After the performance from Polkopia, the camera panned to a wide view of the stage as stage hands were seen cleaning up the stage and preparing for the next host intervention. Petra can be seen walking from the entrance to the main stage once the Polkopian act was verified to be in the green room. The music note podium was once again raised.
Petra: Thank you to Molly June for that wonderful performance! My oh my World, we've well and done gone through it. That's it! All the official performances for the World Hit Festival are now complete!
Petra: Alright, alright. Let's calm down before we all cause some ruckus in the Foruma. We don't want to pay the organizers more than already are. Okay, let's sort out the next part of the process, the voting!
Petra: For those of who you have been with us in the semi-finals, the voting process will be familiar. However, I will describe it once more as this time, we will reveal the votes of every nation versus just revealing the top 7. Here is how the voting works.
Petra then went on to describe the voting process in both Izmeduan and English, as commentators were then instructed to give out these instructions in their home languages should they so desire. As soon as Petra was done, the camera did a brief a close-up of her smiling to the audience before panning out quicly to the whole arena. The lights flickered and darkened as Petra took a deep breath...
WORLD! START! VOTING! NOW!!!A shower of sparks went off from the conduits located on the stage as the screens all around the Majcena Foruma blared out the message that Petra just announced. A countdown clock of 15 minutes began to appear on the side of the screen, with each tick making a dramatic 'whoosh' that faded as soon as the clock ticked to 14:45. The countdown clock would remain as a fixture on the screen until it'd end.
Petra: Phew! Well world, get voting. Of course, we couldn't just leave you with nothing to fill the time with. In reflection of the festival's theme this edition, we've decided to send a few acts that RTI wouldn't have considered in the past.
Petra: Mousiki is considered the birthplace and gateway of two genres that Izmedu holds dearly. The traditional music of the Izmeduan kind of Klapa finds its roots in Mousiki precisely, where an old tale harks that it is the efforts of one folk singer singing alone by the sea that sparked this genre. In the old streets of Mousiki you can hear the sounds of Klapa from left to right, turning from a genre that was sung by lonely men into a vocal collective, with the added helping of a gitara of course.
Petra: Then after that, we'll treat you to the appearance of Mousikian Opera... Also appearing right around the era where Klapa began to stake its claim, the appearance of Opera was a large part in helping Mousiki build its regional identity from the larger Izmeduan cities. Their dramatics, their emotionally resonant and technically powerful vocals, and the long-winded stage narratives helped Mousiki define and shape Izmeduan music in ways that still resonate today.
Petra: Alright world, get ready. Performing for the World Hit Festival stage for the first time, please welcome Goran Sprem and Klapa bialda!
The Majcena Foruma darkened as Petra vacated the stage, leading to a huge crowd cheer especially from the local Mousikians that were there. It took a minute or two for preparations to end in earnest. However, a faint spotlight began to be seen illuminating a group of eight men. There was one man in the center with a tamburica while he was surrounded by seven others in the circle. The camera almost had a dream-like, pastel hue applied to it, giving off a retro hue in color. Then, there was a fade to the man carrying the tamburica. His name was Goran Sprem.
Interval Act IGoran Sprem i Klapa bialda – Čaiko čekam
Translation: Here I Wait
Tune: Tomislav Bralic i Klapa Intrade - Ti, samo si tiGoran's eyes were closed as he played the first few notes of the song. The camera focused on his slow but accurate hands, controlling the tamburica with a veteran player's ease and grace. The emotions were already clear from the slow, but deliberate notes that played. Soon after, the orchestra began to follow, with a set of violin strings helping the song towards its continuation. By the end of the initial instrumental interlude, the camera panned backwards out slightly, revealing the full extent of the klapa group that Goran would be leading for tonight. The men from Klapa bialda were all wearing suits that harkened to traditional Izmeduan fashion.
Mi usanglonost je težak
Kol ju nosim
I bez tebe bojim se
Ove noći
Jo la pol takari tako
Ju klamuam za tebe
Goran would sing this part of the first verse mostly on his lonesome. The camera focused on him and his playing. His eyes were now open as he enunciated each phrase carefully, teasing out every inch of emotion from the calm instrumentation. His eyes were filled with the pain of loneliness, with the darkness of the Majcena and the dark blue hue on the stage's lights (in lieu of filling the screen) emphasizing how lonely Goran looked even with the men from Klapa bialda around him. By the end of the verse, the lights began to brighten to then bring the klapa group into focus.
Le dani postaju duži-i tužnije
O maje ufanje je fragilan
Mui kredim in-el ljubaur kol imamo
I nadam se zauvik
The camera began to zoom out from Goran as the group sang in a persistent unison. They at first hummed the first two lines, keeping a constant hymn-like sound that almost reverberated throughout the arena due to the live sound. It was clear that the klapa group covered different rages, from the tenors that provided help to make sure that Goran's vocals were being amplified, while there were deep bases that gave a contrast and diversified the soundscape. At the final line, that was when Klapa bialda and Goran truly sang in unison. The camera took a wider view, emphasizing Goran and Klapa bialda as a collective.
Da čaiko čekam
Kantuam mi pisma contobom
Molim, dođi kući
Ličiti mi cre i mi jamna
Da čaiko čekam
Kantuam mi pisma contobom
Molim, dođi kući
Ličiti mi cre i mi jamna
It was almost like a romantic love song from an old and bygone era when the chorus said, with Goran swooning the vocals with his traditional and emotional register. The klapa group, even if they appeared stoic, themselves laced their hymnal-like vocals with their own set of emotions. The instrumentation swelled slightly as the orchestra softly played the strings to complement the tamburica. The camera alternated between close-up shots of Goran to occasionally views of the Klapa group, the men of the latter staying absolutely stock still as their faces were contorting with emotion. By the end of the chorus, which was reprised two times in this section, the camera was at Goran. He hung his head back as he let his vocals soar and then fade into an emotional wisp, a slight crackle of his voice being audibly heard. He then played the slight emotional flourish that led into the second verse.
Ju pišem ova pisma od mi ljubauri
Smanjiti da prođe vrime
Još žudim biti zajedno nuestra bez straha
Ju plakam za tebe
Goran once more carried the song's lyrics in the second verse with an emotional heft, the klapa group once more taking a backseat hymnal role to emphasize the mood of the song. Goran had his head tilted as he sang, the camera occasionally focusing on his calm tamburica playing. The instrumentation was a bit more intense for this verse, with the klapa group almost overpowering their vocals in the third line. At the end, Goran and Klapa bialda sang the last line of the verse together. The camera once more panned to a wider view, emphasizing more static shots akin to a recorded performance of yesteryear versus the Izmeduan protocol of cinematic performances.
Da čaiko čekam
Kantuam mi pisma contobom
Molim, dođi kući
Ličiti mi cre i mi jamna
For the final set of refrains, Goran laced his vocals with a bit more extra force to his vocals. Just as the instrumentation soared to peak, the emotions of his vocals and the group's did as well. He swayed back and forth, as Klapa bialda themselves also began to move back and forth. The camerwork remained identical to the first refrain, but the stage added a few more effects. Images of a lighthouse began to appear behind on the screens, with a calm sea lapping about the base of lighthouse. This was complemented by the instrumental interlude between this refrain and the last. The camera faded to a mid-shot view of a person in the small orchestras, a man in a traditional suit playing the guitar solo to this song. The camera would alternate between that man and to views of the klapa group, who themselves remained humming. At the end of the interlude, the camera returned back to the vocalists.
Da čaiko čekam
Kantuam mi pisma contobom
Molim, dođi kući
Ličiti mi cre i mi jamna
Ličiti mi cre i mi jamna
The final refrain saw Goran and Klapa bialda sing at their highest emotional intensity. Some of the klapa group began to move forward, splitting into two halves temporarily before converging upon Goran in one light. The baby blue light configuration that remained static began to brighten the stage. The romantic image of the lone spotlight began to shine on the screen, slowly morphing into an image of the Mousikian seaside. The song was now an image of eight men pining and yearning for their lover in the sea, emphasized as the floor screens began to slowly turn into water. At the end of the song, the lights darkened as the Goran and Klapa bialda remained still.
For the locals in the audience, this was a massive treat to be had. They cheered the loudest for Goran and Klapa bialda, knowing that it was rare for local Mousikian artists to have been given to showcase their most traditional music in such a manner. However, this was not the end of the interval act as the lights darkened sans one spotlight... A hidden ninth person suddenly coming on stage.
Before the interval act's second song would begin. Klapa bialda and Goran stayed within the darkness as the ninth man was illuminated. He looked ready to give a monologue, wearing a classically designed suit that was almost ragged at the edges. He gazed at the audience with an intense look, with his in-character almost causing the audience to quiet even without the use of cue cards. The lights remained off as the camera now took on a far more cinematic view for him. The man's name was Ivica Kozina, a once former opera prodigy of Mousiki now turned into a career and classically trained opera singer. He then began to engage in a monologue, one that would introduce the song.
Ivica Kozina: Our world lies in apocalypse. What we once had is now gone. I sought for your love as you went out into the sea. However, the longer I waited, the more I watched our world crumble. Into the never-ending inferno I want. All I had was a distant memory of you, a faint hope that perhaps in the fickle afterlife that I would meet you. That was the hope I had when our world turned into nothing. I chased for a love, your love, that I still hope exists. I call for your soul. I sing this grand yet melancholy ode to you... To a love that wanders the world and one that I yearn for.
Interval Act IIIvica Kozina – Jamna
Translation: Soul
Tune: Amaury Vassili - SognuThe song started off calmly as white lights began to shine down on the stage. As the song was primarily driven by the orchestra, the song would entirely be played live by the orchestra that flanked Ivica. By this time, the previous performers were now off the stage and Ivica was standing on his lonesome behind a strategically placed microphone. His eyes were closed as the orchestra played the low but rousing beginning of the song. After a few seconds, Ivica opened his eyes and the camera panned over to him, his face determined yet solemn.
Kanda la kanaisa
Kada nakona la vatra
Racuada nueštre inamćenje
Mi kol zuant zajedno
His voice rang out smoothly, the high tenor of his register flowing throughout the arena as years of opera training began to bear fruit in this performance. Ivica held one hand out as he sang, lurching towards the audience. The lights remained a haunting white, casting a shadow over on the floor. Behind Ivica and the orchestra, the screens began to show images of a destroyed environment that befit the song's lyrics. It was a destroyed city, a classical city's ruins, under a dark orange sky. The camera flashed between showing the ravaged environment and displaying Ivica's singing.
Kanda nueštre jamne
Mjasce do nueštri vječnosti
Nikad nećemo muariti mi ljubaur
Molim vas, racuardaš me
In this part of the song, drums began to be added to the orchestral instrumentation. Ivica increased the intensity of his vocals, letting his voice flow through a much deeper and fuller register versus the softer one he used. He began to lead back slightly as the lights flashed to the drum beat, the ravaged environment behind him only intensifying in image as the destroyed buildings slowly fell apart into nothing. Throughout this part of the song, the camera would also occasionally flash to the audience, focusing especially on the audience parts that were local to the city itself.
Prekurim od tebe
Hoćeš li ostani conmaic
Obećaj mi ova ruza
El simbol maje velike ljubari
Sve što blairim je za tebe, mi cre
The song would soften as Ivica then clasped the microphone with both hands and held his hands upward to control his voice towards the higher end of its range. The camera focused on him as the images behind him and the orchestra paused, the lights intensifying and focusing on him. The camera would move slightly sideways throughout the first two lines, his expression becoming more intense as he let his fuller range become more exposed through this stanza. One could see his eyes beginning to brimmer with the fire of passion and survival, a lone lover doing his best to keep his memory alive during the apocalypse. At the last line, Ivica held his head back as he held out the line's last note. His eyes were closed as the camera then faded to a wide view of the stage, some of the audience cheering for him during this part of the song.
The lights intensified to a dramatic degree and the orchestra swelled to its peak dramatics. The strings swooned as the world behind them on the screens then began to show a man who looked similar to Ivica. Timed to the dramatic melody, the man was looking up and standing alone in the apocalypse on the screen. His face was not shown, but his clothing looked visibly tattered, and it was clear that he was looking up towards the forlorn, red-orange sky. Once the interlude was over, the camera returned back to Ivica.
Ti si mi san, ti si mi ljubaur
Čak kand la svita muara
For this brief segue into the final set stanza, Ivica was letting his peak vocals out. He was singing in a much more intense fashion, his body visibly during the much larger notes especially at the end of 'svita maura.' He held out one hand that was balled to a fist, his head hanging back as he belted out his dramatic declarations.
Ju sam contobom
Kand nueštra svita ardara
U ovu vječanu infiarnu
Vrime je da odemo
Nikad nećemo muariti
The final 50 seconds of the song was now where Ivica would let no inhibitions through his vocals. His face was showing every single emotion that drove this song. The desperation of being the only one left in the apocalypse that was mixed with the caring and devotion that one needed to deliver these lines. The orchestra themselves remained hard at work to maintain the dramatic atmosphere. This was further enhanced by the camerawork, to which the camera would often make choice fly-bys from the back to the arena towards the stage in which the camera would catch a group of Izmeduans proudly waving their flags. At the fourth line of this stanza, Ivica unleashed his highest note yet, leading into the finale of the song...
The camera would close up on him for that final line, as he'd say the 'nikad necemo' with a determination and fire in his eyes. He looked almost ready to keel over, but he needed to deliver just one more word... With 'muariti,' he belted out the most powerful note he could, the orchestra silencing itself as he pulled off the final note of the song. He stepped back as the song finished to a loud cheer from his home.
"Hvala!" He said to the crowd, bowing down before walking off.