An amazing week my friends, it was leaps harder than last week for me to make this list. I kept on finding song after song that deserved in my view to get so much more love than it did, that I struggled to know what to do with myself. The original songs are almost always my weakness and this week was full of original material.
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<h3>Here we go!</h3>

<h1>First Place.-</h1>

@gentle.ben - <a href="https://steemit.com/openmic/@gentle.ben/steemit-open-mic-week-82-thinkin-of-you-gentle-ben-atkins-original-song">Thinking of you (original song)</a>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prYCFov1JL0

What a tune, if this performance does not shake you down to the core seek immediate medical attention. I wont lie, I'm fully aware of Ben's talents and have been for a while, so I fully expected him to show up one of these weeks with something of this caliber.

All the emotions I'm supposed to feel show up for the melancholic dance...  do yourself a favor and hit play, do it right now.

<h1>Second Place.-</h1>

@ilazramusic - <a href="https://steemit.com/openmic/@ilazramusic/steemit-open-mic-week-82-a-mi-me-encanta-original-song">Me encanta (original song)</a>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulOYTAXgxXo

This was one of those happy surprises for the week. I felt like I was listening to an acoustic version of one of the greats, manu chao came to mind a few bars into the song, then unique layers that outline the originality of the artist made their appearance to make it truly shine. 

The vocals are absolutely fantastic and the falsetto adds the perfect touch....

<h1>Third Place.-</h1>

@danieldyemusic - <a href="https://steemit.com/openmic/@danieldyemusic/steemit-open-mic-week-82-original-song-oh-my-friends">oh my friends (original song)</a>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzfU-X2hRfw

I don't know when it happened but somehow Daniel became one of my favorite songwriters on this platform. It never has much to do with anything fancy and almost always with strength to convey his emotional vulnerability. I imagine myself listening to this song for years to come, its quite timeless to be honest. It only requires to listen with an open heart.

<h1>Fourth Place.-</h1>

@kayclarity - <a href="https://steemit.com/openmic/@kayclarity/6knge4gn">Penny Tears (original song)</a>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6kVxAANGeE

This woman was put on this earth to make me emotional I swear, this is not the first time @kayclarity hits me on the side of the head with an emotional hammer. I absolutely loved this song, not only does it have a beautiful melody sang by a the voice of an angel but its built with bricks of a powerful lyricist. 

>The skies have cried their salt out
And the bitter acid taste
So stick your tongue way out now
Take in the weeping's best

This my friends, its musical poetry at its finest...    

<h1>Fifth Place</h1>

@paintingangels - <a href="https://steemit.com/openmic/@paintingangels/steemit-openmic-week-82-paintingangels-rain-song-original-song">raing song (original song)</a>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mWiocBEyHU

I'm convinced Serena is completely unaware of how much talent she has. I have not heard one of her songs that I don't love. I have the hardest of times describing what I hear on her songs, its almost as if someone took me back to the days of Joni Mitchel and I'm sitting in the front row of a concert that changed my life. I have no clue if that makes sense to anyone else but me, but I'm sticking to it.... What a lovely tune...

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<h1>Honorable Mentions</h1>
In no particular order, these are some of the performances I loved this week.... I'm super grateful for being someone who gets to listen to this talent.
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@silentscreamer - <a href="https://steemit.com/openmic/@silentscreamer/ggk5xq72">Les Miserables (cover)</a>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOxqfnnTj-E

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@olvidesantelmo - <a href="https://steemit.com/openmic/@olvidesantelmo/steemit-open-mic-week-82-rio-original-song">Rio (original song)</a>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FJ-o0HldrA

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@addiesworld - <a href="https://steemit.com/openmic/@addiesworld/steemit-openmic-week-82-orignal-sad-sucker">Sad sucker (original song)</a>

https://vimeo.com/266233169

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@dinoromanelli - <a href="https://steemit.com/openmic/@dinoromanelli/steemit-open-mic-week-82-going-home-all-alone-original">home all alone (original)</a>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqygoF1kdTo 

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@k0wsk1 - <a href="https://steemit.com/openmic/@k0wsk1/ggj2lb07">Another Lonely Day (Ben Harper Cover)</a>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EF-PfAomsM

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@zipporah - <a href="https://steemit.com/openmic/@zipporah/steemit-open-mic-week-82-polaroids-cover">Polaroids (cover) </a>

https://vimeo.com/266789366
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Don't forget to checkout the official Steemit OpenMic judges picks from @passion-ground @krystle @soundlegion and @verbal-d. Winners selected and announced every Monday on @luzcypher's blog page.
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And that is it for me and week 82, a little later than I would have wanted to make the post, but here it is finally. I'm ready to start week 83!!!

But hey friend, before you leave my post musical brother or musical sister, please know that despite the fact that we call this a competition, even though my post says first, second, third place, that is not what matters about the #openmic. In the end of the day the judges are just as human, as flawed and beautiful as everyone else on this planet. The ethos of this contest, of this community, is simply for us to have special place to share our passion for music, for us to laugh together, to cry together and explore emotions that everyday life seems to neglect in one way or another.

Every single one of you is valuable to me, so thank you for being part of my musical family...

Much love

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<a href="/philosophy/@meno/maybe-asimov-was-right"><sub>● Maybe Asimov was right</sub></a><br><a href="/life/@meno/knock-knock"><sub>● Knock, Knock...</sub></a><br><a href="/rant/@meno/loyalty-and-the-love-of-money"><sub>● Loyalty and the love of money</sub></a><br><a href="/steem/@meno/the-value-of-memes"><sub>● The value of Memes</sub></a><br><a href="/philosophy/@meno/feeding-the-other-wolf"><sub>● Feeding the other wolf</sub></a><br><a href="/life/@meno/hey-nice-to-see-you-again"><sub>● Hey, nice to see you again...</sub></a><br><a href="/dsound/@meno/20180427t233718105z-lie-to-me-original-song"><sub>● Lie to me - Original song</sub></a><br><a href="/philosophy/@meno/the-elasticity-of-morality"><sub>● The elasticity of Morality</sub></a><br><a href="/life/@meno/this-is-pretty-crazy-2018-04-26-21-26-11"><sub>● this is pretty crazy</sub></a><br>
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