Firstly I'd like to do a special shout out to our newest Open Mic judge @passion-ground, you have already proved to be an amazing addition to the team - your support of the music community is amazing and I can't wait to see your selections each week, welcome and stoked to have you as part of the team!

Check out his first Open Mic Top 5 Selection Post and his acceptance post for being an Open Mic judge, not too mention this week we also have @luzcyphers Judges Top 5 Selcetion Post as well!

So without a doubt this has been the hardest week by far for me as a judge, I just can't stress enough how many amazing and extremely talented entrants we are faced with each and every week.

This contest is growing and again this week a heap of new faces, some which just blew me away especially for a first entry into the contest.

We as judges are face an impossible job, we all love music are driven to listen and make our own - but when we have to make an impossible decision each and every week, it can leave you feeling like you're letting down someone in someway.

I want all entrants to know if it were possible I would be special mentioning even more of you, it comes down to such a minor detail here or there that pushes so many into the top five - you are all doing an amazing job and I love listening to each and every entry weekly.

On a slightly different note I'd like to invite you all along to hear, the second live radio Steemit Musicians show on MSP-Waves where I co host with the very talented @isaria - we play the previous weeks judges top five selections and reward one lucky Open Mic entrant an additional 20 SBD - best part it the live audience that gets to decide who wins each week!

Last week I am happy to announce @meno was the lucky winner with his entry titled "Wait", the audience loved his song - and I have to admit I loved to see them all writing up praises of his brilliant original entry, I think he may have gained a little addition to his following in the process!

The show goes live in six hours, I cannot wait to see the reactions and input we get this week - come along and support your fellow musicians and make some friends in the process, the people over at Peace Abundance and Liberty are a super friendly lot.

Now lets get things moving with this week's top five selection.

Without further delay here is my selection for week 57:

This week's top 5:

1st Place - @paulhallman - Voices

This was just bloody amazing, I absolutely love this song and the way in which @paulhallman has structured it - the flow, rhythm and tone blend together to create a sublime song filled with emotion.

I was blown away by the feelings he conveys through the vocals on this track, he nails the passion and the pain perfectly - I believe the lyrics can speak to everyone on some level, I mean don't we all that internal monologue that raises doubts and questions?

A relatable message with a beautiful sound and catchy hook, it's everything I love about songs - it tells a story, is fun to sing along with, it has a unique and original sound.

I thouroughly enjoyed this entry and can't wait to hear what you have for us next time - if you haven't already head on over and check him out!

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2nd Place - @pechichemena - Dicen

What can I say @pechichemena... this is absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time, you made me sad bro - and this is not meant as a criticism, rather an acknowledgement of the skill you have as a musician and songwriter.

The sorrow and sadness swept over me listening to this and reading your post, this is a heartfelt song no matter the language it's sung - as I have said before sometimes music can overcome language barriers effortlessly.

You have an amazing voice, smooth and soulful, this coupled with your amazing guitar skills you create the full experience - there's sorrow but also I'm not sure an almost acceptance to the tone, perhaps a subtle hint that death is what makes life and living so much more meaningful.

This was a superb entry, I'm all emo just writing this so thank you for sharing something so beautiful and personal it can't have been easy - if you haven't already head on over and check his work out.

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3rd Place - @introspectiva - Tonada de luna llena

Wow this entry was just amazing, I really love it and then I went and read your post and saw it was used to milk cows - I never would have guessed, I just really love the sound so much it's hard not to get into it.

The rhythm gets you moving from the first moment, the dual vocals are amazing I love the tonality and feel their voices give the tune - it has such a full sound I just want to get involved and sing along too.

I love songs that feature such a complex range and arrangement of vocals, this is all perfectly brought together with the faultless and sublime guitar accompaniment - you both have such amazing vocal ability, range and timber, this is the perfect duo you enhance each other's performance so well.

This is just so brilliant I love seeing entrants from all over the world make music that can cross language barriers, this is just so amazing I keep forgetting it was a milking song - if you haven't already do yourself a favor and check them out now!

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4th Place - @ceparl - More Than Words

You chose such a beautiful song and old favourite of mine and I just love the way both of you performed it together, it was really a stunning rendition.

A sad but hopeful song that again brings out the feels, I love how her vocals sound she has a truly beautiful timber to it - she conveys the feelings perfectly and effortlessly.

The guitar is stunning and the perfect accompaniment they create an easy, relaxed feel like this is just a casual evening hanging out playing - I love seeing talent that just comes naturally, really worth checking them out now!

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5th Place - @bryandivisions - Illuminate

As many of you know I love writing and stories, I love seeing words used to convey a message, words used to convey a feeling or emotion, words structured to flow into the next whilst remaining relevant and on point - that's a big seller for me.

When words are constructed and presented to convey a deep and meaningful message, using the natural flow of languages own innate ability to find harmony within the lyric - simply put @bryandivisions you word good bro.

I really enjoyed your entry this week and look forward to hearing what you have for us next time, I hope you all drop by and check out his work!

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Honourable Mentions:

@matisotoaguilar - Mogati ~ Calor

@donnacharlie - Love You Harder

@queenbee - Havana

@aidarojaswriter - Barco de Naufragio

@joseacabrerav - bello es vivir

@meno - You're just gone

@lucybanks - Dry The River

@poeticsnake - There are worse things I could do

@drewley - Shades of Winter

@michaelcj - A Clarion Call

@voyceatlas - Hail to the Cheif

@dreamrafa - The Executioner (Improvisation)

@jessamynorchard - Semi-Charmed Life

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This week was brutal I literally spent hours going over the entries on my short (well actually rather long) list, it was so difficult to make the top five this week I even considered if I could get away with a few tied entries - but in the end I bit the bullet and made the excruciating decisions you see above.

This was an amazing week of entries and that's why it was so hard, you are all amazing musicians and bring so much to not only the Open Mic contest but steemit in general - thank you so much for all your efforts, it is so appreciated and enjoyed.

I'd also like to remind everyone again that all top five nominations from this week, will feature in next week's Steemit Musicians live radio show on MSP-Waves.

A massive congratulations to all of those to be featured in the new show, it is going to be great opportunity to get to further share the awesome entries we receive each week - I can't wait to hear the audience's feedback on our judges selections and your entries.

I hope you can all drop by and support those who made this week's lists, I'm sure they'd appreciate the support - not to mention if you join you get to help choose the weekly 20 SBD winning entry!

Please join us for Episode 2 of Steemit Musicians this Sunday 12-1 UTC!

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You can listen live at the mspwaves website- http://mspwaves.com/home/listen
You can listen on twitch-

You can join broadcast hosts in a special chat room on the MSP Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/kNxM7T6
You can check out http://mspwaves.com/ for more information

On the note of the community I thought I'd take a moment to mention that, over at the minnow support program on our discord chat room Peace Abundance and Liberty - the recently revitalised music room has been getting rather active lately.

As well as the recent burst of activity, we have also added a jukebox to the room - so now when you're chatting with people in the music room, you can choose and play music from youtube (this includes open mic entries, I may have already played a couple I really enjoyed).

So far I have seen a few open mic regulars hanging out and about on the PAL chat rooms, now we have a place where we can actively share music live with people were chatting with - this can help musicians in so many ways, not to mention it's just fun to hang out and chat over and about good tunes.

In addition to the new music room Peace Abundance and Liberty chat rooms have a lot to offer, you can access bots to vote on your posts, you can also meet and interact with over 5000 steemians in the channel - this can be a very useful resource to new steemians, but is also a fantastic place to meet and interact with like minded individuals on many different topics.

Again a big thanks to @soundlegion, @jessamynorchard, @verbal-d and @passion-ground for all they do as judges, please remember to go and check out their top five selections each week and to @luzcypher and @pfunk thank you so much for making all of this possible - until next week.

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