MEAWW.COM / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

'Songland' fans thrilled as guest judge Macklemore selects Iro's 'Shadow' as his next hit and features the songwriter in the song

Iro's song 'Shadow' has a Celtic touch to it because of the violinist. Given Macklemore's Irish ancestry, he revealed that he loved it and could see himself performing the song in front of a large Irish audience.

Grab your pom-poms. It's time to cheer as 'Songland' returns after a month-long hiatus. 

Airing with episode seven on Wednesday night, the next guest judge on the show looking for his next hit song was famed 'Thrift Shop' singer Macklemore. Along with Macklemore, the series' regular judges, Ester Dean, Ryan Tedder, and Shane McAnally also returned to help mentor the songwriters. 

The four songwriters who battled it out hoping Macklemore will choose their song were Iro, Casey Cook, Chris Jobe, and Pop Culture. Iro performed his original song 'Shadow' for Macklemore. Chris Jobe performed 'It Could Have Been You', Pop Culture sang 'City Kids', and Casey Cook performed 'Judgements'.

After listening to all four songwriters, the judges eliminated Chris Jobe and Iro, Pop Culture and Casey moved to the final round. The final contestants were paired with one judge each who mentored them on making the desired changes to their songs in terms of tempo, lyrics or tune. 

Pop Culture was mentored by Ryan Tedder who wanted to focus on the song's arrangement and work on the lyrics. Ester Dean was paired with Casey Cook. Dean asked her to keep it simple and worked on the message of the song. Iro was mentored by Shane McAnally who helped him change the tempo in the song and introduce a break for Macklemore's rap in the song. The finalists then performed their refurbished song one last time for Macklemore. 

Pop Culture's song title was changed from City Kids to 'Unforgettable' while Casey and Iro's song titles remained the same. After hearing 'Unforgettable', Macklemore called it "Super fire". Though Casey's song 'Judgements' made a deep impact, there was no particular part left for Macklemore's rap. Iro's song 'Shadow' has a Celtic touch to it because of the violinist. Given Macklemore's Irish ancestry, he revealed that he loved it and could see himself performing the song in front of a large Irish audience. 

In the end, Macklemore had to make a decision and choose just one song to be his next hit. Macklemore decided to go with Iro's 'Shadow' and surprisingly revealed that he will feature Iro in the song. "If you write the lyrics, you end up on the song, I’ve never done it any other way," he said. The duo went on to perform the song together at Lollapalooza in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Macklemore is the first artiste from the show to actually feature the songwriter in his song. 

Macklemore's decision to choose Iro's 'Shadow' was welcomed by fans who took to social media to shared that he made the right decision. "My favorite song that this show has produced! They sound amazing together and the song is just incredible!" wrote one fan on Twitter. 

While one fan said, "I loved all the songs tonight but this song really spoke to me and my Irish roots. This show always lifts my spirit," another wrote, "This song is so good it just catches your attention right away and it has that beat to it that you just can’t help but dance to it and put it on replay! The emotion is there too and meaning! Great song all around and Macklemore too!"