After the bevy of crowd cheer following Nightom's vote, the camera faded away from the graphic and into a wider shot of the arena, occasionally fading to a zoom-in of excited fans whose nations got votes that were waving their countries flags rather proudly.
Stela: Can you believe that? Phase I is finally over, but we've only revealed about 33% of the final result. Or, if you'd like to be more precise, we just gave out 85 points out of the possible 255, but there's still 170 points waiting out there to be given. So, fortunes can still change dramatically. Alright, before we move any further, can we have the scoreboard for Phase I?
At the advent of this scoreboard, there was a massive crowd cheer from the Euskal and Mercedinian contingent. Many were cognizant of the fact that of course, not many of the votes have been given out yet, and things can certainly change as Phase II roles along. However, it was clear that despite the advent of the Phase II vote rolling along, both entries would be going home with these considerably large points hauls.
Stela: Well, it looks like we got ourselves a two-way tie between Euskirribakondara and Mercedini! Congratulations to both nations! Both nations are currently at 15 points exactly, being given three sets of 5 points. However, as the only set of points that both nations have received are just five points, if we ended the show now, we would be facing a World Hit Festival 26 situation. For obvious reasons, we are not going to reveal who would win this tiebreaker, that'd be quite the spoiler alert.
Stela: Alright, it's time for us to take a little break and interview the contestants of both nations. Very briefly. Alright, let's get the cameras rolling in the green room. We'll start with Mercedini's entrant, the ever-gorgeous Leanne Cantrelli.
The camera faded to a split screen of the camera in the green room motioning towards the Mercedinian delegation, where Leanne Cantrelli was sitting. As soon as she was in camera shot, Stela smiled rather widely, and began to speak.
Stela: Hey there, Leanne! Congratulations on your nation receiving 15 points. If we ended this contest now, this would be Mercedini's best finish in the World Hit Festival. I have to ask the obvious question, with your nation in the lead, how are you feeling right now?
Leanne Cantrelli: Oh my, what can I say? I feel so thankful and so blessed to be in this position. We came here with hope that we could spread our message and maybe come home with a respectable result, but me nor the choir were thinking we could achieve this in a million years. I'm so happy that people realised our message and I hope that they can take solace in our song. I wish the best of luck to all of the amazing creators here, they have all done an amazing job and I wish them all the success in the world for the future.
Stela: That's some touching words there, Leanne. Alright, is there anything you'd like to say your fans?
Leanne Cantrelli: Well... for the three of them out there...
[chuckle]... I'd like to thank all of you who have stuck by me thick and thin and I hope you are able to share this moment with me. Thanks for all the love and support you have given me on this journey and I hope that I did Mercedini proud tonight. Hopefully, I've picked up a couple more fans with this amazing experience and maybe if everything goes well I can come back to Izmedu to perform for you again!
Stela winked at Leanne's last comment, but even the hostess did not know of the final outcome, but she couldn't help but share a hearty chuckle with Leanne.
Stela: Leanne, it'd be an honor. Most certainly, you have more than three especially with that incredible voice of yours, but thank you so much for what you just said. Truly a heart of gold, but however, this is not a one-horse race. Euskirribakondara is right on their feet with the exact same points total. Alright, let's go over to the green room to interview the fabulous Nadija Djokanović.
The camera moved over from the Mercedinian delegation over to the Euskal one. After a few seconds, and after a near-trip from the cameraperson, the broadcast now featured a very excited Nadija and of course, a smiling Stela, who looked positively ready to interview the Euskal singer.
Nadija could not believe it. She was leading the scoreboard. Some foreign people would think she could take it for granted, coming from Euskirribakondara; but neither the country nor her took WHF for granted. As a matter of fact, the country was still let down after a very disappointing result in the last WorldVision. Would Nadija bring home joy again?
Stela: Hej Nadija! Likewise with Mercedini, if we ended this contest now, you could be walking home with the trophy. With your nation is currently in the lead, I have to ask these two questions... How are you feeling right now? And is there anything you'd like to say to your fans?
Nadija Djokanović: Ja.... Ja ne znaju.... Oh, sorry. Hahaha. I was about to speak in Sirbadian. I mean, with all the excitement it's almost impossible to think in another language. I mean, this says nothing about the final result because the phase II has a -LOT- of points to distribute; but it's just so amazing, and so... so humbling, to be sharing the first place with such a great act as Mercedini. My country's five points went to them for a reason! It was impressive. My goal here was just to bring that Euskal magic of making everyone feel something, in this case, joy , and making everyone dance; and I felt that with the Izmeduan audience... which I LOVE. VOLIM VAS IZMEDU. Also, gretsi Kalosia and shnorhakal em Artsakhestan!!! Good luck to all the countries!
Stela winked at Nadija for speaking initially in Sirbadian, doing an 'ok' sign followed by a chuckle. During Nadija's answer, Stela couldn't help but hold her free hand to her chest, it was truly a moving answer.
Stela: Ne brini, Nadija! Hvala lipa. We are immensely glad to have you on stage with us. As you said though, this show is certainly not over yet in terms of results, because phase II is yet to come.
[OOC: Massive thanks to Mercedini and Euskirribakondara for providing these answers to my mini-interviews. Thank you both so much! The order in which I posted is the order in which I received them.]
After the interview, the split-screen faded and we were back to a direct shot of Stela standing on stage. With the lights now gently dancing around and turning into a warmer blue color, the audience knew exactly what was coming up next in the next few sequences. It was time for the phase II vote. With a small podium rising from the ground, it caused the audience to begin to cheer.
Stela: I haven't even said a word yet haha! Well, some of you are ahead of me in the game. We're about to begin Phase II of the vote! This is the home stretch into finding our winner of the 31st World Hit Festival. Alright, I'll begin the process of explaining what happens here.
Stela: This will definitely be a reminder of the system used for World Hit Festival 26, but for nations that have joined us for this edition or perhaps weren't there to catch that particular edition. Let me explain what happens. We will go through each nation again to find out how many points they have received. One by one, we will see the 1 through 4 votes that each nation earned all at once, and we will break down who gave who in a quick graphic through the whole process.
Stela: It does sound admittedly very convoluted, but we'll see the process in action very quickly. We will be going in a somewhat random order, so sit tight, relax, and hold on. Your nation's fortunes could change in just me revealing who gave your nation their 1 through 4. With 170 points on offer, things can certainly change.
Stela: This is it. Let's begin Phase II!
The camera panned to the stage lights billowing down as dramatic music began to rumble through the Majcena Foruma amongst a flurry of crowd cheer.