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Summary

...Okay - so it's just around midnight (well beyond midnight actually) on Friday the 12th of January and quite honestly - I'M "freakin' DONE! ...Despite a record 771 Entries this week, the Open-Mic Team and several key supporters, led by @luzcypher of course, has taken swift, decisive, and rather effective actions thus far toward keeping the playing field clean and void of scammers for the benefit of us all.

I’m certain the team will continue to do so with vigilance and on an as-needed basis as time goes on. I simply can’t begin to tell you all how proud it makes me to be a part of such an extraordinarily talented team of music-loving colleagues.

Though it was quite a bit more time consuming going through the volume of entries (despite being able to skip over many of those that did not qualify) we still (as always) wound up with a plethora of phenomenal entries from both new and previous entrants alike!

Before I get down to presenting my picks this week, please indulge me for just a moment as I share a few words conveying not just my own personal sentiments, but sentiments that I trust each of our judges and sponsors also share.

What is it that we do here exactly, at the Open-Mic and Songwriters venues?

What is the purpose of it all? Well, in the most general of answers to that question, we do quite a lot for each of the individual artists and musicians who put in the hard work to fairly participate - but we also do quite a lot for the community at large.

However, in addition to all of the above, a significant, albeit somewhat smaller portion of what we do, is to simply to “Curate” music! – Why? – Because each of us involved loves MUSIC- just like you do!

What does that mean exactly within the context of the Open-Mic and Songwriters venues?

Well, it means that each of the judges working alongside @luzcyper and @meno take on the exhaustive weekly task of sorting thru vast amounts of musical content submitted by our most esteemed qualified entrants each week, and then we do our very best to present or “curate” our select lists of performances in the most meaningful and organized way possible.

That in a nutshell ladies and gentlemen is merely but one small facet of what the Open-Mic and Songwriters venues provide for the Steemit-community at large, and we do hope that you very much enjoy the music that we curate for you on a weekly basis.

We are here for you week-after-week, and we do what we do – first and foremost for your musical pleasure and entertainment – and secondly, - because we LOVE IT!

This small but important aspect of the Open-Mic and Songwriters venues means a great deal to us, and we suspect it means a lot to you too, so please, by all means, enjoy it along with all of the other numerous benefits alongside some really fantastic weekly music, fun, and performances that the Open-Mic and Songwriters venues provides. With all of that said, let’s get on with it, shall we.

Okay then - onto business as usual...

GENERAL NOTE: The final round/Week-8 of the Open-Mic SONGWRITERS Challenge sponsored by @meno is underway! The final week’s theme of The First Songwriters Challenge is “Till We Meet Again". The final theme for week 8 implies of course, that there will be more Songwriters Challenges to come in the future – so do stay tuned!

I’m certain that after all of the final votes are tallied for the first Songwriters Challenge that @meno will be providing a post to announce the Grand Prize Winner, so stay tuned for that as well in the coming weeks.

Okay then - so let's proceed onto yet more business as usual...

Though all Open-Mic and Songwriters entrants shall remain free to do as they please (unless of course, the rules change at some point in the future), I personally, am no longer encouraging Songwriters entrants to make dual entries of their Songwriters submissions into the general Open-Mic. If you wish to do so, however, it’s still a free world according to the “current rules,” and this Sunday’s Open-Mic will be week #68.

You can check out all the current Till We Meet Again “Songwriter Challenge” entries HERE. Do take the time to read the rules, and follow them carefully when entering.

Steemit Open Mic Week 67

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My Process

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As one of the esteemed Open Mic judges, it is my job to come up with (or “curate” as it were) a short-list of my top 5 entrants each week. With all of the great talent here, that is by no means an easy task. Sure, tossing in another 5 honorable mentions helps, but not when my weekly list starts out with 30 or more of my favorite entries... You guy's rock - I'm tellin ya!

Yes, I am a Libra – so I have an inherent drive deep within me to be fair and balanced – good qualities for a “judge” if you ask me. That being said, I’m still human – filled with emotion and subjective feelings – just like you. So, in order to mitigate my subjective tendencies to the best extent possible, I’ve come up with a method by which to narrow down my selections in a more objective vs. arbitrary manner.

Here’s how I go about my personal judging process: I first start out with a list of 30 or more of my most favorite entries for the week, and score them (yes, subjectively) in six distinct categories via a spreadsheet. The categories I’ve selected for scoring are in general harmony with those explained by @luczypher in his post titled How We Pick The Top 3 Entries, referencing such.

To get a more in-depth perspective as to how I personally go about selecting my artists, please refer to What I go through as an Open-Mic Judge.

Even though it’s still a “subjective” process – diligently going through each scoring category to come up with a “total” score for each entrant helps to minimize any overzealous subjectivity that I may harbor with respect to any specific entrants.

Quite often, this exercise doesn’t give me the exact results I would personally prefer to see – but that only means that my system of judging is working as intended and designed. With all of that said, here are...

My Top-5 Picks in Order

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FIRST PLACE: @juliolunar - “Olvidar (Forget)” - (Original Song)

Here, our esteemed “Julio” shares with us one of his very first original compositions as a solo artist. I must say that his performance here really stood out, and took me by surprise quite honestly! Straight-away, from the moment one hit’s “play,” Julio takes firm control of the feelings that he wishes to convey amid this awesome composition he’s titled, “Olvidar!” I so appreciate as I’m sure you do as well, all of the back-tracking and instrumentation that he’s provided us here in order to make his musical masterpiece truly come alive for all of us. Because he has accomplished this, and so much more, that’s why I’ve given my first spot among this week’s entrants to none other than our brother, Julio – he’s clearly earned it, and it shows!.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@juliolunar/steemit-open-mic-semana-67-limbo-olvidar-original-patrocinado-por-pfunk-y-luzcypher

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SECOND PLACE: @caracortada – “Improvisation in the Plaza” - (Original Song)

So, this is unique in that it is an “improv” of all things – and that @caracortada has teamed up with our esteemed @josecabrerav to create this rather soulful and passion-filled improvisation, which I’ve taken the liberty to re-title, “Improvisation In The Plaza.” I hope that they do not mind me taking such liberty… What grabbed me about this entry the most was the realness and the rawness along with the passion and pure spontaneity and soulful resonance that embodied this performance. For this and no other reason necessary, is the sole reason why these guys captured my second place standing in this week’s open-mic! Check them out!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@caracortada/steemit-openmic-week-67-2nd-improvisation-original-by-caracortada

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THIRD PLACE: @edenmichelle – “Secret Place” - (Original Song)

She states within her official entry and post - that this performance of hers is far from perfect, however, I respectfully beg to differ! I think that @edenmichelle’s performance here is just about as perfect as one could possibly hope for! I truly love her simple and organic engagement with “us,” - the listening public. It’s just her, - there alone, - all by herself – laying it all on the line – and if I say so myself, she does quite an incredible job of getting her underlying points across - along with of course, the sheer beauty, seductive simplicity, and pure unadulterated enjoyment of a damned good song by any other measure - that she has so gracefully bestowed upon us this week! This, among numerous other reasons, is why I’ve given @edenmichelle my number three spot this week. You go, girl! I’m lovin’ this every which way from Sunday!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@edenmichelle/steemit-open-mic-week-66-secret-place-original-song-by-eden-michelle

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FOURTH PLACE: @fanniepacc – “Panama” - (Original Song)

Well, well, well. How novel is this – might one ask! A “newcomer’s” first-time submission that just so happened to knock my socks off straight out of the gate! Now, this is what I call “cool!” So, in maintaining some semblance of patience as he gathers his sh!t together insofar as organizing the various “loops” and the like that he’s fashioned to comprise the entirety of this particular track – if indeed one has the wherewithal and wisdom to endure such minute pleasures, they will soon thereafter be pleasantly rewarded with a rather robust, “down-low,” and so ultimately cool and rich experience of @fanniepacc’s “Panama.” For all of the above reasons, I had no choice but to include @fanniepacc within my overall top-5 this week. Check him out, and see for yourself! … “I got this itch on my nose – but I’m doin’ fine” – how about you?
https://steemit.com/openmic/@fanniepacc/steemit-open-mic-week-67-panama-an-original-song-by-fannie-pacc

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FIFTH PLACE: @iamhbros – “The Inspiration” - (Original Song)

So, as a child, I was raised “Roman Catholic” as it were. Because of such preordained proclivities, I suppose I may have had a predisposition to favoring performances and entries that in some way pay homage to such beliefs. Be that as it may – no matter which way one decides to slice it - I suspect that in listening to @iamhbros performance here, that one would be hard-pressed to find fault in the passion, beauty, and intrinsically perceived truth buried within his quite amazing original rendition of “The Inspiration.” I’ll tell you what though; - @iamhbros submission of “Sheol” certainly got me off my feet and thinking about that which matters most to me. For that – and that reason alone - (amongst many additional and valid reasons), I am so proud to include this submission within my top-5 picks for the week. Great job, my brother – you rocked this, man – I loved it thru and thru!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@iamhbros/steemit-open-mic-or-week-67-or-sheol-or-original

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My Top-5 Honorable Mentions in Order:

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First: @storycharlemagne – “Take Me To Church” - (Cover Song)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@storycharlemagne/steemit-open-mic-week-67-story-charlemange-take-me-to-church-hozier-cover

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Second: @thesimpson - " Romany Eyes" - (Original Song)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@thesimpson/steemit-openmic-week-67-romany-eyes-original

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Third: @allanshrestha – “Not Giving Up” - (Original Song)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@allanshrestha/steemit-open-mic-week-67-not-giving-up-original-composition

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Fourth: @raci – “Blue Moon” - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@raci/steemit-open-mic-week-67-blue-moon

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Fifth: @atomcollector – “The Music” - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@atomcollector/steemit-open-mic-week-67-original-song-the-music

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Thank you for reviewing my selections for this week’s Open-Mic contest. If you find the content I curate entertaining and of value to you, then please consider up-voting and/or re-steeming it.

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Peace, Love, and Justice for All

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A very special shout-out to: The following artists who were very much on my radar, each within a splitting hair of making it into my overall top-10, and whose performances I loved, cherish, and respect most assuredly.

They are - in no particular order:

@quanahjayhicks, @claratymusic, @eco-alex, @jesuszoliz, @isaria, @tonypapa, @davidfar, @smith-house, @kjablonski, @ray.luv.music, @jovifermusic, @carlosgu, @fax4u, @senzenfrenz, @mcmarian, @willowjon, @alejandra23, @paulhallman, @matiasfumagalli, @art-mess, @jamesgetsit, @elisonr13, @vera.carla, @g10a.

Much love and thanks to each and every one of you who have touched a part of my heart and soul - not only this week but forever!

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