Oh, Shou…

Nezu coughs; Hizashi nearly jumps out of his skin. “You know,” Nezu says, “a locked drawer in a secure area might also be reasonably assumed to be alarmed.”

Hizashi meets his eyes, lets the letter fall to the desk. “Care to explain what these are?”

Nezu is impossible to read. “They are exactly what they appear to be: letters left behind by Aizawa Shouta, confiscated at the time of their discovery.”

“He left me a letter,” Hizashi repeats, careful to reign in his voice as he shakes his head. “He left his students letters. We all thought he left without even saying goodbye.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Nezu notes, tone even and gentle. “You are aware he left a clear & concise description of his crimes. I do believe that’s going to be important to remember going forward.”

Hizashi grinds his teeth at that. “Why wasn’t I made aware of this?”

Nezu backs down with a sigh. He climbs into his desk chair, Hizashi moving to stand on the other side of the desk. Nezu gazes sadly down at the pile of letters. “There were two main factors we had to consider. Firstly, at the earliest stages of the investigation, it was unclear if you or any of the students had secret involvement—the letters could have held nefarious communications.” Nezu took a breath. “We no longer believe that after thorough analysis. Though perhaps this should not come as a surprise—if there was anything we knew about our Eraserhead, it was his steadfast aversion to extraneous details or wasting time.”

Hizashi’s heart throbs painfully in his chest.

“As for the second reason: the emotional & psychological impact that these letters could have on our community. Our hero students with their steadfast trust in their instructor were particularly vulnerable. & you, Yamada, are not an exception to a similar emotional vulnerability. In the interest of damage control, in doing my best to hold the UA community together & keep it from further collapse, the letters were confiscated promptly & without notification of their existence.”

Hizashi’s fingernails dig into his palm, fists clenched to stop his hands shaking. “I’m an adult. & a pro. I don’t need the same protection as 15 year-olds. We’re talking about my husband. I think I’m entitled to some transparency.”

“I never said you weren’t,” Nezu placates. “But I wanted you to receive this information once we had a better understanding of the situation. & once you had emotionally stabilized from what I’m sure is an unforgivable betrayal.”

‘Unforgivable.’ That wording was purposeful, Hizashi knew. It almost begged him to dispute it.

Hizashi spread his hands. “So you don’t think I’m emotionally stable? & you let me keep watching over the next generation?” His laugh was intended to be dry at most, but it comes out nearly hysterical.

Nezu sighs again. “Yamada, you were hurting. & you refused the counselling we recommended. You chose to work through your pain. We were not going to deny you that.”

“Principal, correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m not really buying that you’d have shown me these letters even if I had gone to counselling.”

Nezu hummed. “What do you know about Eraserhead’s motivations, Yamada?”

He forces a smile through gritted teeth. He shakes his head. “Nothing,” he says, almost sunny. “Beyond the fact that he has them.”

“Indeed. I’d hoped you & this community would have time to heal. & I’d hoped in the meantime the investigation could provide further insight into why this happened. The rhetoric with which these letters were written is not something that can be overlooked.”

“I thought you said there weren’t any secret messages.”

“Codes & clandestine communications, no. Ulterior motives & further lies & attempted manipulation, on the other hand…” Nezu meets his eyes. “There’s a level of cunning with which these crimes were committed right under our noses, a level of plotting that got past even me. You must understand I am only trying to do what I can to protect my students & staff from any further harm or puppeteering at the hands of villains.”

Hizashi has to look away. He monitors his breathing, lets his head hang when it doesn’t come back under his control. Fists and teeth and heart clenched against all of this. Too much. It’s too much.

There’s a paw on his arm, then. “I’m sorry, Yamada. This was not an action intended to be harmful. You’re hurting. Of course you are. But you are also strong & intelligent. Meet with a counsellor. Talk to someone. Kayama is worried for you; that much is clear. There are people who care & want to help you through this. Please, Yamada. Don’t shoulder this alone.”

Hizashi does try seeing the counsellor. He leaves within fifteen minutes.

The next time Shouta arrives, as he said he would, he’s still absolutely ragged. But it doesn’t seem like he’s gotten worse. Aside from the smell. Hizashi has him take a shower. Shouta stepping into the room towel-drying his unruly hair in Hizashi’s fluffy robe is somewhere between endearing & heartbreaking. Hizashi pats the spot on the bed beside him. Shouta sits.

He tries asking again about the why, about the what caused you to do this. Again, Shouta can’t talk about it. Maybe soon, Shouta says noncommittally.

Hizashi relays the story about finding the letters, about reading his, about the confrontation with Nezu. Shouta looks concerned. Hizashi shakes his head, reiterates that he doesn’t quite have it in him to believe that Shouta is a villain here. But he can’t believe this blindly after all that’s happened. He needs information. Because this doesn’t make sense for the man he knows. Shouta nods. “I know.”

“Then why can’t you give me something to work with here?” Hizashi whispers, & they’re close.

“Two reasons,” Shouta breathes between them. “The first being that it would put me in danger of not being able to do what I need to do.” Then he gives Hizashi a small, shitty smile. “& the second is that if I tell you, you might try to come with me.”

Hizashi hums, drinking this in. “If I did, maybe you’d have someone to make sure you had your eye drops.”

It startles a snort out of Shouta, & his husband laughing in his bed is the most beautiful thing he’s seen in months, & Hizashi knows he’s already too far gone, & Hizashi doesn't hesitate when he kisses him this time.

They sink deeply into it immediately. It’s been so long. Too long. Hizashi makes a move to take it further—it’s been too long—& Shouta pulls back to start on the ‘I haven’t proven myself to you, I’ve done nothing to deserve your trust, etc etc’ spiel. Hizashi wants none of it. & frankly he’s a little sick of people making decisions ‘for his own good.’

& he sure as hell isn’t going to let his husband get away without knowing that he’s wanted here, that he’s missed, desired too. Hizashi tells him as much.

Ultimately they fall together easily, if not guiltlessly. There’s a heaviness between them even as they press desperately close, a weight to their actions. It’s a certain relief—this shared knowledge that they’re still them, or at least willing to try. ‘Deserved’ or not, to Hizashi it’s like catching a glimpse of the Sun after days trapped underground—too bright to look at directly, yet simultaneously the most sublime relief.

Hizashi is naked in Shouta’s lap, Shouta’s face buried in his chest. When Hizashi comes down from basking in the afterglow, it’s to realize that Shouta isn’t just trembling under him. Shouta's eyes are too dry these days to make actual tears, but the shuddering & quiet, hiccupping sobs are unmistakable.

Hizashi shushes him gently, kisses his eyes, whispers about not straining them more, about how he’s got him, how he’s here, how he’s not going away, how he loves him. How they’re going to get through this together. Hizashi lays them down, holding him near, stroking his hair. This time, it’s Shouta who falls asleep in his arms.

He’s still gone by morning.

(pt. 5)

[ruzek-halstead]

first lines

rules: list the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). see if there are any patterns. choose your favourite opening line. then tag 10 of your favourite authors!

thanks so much for the tags @blush-and-books, @bluefirewrites & @thedeathdeelers - this looks fun, i'm excited.

don't think i have 20 yet, but let's goooo:

(from most recent to oldest)

1. there's one thing on my mind (it's all for you) - bookstore au, 3767 words

If three years ago, someone were to tell Luke, he would actively be spending his Friday night in a small, but cozy book store, he would have laughed in their face.

2. i never saw you coming (and i'll never be the same) - grocery store au, 9557 words+

At 20 years-old and a first-year at UC Berkeley, Julie Molina knew that her life was about to become increasingly complicated.

3. relight that spark - a cinderella story rewrite, 40100 words

Julie Molina was a simple girl.

4. i found my hand is holding yours - fake date, post season one, 1637 words

"Okay, so I have a really weird favour to ask."

5. you got that kind of look in your eyes - university au, luke injures julie, 1829 words

Julie Molina was feeling especially refreshed that morning.

6. meet me in the afterglow - university au, exhausted julie in a onesie, 1653 words

Julie could have guessed that university was going to kick her ass; it was practically a given.

7. i remember it all too well - juke cuddles, 1475 words

It had been a hard week for Julie.

8. step into my world - university au, juke beer pong partners, 2985 words

"Get up, underachiever! We're going to a party!"

9. black & white - luke writes julie a song, 2058 words

After the exhausting week Julie had, all she wanted to do was relax in her garage and binge some Netflix.

10. all i want for christmas is you - holiday university au, fake dating, 17533 words

"I need you."

11. it's a love story - willex wedding/julie maid of honour + luke/reggie best men au, 3628

Julie had never been so stressed out in her life.

12. story to tell - runner julie/innocent bystander luke au, 1460 words

Julie doesn't run.

13. midnight troubles - high school, fake baby au, 4270 words

"Time to hand out your new babies!"

14. the one that (almost) got away - university au, julie needs to distract her ex, 2274 words

It was a month before finals and Julie's to-do list was piling up.

15. dead of night - university au, fire alarm at two a.m., 1836 words

When Julie heard the blaring alarm blasting throughout the room, she nearly cried.

16. misery loves company - sick luke, boys are alive au, 2231 words

They were an hour into their band practice, and one thing was becoming increasingly obvious.

17. challenge accepted - high school, rivals au, 19223 words

"Go Nick! You've got this baby!"

18. the moment - famous sunset curve au, 3321 words

"You're late."

19. this thing - incredibly jealous luke, 1960 words

When Caleb's curse was broken, and Luke could finally touch Julie, he thought that everything would change.

20. something's brewing - university, coffeeshop au, 1686 words

Julie cursed the day she ever decided to become a psychiatrist.

trends?? well, look at that, i do have 20!! as for a trend, they look pretty all over the place??? if i'm writing from julie's perspective, i seem to mention her name in the first line quite a lot. if it's a very specific prompt and very direct to the point, i'll just start right away with dialogue. or i'll just start very general. so yeah, pretty all over the place.

favourite one?? probably just the simple "i need you" bc at first glance, it seems so intense but when you actually read it, you see that luke literally chokes on his coffee and julie's like "i need you, well - i need your help" and it goes from thereeeee.

i know i only did my jatp fics, but i'll tag some of my one chicago mutuals in case they want to get in on this fun activity :)

tagging (sorry if you've already been tagged!!): @alexthedrummerboy @ourstarscollided @alexjulies @tangledstarlight @anna-justice @echocharm17618 @haileyyanneupton @lissethsrojas & anyone else who wants to do it!!

[falneou17]

BanG Dream! Favorite List - 8

It’s that time once again to write this list with some... notable changes, if I do say so myself. I will be honest: I am surprised to see just how much some characters have risen (or fallen) compared to the last list I did. This will probably be the last post until after RAS and Morfonica are introduced in the game and I have the opportunity to read through their respective band stories.

Favorites

Yamabuki Saaya (1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1)

No surprises here at the start of this list; though it is quite interesting to see how polarizing Poppin’ Party’s members have been on my lists. I guess that’s a testament to how great of a base Saaya had in the beginning and how consistent she has been over the years. I mean, character growth and development is great and all, but why try to fix something that isn’t broken?

Aoba Moca (2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2)

What can I still say about you? You’re one of the better written characters of the franchise, you are super versatile for writing purposes thanks to the myriad of different sides you have, and you are always a joy to write for. And the fact that you pretty much write yourself now is a great benefit; I don’t need to second-guess myself when I have you be the focal point of a scene. Which is exactly why you have been the focal point of so many scenes I have written already. As a matter of fact, there have been more scenes written revolving around Moca than not revolving Moca. Moca is my go-to character to write in the franchise, and even when I am not writing her I can always feel reassured whenever Moca makes an appearance on my phone’s screen.

Mitake Ran (3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3)

What do we get when we take the best aspects of some of the best and most-liked characters of other franchises, combine them into one vessel, and smoothen out the edges with an implied backstory and some extra writing to add more sides to the character? I present to you: Mitake Ran. No, but in all seriousness, not only is Ran the combination of the best traits of other great characters (or, better phrased, other characters I really enjoyed), but they did a good enough job at combining all of that into one character that it doesn’t feel rough or forced or anything. And it should say a lot that Saaya and Moca have consistently placed above Ran despite that...

Satou Masuki (20, 21, 10, 9, 9, 7, 4, 4)

Masuki is the perfect example of a character with a good base and a ton of mystery who gets expanded upon in the right way. Despite being the newest character I talk about in this list so far, I really enjoy the many sides of Masuki (from her lone wolf nature to her abrupt and erratic actions in the heat of the moment). I can even see parts of Moca in Masuki, which is funny to say because they both come from the same franchise; that being said, it definitely helps Masuki make a name for herself on this list. Just a ton of amazing potential, Bushiroad definitely delivered when it came to this drummer and I cannot wait for the day when the EN server introduces the RAS girls.

Hazawa Tsugumi (4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5)

Tsugumi, like Saaya, is a great example of the “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” philosophy. Tsugumi is amazing; she is supportive, she is cheerful, she is one of the hardest workers in the entire franchise, and she keeps moving forward no matter what obstacle pops up in her path. It’s not a question whether or not you like Tsugumi; it’s how much do you like Tsugumi? And as you can tell, she has been consistently on the top of this list, only “dropping” a single spot thanks to Masuki skyrocketing up the list. Speaking of girls who skyrocket up the list...

Kirigaya Touko (NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, 22, 9, 6)

What can I say? This girl’s got potential and I cannot wait to see what canon has in store for us when it comes to Touko’s character. As everyone probably already knows by now, I am not following the JP server; that said, I do look up card arts and songs and such, and, well... Touko’s appearances are always so filled with life and energy. I am really hoping I am not hyping myself up too much, but yeah... like Masuki before her, I cannot wait to see Touko in the game.

Uehara Himari (6, 7, 8, 7, 7, 8, 7, 7)

The leader of Afterglow. ...oh, you wanted me to actually say something more? You mean that being the leader of my favorite band is not a reason enough to keep her this high up? All right... Himari is an amazing character. Like... in all honesty, the fact that Himari is only on the 7th spot should say how much I love numbers 1 to 6, but that is beside the point. Himari is very similar to Moca in a way in that the girl is presented as a character with seemingly a specific and narrow niche... and then you start looking into them and you see how wide and varied you can take advantage of their character in so many different scenes. If Himari was just a bit more in control of her emotions I would be able to depict her a bit better better and she might make the spot for number 6 competitive with Touko. And speaking of a character who knows all too well what it was like to be 6th on this list...

Shirokane Rinko (7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 6, 6, 8)

Rinko is a very weird girl for me to place on this list. On the one hand, yes, I do love Rinko and I have two very specific reasons to still keep her high on the list. On the other hand, neither of those reasons are necessarily tied to Rinko as a character. It’s not about her design, her personality, or her strengths and/or weaknesses but more a... coincidence... that those reasons just happen to apply to Shirokane Rinko specifically. So is it really fair to keep her this high...? I think it is just because of those two very specific reasons I inferred earlier making me still love Rinko, but don’t be surprised to see her fall once Morfonica (and RAS) get properly introduced in the EN server of the game. In short, Rinko still has a safety net that keeps her from falling to a lower category for now, but she doesn’t have a safety net for characters jumping above her...

Udagawa Tomoe (8, 8, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 9)

The only reason Tomoe is placed below Rinko is because Tomoe is even harder for me to place than Rinko was; which should tell you how difficult this choice was for me. Despite her shortcomings, I still adore Tomoe and she’s still part of Afterglow, and Afterglow would not be the same without her. But as I said so many times before, I primarily focus my writing on Ran... and Moca... and BlueFlora... and Tomoe is such a natural clash with Ran that they always seem to be bonking heads... so as a BlueFlora writer, it becomes a big challenge to find ways to properly use Tomoe and give her the recognition and attention that she deserves. She definitely deserves them, but it’s really difficult to find the right opportunities to showcase the true Tomoe nowadays.

Love

Tamade Chiyu (13, 13, 16, 14, 15, 11, 11, 10)

Without any source (i.e. anime, introduction to the EN server) to influence her placings on this list, I felt it was only fair to keep her on the same spot she was on the last time. She might seem that she jumped, but as those who have paid attention to these lists already know: it’s not that this girl jumped. It’s that someone above her dropped... and the reason why Chiyu is above the next couple girls in particular is that Chiyu has had some really cool parts in her band’s songs as of late. More of the same, to be fair, but more examples of a good thing.

Asahi Rokka (12, 12, 12, 12, 11, 10, 12, 11)

Same as above. Her placement will likely shift quite a bit once RAS actually gets introduced into the game. Until that day comes when we can learn even more about her... the same spot as always seems like a good spot for her.

Nyubara Reona (14, 14, 14, 15, 16, 15, 13, 12)

Same as above. The one thing that Reona definitely has going for her above Rokka (and that which could potentially become a factor in Reona eventually surpassing Rokka) is simple. I know what cards Reona will have, and... what can I say, Reona’s cards are going to be amazing. Will I hoard all my stars for a specific card? Probably not... will I be overjoyed if I can have at least one of them in the first year after her introduction in the game? Definitely!

Maruyama Aya (9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 12, 14, 13)

I would say “same as above” again, but unlike the three RAS girls above her Aya does appear in the EN server of the game. That being said, for me personally, her cards and appearances have not been relevant enough for me to even consider placing her above the RAS girls above her.

Wakamiya Eve (11, 10, 11, 13, 12, 14, 15, 14)

Eve is actually a really interesting character, and the reason why she’s still relevant... is for a very specific card I know I should not spend my saved up stars for but probably will. Eve cards are phenomenal, they always have been, they probably always will; as I said in the last list, she’s the only character outside the very top (Saaya/Moca/Ran/Tsugumi/Rinko) to consistently release cards that I really like... and that is definitely helpful in remaining relevant. That, and Eve is also a very nice character in and of herself with a lot of writing possibilities.

Kurata Mashiro (NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, 21, 16, 15)

Why is Mashiro still this high even though I do not play the JP server of the game? The same reasoning as the RAS girls above her, really (before the PasuPare duo). I see the potential, I see the absolutely stunning cards that she has, and... between you and me, if a character can make you like a cover song more than the original version of that song, that is definitely going to make you memorable. And if that song just so happens to be from your favorite franchise of all time, then that gets even more brownie points.

Futaba Tsukushi (NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, 18, 17, 16)

Another great example of a character who appears to have a good base going for her and a bunch of wonderful cards just waiting to tempt the stars I have saved up over the months. Like every other girl who comes from a band yet to be introduced in the EN server, I cannot really place them until they are properly introduced and we can learn more about them. So I hope that Tsukushi, as well as every other member of Morfonica and RAS, can reach those expectations.

Like

Imai Lisa (5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 5, 8, 17)

...okay, we need to talk about this character. At first glance, you might think why? 17th is not a terrible placing; it means she is still in the top half of such a varied and diverse cast of characters. But then you realize that she fell nine spots since the last list...

For the most part, I try to not let how I feel about character one influence how I feel about characters who remind me of character one. But in practice, let’s be real... it’s going to have some effect in the overall placing. In a bubble, yes, Lisa is a great and wonderful character. However... if Chisato can be dragged down for this specific reason, then it is only fair for Lisa to take the fall as well. And since Lisa has experienced by far the biggest drop in between entries of any character so far (even when some characters “fell” after Morfonica’s introduction), I think you can have a pretty good guess how I feel about the character that Lisa reminds me of... if it wasn’t for the fact that Lisa is pretty much Roselia’s counterpart to Moca when it comes to closeness to their band’s vocalist, Lisa may have avoided this fall...

Wakana Rei (25, 20, 15, 11, 13, 13, 18, 18)

Rei is always really awkward for me to place. On the one hand, she’s probably one of the best vocalists in the franchise. RAS has consistently released amazing song after incredible song; so much so that I can confidently say that I have enjoyed every single RAS song that has been released so far (something that I cannot say about even Afterglow... or Roselia back in their glory days). On the other hand, she is also one of the most static characters on the list so far... and having a character that does not really stand out in a band like RAS... is not really a good thing. I can’t place you above Lisa even after Lisa’s big fall, but Rei is probably the character I like the most after Lisa.

Shirasagi Chisato (22, 22, 22, 21, 22, 27, 26, 19)

Just like how Lisa taking the fall is telling another story in the background, Chisato rising up may or may not be spoiling something that has happened somewhere on the list as well... I will keep it brief: with what was effectively the only reason to keep Chisato in the lower end of the list now no longer a relevant point, I can say that Chisato has deserved a promotion. She’s a surprisingly deep character, after all.

Hikawa Sayo (17, 16, 18, 18, 17, 17, 19, 20)

Sayo is a great example of a character who has received too much character growth, and hear me out here: when writing fanfiction, the writer will have to adjust the character’s personality to match the scene that they are writing relative to where the character is in terms of their development. For a character who has a relatively steady growth, it becomes very simple to try and extrapolate where they will be at at the time of the scene they appear in. For a character who has extreme amounts and almost sporadic character growth, doing so becomes increasingly more difficult. That, and with Roselia’s fall comes the fall of its members. Sayo has one saving grace for me (no, it is neither Tsugumi nor Hina and definitely not Roselia) that’s keeping her... relevant. For now. The fact that she dropped the least amongst the Roselia girls should also say a lot how much her character growth has saved her in my enjoyment when it comes to seeing Sayo on the screen...

Okusawa Misaki (10, 11, 13, 16, 14, 16, 20, 21)

Misaki is a really interesting case where you have a great character, you have a serious and relatively normal character in a group of characters that do out-of-the-ordinary extravagant activities on an hourly basis. But the execution of this dynamic has always been very awkward in my opinion. It always feels like it devolves into either “Misaki gets forced into doing it against her will” or “Misaki reluctantly and exasperatedly gets roped into doing it anyway”. And maybe that is their dynamic, but it is not what appeals to me personally. So Misaki is falling because she is in the band that she is in, but she’s not falling as hard as she possibly could be because in theory Misaki has a really good character that I enjoy... it just takes a lot of creativity and effort to make this girl work in my writing especially since she shares character personality traits with Moca (and hence be “competing” for screen time in my stories).

Hiromachi Nanami (NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, 28, 22, 22)

Nanami is still this high because... I can see the potential that Nanami has. I can see how she could be a really interesting character, but... it’s still in the realm of the theoretical. Coulda, woulda, shoulda does not mean anything if it doesn’t become a reality. So I am placing Nanami where I think she belongs with the assumption that she can live up to my expectations. Which, to be honest... should not be too difficult for Nanami based on what I already know about her.

Ichigaya Arisa (15, 17, 17, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23)

I know that this is neither the first nor the last time I will say this on this list, but Arisa is really weird to place. On the one hand, yes, she does have a fairly deep character I can exploit and take advantage of. On the other hand, however... it gets drowned out a lot by the defensive nature of this keyboardist. What’s worse, it’s even come to the point where using Arisa means needing to dance around scenes and activities and even characters that might trigger her defensive nature to begin with... still a fun character to watch, however, but really hard to try and incorporate in my writing.

Toyama Kasumi (26, 24, 23, 22, 21, 25, 23, 24)

Kasumi is always a weird one for me to place, as the numbers might give away. The main problem is that she is not only a main character but the main character, so a lot of the story kind of revolves around Kasumi doing (or not doing) certain things. That being said, Kasumi does have a surprising amount of depth to her and as a singer she can definitely deliver when the time needs her to deliver.

Above Neutral

Tsurumaki Kokoro (16, 15, 19, 19, 20, 20, 24, 25)

I do like the same-birthday girl, but there are a few things I have problems with here. Ironically enough, if Kokoro was a little bit more predictable, she might be able to avoid this steady decline that she has been experiencing these last couple of lists. I know that being unpredictable is kind of Kokoro’s thing, even more so than Kasumi’s, but... similarly to what I said about Sayo’s rapid and almost sporadic character growth, it makes for a nice and amusing character to watch, but makes for a horrible character to write and try to nail accurately.

Matsubara Kanon (23, 25, 24, 24, 23, 26, 28, 26)

I want to put Kanon above Kokoro, I really really do, but... it doesn’t really seem fair to do that just yet. Kanon just jumped, Kokoro just fell into this category, and Kanon... has the dreaded shy, overly-flustered personality trait that is absolutely horrendous for me to try and depict properly. So right below Kokoro you will stay for now.

Yamato Maya (27, 26, 26, 27, 27, 31, 27, 27)

Maya... if only you appealed to me sooner, you could have had a shot at being higher on this list. Although, to be fair, Maya has been on a somewhat steady climb as of late. Stagnating again, but at the end of the day... I can see the potential that Maya has. Will she be likely to play a significant role in one of my stories? I said that she has been on a somewhat steady climb, let’s take it one step at a time, all right? In all seriousness... it actually would not surprise me too much if I end up relying on Maya in the near future... who knows?

Hikawa Hina (24, 23, 25, 25, 24, 29, 30, 28)

The reasoning behind Hina’s jump is... an interesting one, to say the least. I will be honest and say this outright: the biggest reason is not thanks to something Hina did in BanG Dream. It’s actually what her seiyuu did in a different franchise; I’ve picked up playing Genshin Impact a few weeks ago and my main character in there is, surprise surprise, a character who shares her seiyuu with Hina. So... indirect bonus points for Hina. And while it may seem contradictory to put Hina above Rui right now for effectively the same reasoning but in the opposite direction (seiyuu), I feel like it is justified by the reason that I already know more about Hina than Rui (i.e. Rui’s placement, as well as the other four in Morfonica, is still a placeholder placement right now). Beside that, I’ve actually also been enjoying seeing Hina on the screen more often regularly nowadays compared to the previous list.

Yashio Rui (NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, 24, 29, 29)

I said it before, I say it again: Rui is the Morfonica girl who I know the least about. As everyone already knows, Tsukushi was my favorite based on first impressions, Touko and Mashiro I did a lot of research on for my birthday oneshot, and Nanami... is popular enough in my friend circle that her popularity has affected me. Rui is voiced by Ayasa, a violonist with a YouTube channel I have followed for several years, but it is not fair to change Rui’s placement on this list only because I like watching her seiyuu’s YouTube channel. Based on what I already know about you I want to believe that you have the potential to jump up, but for now... where to put a character I know next to nothing about?

Udagawa Ako (19, 18, 20, 20, 19, 23, 25, 30)

Above Ako, apparently. Ako has one very specific, very obvious, very usable niche... but of all the Roselia girls I have talked about so far... Ako’s, for lack of a better word, admiration for the vocalist is... a really big detriment for Afterglow’s drummer’s younger sister, for what I think is also a very very obvious reason by now...

Kitazawa Hagumi (29, 29, 29, 28, 29, 33, 33, 31)

Hagumi! Finally escaping the dreaded “effectively bottom” spot of the named characters on the list for one very specific reason: one of the reasons why she was there in the first place no longer applies. And what is left? A surprisingly interesting character with some potential... still a shame that you are in the same band as Kokoro, but hey... maybe some day I can use you properly? Also, I seriously considered putting Hagumi above Afterglow’s drummer’s younger sister, but since Hagumi has just entered this category I felt this was a fairer placement for the bassist.

Neutral

Hanazono Tae (18, 19, 21, 23, 26, 30, 32)

Tae, Tae, Tae... how the mighty have fallen. You had a lot of potential and you definitely were very interesting in the early days of the franchise. But as the years came and went, you... never really developed much beyond what you once were. And while you are by no means a ‘bad’ character, you also don’t really stand out anymore in a cast of colorful characters (in ways more than one). A shame, but that’s just how it is...

Ushigome Rimi (28, 28, 27, 26, 28, 32, 32, 33)

And if I thought Tae was static, Rimi is at least as, if not more so, than her fellow bandmate. I mean... what about Rimi today can I say that I could not say about her four years ago? Rimi embodies this category really well: a character who I feel no negative feelings towards, but one who is just completely overshadowed by everyone around her. But Rimi is not at the bottom of this list, surprisingly. Yes, Maya, Hagumi, and Tae are all above Rimi, but...

Below Neutral

Seta Kaoru (VB, VB, VB, VB, VB, VB, VB, 34)

As much as past me does not want to do this... fair is fair: I said that I would no longer put you at the bottom once I found a character in this franchise’s universe who I despise more than you. And, thankfully for you, your time has come. I still do not like you and I still will not be ecstatic when I see you on the screen and I definitely will not be jumping in joy when I see your silhouette paired with rainbow lights (...again), but I can at least say this with confidence: you are no longer the BanG Dream! character I want to avoid seeing and thinking about the most. So... baby steps. Maybe one day I might make a vague reference to you again, but for now I will at least acknowledge that you exist. Which technically means that Kaoru has received one of the biggest jumps on this list so far, interestingly enough.

And that is all for this list. It doesn’t feel like I am missing any noteworthy or significant main characters, so I will leave this list as is. And if I did, then that is probably because they are not worth mentioning whatsoever.

[gelo-p]

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ Rank 9162! ✧ﾟ･: *ヽ(◕ヮ◕ヽ)

...Eh? That’s not T1k though???

(Boring story ahead)

------

My first attempt at trying to get a T1k was for Neo-Aspect. I totally skipped Double Rainbow (I was having the time of my life in Japan, bite me), and once it dawned on me how important the band story events actually are, I tried to get T1k for Neo Aspect.

It didn’t work out. XD

A combination of having a weak band, skipping day 1 (was preparing for something), and spending the last 4 days of the event on a family trip (the something) meant that I didn’t stand much of a chance. The closest I got was T1100; I finished the event at around T1500.

Nonetheless, I vowed to get T1k for the 3 remaining band story events.

A poor result (T10k...) for Beating in the Rain made one thing clear to me: I’m gonna need a stronger band, and that meant upgrading all the area items. Crystals and Shards are best farmed by playing a lot, while Michelle Monaka’s-

Well, they’re best farmed by tiering. The higher you go, the more Monaka’s you get.

The Cursed Well and The School Spirit proved to be a dead event (I didn’t know this at the time), so I managed to bag my first T1k. I also considered this as practice for my attempt at Luminous Once More, so things were looking good. I still didn’t have a very good band though, so realistically I was looking at another repeat of the Neo-Aspect disaster.

But then Aya came home. First try. ;^; (no seriously, she did)

With her arrival, my chances increased significantly. During my first T1k, a dead event, I finished in 847th place. For Luminous Once More? A major event?

I finished 530th. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

I spent the next event resting (because I honestly felt like I pushed myself during Luminous Once more, LOL), but starting from the event after that - Happy Adventure! Treasure Island Smiles! - I vowed to keep getting T1k until the final Band Story 2 event - HaroHapi’s I need you!. Mostly to just ensure I maximize my chances at getting T1k for both Tied to the Skies and I Need You!, but you know what they say.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

After finally getting T1k on I Need You!, it was time to rest. I’ve achieved my goal. Unfortunately, it was only my 9th straight T1k (starting from Happy Adventure), so I told myself... just one more. To round it off at 10, right? Right.

And so, Arisa’s “Not Bad” Day off was another T1k. Surely, the last one.

But then the next event... was dead AF.

With my usual pace (I was “only” collecting stamps and 3* members at that point), I somehow managed to hover just outside T100. And what do you know! My last row of titles only has 3 items (4 per row)! Surely it would be such a fitting end, if after 10 straight T1k’s, I finish my streak with a T100 that fits nicely into that empty space!! It would be so easy anyway!! :D

The last day of the event, was the first day of my 2nd trip to Japan.

I ranked 78th for Backstage Pass while resting in front of Nijo Castle in Kyoto.

That’s how you finish a streak.

------

I spent the remainder of my Japan trip actually focusing on the trip, only playing while I was resting in the hotel (also because mobile data is expensive AF). I told myself I was done with tiering. Whatever I got for the next event, then so be it.

“I wouldn’t be able to catch up anyway.”

I would like to point out that I haven’t bought a single star at that point. Any flame that I recovered, was either regenerated naturally, or acquired by watching ads.

...Or recovered from live boost drinks that I got from the handful of VS Lives I T1k’d. Now those, I had a lot of.

...And so, it was another T1k, at the expense of the drinks I’ve saved up. Besides, it was the Steadfast Pride, Piercing Sunset (aka Roselia vs Afterglow) event, I couldn’t possibly miss my beloved YukiRan ship, right? ^_^;

After my trip, I was still high on Japan, and with nothing better to do at that time, I... just kept playing. Wholehearted Song for me? T1k. BABY AFTERGLOW OMG T100 (I declared on day 1 that I’ll T100 it, so I did). It was also the 4th item on the last row, so again, a perfect opportunity to end the streak there.

But I didn’t. I kept playing again and again and again and again until it’s finally lost all its meaning. I didn’t know what I was keeping the streak for. There’s ultimately no meaning to that many T1k’s, is there? I’ve maximized every area item the game could offer. There was no reason to keep going-

Until we reached Backstage Pass 2.

By sheer coincidence, I started playing the game during its anniversary. My very first title is T10k on Backstage Pass 1. I think Backstage Pass 2 would be a fitting end.

“I played the game for a year, and this is everything I’ve achieved, without paying for a single star. Somebody kiss me. Or give me a medal. Whatever.”

Another T1k for Backstage Pass 2.

And then I got another T1k, during Dance, FULL BLOOMING!, just because I wasn’t sure if this was the anniversary event, or Backstage Pass 2.

------

“Oh shit. It’s Glasses Ran.”

At this point, it’s probably better to just direct you, dear reader (wow you made it here!) to my memories of that event.

It should have ended there.

IT SHOULD HAVE ENDED THERE.

MY HANDS LITERALLY DIED AFTER THAT EVENT. I COULDN’T PLAY 25′S ANYMORE, I WAS STRUGGLING WITH 24′S. I ALREADY RANKED #6, FFS. I KNEW PODIUMS WERE IMPOSSIBLE, SO A T10 IS ALL I COULD EVER HOPE FOR. AND I GOT IT DURING THAT ONE EVENT THEY GAVE RAN GLASSES. THIS WAS IT. IT WAS ALSO THE 4TH ITEM IN MY LAST ROW. FUCK EVERYTHING ELSE.

But the next event was just 6 days long.

“...I can manage that...”

Guess how it went.

------

What started as a story about trying to T1k the story 2′s, in order to get some sort of revenge for missing out on Neo-Aspect, went on as an addiction-induced crusade to collect as many T1k titles as possible.

Sure, some event titles meant something.

But it had to stop somewhere.

Somewhere.

Like a T100 for the Roselia x Re:ZERO collaboration.

By the way, that event marked my 49th straight T1k (even though I got T100, but whatever). 7 (the witches in Re:ZERO) squared is 49! What a coincidence, right?

It’s also just the 3rd item on my last row.

Yeah, yeah, you’ve heard the story before.

So I got my 50th T1k during Santa’s on his way event just to round things off.

For real this time.

------

I’m not good at writing stories, sorry. ^_^; I’m very good at remembering details though. :P

I considered posting this story at the end of my streak, but I thought to myself, there was a chance I’d stupidly continue it anyway. So I waited until the end of this just-concluded event, once I’m sure that there won’t be any last-day shenanigans.

And there wasn’t. I spent my days... well. Not playing Bandori for once, that’s for sure. Legend says I didn’t really become more productive, there might have been some attempts at coup d’etat to ensure I continued my streak, but in the end, the results are here.

I’m free.

^_^

I won’t be completely gone, I’ll make sure to at least get T10k (the lowest possible title) for each event, plus the stamp and the 3* card.

I’ll be back for major events, can’t miss out on those!

Until next time :D

Signing off, GeLö-P

[gaymusicchart]

GAY MUSIC CHART – 2019 week 08

 Welcome to the Gay Music Chart, the LGBTQA related music videos TOP 50 actuality and most request.

Please notice that we received dozens of suggestions, and it's impossible to present all of them in the same week edition because the video would be too long. We have three months late to catch up, so it will take some times.

 Vote for your favourite LGBTQA related music videos by leaving a comment for this post on :

YOUTUBE (in the comment section of the video of the week) : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7yfp-xq-b08tD6mAWwclA

BLOGGER : http://gaymusicchart.blogspot.fr

FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/GayMusicChart/

TWITTER : https://twitter.com/GayMusicChart with #GayMusicChart  

TUMBLR : http://gaymusicchart.tumblr.com  

 Here are some other sites which also makes LGBT charts or presents some LGBT artists :

https://tadslgbtmusiccharts.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/gaymusicgossipshow/

http://picdeer.com/gaymusicgram

http://thecountdownwithdjbaker.blogspot.com/

https://lgbtqmusicchart.uk/

Don’t hesitate to visits their sites !

 Here is the recap for this week :

 OUT : Erik Altemus - "Desidero" LW: 26 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 24

OUT : Greyson Chance - "Good As Gold" LW: 27 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 10

OUT : Clean Bandit feat. Marina & Luis Fonsi - "Baby" LW: 35 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 35

OUT : Years & Years - "All For You" LW: 39 / WO: 17 / PEAK: 01 (x1)

OUT : Blair St. Clair - "Irresistible" LW: 41 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 09

OUT : Tuure Boelius - "Vihaan rakastaa sua" LW: 43 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 43

OUT : Sam Tsui - "A Million Pieces" LW: 44 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 31

OUT : Pet Shop Boys - "On social media" (lyric video) LW: 46 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 46

OUT : Michete - "Yum Yum Big Slurp" LW: 47 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 47

OUT : Tim'm West - "Shoes" LW: 49 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 49

OUT : Tokio Hotel - "Melancholic Paradise" LW: 50 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 50

  01 (+ 2) : Calum Scott - "No Matter What"

LW: 03 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 01 (x3)

UK - 2018 - from the album "Only Human" (Special Edition)

This really personnal song tells the story of Calum Scott telling his parents he was gay and their reactions of loving him "no matter what". It's a deep and emotional power ballad.

 02 (- 1) : Jax Jones, Years & Years - "Play"

LW: 01 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 01 (x1)

UK - 2018 - from the EP "Snacks"

 03 (- 1) : Troye Sivan - "Lucky Strike"

LW: 02 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 01 (x2)

Australia - 2019 - from the album "Bloom"

 04 (+ 6) : Lauv & Troye Sivan - "i'm so tired..."

LW: 10 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 04

USA / Australia - 2019

 05 (+ 4) : Saara Aalto - "Dance Like Nobody's Watching"

LW: 09 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 05

Finland - 2019 - from the album "Wild Wild Wonderland"

A music video about a transgender teen who wants to do ballet against the will of his father.

 06 (=) : Trinity The Tuck - "The Face The Body"

LW: 06 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 06

USA - 2019

 07 (+ 13) : Courtney Act - "Fight For Love"

LW: 20 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 07

Australia - 2018

The drag queen came 4th at "Eurovision - Australia decides", the Australian national selections for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.

 08 (+ 8) : Federica Abbate - "Finalmente"

LW: 16 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 08

Italy - 2018

This song came second in the first part of the Sanremo Giovani 2018 Music Festival for emergent artists. The lyrics talk about a love relationship badly judged by the entourage. If the lyrics aren't specifically gay, the music video is, with the portrayal of a young man who comes out to his father who rejects him in return. So, the young man can only be reconforted by his boyfriend and his friends. Until... Beautiful.

 09 (+ 3) : Calum Scott - "If Our Love is Wrong"

LW: 12 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 09

UK - 2018 - from the album "Only Human"

 10 (- 6) : Manila Luzon - "Go Fish"

LW: 04 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 04

USA - 2019 - from the album "Rules"

 11 (- 6) : Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - "Shallow"

LW: 05 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 04

USA - 2018 - from the OST "A Star Is Born"

This song won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song 2018, the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance 2019 and Best Song Written for Visual Media 2019, the BAFTA for Best Film Music 2019.

 12 (+ 1) : Not.Your.Regular.Boy. - "It's All Yours"

LW: 13 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 12

The Netherlands - 2018

This is his third single.

 13 (+ 9) : N.E.F.O.R.M.A.T - "Чужие Судьбы" (Aliens Destiny)

LW: 22 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 13

Russia - 2019

For their first music video, these two have guts to do this kind of music video in their country: they show their homosexuality, they kiss, they flirt half naked in bed, they rebel for freedom. Respect, men!  

 14 (- 3) : Tiago Braga - "Ilusão"

LW: 11 / WO: 25 / PEAK: 06

Portugal - 2018

A story of infidelity.

 15 (+ 18) : Christopher Sorensen - "Afterglow"

LW: 33 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 15

USA - 2018

A touching music video about a teen dating a mature man, but his life collapses when he discovered he's a married man with child.

 16 (- 9) : Netta - "Bassa Sababa"

LW: 07 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 07

Israel - 2019

This is her first single her victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, still composed by Stav Beger.

 17 (=) : Jão - "Me Beija Com Raiva"

LW: 17 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 10

Brazil - 2018 - from the album "Lobos"

It's the first time the singer talks about his sexual orientation with this song, writen for an ex-lover who broke his heart.

 18 (NEW) : Robyn - "Send To Robin Immediately"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 18

Sweden - 2019 - from the album "Honey"

 19 (+ 2) : Bilal Hassani - "Roi"

LW: 21 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 05

France - 2019

Bilal Hassani won Destination Eurovision 2019 and will represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Avivwith this song about self esteem.

 20 (+ 4) : Theo X - "You Don't Wanna Dance"

LW: 24 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 09

Denmark - 2018

In this cute music video, a young teen dares to give an invitation to dance to another boy. Love is love.

 21 (- 7) : Sam Smith, Normani - "Dancing With A Stranger"

LW: 14 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 14

UK / USA  - 2019

This is a passionate duet about coping with loneliness and trying to get over a lost love.

 22 (- 8) : Sam Smith - "Fire On Fire"

LW: 15 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 07

UK - 2018 - from the OST "Watership Down"

"Watership Down" is a BBC mini-series adaptation of the book, which tells the story about a warren of rabbits fighting to survive numerous perils as they search for a new home.

 23 (NEW) : Trinity The Tuck feat. Peppermint - "I Call Shade"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 23

USA - 2019 - from the album "Plastic"

 24 (+ 5) : Calvin Harris, Sam Smith - "Promises"

LW: 29 / WO: 12 / PEAK: 01 (x1)

UK - 2018

 25 (- 6) : Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart"

LW: 19 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 04

USA - 2018

 26 (- 1) : Brandon Stansell - "Hometown"

LW: 25 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 25

USA - 2018 - from the album "Slow Down"

This song is kind of a representation of his coming out story, with his family who didn’t respond very well. It was named one of the TOP 10 COUNTRY MUSIC VIDEOS of 2018 by Rolling Stone.

 27 (NEW) : Ben Platt - "Ease My Mind"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 27

USA - 2019 - from the album "Sing To Me Instead"

With the second track of his upcoming album, the actor and singer officially comes out as gay in this music video, where he's dating Charles Carver.

 28 (+ 8) : Allen King feat. Amor Romeira - "My Boy"

LW: 36 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 03

Spain - 2018

 29 (+ 11) : Urgence Homophobie - "De l'Amour"

LW: 40 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 10

France - 2018

As homophobic attacks have increased by 15% in 2018 in France, 70 French celebrities made this song to fight homophobia.

 30 (NEW) : Filatov & Karas - "Au Au"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 30

Russia - 2019

A man is pregnant in this music video.

 31 (+ 1) : Michael Medrano - "Love Somebody Else"

LW: 32 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 11

USA - 2018

The song was previously presented in our chart, but the music video was only released during our break.

 32 (NEW) : Lady Gaga - "Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?)" (Piano Version)

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 32

USA - 2018 - from the album "Joanne"

She won three Grammy Awards this year, including for Best Pop Solo Performance.

 33 (NEW) : TIN - "Don't Say His Name"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 33

UK - 2018

 34 (- 16) : D. Prime - "GAY" and "HAPPY-NESS"

LW: 18 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 18

USA - 2019

 35 (+ 3) : JORDY - "Just Friends"

LW: 38 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 35

USA - 2018

A love declaration.

 36 (NEW) : Ben Platt - "Bad Habit"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 36

USA - 2019 - from the album "Sing To Me Instead"

The singer and actor will release his first solo album next March 29th. People wonder if he has just come out as gay with the appearance of Charles Carver in his apartment at the end of the clip.

 37 (- 29) : Lizzo - "Juice"

LW: 08 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 02

USA - 2018

 38 (- 1) : Greyson Chance - "shut up"

LW: 37 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 37

USA - 2019

 39 (- 16) : Super King Reza & Groovebox - "Horchata"

LW: 23 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 23

USA - 2018

 40 (+ 2) : Someone Who Isn't Me - "Gomenaki"

LW: 42 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 40

Greece - 2018

 41 (- 7) : Silva - "Duas da Tarde"

LW: 34 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 08

Brazil - 2018 - from the album "Brasileiro"

 42 (- 14) : MNEK - "Girlfriend"

LW: 28 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 28

UK - 2019 - from the album "Language"

 43 (NEW) : Years & Years feat. MNEK - "Valentino"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 43

UK - 2019 - from the album "Palo Santo"

We can't show the music video due to copyright restriction.

 44 (NEW) : LOBODA - "INSTADRAMA"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 44

Ukraine - 2019

 45 (- 14) : Miss Benny - "Rendezvous"

LW: 31 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 31

USA - 2019

Miss Benny is the new project of Ben J. Pierce aka Kid POV, aka Benny, well known here for his previous singles, included "Boys Will Be Boys". Welcome back!

 46 (NEW) : Savoir Adore - "Bloom"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 46

USA - 2019 - from the EP "First Bloom"

 47 (RE-ENTRY) : Pabllo Vittar - "Seu Crime"

LW: - / WO: 2 / PEAK: 31

Brazil - 2019 - from the album "Não Para Não"

 48 (=) : Echo Black - "Poison Apple"

LW: 48 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 37

USA - 2018 - from the album "Dawn"

The queer lead singer of the band is Danny Blu.

 49 (- 19) : Electric Fields - "2000 and Whatever" (Lyrics Video)

LW: 30 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 30

Australia - 2019

Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross mix electronic music with Aboriginal culture. This song came 2nd at "Eurovision - Australia decides", the Australian national selections for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.

 50 (- 5) : Troye Sivan and Jónsi - "Revelation" (Lyric video)

LW: 45 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 11

Australia / Iceland - 2018 - from the OST "Boy Erased"

The song was nominated on the 2019 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. The movie "Boy Erased" follows the son of Baptist parents who is forced to take part in a gay conversion therapy program.

  NEW THIS WEEK

 Nimmo - "No More"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

UK - 2019

 Pet Shop Boys - "Give stupidity a chance" (lyric video)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

UK - 2019 - from the EP "Agenda"

 Bring Me The Horizon feat. Grimes - "nihilist blues" (Lyric Video)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

UK / Canada - 2019 - from the album "amo"

 Drake Jensen - "Talk Me Down"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Canada - 2019 - from the album "Sideshow"

 Jackie Shane - "Any Other Way" (audio)

LW: - / WO: 2 / PEAK: 18

USA - 1962

The transgender singer has died at the age of 78 years old. RIP.

 King Princess - "Pussy Is God"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2018

 Dorian Electra - "Man To Man"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2018

 Tacocat - "Grains of Salt"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019 - from the album "This Mess is a Place"

 Galla - "Nightsong"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2018

Adam Gallagher is a fashion influencer, who releases his first single.

 Nima - "Are You Serious?"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

 Matracia - "Slow"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

 Ben Levi Ross & Taylor Trensch - "Only Us"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

A gay cover of the song from musical "Dear Evan Hansen"

 Bobby Newberry - "Love You Like I Do"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

 CupcakKe - "Squidward Nose"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

As usual, it's for an adult audience with these explicit sexual themed lyrics.

 Abdu Ali - "Chastity"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

 PrettiBoiRoq - "Wanna Be Me"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2018 - from the EP "Haus of Ken"

 ILoveMakonnen feat. Gucci Mane - "Spendin" (Official Lyric Video)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

UK - 2019

 Silva - "Brisa"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Brazil - 2019

 Jaloo feat. Nave - "Dói d+"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Brazil - 2019

 Funtastic - "Taku Fogo"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Brazil - 2019

 Criolo - "Etérea"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Brazil - 2019

 Filipe Catto - "É Sempre o Mesmo Lugar"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Brazil - 2019 - from the album "Catto"

 Ana Gabriela - "Mais De Nós"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Brazil - 2019

 Mateus Carrilho, Tainá Costa - "Toma"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Brazil - 2019

 Yhago Sebaz - "Vou Embora"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Brazil - 2019

 Rodrigo Alarcon part. Liniker - "Amor Acidente"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Brazil - 2019 - from the EP "Parte"

 Diego Diaz - "Caótico"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Argentina - 2019

 Agustín Malandra - "Madrugada Índica"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Argentina - 2019

 Dj Nelasta feat.Titica & Paulelson (Mr. Aleluia) - "Tonga"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Angola - 2019

 Gyre - "Quarantine"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

South Africa - 2018    

 Yaariyan LGBTQ Flashmob 2019

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

India - 2019

 Netflix Presents: The Valentine's Day Special

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

India - 2019

This is a gay themed advertisement from Netflix India.

 Love X Stereo - "Zero One"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

South Korea - 2019

 Yanni Burton - "Mess Around"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Australia - 2019

 Philippe Jaroussky - "Che città"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

France - 2019

 Colin Meyer & Burçak - "Pornstar"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

The Netherlands / Turkey - 2018

 Merol - "Hou je bek en bef me"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

The Netherlands - 2019

 Daniel Schuhmacher - "Venus or Mars"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Germany - 2018

 Electrosexual - "Darkroom"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Germany - 2019 - from the EP "Era#03 - X2"

 Divines - "Ponad"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Poland - 2019

In this music video, LGBTQ bullied students take their revenge and go to prom.

 Azis feat Azis Group - "Jeno Biagai"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Bulgaria - 2019

 teo entertainment - "OMG Fuck Me Hard"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Russia - 2018

 MARUV - "Siren song" (live @ Vidbir 2019 - Final)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Ukraine - 2019

The song won the national selections and will represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv.

 Alen Chicco - "Your Cure" (live @ Eurovizijos 2019 - Grand Final)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Lithuania - 2019

The song came 5th in the Grand Final of the Lithuanian national selections for the Eurovision Song Contest.

 Junà - "Strength of A Woman" (live @ Eurovizijos 2019 - Grand Final)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Lithuania - 2019

The song came 8th and last in the Grand Final of the Lithuanian national selections for the Eurovision Song Contest. This time, the backdancers wore high heels.

 Sigmund - "Say My Name" (live @ Melodi Grand Prix 2019)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Denmark - 2019

The song came 5th in the Danish national selections for the Eurovision Song Contest.

 P!nk - Live at The BRIT Awards 2019

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

She has received the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award at The Brit Awards 2019.

[blueraspberrycoolatta]

2018 writing self-evaluation

yoo @suspendrs​ tagged me in this and i got so excited!! y’all know i love any opportunity to yell about my fics!!

ALL FICS MUST HAVE POSTED ON AO3 IN 2018

1. Number of stories (including drabbles) posted to AO3: 15

2. Word count posted for the year: 122,531

3. List of works published this year (in order of posting):

play me a memory (5 february)

don’t stop us now, we’ve started (11 march)

Ain’t That A Kick In The Head! (with @lesbianharrie​) (23 april)

come find me in the afterglow (14 july)

you look just fine on your own (6 august)

some princes don’t become kings (11 august)

melodies and memories (31 august)

I Get A Kick Out Of You (with @lesbianharrie​) (18 september)

i’ve learned to loathe these goddamn visions (7 october)

a little bit stressed out (2 november)

take off your colours (16 november)

no time for getting old (2 december)

hold onto this feeling (3 december)

taste the tension, now i’m begging (5 december)

half remembered, halfway across the world (first chapter posted 2 february, last updated 11 december)

4. Fandoms I wrote for: the legend of zelda: breath of the wild (8), one direction (5), 5 seconds of summer (1), kingdom hearts (1), choices: stories you play (1)

5. Pairings: louis/harry (5), link/revali (3), louis/zayn (2), calum/luke (2), hayner/roxas (1)

6. Story with the most:

Kudos: Ain’t That A Kick In The Head! (1062)

Bookmarks: Ain’t That A Kick In The Head! (432)

Comments: Ain’t That A Kick In The Head! (141)

9. Work I’m most proud of (and why):

it’s a tie between don’t stop us now, we’ve started and melodies and memories. don’t stop us was one of those stories that ran away from me in the best way—i intended it to be around 5k when i started it, 7k max, but as i dug into calum’s backstory, everything just kind of...started writing itself. 

melodies and memories was similar. it doubled in length from what i’d originally planned for it to be, but what i actually like most about this one is that since it’s so closely linked to half remembered, halfway across the world, i’ve been putting little easter eggs and phrases/occurrences that mirror each other, either within the same fic or across both of them. the paraglider that zayn makes for louis in melodies and memories is the same one troye uses in half remembered. loius tells zayn he’s not the type to make promises, once in melodes and memories, and then again in half remembered. zayn there are a ton more but i can’t say them cos those chapters haven’t been posted yet, but i’ve been having way too much fun putting them in. (as emma’s said: i’m playing 3d chess with this fic) 

10. Work I’m least proud of (and why):

probably take off your colours? i posted a first chapter and people seemed to like it but i started it with no idea where it was going and i’m worried i should have waited to post it, wrapped it up to make it a oneshot, and then just left it, rather than setting it up for a whole chaptered story. and i feel like the revalink fandom already has a bunch of soulmate fics and like do we really need mine fskjdfh

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

oh! can i post two? i’m gonna post two. the first is from a revalink fic, and the second is from the soccer fic.

Then it’s Link’s turn to say his vows. “Revali.” Link’s voice is soft, but steady and clear, no signs of nervousness as he picks up the diamond pendant. “When we first met, I thought you hated me. I thought you wanted nothing to do with me, and I thought I’d be just fine never seeing you again.” Scattered chuckles from the crowd. “I’ve never been so happy to be wrong. Revali, falling in love with you was like falling out of the sky. It happened so quickly, and I didn’t know what was happening, and it was scary at first, but once I accepted it, every moment has been thrilling and exciting and I never want to hit the ground and let it come to an end. I want to spend the rest of my life falling in love with you. So I take you, as you are, pride and all, to be my husband. I will be by your side, through storms, through Calamities, through everything life has to throw at us. I promise to support you and love you, unconditionally. You already have wings to take you into the sky—I promise to be the wings that take you into our future.”

Well, that does it. Revali blinks back tears. “Your vows were way better than mine,” he whispers, no venom behind the words even if he wanted there to be.

Link snorts fondly, standing on the balls of his feet to tie the pendant around Revali’s neck. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that not everything’s a competition?”

~

and then:

“I have dual fucking citizenship, you weeb.”

12. Share or describe a favorite review you received:

i really truly love every comment i get. it means the world that someone not only read my fic, but took the time to say something afterward. but i got several comments this year that were all along the lines of: i never thought about this this way. and i love that even in a fic context i can bring something new to the table, a unique perspective.

also, someone called me their favorite revalink writer and that made me into the literal hearteyes emoji i almost cried

13. A time when writing was really, really hard:

when isn’t it hard? but actually, nano was hard this year. i wrote more than i ever have, but i just felt like the pressure was Too Much. usually pressure is a good thing for me but for some reason it got to me this year. i was writing 4+ different projects, in 2 different fandoms, and i just couldn’t really focus. 

14. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

all of 5sos in the breath of the wild au took me by surprise with the depth of their dynamics, but calum especially. i didn’t Mean to give him a fuckton of backstory, but i did, and he just kind of...developed on his own. next thing i knew, he was a conflicted teenager with a penchant for fighting but a whole lot of guilt. i’ve been really loving digging into his character, not only in the prequel but with the way ashton and luke talk about him half remembered. in fact, he surprised me so much he’s getting a sequel set after the events of half remembered. but that won’t be for a while yet.

15. How did you grow as a writer this year:

i want to say i surprised myself with the emotional themes i’ve been exploring in fics this year. i’ve had so much fun writing angst, especially in the breath of the wild verse, and i used to say i’ve never do angst or i’d never be good at writing it. i don’t know if i can say i’m good at it just yet, but i definitely feel like i’ve been getting better at conveying more emotion in my writing. also, i like to think i’ve gotten better at humor. 

16. How do you hope to grow next year:

i just want to keep writing! i feel like especially this past month, i’ve just been hit with bursts of inspiration, and when that happens, i just want to go with it rather than be like ‘oh, that’s interesting, i’ll come back to that later when i have a better idea of what’ll happen.’ some of my favorite fics i’ve written this year have been largely unplanned and spontaneous so i want to carry that energy into the new year. 

17. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

my loggies! i loved getting together to write (even if not a lot of writing got done) but all your encouragement and support has meant the world. also i wanna shoutout @lesbianharrie for being the absolute best cowriter i could ask for. i feel like she’s helped me be funnier, which has been something i’ve always wanted to do. also, writing comedy is always more fun with a friend!

18. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

please refer to the entirety of Ain’t That A Kick In The Head!

19. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

honestly, you have to like what you’re writing. otherwise, you’re gonna slog through it and you’ll hate every moment and that’s no fun, especially if writing is meant to be a hobby. write the stories you want to write, even if it seems like no one will read them. you never know—people might surprise you. and even if they don’t, hey! you wrote something you like and you’re proud of, and that’s enough.

20. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

I’M GOING TO FINISH HALF REMEMBERED. I’M SPEAKING IT INTO EXISTENCE. the second half is actually going to be posted more quickly because i keep writing it out of order. like. i have the epilogue done. but do i know what’s happening in the immediate next chapter? not a clue!

but also, i have some really exciting new projects in the works as well! i have a high school bagpipe band au that’s gonna be ridiculous and (hopefully) funny, my fic for the @hlmusicalsficfest that’s gonna be based on nice work if you can get it, and at Least two (2) more disaster harry fics. get pumped!

21. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read.

uhhh idk who’s been tagged and who’s already done it so i’m just gonna say: anyone who sees this and wants to do it! just tag me, i wanna read your answers!

[theeastgable]

For @harriechristmas for always being kind and lovely, hope you feel better soon love <3

Just a note, most of these are very low on angst because I’m realllyyyy weak and I can’t handle sad things,,, sorry!!

its you i find like a ghost in my mind by magneticwave (1/1 | 17,453 | Mature)

In a serious, like, fit of cosmic irony, the name on the inside of Louis’ wrist is HARRY.

probably one of the more angsty ones on this list, this fic focuses mostly on harry trying to build trust between him and louis, happy ending!! (ofc)

You You You by isthatyoularry/@isthatyoularry (26/26 | 137,527 | Mature)

“Infamous boybander leaves club together with unknown,” read the headline. Underneath were pictures of a boy with dark curls, green eyes and very tight pants. They both studied the article for a moment, reading it through quickly. “Is that…?” Louis frowned. That guy almost looked exactly like… “HOLY FUCKING SHIT!” “Louis,” Niall said, looking absolutely fucked over. “You just fucked the most wanted guy on earth. You just fucked Harry Styles of One Direction.”

Or, the one where Harry and Louis meet at a club and Louis takes Harry home, only for him to realize that the boy who just made him breakfast half naked is Harry Styles from One Direction.

once i started reading i couldnt stop, mostly fluffy with a bit of angst near the end! awesome characterization and all together very enjoyable to read :’)

Unbelievers by isthatyoularry (10/10 | 136,875 | Explicit)

It’s Louis’ senior year, and he’s dead set on doing it right. However, along with his pair of cleats, a healthy dose of sarcasm and his ridiculous best friend, he’s also got a complicated family, a terrifyingly uncertain future, and a mortal enemy making his life just that much worse. Mortal enemies “with benefits” was not exactly the plan.

Or: The one where Louis and Harry definitely aren’t friends, and football is everything.

my all-time favourite!! the way their relationship progresses throughout the story is perfection, ive completely lost count of how many times ive read this fic

Here in The Afterglow by fondleeds/@fondleeds (3/3 | 88,649 | Not Rated)

“If you hadn’t noticed, I don’t have many friends,” Louis whispers, the blossom of insecurity in his stomach unfurling and clawing its way into his throat.

Harry is silent for a long time, and then he speaks; a soft, slow uncurl that makes Louis’ stomach shake. “I’ll be your friend.”

-

1970’s AU. In a tiny town in Idaho, Louis’ life is changed forever by the arrival of a curious stranger.

beautifully written in general! the ending especially was hard to read through my tears. incredible and award winning, lysha is the loml

Court-Ordered by kikikryslee/@flamboyantommo (1/1 | 10,717 | Mature)

Louis sighed. “I don’t think I’m his type.” “You’re everyone’s type,” Niall said. “Everyone likes you.” "But we only just stopped sort of hating each other. What if I mess it all up?” “Wow. You really do like him.” “I do not.” “Yeah, you do,” Niall grinned. “You like a tree hugger. Who saw it coming?” — Or, the one where pot-smoking Louis and SeaWorld protester Harry both get community service, and don’t get along at all. Until they do.

the cutest!!! its one of those ones where you know exactly whats gonna happen but youre thinking “ooooh shit” the whole time anyway.

If You Love Me, Come Clean by withthethieves/@dreamsmp3 (15/15 | 120,916 | Explicit)

AU in which Louis works at a recording studio where Harry’s ‘up and coming’ and ‘exciting’, soon-to-be famous indie band has just signed a deal to record their debut album at, and Louis’ never even heard of them for Christ’s sakes, but that doesn’t stop him from repeatedly catching the eye of the raven-haired, eyeliner-wearing and slightly dangerous-looking frontman (but he’s not interested, he isn’t.)

lots of y&b vibes!! im only halfway through atm but its already one of my favs and i can tell this is one to reread! (i love eden??!?!?)

Dance to the Distortion by Lis (10/10 | 96,641 | Explicit)

Louis accidentally breaks Harry’s camera lens and in order to get it fixed, they decide to participate in a romantic couples study. The only issue is that they are not actually couple. Well that and the fact they cannot stand each other.

i am absolutely in LOVe with this fic! once again im only about halfway through and im absolutely captivated by how h&l are written. i’m really excited to see what happens next xx

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 27/03/2021 (Justin Bieber’s ‘Justice’, Griff, Lil Tjay/Polo G/Fivio Foreign)

You might think that since I can take time out of my schedule to ramble about charts every week, that I have a lot of time on my hands and this may or may not be true but even I do not have enough time or energy to listen to – or even care about – new releases from both Justin Bieber and Lana Del Rey. So, of course, they make the most impact on the chart this week, even if said impact is still pretty muted. Our #1 is, for a second week, “Wellerman” by Nathan Evans and remixed by 220 KID and Billen Ted, and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

It may not make any sense to you that “Anyone” by Justin Bieber has dropped out of the UK Top 75 – which I cover – on the week of the album’s release, but UK chart rules stipulate that only the three best-performing songs from an artist can chart at any time, which is pretty stupid all things considered but I’m not complaining since it gives me less of a workload... or more, I don’t know. With more album tracks from Justin, I’m sure they would cancel at least some of the other, lower new entries out. This isn’t the Hot 100, however, this is the UK Singles Chart, and hence we follow their rules, which means that we also have the notable drop-outs of “Bluuwuu” by Digga D, “Regardless” by RAYE and Rudimental, “Love Not War (The Tampa Beat)” by Jason Derulo and Nuka, “Afterglow” by Ed Sheeran, “Prisoner” by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa, and finally, “Lemonade” by Internet Money and Gunna featuring Don Toliver and NAV. It seems like this week in particular is pushing out old hits to make way for the new, and that’s a great thing as far as I’m concerned.

In terms of notable fallers, there are a few as expected from having a lot of action at the top, as we have “Get Out My Head” by Shane Codd at #20, “Bringing it Back” by Digga D and AJ Tracey at #41, “Money Talks” by Fredo and Dave at #45, “Best Friend” by Saweetie featuring Doja Cat at #46, “telepatía” by Kali Uchis at #47, “You’re Mines Still” by Yung Bleu featuring Drake on the remix at #57, “Addicted” to Jorja Smith at #61 off of the debut, “DAYWALKER!” by Machine Gun Kelly featuring CORPSE not disappearing fast enough at #63, “Anxious” by AJ Tracey at #65, “34+35” by Ariana Grande at #71, “Good Days” by SZA at #72, “Heat” by Paul Woodford and Digga D at #74 and finally, “Toxic” by Digga D at #75. That’s before we take into account our album impacts from the last few weeks, as well, as for Central Cee, “Commitment Issues” is at #11, “6 for 6” is at #26 and “Day in the Life” is at #56. As for Drake, “What’s Next” is at #32, “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” featuring Rick Ross is at #33 and “Wants and Needs” featuring Lil Baby is at #44.

So, what’s filling in the cracks? Well, our one returning entry is the title track, “Chemtrails Over the Country Club”, from Lana Del Rey’s newest record back at #62. “Tulsa Jesus Freak” did actually chart below the top 75, so this and the debut for “White Dress” later on is all we’ll see from Lana this week. In terms of our notable gains, well, there’s not much to speak of other than the surge for Majestic’s remix of “Rasputin” by Boney M. up to #49 off of the debut, other than “Didn’t Know” by Tom Zanetti at #48, “Medicine” by James Arthur at #43, “Ferrari Horse” by D-Block Europe and RAYE at #30 and the expected album boost for “Hold On” by Justin Bieber up to #10. With all that said, we won’t be hearing from Justin for a while as we get onto our new arrivals for this week, so let’s start from the bottom.

NEW ARRIVALS

#68 – “Track Star” – Mooski

Produced by Woodpecker

Okay, so this is a song from last year from complete nobody rapper Mooski that got big in the US on TikTok a couple months ago so, no surprise, we get it sometime later. Well, at least this Mooski guy seems to at least want to tell a story here, as the song doesn’t stray far away from the topic of a woman with commitment issues who doesn’t stay with him when times get hard. For what it’s worth, content-wise, at least it’s a narrative, even if lyrics like, “Leave a trail of heartbreak and heartache like, it’s cool” sound closer to emo-rap whining than he probably intended. Not that it needed a narrative, because barely any songs can actually affectively tell them, but there’s got to be sometimes to distract from this squeaky, strained vocal loop and all of the janky melodies surrounding it, not to mention the downright awful 808s and percussion that reminds me more of the Afroswing we got on the charts back in 2018 than any trap-rap. Mooski himself is a complete non-presence, especially when he starts stuttering on the bridge, to the point where I can’t distinguish whether it’s totally embarrassing or subtly endearing. Either way, I can’t see myself listening to this like... ever outside of the context of this episode, especially considering how undeservedly long it is for a song like this.

#66 – “Beautiful Mistakes” – Maroon 5 featuring Megan Thee Stallion

Produced by Andrew Goldstein and blackbear

Adam Levine recently said that he misses the “bands” in pop music – you know, people who play all of their instruments and stuff like that. Then he continued to release a song under the name of his band where he swaps out more than half of his band with blackbear and Megan Thee Stallion. Of course. Well, you can tell it’s written by blackbear since Adam Levine directly imitates his staccato, monotonous flow in the first verse and the generally very awkward writing throughout... which is fine, I guess, because at least Levine isn’t stretching himself out into his falsetto much here, and Megan on auto-pilot can still carry her verse off of charisma alone, and her singing in the bridge sounds better than it ever has, so I’m not going to complain about her part here. The main issue in this song, I feel, is just lack of detail. The song’s about the lengths Adam and Megan would go for their significant others but I feel like only Megan attempts to describe what’s going on in these relationships as Adam plays word association with the concept. Adam, you can time-travel back to the Kara’s Flowers era any time now. Pop-punk is making a comeback, and I know you’d hate to not be a part of that, especially if you’re longing for new bands in pop music.

#59 – “Know You” – wewaintwraiths

Produced by Oath

I mean, I suppose I’ve heard worse names than “wewantwraiths” although after he buys a new car with the check his label gives him for the chart success of this song, he might want to change it. Maybe “nowwegotawraith”. That’s besides the point, though, as just as you’d expect, we have another week and hence another UK drill track that leaves little to no impact. This guy actually kind of makes himself out like a British Mooski, with his longing, Auto-Tuned flow that I don’t think he even tried to make sound good, especially considering how janky and unstructured the whole thing is. This drill beat is pretty worthless too, as whilst I don’t mind the mesh of vocal samples and the 808 slides, I cannot stand how this is mixed so that the hi-hats are louder than Mr. Wraiths himself. I don’t mind the content, to be honest, as it depicts him finding a girl and the eventual breakup in a lot of detail. By the end, he’s harmonising with the background vocals and there are a couple of cool synth riffs, but it’s way too little, too late to start caring about detail, especially if for the majority of the song, the percussion and vocals sound this bad.

#58 – “Dimension” – JAE5 featuring Skepta and Rema

Produced by JAE5

If you know JAE5, you probably know him for his production as for years, he has been blending genres for some of the most interesting and best British rap, most notably in how he fuses drill, R&B and Afrobeats as J Hus’ primary beat-maker. He also produced songs for Dave, Shakka and Burna Boy, which got him a Grammy win, as well as “Options” by NSG, one of the biggest ever British rap songs and still one of the most infectious. Now he’s embarking on a solo career less like a DJ Khaled and more like a Metro Boomin, bringing along legendary British rapper Skepta along for the ride, as well as an appearance from Nigerian singer Rema, whose wonderful nasal tone really stands out alongside all of the synth ambiance in this production, as well as the stuttering hi-hats and those gorgeous falsetto vocal samples. Skepta sounds pretty checked-out over a beat probably too smooth for him, which shifts over to some staccato piano, as well as some intricacies in this production that sound great, especially the jazzier touches that accentuate the already great groove with some Latin-flavoured guitar and strings. Oh, yeah and the subtle brass on Rema’s verse is excellent, even if Rema isn’t saying much of anything – in fact, content-wise is probably the only place where this song kind of flounders, as Skeppy zig-zags from socially conscious lyrics about Pan-Africanism and the plight that many Africans on and outside of the continent in day to day life, to “Girls sellin’ the coochie for Gucci”. Ah, well, ultimately, the song sounds incredible and I really should check out more of Rema’s stuff if it’s at this same level of detail. I’m pretty excited for that JAE5 album now, whenever that’s coming.

#51 – “White Dress” – Lana Del Rey

Produced by Lana Del Rey and Jack Antonoff

And from Afropop to the whitest singer currently charting this side of Taylor Swift, here’s what I suppose is the next single push from that Lana Del Rey that I practically avoided entirely. I understand that a lot of people are loving this but frankly, I’ve never been a fan so I’ve given up trying. If Norman Fricking Rockwell! couldn’t convert me, I don’t think her subsequent releases will, in fact, I can place a bet that listening to this whole album will make her music sour on me even more. Well, this song is about... being disillusioned with the music industry and public fame. I see. The implications that come with that aside, I have no reason to care about Lana once again breathily cooing over an ambiance that refuses to effectively create an atmosphere that really clicks with the nostalgia tone Lana’s lyrics take here, instead just meandering through this snooze of piano-based blend, only elevating itself through clashing percussion that ends up fading itself out of view way too quickly. Also, shouting out Kings of Leon feels both completely in character and unintentionally hilarious. At least as far as I’m aware, neither they nor the White Stripes, also name-dropped in the song, are blatantly racist on social media... I hope, at least.

#40 – “Headshot” – Lil Tjay, Polo G and Fivio Foreign

Produced by Bordeaux, Non Native, TnTXD, Tahj Money, Dmac and 101 Slide

So this really needs six producers, huh? For a song that’s barely two minutes? Okay, well, after the success of “Calling My Phone”, it only makes sense that Lil Tjay will follow up an R&B crooner with a harder rap cut, and here it is, and it kicks a lot of ass – or at least as much ass that can be kicked with the nasal, unconvincing tones all of these guys have. The main loop of the intimidating strings here, accentuated by that staccato piano melody, is the perfect backing for a hard-hitting trap beat that I almost wish had some more bombast outside of its badly-mastered 808 bass. That said, Polo G kills it regardless, with some of the most energy he’s ever given and the most lyrical detail out of any of the guys on the song, as his fast-paced flow is genuinely menacing... and now I understand why the song needs six producers, because as smoothly as possible, that cacophonous Pop Smoke-esque gunshot percussion comes in and it soon becomes an intense New York drill track more befitting for Fivio Foreign’s verse, who may not have any of the lyrical dexterity but he fills in the blanks with his ad-libs and still carrying the drill beat pretty well, before Lil Tjay comes in as intense as he ever has on a beat that reverts to the trap knock again, very smoothly. I do find it pretty odd that of all people here, Fivio has the longest verse, but I guess his verse is more of a bridge to act as a gap between two overwhelmingly gun-fire verses, both of which have content that can pretty much be summed up as gunplay and flexing, but with some of the bluntest, most deathly lyrics I’ve heard in rap, especially when Lil Tjay just pretty explicitly says he kills anyone he even dares to disrespect them. I’m now thinking I should delete the episode where I gave “Calling My Phone” Worst of the Week. Speaking of that song, this song is so much better it’s almost confusing. Maybe this high-energy gangsta-rap stuff is somehow a more convincing lane for an auto-crooner like Lil Tjay than alternative R&B.

#39 – “Black Hole” – Griff

Produced by LOSTBOY

Again, in stark contrast, Disney pop. Okay, maybe calling it Disney pop is misleading but the main reason Griff is succeeding now is that Disney Christmas advert, which gave her “Love is a Compass”, her first charting song – and a pretty bad one at that. This single, released this January, is a lot more upbeat than that drone of a ballad and hence fits Griff’s limited vocal capabilities a lot better, as she does a good Selena Gomez impression – almost good enough to forget that she’s now whispering over reggaeton so Griff will basically be her replacement in the UK – over some pretty indie-pop that decides to produce itself out of common sense... if that makes sense. The quirky strings and bass start the song before the percussion comes in and it makes sense as it rises pretty regularly, until this one dissonant, chamber-echo bassline comes in and morphs the entire song, only for it to disappear for the first chorus, but given how anti-climactic that first chorus is, there’s no build-up that makes that cathartic, at all... before it comes back in just to disturb the peace for the second chorus and verse. Not that the song’s mixed badly, particularly, I mean, “DAYWALKER!” had a similar discrepancy last week and did it much worse. In fact, I think this production being so awkward makes the song a lot more endearing as it just represent that “black hole” in the content that’s being left where Griff’s heart used to be – because, of course. I wish that chorus made a lot more of an impact though because as is, it feels very much lacking in stakes, both sonically and lyrically, especially since the song doesn’t really go into any detail about how she tries to fill the gap, which I think would be a lot more interesting. As is, I mean, it’s listenable but I don’t know for how long before this becomes grating. Regardless, it’s looking to become a hit so we’ll see how this goes. Maybe mindless bubblegum-indie-pop is what the nation needs right now. Who knows?

#24 – “As I Am” – Justin Bieber featuring Khalid

Produced by Skrillex, Ido Zmishiany, Josh Gudwin and The Monsters & Strangerz

Now we here. These two tracks that debuted are basically the most I’m hearing from this Justice record past the singles, so I was kind of hoping the tracks with Skrillex and Lil Uzi Vert would chart out of morbid curiosity, but it’s seemingly the more R&B-adjacent cuts that are debuting the highest, as Bieber teams up with Khalid for a piano ballad, as Bieber talk-sings over some overly processed instrumental that pretty much goes off the rails as soon as the guitars come in and suddenly, it’s not so much of a ballad as much as it is a janky EDM track. In fact, everything about this is janky, from the non-build-up that leads to a really ugly, almost future bass-like drop that’s just kind of funny in how those distorted synths career in the mix like accordions. Then Khalid comes in pretending to be British as always, and despite his worst efforts, he can’t really harmonise with someone as digitally processed as Bieber when he’s a genuinely soulful and damn good singer. At some point, Bieber just goes insane in the bridge and Khalid’s there to bring him back down to Earth, doing so by forcefully stripping the future bass away and rescuing themselves both back to the safety of a clipping piano instrumental. Yeah, this is ridiculously bad – almost in the way that it makes me want to hear the rest of the album – but I wouldn’t go as far to say it’s so bad it’s good, mostly because I’m pretty aware it’s a fluke in an album that’s otherwise pretty boring, at least going by the singles. Of course, speak of the Devil...

#3 – “Peaches” – Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon

Produced by Shndo and HARV

Finally, electroclash legend Peaches released her comeback single and it debuted at #3 on the UK Singles Chart – or, in reality, Justin Bieber’s milquetoast R&B imitation with two genuinely pretty good alternative R&B singers Justin coasts off of the skill and talent of, debuts at #3 because we’ve got nothing else to do as a country but sit, complain and stream sea shanties. I watched the video for this when it came out, again mostly out of morbid curiosity, and it’s kind of a comedic gem as Justin’s clearly the only one trying (because he doesn’t understand the concept of smooth, low-key R&B), making him feel so out of place when stuck between Caesar and Giveon. It’s like Hailey Bieber knew Justin was going to be lonely on his birthday so she paid the coolest kids in school to humour him for a couple minutes. In fact, that’s pretty much the song as they all croon pretty effortlessly over a smooth, pretty organic drum groove as well as this subtle synth blend... except Justin Bieber, of course, who tries his best to be a presence on a track where he’s literally supposed to be in the background. Thankfully, that’s not necessarily a complaint as this is Bieber’s best vocal performance in years, maybe ever, even if he’s immediately outshined by Caesar harmonising pretty excellently with his own multi-tracking, channelling the kind of neo-soul that people like Tyler, The Creator and Kali Uchis were making together half a decade ago. Giveon is here, also, but I’m not sure if he fits as well as synth-funk as he does on the moodier stuff. I know for damn sure that Sampha wouldn’t feature on a Bieber track, even if this is the most respectable Bieber’s been in forever. Admittedly, by the final chorus, it’s absolutely infectious – even if the lyrics are beyond stupid. The verses are about intimacy with their respective significant others, written in the most inoffensive, lovey-dovey way possible, but the chorus is about getting peaches from Georgia, weed from California, and bringing them alongside your wife to Canada to see the Northern Lights. Sure. If that final synth solo in the outro proves anything, it’s that this song should be great and just kind of falls flat due to lack of focus. That’s not to say the song isn’t good though, because I’ll be singing that chorus quietly to myself without realising it for the next week or so. Good job, Bieber.

Conclusion

Best of the Week is actually going to Justin Bieber for “Peaches” featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon, if only to balance out the fact that he also gets Worst of the Week for “As I Am” featuring Khalid, what a trainwreck. Honourable Mention in that case pretty easily goes to “Headshot” by Lil Tjay, Polo G and Fivio Foreign, but even in a mixed bag week like this, Dishonourable Mention is kind of tough. There’s not a lot to outright dislike here, but I’ll give it to Mooski’s “Track Star” by default. With that said, here’s our top 10:

I can’t really make much prediction for next week other than the drowning out of all of this, although I can see “Peaches” absolutely having some legs. I can safely say Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato will end up here but I’m not as 100% on songs from 24kGoldn or Rod Wave’s albums landing. If the United Kingdom, currently collapsing under our feet, decides to make AJR’s new album chart, I say the Prime Minister gives permission for Scotland to leave while it’s still safe. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week.

[vradmic]

Why do you ship BlueFlora?

Thank you for the question, Anon~ also for calling it “BlueFlora”; it is much appreciated x3

BlueFlora… there are several reasons for me to ship it, honestly. I will say that there are going to be some spoilers, but only for the first three chapters of the Afterglow Band Story.

I know I normally don’t reveal spoilers, but this time I kind of have to to “justify” my reasonings for shipping BlueFlora. And I will be bringing those three up because I know there are already fan translations up at the time of writing this so people can at least understand the main points of the chapters.

1. In as early as the very first chapter of the Afterglow Band Story of Girls Band Party, it was already confirmed that Ran and Moca were probably the closest to each other than any pairing combination in Afterglow. Worth noting is that this is coming from a group of childhood friends (while being about 16 years old themselves). For them to explicitly go out of their way to note down this fact would, at the very least, confirm that the two of them share a very close bond with each other. Whether that is romantic or platonic is up for debate, as it is for any other ship, but I don’t think you can deny how close the two of them are to each other.

2. In that same chapter of the Afterglow Band Story, Tomoe noted how Ran and Moca were communicating with more than just words (I’ve seen some adaptations of that line that differ in their English meaning, but this again shows how close they are). Tsugumi directly goes on to say that “[Tsugumi] agrees/thinks so too”. Again, going so far as to make multiple people note how close they are; multiple people who have known them for years, no less. I don’t think that that is an accident.

3. The next part of the Band Stories that I want to bring up is something relating to Himari. Since we see chapters two and three kind of through her eyes, we also get to hear her thoughts as well. When Himari noticed how different Ran was acting, she was wondering whether or not Moca knew about it. Not Tomoe. Not Tsugumi. Himari was thinking of Moca. I don’t want to think that it is a coincidence that Himari thought of Moca first.

4. The final thing of the Band Stories that I want to bring up occurs at the end of chapter 3: the five girls went their separate ways and Moca decides to call Ran. While they didn’t really end up talking about anything in particular aside from Moca trying to cheer Ran up, that little segment did reveal something: Moca caring deeply for Ran’s well-being. The other three were worried about Ran, yes, but only Moca called (or, at the very least, was shown to have called) Ran to make sure that the vocalist was feeling better.

5. Aesthetically speaking, I just think that they look good together. There’s nothing much more to say about it, really. I like their designs and I like how their designs not only contrast but also emphasize each other.

6. As you would all know, BanG Dream! also has an anime (that ended recently T.T), and they did some very nice things with cameos. Every band had a couple of members appear in the anime at some point as a cameo, but I like the choices that they made for the Afterglow representatives. I don’t think I need to state who were the two girls from Afterglow who made the cameo in the anime, do I? Or how I believe that that, too, is not a coincidence?

7. Finally, another thing that I noted relatively early. In BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!, each girl was given an initial 3*. However, not all girls were alone on their cards. Check out the artwork for Ran’s initial 3* (unidolized); do you see any other girl there? Now take a look at the artwork for Moca’s initial 3* (unidolized); do you see any other girl there? Do I need to say that I don’t think that that is a coincidence, either?

8. If you think that the previous point was a big one, just you wait for this: there is not a single pair in Girls Band Party (aside from BlueFlora, of course) where two girls appear in each other’s initial 3* artwork like Ran and Moca do. For example: Aya appears in Hina’s initial 3*, but Hina does not appear in Aya’s. Eve is hugging Chisato in her own initial 3*, but Eve is the only P*P girl who is missing in Chisato’s. The only other pairs who appear in both initial 3*’s are the pairs of Tsugumi/Himari and Tomoe/Himari but, unlike Ran/Moca, all three girls’ initial 3*’s have more than two girls depicted in them.

Do you guys think it is a coincidence that all pairs with this trait involve Afterglow? I mean, you already know that I don’t… Afterglow really deserves more love…

Again, a very little thing at first glance. But at the same time, it is something that I strongly believe is something that was intentional.

9. And then we haven’t even discussed the fact as to what Moca’s unidolized initial 3* artwork depicts. For those who don’t know: it depicts Moca and Ran on the school’s rooftop watching the sunset together. Just the two of them. I think I should leave it at that before going on a run trying to detail how adorable that is… it’s adorable. And beautiful on so many levels.

Of course, that only scratched the surface of my reasoning as to why I ship Aoba Moca x Mitake Ran. There are actually a lot more hints in the later chapters of the Afterglow Band Story, but I had to leave them out as it would just be too big of a jump (I would have to skip a couple of chapters that didn’t have a lot of BlueFlora hints in them). That, and I don’t want this post to get too long.

[chisatowo]

One last post before I go to bed, I'm gonna let myself indulge in the comfort media™ and let myself share some things I love abt every main bandori character :]

Kasumi: goddddd starting off with one of the big ones..... She's just so. Yeah. Y'know I remember seeing someone say that she was very easy to read as a character with depression, and tbh I didn't believe them at the time, but after reading through more bandori stories and poppin'party song lyrics, I soooo get it now. Tbh, she might be one of the bandori characters I can relate to the most, and I find a LOT of comfort in her. I also love how much of a flirt she can be, it's very funny.

Arisa: I loooove how much she clearly loves her friends and just..... How they've clearly improved her life so so much and she definitely knows it at least to some degree. I also love her dynamic with nearly every character she interacts with, and she's also just very funny all around

Saya: welp time to go back to my "I have depression and am tired of only getting like 2 flavors of depressed characters in media" chair. Saya is another character that I can deeply relate to, and I think shes genuinely one of the best written bandori characters I love her sm. Also, as I have said with all characters before and all characters since, she is soooo funny strong contender for funniest bandori character imo honestly Saya's sooo underated from a comedy perspective vmfndjfmd

Tae: yes. I like you. What a wonderful silly guy. Tae was actually my original favorite poppin'party member, and tbh for the first lil while she was the only one of their band I was even slightly interested in dndbdjcnshf. I looooove her design a LOT and she also has some of my favorite outfits of the cast, and also again, hee hoo funny

Rimi: I mean, she's ok I guess. Her design is nice, and she's nice I guess, but idk she doesn't rly stand out amongst the crowd. Where's she on my favorites list again? Wait. What do you mean she's my 3rd favorite????? How did this happen?!?!?!?! Ok but in all seriousness though I literally cannot think of a way to properly get across how much I love Rimi. She's like my #1 kin of all time and also just. Idk I literally cannot think of a single thing to say abt her but you have to trust me she's perfect and amazing and I love her.

Ran: ah yes, Ran, my poor little meow meow, the most pathetic wet cat in bandori. I love Ran oh so dearly, I will bully them relentlessly but also I do genuinely find so much comfort in them, they're one of The comfort characters to me. Specifically in relation to my autistic Ran hcs, it's like 65% projection and the only reason it isn't 100% is because I refrained from also giving them my adhd fndjdnsjrnd

Tsugumi: mannnnnn Tsugumi. Tsugumi. Sure is one of the characters ever /pos. I have SO many Tsugumi thoughts, again mostly projection, but also I just. Rly like Tsugumi in general. I think what rly appeals to me abt them is that I can relate to a lot of their feelings of inadequacy, and I can't help but slip and project onto them a lot.

Tomoe: ah yes, one of the first bandori characters outside of Kaoru to get me deeply invested in them. I don't talk abt Tomoe as much as I should tbh, I rly do love her a LOT and she's probably a good 20% of the reason bandori stuck with my like it did. I LOVE her design, and also I just rly like her personality in general. I love how much she tries to look out for the people around her while not always being good at it, and I think I desperately want those glimpses of anxiety from afterglow bs2 to be explored more, which reminds me I should REALLY get to reading afterglow bs3 soon I'll do that at some point

Moca: yeah I guess I like Moca a lil bit. Just a tiny bit. It's only my number one favorite character of all time, no big deal. Anyways, Moca makes my brain feel like a can of bees, it just. Fuck man Moca is so good. Probably one of the best written characters in bandori in my opinion, and just. Man does a lot of Moca's issues hit rly close to home for me. I love pretty much everything abt Moca, but I will never get over Moca's arc, especially the aspects of it abt Moca actually deciding to try and work through its self loathing issues, I think that is probably what hit me the hardest.

Himari: yknow, Himari actually used to be one of the bandori characters I cared abt the least, but she's REALLY grown on me over the past few months. Like she'd probably be the character that grew on me the most since my first impression of them if it weren't for Rimi dnrjfmdgfh. She's another one I have a hard time wording exactly why I like them sm, but I think a big part of it is that she's soooo fun to analyse once you start to dig more into her character. I honestly doubt she was meant to be analysed this heavily, but that will not stop me from wanting to study her under a microscope. Also, my sibling loves her and I associate her with him a lot so that also gives her points

Aya: ah yes, the og poor little meow meow. Aya was the first pastel*palletes member I got rly attached to, and then I though of he/him lesbian Aya hc, and then I started thinking way too hard abt him in general fndirndg. I love how pathetic and sad he is, and I also just. LOVE how he interacts with every one of his bandmates, both from a character dynamic perspective and from a narrative one. Also, he's stupid and I love him

Eve: Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve Eeeeeeeve. I have many thoughts abt her. She's another one that took me a LONG time to rly get attached to, but man. She's got her hooks in my brain now and I will never stop being pissy by how underutilized she is by both the writers and the fandom fmdbdjfndu. Like don't get me wrong, she's not never utilized, but I think it's fair to say that on the whole she's one of the characters the writers take the least seriously. But back to being positive, I REALLY love how she's just. Such a good foil to Chisato specifically, and I also just love how despite having been burned by the flames of the spotlight before, she still pushes for things to be better, because even if it seems unrealistic, if things could be better then it's worth it to at least try. I've been thinking abt her a lot lately if you couldn't tell fmfkfndjd

Maya: she is simply sooooo autistic and transfem like y'all have no idea. It's honestly amazing how easy it is to read her stories with a trans lense, and I just generally rly like her writing, with like some minor complaints but that's not what this post is abt djdnsjrneg. Also!!! I love her casual wear designs SO much!!!!! She looks so cool and pretty and I just love her design sooooo much. Also I think she and Eve should hold hands

Hina: you. You. YOU. This little fucker makes me feel SO many emotions she is just sooooo autistic and her writing is just. SOOOO good. I can and will talk for soooo long abt her story, just. Man. As a person with both autism and adhd who was often hated or infantised amongst it's friend groups over the years, I can relate to Hina's issues soooo much and her story means so so much to me because of that. Her dynamic with her bandmates is just everything to me, and she also just parallels the others so well, and god pastel*palletes is just so good as a whole

Chisato: why hello there second favorite bandori character. I sure have written a few character analysis things abt you. And by a few I mean a lot. Just..... Man Chisato is genuinely soooo interesting and they might honestly be the most complex character in bandori writing wise. Like even beyond their more obvious complexities, there's a surprising amount of other subtler details of their writing that manages to stay consistent and make a lot of sense with their character. If you've followed me for a decent amount of time you've probably seen at least one of my Chisato character analysis posts, so I don't think I need to go on too long fnfndjrnf

Yukina: shakes her violently /pos. Yukina is another character that I only rly started high key adoring more recently, but I've always liked her quite a lot. She is the second of the poor little meow meow trio among my top ten, and she's just. Such a funny pathetic little guy who I adore. I wish I had more to say abt her, but idk what else to say she's just my poor little meow meow

Rinko: Im sooooo sorry Rinko honey I like never talk abt you but mannnn your design and voice are both soooo pretty and also you have some of the best cards.... Also I personally think she has some of the best dynamics with characters outside of her band of the bunch, and I can't help but be surprised by just how versatile of a character she ended up being. I honestly initially thought she'd be super boring, but she is honestly rly fun to read abt, although I will admit I prefer her in stories not completely centered on her.

Ako: Ako my bestie Ako my beloved. Well first and foremost, she's the owner of my favorite singing voice in bandori, so that's good for her, but also I just rly like how fun she is. Her design, her voice, her personality, she's just a rly fun character and I almost always like seeing her around in any given story. Shes also my siblings favorite character, so bonus points for that.

Sayo: ah yes, the issues haver. Tbh I haven't done as much deep character analysis with her as with other characters, but I still personally rly like Sayo and will defend her to the death from people who overly demonize her. I will refrain from going on that rant though for now, and simply talk abt what I like abt her. She's just. Such a deadbeat loser /pos. Like she's what I mean when I say I want more deadbeat loser fail women in media, she's just such an idiot loser dork and I love her so much for it

Lisa: aaand here's number 5 in my top five. I would go into detail on why I love her but that would get real personal real fast so I'll just summarise it by saying this; whatever is wrong with me and whatever is wrong with her is the same and I want her to see a therapist sooo bad

Kokoro: ohhhhhh Kokoro. My sweet darling Kokoro. I've always rly liked her, and Im glad to because she rly helped put me in the right headspace to analyse bandori characters, because she genuinely is SUCH an interesting character that DOES have layers, but it's just hard to notice if you try to read her stuff like you'd read more long and angst heavy media. Just because she isn't secretly miserable all the time doesn't mean there isn't depth to her, because there genuinely is a lot and I rly like that abt her. She's a very fun character to analyse

Misaki: mannn I love Misaki a lot actually. Like, I feel like shed be the sort of character 14 year old me would rly like, and for once I don't mean that in a bad way fndjdmdjr. She's of course very funny, being both just some guy in a very wacky cast while also being low key also a dumbass but in denial abt it, but I also love how she rly does genuinely love hello happy world. Like, I feel like it's a bit to common to think of Misaki like she hates the band and it's members, but she isn't just a ball of endless negativity and I like to appreciate that now and then since a lot of the fandom doesn't lol

Kanon: ah yes the character I have the worst takes on by far /hj. Well ok its mostly contained in aus but still vdndndjdbd. Not focusing on that though, the more time goes on the more I just. Rly rly like her arc. Like, idk there's something abt how hard she works to not just be more confident, but to be a good person who helps people and lifts them up like Kokoro did with her that I just love a lot. Tbh, it's probably because of those bad takes I mentioned before, since that particular arc stands out a lot more in my mind next to two au versions of her I have in particular that uh. Could rly use those messages fmdjdnsjv. But yeah, I simply think she's neat (<- is holding back just oh so much rn so people don't get mad at it)

Kaoru: ah yes, the beloved of all time. Kaoru is like. The entire reason I first got into bandori so that alone is a pretty big plus rnsjrndy. But also, to get real sappy for a moment, Kaoru's whole thing abt like. Self love and allowing yourself to acknowledge every version of yourself, and understand that they are all deserving of love, it just. Genuinely means so much to me, and I wish I had a story like hers to see when I was younger and going through some very intense self loathing issues. Also gay gay homosexual gay.

Hagumi: the character ever Im tired of everyone pretending she's uninteresting actually!!! Similar with Kokoro, she DOES have a lot of depth, she's just not easy to analyse if you're expecting the stories to spoon feed all her issues to you. Anyways, I love how she manages to be written as a person with a lot of anxiety, which is often worsened by her being very high empathy, but it's not presented in a way that makes it seem like her happiness is pretend. She finds a lot of comfort and confidence in her friends and in hello happy world, and it's hard to tell if you don't know what to look for but she genuinely is doing a lot better now mentally than she was before. I love her very dearly.

Mashiro: I love this dramatic gay loser who only gives off the illusion of not being dramatic because she's an anxious person. First things first, god her design is so fucking pretty man and I loooove her voice sm too.... And also, I rly like how she manages to be a generally kind person while still being kind of an ass sometimes, and I like how that's a thing actively acknowledged by the narrative and how it's something she's trying to improve on, and on that line I like that it's not something that just disappeared after morfonica bs1, it honestly makes her feel like a really well rounded character that actually like. Has to put effort into being better and stuff. Idk I just think she's neat

Rui: love this bastard sm she's just soooo full of issues. Like, I rly rly like how morfonica bs2 brought up that Rui's act of maturity is ultimately just an act, and how because of how much she's just been playing that guessing game of playing adult, she genuinely doesn't know how to deal with any of her emotions, even positive ones. And yet, shes still somewhat aware of how bad it is for her, but doesn't know how to change that or even if she can, and trying to reach for that is scary to her. She didn't just join morfonica to stand around and be mean or whatever, she does genuinely want them to change her mind on there being other options for her other than her cage of "logic", and while she still does have a ways to go, she is making progress.

Tsukushi: firstly, I love her voice and design a lot. Secondly, I just like her man I don't think I could rly tell you why but she's just rly likable to me idk. It might just be me relating to her as a fellow eldest sibling short king™, but I just think she's really relatable and is just funny. Also shes shorter than me so Im legally allowed to make fun of her for being short, ha short

Touko: and the last of the top five, here's my dear ol number 4. Look at me. Look. Look at me. They have so much fucking adhd man like I cannot overstate this enough they have so much adhd I relate to them SO hard and also they're just. So undiagnosed with so many mental issues that I also have so I just legally have to adore them ok

Nanami: bingus my beloved. Her design is just soooooooo pretty man and also kitty faced characters are my favorites design wise so thats many bonus points for her. She also just has sooo much autism, and I also rly rly like her dynamic with Rui. I want to cradle her in my arms like a cat

Layer: and it's time for the last of the poor little meow meow trio, and lemme tell you, Layer is very hard to talk abt for me dnsnsjdnsh. Like I love them so so dearly their my favorite ras member by a long shot but like. Idk what to say other that she's just a deeply pathetic loser and I wanna shove her down a flight of stairs and shake them like a soda can /pos

Pareo: absolutely superb you funky little lesbian. Anyways Pareo is one of the best written characters in this damn game and just. Fuck man after having been in a fandom where 99% of the gay coding was just blatant bigotry, coming into bandori was such a nice fresh breath of air, with Pareo being one of the biggest reasons why. She's a great example of a lesbian coded character that very clearly was intended for sapphic people and was written by sapphic people and is actually written like. Well. Like I was gonna say even if her being a lesbian can't be canonically said, but like she literally has used explicitly romantic language to confess to Chu2 so idk what to tell y'all

Masking: love this lil loser. I find him soooo funny but to be fair that's partially from me just stamping my siblings humor onto him rndjvtndhd. Also, yummy yummy tasty design, probably one of my top favorites tbh. I swear I have more to say abt him but it's 4 am and my brain is melting Im so sorry Masking I love you

Lock: loser idiot loser I like this dork sm. Lock has just sooo many good dynamics with people, with their relationships with Asuka and Ako being my personal favorites, and I also just like their personality in general. Again Id have more to say but it's 4 am Im so sorry sweety

Chu2: I'm gonna try to overpower the exhaustion just a lil bit for this stinky kitty because god damn do I ADORE Chu2. Like, she's another very very strongly adhd coded character in bandori, and also canonically sapphic so that's also cool, but I also rly like her for similar reasons that I like Mashiro, that being that she has issues that she's working on, but shes clearly having to put actual work into it. This is amplified by the fact that she's like 14, and has mostly had to raise herself and doesn't know how to deal with a lot of this stuff on her own, and like. It's ok that she needs support, but I also like that she's not treated like she can just get away with being a shithead all the time, her actions do have consequences and she does realise that. I still need to go check again if ras bs2 has any good fan translations yet soon, I am thrilled by all the concepts in it I've heard of so far. Chu2 demonizers dni /srs

[falneou17]

BanG Dream! Favorite List - 7

It’s been a while since I last made one of these, so I figured it might be fun to do this again. That, and it might help me get back into the swing of things once again... I still don’t play the JP server (anymore) so for Morfonica in particular... I don’t have a lot to go for when it comes to them...

There have also been some notable shifts (both up and down), which I guess is as to be expected with how long it has been since I last did this.

Favorites

Yamabuki Saaya (1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1)

A notable shift is not what this list starts off with, however. What can I still say about her without sounding like a broken record at this point? I think the only thing working against Saaya is that she’s in a band I generally don’t care too much about (relative to the other bands who have members at the top of this list), so my opportunities to hoard stars for Saaya cards or to write Saaya are relatively limited... that doesn’t take away from the fact that she is still at the very top, though.

Aoba Moca (2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2)

Moca honestly still symbolizes a bunch of different things for me, but most notably out of these is how flexible Moca is when put in different situations. As someone who has written twelve fanfics with Moca as a registered character of the fanfic (and a handful of others where she wasn’t), one thing I can really appreciate is how effective she is in being the starting point of the various fics she is in.

Mitake Ran (3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3)

In contrast to her best friend above her, Ran is... relatively fixed and rigid in what she can and cannot do. But in her case, this is not a bad thing. Where Moca is able to be used as a good starting point, Ran is very useful in being the thing hat keeps everything in check. In a way, Ran’s presence helps prevent the story from being consumed by the rhythm that is Aoba Moca.

Satou Masuki (20, 21, 10, 9, 9, 7, 4)

...Remember how I said that there were some notable shifts in the list? Yeah... that scramble oneshot revolving around Masuki and Mashiro I published on my birthday is all the reason why, really. Masuki is a ton of fun to write; not as much as either member of the BlueFlora pair landing above her, but still significantly so for her to surpass the likes of Tsugumi. The combination of being a headstrong, determined individual, a lone wolf, and someone who acts before they fully think things through... I don’t know, she’s an incredible addition to the franchise and I hope that I can find more opportunities to make use of her. Speaking of Tsugumi...

Hazawa Tsugumi (4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5)

It’s not fair to say that Tsugumi “fell” in the rankings, because let’s be real: Masuki just skyrocketed her way up the list. What is fair to say about Tsugumi is that she is the light of her band. Her being around helps keep the rest of her band sane and focused and Tsugumi makes for the perfect anchor point that I need to keep the stories grounded.

Shirokane Rinko (7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 6, 6)

If this list was purely based on how much the character meant to me, then Rinko would... she’d probably be 4th to be perfectly honest. Unfortunately for Rinko, this list is not purely based on how much the character means to me... Rinko was my second ever 4* in the JP server of the game after a period of eight months or so where I didn’t pull a 4*, so she holds a nostalgic place in my heart. But in terms of how she can be used in my writings... there are a handful of hindrances that keep her out of the top five (especially now that Masuki is a very real contender for the top five): Rinko is very limited in the variety of scenes I can depict her in while keeping her in-character. And, unlike Ran and Tsugumi who are part of Afterglow... Rinko is part of a different band... subtle hint to an underlying theme of this list is subtle...

Uehara Himari (6, 7, 8, 7, 7, 8, 7)

It’s weird... it’s almost as if being a member of Afterglow helps the characters remain relevant despite the franchise not being too kind to them overall. In all seriousness, Himari is a ton of fun to write. The dichotomy between her being the leader of the group and Himari being easily overwhelmed and flustered can give rise to so many amusing scenarios. At the same time, Himari also has a handful of other subtler sides to her that really helps her shine and stand out.

Imai Lisa (5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 5, 8)

I will come clean right now: it took me a while to decide where to place Lisa on this list. A part of me wanted to put her higher because of how much I love the role that she plays in Roselia in keeping the band together and the bond she shares with Afterglow (Moca in particular). On the other hand... it’s another Roselia entry, so... yeah, Roselia hasn’t really appealed too much to me ever since the two seiyuu shifts in 2018. That being said, as an individual I still really like Lisa. I still feel like she has a ton of potential and so, for now, I decided that this spot would be fair enough for Lisa.

Kirigaya Touko (NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, 22, 9)

Hey look, a bigger jump (13) than even Masuki experienced during her biggest jump (11). The reason for this huge jump is simple: Touko was super easy and super fun to write in that oneshot I published on my birthday. And while I don’t think she will be replacing other regulars in my stories from now on, I can definitely see myself write her in more scenes in the future.

My first instinct was even to put Touko above Lisa, making the jump fourteen spots instead of thirteen, but... it’s still too early to judge, Touko is still super new to the franchise and, unlike Masuki and RAS, she hasn’t had the opportunity to shine in an anime adaptation. Yet. Though if and when season 4 airs I expect Morfonica to get the same treatment as RAS got in season 3.

Udagawa Tomoe (8, 8, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10)

And here comes the hardest-to-rate member of Afterglow; and I am not just saying that because I like the other four members more than her... Tomoe is a great character with a ton of potential who acts as a great contrast to Ran and even Moca at times. The biggest issue I have with Tomoe (or, better phrased, with writing Tomoe) is the very thing I just praised her for: that she clashes with Ran. A lot. And since I mainly write Afterglow-centric stories in the perspective of either Ran or Moca (who follows after Ran)... it’s quite challenging at times to find a proper way to give Tomoe the credit she deserves when she so naturally clashes against Ran.

Love

Tamade Chiyu (13, 13, 16, 14, 15, 11, 11)

Technically Chiyu stayed in the same position, but she actually made a significant jump: beating her band’s guitarist. In terms of writing potential, Chiyu has a lot of it; a whole lot of potential... and that is great for Chiyu. It’s a shame that I probably won’t be able to bring all that potential to light, but... hey, the potential is still there. 

Asahi Rokka (12, 12, 12, 12, 11, 10, 12)

Back to the spot she once occupied. That being said, this “drop” can seem very deceptive; with how fast and high Masuki jumped, Rokka can naturally follow suit with how well Rokka works together with Masuki. I mean, once again, I’ve written scenes with Rokka and Masuki already and those two make for a good pair...

Nyubara Reona (14, 14, 14, 15, 16, 15, 13)

And here comes the first jump that has nothing to do with either something canon I’ve seen about them, their card arts, or even having written something for her. Reona simply jumped a bit because of the potential that a certain headcanon that a certain someone shared with me once upon a time. It’s not my place to share that to the public, unfortunately, but if the opportunity to write Reona presents itself...

Maruyama Aya (9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 12, 14)

I kind of feel bad for Aya dropping this far, but with how amazing the other characters who are now above her have been... it’s not so much that I like Aya less, it’s just that there are now more characters I like more than Aya. That being said, something that does keep Aya from competing with the majority of RAS is that I have nothing to write for her. Sure I can dedicate a special oneshot for her that is tailor-made to fit Aya in the storyline, but... that’s not something to set her apart from literally every other character on this list... Aya is definitely not the only character who suffers from this, but she is the first on this list that does suffer from it so I figured I’d bring that up the first opportunity I got.

Wakamiya Eve (11, 10, 11, 13, 12, 14, 15)

Similar to Aya above her in almost every way: I still really like Eve as a character, the other characters jumping up are making Eve’s life at the top quite difficult, and not being able to use Eve more regularly in my writings kind of hurt her. To be fair to Eve, she’s easier for me to find scenes to write her in than Aya simply because Eve works at the Hazawa Cafe, but... there are only so few scenarios I can make that work withous reusing the same scenes over and over again...

While it is still relevant I will also say this: the newest Eve card on the JP server (at the time of writing this post) is absolutely gorgeous. On a similar note: Eve is one of very few characters (especially outside the top... six, five if we exclude Masuki as she doesn’t have a ton of cards to begin with) who consistently get cards I really like.

Kurata Mashiro (NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, 21, 16)

Another noticeable jump, another character from Morfonica, and another character who jumped up the list a significant amount after I wrote for her. Mashiro has so much potential it’s really unheard of; if Bushiroad does Mashiro well I think Mashiro might even compete with Masuki... a good starting point, a solid setting for Mashiro to grow, and a surprising amount of personality traits I can make use of. I think the only detriment for Mashiro is the fact that she is shy and I am not too good with shy characters. Having said that... just look how high up the list Rinko is. In before I end up writing twenty Mashiro stories in the future.

Futaba Tsukushi (NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, 18, 17)

A small jump for this girl. All height (or lack thereof, in Tsukushi’s case) jokes aside, I do feel like Tsukushi has a bunch of potential. I’ve actually seen a couple of scenes with her (that I assume are area conversations), and these actually made me want to write Tsukushi. It’s a bit of a shame that Morfonica in particular feels like characters with “reworked” personality traits of other characters, but... hey, if they can make Tsukushi work then that won’t be a bad thing.

Wakana Rei (25, 20, 15, 11, 13, 13, 18)

As those numbers show, Rei has been... bouncing back and forth a lot, shall we say. She’s a fairly solid character, she has a good base going and they explored who Rei was as a character pretty well... but Rei is also fairly static and I don’t really feel like they have properly expanded on her personality traits all that much as of yet. Which is a really big hindrance for Rei in particular because she is part of RAS with bandmates who have such powerful and intense personality traits. Rei’s singing voice is pretty much the main reason why she’s still in this “category”; RAS songs are phenomenal and, in my biased opinion, what Roselia should have been had they not suffered under the seiyuu shifts.

Likes

Hikawa Sayo (17, 16, 18, 18, 17, 17, 19)

Despite what the category implies, the characters in this category are really hard to rank because they overlap in a lot of, well... categories. How much I like/dislike their personalities, how much I like their cards, how much potential I see in using them in my fanfics... Sayo, despite what I said in my earlier entries, does have a lot going for her. She’s got a good base going as far as personality goes and to say that Sayo received a lot of character growth would be an understatement. But more than that, she has a lot of potential, more than any other in this category, so... up top of the category she goes.

Okusawa Misaki (10, 11, 13, 16, 14, 16, 20)

I told you being in HaroHapi is a detriment for Misaki, right? It’s a shame because I like Misaki as a character and she does have potential. For all intents and purposes, Misaki is pretty much the Moca of HaroHapi. The problem is that the very fact of being part of HaroHapi really limits Misaki’s potential for me to use her in my stories.

Ichigaya Arisa (15, 17, 17, 17, 18, 19, 21)

Arisa is actually a surprisingly interesting case of an entry on this list. On the one hand, she does have some really interesting personality traits which could help her make a name for herself in my eyes. On the other hand, these all go to waste, so to say, by the fact that Arisa has a personality trait that completely clears off every other part that makes Arisa who she is... which is a big shame. Yes, I can write scenes where I purposefully dance around the issue, but am I still writing Ichigaya Arisa if I do so?

Hiromachi Nanami (NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, 28, 22)

A surprisingly significant jump for Nanami, but in actuality I think her previous entry of 28 may have been a little too low for her. I still haven’t seen enough of her but from what I have seen so far she makes for some really interesting possibilities. A good base, some fun tricks hidden beneath that smile of hers, and years left to properly make a name for herself.

Toyama Kasumi (26, 24, 23, 22, 21, 25, 23)

Kasumi has always been really weird for me to place. She’s the main protagonist so, in a way, she’s already limited to how different she can be from the typical main protagonist of a franchise like BanG Dream. That said, she also has some interesting traits that make for a potentially fun writing experience. If nothing else, Kasumi works really well as a starting point to drag the readers and the other characters in the story to the next scene. Just like...

Tsurumaki Kokoro (16, 15, 19, 19, 20, 20, 24)

I hate putting Kokoro this low, I really do. She’s a fun character, she’s eccentric, and whenever Kokoro shows up you know that there won’t be a dull moment for as long as Kokoro is on the screen. Unfortunately, being a fun character to watch does not necessarily translate to being a character who is easy to write... and Kokoro is the perfect example of that, at least in my case she is.

Above Neutral

Udagawa Ako (19, 18, 20, 20, 19, 23, 25)

A character I don’t hate putting this low, at least not as much as Kokoro. Ako suffers from a curse that one could argue fits every other character on this list as well, so it might come up again going down this list; and that is that Ako has one or two specific niches and nothing much beyond that. Like Kokoro, she is a fun character to watch and her antics are an enjoyable experience, but... when it comes to writing her... I am not left with a ton of options...

Shirasagi Chisato (22, 22, 22, 21, 22, 27, 26)

Chisato is actually a funny case because she falls under a very specific trap: she got the personality, she got the character growth, she has the potential... she doesn’t have a lot of potential for me to write her, however. It’s kind of hard to explain, but Chisato being unique in what she does makes it hard to find a way to properly incorporate her in my stories.

Yamato Maya (27, 26, 26, 27, 27, 31, 27)

Hey, look! Maya surpassed Tae (among others) and reclaimed the spot she once sat at (before Morfonica’s introduction). So jumping back effectively means she actually jumped four spots. Maya is a ton of fun to watch, she’s got some potential as far as writing scenes for her go, but... unfortunately, it’s just a little too late for her to really make a big enough name for herself for me to consider incorporating her in my stories more regularly. Especially now that RAS and Morfonica have really taken off.

Matsubara Kanon (23, 25, 24, 24, 23, 26, 28)

You know what amuses me making these lists? People thinking I hate Roselia when I consistently put HaroHapi and even PoPiPa and PasuPare below Roselia (generally speaking). I like Kanon as a character, I think Kanon is adorable and deserves love... I don’t think Kanon would do very well in my writing... Kanon is shy and all mumbly fumbly, two things that usually prevent me from writing the character more regularly. And before you call me out on it: yes, I know that Rinko succeeded despite that as well, but Rinko also had other traits that helped her succeed. For Kanon to succeed she’ll need something more; having said that, I can see the potential of combining Kanon with Mashiro of all characters, but that is not quite enough for her to rise up the ranks.

Neutral

Yashio Rui (NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, 24, 29)

Rui pretty much swapped places with Nanami from the last entry (not quite but close enough). And there really is only one reason for that: I don’t know enough about Rui to properly rank her. Tsukushi was the Morfonica girl I liked the most the moment I saw their announcement, Touko and Mashiro jumped as soon as I wrote both those girls (and did my fair share of research on both), and Nanami had some really interesting possibilities. So where should I place a character I know almost nothing about?

Hikawa Hina ( 24, 23, 25, 25, 24, 29, 30)

Above Hina, apparently. Hina is a really weird entry for me; I do like her as a character and I don’t dislike seeing her on the screen. And while Hina technically has a ton of possibilities as far as writing the character goes... she also has very limited possibilities, and here is why: Hina is a genius so Hina would naturally be able to surpass most if not all obstacles she faces with little to no trouble. There’s nothing interesting about writing “the easy way out”, at least for me, which is why Hina’s many possibilities kind of fade into nothingness...

Hanazono Tae (18, 19, 21, 23, 26, 30, 31)

And here we finally arrive at a character who is not a character I dislike but a character who has received very little character growth whatsoever over the years, limiting her usability in writing her. Long story short, Tae doesn’t have anything that helps her stand out from the rest of the cast who have a wider range of personality traits for me to take advantage of as a writer. Do I like Tae as a character? Yeah, I think she is okay and she has had her moments for sure. Do I think I have a lot of options for writing Tae? Not really...

Ushigome Rimi (28, 28, 27, 26, 28, 32, 32)

The same old song and dance for Rimi. Just... kind of a missed opportunity in my eyes; she had potential and she had some base going for her that could make expanding her personality traits an interesting adventure. But, in my opinion, she’s received even less character growth than Tae did over the years, and so we come at the same problem: do I write Rimi over any of the girls listed before her?

Kitazawa Hagumi (29, 29, 29, 28, 29, 33, 33)

Pretty much exactly like Rimi above her, but Hagumi has another problem she has to deal with. Well, two, technically, but the second one is not her fault so let’s ignore that... Hagumi is completely overshadowed by Kokoro in her own band, so even if I needed a happy-go-lucky, energetic, eccentric girl from HaroHapi... I would think of Kokoro before Hagumi which, unfortunately for Hagumi, means she doesn’t stand out to me when I want to write the best character for specific scenes.

And I think that’s all the main characters of the franchise... I don’t believe I am missing any main characters worth mentioning...

[falneou17]

BanG Dream! Favorite List

So... people have been requesting I made this for quite some time now, and I decided that I might as well. It might be a nice thing to look back on the past three years and see how I have formed and changed my opinion on the various characters.

The main reason why I held back with it for so long, aside from wanting to avoid giving off the wrong idea with who my least fave is, is because I was playing on the JP server while conversing with people who were only playing on EN. I stopped playing JP about a year ago now (the last event I remember playing on the JP server was Babyglow, actually), so the EN server has more or less caught up to what I remembered from the JP side of the franchise; which means that there is still a decent chance that my preferences might change from this point onwards. Not to mention that the third season will air next month, too.

I want to do these regularly-ish, but with how “fixed” the rankings have been ever since RAS’ introduction I wonder how often that can be done.

Icons are taken from the bandorisorter tumblr.

Favorites

1. Yamabuki Saaya Same old song and dance, she has been my favorite BanG Dream! girl since day one. She radiates an aura similar to Saten Ruiko from the Raildex franchise (who also happens to be my all-time favorite character), and this, coupled with her supportive, sacrificial, helpful nature really helped Saaya in solidifying a spot in the #1 spot. The only way I can feasibly see her drop from this spot is if she doesn’t receive any character growth and development because she has been, admittedly, rather static in this department.

2. Aoba Moca A name people still think is my fave of the franchise, she might really become it soon depending on how much Saaya grows in the future. A “simple” character at face value, I really started finding out just how deep her character is when I started getting more into her design and learned more about her. She is overall a really fun character to work with and nothing says that more than the fact that she has been the centerpiece of all my multi-chapter fanfics for this fandom at the time of writing this.

3. Mitake Ran Ran goes almost hand-in-hand with Moca, but where Moca had the element of surprise and curiosity to keep her high on the list, Ran felt like this mixture of two characters of a different franchise I really enjoyed, combining both their strong points into who we now know is Mitake Ran. And I am sure you all already know how much I like Ran considering the BlueFlora works I have done since April of 2017.

4. Hazawa Tsugumi Tsugumi is probably the easiest character, at least among the Afterglow girls, for people outside the BanG Dream! fandom to relate to, and for good reason. She’s a hard worker, remains positive, and you know things will go south when Tsugumi isn’t being optimistic and charging forward like no tomorrow.

5. Imai Lisa Lisa shares a lot of similarities with Saaya, or at least how I described Saaya. Nevertheless, there are still a handful of factors that would explain the gap between them. The first is that I saw Saaya on the screen first, so Lisa was doomed to become “similar to Saaya” as a result (the way the first season animated both girls didn’t really help). The second is the way Lisa is shipped by the general fandom that makes me feel a lot more restricted in using her freely. The final point is not Lisa’s fault, but while Nakashima Yuki has done an amazing job at taking over the role... she is not Endō Yurika.

Loves

6. Uehara Himari I make fun of Himari a lot, but she is still an amazing character and a great gear in the Afterglow machine. And while I personally feel like the English translation of Himari’s catchphrase is not doing it justice, I am very much aware of how important Himari is to the chemistry of Afterglow. She is the leader of Afterglow, after all.

7. Shirokane Rinko What started out as just a playful headcanon has really gotten traction and popularity amongst my readers and helped Rinko rise up to this spot, managing to even beat out the fifth member of Afterglow in the process. Although very different from the characters I usually wrote for, Rinko manages to be this breath of fresh air to allow for a different pace than what I usually work with. The only reason that is holding Rinko back is not even her own fault: Akesaka Satomi made Rinko into the character that I’ve come to know and love; she was Rinko, so losing her was and always will be a big blow to me. Shizaki Kanon is doing her best, and I respect her as a seiyuu in her own right, but... she’s never going to replace Akesaka Satomi as Rinko in my eyes.

8. Udagawa Tomoe Tomoe is a weird one. On the one hand, she’s very fun, energetic, and is tunnel-visioned enough to be fairly predictable in a fun way. On the other hand, she is the most static character in her band and one of the most static of the entire franchise, so... she’s still really high up thanks to the Afterglow bias in me, but who knows for how long that can last?

9. Maruyama Aya I really am unable to talk about Aya without bringing up her seiyuu, Maeshima Ami, because the phrase “the seiyuu is the character” rings very true when it comes to this one. And she is a very fun character, too! I am not really good with stumbly fumbly characters, but watching Aya on the screen has never been a bad thing. It also helps that her singing voice matches Misawa Sachika’s so much, reminding me of Misawa Sachika’s Polaris mini-album and even convincing me for a short period that Misawa Sachika was Aya’s seiyuu.

10. Okusawa Misaki/Michelle I am not really breaking the mold here, having Misaki be my favorite Hello, Happy World! character, so I don’t think I need to add much to it. In a nutshell, Misaki is to Moca as Lisa is to Saaya. But instead of being put in a band I like overall, Misaki was put in what is arguably my least fave band of the franchise (mostly because the style of music does not fit me, personally, and I like the other five bands more)... which really limits how much Misaki can rise in my list.

11. Wakamiya Eve I only have one thing to say about her: BUSHIDO. In all seriousness, Eve is adorable and her fascination with Japan can really act as a parallel to how some fans adore the culture. In short, much like the vocalist of her band, there is never a dull moment when Eve is around.

12. Asahi Rokka Rokka is a really fun addition to the cast through the second season that aired earlier this year. And what is really interesting about her is that, while the other four RAS girls have been a hit or a miss in the fandom, Rokka seems to be almost universally liked. She is just an adorable bundle of cute, what’s more to say about her?

Likes

13. Tamade “CHU2″ Chiyu So remember how I said in Rokka’s entry that RAS’ characters tend to be a hit or a miss? Well, CHU2 is, in my experience, the most polarizing of the RAS girls; people either love her or hate her. I personally really like her, because while she may appear as a brat at first there is obviously a lot more going on beneath the surface. And I enjoy watching those characters develop, so here’s to hoping that season 3 is nice to CHU2.

14. Nyubara “PAREO” Reona Now unlike CHU2, I can’t really pinpoint what it is exactly about PAREO that makes me like her. But I do, she is enjoyable, her dedication to RAS and CHU2, while bordering something else entirely, is still... quite admirable to see, in its unique way.

15. Ichigaya Arisa Arisa is a weird one. I enjoy watching the subtle actions she does in the background to show that she cares for and supports her friends, but at the same time... she’s competing with Himari for the title of “who can be the butt of all jokes”... which is a bit of a shame, but oh well. Another thing that is kind of holding her back is the fact that one of her defining qualities, being a tsun, is... not the most unique personality trait in the anime world, to put it lightly.

16. Tsurumaki Kokoro Kokoro is... an interesting case. I think I mentioned earlier that I am not really good with eccentric characters, and Kokoro is exactly that with a capital E, but on the other hand... the few times when we do get to see through that bubble of energy we get treated to a surprisingly deep character. It also helps to share birthdays with me, I suppose.

17. Hikawa Sayo Another really weird one to place, and one that will probably define the rest of the list. Sayo, by far, has received the absolute most character growth of any of the other girls. That is normally a good thing, but in Sayo’s case it kind of acts like a double-edged sword; while she grew to be a better person and a better sister, above all else, she... lost things that really defined who she was in my eyes. And because of that, I don’t quite know where to place her... I do enjoy her and still like her, but... I dunno...

18. Hanazono Tae Tae has always been a fan favorite ever since she first appeared in the anime, but... she faces a problem I have mentioned before: she’s pretty static. She’s still fun and the fact that I am kind of looking forward to the way her seiyuu continues to grow will probably keep Tae up, but not too high.

19. Udagawa Ako All right, so Ako being here should already tell its own story, but... generally speaking, when a character is “created” with its whole purpose being to surpass another specific character, they will never come close to that character on my list simply because I end up thinking of Ako relative to Tomoe (in Ako’s case). Ako is fun to see and her chuunibyou side makes for some cute interactions, but aside from that... with the fall of Rosela came the fall of its members...

20. Satou “MASKING” Masuki At this point in time, we don’t really know that much about her. She had like... what? Five lines in the entirety of season two? From what I have seen of her so far, however... she catches my interest, but depending on how well her character and backstory are handled she can rise or fall accordingly.

21. Minato Yukina So remember the whole “fall of Roselia” I mentioned? It is not really their fault, losing Endou Yurika and Akesaka Satomi was a big blow, but the effects it had on both the characters and their respective seiyuus are still... there. Yukina in particular also suffers from the whole notion that she is introduced as this super professional singer with more talent than she knows what to do with, but... in part due to the seiyuu shift of Lisa and Rinko, Roselia’s songs have taken a hit in how much I enjoy them (to emphasize this point: I haven’t really enjoyed a new Roselia original song ever since Akesaka Satomi left Roselia). The only two things keeping Yukina in this “tier” is that she is still somewhat interesting to work with and her rivalry with Ran can provide... quite the amusement.

Above Neutral

22. Shirasagi Chisato Once we’re in this tier, it... really is a bit of a blur as to who is placed where relative to each other. I can say that Chisato is probably at the upper end of it by the process of tiebreakers: BanG Dream! Livestream and events involving their seiyuus. Uesaka Sumire is always fun to watch on the screen and has made me warm up to Chisato in the process.

23. Matsubara Kanon Pretty much exact same reasoning as above, with Kanon being slightly lower simply because I tend to like serious characters more than those that fumble around. I will say, though, that the few times when we get to see a confident and determined Kanon on the screen, it was a lot of fun to see.

24. Hikawa Hina So remember my point with Ako about characters who are focused on their relationship and interactions with one specific character? Hina serves as this unreachable goal for Sayo to reach, and with a lot of the scenes that are being shown use Sayo’s perspective to do so... Hina’s innate genius is also somewhat of a double-edged sword for her ranking here, because while scenes involving Hina are anything but dull, I... prefer characters who work hard to get where they are above someone who is “born” with the ability to stand out.

25. Wakana “LAYER” Rei I feel kind of bad putting LAYER all the way down here, but as a character, she is rather... static and uninspiring, at least at this point in time. As a vocalist, however, LAYER is probably my second favorite in terms of the singing voice, so I am hoping that the third season can catapult LAYER up a couple places.

Neutral

26. Toyama Kasumi The “face” of BanG Dream!, so to say. I will say that, for a typical happy-go-lucky energetic female lead, Kasumi has a lot more depth to her than others. Unfortunately, being the character we see the world through, I’ve never managed to really relate to her. So while she is almost in the next tier, she barely misses it.

27. Yamato Maya Maya is, actually, a really interesting character with a lot of room to grow and become her own person. Unfortunately for Maya, she did not catch my eye early enough so by the time I got used to characters like Moca and Ran running around, Maya... kind of faded into the background.

28. Ushigome Rimi I don’t know how to say this without being too mean to Rimi, but... Rimi has been really static. Rimi interactions and scenes, more often than not, either consist of her love for Choco Cornets and/or her relationship with her older sister. A lot of potential, a lot of possibilities, but none that have really been taken advantage of...

29. Kitazawa Hagumi Hagumi suffers a really horrible fate, and I think that she would have been a lot higher on the list if she wasn’t in Hello, Happy World. Hagumi’s character and personality traits overlap with Kokoro’s a lot, and with Kokoro being the vocalist of the band Hagumi has really been living in her shadow... which isn’t doing her a lot of favors.

So, that’s my list. Oh, I missed somebody? Right right, let’s fix that~

Unsalvageable/Very Bottom

30. Seta Kaoru Where do I begin to properly explain how I feel about this character? For starters, Bang Dream is a gacha game where we grind up resources, save for weeks, sometimes even months, for that one card we want (unless we’re spending money on the game i.e. whaling). So what do you think will happen to the character who keeps dropping in a banner she is not even a rate-up in while you really wanted a limited card you have saved eight months for? Or if she keeps arriving as the guaranteed 3* in like 80% of all your pulls for over a year? For reference, I managed to get the skill level of her Phantom Thief 3* to level 5 by using duplicate copies of her Initial 3*. And vice versa.

The gacha side of my reasonings aside, the actual reason why she is and always will be at the bottom is for a reason that cannot be removed without changing who she is. Her over-the-top, flirtatious attitude really, there is no going around this, annoys me, and even if it is just a front... I’ve already associated at least three people I know irl to her, and since I despise those three for how they behave irl... I can never see myself saying that Kaoru is not my least favorite of the franchise.

The only way for Kaoru to no longer be at the bottom is for BanG Dream! to introduce a character I despise more. Which, to be fair, is a possibility with Argonavis, but not only am I just not interested enough to properly invest time in checking them out, they are also in an alternate universe or something if I remember correctly... so comparing the girls to the boys in Argonavis is like comparing... Railgun characters to Index characters, in a way, which isn’t really “fair”. I probably will if I decide to check out Argonavis, but don’t be surprised to see this one at the bottom still.

[gaymusicchart]

GAY MUSIC CHART – 2019 week 10

 Welcome to the Gay Music Chart, the LGBTQA related music videos TOP 50 actuality and most request.

 Vote for your favourite LGBTQA related music videos by leaving a comment for this post on :

YOUTUBE (in the comment section of the video of the week) : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7yfp-xq-b08tD6mAWwclA

BLOGGER : http://gaymusicchart.blogspot.fr

FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/GayMusicChart/

TWITTER : https://twitter.com/GayMusicChart with #GayMusicChart  

TUMBLR : http://gaymusicchart.tumblr.com  

 Here are some other sites which also makes LGBT charts or presents some LGBT artists :

https://tadslgbtmusiccharts.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/gaymusicgossipshow/

http://picdeer.com/gaymusicgram

http://thecountdownwithdjbaker.blogspot.com/

https://lgbtqmusicchart.uk/

Don’t hesitate to visits their sites !

 Here is the recap for this week :

 OUT : Sam Smith - "Fire On Fire" LW: 23 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 07

OUT : Ben Levi Ross & Taylor Trensch - "Only Us" LW: 29 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 29

OUT : Years & Years feat. MNEK - "Valentino" LW: 37 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 37

OUT : Bring Me The Horizon feat. Grimes - "nihilist blues" (Lyric Video) LW: 38 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 38

OUT : Brandon Stansell - "Hometown" LW: 40 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 25

OUT : Nimmo - "No More" LW: 42 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 42

OUT : D. Prime - "GAY" and "HAPPY-NESS" LW: 34 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 18

OUT : Tom Goss - "Still I Want You" LW: 44 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 44

OUT : Criolo - "Etérea" LW: 45 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 45

OUT : Funtastic - "Taku Fogo" LW: 46 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 46

OUT : Electrosexual - "Darkroom" LW: 48 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 48

OUT : Yaariyan LGBTQ Flashmob 2019 LW: 49 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 49

OUT : Someone Who Isn't Me - "Gomenaki" LW: 50 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 40

  01 (+ 2) : Lauv & Troye Sivan - "i'm so tired..."

LW: 03 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 01 (x1)

USA / Australia - 2019

 02 (- 1) : Troye Sivan - "Lucky Strike"

LW: 01 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 01 (x3)

Australia - 2019 - from the album "Bloom"

 03 (+ 4) : Trinity The Tuck feat. Peppermint - "I Call Shade"

LW: 07 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 03

USA - 2019 - from the album "Plastic"

 04 (+ 10) : Daniel Schuhmacher - "Venus or Mars"

LW: 14 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 04

Germany - 2018

 05 (+ 1) : Not.Your.Regular.Boy. - "It's All Yours"

LW: 06 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 05

The Netherlands - 2018

 06 (- 4) : Calum Scott - "No Matter What"

LW: 02 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 01 (x3)

UK - 2018 - from the album "Only Human" (Special Edition)

This really personnal song tells the story of Calum Scott telling his parents he was gay and their reactions of loving him "no matter what". It's a deep and emotional power ballad.

 07 (- 2) : Saara Aalto - "Dance Like Nobody's Watching"

LW: 05 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 05

Finland - 2019 - from the album "Wild Wild Wonderland"

A music video about a transgender teen who wants to do ballet against the will of his father.

 08 (+ 4) : Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - "Shallow"

LW: 12 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 04

USA - 2018 - from the OST "A Star Is Born"

This song won several Grammy, Oscar and Bafta awards in 2019.

 09 (+ 2) : Manila Luzon - "Go Fish"

LW: 11 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 04

USA - 2019 - from the album "Rules"

 10 (+ 26) : Echo Black - "Poison Apple"

LW: 36 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 10

USA - 2018 - from the album "Dawn"

The queer lead singer of the band is Danny Blu.

 11 (+ 4) : JORDY - "Just Friends"

LW: 15 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 11

USA - 2018

A love declaration.

 12 (+ 5) : Jão - "Me Beija Com Raiva"

LW: 17 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 10

Brazil - 2018 - from the album "Lobos"

It's the first time the singer talks about his sexual orientation with this song, writen for an ex-lover who broke his heart.

 13 (+ 6) : Michael Medrano - "Love Somebody Else"

LW: 19 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 11

USA - 2018

 14 (NEW) : MARUV - "Siren song" (live @ Vidbir 2019 - Final)

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 14

Ukraine - 2019

Politics and tensions between Ukraine and Russia caused the withdrawal of Ukraine from the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. Neither Maruv, winner of Vidbir, nor the other participants accepted the Ukrainian conditions to cancel their concerts in Russia and to be spokesman of the Ukrainian policy. So, the favorite Maruv will not go to Tel Aviv. She was one of the favorite of the contest this year.

 15 (- 7) : Trinity The Tuck - "The Face The Body"

LW: 08 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 06

USA - 2019

 16 (NEW) : Mahmood - "Soldi"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 16

Italy - 2019 - from the album "Gioventù bruciata"

After a long hesitation, we have decided to talk about the winner of the Sanremo festival 2019, who will represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 and is clearly a favorite this year. Some people and media think he's gay because of a past interview in a gay magazine about gay rights in Egypt last year and a concert at Bologna Pride in 2013. But he never came out, saying that coming out is a step back because his generation doesn’t make differences about color or sexual orientation.

 17 (+ 5) : Netta - "Bassa Sababa"

LW: 22 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 07

Israel - 2019

This is her first single her victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, still composed by Stav Beger.

 18 (NEW) : Not.Your.Regular.Boy. - "I Want You"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 18

The Netherlands - 2019

 19 (- 10) : Ben Platt - "Ease My Mind"

LW: 09 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 09

USA - 2019 - from the album "Sing To Me Instead"

With the second track of his upcoming album, the actor and singer officially comes out as gay in this music video, where he's dating Charles Carver.

 20 (+ 14) : Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart"

LW: 34 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 04

USA - 2018

 21 (- 17) : Christopher Sorensen - "Afterglow"

LW: 04 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 04

USA - 2018

A touching music video about a teen dating a mature man, but his life collapses when he discovered he's a married man with child.

 22 (+ 19) : Greyson Chance - "shut up"

LW: 41 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 22

USA - 2019

 23 (+ 12) : Calvin Harris, Sam Smith - "Promises"

LW: 35 / WO: 14 / PEAK: 01 (x1)

UK - 2018

 24 (- 11) : CupcakKe - "Squidward Nose"

LW: 13 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 13

USA - 2019

As usual, it's for an adult audience with these explicit sexual themed lyrics.

 25 (+ 6) : Lady Gaga - "Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?)" (Piano Version)

LW: 31 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 25

USA - 2018 - from the album "Joanne"

She won three Grammy Awards this year, including for Best Pop Solo Performance.

 26 (+ 13) : Theo X - "You Don't Wanna Dance"

LW: 39 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 09

Denmark - 2018

In this cute music video, a young teen dares to give an invitation to dance to another boy. Love is love.

 27 (RE-ENTRY) : KEiiNO - "Spirit in the Sky" (Live @ Melodi Grand Prix 2019)

LW: - / WO: 2 / PEAK: 27

Norway - 2019

The trio, composed by Alexandra Rotan and both out Fred Buljo and Tom Hugo, won Melodi Grand Prix and will represent Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv : congratulations!

 28 (+ 2) : Sam Smith, Normani - "Dancing With A Stranger"

LW: 30 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 14

UK / USA  - 2019

This is a passionate duet about coping with loneliness and trying to get over a lost love.

 29 (- 13) : N.E.F.O.R.M.A.T - "Чужие Судьбы" (Aliens Destiny)

LW: 16 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 13

Russia - 2019

For their first music video, these two have guts to do this kind of music video in their country: they show their homosexuality, they kiss, they flirt half naked in bed, they rebel for freedom. Respect, men!  

 30 (+ 2) : Agustín Malandra - "Madrugada Índica"

LW: 32 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 30

Argentina - 2019

 31 (+ 2) : Calum Scott - "If Our Love is Wrong"

LW: 33 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 09

UK - 2018 - from the album "Only Human"

 32 (- 7) : Federica Abbate - "Finalmente"

LW: 25 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 08

Italy - 2018

This song came second in the first part of the Sanremo Giovani 2018 Music Festival for emergent artists. The lyrics talk about a love relationship badly judged by the entourage. If the lyrics aren't specifically gay, the music video is, with the portrayal of a young man who comes out to his father who rejects him in return. So, the young man can only be reconforted by his boyfriend and his friends. Until... Beautiful.

 33 (- 12) : Ben Platt - "Bad Habit"

LW: 21 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 21

USA - 2019 - from the album "Sing To Me Instead"

The singer and actor will release his first solo album next March 29th. People wonder if he has just come out as gay with the appearance of Charles Carver in his apartment at the end of the clip.

 34 (NEW) : Kfir - "Drama Queen"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 34

Israel / USA - 2018

 35 (- 11) : Courtney Act - "Fight For Love"

LW: 24 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 07

Australia - 2018

The drag queen came 4th at "Eurovision - Australia decides", the Australian national selections for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.

 36 (- 26) : Jax Jones, Years & Years - "Play"

LW: 10 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 01 (x1)

UK - 2018 - from the EP "Snacks"

 37 (RE-ENTRY) : Hatari - "Hatrið mun sigra"

LW: - / WO: 2 / PEAK: 26

Iceland - 2019

An epic performance qualified for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv : congratulations ! The industrial gothic & BDSM trio clearly became one of the favorites of the contest this year.

 38 (- 20) : Tiago Braga - "Ilusão"

LW: 18 / WO: 27 / PEAK: 06

Portugal - 2018

A story of infidelity.

 39 (- 13) : Troye Sivan and Jónsi - "Revelation" (Lyric video)

LW: 26 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 11

Australia / Iceland - 2018 - from the OST "Boy Erased"

The song was nominated on the 2019 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. The movie "Boy Erased" follows the son of Baptist parents who is forced to take part in a gay conversion therapy program.

 40 (NEW) : Pabllo Vittar - "Buzina"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 40

Brazil - 2019 - from the album "Não Para Não"

 41 (- 14) : Allen King feat. Amor Romeira - "My Boy"

LW: 27 / WO: 11 / PEAK: 03

Spain - 2018

 42 (- 22) : Bilal Hassani - "Roi"

LW: 20 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 05

France - 2019

Bilal Hassani won Destination Eurovision 2019 and will represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Avivwith this song about self esteem.

 43 (- 15) : Robyn - "Send To Robin Immediately"

LW: 28 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 18

Sweden - 2019 - from the album "Honey"

 44 (+ 3) : Diego Diaz - "Caótico"

LW: 47 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 44

Argentina - 2019

 45 (NEW) : Gia Woods - "New Girlfriend"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 45

USA - 2019

 46 (NEW) : Adam Lambert - "Feel Something" (Live Session)

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 46

USA - 2019

 47 (NEW) : Alen Chicco - "Aš Čia"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 47

Lithuania - 2018

 48 (NEW) : Hovi Star - "Silver Spoon"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 48

Israel - 2019

3 years after winning "Rising Star" and coming 16th in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016, the Israeli singer is finally back with a new single.

 49 (NEW) : Jesse Saint John - "Wiser"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 49

USA - 2019

 50 (NEW) : Conan Osíris - "Telemóveis" (live @ Festival da Canção 2019 - Final)

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 50

Portugal - 2019

An epic performance which qualifies him to represent Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv : congratulations!

  NEW THIS WEEK

 Duncan Laurence - "Arcade"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

The Netherlands - 2019

The former contestant of The Voice Holland 2014 is openly bisexual. He will represent the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv in 2019 and is the big favorite this year.

 Duncan Laurence - "Arcade" (live acoustic at De Wereld Draait Door)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

The Netherlands - 2019

A proof he can sing and why he's the big favorite for the winning of the Eurovision Song Contest.

 Sergey Lazarev - "Scream"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

The Netherlands - 2019

He will represent Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv in 2019 and is one of the favorite this year. The song is once again composed by Phillip Kirkorov.

 Tamta - "Replay"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Cyprus - 2019

Tamta will represent Cyprus with this song at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv. It's already a favourtite for this year's edition. The music video uses the gay card with a bit of homoerotism.

 Chingiz - "Truth"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Azerbaijan - 2019

Chingiz will represent Azerbaijan with this song at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv. Probably upset by its first non-qualification for the final last year, the country, really not gay-friendly, uses the queer card with this music video to please the eurofans and go to the final : that's the power of Eurovision.

 Tamara Todevska - "Proud"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

North Macedonia - 2019

Tamara will represent Azerbaijan with this song at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv. It's an ode to women. The music video shows different women, including if we don't make mistakes a transgender woman.

 DI-RECT - "Devil Don't Care"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

The Netherlands - 2019 - from the albym "Season"

This song is about traveling the bumpy road of self-acceptance.

 Aaron Porter - "BOY"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

UK - 2018

 SOAK - "Déjà Vu"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Ireland - 2019 - from the album "Grim Town"

 Lou Asril - "Divine Goldmine"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Austria - 2018

This is the first single of the Austrian band.

 Conchita Wurst - "Trash All The Glam"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Austria - 2019

Her new look ? Bald head !

 Alex G - "Pray It"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2018 - from the EP "In The Still and Homespun Pt. IV"

The music video includes lines from the letters she wrote to her parents about coming out as bisexual, and about falling in love with and wanting to marry her wife, Torri Blue.

 Mila Jam - "Twilight Zone"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

This is about dating as a trans woman.

 Cameron Hawthorn - "Dancing in the Living Room"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

The country singer comes out with this music video.

 Orville Peck - "Big Sky"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2018

The mysterious country singer sings about his previous relationships - with a remote biker, an abusive boxer, and overprotective jailer from Florida Keys.

 Ben Platt - "Temporary Love"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019 - from the album "Sing To Me Instead"

 Brian Justin Crum - "Circles"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

 Kalen Blanco - "Tonight"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2018 - from the EP "The Tonight EP"

 American Authors feat. Bear Rinehart of NEEDTOBREATHE - "Neighborhood"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019 - from the albym "Season"

 Maggie Lindemann - "Would I"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2018

 Ava Max - "So Am I"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

As the lyrics say: "But it’s okay to be different ‘Cause baby, so am I.”

 A Horse With A Horn - "Better"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

A Horse With A Horn is a project by Derek Wanker.

 Jvel - "No me pongo pa' llevar"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Spain - 2019

 Ana Guerra - "Bajito"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Spain - 2018 - from the album "Reflexión"

There is a bisexual threesome in this music video.

 Cub Sport - "Lift Me Up"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Australia - 2019 - from the album "Cub Sport"

The music video includes some wedding's footages of the members Tim Nelson and Sam Netterfiel.

 Pragya Pallavi - "Girls You Rule"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

India - 2019

 Júnyork - "Bate Vira"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Brazil - 2019

 Dulce y Agraz feat. Francisco Victoria - "No Me Alcanza"  

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Chile - 2019

Francisco Victoria is back with this featuring.

 Neven Ilic - "Por Algo Fue"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Chile - 2019

This song is song selected to represent Chile in the International Competition of the Viña del Mar Festival 2019.

 Agnieszka Chylińska - Schiza

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Poland - 2019 - from the albym "Pink Punk"

[gaymusicchart]

GAY MUSIC CHART – 2019 week 09

 Welcome to the Gay Music Chart, the LGBTQA related music videos TOP 50 actuality and most request.

Please notice that we received dozens of suggestions, and it's impossible to present all of them in the same week edition because the video would be too long. We have three months late to catch up, so it will take some times.

 Vote for your favourite LGBTQA related music videos by leaving a comment for this post on :

YOUTUBE (in the comment section of the video of the week) : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7yfp-xq-b08tD6mAWwclA

BLOGGER : http://gaymusicchart.blogspot.fr

FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/GayMusicChart/

TWITTER : https://twitter.com/GayMusicChart with #GayMusicChart  

TUMBLR : http://gaymusicchart.tumblr.com  

 Here are some other sites which also makes LGBT charts or presents some LGBT artists :

https://tadslgbtmusiccharts.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/gaymusicgossipshow/

http://picdeer.com/gaymusicgram

http://thecountdownwithdjbaker.blogspot.com/

https://lgbtqmusicchart.uk/

Don’t hesitate to visits their sites !

 Here is the recap for this week :

 OUT : Urgence Homophobie - "De l'Amour" LW: 29 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 10

OUT : Filatov & Karas - "Au Au" LW: 30 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 30

OUT : TIN - "Don't Say His Name" LW: 33 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 33

OUT : Lizzo - "Juice" LW: 37 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 02

OUT : Super King Reza & Groovebox - "Horchata" LW: 39 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 23

OUT : Silva - "Duas da Tarde" LW: 41 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 08

OUT : MNEK - "Girlfriend" LW: 42 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 28

OUT : LOBODA - "INSTADRAMA" LW: 44 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 44

OUT : Miss Benny - "Rendezvous" LW: 45 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 31

OUT : Savoir Adore - "Bloom" LW: 46 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 46

OUT : Pabllo Vittar - "Seu Crime" LW: 47 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 31

OUT : Electric Fields - "2000 and Whatever" (Lyrics Video) LW: 49 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 30

  01 (+ 2) : Troye Sivan - "Lucky Strike"

LW: 03 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 01 (x3)

Australia - 2019 - from the album "Bloom"

 02 (- 1) : Calum Scott - "No Matter What"

LW: 01 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 01 (x3)

UK - 2018 - from the album "Only Human" (Special Edition)

This really personnal song tells the story of Calum Scott telling his parents he was gay and their reactions of loving him "no matter what". It's a deep and emotional power ballad.

 03 (+ 1) : Lauv & Troye Sivan - "i'm so tired..."

LW: 04 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 03

USA / Australia - 2019

 04 (+ 11) : Christopher Sorensen - "Afterglow"

LW: 15 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 04

USA - 2018

A touching music video about a teen dating a mature man, but his life collapses when he discovered he's a married man with child.

 05 (=) : Saara Aalto - "Dance Like Nobody's Watching"

LW: 05 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 05

Finland - 2019 - from the album "Wild Wild Wonderland"

A music video about a transgender teen who wants to do ballet against the will of his father.

 06 (+ 6) : Not.Your.Regular.Boy. - "It's All Yours"

LW: 12 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 06

The Netherlands - 2018

 07 (+ 16) : Trinity The Tuck feat. Peppermint - "I Call Shade"

LW: 23 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 07

USA - 2019 - from the album "Plastic"

 08 (- 2) : Trinity The Tuck - "The Face The Body"

LW: 06 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 06

USA - 2019

 09 (+ 18) : Ben Platt - "Ease My Mind"

LW: 27 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 09

USA - 2019 - from the album "Sing To Me Instead"

With the second track of his upcoming album, the actor and singer officially comes out as gay in this music video, where he's dating Charles Carver.

 10 (- 8) : Jax Jones, Years & Years - "Play"

LW: 02 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 01 (x1)

UK - 2018 - from the EP "Snacks"

 11 (- 1) : Manila Luzon - "Go Fish"

LW: 10 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 04

USA - 2019 - from the album "Rules"

 12 (- 1) : Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - "Shallow"

LW: 11 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 04

USA - 2018 - from the OST "A Star Is Born"

This song won several Grammy, Oscar and Bafta awards in 2019.

 13 (NEW) : CupcakKe - "Squidward Nose"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 13

USA - 2019

As usual, it's for an adult audience with these explicit sexual themed lyrics.

 14 (NEW) : Daniel Schuhmacher - "Venus or Mars"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 14

Germany - 2018

 15 (+ 20) : JORDY - "Just Friends"

LW: 35 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 15

USA - 2018

A love declaration.

 16 (- 3) : N.E.F.O.R.M.A.T - "Чужие Судьбы" (Aliens Destiny)

LW: 13 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 13

Russia - 2019

For their first music video, these two have guts to do this kind of music video in their country: they show their homosexuality, they kiss, they flirt half naked in bed, they rebel for freedom. Respect, men!  

 17 (=) : Jão - "Me Beija Com Raiva"

LW: 17 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 10

Brazil - 2018 - from the album "Lobos"

It's the first time the singer talks about his sexual orientation with this song, writen for an ex-lover who broke his heart.

 18 (- 4) : Tiago Braga - "Ilusão"

LW: 14 / WO: 26 / PEAK: 06

Portugal - 2018

A story of infidelity.

 19 (+ 12) : Michael Medrano - "Love Somebody Else"

LW: 31 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 11

USA - 2018

 20 (- 1) : Bilal Hassani - "Roi"

LW: 19 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 05

France - 2019

Bilal Hassani won Destination Eurovision 2019 and will represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Avivwith this song about self esteem.

 21 (+ 15) : Ben Platt - "Bad Habit"

LW: 36 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 21

USA - 2019 - from the album "Sing To Me Instead"

The singer and actor will release his first solo album next March 29th. People wonder if he has just come out as gay with the appearance of Charles Carver in his apartment at the end of the clip.

 22 (- 6) : Netta - "Bassa Sababa"

LW: 16 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 07

Israel - 2019

This is her first single her victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, still composed by Stav Beger.

 23 (- 1) : Sam Smith - "Fire On Fire"

LW: 22 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 07

UK - 2018 - from the OST "Watership Down"

"Watership Down" is a BBC mini-series adaptation of the book, which tells the story about a warren of rabbits fighting to survive numerous perils as they search for a new home.

 24 (- 17) : Courtney Act - "Fight For Love"

LW: 07 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 07

Australia - 2018

The drag queen came 4th at "Eurovision - Australia decides", the Australian national selections for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.

 25 (- 17) : Federica Abbate - "Finalmente"

LW: 08 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 08

Italy - 2018

This song came second in the first part of the Sanremo Giovani 2018 Music Festival for emergent artists. The lyrics talk about a love relationship badly judged by the entourage. If the lyrics aren't specifically gay, the music video is, with the portrayal of a young man who comes out to his father who rejects him in return. So, the young man can only be reconforted by his boyfriend and his friends. Until... Beautiful.

 26 (+ 24) : Troye Sivan and Jónsi - "Revelation" (Lyric video)

LW: 50 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 11

Australia / Iceland - 2018 - from the OST "Boy Erased"

The song was nominated on the 2019 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. The movie "Boy Erased" follows the son of Baptist parents who is forced to take part in a gay conversion therapy program.

 27 (+ 1) : Allen King feat. Amor Romeira - "My Boy"

LW: 28 / WO: 10 / PEAK: 03

Spain - 2018

 28 (- 10) : Robyn - "Send To Robin Immediately"

LW: 18 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 18

Sweden - 2019 - from the album "Honey"

 29 (NEW) : Ben Levi Ross & Taylor Trensch - "Only Us"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 29

USA - 2019

A gay cover of the song from musical "Dear Evan Hansen"

 30 (- 9) : Sam Smith, Normani - "Dancing With A Stranger"

LW: 21 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 14

UK / USA  - 2019

This is a passionate duet about coping with loneliness and trying to get over a lost love.

 31 (+ 1) : Lady Gaga - "Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?)" (Piano Version)

LW: 32 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 31

USA - 2018 - from the album "Joanne"

She won three Grammy Awards this year, including for Best Pop Solo Performance.

 32 (NEW) : Agustín Malandra - "Madrugada Índica"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 32

Argentina - 2019

 33 (- 24) : Calum Scott - "If Our Love is Wrong"

LW: 09 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 09

UK - 2018 - from the album "Only Human"

 34 (- 9) : Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart"

LW: 25 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 04

USA - 2018

 35 (- 11) : Calvin Harris, Sam Smith - "Promises"

LW: 24 / WO: 13 / PEAK: 01 (x1)

UK - 2018

 36 (+ 12) : Echo Black - "Poison Apple"

LW: 48 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 36

USA - 2018 - from the album "Dawn"

The queer lead singer of the band is Danny Blu.

 37 (+ 6) : Years & Years feat. MNEK - "Valentino"

LW: 43 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 37

UK - 2019 - from the album "Palo Santo"

We can't show the music video due to copyright restriction.

 38 (NEW) : Bring Me The Horizon feat. Grimes - "nihilist blues" (Lyric Video)

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 38

UK / Canada - 2019 - from the album "amo"

 39 (- 19) : Theo X - "You Don't Wanna Dance"

LW: 20 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 09

Denmark - 2018

In this cute music video, a young teen dares to give an invitation to dance to another boy. Love is love.

 40 (- 14) : Brandon Stansell - "Hometown"

LW: 26 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 25

USA - 2018 - from the album "Slow Down"

This song is kind of a representation of his coming out story, with his family who didn’t respond very well. It was named one of the TOP 10 COUNTRY MUSIC VIDEOS of 2018 by Rolling Stone.

 41 (- 3) : Greyson Chance - "shut up"

LW: 38 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 37

USA - 2019

 42 (NEW) : Nimmo - "No More"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 42

UK - 2019

 43 (- 9) : D. Prime - "GAY" and "HAPPY-NESS"

LW: 34/ WO: 3 / PEAK: 18

USA - 2019

 44 (NEW) : Tom Goss - "Still I Want You"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 44

USA - 2019

 45 (NEW) : Criolo - "Etérea"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 45

Brazil - 2019

 46 (NEW) : Funtastic - "Taku Fogo"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 46

Brazil - 2019

 47 (NEW) : Diego Diaz - "Caótico"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 47

Argentina - 2019

 48 (NEW) : Electrosexual - "Darkroom"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 48

Germany - 2019 - from the EP "Era#03 - X2"

 49 (NEW) : Yaariyan LGBTQ Flashmob 2019

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 49

India - 2019

 50 (- 10) : Someone Who Isn't Me - "Gomenaki"

LW: 40 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 40

Greece - 2018

  NEW THIS WEEK

 Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper - "Shallow" (Live @ The Oscars 2019)

LW: 11 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 04

USA - 2018 - from the OST "A Star Is Born"

Their performance was so magical that rumors said after it that they’re dating each others.

 Hatari - "Hatrið mun sigra" (live @ Söngvakeppnin 2019 - Final)

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 26

Iceland - 2019

An epic performance qualified for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv : congratulations ! The industrial gothic & BDSM trio clearly became one of the favorites of the contest this year.

 Friðrik Ómar - "Hvað ef ég get ekki elskað?" (live @ Söngvakeppnin 2019 - Final)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Iceland - 2019

The out singer came second in the Icelandic national selection: congratulations!

 Friðrik Ómar - "Hvað ef ég get ekki elskað?"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Iceland - 2019

A music video has just been released.

 Conan Osíris - "Telemóveis" (live @ Festival da Canção 2019 - Final)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Portugal - 2019

An epic performance which qualifies him to represent Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv : congratulations!

 KEiiNO - "Spirit in the Sky" (Live @ Melodi Grand Prix 2019)

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 47

Norway - 2019

The trio, composed by Alexandra Rotan and both out Fred Buljo and Tom Hugo, won Melodi Grand Prix and will represent Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv : congratulations!

 Erlend Bratland - "Sing for You" (Live @ Melodi Grand Prix 2019)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Norway - 2019

A really good performance, but not enough to beat Keiino.

 Mahmood - "Soldi"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Italy - 2019 - from the album "Gioventù bruciata"

After a long hesitation, we have decided to talk about the winner of the Sanremo festival 2019, who will represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 and is clearly a favorite this year. Some people and media think he's gay because of a past interview in a gay magazine about gay rights in Egypt last year and a concert at Bologna Pride in 2013. But he never came out, saying that coming out is a step back because his generation doesn’t make differences about color or sexual orientation.

 Krista Siegfrids & Christoffer Stranberg - "Love Parade" (live @ UMK 2019 - Interval Act)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Finland - 2019

In the Finish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, that wasn't the contestant Darude but the animator Krista Siegfrids who made the show gayer!

 Bilal Hassani chante sur le vol Easyjet direction Tel-Aviv 26 Février 2019

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

France - 2019

The French contestant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 dreamed to be like Britney Spears in his plane to Israel, where he filmed his postcard for the show.

 MARUV - "Siren song" (live @ Vidbir 2019 - Final)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Ukraine - 2019

Politics and tensions between Ukraine and Russia caused the withdrawal of Ukraine from the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. Neither Maruv, winner of Vidbir, nor the other participants accepted the Ukrainian conditions to cancel their concerts in Russia and to be spokesman of the Ukrainian policy. So, the favorite Maruv will not go to Tel Aviv. She was one of the favorite of the contest this year.

 Alen Chicco - "Aš Čia"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Lithuania - 2018

 Hovi Star - "Silver Spoon"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Israel - 2019

 Kfir - "Drama Queen"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Israel / USA - 2018

 Emily Burns - "Too Cool"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

UK - 2019

 Aaron Porter - "I Wanna Let Love"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

UK - 2019

 Dan Crossley - "Call Back"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

UK - 2019

 Pabllo Vittar - "Buzina"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Brazil - 2019 - from the album "Não Para Não"

 Lia Clark feat. PANKADON - "Taca Raba"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Brazil - 2019 - from the album "É da Pista"

 Brunelli - "Freelance"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Brazil - 2019 - from the EP "Freelance"

 Bobby Lytes - "BANG BANG"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

 Big Dipper - "Pressed"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019 - from the album "Late Bloomer"

 New Kids On The Block - "Boys In The Band (Boy Band Anthem)"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019 - from the album "Hangin' Tough (30th Anniversary)"

 Ben Platt - "Grow As We Go"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019 - from the album "Sing To Me Instead"

 Gia Woods - "New Girlfriend"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

 Boy Harsher - "L.A."

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

 Jesse Saint John - "Wiser"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

 JORDY - "Stay Together" (Official Lyric Video)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

 Adam Lambert - "Feel Something" (Live Session)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

 Matthew Olshefski feat. Tom Goss - "Say Something"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

 Todrick Hall - "21 Songs Every Gay Knows"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

 Scotty Dynamo feat. Lil Ghost - "Who Do You Love?"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Canada - 2019

 Not.Your.Regular.Boy. - "I Want You"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

The Netherlands - 2019

 Candy Ken - "Temporary"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Austria - 2019 - from the album "Flamingo"

 Constantin 4U - "One Boy from a Little Town"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Romania - 2018

 Jvel - "La Nube"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Spain - 2018

 Safree feat. Maskeh - "Mala"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Spain - 2019 - from the album "Ego"

 Miss Caffeina - "Prende"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Spain - 2019 - from the album "Oh Long Johnson"

 CARIÑO - "Bisexual"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Spain - 2018 - from the album "Movidas"

 Sugar Pills - "Baby Love"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

France - 2019 - from the EP "Pools"

 Kanwar Grewal - "Chitthiye"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

India - 2019 - from the album "Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga OST"

 ChaseDreams - "My Brother's Gay And That's Okay!"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - 2019

This is taken from TV Series "The Other Two", season 1, episode 4.

 Isak & Even (SKAM NORWAY) - fanvid by casdroid

Martino & Niccolò (SKAM ITALIA) - fanvid by Aaron Logan

Lucas & Eliott (SKAM FRANCE) - fanvid made by xShadowBanshee

The critical acclaimed Norwegian teen drama TV series has at the moment 7 remakes. Actually, only French and Italian remakes have showed the "gay season", with the gay love story between two male characters (originally Isak & Even). The French remake is considered by fans as more dramatic, realistic and romantic than the original. You can watch the episodes subtitled by fans on YouTube.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 20/03/2021 (Central Cee, KSI/YUNGBLUD/Polo G)

On the tenth week that a song appears on the UK Singles Chart, it becomes likely that it has a cut to its streaming numbers by the Official Charts Company, particularly if it’s still in the top 10 and especially if it’s #1. So, the streaming and sales do not change, but the Official Charts Company just weighs them differently. This means that it’s often that songs reliant on streaming – read: most of the chart given that the UK doesn’t factor in radio – drop intensely on that particular week. Therefore, we switched out our Pokémon and “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo has been replaced at #1 after nine weeks by “Wellerman”, an 1800s sea shanty from New Zealand covered by Nathan Evans and remixed as a pop-house song by 220 KID and Billen Ted. Of course. I don’t know all of the complexities behind this rule but I do know it shakes up the chart at the cost of it being ridiculously inaccurate – I do think “drivers license” is probably still the biggest song in the country. “drivers license” is at #18 now, by the way. Yikes. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

We have a pretty interesting week, to say the least, but before all that, we can get through this brief rundown as always as we cover the UK Top 75 and all of what’s happening over there, since that’s what I cover. First of all, we do have some big drop-outs, like #1 hits “Roses” by SAINt JHN and remixed by Imanbek that seemingly had its second wind pummelled this week, and “positions” by Ariana Grande leaving somewhat prematurely. We also have “Mr. Brightside” by the Killers retreating to the other 25 slots I don’t cover because, well, of course, as well as “Midnight Sky” by Miley Cyrus and sadly, “Be the One” by Rudimental featuring MORGAN, TIKE and Digga D, but that’s all for the notable drops out of the chart. Still falling within the chart other than the aforementioned “drivers license” are... basically all of the Drake songs from last week falling behind the top 10 and even the top 20, and two of them being behind “Leave the Door Open” now – thankfully. “What’s Next” is at #20, “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” featuring Rick Ross is at #25 and “Wants and Needs” featuring Lil Baby is at #28. We also have a handful of other notable fallers like “WITHOUT YOU” by the Kid LAROI at #27, “Hold On” by Justin Bieber off of the debut at #31 (could rebound next week when the album makes its impact), “Paradise” by MEDUZA and Dermot Kennedy at #35, “Anxious” by AJ Tracey off of the debut to #45, “Anyone” by Justin Bieber at #49, “Medicine” by James Arthur at #54, “Bluuwuu” by Digga D at #57, “34+35” by Ariana Grande at #58, “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I at #60, “Toxic” by Digga D at #61, “Good Days” by SZA at #64, “Whoopty” by CJ at #65, “Prisoner” by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa at #66, “Afterglow” by Ed Sheeran at #68, “Regardless” by RAYE and Rudimental at #69, “you broke me first” by Tate McRae at #71 and finally, “Lemonade” by Internet Money and Gunna featuring Don Toliver and NAV at #75. I hope that next week is the last time I need to say “Lemonade” by Internet Money and Gunna featuring Don Toliver and NAV, not because the song is bad but that is a convoluted credit if I’ve ever seen one. In terms of gains and returning entries, it does get interesting. The only return is for “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles at #67, but our gains include “Didn’t Know” by Tom Zanetti at #56, “Heartbreak Anniversary” by Given at #42 thanks to the video, “Ferrari Horses” by D-Block Europe featuring RAYE at #36 off of the debut, “We’re Good” by Dua Lipa at #32, “All You Ever Wanted” by Rag’n’Bone Man at #29, “Astronaut in the Ocean” by Masked Wolf at #24, “Let’s Go Home Together” by Ella Henderson and Tom Grennan at #21, “Little Bit of Love” also by Grennan at #13, “Streets” by Doja Cat at #12 thanks to the video and three songs making their first entry into the top 10 after picking up the pace on the charts recently: “Commitment Issues” by Central Cee at #9 thanks to his album, “BED” by Joel Corry, RAYE and David Guetta at #8 and finally, to my dismay, “Latest Trends” by A1 x J1 at #2 thanks to a remix featuring Aitch. Sigh, okay, well, we have a... curious selection of new arrivals so let’s start with that.

NEW ARRIVALS

#73 – “You’ve Done Enough” – Gorgon City and DRAMA

Produced by Gorgon City and DRAMA

Gorgon City are a British EDM duo who were particularly big back in 2014 or so when they had their top 10 hits, particularly “Ready for Your Love”, which peaked at #4, but they haven’t really had much success since in the UK or Europe in general. This time, however, they’ve clinched a spot in the top 75 by collaborating with DRAMA, another electronic duo except they’re from Chicago instead of north London and the vocalist here, Via Rosa, is actually from DRAMA and not some uncredited session vocalist or a sample, which surprised me because the vocals here are genuinely great and remind me a lot of these booming diva voices used so commonly in 90s house. In fact, I think this whole song is genuinely great, relying on a house groove that is pretty damn funky and some subtle keys making the foundation for a bouncy four-on-the-floor beat, with the shaky percussion just adding the spice on top of it. It helps that this chorus is pretty ethereal, with Rosa’s vocals booming over this angelic synth blend before a pretty ugly-sounding drop but that is absolutely on purpose, as the content here is about that struggle between trying to find someone and trying to better yourself so you feel like you’d be worthwhile to anyone you end up meeting, which is kind of a depressing cycle in many ways... not that I’ve experienced that, but it sounds like it warrants the DRAMA here. There are tons of intricacies in the productions here too that make the song a lot more complete, particularly in the vocal production and all the intrusive bass wobbles by the second chorus and drop, so, yeah, for once, the generic house tune debuting low on the chart is a pretty great one. I wish it went somewhere further so it sounded like an actual song but as is, without a real bridge, this is still a good, almost anthemic dance track.

#70 – “Rasputin” – Majestic and Boney M.

Produced by Majestic and Frank Farian

Boney M. are a pretty legendary disco group collected by producer Frank Farian of several Caribbean singers to make some of the most fun pop music of the 70s. One of the most interesting things about this band were the fact that they were immensely popular in the Soviet Union back when that existed, and some Soviet films even show their songs playing during high-ranking Soviet government meetings, which sounds like pure comedy. Funnily enough, “Rasputin” was the only song Boney M. were forbidden to play in the USSR, even though it was still a big hit there. The 1978 song, a #2 hit for the band in the UK, basically retells the story that led to infamous and fascinating Tsarist Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin being assassinated, with most claims in the song itself being true or at least as far as we know, although the song does mostly focus on how much of a womaniser he was. The original hit is equally fascinating as the guy himself, with a great typical disco sound, those iconic strings and the use of Russian instrument balalaikas in its mix just furthering that intrigue. Now, in 2021, the song became a hit on TikTok because... of course, and now this remix by a DJ and producer called Majestic, is charting on the UK Singles Chart. Why this remix and not the original song? Well, this is basically a French house remix of the song, using those house patterns not too dissimilar to Daft Punk or Stardust-type stuff, which makes perfect sense to remix a classic disco tune. I do prefer the original track about “Russia’s greatest love machine”, because it’s a lot more natural and the remix is kind of poorly done in some places if I’m being honest, but if this is how kids decide to experience this type of classic disco, I’m not going to complain. It’s a good song; I’m interested to see how this second chart run goes.

#53 – “DAYWALKER!” – Machine Gun Kelly featuring CORPSE

Produced by BaseXX, Machine Gun Kelly and SlimXX

Nope. No, no, no. I refuse. I’m completely fine with bringing pop-punk and post-hardcore stuff back, but if the ringleader is Machine Gun Kelly and he’s bringing out Corpse Husband to help him on this trap-metal garbage, I’m not even going to acknowledge it further than the fact that it exists and it’s probably not in MGK’s best interests to compare himself to Capitol Hill rioters. Otherwise, absolutely not. Nope. Not even going to give this the time of day.

#46 – “Addicted” – Jorja Smith

Produced by Compass

In stark contrast, here we have Jorja Smith’s new single to add to that confusing sophomore album roll-out that I feel has been delaying itself for two years now. This new song is about giving your all to a relationship and not having it reciprocated, but she paints this in a very odd way, painting herself as “too selfless” to leave and that her partner should be “addicted” to her, which seems like the wrong way to go about writing this entirely, especially if this instrumental is going to be the dullest blend of checked-out live percussion and a boring electric guitar loop, and Jorja Smith’s not going to sell this in a different way to how she sells her other songs, going for a subtle croon that just doesn’t make sense for a song where we’re clearly not supposed to think Jorja’s in the right for being this obsessive and somewhat hyperbolic about this relationship not going the way she planned. I could see this being done really well but the song is too weak and flimsy as is to grasp how to handle the content and I’m sorry but it just does not work for me.

#44 – “Day in the Life” – Central Cee

Produced by Frosty Beats

Central Cee released his debut mixtape, Wild West and, listen, there was a point to me not saying much about “DAYWALKER!” so I think Central Cee existing and giving me so little to work with will weaken that point even further. To be fair, I like the choir sample in this beat, even if the drop is going to be really awkwardly staggered by a loose 808 for no reason, and this drill beat never really feels like it keeps up with itself, especially because Central Cee might be the least interesting rapper in a crop of already desperate British rappers. He also says that rappers that use Auto-Tune don’t “really rap” or “really trap”, which is awkward considering some of this guy’s back catalogue, and also incredibly untrue. He also disses D-Block Europe pretty directly which, regardless of who it’s from or how famous DBE continue to get, always feels like punting down, so, yeah, this is worthless.

#43 – “On the Ground” – ROSÉ

Produced by 24, Jon Bellion, Ojivolta and Jordgen Odegard

This is the debut solo single from ROSÉ, one of the singers from K-pop group BLACKPINK, which explains my initial confusion to why this was so high. The label has enlisted Jon Bellion of all people to produce as they intend to push ROSÉ as a global hit-maker in her own right, given that this is part of a two-track EP so that if one track doesn’t do as well, fans could gravitate to another and that becomes the hit. See “Havana” or, really, how Drake releases his singles nowadays. Looking at some of her television appearances and the language surrounding that, it seems like they’ve been trying to push her as a soloist for a while, and given that she broke PSY’s record for most-viewed solo South Korean video in 24 hours with this song, I think it’s a success. Is the song itself any good? Well, to my surprise, it’s all in English. It now sits at 100 million views and really, there’s no way to distinguish that this is from Korea... which isn’t a bad thing, necessarily, because the song is great, relying on this slick electric guitar pluck and ROSÉ’s vocals which, despite being drenched in reverb, sound really great, before the whole song is abruptly plunged into this distorted, bassy electro-pop void which is just a fascinating and kind of avant-garde choice for a pop song like this. The song doesn’t really develop further than that, pretty much repeating its own structure, but that drop with all the spliced-in backing vocals, is such an interesting catharsis itself that I think it makes up for that. The final drop does a lot different as well, going for a lead synth melody on the top of the mix that again sounds really great when paired with that mix and then the rising strings. I was tempted to write this song’s quirks off as shoddy K-pop songwriting but given the credits, especially Jon Bellion, I’m confident all of this nonsense is absolutely on purpose, and I love it. Check it out, I hope this becomes a hit outside of this debut week, although I really don’t think that’ll happen given it’s (ostensibly) a K-pop song and their western success is largely dominant on sales from fans. Regardless, I’m glad it debuted here in the first place as I wouldn’t have heard it otherwise.

#16 – “6 for 6” – Central Cee

Produced by Okami202, Sevon and Young Chencs

This is Cee’s sixth song to hit the chart, and hence he’s going “six for six”, even though only two of those singles were actually poised to stick around in any shape or form. He does seem to be going somewhere with this, particularly the direction I thought “Loading” would be going, as it uses a choir sample as the background to this janky UK drill beat... but it’s soon drowned-out and Cee himself is such a non-presence that it’s not worth paying attention to the guy’s content, let alone his lyrics which seem to try and be somewhat introspective about his drug-dealing and gang violence, but end up being incredibly shallow and not really saying anything, about as shallow as this instrumental. The outro would be a pretty nice piano interlude if it didn’t stop so abruptly and I’ve only got to hope that leads into a track on the album and isn’t just a mistake, because I’m not listening to that mixtape if my life depended on it. Another snooze from Central Cee, what a surprise.

#3 – “Patience” – KSI featuring YUNGBLUD and Polo G

Produced by Matt Schwartz

Remember when I said we had three songs making their first entry into the top 10? Yeah, turns out that I’m a compulsive liar since we actually have a fourth at #3, and I’m tempted to nope my way out of this one as well. What’s with this week and whiny, wannabe pop-punk singers collaborating with obnoxious YouTubers? I feel like I’m too old to cover this stuff every other week, and that’s saying something considering KSI himself is pushing 30 at this point, but regardless, I have to check out the song and to my surprise, it’s actually kind of decent. It goes for an 80s synth-rock vibe, with massive guitar tones and obviously not live drums that kind of undercut the pretty great bass groove here, but man, Polo G sounds surprisingly good on this production. His verse is pretty infectious, even if it ends up crushed at the end by YUNGBLUD’s hook, which sounds the least insufferable this guy has ever been, probably because of how the vocal production keeps him slightly in check. KSI himself might be the weakest link as he cannot sing at all, and the Auto-Tune in his verse is not helping, but I do like his David Bowie-interpolating ad-libs on the choruses (Yes, seriously). The bridge is a pathetic excuse of a bridge and the song’s mostly chorus – I’m kind of worried about KSI as a hit-maker going forward if he’s going to consistently contribute so little to his own singles, most of which have two other people on. I mean, it works as a short, inoffensive pop-rock song and not much else. I really wish this was Polo G’s song, actually, I think he deserves a second verse here.

Conclusion

Well, that week happened, that’s for sure. I’m going to give Best of the Week to the obvious outlier here, “On the Ground” by ROSÉ, but not without an Honourable Mention to Gorgon City and DRAMA for “You’ve Done Enough”. Worst of the Week is also going to the obvious outlier, “DAYWALKER!” by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Corpse Husband. Can I give a song I literally refused to review Worst of the Week? Yes, yes, I can. For Dishonourable Mention, just pick your Central Cee-flavoured poison. Here’s this week’s top 10:

I’ll see you next week for... Justin Bieber and Lana Del Rey. Damn, maybe I won’t see you next week.