Summary

...This was yet another memorable week here at the Open-Mic venue! There is so much wonderful talent here, and more importantly, there is an overwhelming abundance of support, positivity, encouragement, and kindness for all those who participate in their unique and special way.

There are three words in my view that best describe what I most appreciate about the Open-Mic and all those who participate on any level whatsoever. They are “AUTHENTICITY,” “INTEGRITY,” and “HUMILITY!”

There is nothing that rings truer than being authentic to oneself and in turn to sharing that authenticity with the world around us. What makes authenticity truly shine is when its foundations are built upon a level of sterling integrity residing deep within the individuals who freely exude such. In my view, these are two key ingredients for attaining a life of harmony and balance, which easily translates to a state of well-being or general happiness as it were.

Sure, sometimes voting bots, perceived favoritism, and whale votes may sometimes seem to rig the absolute fairness of it all, however, that’s where humility, patience, and a balanced understanding come into view. We’re here to share our varied artistry, grow artistically, engage positively with one another, and have a blast doing so! If one’s ego is too big or bruises easily, chances are they won’t have what it takes to really get the most enduring and truly “priceless” benefits of such meaningful engagement.

Despite the expected emotional ups and downs that come with the territory, my eternal wish is for everyone to flourish, have fun, and enjoy themselves to every extent possible – stay stoked, stay motivated, and continue being a positive force for all that is good in the world.

VOTE for These WITNESSES... ... RIGHT NOW!

IMPORTANT: Before we move on, please don't forget to vote for @Pfunk, @Ausbitbank, & @Teamsteem as witnesses! All of whom are our biggest supporters who play major roles in helping to run, fund, curate, build and expand the Open Mic contest. In addition to the above witnesses, I am also adding @curie and @cervantes to this esteemed list of “must-vote-for” witnesses. @curie and @cervantes provide a great deal of support directly to many of our most outstanding musicians, and we should all support them in kind. You can vote for all of them right now by going to this link: https://steemit.com/~witnesses

With all of that said, following some further insights as to how I judge entries, let’s get on with it, shall we?

Steemit Open Mic Week 83

My Process

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 100 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 100 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 @luzcypher 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

FIRST PLACE: @yidneth - Flame - (Original)

It is truly amazing what Priscilla is able to produce here in one take, with just her piano! “Flame” is a magically enchantingly poetic song about the many contradictions of love, which has been lovingly resurrected from a time long ago when she first penned it. Well, thank goodness Priscilla decided to dust this one off. She revisits this composition with such a haunting heartfelt tenderness; it quickly becomes apparent that its rebirth is a beautiful gift to us all. Thank you, Priscilla!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@yidneth/steemit-open-mic-week-83-flame-an-original-song-about-the-contradictions-of-love-photo-shoot

SECOND PLACE: @paulobassman – Durmiéndome - (Original)

As out-of-this-world talented as @pedromrmourato and @paulobassman are along with their never-ending cohort of phenomenal artists, one of the most beautiful things about all of them is that each of them seems truly down-to-earth and authentically grounded! This week, they called upon a friend of theirs, Juame Pradas, to join them in yet another impassioned display of musical brilliance and artistry. This trio’s performance of “Durmiendome” is infectious, full, tight, moving, and simply amazing for a three-piece acoustic act!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@paulobassman/v1vwajrr

THIRD PLACE: @yulita – Latir por Jesús - (Cover)

There is something quite positive, rather special, and truly profound to be recognized with regard to those who hold dear their spiritual faith in something larger and more meaningful than the immediate world that surrounds us and occupies much of our moment-to-moment thoughts. Such spiritual perspectives often nurture a level of authenticity, integrity, and humility that is truly second to none. Such faith is able to drive achievements and inspire goodwill in ways that often cannot be measured by earthly bounds. For living proof of such, one need not look any further beyond clicking play and experiencing the extraordinary positive energy and talent expressed so beautifully here by @yulita and @cezanne. So sit back, rejoice, and let them teach us a little something thru Him.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@yulita/steemit-openmic-week-83-cover-latir-por-jesus-jennifer-salinas

FOURTH PLACE: @chrisgoans – Wake Up - (Original)

I distinctly remember seeing Chris perform for the very first time when I first joined Steemit just about a year ago. I was quite impressed with him then, and I’m even more impressed with him now! Chris went through an early stage where he seemed to gain a lot of favor from the community – and then suddenly, for whatever ill-fated reasons, his popularity seemed to wane. I suspect it’s just the ebb and flow of the natural tides of fleeting fancy. In any case, I never gave up on Chris, but more importantly – Chris never gave up on Chris, and he just kept plugging away, doing his thing to the best of his ability, which is quite substantial, to say the least! Chris has clearly proven himself worthy of the authenticity and integrity relative to the perseverance and belief in his abilities, whilst at the same time, maintaining a level of patience and balanced humility in the process. Much respect brother, Chris! As someone who has “awoken” way back in the mid-1990’s, I’ve often dreamed of writing or producing a song that encapsulated all of the frustration, angst, and impassioned sentiment surrounding such knowledge and realizations. Well, I was never able to do so, however, THANK YOU, Chris, because you, my friend, in thinking outside the box, and despite any video rendering imperfections, have laid down a song that sings to my heart all that I would have otherwise hoped to express myself. This is awesome, brother! Y’all need to open his link, check out this masterful production, and start giving my man Chris the love he rightly deserves. I LOVE this song!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@chrisgoans/steemit-open-mic-week-83-original-song-titled-wake-up

FIFTH PLACE: @drewsmusic – Down The Road - (Original)

Absent for a while, Drew decided to step back into the Open-Mic fray here in week 83 with a rather stunning original acoustic performance of “Down the Road!” I missed you, brother, and I’m so happy you stepped back in! Beyond his inherent and obvious humility, what struck me most about his performance was its natural organic clarity. No effects, no reverb, no nothing… What we got is simply a superior quality audio recording of Drew’s natural sound, which is pure, authentic, and quite impressive to say the least. His guitar work and the accompanying melodies composed in concert with his vocal and lyrical overlays are rather sublime and quite refreshing. You rocked this, Drew!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@drewsmusic/steemit-openmic-week-83-down-the-road-original

My Top-5 Honorable Mentions in Order:

First: @darrenclaxton – Waiting On A Raincloud - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@darrenclaxton/steemit-open-mic-week-83-waiting-on-a-raincloud-original-music-by-darrenclaxton

Second: @silentscreamer – May It Be - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@silentscreamer/962n3z6d

Third: @abelfernandez – The Scientist - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@abelfernandez/steemit-openmic-semana-83-the-scientist-cover

Fourth: @klynic – Say You Love Me - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@klynic/steemit-open-mic-week-83-original-song-say-you-love-me

Fifth: @adreini – Depapepe - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@adreini/steemit-open-mic-week-83-one

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

Peace, Love, and Justice for All

A Very Special Shout Out To:

The following 20 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. This special list is very much an extension of my most honorable mentions.

They are - in no particular order:

@funkmedia, @builtinfire, @elisonr13, @dustinseth, @andreabortone, @mightyjoenolan, @ahren707, @gentle.ben, @joseacabrerav, @uriell, @michaeldietrich, @lauriane, @miguelarl, @mrprecious, @vladoramirez, @dinoromanelli, @samidbarid, @jumpmaster, @alcoholisedbsoul, and @moccamonica!

Another Special Shout Out To:

The following artists whose performances I very much enjoyed this week.

They are - in no particular order:

@roman.musica, @steembirds, @edwardstobia, @ayuverayunita, @paintingangels, @guifaquetti, @danne10, @rjcha, @wilins, @lillywilton, @mandysp, @sallyswitchblade, @jons0318, @carljohn, @lincolnofblood, @johnthefelon, @gaborockstar, @mcmusic, @williamsreinoso, @juanhobos, @samjgonz, @orrslaw, @cellomusic91, @williansjmm, @gabrielinho, @calule7, @itslobianco, @mariajruizb, @felixjfarfan, @najp, @juanchez, @pedrogranado23, @cairos, @orianacortesia, @adrianjordaz, @hienco, @giselemusic, @geenaizzy, @grayarty, @drewley, @alejandra23, @brendahcaroline, @jonsnoww, @markaustin, @carlosvidal, @wethepatsies, @cabelindsay, @aguadecoco, @senzenfrenz, @leomolina, @tarotbyfergus, @diegopadilla, @manurodriguez, @danieldedosd2, @fael, @dominiqueguitars, @cezanne, @gecr, @graceleon, @robertonavs, @fernando.lubezki, @carlos1612, @martinsandersuk, @val.halla, @camuel, @k0wsk1, @yrmaleza, @gibber, and @bennettitalia!

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!