World Hit Festival 68| Santa Ana, Achaean Rep.| Draft Thread

by **Achaean Republic** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 3:06 pm

OOC THREAD | IC THREAD |CITY AND STAGE DETAILS

Welcome to the Draft Thread of the 68th World Hit Festival! This will be the place where nations will work and post on their entry that I (the host) will then eventually transfer to the IC thread once it opens. The final deadline for posting entries will be Sunday, January 8, 2023 at 6:00 PM EST/11:00 PM BST, with the Live Allocation Draw being held shortly thereafter, at 6:30 PM EST/11:30 PM BST and the IC thread up 24 hours later. However, nations are free to make minor edits to their entries as I transfer them to the IC thread. There will be a 24-hour grace period after the entry posting deadline for nations to ask for edits as I complete the IC thread. After January 9, 2023 and the completion of the IC thread, all entries are considered final and unchangeable.

For this thread, you can use any format that you wish when posting your entry. The only things that will change as it is transferred to the IC thread will be the header (which will act as a link to your postcard and will be located at the top of your entry) as well as the text being aligned to the center for uniformity's sake. Otherwise, the host nation will not alter the RP aspect in any major form, but minor additions are liable to be made that will only come at the very end of your entries. That said, a few requests would facilitate the transfer process:

Please leave translations at the end of your post under a single spoiler.
If you are currently working on an entry, please put Work-in-Progress or WIP on the top of the entry or on a spoiler. This makes it easier to track which countries have completed their entries based on WHF standards.

As written by Kalosia for WHF26: The host (Achaean Republic) reserves the right to make alterations to your RP when copying it over to the IC thread. However, these alterations will be limited to cleaning up the formatting as well as adding (not deleting) RP regarding the situation in the arena (i.e. how the audience reacted). Substantial/major alterations will not be made without written permission, and any further changes to an entry within the IC thread will only be done upon written request by the user behind it, and with host discretion.

What is a Complete Entry?: A complete entry, by technical definition, is an entry on the draft thread with a usable tune and a complete set of lyrics (all stanzas, verses, and etc. covered). Which means, I can transfer a post with just pure lyrics onto the IC thread and mark it as a complete entry. However, I encourage all nations to put in RP to your entries. It makes the entry look far more complete than just lyrics on the page, and while it won't guarantee higher points, it will signal to the WHF community that you are putting in effort than just beyond lyrics. However, since time is often a crunch (aka me every WHF so I relate). What will not be transferred is an entry with incomplete lyrics, just a header, or one considered too low-effort or inappropriate for the standards of WHF.

Additional Information on Headers: You are encouraged to include the names of your song's IC producers and IC lyric writers. This information will go on your header. I will supply the header template used by Euskirribakondara and Normandy and Picardy (which will be replaced by a graphical header on the IC thread). I encourage you to use the below header to place on the top of your entry, as this information will be useful for IC thread preparation. Just make sure to delete any topics you don’t need.

OFFICIAL HEADER:

Code: Select all: [align=center][blocktext][box][size=250][b]XX[/b][/size] [size=200][b]NATION_NAME[/b] [b]ARTIST_NAME - "SONG_TITLE"[/b][/size] [b]Language(s):[/b] LANGUAGE_HERE [b]Title Transcription:[/b] TRANSCRIPTION_HERE [b]Title Translation:[/b] TITLE_IN_ENGLISH_HERE [b]Tune:[/b] [url=YOUTUBE_LINK]RL_ARTIST - RL_TUNE[/url][hr][/hr][b][u]Entry Specifics[/u][/b] [b]Trigramme:[/b] YOUR_3_LETTER_TRIGRAMME_HERE [b]Lyrics:[/b] LYRICISTS_HERE [b]Music:[/b] MUSICIANS_HERE [/box][/blocktext][/align]

As a final aside, please help yourselves to this very handy Spanish phrasebookif you would like to incorporate greetings and courtesies in your RP. Be mindful, however, that there are slight pronunciation differences between Castillan Spanish and Latin American Spanish; regarding the latter, do note that Achaean Spanish is influenced by Caribbean Spanish (namely, the Spanish spoken in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and coastal Colombia and Venezuela). You can use this article summarizing the Caribbean dialect if you would like to understand more about Achaean Spanish diction and speech patterns and incorporate it into your RP.

WORLD! START POSTING NOW!

by **Elejamie** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 3:59 pm

XX
Elejamie
Los Cobaltos - "Dime Por Favor"
Language(s): English, Spanish
Title Transcription:
Title Translation: Tell Me Please
Tune: RichardVox - Under The Stars (Canción de Alicia)
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: EJM
Lyrics: Lucas Montero, Marco Bernardino
Music: Lucas Montero, Mateo Rodriguez, Álvaro Fernández, Marco Bernardino

A promotional picture of the band taken around the release of their first album in 2020. From left to right: Mateo Rodriguez (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Lucas Montero (lead guitar, lead vocals), Marco Bernardino (drums, backing vocals), Álvaro Fernández (bass, backing vocals)

Lucas Ernesto Montero Cáceres was born in Valledorado, VADO on 4th December, 1999. The son of Argentinian emigrants to the country, although they had arrived at different times and from different parts of the country, he had an OK-ish upbringing in the middle of nowhere. Not that many friends due to him being a bit introverted but he had a good enough relationship with his parents, even if his dad was away a good amount of the time due to him being a trucker. When he entered high school, he quickly made a couple of friends due to a shared interest in 80s and 90s rock music: Marco Guillermo Estéban Bernardino Williamson (born 15th January, 2000) and Álvaro Fernández Martínez (born 16th March, 2000). After getting enough money from a part-time job to afford a guitar, even if it was a cheap one, the trio would play together and with other people in a variety of other bands; they were mostly passion projects, jam sessions, Battle of the Bands stuff or people with high hopes but a short shelf-life, as opposed to anything with an actual chance of making it to rock stardom.

However, the trio wouldn’t get around to forming a proper band until the Summer of 2018. While they went by a carousel of names at first (with their longest-lasting name literally being El Carrusel de Nombres), they would eventually settle on the name Los Cobaltos. Why that name? Because Lucas had liked the word “Cobalt” and indeed was originally going to use the name “Cobalt Blue”. However, that name was already taken by a popular 60s rock band who had a string of hits throughout Elejamie and possibly elsewhere and the Spanish language version “Azul Cobalto” was taken by a cover band. So this was pretty much the next best thing to keep the lawyers happy. Álvaro and Marco liked it enough for them to keep it, even if it wasn’t their favourite, and so the name stuck. A few months later, in January 2019, Mateo Luis Rodriguez Castellanos (born July 4th, 1999) would join the band on rhythm guitar, turning the trio into a quartet. While Rodriguez would figuratively be a bit out of tune with the rest of his new bandmates, instead going for a generic alt-rock sound when the other three would eventually settle for something that wouldn’t be out of place in the mid-90s, he would soon find his footing and end up meshing with the rest of the band musically.

After about a year of playing gigs, with breaks in between just so they could do their day jobs, they would eventually get around to recording a four-track all-original demo. After sending it to a number of labels, they would manage to get signed in October that year. They would get a bit of hype when they released their first single “Naranja Roja” that same month, with their second single “¿Puedes Escucharme” released the following month. While neither of them managed to chart highly and eventually only made it onto the imported version of their debut album, it was their third single (and first from their deubt) “Sentirse Bien” that managed to make its way up the charts to #16. In late February 2020, the band’s self-titled debut album would be released to positive reviews and a good amount of sales, with a follow-up single “Azul Oscuro” being released a couple of week later as the second single from the album. Things were looking up.

At least, it would’ve until the coronavirus pandemic forced them to cancel any plans for a tour to promote it. While they and their label did donate a portion of the profits, the four would eventually decide to break up the band in April that year. While they would still get profits from their songs and would return to their day jobs when things started to open up, they also stated that they wouldn’t be re-uniting for quite a long time. Lucas would eventually do an acoustic solo career that lasted a couple of years and Mateo, Álvaro and Marco would have occasional unplanned reunions when they end up having to work as a backing band for someone but that was about it as far as their music careers went. On the upside, everyone was still on good terms so at least that was able to dispel any rumours of them feuding.

In March 2022, nearly two whole years after the band broke up and during a concert in Playa de Rocas, Lucas brought in Mateo, Álvaro and Marco in to be his backing band as part of an encore. After playing an acoustic version of Sentirse Bien, Azul Oscuro and a few other songs, he announced that the band would be re-uniting. They would manage to re-sign with their old label, a process that took a bit longer than expected for various reasons, before they went on a mini-tour of VADO and NUPA to try and drum up support. It sold fairly well and a comeback single “Corte de Papel” managed to shift enough copies to top out at #20, so which managed to bide well for them. Eventually their second album, “Conmigo Un Peso, Un Dólar”, would be released in November to positive reviews and three singles: A cover of the 80s song “Vamos a la Playa”, “Sonos Más” and the song “Dime Por Favor”, which would end up being their song for the 68th World Hit Festival in Santa Ana over in the Achaean Republic. While things are still looking up for the four, it’s just a question of whether or not they’ll be able to keep this high going or it’ll be the start of the end.

There were high hopes for Elejamie going into the 67th World Hit Festival. After all, they had won the previous contest and were hosting it. They weren’t expecting back to back wins and CRTS even admitted that if they would win they’d hoist the job over to someone else. But they still had to get a good result to show that Aurora’s victory in Valletta was not a fluke and that they should be a force to be reckoned with. A top ten finish was the main goal, although there wouldn’t be any issues if they placed lower. There was a small snag in that industrial group Fernsehturm was chosen with their song The Church, a tune about human rights and slave labour in a far away land, but hey, maybe something weird and experimental could lead to a good result simply because it’d stand out a bit more.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. For a start, they would only receive points from three countries (Aenglide, Moorland and the Fatimanian Federation). Normally that wouldn’t be bad, hell the country managed to get ten points total from them which was enough for fifth place (just behind Malta Comino Gozo on tie-breakers). The bad news was that all three sets of points came in the first half and they were completely shut out in the second. As a result, they would go on to finish in 11th place, just missing out on a tie-breaker due to fewer countries voting for them and only ahead of StrayaRoos and Norrp (the latter of whom would get absolutely nothing from the juries). The more things change, the more they stay the same. However, it wasn’t as bad as the WorldVision. First, they still managed to snag a set of five courtesy of the Fatimanian Federation. Secondly, it wasn’t the worst collapse as Moorland went from first place (with a comparatively high six point lead over second) at half-time to third place and a single point behind the winner. And, thirdly, eventual winner Nessa Navarro from the Achaean Republic was half-Elejamian herself which meant that, much like Brooke Galea winning in Avon at WV90, the country still managed to win the contest in some fashion. Hell, at the very least, you could give Elejamie props for sending something weird and experimental to make sure they don’t host twice in a row, unlike some real life Eurovision entries I could mention (Latvia 2003, Norway 2010, Sweden 2016, arguably Portugal 2018* and the Netherlands in 2020 and 21) where they just sent something boring instead.

No matter, it was time for the next contest. A clean slate for them to work with. And, with that, the popular alt-rock group Los Cobaltos was selected. After all, they had reformed after a two-year hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and had become quite a household name so why not give them the opportunity to capitalise on their fame by sending them to an international music competition. The WorldVision may no longer be a possibility but there is the World Hit Festival as a back-up, especially since they’d probably have more of a chance there. Los Cobaltos were on board with it and, with that, they would make their way over to Santa Ana to perform at the contest, shoot a video for a song if they get the time and maybe follow the Sun while they’re there.

So what did they do while they were in Santa Ana? Mostly just hit the bars and have a few pints. Not enough to get drunk but enough to have a good time. And maybe do a karaoke session or hold an impromptu concert, much like they did on the grounds of the University of Zacatecas. They also paid a quick visit to the Zoológico Nacional, not only because it was a giant zoo with plenty of animals for them to see but they might as well get that crossed off the list of “things to do while we’re here” they had made. Bassist Álvaro Fernández and his boyfriend Gustavo also made a quick visit to Manizales, mostly because of how LGBT-friendly it was but also to try and see if the local indie scene would give him any ideas for what could be the band’s third album. And, of course, they travelled to where they needed to go so they could shoot their postcard. All in all, a fun excursion all-round.

And the song itself is something completely different for Los Cobaltos. For a start, it’s the first song of theirs to have English-language lyrics; while all four band members have quite a good grasp of the English language due to it being the most widely-spoken language in Elejamie, drummer Marco Bernardino is half Anglo so he was tasked with helping bandleader Lucas Montero write the lyrics. Why English lyrics? While it was primarily an attempt to break into a market that spoke a different language, it was also because Lucas wanted to give himself a challenge even if it won’t be one he’ll repeat. Fortunately for the band’s primarily Spanish-speaking fanbase, not only were there still some lines in that language but there was also an all-Spanish version of the song, which was used for the album, will be performed at all concerts following the World Hit Festival and was also tacked on as a single alongside the all-English version. Also, despite having quite upbeat music, the song’s about heartbreak, namely someone getting dumped by their partner for reasons unknown and then trying to figure it out, which is quite fun I guess.

Anyway, by the end, everyone was ready. They had rehearsed and gotten everything down to their liking, from what they were going to do and how they were going to do it to effects and how they wanted the stage to act and behave. They had all picked out what they were going to wear, even if it was all casual wear and not any fancy outfits. And they were all feeling pretty confident. Did they have any high hopes of winning it all and potentially bringing the 69th contest back to Elejamian shores? No. Although they were hoping for a good result, especially since they were in a fellow Hispanophone nation, they weren’t exactly that bothered with where they’ll end up. All that matters is if they put on a good show and they were sure they could do just that. And, when their names were called up to get on stage, they grabbed what they needed and got right into position. Here’s hoping the people of Santa Ana, nay the multiverse, would enjoy the song that was about to be performed to them.

*In all fairness it’s not that bad a song, I personally quite like it, but the problem is that it only works when you’re not really listening to it as strange as it sounds. If it has your full attention then it kind of sounds unengaging and uninteresting.

Also apologies in advance if my RP's a bit terrible. ICly it's a band who doesn't put on big shows no matter how big the stage is, OOCly I'm kind of winging it in an attempt to get it done before the deadline.

When the postcard came to an end, we’re greeted to a scene of the four band members on the stage. They were in a diamond shape with Marco behind his drumkit at the rear of the stage, Álvaro and rhythm guitarist Mateo Rodriguez in front of him on opposite sides of the stage, and Lucas front and centre immediately in front of Marco. The camera was also slowly trucking towards the stage, although the camera didn’t tilt down or anything like that. The band members themselves were just standing there, with the sole exception of Marco who was just sitting down on his stool. They were calm and ready to play, despite the fact that they still weren’t really used to performing on an actual catwalk as opposed to a proper stage, all they were waiting on was for the audience’s cheering to die down so they could actually get around to performing their song. They didn’t have to wait long before they got their wish, as the audience’s cheers died down and the lights slowly dimmed.

At that point, Lucas looked behind him and in the general direction of his bandmates. He pointed in a rough direction of the back of the stage and counted down to help get them all ready, with it just being picked up by the mic: “Uno, dos, tres, cuatro.” Just after that last number, the lights immediately shot on as they all began to play their instruments. Lucas moved around the stage as he strummed while his bandmates stayed in place, although in all fairness to Marco you try drumming along while you’re gliding around. After a brief instrumental intro, Lucas returned to his microphone, got into place and started to sing into it while he played his guitar, with the shots mostly centring on him and either being from different angles or different distances. As for what he was wearing? An Argentina away shirt from about four years ago, a pair of blue jeans and a pair of black and white trainers, as well as a pair of black sunglasses and a white jacket that was unbuttoned all the way down.

As for the staging itself? During the into itself, the floor went from black to white every couple of seconds while a negative of the band's logo popped up in a random place with every colour change. While the ceiling lights stayed a normal colour the spotlights just waved back and forth, changing colour every few seconds from red to green to blue before back to red again to start the cycle again. When it came to Lucas singing, the floor faded to white (although parts of the stage looked like they were breaking off with the spotlights not only changing their colour to a different shade of white, one that also seemed to have tinges of yellow to it, but also each individual beam of light coming together to form one circle which then shone down on each individual band member.

Don’t know what to say
Don’t know how much longer my heart can take it
Don’t know what to do
Gave you my heart but you had to break it
Don’t know what I did
I didn’t cheat or lie
But I have to say goodbye

As the song moved on to the pre-chorus, we cut to Marco drumming the start of the pre-chorus. After that, the camera mostly returned to Lucas and mostly centred around him; there was even a shot that started from his left side before the cameraman walked around in a giant semicircle around him, stopping when his right side was in frame. He didn’t get all of the focus, though, as there was a brief shot of Álvaro plucking along on his bass; he was wearing a burgundy coloured shirt that was buttoned up all the way, a pair of black jeans and the same black and white trainers as Lucas, while he was playing a bass that had a sunburst-coloured body with a black pick guard. The stage, meanwhile, was mostly the same as it was in the last verse but with a couple of extra features, like the black holes being made in the stage slowly filling up with water and a couple of blue lights shining over the audience in a random pattern (although fortunately it wasn’t bright enough so that any unlucky audience member who decided to look up would have their retinas burnt).

As I see you leave and I start to cry
I’m left right here and I’m wondering why
Have you moved on and found another boy?
Or was I nothing more to you than just a toy?
Dime, ¿Por qué rompiste mi corazón?
Dime por favor, debe haber una razón

Then it was time for the lead-in to the chorus. Starting with Mateo on the left-hand side of the stage, the camera slowly panned to the right until it stopped at Álvaro all the way on the right. The three of them were playing their instruments while going “Ooh.” in harmony, with Marco having to straighten his posture a little bit more than he would like to to reach the microphone, something that’d inevitably lead to back pain later on in life but then again this would probably be the only time he’ll ever need to do something like this. Besides, the bit in question was only added because a purely instrumental passage would seem a bit empty and, much like with Creep, one of the members (Mateo in this case) didn’t like the song that much and made an attempt to ruin it, only for it to actually improve it.

After a lingering shot on Álvaro, the camera then returned to Lucas who walked back to his microphone after he moved around, standing to the side of it and twisting his head to sing a “Yeah” into it. After a quick shot of Marco drumming along, there was a wide shot of the stage and an explosion of bright lights. The stage itself saw a thick black line pass through it from the back to the front before going all the way back, as if it was clearing the stage and wiping it clean. The lights also waved back and forth and, occasionally, went in random directions with lights going from white to blue to red before going back to white to begin the cycle. Once the stage was all clear, there were some black cracks beginning to form on the display before they got wider and joined together to form the band’s name. And the band themselves, rocked out too while they carried on doing that vocalisation, with Marco still having to straighten himself just to sing into his microphone. He was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, a pair of black trousers and some black shoes, while his drum kit itself was just a simple black 5-piece one with two cymbals as well as white skins.

Dime por favor
Dime que te quedarás
Por favor no me dejes, me dejes
No me dejes atrás
¿Qué puedo hacer?
No quiero que te vayas
Trato de decirte, decirte
Pero me dejas atrás
Dime por favor
Dime que te quedarás
Por favor no me dejes, me dejes
No me dejes atrás

Once the chorus came to an end, Lucas strummed his guitar and then proceeded to jog around the stage while playing his solo. The camera then cut to an overhead shot of the stage to not only give a better view of him, where it showed that he was also jumping around from time to time but also Mateo and Álvaro were moving about a bit as they also played along. Marco, on the other hand, had to stay behind his drum kit for obvious reasons. Towards the end of the instrumental part, Lucas headed back to his microphone to get ready to sing his part, with the camera operator staying still and panning as he ran past. He got there just in time to take a couple of breaths before he began to sing. There wasn’t much going on in this bit, mostly a number of shots of him singing and playing along as well as an overhead shot that faded in and out and showed Mateo and Álvaro walking back to their positions. The staging was pretty much the same as it was during that first verse, with the sole difference being that the black line showed up to wipe the stage clean before what seemed to be a calm, blue pool of water was projected onto it. It even went as far as to fade onto the screen itself as opposed to just showing up or any other effect.

Don’t know what to say
As the realisation slowly hit me
Don’t know what to do
Lying here, wallowing in my pity
I go through the days
Finding where I went wrong
All while I sing this song

After another shot of Marco drumming, we then cut to a series of shots of Lucas playing his guitar while he sang the pre-chorus. There were a few other shots too, including a few of Álvaro and a couple of Marco but there was one lingering shot of Mateo playing his rhythm guitar. He was dressed in a black leather jacket, a plain white shirt, black cargo pants and black trainers. He had the same guitar as Lucas: same make, same model and even the same colour scheme. However, there were a couple of slight differences between the two; the first was that Lucas’ was a standard right-handed guitar whereas Mateo’s was a left-handed one, and the second was that there seemed to be a sticker related to the hit Waisnorian TV show Shield near the top somewhere. There was also an MR written on the back but since the camera wouldn’t really pick it up there was no need to comment on it. The lights did the same thing they did in the last pre-chorus whereas the stage underneath carried on showing the calm blue pool from the last verse, although as the verse went on the water started to slowly turn grey and get a bit choppy.

As I see you leave and I start to cry
I’m left right here and I’m wondering why
Have you moved on and found another boy?
Or was I nothing more to you than just a toy?
¿Qué puedo hacer para compensarte?
Solo porque no quiero dejarte

It was time for another lead-in to the chorus, except this time it went a bit differently. There were a series of cuts to Mateo, Marco and Álvaro doing their vocalisations, with no real order to which shot was shown. There was even a wide shot of all three of them doing it and even a couple of shots were it was either Mateo and Marco or Marco and Álvaro singing together. Towards the end of that segment, we then cut to Lucas dancing on the spot as he waited for his turn to sing. It wasn’t anything special really, just him holding onto the neck of his guitar with his eyes closed as he moved his body from side to side. After that, there was another cut to Marco drumming the beginning of the chorus before there was another explosion of lights and they repeated a few of the things they did the last time. Namely them having the same lights waving back and forth in a pre-determined set of colours that it went through, the same camera shots and cuts even if the band themselves were doing different actions and black cracks forming on the stage, although there were a couple of differences in that it didn’t spell out the band’s name nor was the stage wiped clean just so it could be shown. It did, however, drain the water in the projection and just showed a completely white stage.

Dime por favor
Dime que te quedarás
Por favor no me dejes, me dejes
No me dejes atrás
¿Qué puedo hacer?
No quiero que te vayas
Trato de decirte, decirte
Pero me dejas atrás
Dime por favor
Dime que te quedarás
Por favor no me dejes, me dejes
No me dejes atrás

After that last line, Lucas walked away from the microphone and over to his bandmates. He, Mateo and Álvaro formed a small triangle as they played their instruments while the camera cut over to a side shot of Marco drumming along, although the cameraman moved behind him to show the drummer in the foreground and the rest of the band in the background, a little bit out of focus, while the stage underneath them began to turn off. After that, we cut to an overhead shot of the stage, which was starting to turn grey before it eventually switched off. While the stage lights were dimming, the three guitarists moved around a little bit before it was grey enough for them to stop. At that point the entire band did a little flourish before they stopped playing to mark the end of the song.

Shortly after the song came to an end, the audience broke out in a round of applause. There were a few shots of the audience clapping for the entry they had just watched before we then cut to the band standing in a nearly straight line with their equipment behind them. They did a bow before Lucas held the microphone up to his mouth and began to speak into it: “¡Gracias Santa Ana! Ahora, ¡qué tengas una buena noche!” They then did one last bow before they headed back to where their equipment was. While the camera returned to the audience, the band helped the stagehands clear the stage so that it could be ready for whoever needed to come after them before they headed back to their table. They felt they had put on a decent show, nothing groundbreaking but hopefully the song would be good enough to get some points. But would they improve on the poor placing their country had gotten in the last contest? That was to be decided...

by **Independent South Africa** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:03 pm

XX
South Africa
Nora Brockstedt - "Hello - Hallo "
Languages: English and Afrikaans
Title Transcription:
Title Translation:
Tune: Nora Brockstedt - Voi Voi
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: RSA
Lyrics: Nora Brockstedt
Music: Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra , Georg Elgaaen (Original Tune )

Background : Hello is a 2030 satirical song made by Norwegian South African Singer, Nora Brockstedt . The Song shares the same tune to her 1960 Eurovision Entry , Voi Voi but the song is English and Afrikaans and it makes fun of the Nixon Regime which has ruled America since 1968 . Hello was written in response to the recent attacks on South Africa that happened in December 10 2029

Performance:

The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Enrique Botha begins to play the song , then it shows a woman in a puffy jacket , Behind her there are triangles in the stage that look like Mountains

She Begins to sing as the camera begins to zoom up close to here

The display then shows a live camera feed of Johannesburg

In a small town far from Jo'Burg
Where the culture is stuck in time
In a small town far from Jo'Burg
I noticed a war veteran that can sing

The Camera then begins to switch to the left of her

The Stage Display to the left changes to the American Flag and a picture of Elvis is shown on the right

It sounded like an American tune
Maybe he was trying to imitate Elvis
The guy was selfless and jovial
and he had a great talent

The Camera then Switches back to the front of her like in the beginning
It will remain this way until the fourth stanza

Then I realize what he was singing
It sounded like a really dark song

The Camera switches back to the left and now the stage Display on both sides changes to a picture
Of Earth (or Bok in South Africa‘s universe) on fire with the CIA Flag and a graph that shows a line going down

Hello
Lets Toast the Earth with Esso Oil products and services
Hello
Your debt will increase
'cause you don't any money to spare
Hello
I'm being watched by the CIA for telling the truth

The Display then switches to a live feed of Nora Brockstedt singing in the
Stage but unlike the camera for the Television feed which remains to the
Left of Nora Brockstedt , the Camera is directly in front of her

Hello
They'll come after you
Because you listened to me
Hello
You better heed this warning
to save your soul

The Display Fades into the flag of The Jamesian Republic
On both sides of the stage

Helloo

You've better go to the Jamesians
because they are benevolent folk
Hello
You'd rather live in Victory City
or the State of Ventura
or the State of Ventura

The instrumental break begins with the camera shifting to the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra being conducted by Enrique Botha which the camera then pans across the members of the Orchestra
The Camera then switches back to Nora Brockstedt , This time the camera is in front of her and she is singing the Afrikaans part of the song

Hallo
Hulle sal agter jou aan kom
Omdat jy na my geluister het
Hallo
Jy beter ag slaan op hierdie waarskuwing
om jou siel te red

The display is once again back to a live feed of Johannesburg just like
From the beginning

Hallo

Jy moet beter na die Jamesians gaan
want hulle is welwillende mense
Hallo
Jy sal eerder in Victory City woon
of die staat Ventura
of die staat Ventura

The display changes back to the WHF68 logo to allow the next singer to use the display

Hello

The Camera Pans Out from Nora Brockstedt
Who gives a bow to the audience

Cheers are then heard from the audience inside the Pabellón de Ferias y Congresos
with some even waving the 1928 - 1994 Flag of South Africa

by **Indo States** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 8:11 am

XX
Fatiman Federation (Indo States)
Alisha Mariacapastol Crimieliyev - "Sergeant Martina"
Language(s): Luisitian
Title Transcription:
Title Translation: (Song is in Luisitian, but the Title is in English)
Tune: Ayumi - Hey-la
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: FET
Lyrics: Konstantin Lebedyy, Alisha Mariacapastol Crimieliyev
Music: Gerald Volschener

Background Story

Based on the Fatimanian Movie "Sergeant Martina", Sergeant Martina Losnorova, has been deployed to Iraq in 2004 alongside with other Fatimanians to fight against the Saddam's Ba'athist Regime, in which, she ended up became a Commando who spies on Enemies and also killing them, as well being a Sniper during the War.

The Performance

In the Performance, Female Dancers wearing Army Shirts and Shorts had began to Dance as Alisha, wearing the same Outfit as the Dancers, shows in the Stage and began singing, in which, the dancers in that part had squatted. Alisha was seen wearing Military Lieutenant's Uniform with skirt, Black Stockings and black leather boots.

Práve teraz som tu, bojujem za svoja krajině protié svojiné nepřiateľom,
Chce oklamaťa svojich nepřiateľok, len aby sén žíškal víťazstava ako seržant, a volám sa seržantká martina.
I am here right now, fighting for my country against my enemies,
I want to fool my enemies, just to get my victory as a sergeant, and my name is sergeant martina.

Then, the dancers began to dance again in this part, as well for Alisha.

Som seržant, ktorý bojuje za svoja krajině, kým som v púštáká, bojujém s teroristami a nepřiateľmi,
Pře svoju krajinu ju chránim před akýmkoľvek poškodění, ako mûžem a ako mûžem, a toto je moja pieseň.
I am a Sergeant who fights for my Country while i am in the desert, fighting terrorists and enemies,
For my Country, i am protecting it from any harm as i can and as i could, and this is my song.

Pokračovať v boja!
Ayy!
Pokračovať v boja!
Ayy!
Bojovať!
Ayy!
Pokračovať v boja!
Keep Fighting!
Ayy!
Keep Fighting!
Ayy!
Fighting!
Ayy!
Keep Fighting!

in this part, the dancers suddenly stopped dancing and then squatted for a minute before dancing back.

Som ostřeľovač, ktorý dokážná ľudíe v diaľkě, a zářoveňa byťě v kamufláža na vyšřej budove,
A těžká som špión, ktorý špehuja nepřiateľov, ktorí robina svoje tajné vechod protié našej krajina,
Ale oni něvěděli, že som silná žěna, přetože som malnop roky výčiviku v armáde,
I am a Sniper, who can people in the distance, and being also in a Camouflage on a taller building,
And i am also a Spy, who spies on enemies who are doing their secret stuff against our Country,
But they didn't know that i am a strong woman, because i had years of training in the army,

Som seržant, ktorý bojuje za svoja krajině, kým som v púštáká, bojujém s teroristami a nepřiateľmi,
Pře svoju krajinu ju chránim před akýmkoľvek poškodění, ako mûžem a ako mûžem, a toto je moja pieseň.
I am a Sergeant who fights for my Country while i am in the desert, fighting terrorists and enemies,
For my Country, i am protecting it from any harm as i can and as i could, and this is my song.

Pokračovať v boja!
Ayy!
Pokračovať v boja!
Ayy!
Bojovať!
Ayy!
Pokračovať v boja!
Keep Fighting!
Ayy!
Keep Fighting!
Ayy!
Fighting!
Ayy!
Keep Fighting!

In the Last Part, a Male Dancer in Military General's Uniform has suddenly appeared in the Stage, holding a Mock Pistol and aiming it towards Alisha, who was wearing in a Military Uniform, until Alisha threw it away as to Imitate the Scenes where Sergeant Martina and General Abdul fighting in the last parts of the Movie of the Same Name.

Som seržant, ktorý bojuje za svoja krajině, kým som v púštáká, bojujém s teroristami a nepřiateľmi,
Pře svoju krajinu ju chránim před akýmkoľvek poškodění, ako mûžem a ako mûžem, a toto je moja pieseň.
I am a Sergeant who fights for my Country while i am in the desert, fighting terrorists and enemies,
For my Country, i am protecting it from any harm as i can and as i could, and this is my song.

Pokračovať v boja!
Ayy!
Pokračovať v boja!
Ayy!
Bojovať!
Ayy!
Pokračovať v boja!
Keep Fighting!
Ayy!
Keep Fighting!
Ayy!
Fighting!
Ayy!
Keep Fighting!

Pokračovať v boja!
Keep Fighting!

After the Performance, Alisha has thanked the performance in Russian, Luisitian and English to the audiences; "Спасибо всем! (Thank you everyone!) Děkujém manohokrát! (Thank you so much!) Thanks to all who are in World Hit Festival and in Santa Ana!".

by **Nuevo Rhodesia** » Tue Dec 20, 2022 12:29 am

XX
New Rhodesia
Gudo van Loevezijn - "Ik Vertrek"
Language(s):Dutch
Title Transcription:
Title Translation: I Leave
Tune: Dario Moreno- Je Pars
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: RNR
Lyrics:Gudo van Loevezijn
Music: Selma and Morty Craft (Tune)

Artist Background : Gudo van Loevezijn (born February 21, 1975) is a New Rhodesian lawyer , singer , actor , politician , and satirist who performs comical songs in either New Rhodesian Dutch or New Rhodesian English and often including political themes. As of WHF68 , He is the only sitting politician to ever perform in the World Hit Festival due to him being the incumbent MP for Provo , Afrikanerland Province and was once the Mayor of Provo from 2016 to 2020

Peformance:

The Stage itself is dressed to the Background of Salt Lake City (Similar to the one from the Book of Mormon)

English Commentary from the KBYU - TV Coverage of the 68th World Hit Festival hosted by Josiah Smith :

The Orchestra which will be giving the backing track is being broadcasted live from the Salt Lake Tabernacle back home in Salt Lake City , New Rhodesia . The Video feed required for the orchestra is being provided by the Nationaal Televisie Stichting / National Television Foundation which will be rebroadcasted to participating nations of the 68th edition of the World Hit Festival held here in the Achaean Republic. The Audio is linked up to the Tabernacle Microphone and will be rebroadcasted via Satellite Radio to the Fair and Congresses Pavillion and to participating nations broadcasting the event .

Dutch Commentary from the NTS Coverage of the 68th World Hit Festival hosted by Pieter-Jan Wegmann:
Het orkest dat de achtergrondtrack zal geven, wordt live uitgezonden vanuit de Salt Lake Tabernacle thuis in Salt Lake City, New Rhodesia. De videofeed die nodig is voor het orkest wordt geleverd door de Nationale Televisie Stichting / National Television Foundation, die opnieuw zal worden uitgezonden naar de deelnemende landen van de 68e editie van het World Hit Festival dat hier in de Achaeïsche Republiek wordt gehouden. De audio is gekoppeld aan de tabernakelmicrofoon en wordt via satellietradio opnieuw uitgezonden naar het beurs- en congrespaviljoen en aan deelnemende landen die het evenement uitzenden

The Intro coming from those two stations are also rebroadcasted on the audio feed for nations broadcasting the WHF68 contest

After the intro and Postcard for New Rhodesia's entry appears on screen , It fades into the Orchestra at Temple Square inside the Salt Lake Tabernacle which has a live camera view of Gudo van Loevezijn who unlike the other Singers is a lawyer and politician due to him being the MP of Afrikanerland Province and the Former Mayor of Provo

As the Orchestra begins to play the tune , it switches from the Tabernacle into the camera which pans into Gudo van Loevezijn who wears his usual suit and tie and a lapel pin featuring Brigham Young which by New Rhodesian Law is mandatory to wear for every politician

Ik Vertrek
Met verdriet in de wereld
Alle geluk daar achterlaten
Ik ga wegrichting verdriet

Television Stations Broadcasting the event
other than KBYU TV and NTS 1 are broadcasting the coverage using footage from KBYU TV or NTS with their own presenters
usually broadcasting their own commentary from a makeshift media center in the Tabernacle

The Camera in the Arena turns to the left of Gudo as he begins to sing the second stanza

Ik Vertrek
Tot ziens, mijn vrienden
De Duisternis is gearriveerd
Ik zet mijn leven uit.

at this point , Both KBYU - TV and NTS 1 interrupt the Coverage of the WHF68
so that they can broadcast the Infamous " Ford Bronco " Chase of Former Prime Minister Jon Huntsman Jr. who is trying to evade capture due to him being charged with Improper use of taxpayer money
However other Television stations like KUEN TV and the Stations of the New Rhodesian Independent Television Service (ATV , NRCV , KRO, Border , EO , Redffusion Utah ) still broadcast the coverage of WHF68 using both KBYU and NTS 1's feed on their stations depending on whether they are an English Television Station or a Dutch Television Station

Eventually both KBYU and NTS 1 bring back the coverage a moment before the last two sentences of the second stanza are sung but it is slient and in a box which is below the live footage of the Chase in Salt Lake City

Morgen Als de strijd voorbij is
Ik zal voorgoed leven
Met vrede en democratie
en een fles Miller Lite

The Camera turns back to the front of Gudo as reports come in from KBYU that Former Prime Minister
Jon Huntsman Jr has currently fled New Rhodesia and is on his way to nearby Phoenix in the Arizonan Socialist Republic as the News Chopper follows the jet

NTS 1 however returns to the coverage of Gudo after the reports were shared by KBYU Officals

Ik vertrek
terug te vinden
in de Verenigde Staten
waar hoop en vrijheid bestaats

The Camera turns back to the left of Gudo as he begins to sing this stanza
However the live signal for viewers begins to be a bit iffy due to another satellite interfering with the WHF68 coverage

by the time this stanza was complete , the signal was restored back to normal

Ik Vertrek uit het land
Waar ik een leven heb doorgebracht
als gevangene

The Camera switches this time to the right of Gudo
as some male backup dancers dressed as Joseph Smith and Brigham Young dance behind him
while waving flags of New Rhodesia

Ik vertrek naar de vrijheid
dat is net over de grens
en het is veel beter
dan hier wonen

The Camera switches to a live view of the Salt Lake Tabernacle in Salt Lake City , New Rhodesia
It pans across the Orchestra playing the instrumental part of Ik Vertek

It is the first time that a Bokian Location and a non WHF location is seen in a WHF event

However it accidentally switches to a ground view television Camera pointed towards the Jumbotron in the Tabernacle which is placed in front of the Organ

Ik voel dat als ik dit verlaat
hellhole, ik zal vrij zijn
en blij
Was deze plek maar vrij en gelukkig
Ik zou hier blijven en me geen zorgen maken

It finally switches back to the Front of Gudo who is about to sing the last
stanza

Ik vertrek
Mijn verdriet gaat weg
omdat ik vrijheid heb
en democratie

The Song ends and cheers are heard inside the Fair and Congresses Pavillion
as well as cheers coming from those watching the Live Coverage inside the Tabernacle which itself is also being broadcast by some TV Stations that cannot afford broadcasting rights due to KBYU or NTS only allowing major TV Stations to broadcast the event .

by **Scotatrova** » Tue Dec 20, 2022 2:45 pm

XX
Scotatrova
Elena Marquesa - "Unthas Anperas"
Language(s): Scotatrovian
Title Translation: "Amber Waves"
Tune: Brooke Combe - Miss Me Now
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: SCT
Lyrics: Elena Marquesa
Music: Elena Marquesa, Anthreas Sauto, Sara Moruga

Elena found herself under some pressure once she found out that she would be kicking the night off as the first entry to be performed. As all the last minute adjustments and preparations were made, Elena found herself just pacing back and forth as the postcard begins. She then ends up on stage where she'll be performing. She takes in one final deep breath as the the postcard concludes and she awaits the cue for the song to start. Once she hears it, the performance begins. The stage is adorned in warm, dancing gold hues. Elena is wearing a long, silver dress with shoes to match. With the opening instrumental, Elena nods her head back and forth briefly before beginning to sing.

Rett axte, aguet voçena
Agmentat comon un lial untha
Gom u movemante inxesante
Toth se rett acumulad entréne

Mur me prequi
Quoth menzoni
Que te foth pensar que nel me gostab
Ía xari, et benála
Ai mie corth tú zemás un grancí lana

As she starts singing the opening verse, she starts to walk slowly make her way forward along the center of the stage. A camera captures her from the lower left hand side of the stage as she's walking down. It pans as it keeps pace with her, albeit being a few feet ahead of her. The lights being cast down from above end up bouncing off her dress and creating this golden, dazzling illusion the more she moves. Eventually, Elena stops just 3/4s the way from the end of the stage and continues on with the rest of the verse with little effort.

Perthte le camine
Ei disorientad
Fucá ai tue unthas anperas
Que manaira eu murtir
Tante intossicad
Fucá ai tue unthas anperas

Gemame loquo, o alco pehior
Mur ai míe sogne, retif age
Passiro lúo que passiro,
Ie sioph que axo ei lúo meichor

With the commencement of the chorus, the performance begins to pick up in tempo and as such, so does the lighting. Previously casting down golden rays onto the stage, it begins to transition slightly faster strobes with most of the lights toward the back of the stage intermittently fade in and out. Elena starts slowly dancing back and forth, looking out toward the audience. To say the least, an audience this size definitely outmatched anything she could ever book back home. Despite feeling considerably anxious, she began to feel herself get into the groove of things. As she sings the line "Fucá ai tue unthas anperas", she runs her free hand through her hair as she raises it up and let's it slowly fall back down her face, turning slightly to the side.

Mur me prequi
Quoth menzoni
Que te foth pensar que nel me gostab
Ía xari, et benála
Ai mie corth tú zemás un grancí lana

Perthte le camine
Ei disorientad
Fucá ai tue unthas anperas
Que manaira eu murtir
Tante intossicad
Fucá ai tue unthas anperas

Elena makes her way to the front of the stage, the stage lights still strobing in unison. As she continues her performance up front on stage, one singular stagelight from above glares down on her. Once again the dress reflects the light as it bounces in all directions. She gets closer to the audience and leans down as she holds her hand out for several members of the audience. As she stands back up, she holds her hand to her chest and begins to turn around as she makes her way center stage, now adorned with a single black chair.

Affortate u miralle
Ía gemaix avé esdú moiç alegthe
Un avene que qüerome
Lúo merite, athór lúo merite

Perthte le camine
Ei disorientad
Fucá ai tue unthas anperas
Que manaira eu murtir
Tante intossicad
Fucá ai tue unthas anperas

Perthte le camine
Ei disorientad (disorientad)
Fucá ai tue unthas anperas
Que manaira eu murtir
Tante intossicad (intossicad)
Fucá ai tue unthas anperas
Fucá ai tue unthas anperas
Fucá ai tue unthas anperas

Elena sings the bridge as she makes her way to the chair. She grabs it and sits down on it the opposite direction, resting her arms over the back of the chair. As the final prechorus begins, the overhead stage lights start to go dim, while the backstage lights directly behind Elena start to become more illuminating. Eventually, just the silhouette of Elena becomes visible in front of a deep, gold glare. As she did earlier in the performance, she begins to mess with her hair as she sings the final, closing lines of the song. Elena had hoped that these gestures and little nuances would help the audience and viewers understand the full meaning of the song. She had no idea if this would resonate however, and just hoped that she didnt come across as uninspired or unoriginal. The song finally commences as the stage goes black. The audience cheers as the lights come back on and Elena waves out toward the crowd. "Greixas!"

by **Malta Comino Gozo** » Tue Dec 20, 2022 3:56 pm

XX
Malta Comino Gozo
Xena tal-Każin - "Scars"
Language(s): English
Tune: Laikipia -Fly By
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: MCG
Lyrics: Lucas Violante
Music: Lucas Violante and Ben Potersson

There was an expectation that Malta Comino Gozo would do well, the last couple of editions had seen the tiny island country place 1st, 2nd and 2nd again. With this in mind, MCG1 wanted to see whether they could get MCG's second win. The jury votes saw Malta Comino Gozo, eventual winners Achaean Rep and Moorland justle for the top spot. The top score from Pemecutan saw MCG with a glimpse of victory before Astbeck Langgate voted, who gave MCG just 1 point. The five points went to the Achaean Republic who won the contest by only a 1-point lead with 25pts. Ending the festival in the top 2 was undoubtedly something to be proud of and Fakawi were ecstatic with their result.

Xena tal-Każin or "Club Scene" in English is an electronic music duo consisting of Lucas Violante and Lorenza Famularo. Both Lucas and Lorenza come from Xewkija. Lorenza is the first LGBT singer to represent MCG. The pair has developed a distinct sound, mixing a remarkable blend of harmony-driven storytelling, hypnotizing dance floor beats, and melody rich instrumentals.

The 68th festival saw the contest return to the Achaean Republic, a country Malta Comino Gozo had heightened relations with. Achaean Republic was an associate member of the WMCA alliance so travelling to the country was very easy for the MCG delegation. Santa Ana was a delightful city and the pair would spend a few days exploring checking out the amazing architecture, indulging in the broad array of incredible local cuisine which consisted of many fish dishes, something both Lucas and Lorenza loved as they were island dwellers and MCG cuisine was heavily influenced by the sea. This cuisine was some of the best they had ever had! The nights were spent enjoying the nightlife and clubs. Soon though it was time for the rehearsals and the live event.

The postcard ended and the beat began with the entire stage filling with a neon blue and pink blend, meeting in the middle in a delightful neon mix. White spotlights flurried and darted around the arena like fireflies dancing. The camera panned from the back of the arena and faded to Lorenza on the back left of the centre stage. She had her left hand free, mixing on her DJ table, the other hand holding the headphones to her right ear. She looks up at the camera watching her and smiles a gorgeous and cheeky smile, her long hair spilling down out of her baseball cap in front of her. (Both are wearing the same outfit as above. We then cut to various other shots of the stage from several other angles to fill up the intro. The crowd cheers in the meantime. The camera spins 360 degrees as Lucas appears at the back of the stage. The spotlights disappear and the stage fades to black apart from the floor which stages neon blue and pink. Holding the microphone in his right hand he outstretches his hand and takes a couple of gentle steps forward. His manly deep and alluring voice suits the song faultlessly. He looks over his shoulder to the backdrop, where a young woman in black and white with long wavy hair looks down at him for a brief second. he turns away for the last line and the image fades.

I see you
I see you for what you are
It's something in your eyes
That look like past scars

The camera backs out slightly as he looks out to his left as a water drop falls on the screen behind him as he sings "Cause I see those teary eyes" He turns back to the camera in front and nods as he wraps up this verse.

So where do you go
When you leave in the night?
'Cause I see those teary eyes
I am the only hope for you

Suddenly he crouches down outstretching his free hand as the LED screen is enveloped into a scene of flying through clouds. Without being too comical he leans left and right as if he is the one gliding.

So stay this time
Don't go away, don't go away!
Don't go away
So stay this time please

The camera cuts to a facial shot of him pleading to the camera his left arm still outstretched in agony. The camera pans around him from below the stage looking up as he sings "I am the only hope for you!" his head nodding gently. His arm turns and he places it on his chest. His pleading expression encapsulated the audience and viewers.

You are the only hope for me
I just wanted you!
I am the only hope for you!
You are the only hope for me too!

The spotlights calm and Lucas draped in a white spotlight amongst the dark blue background takes a confident step towards the DJ booth. He and Lorenza make eye contact and a small smile appears across her face before she goes back to concentrating on mixing.

You see me, for what I am darling
One thing you could say,
That would leave me broken

He turns so Lorenza is now behind him and he walks slowly forward his face guilt-ridden, the camera backing out as he does. His vocals accompany a harmonious echo.

I really don't want to know
It's haunting me to watch you go
I am the only.... hope... for you... my dear

The stage is swathed in black as a white strobe light flashes above him adding an eerie atmosphere to the stage. His vocals are still accompanied by an echo. As the verse continues a light begins to grow on the floor beneath him, the camera cuts to a shot from the ceiling looking down as we see a white glow start to grow beneath him.

You.. are... the only hope for... me... too
I just wanted you...
You.. are... the only hope for... me... too
I just wanted you...

The camera rockets in from the back of the hall stopping right in front of him before the chorus explodes into splendour. We have a quick shot of Lorenza concentrating on mixing. The music builds.

These wounds won't last forever
The truth will take their place

A whoosh of steam vents explodes around the edges of the stage as the camera catapults backwards showing a panoramic view of the entire stage. Suddenly he crouches down again outstretching his free hand as the LED screen is enveloped into a scene of flying through clouds. Without being too comical he leans left and right as if he is the one gliding.

I am the only hope for you
You are the only hope for me too!
I just wanted you babe
I just wanted you for myself ...

Singing passionately Lucas makes his way down the catwalk, the background framed excellently behind him, the lights waving in all directions around him. Around his feet a vast array of waving arms and flags. For the second line, he gently pulls the microphone further away from his mouth, shuts his eyes and leans back holding the note. he contracts right alongside the sky portrayed on the background. The crowd cheers!

I just wanted you girl
I just wanted you...
Ooh...I am the only hope for you
You are the only hope for me too

The camera races in from the back of the arena through the strobe lights. The arena floor was bathed in dark blue, the LED background racing through the clouds. The camera fades into a close-up shot of Lucas as the music slows and the background fades to black. The lights all fade apart from the lone white spotlight above him, his captivating vocals echo out as he clasps the mic in both hands.

Ooh...These wounds won't last forever
The truth will take their place
Oohh....
These wounds won't last forever
The truth will take their place

"Thank you so much!" He roars. The crowd energetically roars and cheers. He bows slightly as Lorenza punches the air in the back

by **Achaean Republic** » Tue Dec 20, 2022 6:35 pm

XX
Achaean Republic
Marie and the Noias- "Déjame Saber"
Language(s): Spanish
Title Translation: Let me know
Tune: Sammy Rae & The Friends - "Flesh & Bone"
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: ACH
Lyrics: Marie Mansour
Music: Marie Mansour, Daniel Marcano, Tobías Calderón, Thalía Colón, Stephanie Martínez

I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath… -Lamentations 3:1a, ESV

There was a lot you could say about Marie Mansour. A multifaceted musician and structural engineer of Jordanian descent (she hasn’t visited the country since her jabba died seven years ago). A pansexual feminist. A leading lady that was also studying her master’s degree in the University of Santa Ana—though she hails from Puerto Ámbar, where her father was an engineer at the legendary cruise port and her mother was a city Health Department inspector who also had a side hustle selling Avon cosmetics and Mary Kay. (She doesn’t like to talk about that pivot to the MLM business). Mansour was not stinking rich by any means, but she did have a relatively comfortable life relative to others in the port city, which allowed her to pursue one of her many exorbitant and expensive dreams so long as she was able to get her degree.

When Marie moved to Santa Ana on a scholarship (she made sure to earn that scholarship on merit alone and not on her father’s multiple connections), she made friends with two other engineering students who also developed a passion for music: Daniel Marcano, a drummer whom she also dated on-and-off during her undergraduate years; and Tobías Calderón, a guitarist and pianist whom Marie dated on-and-off as well, but not so much as she did with her sister. They used to study in the morning and jam in the evenings, trying to grab the attention of a couple of open mic nights where students would let their testing stress down and imbibe some libations. They ried to settle into different sounds every Thursday: pop, rock, rockabilly, dembow. That is, until they settled into an eclectic mixture of blue-eyed soul and funk (Marie did have beautiful blue eyes and porcelain skin that contrasted with the harshness of the Santa Ana environment). A few singles they threw out gained traction in the region, such as Paloma Desencadenada (“Unchained Pigeon”), Mantecaditos (“Thumbprint Cookies”), and Sanduichera (“Sandwich Maker”) were singled out for their uniqueness and eclectic connection to other bands like the B-52’s and Paramore…and One Direction, for some reason. A bit too far of a stretch from the blue-eyed soul they were looking for, but might as well.

In between graduating and figuring out what to do with their lives, Marie and the Noias (a play on paranoia and metanoia) decided to try music full-time and see where it leads them. After all, they all graduated and had careers and licenses to fall back on if this journey didn’t work out. They landed a performance in the Santa Ana Youth Festival and the Christmas Lighting Ceremonies in Santa Ana and Nossa Soña. The group also added new members, Thalía Colón and Stephanie Martínez, who served as backup singers and violinists or guitar players whenever Tobías had to play the piano—which was often. The now-five-man-band had a duty to engage the public and begin growing big, or grow back to a boring office job.

That is, until they met up in Thalía’s cramped apartment and watched Nessa Navarro win the World Hit Festival.

The Achaean selection for the World Hit Festival is, to say the least, arbitrary and opaque. Unlike the oftentimes straightforward selections made on the counterpart WorldVision Song Contest—and even that competition was gaining an aura of obscure representability with the tacit hiatus of WorldVision: La Nacional and the scouting method copied by Tamar de Andrade, who now guaranteed the nation with three wins. This last one was unexpected, since even Achaean music critics sympathetic with Andrade’s choices and development considered it to be a relatively weak song—but their mouths were shut and heaped AS1 with praises after Nessa came through the airport with a trophy in her hand. This gained even greater trust in Andrade’s choices, more so when the delegation would be ready to discover the newest talent to represent the country in their first hometown hosting in eight editions.

Marie and the Noias were discovered by one of Andrade’s scouts while they were singing in a local Santa Ana bar. They were approached with caution, and a bit of trepidation and respect for Marie’s drawl and powerful voice, a bit raspy but clean at the same time, the funky beats and the soul and the hard-hitting abstractions of the message portrayed in the song. There was an affinity for the theatrical and the magical, the absurd and the abstract, that made them the perfect candidates to become the hometown representatives and maybe, just maybe, try to win again with an eclectic beat that the Achaeans never tried. It wasn’t quite a rock song, but it wasn’t a ballad, either. They had a symphony and musical chemistry, and it would be foolish for AS1 to ruin it with any pointless changes.

They agreed, if only because they promised it would be a lot of hard work. And a lot of hard fun.

Oh, there was Titi Annie! She was sitting with Tío Gogofredo and Titi Pancha, next to Mami and Papi and Don Martín next to Doña Martina who was holding an Achaean flag with a small scapular of the Virgin of Candelaria, the country’s patron saint. They were located next to a cacophony of screaming fans, who tried their hardest to scream as loud as possible whenever the Achaean Republic was up next—they were the hosts, after all. From the postcard in the Malecón, one of Santa Ana’s (and any coastal Achaean city, really) most precious treasures, it was easy to see how Marie and her friends enjoyed a fun time eating frituras, throwing bread to the fishies in the water, having a nice drink and just taking pictures with fans who encouraged them to go big or go home…back to their apartments scattered between 10 to 30 minutes across the city. No pressure, but they were yet to release a full LP, let alone perform a song for the entire Multiverse to judge harshly and mercilessly. Like I said, no pressure. No pressure at all.

Taking a cue from last performance, the group and the delegation decided on minimalism while using the stage’s features to their advantage—it would be stupid not to. Instead of a wireless microphone, Marie opted to use a wired microphone connected to a stand with a long extension cord. Yes, it would limit her movement around the stage and maybe even trip her up once or twice, but it was a risk the team would be willing to take in order to make the scene coherent and convincing enough to gain the vote. Even involved with the harshness and wildness of competition, it was hard to convince herself and the rest of the team that winning was not a priority—rather, it was meant for them as a project to have fun with. Winning would be a plus. Winning would be a plus. Winning would feel good and could earn them a few accolades and Grammys and Cassandras and all that. But winning would be a lesser priority in the grand scheme of things.

Fulfilling the role of a manic pixie dream girl to the best of her abilities, Marie dressed with a long-sleeve light turquoise blouse that she slightly rolled up in its lengths to reveal a small Coptic Cross tattoo she did when she became 18. She had three or four other tattoos in her body, some in places she would only show in private, but the Coptic Cross reminded her of her lapsed Catholic faith, which gave her enough ammunition and pause to consider many questionable actions in the heat of the moment. She also had a hippie-style checkered orange-and-earth tartan maxi skirt that almost covered her white sneakers she bought at a Shoe Carnival in the mall. Marie also slightly coiffed her hair because it was too damn hot in the venue; she almost regretted not cutting her hair a bit shorter, or giving herself a Mia Farrow when she went to the hairstylist for a blow-out. And now it’s ruined with her messily bunned-up hair. Gotta play the hand you’re dealt with, then.

Behind her, the band was also dressed with eclectic colors that oddly contrasted with the ruins shown in the LED screens surrounding them in a 270-degree fashion (they filmed the music video in Jerash, not so far from the village where Marie’s father’s family grew up) and a great part into unpacking the meaning of the cryptic lyrics. She was inspired in Chapter 3 of the Book of Lamentations, in which the Prophet expressed his sorrow over the destruction of Jerusalem out of its own disobedience. It felt as if they were sinners in the hands of an angry god willing to smite them if they willingly strayed the designed path. It was as if they, like the people today, would break themselves and each other into a stupor of grief and pain.

Nothing too dissimilar to the experiences from today. No pressure, then.

Yo vi con un látigo en un techo de cristal
No sé quién se atreve o quien lo romperá
Tal vez se rompe por calor o por enfermedad

La vida hizo envejecer mi carne y mi piel
Quebrantando mis huesos y vistiéndome de hiel
Vinagre y agua mezclada, sensación de piel

The cameras rapidly extended, and another Spidercam glided towards the top-right end of the stage to the top-left end, providing a granular view of the band and Marie playfully gyrating with her skirt. She took out the microphone from the stand and continued to bellow out her song, the bangs in her hair partially covering her face to which she had to slyly move it with either the hand that had the microphone or the other hand without it. On another corner, the vocalists-slash-musicians kept backing up Marie’s vocals and correcting any measures or slight takes that Marie might’ve missed. Her voice was raw and enchanting and stimulating, smooth like butter…but it was still raw, and the amount of training and singing she did—until a few months ago, professionally; now, it was a professional moment. “A diamond in the rough,” one Rolling Stone Latinoamérica music critic declared, one who considered himself well-versed in Achaean attempts at the World Hit Festival, but also rendered backhanded criticism at the Achaean lifestyle and tropical heat. Well, back to the performance at hand.

The Jerash ruins kept beaming through the screens, with the crowd chanting the chorus in near disparate unison, as if they knew the song and heard it in passing. Unlike other hometown hits, it did not receive as much airplay as the delegation or the band desired, but they made due with the very warm reception and the okay betting odds. Nevertheless, the group wanted to be above petty station politics and budgetary constraints in their performance, working to provide the best performance they could to the audience at home and the Multiverse.

Déjame saber
Clamé y di voces
Cerró mis oídos
Amargura y fe
Déjame saber
Torciendo mis senderos
Acuérdate de mí y espérame
Acuérdate de mí y espérame

Ruins, pain, torture, desecration, destruction…What healthy and wholesome topics to talk about in a typical World Hit Festival song wrapped up in a funky beat! Facetiousness aside, Marie and the Noias liked to subvert expectations, give people a reason to think, and challenge others to rise to the occasion. Marie once again fixed her microphone to the stand as the cameras zoomed in one set and provided a Dutch angle to the other, rapidly twisting and turning as if to automatically adjust the resolution to witness the band in its full splendor. The colors in the stage switched from blues and yellows to oranges and browns, such tinctures tainting the displays of ruins and allaying an air of submission. Submission to what? It was debatable that they were referring to the music!

Porque aquel quien me aflige se compadecerá
Desplegando su ira persiguiendo el animal
Cubierto de nubes para no poder pasar

¿Quién será aquel que diga que eso no sucedió?
No responde al altar con la lamentación
Escudriñan caminos y se ensanchan devolución

Back to the main cameras, Marie slowly accommodated the cables in her microphone (damn, she should’ve picked the cordless ones!) and kept singing, flicking her hair to the side to sideswipe the bangs covering her forehead and eyes (damn, she should’ve really gotten that trim on the salon!) Another quick camera flash to Marie’s left (from the Multiversal viewer’s perspective) showed the backing vocalists jamming and trying to imitate their movements to the beat. That was, above all, the main idea of going through this ordeal: have fun, and win later. Their sarcastic laughter and misplaced comedic timing were a salve to Marie’s Type A personality and hyperfocus, the one needed for a scrupulous engineer who also moonlights as a band singer and leader (or is it a band singer moonlighting as a scrupulous engineer?) The hometown Achaeans were enjoying the performance, as well as the other lucky visitors in the arena, so that’s what matters.

Déjame saber
Clamé y di voces
Cerró mis oídos
Amargura y fe
Déjame saber
Torciendo mis senderos
Acuérdate de mí y espérame
Acuérdate de mí y espérame

Marie was focused singing the chorus as the camera spun around her and the band and barely tripped on the many wires tucked in the floor. (Great cable management, AS1!). It was a chorus she sung many, many times on rehearsals and promotional tours and test-drive concerts at local pubs. But not at the convention center with many eyeballs watching…questioning…judging…even trying to question is her enunciation was correct or incorrect or even inappropriate for the song. It was maddening! Imagine how the Prophet must’ve felt that he couldn’t escape his Maker’s hand! Of course, a silly song contest does not compare with the struggles and prevarications of being the bearer of bad news to a rebellious nation awaiting its own destruction as Divine punishment for their own sins. The existential implications were too much to bear in one song. But, alas, she pressed on.

Mis ojos destilan y no cesan, ya no hay cruz
Me acerqué a la voz del desierto, no temas a la luz
Mis ojos destilan y no cesan, ya no hay cruz
Me acerqué a la voz del desierto, no temas a la luz

The lights flashed and dimmed, with the stage lights decreasing and focusing on slight parts of the band. The LED screen lights also dimmed and the images transformed from sunrise into sunset, the broken ruins gleaming. Marie and her bandmates kept running towards the resolution, the rising climax of the song. The same topics kept running around: Ruins, pain, torture, desecration, destruction. Her eyes were half-shut as usual, trying to reflect and sing at the same time—which, to be honest, is much harder than it sounds. Concentration is a prize to be garnered with affection these days, more so when representing a whole nation on the back of her voice. There was a moment where she may have experienced regret, only to slowly shush those voices away when she saw the audience clapping and cheering and hooting for them. Maybe this does mean something for them. What it is, it was hard to tell.

Porque aquel quien me aflige se compadecerá
Desplegando su ira persiguiendo el animal
Cubierto de nubes para no poder pasar

¿Quién será aquel que diga que eso no sucedió?
No responde al altar con la lamentación
Escudriñan caminos y se ensanchan devolución

Once more, the cameras accommodated Marie’s shifting of the cables below her (even if she slightly regretted not using the cordless ones to avoid tripping on her skirt or feet—she did look cute, though!) and kept singing and smirking to the camera, flicking her hair to the left or the right to sideswipe the bangs. More camera tricks provided a view of the whole band—the trumpets, the backing vocalists, the organists, the drummer. Everybody took the time to display the talents on camera (even if they were miming due to the backing track quirk, though it made “playing” their instruments twice as hard as they were used to). Another quick camera flash to Marie’s left (from the Multiversal viewer’s perspective) showed the backing vocalists jamming and trying to imitate their movements to the beat. The LED screens surrounding them showed the Jerash ruins at night, breaking up the monotony of the desert. The Achaeans in the audience—the homegrown and raised, the disruptors, the celebrators. It seems like they were joining in on the fun. They wanted to be the fun. Even if the song was a bit bleak, there was still a reason to have fun. Fun is contagious, after all.

Déjame saber
Clamé y di voces
Cerró mis oídos
Amargura y fe
Déjame saber
Torciendo mis senderos
Acuérdate de mí y espérame
Acuérdate de mí y espérame

The song was not even finished and they crowd was already hootering and hollering for their hometown heroes. They waved back, even if that slightly messed up on the timing of the instruments they were “playing.” The cheers were extended and gratuitous. The cheers were beyond expected. “¡Gracias! Thank you! ¡Gracias, Santa Ana!” Marie cheered. They all blew kisses and hugged each other once the song was done. They promised to each other they would do that.

by **Aenglide** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 6:20 am

XX
Aenglide
Forsðaland - "Queen"
Language(s): English
Tune: Sarek - Över Tusen Hav
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: AED
Lyrics: Lisa Velden
Music: Forsðaland

Introduction

The 68th World Hit Festival in Playa de Rocas, Elejamie saw the quite coincidentally Aenglish-Elejamian shoegaze band blujaket and their song “Time” place 6th out of 13 countries, with a score of 18 points. The performance was the closer of the night and while the song seemed unpopular amongst people watching the World Hit Festival and the Aenglish fans, the song managed to receive two sets of five points, from StrayaRoos and Norrp, as well as a set of four points from hosts Elejamie. Out of our three previous entries, the song has been pencilled down as Aenglide’s best World Hit Festival performance to date, compared to Aenglide’s 10th place in WHF63, and the 13th place in WHF66.

Artist

The band Forsðaland. From left to right; Lisa Velden; Kristina Kemeää; Sven Kinel and Emma Jölsborg.

The artist that was selected to represent Aenglide in Santa Ana, Achaean Republic is Forsðaland. Forsðaland is a folkpop band that are stereotypically Aenglish as they come, formed in 1998 in Visestuna, in the Nárde Emeigland province in central Aenglide. From left to right, the band consists of four members who are: lead singer and songwriter Lisa Velden; backing vocalist and joiker Kristina Kemeää; traditional jaw harp player Sven Kinel; and violin player and backing vocalist Emma Jölsborg. The band takes their name from the Forsðaland National Park in central Aenglide, a nature-goer’s paradise as the park blends in forests with the alpine environment of the Great Aenglish Mountains that straddle the centre of the country. They named it this because it is a close-by National Park near the town of Visestuna where the band was formed, and their music is traditional Aenglish music infused with contemporary pop, giving the band the natural feel.

Their culture is their pride and means a lot to them. Unlike the majority of Aenglish artists nowadays, the band are from a very rural part of inland Aenglide, where you’ll be slightly more likely to hear traditional Aenglish music and joiking. This is the inner core of the band themselves, and Kristina Kemeää, the lead joiker of the band is half-Hööra. She relates her vocal talent to her culture as joiking is an important part of the Hööra lifestyle. For a small-town band, they have become fairly successful within Aenglide and have had a few charting hits in the past. They sing their songs in a mix of Aenglic and English, but have decided to sing their World Hit Festival entry in English for the song to be understandable to be able to become more popular amongst international viewers.

Song

Cover for the 2022 single “Queen”

Their song “Queen” is their brand new single and song for their World Hit Festival performance, after not having released any music for four years. After being selected for WHF, their new song gave them the spotlight after a long hiatus from the band. People have rated the song well, and it incorporates a fast backing beat along harmonic violin and traditional jaw harp sounds, with some simple schlager-esque lyrics. Admittedly some cheesy lyrics about love, strength, power, and the same reocurring themes of 90% of Forsðaland’s music. An incredibly classic Forsðaland release to say the least.

Performance

After the previous entry comes to a conclusion, the lights inside the Hilton-Tamaná Convention Center turn off, and the arena and stage becomes dark. Forsðaland are ushered on by the Achaean stage crew, and all four of the band members make their way onto the stage, with Sven Kinel carrying his jaw harp in his hand, and Emma Jölsborg with her violin. They take their places, with the lead singer Lisa Velden in the centre of the stage and in front of the rest of the band, with an uneven V-shape amongst the rest of the band members, as Kristina Kemeää and Sven Kinel are on Lisa’s right behind her, and Emma Jölsborg on Lisa’s left behind her.

As soon as the postcard finished showing their visit to a location in the Achaean Republic, the lights in the arena turned on and a spotlight was cast on the stage. All of Forsðaland was revealed, as they appeared to be wearing all white. The three girls wore white dresses, and the one man, Sven, wore a white dress shirt and pants. All matching to reflect a snowy scene in the Forsðaland National Park, which is also reflected in the LED screens behind the band, along with many other types of scenes of the same park. The park has so much differentiating natural beauty, there is a whole performance with endless scenes of clips of footage from the park showing the stunning landscapes of Aenglide.

The music begins to play. Before it, Sven prepares to place the jaw harp in his mouth, and Emma prepares to nest the violin on her shoulder. Both are ready to play their respective instruments, as well as the two main vocalists of the band, Lisa and Kristina. The first verse begins.

Baby, won’t you take my hand
I’ll show you the world
The gift of giving is all for you
The showcase of my love
And you will see
That I can’t forget
Cause your name is written across my heart
You are all I need
You can have it all
Let’s shine brighter than the sun
We are one together
We can’t break apart

The song gets to the chorus, the first of five times in the song when the chorus is sung. All of the band walks in unison slightly forward. Following all of the choruses are large hiatuses where just the instruments are being played, as well as long “na-na-na”s.

I am powerful, I can break walls
Everything I do is for you
From a golden ring, to the world, all you need
I can rule as your queen

The second and last verse begins. There are a mix of camera shots, including shots of all of the Forsðaland members on the stage, as well as occasional pans to the audience, revealing many people with various flags and colours.

We are unbreakable
Can’t knock us down
Even when we start to lose
But we will reign
We will not give up
We’ll continue to grow
We are one together
We can’t break apart

For the end of the performance, the chorus is sung four times with more “na-na-na” parts like last time. In these instrumental parts, there are occasional camera shots of both Sven and Emma playing the jaw harp and violin respectively. Sometimes the cameras show both of them at the same time, in the form of a split screen.

I am powerful, I can break walls
Everything I do is for you
From a golden ring, to the world, all you need
I can rule as your queen
I am powerful, I can break walls
Everything I do is for you
From a golden ring, to the world, all you need
I can rule as your queen
]I am powerful, I can break walls
Everything I do is for you
From a golden ring, to the world, all you need
I can rule as your queen
I am powerful, I can break walls
Everything I do is for you
From a golden ring, to the world, all you need
I can rule as your queen

The music finishes, and their performance comes to a conclusion. A spotlight is cast on them as the audience begins to erupt in cheer and support of Forsðaland’s performance and Aenglide. A camera is pointed at the band on stage as lead singer Lisa Velden shows her gratitude to the audience and viewers by saying “Thank you Santa Ana!” Following this, a camera is pointed to a fan in the lower seating with green, blue and white face painting, who is also holding an Aenglish flag. They can be seen cheering and can even be heard. For a final time, cameras are pointed at Forsðaland waving at the audience, before the lights in the arena are turned off and the band is taken away from the stage.

by **Normandy and Picardy** » Mon Dec 26, 2022 1:54 pm

XX
Normandy and Picardy
Noëlle - "À quoi tu joues?"
Language(s): Normand French
Title Translation: What are you playing at?
Tune: Annalisa - Bellissima
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: NPR
Lyrics: Noëlle Duchamps, Luc Braudel
Music: Luc Braudel, Pierre Hugenot, Desirée Hamon

Noëlle, the artist representing Normandy and Picardy on their return to the contest in Santa Ana, Achaean Republic

The catwalk like design of the stage had caused a bit of a headache for the Normand staging time, who were initially dismayed when the news came in, which had forced them to throw a lot of their initial plans out. Luckily, they came up (or at least, they think they came up) with a kind of solution, one that still allowed them to do what they had wanted to do, which was essentially to transfer the music video for the song onto the stage, making use of mirrors, lighting, and Noëlle's natural charm and acting skills, plus the usual ambient dark lighting the Normand were known for, to really set the mood. Anyway, those plans were about to be put to the test, as Noëlle quickly ran on the stage, trying not to be run over by the technical team who were doing their best to make sure the staging was ready in time for the postcard to finish. That did slightly help distract her from the enormity of what she was about to do. True, she had performed sell out shows across Normandy and Picardy, but never had she had so many eyes across the multiverse, and the expectations of an entire country, bearing down on her. In any case, of course, her heart was pounding. But she was a professional, she knew what she had to do.

It was showtime. The lights were low, as always, as the postcard came to an end. Noelle was at the back end of the stage, and before her lay a series of mirrors, all arranged at different angles. The difficulty of course had been trying to get the arrangement to work such that you wouldn't constantly see the cameramen required for the performance standing out like sore thumbs. A mixture of angles and in one case having to have the cameraman dress up in a greenscreen suit to make sure he could be edited out if necessary, which just about worked (and which had given the SRNP accountants a heart attack). In any case, to the performance itself. As the music finally begun, a series of general background lights slowly came to life. The LED screens on either side of the central stage were turned off entirely, and in fact would be left so for the entire performance, to provide the dark background needed for the mirrors to really work effectively etc. The general vibes of the lighting were a dark, deep red, which worked its way across and through the thin layer of smoke spread across the stage, which itself twisted and twirled around the bases of the mirrors. And the verse began, and it began with Noelle with her back to one of the mirrors, looking directly towards the camera. She was dressed in an outfit rather like this one, and just generally looking fabulous. As the verse progressed, she began to enter into the maze of mirrors, with a cut to another camera on the stage accompanying her twirl around the first one.

Nous étions en guerre, mais également amoureux
Mais maintenant tu ne joues que pour gagner
J’aurais dû savoir
Qu'à la fin tu finirais par te lasser de moi, eh
Tu as fixé les règles et je les ai suivies de bon cœur
J’ai joué pour nous mais tu n'as que joué avec moi
Et le jeu a été truqué, oui

As the song entered the first prechorus, we find Noelle stood in the middle of four mirrors that were essentially arranged at the four corners around her, allowing for camera shots from further out into the centre of this arrangement, showing the two mirrors, slightly offset, either side of Noelle for a cool little effect there. With the beginning of each new line, a new set of rather thin beams of read light cut across, and indeed reflected slightly off one of the mirrors. Noelle mostly sung to the camera looking in from the right hand side of the stage, but there were also shots from other directions, playing with the mirrored effect and the available lines of visibility.

Je ne veux plus de tes jeux (eux, eux, eux)
Je n'ai plus besoin de tes jeux (eux, eux, eux)
Alors va jouer tes tours ailleurs (eurs, eurs, eurs)
Je n'attendrai pas
Va-y maintenant, juste va-y

With the beginning of the chorus, there was a sudden shift in the arrangement, at least when it came to the lighting. The red ambient background lighting slowly was replaced by deeper tones of darkish blue, to provide the general background ambience. The red light beams that had almost threatened to encage Noelle disappeared, to be replaced by a series of white beams that appeared all over the stage pointing in many different directions during the chorus. Much of the attention, though, remained on Noelle on the stage and amongst this hall of mirrors, the many reflections of herself and her conflicted inner character.

Où tu vas?
Quoi feras?
Je ne connais pas les règles du jeu, non
Alors à quoi tu joues? À quoi tu joues?
Quoi feras?
Et à qui tu vas?
Je suis hors-jeu et j'ai fait tous mes coups
Alors à quoi tu joues? À quoi tu joues?

- Pretty much continues in the same vein, a focus on Noelle and her dancing, except that now the maze of mirrors was joined by a maze of the white beams of light, all crossing each other. Lots of arm waving, twirling around, moving between the different mirrors and slipping in and out of shot, working with the camera, etc.

Combien de pièces comme moi as-tu envoyé en l'air?
Et dis-moi, combien de fois avez-vous pris le prix entier?
J'suis pas la première, je serai pas la dernière, je sais
Tu m’as mis sur table avec un sourire une fois
Mais maintentant tu fais ton as sans jamais faire la paire
Même si j'ai vécu pour te plaire

Je ne veux plus de tes jeux (eux, eux, eux)
Je n'ai plus besoin de tes jeux (eux, eux, eux)
Alors va jouer tes tours ailleurs (eurs, eurs, eurs)
Je n'attendrai pas
Va-y maintenant, juste va-y

- Not too different to the first chorus, except now the white spotlights are moving around, and look almost as if they are trying to find Noelle within the forest of mirrors, as well as fading on and off. Also, a series of broader panning shots and we really get a sense of the mirrors on stage, as it were, for the first time.

Où tu vas?
Quoi feras?
Je ne connais pas les règles du jeu, non
Alors à quoi tu joues? À quoi tu joues?
Quoi feras?
Et à qui tu vas?
Je suis hors-jeu et j'ai fait tous mes coups
Alors à quoi tu joues? À quoi tu joues?

- Light slowly ebbs, standing in the middle of it all, a shot from above with a ring of lights around Noelle. These too fade away, and then we come back down onto the stage, in which it seems Noelle is singing to her reflection etc.

À quoi tu joues?
À à à, à à à quoi tu joues? (x2)
A a a, a, car j'ne veux pas jouer
Car j'ne veux pas jouer (x2)
Veux pas jouer, pas jouer

-Flashing lights everywhere, reflecting off of everything, mixture of full brightness and darkness, lots of panning shots etc., rather chaotic but still ultimately structured around Noelle and her act, now at the front of the stage. Light slowly ebbs away as the song does too, leaving the last shot with a single spotlight shining down on Noelle, with her reflection behind her in the mirror.

Où tu vas?
Quoi feras?
Je ne connais pas les règles du jeu, non
Alors à quoi tu joues? À quoi tu joues?
Quoi feras?
Et à qui tu vas?
Je suis hors-jeu et j'ai fait tous mes coups
Alors à quoi tu joues? À quoi tu joues?

by **Beepee** » Tue Dec 27, 2022 10:42 pm

XX
Beepee
Shelby Laite - "Faster"
Language(s): English
Tune: LOUA - Kleines Desaster
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: BPE
Lyrics: Shelby Laite, Otto Tune
Music: Otto Tune

Shelby Laite awaited nervously backstage. She focused on her breathing,although her heart was racing. For a second her steel blue eyes widened and she thought she might faint, but it was just the usual pre-performance nerves.

She nervously tugged at her long dark hair.

A stage hand gave her a smile, as her eyes caught his. She quickly glanced away and visualised herself onstage. The bright lights, the long stage, the receptive audience.

She smoothed her dress: short, white with sequins and swarovski crystal, hand stiched that would sparkle and gleam under the auditorium lights.

Backstage behind the stage was a hive with activity. Runners heading every which way in a scene of organised chaos. Shelby stood still like a mannequin and let the chaos swirl around her.

The audience however would see nothing but the calm, experienced Carolina Choi introducing the next singer to the stage.

Shelby could hear Ms Choi's voice echo around the backstage..."Representing Beepee, Shelby Laite with her song "Faster"."

Shelby breathed out expelling all the air in the lungs. Breathed sharply in, screwed in her smile and strode onto the stage.

As she stepped out, the applause was polite.

Shelby made her way to the middle of the long catwalk finding her small mark on the stage, and turned to face the stage putting her back to the camera.

The performance begins with Shelby echoing

Go Faster....

before looking round over her shoulder, smiling knowingly, and starting the first stanza.

Crank it up, turn it out
Don't dare stop at the next red
Let it go, don't turn around
Come on, just go straight ahead

Midway through the previous stanza, Shelby whips her head to look over her other shoulder. As the beat gets stronger, shelby begins to shake through her hips in time to the beat.
Her dress sparkles under the lights and her olive coloured skin makes her dress pop even more.

As the next stanza begins, Shelby turns to face the front of the stage. As she does, each drumbeat sems to reverberate through her body.

Why would you be waiting?
Tell me why would you want to stall?
Can't you feel it racing?
Running faster than a cannonball

As the bridge begins the camera pushes in on Shelby. She throws her free hand above her head in a moment of exuberance.

And before you slow us down
I just need you to know

As the chorus begins, Shelby swings her arm back down and her whole body begins to dance to the beat of the music. It seems to fit the lyrics.

Throughout the chorus, the stage lights flash and wave in himmelblau and magenta. It gives a retro feel to the performance.

You make me wanna go faster
I wanna love at the speed of a heart
I wanna go faster
Til gravity just can't pull us apart
I wanna go faster

Shelby is joined on stage by three male backing dancers. Each of the backing dancers is wearing dark suits and no shirts.

One of the backing dancers get down on all Fours and Shelby sites down the other two backing dancers make a square in front of her. The camera pushes out so that the televiewing audience can see it's a rudimentary car. Shelby sticks her free hand out in front as though she's holding onto some imaginary steering wheel she sways to the sides as the imaginary turns the wheel.

Keep going, don't slow down
Drive right past the edge of town
Close your eyes, hold on tight
Drive 'til we reach the speed of light

As she sings the next stanza, Shelby and her dancers stand two by two, in a square. The backing dancer behind her holds her microphone in front of her as the others put their hands up in the air and sway as if they were on a rollercoaster. Shelby's fave is filled with glee.

If this was a roller coaster
We go faster if we scream louder
And before you slow me down
I really need you to know

Shelby and her backing dancer jog forward along the very long catwalk to the very end. Behind them, geometric lines in mauve and cyan streak along the rear screen, giving an indication of speed and movement. As the chorus comes to an end, Shelby finds herself at the end of the catwalk and just a little out of breath.

You make me wanna go faster
I wanna love at the speed of a heart
I wanna go faster
Til gravity just can't pull us apart
I wanna go faster

(I wanna go faster)

She's grateful for the short pause in the music before the bridge. The three backing dancers stand facing Shelby (one either side and one behind). As the bridge is sung. The dancers then all fall to the floor landing as if they were doing press ups. As they're doing that, shelby is feeling herself.... she's feeling the lyrics and the beat as she runs her hands through her hair and around her face.

Faster than the speed of light
Like love at first sight
Before the day turns into night
Faster than a satellite

The camera pushes in close on Shelbys face. It's glowing as women do, but she's also beaming with excitement and happiness at her performance so far. A wide smile spreads across her face as she continues.

The camera push has another benefit that it allows the backing dancers to get up from the ground and run off stage unnoticed by the televiewing public.

The bright auditorium lights dim a little for the bridge...

And before you slow us down
I just need you to know

As the final chorus begins, Shelby finds herself alone on stage. She's loving every minute and hopes the audience is bopping along with her.

After she sings the first line of the Chorus, fireworks erupt from the side of the stage. There's an audible gasp from the crowd at the sparkling effect.

Shelby, however, keeps on singing, shaking her shoulders in time to the music and smiling.

You make me wanna go faster
I wanna love at the speed of a heart
I wanna go faster
Til gravity just can't pull us apart
I wanna go faster

You make me wanna go faster

I wanna go faster

As the final chorus begins to come to an end, Shelby is fully enveloped in the beat and the song.

The performance is over, and the music and the lighting fades. Shelby is standing alone at the end of the stage. She smiles broadly and waves out at the audience. "MUCHAS GRACIAS SANTA ANA", she yells into the audience, before making her way off stage.

by **The Ice States** » Fri Jan 06, 2023 12:47 pm

XX. The Ice States
"Tie Your Deity Down" - James Brownsword
Language(s): English
Lyrics: James Brownsword
Music: James Brownsword
Tune: Queen - Tie Your Mother Down
Trigramme: TIS

The Ice States had already debuted in the 65th iteration, where the Ice military anthem "Warship and Ice" was performed. In this iteration of the WHF, the song performed would be "Tie Your Deity Down", composed by James Brownsword. It topped the Ice music charts for two weeks, becoming Brownsword's second number-one single in The Ice States, following his success with "The Free Waters" four years earlier.

Due to the song's promotion of the Order of Klyprer, it was therefore chosen to be performed at the 68th World Hit Festival; especially since the reestablishment of the Empire in the Ice States. In the festival would perform Mick Wonders as bass guitarists, the Divine Scribe Theodore Lowney as drummer, and, of course, James Brownsword as guitarist and lead singer.

As the applause surrounding the stage ends, a gong was struck from behind. As Brownsword finished the guitar introduction, the spotlight shifted from the gong to Brownsword and his guitar. After hitting the gong again with his sledgehammer, Lowney got in front of the gong, and invited a round of applause...

Then Lowney got onto the drumset on stage when the song's characteristic riff began, backed by the bass playing of Wonders.

Just pray!
Just pray!

By now the applause completely finished, while the spotlight remained focused on Brownsword.

Don't read the Bible or some other book
Get Klyprer's book, baby
Did my prayer right, got my sacrifice done
You're gonna change today
And you won't sin once more
Just because of Christ you don't care for the real truth
And I've seen all the sinning
You are gonna be enlightened by Klyprer today

Tie your deity down
Tie your deity down
Let Ahtacaba out your head
You don't need him taking your mind
Tie your deity down
Tie your deity down
And pray to Klyprer today

By the time the next verse entered, the spotlight illuminated the drumset of Lowney, shortly before changing back to Brownsword.

"You're just a Satanist"
"Don't come back to my church"
That's all I've ever seen from your Priests of God's truth, in fact
All they ever say is hatred upon the Lord of the Cosmos, oh yes
But you know they won't ever see
The Underworld's great banks
I did a sacrifice and prayer to make sure you lot can stop
Sinning and cursing as you do all day

Tie your deity down
Tie your deity down
Get that pesky pastor
Burning like some coal, for Klyprer
Tie your deity down
Tie your deity down
And pray to Klyprer today

Real god
Ahtacaba and your deity
Are gonna plague you when you die
You must get it all right
Because Klyprer is so real

In the next chorus, the excited crowd began to sing along with Brownsword for the first two lines. Brownsword's duet with the audience produced likely the largest highlight of the performance...

Tie your deity down
Tie your deity down
Get that Ahtacaban bad, bad deity out your mind
Tie your deity down
Yeah, tie your deity down
And pray to Klyprer today
Pray to him today

After the chorus ended, the spotlight was now completely shifted to Wonders, up until the final line...

And pray to Klyprer today, yes
Pray to him today, yeah
I sacrificed and prayed for this
And you will pray to him!

Almost as soon as the spotlight changed to illuminate Brownsword, however, the audience's applause became louder than Brownsword himself. With the spotlight once again shifting to the centre of downstage, the performing band arranged with Brownsword at the left, followed by Lowney at his right and then Wonders on the far-right.

After the band all bowed, the applause eventually calmed down, and Lowney gave a terse, closing speech to the audience.

"Thanks all, have a good rest of the evening, and give pray to Klyprer today!"

The group then promptly exited the stage to be followed by the next participants in the festival...

by **Astbeck-Langgate** » Sat Jan 07, 2023 3:24 am

XX
Astbeck-Langgate
VIS - "Sjans"
Language(s): Astic
Title Translation: Chance
Tune: Drömhus - I mina drömmar
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: ABL
Lyrics: Sofie Nyrgarder
Music: Ronald Grårulfer, Lars Karlsser

WHO ARE VIS?
VIS (lit. WISE) is a electronic music group from Astbeck-Langgate. The group since its inception consists of vocalist Sofie Nyrgarder and producers Ronald Grårulfer and Lars Karlsser. The group is mostly known for being by far the biggest LGBTQ+ act to originate from the country, having performed globally at over 300 pride parades and at over 1200 gay clubs since its founding in 2001. All of the members themselves are also a member of the community: Sofie is a lesbian, while both Ronald and Lars are gay men.

Fun facts!
- Sofie is a member of the Duke of Astbeck-Langgate's extended family, sharing the same great-grandparents on his maternal grandfather's side. In fact, she has the same surname as Marlène Nyrgarder, the Duchess Maternal*.
- In an interview in 2003, when Sofie was asked what her goals were in life, she simply said "Having fun, making good music and getting some good pussy!" This marked the first time the word "pussy" was used on television in Astbeck-Langgate.
- Sofie is known for giving out her number to women she finds attractive at her gigs.
- Ronald and Lars got married on July 1, 2007 at midnight, thereby being the first gay couple to marry in the country.

* The title Duchess Maternal refers to the mother of the Duke if he is not yet married.

THE PERFORMANCE
As the postcard fades and the lights go dark, the music starts playing. Immediately, orange flashes start appearing on the LED screens in time with the music. Sofie, the main vocalist, is stood in the middle of the stage, with four dancers, one in each corner.

Dam dam ba-da-da-da-dam dam
Oh yeah
Dam dam ba-da-da-da-dam dam
Oh yeah

The dancers start doing a vogue-inspired dance. The background changes to a pure orange, with the lyrics periodically appearing in black on top of it. Sofie is still standing there, turning around to face different sections of the audience.

Kand er ditt lif ett litet
Lädenligt og omerksamt
Og stundem kenne allt sig
Så irriteret og gramt

With each line, Sofie moves her hips and shoulders from side to side.

Men des er ängang i life
Ekk’ at misse
Skal ’veggå
Men nu er fyr tåke

Sofie starts dancing along.

Så nem då sjans nu
Mens du ennu knått
Jå, nem då sjans nu
Åfram, ger ditt skot
Du, nem då sjans nu
Fyr dat iveg går
Gå, nem då sjans nu
Gåm vit, note då

Sofie temporarily stops dancing. She looks around at the audience, smiling.

Dam dam ba-da-da-da-dam dam, ba-ra-ra dam dam
Oh yeah
Dam dam ba-da-da-da-dam dam, ba-ra-ra dam dam
Oh yeah

She walks to one of the dancers at the front, and puts her hand on his shoulder.

Sjansen at betre ditt lif
Er djyst fyr dig ihend
Gefe du allt dins
Og alle adrer skul’ åfend’

Sofie spins the dancer around, leading to him spinning all around the stage while still doing his routine. Some laughs from the audience, as well as someone saying "Beyblade-stiglen", can be heard.

Men des er ängang i life
Ekk’ at misse
Skal ’veggå
Men nu er fyr tåke

The dancer stops spinning around, having returned to his original position. She joins the other dancers in the choreo.

Så nem då sjans nu
Mens du ennu knått
Jå, nem då sjans nu
Åfram, ger ditt skot
Du, nem då sjans nu
Fyr dat iveg går
Gå, nem då sjans nu
Gåm vit, note då

Dam dam ba-da-da-da-dam dam, ba-ra-ra dam dam
Oh yeah
Dam dam ba-da-da-da-dam dam, ba-ra-ra dam dam
Oh yeah

Sofie stops dancing, and the dancers go into half speed. She walks back to the center of the podium as the background dims.

Så nem då sjans nu
Så nem då sjans nu

The dancers start slowly speeding up. Sofie starts striking poses to the beat, as the same flashes from the beginning appear, but this time in various colours of the rainbow. She does 8 poses in total.

Oh yeah
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh yeah
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

The stage explodes into colours: the screens now show a rainbow, pyrotechnics go off, the dancers dance at full speed, and Sofie is dancing along with full energy.

Så nem då sjans nu
Mens du ennu knått
Jå, nem då sjans nu
Åfram, ger ditt skot
Du, nem då sjans nu
Fyr dat iveg går
Gå, nem då sjans nu
Oh yeah

Så nem då sjans nu
Mens du ennu knått
Jå, nem då sjans nu
Åfram, ger ditt skot
Du, nem då sjans nu
Fyr dat iveg går
Gå, nem då sjans nu
Gåm vit, note då

Sofie runs up to the front, waving at the audience.

Dam dam ba-da-da-da-dam dam, ba-ra-ra dam dam
Oh yeah

The audience applauds the wonderful act. Sofie shouts: "THANK YOU SO MUCH!", and waves around a bit. Just before the cameras cut away, she can be heard shouting at a member of the audience: "And you with the lesbian flag, I can give you my number after the show". She now quickly leaves the stage to allow the Beepeean act to prepare...

by **Kalosia** » Sun Jan 08, 2023 5:59 am

XX
Kalosia
Paóla Amadin - "Di novu"
Language(s): Kalosian
Title Translation: Again
Tune: Elsa Lila - Evita
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: KLS
Lyrics: Paóla Amadin, Ǧianni Kruž
Music: Stelio Horis, Ǧianni Kruž, Karlos Raneri

She's back.

The Kalosian legend is perhaps one of the few big artists who have become associated more with the World Hit Festival rather than the WorldVision Song Contest. The 62 year old woman made a name for herself as part of a band in the 80s and 90s, and in the mid-2000s decided to pursue a solo career. However, she was still known to tour and perform with band setups. It wasn't until the early-to-mid 2010s where she became more comfortable portrayer herself as a true soloist, performing on stages where she is truly the centre of attention.

And indeed, this shift in direction paid off. In 2016, she made her WHF debut, representing Kalosia at the 25th World Hit Festival in the Sarian. She performed a mid-tempo track "Amiral me" (Amal mi, 'Love me'). And that night, she earned the honour of being the nation's first WHF winning act. Her victory came as both a burden and relief for Radiu-Televižio Kalosia, who were preparing to host the 50th WorldVision Song Contest at the time. A burden because they now had to host the 26th World Hit Festival (although it ended up being a successful low-budget hosting with only 9 entries), and a relief because RTVK no longer had to use up valuable time and energy to select a host entry. Subsequently, a few months later, she represented Kalosia at the WV in Kasin.

Less than a year after her WHF victory, she competed in Festival dële Melodie Kalosiane once again, this time earning a ticket to represent the country at the 32nd World Hit Festival in Harrikes, Euskirribakondara. With the song "L'alba", she came a respectable 5th place in a pool of 16 entries.

But Paóla's WHF involvement doesn't end there. In addition to these entries, she has also announed the nation's votes numerous times (as well as at WorldVision). And when Kalosia last hosted the World Hit Festival (52) at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, her 1997 song "Briľal unë luž" was made a central theme in the show's production, as it served as a beacon of hope during the onset of a dark time in modern human history. That show's interval act was a group performance of an English-language version of the song, which was done to raise funds for the fight against the pandemic in affected countries. Paóla made an appearance in the performance, and it was truly a historic and unprecedented moment in WHF history.

But once again, she's back.

Radiu-Televižio Kalosia selected her to participate in the 68th World Hit Festival in Santa Ana, as well as the songwriters who wrote her last WHF entry. As can be expected, this song is a ballad, just like L'alba, and arguably more emotional if not just as. The song, titled "Di novu" (Again) is perhaps a reflection of Paóla's age. Although this is not based on her personal experiences, the themes of this song may be found to be relatable by those as it is told from the perspective of a person whose partner is suffering from dementia. She begs him to "remember, even if you can't", that it was her who loved him boundlessly. She laments that, if things were different, she would be able to dance with him and love him like she used to over the decades.

For the big night, Paóla is wearing a dark red coat dress that, despite her age, makes her appear youthful. It helped that she was particularly agile for a sexagenarian, and was able to move throughout the venue and onto the stage on her own. On top of that, the warm Achaean heat was a much-welcomed change from the cold Kalosian weather around this time of year. A little bit of sun was what she needed.

There she is now, on stage, sitting on a stool right in the middle of the stage, surrounded by nothing else. The ground was shrouded in mist, and the stage lights were largely dimmed. There was a night-blue aura that reflected the cold, distant emotion that one in the song's point-of-view may feel.

As the initial notes of the song were played, a spidercam slowly zoomed in on her from a wide shot.

Oh… san ja
Spetu pëla dešentë dël sol
San ja, san ja
Kë ti amavu senzë limiti
San ja, san ja, san ja
Da miu koru voľu dirë ti…

Now it switched to mid shots. You could see on Paóla's face the pain she feels as she laments over the lyrics of the song.

Se avisë una altrë vitë
Se pošesë amarë ti ankorë
Baľere finu a matinë
Ja kon ti, sin unë porë

But alas, her voice becomes more emotional as the music becomes more dramatic.

Pianǧu nia ǧoventudë
Tuto lo vivere di novu
Si, di novu
Si, di novu
Si… oh, se anki mi segi

As the chorus ended, the crowd cheered and the camera switched to another wide shot of the stage. After the brief pause, as we continued back into the verse, Paóla's voice hauntingly echoed across the hall. Later on in this verse, she exclaimed in Kalosian, "it's me, it's me!", channeling the desperation someone may feel as they helplessly watch their loved one slip away into the sands of time.

Oh… san ja
Lë tempu n’a datu noš piéta
San ja, san ja, san ja
Rëkordal, anki se në poši:
San ja, san ja!
N’es la finë, ma ankorë…

And now the verse begins once again. To be frank, the staging of this song is not as dynamic as many may hope, but this is by design. Such a gradual change as the onset of dementia still proves, time and time again, to be more impactful than the most sudden and dramatic of displays. In such emotional grief, stillness is preferred—no, necessary—giving one an environment to hold on to as the life they had once known slowly fades away into their own personal oblivion.

Se avisë una altrë vitë
Se pošesë amarë ti ankorë
Baľere finu a matinë
Ja kon ti, sin unë porë

And indeed, there is not much Paóla can do but lament the youth that she and her lover once had. The close-up camera angles give us the chance to intimately feel such a unique sadness that most viewers are not old enough to know.

Pianǧu nia ǧoventudë
Tuto lo vivere di novu
Si, di novu
Si, di novu

But regardless, in this song Paóla commits. "I will love you again!", she exclaims, in this novel line of an extended chorus below, as if an attempt to buy time. But after one final "si", she relents, making her final offer, "if only you follow me."

Ja amare ti di novu
Si, di novu
Si, di novu
Si… oh, se anki mi segi

Paóla whistles along as the final notes of the song are played, but at this point she knows. All the people around her know. And you, the viewer, can sense it coming too. The audience lightly cheers while others patiently relish the song's final moments. But soon, the Kalosian entry comes to an end.

Paóla receives an ovation as she grins for the first time in these 3 minutes. She stands up and takes a bow. "Thank you," she greets the crowd, "gražia, gracias!"

She leaves the stage to allow the act from Ikslund to set up their performance. Little does anyone know at this point, but she thinks it is time. Soon after all this is over, she will announce her retirement from music.

by **Skanden** » Sun Jan 08, 2023 9:12 am

XX
Skanden
Pierrot di Pagliacci - "Reali"
Language(s): Italian
Title Translation: Royals
Tune: Pinguini Tattici Nucleari - Ringo Starr
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: SKN
Lyrics: Pierrot di Pagliacci
Music: Pierrot di Pagliacci

Skanden returns after a 2-year absence. They last entered during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic's initial wave, represented at the orchestral edition in Tödlichebujoku by the Spanish-language branch of Skanden's national broadcater, Skandens Television (SKT). This time, the Skandish Union is represented by the Italian-language wing.

Their act is Pierrot di Pagliacci, a soloist whose stage name translates in English to something like "Bozo of the Clowns". Befittingly, his songs have quite a cocky, comedic atmosphere to them, with a tendency to be satirical towards social issues.

Our 26-year-old singer is coming to the Santa Ana stage with a song called "Reali", or 'Royals'. This song pokes fun at out-of-touch rich people who only care about themselves. The particular character Pierrot sings about is surrounded by yes-men who are willing to lose themselves in pursuit of wealth, surrounding themselves with the more fortunate in hopes that the riches will one day trickle down towards them, too.

For the big night, Pierrot is wearing a (fake) diamond-studded red rockstar jacket with a black shirt and pants underneath. As the song begins, the sound of trumpets blare out through the speakers and he walks confidently on stage, with the background screens displaying heavenly clouds.

A volte penso a come intorno a me
A tutti piace quello che dico loro
La gente lì che vedo qui dal mio jet
Vorrei parlare anche con loro, un giorno

The lighting in the arena had been pretty bright, full of white, to emulate the kind of paradise this kind of person much live in. I mean, what does it say about him when his best friends are his lawyers, who work hard to keep him out of trouble? Or the fact that he wonders if the peasants he sees from his private jet are yes-men too, like the people around him?

I miei migliori amici sono avvocati
Che sanno sempre cosa è meglio per me e l’umanità
Il mondo è un festa, andiamo via di qua
Decidiamo la musica che suona ogni giorno e serata

Anyway, if you didn't know already, Pierrot is performing with a band setup (although he is credited as a solo artist). Some time ago he already made it to his mic stand, at this point he was singing in front of one. And in such a lively chorus as this one, the lights were going wild.

E questa sera ci sono i ricchi e i potenti
La gente che sorride, e che beve di più
Nella mia vita c’è una magia speciale
Che io vorrei davvero poter’ dare tu

Everything suddenly stands to a still, with sudden jolts of movement reflecting the tune of the song.

In un mondo di buon e di meglio, sono un reale
In un mondo di buon e di meglio, sono un reale
In un mondo di buon e di meglio, sono un reale
Woah-woah-oh woah-woah-oh-oh

Here, Pierrot takes the mic off the stand and walks around the stage as he sings. Some audience members cheers, and the Kalosian fans are feeling some déja-vu. Soon, you will too.

Cadono i deboli ma sono io
Bravo perché i miei gioielli comprarmi la forza, oh oh
Quando una città è distrutto perché gli effetti degli azioni miei (scappo)
Volo altrove perché mi merito la vita migliora come ho (orgoglio)

Nevermind the destructive practices of the ultra-rich, we will move on to the chorus, where Pierrot quickly hurries back to his mic stand.

E questa sera ci sono i ricchi e i potenti
La gente che sorride, e che beve di più
Nella mia vita c’è una magia speciale
Che io vorrei davvero poter’ dare tu

Everything suddenly stands to a still, with sudden jolts of movement reflecting the tune of the song.

In un mondo di buon e di meglio, sono un reale
In un mondo di buon e di meglio, sono un reale
In un mondo di buon e di meglio, sono un reale
Woah-woah-oh woah-woah-oh-oh

But this time, things remain full of unreleased tension, as Pierrot sings this next part. From behind, a giant replica of a jet plane is being rolled on stage, perfectly building suspense prior to a climactic drop.

Reale…
Reale...
Reale...
Reale...

And then everything gets really dark for a second as a close up of Pierrot's face is displayed, as he whispers the following line into the microphone:

(In un mondo di buon e di meglio, sono un reale)

The camera dramatically zooms out, pyro shots fly out, and he continues singing.

E questa sera ci sono i ricchi e i potenti
La gente che sorride, e che beve di più
Nella mia vita c’è una magia speciale
Che io vorrei davvero poter’ dare tu

The music doesn't pause, it keeps going as Pierrot sings the final lines to the song. The camera sticks to dynamic mid angles.

In un mondo di buon e di meglio, sono un reale
In un mondo di buon e di meglio, sono un reale
In un mondo di buon e di meglio, sono un reale
Woah-woah-oh woah-woah-oh-oh

The song ends. The audience cheers. "Grazie mille!", Pierrot exclaims before leaving the stage.

An Italian-Skandish audience member turns to his friend.
"Allora, che cos'è il Festival della Canzone Calosiana? Non la conosco."

by **Ikslund** » Sun Jan 15, 2023 7:40 am

XX
IKSLUND
Sienna - "Dark Stars"
Language(s): English
Tune: Blanche - City Lights
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: IKS
Lyrics: Ana Skyjek, Sienna
Music: Yara Rekskolter, Sienna, Farra Dansdoter

A new generation of pop artist was being born in Ikslund. In years past, they had been bright and poppy, or avant-garde and strange, more often some toxic mix of the two. While it worked for a strange island nation in the isolated north, it hadn't served them well in any international song competitions. But now ... now there was hope. This next wave was moodier, darker, more mature and grounded. One of this new cohort was Sienna. A relatively minor artist in the movement, she was a consummate performer and had a string of relatively successful singles on the Ikslund charts that gave the internal selection committee some modicum of hope that she would not flop as terribly as some past acts. At the announcement of her selection for participation in the World Hit Festival in the Achaean Republic, the public soon took to the surprisingly charming young starlet. She had an authentic ease to her that came from not being in the spotlight for much of her life, and this saw her touring much of the European talk show circuit in preparation for the competition. The Moors, whose own artist had backed out after the danger of heat in the Republic led to their withdraw upon medical advisement, were livid to be outdone after their last strong showing. But the Ikslunders didn't care, their little colony had a star ready to shine.

The staging was simple, fog machines creating a soft surrounding and the camera close in on Sienna's face for the performance, soft gold makeup with applied rhinestones glittering in soft shades of purple light. Her dress is thin and ethereal, flowing in a slight wind.

I remember the eyes on us
Burning stars when you left our home
Never thought that the night would fall
Brand new colours to blind my eyes

I thought we would be wreathed in the darkest shades
I thought we were free, two thieves in the night
Two hearts in our bright night

Pinpricks of light peek through the dense fog that shifts in hues of purple and pink, resembling cosmic nebulae in the night sky. Sienna does some of that new-age arm choreography around the microphone stand but remains in place as the cameras alternate between sweeping shots of the stage, the crowd, and close ups on her.

I can still hear the sound of us
Waning notes of my morning star
Always thought that the moon would sing
Fading softly on deafened ears

Never thought I’d sing a song of a shattered love
When we touched the stars, the wrath of the dawn
The wrath of the dark dawn

Rays of golden light shine out from behind her, cutting through the dark fog and breaking up the shifting constellations behind her. The light shines through the thin white gauziness of her dress, making her a radiant figure in gold.

Shattered love, shattered dreams, the sky
Tracing scars over my old skin
Leading back where we stole our hearts
Shivering in your burning kiss

I want the night back in our eyes
When it could all be black and white
But now the flaws are all I see

The night and the dawn war behind her in a beautiful explosion of colour, gold and purple and pink, shining stars and rays of golden light. It is a brilliant display that frames her figure, wind billowing her dress into undulating shapes as she finishes out the performance.

I remember the eyes on us
Burning stars when you left our home
Never thought that the night would fall
Brand new colours to blind my eyes

I believe that the stars above
Still exist in a sea of blue
Hidden lights waiting for their time
Shining bright with no need for you
No need for you
No need for you

The stage goes dark and the audience erupts.

by **Britonisea** » Sun Jan 15, 2023 3:11 pm

XX
Britonisea
ELLA, Aaron Ward - "Intoxicating"
Language(s): English
Tune: Evangeline, Kelvin Jones - Diving
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: BRI
Lyrics: ELLA, Aaron Ward
Music: Aaron Ward, Thomas Shelby, Whitney Harrison

ELLA and Aaron Ward: The pair hope to set the stage alight with their intoxicating World Hit Festival 68 performance in the Achaean Republic...

Britonisea returns to the World Hit Festival for the first time in five editions, with pop banger, "Intoxicating" which grew its popularity from the hit BVC series, When The Past Returns...

The last time Britonisea participated in the World Hit Festival, Britonisea finished 9th out of a field of 14. In the minds of BVC, while they weren't holding the role of being the overseeing broadcaster, they didn't feel as though commitment to the Festival was as important. At the 63rd World Hit Festival, Britonisea sent one of its most successful Vha Mehlodhivestoile entries, though it didn't seem to win over the multiverse, with the nation only managing to score a mere 12 points. BVC and Britonisea have been struggling since the turn of the decade. At the 60th World Hit Festival, Britonisea finished with one of their worst placements at the World Hit Festival ever - and hasn't reached the top 3 this decade, a fact that wouldn't have been true during the 40s and 50s. Public interest and the decline of the number of nations participating meant a lack of interest from the broadcaster and even the Britonish population. Nevertheless, with Achaean Republic hosting - a nation that Britonisea does have some ties with, and also the last place Britonisea won the festival, BVC wanted to return to see how well the country would do after taking a long break. When The Past Returns hit screens in seven countries over the Christmas period and in Britonisea the episode in which "intoxicating" was played in full had over 10 million viewers and was the most successful drama show of the year. The song itself then went to chart in Britonisea - making its way to the top 40 a week after it was officially released and then the top 10 after the show was shown on television. It currently sits at number 8. With the song being the official song to represent Britonisea, it's likely that the song will gain more traction. ELLA and Aaron Ward are from Telm City, where When The Past Returns is set, and are friends who met at drama university there. They were approached by BVC specifically, which is an unusual change from normal (usually artists go to the broadcaster) to be the faces of Britonisea's return to the World Hit Festival.

As the music started, there was a slow zoom-in with ELLA standing alone in the middle of the stage. Admittedly, the Britonish broadcaster wasn't too pleased with the staging design for the 68th World Hit Festival and so decided to bring a cyclorama on which they could project different images. As the music began, very fiery tones were shown through the colours on the stage. ELLA herself was wearing a black asymmetric dress, which was made into a rose that sat on her shoulder. The cyclorama had half of an orange spotlight on it so that from afar you could see a semi-circle. A gentle breeze was hitting ELLA's face as the woman stood almost expressionless down the lens of the camera. The audience cheered but simmered down before ELLA moved the microphone to her mouth and started singing her song...

Intoxicating

Miss you when you’re not near me,
Thinking ‘bout you, it’s daily.
Oh I, can’t get you out of mind
It’s the way you the look at me,
My thoughts, so bad, they run free
Oh I, can get ahead of myself

This feeling feels just like a curse,
It feels like it’s never-ending,
I wish that I could run away.

The camera shot did stay still for quite some time we moved to the chorus of the song, with a much wider shot now being used, with two other people appearing on the stage - wearing similar clothing to her. A male on one side of her and a female on the other side, they were both dancing in a semi-dramatic way, but in a way that fits with the theme of the song. Her body, which before this was slightly turned away from the front of the audience, was now front on, as she slightly sways from left to right along with the soft beat of the song. ELLA sang, almost whispering each syllable out of her mouth - sung with such delicacy, with a slight sexual undertone in the way she said every word.

But you’re right there,
Wherever I go, you always appear.
Your voice -
Echoes lustrous thorns deep into my mind.
Ingrained in my thoughts,
Poisoned by your perfect smile,
And it's been like this for a while,
The idea of you is intoxicating.

The thought is intoxicating
The thought is intoxicating

As we moved on to the final lines of the chorus where the vocal parts come in, the camera panned out and backwards, showing the cyclorama and how a large cluster of people seemed to be showing in orange behind her. Plumes of fire shot into the air from either side of the catwalk, with the audience members screaming in delight. ELLA let out a gentle smile as she repeated the last line of the chorus along with the chorus. At the other end of the catwalk, a handsome tall Aaron Ward, looking deep into her eyes. The camera slowly zoomed in on his face, with the fire gently showing in the background. Aaron was also wearing dark colours too, which worked well with the red and orange that was present on the stage.

You think you make me stronger,
But I’m losing myself each time we speak.
(Looking at you makes me weak)
Drowning in the sheer irony,
Gasping for breath - it’s killing me,
And I - can’t take anymore pain.

While the camera was trained on Aaron, ELLA walked her way over to Aaron so that by the time Aaron reached the line, "And I- can't take any more pain", ELLA was also in shot too. There was a shot which moved from one end of the arena to the other end, from the furthest point, with a singular orange spotlight on ELLA and Aaron, the pair of them holding each other's hand - by a couple of fingers, it didn't seem like a convincing embrace whatsoever. As they move onto the pre-chorus and thus the chorus of the song, ELLA moved around Aaron, holding her hand on the top of his shoulders. Aaron pivoted around in the opposite direction so that by the time ELLA moved around his body, she was standing in front of him to the side. In the background, the cyclorama showed pulsating orange flashing while the lights at the back of the stage were flashing white strobe lights all around the stage.

This feeling, feels just like a curse,
It feels like it’s never-ending,
I wish that I could run away.

But you’re right there,
Wherever I go, you always appear.
Your voice -
Echoes lustrous thorns deep into my mind.
Ingrained in my thoughts,
Poisoned by your perfect smile,
And it's been like this for a while,
The idea of you is intoxicating.

As we move onto the second chorus, red and orange burst out onto the stage through the strobe lighting and cyclorama - mixed with beautiful white lights from all corners of the stage. As they went kept on repeating the lines of the song in the next section, the dancers returned on the stage where they started dancing rather maniacally, though there was some form of art to the way they were dancing - it looked organised. The lights flashed powerfully on them, behind the two main singers - with the cameras quickly zooming into the dancers as they moved around the stage cutting to ELLA and Aaron between the shots who had no walked away from one another (about a metre), but still facing each other.

The thought is intoxicating
The thought is intoxicating
(It’s toxic, it’s toxic)
The thought is intoxicating
The thought is intoxicating
(It’s toxic, it’s toxic)

Always right there,
Wherever I go, you always appear.
Your voice - echoes lustrous thorns deep into my mind.
Ingrained in my thoughts,
Poisoned by your perfect smile,
And it's been like this for a while,
The idea of you is intoxicating.

We then moved into the final bridge of the song which plunged the whole stage into darkness once again, with the backlights now gently twinkling alongside low-flying smoke that made the theme a lot different to before. It was dreamy, mesmerising. ELLA and Aaron were lit up in a white spotlight this time instead of orange. The pair of them started walking towards one another again with the cameras switching before the two singers before one central camera joined them in the middle, slowly moving with the pair of them until we reached the chorus once again. They dramatically turned around to red and orange themes on the stage, with fire shooting into the air once again. They both strutted towards the end of the catwalk, singing as they walked with power and sass.

The thought is intoxicating
(It’s toxic, It’s toxic)
The thought is intoxicating
(It’s toxic, It’s toxic)
The thought is intoxicating
(It’s toxic, It’s toxic)
The idea of you is intoxicating.

At the end of the song, they turned to one another, before Aaron fell to his knees, as ELLA placed her heels on his knees. The lights were turned off from their faces, so all you could see was their silhouettes as they were in powerful positions. The Achaeans came back in with a huge roar. The Britons were able to return to the World Hit Festival with what they thought was a good song. While BVC always goes for the win, getting back into the game and getting used to the Festival is their ultimate goal. "Thank you!!" they both shouted before moving off the stage for the next nation.

World Hit Festival 68| Santa Ana, Achaean Rep.| Draft Thread

World Hit Festival 68| Santa Ana, Achaean Rep.| Draft Thread

ENTRY

03 | Britonisea | ELLA, Aaron Ward - Intoxicating

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