Dare to Suck

Part of the fun of watching the full episodes of Platinum Hit has been seeing the hook challenges. Since I wasn't always involved in judging them, it's always a surprise to find out how a hook came to be. This week I was a little scared for the contestants when I heard the choruses they wrote. I felt like I was back in week two or three.

The hard part about being a writer is having to look in the mirror (after you've created something you think is the bomb) and tell yourself the hard truth. At the same time, you have to dare to suck in order to get to the good stuff. Nick and Scotty were very smart to rework their ideas. I agreed with Perez and Jewel that Scotty's melody was very good but the title, "DJ Have My Babies" was pretty out there. Then again, I don't go to the clubs so there may be some hot DJs I don't know about.

I loved making a surprise visit to Jes, Scotty, Sonyae, and Nick. It was very true to life as music executives always pop in on sessions and make comments or suggestions. Sometimes it can throw you off, but that's where your conviction as a songwriter comes into play. I was happy to see that they followed their hearts and ended up going down the right path. I will also never wear red lipstick again. Not a good look. . .

Going back to high school was a trip. I went to an all girls' high school where we basically rolled out of bed to get to class not caring what we looked like. These girls were definitely more stylish. You could immediately tell which songs they were feeling. The girls gravitated towards the "Exit" song and with good reason. Sonyae knows how to communicate what teenagers are feeling. We've all known people that we wanted to point to the exit sign, whether that be at a club, a high school, or even at an office building.

I loved Scotty's final hook melody, especially the "DJ make me crazy" part. He really has shown a tremendous amount of growth. Jes also had a strong melodic song but I couldn't see it being a breakout Top-40 smash because it felt so young.

And then there's Nick. . .he has definitely made the show entertaining. He is such a character and some of his one-liners have cracked me the hell up. This week we finally got to see some real emotion from him. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which is why it was particularly heartbreaking to see him go. He finally did what we wanted him to do all along. I hope he continues to access his truth/heart and put it into his music. If he does, he may just write that smash after all. I'm rooting for him!