I like the bright pads and floaty piano at the beginning. The chord progression is pretty generic, but I like how the vocals fade in at :13. The vocals themselves are really smooth and expressive, though. The mix feels very crowded, and there are certainly some elements of it that I wish had shone through a bit more, like the piano chords at :47. The drums seriously duck under the mix when the vocals re-appear for the post-chorus at 1:40. Part of the problem might be that you have a LOT of reverb and echo/delay effects in here.
The re-intro at 1:54 is a nice touch, although overall the arrangement of the piece is also rather generic. I would’ve liked to see you switch up the harmonic framework at some point here, especially since the chord progression is so cliche. I also wanted to hear some more variety in the main melody/refrain during the second half of the piece, but instead you really started to overuse the vocals there in a way that made the entire piece feel rather dragged-out.
Overall, I admire your sense of harmony and progression, but some of the arrangement details of this piece could use an injection of creativity, and the mix simply needs to be a lot tighter. I’d suggest getting stricter with your use of equalizers and cutting a lot of the reverb, especially in instruments that have a lot of low-mid tones. Still, you’ve made a catchy piece with some memorable melodies and sound design that fits well with the upbeat mood. Keep at it, DJWitherhead! ^_^
Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6.5/10