BackgroundAdab's WorldVision 69 entry - "Birdie", sung by Rafa Farrakh and Roman Albag - ended up placing 24th, but the pain of such a lowly placing was lessened by the fact that it was never expected to penetrate the upper reaches of the standings in the first place. The entry had been one of Adab's most bizarre in WorldVision and WHF history and its creation one of the most chaotic, a process marred with everything from bureaucratic intervention to a mysterious death to outright riots on the streets. "Birdie" was, indeed, a half-serious, half-joke entry, its comedian creators propelled to the WorldVision stage through online voting held in the sheer desperation of the Adab Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC) to find an artist -
any artist - to represent them on that stage. That it would end up in the lower half of the standings was by no means entirely unexpected, even as critics slammed the entry for being, in the words of one critic, "unimpressive even at parodying" and the public was aghast to discover that the song had placed lower than, among others, the one performed by the culturally- and musically-impoverished Ardokian dictator Alistair Killian Moriarty.
"Our artists are devoid of inspiration, even when they try to mock and parody others," read a particularly negative review of the country's WorldVision performance by music critic Fahd Rustam on
The Adab Times. "This is a nadir in the history of the ABC. They have collapsed from the infighting and proven themselves unable to make a remotely coherent attempt at a WorldVision or World Hit Festival performance. I simply see no one worthy at the present time of representing us on WorldVision or the WHF. We might as well just get the kids from the Imperial Palace Choir in there. At least they're good enough to sing for the Emperor." (ABC director-general Enki Akiya wrote a public reply a few days later, in which he slammed Rustam as "a dope and a 25-year-old has-been" whose "time in the sunshine is rapidly slipping away" and was "only in it for the money.")
By the time the dust had settled and the country, shaken as it was by the experience, began to look forward to its next WorldVision and WHF entries, the ABC's WorldVision-WHF Committee was defunct. All of its members had either resigned or been fired, the committee's (largely ceremonial) chairman Kinan al-Salaman had sworn off future involvement in the country's WorldVision and WHF projects, its president Naram-Sin Alwalid was finally standing trial for the death of the singer Samia Rabani as suspicions spread that the whole thing had been orchestrated by Akiya in order to get rid of Alwalid, and amid all that there were rumors, constantly and strenuously denied by the ABC, that Akiya - a notoriously mercurial person - was sliding into the pits of mental illness and receiving daily electroshock therapy. The rumors were so rife at one point that Akiya was forced to make a televised appearance to assure the public that he was in full control of his mental faculties. Whatever was going on behind the scenes, it was clear that Adab's latest WorldVision entry had exacted a heavy toll on the people involved with it.
With public support for the country's WorldVision and WHF efforts at an all-time low, there were proposals that the country withdraw from both contests for at least one edition. Nevertheless, Akiya was determined that the show must go on, and that the country continue its participation in both contests and salvage its musical reputation. He made it clear to industry insiders that the online voting was a "one-off, emergency thing", and that from now on he would make sure the ABC was in full control of Adab's WorldVision and WHF entries and would choose the artist. With the World Hit Festival 43 rapidly coming up, Akiya moved quickly to reestablish the WorldVision-WHF Committee. Al-Salaman was again appointed chairman, in an attempt to establish some continuity with the previous iteration of the committee, even as he once again made it clear that he wanted little, if any, involvement in the committee's activities and would for now prefer to focus on his burgeoning business empire. While everyone agreed that al-Salaman's appointment was a sound decision, Akiya's next move opened himself to accusations of nepotism and was hotly debated across the country; he chose his nephew Benji as president (and
de facto leader) of the committee (al-Salaman gladly delegated whatever duties he had as chairman to him), and it was upon him that the task fell to find Adab's next WHF contestant. Benji proved himself a capable president, quickly cajoling rising star Khalid Aziz into becoming the country's representative - with the promise that he would be allowed to sing something which he wrote himself - and sending him to the WHF stage to general acclaim. Though accusations of nepotism remained, the public's trust in Benji grew, and so did their confidence in the country's next WorldVision effort.
How did Benji come upon Nawa Sabrina, and why did he choose her as the country's representative on the WorldVision stage? Nawa Sabrina was by no means unknown, and indeed by the age of 25 she had established himself as one of Adab's most popular pop stars. Her most recent album,
My Name Is Nawa and I Sing for a Living, had gone platinum, selling more than a million copies within a year of its release. For some years she had been dubbed as one of the likeliest candidates to represent Adab on WorldVision, yet she was not Benji's first choice, and in fact was not the second, either. The first was the folk-pop singer Rama Shabazz, who apparently caught Benji's interest because he represented something of a middle ground between "organic" music - however it is defined - and the accessible pop which Benji felt was necessary to the song's success. Though he reportedly almost accepted Benji's offer, Shabazz ultimately turned him down claiming that he had "other commitments". With Shabazz unavailable, Benji turned to indie rock band The Feet. "Quite the unconventional choice," Benji would concede in an interview many years later, "but I believe that it would have paid dividends if done right." The Feet, however, was deep in a nationwide tour and also about to begin work on their next album, and thus passed on the opportunity to appear on the WorldVision stage. The band's manager, Aldo Rohal, was quick to recommend to Benji another one of his acts: Nawa Sabrina, who, Rohal claimed, was eager for the chance to represent her country in an international event. Though Benji was not very fond of her music, claiming that it reminded him of Meat Loaf, he nevertheless saw that she would indeed make a good fit for the WorldVision stage and offered her the chance to appear on WorldVision; she accepted immediately.
The performanceNawa Sabrina marched onto the stage serenely, turning to the crowd, smiling, and waving as she received their adulation. The Adabian delegation gave her a particularly lively reception, clapping and cheering and even holding a few placards. A lone white spotlight followed her whenever she went. Behind her the Adabian flag spread across the video screens, with her name imposed over the middle white of the flag. She was wearing a
golden dress, dotted with crystal-white diamonds which shone brilliantly against the darkness of the venue. Closely following her were members of the Adab City Orchestra, assuming their place in their pit as Nawa made her way down the catwalk to be closer to the audience.
Nawa had not been the first choice, she knew that, and now that the opportunity had fallen upon her she was determined, more than ever, to do her country proud. Mic on hand, she faced the crowd, as the orchestra began playing and the tune of the backing track echoed across the Laugardalshöll. "Thank you for this amazing opportunity to perform here," she said excitedly, to the cheers of the crowd. "It is a great privilege for me to be able to perform on the WorldVision stage. No words can express just how excited and grateful I am to be able to stand before you here. So once again, thank you, thank you."
Backing vocals in (italics)
I've been to the farthest lands, and those of fairytales
I've seen the best they have for me, yeah
It's a wonderful sight, beyond all my dreams
But I always end up coming back, yeah
So don't worry, baby, you know I'll come back
And nothing can keep us apart
The video screens behind Nawa now showed animated scenes of a man and a woman, hand in hand, walking together through the streets of Baghdad at night, eventually disappearing into a crowd crossing the street not far from the Imperial Palace. The orchestra played on, their tight and disciplined playing keeping the music together to the delight of the crowd. Nawa herself was making her way up and down the catwalk, waving to the audience along the way, and then to the back of the stage, right behind the video screens. Suddenly, with a loud
bang, a series of red, blue, and green flames burst all along the stage and onto the ceiling. The screens changed to show black-and-white videos of Nawa recording in the studio, rehearsing for her WorldVision performance, and talking with people ranging from Enki and Benji Akiya to her own family.
If you think I'll be gone, then know that I'll return
If our love has run out, then we'll replenish it
Our faith in ourselves will
Carry us through all our troubles
And love is our greatest hope
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Adab City Orchestra!" Nawa shouted, pointing to the men and women in the pit. The crowd - led by the Adabian delegation among them - cheered heartily for the orchestra, while Nawa herself returned to the catwalk. There were now two spotlights on the stage, one pointing at Nawa and the other at the orchestra. She stopped in the middle of the catwalk, and then sauntered over to the edge of the stage and sat there, her feet dangling close to the audience, leaning to the thousands who had been watching her every move since the beginning of the performance.
We've had our share of troubles and of indecision
We know how it feels when we're on the edge, yeah
It was make or break, and we held on tight
And together we'll make it again, yeah
So don't worry, baby, you know I'll come back
And nothing can keep us apart
Nawa slowly rose to her feet - though not before shaking hands with a few lucky audience members - and proceeded past the orchestra pit and to the back of the stage, where the screens were now showing videos of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish weddings, representing the major religions of Adab.
If you think I'll be gone, then know that I'll return
If our love has run out, then we'll replenish it
Our faith in ourselves will
Carry us through all our troubles
And love is our greatest hope
Love is our greatest hope
By now the flames had begun to dissipate, and in their place was a great outburst of dark and blue smoke, slowly climbing up the interior of the venue. For a moment, the spotlight pointing down at Nawa was turned off, leaving only the one shining down on the orchestra, playing on in the midst of fire and smoke as the camera feed turned to focus on them. Meanwhile, Nawa serenely walked all along the stage, waving and pointing at the Adabian delegation in the audience with a wide smile. The video screens were still showing wedding videos.
When we find ourselves in doubt
And we can't see the road ahead
We'll look at each other and then we'll know
Our love will sustain us through all, all
At this moment, Nawa climbed off the stage and made her way along the front rows of the crowd, shaking hands and even hugging some of the audience members. The rapturous cheers and applause of the crowd boomed across the venue, led by the Adabian delegation. Gilad Kaykali, the country's head of delegation, jumped to his feet and applauded her, with the rest of the delegation quickly following suit. The flames once again came with a great
bang, this time accompanied by columns of smoke, together rising to the ceiling in a multicolored spectacle. And through it all the orchestra played on.
If you think I'll be gone, then know that I'll return
If our love has run out, then we'll replenish it
Our faith in ourselves will
Carry us through all our troubles
And love is our greatest hope, oh
(Love is our greatest hope)
Nawa strolled through the crowd and to the Adabian delegation, where a visibly elated Kaykali embraced her as the rest of the delegation danced and swayed. Many were quick to notice that Nawa was not singing at this time, and that the voice heard across the Laugardalshöll had suddenly seemed to multiply. Amid the fire and smoke, those in the front rows noticed a multitude of children and teenagers, male and female, crowding the back of the stage.
"So, is this where the choir comes in?" one audience member was heard inquiring, standing not far from the Adabian delegation.
"Choir?" Gilad Kaykali turned to the man. "This isn't your local choir. This, my young man, is the Choir of the Imperial Palace of Adab. They don't just sing, they sing for
emperors!"
(You think I'll be gone
If our love has run out, then we'll replenish it)
Having hugged, kissed, shaken hands with, waved at, and high-fived various members of the audience, including the Adabian delegation, Nawa began to make her way back to the stage, mic on hand, as her voice meshed with those of the choir, who continued to back her vocals.
Our faith in ourselves will
Carry us through all our troubles
And love is our greatest hope
Love is our greatest hope
(Love is our greatest hope)
Love is our greatest hope, baby
(Love is our greatest hope)
Nawa was now back on the stage catwalk. The video screens were turned off and the flames and smoke began to dissipate. Behind her was the orchestra, and behind them was the choir. She glanced over at them and smiled. "The Adab City Orchestra and the Imperial Palace Choir!" she announced, and was greeted with another round of cheers and applause from the audience.
Our faith in ourselves will
Carry us through all our troubles
And love is our greatest hope
The flames died down and the smoke faded away into the darkness of the venue. Nawa was alone on the catwalk, gazing at the audience as they cheered and clapped and applauded her in their numbers, with many rising to give her a standing ovation, including the entire Adabian delegation. She had been a major star in her country, but appearing on the WorldVision stage, representing her country, was a validation to her. She turned to the orchestra and choir, nodding and smiling, and then led them in a final bow to the audience.
"Thank you Ylfa, thank you very much, all of you," Nawa said. "You've given me one of the best nights of my life and I cannot thank you enough. So, once again, thank you, thank you very much to all of you, and of course to my fellow Adabians who are here tonight. I can see you from here. Mr. Kaykali? Yeah, you've been standing there for, like, a long time, we can all see you. You've been a great head of delegation and I cannot thank you enough, and the rest of the delegation. And everyone who has been with me from the beginning. My family, my friends, all the fans, and everyone who believes in me. This performance is for you."
Having concluded her speech, Nawa waved one final time to the audience, before leading the orchestra and choir backstage.