Page 1 of 5

[IC] WorldVision 88 in Flavezztowland City

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 7:17 pm
by Rhim Flavezztowland
Image



The countdown
(based on the countdown at the 2018 League of Legends World Championship [note: countdown ends at 0:35])

[space reserved for countdown-related stuff]

The opening act - "Join Us" by Voices of Unity
(to the tune of "DUMDi DUMDi" by (G)I-DLE)

Nathan Brennan, Alexandrine "Alix" Delannoy, Felix "FX" Dellinger, Fatima Teixidó, Altair Sapateiro, Xiao Chang (Sunny), Im Taewon, Natsumi "Tsumii" Iida, Hubrecht de Vaal, Margareth "Maggie" Greseth, Darin Maleenon, Cheeno Adhya, Hanlala "Hani" bin Rasheeq, Arivini "Ahri" P., Mariusz "Mari" Kolczyński, Suzana "Suzie" Slunjski, (ALL)

Voices of Unity, a 16-membered co-ed vocal group whose members are of different ethnicities, was to perform the opening act for WorldVision 88. The song that they would perform for this, "Join Us", is an encouraging song that revolves around the theme of unity.

With the group's members at the centerstage position of the WorldVision 88 stage, as the instrumental started playing, the LED screens started showing words such as "Join the fun!" and "Everybody unite!" on a white background. 4 seconds into the song, the LED lights brightened into a bright white color, and white lasers started to be emitted from the stage's perimeter. 9 seconds into the song, as Nathan started singing his part in the first verse, the white lasers stopped being emitted, water jets were emitted from the perimeter, the color of the LED lights changed into a reddish color, and the LED screen showed a blank white picture.
Do you want us to share our feelings with you?
Do you want to experience the fun?


It was then Cheeno's turn to sing. Because of this, the camera zoomed into her face as she sang her lyrics.
'Cause we know that true unity is but a fool
And we don't want you to miss it all

(Come on!)
Don't believe in those liars who think they're cool
'Cause they're dangerous and hateful, y'all

(Join us!)


40 seconds into the song, once Mari started singing the pre-chorus, the camera began showing his face, and the color of the LED screens began to alternate between black and white every 2 seconds. The lights also changed color to white, and began alternating between dimmed and brightened for the same interval as that of the LED screens changing color.
Men, women, sing along now
Boys and girls, sing along now
Old people, sing along now
Young adults, sing along now


As Mari continued to sing, he walked onto the southern position of the stage; the LED screens started showing images of people from all over the world, and the lights started flashing more often.
'Cause you're 'bout to hear what the essence of true unity is
(Join us and have fun!)


Immediately after Mari finished singing his part, he ran back to the centerstage position; 55 seconds into the song, the camera zoomed to show the entire group, the lights stopped flashing and became shining in a purplish color, and more water jets were emitted from the stage's perimeter. In addition, the LED screens began showing random geometric patterns on a white background.
Every man, every lass, every boy, every girl
Everybody, join us and have some fun

Every mom, every dad, every bro, every sis
Everybody, unite together now


After the chorus, the entire group started singing in an ensemble, and the LED screens showed the phrase "Join us!" in a bold font, continually and on an orange background for 15 seconds; along with that, the color of the lights became orange.
Come on, join us!
Come on, join us!
Come on, join us!
Come on, join us!
(Join us and have fun!)
Come on, join us!
Come on, join us!
Come on, join us!
Come on, join us!
(Join us and have fun!)


A minute and 27 seconds into the song, aqua jets were emitted once again, a dance crew arrived on the stage to perform a dance routine, and the song fell into a 33-second-long instrumental-only period, where the content on the LED screens and the colors of the lights would change often. Once that was over, however, Fatima began singing the pre-chorus, and the same things that happened when Mari sang it occurred to the LED screens and lights.
Men, women, sing along now
Boys and girls, sing along now
Old people, sing along now
Young adults, sing along now


As Fatima continued to sing, she walked onto the southern position of the stage; the LED screens started showing images of people from all over the world, and the lights started flashing more often.
'Cause you're 'bout to hear what the essence of true unity is
(Join us and have fun!)


Immediately after Fatima finished singing her part, she ran back to the centerstage position; 2 minutes and 15 seconds into the song, the camera zoomed to show the entire group, the lights stopped flashing and became shining in a purplish color, and more water jets were emitted from the stage's perimeter. In addition, the LED screens showed the same thing as for the first time the chorus came along: random geometric patterns on a white background.
Every man, every lass, every boy, every girl
Everybody, join us and have some fun

Every mom, every dad, every bro, every sis
Everybody, unite together now


After the chorus, the entire group started singing in an ensemble, and the LED screens showed the phrase "Join us!" in a bold font, continually and on an orange background for 15 seconds; along with that, the color of the lights became orange.
Come on, join us!
Come on, join us!
Come on, join us!
Come on, join us!
(Join us and have fun!)
Come on, join us!
Come on, join us!
Come on, join us!
Come on, join us!
(Join us and have fun!)


All of the lights then turned off, and all of the LED screens turned pitch black. The camera then zoomed onto Taewon and Tsumii, and colorful lasers were emitted from the stage's perimeter as the two sang their parts.
Now there's hope you know of unity's true essence
But in case you guys still don't, let me reiterate it


The LED screens then turned white, and as pyrotechnic gerbs were emitted from the stage's perimeter, the lasers stopped being emitted.
Come and join us, hey
(Join us and have fun)
Let's unite!


The phrase "Come on and join us!" then appeared on the LED screens in a bold font and on a white background, and the lights were brightened to emit all sorts of colors.
Come on, join us!
Come on and join us!
Come on, join us!
Come on and join us!
Come on, join us!
Come on and join us!
Come on, join us!
(Join us and have fun!)
Come on, join us!
Come on and join us!
Come on, join us!
Come on, join us!
Come on and join us!
Come on, join us!
(Join us and have fun!)


After the song had ended, pyrotechnic gerbs and water jets were emitted simultaneously from the stage's perimeter, and Mari yelled loudly through a microphone these words: "You're gonna enjoy this show, folks, so let's get groovin'!" Just after this was said out loud by him, it was almost time for the parade of nations to begin...

The parade of nations - performed by the Meilleur Brothers
(to the tune of "Around" by Hitchhiker x Taeyong)

Andrew Meilleur, James Meilleur, (BOTH)

WorldVision show time


WorldVision show time


Welcome to the show
All that'll be will be here
So stop messing around and enjoy this very show
It's the real deal
Now we're here to unite the Multiverse through this very show
Welcome to the show
All that'll be will be here
So stop messing around and enjoy


(WorldVision sho-)
Hello and bonjour
Hola and guten tag
Selamat siang, annyeonghaseyo
Konnichiwa and ni hao and sawasdee
jJom reab suar, privyet
Just say hello, say hello, say it...


Welcome to a show full of songs
All nations unite now, okay?
We're here, okay?
It's a show
Now, now, now
It's time to celebrate
Time to embrace the diversity of this big world


Welcome to the show
All that'll be will be here
So stop messing around and enjoy

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 7:18 pm
by Rhim Flavezztowland
Participating nations and their entries

01. British Alberta
(Postcard | Jury votes )


02. Polkopia
(Postcard | Jury votes )


03. Placely Placington
(Postcard | Jury votes )


04. Scotatrova
(Postcard | Jury votes )


05. Faraby
(Postcard | Jury votes )


06. Achaean Republic
(Postcard | Jury votes )


07. Waisnor
(Postcard | Jury votes )


08. Saviera
(Postcard | Jury votes )


09. Beepee
(Postcard | Jury votes )


10. Hafamarimyht
(Postcard | Jury votes )


11. Izmedu
(Postcard | Jury votes )


12. United States of Gondor
(Postcard | Jury votes )


13. South Alezia
(Postcard | Jury votes )


14. Kalosia
(Postcard | Jury votes )


15. Oqmet
(Postcard | Jury votes )


16. North Alezia
(Postcard | Jury votes )


17. Talvezout
(Postcard | Jury votes )


18. Nahlcomo
(Postcard | Jury votes )


19. Axuva
(Postcard | Jury votes )


20. Rusmailica
(Postcard | Jury votes )


21. Belgaam
(Postcard | Jury votes )


22. Koniglich Wasserstein
(Postcard | Jury votes )


23. Nekoni
(Postcard | Jury votes )


24. Britonisea
(Postcard | Jury votes )


25. Antahbrantahstan
(Postcard | Jury votes )


26. Malta Comino Gozo
(Postcard | Jury votes )


27. Carrelie
(Postcard | Jury votes )


28. Pemecutan
(Postcard | Jury votes )


29. Ertzei Kishim
(Postcard | Jury votes )


30. Elejamie
(Postcard | Jury votes )


31. Crustyland
(Postcard | Jury votes )


32. Rhim Flavezztowland
(Postcard | Jury votes )


33. Christarnea
(Postcard | Jury votes )


34. Greater Korean Juche Republic
(Postcard | Jury votes )


35. Kyritakia
(Postcard | Jury votes )


1 . Dominion of Canada : Give us Freedom

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 7:30 pm
by British Alberta
Image
Picture of Marthinus van Schalkwyk


Marthinus van Schalkwyk walks up and yells something in Xhosa :

Amandla (Power)


Awethu (For Us)


He then starts to sing in English

Hey Stella , I ain't askin' much of you
No no no no no no no no, Stella
I ain't askin' much of you
Just give give give us freedom will do
Don't continue apartheid
You're 'bout to kill your reputation
Well, you can kill some rights
And still have plenty left
No no no, Stella
I ain't askin' much of you
Just give give give us freedom will do
That's right

the screen changes to Angry Protesters rioting when Stella Van Riebeeck was appointed
Image
Image


You're just a natural born racist
Filled with red to the top
But I ain't racist, Stella
All I want is all you got
No no no, Stella
I ain't askin' much of you
Just give give give us freedom will do
That's right

the Screen changes to people Stella van Riebeeck is accused of being with
Image
Pablo Escobar Notorious Drug Lord

Image
Ari Khadusik , Dictator of the United Australasian Commonweatlh
Image
the AWB

my family is poor
My son is broke
You know I'd have all the things my family could bring
If you'd just give me welfare
No no no no no no no, Stella
I ain't askin' much of you
Just give give give us freedom will do
That's right


the crowd cheers as they wave the 1957 to 1995 Canadian Flag in the Toronto City Hall in Toronto with some burning the portraits and Effigies of Stella Van Riebeeck , Prime Minister Jean Chretien , Queen Elizabeth II and President Joe Biden . Several Protesters in Brampton then riot as Stella van Riebeeck tweets she will refuse to step down , However the Situation in Toronto City Hall is calm at the moment
The Brampton Sky Cam and Toronto City Hall Sky Cam Footage are shown in the Bottom right of the Feed of the CBC Broadcast of Worldvision 88
Image

This Song then causes more people to go to Toronto City Hall
tune :A Big Hunk o Love

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 7:33 pm
by Polkopia
Image




As the Polkopian team hurried onstage to ready themselves for their performance, An Na could hear the crowd roaring in excitement as the Polkopian postcard was shown on the LED screens inside the Eastin Millennium Arena. While Polkopia does normally perform in the first half of the show, rarely do they perform as early as second in the lineup, and An Na could feel the pressure mounting with every passing second. However, she reminded herself that she was a professional and this was what she did for a living. Despite being in the industry for years, she still felt a hint of nervousness before her performances and this time was no different. She already had a large following within Polkopia, and her previous participation at Worldvision ensured that she had at least made a name for herself abroad, but she came to Worldvision this edition with one goal in mind - to win. She had already broke into the top three once already, something that isn't exactly an easy accomplishment by any means, however to win the competition and bring Polkopia its 10th victory at Worldvision would bring her career as a musician to new heights. She could finally earn herself a spot in the so-called Polkopian Hall of Fame after one failed attempt already, and she had spent the last few months making sure that every possible detail was perfect for the show. She knew that every Polkopian back home was watching and cheering her on, and she didn't want to return back to Dovgorodia empty-handed.

These thoughts flooded her mind as the crew around her hurried to make sure that the stage was set in order for her to deliver the performance. To start the show, her hair was tied back in a long ponytail which ran down the length of her back. Atop her head sat a wide-brimmed black hat with a thin white bow tied around the base of the crown. She wore a black pinstripe black suit jacket over a white blouse, whose ruffles poked out around the brim of the jacket. Her pants were designed in the same fashion as her suit, and her black heels stood at approximately eight inches off the ground. During her performance at the Landa vy Polkopiya, she wore these same heels and managed to deliver a flawless choreographed routine, so she was confident that she would be able to deliver a performance at the same caliber. The foundation on her makeup was applied very lightly, only to cover any blemishes that might have formed after countless hours of practicing the choreography and rehearsing the performance, and her lips were colored a light pink. Her eyeshadow was applied in a natural shade around the inner corner, but faded into a dark brown as it transitioned further along the eyelid, before fading into her black eyeliner which was applied into a dramatic wing extending far past her eye.

Onstage, she was joined by five background dancers, though they were currently situated at the very back of the stage and therefore not in view of any spectator. An Na stood at the very center of the stage just behind an old-school microphone stand and looked at the ground as the instrumentation started. One of her hands was placed on top of the microphone, while the other was placed on her outer thigh. The microphone before her would not be the one that she sung into, but was placed there for effect. Her actual microphone was attached to her suit and out of view. As the instrumental played, the camera was positioned at the very front of the stage, with An Na in the very aligned to the left side of the camera's focus. An Na tapped her thigh with her hand with every beat that sounded and shifted her shoulders simultaneously, until she began to sing and immediately looked up. At this moment, the camera transitioned so that it moved to a much closer view of An Na, though she was still positioned toward the left of the screen. Meanwhile the stage was completely dark, save for the one spotlight that illuminated her. As she sang, she maintained her grip on the microphone with her one hand, but used her free hand to animate the song, along with the rest of her body. For instance, during the second line, she placed her free hand under hear ear, palm facing outward, and her eyes looked toward that same direction. Then she extended her arm outward and turned her face toward that direction, before wiggling her fingers and bringing her hand in closer to her body as she sand the fourth line, smirking as she did so.

Midnight sounds
And I hear my cellphone ring
With your drunk apology
And jumbled words


As soon as this verse started, an unilluminated figure reached out and took away her microphone, while someone else on the opposite side of An Na took her hat away. As soon as this happened, An Na marched forward placed her hands on her shoulders, crossing them, and let her head roll around her shoulders. All of this was done during the first line. During the second and third lines, she dropped to a kneeling position, swung her legs over each other so they crossed, and stood back up, trailing her the outer edge of her thighs and later, her glutes, with her hand, winking at the camera.

But I’m so hot
When I’m dancing in the club
With a bottle of some bub
Bought just for me


The figure that took away her microphone held it out to her so that it was right in front of her face. An Na slowly walked to the side, making intense eye-contact with the camera in the meantime. The sole spotlight on An Na meant that the viewers from home could not see the figure holding out the microphone to her - only their hands. During the second line, she spun around so that her back was facing the camera, but turned her head around so that only her profile was visible. She closed her eyes and smirked as she sung this bit, before turning around as she sang the third line and slowly extended her hands upward. After this the camera rapidly zoomed out so that it An Na wasn't visible during the last line. On stage, she ran back to the center of the stage so she was able to be in the right position for the beginning of the pre-chorus.

You say you’ve made a mistake
But boy, I know that, I’ve always known that
You’ve made your bed so lie awake
And start dreaming, but just keep dreaming


The camera turned to an overhead view, where the LED screen on the floor lit up. It appeared as if though there were black 6' x 6' square panels on the floor, outlined by a thin white strip. The square that An Na stood on illuminated white during the beginning of the pre-chorus, and when she said the word, "hate", four more of the squares turned white. The squares that turned white were those directly diagonal to the square that An Na stood on, and as they illuminated, one could see that there were dancers positioned in the very center of those squares as well. When An Na sang the third syllable of the word, "hesitate" other squares illuminated white - those directly diagonal to those who had just turned white, though these new squares didn't have any background dancers standing on them. Then the same thing happened with another round of squares when An Na sang the word, "late" and again, no dancers were positioned on these squares either. When she sang, "over you" the camera transitioned to a close-up view of the dancers to the left of An Na, then to the right of her, before ending on her. Each transition was done with each syllable she sang in that phrase.

During the second bit, An Na and her dancers stepped forward three times and slightly extended their hands outward, palms facing out. As they moved forward, every person onstage rapidly moved their heads side to side, all in-sync with each other. This was done during the first half of the first line in the second part of the pre-chorus (not confusing at all!), and during the second half of the first line, the An Na and the dancers threw one hand above their heads, then their other hand, and then bring them down, moving them near their glutes. As they did this last movement, they all arched their backs and held their heads back. Two of the dancers situated on the squares in front of An Na moved toward her, where she then grabbed their neckties and held them there as she sang the second line. As she sang the final 'over you' in the pre-chorus here, she flung the neckties forward and the dancers each did a backflip away from An Na, who moved forward.

I don’t hate you, but I won’t hesitate to
Say that it’s way too late and that I am
Over you.

I’m long gone, and you know I’ll dance ‘till dawn
With these boys, I’ll turn them on, and I’m so
Over you.


As soon as the chorus hit, the camera rapidly zoomed out. Fireworks around the edge of the stage quickly shot up, resulting in an enthusiastic cheer from the crowd which was audible for those who were watching remotely. The LED screen finally lit up to show a black and white striped pattern moving rapidly across the screen. Meanwhile the black and white squares on the LED floor alternated in color at every time An Na sang the word, 'keep' in each part of the chorus. As she sung the bits of the chorus, the choreography became more intense than what we've seen so far in the performance. During the first line, An Na and the dancers all moved one of their hands from their foreheads and extended it outwards, arching the backs and craning their necks in the opposite direction as they did so. During the second line, they repeated this movement, but in the opposite direction. During the third line, everyone on stage shot both hands up, turned around, and held their arms near their chest and punched downward three times, moving their back foot to the side in-sync with their arm movements. Next, during the fourth line, An Na extended one arm out to her side and moved backwards, before extending her other arms out to her other side during the next line, and for during the sixth line, one dancer moved to each side of her and lifted her up by her extended arms. The camera transitioned to an overhead view and An Na looked up and made eye contact with the camera as she and this bit, before flipping over and marching forward with her dancers. The next dance bit consisted of An Na extending her left arm from her knees, out to the side, and then above her head, shifting her body toward the direction of her hand, dropping her body down, and slowly picking it back up, before crossing her arms behind her head and tapping her fingers along her forearm (similar to the choreography in the video during this bit). When the chorus was nearly over, An Na walked over to the camera and "pushed" it away, where the camera spun away and transitioned to the next angle as An Na prepared to sing the next verse.

Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming, what you do.
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming, what you do.
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming, what you do.
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming
Over you.


The lights dimmed back to what they were before the chorus began, but the LED screens in the background still displayed the black and white stipes, though the animation of them moving was at a much slower pace than what it was like before. All of the square tiles on the LED floor were now colored in a bright white tone, with a thin black line separating each square from one another. An Na and her dancers moved about the perimeter of the stage together, with the dancers kicking up and spinning on every third beat, while An Na kept walking normal. During the third line they all stopped and An Na unbuttoned her suit jacket, rolled backward, winked a the camera, and put her jacket back on. During this time, the dancers all leaned in closet to An Na until she put her jacket back on, where they then stepped back, rolled on the ground, and jumped back up.

I’m getting late.
And everyone’s a little buzzed
And I’m teasing just because
I feel it too.


As An Na sang the next part of the verse, the group of dancers, along with An Na, moved to the other side of the stage in the same formation and pattern as before, only this time, during the third line, An Na extended an arm out to the camera and looked directly at it, before smirking and turning away by the fourth line. The microphone also picked up a bit of An Na laughing as she finished singing the fourth line. As the performers delivered their show, the camera was positioned so that the first few rows of spectators were visible toward the bottom of the shot, though most of the focus was still on An Na and the dancers. Flags of all different nations could be seen in the shot, though the Polkopian flags were by far the most prevalent, as the fans were doing their part to show their support throughout the entirety of the performance.

He’ll take me home
And once we’re there, no end in sight
I’ll scream his name throughout the night
It won’t be yours.


An Na sang the second breakdown of the song here, and by this time her and the dancers had all made their way back toward the center of the stage. As the camera transitioned to a frontal view of the performers, the lights dimmed and the background LED screen showed the skyline of Peeto late at night. The view seemed to be from the perspective of the top of a rooftop lounge of a skyscraper in the city from behind some floor-to-ceiling windows. The lighting dimmed so that the dancers' and An Na's silhouettes were only visible, and the opening shot saw An Na do a near-split, moving her body forward while her legs were almost completely parallel to the floor. She lay on her stomach, placed her hands on the floor, arched her back, and spun her body around until she was in a sitting position. During the third line of the breakdown here, one could notice the Aurora Borealis shining in the distance over the Peeto skyline, and the lights around the stage faded into a similar tone as bright green lights that were displayed on the screen.


You say you’ve made a mistake
But boy, I know that, I’ve always known that
You’ve made your bed so lie awake
And start dreaming, but just keep dreaming


During the pre-chorus part here, An Na stood up and walked forward. The camera was positioned right in front of her and moved backwards at a quicker base than how An Na moved forward and soon, the dancers came into the shot, who started walking forward as soon as An Na was in-line with them. Once they moved forward, they quickened their pace. By the time they did this, An Na had sang the first 'over you' bit. Once it was time for the second part of the pre-chorus, An Na and her dancers repeated the same choreography as before, only that she didn't grab the dancers' neckties and instead walked in front of them as they crossed over each other behind her. It should also be noted that during this part, the lighting had increased so that everyone on the stage was visible, though the floor had regressed back to its earlier black-and-white square pattern.

I don’t hate you, but I won’t hesitate to
Say that it’s way too late and that I am
Over you.

I’m long gone, and you know I’ll dance ‘till dawn
With these boys, I’ll turn them on, and I’m so
Over you.


During this part, An Na and the dancers repeated the same choreographed movements that they had performed during the first chorus, only this time the squares on the LED floor were colored in all sorts of neon colors, from pink to green to orange, and anything else you might imagine. The lighting changed from the typical golden light to a dark purple hue, and laser lights (similar to this) were displayed behind them. The LED screens in the background remained the same, still displaying the skyline of Peeto from the perspective of someone from on top of a skyscraper, though the northern lights had disappeared and one could notice that there were infinitely more stars in the sky than there had been beforehand. Overall this stage was meant to resemble a nighttime club, as the lyrics in this song talk about dancing and enjoying being single. The Polkopian delegation wanted to recreate this, not only through the lyrics, but visually as well, hence the colored stage floor and skyline.

Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming, what you do.
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming, what you do.
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming, what you do.
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming
Over you.


During the instrumental break here, the dancers circled around An Na and one by one, fell to their knees, turning the bodies away from An Na. Meanwhile An Na, stayed in the middle of all of her dancers, but occasionally twirled, letting her arm caress her cheek and neck. Meanwhile the camera moved around the perimeter of this makeshift wall that the dancers' position made, always keeping An Na in focus. At one point, viewers at home could see thousands of specs of light behind An Na, as the spectators around the arena were in the background. An Na didn't seem to notice, or really care for that matter, and she kept moving like they had rehearsed one hundred times before. Once the camera had made a 360° around the performers, the instrumental kicked back on and the lights returned to how they had been during the last chorus. The dancers jumped up to join An Na in the same choreography she was performing, which was a repeat of the choreography performed during the previous pre-choruses. When the chorus sounded for the final time, the performers all recreated the same movements they had performed already, though this time with seemingly more energy as they wrapped up the song.

I don’t hate you, but I won’t hesitate to
Say that it’s way too late and that I am
Over you.

I’m long gone, and you know I’ll dance ‘till dawn
With these boys, I’ll turn them on, and I’m so
Over you.


Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming, what you do.
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming, what you do.
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming, what you do.
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming
Over you.


An Na shot her hand up into the air and the dancers all circled around her and knelt, looking up at her. This was the final shot of the performance before the song ended, resulting in a round of enthusiastic cheers from the audience. "Thank you!" An Na shouted, before the group engaged in a long hug and exited the stage.

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 7:41 pm
by Placely Placington
03 - Placely Placington

Placely Placington All-Stars - We're Placingtoned!


Tune: 1986 New York Mets - Get Metsmerized

Test and the Subjects didn't exactly do a great job in Peeto. Even for a group of grunt clones with a tendency to die for the most arbitrary of reasons and, indeed, died after getting hit by a barrage of pianos in a joke that's starting to run its course. And the only thing they got in return was a 34th place finish with 25 points in total, all of which came from the juries. At least they got a 12 from Crustyland and a 10 from South Alezia so it wasn't all bad.

Regardless, Dave McDaverson wasn't exactly pleased. If they kept finishing near the bottom then the country would be foreclosed and then he wouldn't have any more money to embezzle so he could get some more stuff for his secret stash. And worst of all, the IBA (the International Broadcasting Alliance) had rejected his TV show idea, which was the main focus of the meeting he had called. “Why did they reject my World Series idea?” He asked Television Director, banging the gun he inexplicably has on him despite the fact he shouldn’t be allowed in the same solar system as one. At least it’s not loaded. “Did you tell them about the Humbler Half-Marathon? The Parachute Endurance? Roshamboing?”

“I did sir.” Television Director said. “They kept asking us why it was a World Series when it had three entrants in it and they all came from the same nation. And they also asked us why we had a World Series of it in the first place.”

“Let’s give them time. Soon they’ll come crawling to us begging to use our idea and we’ll consider it.” Dave then sat down in his seat. Three of the legs broke up but it didn’t make him fall over for whatever reason. “Anyway, let’s get into the other reason why we’re here. Our next entry. Ideas.”

“We could do a song encouraging people to get together in closed areas and cough in each others’ faces.” Said the new Health Minister, who definitely wasn’t a giant coronavirus the size of a space hopper. But it did definitely speak in a Brummie accent for some inexplicable reason.

“No, no, we already did that. Thirteen people died that afternoon. Seven of them died again that evening. I need some fresh ideas. What do you have, Dave the Hobo?”

“Boxes. Everyone loves boxes. We do a song about boxes and how they’ll take you on a harmony joyride. Because everyone loves boxes and they will love a song about boxes.”

“A bit better. What else do we have?”

“WE COULD DO OUR OPENING ACT SIR.” Chief Economist said, completely unannounced and completely unexpected.

“I’ve got a good idea, we could do the opening act we were planning to do for when we were going to host!” Dave McDaverson said as if he had the idea, although it’s not sure if he wanted the credit for Chief Economist’s idea or if he was simply not paying attention.

“YES SIR THAT IS A GOOD IDEA SIR.” Chief Economist said, though again it’s not sure if he’s saying that to be a toad or if there was another reason for it.

An announcement was eventually made, where Dave McDaverson himself told the plebs what the plan was while a venus flytrap with legs wandered the landscape to find something to eat. Which was handy because buildings are like boxes of chocolates with little windows in them. The song was recorded and then sent to the IBA as official proof of confirmation. It also went to number one in Placely Placington for the sole reason that Dave had bought himself about 182 copies of the song. And then there was the trip to Flavezztowland City, where an airport guard had to deal with an angry Dave McDaverson simply because Health Minister couldn’t be allowed into the country. “What do you mean our health minister is banned from the country?!”

“Sorry, coronavirus restrictions.”

“That is blatant profiling!” Dave angrily said to the guard before he turned around to try and converse with Health Minister. “Health Minister, are you a coronavirus?”

It was revealed that Health Minister, who was now wearing a fake moustache alongside a hat and glasses, was busy bumping into Television Director in an attempt to infect him. It clearly wasn’t working, for the simple reason that Television Director didn’t have a mouth or nose or any other way of getting infected. THOONK. THOONK. THOONK. That was the sound that he was making. When he realised he was asked a question, he carried on doing what he was doing but also replied with a nonchalant “No.”

“You see, he isn’t” The airport guard, who probably didn’t get paid enough to deal with this sort of thing, reluctantly let them through.

Fortunately the rest of the trip wasn’t so bad, other than them repeatedly getting the nations name wrong enough times that it would’ve caused an international incident if it weren’t for the fact that they were a nation of idiots. Such as them calling it “Rimmed baking sheet”, “Rhyme Flavortown”, “Rim Rimma Who Got The Keys To My Flimma”, “Flazland” and “Jeff”. Even when they were told the correct pronunciation and the correct spelling, they still insisted on getting it wrong. Quite hypocritical given Dave McDaverson’s hatred of the country being spelt “Placey”. Let’s just hope they were actually nice to the stagehands and everyone while they were practicing their entry.




The audience sat down in their seats and awaited what terrible song was to await them now. After all, some of them were cheered out from Polkopia (who were drawn second, either because they wanted to buck the trend or wanted to make sure they didn’t win) and figured that they could use this as a break for when Scotatrova were about to perform.

The music kicked in and we saw the entire Placely Placingtonian government, who started to do a rap that could be described as a cross between “a CEO who last heard a rap song in 1979” and “Littlewoods Christmas advert from 2011”. They were all dressed in their normal clothes, assuming that they weren’t like the sort of cartoon characters who don’t go around wearing human clothes but can get away with it anyway. They all stood in the same spot and bobbed their bodies from side to side. With the sole exception of Health Minister, who had his duct taped to his side, they all had a microphone in their left hand and they were all standing in a line. The only exception was if they were about to sing their own verses.

We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!


So we get to the first person. Dave McDaverson himself. He moved forward and, while everyone else carried on with the bobbing in the line, he raised his other arm and waved his to and fro, almost as if he was trying to signal someone in the distance. Either way, despite the ridiculous get up, he might actually have a good understanding of rap. Just as long as he doesn’t say anything cringe.

Yo, yo, yo, I’m Dave McD
God fucking damnit, Dave.

And I’m in charge of the presidency
I do run the Placeliest Place
The Placeliest Place in the Placeliest state

Come on over to our homeland
First world Placely, then Placington
The capital is Citysburgh
There is an S right in the name


Next up, it was Television Director. He moved forwards and Dave McDaverson stepped backwards to rejoin the line. He copied the same actions Dave did in his verse. Nothing else to say, really, let’s get to the rhymes.

Thank you Dave, you’re number one
And you’re the best, the real number one one one

I’m the Director of TV
In a country that’s called Placely!

Television Director here
And I direct TV
Dub-dub-H-A-B
Wait, We Have A Broadcaster?
That is us
Our Broadcaster
And I run that!


And next up was Chief Economist. He moved forward and carried on doing the bobbing thing while Television Director went back in the line. I’m not going to do that for everyone, by the way. No need to get that redundant.

I’M CALLED CHIEF ECONOMIST
AND I’M THE CHIEF ECONOMIST
I DO MONEY THINGS AND I DO GOOD
I DO THE GOOD STUFF FOR THE NEIGHBOURHOOD


And then came the bridge. Television Director and Dave the Hobo grabbed Dave McDaverson by his legs and held him upside down. Then everyone crowded around him and repeatedly kicked, stomped and punched him in the soprano button. Health Minister even lifted himself up and dropped himself down in the right spot. All of this so that Dave McDaverson could get the high pitched vocals needed for the bridge. At least he can’t feel anything.

We’re Placely
Placington
At the best
WorldVision!


And then it was time for the chorus again. They all let go of Dave McDaverson, who immediately fell to the floor with a small “Oof.” They then got back into their row and started to sing the chorus. However, after every line, they’d do something random. They’d howl, they’d high five each other, they’d butt pat. Sometimes they even high fived themselves and patted their own butts. . After all, they were doing a song for when they were hosting so a bit of egotism like this wasn’t surprising. Dave the Hobo was also going around headbutting people but no one was sure if it was anything to do with the song or if it was him being him.

We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!


Afterwards came the return of Chief Economist and holy shit can he spit bars. Of course he’s not the best lyrically but he has a flow and he has a rhythm. In other words he’s like Future but, wait he’s exactly like Future.

CHIEF ECONOMIST HERE WITH THE SLICKEST RHYMES
SHOWING THAT HE CAN GET WITH THE MODERN TIMES
DAVE MCD, SHORT FOR MCDAVERSON
BACK IN OUR COUNTRY HE’S TRULY THE GREATEST PERSON


And next up came Potassium Man. He was one of the resident superheroes of Placely Placington although the downside is that, other than flight, no one really knows what his powers are. Not even himself. But he helps keep the crime down and that’s the main thing. He also burns an elegant lilac flame whenever he comes into contact with water, as evidenced by a small bead of sweat showing up on his forehead due to the stage lighting at the end of his verse.

I’m a real true life superman
I’ve got a plan and it’s the greatest plan
I’ve got some good superpowers
I’m the Man of Potassium


Next up was Melty. Not his full name but, regardless, he is a man who is melting. Apparently the clonomat was low on flesh powder the first time they recloned him and they were unable to bind his atoms together. Even when he was recloned back to life they couldn’t fix the problem and as such he now permanently seems to be like he wasn't allowed to bake as long as he should've. On the upside, unlike Dave the Living DJ Booth his entire life isn’t a horrible agony he wishes to escape from, he’s just a bit mumbly. Anyway while he was doing his verse, his other arm was busy peeling off and, by the time he was done, it fell to the floor with a dull, wet SCHLOUMPF. Oh, and Potassium Man ran around screaming in the background while he was on fire, which was burning. And then he turned into a pile of ashes with a face. That also happened.

My name’s Melty and that’s my name
Melting all day is my game
I’m a melting man and I do things
I do the things that really brings



And then it’s Dave McDaverson on the bridge again. Fortunately, there was no need for him to go into soprano mode. Of course, since they were planning on singing this song at the WorldVision they were hoping to host they didn’t really think about changing the lyrics just in case their bid didn’t win and they wanted to perform this song again. But hey, maybe they wanted to keep it to compliment whoever was actually hosting it.

We’re Placely
Placington
At the best
WorldVision


Afterwards we got the chorus again. Same antics and shenanigans as always.

We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!


And then came an instrumental break. At that point, everyone stepped out of the line and did some dancing. Some raised the roof, some folded their arms and moved their heads around in a circle. Dave McDaverson even busted out some bog-standard weak-ass breakdancing skills while his fellow government people egged him on. And any other moves that would’ve been considered old in 1980 and, nowadays, would make you internally haemorrhage from all the cringe if you had never heard of Placely Placington. And that’s if you don’t consider them a blight on how talented breakdancers can actually get.

Where was I? Oh yeah, it was another guy’s turn to sing. Seriously, who is this bloke? What’s he doing here? Ah well, maybe he was a random Placely Placingtonian that somehow ended up being an All-Star. Who knows, let’s let him rap.

When they need a place for filling
They talk to the best place-filler
I fill places to keep going
Otherwise the song is over


Next up was Dave the Hobo. Someone we do actually know, because he and his magical cardboard box were the country’s first representatives at the contest. And he also probably would’ve helped with the scoring if he wasn’t going through a hellride in the middle of Placely Placington’s bid video. And if their bid actually won.

Dave the Hobo, that’s my name
And I do my science
I’m making a box because I like boxes
I’m making a box and it’s a big one
And I like big boxes!


After a faint “Hey” coming from someone in the background, we then cut to our next singer. Which turns out to be Health Minister. He floated in place and remained still, due to the fact that he lacked a face, arms, legs or anything else really. On the upside, he wasn’t wearing the hat, glasses and false moustache he was wearing when he had to arrive in the country. However, as previously mentioned, he had a microphone duct taped to his self because, again, no hands.

I’m the new guy, Health Minister
I say you should all mix with each other
Get in groups of over 90
And don’t wash your hands, it’s so rightly

Breaking kayfabe again here for good measure to say that you should NOT follow any advice given to you by an actual coronavirus, regardless of whether or not they’re posing as a health minister. We’re still in a pandemic so if you’re out and about please keep a distance of at least 6m when necessary, wear a mask if possible and make sure you keep sanitised. Stay safe.

And we finally got our last singer. It was definitely not Dave McDaverson with his head hunched down and his shirt hidden over his mouth. And he was definitely not disguising his voice. Sure he has the sunglasses, the suit and the gun that Dave McDaverson usually has (seriously, why does he have a gun?) but it was clearly someone else. Trust me, I’m the guy who writes these.

My name is not Dave McD
That person is not really me
But I hear he’s the coolest mun
That ever ruled Placely Placington


Everyone got back in their line to do the chorus. The person who was not Dave McDaverson randomly disappeared and Dave McDaverson appeared in their place instead. They all still did their usual antics during the chorus, though. Even if this is more of an outro.

We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!
We’re Placingtoned! We’re Placingtoned!


Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you think of it, before they were able to sing it an 11th time their song came to an abrupt halt when a giant venus flytrap with legs burst out from backstage. After unleashing an almighty roar, it stepped on Health Minister. It then stepped back and roared at the remaining Placely Placington All-Stars before it scooped them up into its mouth and ate them, wiping its bottom lip with its top one before it went backstage. Should’ve used your gun, Dave McDaverson. It then turned towards the stage manager and said in a very high-pitched Welsh accent “Sorry about that.” Afterwards, it left the arena and started the trek back home. Hopefully the broadcasting peeps can get it fixed by the time Cathrina Levafe performs her entry for Scotatrova.

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 7:54 pm
by Scotatrova
4. Scotatrova
Cathrina Levafe
Empty Truths

Tune: Olivia Rodrigo - Drivers License
Image


Coming off the high from its first ever win in WorldVision 86, Scotatrova had decided to go internal for its selection for Peeto, Polkopia. Unfortunately, due to COVID related circumstances, Scotatrova decided to withdraw from the contest. Now, returning once again, the broadcaster is still going the route of internal but this time opting to go with singer songwriter Cathrina Levafe from Ordium. Cathrina says that she was in her home studio writing new music when she received the call. "I couldn't believe it. I'm pretty sure I had my jaw to the floor for about 5 minutes before finally responding to them." Once she confirmed, she immediately began the songwriting process. A representative from SSTR would arrive a couple days later to assist Cathrina in any way she needed when writing her entry. "They made sure to give me full creative liberty with how I would go about this entry, and I found that relieving. They weren't intrusive, and offered creative feedback, to which I greatly appreciated." Levafe says that the entry was completed in a little over a month, wanting to make sure that it would be everything she wanted it to be. When asked about what the song means to her, she said "I don't want to say that its another song about a lost love, but to be honest with you, it kind of is. Differing slightly from the traditional narrative, the song depicts someone who had spent a short time with someone they intially expected things to work out with. Eventually, they realize that it was never going to become more than just a brief period in their life, but it would have a resounding impact on how they felt afterwards. Now its about overcoming the hurt and confusion that came along with it."


The songs opens with Cathrina sitting at a piano in the middle of the stage. The stage layout is rather simple, just her sitting with the piano with a few scattered spotlights dotting the stage in a light lavender color. The camera is stationed to her lower left side, and it aims up at her while a spotlight to her right drowns her entire right hand side in the light purplish hue. The microphone sits directly in front of her, positioned on the piano to where she wouldn't have to do much to control it. Her hands begin to start drifting over the keys as she starts to sing, with a low, soft voice.

Found myself thinking of you today
Even though it’s been a long time
Somehow, I keep thinking of you
No matter how hard I try not to
You left a lasting impression that
Just keeps leaving me fall flat

That one night seemed neverending
I’m wishing that it were
You didn’t want me to leave
In that moment I knew that I had to
You left a lasting impression that
Is making it harder to forget you


As she wraps up the first two verses, her hands still continue to press the keys. In actuality its just her ring finger pressing the same note over and over again. As she does so, the tone in her voice remains calm and steady, never falling too low or shooting too high. If it does, it will do so in a controlled, tempered manner. This helps reflect the emotion that she feels in the lyrics that she's singing. Everything about her performance, from how she plays to how she sings all plays a part to reflect the meaning and feeling behind her words.

A part of me wishes we could have had a second chance together
Enamored with the idea of you, but it wouldn’t last forever
I wanted to see where things went, you told me you felt the same
Just more of your empty truths, but I also take the blame


As she gets to the chorus, the stage lights begin to slowly twirl in circles around her, intersecting every few seconds. This singular light behind her casts the stage in a phantasmic lilac ray. It angles itself upwards, illuminating the upper portion of Cathrina's body. The front camera slowly moves from right to left, depecting Cathrina bathed in the light, a radiating purple ray.

Missing the feeling of you
And the way your body was on mine
I never felt something quite so
Euphoric as the time you held me to you, yeah
You left a lasting impression
So strong it feels like it was yesterday

A part of me wishes we could have had a second chance together
Enamored with the idea of you, but it wouldn’t last forever
I wanted to see where things went, you told me you felt the same
Just more of your empty truths, but I also take the blame


From this point on, Cathrina's voice begins to raise in volume. She looks down at the keys in front of her as she sings, but her facial expressions can be seen as she gives the occasional glance up every now and then. She does so quickly before looking back down at the piano, infused with such precision and concentration. Her right foot can be seen tapping while she continues playing, and as she repeats the chorus her head tilts slowly to the left. She locks eyes with the camera adjacent to her left hand side. While singing to the camera, the energy in her performance and tone in her voice easily displays that she is singing this out to someone in particular, and not just anyone. Her eyes drift back out to the audience as the expression on her face becomes more serious.

Bright nights, clear skies
I’m tired of missing you this much, it aches
I barely knew you and it is still so hard
Yet I keep holding on to you (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
Clear thoughts, not fogged
The perfect idea of what I had hoped for
It came crashing down
Finally I can push through
Yet I keep holding on to you (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)


When she starts singing the line "Bright nights, clear skies" the stage lights suddenly begin to pulse in tempo with the beat of the song. They begin to now twirl in all directions. Their color also changes to a pure white. Once again, Cathrina is bathed in white light from behind, casting a dark shadow from certain angles in front of her. The camera then zooms in on her fingers on the keyboard. They remain steadily pressing each key, and the rings on her fingers glisten with all the light, reflecting in dazzling sparkles. This verse also shows the range of Cathrina's vocal control, as she raises and lowers her tone as needed throughout it. When it spikes, her facial expressions reflect that, as they become more and more riddled with emotion compared to her steady composure at the beginning of the song.

Part of me wishes we could have had a second chance together
Enamored with the idea of you, but it wouldn’t last forever
I wished to see where things went, you told me you felt the same
Just more of your empty truths, but I also take the blame
Yeah, more of your empty truths, but I also take the blame


A contrast to the previous verse, Cathrina sings the final chorus in a lower, steadier tone. The camera pans from her left side to out in front of her, the lights around her still twirling. It then switches to a steady angle at her right, and she can be seen staring out to the audience while she finishes her performance. Her eyes can be seen drifting from left to right while she slightly nods her head back and forth. Finishing up the chorus, she looks back down at the piano and plays the final notes before once again looking back out at the audience. The lights stop their twirling and go back to their stationary positions. Cathrina pensively sits in silence for a few seconds, looking down at the piano while the audience bursts out into applause. The noise brings Cathrina back into the moment, not realizing her quick moment. She smiles, waves out at the audience and steps up. "Thank you!"

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 8:01 pm
by Faraby
5. Faraby
Zehra Kaya - Riding on Your Love
Tune: Katrina and the Waves - Walking on Sunshine


Image
Zehra Kaya at a recent performance in Faraby City


Behind the Scenes
Faraby's debut in the World Hit Festival had gone smoothly and the stage was now set for the island nation to make its first appearance on the WorldVision Song Contest. Although Faraby did not place very highly on the WHF, Prince Samir was sufficiently elated by what he saw as the performance's success to promise a bigger budget for the Faraby Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) and thus the country's WorldVision and WHF delegations, which were overseen by the FBC. The FBC's budgetary concerns were supposed to be the domain of Grand Vizier Sania Russo, under the power-sharing agreement which decreed that the Grand Vizier would focus on domestic matters and the Prince on foreign affairs, but the Prince convinced Russo to trust his judgement in this matter, stating that as many of the FBC's activities would involve interaction with other nations - such as international broadcasts and, of course, WorldVision and WHF - he had an obligation to help determine the corporation's budget. In return Russo extracted a guarantee from the Prince that the Grand Vizier (i.e. her) would have an ex officio seat on the FBC Board and be consulted on the process of choosing the country's WorldVision and WHF representatives.

With the WorldVision date inching closer, the Prince called a meeting in Prince's Palace to discuss several matters pertaining to the FBC and WorldVision. Attending the meeting alongside the Prince were Grand Vizier Russo, FBC Director-General Sabiha Vali, Head of Delegation to the WHF Kara Abbas, and Iskender Salih - the Prince's bodyguard-turned-star who, of course, had so admirably represented the country on the WHF. The first agenda of the meeting was to guarantee Salih a contract with Faraby Records, a subsidiary of the FBC, which everyone agreed to. The second was to fill the seat of chairman on the FBC Board, which had been left vacant for some years since the tyrant Prince Mustafa fired the previous chairman, suspecting - not entirely unreasonably - the FBC (and the press in general) of opposing his rule. Russo offered the post to Vali. The latter, however, refused. At the time, according to the minutes of the meeting, she declared that she would prefer to stay on as Director-General and play an "active role" in moving the FBC forward. Some years later, she would admit to confidants that she feared she was being "kicked upstairs" by the Prince and Grand Vizier. The Prince and Vali had previously disagreed over the choice of song and artist for the WHF; he wanted to send a statement song, she a more upbeat, marketable song. The Prince himself seemingly sensed this, as he told Vali that he desired a "poppier, catchier song" for WorldVision. If he said this in an attempt to convince Vali to accept the chairmanship, then it was unsuccessful. For now, Vali would stay on as director-general and the chairman's seat would remain vacant. As a stopgap measure, the Prince suggested that Russo take over as acting chairman; she agreed. The third agenda was to offer Kara Abbas the position of Head of Delegation to WorldVision. Although concerned about the additional workload, she accepted the post.

The fourth, and most important, agenda was to determine who would represent Faraby on WorldVision and how to choose the country's representative to WorldVision and the WHF in the future. The Prince, Grand Vizier, and Director-General Vali agreed that in the future there had to be a selection process involving the people of Faraby, perhaps even some sort of national final. For the country's WorldVision debut, however, they already had someone in mind. 35-year-old Zehra Kaya had been one of the island's biggest and most beloved stars for the better part of the last fifteen years, with a career spanning music, film, television, and even the occasional painting. She was also a longtime friend of Sabiha Vali, and it was in fact the director-general who first suggested that Zehra represent the country on WorldVision. The Prince and Grand Vizier agreed; it was only right that Faraby's WorldVision story begin with one of its greatest artists. This would also give Zehra a chance at the international stardom that she so deserved. (Rumors that the publicly apolitical star had secretly donated millions to Prince Samir and helped the Prince in touch with arms dealer friends of her husband, banker Thomas Jeffries, during the Dark Time are most likely untrue.)

Everyone attending the meeting agreed to offer the country's WorldVision spot to Zehra, after which Director-General Vali personally made the call to her informing her of the offer. Many years later, Zehra would recall that moment as follows:

It was really late at night, I think around 12 or 1 a.m., definitely past midnight. I was sleeping in my apartment, the lights were out and all, and the phone rang. So I took it, and there was Sabiha's voice from the other end of the call, and she said something like, "Hey, look, sorry for disturbing. So I'm in this meeting with the Prince and the Grand Vizier and Kara Abbas, and we agreed to ask you to represent our country on the WorldVision Song Contest." And she went on and on, I think, about how it's a big stage and it's a privilege to represent our country there, all the multiverse's stars are gonna be there and I should definitely be there too. And I think I just nodded in a kind of mid-sleep haze and I said, "Sure, no problem." And then I went back to sleep.
-Zehra Kaya, as quoted in Sing, Sing, Sing: The Story of Faraby on the WorldVision Song Contest and the World Hit Festival


The Performance
Flavezztown City, Rhim Flavezztownland - tonight this city would bear witness to Faraby's first appearance on the WorldVision Song Contest. A testament to Prince Samir's energetic campaign to elevate the country in the eyes of the international community and publicize Farabian culture. But most importantly, tonight the eyes of the multiverse would be focused on Faraby's biggest star. A 100-strong contingent of Farabians had made their way by government planes to this distant land, eager to support Zehra. Indeed, so great was the outpouring of support for the beloved star and the number of people who wanted to follow her to Flavezztown City that the Farabian government had to severely limit the number of supporters allowed to fly there to exactly 100, amid fears they would bring home the current Great Pestilence which so far had not reached Faraby's shores.

Those 100 supporters were slightly augmented by the country's official WorldVision delegation, headed by Kara Abbas, who had flown into Flavezztown City a few mornings ago. Flying along with them were a few selected journalists as well as the woman on whom all eyes would turn tonight. Zehra Kaya had spent her free time in the city touting its attractions on Farabian television, praising everything from the green space to the metro system and the Eastin Millennium Arena, which would be hosting tonight's proceedings. Cynical voices denounced it as a barely disguised attempt to gain Flavezztownland's vote, but the Prince, Grand Vizier, and the FBC rallied to her defense, insisting that she was genuinely enchanted by the city.

But now she would truly do her best to gain Flavezztownland's vote, as well as a multitude of other nations. Her 100 supporters had gathered (as closely as they could under the arena's social distancing measures) in a section of the arena, with Kara Abbas and the delegation not far to their front. They would be a reliable source of support, of cheers and applauses. The rest of the crowd was the wildcard, and Zehra Kaya would win them over.

The stage was brightly lit, a cross of light in the darkness. The wall behind and its LED screens gradually came into view, towering over the stage, the lighting a mix of sparking blue on the left and dazzling white on the right. The center lights - directly above and ahead of the LED screens - remained dark. The screens were still a void.

For the next two minutes, the Eastin Millennium Arena stood still. The lights shining bright, but no man and no woman onstage, and certainly no music to be heard. People began to wonder if the performance was going to happen at all. Even the Farabians in the audience were whispering among themselves. But then the sharp-eared among the audience noticed the beginnings of a drum beat, echoing through the arena, slowly increasing in tempo and loudness. The LED screens came alive, zoomed in on the rear of the stage. Heads were bobbing in the crowd and feet were tapping, and none were more enthusiastic than the Farabians themselves.

And then the triumphant sound of the saxophone! And with it thin streams of flame emerged around the stage, streaks of bright red and orange, not so thin as to be unnoticeable but not so thick as to block the view, shooting for the ceiling but not quite reaching it. The blue and white lights from the wall now crisscrossed the stage. The center lights turned a bright green. The Farabians in the crowd began making noises, cheering and hollering and applauding.

And onto the stage - and into the eyes of the multiverse - they emerged, the LED screens zooming in on them. Two men appeared, each walking from opposite directions at the rear part of the stage. One was wearing a tuxedo, a dark silver fedora crowning his head, his hands and mouth holding on to a gold saxophone that let out such upbeat and beautiful sounds. The other was wearing a red shirt and jeans, his hands rapidly pounding the snare drum that was tied to him. They marched down the walkway towards the center, the screens focusing on them for a moment.

But soon the focus shifted away to the main attraction, sashaying onto the stage in a bright orange dress, the back of her dirty blonde hair tied into a ponytail, her presence displayed on the screens and visible to those at the farthest end of the venue. She sprinted down the walkway, a vaguely sultry smile on her face, arms extended to take her saxophonist and drummer, looking at the sea of mankind now looking back at her. "Good evening Flavezztown City! Good evening to everyone who is now watching wherever you are!" she shouted as the flames shot up again, and the lights moved over and around her.

Oh yeah!

Every time you come to me, baby, I want you forever
And every time you gotta go, baby, oh I wanna be with you
When you're not here my mind just goes awry, I want you back with me right now
And I just can't imagine living my life without you


Zehra and the two men were now at the center of the stage. Softly and elegantly, she did a 360° turn on her toes, her eyes darting around the perimeter of the venue. The blue and white lights now mostly converged on her, and they continued to do so as she moved forward, leaving the men behind, sauntering towards the front walkway, wherever that would take her closest to the crowd, and especially to her countrymen there. As she reached the edge of the walkway, she crouched down, extending one hand towards the crowd.

'Cause I'm riding on your love, yeah
I'm riding on your love, yeah
I'm riding on your love, yeah
And I need you forever, hey
Oh, that's right
You know I need you forever
That's right


As the backing track resonated across the venue, Zehra rose to her feet, turning her back on the crowd directly facing her, taking a few steps towards the center stage but stopping before she reached it. The saxophonist and drummer sauntered over to her and she extended her arms again to embrace them, Zehra facing the opposite direction from the two men. A clear white spotlight was now on them and Zehra turned her head left and right, glancing at the crowd around the stage even as her arms continued to embrace the men. The saxophonist swayed a little, the drummer rocking his head back and forth with the beat.

Every time we aren't together, baby, I need you back with me
I just keep counting the seconds 'til you're back in my arms
When you ring the bell, knock on my door, my heart skips a beat, oh yeah, yeah
'Cause baby I need you back with me, and I want you forever


Zehra finally moved forward to the center stage, releasing the two men from her arms. They followed her nevertheless. The spotlights continued crisscrossing the stage, passing over her and the men several times. She began walking around the stage, desiring to see all the people in the venue wherever they might be. She had been on the rear walkway and the front one, but had not stepped foot on the two walkways jutting out sideways. She made a mental note to herself to go there before the performance ended. While she had the time, she ought to approach the masses there, give them the opportunity to be close to her, win over their hearts.

'Cause I'm riding on your love, yeah
I'm riding on your love, yeah
I'm riding on your love, yeah
And I need you forever, hey
Oh, that's right
You know I need you forever
That's right


And now she took the time to acknowledge those whose hearts she had won over years ago: the people of Faraby. "All the Farabians in the crowd, where are you?" she hollered in that crystal-clear soprano voice. The Farabian section of the crowd heard her, and they replied loudly. Cheers, shouts, and applauses all came her way, but most invigorating of all were chants of "We love you Zehra!", which the visibly touched artist responded to with a wide smile and a loud "Thank you!"

The saxophonist and drummer moved to the very center of the stage, leaving Zehra to travel down the two walkways that she had not visited before. She first went to the left (from the perspective of someone facing forward towards the LED screens) walkway, the music - the rapid beat of the drum, the guitar and the clapping in the backing track - soundtracking every step of the way. She stopped at the very end of the walkway, extending both her arms, her gaze towards the audience unbroken, the very image of a goddess to the masses below who she sensed she was beginning to win over.

Riding on your love
Riding on your love


Then she turned around and strolled across the stage to the right walkway, tapping the saxophonist and drummer on the shoulder as she passed by them. The LED screens now shifted their focus towards the two men, even as Zehra continued moving. The Farabians in the crowd cheered and clapped for the men, led by Kara Abbas and other members of the country's WorldVision delegation. Zehra, meanwhile, had reached the edge of the right walkway. There she stood, singing to the adoring masses, her voice and the beat of the music echoing across the Eastin Millennium Arena.

I need you now, I want you back, I need you now and forever
I need you now, I want you back, I need you now and forever
I need your love, baby, yeah
Oh yeah, I want your love, baby, yeah


As Zehra stood there, with the crowd taking in every word and every move of hers, she silently assured herself that she had done the best. The nation and the people of Faraby had trusted her to represent them on the WorldVision stage, and though she might not win it all, she was calm in the belief that she had put everything into the performance and at least had not embarrassed her country and herself. If the WorldVision crowd chose to forget her, her song, and her performance, she could still take solace in that belief.

She started back towards the center stage, a spotlight quietly following her, where she joined the drummer and saxophonist at the very center. They smiled and nodded to each other. They knew they had done their best.

I'm riding on your love, yeah
I'm riding on your love, yeah
I'm riding on your love, yeah
And I need you forever, hey
Oh, that's right
You know I need you forever


Zehra stood in the middle, between the rapid and unrelenting drum beats and the bright sound of the sax. She was rocking her head and tapping her feet, and the men too. If it hadn't become apparent to the audience that the performers were enjoying their own performance, then surely it was clear to everyone now. And this was indeed a performance to enjoy. The Farabian contingent in the crowd were now at their loudest, showering their star with unending cheers and shouts of acclaim and even chants of "More!"

You know, you know, you know it, baby
You know I need you forever
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
You know I need you forever
You know, you know, you know it, baby
You know I need you forever
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
You know I need you forever
Stay here, stay here, stay here with me now
You know I need you forever
Oh, baby
You know I need you forever
Oh, you know, you know it, baby
You know I need you forever
You know, you know, you know it
You know I need you forever
You know, you know, you know, you know it
You know I need you forever


At a point when the outro began to appear to be dragging on, the backing track gradually faded. The spotlights that for the last three minutes or so had been frantically racing west to east, up and down the stage began to dim. Zehra and her men were still at the center of the stage. There were no more words to be sung, and she stood her position, smiling, swaying her hips a bit as the saxophonist stopped playing. The beat of the drum gently receded until there was no sound to be heard too from the instrument.

Eventually, there was no more music to be heard, and instead the Eastin Millennium Arena erupted in cheers and applauses. Loud they were and from all sides of the venue they came. And as always, her cheerleaders in the arena, the Farabian people, were the very loudest of them all. Zehra and the men remained at the stage, absorbing the accolades. The LED screens were focused on her. Viewing the crowd in front of her, her eyes caught those of the head of Faraby's WorldVision delegation. Speechless, she gave Kara Abbas a thumbs-up; Abbas replied in kind, a grin on her face.

When she finally mustered the words, they were few and simple. "Thank you, thank you everyone!" she said, visibly struggling to hold back tears, before taking a final bow with the men and disappearing from the stage.

In the green room, Kara Abbas, holding her phone, found her star and informed her that there was a very important phone call to take. Zehra took the phone, immediately understanding what she meant. The voice of Prince Samir came from the other side. "Zehra, is that you?"

"Yes, Your Highness, it-"

"You'll be pleased to know that we watched your performance from my office here in the palace. Me, the Grand Vizier, I even told the guards and my Private Secretary to come inside and watch you!"

"Your Highness, I-"

"You did great, Zehra." His tone was gentle and reassuring. "Even if the WorldVision crowd turns their back on you, we'll always have yours. You are our country's first representative to WorldVision. Everyone who comes after you will follow in your path. You truly deserve to be one of our country's biggest stars, and I'm lucky to count you as a fellow Farabian."

And Zehra Kaya smiled.

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 8:20 pm
by Achaean Republic
6| Achaean Republic
MOQUILLOS EMBARAZADOS-“Adam”
Tune: Flyleaf-Sorrow
Music & Lyrics:Ann-Marie Taylor, Carlos Jafed Orozco, Ahmed Khalil


Image

Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?

-Genesis 3:11, NIV


The forbidden fruit. The fig leaves. The hiding in trees. The smug serpent. The fall. Creation is beautiful, talented, and untainted. Birds and bees, friends and family. Everything was good, the Creator said, and He rejoiced over the beauty of His creation that He made with love. But even then, He knew that the beauty of His creation was not going to last, for there were pieces and elements of His nature that were ready to commit to an insurrection and fool the order of nature. That humans were curious creatures were an understatement. Adam and Eve, the fathers of the world, were frolicking and drinking from the purest rivers and eating from the freshest fruit. They were brothers with the sun, they were cousins with the moon. They were baptized with the same pillars of clouds and comforted with the same pillars of fire. They were free to love each other at will, in innocence, in pure splendor. What could possibly go wrong?

Adam, the newest single from first-time RockVision winners Moquillos Embarazados, explores the consequences of the fall and realigns them with the reality of our moral failure. “To me, the fall represents the beginning of our sorrow,” said Ann-Marie Taylor, the Achaean-American lead of the Cardenalicia-based band in a virtual interview with NME Acaya. “We don’t deserve the fall, but we do because we’re born from it. We are born from the same sin, and we pay the consequences that aren’t ours. It’s hard to disassociate the collective from the individual as it does with most of the Western experience, but sometimes our individual actions take tragic proportions that propel us to massive suffering.” Taylor, a philosophy major at the University of Corola that dabbled into the alternative, nu-metal and hard-rock sound after falling in love with the deranged, guttural sounds of System of a Down, Pantera and Rammestein with friends Daniel Castro, Alexis Raful, Lucas Cortijo and Jessica Quiñones. “Who told Adam—and Eve—that he could know more than what he should? If you look at it that way, wasn’t God right of all the consequences that knowing too much would bring to us?”

Taylor wrote the lyrics after an exhaustive view of the creation story and the fall of mankind, trying to dissect the exhausting circumstances in God’s point of view. It was hard to strike a tone between disappointment and frustration (because—at least to Ann-Marie, despite being God, He still must’ve experienced the same wings of human emotions when He had to banish His own creation from enjoying the bounty He made for them). Many in the rock community criticized the band’s already heavy and somewhat preachy work—Roker@ magazine critic Jean Toledo stated that “understanding Moquillo’s lyrical work is not so distinct from just picking up a thick catechism book and throwing it to your head”—, but it still gained potency from its fans for its pensive, poignant sounds that provided a counterpoint to the typically angsty, subversive and even downright scarily performative lyrics.

They applied to compete in RockVision on a last-minute whim. They’ve heard of WorldVision, of course, but they never expected that the nation’s Latin pop-esque interests would suddenly revolve around rock and metal after Breakness’ top-five placement in the last contest. AS1 Comunicaciones, taking a chance on the recent trends to send in rock songs, decided to go harder and bolder, which is why they partnered up with Corola’s largest alternative rock radio station to select a new representative. In the end, ten bands were selected—and Moquillos Embarazados were one of them. The only one spearheaded by a woman, the group became one of the favorites for both the Achaean public and the international juries judging the competition. And it showed in the end: where the first- and second-placers were separated by one point, the Achaean votes gave the band the edge needed to represent the country in WorldVision.

As an aside, they were asked by the somewhat anachronistic and quite misogynistic Achaean Academy of the Spanish Language to have a man write the song in Spanish, but they swiftly ignored their pleas while the Achaean Twitteratti made a meme out of the fiasco.



She wore a dress made out of fig leaves. Actual fig leaves dressed and decorated by designers from Achaea’s Valley of the Grapes. The fig leaves were small but numerous, sharply covering the pieces of her body that needed to be covered. Silky dark green fabrics were in tatters around her body, covering some parts of her tattoos in her arms and observing the twigs and rocks and dirt that was scrunched over. Her barefoot feet were soiled and covered with dust—half parts Achaean dust, half parts Flavezztownlander dust, which was coarser and less porous than the dust in the country. Heir was frazzled and messed up, half of the time trying to hold up to the humidity of the arena amongst the throngs of fans.

The LED lights surrounding the stage were abuzz in the typical red-blue-green of the Achaean Republic, and then they transformed into green. For the throngs of socially distanced fans in the arena pointing out at the cameras and waving to garner a few seconds of their attention, it was enough to enjoy the energy of the crowd in order to deliver their upcoming performance.

The hallway was covered with fig leaves and grapevines gingerly covered the pathways. Around the central square, where the band was located, the stage also had plenty of spoiled, dried, desiccated, powdered fruit lying around with the leaves and the petals that fell down from the sky. As she sang, she attempted to portray some innocence that was left over from the first consequences of the fall—the knowledge of everything, good and evil, of innocence and malice, beginning to corrupt their intentions. They weren’t just trying to hide away from the Creator—they were trying to hide away from themselves and from the havoc they unleashed into the world that was theirs to live in.

Where are you, my love,
In what tree could you be hiding?
I like the taste of gold
Shining through my teeth
Hold your breath—he comes again!
He will ask why the cold ash fell


The LED screens behind her had juxtaposed images of rotting fruit, wilted trees, and an overall aura of broken promises. In the first part, the singer sounded enflamed with childish whimsy. Now, she was attempting to portray the disappointment the Creator had over His glory. He knew this would happen, that His creation would betray Him—but nevertheless, it didn’t hurt any less. He had the power to stop it. He could have camouflaged the tree, or not even planted it so His creation could not touch it. But there was a plan He had to keep in motion, even if it almost broke His essence.

Performing in sixth was not a coincidence. Sixth! The number of imperfection, before the days were created, the weeks were grouped, and the spirits were placed over the earth. That a slave could only work for six years before being freed without any measure on the seventh. That it took six years to harvest the land and a seventh to leave it alone and restore its health. Performing in sixth place would only serve as a symbolic—if not quite shambolic—reminder that they were imperfect, always falling short. It is a number of labor and hard work and determination, but it is also a number of deep, dark, and dangerous sorrow. This was the sorrow that the singer wanted to portray as she was holding on her corded microphone and swung it violently on her sides, looking bewitched at the camera.

Who told you
That you could
Reject the life immortal
I designed?


Then the chorus came, and the singer had to perform longingly to the camera, lamenting the Creators’ own cries to banish His creation from the world He made. They discovered the nature of disobedience—that was the name: disobedience—and they had to suffer the consequences of their actions. As she pranced around the center stage while the aerial and hand-held cameras pursued her every move, the riffs from the guitar led to a series of fireworks that burst through the perimeter, shocking the cheering throngs of fans and even shocking some of the cast and crew onstage. But the fireworks this time weren’t bursting with red or white colors—rather, they were green and blue, as if they were burning fumes into the sky lamenting the expulsion of the garden. The guitarist, before static and quite motionless, was moving to the beat of his riffs. The drums had an explosion of fireworks. The lights surrounding the stage kept dimming and flooding the stage with dread and discomfort.

Adam, know that you’ll die
Why did you steal the truth?
Who swore you off eternity?
What burns should’ve been left alone
The sword pierces through me


The singer’s subtle moves felt as if she was walking on glass, or eggshells, or very thin, pointy things. It was, ironically, subtle enough that it was unnoticeable by most of the Flavezztownlander audience, but eagle-eyed viewers would notice her bare, unkempt feet being raised in the air, almost as if both Adam and Eve had to walk on their own two feet for the very first time after the fall. Their birthright became a source of complacency, and they had to be pushed away to their exile by the Creator, even though it broke His heart. This is why the lights surrounding the stage transformed their colors from greens and blues to reds and oranges reminiscent of the fiery swords the guarded the Tree of Life as they left the garden, pushed by the Creator’s hand. It was also the tree that burst through behind them, leaves and roots and branches falling to the floor.

Cursed is the ground
You have touched with thorns and thistles
Life will cease evermore
Bleedings, wars and so much pain
Pointless rumors have come so late!


The LED screens behind her had juxtaposed images of rotting fruit, wilted trees, and an overall aura of broken promises. In the first part, the singer sounded enflamed with childish whimsy. Now, she was attempting to portray the disappointment the Creator had over His glory. He knew this would happen, that His creation would betray Him—but nevertheless, it didn’t hurt any less. He had the power to stop it. He could have camouflaged the tree, or not even planted it so His creation could not touch it. But there was a plan He had to keep in motion, even if it almost broke His essence.

Who told you
That you could
Reject the life immortal
I designed?


Then the chorus came, and the singer had to perform longingly to the camera, lamenting the Creators’ own cries to banish His creation from the world He made. They discovered the nature of disobedience—that was the name: disobedience—and they had to suffer the consequences of their actions. As she pranced around the center stage while the aerial and hand-held cameras pursued her every move, the riffs from the guitar led to a series of fireworks that burst through the perimeter, shocking the cheering throngs of fans and even shocking some of the cast and crew onstage. But the fireworks this time weren’t bursting with red or white colors—rather, they were green and blue, as if they were burning fumes into the sky lamenting the expulsion of the garden. The guitarist, before static and quite motionless, was moving to the beat of his riffs. The drums had an explosion of fireworks. The lights surrounding the stage kept dimming and flooding the stage with dread and discomfort.

Adam, know that you’ll die
Why did you steal the truth?
Who swore you off eternity?
What burns should’ve been left alone
The sword pierces through me


And now it was time for the Creator to bid farewell to his fallen creation. Not that He wanted to—He created them so they could live forever. But like a child leaving her parents’ nest, He had to lead them from a lush, if somewhat secluded, paradise to a world filled with pain and suffering, thistles and thorns. It was hard not to grieve for what was lost and what could have been. They could’ve been happier together. They could’ve enjoyed the blissfulness of eternity. They could’ve enjoyed the bounty within the confines of the garden. But leaving the involved separation, and separation involved death. For the Creator knew this would be the last time they would enjoy their presence one another.

And so the years passed, with Adam and his companion Eve wandering the desert, braving the mountains, falling through illness, bleeding, experiencing murders, pain, terror and anguish. They had to experience aging, breaking, burning. And in the end, they had to draw their last breath as the world around them distorted itself into something else they never knew how to explore.

I bid you farewell for one last time
The ash I cross, my feet are blind
The tree of life, I see, is bleeding
So flames must be bought
To burn through the night


For the last time, the fireworks were blasting around the perimeter of the arena, with the singer prancing around the stage with her microphone, as if she were ripping her rags of fig leaves with her staccato voice. The longing in her voice grew more pronounced, almost teary, almost fearful of anything that could happen. As if she were singing the words to herself, having been banished from the bliss of eternity by her own actions—and perhaps, her own stupidity. The cameras were bucolic, choleric, trying to compose the semi-arid (and quite half-broken), the defeated and tired countenances in their face, the glaring doubts of the performance.

Adam, know that you’ll die
Why did you steal the truth?
Who swore you off eternity?
What burns should’ve been left alone
The sword pierces through me
To burn through the night


Then came the major screech, the one she trained for several years to perfect without turning her vocal cords into many knots:

THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!!!


Fireworks burst around the stage, with the flickering lights of cameras and the shouts of the crowd—and more so the Achaean fans, always rowdy in their support for their nation’s act, wherever it was. The camera angles perfectly captured the cross-like shape of the stage, the one they used to make themselves closer to the audience in the Flavezztownlander arena and the audience at home. Their performance was visceral, guttural, violent and inquisitive—or so they hope. For a moment, Moquillos Embarazados were proud of the unexpected experiment they brought forward to RockVision that led them to this moment. Winning would be the bonus. Winning would mean everything. Winning would mean that they could make some reparations to themselves nonetheless.

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 9:07 pm
by Waisnor
7

WAISNOR


Verba - Paren', do svidaniya/Tune: Taipan & Agunda - Luna ne znayet puti


Verba this is an abbreviation for the full name of the performer, Veronika Balycheva. This is the second consecutive member from Waisnor to participate with his first single. Regarding the text of her song, it was speculated that the singer herself had a similar experience of difficult partings, but Veronica dispelled them, saying that she did not have this things happening to her. Just like Svetlana Mikhalkova, who presented Waisnor in the last competition, Verba plans to release her first album in the near future.

Now let's move on to performance. When the audience gathered in the hall saw Verba, in front of them was a young girl in a white sweater and gray jeans. She was standing on the left side of the stage, and on the right was a young guy. They began to walk towards each other, and at that moment Balykova began to sing:

Я всё ещё чувствую твой мотив
I can still feel your motive

В моей голове
In my mind

Как же ты был красноречив
How eloquent you were

Что ты говорил мне...
What did you tell me...


When Veronica and this guy reached each other, the guy put his hand on her shoulders. Verba began to look at him in the eyes. Behind them, on a background that was previously completely black, a white stripe curled, eventually forming a hypnotic circle, which then began to rotate. What was happening on the screen correlated with the following lines of the song:

Но оказалсь, что это - обман
But it turned out to be a lie

Все в миг стало прахом
Everything instantly became dust

И поняла я, что ты - шарлатан
And I realized that you are a charlatan

И ты мне лгал без страха
And you lied to me without fear


Before the chorus, Balykova suddenly turned around and began to walk away from the guy, and against the background, cracks began to appear in a hypnotic circle and it crumbled. After that, a road appeared in the background at night, and lanterns stood along its edges. This background persisted until the very end of the performance.

Парень, до свидания, я решила уйти
Goodbye, boy, I decided to leave

Разорву с тобой я отношения
I will break off relationship with you

Если ты не любишь, ты меня отпусти
If you don't love me, let me go

И найди себе такую, как я
And find yourself someone like me


The chorus was repeated once more, and the Verba was already walking along the edges of the stage. The guy, by the way, followed her around the stage, but Veronica didn’t notice it yet. Or didn't want to notice.

Ты говорил мне всякую чушь
You told me all sorts of nonsense

Про то, что любишь меня
About the fact that you love me

И неизвестно, сколько ты душ
And it is not known how many souls

Ты покидал, боль им причиня
You left, hurting them


Before the last verse, both Balykova and the guy went to the middle of the stage. Both began to look into each other's eyes again. And by the way, the hypnotic circle slowly began to appear on the screen again. The guy again began to play with his hands, putting them on parts of Veronica's body, now he put his hands on the lower back.

Но ты не смог меня обмануть
But you couldn't deceive me

Уверена, ты этого не ждал
I'm sure you didn't expect this

И не боюсь я тебя ничуть
And I'm not afraid of you at all

Я ухожу, как бы ты не ворчал
I'm leaving, no matter how you grumble


And then the Verba pushed the guy away from her. The hypnotic circle, which had just begun to reappear in the background, instantly disappeared. The guy, clearly unhappy with his failure, quickly left the stage. When Veronica was left alone on the stage, she began to move somewhat more freely.

Парень, до свидания, я решила уйти
Goodbye, boy, I decided to leave

Разорву с тобой я отношения
I will break off relationship with you

Если ты не любишь, ты меня отпусти
If you don't love me, let me go

И найди себе такую, как я
And find yourself someone like me


Right after the repeat of the chorus, the song ended. Verba waved to the audience, made a small bow and said: "Thank you all! All of the best to you and may you have true love!"

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 9:36 pm
by Saviera
.::: 08 ✾ Saviera :::.
New Day
Sofia Liszm
To the tune of Árva reggel by Andrea Szulák


Sofia Liszm is a Savieran singer. Her fans are caled Sofia-Liszts. She previously represented Saviera at the 58th WorldVision Song Contest in Kaminkoboy, Polkopia, with the song Star of Hope. While she came 21st in a field of 23 those 30 editions ago, she is hoping for a better result this time.

She specializes in retro-style ballads — there is indeed an audience for it in Saviera. Although it may struggle to compete with the more modern pop songs both in the domestic charts as well as at the WorldVision Song Contest, she is hoping that changes in trends and participating countries throughout the past 30 years will make the conditions more favourable for the kind of music she performs.

Sofia was drawn to perform 8th at the 88th WorldVision Song Contest. Will she perhaps also come 8th with 88 points? Only time will tell.

As the song begins, the stage is dark. The lights gradually turn into deep red and pinks — the colours of an early sunrise, as she walks down from backstage to the main stage. An projected orange spotlight shone on her, with the light very focused. To Sofia, it was almost blinding. But to viewers, it looked like an orange circle.

It’s a new day
Come gather all your tears
It’s now your past
Mmm…


Don’t regret
Running from your fears
They are gone
Soon will come better times


Sofia is strolling quite slowly, so she continues to make her way to the main stage. The spotlight doesn't follow her, rather it moves upwards.

It’s a new day
Scars have disappeared
And the stains have dried
Ooh…


Who to look to?
The cycles that you have left
Don’t serve you


At this point she has reached the middle of the main stage. You could see well her outfit, a long white dress with a red accent that created a slimming look.

Soon will come better times
Soon will come better times


All eyes are on her as she delivers the chorus. Throughout the song, the lights have been gradually changing colour, reflecting the different stages of sunlight. Now the deep red was starting to become diluted, as the stage lights diffused orange light.

At the end of every storm there’s a rainbow arc
It’s the light after the dark
And if you believe me
Come take my hand and we’ll rebuild this life
Step by step we walk this path of hope


By now the red lighting was gone, but pastel pinks, whites, and greys were starting to make their way in, sharing the lightscape with the lingering orange aura.

It’s a new day
No one will make you suffer
So don’t be scared


By the way, it should be said that this song is intended to be calming, in line with its reassuring message that a new day signifies a new start, and yet another opportunity to continue with life. This contrasts with some of the other songs which may be more flashy or send their messages in a more aggressive manner. As for now, Sofia is preparing for these next few parts, where it escalates a little emotionally.

Soon will come better times
Soon will come better times


As the second chorus sets in, the orange gets replaced by bright greyish-white lights with a slight pink tint, but the tint begins to turn slightly blue. The orange spotlight from earlier continues to move upward, almost reaching the top of the background set. As for Sofia, she focuses on singing well, with her voice being emotional than ever.

Don’t be scared!
At the end of every storm there’s a rainbow arc
It’s the light after the dark
And if you believe me
Come take my hand and we’ll rebuild this life
Step by step we walk this path of hope


The climax was over, and now the stage lights shone in blue, reflecting the late morning sky. The "sun" had reached the top now, as Sofia delivered the final lines to her song.

It’s a new day
Come gather all your tears
It’s now your past
Soon will come better times


And the song was now over. The audience clapped politely, Sofia took a bow, and said "Thank you Flavezztowland! God bless Saviera!" before leaving the stage as the crew sets up for the entry from Beepee.

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 9:38 pm
by Beepee
9. BEEPEE
"The Spell"
Performed by
Teddy Behr


Image

Tune: Julian Reim - "Grau"

ARTIST BACKGROUND

Image

Teddy Behr, is 28 years old from the town of Wilburforce. A rising star of the Beepeean Schlager scene.

2011


The small rural town of Wilburforce, which lies beyond the outskirts of the suburbs of Norfolk Pinewoods is a pleasant town filled with pleasant people.

The baker with bread wanders to the market in the early morning, woth his simple wares.  Local farmers bring fruits, vegetables and eggs, where desperate housewives barter for their daily needs.

As the townsfolk rush about their daily business, an 18 year old Teddy wandered through the streets of the small town. 

Marcel, a local farmer, asks Teddy "and where you of to?"

"The music shop.  I heard they've got new guitars and I love to look at them.  There shiny and ...".

"Thats nice. Marie, the potatoes.  Hurry up!"... Marcel yells to his wife unloading from the back of the cart, not paying attention to Teddy's answer.

Teddy shrugged and carried on his way.

Teddy was unawares of the local townsfolk who would often comment on how peculiar he was.  They found him often distracted, in some wonderful daydream about how his life could be.  Teddy never followed the in crowd, or for that matter the put crowd.  He was content with his own company.

The townsfolk busied themselves with their daily chores and Teddy made his way to the music shop.

On arriving, Teddy was excited by all the music instruments on display.  The guitars hanging on the wall, the baby grand piano.  The ukuleles, small and playable. The kvinnaböske - a small roundish piece from the horn family, inherited from the Vikings. 

He rushed to the sheet music, rifling through the pahes.  "Do you have anything new?", he asked Jean Pierrepont, the shopkeeper.

"Not since yesterday!", Jean chuckled.

"Here", Jean pulled out a small booklet from his back pocket, "have this one."

"Really!" Teddy beamed, furiously opening the pages.

"I insist! I was going to throw it out anyway".

"Oh thank you, thank you very much"  Teddy waved as he left to rush home and play his new music.
As he was leaving he passed Madame Beauvoir, almost knocking her of her feet.  She clutched onto her husbands arm to steady herself.  "That boy!!" She exclaimed.

But Teddy didn't wait, he dashed through the town square.  As he did, he was overcome by curiosity about the music he just got.  So he stopped and sat at the edge of the town fountain, and pulled out the music. 

"Sensational Schlager: All your favourite hits schlagerised".

"Wow" he exclaimed.

As he did a local drover, was running his sheep through town to the market.  One curious ewe stopped to see what Teddy was doing.  Teddy, patted the sheeps head.

"Look isn't  this amazing," he said to the sheep "songs from far of places like Flavezztowland, Todlichebujoku and North Alezia", he gushed.

The ewe carried on leaving Teddy to flip through the songs.  After a few moments, Teddy looked at his watch, and was surprised about how late it was.   He closed his music book and began to rush home, pushing his way through the now crowded market.

Alain, a handsome and wealthy young man with dark hair and a winning smile, arrived at the market with his entourage.  Alain had grown up in lavish surroundings, the son of a wealthy trader and politician, he had never needed in his life.   This made him both eligible and spoiled.

His snivelling sidekick and butler, Algie, fussed around him massaging Alain's ego.

Alain spotted Teddy across the market.  "Who is that?" He asked Algie.

"The chemists son? Teddy?", Algiers swivelled.

"He's the one, he's the one I'm going to marry!", Alain proclaimed.

"But...  but...."

"He's the second most attractive man in this town.... After me.  Its how it must be".

"But... but..." Algie, contiuned stammering.

Alain began to chase after Teddy, pushing past the traders and their customers.  But Teddy had not noticed and contiuned towards his father house.

Arriving home, Teddy rushed to the piano.  Carefully opened his new music and began to play. 

Chaney, Teddy's father, was in the kitchen making a morning cup of coffee, and came into the parlour, where Teddy was playing.  "That sounds fun".

A knock came at the front door, to which Teddy failed the notice engrossed in his music. 

Chaney opened the door to see the ruggedly handsome Alain standing.  "Monsieur Aubert"

"Monsieur Behr", Alain began, "I'm here to marry your son!".

Chaney stood back and slammed the door in Alain's face.

2021


Standing in Flavezztowland City, Teddy hadn't thought of that day in 2010 when Alain had proposed, or the fateful events that happened after that day.  He wondered why this city had brought back those memories.

Perhaps it was the flight in, flying past Mount Grant, the tallest peak in Rhim Flavezztowland.  The snow covered peak above the farmland and forests below reminding.  Taking Teddy's mind back to the little village of Wilburforce and its villein. 

Perhaps it was the journey from the airport to his hotel, being driven from the outskirts of the metropolis to the inner city.  Reminding him of his own journey from small town boy to music stardom.

Perhaps it was just a memory which resurfaced without explanation.  Regardless, he was pleased his father had slammed the door or Alain that day.  Teddy's life would have been very different if his father had not been so strong willed.

Shortly after the day of the proposal, Alain's father was arrested for corruption in public office and all his assets frozen by the authorities.  Without his fathers income, Alain wasn't able to maintain the lifestyle he had been accustomed to, and his entourage eventually turned on him, leaving him destitute and friendless.

Teddy, on the other hand, flourished growing his musical talents and now with three hits in the Beepeean Schlager Charts and the Worldvision to look forward to. The sky was the the limit...

WORLDVISION 88

Beepeean Televisual Commentary

Hugh Jakeman, returns once more fo commentary for the Beepeean Televisual audience, once again providing the kind of biting remarks only a disappointed mother or drunk uncle can give.

"Well, that was the Savieran entry there.  Proving once again that this contest isn't about talent.

Up next, oh be of good cheer, it's us.... Teddy Behr is singing for us with the song "The Spell".  No, it's not about black magic or voodoo, rather its a song about battling ones demons.

Speaking of demons, after this I can open the chablis.  Let's cheer him on in word and gesture."


PERFORMANCE

The stage is unlit.

Teddy wears a colourful floral print shirt and dark jeans.

Throughout the performance the Flavezztowlander director will cut between Teddy on stage and fans in the auditorium.

As the music begins, flashes of light streak across the stage, before coming on fully i bright white light.  Teddy is alone on the stage. 

After the first few beats of the music, the audience begins to clap rhythmically along with the beat. As Teddy begins...


I'm under his spell again
My head feels like a runaway train
Heading down a one way track
I feel like I'm never coming back


As he sings "runaway train" he runs his hand through his perfectly quaffed locks, no doubt a choreographed move to signify how full his head is...

The director cuts to a shot of a rather large man with a full beard wearing, what appears to be a suit covered in Britonish flags. The fan is holding a sign which says "Teddy, I'm a Behr too!". Before cutting back to Teddy for the bridge.



And In the darkness,
And in the silence,
Lives a man.
He won't let me go,
Walk toward the light.


As the bridge is sung, Teddy does a little stampy dance. Occasionally, waving his arms out to the side, like the cool kids do.

The director cuts to the audience once more, still clapping and enjoying themselves.  This time, the director chooses three rather buxom wenches wearing caps adorned with tusks and whiskers.... clearly Crustyland fans.  The fans look like they've been listening to the song on WhoTube and badly misheard the lyrics. Before cutting back to Teddy for the chorus.

As the chorus begins, Teddy finishes his little stompy dance and begins pounding on his chest as he sings "no matter how I try".


No I cannot break this spell
No matter how I try
No matter how I try
Can't find my way back home
No I cannot break this spell
No matter how I try
No matter how I try
Can't find my way back home


Throughout the chorus Teddy walks back and forth across the stage. Singing to the audience.  And clearly thriving of the energy.

A boom camera sweeps a panoramic view over the audience and to the stage.  Where televsiual viewers will see a sea of flags of every nation.  Beepeean televisual viewers will be delighted to see a couple of Beepeean flags being waved from several rows back from the stage.

As Teddy performs the outro he struts across the stage, like a peacock in heat.


The world is so dark
I've been in this place before
The world is so dark
I've been in this place before


The director decides to zoom again in on the audience, and this time has chose n two local Flavezztowlanders. Who seem to have brought inflatable pool noodles with them, which they bang in time to the beat of the song. The smile and wave at the camera.
The director cuts back to Teddy, for the second verse.

Televisual viewers will see the title screen for the song pop up along the bottom of the screen

09. BEEPEE          0901 33 22 XX
BONC viewers cannot vote for Beepee.  Calls may be charged at 1§ per minute.

Seemingly knowing this is when the voting column will pop up, Teddy waves his fingers over the top of the sign. 


I hear him calling me,
Tempting me to step back again,
Back into a world that was
so safe and so calm,


Teddy seems to be enjoying his performance. As the contiunes.

The director cuts again to the audience.  Clearly the group of young men chosen had forgotten to bring their wives with them to this performance.  The men appear to have Antahbrantahstani flags painted on their face.  One is wearing a t-shirt that says "I came to Rhim and all I got was intestinal parasites".

Before cutting back to Teddy, who is repeating his stompy dance.


But in the safety,
and in the calmness
Lies the pain
And if I go in there
you can't save me this time.


As the chorus, begins the LED screens to the rear of the stage begin to swirl in all the colours of the rainbow.

Teddy, again parades across the stage working the audience.

Near the front row are a couple of Nekonese fans, holding signs with the number "14" scrawled in large letters.


No you cannot break this spell
No matter how you try
No matter how you  try
Can't find my way back home
No you cannot break this spell
No matter how you try
No matter how you try
Can't find my way back home



The world is so dark
I've been in this place before


As the break comes, Teddy stands centre stage and the lights rotate throughout the auditorium to the beat of the song.


The darkness comes for me
It fills my very being
As I pace the floor
I can feel the silence grow
There's no magic word
To save me from this fate
The darkness comes for me
Will he ever leave me alone
Will he ever leave me


The director again cuts to the audience where some middle aged ladies wearing glow in the dark thunder beads as necklaces and happily clapping and bopping along to the music, as a drink aunt would at your second cousins wedding.

The director cuts back to the Teddy for the final chorus, which he determines to sign down the cameras to the television audience.


No I cannot break this spell
No matter how I try
No matter how I try
Can't find my way back home
No I cannot break this spell
No matter how I try
No matter how I try
Can't find my way back home


As the final outro is sung, the director has clearly been scouting the audience for those two Beepeean flags he saw earlier and finds the two fans wrapped in their Beepeean flags wiping tears from their patriotic little eyes. Before returning to Teddy as the performance ends with...


The world is so dark
I've been in this place before
The world is so dark
I've been in this place before


Beepeean Televisual Commentary

Well that was Teddy Behr.  He certainly doesn't lack confidence.   We'll find out later what the international juries made of that performance. I'm sure Teddy will be looking to improve on last cycles result.

It is song 10 next, my the night is fairly flying by.  Hafamarimët is up next....

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 10:04 pm
by Hafamarimyht
10| Hafamarimët
The Hangovers ft. Vnëgmëh Nučajam - Internet Is Fake
Tune: Koza Mostra & Agathon Iakovidis - Alcohol Is Free
Music: The Hangovers | Lyrics: Vïtal Ëtan, Vnëgmëh Nučajam


The selection process for WorldVision 88 was full of twists and turns in Hafamarimët. Čuk WorldVision 88vun, the national final held by TVH, was almost certain to go to GENI, a huge pop star, but she ultimately finished third. The winners, a mostly-unknown band called Fourth River Underground, decided to pull out after their victory, citing a personal attachment to the lyrics that would likely cause problems while performing to such a large international audience. That left surprise second-place finishers, The Hangovers and Vnëgmëh Nučajam, with the responsibility of representing Hafamarimët in this edition.

The Hangovers are a well-known rock band in Hafamarimët, notorious for concerts full of mosh pits and ouzo. Their first big arena show in 2014 is memorable for pictures of a government official who attended, walking out with a black eye and a missing tooth. Still, she said, it was one of the best shows she had ever been to. And Vnëgmëh? "I'm just an old man, I like my old instruments and older whiskey. I don't know much about the internet." This seems true, as his twitter has fourteen followers and zero tweets.

Vnëgmëh wrote his own verses (shown below in blue), with the rest of the song being penned by lead singer and guitarist Vïtal Ëtan. His aim was to be playful about everything involved - making fun of both internet culture and the reticence of certain demographics to accept the internet and learn how to use it. "I don't speak English," he said, in English, when asked about the broken nature of some of the English lyrics.

The band's time in Rhim Flavezztowland, painstakingly illustrated on their many social media accounts, has seemed to be one full of late night drunken antics on rooftops and in alleyways, each with an update about Vnëgmëh and what happened in the most recent chapter of the novel he was reading. Despite obvious generational differences, though, he seems to have endeared himself to not just the band, but many Hafamari far and wide. A fan in Flavezztowland City ran into him at a coffee shop one afternoon and captured a selfie with him, captioning it "coffee with granpda vnëgz" and going viral.


Lights up on The Hangovers, their image matching their name. Each member sports dark sunglasses and disheveled hair, with the lead singer Vïtal Ëtan's t-shirt full of holes. His left nipple pokes out of one. Vnëgmëh Nučajam, on the other hand, is dressed in a shirt and tie with a vest matching his dark grey trousers. When the lights come up, he is sitting on a bench with his back to the audience at the end of one of the walkways, the one that would be considered the "front" of the stage from the camera angle. The Hangovers wobble a bit and begin to play, singing the first verse in unison. Or close enough to unison.

When I was still a child
My father said "now young man
There's change a-comin' on the horizon"

"And everything you want
You can find with just one button
And everyone will know your every thought"


When the drums kick in, the members of the band all take their sunglasses off and throw them into the crowd. Vïtal takes the drummer's sunglasses off for him, as his hands are full, and gives him a peck on the cheek before putting the sunglasses on top of his own head. The band bounces around the central platform of the stage, playing to and interacting with front row audience members. Vïtal opens his mouth as if he's preparing to sing, but suddenly a spotlight comes up on the old man on the bench, who stands up and turns to face the camera.

Much like every generation
No one listened to an old man
Sitting all alone at bus stop
He cried out

"Internet is coming for you
It's gonna swallow us all
We will only just be pixels
On a screen"


The bassist lets out a cry of "he said WHAT?" as the chorus begins. He runs down one of the side pathways and plays/sings at the end of it. The trumpet player does the same down the opposite path. Another member, playing a traditional-looking string instrument, dances down the back while Vïtal joins Vnëgmëh in the front.

Internet, internet, internet is fake
Internet, internet, internet is fake
Internet, internet, internet is fake
Internet is fake, internet is fake


As this verse begins, giant anthropomorphized versions of the Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram logos sprint to the central platform and start fighting the drummer, eventually dragging him off stage by the end of the first part of this verse. The other members make their way back to the central platform after he is dragged off and the drum kit sinks slowly through a mechanical trapdoor. For the second part, Vnëgmëh pushes his way forward, sort of walking back towards his bench, slowly, the look on his face saying he is imparting some great wisdom. The rest of the band kind of just rocks out in the center, but the lights and camera aren't on them.

I just want to go outside now
Sun is shining, birds are tweeting
But I am a dot com addict
I am tweeting

Now I sing in Hafamari
Internet hud nämavjë pa
Banču englïš hučekca vna
Čanejucavjë, hud pa?

The internet is not real
When someone doesn't sing in English
It's serious, isn't it


Vnëgmëh smiles and turns around, hurrying back to the Hangovers. Surprisingly he takes the harmony for this next verse - what is going on?? The performance here is mostly pretty standard, a band just rocking out and having fun with each other and the audience. Vïtal and Vnëgmëh put their hands on each other's opposing shoulder and spin for a moment.

You only fear the future
If you don't know how to use it
And watch as everyone leaves you behind

The future can be taught, yes
The future is in training
Children get the training from their birth


The band scatters out of the lights and view of the camera. Vnëgmëh once again makes his way to his bench. All lights and cameras are on a man in skimpy red underwear walking up the back path of the stage. He arrives in the center as his drum kit rises back up from below the trap door. On the "hashtag" line he pulls a phone from inside his underwear and takes a selfie, the flash of which seems to come from every light in the stadium on the words "thirst trap."

So when we teach the children
What lesson plan is given?
Don't worry, we download from school.com

It teaches how to hashtag
It teaches how to thirst trap
All the skills we need for modern age


The rest of the band joins the drummer again in the center, laying, sitting, and squatting suggestively and laughing the whole time. Sparks fly up from the rim of the stage with each downbeat hit during the break. The camera cuts to Vnëgmëh on the bench, sitting but turned around to face outward.

Don't forget about this old man
I won't shut up, til you hear me
Internet is an illusion
So is life


Vïtal walks down the path towards Vnëgmëh on the first line, getting to him and putting his arm around him while he says "internet is our future." He helps Vnëgmëh stand up and ruffles his hair on the last line.

Finally you're talking smartly!
Internet is our future
Better make a tiktok while you still have hair


The bassist lets out a cry of "BALD!" as the band and Vnëgmëh rush back to the center of the stage, singing and dancing happily for the first line of the chorus. They're just having a great time. Out of nowhere, though, the performers in the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram logo costumes come back out and start to beat the band up, knocking them all over the stage and to the ground. Vnëgmëh sneaks up behind the Instagram logo and hits it on top of its head, causing a bright flash of light. The Twitter logo is blinded and tries to run but trips and lands face-first on the drum kit. A cymbal flies through the air and crashes into the Facebook logo, who puts its hands to where it's ears would be, blood trickling down from its hands. Vnëgmëh looks like he's offering to help the Twitter logo stand, but he pulls it so strongly that it falls into the Facebook logo, which falls into the Instagram logo, and they lay there in a heap on the stage while Vnëgmëh wipes his hands on his trousers.

Internet, internet, internet is fake
Internet, internet, internet is fake
Internet, internet, internet is fake
Internet is fake, internet is fake

Internet, internet, internet is fake
Internet, internet, internet is fake
Internet, internet, internet is fake
Internet is fake, internet is fake


Sparks fly again with the last hit of music and the logos run off the stage. Vnëgmëh looks victorious. He offers a hand to Vïtal, all laughter now, and the two bow as the rest of the band stands up. While the band is bowing, Vïtal and Vnëgmëh shout their thank yous in English and Hafamari.

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 10:07 pm
by Izmedu
11. IZMEDU
Walk With Me - Sine maj

Translation: My Son
Tune: First Aid Kit - Emmylou

The Artists

It would not be inaccurate to call 'Walk With Me' a project born out of some childhood fancy.

Hana and Ksenija Jelicic were twin sisters born with a predilection for music, one that was not borne until their mid-adolescence where both siblings largely drew closer due to their mutual interests in developing their musical skills. Hailing from the city of Vodiznad, the Jelicic sisters didn't much care or even desire a future in the infamously tough Izmeduan music industry. Indeed, the sounds that consisted much of the earliest forays music they produced were of a different kind of inflecttion and tone than what so dominated the Izmeduan public consciousness when they were coming of age. While Izmeduan folk has always held a profound cache amongst the music buying public, the kind of folk style that Hana and Ksenija explored was not the kind often sung by Izmedu's most vaunted singers. Instead of a tamburica, there was a certain twang to their voices and style that was a marked departure from the kind of style constantly celebrated in Izmeduan culture. The music they produced, the ways in which they harmonized their voices for the first time, and even how they played their instruments they chose (acoustic guitar primarily) produced a sound that was rather rare in the country. A drawl and crawl, earthy in its melodical approach and never reaching for loftier themes and abstractions, grounded in life struggle instead of metaphor.

The sisters often found inspiration through explorations of the Izmeduan wilderness, specifically the little hamlets that comprised what the Izmeduan consensus legally designated as municipalities. As Hana and Ksenija entered their early adulthoods, they found a sort of pleasure in performing just as anonymous street musicians without any sort of pressure to find success within the industry or even make a name for themselves. The songs they performed were mostly originals, the backdrop of rural life somewhat fitting for the nascent sound they were developing as a hobby throughout the years they practiced music from adolescence to early adulthood. Though their voices were appreciated, the sound they were pushing at the time was also alienating to the more older Izmeduans who couldn't quite envision their folk sound as a possibility. What they were to be categorized as, no passers-by ever really had some sort of proper answer. For Hana and Ksenija, being enigmatic wasn't exactly some negative for them, especially since they figured that street performance was only but another part of their lives that they would soon move on from, and perhaps they'll find more greener and practical pastures after their little foray into music.

What they did not expect was to fall in love with the process of musicianship as they began to draw more consistent crowds, even to the point where local bars and establishments began to invite them to perform shows beyond just singing in the Izmeduan streets. The pastoral image they craved was certainly tempting, but what once was a childhood fancy turned to be a reality neithed quite ever expected. What turned from street performance gradually escalated to performing shows, songwriting demos, and eventually... a local deal with some outfit in Vodiznad when they reached the age of 26, ironically entering the Izmeduan music industry at a time when newer, 'hot' acts were expected to strike the iron as young as possible to ensure maximum success. Hana and Ksenija never quite minded their somewhat protracted and unconventional path to a part of the industry that seemed to garner little attention except for passionate fans that paid attention to a path often not taken.

'Walk With Me' turned from fancy to passion project to something that began to coalescence into something larger than either sister could ever recognize. Hana did not expect to enjoy the prospect of singing for a living, while Ksenija attempted to keep pushing at the boundaries of their musical palette. As their horizons expanded, they found that there was a sort of audience for the kind of folk pop crossover they offered. They carried on their late 20s with modest success, releasing an extended play of the kind of earthy sound that slowly began to become their signature and cachet amongst Izmeduan indie. They befit the sort of cottagecore sound that marked the almost unmistakable quirk of Izmedu's indie scene, yet Walk With Me maintained a stark difference away from the other artists they were compared to. Instead of an ethereal sound based upon acoustic guitars, there was always a slight grit and earthyness to their tone. It was certainly not sung with an unbearable twang or with an over-the-top utilization of a stereotypical country sound, but neither did Walk With Me overly rely on an abstract presentation in their sound or even lyrics.

They were two sisters who wished to transform the stories they saw into song.

The Song

"Sine maj" is a song crafted from a short story that will never be published, written by a writer who only told the story through drafts but never once contemplated the thought of sharing it to the world as a published story.

Hana and Ksenija met a man through their street performances in Kaspari, known only as Ljubomir. Their only correspondences was through the consistent visitations, Ljubomir leaving a few lagar for the two young women as they sang their hearts out for those that passed by. In the in-betweens where a space for conversation could be allowed, Ljubomir would begin to share bits and pieces of the story he worked upon, one that he wished to see written out as a song. He delved in writing short prose, not entirely staking faith upon the novel form. He wrote tragedies and melodramas, the tropes of characters deaths and mentally harrowing plotlines not entirely uncommon in his writings. As Ljubomir heard Hana and Ksenija sing, he would tell the most recent story he'd written in scant bits and pieces, finding a sympathy with the two young women in brief conversations that happened bidaily.

They'd would hear the story of an old man who lost his surrogate son through war. The father was too ashamed to admit his feelings out loud, having been raised in a household that did not encourage one to show their true feelings out loud or even shamed them for feeling so strongly for other people. He let his feelings about his surrogate son remain silent, even though the father knew him for a decade. However, he had a plan to eventually slowly confess his feelings about his surrogate son, a younger man who was a soldier-type figure who was loyal and steadfast to his father figure. In the story, they regarded each other just as merely close friends later in life, a younger man having met someone who was slowly fading from life. The older man was not long for the world, yet he desired to have some sort of connection as he inevitably prepared for the last days of his life. However, the father was unable to truly express his feelings about seeing his friend as a son throughout their long friendship. He was filled with shame about expressing such sentimental feelings, believing them to be not just a form of weakness, but also afraid of scaring away his friend with such a solemn and almost heavy expectation of being considered one's surrogate family. The father kept to a sullen silence, only hoping time that will allow him to gather the bravery of telling his friend the profundity of feeling he held within him.

However, that time was cut short, and the father only developed his courage to reckon with his feelings when who he considered his surrogate son fell in battle.

Receiving a letter from his company, the father realized the error of his ways alongside a profound grief his heart could not handle. He wept so openly against the cross that marked his surrogate son's grave, the father unable at all to truly cope with the last connection he developed in his ailing days. It was through his friend's death was where he realized and depth of emotion he so attached to his surrogate son. The father began to more openly admit how much he loved him, a sudden display of sentimental affection only exacerbated by a profound loss. His desperation grew during the grieving process, the old man finding it simply too much to bear. The story would end with a realization of a profound yet obvious regret, the wish that he'd only found that bravery sooner and recognized these feelings as they were so much earlier. That endless vagaries of 'what could've been' filled his heart as the last scene of the story involved the old man staring into his surrogate son's grave, closing his eyes as he could sense the beginnings of his heart expiring. The guilt of outliving who still had so much to live for stung at his mind; leaving the old man bereft and wondering how someone so broken was still allowed to exist, no less live. With a final declaration of paternal love, the story would end then and there.

Hana and Ksenija would never forget this story, even though Ljubomir was but an enigmatic figure they'd see less of as the two sisters progressed through their careers and formally became 'Walk With Me.' While they could not say that 'Sine maj' (My Son) would be the very first songs they wrote, it was one of the initial concepts they worked with as they began to develop a songwriting portfolio. Yet, the song they would eventually send to the WorldVision stage wasn't one that was propelled by the necessity to further their songwriting skills or even add to some extended play... Ljubomir's story compelled them to craft something that both sisters would wish to express immense pride in, yet there was a profound difficulty in trying to begin writing the song. While 'Walk With Me' is not necessarily known for engaging in confessional-esque lyrics that sometimes marked the Izmeduan indie scene, there was a sense of grounded reality that flowed from experience in thier other songs. 'Sine maj' represented a different kind of course, one that engaged in their desire to tell stories through lyrics and melody.

It was a song they took their time with, only writing it in bits and pieces throughout the years as they tried to remember the bits and pieces of the story that Ljubomir told them in a similar fashion. It may not have been their world, and the two sisters never quite contemplated parenthood much in the same way that the protagonist father ever did. However, they did identify a resonance within the story's thematic. That is, the very importance of a familial bond and the ability to be able to express that without edging towards the state of being too late to express such feelings. For all their lives, Hana and Ksenija relied upon each other in ways that even went deeper than the few close friendships they held. For every significant moment, it was the both of them that were there for each other when they faced the lows of trying to make it to the Izmeduan music industry and making their dreams of some sort of music career a reality. There were days where they would forget that their bond was what allowed them to survive the days before 'Walk With Me' became a fungible concept that was attached to some sort of smaller label. The older both sisters grew, the more they began to see themselves in Ljubomir's protagonist; seeing themselves in the father's yearning and deeply held feelings.

If he could not express it in the story, the two sisters would be the two storytellers that would do so for him.


Simplicity is what 'Walk With Me' wanted to strive for as they planned their stage performance, feeling the electric air surrounding the Eastin Millennium Arena and the crowd that waited for the Izmeduan performance in bated breath. Hana and Ksenija glanced at each other as they were situated squarely at the center of the stage, primarily at the most central platform. They stood together, with Hana holding an acoustic guitar to play along with the live track, while Ksenija would be standing without an instrument. They glanced at the crowd, wondering what kind of fortune or circumstances graced them with the fortune of facing a crowd this large. It was a stark contrast to the days where they performed on the streets, towards passing strangers and fleeting crowds that were so much more temporary than the ones they faced at this moment. They took a breath as the arena lights billowed downwards to their direction, seeing the lights glare against the face and flashing a brilliant white before darkening down to a total darkness, only lit up by the phone lights that some in the audience would be using. Some things never truly changed within RTI's WorldVision team, even if it was differenct faces and styles now at the helm of flying the Izmeduan flag in Rhim Flavezztowland.

The entry then began in earnest. A backing track would be played, heralding a kind of instrumental that would not sound out of place in a rural setting. There was a light twang in the instrumental proceedings, the song primarily driven by drums, acoustic guitar, and a pedal steel guitar that produced those smooth and sharp-sounding guitar-esque notes that drove the first few seconds of the instrumentation. The cameras would float lightly around Hana and Ksenija as the former was seen strumming along to the guitar track. The staging seemed sparse, no images being played on the screens behind them nor even some light arrangements on the stage itself. Scant white lights would shine down on the duo, illuminating them and the lightly eccentric if somewhat casual clothing they wore. The camera would fade to a closer view of Ksenija, looking downwards before inching up her eyes to where the camera was positioned, beginning the first verse in earnest.

Do you hear the cries beget by loss
He's weeping against the old, broken cross
Leave him be, he will not sleep
For he's lost to the desolation of grief
He cannot return to a state of pure grace
His ghosts roam so free; he's lost with a tear-streaked face


Ksenija sang with a careful cadence, hands caressing the microphone carefully as her eyes were lightly tinged with a melancholy. Her voice resonated with a sense of experience as she carefully enunciated each word, moving through each word with deftness. The camera would subtly change different angles as Ksenija moved through each line, her voice at points lingering at each word to the point where it seemed like as if she was running slightly behind the song's relatively quick mid-tempo beat. It befit Ksenija's almost lurching vocal pace, matching the melancholic and bittersweet mood of the song. At the last line of the verse, she would take a step back as she nodded towards Hana, the lights beginning to shine a bit brighter as the camera view would fade to both of them together.

Death won't tear us apart, even if we part
I'll keep you safe within my memories
What we had together was art
Just stay, dragi sine, stay with me


If Ksenija sang the first verse akin to a storyteller, the chorus was almost a yearning cry. The switch from singing about the protagonist from a third person vantage point would shift to one where the sisters would seeming to be singing about themselves, even though the very subject of the song was not about them explicitly. The camera would catch not just their more emotional expressions, eyes etched with regret, despair, and remembrance. Their vocals soared just a bit higher, Hana and Ksenija harmonizing as an almost melodramatic sorrow was resonating through each word they belted out. The lights that surrounded them was almost ghostly, giving them a bare illumination that was just enough for their faces to be seen to the people watching from home.

Do you hear the song of endless mourning
He reckons with regret and yearning
He can't run from the past for it haunts him so
All told, he pays penance in the cold
He cries for the past he wishes to forget
But he cannot confess to his tragic distress
Leave him be in his pain, for he is still seething
From sorrow that breaks his breathing


This longer second verse would see Hana and Ksenija singing the verse together, calming down their voices from the more desperate and powerful tone. They returned to a more contemplative style of singing, their harmonies once more moving and lingering at each word. It once more served as a contrast to the song's beat, remaining steady while the two sisters played with the melody with their vocal choices. They would pause with extended notes on words in the middle of the line; the cameras would also catch these moments as they would begin to sing to each other during the song. Hana continued to strum on her guitar, helping carry Ksenija through the verse as the latter acted as the more neutral force aiding the storytelling, while the former was displaying the sorrow so inherent within the sung lines. For the last two lines, Ksenija would begin to put her hands to her chest, drawing them away from the microphone and closing her eyes. The camera would fade to a wider view of the stage, surveying the large arena as the second verse would find its conclusion.

Death won't tear us apart, even if we part
I'll keep you safe within my memories
What we had together was art
Just stay, dragi sine, stay with me


Once more, the chorus would be sung. The lights brightened to a greater extent as the arena would begin to be illuminated in full, though not enough where the haunting atmosphere of the lighting arrangement would be sacrificed. Once more, they returned to singing with a heightened drama, their vocals soaring beyond the more controlled, storytelling tone of the verse. They both sung with equal force, though Ksenija's movements were more free as she reached out towards the crowd through a few of the lines. Her eyes occasionally closed from the overflow emotion that went beyond playing, the raw guttural relation that both sisters held for this song now being apparent through their vocals as the song reached its latter half. The camera would remain close to both sisters throughout the chorus, almost faithful in its display of the both of them as they navigated each line with heightened emotion. Of course, the song would not relent as there was only a few seconds between the chorus and the bridge.

I know, I did not do enough
To be the one you needed, to be your shoulder
I was too lost to be someone
And now I know it's over


The song headed towards a slightly different tenor, becoming more personal with its emotion and intonatin instead of remaining distanced. Hana carried the first two lines, playing along with the guitar track but singing the song with a heaviness in her tone. In comparison to Ksenija's lighter tone, there was a solemnity to Hana's tone that befit the burden of confession and feeling within her eyes. The yearning felt almost too palpable and earnest in her singing and tone, the camera lingering rather close to her face in full display of her expression. For the last half of the bridge, she would be joined by her sister, Ksenija aiding in diffusing the emotion and feeling. They closed out the bridge together, the lights darkening as the camera faded to Ksenija looking downwards with her eyes closed, clasping the microphone gently. The lights would darken just as the song softened, leaving the song primed for its final minute...

Death won't tear us apart, even if we part
I'll keep you safe within my memories
What we had together was art
Just stay, dragi sine, stay with me


Ksenija sang this chorus on her lonesome, taking it to a more quieter direction than the more melodramatic air that it was sung in earlier. Her eyes opened to catch the cameras, yet there was a wistful expression in her eyes as she sang the words, the storyteller finding a personal resonance within the words rather than trying to craft a simulacrum of the emotions necessary to truly express the story. She leaned forwards to the microphone, yet was careful to maintain a distance to prevent some sort of sudden feedback or noise. With one hand on the microphone, her eyes would angle towards Hana, both preparing to close out the song together.

Death won't tear us apart, even if we part
I'll keep you safe within my memories
What we had together was art
Just stay, dragi sine, stay with me
Just stay, dragi sine, stay with me


There it was, the ending of the entry. Hana and Ksenija sang the chorus as they would, letting out their most emotional vocals, but never once treading the line of adding too many vocal techniques or adding some final flourish. They sang it as they did in the past, the lights shining down on them to their brightest configuration for the show. They relished the moment of the song nearing its conclusion, singing the last set of lines with reminiscence and a mournful longing. With that last note, they would bow their heads down, finding a moment to thank the crowd through hushed words to their microphones. Their faces were bashful as they gazed at the cheering crowd, but the time to linger on the stage was not for long, knowing the next act was imminent.

They were a long way from home.

Yet, wherever they performed, it was in singing was where they felt most at peace.

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 10:10 pm
by United States of Gondor
12) United States of Gondor

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 10:45 pm
by South Alezia
13 South Alezia

MANY PEOPLE STILL BAKE CAKES THE WRONG WAY....

(footage shown of people burning their cakes, people being sad, kids crying because there are no cake to be found for their birthday, dough sticking to the ceiling, etcetera. And it's shown dramatically.)

BUT NO WORRIES. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. TWO OF THE BEST SOUTH ALEZIAN CAKES! DUO... YAY! THEY WILL TEACH YOU HOW TO MAKE A CAKE CORRECTLY, IN BROKEN DUTCH! and maybe a sentence in english

Tune: Hallo aus Berlin - Englisch ist Mein Lieblingsfach

(according to South Alezian sources, the audience applauses loudly even claimed that someone shouted "Marry Me!")

Image


(A guy come first to the stage, with a cooking table, mini fridge, and oven behind him. The guy proceeded to bake two batch of cakes suspiciously quickly cooking along with the instrumental. The second as the cakes are done, the cakes start singing. I wonder, did the guy just mix in the microphone into their dough? We never know.)

Chocolate Cake Strawberry Cake BOTH

Ei, melk, bloem, boter, bakpoeder
bakpoeder, bakpoeder
Voeg er wat smaak aan toe
Chocolade of Aardbei



Meng het mooi en correct
en correct, en correct
Maak het vochtig, maak het goed
Zoet en niet te zout


Zorg dat uw meting correct en correct is
Raadpleeg uw eigen kookboek
We zweren het, doe het

Laat uw fornuis niet aanstaan
Doe het alsjeblieft niet
Een, een halve, een kwart, een kom, een glas, volg het allemaal
Milliliter of een liter
En vergeet niet te genieten


(INSTRUMENTAL)

Ei, melk, bloem, boter, bakpoeder
bakpoeder, bakpoeder
Voeg er wat smaak aan toe
Chocolade of Aardbei


Meng het mooi en correct
en correct, en correct
Maak het vochtig, maak het goed
Follow all rules!


Zorg dat uw meting correct en correct is
Raadpleeg uw eigen kookboek
We zweren het, doe het

Laat uw fornuis niet aanstaan
Doe het alsjeblieft niet
Een, een halve, een kwart, een kom, een glas, volg het allemaal
Milliliter of een liter
En vergeet niet te genieten


(The cakes didn't say anything after the song ends, they just got picked up by the guy to a tray where the guy brought the cakes to the green room)

Egg, Milk, Flour, Butter, Baking Powder
Baking Powder, Baking Powder
Add some taste to it
Chocolate or Strawberry

Mix it nicely and properly
Properly, properly
Make it moist, Make it good
Sweet and not too salty

Get your measurement correctly and properly
Consult your own cookbook
We swear, do it

Don't leave your stove on
Please don't
One, Half, Quarter, A Bowl, A Glass, Follow it all
Mililiter or a liter
And don't forget to enjoy!

(instrumental)

Egg, Milk, Flour, Butter, Baking Powder
Baking Powder, Baking Powder
Add some taste to it
Follow all rules!

Mix it nicely and properly
Properly, properly
Make it moist, Make it good
Sweet and not too salty

Get your measurement correctly and properly
Consult your own cookbook
We swear, do it

Don't leave your stove on
Please don't
One, Half, Quarter, A Bowl, A Glass, Follow it all
Mililiter or a liter
And don't forget to enjoy!

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 10:45 pm
by Kalosia
14
Kalosia
Lonely Symphony — Sons of Thunder
performed in English to the tune of A Little Piece of Heaven — Avenged Sevenfold (short version)


Performing 14th in '88 is the anti-fascist Republic of Kalosia.

Following a considerably successful participation at the 87th WorldVision Song Contest, MediTV is once again the participating broadcaster on behalf of the island state. This is part of a deal with Radiu-Televižio Kalosia in which the public broadcaster is leasing participation rights to MediTV for a period of 3 editions, beginning WorldVision 87.

At a 30-minute special held on January 24th on MediTV, the chosen act for WorldVision 88 was revealed. The act were introduced in a talkshow-style setting and, following a short conversation between the host and the members of the act, the song was revealed.

Representing Kalosia at the WorldVision Song Contest 88 is Sons of Thunder with the song Lonely Symphony.

Image


Sons of Thunder is Kalosia's most popular metal band, and the biggest domestic name in the genre. With metal being a relatively underrepresented genre at the contest and especially within Kalosia's participation record, the band may be seen by some as an unexpected choice. Indeed, the reactions have been quite mixed, with some on social media voicing concerns that the nation will flop once again with a choice that isn't very radio-friendly, while others have praised the broadcaster for experimenting and taking risks.

The band normally consists of 4 male members, but the lead vocalist's girlfriend joined the band in early 2020. She has stated that she will be a semi-permanent member of the band, joining for at least the course of upcoming projects at the time, with the possibility of staying or leaving to be determined once those projects have run their course. One such project includes the band's album Red Thorns released in October 2019. The song that the band have chosen to perform, in fact, comes from this album.

Son of Thunder's WorldVision entry is titled Lonely Symphony. The song discusses the grief that follows miscarriage. It was inspired by the miscarriage experienced by the wife of one of the band members a couple of years back. Musically, it is a little unorthodox for songs of its genre, with the use of string, brass, and woodwind instruments. But, perhaps it was this blend that was considered suitable for WorldVision.

At 8 minutes long, the song would have been the Kalosian entry with the longest duration in the nation's 68-edition participation, however the band confirmed during the talkshow that they will perform a shortened version that is under 4 minutes long. The band stated that they were prepared to give a show for their performance at the contest.



The band have never been one to dress up for a show, wearing casual outfits to their gigs, as bands of this genre often do. For the big night, however, all the male members of the band wore black leather jackets, while the lead vocalist's girlfriend wore a denim jacket instead.

The song began with a short passage by woodwind instruments. As this happened, the front-view camera slowly moved upwards, panning across the stage that was dimly lit. While you couldn't make them out completely, you could see that all of the members were looking downward, as if giving a moment of silence.

Four bars later, the drummer lifted his right arm, spinning the drumstick in hand, and then four bars later they all looked up and started playing their respective instruments. The stage lights went on, strobing, and the camera zoomed in, circling the stage, before other dynamic moving cameras did the same, showing the members playing on stage. The audience went wild. Then the lead singer walks up to the mic stand in front of him and opens his mouth to sing.
I thought the story began
Just as we had planned
Out of a love divine
Out of a love so fine

By the way, the lead singer and another member are playing the electric guitar, one is playing the bass, and one is playing the drums. The woman is nowhere to be seen, for now (she's backstage). For these two opening parts above and below, the stage lights were relatively dim, so as to build tension, and the cameras moved much slower, though not quite static shots.
Thought I got my slice
A perfect date with life
But then I saw my dream
Got carried away by the stream

The background screens were showing edgy, dynamic black and white patterns. At this point, as the song built it's pace, the lights moved a little, creating a dynamic atmosphere on stage. The guitars, bass, and drums of the band members intertwined nicely with the brass instruments which were blended into the backing track.
I watched the cradle as it floated by
But then the river turned into the sky
I wished the blossoms would come into view
And now the spring will come, just without you

The first two lines of the part above are a biblical reference to the story of Moses, although in this case the baby flows down the river not into safety, but into heaven (reflecting the miscarriage).
Now that’s left are all the tears
Drowning in our deepest fears

Now the lights went wild as the lead vocalist screamed into the camera. In the last line of the next part, the other band members chanted with the lead singer.
Promised you the world and so much more
Cause you deserve it
Came into the light but then your core
Was never beating
Beating, beating, beating

The lead vocalist and the other guitarist sing the first two lines of next part together, before the lead vocalist's screamy vocals take over. You can really hear the pain in his voice.
I never felt so much despair even when I was falling
Now my heart has dropped and she’s just laying there, her eyes are bawling
Life goes on and on and on
While I may grow old and fade, you’ll be young forever
Shining with the stars, dancing with the angels

Now the lead singer takes over as the song becomes relatively less aggressive. The strings took over in what is probably one of the more accessible parts of the song, and the camera focused on the lead singer.
Cause I really wanted you to come walk with me
But then now you gotta sing a lonely symphony
And I know, I know it’s not your time
So goodbye

He keeps singing, though the camera also steals a peek at the drummer and the guitarist that provides a bit of backing vocals in this next part, before returning to the lead singer.
You will be in my mind, won’t leave you behind
I really thought that life had just begun
But baby don’t cry-y-y-y-y

Now during the short instrumental break, the lead singer's girlfriend walks out and joins him for the bridge.
Heartbreak goes on for so long (I’m broken too)
(I’m suffering)
But I would live for you (Live for you)
Die for you (Die for you)
Try for you (Try for you)
Over and over again

As we go back into another instrumental break, the audience goes wild. The woman disappears to grab a mic stand as the lights go wild, strobing, while the dynamically moving cameras pan across the stage. The lead singer leans into the mic and exclaims, "WORLDVISION, ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?!" to which the audience cheers even louder.

Briefly, the same motif as the intro plays once again but this time is sung by the band members, like a choir. And then towards the end of the performance, the lead singer and his girlfriend deliver the next few lines together.

Cause I really wanted you to come walk with me
But then now you gotta sing a lonely symphony
And I know, I know it’s not your time
So goodbye

The band members played more intensely for the final stretch of the performance, blending nicely with the strings. Finally, in the last line, all the lights go out except for spotlights on each of the performers, and the lead singer alone closes the song with that final line.
You will be in my mind, won’t leave you behind
I really thought that life had just begun
But baby don’t cry-y-y-y-y

And that's it. The song is over. The audience went wild. The lead couple came together and took a bow, while the other members waved to the stage. The lead singer greeted the audience, "Thank you WorldVision!" and they waved or a bit before leaving the stage as it was being set up for the next entry from Oqmet.

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 10:50 pm
by Oqmet
15. Oqmet
čnaajidi yömağavye - End
Music & Lyrics: čnaajidi yömağavye
Tune: шумные и угрожающие выходки - Джохар


čnaajidi yömağavye is a band from the underground scene Dolovasï made up of a singer and a producer, both of whom perform anonymously. Their victory in OTV's national final Yüdadïl WorldVisionvün caused some concern from government officials due to the highly political nature of the band's previous work, including a song calling for the complete disbanding of the Oqmeti government due to corruption and inter-party favoritism. Their name is a source of concern for some as well, since "čnaajidi yömağavye" translates to "violence in the streets," but OTV decided to send them anyway.


A very fancy, ornately-decorated grand piano sits on an elevated platform box in the center of the stage. A performer, dressed in lacy sleeves and otherwise european-looking 18th century royalty attire, sits with a very straight back, playing the notes on the piano. The camera spins and pans slowly, starting up close on his fingers, pulling back to show him, face obscured by his shoulder-length black hair. It continues to pull back to reveal the box the piano sits on, and small flashing lights through the arena. As the beat and the singing start simultaneously, a small explosion is seen to blow out the sides of the box, revealing the singer. As he steps forward through the dust and smoke, the piano disintegrates. The person at the piano slowly floats, finding his mixer board standing tall in the middle of the rubble. He tweaks a few knobs as the camera focuses in on the singer. He shows no emotion at first, but it builds throughout the verse as he walks around the stage and makes accusatorial glances towards the camera.

end world hunger, end the racist police
yes we have the money to solve all of this shit
we only need to take from those who are hoarding
like a house of trash but this is evil, not just tragic

but they gas us when we tell them we need more than just their compost
they gas us when we tell them we need them to stop killing
"the bullets are just rubber" - they still shatter concrete
i have watched a person lose an eye for standing still


The singer stands still at the end of the downstage walkway. He stares into the camera, emotions rising with each line. The camera starts to slowly zoom out until it shows the entire stage. It cuts to a closeup of the performer at the mixing board, hair still obscuring his face, though his lips can be seen screaming the last "we need it to end now" with the singer.

racial injustice
we need it to end now
financial injustice
we need it to end now
climate destruction
we need it to end now

we need it to end now


When the beat drops, fire and sparks explode from multiple points around the stage, to the point where the stage is pretty heavily obscured by the smoke. Flashes continue to go off, and suddenly through the smoke the singer is suspended in midair, holding a long tube that shoots off fireworks. Behind him, a police officer appears. The singer shoots a firework at him and he disappears back into the smoke, looking wounded if not dying. As the singer is also lowered back to the stage, still unable to be seen through the smoke, bits and pieces of the lighting infrastructure and ceiling appear to start crumbling and falling, although this is staged and the arena itself suffers no damage. As the music gets quieter towards the end, the screens behind the stage fade in some static, cutting to the color bar test pattern with the end of the song. The performers do not say thank you.

PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 11:14 pm
by North Alezia
Image


Another top 10 for North Alezia just got reached last edition. Great addition for North Alezia.

North Alezia has been participating since the 82nd edition which was held in Tiferet, Ertzei Kishim. With Imara Syafani's You Are being the debut entry and giving the country 17th place. Since then, the country has improved where North Alezia has continued to stay in the left side of the scoreboard. The country even nearly won once one edition after debut in St. Christopher, Llalta. Samara and Izdar was defeated by KRESNADEWI by Antahbrantahstan. Two editions and North Alezia trends to slip downwards. Fortunately, Idresh Noam-Khaled returned the country to shape giving North Alezia their second top 10, then Kelsi Meshzan giving another top 10.

The ABA has been picking their entry using a national final called Alezimania, where national and international juries and/or public would gather their scores to help the country pick its entry. Due to its regaining success, the show was renamed to ALMA with a new format but the season count would continue from where Alezimania left off.

Alma Season Six was considered a success. Aramna broke its record of bad results, and a very surprising feat happened where Tel Hadiv won again for the third time with UNIQUE TIMES FOUR's Enjoy Life, Love Yourself.


Image

UNIQUE TIMES FOUR is a quartet of singers and comedians that work together and enjoy pizza time together when they got the time to do it. UTF started as a small stand up comedian group in 2014 They released a few albums together until they have to broke off in 2019 due to one of the members starting a family and all of them went their own ways until they regrouped for the Worldvision Song Contest. They advocated for children and women rights and for North Alezia to act as a guarantor for South Alezian children as well. UNIQUE TIMES FOUR has appeared on a lot of episodes in Shara'a Simsim, North Alezian version of Sesame Street. Often they have to sing a few of their (sometimes toned down) songs there. UTF is very well known for its positive and fun songs.

Their white hoodie-green tie combination is actually just a trademark idea. Due to this, their style has become distinct, different from the other groups in North Alezia. UTF has released albums such as Polkadot, Freedom!, and Baby, My Love. UTF has collaborated with some singers such as Kelsi Meshzan and Izdar bin Harun.

In its infancy, which is 2014, 75% of the Quartet is still in school, thus making it near impossible for them to perform frequently. But they do gather to write and perform sometimes. Arlo managed to keep the group together even helping some with their studies. UTF starts going full in 2018 after Nezelov finished his education. It didn't last long as Arlo has to fulfill his job as a father in 2019 when he and his wife got a baby. In 2020 the group were ready to regroup however COVID hits thus UTF can't record. The group was forced to broke up and they all went separate ways with all of them having part time jobs. Finally, in 2021, the UTF can record together again and tried entering the Worldvision Song Contest which resulted in a success.

UTF has four members, obviously. As shown in the photo of them in a photoshoot taken for Alma Season 6. The photo from left to right shows the members which consists of, FROM THE LEFT:

QAZAR HESHMITZ
Qazar Heshmitz is the person who composed the North Alezian entry. Qazar was born in Cha'im on 16th of April 1994. He completed his education at Hashmit University back in 2016 with a degree on Performing Arts and then few months ago an additional degree on Music Studies and assisted with the others, Qazar completed his song which to his surprise become North Alezia's Worldvision entry.

RAZAKKI HAQLI
Razakki Haqli is the only member of UTF who was not born in Tel Hadiv. He was born in Al Khalqadar, ZF on 22nd of July 1994. He completed his education at Millenial University of Zafizamarrah in 2016 with a degree on Creative Technology. Razakki is responsible on the props and is the actual person that propose their hoodie and tie combination. Since they all like hoodies and they like neckties, and they like the colour green.

NEZELOV SHMALAIM
Nezelov Shmalaim is the youngest member UTF. He was born in Deshdezaun on 22nd of March 1996. He completed his education at Hashmit University back in 2018 with a degree on Performing Arts. Nezelov usually takes care of the choreography when they go to tours or concerts, and the Worldvision Song Contest ends up being Nezelov hardest task. Nezelov was still in High School when UTF was in its infancy.

ARLO ZAFIN
Arlo is the oldest out of the others in UTF. He was born in Yezateinu on 8th of December 1991. He completed his education first at Meddelin-Sharina Performing Arts Institute back in 2013 with a degree on Performing Arts. Arlo also wrote a lot of poems in his teens and won awards for it. Arlo is the only one who was not in school when UTF was formed. So Arlo was the busiest out of the four back then but he was happy that he can enjoy singing and performing with them. Arlo wrote most of UTF's lyrics including the North Alezian entry. Arlo is the first one to be married as well. He is married to Erlina Hashe'aim. They have a son named Hafi Zafin-Hashe'aim who was born in 2019.


PERFORMANCE
Image
Tune: HRVY, Matoma - Good Vibes


Qazar Heshmitz
Razakki Haqli
Nezelov Shmalaim
Arlo Zafin
ALL


(After the postcard was shown, from far away in the dark you can see a dark stage. But you see, the four guys were already at the stage earlier than the viewer expected. Immediately as the tune plays, an overlight light glows over Qazar, where others just become backing until the third sentence where all sing in unison and all got their spotlight. Qazar sings alone again but now the other three did not follow and just faced Qazar.)
Everyone, join us
Come, be alive!

Come don't be shy, and have some fun


All, join us
Come, be alive!
Enjoy life, and do Love your own self as well too!
Yeah it's you!
(Me?)

Yes, letter's all for you!


Everyone, join us
Come, be alive!

Come don't be shy, and have some fun


(After Qazar, it's Razakki's turn where he walks few steps forward)
Remember when you feel so sad and all down


(Razakki did a few shuffling at the short instrumental. Which is met by applause from the audience)
Try, to go out enjoy the sun at your back lawn


(Razakki shuffled back to join his friends while they sing one word in unison while pointing at the audience)
You, yeah you


(The camera points back to Razakki)
Why not treat yourself to some orange juice?


(The camera zooms out to show the whole team dancing and pointing in unison)
You, yeah you


(The camera zooms in to Razakki again)
Why not try to start and plant your orange tree?


(The view transitioned to a camera situated on the ceiling, zooming away while lights of green and white can be seen, the team danced and sing in unison where they points and then spreads their hands left and right, which they repeat until the end of the chorus)
Everyone, join us
Come, be alive!
Come don't be shy, and have some fun

All, join us
Come, be alive!
Enjoy life, and do Love your own self as well too!
Yeah it's you!(Me?)
Yes, letter's all for you!

Everyone, join us
Come, be alive!
Come don't be shy, and have some fun


(Nezelov's time to shine. Nezelov took out a small photograph of him with his new girlfriend while he continues singing)
I drew lots of paintings and pictures
Of people that I adore and I love, ooh...


(The camera switches to a left side view. The other three quickly acts surprised and holding their hearts while saying "Awww...". Fun fact, this is actually refering to the idea that this part of the lyrics actually secretly announces that Nezelov is dating someone. The quartet quickly points to the audience)
You, yeah you


(The view changes to zoom in at Nezelov)
Why don't you make serenades for those you love


(The view quickly changes to a right side view, while the quartet points at the audience, then quickly at each other, and a final swish on their own shirts to the right)
Yeah yeah, you you


(The view changes to zoom in at the quartet as a whole, where Qazar throws "harshly" at Razakki. Which Razakki reacted to with a small discomfort but then returned to happiness after finding out that the gift inside is a photo of them meeting for the first time)
Maybe send postcards or maybe even gifts


(The lights got much more dim, only one overhead light turns on which is above Arlo, which is given a very shouty like " AAHHHH" reaction from everyone.)
Baby, there are alotta ways to be happy
But it comes from your feelings
You can pray, you can play
It depends on your ways!


(The view transitioned to a camera situated on the ceiling, zooming away while lights of green and white can be seen, the team danced and sing in unison where they points and then spreads their hands left and right, which they repeat until the end of the chorus)
Everyone, join us
Come, be alive!
Come don't be shy, and have some fun

All, join us
Come, be alive!
Enjoy life, (Enjoy) and do Love your own self as well too! (Ooh, Love)
Yeah it's you!(Me?)
Yes, letter's all for you! (All for me!)

Everyone, join us
Come, be alive!
Come don't be shy, and have some fun


(The quartet disperse into different ways while they continue to sing. Arlo takes his guitar from behind, Qazar rollerskates from the front side of the stage, Nezelov takes his top hat and cane from the left side of the stage, and Razakki takes his electronic remix set from the right side of the stage.)

Oh-oh-oh, Oh, Oh, Come now!
Let's do it now!
Oh-oh-oh, Oh, Oh, Come now!
En-En-Enjoy now!
Oh-oh-oh, Oh, Oh, Come now!


(By the time the instrumental nearly ended, everyone has returned to their position except for Qazar who has to rollerskate around the stage. He's a licensed professional roller skater so no worries! The three stayed at the center where Nezelov and Arlo dances together while Razakki starts playing the song on his electronic set)

Everyone, join us
Come, be alive!
Come don't be shy, and have some fun

All, join us
Come, be alive!
Enjoy life, (Enjoy) and do Love your own self as well too! (Ooh, Love)
Yeah it's you!(Me?)
Yes, letter's all for you! (All for me!)

Everyone, join us
Come, be alive!
Come don't be shy, and have some fun


(Qazar did a single spin in one place, while Arlo takes the spotlight rocking on his guitar.)

Everyone, join us
Come, be alive!


(Qazar starts to skate in direction to the three, and Razakki stopped Qazar from skating any further. The Quartet on stage sung the last sentence, and to everyone's surprise, Nezelov raises his cane to reveal a small North Alezian flag. )

Everyone, join us
Come, be alive!


(Arlo let out a small laugh which is shown in camera. After the tune ended, the audience went wild. The quartet shouted: TODA RABA, SHUUKRAN KASIIRA, THANK YOU! Nezelov is shown waving his mini flag around. Then the quartet left the stage. Next song, please!)

PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 12:14 am
by Talvezout
Image
PART 1 - PART 2

The Crystalettes are a Talvezian experimental rock group. They consist of four members - Ronette Crystalette, one of the two founding members of the band (she plays percussion), Crystal Crystellete, sister of Ronette and the other founding member (plays "electronics"), Vandella Supreme, (does vocals and "other special effects") and Shirelle Shangri-La (contributes "moral support and musical capacity among many other things", according to the liner notes of their most release). The group combined their love of 50s and 60s Talvezian girl groups with bruising experimental and avant garde electronic music to craft their unique brand of today. They seek to create a dichotomy between their retro-esque appearances their post-modern musical styling. They were selected to represent Talvezout as they were the only entry that applied for the position, and as such TRT felt they were the most qualified to represent the nation. Their performance of "Hole" is extremely minimalist and requires only 50 extremely bright lamps, 10 fans at varying wind speeds, an unblemished chicken, and a audience held hostage by the fact that they can't get up or risk losing their seats.

For Part 1, the Crystalettes would be standing onstage, illuminated by solitary spotlights in the dark.

PART 1

Where did you go
Lost again
And hurt again
And again
Touch me black and blue
No more knowing

Wrong and done
Not alone
Never not alone
Furtively for the telephone
Whatever you do
Don't call them home

In my mind
Everywhere
Anywhere
And everywhere
Handprints from you
Filthy memories

Bash and bend
And break and mend
Some kind of friend
Your sick heart and lustful hand
Touched me black and blue
No more sorry


PART 2

The multitude of lights and fans the Crystalettes brought with them would kick on, giving everyone in the area and watching the broadcast a multi-sensory overload.

I hurt you
A wormhole into love
It's you who I hurt
It's you who I love
It's you who I lust

I lust for you
A wormhole into pain
To you I do adore
To you I do restore
To you I wait in store
To suck and capture more
Oh, it’s you to adore
Requires nothing else
In the end it’s more
More than I can go

I need you
Smallest hurt
To you I restore
In love I shall adore

Feel blue in the door
You would never go
Feel blue in the door
It's you who wouldn’t go

I desire thou
Enter into my hurt
Push into my world
Penetrate through my door

A black hole of love
A black hole into love
A black hole into lust
A black hole into lust


"Thank you Worldvision!" The Crystalettes would all say, leaving the stage as paramedics tended to the casualties of the sonic onslaught in the audience. Yeah, they would probably do horribly but at least they had fun.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 12:14 am
by Nahlcomo
Image
18 - NAHLCOMO
THE MUSIC GROUP - "WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN"
Song that is used is "Almost A Kiss" by Throbbing Gristle.




With various shining and blinding lights on them, the leader of The Music Group, Simon Stone, starts to sing with a look of regret in his eyes.


Whenever I see you in my mind
Whenever I miss you, I die inside
Whenever I'm dreaming again
I try to touch you, show that I care
But it's like you were never there
Gone into thin air

What could have been?
What could have ever been
Almost like this
Almost a dream
Almost like this
Just barely missed

And you are my great hidden desire
Lit the greatest fire in me, a fire
You're yet another lost love
Looking down from above
Lost like a little lost love

What could have been?
Just almost a kiss

Never should have been like this

And I'm lost one more time yet again
I try to climb back up again
I could never let go
Don't ever tell me it's not so

Almost a dream
Almost had been
Never should have been like this

I'm lost again
But in time, who cares?
I'm not counting the days
And you left my mind, when did I realize
Will I see you one more time?
Do you love me, will you ever be mine?
The story was changed, and well
You said it was but a mystery
But I know this is but someone else's lovestory

Someone else's lovestory
Someone else's lovestory
Someone else's lovestory

PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 12:21 am
by Axuva
19

PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 12:42 am
by Rusmailica
20. Rusmailica

PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 1:27 am
by Belgaam
21 - BELGAAM

SARIULA - TOXIC
TUNE: SHARON DOORSON - KILLER

Belgaam are participating in the WorldVision Song Contest again, after they returned last edition, where they sent Ñöżania Tríelżi, with the EDM pop track “Promises”. She placed 20th with 108 points, which was Belgaam’s best result in terms of points, but their worst result in terms of placements. Either way, TBS were still happy with the result and it remains one of the most popular songs in Belgaam right now, though it has dropped from number 1 to number 8 in the charts. Leading up to WV88, TBS opened submissions for the return of the Belgaamian national selection, Tariña’o Melodi, with a new format. A week after the submissions closed, TBS revealed 2 acts each day that would try to represent Belgaam in WV88, and a week later the national final was held. Sariula was the bookmakers favourite to win, and that eventually happened on the night, as she won with 54 points, 5 points clear of runner-up Cara Żövikant, meaning Sariula was going to represent Belgaam in WorldVision 88 with the song “Toxic”. Sariula is a very big name in Belgaam, as she has had three number 1 singles and two number 1 albums on the charts, and she is sometimes referred to as the “second queen of Belgaamian pop”, after Maveria. She actually tried to represent Belgaam in WV73, however she came 2nd in the NF, losing to eventual winner Xalimiña, who went on to represent Belgaam that edition. Her song is mainly in English, however there are some parts in Russian, as she is from the Russian-speaking area of Belgaam, and she wanted to put some Russian lines in the song. When asked about this in an interview, she said that “WorldVision is a song contest for the world, so I think there should be more than one language in the song”.

Sariula first gained popularity in Belgaam in early July 2012, as she released a dance-pop song and her debut single, “In Love With A Liar”. It debuted at number 3 in the charts, but reached number 1 a week later and stayed there for 5 weeks. It instantly became one of the biggest hits in the history of Belgaamian pop. 2 months later, she released her second single, a power ballad called “Everyday”. It performed well on the charts, but it wasn’t as popular as the first song, peaking at number 6. As she released some more singles, she became one of the most popular Belgaamian artists, and many people were excited for the release of her debut album. 9 months later, she released her debut album “Seven”. It debuted at number 1 on the album charts and stayed there for two weeks, before dropping down to number 2. 3 months later, she released a song that wasn’t on the album, and her first Russian song, “Огонь” which means “Fire” in English. It peaked at number 5 in the charts. She was later confirmed to be a judge of the 2013 edition of the singing competition, “Żdiuñaj Iovþñia!”. She stayed there for 2014 as well before quitting in 2015. 2 months after she left, she released an EDM pop song called “Zero Gravity” with the Belgaamian pop queen and WV81 entrant, Maveria. It debuted at number 1 and stayed there for six weeks. 4 months later, she released her second album, “The End Of Love”. It peaked at number 1, becoming her second number 1 album.

2 years later, she married her long-term partner and released a single a week after the wedding called “Hypnotised”, which peaked at number 2. 1 year later when TBS joined WorldVision, Sariula participated in the Belgaamian WV73 national selection with the song “Like That”. She won her semi-final and qualified to the final, but she came second to eventual winner Xalimiña, who went on to represent Belgaam in that edition. 2 years later, she participated in the Belgaamian selection again, and won with the song “Toxic”. After it won, it debuted at number 1, becoming her third number 1 single in the Belgaamian Music Charts. Some people have criticised the song for being “too 2012-esque” and “dated”. She defended the song, saying that “there’s nothing wrong with it being dated, WorldVision is a song contest where we have seen many genres of music.” The song has also became a bit of a fan favourite, and it has been described as an “early 2010s dance song about getting rid of your lover after you find out that they’re toxic”.

1 month later, it was the day of the contest. It was finally time for Sariula to perform her song. She had rehearsed the song many times, and now it was time for the actual performance. She walked to the stage, ready to perform her song.


Can’t wait to see your face
When they find out you’re fake
I’ve had enough
I won’t tolerate that
Я не хочу это слышать
Can’t wait to see your face
When they find out you’re fake
I’ve had enough
I won’t tolerate that
I don’t want to hear it


I bet I’m not the first one you’ve done this to
You wanna fight, I know that you’re gonna lose
You’ve made a massive mistake
You wanna apologise, well that’s fake, anyway you’re too late


So boy, don’t come crying to me
When you get a broken heart
Yeah, you brought this on yourself boy
You’re, you’re so toxic
You’re, you’re so toxic
I’ve waited so long to do this
Now I finally have the chance
And I ain’t got any regrets
You’re, you’re so toxic
You’re, you’re so toxic


I ain’t being rude
Just telling the truth
And it’s funny that you think I’m scared
Well I’ve had this all prepared


I don’t care if you tell me you’re sorry
Well I’m sorry that I ever loved you
You said that you don’t need me
Well one thing that you should know
Without you, I live life normally


So boy, don’t come crying to me
When you get a broken heart
Yeah, you brought this on yourself boy
You’re, you’re so toxic
You’re, you’re so toxic
I’ve waited so long to do this
Now I finally have the chance
And I ain’t got any regrets
You’re, you’re so toxic
You’re, you’re so toxic


Ты такой токсичный
Очень ядовитый
Но ты не выиграешь эту войну
You think you’ll bring me down
But just remember that
You won’t win this war
You won’t win this war
You’re so toxic
Very poisonous
But you won’t win this war
You think you’ll bring me down
But just remember that
You won’t win this war
You won’t win this war


Токсичный
Токсичный
Yea-ea-ea-eah
Токсичный
Yea-ea-ea-eah
Toxic
Toxic
Yea-ea-ea-eah
Toxic
Yea-ea-ea-eah


So boy, don’t come crying to me
When you get a broken heart
Yeah, you brought this on yourself boy
You’re, you’re so toxic
You’re, you’re so toxic
I’ve waited so long to do this
Now I finally have the chance
And I ain’t got any regrets
You’re, you’re so toxic
You’re, you’re so toxic


So boy, don’t come crying to me
When you get a broken heart
Yeah, you brought this on yourself boy
You’re, you’re so toxic
You’re, you’re so toxic


Токсичный
Toxic

PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 2:20 am
by Koniglich Wasserstein
22. Koniglich Wasserstein

Song Name: Ever changing, Never changing
Tune: Sometimes by Kodaline (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU43SUnn0v4)
Artist: Thomas Larßaka


Image

So who is Thomas Larßaka?
Born in a rural, English speaking part of Koniglich Wasserstein, he grew up helping his father on a farm and loved it. He also developed a love for music at an early age, starting to learn to play the guitar at the age of 7, and starting the piano at 9. He moved to the capital Schöneberg to go to university and study music. During this time, he had some mental health problems, and this is what the first verse and other parts of the song is based on. When he went back to his parents' farm after graduating from university, he started to play at a few concerts at a town not far away from there. He now plays music for a living, but this is his first international competition.

Performance

(The performance begins with everything dark, the screens behind Larßaka turned off. The only light is the spotlight on him. He plays his acoustic guitar with the song).

When life gets tough and there's no answer
When the flames hit the roar's louder than
The sounds of the world
And still we keep on marching on
Every single day I look up
And I thank my lucky stars
I never reached that date
Because I knew that things needed to change

(Everything begins to light up, gradually, until everything is bright again. This reveals a band on the stage with Larßaka, who startd playing at the beginning of the first chorus. They include a bass guitar, pianist and drummer. The screens behind Larßaka remain turned off)

So I decided to write a song
A song that I can sing along to
A song that you can sing along to
I guess my life's ever changing
Yet the world keeps on spinning
Ever changing, never changing

And here we are
So quick, so fast
Life always changes
Nevertheless
The world never changes
At its core
At its heart (oh, oh, oh)

(The screens behind Larßaka start to show a slideshow of pictures of him on his farm, starting with him as a child and during the following verse showing him getting older)

And now while I sing this song
I think of the journey it took
To get to this stage
Working harder every day
But work never seemed like work anymore
It was too enjoyable writing this song
And singing it today
My life seems so far away

(From here on, the LED screens behind Larßaka just show the lyrics. He still does not move from his microphone stand in the centre of the stage, and he hasn't during the entire performance so far).

I decided to write a song
A song that I can sing along to
A song that you can sing along to
I guess my life's ever changing
Yet the world keeps on spinning
Ever changing, never changing

(Larßaka finally takes the microphone out of its stand and steps towards the crowd. He tells them to sing along).

And here we are
So quick, so fast
Life always changes
Nevertheless
The world never changes
At its core
At its heart
The world never changes at its heart (oh, oh, oh)

(He returns to the microphone stand centre stage. He closes his eyes while singing the next part, seeming lost in the music).

I decided to write a song
A song that I can sing along to
A song that you can sing along to
Together with me
I guess my life's ever changing
Yet the world keeps on spinning
Ever changing, never changing

(He opens his eyes again, looks up towards the crowd, and starts to sing a lot louder than before).

And here we are
So quick, so fast
Life always changes
Nevertheless
The world never changes
At its core
At its heart
The world never changes at its heart (oh, oh, oh)

I decided to write a song
A song that I can sing along to
(oh, oh, oh) A song that you can sing along to
Together with me

I guess my life's ever changing
Yet the world keeps on spinning
(oh, oh, oh) Ever changing, never changing
Woah Woah

(The rest of the band stop playing and this last part that follows has just a musical accompaniment of Larßaka's acoustic guitar)

When life gets tough and there's no answer
When the flames hit the roar's louder than
The sounds of the world
So let's enjoy life as it is.

(When the music stops, Larßaka stuggles to hold back tears. "Thank you, Thank you, I am beyond grateful," he says. He bows, and disappears, out of sight from the crowd).

PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 2:44 am
by Nekoni
no