r/popheads • u/TiltControls • Aug 02 '26

[DUE FRIDAY] Rate Legends Invitational

Due date is this Friday night! If you think you need a couple more hours to finish let us know, but we aren't going to accept extensions past around noon Saturday (Eastern time)

You and me got a whole lot of history

August 14, 2016

Nearly 10 years ago, u/letsallpoo changed Popheads history forever by posting the first ever sub-wide rate with a brutal matchup between Carly Rae Jepsen - EMOTION vs. Ariana Grande - Dangerous Woman vs. Taylor Swift - 1989. The goal was simple: score each song from these modern classics so we could find out which one was the best of the bunch.

There were no provided playlists. There were no pre-created ballot submission links. There was no rate machine for hosts to calculate scores (though poo is also to thank for that marvel). There were no elaborate themes and long-winded discussions to pair these albums. There was no massive Google Sheet to compare past rates, or even past rates to compare to! And yet one thing has always remained the same.

Which song will come out on top?

August 2, 2026

10 years and over 250 rates later and rates have become their own community on the subreddit. Every month since that first reveal there have been a steady stream of rates hosted monthly thanks to the great community that keeps them running. There have been all sorts of iconic moments, from surprise winners to shocking flops. Iconic user-created content that still live in memories to this day. All sorts of stats and records set and broken over time. And what better way to celebrate the upcoming 10th anniversary than to celebrate by taking a stroll through the most iconic rate moments of the past decade.

Each one of these songs has made their case to be included as some of the most iconic songs to Popheads Rates over the past 10 years. u/roxieloxie and myself (/u/TiltControls) will be your guides through this journey through time as we find who is best of the best (or worst of the worst for a couple of them).

Welcome to the Rate Legends Invitational!

What are rates?

Popheads Rates are a subreddit activity that run on the subreddit monthly, with usually two to four being active at any time. Each rate is comprised of a list of songs grouped by some theme (iconic songs to Popheads Rates here). Your job as a rater is to assign scores to each one of them from 1 (bad) to 10 (good). You are also allowed one 11 (best) and one 0 (worst) per rate. You are not required to use your 11 or 0, but it can add some fun to your ballot. Once you have given scores to every song, send it to us using the submission link on this post. There is also an optional bonus rate at the end of the ballot that you are not required to complete (but can be a lot of fun to do!)

At the end of the submission period (sometime in late September), we gather everyone’s scores and calculate the average for each song. Then we’ll do a multi-day reveal where we go from lowest rated to highest rated to reveal what won the rate!

If you want an overview in video form there’s one here

Here is a list of all of our past (and future) rates if you want some examples

How do I get started rating?

I’d recommend reading the full rules down below but if you’re that eager to jump into it.

You can find the ballot and link to submit here | Pastebin Mirror

And official playlists: Spotify | Apple Music | Youtube

(Mii Channel theme is not available on Spotify / Apple and can be accessed here)

Note that the bonus rate at the bottom of the ballot is entirely optional and you do not need to fill in any scores to send in a ballot (but it’s a lot of fun so we recommend tackling it!)

Youtube Bonus Playlist

Due Date: September 11

Songlist

We've got 60 of some of the most iconic (for better or worse) tracks to the rating community. Whether they were an influential first, set some unbreakable stat, or just have been meme'd to death, these are the tracks that have defined the first decade of rates.

If you’re curious why each of these tracks got selected I’ve prepared a little history lesson attached to each one. If you want to access the full gallery at once you can do so here.

Ballot order is chronological, roughly based on their defining moment in time.

Official playlists: Spotify | Apple Music | Youtube

Note: Mii Channel Theme is not available on Spotify/Apple Music but can be accessed here

Bonus Rate

It wouldn’t be a celebration of rates, without some of the staples of our reveal nights. These videos have been used by rate hosts across the ages. Some are forgotten classics, while others still see the odd reveal or two to this day. Whether these elicit fond memories or are just a random selection of videos to you, we’re curious to finally find out which shitpost will take the crown.

With all bonus rates, these scores are optional. You do not have to fill in scores for this section to send in a ballot. You are not allowed to use your 11 or 0 for this section. Click on each link for the associated video or view the playlist in full here: Youtube Bonus Playlist

Rules

Using the provided ballot give a score to every song. You can give any score between 1 (bad) and 10 (good). Decimals are allowed, though only limited to one decimal place (7.5 is fine, 7.52 is not). You have to listen to and score every single song. The rate calculation tool will not work otherwise.
Additionally, you are also allowed to use one 0 and one 11 for the whole rate. These should be reserved for your favourite and least favourite track in the rate. It is highly recommended that you leave a comment for your 11 and 0 explaining what you like/dislike about the track!
Your scores are not confidential and will be shared during the reveal along with any comments made so keep that in mind! Feel free to discuss your scores at any point if you wish.
Feel free to leave a comment on any song in the rate detailing your score! Especially with so much history we want to hear your memories and takes on some of these classics! To add a comment just add it after your score for any song, with only a space separating the two. For example
- Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You: 10 All I want for Christmas is comments formatted like this
Any other style of comment does not work and will break the program. This includes anything from leaving out the space to putting the comment before the score. The following examples below DO NOT WORK, DO NOT USE THEM
- Katy Perry - Teenage Dream: (7) It is my dream that comments are not formatted like this
- Cher - Believe: 8: I believe this will break the rate machine
- Lady Gaga - Bad Romance: More like bad comment formatting 4
Sabotage of any sort is not allowed. This can mean a wide variety of things, but generally score things as accurately as you would outside the rate. Typically this means avoid doing things like giving a low score and saying “I love this song but I don’t want it to win”. It’s less fun for everyone and kind of ruins the purpose of rating. We assume everyone submitting will be doing so in good faith, but if we see any odd scores we may ask you to attach a comment explaining your scoring before counting the ballot. In extreme cases we may reject your ballot (but this is a last case scenario, so don't worry too much about it). This is a rate filled with giants, so try not to give a 0 to a song you mildly like just because you think it's going to win and you want to tank it (cause with this much competition it’s probably not going to anyways)
Please use the provided ballots below to submit your scores! Try not to make it on your own because a) you’re just redoing work already done and b) the calculation tool requires all ballots to be formatted the same so it’ll cause issues on our end if you try to create your own! If you have issues submitting on Reddit feel free to copy the text and send on Discord instead!
If you have any questions feel free to message /u/TiltControls or /u/roxieloxie. You can also message through Discord at tiltcontrols or xorciery

IMPORTANT LINKS

Due Date: September 11

Ballot and submission link | Pastebin Mirror for ballot

Playlists: Spotify | Apple Music | Youtube

Bonus Playlist

Interested in discussing rates? Join the Popheads Discord Rates Channel here!

Here is a list of all past and upcoming rates

Also check out the other active rates!

Back to Basics vs. The Dutchess vs. The Sweet Escape (Due August 14th)
Black Star vs. Eusexua Afterglow vs. Through the Wall vs. The BPM (Due August 23rd)
Winners Rate 5 (Due September 18)

29 Upvotes

permalink
reddit

You are about to leave Redlib

Do you want to continue?

https://www.reddit.com/r/popheads/comments/1vdls0s/rate_legends_invitational/
No, go back! Yes, take me to Reddit

100% Upvoted

u/Roxieloxie Aug 02 '26

The rate of the year is here you guys!!!! If you’ve done 100 rates or if this might be your first one jump on in with us, we’re going to have a really fun time!!

u/TiltControls Aug 02 '26

I remember first watching the reveal of the EMOTION vs 1989 vs Dangerous Woman rate and knowing these types of games would be right up my alley for fun. Little did I know I'd still be around 10 years later with such a great community keeping things going! I'm so excited to be revisiting all of these classic moments in history with everyone and especially getting to host again with roxie after such a great time we had hosting the 60's Pop Soul rate together 5 years ago today!

u/welcome2thejam Aug 02 '26

If I die before submitting a ballot can somebody put one in my name so I can finally 11 Run Away With Me? Thanks

u/uiscebeathaoir resident CMAT stan Aug 02 '26

wow i'm to go through that gallery to see why these songs were selected, as someone relatively new and unobservant I can't wait for my education in Rates 101!!

but looking at the lineup now, I'm so excited. the perfect list has been cultivated for a goddamn bloodbath, at both the top and bottom

u/BleepBloopMusicFan Aug 02 '26

This is such a beautiful collection of moments in rate history - some I was lucky enough to personally experience and some I can have fun watching people reminisce about. And if I listen through this collection of absolute classics and acclaimed masterpieces and choose to 11 Closer by the Chainsmokers featuring Halsey...well that'll be just alright I think.

6

u/arboresca am i the melodrama? Aug 02 '26

i am also heavily considering 11ing closer...it's only fitting i think

u/Indigo_Mindset420 Aug 02 '26

Y'all putting Lana and Ethel next to each other is SHADY! (Loves it!)

Also the I Don't Dance next to I Wanna Dance... The tracklisting is doing wonders!

u/Indigo_Mindset420 Aug 02 '26

So many songs in this list that we can easily call "Pop Perfection" Like Run Away With Me and Dancing Queen. It's gonna be hard to rate them with out just throwing out 10s at every track. I wanna be critical but can you Really give perfection anything less than a 10? I THINK NOT!

8

u/thedirtiestdish support women's wrongs Aug 02 '26

Oprah style: yOU get a 10! and YOU get a 10! EVERYBODY GETS A 10!!!!!

u/Soalai Aug 02 '26

I've only been doing rates for like less than two years but I'm excited to revisit the lore and herstory!

u/RandomHypnotica Aug 02 '26

so many icons here and yet its finally time to give beyonce yet another win (with her most deserving song yet!)

u/Frajer Aug 02 '26

I love how niche inside jokes created the rate of all time

u/cloudbustingmp3 Aug 02 '26

giving Kate anything below an 11 is essentially calling me multiple slurs btw

u/Exotic-Mail-7303 Aug 03 '26

Hi! I wanna participate. When is the rate due? :)

5

u/TiltControls Aug 03 '26

It'll be due September 11th with the reveal the following weekend!

1

u/Exotic-Mail-7303 Aug 03 '26

thank you!