Songland - General Discussion

[RedbirdNelly]

I hope that when the artist tells the non-picked people to pitch them more songs or to collaborate in the future, they actually do that

[foxfreakinmulder]

On ‎5‎/‎11‎/‎2020 at 2:29 PM, RedbirdNelly said:

I hope that when the artist tells the non-picked people to pitch them more songs or to collaborate in the future, they actually do that

Me too. I also hope that the songs/song writers that didn't get picked are contacted by other artist watching the show.

[realdancemom]

21 hours ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

Me too. I also hope that the songs/song writers that didn't get picked are contacted by other artist watching the show.

I hope so too.  Just like somebody else mentioned that maybe Adam will pick up the Scary song since it had a lot of falsetto.  I remember liking that song when I watched.

[Ellee]

I hope too that the other songwriters get chances after the show.  I would think if that was happening though that the information would be out there for us to read. No?

 

Who was it that took all the songs in one episode?  Was that Will.i.am?

[RedbirdNelly]

On 5/17/2020 at 9:44 AM, Ellee said:

I hope too that the other songwriters get chances after the show.  I would think if that was happening though that the information would be out there for us to read. No?

 

Who was it that took all the songs in one episode?  Was that Will.i.am?

yes. Will.i.am took all the songs which was awesome

 

[Court]

A couple of the songs featured on the Voice tonight were from Songland. I assume from the first season. 

[Swenson]

In the most recent episode .....Florida-Georgia Line could've very well taken all the songs,  and who says they won't?

"Second Guessing" was a nice choice for them and thankfully it didn't get too messed up in translation between original and finished.   Lukr's "Hopes High" had a fantastic hook in it's chorus and I didn't get it why Ryan Tedder had to throw that out.   And I know the fusion between Country/Western and R&B made up what became rock and roll (remember how they used to say it would never die?)....in the case of turning Shawn's "Ain't Going Nowhere" which in it's bare form is a great tavern jukebox number I could drink beer and shoot pool to....to what?   If FGL would've taken it, I'd have restored it......not Esther's best effort.

[DanaK]

I can't be the only one who thought "That's a Country Song" should have won, can I? It sounds very country and had a great beat. It sounded right in line with the 1 or 2 songs I've heard from Florida Georgia Line. But it didn't even make the cut-down. I don't understand it

[bamlou]

15 minutes ago, DanaK said:

I can't be the only one who thought "That's a Country Song" should have won, can I? It sounds very country and had a great beat. It sounded right in line with the 1 or 2 songs I've heard from Florida Georgia Line. But it didn't even make the cut-down. I don't understand it

I was surprised too. Perhaps it was too similar in sound to some of Florida Georgia Line's stuff and they were looking for something different.

But I thought it was one of the better, catchier songs, and it seemed to be the one that everyone on the panel got the most excited about after the songwriter left, riffing and playing around with how it could be changed up (and not because it needed a lot of adjustments to fit them, but moreso because they were having fun with the song's possibilities). So I thought it was a lock at least to move on to the next round.

[pezgirl7]

I loved Esther's sparkly green dress and matching eyeshadow!

I feel like only Ryan Tedder has the balls to basically throw out all the lyrics and most of the melody of a song. He seems very particular about song writing, and definitely wants it his way. I wonder if it's difficult to collaborate with him. I think I liked "That's a Country Song" the best and was really surprised that they didn't choose it to produce.

It was cool to hear "Long Way Home" on The Voice last night, although I still like the original version best. 🙂

[foxfreakinmulder]

8 hours ago, bamlouie said:

But I thought it was one of the better, catchier songs, and it seemed to be the one that everyone on the panel got the most excited about after the songwriter left, riffing and playing around with how it could be changed up (and not because it needed a lot of adjustments to fit them, but moreso because they were having fun with the song's possibilities). So I thought it was a lock at least to move on to the next round.

I agree. It didn't seem like the panel was all that excited about the 2 songs that was performed before "That's a Country Song" at all. I didn't think the first guy would be chosen because after he sang the producers didn't have much of a response especially Esther who is usually very excited when they perform.

I don't know these 2 country artist but when they told Shane to take out the part about drinking/alcohol because it sounded like a wedding song I had a feeling it might win. It was a pretty song.

[Ellee]

It really was nice to see a Songland song done on the Voice by the artists that chose it.   How involved is Adam in the show?  Anyone know?  Are there any behind the scene rumors that more songs are being picked up or writers that have had additional opportunities?

[Diana Berry]

Wow so happy for all 3 songwriters.

 

But Lovestruck was a hit song from the beginning.  I was sitting there thinking if they don’t grab that song Levine will grab it in a hot second.    I still can’t get it out of my head.  

[Lyinfait]

Agreed! I knew Lovestruck had to be the one when he introduced it. The fact that there wasn't much changed in the final production said all I needed to know. It just has a great vibe and room for harmonies. I love it. I also liked what Shane did with What if it's love. I always laugh at Ryan redoing almost every song completely whenever he has the chance. Just gonna throw out the lyrics, and verse, and keep that one word there. That said, bad things chorus was really the best part of the song. 

[Court]

I'm still singing Lovestruck. I do love that they took all 3 songs. 

[DanaK]

5 hours ago, Lyinfait said:

That said, bad things chorus was really the best part of the song. 

Yeah, definitely very catchy. I think I liked it a bit better than the winning Lovestruck, but all 3 songs were good and I’m glad all 3 were picked. Up

[Babalooie]

The husband and wife team named Winans must surely be related to the sibling gospel singers BeBe and CeCe Winans.  Does anyone know for sure? I'm guessing that he is a son or nephew. It's great that all three songs will be used.  The people on this show are uber talented.

 

Edited May 26, 2020 by Babalooie

[realdancemom]

Lovestruck was also my favorite.  I'm glad that all three songs were picked.  Ryan really does change a song a lot that sometimes it hardly has any of the original song.  Not as much in this episode since the chorus was catchy.  Maybe, it was the winning Julia Michaels song that I'm thinking of.

[foxfreakinmulder]

That's really cool that they took all 3 songs. I can't believe how low key the guy that won was he hardly showed any excitement.

I wonder how this works, are the songs bought from the song writer or does the song writers get a percentage of the sale from the album it's on?

[AyeshaTheGreat]

On 5/26/2020 at 5:33 PM, Babalooie said:

The husband and wife team named Winans must surely be related to the sibling gospel singers BeBe and CeCe Winans.  Does anyone know for sure? I'm guessing that he is a son or nephew. It's great that all three songs will be used.  The people on this show are uber talented.

 

Yes. Juan is the son of Carvin Winans II, member of The Winans and 3WB.  And if you have seen the show Greenleaf, he is also the brother of Deborah Joy Winans (she plays Charity).

As for the show overall, this is my first time watching it.  I saw Boyz II Men post about their winning song and decided to watch the full episode, and then decided to binge this season.  I liked all 3 songs that were worked on although I did not feel that "Bad Things" was really a song for B2M.  However, I could see Usher singing it so I wish the writer could have been saved for that episode.  "Love Struck" is definitely stuck in my head.  I wish it was longer.  And The Winans song was much better received when Juan sung it compared to when Lisa sung it.  For seasoned songwriters, I am surprised they had Lisa sing in the original pitch.

As for this season overall, I did like the songs on H.E.R.'s episode and would like to hear "Scary" in mastered form, whether by Axel or a known artist that I like.  HER definitely made me like "Wrong Places" more.  I didn't really care for it when Jersey Girl performed it.

Lastly, in 7 episodes, three of the musical guests have been from country music.  Now, I have increased my country music listening over the past few months but I was starting to wonder if this show was actually taped in Nashville.  However, since I like Shane and Usher is coming on later, I am cool with it.  I really do like this show despite my not being able to sing a lick nor having written a song since elementary.  

Edited May 29, 2020 by AyeshaTheGreat

[RedbirdNelly]

On 5/29/2020 at 2:35 PM, AyeshaTheGreat said:

 And The Winans song was much better received when Juan sung it compared to when Lisa sung it.  For seasoned songwriters, I am surprised they had Lisa sing in the original pitch.

 

It was especially odd since they were pitching to men. Since they had a male option, having him sing it made more sense because it makes it easier for BIIM to picture themselves singing it.

[AyeshaTheGreat]

9 hours ago, RedbirdNelly said:

It was especially odd since they were pitching to men. Since they had a male option, having him sing it made more sense because it makes it easier for BIIM to picture themselves singing it.

Yeah. I knew Juan could sing but when they pitched with Lisa singing, I was wondering if he had a bit of a struggle voice like his younger sister. But then he started singing and I was even more perplexed as to why they would "risk" not being picked by having Juan sit there and watch.

[DanaK]

In Bebe Rexha’s episode, they really got into “Miracle”, before it even went into the rewriting session. There was a whole lot of back and forth improvisation going on, more than usual with much more excitement it seemed. I don't recall another artist from either season who jumped onto the stage like that and did their style of a song. And of course, it ended up being the winning song. I guess it won’t be introduced at the Olympic Games though

Edited June 2, 2020 by DanaK

[foxfreakinmulder]

19 hours ago, DanaK said:

In Bebe Rexha’s episode, they really got into “Miracle”, before it even went into the rewriting session. There was a whole lot of back and forth improvisation going on, more than usual with much more excitement it seemed. 

I agree. Bebe and the producers didn't show too much excitement with the other songs. I only know Bebe from her time on The Voice but something about her was off-putting to me and what did she say when Ryan was talking about Michael Phelps it was right after Shane dropped his notepad, she didn't like something? I didn't like her video at the end it was just her posing for the camera. Anyways, that song won't be played for awhile maybe years.

Poor Ester I don't think her song even got a second thought. I really like Ester but that first track suit she had on was very colorful and the sparkly dress at the end was way too short. Same for the girl with the long blond hair (which looked like a wig) even though she was young her dress looked like a shirt with a belt, too short. Or I'm just too old lol.

 I like that they keep in touch with songwriters from past episodes, but I have to wonder why, does Songland hire them or they just live in the neighbor so they can call them to come over and sing a song and do they pay them to come sing a song?

Not my favorite episode didn't like they rewrote every song.

[DanaK]

I actually posted before I saw Bebe’s choice of choosing 2 winners and combining Miracle and Bones, but supposedly knew the song chosen. I guess they ended up gutting Miracle except for its chorus and inserting in Bones for the rest. It was an unusual choice for this show

[pezgirl7]

9 hours ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

I didn't like her video at the end it was just her posing for the camera. Anyways, that song won't be played for awhile maybe years.

I think it was a quarantine video. She filmed it herself and then applied a filter to it.

I did like the combining of the two songs, since I liked both song parts that that they used. I thought it was pretty obvious that she was going to choose Miracle, so the twist made it interesting.

I thought it was funny when Bebe made a comment about how Ryan looked nervous after hearing one of the other songs. 

[Lyinfait]

I felt very uncomfortable for the one contestant who didn't get chosen. That was such an awkward moment in a usually feel good show. I was cringing the entire time, knowing (guessing) he wouldn't be chosen and then watching him stand in the background while the others sang with Bebe. 

Miracle had such a big response that it was the obvious frontrunner. I liked what was done to liven Bones up and do think the combination song end product worked. It is episodes like this, however, that make me frustrated by the format. I may be way off base with the process but it seems that writers submit their music and then it gets assigned to an artist. They seem to be convincing themselves that their song is right the artist. While that setup typically leads to an obvious match, it doesn't always work and you can hear when the songs are just not right. I'm guessing the show just didn't have enough "right" songs for the artist. I know if the writers were told to send in a song for a particular artist, you wouldn't end up with someone pitching a love song for the Olympics. Probably. 

 

[Ellee]

Just a comment .... I know absolutely nothing about writing a song but I like this show. I realize that we see the ‘end of the process’.   It’s all interesting to me.  

[saber5055]

I liked David Davis' song from the beginning and, interestingly, thought he sang it better than Ben Platt.

Edited June 9, 2020 by saber5055

[foxfreakinmulder]

23 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I liked David Davis' song from the beginning and, interestingly, thought he sang it better than Ben Platt.

That was my least favorite of the 3 but agree that he sang it better than Ben Platt. The song Ester worked on was my favorite and thought with her and Ben being friends she was going to win :-(

I couldn't understand/hear the words the singer that worked with Shane was singing. I heard the part about chasing the rainbow and finding fools gold but that was about it.

[saber5055]

28 minutes ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

That was my least favorite of the 3

LOL! So funny how we like different things.

28 minutes ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

I couldn't understand/hear the words the singer that worked with Shane was singing.

We agree on this. I couldn't even hear the rainbow part, just the last Fool's Gold two words. Geesh.

[pezgirl7]

I was surprised the winning song won. A lot of times you can tell what song will win by the initial reaction of the group, but that wasn't the case here. I loved Ghosts. I'm hoping that singer can release it on her own. She has a nice voice.

I agree that it's sometimes hard to understand the singers. The writers have the lyrics written out for them, so it might be nice for us viewers to have the lyrics displayed on the bottom of the screen. Next time I might try watching with the closed captioning on to see if it's accurate and helpful.

[realdancemom]

3 hours ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

That was my least favorite of the 3 but agree that he sang it better than Ben Platt. The song Ester worked on was my favorite and thought with her and Ben being friends she was going to win 😞

I couldn't understand/hear the words the singer that worked with Shane was singing. I heard the part about chasing the rainbow and finding fools gold but that was about it.

Ghost was my favorite too and I was hoping that she/Ester would win.  The winning song was my second favorite.  I also agree that the writer sang it better than Ben Platt.

[DanaK]

On 6/9/2020 at 12:08 PM, saber5055 said:

I liked David Davis' song from the beginning and, interestingly, thought he sang it better than Ben Platt.

I didn't like the way Ben sang it either at the end. It's obvious he was doing it in quarantine so I understand it didn't have a professional look, but the unpolished nature of it and the lack of instruments and what not just made Ben sound overwrought

[HerkyJerky]

I thought it was funny that Usher picked the song, "California", because it was, in his words, "sparse" and then seeing the final product with all the production and Tyga singing on it as well.

[pezgirl7]

I think this was the first time we had some writers who were not good singers. I thought the guy with the winning song was actually pretty bad. I think it's also the first time that my favorite song wasn't even chosen to be one of the three that got produced. Like Usher said, maybe it'll be a launching pad for the artist. Today, Fatherdude released the song on Youtube. Still can't believe he chose his stage name from MST3K. lol

Also, I didn't realize this was the season finale. ☹️ Hopefully it gets picked up for a third season.

[saber5055]

First, on a shallow note, Usher is so good looking, I could watch a full hour of just him sitting there. And since I'm an equal-opportunity shallow person, I could also just look at Ryan, Shane and Ester for another hour. I will miss this show not being on, and hope it comes back next season. I was pleased Usher talked up how important this process is, and that he was glad he came on the show.

I loved Ryan singing with the woman writer. I wish Shane and Ester would do that too, and more Singing Ryan, please.

Were there four songwriters this episode? I don't remember one not being picked. I didn't have a favorite song so wasn't invested in any person to "win." But I did wonder how much of the original song was kept when I heard Usher's version with Tyga. I mean, I liked it, but I also hope the writer got some credit for any of his pieces or words left in that final version!

I'm a MST3K fan, but had to look up Fatherdude. Interestingly, in pages of results, they all were referencing the guy who was on Songland. Only one link said that during one episode of MST, the gang called a zombie priest "Father Dude." So that name was/is pretty obscure.

Edited June 16, 2020 by saber5055

[bamlou]

15 minutes ago, pezgirl7 said:

I think this was the first time we had some writers who were not good singers. I thought the guy with the winning song was actually pretty bad. I think it's also the first time that my favorite song wasn't even chosen to be one of the three that got produced. Like Usher said, maybe it'll be a launching pad for the artist. Today, Fatherdude released the song on Youtube. Still can't believe he chose his stage name from MST3K. lol

Thanks for sharing the link to Fatherdude's release of his song. I keep hoping that Adam Friedman will do the same for 'Be Nice', but I'm pretty sure that's never happening lol.

Fatherdude's song was my favourite of the bunch too - it was the only one that wasn't in that monotone, low-key styled delivery that seems preferred now in current hip hop/r&b and just not to my tastes.

But overall I thought it was a weak episode to end the season on. If they were gonna close out on a legacy musician then I think Boyz II Men would have been a stronger choice. Or, finish the season with the H.E.R. episode - she's more current, and I loved all the finalists' songs in that one.

[pezgirl7]

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Were there four songwriters this episode? I don't remember one not being picked.

Yep, there were 4. This is the guy who didn't get picked.

 

Here's an article about Ryan Innes that had some interesting tidbits about the show. He's the guy who wrote Long Way Home and pitched it to Lady Antebellum Lady A, but it didn't get picked. It was later sung by a contestant on The Voice. Some interesting things:

He had two songwriting sessions with Ester, each about 4 hours long. I'm not sure if I was expecting more or less.

"Applying for “Songland,” Innes submitted anywhere from 12 to 15 original songs. “Long Way Home” came during his last round of submissions and rose to the top."

"Producers told Innes they would actively try to get his and other contestants’ songs placed with artists"

"The remaining contestants [of The Voice] were required to sing an original song, and in a new collaboration, “Songland” had pitched a few original songs to “The Voice.” Although the pastor already had other songs in mind, he decided to go with “Long Way Home.” And with help from Dean and country songwriter/record producer Shane McAnally, Tilghman made his mark on the song, adding in some new lyrics that reflected his own experiences."

"Tilghman is the first artist to release “Long Way Home,” so the song is listed as his." That sorta sucks. The article talks about how Ryan would like to release his original version someday himself, but it might be difficult.

Edited June 16, 2020 by pezgirl7

[DanaMB]

9 hours ago, pezgirl7 said:

 

Also, I didn't realize this was the season finale. ☹️ Hopefully it gets picked up for a third season.

Oh boo! I just recently discovered this show and love it. 

[Court]

11 hours ago, pezgirl7 said:

I think this was the first time we had some writers who were not good singers. I thought the guy with the winning song was actually pretty bad. I think it's also the first time that my favorite song wasn't even chosen to be one of the three that got produced. Like Usher said, maybe it'll be a launching pad for the artist. Today, Fatherdude released the song on Youtube. Still can't believe he chose his stage name from MST3K. lol

Also, I didn't realize this was the season finale. ☹️ Hopefully it gets picked up for a third season.

Yes, FatherDude was my favorite song too. I hated Salty when she sang it. However, it was my favorite in the end. 

I liked the winning song too.

11 hours ago, saber5055 said:

First, on a shallow note, Usher is so good looking, I could watch a full hour of just him sitting there. And since I'm an equal-opportunity shallow person, I could also just look at Ryan, Shane and Ester for another hour. I will miss this show not being on, and hope it comes back next season. I was pleased Usher talked up how important this process is, and that he was glad he came on the show.

I loved Ryan singing with the woman writer. I wish Shane and Ester would do that too, and more Singing Ryan, please.

Were there four songwriters this episode? I don't remember one not being picked. I didn't have a favorite song so wasn't invested in any person to "win." But I did wonder how much of the original song was kept when I heard Usher's version with Tyga. I mean, I liked it, but I also hope the writer got some credit for any of his pieces or words left in that final version!

 

I will never tire of looking at Usher. That smile of his is contagious. 

[RedbirdNelly]

it wasn't my favorite episode but I do love Usher. I like how shows like this allow non-musical business people like me see a little behind the scenes. I enjoyed seeing Usher as a Voice coach--you could see that his success was not just talent but also drive---which is kind of obvious but it's one thing to think "I bet this successful person is very driven" vs actually seeing all the hard work and intensity. Songland is the same way for me. 

[foxfreakinmulder]

I didn't care for any of the songs that were chosen. My favorite was from Fatherdude (dumb name) and least favorite was from the guy that won. I agree with pezgirl7 that this group of songwriters weren't good singers. Usually I'm shocked how good the songwriters sing and think they should be on a singing competition show but not this group. I think all 3 songs were changed so much by the producers this time they didn't even sound like the same song. I'm happy Ester won but Usher changed the song even more adding in rap.

Count me in as one who didn't know this was the season final. I really hope we get a season 3 I enjoy this show a lot maybe even more than The Voice.

[realdancemom]

22 hours ago, pezgirl7 said:

Tilghman is the first artist to release “Long Way Home,” so the song is listed as his." That sorta sucks. The article talks about how Ryan would like to release his original version someday himself, but it might be difficult.

Thanks for the inside scoop.  Even though Tilghman is the first to release the song, shouldn't Ryan get song writing credit?  Otherwise, that's not fair since Tilghman didn't write any of it.  It was Ryan, Ester, and Shane that wrote it.

This episode was meh.  I do like Usher and I like the ending result of the song.  And I do like watching the parts of the song writing process .  I remember Usher being a tough coach in the Voice.  He said something to two guys when they were laughing during a coaching session.  I wish he would come back and coach again.

One thing that I really enjoy is how the coaches interact with each other, the guest artist, and the contestants.  It's fun to see how fast they can come up with ideas to change the song when the contestant first sings the song.  Ester and Shane are especially enjoyable with the way they interact with each other.

[sas616]

I found this episode boring and fast-forwarded through most of it.  The 1st three songs sounded alike to me.  Liked the last one and from Usher's reaction, was sure it would be the winning song.  And it didn't even make it to the next round.     Agree, it was not a good episode to end the season on.  

[realdancemom]

37 minutes ago, sas616 said:

I found this episode boring and fast-forwarded through most of it.  The 1st three songs sounded alike to me.  Liked the last one and from Usher's reaction, was sure it would be the winning song.  And it didn't even make it to the next round.     Agree, it was not a good episode to end the season on.  

I agree with whoever said that Boyz To Men would have been a good episode to end with since they chose all three songs.

[RedbirdNelly]

18 hours ago, realdancemom said:

 

  I remember Usher being a tough coach in the Voice.  He said something to two guys when they were laughing during a coaching session.  I wish he would come back and coach again.

 

This 100% and is what I loved about watching him on the Voice. You could see the intensity and how serious he is about what he does. I also loved his bond with Michelle Shamuel (sp?). They were a great pair. 

[DanaK]

Marisa Roffman reports via GiveMeMyRemote that Songland won't be returning to NBC for Season 3, at least for now https://www.givememyremote.com/remote/2021/09/20/songland-canceled-no-season-3-nbc/

[saber5055]

Crumb. I really liked this show.

[RedbirdNelly]

that is disappointing. It was such a nice show. Not too many episodes and some great songs.